Senate Republicans have some serious concerns about President Trump's nomination of Herman Cain to the Federal Reserve board.
Republicans have been "making a behind-the-scenes play" to get Trump to "back off" his nomination of Cain, Politico reported on Tuesday. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said that "there are concerns that are being voiced to the administrations about qualifications" and that the White House is "probably going to hear from a number of our members" about this.
Outside of qualification concerns, there's also the fear that Cain, who hasn't actually been formally nominated yet, is an example of Trump trying to politicize the Federal Reserve. Then there are the fears about what will come up in Cain's background check considering he has already been accused of sexual harassment by multiple women. Cain recently said he wasn't sure whether he would make it through the "cumbersome" vetting process, and Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) told Politico this comment from Cain is "certainly something for thought."
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who previously expressed his opposition to Cain's nomination, told Politico, "I don’t think Herman Cain will be on the Federal Reserve board, no." This might all be good news for Stephen Moore, Trump's other recent nominee for the Federal Reserve board, with GOP senators telling Politico opposition to Cain may have actually made Moore's confirmation process easier, as Republicans wouldn't want to reject both Trump picks.
Still, Thune told Politico that at this point, the chances that both Moore and Cain get confirmed are "pretty slim." And while not specifically naming Cain, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said on Tuesday that before Trump "starts floating names for DHS or the federal reserve," he should speak to Congress about whether they are "confirmable," per The New York Times' Glenn Thrush. This, Cornyn said, would "spare everybody the embarrassment." Brendan Morrow
Outside of Game of Thrones' predictable domination, the Emmys nominee list this year is full of some real head-turners.
From notable snubs to unexpected additions, let's take a look at some of the biggest surprises from this year's nominees.
1. Voters love Schitt's Creek and Fleabag - The previously-snubbed cult comedy Schitt's Creek unexpectedly snuck into the Outstanding Comedy Series category, also scoring nominations for its lead actors, Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara. Similarly, Fleabag after being previously snubbed scored not just a nomination in the top category but also 10 more, including for its star, Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
2. The Kominsky Method and GLOW miss - Netflix's The Kominsky Method, meanwhile, didn't get a nod in the top comedy category as expected, nor did GLOW, despite being nominated last year.
3. The Big Bang Theory and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt don't get a final season boost - The Big Bang Theory with its last season didn't get a nomination in the top comedy category nor, as was more likely, one for Jim Parsons, while Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's last episodes earned it no love, either.
4. Jon Snow edges out Robb Stark - Game of Thrones alum Richard Madden seemed to have a strong shot at a lead actor in a drama nominee for Bodyguard, but while that series was nominated, he was left out. Instead, it was Thrones' Kit Harington who was nominated after being snubbed last time, while Thrones co-stars Alfie Allen and Sophie Turner also got their first nods.
5. Jim Carrey, Julia Roberts, George Clooney, and Emma Stone are snubbed - These four traditionally movie-focused stars who headed to TV with Kidding, Homecoming, Catch 22, and Maniac respectively were all snubbed. Other actors who missed out on nominations included Allison Janney, Pamela Adlon,Tracee Ellis Ross, and Kieran Culkin.
6. Netflix nails it - Netflix's baking competition show Nailed It!, an online favorite, managed to make its way into the Outstanding Competition Program category. Better luck next time, The Masked Singer. Brendan Morrow
Say goodbye to @rogerjstonejr.
Roger Stone, President Trump's longtime and now former adviser, on Tuesday was found in violation of a gag order he's been subject to since February. So U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson has ordered Stone to stay off Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter until his November trial, she announced Tuesday.
Berman Jackson had previously ordered that Stone not comment "in the media or in public settings about the Special Counsel’s investigation or this case" to avoid coloring a potential jury's opinion of him. Yet Stone has maintained social media accounts that constantly post declarations of his innocence, namely through T-shirts that read "Roger Stone did nothing wrong." He's also posted the occasional prompt to fund his legal defense at StoneDefenseFund.com.
In the Tuesday proceeding, Jackson said her gag order was "clear as day," and then read off several posts where Stone had apparently violated it, The Washington Post reports. Stone's lawyer tried to argue that his small social media following negated the influence of those posts, but Berman Jackson wasn't having it. She ordered that Stone cannot post on social media altogether, but did not expand on how she'd enforce the order.
Stone was indicted in January under former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe, and was charged with obstruction of an official proceeding, witness tampering, and making false statements, among other counts. He's since fought those charges very publicly, both on social media and in court. Kathryn Krawczyk
A divisive final season didn't prevent Game of Thrones from setting a new Emmys record.
The hit HBO series scored a total of 32 Emmy nominations on Tuesday, including for Outstanding Drama Series and acting nominations for stars Kit Harington, Emilia Clarke, Alfie Allen, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Lena Headey, and Gwendoline Christie. Game of Thrones received not only the most nominations of any show this year but the most nominations that any show has ever received in one year, according to The Associated Press. The previous record was set when NYPD Blue in 1994 earned 27 nominations.
Also making up the Outstanding Drama Series category was Better Call Saul, Bodyguard, Killing Eve, Ozark, Pose, Succession, and This Is Us. The 2017 winner, The Handmaid's Tale, wasn't eligible because it didn't air a full season within the nominating window. The Outstanding Comedy Series category consisted of Barry, Fleabag, The Good Place, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Russian Doll, Schitt's Creek, and Veep.
Some notable surprises from the announcement included the comedy series nod for Schitt's Creek, which also received nominations for stars Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara, and the absence of Bodyguard's Richard Madden from the lead actor in a drama series category.
Thanks both to Game of Thrones and Veep, as well as other nominees like Chernobyl, HBO received the most nominations of any network with 137, with this coming after Netflix stole its thunder by claiming that title last year, The New York Times reports. Netflix, which released Emmy nominees like When They See Us and Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, picked up 117 nominations. Thrones and Veep, both of which recently aired their final seasons, are widely expected to take home the top prizes in September, unless Thrones does unexpectedly get dinged for its controversial last set of episodes.
The 2019 Emmys, which don't currently have a host, will take place on Sept. 22. Read the full list of nominees here. Brendan Morrow
Ever heard the one about infrastructure week?
As politicians make calls to rectify the decline of U.S. infrastructure investment, a new study from Leah Brooks of George Washington University and Zachary of Liscow of Yale University provides "suggestive evidence" as to how and why infrastructure costs could have changed over time.
After digitizing annual state-level data on interstate highway construction — one of the largest projects in American history — they found that per-mile construction costs increased dramatically over time, tripling between the early 1960s and the 1980s. But why?
Brooks and Liscow ruled out some old theories such as the idea that highway planners procrastinated and left the most geographically challenging routes for last, or that costs for labor and materials changed. Instead, one possible explanation they found is that as incomes and home values rose, so did demand for more expensive interstates. For example, the doubling in real median per capita income between the '60s and '80s accounts for about half the increase in construction costs per mile. States were also building more bridges and ramps as incomes increased. The study suggests all this could have occurred simply because the more money people had, the more willing they were to spend it.
One other factor that the study finds consistent with the data is the rise of the "citizen voice" in the late '60s and early '70s. That includes the growth of environmental activism, the civil rights movement, and homeowners organizing as lobbyists. Basically, more power to the people possibly meant more expensive highway construction. The timing checks out, at least.
The findings, the paper says, are suggestive, but not causal. Still, it looks like a good start in bettering our understanding of infrastructure investment over time. Read the full study here. Tim O'Donnell