Finally, some tough oversight? “Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, on Tuesday floated a subpoena for a Justice Department official who did not show up for a hearing on the 2020 census.”
Without inspectors, it will be tough to tell how fast the Iranians move. “Iran could quickly ramp up its nuclear activities now that President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 international agreement designed to curtail them. But experts and former officials differ over how long Tehran would need to build a bomb.”
A tough but fair critique from Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.): “We’ve given Iran a license, basically, to get out if they choose, of their nuclear obligations. And that’s not good for anyone.”
Tough to hang on when your party has a zero-tolerance approach to violence against women. “[New York Attorney General Eric] Schneiderman must have seen the writing on the wall. Not only did the accusations against him make his cheerleading for Weinstein-effect topplings look hypocritical, but his fellow New York Democrats would not hesitate to turn on him. Governor Andrew Cuomo has long had a snippy relationship with Schneiderman and quickly called for his departure. U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who did the same, has been one of the most prominent advocates for harsh consequences for harassment, and helped to push [Democratic Sen. Al] Franken out. Schneiderman would have quickly been on an island far smaller and lonelier than Manhattan if he’d chosen to ignore their calls.”
Tough to figure out what accounts for these kind of unhinged outbursts (followed by profuse apologies) from Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). “Orrin Hatch: Hey, Sorry For Suggesting McCain Has Some Duty To Invite Trump To His Funeral.”
Tough few days for the former New York mayor. Canning him seems reasonable: “President Donald Trump is growing increasingly irritated with lawyer Rudy Giuliani’s frequently off-message media blitz, which has included muddying the waters on hush money paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels and making claims that could complicate the president’s standing in the special counsel’s Russia probe. Trump has begun questioning whether Giuliani, an old friend and former New York City mayor, should be sidelined from television interviews, according to two people familiar with the president’s thinking but not authorized to speak publicly about private discussions.”
A tough mission. “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is headed to North Korea on his second trip in just over a month, President Donald Trump said Tuesday, as a planned summit between Mr. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un approaches. A key issue in the summit preparations is the fate of American citizens detained in North Korea. Mr. Kim told Mr. Pompeo in his earlier visit to North Korea that he would consider U.S. requests for the release of the Americans in advance of the summit, planned for late May or June.”