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The California Republican Partys board voted Friday evening to urge Chad Mayes to step down from his position as leader of the partys Assembly caucus, continuing the bitter fallout over last months vote to extend the state cap-and-trade program.

Mayes was one of eight Republicans, seven of them in the Assembly, who helped extend Californias premierprogram on climate change. He defended his decision as a necessary step to increase support for Republicansin a state wherevoters overwhelmingly back taking action against global warming, but he angered conservative members of the party who viewed the legislation as bad policy and bad politics.

Harmeet Dhillon, one of two of the states representatives to the Republican National Committee, said Mayes had failed to protect the integrity of the partys position on taxation and overregulation in California.

Thirteen members of the party board, including Chairman Jim Brulte, voted in favor of the motion calling on the Yucca Valley Republican to resign as caucus leader. Seven voted against, and there was one abstention.

Mayes said he has no intention of stepping down, and he believes he has enough support to remain in his position.

I am not going to capitulate," he said. "Im going to continue to keep pushing forward.

While Mayes can be removed from his post only by a vote of his caucus, Friday nights decision by the state board continues an extraordinary rift between party leadership and one of its top lawmakers over the politics of climate change.

Party officials in two dozen counties have already taken similar steps, representing a groundswell of opposition to Mayes.

The Assembly Republican caucus could meet as early as Monday, when lawmakers return from their summer recess. Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) announced her candidacy on Thursday, and Assemblyman Jim Obernolte (R-Big Bear Lake) has privately expressed interest.

Most of the 25 caucus members contacted by The Times did not respond to questions about the leadership struggle, making it difficult to determine the level of support for Mayes or his challengers.

Before Friday night's vote, Mayes made a presentation to the state party board saying his decision helped prevent worse regulations on California businesses and could even undermine the bullet train, a priority of Gov. Jerry Brown that's opposed by Republicans The final deal on cap and trade, which requires companies to pay to pollute,included a proposal for next year's ballotthat would allow Republicans to gain more control over how the program's revenue is spent.

Mayes has also insisted that reaching out to non-Republican voters is important in California if the party is going to return to power in the Legislature.

Change is not an option, his presentation said. It is an imperative.

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California politics updates: Assembly Republicans asked to choose a new leader on Monday, a new plan to split ... - Los Angeles Times

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner signaled support for state legislation that would protect immigrants in the country illegally from being detained solely because of their immigration status, but he held off on promising to sign the bill.

The governor's comments during a Friday radio appearance were the first time he's publicly offered his views of the measure. Rauner said he would be making an announcement about the bill "in the next couple days," and that he was "very excited."

"I think it seems very reasonable," Rauner said of the legislation, which would prohibit state and local police in Illinois from arresting or detaining a person solely because of their immigration status, or based on a federal immigration detainer. The law would, however, allow law enforcement officials to hold someone if a judge has issued a warrant.

Supporters of the legislation, including immigrant advocates and the business community, have been pushing Rauner to sign the bill, which has been on his desk since late June. But the governor also has faced intense lobbying in opposition from Republican Party's conservative wing.

Retired Exelon Chairman John Rowe, who heads the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition, said he had spoken with the governor Thursday to push for his signature.

"The governor said, 'I want to sign this bill, I believe in this bill but I need to see enough support from the law enforcement community so it doesn't provoke the whole sanctuary city issue,'" Rowe said during a Friday news conference with Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.

Appearing on WBEZ 91.5-FM's "Morning Shift," Rauner noted that the bill is "supported by law enforcement, it's supported by the business community, it's supported by the immigration community. I think it seems very reasonable."

The immigration issue has been a tricky one for Rauner, who has tended to stay away from national political issues that could attract the attention of or link him to President Donald Trump.

Rauner has consistently avoided directly responding to reporters' questions about Chicago's "sanctuary city" status, highlighted most recently in criticism raised by Attorney General Jeff Sessions as well as by Mayor Rahm Emanuel's efforts to sue the Justice Department to ensure the city would not be denied certain federal grants because of its declaration on immigration.

Instead, Rauner has said the nation as a whole should have a comprehensive immigration policy rather than having the country dotted by municipalities setting up their own rules and procedures.

The issue could figure into Rauner's 2018 re-election bid, as the governor will need the support of Downstate voters, some of whom want to see immigration policy that cracks down on those who are in the country illegally.

Rick Pearson and Monique Garcia

State Sen. Kyle McCarter, a Republican from Lebanon outside St. Louis, said that if Rauner does not veto the bill "this could be the last straw" for Downstate voters who have backed the governor.

"There was a reason the president won so big in downstate Illinois, this is one of those issues that we stood with the president on," McCarter said. "I understand it's a difficult decision for the governor to make, but he's going to have to decide if this should be the priority, or meeting the basic needs of the legal citizens of Illinois."

McCarter said he has reached out to the governor's chief of staff to encourage Rauner to veto the bill.

"I think I can speak for downstate Illinois and most Trump supporters, this isn't the direction that I want the country to go or the state to go," he said. "We are a country founded by immigrants, but those were legal immigrants, and I think the last thing Illinois wants is to see a sanctuary state, and this moves us in that direction."

There are also concerns that the legislation could put Illinois crosswise with the federal government and in the crosshairs of the Trump administration's attempted crack down on sanctuary cities.

Also critical of the bill is Rep. John Cabello, a Republican of Mexican heritage who is a Rockford police detective and also co-chair of the Illinois Trump Victory fund. Cabello said the measure puts police in the position of choosing whether to uphold federal law or state law.

"We can't cherry-pick which laws we are going to enforce, it doesn't matter if this bill is signed into law or not, law enforcement will do what we have to do," he said. "I think this bill is symbolic, no law enforcement officer is going to follow this bill."

The bill passed with mostly Democratic support. In the Senate, five Republicans voted for the Trust Act. In the House, only one Republican voted for the bill.

Supporters of the legislation argue that it will help build trust between police and the immigrant community, and will give immigrants confidence that they can come forward to help police solve crimes without having to worry about being punished because of their immigration status. Cabello disputed that notion.

"If people can't trust law enforcement without this bill, they are not going to trust law enforcement with this bill," he said.

mcgarcia@chicagotribune.com

kgeiger@chicagotribune.com

Excerpt from:
Rauner facing pressure from Downstate Republicans to veto 'very reasonable' immigration bill - Chicago Tribune

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and other prominent Republicans have faulted President Donald Trumps response to the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., but there was little criticism and even some praise for Trumps handling of the issue when more than 400 activists, donors and candidates gathered Thursday for a GOP dinner outside Boca Raton.

There has been some chaos and turmoil of late, Palm Beach County Republican Chairman Michael Barnett acknowledged to the crowd at the partys annual Lobsterfest event at the Polo Club. But, Barnett added, God is on his throne, Republicans are in charge and Mr. Trump, our president, is in the Oval Office doing one heck of a job.

Part-time Palm Beach resident Trump initially blamed many sides for the violence in Charlottesville, then on Monday specifically condemned the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups.

On Tuesday, however, Trump drew fire for saying in a news conference that theres blame on both sides and that there were some very fine people among those protesting the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Barnett, the only black county GOP chairman in Florida and the states only black delegate at the 2016 Republican convention, said Trump has satisfactorily condemned prejudice and bigotry.

Hes right to criticize both sides, where the hates coming from, Barnett said in an interview. Hes, in my mind, clearly condemned the hate thats being spewed by these neo-Nazis, these Klansmen who wave the Confederate flag. I dont know what more people could ask in the way of a response.

U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Palm Coast, credited Trump with leadership and said the presidents both sides remarks dont dilute his criticism of white supremacists.

I think there is no place anywhere that the color of somebodys skin should equate to their value and I think that the president shows leadership when he is willing to call out in the face of adversity, of people yelling at him that there are people to blame, there are bad actors on both sides. That shouldnt take away from the neo-Nazis, the hate groups that should never be accepted by anybody. But it shows leadership to be able to stand up to that kind of a front from people yelling at him for calling out people that are bad on any side, Mast said.

On a night when conservative activist and guerilla videographer James OKeefe was the keynote speaker and decried the rotten media, many Lobsterfest attendees accused the media of distorting Trumps words.

I think his presidencys going great. He just has unprecedented attacks by a media that hates him, said Palm Beach County Republican State Committeeman Joe Budd, one of Trumps earliest local supporters.

Said Budd: When he made the statement there were good people on both sides, in context, both sides of what? A protest. That doesnt mean there were good people in the neo-Nazis, white supremacists. There werent any good people in there. But there were good people in the protest for keeping the statue up and there were good people in the protest for tearing the statue down. Thats what the good people on both sides simply means.

Palm Beach County Commissioner Steven Abrams, however, said he wishes Trump had stuck with his good statement from Monday.

At the (Tuesday) press conference, he should have said I stand by my statement on the previous day period, Abrams said.

Agriculture Commissioner and gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam avoided critiquing Trumps response to Charlottesville.

Ive been very clear in my own statements that hate has no place in our society. From the white supremacists, from the anti-Semitic movement, hate and violence wont be tolerated. And I think its important that all people in leadership positions be very clear about that. Thats why Ive been crystal clear about it, Putnam said in an interview.

Asked if Trump has been clear about it, Putnam said: Well, I believe that its important that he be clear and I certainly have been clear in my own statements about that.

Another potential candidate for governor, U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Palm Coast, also emphasized the need for clarity while avoiding direct criticism of Trump.

His statement on Monday was strong. Obviously, weve gotten into some other issuesFrom my perspective I want to be clear that we want to treat actions like that as terrorism, we want a really strong penalty, and we also want to make clear that those folks do not represent any views that are acceptable, DeSantis said.

Everybodys ripping the president. Hes the most pro-Israel president in my lifetime. The idea that hes sympathetic to some neo-Nazi, I just dont believe that, DeSantis added.

Read more:
Republicans rip media, praise Trump Charlottesville leadership - MyPalmBeachPost

Usually when politicians get into trouble for making racially insensitive or divisive comments, they rush to get minority pols to defend them. It is unclear whether Donald Trump even cares about his rapidly deteriorating image (from a pretty low starting point) on matters of racial justice after his recantation of a delayed and tinnily insincere-sounding condemnation of the white rioters of Charlottesville. We dont know if hes reached out to any black Republican pols or opinion leaders to get for some backup (though theres no sign of it so far). But we do know hes not getting much help from that quarter.

Tim Scott of South Carolina was the seventh African-American ever elected to the Senate, and the first from the South since Reconstruction. As a genuine conservative he is a precious resource for the GOP. And while he was not a red-hot MAGA man in 2016, Scott endorsed Trump before the GOP convention, didnt withdraw the endorsement when the Access Hollywood video broke (though he did call it disgusting), and has voted with the White House well over 90 percent of the time this year. So whats he saying right now?

In an interview with VICE News on Thursday, he condemned the neo-Nazis and white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville and questioned the presidents moral authority following the tragedy. Im not going to defend the indefensible [Trumps] comments on Monday were strong. His comments on Tuesday started erasing the comments that were strong. What we want to see from our president is clarity and moral authority. And that moral authority is compromised when Tuesday happened. Theres no question about that.

And theres also this: Scott added thatthe president hasnt reached out to him to discuss Charlottesville.

Whatever else it represents, that is political malpractice.

How about the two African-American Republicans in the House? It doesnt get any better.

Now to be sure, Will Hurd of Texas un-endorsed Trump over the Access Hollywood remarks, and Mia Love of Utah (like many Utah Republicans) never even said shed vote for him. But they are bashing him now with abandon. Heres Hurd:

Rep. Will Hurd called on President Donald Trump to apologize for his latest remarks on recent violence sparked by a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Hurd, who is African-American, is also one of the most vulnerable House Republicans.

I dont think anybody should be looking at getting props from a grand dragon of the KKK as any kind of sign of success, Hurd said.

Love spoke at an anti-racism event in Salt Lake City where speakers definitely did not view both sides as responsible for what happened in Charlottesville.

Even on Fox News, an African-American Republican, Gianno Caldwell, who was called on specifically to defend the president, tearfully denounced him instead:

I come today with a very heavy heart. Last night I couldnt sleep at all because President Trump, our president, has literally betrayed the conscience of our country

Mr. President, good people dont pal around with Nazis and white supremacists. Maybe they dont consider themselves white supremacists and Nazis, certainly they hold those views. This has become very troubling for anyone to come on any network and defend what President Trump did and said at that press conference yesterday is completely lost and the potential to be morally bankrupt.

A quick look around medialand shows at least one prominent African-American conservative, syndicated columnist Star Parker, willing to go to the mats for Trump with respect to Charlottesville. But its unlikely she made many converts for her or Trumps cause with this argument:

Whatsreally interesting and reallyincredible irony here is thesame people that are demandingthat the Confederate flagcomes down are the same peoplethat are insisting that therainbow flag goes up.

These two flags represent theexact same thing: that certain people groups arenot welcome here.So if Nancy Pelosi wants tosay that were going to startshutting down first amendmentrights of a certain group ofpeople, then what what happens next timehomosexuals want to walkthrough an American city andprotest and counter-protesterscome out?

Yeah, white supremacists and LGBTQ folk, throw em in a bag like Skittles, shake em up, and dump em out, and you cant tell one from the other.

Perhaps Trump thinks he is his own best defender in this crisis. Lord knows what well see next from his Twitter account. But if hes going to go out of his way to defend the very fine people fighting for the neo-Confederate cause, the small but psychologically important set of African-American Republicans is crucial. Hes not giving them much to work with at the moment.

While Bannons rivals in the administration will be happy to see him go, he could cause the White House immense problems if he asserts independence.

President Trumps controversial senior strategist, one of the administrations most divisive figures, is gone.

A strategists one brilliant insight had become obsolete.

Under President Trump, infrastructure cant catch a break.

The 2012 GOP nominee unambiguously condemns Trumps remarks about Charlottesville and calls for an extremely unlikely retraction and apology.

The First Lady reportedly operates her Twitter account herself.

In 2017 alone, there have been at least nine such attacks around the world, resulting in nearly 40 deaths.

Its a pretty long list.

He is, if nothing else, a genius at playing to Americas most alarming tendencies.

The carbon tax actually stands a better chance of happening now than ever before.

Mattis and Tillerson tried to clean up after his gaffe. But despite Trumps bluster, opening fire would be catastrophic.

Attackers plowed into crowds in Barcelona and Cambrils in Spains worst attack in a more than a decade.

The 21st Century Fox CEO and son of Rupert Murdoch says Trumps reaction was concerning.

Republicans need the president to focus on their daunting fall agenda, not stirring up a new controversy.

With rare exceptions, African-American Republicans are giving the presidents comments on Charlottesville a wide berth, or condemning them.

By going soft on neo-Nazis, Trump is doing the Democrats job for them: highlighting an issue that splits the GOP base from the rest of America.

During the Jim Crow era, southern states sought recognition in the Capitol for ex-Confederates and other proud racists. That may finally be corrected.

Trumps response to breaking news of a possible terrorist attack in Spain is to endorse a false tale of U.S. torture and religious insults.

A democracy that retains monuments to men who committed treason in defense of slavery is one that has changed its history, not learned from it.

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Black Republicans Do Not Have Donald Trump's Back - New York Magazine

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. President Trumps increasing alienation from fellow Republicans and the business community is further imperiling the partys top priority for the remainder of the year: cutting taxes and simplifying the byzantine tax code.

Congressional GOP leaders are hoping to recover from their failed effort to replace the Affordable Care Act and salvage their legislative agenda by unifying the party around tax reform, but Trump has spent recent weeks publicly antagonizing key lawmakers and fanning controversy with his response to last weekends racist violence in Charlottesville.

Several key lawmakers said Trump will need to focus on selling the GOPs tax plan when Congress returns in September, and they worried that the difficult job of passing a massive tax package will be nearly impossible without the president playing a key role.

At the end of the day, President Trump will be incredibly crucial to the success of this, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Tex.) told reporters here Wednesday. Tax reform is the signature issue of this presidency.

Brady traveled to the Santa Ynez Mountains near Santa Barbara this week to borrow some inspiration from the last president to rewrite the nations tax laws, Ronald Reagan. He and other Republican Congress members stood in front of Reagans Rancho del Cielo property and promised to finish their own legislation by years end a pledge Brady said can succeed only if Trump gets on board and stays on board.

President Trump unveiled his tax plan on April 26, after months of pledging to make drastic changes to the tax code. The Post's Damian Paletta explains why tax reform is so complicated. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

But the call for presidential support comes at a nadir of trust and cooperation between Trump and GOP members in Congress. In the hours leading up to Wednesdays event, corporate executives and Republican lawmakers were publicly distancing themselves from the president because of his controversial statements assigning blame for violent clashes at a rally in Charlottesville to both the white supremacists who organized the event and those who showed up to protest their presence.

The rush of criticism was the latest in a series of increasingly tense standoffs between Trump and his GOP colleagues. One week earlier, the president launched a multiday assault on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for failing to pass legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

In recent weeks, Republican members have been forced to decide whether they can separate the parts of Trumps presidency that offend them and their constituents from the reality that his support is likely to be key to achieving their long-sought legislative goals.

While some Republicans say they have grown accustomed to Trumps often erratic approach to politics, many others are frustrated.

Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), who along with Reps. Peter J. Roskam (R-Ill.) and David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) accompanied Brady on the trip, said that while lawmakers were used to working in a very distracting environment, the push for tax reform would require Trump to help refocus attention away from day-to-day scandal and back to policy details in a way he never did during the health-care debate.

This is on a whole different scale, Curbelo said. The committees are still going to do their work, and its not like were just going to sit around and talk about issues like this all of the time, but it certainly makes it harder to make a strong case for tax reform to the public because nobody is talking about it.

Some outside groups have attempted to step into the void left by Trump on tax reform. A number of conservative organizations, including the American Action Network, have launched public relations campaigns touting the benefits of tax reform to voters. The groups are spending millions on advertising, public polling and lobbying to help create momentum for a tax package.

On Thursday, AAN released focus-group data that it said showed GOP and independent- leaning voters in Nebraska and California want to see Republicans talk about tax reform. Those surveyed were happy with messages about simplifying the tax code and wanted lawmakers to specifically illustrate how reform would grow the economy and empower job creation, AAN said.

But lawmakers have struggled to identify concrete examples of policies that would achieve those goals, including during the event on Wednesday. From the mortgage interest deduction to charitable giving to business expense write-offs, Brady said the plan was still in development and depended on cooperation with Trump.

We continue to work with the White House, including the president, and the Senate on the details and design of this tax reform, Brady said when pressed on a plan for taxing international corporations. Well continue to do that through August and after we return as well.

But congressional Republicans and the White House have yet to agree on much other than the broad strokes of a tax plan.

Instead, Republicans spent a majority of the year locked in a battle over the few specific policies identified in a House tax reform blueprint that was released last year. White House officials and Senate leaders were deeply skeptical of a plan from House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) that would have cut taxes on exports in an effort to boost U.S. manufacturers.

Ryan and his allies said their proposal would have created more than a $1trillion in new revenue over 10 years that could be used to offset the cost of lowering tax rates for businesses and individuals. But the plan was met with fierce resistance from key stakeholders, such as retailers, who rely on imports for their business, forcing Ryan to abandon the plan late last month when he joined with Brady, McConnell, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) to release a joint statement of unity on taxes.

Trump has failed to build on this show of unity and has instead picked fights with McConnell and other Senate Republicans while stoking public controversies over race.

Brady said Wednesday that he personally could separate Trumps controversies from the GOP-wide goal of passing a tax bill. I still think the president has the ability to refocus on tax reform, he said. I look to see him pivot to tax reform and jobs and make this case nationwide.

That pivot was further complicated when Trump was forced to dissolve a pair of corporate advisory groups after a number of CEO members resigned over the presidents comments about the Charlottesville protests.

Business leaders are distancing themselves from Trump, making their role in advancing his agenda awkward at best. They are now likely to focus even more of their efforts on working with Congress in hopes they can enact tax cuts a desire lawmakers said could help the debate transcend the hard feelings between CEOs and the White House.

Congressional leaders also are holding out hope that the outside pressure will help keep rank-and-file Republicans focused on taxes and eager to avoid mistakes that led to the dramatic failure of their promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Im of the mind of the stumbles on health care put a lot of pressure on members to get to yes, Roskam said, arguing Republican lawmakers see the necessity of nailing down a victory.

I think most members of Congress are going to say to themselves, I need to go back to a constituency and Ive got to deliver on health care or taxes, Roskam said. The notion of not getting either one of those things done is not a pleasant prospect.

Brady and his colleagues who assembled in the California mountains this week said they believed the party would unite on taxes in the coming months.

Weve got a responsibility as leaders to say, Okay, lets rub some dirt on our problems and move forward and figure this out, Roskam said. Its bigger than any president.

Read more at PowerPost

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Republicans worry tax reform could be victim of their worsening relationship with Trump - Washington Post