Subject: Axios Sneak Peek: Democrats' demands — Adelson angry — ?light bulb test
From: "Jonathan Swan" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 14 May 2017 17:25:07 -0400 (EDT)

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Democrats' demands — Adelson angry — light bulb test

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Presented By Koch Industries

Axios Sneak Peek

By Jonathan Swan = ·May 14, 2017<=span>

Welcome to Sneak Peek, our weekly lookahead =or both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. I'd love your tips a=d feedback: jonath=[email-masked]. And please urge your friends and colleag=es to join the conversation by signing up for Sneak Peek. See you all=week in the Axios STREAM.

1 big thing: never let a good crisis go to waste

On CNN's "State of the Union," Jake Tapper asked Chuck Schumer whether h='d refuse to vote on the nomination of a new FBI director to replace James=Comey until a special prosecutor is appointed. The Democratic Senate leade= said yes; but that's only the beginning of the pressure Democrats plan to=exert.

Here's what Democrats will do in the coming days,=/strong> per a senior Senate aide:

Establish a litmus test for =epublicans who care about the integrity of the Russia investigation: to ap=oint a special prosecutor.

Call for Attorney General Jeff Sessions=to recuse himself from deciding Comey's replacement, given the new FBI dir=ctor will be overseeing the investigation into whether the Trump campaign =olluded with Russia during the election.

Extract a full explanati=n from Rod Rosenstein about his role in Trump's firing of Comey. The deput= attorney general will brief senators this week and they'll have a chance =o grill him.

Urge Republicans to support Democrats' calls for Come= to testify before a congressional committee.

Around =he corner: Watch for Dems to use their demands on the Russia prob= as leverage to justify even more aggressive obstruction of the Republican=' legislative agenda. "If they [Republicans] don't cooperate on what we v=ew as requests that should be bipartisan and reasonable," the senior Senat= aide said, "I don't think any Democrat would be in the mood to conduct bu=iness as normal."

One last Comey thing — worth your =ime: the most insightful thing I've heard or read about Comey in = week of nonstop coverage is a Slate podcast interview with the former=FBI boss' longtime friend Benjamin Wittes. Stressing he had no inside know=edge of his friend's plans, Wittes predicted Comey — "maybe the on=y completely subtext-less person in Washington" — would publicly t=ll his full story and probably in a congressional hearing. Wittes had thes= ominous words for Trump: "One of the problems that Trump created for hims=lf in removing Jim Comey is that he dramatically increased the list of thi=gs that Jim Comey is now allowed to talk about."

2. Scoop: Sheldon Adelson "furious" about Tillerson's comments

Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson — a man who has no trouble=getting the President on the phone — is "furious" about comments S=cretary of State Rex Tillerson made today on NBC's "Meet the Press," accor=ing to two sources with knowledge of Adelson's reaction.

Chuck Todd =sked Tillerson about Trump's campaign promise to move the American embassy in Israel fro= Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Tillerson replied that the President "wants to put=a lot of effort into seeing if we cannot advance a peace initiative betwee= Israel and Palestine...the President is being very careful to understand =ow such a decision [moving the embassy] would impact a peace process."
=p>Sources familiar with Adelson's thinking say the Las Vegas billionaire d=esn't buy the argument that the embassy move should be contingent on the p=ace process. He has told Trump that Palestinians are impossible negotiatin= partners and make demands that Israel can never meet.

Adelson and h=s wife Miriam spent more than $80 million to help Republicans during the 2=16 cycle, and he gave $5 million to Trump's inaugural celebrations.

3. The light bulb test

My colleague Mike Allen broke the news today<=a> that President Trump is considering a "huge reboot" of his White House =hat could take out everyone from Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and chief s=rategist Steve Bannon, to counsel Don McGahn and press secretary Sean Spic=r.

If such a shake-up happens, Trump will need replacements who have=experience at the highest levels of politics, know how to manage a White H=use, and reach across the aisle to Democrats when required.

I phoned=David Gergen to ask what he'd do if he were Trump. Gergen served under pre=idents Nixon, Ford and Reagan, before Bill Clinton brought him in as a top=counselor.

"There's an old joke asking how many psychiatrists does =t take to change a light bulb," Gergen said about Trump's prospective staf= shake-up. "Answer: only one, but the light bulb must want to change."Gergen's view:

When you're trying to reorga=ize any organization, corporation, the White House, the person who leads t=e group [i.e. Trump himself] has to be the first person to change.
Beyond that, what Trump needs is a Jim Baker figure. "Someone who is entr=sted with the power, and has the credibility and the heavyweight status =E2�� in addition to respect on both sides of the aisle — that =he President will actually listen seriously and take into account the view= of that person," Gergen said. "And a person who can really crack the whip=and run the White House."

Gergen says Trump has made =reat progress on the national security side by bringing in General H.R. Mc=aster. "People write off Trump as unable to do it, but on national securit= it's a better decision-making process than it was."

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4. Republicans getting nervous about Dem recruitment

I'm beginning to hear senior Republicans fret about Democrats recruiting=unusually high quality House candidates for the 2018 midterms. They worry =hat with Trump in turmoil, accomplished progressives view next year as a t=eir best chance in ages to win a congressional seat.

Some ex=mples:

Jason Crow to challenge GOP Rep. Mike Coffman f=r Colorado's 6th District. Cro='s bio: "[Led] a platoon of paratroopers during the invasion of Iraq a=d earned the Bronze Star for his combat actions during the invasion..."
Chrissy Houlahan to challenge GOP Rep. Ryan Costello for Pennsylvania=s 6th District. Houlahan's bio: Engineering degree from Stanford, Captain in the Air Force Reserve, chi=f operating office of an apparel company and of nonprofits.

Josh B=tner to challenge GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter for California's 50th District. <= href="http://link.axios.com/click/9613762.29386/aHR0cHM6Ly9qb3NoYnV0bmV=Zm9yY29uZ3Jlc3MuY29tL2Fubm91bmNlbWVudC5odG1sP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9bmV3c2xldHRlci=1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1uZXdzbGV0dGVyX2F4aW9zc25lYWtwZWVr/=871993924c17c54d77a8b8cBa983e3c8" target="_blank">Butner's bio: Navy=SEAL, serves as trustee on a school board, and currently works for the div= equipment company, Aqua Lung.

Jennifer Wexton to challenge GOP Re=. Barbara Comstock for Virginia's 10th District. Wexton's bio: State Senator in Virginia, l=gal career as a prosecutor in Loudon County, and as a private lawyer, incl=ding pro bono work representing abused and neglected children.

<=>A DCCC source tells me the Democratic committee has alre=dy had serious conversations with more than 300 potential candidates in ab=ut 75 districts. "There are a great deal of veterans, small business owner= and entrepreneurs, and women that are stepping up," the source said.

5. 1 fun thing: live from the Vatican, Newt Gingrich!

Now that CNN is reporting that Trump will likely appoin= Callista Gingrich the next ambassador to the Vatican, I have an excuse to=serve you a delicious anecdote I've been hoarding for weeks.

About s=x weeks ago, the President was kibitzing about the Vatican ambassador role= Trump told our source he was reluctant to send Callista to the Vatican be=ause he likes seeing her husband Newt defending him on TV. Our source told=the President they were sure satellite hook-ups could be arranged for Newt=at the Holy See.

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