Aftershocks of the midterms
Trump goes after Mueller probe
It’s no coincidence that President Trump launched an assault on the Justice Department the day after his “great victory” in congressional elections, which is what he called his great loss. On Tuesday, Trump lost half the Republican firewall that could be counted on to protect him from Special Counsel Robert Mueller. On Wednesday, he moved to protect himself.
The president ousted estranged Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whose recusal from the FBI investigation of Trump’s campaign precipitated Mueller’s appointment, and replaced him in an acting capacity with Sessions chief of staff Matthew Whitaker, an administration loyalist who has said the special counsel should be reined in. A Justice Department official said Whitaker would take over supervision of the Mueller probe from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has defended Mueller and the Justice Department in the face of escalating attacks from the president and Republicans in Congress.
Whitaker wrote in a CNN commentary published shortly before his Justice Department appointment that based on reports that Mueller was looking into Trump’s finances, the deputy attorney general should order him to “limit the scope of his investigation.” He also said during a CNN appearance that he “could see a scenario” in which an acting attorney general replaces Sessions and reduces Mueller’s budget so “that his investigation grinds to almost a halt.”
Trump’s intent here is as unacceptable as it is unmistakable. Any attempt to cripple or prematurely end the Mueller investigation, which has uncovered serious crimes by top campaign and administration officials, would be an obstruction of justice and an impeachable offense.
London Breed’s lack of coattails
San Francisco’s mayor, London Breed, won election this spring on a message of pragmatic politics and attention to the quality-of-life details that were plaguing San Franciscans.
On Tuesday night, she hit a speed bump.
Breed was the most prominent public official against Proposition C, the measure that raises hundreds of millions of dollars for homeless services through a tax on big businesses. It won resoundingly.
San Franciscans consistently cite homelessness as one of their top issues, but Breed had no competing plan to offer. After announcing her opposition, Breed was barely visible in the campaign. At the very least, she should have explained to voters in plain terms why the city was not prepared for a tax-and-spending increase of that magnitude for the city’s most intractable challenge.
Election results for three of the five supervisors races are still pending, but the two firm results should chasten the mayor, too.
Matt Haney and Rafael Mandelman, who won in Districts Six and Eight respectively, aren’t contentious personalities or flaming progressive types. But they aren’t Breed’s natural allies for the board, either.
The clear lesson for Breed is that messaging matters in every election. She failed to articulate a clear vision for San Francisco through her endorsements — and as a result, she may have to temper her plans as she encounters a board with other agendas.
Tuesday’s results may also suggest an air of political vulnerability about the mayor that could embolden potential challengers in next year’s election.