What We’re Following Today
It’s Tuesday, May 28.
CORRECTION: Our Friday newsletter said that Donald Trump had announced the U.S. was sending 1,500 troops to Iran. It should have said that the U.S. is sending 1,500 troops to the Middle East, amid tensions with Iran.
‣ A parade of disaster weather continues: Tornadoes hit Ohio and Indiana, killing one, and the Midwest and parts of the South face severe flooding.
‣ President Trump returned from his four-day state visit to Japan, during which he said he was not bothered by North Korean short-range missile tests, which Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had described as “of great regret.”
‣ A disaster-aid bill supporting areas affected by hurricanes and wildfires failed in the House a second time after another Republican lawmaker, Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, objected. (The Senate passed the bill last week.)
Here’s what else we’re watching:
You Can’t Drain the Swamp: The Democratic presidential candidates Michael Bennet and Elizabeth Warren have proposed a lifetime ban on members of Congress becoming lobbyists once they leave office. Currently, former senators have to wait two years before becoming lobbyists, and former representatives have to wait just one. Lobbying is the single most popular career choice for retiring members, and it’ll be nearly impossible to persuade lawmakers “to permanently cut off a lucrative source of their own retirement income,” Russell Berman argues. “Good luck with that.”