OBAMA AGENDA: Another response to another mass shooting
“In a pattern that has become achingly familiar to him and the nation, Mr. Obama on Thursday entered the White House briefing room to issue a statement of mourning and grief as he called on the country to unify in the face of tragedy,” the New York Times writes.
Per the AP: “It turns out the politics of Washington limit the president's options on all sorts of issues, not just guns, at this stage in his presidency. But on the big issues already in play — trade and an Iran nuclear deal, in particular — Obama still is very much in the game.”
The Obama administration will propose new standards for 18-wheelers and big hauling trucks aimed at cutting fuel costs and reducing carbon emissions, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The president will address the U.S. Conference of Mayors in San Francisco today.
OFF TO THE RACES: Hillary’s murky answer on trade
The Koch brothers gave each presidential candidate a four-page questionnaire asking them to detail how they would promote economic growth, reform entitlements and their foreign policy views, the Washington Post reports.
CHRISTIE: The New Jersey governor told New Hampshire voters that Jeb Bush is “copying” his plan for four percent annual economic growth, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports.
CLINTON: She said in an interview on Thursday that she “probably” would not vote for Trade Promotion Authority if she was in the Senate.
“But Wednesday night, Bill Clinton muddied his wife’s message and deflated the hopes of some on the left by touting the benefits of trade deals in an appearance on ‘The Daily Show,’” Politico adds.
CRUZ: The Texas senator stole the show at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference on Thursday, one of us wrote. More GOP candidates will address the group of evangelical activists today.
KASICH: The Ohio governor is out to convince the donors and king makers there is still room for him in the race, Politico reports.
PAUL: A pro-Paul super PAC will be the first to use Snapchat for a presidential ad, the New York Times writes.
RUBIO: “Rubio, the U.S. Senator from Florida, was expected to appear at the fundraiser but his local supporters had trouble lining up enough high-dollar donors to make the visit worthwhile for the candidate,” the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports.
And being a first-term senator has operatives in the early states worried that he may have an Obama problem, Politico writes.
SANDERS: “Ready for Warren is launching a new initiative Friday called Ready to Fight that will back Sanders,” MSNBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald reports.
TRUMP: The Wall Street Journal reports that some in the GOP are worried Donald Trump’s rhetoric may be hurting the party.
CONGRESS: It’s ALLIIIIVE…
“Lawmakers in the House narrowly passed legislation aimed at shoring up President Barack Obama's ability to negotiate a massive 12-nation trade pact on Thursday,” NBC’s Alex Moe reports.
Over in the Senate, Democrats blocked consideration of “a key defense spending bill, making good on their promise that they would stand in the way of any spending bills put forward until Republicans budge on spending caps set on non-defense programs,” NBC’s Frank Thorp writes.
PROGRAMMING NOTES. *** Friday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Craig Melvin fills in for NBC’s Andrea Mitchell and will report live from Charleston, SC. He will interview South Carolina State Senator John Scott, Rev. Nelson Rivers, Fmr. NAACP Pres. Ben Jealous and we’ll air Craig’s interview with Sen. Lindsey Graham at Thursday’s vigil.