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The symbolism of Rep. Steve King's defeat in the Iowa primary election last night, this week in particular, can't be overstated. King has a notorious reputation in Congress as a white supremacist, earning the recent condemnation of even his Republican colleagues, who stripped him of his committee assignments last year. We caution against assuming Republican primary voters rejected King based on racial issues—most of Feenstra's messaging centered on King's ineffectiveness—however, both Republicans and Democrats across the nation today are rightly cheering that we'll have at least one less racist in high power next year. —Mindy Finn
Top Ten

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1. Esper breaks with White House The White House response to recent protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers is receiving scrutiny—and public opposition from a high-ranking Cabinet official. Defense Sec. Mark Esper said today that he does not support invoking the Insurrection Act, which would allow President Trump to use the U.S. military for domestic law enforcement. Esper's remarks represent a break with the president, who has threatened to deploy active-duty troops to quash protests if governors do not "dominate" the demonstrators. "[T]he option to use active-duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort and only in the most urgent and dire of situations," Esper said. "We are not in one of those situations now. I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act." Esper, we hardly knew ye. —The Hill ([link removed])
* — National Guard probes helicopter use. The commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard has ordered an investigation into the use of helicopters hovering over protesters on Monday, blowing dust and falling branches into the crowd. One Army helicopter reportedly snapped a tree that nearly hit several people. —Politico ([link removed])

* — DOJ deputizes the DEA. The Justice Department has given the Drug Enforcement Administration temporary power to "conduct covert surveillance" and gather intelligence in the investigation of any federal crimes committed by protesters. Typically, DEA officers are legally constrained to keep their enforcement activities to situations involving federal drug crimes. —Newsweek ([link removed])
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* — McConnell blocks Schumer resolution. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell today blocked a resolution proposed by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer that would have condemned Trump's response to protesters in Washington, D.C., on Monday night. Schumer called the removal of the protesters "appalling" and "an abuse of presidential power." —CBS News ([link removed])
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* — Minnesota launches investigation. The state of Minnesota filed a formal complaint against the Minneapolis Police Department yesterday, Gov. Tim Walz announced. Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero said the goals are to reach an agreement with the city on short-term ways to address racial discrimination in the police force, and to identify long-term solutions for systemic change. —Associated Press ([link removed])

More: Three other Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd's death, Chauvin charges upgraded (Fox5) ([link removed])

2. Mullen: Our fellow citizens are not the enemy "As a white man, I cannot claim perfect understanding of the fear and anger that African Americans feel today. But as someone who has been around for a while, I know enough—and I've seen enough—to understand that those feelings are real and that they are all too painfully founded. We must, as citizens, address head-on the issue of police brutality and sustained injustices against the African American community. We must, as citizens, support and defend the right—indeed, the solemn obligation—to peacefully assemble and to be heard. These are not mutually exclusive pursuits." —The Atlantic ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Mike Mullen is a retired admiral from the U.S. Navy and was the 17th chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

More: Miller: A letter of resignation to Defense Secretary Mark Esper (The Washington Post) ([link removed])

3. It was Bill Barr all along When President Trump told state governors in a contentious conference call on Monday that "We will activate Bill Barr and activate him strongly," he wasn't kidding. Turns out, it was Barr who ordered law enforcement officials to use extreme measures to clear peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square ahead of Trump's Monday evening stroll to St. John's Episcopal Church for a photo op. ([link removed])
* — Barr is all too familiar with deploying troops to disperse riots, as he was in his current position in 1992 when President George H.W. Bush authorized the Insurrection Act to calm riots in Los Angeles over the police arrest and beating of Rodney King. ([link removed])
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— Although Barr previously said he was outraged by George Floyd's death and that it was "real and legitimate," he has concurred with Trump's use of military force and law enforcement against protesters. ([link removed])
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* — Yesterday, Barr praised the response in Washington, saying, "There will be even greater law enforcement resources and support in the region tonight; the most basic function of government is to provide security for people to live their lives and exercise their rights." —Bloomberg ([link removed])

More: House Democrat moves to cut Attorney General Barr's budget by $50 million (Reuters) ([link removed])

4. Setmayer & Nesbitt: Hey GOP, stop enabling racism ([link removed])

"The age-old Republican rebuttal is to insist the party played a major role in standing up to racism and inequality in the 19th century and early part of the 20th century, and to some extent this is true. But it's an insufficient history. One that is tangential at best, and belies the underlying truth that the party has created a political reality wherein without giving refuge to racists, it wouldn't stand a chance at electoral success in what became Republican strongholds in the South, as a result of the adoption and continued implementation of this strategy. And now, they are reaping what they've sown. This moment we're in as a country, confronting Trump's lawlessness, his MAGA contagion, and army of elected enablers seemingly feels like we are at the precipice of a proverbial fight against a modern-day Confederacy." —CNN ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Tara Setmayer is a Stand Up Republic board member, a Lincoln Project senior adviser, and a resident fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics. Nate Nesbitt is the Lincoln Project national press secretary and a public affairs strategist.

More: Senate Republicans struggle to respond to Trump's actions on protests (NBC News) ([link removed])

5. White supremacist congressman loses primary Nine-term congressman Steve King lost the Republican primary race for Iowa's 4th district to opponent Randy Feenstra last night. King's departure was expected as he was considered controversial and ineffective; his committee assignments had been stripped by Republican leadership for white supremacist comments he made last year. ([link removed])
* — An anti-immigration hardliner, King became a pariah even within his own party for his white supremacist views. In an interview with The New York Times in 2019, he said, "White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization—how did that language become offensive?" ([link removed])
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* — In a recent debate, King blamed "Never Trumpers" for leading the charge against him. In his concession speech, he blamed outside groups and super PACs for his loss, noting that it was an "effort to push out the strongest voice for full-spectrum, constitutional Christian conservatism that exists in the United States Congress." ([link removed])
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— His opponent Feenstra was well funded and won the support of several conservative groups in Washington. Support for Feenstra was widespread in the district as well, as some Iowans worried that if King remained on the ticket in November, the seat was at risk of being lost to the Democrats. —CNN ([link removed])

More: Curfews, pandemic test voters in primaries held amid unrest (Associated Press) ([link removed])
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6. Trump's Twitter takedown faces resistance President Trump's crackdown on social media companies is already being challenged in court. The nonprofit Center for Democracy and Technology filed a lawsuit against Trump's executive order, which aims to limit legal protections for social media platforms. ([link removed])
* — The lawsuit argues that Trump's EO was "plainly retaliatory" and would have a chilling effect on the companies. The EO asks regulators to weaken the legal protections that prevent social media companies from being held liable for content posted by users on their sites. ([link removed])
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* — Trump issued the order after Twitter posted a fact-checking label to two of his tweets and later restricted one of his tweets for "glorifying violence." ([link removed])
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* — "[The order] attacks a private company, Twitter, for exercising its First Amendment right to comment on the president's statements... President Trump—by publicly attacking Twitter and issuing the order—sought to chill future online speech by other speakers," the lawsuit argues. —The New York Times ([link removed])

More: Facebook's Zuckerberg defends decision to leave Trump posts alone (The Wall Street Journal) ([link removed])

7. Ebbighausen: No, China—the US is not Hong Kong "Even if Beijing insists otherwise, the similar images from Hong Kong and the U.S. belie very important social differences. In Hong Kong, the social divisions are ordered from the top down by a ruling class that acts as the long arm of power from Beijing. The protests that began exactly one year ago, with millions of people on the streets, were an expression of the people versus the party. In the U.S., the current tension is inter-social and plays out across social milieus along the lines of the country's historical struggle with racism and the political rift between the left and right. In the U.S., people are fighting for recognition in a battered democracy. In China, and its authoritarian system, which is increasingly being imposed on Hong Kong, people only know the forced peace of a dictatorship." —Deutsche Welle ([link removed])

More: China trumpets Trump's attacks on American protests to counter criticism on Hong Kong (The Wall Street Journal) ([link removed])

8. Bush alums form pro-Biden PAC ([link removed])

Former officials from the George W. Bush Administration have formed a super PAC to support former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign to unseat President Trump. Dubbed "43 Alumni for Biden," referring to the 43rd president, the PAC was formed Monday, according to a Federal Election Commission filing. ([link removed])
* — Former Treasury Department official Karen Kirksey has been listed as the group's treasurer and custodian of records. It is unknown who else is involved in the group and what they plan to do to support Biden's presidential bid. ([link removed])
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* — Biden is close to locking up the Democratic nomination but is facing what is widely expected to be a grueling general election battle against Trump. ([link removed])
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* — Trump heads into the race with a massive cash advantage and has held the bully pulpit of the presidency for months while Biden has been quarantined at his home in Delaware due to the coronavirus pandemic. —The Hill ([link removed])

More: George W Bush breaks silence on George Floyd (Axios) ([link removed])

9. The Economist: Polarization bears furious fruit "Over the past 60 years America's political parties have not only grown further apart racially; they have also become angrier at each other. In 'American Rage,' a forthcoming book on the subject, Steven Webster, a political scientist at Indiana University, finds that Americans' ratings of the opposing party have dropped by roughly 40% since 1960, from an average of 50 to 30 out of 100. Party identification is not only a product of positive association with one side of the aisle, Mr. Webster argues, but also a statement of negativity towards the other. He theorizes that voters have been baited by the media and political leaders to view the other side as fundamental threats to their livelihood; as a group to be detested, not to work with." —The Economist
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More: Devitt: Democracy's shapeshifting past—and its uncertain future (New York University) ([link removed])

10. An American Story: Teens keep Momentum going Chef Chad Houser opened Cafe Momentum in Dallas, Tx., five years ago as a way to help give teens coming out of juvenile detention stability. When the coronavirus pandemic threatened that mission, he continued to provide the teens with work and a chance to help others. ([link removed])
* — When Cafe Momentum closed to dining in March, the teens began building meal kits for needy families, while Houser raised funds so he could keep paying the teens and keep them engaged in the nonprofit's program, which offers everything from counseling to education. ([link removed])
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* — Cafe Momentum has been delivering 1,550 meal kits, which include four meals, each week to families in the area through various groups. ([link removed])
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* — "Sometimes they get lost in how small their world is, but being able to sit down and pack boxes, they’re like: 'Man, I'm able to see someone else struggling and I'm a blessing to them. I'm able to help them,'" Sais Daniel, the cafe's curriculum coordinator, said. Great job by all! —Associated Press ([link removed])

Ed. Note: We are spotlighting ways that Americans are helping each other through the coronavirus crisis and recent unrest. Would you like to suggest an "American Story" from your local news? If so, please forward a link to the story to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) . Thank you!
What's Your Take?

When I hear the name George Floyd, the first image that enters my mind is of a policeman with his knee on Floyd's neck. The vivid image of life leaving his body. This horrifying image randomly enters my mind throughout the day. It devastates me and breaks my heart. It is what happens when we do not hear the voices of our black brothers and sisters. When we do not listen to what they are saying, we have our knees on the neck of George Floyd. We must listen to and validate the feelings of our black community. We need to show that we see them, that we hear them, that we acknowledge their trauma. Trauma begets more trauma.

Intergenerational trauma leaves its mark on our communities of color. We need to stop this cycle of trauma and find ways to allow healing to take place. These images of George Floyd are a gift. It is a reminder to stop and listen, to hear and acknowledge the pain of our black brothers and sisters. My hope is when people hear the name George Floyd they remember the image of his lifeless body with a knee still on his neck. This is what happens when we don't hear our communities of color. We must acknowledge our personal responsibility in systematic racism. We cannot change what we do not acknowledge. We must change. George Floyd. Say his name. Say it often. —Teresa G., Minnesota

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