Good morning. It's time for your Wednesday Digest. 1. No signs of Trump-Omar feud abating. President Trump and Minnesota U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar lobbed more criticism at each other Tuesday, with the president suggesting the feud would pay off politically for him next year. The two have spent much of the past week in a charged dispute that has riled up their respective political bases. Meanwhile, a Republican state legislator and a conservative group made separate but similar calls for a House ethics investigation into Omar. Collectively, it offered more proof that Omar has gained outsized attention — and become a lightning rod for the political right — in only seven months in Congress. Trump tweets often about Omar, questioning her patriotism. He drew criticism last week for tweets and for not stopping the audience at a recent campaign rally from chanting “send her back” about the former Somali refugee. Trump spoke dismissively Tuesday about Omar and a few of her close House allies in remarks to Turning Point USA, a summit of conservative teens gathered in Washington. (MPR News) 2. Some Senate Democrats reconsider stances on Franken resignation. Former senator Al Franken’s admission this week that he regretted his decision in 2017 to resign amid misconduct allegations has again shown a sensitive rift within the Democratic Party, as it continues to wrestle with balancing due process for the accused with defending the rights of assault victims in the #MeToo era. On Dec. 6, 2017, about three dozen Democratic senators in rapid succession called on Franken (D-Minn.) to step aside — wearied by a growing wave of allegations after Leeann Tweeden, a model and broadcaster, first accused the senator of forcibly kissing her during a rehearsal for a USO tour in 2006. But several Democratic senators have since struggled with their role in pushing out one of the party’s most prominent and popular figures in the face of more than half a dozen accusations that Franken had touched women inappropriately or forcibly kissed them, both before and during his tenure in the Senate. (Washington Post)
3. DHS official claims retaliation for blowing whistle. A compliance officer at the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) said she was the victim of retaliation after she raised alarms about the legality of contracts at the social services agency. Faye K. Bernstein, a lead contract specialist at DHS, said she was verbally reprimanded and sidelined from her duties after she pointed out “serious non-compliance issues” with a group of contracts approved by leaders in the agency’s behavioral health division, which awards millions of dollars each year in contracts for mental health and substance use treatment and services. “I am aware of substandard and noncompliant contracts approved by management to go out the door, putting DHS funds at risk and impeding client services,” Bernstein wrote in a July 10 e-mail to all the employees in her division and obtained by the Star Tribune. “On a good day I am met with dismissiveness, on a bad day it feels to me to be intentionally punitive.” Within an hour after sending the message, Bernstein was escorted out of the DHS central office. (Star Tribune) 4. Line 3 becomes presidential campaign issue. Democratic presidential candidate Jay Inslee has come out against construction of an oil pipeline proposed in northern Minnesota, elevating the project from a statewide issue to a national one in the race for the White House. The Washington governor is the second candidate to take a stance on Enbridge’s Line 3, a $2.6 billion project that would cross the Mississippi Headwaters and tribal land over its 337-mile path in Minnesota. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders announced his opposition to the pipeline in January, a month before his presidential campaign began. So far, the Line 3 project hasn’t drawn attention on the scale of the Keystone XL pipeline or the Dakota Access Pipeline, which sparked months of protests. But it has been a thorny political issue for DFLers in Minnesota, who are split over supporting the project. With Inslee’s announcement and Sanders’ opposition, Line 3 could become a litmus test of climate change policy and tribal solidarity in the Democratic primary. (MinnPost) 5. Hagedorn all in on Trump, conservatism. U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn’s town hall meeting was about halfway through Monday when things started to get testy. “You’re not listening to us!” shouted Carolyn Dobler, a retired Gustavus professor and DFL activist from St. Peter, Minn. “Of course I’m listening to you,” replied the first-term Republican. “We have different philosophies on what should be done.” Six months into a two-year term, Hagedorn has shown no inclination to mute his conservative views or downplay his allegiance to President Donald Trump — despite a slim victory in 2018 in a swing congressional district. The Republican from Blue Earth, Minn., has emerged as a top target for Democrats in 2020, with state and national party groups highlighting votes and public comments he has made that repeatedly put him on the same page as the president. (Star Tribune)
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