President Trump’s lifelong addiction: It’s his lawyers. Report: Utah only state where GOP has not employed anti-Muslim rhetoric. Lee, Love want congressional vote on more Syrian action.
Happy Wednesday. President Donald Trump doesn’t drink alcohol. He’s not into drugs. And while he clearly has a thing for women, his real addiction is another group: lawyers. They are so entwined with every aspect of his public and private life, it is unimaginable that Trump could have gotten anywhere close to where he is today without them. [Politico]
Topping the news: According to new reports, Utah is only state where Republican leaders have not employed anti-Muslim rhetoric. [Trib]
-> Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Mia Love say President Trump needs to seek congressional authority for any further action against Syria. [Trib]
Tweets of the day: From @KaivanShroff: “Paid my taxes, wonder what messed up way Scott Pruitt gonna spend the cash #TaxDay”
-> From @Liz_Wheeler: “The IRS is so incompetent they can’t even keep their website up on tax day.”
-> From @ErinLea7: “I do not like the tax and stress. I do not like the IRS. - Dr. Suess probably #WriteAPoemToTheIRS”
-> From @thejoshpatten: “Hannity only asked Cohen about vague legal questions such as, ‘Am I legally a sensai if I practice karate in the garage?’”
In other news: Staff shortages at the Salt Lake County jail may only intensify unless changes are made. [Trib]
-> West Wendover voted to reject recreational marijuana sales, but the city’s mayor vetoes it. [Fox13]
-> An Ogden woman has started an organization to provide help to the victims of domestic violence and substance abuse. [ABC4]
-> One Hildale automotive parts store describes how the FLDS Church runs the local economy. [Trib]
-> The Salt Lake City Council delayed a vote on a sales tax hike after community leaders expressed concerns on how the new money would be spent. [DNews]
-> Pat Bagley depicts why rent is so high. [Trib]
-> Paul Rolly argues that Utah’s Legislature may not be studying the gender wage gap because of its overwhelming lack of female representation. [Trib]
-> Robert Gehrke points out that ballot measures aren’t as democratic as you might think, and that they actually require millions from outside interests. [Trib]
Nationally: Former first lady Barbara Bush passed away at age 92. [NYTimes]
-> President Donald Trump expressed confidence that talks with North Korea would take place as the White House anticipates a late May/early June conference. [WaPost]
-> The IRS electronic filing system suffered a shutdown just hours before taxes were due for millions of Americans. [WaPost]
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— Thomas Burr and Eric Baker
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