CONGRESS/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana reached into his seemingly bottomless well of folksy barbs on Tuesday [6-4-19] and said, ‘There’s a reason that the American people think that members of Congress were born tired and raised lazy.’ The next day, the Senate left for D-Day celebrations after a three-day workweek in which nothing passed. Three minor administration posts were filled on Wednesday [6-5-19], and the Senate mustered four votes on motions to end debate. Meantime, the logjam of unaddressed legislation piled higher. Seemingly by design, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader and self-proclaimed ‘grim reaper’ of Washington, has turned his chamber into a legislative graveyard, opting instead to devote the Senate floor almost exclusively to confirming conservative judicial nominations and Trump administration appointees. So if talks between the United States and Mexico collapse, and Republican threats against President Trump’s promised tariffs actually turn into a legislative rebuff, it would be major break from the past six months. Barely a dozen roll-call votes have been held this year on bills, amendments and legislation, and around 20 bills have been signed into law since January.”
–Emily Cochrane and Catie Edmondson, “Tariff Threats Aside, the Senate Is Where Action Goes to Die,” The New York Times online, June 6, 2019