Reuters
President Donald Trump’s description of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as “very honorable” is baffling one Republican senator.
“To say Kim Jong Un has been very open or very honorable, as the president did, surpasses understanding,” said Sen. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican who has been critical of Trump. Trump offered that description of Kim on Tuesday, telling reporters his planned meeting with the North Korean leader would happen “very soon.” Flake, said the Hill, called Trump's remark “part of the larger pattern of excusing dictatorial behavior.”
EPA to White House: ‘Get lost’: Embattled Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt is slated for a pair of congressional hearings on Thursday, and is heading to Capitol Hill without the full backing of the White House, reports the Daily Beast. The EPA has reportedly turned down an offer from the White House to help prepare Pruitt for what is sure to be a bruising few hours of questions about the ethics and government spending controversies that have dogged him.
Opposition to tax law climbs in poll: Opposition to President Trump’s tax law climbed in a new Morning Consult/Politico poll, to 39% from 36% in March.
Morning Consult said the number of voters reporting paycheck increases as a result of the law has declined in recent weeks. Fifty-five percent of the 1,993 voters surveyed in the poll taken April 19-23 said they hadn’t noticed a boost to their paychecks in the last several weeks. In a March 1-5 poll, 50% said their paychecks hadn’t increased.
A recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found more people view the GOP tax overhaul as a bad idea than a good one.