White House aides eyeing the exits as Trump finds himself re-energized. Hatch named ‘Giant in Our City.’ National media take a look at Romney’s bid.
Happy Monday. President Donald Trump may be re-energized by recent events and excited for what’s ahead, but many of his aides are eyeing the exits. Even White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told visiting senators recently that the White House was “a miserable place to work.” [NYTimes]
Topping the news: Retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch was named ‘Giant in Our City’ by the Salt Lake Chamber and praised by outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan, among others. [Trib] [DNews]
-> The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request from Utah Republicans seeking to nullify Utah’s signature-gathering law. [Trib]
-> Mike Kennedy, who is running to replace Hatch in the U.S. Senate, released a list of 24 endorsements from state lawmakers – but at least one of them said they didn’t endorse the Republican candidate. [Trib]
-> The national media is keeping an eye on Senate candidate Mitt Romney, who is said to be preparing to be a powerful force in Washington. [Politico] [NYTimes]
Tweets of the day: From @MrFilmkritik: "We are all Angela Merkel.”
-> From @Jake_Vig: "’Winging It: The North Korea Summit Story’“
-> From @BradMossEsq: "Why do I have this feeling that by the time this upcoming week ends we’ll be edging towards a trade war with our allies while the President preps to golf at Mar-a-lago with Kim Jong-un?”
In other news: Prominent descendants of Brigham Young say the Mormon leader was not “a racist or a bigot” and had practical reasons for excluding black Mormons from the receiving the priesthood. [Trib]
-> SL Co. Mayor Ben McAdams postponed the final approval of a high-density Olympia housing project following massive pushback from city leaders and residents. [Trib]
-> Groups fighting a medical marijuana ballot initiative, including the LDS Church and Utah Medical Association, argue the initiative is too broad and would open the door to recreational marijuana use. [Trib]
-> SL Co. District Attorney Sim Gill is preparing for a re-election battle against Nathan Evershed, a deputy DA in Gill’s office. [Trib]
-> State Rep. Keith Grover will replace Sen. Margaret Dayton in the state Senate after his opponent withdrew his candidacy. [APviaTrib]
-> Frank Pignanelli and LaVarr Webb discuss the U.S. Supreme Court case that lets states legalize sports gambling and the NFL’s ban on kneeling during the national anthem. [DNews]
Nationally: President Donald Trump is in Singapore ahead of a historic and highly anticipated summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. [CNN] [WaPost]
-> Ahead of the summit with North Korea, Trump has isolated America from its closest allies after clashing at the G-7 summit in Quebec over the weekend. [NYTimes] [WaPost] [Politico]
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-- Thomas Burr and Connor Richards
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