President Trump declared a national emergency to expedite funding for his border wall, even though he said he “didn’t need to do [it], but [he]’d rather do it much faster.” This means he will tap the Pentagon budget, diverting billions of dollars from defense priorities — and he’s also going to be sued for essentially going around Congress. Vox reporter Dara Lind explains the move and what has actually changed in immigration policy after all of this is said and done.
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar announced her 2020 presidential campaign. Klobuchar’s record of blow-out election wins makes her a favorite among moderates. But her agreeable Midwestern image contradicts reports that she’s known to send abusive emails, drive staffers to tears and throw office supplies. Will this alleged behavior jeopardize her chances at the nomination? And would this be germane for a man running for president? Andre Perry of the Brookings Institution debriefs the panel on the conditions that propelled Denver’s teachers to strike and what can be said about teacher strikes in red states and big blue cities. In his State of the State speech, California’s new governor Gavin Newsom kinda sorta announced that the state will abandon some major plans for its costly high-speed rail line. Carla Marinucci of Politico’s California Playbook discusses the challenges of giant, expensive infrastructure, plus the state’s affordable housing crisis and the why Democrats’ supermajority in California doesn’t always make legislating easy.