Deep-pocketed Republicans who snubbed President Donald Trump in 2016 are going all for him in 2020, throwing their weight behind a newly-created fundraising drive that’s expected to dump tens of millions into his reelection reserves. The push illustrates how Trump, who once took a sledgehammer to rivals for their supposed loyalty to big donors, has come to rely on a GOP establishment he had previously rejected. [POLITICO]
Happy Monday!
Topping the news: Breaking from most Republicans, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney issued a sharp rebuke of Trump’s actions as described in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report, saying he is “sickened” by the president’s dishonesty. [Trib] [DNews] [FOX13] [ABC4]
-> The president fired back on Twitter after Romney’s statement, writing that the Utah senator might have actually become president if he’d spent as much time fighting Barack Obama, whom he ran against in the 2012 presidential election, as he does criticizing Trump. [Trib]
-> A cannabis business consultant and advocate believes the caps set in place by Utah legislators to allow only 10 growers as the state’s new medical cannabis program kicks in may cause product shortages and endanger patient choice when pharmacies officially open. [Trib]
Tweets of the weekend: @rolandscahill: “Getting furious while reading the Mueller report is my new cardio”
-> @arthurbrooks: “Contempt in American politics is based on a mistaken assumption: that there is no room for common ground, so there is no reason not to polarize with insults. That is almost always incorrect. My case for loving your enemies in the @washingtonpost:”
-> @RepBenMcAdams: “The tragic deaths & injuries in Sri Lanka, reportedly acts of religious extremists, are heartbreaking. Freedom to exercise religious or other beliefs & peacefully express individual identity must never be marred by fear. Praying for #SriLanka and for an end to violence.”
In other news: During a Sunday appearance on CBS, Utah Sen. Mike Lee said his opinion of Trump has not changed after the release of the Mueller report and said impeachment would be a mistake. [Trib]
-> The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance is suing the U.S. Department of Interior and Bureau of Land Management for allegedly failing to properly analyze land for cultural relics left behind in areas the department is now leasing for oil and gas development. [Trib]
-> TRAX passengers and Salt Lake City residents should prepare for an influx in traffic over the next few months as the Utah Transit Authority gears up to replace aging tracks and switches downtown. [Trib] [FOX13] [KUTV]
-> UTA officials promise they aren’t breaking the vow they made to voters to not use money from a recent sales tax hike to build additional train routes — instead, they’re funneling some of that money into a study to look at alternative methods of transportation, as well as to lay the groundwork for a proposed $1-billion-plus TRAX expansion. [Trib]
-> The Utah Department of Transportation found an additional $451 million this year after carefully leafing through recent highway projects accounts and will push the excess funds into speeding up or upgrading several major road projects. [Trib]
-> A group that reviews police and fire department employee appeals said Friday that it agreed with the Salt Lake City police chief’s 2017 decision to demote a lieutenant after body camera footage showed he had used unreasonable force and unjustly arrested a nurse. [Trib]
-> A jury convicted a man Friday on five different counts, including one for killing a police dog named Dingo back in 2017. The case already had an impact on state law, after Utah lawmakers increased the penalty for killing a police dog to up to 15 years in prison in 2018. [Trib] [Fox13]
-> Utah continues to lead the country as one of the highest job producers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. [Trib]
-> Tribune cartoonist Pat Bagley critiques Utah lawmakers’ decision not to provide funding to a vital area. [Trib]
Nationally: Several Americans were among the more than 290 people killed in Sri Lanka Sunday morning during a series of suicide bombings targeting Christians. Thirteen people have been arrested in connection with the bombings so far, which U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned as terror attacks. [NYTimes] [WaPost] [Politico]
-> Those who provided witness accounts for Mueller’s 448-page report are reportedly concerned about their livelihoods in the wake of the document’s release — and some are calling others in the Trump administration with the hopes of gleaning some insight into the president’s state of mind, according to four anonymous special counsel witnesses. [NYTimes]
-> Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, said during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” that there is nothing unethical about a political campaign using hacked information about an opponent obtained from a foreign source. But, he added, he personally would have advised against it. [NYTimes] [WaPost]
-> Elizabeth Warren, a 2020 presidential candidate and Massachusetts senator, called on Congress to impeach President Donald Trump upon the release of Mueller’s report. While other Democratic leaders have criticized the president for the actions outlined in the document, the majority are shying away from impeachment. [Politico] [NYTimes] [WaPost]
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-- Taylor Stevens and Sahalie Donaldson
Follow @sltribpolitics