Rantt: Rundown: Brexit on the Brink

Plus, the Barr hearing, citizenship on the Census, 2020 fever, and LA’s teacher strike.

May would probably prefer to be anywhere but 10 Downing Street.

1. Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal has just been resoundingly voted down, leaving the UK in ever more precarious waters. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has now called a vote of no confidence for tomorrow. If it succeeds, May will have to resign, but a general election may also be a possibility. Whoever ends up leading government will still need to come up with a new Brexit deal or possibly table a second referendum, all before a deadline in March.
2. William Barr, Trump’s attorney general pick, had his confirmation hearing on the Hill today. Barr sought to quell fears that he would inhibit the Mueller investigation, even calling Mueller an old friend. Rule of law fans will find this hard to square with Barr’s previous behavior (submitting a memo that called the investigation into question, for example), or his comments during the hearing, including refusing to guarantee his recusal from the instigation if deemed unethical, his “inability to recall” receiving confidential information about the investigation, as well as leaving open the possibility of keeping Mueller’s findings secret.
3. Another day, another defeat for a Trumpian policy in the courts. A federal judge barred the Trump administration from adding a question on citizenship in the 2020 Census, a move many believe is aimed at undercounting the Hispanic community. The Supreme Court may yet rule on the issue within the next few months.
4. The candidate list for the 2020 presidential election is filling up fast. New York Senator Kristen Gillibrand has officially thrown her hat in the ring, joining last week’s announcees former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren (not yet official, but she’s doing it.) The list looks to balloon with more prominent figures- Kamal Harris, Corey Booker, and Sherrod Brown, among others- soon enough.
5. It is the second day of a citywide teacher strike in Los Angeles, where about 32,000 educators have walked off the job. They are demanding better pay, staffing, and reducing class sizes that have grown to over 40 students per classroom in some schools. Such issues are commonplace throughout the US, and about half a dozen different strikes have been called in various states to address them. LA’s teachers are lucky, as they live in one of 15 states that allow them to strike; most American educators don’t even have that right.

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