James Wallner, “Congress Has a Duty to Intervene in Trump’s Trade War,” The Bulwark:

“As the United States and China announce dueling tariffs and send the stock markets spiraling, millions of Americans have been impacted negatively by the conflict between the world’s two largest economies. And Congress is missing in action.”

Gopal Ratman, “Election assistance agency pleads for more money ahead of 2020,” Roll Call:

“Officials from the Election Assistance Commission, a federal agency responsible for overseeing voting machines used in thousands of jurisdictions across the country and helping states adopt good election administration practices, pleaded with lawmakers for more money to do their jobs ahead of the 2020 elections.”

Paul M. Krawzak, “Swagel officially chosen for CBO director, replacing Hall,” Roll Call:

“Phillip L. Swagel, an economist with extensive service in the George W. Bush administration, has been appointed the new director of the Congressional Budget Office.”

Jen Kirby, “There’s a record number of women vets in Congress. They just formed their own caucus,” Vox:

“The Servicewomen and Women Veterans Congressional Caucus, which officially launched Wednesday at a press conference outside the Capitol, is the first caucus dedicated to the issues that women service members and veterans face.”

Dan Mahaffee, “The historic battle between Congress and White House,” The Hill:

“At stake in this struggle is one of the most fundamental aspects of our democratic government, which is that Congress indeed has the authority to exercise legislative oversight over the executive branch.”

Lesley Clark and David Lightman, “Legislative graveyard? Tended by grim reaper? Welcome to Congress 2019,” McClatchy:

“Democrats accuse Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of presiding over a “legislative graveyard,” while McConnell happily calls himself the “Grim Reaper” — signs that political sniping is thriving on Capitol Hill, but not much else.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and other Democratic leaders used the word “graveyard” repeatedly Tuesday in a meeting with reporters to describe the state of legislation under a Republican-controlled Senate.”

Philip Klein, “Will the American political system long endure if victors can’t get much done?” Washington Examiner:

“One may take comfort in the fact that comparatively speaking, the U.S. has been remarkably stable over the past 230 years, and has navigated many economic and political shocks, and even a Civil War. On the other hand, no system of government has lasted forever, and there are powerful undercurrents in America that in the past have been associated with revolutions.”

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