The Atlantic Politics & Policy Daily: Starting the Year With 2020 Vision
A Massachusetts senator and a Washington governor have thrown their hats into the ring.
What We’re Following Today
Welcome to 2019. The government is in its 12th day of the partial shutdown, on the eve of the 116th Congress, and already scrambling with the beginnings of the 2020 presidential cycle. Here’s what we’ve been keeping an eye on:
They’re Running: Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren announced she’s entering the 2020 presidential race, and The Atlantic’s Edward-Isaac Dovere exclusively reported on Wednesday that Washington Governor Jay Inslee will likely run as well. More below on the emerging 2020 candidates, from The Atlantic.
Shutdown, Day 12: Nearly two weeks into the shutdown, with the worst effects of the closure yet to come, neither political party has changed its position on border-wall funding. As The Atlantic’s David Graham writes, the fight over the shutdown might only be getting started.
New Year, New Congress: The 116th Congress will see many additions, including newly minted Republican Senator Mitt Romney, and a Democrat-controlled “Climate Crisis” committee in the House. More below, from The Atlantic.
A Tweetstorm: As Americans celebrated the holidays, President Donald Trump brooded, watched TV, and tweeted—75 times between Christmas Eve and Wednesday morning.
“I Don’t Want to Be Identified With That”: And finally, some high-powered evangelical donors are rethinking their relationship with Republicanism, The Atlantic’s Emma Green reports.
2020 Watch
10 New Factors That Will Shape the 2020 Democratic Primary (Edward-Isaac Dovere)
“For all the Democrats still gushing about Obama, many also see his presidency as full of missed opportunities: What if, for example, he’d included a public-insurance option in Obamacare? What if he had been harder on Wall Street after the crash? What if he hadn’t goaded Trump that time at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner?” → Read on.
Elizabeth Warren Doesn’t Want to Be Hillary 2.0 (Edward-Isaac Dovere)
“According to Warren associates who’ve spent the past year with her preparing for her bid, she sees the road ahead as a long, hard slog, where she puts together enough of a coalition between Clinton and Sanders voters to win.” → Read on.
Jay Inslee Is Betting He Can Win the Presidency on Climate Change (Edward-Isaac Dovere)
“His campaign, such as it is, seems a lot more seat-of-the-pants than the machines Senators Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and Kamala Harris have slowly assembled. For now, he seems to be counting on being able to stand out on his record—and preparing for future battles with Trump by testing out zingers like ‘I wish nothing but the best for Donald Trump, including having the top bunk.’” → Read on.
New Year, New Congress
Mitt Romney’s Noisy Arrival in Trump’s Washington (McKay Coppins)
“This is not how Romney envisioned his arrival in Washington going when he launched his Senate bid back in February.” → Read on.
Democrats Are Establishing a New House ‘Climate Crisis’ Committee (Robinson Meyer)
“But the new committee arrives to a delicate family situation in the Democratic Party. A number of activists on the party’s left have greeted the announcement with frustration.” → Read on.
Perspectives from The Atlantic
What Trump's Draft Deferments Reveal (Amy J. Rutenberg)
“Trump may have exploited a system to obtain a medical deferment he did not deserve. It’s possible that his expectation of draft avoidance led him to seek out a sympathetic medical professional. If so, his actions would have been morally suspect, but not unusual.” → Read on.
What the Press Won’t Tell You About Elizabeth Warren’s Presidency (Peter Beinart)
“The better explanation for why Warren attracts disproportionate conservative criticism, and has disproportionately high disapproval ratings, has nothing to do with her progressive economic views or her dalliance with DNA testing. It’s that she’s a woman.” → Read on.
The Path to Give California 12 Senators, and Vermont Just One (Eric W. Orts)
“There’s a better, more elegant, constitutional way out. Let’s allocate one seat to each state automatically to preserve federalism, but apportion the rest based on population.” → Read on.
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