The Atlantic Politics & Policy Daily: Gone DeSantis

Written by Elaine Godfrey (@elainejgodfrey)

Today in 5 Lines

• The Trump administration announced the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organization office in Washington, D.C., as part of a series of punitive measures designed to force the Palestinians to return to negotiations with Israel.

• In a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan, Florida Representative Ron DeSantis said he’s resigning from Congress to focus on his gubernatorial campaign.

• White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the administration is planning a second summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

• As Hurricane Florence approaches, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster ordered the evacuation of the state's coastline, a directive that affects 1 million people. The category 4 storm is expected to make landfall by the end of the week.

• Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he plans to increase the number of immigration judges by 50 percent by the end of 2018.

Today on The Atlantic

• ‘Un-American’: Some pundits have suggested that Vice President Mike Pence wrote the anonymous New York Times op-ed criticizing the Trump administration. Pence said he’d take a lie-detector test to prove he didn’t. (Andrew Kragie)

• He Who Must Be Convinced: If Democrats regain control of the House, Jerry Nadler would become the new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, the panel that would consider articles of impeachment. But he’ll have to be convinced first. (Russell Berman)

• ‘We Represent the Same Thing’: In 1968, gold-medal Olympian Tommie Smith held up his fist in protest during an award ceremony. Smith sees a common thread between his protest and Colin Kaepernick’s. (Tik Root)

• Merely a Band-Aid: After being accused of sexual misconduct, CBS chairman Les Moonves is leaving the company. It’s a start, but it’s not enough, writes Megan Garber.

Snapshot

What We’re Reading

What Would a Primary Challenge to Trump Look Like?: GOP operatives have broken it down into two potential scenarios. (Gabriel Debenedetti, New York)

The Consequences of Non-Action: There is a lesson to be learned from the Syrian Civil War, argues Noah Rothman: “The U.S. cannot stay out of destabilizing conflicts in strategically valuable parts of the world, no matter how hard it tries.” (Commentary)

‘Centrists Don’t Exist’: Democrats have long sacrificed their ideals in favor of centrist positions, writes Hamilton Nolan. But “[t]here are no centrists. There are only scared idealists.” (Splinter)

Bursting Their Bubbles: New research suggests that forcing people to step outside their political “bubbles” might actually increase partisanship. (Carolyn Y. Johnson, The Washington Post)

Visualized

Following Florence: Here’s where the category 4 storm is expected to make landfall later this week. (The Washington Post)