DEMS/HOUSE OF REPS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “House Democrats can’t escape Trumpmania. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her colleagues are living under a harsh new reality fueled by the rise of Donald Trump — a scandal-driven climate with a five-minute news cycle that has proved impossible to control…Since the start of their majority, House Democrats have largely struggled to push their message past the daily drumbeat of Trump tweets and scandals. But as House Republicans found out to their own detriment, the media now moves at the speed of Trump while Democrats are forced to legislate at the speed of Congress. The result is a muddled message that has stoked anxiety among dozens of new members serving in red districts who are increasingly desperate to talk about their agenda. It’s also left senior Democrats worried about how they will steer the party as Trump moves into his reelection campaign…It’s not all Trump’s fault. Some of the distractions have come from within the Democrats’ own ranks: superstar freshmen like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez of New York and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and their army of Twitter followers — which lawmakers say is another symptom of the surge in personality-based politics.”
–Sarah Ferris, Heather Caygle and John Bresnahan, “’Absolutely, dramatically different’: House Democrats struggle with breakneck pace of Trump era,” Politico, March 13, 2019 5:00 am