Since the midterm elections, President Donald Trump has spent about 60 percent of his workday in unscheduled “executive time,” according to leaked schedules obtained by Axios. Trump spends about the first five hours of the day in his residency, where he watches television, reads newspapers and makes phone calls. His first meeting of the day usually does not start until 11 or 11:30 a.m. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told Axios that Trump “has a different leadership style than his predecessors and the results speak for themselves.” [Axios] [The Hill]
Happy Monday.
Topping the news: Because of the affordable housing crisis, a Salt Lake City couple who has been homeless since 2008 struggles to find an apartment even after receiving a government housing voucher because of its tight price and location requirements. Many people with those vouchers see them expire before they find housing. [Trib]
-> A new poll shows that former state Sen. Jim Dabakis takes the early lead in Salt Lake City’s mayoral race over incumbent Jackie Biskupski. [Trib]
-> House Democrats in Washington introduced a bill that would expand the Bears Ears National Monument — originally introduced by President Barack Obama and rescinded by Trump — by 600,000 acres more than the area Obama had designated. The bill should fare well in the House where Democrats hold a majority, but it is not likely to survive in the Republican-controlled senate. [Trib]
-> A partial Medicaid expansion bill that would replace Proposition 3 for full Medicaid expansion stalled in the state Senate on Friday over budget concerns. Senate Majority Whip Dan Hemmert said a new version of the bill is being drafted with technical changes to address concerns. Meanwhile, many Utahns continue to show outrage over the replacement of Prop 3, some funding TV ads and billboards against the bill. [Trib] [DNews]
Tweets of the day:
-> From @KatrinaKibben “Someone just texted me: ‘These teams are playing like they know whoever wins has to go to the White House’ #SuperBowl”
-> From @davidmackau “the immigration agent at JFK just saw that i work for buzzfeed and just grilled me for 10 minutes about the cohen story which was fun given he gets to decide whether to let me back into the country”
-> From @juliaritchey “Saw great Sundance screening w/ @BenWinslow called "Official Secrets" about leaks of British intel to the press in run-up to Iraq War. Really had me lamenting the chilling effect leak prosecutions from Bush to Obama have had on public understanding of our foreign policy fiascos.”
Happy Birthday: on Saturday to state Rep. Kay Christofferson and former Rep. Michael Kennedy; on Sunday to Rep. Patrice Arent and former Taylorsville Mayor Larry Johnson; and on Monday to Tyler Cain (constituent services specialist in Governor Gary Herbert’s office), Emily Andrews and state Sen. Luz Escamilla.
In other news: A new poll shows Utahns are in favor of keeping the the signature collection option for candidates looking to qualify for the primary election. [Trib]
-> The Utah Attorney General’s Office asks the U.S. Supreme Court to reject an appeal by the Utah Republican party that challenges a 2014 state election law allowing for candidates to qualify for the primary elections via signature collection or through the caucus convention system. [Trib]
-> Josie Valdez, former vice chair of the Utah Democratic Party and longtime Latino affairs activist, becomes the third person to announce candidacy for the the at-large Salt Lake County Council seat vacated by newly inaugurated Mayor Jenny Wilson. [Trib]
-> Timothy Ballard, head of Operation Underground Railroad, a Utah based nonprofit that seeks to help victims of sex trafficking, sat next to President Trump on Friday at a an event on human trafficking. Earlier last week, Ballard published an opinion piece for Fox News that asserted a border wall would help protect minors from sex trafficking. Trump made similar claims while speaking at the event Friday. [Trib]
-> If passed, a bill sponsored by Sen. Jerry Stevenson could do away with the statewide 3.2 percent alcohol cap on beer sold in Utah retail stores. The bill would instead make the cap at 4.8 percent, on par with the bulk of commercially produced brews nationally. [Trib] [Fox13] [DNews]
-> A man with epilepsy says he will use affirmative defense under new medical cannabis law to fight misdemeanor charges for driving with a controlled substance in his body, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to stay in a lane all related to cannabis. If accomplished this would be the first use of the affirmative defense in Utah. [Fox13]
-> Two of every three Utahns oppose reinstating the full sales tax on food, a new poll shows. [UtahPolicy]
-> Pat Bagley illustrates filtered calls to Utah lawmakers. [Trib]
-> Frank Pignanelli and LaVarr Webb look at how Utah lawmakers are reworking ballot initiatives passed by voters [DNews]
Nationally: During an interview Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” president Trump discussed keeping US. troops in Iraq to monitor Iran. [NYTimes]
-> As vacancies in the top levels of the Trump administration pile up, agencies are relying on novel and legally questionable personnel moves that has started to alarm Congress. [WaPost]
-> U.S. House and Senate Democrats introduce a bill to expand Social Security while making gradual changes toward renewed solvency for the program over the next century. [NYTimes]
-> An official from the Trump administration outlines the focus of the president’s State of the Union Address scheduled for Tuesday, saying it will aim at bringing together a divided government. [NYTimes]
-> Ralph Northam, the Democratic governor of Virginia, is facing calls for his resignation following the surfacing on Friday of racist photos from his medical school yearbook. The photos, captioned with Northam’s name, showed someone wearing a Ku Klux Klan costume and another in blackface. [WaPost] [CNN]
-> Former Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, now a Fox News contributor and possible Utah gubernatorial candidate, says the outrage surrounding the Northam blackface photo would be ‘exponentially worse’ if he were a Trump supporter [UtahPolicy]
Correction: An item in Friday’s cornflakes should have said former Rep. Mike Noel was cleared of allegations relating to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument — not Bears Ears.
Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Send us a note to cornflakes@sltrib.com.
Lee Davidson and Christina Giardinelli