The Atlantic Politics & Policy Daily: Strzok in the Middle

-Written by Elaine Godfrey (@elainejgodfrey)

Today in 5 Lines

• During a contentious hearing before the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees, embattled FBI agent Peter Strzok denied accusations that his private political views influenced his official duties overseeing the Russia investigation.

• President Trump released a letter he received from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in which Kim praised Trump’s leadership. “Great progress being made!” Trump tweeted.

• Trump arrived in the U.K., where he met with Prime Minister Theresa May and attended a black-tie dinner. He’s expected to have tea with Queen Elizabeth II on Friday at Windsor Castle.

• The Trump administration said that they have reunited 57 of the 103 children under the age of 5 who had been separated from their parents at the U.S. border. The 46 remaining children have been deemed “ineligible” for return.

• The federal government reopened the investigation into the death of 14-year-old Emmett Till, 63 years after his murder.

Today on The Atlantic

• The Nats’ Biggest Fan: Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh reportedly racked up between $60,000 and $200,000 in debt buying baseball tickets. How did he do it—and how did he pay it off so quickly? (David A. Graham)
• ‘A Policy of Malign Neglect’: The Trump administration has turned its back on one of America’s greatest allies when it’s most in need of U.S. help, argues David Frum.
• Enough With ‘Abolish ICE’: Conor Friedersdorf lays out an immigration message that Democrats can win on.
• Make America Weak Again: America’s strength on the world stage rests in five different areas, writes Amy Zegart, and President Trump is weakening all of them except one.

Snapshot

What We’re Reading

Third-Party Quirks: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez beat longtime Democratic Representative Joe Crowley in New York’s primary last month. But thanks to a technicality, Crowley will still appear on the ballot. (Lisa W. Foderaro, The New York Times)

Can the Senate Curb Trump’s Trade Powers?: Senate Republicans on Wednesday passed a symbolic rebuke of President Trump’s recent tariffs. But several lawmakers said they wouldn’t vote for the same bill if it counted. (Haley Byrd, The Weekly Standard)

‘If We Don’t Have a Vote, Then What Good Are We?’: A push to limit the powers of superdelegates has sparked infighting in the Democratic Party. Here’s what’s going on. (David Siders, Politico)

Differing Visions: Republicans have introduced a federal paid leave policy that Democrats think doesn’t go far enough. Ivanka Trump—a self-fashioned champion of the cause—agrees. (Natalie Gontcharova, Refinery29)

Visualized

Trade Wars, Explained: Here’s how the newly imposed tariffs on Chinese goods will affect the United States. (Sophia Myszkowski and Nicolas Pollock, The Atlantic)