Lee is no longer on Trump's SCOTUS list. Your Tuesday morning political briefing from UtahPolicy.com

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Situational awareness - July 3, 2018

Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City.

Hatch, Lee get favorable approval ratings from Utahns. Lee no longer on Trump's SCOTUS list. GOP lawmakers are growing impatient with Trump's trade war.

  TICK TOCK   

126 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018) 209 days until the first day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (1/28/2019) 854 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

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  HERE ARE THE STORIES WE'RE WATCHING TODAY  

Lee/Hatch get good job approval ratings

Utahns mostly approve of the job performance of Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee according to our latest public opinion poll - http://bit.ly/2Kxtl5e

Lee no longer on SCOTUS list

Sen. Mike Lee is reportedly no longer under consideration for the Supreme Court opening. Some were worried the closely divided Senate would force him to vote for his own nomination, which would be a bad visual ahead of the 2018 midterms - http://bit.ly/2KtVslG

More Romney/Trump drama

Mitt Romney says "It's a little early" for him to support the re-election of President Trump in 2020 - http://bit.ly/2z7ku4Q

"I'd like to kill 'em"

Sen. Orrin Hatch and other Republican Senators are fed up with President Trump's trade war, saying it could hurt the GOP's chances in the midterm elections. Hatch said he'd "like to kill 'em," referring to Trump's growing list of tariffs on foreign goods - https://politi.co/2MM10EW

  OTHER UTAH HEADLINES   

Opponents of the medical marijuana ballot initiative drop their lawsuit to keep the measure off the ballot, but they may re-file before the election [KUTV, KSL, Fox 13, Tribune].
Here's what Utah County is giving up, and getting from the Facebook data center that will be built in Eagle Mountain [Daily Herald].

  NATIONAL HEADLINES  

President Trump has interviewed four possible Supreme Court nominees to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, with more interviews to come before Trump names his pick on July 9 - https://nyti.ms/2MIiphu
The Defense Intelligence Agency believes North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has no intention of entirely giving up his nuclear arsenal despite pledges to denuclearization - https://cnn.it/2MGTQSe
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is heading to North Korea this week to continue talks about denuclearization - https://politi.co/2MMkZmT
President Trump is again warning NATO allies to spend more on defense, saying the U.S. is losing patience with what he says is their failure to meet their financial obligations under the treaty - https://nyti.ms/2MHfyFO
The number of people receiving visas to permanently immigrate to the United States legally is on pace to drop 12-percent during President Trump's first two years in office - https://wapo.st/2MK6mAm
The Trump administration is struggling to reunite migrant families separated at the border ahead of a court-imposed deadline - https://politi.co/2KuXGky
President Trump is lashing out at calls from Democrats to abolish ICE - https://abcn.ws/2MJy00x
A former top aide to EPA head Scott Pruitt told a congressional committee that he asked her to help his wife find a job as a fundraiser at the Republican Attorneys General Association. The allegation is just the latest report that Pruitt used subordinates to perform personal duties - https://nyti.ms/2Ktu07H
Federal Reserve officials cut a deal with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to help those firms avoid failing annual financial stress tests. To avoid an outright fail, the feds told the companies they would have to cut in half the $16 billion they hoped to pay out to shareholders - https://on.wsj.com/2Ksj1LA
Department of Justice investigators have reconstructed papers found in a shredder belonging to President Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen - https://bzfd.it/2MLY8Ia
Prosecutors now have 1.3 million files seized from Cohen's home and office during the federal raid in April - http://bit.ly/2MHf2aQ
President Trump promised to "drain the swamp" when he ran for president. Instead, it appears he is embracing the world of big-money political donors - https://wapo.st/2MK3K5w
The FBI, SEC and Federal Trade Commission have joined the Department of Justice in the investigation into Facebook's sharing of information with data firm Cambridge Analytica - https://wapo.st/2Ks1ROm
Weird story. News organizations unwittingly paid Meliana Trump thousands of dollars in royalties to use photos of the Trump family through a licensing agreement with Getty Images. The licensing deal mandated that the images could only be used in "positive stories" about the family - https://nbcnews.to/2MLHBE7
The FBI has foiled a planned 4th of July terror attack in downtown Cleveland - https://abcn.ws/2MLY1fI
Vermont has become the 9th state to legalize recreational marijuana - https://abcn.ws/2MKSPIG

The proposal to split California into three separate states is gaining steam ahead of the November vote - https://fxn.ws/2ML8Het

  ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY   

1775 - George Washington takes command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1819 - The Bank for Savings in the City of New-York, the first savings bank in the United States, opens.
1863 - The final day of the Battle of Gettysburg culminates with Pickett's Charge.
1890 - Idaho is admitted as the 43rd state.
1979 - President Jimmy Carter signs the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul.
2009 - Sarah Palin announced she was resigning as governor of Alaska with 17 months to go in her term.

Today At Utah Policy

Hatch, Lee both get positive approval ratings from Utahns
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
Since announcing he was going to retire this year, U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch has rebounded ever so slightly in his job approval rating, a new UtahPolicy.com poll shows....Report: Mike Lee no longer under consideration for SCOTUS opening
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
The Trump White House is reportedly no longer considering Sen. Mike Lee for the Supreme Court nomination to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy....Romney: 'It's a little early' to support Trump's re-election in 2020
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mitt Romney said in a televised interview on Sunday that he would not yet commit to supporting Donald Trump for another term in 2020....Guest opinion: U.S. faces Hamilton's question: 'reflection and choice, or...accident and force?'
By Rick B. Larsen
Seasonal sentiments around the Fourth of July are always justified, but this year given all we are going through as a nation they are also instructive....Weekly survey: A Utahn on the Supreme Court?
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Sen. Mike Lee and his brother, Utah Supreme Court Justice Thomas Lee are on President Donald Trump's short list for a possible Supreme Court nomination. Do you think either one of them will be selected by Trump? Vote now in our weekly survey....

Policy News

WTC Utah announces new president & CEO
World Trade Center Utah announced Miles Hansen as the new President and CEO of WTC Utah. Hansen replaces Derek B. Miller who left to become the President and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber and Downtown Alliance....Utah Lt. Gov. reduces document authentication fees for adopting parents
Utah Lt. Governor Spencer J. Cox is pleased to announce a reduction in fees for authenticating adoption paperwork used for overseas adoptions....Fox files: 'Diversity'
Some of you have heard me confirm what you all suspect and know: our market has grown into a new tier....Call for nominations - EDCUtah Annual Leadership in Economic Development Awards
On September 11, the Economic Development Corporation of Utah will recognize two individuals and one organization that have made a significant impact on the economic landscape of Utah. Nominations are now open for the following recognition:...Utah Department of Commerce, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing completes national construction fraud sting, nabs unlicensed contractors statewide with 2 criminal cases and 94 administrative citations
The Utah Department of Commerce announced that the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing completed a two-week statewide sting investigation to target fraudulent construction activity....

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Op-ed: Taking on the sales tax offers opportunities, brings challenges

Gehrke: An ambitious plan is underway to resurrect Salt Lake City's Wingpointe golf course

Gov. Chaffetz? Former Utah congressman leads field of potential 2020 Republican candidates for governor.

Federal judge sides with San Juan County, says it's been 'pretty vigorous' in implementing new voter boundaries that benefit Navajo residents

Utah's medical marijuana initiative appears headed for the November ballot after opponents drop their federal lawsuit

Report: Sen. Mike Lee no longer in serious consideration for the Supreme Court opening

Deseret News

Op-ed: Utah building codes aren't fireproof

Editorial: Why you should pay close attention to Mexico's new president

Utah mayor: This might be year to rethink lighting fireworks

Lawsuit to stop medical marijuana initiative dropped but could be refiled

Water watchers: Utah's biggest freshwater lake faces big challenges

Other

Looking into the numbers: What Utah County is giving and getting in the Facebook data center deal (Daily Herald)

New growth, sales tax keep Layton property taxes down (Standard-Examiner)

National Headlines

Facebook's disclosures under scrutiny as federal agencies join probe of tech giant's role in sharing data with Cambridge Analytica (Washington Post)

Progressives Deploy Religious Ignorance and Bigotry to Stop Amy Coney Barrett (National Review)

Man allegedly threatens to chop up GOP Sen. Rand Paul's family with an ax (ABC News)

Did Democrats learn all the wrong lessons from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's victory? (CNN)

Man Arrested in Cleveland Terror Plot After F.B.I. Sting (New York Times)

Brian Ross out at ABC News months after botched report on Donald Trump, Russia tanked stock market (FOX News)

These Democrats want to abolish ICE (CNN)

White House lashes out at Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren (Politico)

Fox News' Maria Bartiromo is getting slammed for her friendly interview with Trump (Business Insider)

Illegal immigration dropped as Trump's zero tolerance policy kicked in (Washington Times)

One of these women could be Trump's Supreme Court pick (NBC News)

Wise Words

Resolve

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty." John F. Kennedy

Lighter Side

Feud

"Trump is in a Twitter feud with Harley-Davidson since they announced that they're moving some jobs overseas. When people first heard Trump was feuding with Harley-Davidson, they just assumed it was another porn star." Jimmy Fallon

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