Trump directs federal agencies to provide citizenship information, ends effort to add citizenship question to 2020 census
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GOOD MORNING!

What's on tap in political news this week? Read below for this weekend's edition of the top stories in federal politics, and for a full review of the week, plus a look ahead, click the button below and launch the full edition.

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STEYER JOINS 2020 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL FIELD, PLANS TO SPEND $100 MILLION
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* Investor and activist Tom Steyer ([link removed]) (D) launched his campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. He said in a statement, “The other Democratic candidates for President have many great ideas that will absolutely move our country forward, but we won’t be able to get any of those done until we end the hostile corporate takeover of our democracy.”
* To introduce himself to voters, Steyer spent $1.4 million on an ad campaign that will run for two weeks nationally on CNN and MSNBC and locally in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada. Steyer is expected to spend at least $100 million on his campaign.
* With Steyer’s announcement, there are 25 notable Democratic presidential candidates ([link removed]) running in the 2020 election.

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TRUMP DIRECTS FEDERAL AGENCIES TO PROVIDE CITIZENSHIP INFORMATION, ENDS EFFORT TO ADD CITIZENSHIP QUESTION TO 2020 CENSUS
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President Donald Trump (R) announced that his administration would cease efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census ([link removed]) . Instead, Trump stated that he would issue an executive order directing federal government agencies to provide citizenship information to the United States Department of Commerce.

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"I am hereby ordering every department and agency in the federal government to provide the Department of Commerce with all requested records regarding the number of citizens and noncitizens in our country," said Trump. "They must furnish all legally accessible records in their possession immediately. We will utilize these vast federal databases to gain a full, complete, and accurate count of the noncitizen population."

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Attorney General William Barr stated that the decision ended the ongoing litigation surrounding the citizenship question on the census.

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Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross approved the addition of a citizenship question on the 2020 U.S. Census in March 2018, arguing that the question would improve enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. The question asked, “Is this person a citizen of the United States?” Adding the question was blocked by lower courts on the grounds that it violated the Constitution’s Enumeration Clause and the Census Act. Lower courts also held that Trump administration officials had failed to follow proper administrative procedure under the Administrative Procedure Act ([link removed]) (APA).

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The United States Supreme Court decided 5-4 on June 27 to both affirm the legality of a citizenship question on the census and remand the case, Department of Commerce v. New York ([link removed]) , to the agency for review. The court ruled that the Trump administration's decision to add the citizenship question to the census did not violate the Enumeration Clause or the Census Act. However, the court held that Ross’ rationale for adding the question to the census was inconsistent with the administrative record in violation of the APA.

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MURPHY WINS REPUBLICAN PRIMARY RUNOFF IN NC-03
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State Rep.Greg Murphy ([link removed]) defeated Dr.Joan Perry ([link removed]) in the Republican primary runoff forNorth Carolina's 3rd Congressional District ([link removed]) . Murphy received 59.7% of the vote to Perry’s 40.3%. Murphy had finished first among 17 candidates in the April 30 Republican primary with 22.5% of the vote. Perry was second in that race with 15.4%.

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Murphy will faceAllen Thomas ([link removed]) (D) andTim Harris ([link removed]) (L) in the general election on September 10. The election will fill the vacancy left byWalter Jones ([link removed]) (R), who died on February 10, 2019.

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Murphy and Perry split support from satellite groups and members of Congress. Murphy received the support of Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), the House Freedom Caucus, and the National Rifle Association. Perry received the support of all 13 Republican women in Congress, Winning for Women Action Fund, and FreedomWorks for America. Earlier this week, Rudy Giuliani recorded robocalls on behalf of Murphy, and Newt Gingrich recorded robocalls on behalf of Perry.

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Four special elections have been called during the 116th Congress. Three of those are for seats in the U.S. House, and one is for a seat in the U.S. Senate—which will occur in 2020. Fred Keller (R) won the special election in Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District on May 21. The special election in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District will be held September 10.

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SWALWELL SUSPENDS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
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Rep. Eric Swalwell ([link removed]) (D-Calif.) suspended his 2020 presidential campaign ([link removed]) due to fundraising and polling challenges. He said he will seek re-election to the U.S. House in 2020 instead. Swalwell is the second notable Democratic candidate to leave the presidential race; former state Sen. Richard Ojeda (D) suspended his presidential campaign in January.

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SECRETARY OF LABOR ACOSTA RESIGNS
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U.S. Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta ([link removed]) announced he would resign from his cabinet position, effective July 19. 

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President Trump nominated Acosta to serve as Secretary of Labor ([link removed]) on February 16, 2017. Acosta was confirmed by the Senate on April 27, 2017, and sworn in the following day. Deputy Secretary of Labor Pattrick Pizzella will succeed Acosta as acting secretary.

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Acosta said that he didn’t want his approval of a non-prosecution agreement with financier Jeffrey Epstein in 2008 to overshadow the achievements of the President and the Department of Labor. While serving as a U.S. attorney in Florida, Acosta agreed to the agreement under which Epstein served 13 months in county jail. On July 6, Epstein was arrested and charged with sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors from 2002 to 2005. 

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Acosta said he had struck the agreement after a state grand jury recommended a charge which would bring a more lenient sentence for Epstein and added that the full extent of Epstein's alleged crimes was not known at the time. A district court judge ruled in February 2019 that the agreement had violated the Crime Victims Rights Act since Epstein's alleged victims had not been informed in advance.

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U.S. SENATE CONFIRMS 9TH CIRCUIT NOMINEE 
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The U.S. Senate confirmed Daniel Bress ([link removed]) to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. The Senate voted 53-45 along party lines to confirm him. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) did not vote. President Donald Trump (R) nominated Bress on February 6 to succeed Judge Alex Kozinski.

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After Bress assumes his seat, the 9th Circuit will have 28 active judges and one vacancy. Of those 28, 16 judges were appointed by Democratic presidents and 12 were appointed by Republicans:

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9 by President Bill Clinton

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5 by President George W. Bush

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7 by President Barack Obama

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7 by President Trump

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Neither Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) nor Sen. Kamala Harris (D) of California returned blue slips for Bress' nomination. A blue slip is the name for a piece of paper a home-state senator returns to the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee to show his or her approval of a federal judicial nominee and are considered a senatorial courtesy. The Judiciary Committee chairman determines the policy he or she applies to how blue slips impact the confirmation process. Bress is the third appeals court judge confirmed by the Senate in 2019 without support from both home-state senators.

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U.S. SENATE CONFIRMS THREE DISTRICT COURT JUDGES
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* The U.S. Senate confirmed Damon Leichty, J. Nicholas Ranjan, and T. Kent Wetherell to seats on the United States District Courts. The U.S. District Courts are the general trial courts ([link removed]) of the United States federal court system. 
* Damon Leichty ([link removed]) was confirmed to the Northern District of Indiana on a vote of 85-10. President Trump (R) nominated Leichty to this court on July 17, 2018, to succeed Judge Robert Miller. After he assumes his seat, the court will have four judges appointed by Republican presidents, one judge appointed by a Democratic president, and no vacancies.
* J. Nicholas Ranjan ([link removed]) was confirmed to the Western District of Pennsylvania on a vote of 80-14. President Trump nominated Ranjan to this court on July 24, 2018, to succeed Judge Kim Gibson. After he assumes his seat, the court will have four Republican-appointed judges, two Democratic-appointed judges, and four vacancies.
* T. Kent Wetherell ([link removed]) was confirmed to the Northern District of Florida on a vote of 78-15. President Trump nominated Wetherell to this court on May 7, 2018, to succeed Judge John Smoak. After he assumes his seat, the court will have three Republican-appointed judges, one Democratic-appointed judge, and no vacancies.

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THIRD DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE WILL TAKE PLACE IN HOUSTON, SECOND DEBATE GETS NEW RULES
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* The Democratic National Committee announced that the third presidential primary debate ([link removed]) will be held in Houston, Texas, on September 12, with an optional second night on September 13. ABC News and Univision will host the event.
* CNN also announced the debate rules for the second presidential primary debate ([link removed]) on July 30-31, 2019, in Detroit, Michigan. Candidates will be allowed to make opening and closing statements. There will be no questions requiring a show of hands or one-word, down-the-line answers. Candidates who repeatedly interrupt other speakers will be penalized.

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HARRIS LEADS DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES IN BALLOTPEDIA PAGEVIEWS FOR THE FIRST TIME
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Each week, we report ([link removed]) the number of pageviews received by 2020 presidential campaigns on Ballotpedia. These numbers show which candidates are getting our readers' attention.

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Kamala Harris' campaign page on Ballotpedia received 4,678 pageviews for the week of June 30 - July 6. Harris' pageview figure represents 9.1% of the pageviews for all Democratic candidates during the week. Pete Buttigieg had 7.1% of the Democratic campaign pageviews for the week while Marianne Williamson had 6.8%.

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Every Democratic campaign's pageviews decreased by 50% or more relative to the week of June 23-29, when the first Democratic debate took place. Harris' 52.7% decrease was the smallest among all Democratic candidates, followed by 56.7% for Elizabeth Warren and 57.4% for Joe Biden. Marianne Williamson, who led in pageviews last week, registered the fourth-largest decline this week at 71.4%.

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The top three candidates in lifetime pageviews are Buttigieg with 85,128, Andrew Yang with 71,129, and Harris with 68,255.

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On the GOP side, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld had 10,608 pageviews to President Trump's 1,308.

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CONGRESS IS IN SESSION
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The Senate will be in session July 15-19 and the House will be in session July 15-18. Click here ([link removed]) to see the full calendar for the first session of the 116th Congress.

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WHERE WAS THE PRESIDENT LAST WEEK? 
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On Monday, Trump participated in a credentialing ceremony for new ambassadors to Washington, D.C.

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On Tuesday, Trump met with the Amir of the State of Qatar.

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On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order on Advancing American Kidney Health.

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On Thursday, Trump spoke at the Presidential Social Media Summit and delivered remarks on citizenship and the census.

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On Friday, Trump participated in two roundtables with supporters and spoke at a joint fundraising committee luncheon.

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FEDERAL JUDICIARY 
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133 federal judicial vacancies

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62 pending nominations

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12 future federal judicial vacancies

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