GOP rejects ‘millionaire tax' pitch, advancing breaks for rich Americans
'I'm thinking, 'Is it somebody from Bush's presidential library? Is it Karl Rove?'' Norquist recalled.
Soon after he picked up, the anti-tax crusader was talking with President Donald Trump. In the time before the plane took off, Trump gave his arguments for raising taxes on the rich in the sweeping Big Beautiful Bill that congressional Republicans were working on. Norquist pushed back, arguing that such a maneuver would prove a politically disastrous 'attack on the small-business community,' he said of the May 7 phone call. Shortly after landing in Warsaw, Norquist received a follow-up call from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), who told him the tax increase would not be in the final legislation.
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Politico
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California Legislature moves forward with gerrymander to counter Texas
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Politico
a minute ago
- Politico
Sacramento takes its gerrymandering bow
Presented by FROM CALIFORNIA WITH LOVE: Sacramento often carries a chip on its shoulder — but this morning, California's sixth-largest city occupied the center of the political universe. A Democrat-boosting, Texas-neutralizing gerrymander cleared the Senate and Assembly floors as lawmakers raced to get a redrawn House map on the November ballot. But while California voters will get the final say on Gov. Gavin Newsom's gambit, this fight is bigger than the Golden State. And Democrats want to make sure you remember it. 'Do we want to allow the entire nation to be disenfranchised?' asked Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom. 'Or do we ask the citizens of California to lock arms with us and to march forward to save democracy in the world?' Rarely does the Legislature's work so directly jolt the beating heart of American politics. Yes, California's scale and economic might mean its laws can ripple out and influence national policy. But it's one thing to set the tone on climate change or tech regulation or workers' rights. It's another to play an instrumental role in the balance of federal political power. 'Today, in this country and in the world, we have autocrats that are desperately trying to consolidate their power by weakening democracy by changing the rules of the game,' said Assemblymember Steve Bennett. National politics pervaded the debate. Hours after Texas Republicans voted to move ahead, Democrats in Sacramento stripped out 'trigger language' that would have prevented California's bill from taking effect unless Texas acted. Democrats invoked President Donald Trump early and often. Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal warned Texas had 'shamelessly affected the national balance of power.' Republicans had the opposite message: Bby following Texas down the redistricting spiral, they warned, California was helping to erode Democratic norms. Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher even said Trump was 'wrong' to push a Texas redraw. 'You move forward fighting fire with fire and what happens? You burn it all down,' Gallagher said. But passage was never in doubt. Democratic lawmakers had long since fallen in line behind a tactic emanating from the highest levels of the party, including Newsom and House Democrats. Every Senate Democrat voted aye and only two of the Assembly Democrats who were present did not: Alex Lee, a progressive leader who has long voiced concerns, and Jasmeet Bains, who is running to unseat Rep. David Valadao in a district that could soon turn bluer. So Thursday's voting and speechifying was more instructive in how it augured the themes of a bruising election campaign. You can expect to hear about how Trump's agenda has hurt Californians. Democrats denounced immigration raids unleashed on Los Angeles and deplored healthcare cuts in Trump's signature legislation. But their overarching argument was less about policy than about America's political system. All politics are said to be local. But for the next few months, Democrats will ask voters to look beyond parochial concerns and cast a vote on something they are casting as far more consequential — that if California does not respond to Trump and counter his bid to maintain power, nothing less than authoritarianism could supplant democracy. Today was just the start. IT'S THURSDAY AFTERNOON. This is California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check on California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to lholden@ WHERE'S GAVIN? Waiting with pen in hand for the Legislature to deliver the three bills that will start the process of redistricting. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY A WIN FOR UC: A federal appeals court today denied the Trump administration's request that it be allowed to withhold millions of dollars in University of California research grants as a legal fight over the funding proceeds, our Eric He reports. The unanimous decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals keeps in place a preliminary injunction a judge issued in a lawsuit filed by a group of UC researchers, who sued over the administration's decision to cancel research grants funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The injunction forced the agencies to reinstate the funding as the case proceeds. The administration appealed to the 9th Circuit, asking it to lift the injunction. In rejecting the legal bid, the panel determined that terminating the grants 'will result in layoffs, interruptions to graduate programs, destruction of research projects, and injury to Plaintiffs' professional reputations.' 'Further, if research projects are lost due to grant funding being halted midstream, the public will obtain no benefit from research in which substantial funds have already been invested — a significant waste of taxpayer dollars,' the ruling said. IN OTHER NEWS CARDS ON THE TABLE: Californians appear ready to legalize online sports betting — with some caveats — according to a POLITICO-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab survey of more than 1,400 registered voters. Sixty percent of those surveyed said they were open to legalizing the form of gambling that has exploded in popularity nationwide. Twenty-five percent said it should be legal and is long overdue, while 35 percent said it 'might make sense' but needed more details. 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Time Magazine
a minute ago
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D.C. Families Brace For Start of School Under Trump Takeover
On a recent summer night, a 9-year-old girl in Northwest Washington, D.C. was having trouble sleeping. She heard on the news that speaking Spanish could draw the attention of federal agents, and she worried aloud to her Hispanic father that immigration officers might come for her classmates' parents. 'She kept asking, 'Can they come to people's homes? Can they come to our home?'' her father said. 'She was terrified.' Their family, longtime residents of the city and American citizens, are not at risk of deportation. But the girl's anxiety reflects a broader unease rippling through D.C. families as the city's public schools prepare to start a new school year on Monday, Aug. 25, under the shadow of President Donald Trump's takeover of the city's police force and a ramp up in federal immigration enforcement. Across the nation's capital, parents are setting up group chats on WhatsApp and Signal to coordinate carpools and walking groups. Some are pressing the city to relax attendance requirements, out of concern that some families might feel they have to keep their kids at home. 'We've got people volunteering to carpool other people's kids to school because the parents are afraid to try to get their kid to school on their own,' says Catherine Morgan, a D.C. resident whose child starts third grade on Monday. Since announcing in August that he would place the Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and deploy National Guard troops to patrol the streets, Trump has insisted his measures are necessary to curb what he has described as 'roving mobs of wild youth' and 'bloodthirsty criminals,' despite statistics showing violent crime in the city had hit a 30-year low earlier this year. His administration has also rolled back protections that once limited immigration enforcement around schools, allowing agents to conduct raids in neighborhoods and workplaces. The result, according to parents, educators and community leaders, is a climate of fear and confusion at the very moment when families are usually focused on first-day jitters, backpacks, and back-to-school clothes. Parents across the city interviewed for this story described adjusting their routines to shield their children from encounters with federal law enforcement whose mandate remains unclear. Marta Urquilla, a D.C. resident and mother of two teenagers, says she will not let her kids ride public buses to school. 'At this point, that's off the table,' she says. 'My kids present as Black, and that's just not something I am inclined to expose them to.' She says families in her neighborhood near Howard University have organized walking groups to the grocery store and that similar plans would be in place for school commutes. The federal occupation, Urquilla adds, has not been evenly felt across the city. 'The closer you get to where immigrants live, to where Black folks live and work, the more you see it,' she says. Rumors of ICE enforcement actions have swirled since Trump's inauguration in January, but have intensified over the past two weeks as ICE, FBI, Border Patrol, National Guard troops, and more have descended on D.C. streets. Videos have circulated of federal agents and local police arresting individuals in handcuffs and stopping others at various checkpoints. Across the country, school districts have been taking precautions to shield children from immigration enforcement. In New York, officials unanimously passed a resolution this year that prohibits ICE agents from entering schools or accessing student records without a judicial warrant. In Los Angeles, school leaders announced new 'safe zones' in areas targeted by ICE to protect students before and after school. D.C. parents, however, remain uncertain how much protection their schools can offer, given the city's lack of statehood and Trump's direct authority over its institutions. At a virtual information session for parents on Wednesday night, D.C. Public Schools officials attempted to address concerns about the increased law enforcement presence in the city, noting that they expect very little impact to schools. "Any law enforcement action on school grounds can only take place with a valid warrant or court order,' said Dr. Lewis D. Ferebee, the chancellor for District of Columbia Public Schools. He stressed that school resource officers are not performing any duties related to immigration or custom enforcement. DCPS also shared a few 'best practices' for parents to share with students, including to always travel in a group or with trusted adults, and to avoid distractions while traveling, such as being on a phone or using headphones. 'Please advise our young people to stay aware of their surroundings,' Ferebee said at the information session. D.C. police are currently enforcing a citywide juvenile curfew that begins at 11 p.m. for people under 17. In some targeted neighborhoods, juvenile curfews begin as early as 8 p.m. But some parents remain frustrated by the lack of communication from their schools about what many view as an unprecedented moment. 'We haven't been told a goddamn thing,' says Morgan when asked what her daughter's school in D.C. had communicated about the coming week. 'It makes us feel like, what are you going to do? Are you just going to let them come in and take these kids?' Jenn Kauffman is a mother of two who sits on the city's advisory neighborhood commission representing her neighborhood in Brightwood Park. She says parents are demanding stronger assurances from school leaders. 'I want bare minimum for the schools to kind of stand up and say what they will do to protect students,' she said. 'But in this climate, and you know, D.C. being a federal jurisdiction, I'm also afraid that still won't be enough.' Her 7-year-old, who attends a bilingual school, has already been discussing the situation with classmates. 'The kids have been talking about this and aware about this,' she says. 'But I think it's risen to a new level.' Parents say their children are absorbing the stress—and so are they. Lara Fife, whose 4-year-old started pre-K this month, says he has asked her why police are detaining people. 'I've been extremely stressed and not sleeping well at all,' she says. The White House insists the deployments are making Washington, D.C. safer, but most residents don't see it that way. A Washington Post-Schar School poll published Wednesday found roughly 80% of D.C. residents opposed Trump's executive order to federalize the city's police department, and 65% do not think Trump's actions will make the city safer. Residents warn that the show of force may deepen mistrust and drive children away from school. In Los Angeles, officials recently reported a 7% rise in online academy enrollment, attributing the spike in part to immigration fears. D.C. parents worry they may soon face the same difficult choice. 'Are we at a point where we need a virtual schooling option?' Kauffman asks. 'Because what's going to happen then is families are going to have to choose between risking their child, or being referred to Child Protective Services for truancy. And that's just immoral.' For now, families are bracing for Monday. Some will walk in groups. Others will drive in carpools. Still others may keep their children home. But the sense of unease remains. The Hispanic father with the worried 9-year-old daughter says his family plans to arrive at school extra early on Monday so he can warn other families if they notice ICE or other federal law enforcement in the area. 'I'm not hearing from any person of color or minorities that they feel safer or that they think that the police presence is here to quote, unquote, restore safety or security, right? It's quite the opposite,' he says.
