Last week, Senators Lindsey Graham, Thom Tillis, Cory Booker, and Chris Coons released a bipartisan bill intended to protest Special Counsel Robert Mueller from any potential interference threatened by President Trump. But it’s already hit a big obstacle: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Yesterday, McConnell told reporters that he would not bring the bill to the floor, calling it unnecessary. House Speaker Paul Ryan has expressed similar sentiments. But many members of their own party have expressed the necessity of Mueller’s investigation and the need for it to continue unimpeded—including McConnell and Ryan themselves! Here’s just a sampling of those members’ quotes:
- “He shouldn’t be removed from the office; he should be allowed to finish the job,” McConnell said just last week.
- “I think the best thing to do is to let Robert Mueller do his job,” Ryan told reporters last year.
- “The American people deserve to have this investigation completed. And we need to do nothing—nothing—to interrupt this investigation,” Senator Tim Scott said last week.
- “Special Counsel Mueller has served our country with honesty and integrity. It’s critical he be allowed to complete a thorough investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election—unimpeded,” Senator John McCain tweeted last month.
- “I maintain my longstanding position supporting the appointment of Robert Mueller as a special counsel, and believe he should be allowed to complete his investigation without threat, influence, or intimidation,” Representative Ryan Costello tweeted in February.
Agree with these members of Congress? Then, demand they pass legislation to protect Mueller’s investigation so the American public can know the truth. And sign this petition to demand that Trump sit down with Mueller and tell the truth.
ACTION OF THE DAY
Share Your Tax Story. Yesterday was Tax Day, and despite many members of the Congressional majority celebrating, most Americans are not going to benefit from the #TaxScam. What about you? Not seeing any decreases in your taxes? Wondering when the middle class will get the huge benefits promised by Trump? Watching your healthcare premiums go up? Share your story with us today!
WHAT’S TRENDING
Starbucks. Last week, the Progress Report covered the story of two black men, arrested in Starbucks while waiting for a friend to arrive. There has been strong backlash against Starbucks for what the Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said was an incident that exemplified “what racial discrimination looks like in 2018.” Now, Starbucks seems to be taking things a bit more seriously. Yesterday, the company released a statement saying that all of its 8,000+ stores would be closed on the afternoon of May 29 for racial bias education. The training, created in part by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Education Fund, will reach approximately 175,000 employees and will become part of the onboarding process for all new employees. While this a good first step in the right direction, it’s clear that much more is needed to ensure that black individuals can exist in public spaces without discrimination or persecution.
Maternal Mortality for Black Women. Black mothers are three to four times more likely to die in childbirth than their white counterparts. What’s killing them? Racism. A new report from the Center for American Progress finds that no matter the level of the mother’s education, infants born to black mothers also have a higher risk of dying. In fact, severe racial disparities exist in infant and maternal mortality across income, education, and access to health care. The report concludes, “Daily exposure to racism is harming the overall health of black women and infants.” To combat these inequities, targeted policies are required, and this report suggests employing “targeted universalism.” Read the full report here.
Sessions Trap. Yesterday, all Senate and House Judiciary Committee Democrats sent a letter to Attorney General Sessions raising constitutional concerns over recent actions taken by the Department of Justice, including imposing quotas upon immigration judges, suspending the longstanding Legal Orientation Program (LOP) that provides unrepresented immigrants in detention access to basic legal information, and allowing judges to summarily deny applications for relief without hearing evidence. Through these measures, Attorney General has laid the perfect trap to speed up the deportation of immigrants by eliminating well-established due process rights of immigrants seeking protection in the U.S. Read more about the #SessionsTrap here.
CULTURE OF CORRUPTION
More Lavish Spending. It’s not just Carson and Zinke spending big bucks on their offices. Yesterday, the New York Post reported that Trump’s U.S. Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, had spent nearly $1 million to furnish two trade offices near the White House. We compared what that money could buy at Wayfair—check out our Twitter thread below.
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