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Congressional Democrats are taking aim at a host of statues of Confederate figures standing in the U.S. Capitol, escalating demands for their removal after violent clashes at a white-nationalist march in Virginia over the weekend.

While some Democrats have sought to keep attention focused on President Trump and his equivocal response to a rally where a counterprotester was allegedly killed by marcher who is a Nazi sympathizer, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called for the immediate removal of a dozen statues of Confederate figures included in the National Statuary Hall Collection.

That collection includes two statues selected by each state, and the presence of Confederate political and military leaders among them as well as other figures with well-known discriminatory views has previously attracted protests.

But the events in Charlottesville have galvanized activists who have pushed for the removal of those symbols from public spaces, and Trumps tweets Thursday decrying the effort put the debate over iconography front and center for many Democrats.

There is no room for celebrating the violent bigotry of the men of the Confederacy in the hallowed halls of the United States Capitol or in places of honor across the country, Pelosi said.

A spokesman for House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) indicated that congressional Republicans would not intervene to remove the statues without the states consent. These are decisions for those states to make, said the spokesman, Doug Andres.

But Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said Wednesday he would introduce legislation that would mandate the removal of those statues, saying they should not be afforded such a rare honor in this sacred space.

They are, unequivocally, not only statues of treasonous Americans, but are symbolic to some who seek to revise history and advance hate and division, he said.

Bookers proposal comes after other calls for the elimination of Confederate iconography from the Capitol and other federal property. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, for instance, successfully petitioned last year to have the state flag of Mississippi, which includes the Confederate battle herald, removed from display in a tunnel in the Capitol complex.

Separate efforts have aimed to remove the display of Confederate flags at federal cemeteries and to rename military posts that carry the names of Confederate generals.

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), who has previously led efforts to attach a provision to prevent the display of Confederate flags at federal cemeteries to spending legislation, said Thursday that he anticipated that push would expand to other places under federal purview.

The deadly violence in Charlottesville reminds us how dangerous it is to indulge in revisionist history or euphemisms about what these symbols mean, he said. Theres an interest at looking at all of it, not just the statutes or the military bases, but all of it.

But the top Democrat in the U.S. Senate struck a wary note Thursday, warning members of his party to keep their focus on Trump rather than on efforts to scrub Confederate monuments. At a news conference Tuesday, Trump said both sides were to blame for the violence in Virginia and that some very fine people were among the white-nationalist marchers, who were drawn to Charlottesville by an effort to relocate a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

[Trump mourns loss of beautiful statues and monuments in wake of Charlottesville rally over Robert E. Lee statue]

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Trumps tweets Thursday attacking efforts to remove the Confederate statues represented an attempt to divert attention away from the Presidents refusal to unequivocally and full-throatedly denounce white supremacy, neo-Nazism, and other forms of bigotry.

While it is critical that we work towards the goal of Senator Cory Bookers legislation, we must continue to denounce and resist President Trump for his reprehensible actions, he said.

A poll released Thursday showed reasons for Democrats to proceed carefully. A NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll indicated that more Americans are dismayed by Trumps response to the violent march than are supportive of efforts to remove or relocate Confederate monuments.

Just over half of poll respondents said Trumps response to Charlottesville was not strong enough, compared to 27 percent who felt it was sufficient. But 62 percent of respondents said statues of Confederate leaders should remain as historical symbols including 44 percent of Democrats.

Democrats have taken aim at Trump: More than 60 House Democrats signed on to a censure resolution floated on Wednesday, and one member, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), said he would introduce articles of impeachment over Trumps Charlottesville response.

But Pelosi endorsed only the push to remove the statues Thursday, though she and other top leaders have previously handled the issue with kid gloves.

When Pelosi served as speaker, she quietly had the Lee statue moved from Statuary Hall, just off the House chamber, to a less prominent place in the Capitol crypt. But other statues remained in the hall, including that of Alexander Stephens, a Georgian who fiercely defended slavery and famously invoked the peculiar institution as the basis for the secession of the Confederate states.

Our new government, he said in 1861, is founded upon ... the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition.

And in 2015, when the issue of the Confederate statues was last thrust into the spotlight by the murder of nine South Carolina churchgoers at the hands of a white supremacist, top Democrats pushed to remove the Confederate flag from public places but stopped short when it came to the statues.

I think that we need to make sure the states understand who they have here, said then-Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.).

Kimberly Kindy and Ed OKeefe contributed to this report.

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After Charlottesville, Democrats in Congress focus on Confederate statues - Washington Post

Mr. Menendez stands accused of using his position to advance the interests of Dr. Salomon Melgen, a friend and political patron, in exchange for luxury vacations and hundreds of thousands of dollars of campaign support.

Mr. Menendez has repeatedly declared his innocence This is not how my career will end, he said when the indictment was handed down and vowed to win acquittal and then re-election in 2018. He raised more than $2 million for his campaign in the first six months of 2017.

Even a bribery conviction would not automatically force Mr. Menendez from office, under the Senate rules. He would either have to voluntarily resign his seat, or two-thirds of his Senate colleagues including at least 15 Democrats would have to vote to expel him.

Democrats largely have met Mr. Menendezs coming trial with silence, happy to let the daily torrent of Trump administration news overshadow it, refusing to speculate about the senators future even as some, most notably Mr. Torricelli, have begun to position themselves should Mr. Menendez step aside or be convicted.

But as the trial nears, Mr. Menendezs uncertain fate has been the subject of growing consternation and conjecture, from the courthouse in Newark to the corridors of the United States Capitol, especially after Dr. Melgen, an ophthalmologist, was convicted this spring in a separate case of defrauding Medicare of nearly $100 million.

The jury found Dr. Melgen, 63, guilty of all 67 counts. He faces spending much of the rest of his life in prison, which could add pressure to cooperate with prosecutors, although there is no evidence that has happened. Dr. Melgen and Mr. Menendez are co-defendants, and a person familiar with Dr. Melgens legal strategy said there were no circumstances under which he would testify against the senator.

Patricia Enright, a spokeswoman for Mr. Menendez, said it would not matter even if he did: There is nothing that Dr. Melgen could provide the government that would help them or bolster their case.

There is also no evidence any plea discussions have occurred for Mr. Menendez. There has never been a conversation between the Justice Department and Senator Menendez and his team about anything other than a trial, said a person familiar with Mr. Menendezs legal strategy.

Jury selection will begin on Tuesday, nearly two and half years after he was indicted, with opening statements slated for Sept. 6. The trial is expected to last one to two months.

Under New Jersey law, if Mr. Menendez does exit the Senate before his term is complete, the governor would appoint a temporary replacement who would serve until the 2018 election. For now, that would give the appointment to Mr. Christie, who could appoint anyone even himself.

Mr. Christie, a former federal prosecutor, has refused to address the topic.

Im not going to answer questions about a vacancy in the United States Senate, which presumes the finding of guilt by a jury, before anyone has even heard one stitch of evidence, he said earlier this summer. Its not appropriate. I wont engage in it.

Adding to the intrigue: Mr. Christies term ends in January, and a Democrat, Philip D. Murphy, is the heavy favorite to succeed him. Some Democrats are already discussing running out the clock to block a G.O.P. appointment.

I dont think Menendez has to run out and resign if hes convicted, said Brad Woodhouse, a political strategist and former spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, calling that a knee-jerk reaction.

The campaign arm of the Senate Democrats declined any comment on Mr. Menendez, his coming trial or what would happen should he be convicted.

Republicans, however, said they were readying to attack if Senate Democrats execute such a delay. Were going to make it hurt as much as we can if these guys waver on expelling him, if convicted, said Bob Salera, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

One significant development in Mr. Menendezs favor is the Supreme Court decision last year to throw out a corruption conviction against the former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell. The ruling narrowed the grounds on which prosecutors can convict politicians of selling favors.

Abbe Lowell, Mr. Menendezs lawyer, said in July that the McDonnell decision fundamentally changed the legal landscape since the senators original indictment, but the judge has rejected attempts to stop or delay the trial. Mr. Lowell is one of the nations most prominent trial lawyers; among his other clients is Jared Kushner, the senior White House adviser and the presidents son-in-law.

Some Democrats said they were on edge about Mr. Menendez, worrying about everything from the delayed sentencing of Dr. Melgen until after Mr. Menendezs trial to the pace of fund-raising for the senators legal defense.

Mr. Menendez raised a little more than $10,000 in the first six months of the year, compared with more than $2.6 million in 2015 and more than $1 million in 2016.

Michael Soliman, a political adviser to Mr. Menendez, said the senator focused on raising money for his re-election instead because he had raised enough in his legal defense fund to cover his legal bills. Re-election cash must be raised in smaller increments, he said, You cant do it overnight.

Mr. Soliman said Mr. Menendez plans to run for re-election regardless of what comes out at trial.

Prosecutors have alleged the senator pushed a port security deal on Dr. Melgens behalf, to change a Medicare policy that would have benefited him and that he helped get visas for Dr. Melgens college-aged girlfriends, who were models in Brazil, Ukraine and the Dominican Republic.

If youre going to go up against him, Mr. Soliman said, get ready for the toughest political campaign of your life.

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At Senator Menendez's Trial, Stakes Are High for Democrats - New York Times

Aug. 17, 2017 at 12:05 PM

Brace yourself, because we are about to ask you to read a story about a boring technological problem and its impact on government. Like many dull things, though, its also important a failure so pervasive that it costs taxpayers billions and has the power to bridge partisan divides, uniting Jared Kushner and congressional Republicans with congressional Democrats and Obama-appointed scientific experts. Despite those things, the problem remains so deeply unsexy that Kushner publicly speaking about it resulted mostly in headlines about what his voice sounded like.

Senior advisor Jared Kushner speaks during an event with technology sector CEOs at the White House on June 19, 2017, in Washington, D.C. His data center consolidation initiative is supported by both Democrats and Republicans.

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP / Getty Images

Data center consolidation the art and science of making sure technological infrastructure is being used in an efficient way does not make for great TV. But experts say it does represent good governance, because fixing it simultaneously saves money and corrects structural problems in the way the federal government is managed. This spring, bipartisan proponents of data center consolidation managed to get a bill through the House that would help get the job done more easily. But its now sitting in senatorial limbo. Even when an issue has cross-party cooperation and the support of the White House, it can still fall victim to the current state of political disarray.

Data centers are physical places housing the computers that archive information for the government records that have to be backed up so a single, failed desktop wont mean theyre lost forever; historical data that cant be consigned to the virtual trash bin but also isnt needed every day; statistics that need to be accessed by multiple people who work in different locations. Some are like warehouses imagine the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, but with racks of blinking electronics instead of wooden crates. Others are more prosaic, like a closet in someones office with a couple computers sitting screenless and lonely in the dark. As storage becomes less physical and more digital, well only rely on them more.

But, right now, the federal government has more data centers than it needs, which is a problem since excess data centers mean more spent on building rental, electricity demand, maintenance workers and air conditioning bills. Between 2012 and 2016, data center consolidation efforts saved taxpayers a reported $2.3 billion. But experts say theres still a long way to go. They talk in terms of the utilization rate effectively how much of the energy being used by the equipment in a data center actually goes to doing productive work. If the rate is low, that means youre spending money without getting much benefit from it. The average server in a data center owned by the federal government has a utilization rate between 9 and 12 percent, said David Powner, director of information technology management issues for the Government Accountability Office. The goal set by the federal Office of Management and Budget is something like 60 percent.

This problem isnt confined to the government, but the government has run into some unique problems while trying to solve it.

Federal data center consolidation efforts have been ongoing since 2010, but while more than 4,300 federal data centers have been closed out of a total 5,597 scheduled for elimination many were low-hanging fruit: small, closet-size data centers that didnt take much effort to close down but also didnt save much by disappearing, said former Obama Chief Information Officer Tony Scott. Closing larger data centers is more complex and, in many cases, would require technological upgrades that agencies dont have the budgets to implement. Thats because, in government, funding for software, programming, and other technological infrastructure comes when a project is first implemented. As time goes on, the project will get the funds to maintain itself, Scott said, but not the funds to improve. If it was started in the 90s, its running on 90s technology. If it started in the 60s, its running on 60s tech, he said. That can make it difficult to merge the data centers where that software is running.

Meanwhile, Powner said, there have been cases of agencies closing data centers and saving money but not reporting it. There are some weird incentives in government, Powner told me. If you dont spend your budget, theyll take it away. The result is a loss of transparency about how federal dollars are being spent. Document the savings, and you cant use it for other projects, no matter how legitimate. Fail to report the savings and it becomes available to use, but taxpayers now have no real record of how its being spent.

Texas Republican Will Hurd and Virginia Democrat Gerry Connolly are trying to solve these problems with their Modernizing Government Technology Act. It would establish a centralized modernization fund that all agencies could use, and, more groundbreakingly, authorize agencies to reallocate the money theyve saved by consolidating data centers and reinvest it as working capital. Both Powner and Scott praised the effort. It passed the House easily in May. If it becomes law, the bill could be both a heartwarming show of a functional Congress working across party lines and a success for the White House. When Kushner made his first public speaking appearance in June, as part of a White House technology summit aimed at bringing ideas from the business world to government, the need for data center consolidation was one of the main issues he championed.

But that only works if the Senate has time to pay attention. We are awaiting action in the Senate, Connolly said. Given the whats the polite word? the current hiccups legislatively, one does not know if it will be a convenient time to bring it up or if they are just in stasis.

For now, the Senate version of the Modernizing Government Technology Act is sitting in committee, where its been since April. And, even if it does make it to a vote, the project of data center consolidation could still be hamstrung by management issues this bill doesnt address, like the overabundance of agency-level chief information officers. There are at least 250 people in the federal government with that title, according to Connolly and Hurd. Theyve counted 14 in the Department of Homeland Security alone. Most private companies just have one, but technology often came to the government piecemeal from the bottom up, rather than all at once from the top down. Today, so many people have the same title that its not always clear who has ultimate authority, making it difficult to know where the buck stops and who can approve consolidation decisions.

Ironically, this problem is currently exacerbated by the lack of a top CIO, the one in the White House. That role is currently unfilled, and Powner, Scott, Connolly and Hurd all said that position was important for coordinating among the different agencies and ensuring that someone has the authority to make the kinds of decisions that allow large, complex data centers to be reconfigured. Its wonderful that Kushners Office of American Innovation is paying attention to data center consolidation, Scott said, but that top CIO role will be crucial to making those goals a reality. Ideas are great, but implementation is what really matters at the end of the day, he said. If you dont have somebody really, really focused on implementation, youre going to come up short.

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Look! We Found Something Republicans, Democrats And Jared Kushner Actually Agree On! - FiveThirtyEight

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Democrats drafting articles of impeachment against Trump Miami Herald Democrats are already looking to formally censure Trump or at least force Republicans to debate the measure and Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., said Thursday he plans to introduce articles of impeachment against Trump. The president, he argues, failed ... Following Charlottesville, Democrats to introduce articles of impeachmentAOL Trump Impeachment Process Begins as Democrat States President 'Failed Test of Moral Leadership'Newsweek Democrats renew calls for Trump impeachment after his Charlottesville responseWashington Examiner BuzzFeed News -Congressman Steve Cohen -Congressman Steve Cohen all 70 news articles »

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Democrats drafting articles of impeachment against Trump - Miami Herald

The official name of the protest was the Women's March, but it became something bigger, much bigger, and expanded to include many traditional Democratic Party constituencies including environmental groups and unions.

For Democratic operatives and organizers, January 21, 2017, was akin to Christmas and your birthday falling on the same day: the party's political base was frustrated, but not depressed. Political organizers could skip months of therapy sessions designed to excite Democrats and move straight onto crafting plans for the November 2017 elections and the 2018 midterm elections.

Donald Trump had unified the Democratic Party. Or had he?

Perez, a former Secretary of Labor and Justice Department official, is now charged with trying to unite the party's liberal and establishment factions, while restoring credibility to the national party organization, whose email system was hacked by Russia in 2016.

Perez said he sees an opportunity in this age of Trump for Democrats to rally around the party's "values" on issues ranging from health care and income inequality to public education.

"We all succeed when we all succeed, and we are all better when we are united," Perez said in a recent interview on SiriusXM's "Full Stop with Mark Preston."

Except it will not be that easy.

Many liberals are still smarting over the 2016 presidential primary -- a system they argued was rigged against Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, in favor of the establishment favorite, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

More than a year after Clinton won the presidential primary and seven months into Trump's presidency, the phrase "time heals all wounds" does not seem to apply to all Democrats, certainly not at last week's Netroots Nation conference. The annual gathering of liberal activists was part strategy session, part political rally and speakers such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, urged attendees to demand that party leaders embrace and advocate for liberal policies.

Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution -- the organization founded by former Sanders campaign staff and supporters -- wasn't tiptoeing when she accused the DNC of disrespecting the progressive movement. She recounted a standoff outside the DNC headquarters in late July when she was refused access to the building. Turner, a DNC member, and the activists she led were attempting to deliver petitions to party leaders. The group was not allowed to enter the building because of security concerns, which infuriated Turner.

Perez said one of the first strategic acts he put in motion was a program called Resistance Summer.

"Resistance Summer is a down payment on what the new DNC is about," said Perez, who sat for this interview prior to the Netroots Nation conference. "It was an investment that we made, and it's in place in over 40 states, and we are paying organizers out there so that we can talk to people again. One of the things we have to do, our new mantra at the DNC, is that every zip code counts."

"So that's the new DNC," Perez said. "And one more observation, which is 2017 for me is feeling a lot like 2005. In 2005, we had a very unpopular president pursuing a very unpopular far-right agenda in cahoots with a far-right Congress, and what we were able to do in 2005, which we haven't been able to accomplish since, we won the governorships in both New Jersey and Virginia. Then the following year we flipped the House, and I'm seeing a similar trend here. But the past is never prologue and what we have to do is build that infrastructure, recruit great candidates, and then organize, organize, organize with our message of a better deal and a brighter future for everybody."

(Worth noting that in the first half of 2017, Democrats went 0-3 in three special Congressional elections).

"He sucks up the oxygen, but it's one thing to suck up the oxygen with affirmative things to help people. He's been sucking up the oxygen in the room by firing all of his people, by ensnarling his administration in scandal," Perez said. "I mean the culture of chaos and corruption in this administration is off the charts, and I don't think the American people want to normalize chaos; they don't want to normalize ethical lapses; they want people fighting for a better future for them -- that's what Democrats are doing."

"Well we're making progress; we have more work to do," said Perez. "When I walked into the DNC, we had to rebuild our systems, and our fundraising department was a very good group of people, but we needed to quadruple their size and we're in the process of doing just that."

Perez said he emphasizes to donors that helping to pay for rebuilding the party infrastructure "ain't sexy," but noted it is critical to success.

"You know when your plumbing goes out in your house or the water pipes in Flint (Michigan) corrode, it has life threatening consequences," Perez said. "And similarly when the political infrastructure corrodes, we lose elections."

As Perez tries to keep the party focused on the November elections in New Jersey and Virginia, the DNC remains ground zero for Russia's hacking in the 2016 election. Perez did not go into detail when asked about the investigation other than to note that "from the onset of this investigation we've cooperated with the FBI. We continue to cooperate with people on Capitol Hill, and we'll do so throughout."

Rebuilding, reforming, uniting and winning elections in 2017 and 2018 are some pretty difficult challenges for a person to shoulder. But that is not the only responsibility Perez is saddled with in his role as DNC chair. The wide open 2020 Democratic presidential primary is just around the corner.

"Well the most important thing we're going to do is to build a fair, level playing field for everybody," Perez said. "I welcome the debate. I think there is going to be a bumper crop of candidates and that the American people are going to see a very robust Democratic Party. What will unite all of them is that they are all fighting for a better deal and a brighter future and better tomorrows for everyone, not just a few at the top. And what we're doing at the DNC is making sure we build the infrastructure, the organizing infrastructure, the technology infrastructure so that whoever ... becomes the nominee that they can walk into a DNC that enables them to sprint across the finish line.

While Perez said he hopes ideas and ideals are what helps to unite his party, it may just be mutual disgust for Trump that will act as the super glue for Democrats.

Below are some of excerpts of my interview with DNC Chairman Tom Perez. This Q&A has been edited for brevity, clarity and flow.

Mark Preston: As you look at the current state of play right now, what is the Democratic plan to address Donald Trump in this off year?

Tom Perez: Step one is that we have to take on Donald Trump in all of these areas that he's trying to take America back, and make America weak, not make America great. Equally important though, we can't simply be against Donald Trump. We've got to articulate what we are for, and we have always been fighting for a fair shake for everyone.

Preston: (W)hen you were running for chairman, ... it was a bit of a contentious fight. There was a lot of criticism from the grassroots about the battle between establishment Democrats and grassroots Democrats. ... What is being done behind the scenes to try to bridge the divide between those two (factions)?

Perez: Every single day we are leading with our values. ... If we want to address income inequality in this country, one of the most important things we can do is support efforts for people to unionize and form a union. When unions succeed, the middle class succeeds. When unions succeed, income inequality goes down, and what we have to do as a party is be out there on the issues that matter the most to people: health care, good jobs, the efforts to cut support for public education, we have to articulate what we stand for."

Preston: Is the focus right now for the DNC, when you're looking at priorities, to get back the House of Representatives?

Perez: Well, that's a very big part of what we're trying to do. We have a more immediate focus, which is 2017 because you know what, you win Virginia, you win New Jersey, you lay the foundation for future success. What we try to do is to make sure we're not only winning elections today but we're building the infrastructure for sustained success.

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Has Trump really united the Democrats? - CNN