TRUMP AGENDA: How Trump’s deal with Democrats went down
What exactly happened yesterday with Trump’s deal with congressional Democrats on the debt ceiling and Harvey aid? Hallie Jackson and Kasie Hunt: “Steven Mnuchin, seated on a couch to the president’s right, had pushed this point before: A longer-term extension of 18 months would extend the deadline past the midterms — which would take partisan politics out of the debate, in his view. But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., disagreed: He wanted something much shorter. The president, in deal-making mode, had heard enough. As Mnuchin made his case, Trump cut in: He would side with Schumer, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats to make a 90-day deal to lift the debt ceiling.It’s a sequence of events that handed enormous leverage to Democrats as lawmakers brace for a serious showdown in December. .. It’s also being perceived by some close to Trump as a deliberate swipe at GOP leadership from a president still festering over the failure of the GOP-led health care reform effort. But White House aides insisted Trump is simply pushing to accelerate action on critical issues like the hurricane relief funding attached to the short-term debt limit bill.”
Hunt and Leigh Ann Caldwell write that Republican leaders are “fuming” over the deal.
The Washington Post: “Had Trump sided with GOP leaders, Democrats would have been stuck trying to extract concessions ahead of debt-ceiling votes this week using an empty threat — voting against a legislative package that includes the politically sensitive Harvey aid. Democrats believe pushing the debt-limit debate into December will increase their leverage on several issues, including the protection of dreamers and securing funds to help stabilize health-care markets.”
And from the New York Times: “The deal to keep the government open and paying its debts until Dec. 15 represented an extraordinary public turn for the president, who has for much of his term set himself up on the right flank of the Republican Party. But it remained unclear whether Mr. Trump’s collaboration with Democrats foreshadowed a more sustained shift in strategy by a president who has presented himself as a master dealmaker or amounted to just a one-time instinctual reaction of a mercurial leader momentarily eager to poke his estranged allies.”
Paul Kane notes that Democrats are still looking for legislative wins.
From Andrew Rafferty: “Congressional Republicans struggled to make sense of President Donald Trump's mixed messages on DACA Wednesday as Democrats ratcheted up pressure to save the program.”
Also, on DACA, 15 states and D.C. are suing Trump to block his plan to the program.
Here’s where Trump says he’s donating $1 million for Harvey aid.
From one of us(!): “Americans are becoming more skeptical that a four-year college education is worth the cost, a new poll from NBC News and the Wall Street Journal finds. The national survey of social trends, which was conducted August 5-9, found that 49 percent of Americans agreed with the statement that a four-year degree “is worth the cost because people have a better chance to get a good job and earn more money over their lifetime.” But about the same share, 47 percent, said that a degree is not worth the cost “because people often graduate without specific job skills and with a large amount of debt to pay off.” When pollsters posed a similar question in a June 2013 CNBC survey, 53 percent of Americans said that a four-year degree is worth the cost, while just 40 percent said that it is not.”
OFF TO THE RACES: Reichert’s big announcement in WA-8
Trump’s flirtations with Democrats are making Republicans anxious about 2018, writes POLITICO.
AL-SEN: Mark Meadows has endorsed Roy Moore.
Yet more polling shows Moore with a significant lead.
AL-GOV: Another Republican is gunning for Kay Ivey’s job.
CA-SEN: POLITICO: “Sen. Dianne Feinstein has dominated California politics for more than a quarter of a century. But facing blistering criticism that she’s out of touch with the progressive left following her recent comments about President Donald Trump and DACA, it’s increasingly looking like the Democratic lawmaker will face a major primary challenge if she runs for a fifth full term.”
ND-SEN: Is Donald Trump helping Heidi Heitkamp get elected?
VA-GOV: That Obama-backed redistricting reform organization is giving Virginia Democrats $500,000.
WA-8: The Seattle Times: “Republican Congressman Dave Reichert’s announcement Wednesday that he won’t seek re-election next year immediately vaulted his 8th Congressional District seat into a top pickup opportunity for Democrats seeking to regain control of the U.S. House. Reichert himself predicted the GOP will have a tough time hanging onto the seat next year. “I’d certainly like to see a Republican keep the district. I think it’s going to be hard,” he said in an interview, adding that a good Republican candidate should ‘come with an open mind and ability to work with people on both sides of the aisle… and some tough skin.’”