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MORNING MESSAGE
Jeff Bryant
The charter school industry took a drubbing in the California governor’s race, where its preferred candidate Antonio Villaraigosa drew only 13 percent of the vote. The charter school industry created an advocacy to take in huge sums of money from wealthy contributors for Villaraigosa. But the former mayor of Los Angeles’ statewide prospects only sank, even as the millions rolled in.
Mulvaney Disbands CFPB Advisory Council
Mulvaney effectively fires CFPB advisory council. NPR: “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues to come under fire by the man running the watchdog agency — Mick Mulvaney, the interim director appointed by President Trump. In his latest action, Mulvaney moved on Wednesday to effectively dismantle the agency’s consumer advisory council. “It’s quite clear that we’ve been fired,” said Kathleen Engel, a law professor at Suffolk University and a member of the CFPB’s Consumer Advisory Board. The board is designed to help consumer groups work with the CFPB to identify problems facing Americans who are treated unfairly by financial firms. Previously, when he was in Congress, Mulvaney sponsored legislation to abolish the bureau. In April, he said he wanted to shut down public access to a popular government database at the CFPB. In February, he indicated he wanted to scale back the CFPB’s role as a watchdog. And under Mulvaney, the CFPB delayed a new payday lending regulation and dropped an investigation into one payday lender that contributed to his campaign.”
ICE Arrests 144 OH Landscapers
ICE arrests 114 workers in immigration raid at Ohio. WaPo: “A swarm of immigration agents arrested more than 100 workers at an Ohio gardening and landscaping company Tuesday morning, one of the largest of several recent workplace raids carried out as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration enforcement. About 200 federal officers blitzed two locations of Corso’s Flower and Garden Center — one in Sandusky, on the shoreline of Lake Erie, and another in nearby Castalia, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told the Associated Press. Agents surrounded the perimeter of the Castalia location, blocking off nearby streets as helicopters flew overhead, AP and local television stations reported. They arrested 114 workers suspected of being in the country illegally and loaded many onto buses bound for ICE detention facilities. Dozens of the workers’ children were left stranded at day-care centers and with babysitters, local activists wrote on social media.”
GOP Introduces Bill To Curb Trump’s Tariffs
Trump finally did the one thing that will drive powerful Republicans away. Quartz: “On May 31, in the name of national security, the president passed steel and aluminum tariffs that threaten trade with the US’s closest allies. The announcement drew furious criticism from members of his party, because it goes against their pro-business agenda. Now some of the biggest Republican donors have launched a war against Trump’s tariffs, and once-loyal senators are trying to curb Trump’s powers as the country’s 45th president. This afternoon, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a new bill that takes away Trump’s right to pass tariffs on products that the Department of Commerce deem important to national security. The bill would require any intended tariffs to be approved by Congress. It would also be retroactive for the past two years—meaning it could rescind last month’s controversial steel and aluminum tariffs. The bill is sponsored by Republicans and frequent Trump critics Jeff Flake of Arizona and Bob Corker of Tennessee. It also includes four other GOP senators (and four Democrats). The tariffs will be bad for US business, and US jobs, they say, echoing recent analysis by economists.”
DeVos Refuses To Answer Senate On Guns, Drugs, Immigrants
Five things Betsy DeVos seemed to be unaware of — or wouldn’t address — during Senate hearing. WaPo: ” It may well be that the question Education Secretary Betsy DeVos heard the most from senators at Tuesday’s hearing before a Senate subcommittee was this: Why aren’t you directly answering my question? DeVos was there to talk about the Education Department’s 2019 budget request, and she found herself peppered with tough questions about a range of topics from senators, most of them Democrats. On some of the key questions, DeVos seemed unaware of the answer, or if she did know, she didn’t choose to share it in any definitive way. Those included why the department had eliminated some funding West Virginia uses to combat opioid addiction affecting students. She was asked whether school officials can report undocumented students to federal authorities, and whether her Federal Commission on School Safety will look at the role of guns. She also was asked why the Trump administration should not help local communities and states improve decrepit public schools.”
Judge Upholds Philadelphia’s Sanctuary Status
‘Tremendous Defeat’ for Trump’s DOJ as judge rules in favor of Philadelphia’s sanctuary city status. Common Dreams: “A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that the Trump administration’s policy of withholding law enforcement funding from Philadelphia over its status as a sanctuary city ‘violates statutory and constitutional law.’ Contrasting with the Justice Department’s policy, Philadelphia’s refusal to cooperate fully with federal immigration authorities was based in ‘reasonable, rational,’ and ‘equitable’ logic, ruled U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson. Baylson’s decision came 10 months after Philadelphia sued the DOJ for attempting to withhold $1.5 million in law enforcement grant money from the city as punishment for not assisting in federal immigration arrests. Attorney General Jeff Sessions threatened to keep the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant from the city if it refused to allow ICE agents into city prisons, notify the agency when undocumented immigrants leave prisons, and share information with the federal government about any individual’s immigration status. Philadelphia’s police force is not an arm of federal immigration agencies, argued the city, and acting as such would damage community relations. A similar ruling in favor of Philadelphia last November found that withholding the funds would significantly damage the city’s ability to maintain its police force. The DOJ appealed that decision in January.”
Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People’s Action.
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