The Congressional Black Caucus is likely to turn down a meeting with President Trump due to frustration with the administration's apparent disinterest in its priorities and an opposition to being a willing photo-op "that the president could use to bolster his standing among African-Americans," Politico writes. The group will officially decide how to handle the president's request at its weekly meeting Wednesday, although people close to the caucus say a summit with the president is definitely "off the table."
The 49-member CBC also reacted poorly to the invitation from the White House, extended by former Apprentice contestant Omarosa Manigault:
"As requested by the president, we would like to schedule a follow-up meeting with the entire membership of the Congressional Black Caucus to discuss issues pertinent to your members," Manigault wrote in the invitation, obtained by Politico.But multiple CBC members said they were put off that she signed the invitation as "the Honorable Omarosa Manigault," saying she hasn't earned that title nor has she helped raise the profile of CBC issues within the White House as promised. [Politico]
As one senior Democratic aide put the CBC's likely decision: "No one wants to be a co-star on the reality show."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Update 3:51 p.m.: The Congressional Black Caucus has officially turned down the meeting with President Trump. "While we agreed to explore possible future discussions when we first met, it has become abundantly clear that a conversation with the entire CBC would not be entirely productive, given the actions taken by your administration since our first meeting," the CBC wrote. Read their entire letter here.
-
October 5 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, and more
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailoutTalking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoffSpeed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsionSpeed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deploymentSpeed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland
