White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham has yet to hold a single briefing since taking that role in July, deciding instead to participate in interviews with friendly conservative television outlets like Fox News and One America News Network. Scrutiny over the lack of briefings has heightened amid escalating tensions with Iran, but that shows no sign of changing. “The press has unprecedented access to President Trump, yet they continue to complain because they can’t grandstand on TV," Grisham told Axios in a recent interview. [CNN]
Happy Monday!
Topping the news: The Democratic ethnic minority members of Utah’s Legislature were upset by a comment Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox made comparing abortion to slavery at Saturday’s Eagle Forum convention during a panel of candidates running for governor. [Trib] [KUTV]
-> See who’s funding Utah’s gubernatorial candidates, with donations small, large and very large. [Trib]
-> Gov. Gary Herbert is criticizing Utah-based grocery chain Harmons for joining a citizen campaign that aims to overturn recent changes to the state’s tax laws, including a food tax hike. [Trib] [Fox13]
-> Herbert’s new budget calls on Utahns to improve air quality by choosing only Tier 3 gas in an effort to encourage refineries to produce the cleaner fuel. [Trib]
-> The once-controversial Olympia Hills development proposed near Herriman is back and its planning is more detailed and sweeping. [Trib]
-> The Sutherland Institute played a key role and spent millions in the campaign to block and then shrink the Bears Ears National Monument. [Trib]
Tweets of the weekend: From @BenWinslow: “I’m back on Capitol Hill and I can hear @utahreps testing the House voting chimes for the upcoming #utleg session. It’s a truly haunting noise.”
-> From @StephenAtHome: “Marianne Williamson is only gone from the campaign if your spirit chooses to experience time in a linear fashion.”
-> From @SLCgreen: “According to the last Waste Characterization done for SLC, 40% of the ~55,000 tons the residential & commercial sectors throw in the garbage could be recycled (paper, glass, plastic containers). We could divert so much more if more people simply recycled what is already accepted."
In other news: All four Republican candidates present at the Utah Eagle Forum convention on Saturday said they would sign a bill defining life as beginning at conception if they become governor. Responses were less direct on the issue of conversion therapy. [Trib]
-> Also at the convention, Sen. Mike Lee made it clear that he still supports Trump but criticized the Iran briefing and said he wants to restore Congress’ authority to declare war. [Trib] [ABC4] [DNews]
-> The Utah Parent Teacher Association plans to collect signatures to block the Legislature’s tax reform law from going into effect. The group is concerned about tax implications for school funding and for low-income people. [Trib] [Fox13]
-> Associated Food Stores in Utah says it will allow signature gathering for a referendum challenging tax reform at some of its stores, if asked, but has no position on the legislation. [FOX13]
-> The Utah Tax Commission is considering recalling the license plate “DEPORTM” after complaints last week on social media. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Utah just ranked No. 2 in the nation for growth in its quarterly gross domestic product, witht he market value of goods and services produced by labor and property rising to 3.2% between the second and third quarters of 2019. [Trib]
-> After announcing a resolution to designate Jan. 11 “National Martha Hughes Cannon Day — in memory of the first female state senator in Utah and the nation — Rep. John Curtis is forming a “Women’s Advisory Council.” [KUTV] [DNews]
-> Tribune cartoonist Pat Bagley considers what to do with a president found guilty of fraud involving his family foundation. [Trib]
-> Tribune columnist Robert Gehrke praises the inclusion of a proposed $290 million in new spending on education and $100 million to alleviate traffic-related air pollution in Herbert’s final budget proposal. [Trib]
Nationally: Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said he was never shown specific evidence that Iran was planning an attack on four American embassies as President Donald Trump claimed. [NYTimes] [AP] [USAToday] [Politico]
-> A top Iranian military commander made a public appeal for forgiveness on Sunday as security forces fired on protesters and as outrage over the accidental downing of a jetliner inspired opposition on the streets. [NYT]
-> On the day a U.S. drone strike killed Maj. Gen. Qassem Suleimani, the top Iranian commander, the American military also unsuccessfully tried to kill a senior Iranian military leader in Yemen. [WaPost][LATimes]
-> House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told lawmakers the House will move to send articles of impeachment to the Senate next week. [NYT]
-> Trump said he would invoke executive privilege to try to block John Bolton, his former national security adviser, from testifying in a Senate impeachment trial. [LATimes]
-> Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign has become more aggressive, attacking other candidates — including Elizabeth Warren — as he tries to secure an opening victory in the Iowa caucuses. [WaPost] [Politico]
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-- Taylor Stevens and Zoi Walker
Follow @sltribpolitics