It seems to be a selective concern for President Trump. Today, Trump is expected to sign an executive order to create the “Presidential Commission on Election Integrity” to review allegations of voter fraud and voter suppression. The commission will be headed by Vice President Mike Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach—a champion of voter suppression efforts. A few days after his inauguration Trump promised a “major investigation into VOTER FRAUD,” and today he launched this dangerous witch hunt.
Senior officials in the Trump Administration—including Trump himself—have been spreading false accusations of widespread voter fraud since the election. In January, Trump suggested “there are millions of votes” cast illegally. For the record (again): there is *no evidence* of widespread voter fraud. In fact, out of the 137.7 million votes cast in the 2016 election, there was only one case of alleged voter fraud.
Voter fraud is not a threat to our democracy. What is? Voter suppression. The other elephant in the room? Russia. The intelligence community has confirmed that Russia interfered in our election. Yet for some reason that election meddling doesn’t concern Trump nearly as much as “voter fraud.”
ACTION OF THE DAY
#FulFillYourOath. We must demand a special prosecutor be appointed to lead an independent investigation into Trump’s Russia connections before a new FBI director is in place. Here’s what you can do: Urge these members of Congress to live up to their oaths of office and support a special prosecutor who will investigate Russia’s interference in our election by tweeting these images at their accounts.
WHAT’S TRENDING
Comey. The country is still reeling from the abrupt firing of FBI Director James Comey. For Comey’s part, he says, “I will be fine.” Comey has been invited to testify in front of the Senate Intelligence committee next week where he’ll likely be asked about his investigation into Trump’s Russia ties. Meanwhile, the American press was excluded from Trump’s meeting yesterday with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov but the Russian media was allowed in. This morning, 20 state attorneys general joined the bipartisan call for a special prosecutor to get to the bottom of Trump’s connections to Russia. Confused about what’s next for the investigation? CAP Action’s own Ken Gude explains what’s next and what you can do about it in our latest video with Daily Action.
Under Pressure. Last night, Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ)—one of the architects of Trumpcare and one of the few House Republicans to hold a town hall this recess—took heat from his constituents during a five hour event. He faced immense pressure over his support for Trumpcare and about the winding Russian investigation.
#AdoptADistrict. Rep. MacArthur is one of only a few Representatives who is holding town halls during the House’s recess this week. But every American deserves to have their voice heard, which is why we joined together with our friends Indivisible, OFA, Town Hall Project, and Progressive Change Campaign Committee to launch #AdoptADistrict, to encourage those Members of Congress who want to ensure that people are prioritized over politics to adopt another congressional district to host a town hall. Check and see if there’s a town hall near you at ResistanceNearMe.org, if there’s not call on a rep to adopt a district.
Boos. Yesterday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was booed as she gave a commencement speech at Bethune-Cookman University. University administration officials booked DeVos despite pushback from students ahead of her appearance. The Trump Administration has suggested that funding for HBCUs could be unconstitutional. And only a few months ago, DeVos came under fire for calling the institutions “pioneers of school choice.” Fact check: HBCUs were created because African-Americans were not given option to pursue higher education, not because students wanted “more choice.”
So much winning. Trump promised a lot of winning in his administration and it looks like he’s close to keeping his promise to break records—only it will be the record for lowest approval rating for a president. According to a new poll, Trump’s approval rating is only 36 percent… and this poll happened before Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, who was leading an investigation about Russia’s role in 2016.
UNDER THE RADAR
#ThinkingCAP. Hats had a big moment in 2016. That’s just one of the reasons the Center for American Progress is excited to bring you Thinking CAP, a new podcast to help you navigate the issues behind the resistance. Each week, Thinking CAP will break down one key issue and tell you how you can take action and plug into the resistance. The first episode drops a week from today. Mark your calendars.
GOOD NEWS
Creative writing. High school students are practicing their politics and writing skills during this Advanced Placement (AP) test season by writing about President Donald Trump on the AP Language test’s last essay, which asked students to discuss how much of a role “artifice” plays in politics. Apparently, students across the country had a lot to say on that topic.