By Emily Goodin

The eyes of the nation turned to the first family this week as Donald Trump Jr. admitted to meeting with a Russian lawyer during the campaign and released a string of emails about the arrangement of the meeting. 

President Trump “defended his son’s keen interest in receiving potentially damaging campaign information routed through Moscow by dismissing it Thursday as ‘standard’ practice during the rough and tumble of modern politics,” RealClearPolitics Alexis Simendinger reports. 

“I think from a practical standpoint most people would've taken that meeting. It's called opposition research,” Trump said, speaking to reporters during an official visit to Paris. “Politics is not the nicest business in the world.” http://bit.ly/2taEH6l

Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner (he was also at the meeting with Russians) were noticeably absent from the Paris trip after accompanying the president on his G-20 trip last week. Instead they were in Sun Valley, Idaho, for the Allen & Co. conference of media heavyweights. 

Ivanka Trump was also in the spotlight this week after she was subject to criticism for sitting in for her father in one of the G-20 sessions. 

The president defended his daughter too. 

“When I left Conference Room for short meetings with Japan and other countries, I asked Ivanka to hold seat. Very standard. Angela M agrees!" he tweeted. 

After all, disowning the family really isn’t an option.

 

WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN THE NEXT WEEK: The White House: More defense of the Trump family. President Trump had made clear he expects loyalty from his staff and he gives loyalty to his children.

The Senate: The health care vote count. Republicans have released their revised health care legislation and have already lost two votes. That’s all they can afford. One more and the repeal of Obamacare is dead.

The House: The budget. It’s appropriations time. The next few weeks will be taken up with spending bills.
 

TRUMP JOB APPROVAL: His approval rating is at -13.7 points in the RealClearPolitics Polling Average. http://bit.ly/2slB9gm

TUNE IN: In episode 3 of “The Future of the Administrative State,” RealClearPolicy editor Tony Mills talks with Paul Verkuil, former chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. His new book, “Valuing Bureaucracy: The Case for Professional Government,” makes the case for the administrative state. http://bit.ly/2uisqft

FISCAL WOES: RCP’s James Arkin takes a deep dive into Washington’s budget problems, reporting: “Though a government shutdown deadline of September 30 and a debt limit deadline sometime in October may seem distant, the House has only 13 legislative days before the annual August recess, and only 25 legislative days between now and October 1. The Senate has a slightly larger buffer: 14 legislative days before August, and 31 before the fiscal year ends.”  http://bit.ly/2ue5vCI

Read James’ entire series here: https://www.realclearpolitics.com/topic/in_the_news/budget_breakdown/

‘ON THIS DATE’: RCP Bureau Chief Carl Cannon talks more about his new book. http://bit.ly/2tf26hX

MIND THE GAP: At RealClearPolicy, American Enterprise Institute’s James C. Capretta examines what it would take to close the fiscal gap, noting “now, with Republicans in control of the White House and Congress, there is little prospect of bipartisan cooperation on major legislation. It is therefore possible — and perhaps probable — that another presidential term will come and go and the nation will still be no better prepared for the major fiscal challenges that lie ahead.”  http://bit.ly/2v3Orvv

In Other Originals

MURPHY’S LAW: RealClearDefense Pentagon correspondent Sandra Erwin talks to former Army secretary and congressman Patrick J. Murphy about his new role as a veterans’ advocate. http://bit.ly/2sHpZzh
 
Erwin also looks at how a “Buy American” requirement from the Trump administration could hurt defense contractors: “Recent White House edicts aimed at cracking down on the use of foreign sources of supplies in government contracts should hit the defense business especially hard. The Pentagon issues about $300 billion worth of contracts a year, and many of the products it buys include components made outside the United States.” http://bit.ly/2uoe0eJ
 
CYBER SAFETY: At RealClearLife, Matthew Reitman looks at how ransomware is the biggest threat to your personal cybersecurity. http://bit.ly/2sHK7Bj
 
POST-PRESIDENCY CASH: At RealClearInvestigations, Norman Leahy examines the amount former presidents have earned once they are out of office and how much taxpayer money they receive in the form of pensions and office expenses. http://bit.ly/2vgl8X1
 
HEALTH CARE DOLLARS AND SENSE: At RealClearHealth, the Galen Institute’s Doug Badger argues the reason the Senate is having a hard time repealing Obamacare is this: “It’s pretty much about the money. It’s not about providing Medicaid coverage to low-income adults.  Some moderate Republicans who profess concern for the needy are actually trying to shift more of the cost of providing them Medicaid coverage from their states to the federal government.  They’re holding out for more federal cash for their states. And they just might get it – from Senate Democrats.” http://bit.ly/2tEF0oF
 
Also at RealClearHealth, Dr. Kevin Campbell examines virtual doctors’ visits in Part 4 of his series on digital health. http://bit.ly/2tTd4fa
 
BATTLE CRY: At RealClearDefense, Crispin Rovere, a member of the Australian Labor Party, makes the case for war with North Korea: “This analysis recommends war. It is shocking to put to print. However, with North Korea’s inexorable advance towards developing a nuclear-tipped ICBM, we enter the realm of bad choices. On balance, war on the peninsula is the least bad alternative.” http://bit.ly/2tEz7rC
 
LEGACY WATCH: At RealClearReligion, Richard Flory, senior director of research and evaluation at the University of Southern California, examines the legacy of Jerry Falwell Sr. http://bit.ly/2t0jbRK
 
THE CASE FOR FREE TRADE: At RealClearPolicy, R Street Institute’s Clark Packard makes the moral case for free trade: “More liberalized trade rules do not just mean cheaper electronics and other luxury items; basic necessities such as food and clothing would also be cheaper if there were fewer restrictions on agriculture and textiles imports.” http://bit.ly/2tepb4o
 
ALL ABOUT ALBANIA: At RealClearWorld, Dino Buonaiuto interviews Antonio Caiazza about his book “In High Seas: A Journey Through Albania From Communism to the Future,” which “masterfully marries Albania’s history to its culture, examining the painful dramas of its recent past and the surprising voices of politicians, intellectuals, and common people.” http://bit.ly/2tNctf5
 
GRADING SCHOOL CHOICE: At RealClearEducation, the Cato Institute’s Corey A. DeAngelis argues that new studies prove school vouchers aren't a failure and do improve student outcomes. http://bit.ly/2uepros
 
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: At RealClearLife, K.S. Bruce examines the life of Teddy Roosevelt Jr. http://bit.ly/2ujbfva
 
Also at RealClearLife, Ethan Sacks talks to actor Steve Zahn and "War for the Planet of the Apes" visual effects supervisor Dan Lemmon for an inside look at the technology that turned humans into apes. http://bit.ly/2tR6XYF
 
BATTER UP: RealClearSports’ Ben Krimmel looks at the Top 10 Ways to Make Baseball Better http://bit.ly/2uRtSDn