Good morning and welcome to your Thursday Capitol View. Today’s edition is once again led by reaction to George Floyd’s death at the hands of police. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has taken the unusual step of calling for charges against the officer who held his knee to Floyd’s neck. “We watched for five whole, excruciating minutes as a white officer firmly pressed his knee into the neck of an unarmed, handcuffed black man,” Frey said Tuesday. “I saw no threat. I saw nothing that would signal that this kind of force was necessary. … If you had done it, or I had done it, we would be behind bars right now.” St. Louis County commissioners have again delayed a vote on refugee resettlement. Dan Kraker reports: “It was the first time a Minnesota county has taken up the heated issue of consenting to refugee resettlement in several months, since a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from enforcing an executive order that allowed states and counties to reject refugees from resettling within their jurisdictions. But after hearing from about 90 residents, and debating the issue for another two hours, the commissioners voted 4-3 to send the resolution back to county administration until the federal courts decide whether Trump’s executive order is constitutional.”
Joe Biden will give the keynote for Minnesota Democrats’ online convention. The AP reports: “The former vice president will address the delegates online Sunday, along with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who's considered a potential running mate. Their speeches can be viewed live on the state party's Facebook and YouTube channels.” In the White House, President Trump is threatening social media with new regulation or worse. It came the day after Twitter fact-checked two of his tweets. Via the AP: “The president can't unilaterally regulate or close the companies, which would require action by Congress or the Federal Communications Commission. But that didn't stop Trump from angrily issuing a strong warning. Claiming tech giants ‘silence conservative voices,’ Trump tweeted, ‘We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen.’” | 