Day 601: "The burden."
Today in one sentence: Trump asked a federal judge to deny the Justice Department’s request to limit the role of a special master in its review of classified documents seized from Mar-a-Lago as part of its criminal investigation; the Justice Department issued about 40 subpoenas seeking information about Trump and his associates related to the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 attack; child poverty in the U.S. fell by 59% from 1993 to 2019; Biden issued an executive order to encourage biomedical innovation in the U.S. as part of a “moonshot” effort aimed at “ending cancer as we know it”; a group of 22 Republican governors urged Biden to withdraw his student loan forgiveness plan; and 33% of Americans said they prefer strong, unelected leaders to weak elected ones.
1/ Trump asked a federal judge to deny the Justice Department’s request to limit the role of a special master in its review of classified documents seized from Mar-a-Lago as part of its criminal investigation. Last week, federal prosecutors – citing the risk of “irreparable harm” to national security – requested that District Judge Aileen Cannon stay the portion of her ruling blocking the government from reviewing about 100 documents with classification markings that were taken during the Aug. 8 FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. In a 21-page filing, Trump’s lawyers called the Justice Department’s investigation into Trump “unprecedented and misguided,” and referring to the seized documents as “purported ‘classified records,’” they claimed that the government “has not proven” that the materials marked classified are actually still classified. Instead, they argued, Trump might actually have the right to keep the materials in his possession. (Washington Post / New York Times / Politico / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / CNN / NBC News / ABC News)
- Trump told aides after his 2020 defeat that he would not depart the White House, insisting: “I’m just not going to leave.” To another aide Trump said: “We’re never leaving. How can you leave when you won an election?” (CNN / Vanity Fair)
2/ The Justice Department issued about 40 subpoenas seeking information about Trump and his associates related to the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 attack. According to one subpoena, the department requested information about any members of the executive and legislative branches who may have taken part in planning or executing the rally, or tried to “obstruct, influence, impede or delay” the certification of the presidential election. The department also seized the phones of two top Trump advisers, Boris Epshteyn and Mike Roman. At least 20 subpoenas sent out were seeking information about several lawyers involved in the fake elector scheme, including Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman. Last week, Stephen Miller, Trump’s White House political director, and more than a dozen other people received subpoenas from a federal grand jury seeking information related to the Save America PAC and the alleged “fake electors” plot. (New York Times / New York Times / CNN / CBS News / Politico)
- The Jan. 6 committee will resume televised hearings later this month. The committee held eight hearings in June and July. (Wall Street Journal)
3/ Child poverty in the U.S. fell by 59% from 1993 to 2019 with the number of children protected by the social safety net tripling from 2 million in 1993 to 6.5 million in 2019. More than one in four children in the U.S. in 1993 lived in families below the federal government’s poverty threshold. Today, roughly one in 10 children live in families below the threshold. The decline of child poverty coincides with the expansion of safety net programs, namely the earned-income credit and the child tax credit. The earned-income credit alone reduced child poverty by 22%. (New York Times)
4/ Biden issued an executive order to encourage biomedical innovation in the U.S. as part of a “moonshot” effort aimed at “ending cancer as we know it.” The order will establish a biotechnology and biomanufacturing initiative to solidify supply chains and center drug manufacturing in the country. Biden also selected Dr. Renee Wegrzyn as the director of the new biomedical research agency, known as the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. (The Hill / Associated Press / New York Times)
5/ A group of 22 Republican governors urged Biden to withdraw his student loan forgiveness plan, claiming it will “shift the burden of debt from the wealthy” to lower-income families. The Department of Education, however, estimates that nearly 90% of those benefiting from the student loan relief earn less than $75,000 a year, and that no individual making more than $125,000 or household making more than $250,000 will receive relief. According to the Census Bureau, the median income in the U.S. was $65,000 in 2020. (Axios)
poll/ 12% of Americans say the U.S. health care system is handled extremely or very well. 56% said health care in the U.S. is not handled well at all while 32% said it was handled somewhat well. (Associated Press)
poll/ 33% of Americans said they prefer strong, unelected leaders to weak elected ones. 38% agree that the government should act in the interests of the majority even if it conflicts with ethnic and religious minority groups’ civil rights. (Axios)
poll/ 49% of Americans approve of Biden’s job performance – his highest rating since April. Among young adults, 51% support Biden’s handling of the presidency following the Inflation Reduction Act and his decision to forgive up to $20,000 in college loans. In August, 40% approved of Biden’s job performance. (IBD/TIPP Poll)
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