New York City
Trump’s inheritance, Kavanaugh's appointment and WFP for Cuomo
Donald Trump’s inheritance, Brett Kavanugh's appointment, Barack Obama’s endorsements and the Working Families Party for Andrew Cuomo in This Week's Headlines.
Donald Trump with his dad Fred Trump in 1977 Adam Scull/photolink/mediapunch/Shutterstock
While the Brooklyn Democratic Committee meeting last week lasted well over five hours, the state Democratic Committee fall meeting lasted only about five minutes. The state Democrats’ progressive caucus tried to introduce two resolutions – one to investigate the controversial flyer painting Cynthia Nixon as anti-Semitic and one to end fusion voting in the state. According to state party leader Geoff Berman, the members failed to follow procedure and so his sergeant-at-arms ended the meeting. Progressives called it sham. Just another day in New York’s establishment-driven Democratic Party.
Not so self-made
A bombshell investigation from The New York Times revealed that President Donald Trump received hundreds of millions of dollars from his father through a series of possibly illegal tax dodges. Although Trump and the White House dismissed the story, the state Department of Taxation and Finance has said it will review the allegations and probe for possible fraud, with New York City officials following suit. Trump and his siblings could owe the state more than $400 million in unpaid taxes, according to one estimate. And the tax department could levy steep fines against the president. The state’s housing regulator will also investigate Trump’s father’s real estate empire. The report led to both Cuomo and state attorney general candidate Letitia James to call on their Republican opponents to release at least five years of tax returns.
Biting the bullet for Cuomo
After considerable deliberation, the Working Families Party has decided to offer its ballot line to Gov. Andrew Cuomo in November’s election. Party committee members decided that was the best course of action following Cynthia Nixon’s loss in the Democratic primary. She will now appear on the WFP line in the 66th Assembly District, a seat held by Democratic Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, who the third party supports. Nixon has said she won’t actively run. The WFP gave Cuomo a deadline of Friday at 5 p.m. to accept the ballot line, and his campaign sent out an email right at the deadline announcing that governor would take the line.
“The Governor has accepted the Working Families Party ballot line. The Governor's priority is a unified Democratic Party focused on taking back the House and the State Senate," a campaign spokesperson said. "This election is the most important one in our lifetime given Donald Trump's policies and his imminent takeover of the Supreme Court."
Obama weighs in
Former President Barack Obama came out with a new round of endorsements, including several in New York. During his previous round, he only endorsed congressional candidate Antonio Delgado and state Senate candidate Anna Kaplan. This time, he backed 11 additional Democrats, including congressional candidates Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Max Rose and Dana Balter. Rose and Balter are both in battleground districts challenging Republican incumbents. The other eight are state Senate candidates, many in districts key to flipping the chamber.
Kavanaugh advances
In a 51-49 vote, the Senate voted to advance Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to a final confirmation vote, which is expected to happen on Saturday. The vote on Friday invoked cloture, ending debate on the nomination. With U.S. Sens. Jeff Flake and Susan Collins, both Republican swing votes, indicating that they will vote yes, Kavanaugh’s appointment is all but guaranteed. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin also said he would vote yes, so even though Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, another Republican, said she would vote no, Kavanaugh will likely get confirmed by a 51-49 vote.
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