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Multiple potential candidates forthe GOP's 2024 presidential primary race support former President Donald Trump's plot to make it easier to purge civil servants deemed disloyal to their prospective administrations,AxiosrevealedWednesday.

Noah Bookbinder, president and CEO of the government watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW),respondedwith alarm to the new reporting.

"It is distressing that leading contenders from one of our major political partiesnot just Donald Trumpare reportedly committed to undercutting nonpolitical government employees, another step to significantly weaken our system of checks and balances," he said.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, confirmed they "support using a measure like Schedule F to reform the federal bureaucracy," according toAxios' Alayna Treene.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis along with Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., "wouldn't speak to Schedule F specifically, but they showed openness to the approach," Treene noted.

Meanwhile, former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., declined to comment.

Shortly before losing the 2020 presidential election, Trump signed anexecutive orderto create a new Schedule F category of federal employees who are easier to fire.

Though President Joe Biden rescinded the order, if Trump runs again in two years and wins, he is expected to revive the plan to reclassify thousands of workers, which has beencondemnedas "authoritarianism 101" and "a fascist takeover of our government."

Donald Moynihan, a professor at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy, recentlywroteforSlatethat "Schedule F would burn down the civil service system. It would be a government of the lawless leading the incompetent."

Fears about a Republican administration taking such action have grown since U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, last week unveiled the Public Service Reform Act, which he said would "empower federal agencies to swiftly address misconduct and remove underperforming or ill-willed employees."

AsCommon Dreamsreported, Don Kettl, professor emeritus and former dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, said of Roy's move that "this is obviously a huge and major change, an effort to gear up a major assault on the federal employment system."

Kettl also warned that such efforts "aren't just Trump necessarily, and if Republicans take control of Congress following the midterms, this may very well go from idea to specific action."

Democratsand a few Republicansin Congress have responded with efforts to protect federal workers.

As U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va.,wrotein late July forThe Washington Post:

Our federal workforce consists of roughly two million federal employees hired based on their acumen, and they work each day for the American peopleserving in myriad capacities to improve this nation and America's posture abroad. These impartial civil servants research vaccines, help families in the wake of hurricanes and deadly fires, and inspect our food[s] to ensure they are free of disease. They deserve protection from political interference from a president who would place preserving his power above following the law.

Congress must assert itself and ensure no future president can repeat what Trump has already tried to do once, and now is reportedly planning to do again. For nearly two years, I have been trying to warn congressional leadership that protecting our 139-year, merit-based, civil service is fundamental to protecting our democracy.

That is why I have introduced the Preventing a Patronage System Act. The bipartisan legislation, co-sponsored by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), was passed by the House this month but has yet to be taken up by the Senate.

Though Sens. Ben Cardin, D-Md., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Tim Kaine, D-Va., Alex Padilla, D-Calif., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Mark Warner, D-Va.,introducedthe legislation in the upper chamber on Tuesday, it would require GOP support to reach Biden's desk.

Link:
Not just Trump: Other 2024 Republicans back purge to replace career federal workers with loyalists - Salon

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Senate Republicans who supported the China competition bill are smarting after Sen. Joe Manchin announced a tax and spending deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, but they say they don't regret their votes.

"I think it's a lousy idea, it's going to make inflation worse," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Thursday of the package Manchin and Schumer plan to advance via a procedural tool called reconciliation. "There's a bad faith element to it."

But asked if he regrets voting for the China bill, Graham said, "It's not I regret, it's cause we, you know, that's a problem."

Earlier this month, Republicans were threatening to kill the China competition bill it was stuck in committee as long as Democrats continued working on passing a party-line social policy bill via reconciliation. But top Republicans, including Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, green-lighted the China bill after Manchin, D-W.Va., made a statement appearing to pour cold water on efforts to include climate, energy and tax provisions in the legislation.

Senate Republicans argued Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., was willing to "look you in the eye and lie to you" when he previously indicated he wouldn't agree to climate, energy and tax provisions in a reconciliation bill. (Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

HOUSE PASSES CHINA COMPETITION BILL, SENDS IT TO PRESIDENT BIDEN'S DESK

But just hours after the Senate cleared the China bill, also known as CHIPS, Wednesday, Manchin and Schumer, D-N.Y., announced a package with all those provisions, including more than $400 billion in spending and $739 billion in tax increases.

Cornyn lit into Manchin in a conversation with reporters Thursday, saying that such a move from Manchin and Democrats will "poison the well" of cooperation.

"It was a complete flip-flop. Everything he said he was against, now he's for," Cornyn said. "I just wonder what the transaction was that got him to yes."

I regret it when people want to look you in the eye and lie to you. But that's a lesson learned, and it won't happen again

BIDEN URGES CONGRESS TO PASS FAR FROM PERFECT MANCHIN DEAL: PUT POLITICS ASIDE, GET IT DONE

Cornyn said, "I regret it when people want to look you in the eye and lie to you. But that's a lesson learned, and it won't happen again." He also argued that the China bill and the reconciliation bill are "not connected," despite explicitly connecting them just weeks ago.

"The CHIPS bill is necessary to shore up an existential threat to our economy and our national security, and that stands on its own merit," Cornyn said.

Asked about how he connected them before, Cornyn said, "There was previously a statement that they weren't going to try to raise taxes. They misrepresented that. But that doesn't mean that the CHIPS bill is unimportant."

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, green-lighted fellow Republicans to vote for the Senate's China bill when he thought Democrats wouldn't move forward on climate, energy and tax legislation. But shortly after the China bill passed, Democrats did just that. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

MANCHIN, SCHUMER AGREE TO VASTLY PARED BACK VERSION OF BUILD BACK BETTER

Manchin, meanwhile, told reporters Thursday that he does not think he pulled a fast one on Republicans.

"No. You know, I sure hope they don't feel that way. I mean, I understand that they are, but I don't know why," he said.

The senator also defended the substance of the bill, and said Republicans should support it if they put aside partisanship.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, slammed the Manchin-Schumer reconciliation Thursday, but said he doesn't regret his vote on the Senate's China bill. (Alex Brandon/Pool/AFP via Getty Image)

WHAT'S IN THE MANCHIN-SCHUMER TAX HIKE AND CLIMATE CHANGE BILL?

"I would hope they would look at it with, let's say, with clear lenses," Manchin said.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, whose state is expected to be among the biggest beneficiaries of the China bill, slammed the Schumer-Manchin deal. But, he said, "CHIPS is really important to Ohio."

Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., said he's "very disappointed in the backsliding that's occurred." But he said he would not engage in a "hypothetical" about if he would have voted for the China bill if he knew Schumer and Manchin were about to announce a deal.

Democrats, meanwhile, say their bill will help the economy, decrease inflation and position the U.S. better for the 21st century.

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"The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will make a historic down payment on deficit reduction to fight inflation, invest in domestic energy production and manufacturing, and reduce carbon emissions by roughly 40% by 2030," Schumer and Manchin said in a joint statement.

"This is the action the American people have been waiting for.This addresses the problems of today high health care costs and overall inflation as well as investments in our energy security for the future," President Biden said of the bill in a statement Wednesday.

The Senate will likely begin floor proceedings on the Manchin-Schumer deal next week.

Fox News' Kelly Phares contributed to this report.

Tyler Olson covers politics for Fox News Digital. You can contact him at tyler.olson@fox.com and follow him on Twitter at @TylerOlson1791.

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Republicans who voted for China bill charge Manchin flip-flopped and lied on spending and tax hike measure - Fox News

The White House on Thursday accused Republican governors of using illegal immigrants as a political pawn as Washington, D.C., strains from scores of illegal immigrants being bused in from red border states.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser requested National Guard assistance to manage the more than 4,000 migrants she says have been bused to the city from Texas and Arizona.

In a July 22 letter to the White House, Ms. Bowser said the flood of migrants was a result of cruel political gamesmanship by Republican Govs, Greg Abbot and Doug Ducey, of Texas and Arizona respectively.

Our ability to assist people in need at this scale is very limited. Instead of rolling up their sleeves and working with the Biden/Harris Administration on a real solution, Governors Abbot and Ducey have decided to use desperate people to score political points, Ms. Bowser wrote.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the White House has been in regular touch with Ms. Bowser and her team, but would not weigh in on whether the National Guard would be activated as requested, and referred questions to the Pentagon.

But she echoed Ms. Bowsers comments, calling the Republican governors tactics shameful.

They are sending migrants to big cities on purpose using them as a political ploy, she said. Republicans are using migrants as a political tool. That is shameful and that is just wrong.

There is a legal process in place and they should follow it, she said.

Link:
White House accuses Republicans of political theater as immigrants arrive in Washington - Washington Times

Four national polls from the past week have shown Democrats favored by more voters to control Congress compared to Republicans, as many analysts and GOP leaders continue to express confidence that the liberal party will lose control of at least the House and possibly the Senate in the November midterm election.

Recent historical precedent shows that the party of the president in the White House generally loses House and Senate seats in the midterm of the president's first term. Democrats control both legislative chambers with slim majorities, meaning even just a few losses could shift control of Congress to Republicans. Meanwhile, polls consistently show President Joe Biden's approval rating at historic lows, which many see as a bad sign for Democrats' chances of winning in November.

Despite the grim expectations for Democrats, four separate polls published since last Friday have shown them with more support than Republicans among voters.

The Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service Battleground Civility Poll conducted by Lake Research Partners/The Tarrance Group and published Thursday showed Democrats narrowly ahead of Republicans in a generic congressional ballot by 2 points. The liberal party was backed by 48 percent of voters compared to 46 percent who supported the conservative party.

The survey included 1,000 registered voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 points.

Another poll conducted by USA Today/Suffolk University from July 22 to 25 showed Democrats 4 points ahead. That survey had Democrats backed by 44 percent of registered voters compared to 40 percent who supported Republicans. Notably, the same poll carried out in mid-June showed Democrats and Republicans tied at 40 percentmeaning Democrats have gained 4 points.

The survey included 1,000 registered voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.

Survey results from The Economist/YouGov from July 23 to 26 had Democrats 6 points ahead of Republicans. That poll showed the liberal party with 44 percent of support compared to 38 percent backing the conservative party. Again, that marked a shift in favor of Democrats. Earlier in July, the results were 43 percent for Democrats and 40 percent for Republicans, meaning Democrats gained 3 points.

The poll included 1,311 registered voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 points.

Polling by Politico/Morning Consult, which was carried out from July 22 to 24, showed Republicans trailing Democrats by 4 points. The liberal party was supported by 45 percent of registered voters and the conservative party had the backing of just 41 percent.

The survey included 2,006 registered voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent.

Notably, a poll conducted from July 20 to 22 by Trafalgar Group showed dramatically different results, with Republicans leading by 8 points. That survey had the GOP at 48 percent on the generic congressional ballot and Democrats at just 40 percent. It included 1,085 likely voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percent.

Generic congressional ballot polls are an imprecise way to gauge which party is more likely to win in November. Each House race is decided in an individual district with its own particular dynamics, while Senate races are decided state by state. The national sentiments captured in these polls do, however, suggest that a larger number of voters appear to favor Democrats over Republicans.

When it comes to the Senate, news and polling analysis site FiveThirtyEight's election model late on Tuesday showed that Democrats had a 52 percent chance of keeping the Senate majority, while the Republicans had a 48 percent chance of taking it. This marked the first time the model showed Democrats with an edge ahead of the November midterm.

As of Thursday afternoon, the FiveThirtyEight model predicted that Democrats may actually pick up three seats, bringing their total to 53 in the Senate. Republicans are predicted to likely lose three seats, dropping their total down to just 47.

Meanwhile, historical precedent is on Republicans' side.

In June 2021, the University of Virginia's Center for Politics released an analysis of midterm elections going back to 1946. That report showed that a president in power, on average, loses more than 26 House seats during the midterms. The largest loss has been 64 seats, while the largest gain has been just eight seats.

The analysis showed similar results in the Senate. On average, the president's party has lost more than three seats in the Senate during the midterms. The biggest loss has been 13 seats, while the largest gain has been just four seats.

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Democrats Beat Republicans for Control of Congress in 4 Polls in Past Week - Newsweek

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for July 28, 2022.

There's some tension among Washington's Republicans heading into the August 2 primary.

You'll recall that two of our state's GOP representatives voted to impeach former President Trump. That action proved divisive and has spurred challengers from their right. Washington's 3rd Congressional District is represented by Congresswoman Jamie Herrera Beutler; one of the lawmakers who voted for impeachment. She is being challenged by Joe Kent, a GOP primary candidate endorsed by Trump. Kent echoes false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

As do challengers to Republican Dan Newhouse, who represents Washington's 4th District. Newhouse is the second GOP Washingtonian who favored impeachment. Trump backs his challenger, failed gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp. But Newhouse does have GOP support, specifically from the Mainstream Republicans of Washington, a group that aims to offer a moderate GOP voice to counter more extreme rhetoric.

Mainstream Republicans of Washington just got a new leader Deanna Martinez of Moses Lake. Martinez tells KUOW that Republicans like her want their politicians "to speak the truth, even when it's a difficult truth." She is also bothered by some right-wing claims of a stolen election.

"The lack of integrity just ... it gets me. I can't vote for something like that," Martinez said.

As Northwest News Network's Austin Jenkins points out, questioning the validity of Washington voting system has been among local GOP rhetoric since before the 2020 election. This year, right-wing activists are planning to watch ballot drop off boxes to keep an eye out for fraud. Before the 2020 election, at least one local Republican was sowing doubt in Washington's vote-by-mail system. More on that here.

This all means there is plenty to watch for in our upcoming Aug. 2 primary election, which will offer hints at the mood of voters these days.

There's a new member of my home Cosmo a mutt going on about 6 months. He's rascally. But a few days back, he wasn't himself and not so rascally. In fact, he was shivering, not eating, and not moving around much at all. It was quite a scare and prompted a visit to the vet.

When going through all the environmental factors that could be at play, it came up that I had been taking Cosmo to a local lake with trails, where he sometimes takes a dip. Around this time of year, folks should start watching out for blue-green algae which can be toxic, especially to children and pets. The vet told me that if toxic algae was at play, there wasn't much they could do, "It just kills 'em."

Officials around Washington who watch our lakes and other bodies of water for toxic algae have a saying: "When in doubt, stay out." Not all algae is toxic, but it's best not to risk it. While it can show up year-round, it's common when water warms up. You can often observe a green or blue sheen on top of the water. But it's not always visible. KUOW's Natalie Newcomb has more on this, and what you should watch out for these days, here. And just in case I wasn't clear above keep your kids and dogs out of the water if you even remotely suspect algae.

As for Cosmo, he's fine. Part of me believes he did it all to get some attention while securing peanut butter treats via a couple weeks' worth of medication. And another part of me is starting to suspect he's actually a coyote masquerading as a domestic dog to live the good life.

If you're like me, your mind is doing a cost/health/benefit analysis for every fan or AC you turn on during this heat wave. I'm mentally preparing myself now for the inevitable electric bill shock that is coming.

The good news is that the region's electrical grid is holding up well to the heat, unlike during last year's heat dome, which kept knocking out power to my Northeast Seattle apartment. The grid is powering a lot of fans right now. Andrew Padula with Puget Sound Energy tells KUOW that fans cool a person, not a room. So if you want to lessen that utility bill, turn fans off when you leave a room. Also, as I mentioned yesterday, the temps are cooler in the mornings, around 60 degrees. That's an opportune time to rush cool air into the home before temps rise.

While many of us (myself included) have fans around us, there are plenty of people who are out in the heat, working. There are construction workers on the job, or crews dispatched anytime the power does go out. They turn the power back on and keep your fan going. KUOW's Kate Walter has more on this story here.

A ferry crashed into a structure at the Fauntleroy ferry dock in West Seattle Thursday morning, suspending service at the terminal. The MV Cathlamet crashed into a "dolphin" (a ferry structure, not an animal) immediately outside the dock. Service to Vashon Island and Southworth on the Kitsap Peninsula has been disrupted. (Courtesy of Timothy Couch)

The MV Cathlamet crashed into the Fauntleroy ferry dock in West Seattle this morning. The incident has disrupted service to Vashon Island and Southworth on the Kitsap Peninsula.

Like most of Washington's ferries, the MV Cathlamet draws its name from local Indigenous culture. According to Washington State Ferries, it has roots in "the Kathlamet tribe, the Chinook word calamet meaning 'stone,' was given to the tribe because its members lived along a rocky stretch of the Columbia River. A city also bears its name."

The city of Cathlamet is a small town on the shores of the Columbia River. Three movies have been filmed there. Long before the town existed in that spot, the tribe lived there. It's where they encountered Lewis and Clark who wrote about visiting with them.

Like many tribes in the 1850s, the Kathlamet ceded land to the U.S. government in exchange for money and other items. The tribe moved onto two islands in the middle of the Columbia River. Their language was similar to the Chinook people's, but was distinct. The last native speakers of their language reportedly died in the 1930s.

"In Mayim and Ken, we have two outstanding hosts at the beginning of their Jeopardy! hosting careers who connect with their own unique fanbases, new fans, and the traditional Jeopardy! viewer."

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The other Republicans in Washington state: Today So Far - KUOW News and Information