Newsletter: Essential Politics: A joint attack

I’m Christina Bellantoni. This is Essential Politics. Let’s get started.

The massacre in Orlando continues to reverberate on the campaign trail. On Tuesday President Obama accused presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump of “doing the terrorists’ work for them” and Hillary Clinton excoriated her rival as a liar and a “pathological” personality who is temperamentally unsuited to be president.

Their joint attack, made at simultaneous speeches in Washington and Pittsburgh, came the day after Trump had revived insinuations about Obama’s loyalty to the U.S. and had vowed that as president he would ban immigration not only by Muslims but also people from any country with a “proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies.” Also Tuesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan reiterated his opposition to Trump’s blanket ban idea, saying such a religious test was contrary to U.S. interests and inconsistent with the principles of Republicans.

Trump fired back during an appearance in Greensboro, N.C., on Tuesday night, saying the country is in trouble because of “weak” leadership. He laid into Obama as the crowd cheered.

“He was more angry at me then he was at the shooter,” said Trump, who turned 70 Tuesday. “That’s the kind of anger he should have for the shooter and these killers that shouldn’t be here.”

The harsh exchanges underscored the brutal nature of the campaign to come, with its focus on intertwined issues of race, ethnicity, terrorism and immigration.

What does any of this portend for the general election? Play around with the different scenarios on our interactive Electoral College map.

TENSE MOMENTS

Patrick McGreevy reports that tempers flared in Sacramento as lawmakers debated a package of legislation to put in place even stricter gun control in California.

And in Washington, House Democrats tried, unsuccessfully, to force a vote on whether people on the FBI watch list should be able to purchase guns. Sarah Wire captured the emotion of the day, as members of the California delegation were at the heart of the debate.

MORE THAN 1.9 MILLION BALLOTS LEFT IN CALIFORNIA

With California’s primary now more than a week in the rearview mirror, elections officials continue to make their way through the ballots left uncounted on election night.

An update on Tuesday showed more than 1.9 million ballots still need to be reviewed, a process that by law can last up to 30 days. No county has as many ballots left to process as does Los Angeles, and county supervisors heard complaints Tuesday from dozens of voters and poll workers about problems they encountered on election day — including broken voting machines, names missing from voter rosters and polling stations that ran out of ballots.

D.C. VOTES

Clinton was declared the winner of the final primary of the year in Washington, D.C., as she and Sen. Bernie Sanders huddled privately about the steps ahead.

Sanders began to shift from a campaign for votes to a bid to maintain influence in national politics, calling for “a fundamental transformation of the Democratic Party” as he sought to set the terms for his formal exit from the presidential race. On the day the last votes of the nominating race were being cast, Sanders was clearly a man in transition, Mike Memoli reports. He made his first appearance in months at the Senate Democrats’ weekly policy luncheon and even joined his colleagues in the formal “class photo” in the Senate chamber.

The Vermont senator will be hosting a livestream for supporters Thursday night to talk about what’s next. “The voting is done, but our political revolution continues,” Sanders said in previewing the address.

For the latest from the campaign, keep an eye on Trail Guide and follow @latimespolitics.

BUDGET TRANSPARENCY?

California officials have spent years working on a new accounting system for state government agencies, but it may not be as transparent as previously expected. Legislation included in the budget deal would remove specific requirements for disclosing spending on a public website. Why? The new system, which has cost hundreds of millions of dollars more than originally anticipated, may not be able to process that level of detail.

BUDGET VICTORIES FOR WOMEN’S CAUCUS

The new state budget, which is scheduled for a vote on Wednesday, includes more money for child care and the elimination of a controversial limit on welfare benefits. Both of those were key goals for the California Legislative Women’s Caucus, which marked its successes Tuesday at a press conference outside the Capitol.

Keep an eye on our Essential Politics news feed for live updates from Sacramento as the budget hits the floor.

TODAY’S ESSENTIALS

— California’s economy would be the sixth largest in the world were the Golden State a country. Or would it be the eleventh largest? Two new numbers were reported on Tuesday, though either way it’s a sign of California’s strength compared to its neighbors.

— U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. Adam Schiff want to more than double the size of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area under legislation filed in both the House and Senate. The Rim of the Valley Corridor Preservation Act would add 193,000 acres stretching from the Simi Hills and Santa Susannas, the Verdugos and on to the San Gabriel Mountains.

— Lawyers for Trump say there is “no legitimate reason” to release video of the businessman testifying at a deposition in one of two class-action lawsuits filed against Trump University. A terse, four-page motion filed Monday in federal court in San Diego is aimed at blocking lawyers for the plaintiffs from putting into the court records excerpts from videotaped depositions Trump gave in the case in December and January.

— The two-years deceased father-in-law of Rep. Scott Peters (D-San Diego) was listed as a campaign contributor for $8,000 in donations given as long as 18 months after his death. The Peters campaign says the contributions were listed in error and should have been attributed to another family member, the Union-Tribune reports.

— Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) said she hopes a judge will not show leniency when sentencing former legislators Tom and Ronald Calderon in a corruption case.

— A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld tough new regulations for online traffic in a major victory for Obama and a blow to telecommunications companies, which challenged the net neutrality rules.

— The annual Congressional Women’s Softball Game that pits female lawmakers against members of the media for charity is Wednesday night. If you’re in Washington, buy your tickets and cheer on our very own Sarah Wire. There are no California members on the team this year, but Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi always shows up to rally the crowd.

LOGISTICS

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