Welcome to Monday, July 1st, salties and sweet...

President Donald Trump is the first U.S. president to step foot in North Korea after he crossed the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas.

Trump took 20 steps into the Hermit Kingdom on Sunday, where he shook hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The president described it as "a great day for the world."

Following the meeting, Trump told reporters that the two countries have agreed to restart talks about Pyongyang's nuclear program.

“We just had a very, very good meeting with Chairman Kim,” Trump said. "We’ve agreed that we’re each going to designate a team. The teams will try to work out some details."

Shortly after leaving North Korea, Trump retweeted these photos from the Office of South Korean President Moon Jae-in:

PIC-A

How do you feel about Trump's visit to North Korea?

On the Radar

Census Delay

President Trump has suggested delaying the 2020 Census after the Supreme Court blocked the administration from putting a question about citizenship on the next headcount.

“I have asked the lawyers if they can delay the Census, no matter how long, until the United States Supreme Court is given additional information from which it can make a final and decisive decision on this very critical matter," Trump tweeted. "Can anyone really believe that as a great Country, we are not able the ask whether or not someone is a Citizen. Only in America!”

The Constitution requires an “actual enumeration” every 10 years, with seats in the House allocated based on “the whole number of persons in each state.”

However, as Vox noted, “a Census Bureau official has testified that in an emergency, with ‘extraordinary effort,’ the bureau could finalize the forms as late as October and still print them in time for the census to begin in spring.”

Would you support delaying the census?

Under the Radar

Iran War Powers Amendment Fails

After a 10 hour and 8 minute vote that began at 5:02am EDT on Friday, the Senate brought to a close the longest vote in its history and Sen. Tom Udall's (D-NM) amendment to require congressional approval for a strike against Iran failed.

The 50-40 vote saw four Republicans cross the aisle to vote for the amendment, including Sens. Susan Collins (ME), Mike Lee (UT), Jerry Moran (KS), and Rand Paul (KY). A 60-vote threshold was required for passage.

Detractors, including President Trump, had contended that enacting this amendment would tie the hands of the executive branch in carrying out defensive activities and proportional retaliation.

Do you support blocking the use of military force against Iran?

Your Gov't At a Glance

The White House: President Trump in D.C.

The House: Out

The House will return Tuesday, July 9th.

The Senate: Out

The Senate will return Monday, July 8th.

What You're Saying

Here's how you're answering Should June Be Designated as LGBTQ Pride Month?

UGC1

ugc2

But wait, there's more!

And, in the End...

Q2 Review

The second quarter of 2019 drew to a close Sunday, and with Congress back home for a “district work period” during the week of Independence Day, it’s a good time to look back at what lawmakers have gotten done and what will be on the agenda when they return.

We take a deep dive here, but here's a preview of what they've accomplished and failed to do:

ACCOMPLISHED: Disaster relief, Funding for the humanitarian crisis at the border, court nominations, subpoenas.

BLOCKED/FAILED: House Democrats' partisan bills, budgets and appropriations, war powers bills.

How do you feel about the last 3 months in Congress?

Take time to appreciate all the small things on Blink-182 Day,

—Josh Herman

Talk to us via email at contact [at] countable.us. And don’t forget to keep in touch @Countable.

Download Countable

Daily updates on key developments in government and the ability to take action and hold your reps accountable.