OBAMA AGENDA: Pope Francis arrives
The AP previews Pope Francis’ address to families in Cuba. “Francis' address to families and symbolically potent flight to the United States underscore two of the big themes of his Cuba pilgrimage — encouraging reconciliation within families and between the U.S. and Cuba.”
From the New York Times: “The Roman Catholic Church that Pope Francis will encounter on his first visit to the United States is being buffeted by immense change, and it is struggling — with integrating a new generation of immigrants, with conflicts over buildings and resources, with recruiting priests and with retaining congregants. The denomination is still the largest in the United States, but its power base is shifting.”
“With the offensive to reclaim territory from the Islamic State largely stalled in Iraq, the Obama administration is laying plans for a more aggressive military campaign in Syria, where U.S.-backed Kurdish forces have made surprising gains in recent months,” writes the Washington Post.
CONGRESS: Senate Democrats unveil climate change bill
From the New York Times: “Senate Democratic leaders on Tuesday plan to unveil a measure intended to signal their full-throated support of President Obama’s aggressive climate change agenda to 2016 voters and to the rest of the world.”
Roll Call writes that the Senate will hold a symbolic vote on a 20 week abortion ban Tuesday, but it’s not clear if the move will release any tension over the online Planned Parenthood funding fight.
OFF TO THE RACES: Pressure from Brooklyn?
BIDEN: POLITICO reports that Team Biden feels as if they are getting some not-so-subtle warning shots from the Clinton campaign.
BUSH: The Washington Post asks if Jeb Bush is prepared to embrace his own name.
The Wall Street Journal: “Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush is expected Tuesday to propose a sweeping rollback of federal regulations on the environment, Wall Street and other areas, saying a buildup of rules during the Obama administration has stifled economic growth.”
He pushed back against Democratic ads that take aim at his statement that George W. Bush “kept us safe.”
CLINTON: The Des Moines Register on Clinton’s prescription drug plan: “Industry critics are especially frustrated by the effect of direct-to-consumer ads, which they say steer people to expensive drugs they might not need. The Washington Post recently reported the companies spent $4.5 billion on such ads last year. Some industry critics have proposed an outright ban on prescription-drug ads aimed at consumers. But Clinton’s plan doesn’t go that far.”
Clinton aide Huma Abedin’s first tweet: “You can be a proud American, a proud Muslim, and proudly serve this great country. Pride versus prejudice.”
CRUZ: Stephen Colbert quizzed him on same-sex marriage and the Constitution.
FIORINA: NBC’s Ali Vitali reports on Fiorina’s interview (and impromptu musical appearance) on Jimmy Fallon’s show.
RUBIO: The National Review writes that Rubio is moving immediately to capitalize on Walker’s exit.
WALKER: Here’s our full writeup of Walker’s exit from the 2016 race, and here’s Perry Bacon Jr.’s assessment of what went wrong.
Walker’s hometown paper writes: “GOP and Democratic analysts believe the second-term Republican governor will have work to do if he wants to win over Wisconsin voters and politicians.”
The Hill has a nice summary of the Walker donors and staff who are up for grabs.
Byron York writes that Walker ultimately dropped out because of “his own limitations as a candidate – limitations that have been in plain sight for quite a while.” MORE: “Walker was not a candidate prepared to deal with national policy in the context of a presidential campaign.”
PROGRAMMING NOTES.
*** Tuesday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up: Today on News Nation, Tamron Hall speaks with both The Daily Beast’s Jackie Kucinich and MSNBC Political Analyst and Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele about the latest political headlines; Host of SiriusXM’s “The Catholic Guy” Lino Rulli; and both The New York Times’ Andrew Pollack and University Hospital Case Medical Center’s Dr. Frank Esper about drug price gouging.
*** Tuesday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: Senior Advisor to President Obama Valerie Jarrett, Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Democratic Presidential Candidate Martin O’Malley, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, Mayor of Philadelphia Michael Nutter