Trump Rant Replaces Infrastructure Meeting as Impeachment Talk Swallows All of Politics

Trump ditches White House policy meeting to rant at reporters. When congressional Democratic leaders showed up at the White House on Wednesday afternoon, they were expecting to talk with President Donald Trump about U.S. infrastructure. The president had other plans.

With Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D–Calif.), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D–N.Y.), and several others ready for the meeting, Trump instead took to a Rose Garden podium for a stream-of-consciousness rant about Russia, obstruction, and Pelosi’s comments earlier in the day. That morning, the House speaker had said Trump had been part of a “coverup” regarding Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

Pelosi and other Democrats have been talking a lot about conducting their own investigation into whether Trump obstructed Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into the matter. But so far, Pelosi has rejected calls for impeachment—even as many others, including libertarian-leaning Rep. Justin Amash (R–Mich.), have been suggesting impeachment is appropriate.

“Whether or not they carry the big i-word out, I can’t imagine that, but they probably would because they do whatever they have to do,” Trump said during his impromptu press conference yesterday. The Washington Post reports:

He stayed about 10 minutes, almost all of it a monologue. He took two brief questions and turned to go, ignoring others.

Meanwhile, the infrastructure meeting went on without him. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway, among others, remained in the room as Pelosi did some venting of her own, according to three people familiar with the session, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details of the meeting.

Your periodic reminder that current polling numbers mean nothing:

530 DAYS TO GO:
2008 Dem: Clinton led by 11.2 points.
2008 GOP: Giuliani led by 7.5 points.
2012 GOP: Romney led by 9 points.
2016 Dem: Clinton led by 54.8 points.
2016 GOP: Bush led by 1.8 points.https://t.co/OLynKLRaJh

— Who led? (@LedPast) May 23, 2019

House Republicans continue to be triggered by one of their clubhouse members expressing a dissenting view:

I am calling on our good friend @RepMarkMeadows to promptly remove @justinamash from the @freedomcaucus, the central body of Tea Party activism in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Amash no longer represents our agenda or values and has no role in this Caucus.#TeaParty #MAGA

— Michael Johns (@michaeljohns) May 21, 2019

Libertarians are doing vital work on occupational licensing reform:

Fun fact: In a bunch of states, if you fall behind on student loans, you lose your license to work. (many repealed this year thanks to @RSI @TheFGA @IJ and many others) https://t.co/mlZXvqrsLi https://t.co/7H1R5YBCHu

— Shoshana Weissmann, Sloth Committee Chair (@senatorshoshana) May 23, 2019

QUICK HITS

• Celebrity lawyer and erstwhile #Resistance hero Michael Avenatti has been charged with defrauding former client Stormy Daniels out of $300,000.
• Florida prosecutors are appealing a ruling that secret surveillance footage taken inside the Orchids of Asia Day Spa is not admissible in the state’s case against Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft.
• More evidence that poor nutrition is a major contributor to cancer.
• People are panicking about teens having less sex?
• Cory Booker: Pay attention to me, pay attention to meeeeeee.
• Arizona won’t let incarcerated people read a book critical of mass incarceration.
• Texas moves to bring more armed cops into its schools.
• Presidential candidate Joe Biden’s recent apology tour “noticeably stopped short of issuing any apologies,” writes Zachary Siegel.
• RIP kitchen tables.