Happy Wednesday!
President Donald Trump’s spiritual advisor, Paula White, called for “every demonic network that has aligned itself” against the president to “be broken, let it be torn down in the name of Jesus.” She said that in the opening prayer at his reelection kickoff on Tuesday. She added, “I declare that President Trump will overcome every strategy from hell and every strategy from the enemy.” [Politico]
Topping the news: Joe Demma — Gov. Herbert’s ex-campaign manager and a longtime aide — filed for bankruptcy the same day he helped launch a controversial PAC that would pay him more than $100,000 [Trib]
-> The Government Accountability Office is investigating whether the Bureau of Land Management broke the law by identifying tracts of land for possible oil and gas drilling inside the original Grand-Staircase Escalante National Monument. [Trib]
-> The feud between SLC Mayor Jackie Biskupski intensifies as the mayor calls for “better council members,” and a council member responds by calling her a “failed mayor.” [Trib]
Tweets of the day: From @pourmecoffee: “Donald Trump and my Mom are the main people that tell me about the nice letters and phone calls they had.”
->From @LibyaLiberty: “If the debate is “but are they REALLY concentration camps”, that’s a pretty good sign that they’re concentration camps.”
->From @danpfeiffer: “Trump starting a war to get his ratings up is not out of the question”
Happy Birthday: to Thom Carter, executive director of Utah Clean Air Partnership.
Also in the news: Following a debacle with a new company conducting standardized testing at schools, Utah will sign a $21 million contract with the company it previously used. [Trib]
-> A state judge said Tuesday he will end his oversight of the land trust once controlled by a polygamous sect on the Utah-Arizona line, ending a 14-year chapter that helped turn two secluded religious outposts into fledgling secular communities. [Trib]
-> The Utah prison system is down to 199 open beds as the inmate population grows at a rate that the director warns is ‘not sustainable.’ [Trib]
-> State employees this year are slated to begin their exodus from Capitol Hill to Taylorsville. What comes after that? [Trib]
-> Salt Lake City teachers rally again for a pay raise, saying they are asking for respect. [Trib]
-> Farmington, which more than a year ago refused to let a state-owned liquor store be built within its borders, has changed its mind. [Trib]
-> West Valley City approves spending $90,000 on metal and bomb detection equipment at the Maverik Center. [Trib]
-> The Salt Lake City Council has set aside $20,000 in funding for a one-year pilot program that will soon make feminine hygiene products available for free at bathrooms in some city buildings. [Trib]
-> Cartoonist Pat Bagley gives his take on immigration, President Trump and signs of the times. [Trib]
-> Columnist Robert Gehrke says that while SLC Mayor Jackie Biskupski won’t be on the ballot, she still looms large in this year’s mayoral race. [Trib]
Nationally: Immigration officials are bulking up to make mass immigration arrests in coming weeks, but not the ‘millions’ signaled by Trump in a tweet. [NYTimes]
-> Trump launches his reelection campaign with a fierce denunciation of the news media, the political establishment and what he called his radical opponents. He unveiled a new slogan: Keep America Great. [NYTimes]
-> On Tuesday, President Trump withdrew Patrick Shanahan to be his nominee for Secretary of Defense, after his ex-wife accused him of assaulting her. [NYTimes]
-> The Supreme Court ruled states have power to seek state-level charges against people pardoned by presidents of federal crimes. [Politico]
-> Amid escalating tensions with Iran, the U.S. will send an additional 1,000 troops to the Middle East. [CNN]
-> Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the outgoing White House press secretary, is seriously considering running for governor of Arkansas. [Politico]
-> Chinese President Xi Jinping will make his first visit to North Korea this week, a move many say could rattle his relationship with President Trump. [NYTimes]
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-- Lee Davidson and Alison Berg
Follow @sltribpolitics