News from the note…
A round up of the day’s news that might be of interest to you.
Consider this an OPEN THREAD, folks. Chat about any of the stories listed, share links to stories that caught your eye today, and generally have a good time discussing whatever you want.
Wave watch: How the special elections could predict the midterms
From Axios
Democrats have overperformed by an average of nine points in each of the eight special elections since President Trump took office — giving us a sense of what a blue wave might look like in November. This map shows the scenarios for the House races if the Democratic voter turnout resembles the special elections.
Trump names Douglas Fears as homeland security adviser
From The Hill
President Trump has tapped Rear Adm. Douglas Fears as his new homeland security adviser, the White House announced Friday.
Fears will replace former homeland security adviser Tom Bossert, who abruptly resigned in April after Trump’s new national security adviser, John Bolton, took office.
Fears has served for more than 30 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, and has been working as the National Security Council’s (NSC) acting homeland security adviser in recent weeks.
Trump breaks protocol and jolts markets by teasing secret jobs numbers
From Politico
President Donald Trump moved markets and busted norms on Friday morning with a tweet about the May employment report more than an hour before the numbers came out.
The post appeared to skirt strict rules on government employees not commenting on the highly sensitive economic data until an hour after its public release at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time.
Trump, who received the numbers Thursday night on Air Force One, did not include any of the jobs data in his tweet. But it appeared positive enough to suggest to Wall Street that a good number was coming Friday morning.
“Looking forward to seeing the employment numbers at 8:30 this morning,” the president tweeted at 7:21 a.m.
Scott Pruitt’s ongoing spending saga
From Axios
Reports that last year, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt bought 12 fountain pens for $1,560, and went to a University of Kentucky basketball game with his son with seats bought off a coal baron is just the latest in a saga of Scott Pruitt’s expenditures. His landlord’s husband also lobbied the EPA while Pruitt was living in the lobbyist’s wife’s apartment, even though he previously denied that activity.
The trend: These are the most recent revelations about Pruitt’s many indiscretions — including paying for a $43,000 phone booth, a pricey security detail, and spending taxpayer dollars on first-class travel.
Missouri’s Non-Compromise
From The Weekly Standard
After a grinding four-month scandal, the political career of Eric Greitens has come to a richly deserved end. On May 29, he announced his decision to step down as Missouri’s governor, effective June 1.
In 2016, many Republican insiders saw in Greitens the perfect candidate: a Rhodes scholar and former Navy SEAL, articulate and well connected, conservative and politically astute. He leaves office an embarrassment to his party and his state, bereft even of the capacity to acknowledge wrongdoing. His quick rise and fall brings to mind a simple principle of politics—that men of low character will eventually betray their principles, defile their offices, and humiliate their supporters.
‘The guy’s a f—ing yenta’: Trump’s loose lips draw fire
From Politico
President Donald Trump has a hard time keeping a secret.
His Friday morning tweet teasing a positive jobs report before its public release was just the latest of many cases where Trump has let slip something he wasn’t supposed to.
As commander in chief, Trump has the power to share any information he wants. But his norm-busting desire to dish details on everything from foreign policy to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe to a political rival’s cellphone number has alarmed critics who worry that he could disclose information that moves markets or even risks lives.
Political allies and former advisers concede that Trump has trouble holding his tongue — especially when he can boost his image or clinch an argument. The president’s flair for speaking freely, they say, was formed during his heyday as a New York tabloid fixture, when he straddled the worlds of entertainment and business and learned the power of gossip and illicit truths.
A Saturday Bonus Note from the “Your Laugh for the Day” File
Found: Roseanne Season 2, the Lost Episodes
By Rick Wilson
From The Daily Beast
What Americans don’t know is that the creative process for Season 2 of the new Roseanne show was already well under way. Sadly, they’ll never see the light of day. The episode summaries that were leaked to me today are a cultural treasure, a deep insight into Trumpmerica, and some Emmy-worthy television, believe me. Many people are saying it.
Once you are done laughing at Rick’s description of the lost episodes of Roseanne, you can tell us what you are up to on this beautiful day…
