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Situational Awareness - May 28, 2019 Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City. Welcome to Utah's must-read daily political news rundown. Please encourage your friends and colleagues to sign up for our emails. Here's what is driving the day: - Republicans oust anti-SB54 party members from leadership slots.
- McAdams says Congress needs to work with President Trump to address problems.
- Tornadoes rip through the midwest.
- Democrats ratchet up impeachment talk.
Trivia answers Utah is one of 5 states never to have a governor serve non-consecutive terms. That could change if former Gov. Jon Huntsman launches a bid to return to the governor's mansion in 2020. None of our readers could identify the other four states on that list: Hawaii, Kansas, Nevada and Wyoming. If you'd like to submit a political question for our Friday trivia, email me at bschott@utahpolicy.com.
 News tips/story ideas Kindly send suggestions, concerns and news tips to us via email at bschott@utahpolicy.com.
The UtahPolicy.com daily newsletter gets you up to speed on the top local and national news about politics and public policy. Our news is curated by Managing Editor Bryan Schott, along with help from Golden Webb. ((Click here to subscribe))
TICK TOCK Today is the 148th day of the year. There are 217 days remaining in 2019. 6 days until the municipal election filing period opens (6/3/2019) 10 days until the municipal election filing period ends (6/7/2019) 11 days until the Independent American Party Utah State Convention (6/8/2019) 25 days to the Utah State Democratic Party Organizing Convention (6/22/2019) 29 days to the first Democratic presidential primary debates in Miami (6/26/2019) 63 days to the second Democratic presidential primary debates in Detroit (7/30/2019) 77 days to the 2019 Utah primary elections (8/13/2019) 161 days to the 2019 municipal elections (11/5/2019) 244 days to the first day of the 2020 Utah Legislature (1/27/2020) 252 days to the 2020 Iowa Caucuses (2/3/2020) 280 days to the 2020 Utah presidential primary (3/3/2020) 521 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)
Today At Utah Policy  Utah Republicans purge anti-SB54 zealots from leadership positions
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
With the election of former state representative Ryan Wilcox as the new Weber County GOP chair last week, the near-sweep of the Gang of 51 from the Utah Republican Party is complete.
 Sen. Lee introduces Government Spectrum Valuation Act
By Press release
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Government Spectrum Valuation Act Monday, a bill designed to estimate the value of electromagnetic spectrum assigned to each federal agency as a first step towards meeting the nation's spectrum needs.
 McAdams: It's time for Congress to put feud with Trump aside to start solving problems
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Rep. Ben McAdams says Americans are tired of the partisan fighting in Washington and simply want Congress and President Donald Trump to get to work solving the nation's problems.
 Utah Thrives podcast: Robert Putnam
By Utah Foundation
Harvard political science professor Robert Putnam talks with Dan Bammes and Utah Foundation President Peter Reichard about the idea of social capital - the central idea of his groundbreaking book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community.
OTHER UTAH HEADLINES Deseret News Salt Lake Tribune Other
NATIONAL HEADLINES Severe weather. Several tornadoes ripped through parts of Indiana and Ohio overnight - https://nyti.ms/2Qqz9wM
Impeachment - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler is pushing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to launch an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump following the Memorial Day recess - http://bit.ly/2wqDoj0
- Senate Democrats want the House to back off impeachment talk - http://bit.ly/2wv8zJH
- Senate Republicans say they will quickly quash any effort if the House approves articles of impeachment - http://bit.ly/2wn9WtV
Trump in Japan - President Trump publicly broke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his visit to that country, saying he wasn't bothered by short-range missile tests by North Korea - http://bit.ly/2Qw1BgN
- Trump says he expects the trade gap with Japan to be "straightened out" in short order - https://cnb.cx/2Qw2BS5
Iran - President Trump tried to allay fears of military conflict in the Middle East, saying the U.S. is not seeking regime change in Iran - https://wapo.st/2QsyZFj
- The Iranian foreign ministry says they don't see any possibility of negotiating with the United States - https://reut.rs/2QtEIut
2020 - The first Democratic presidential debate is next month. So far, 13 candidates have met the polling and fundraising threshold for a spot on the debate stage - http://bit.ly/2QtGFXP
- Democratic front-runner Joe Biden is leading in the polls, but his campaign is finding a lack of enthusiasm for the former vice president on the campaign trail - https://politi.co/2Qtxgzw
Climate change. The Trump administration is planning to limit climate change projections in federal studies to the year 2040, which will ignore long-term projections - https://nyti.ms/2wpxT3T
Social media - A political scientist made up a quote from President Trump and posted it on Twitter to show how disinformation spreads online. Trump noticed and repeated his call for a change to the nation's libel laws - https://wapo.st/2QrP0vg
- The Trump campaign is "checking out" an alternative social media platform after several right-wing personalities were banned for violating Twitter's terms of service - https://politi.co/2wohcpx
For your radar. President Trump's ban on Chinese tech giant Huawei could cut off cell phone service for millions of rural Americans - https://nbcnews.to/2QtbonS
Illinois may do away with the flat tax. Lawmakers seeking to stabilize the state's finances approved a constitutional amendment that would put higher taxes on top earners. The measure may appear on the 2020 ballot - https://bloom.bg/2QrOLQM
Measles. There have been more than 900 cases of measles in the U.S. this year. More than half of states have recorded outbreaks - http://bit.ly/2wlGswK
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY 1830 - President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act which relocates Native Americans. 1892 - John Muir organizes the Sierra Club. 1937 - Volkswagen is founded. 1972 - White House "plumbers" first break-in at the Democratic National Headquarters at Watergate Complex in Washington D.C. 1987 - Mathias Rust, an 18-year-old West German pilot, evades Soviet Union air defenses and lands a private plane in the Red Square in Moscow, Russia. 1996 - President Bill Clinton's former business partners in the Whitewater land deal, Jim and Susan McDougal and Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker, are convicted of fraud.
Policy News  Independent American Party Convention June 8The Utah Independent American Party will hold its State Convention/Independence Summit on Saturday, June 8, 2019, at Juab High School in Nephi.
 International dispute resolution: Protecting your interests at home and abroadUtah companies doing business with foreign parties in any capacity should be prepared to resolve unexpected disputes in an efficient, unbiased and enforceable forum.
Utah Attorney General calls for automatic discharge of student loans for permanently disabled veteransAttorney General Sean D. Reyes is leading a bipartisan coalition of 51 Attorneys General (50 states and Guam) to urge the Department of Education and Secretary Betsy DeVos to automatically forgive the student loans of veterans who became totally and permanently disabled in connection with their military service.
More National Headlines
Japan Visit
Trump and Melania are scheduled to attend a sumo wrestling match, and Trump said he plans to hand out his own trophy to the winner. Kimmel said: "Remember that time President Bush puked on the Japanese minister? That's about to become the second most embarrassing thing a president has ever done in Japan." Jimmy Kimmel Subscribers may receive special messages with information about new features, special offers, or public policy messages from clients and advertisers. Advertise With Us | 
