Trump goes against his ‘original instinct,’ plans to send more troops to Afghanistan. Despite program’s uncertainty, Utahns celebrate five years of DACA. Former Utah guv says letting Obamacare fail would lead to a crisis.
Happy Tuesday. President Donald Trump has long been skeptical of increasing the number of American troops in Afghanistan. But he reversed course Monday. “My original instinct was to pull out — and, historically, I like following my instincts,” he said. “But all of my life, I’ve heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office.” [WaPost]
Topping the news: Though it’s unclear what could happen to the program, Utah dreamers are still celebrating five years of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) plan. [Trib]
-> Former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt said if President Donald Trump follows through with plans to ”let Obamacare fail,” it would lead to a health care crisis. [Trib]
-> Rep. Rob Bishop will hold three town halls this week – one in Layton, one in Brigham City and one on the radio. [DNews]
Tweets of the day: From @kumailn: “I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a Trump tweet from a few years ago that says ‘Only utter idiots stare at solar eclipses without glasses!‘”
-> From @owillis: “The sun never went out when Obama was president, is all I’m saying”
In other news: President Donald Trump signed Sen. Orrin Hatch’s rapid DNA bill. [DNews]
-> Although state leaders have already began executing Operation Rio Grande, officials still aren't sure what the price tag will look like. [DNews]
-> Paul Rolly argues that the white supremacists who rallied in Charlottesville, Va., last weekend showed that they aren't as superior as they think by the way they behaved when they felt threatened. [Trib]
Nationally: The Navy will conduct a safety check on all of its ships after one of its destroyers collided with an oil tanker off the coast of Singapore. [NYTimes]
-> The Interior Department ordered the National Academies of Sciences to stop studying the health risks associated with mountaintop-removal coal mining. [NYTimes]
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-- Courtney Tanner and Emily Anderson
Follow @sltribpolitics