Newsletter: Essential Politics: When Pride gets political

The storied Los Angeles Pride Parade this weekend was replaced with what can best be described as a symbol of the Trump era — a protest march, complete with a hashtag in its name: the #ResistMarch.

I’m Christina Bellantoni. Welcome to the Monday edition of Essential Politics.

Among the speakers at the event, which drew tens of thousands waving protest signs along with rainbow flags, were Democratic California Reps. Adam Schiff of Burbank, Maxine Waters of Los Angeles and San Francisco’s Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader.

Waters called for Trump to be impeached. Schiff said President Trump lacked “basic human decency,” and addressed the shift in this year’s event. “This year we are proud as ever, but we are also mad as hell,” he said.

Schiff, of course, has been attracting a lot of attention lately as the ranking Democrat on the House Select Committee on Intelligence, one of the panels taking on the complicated investigation into Russia’s meddling in last fall’s elections.

Several bits of news emerged over the weekend related to the probe.

The House Intelligence Committee has requested the president provide any tapes, “to the extent they exist now,” by June 23. Trump, of course, has offered to testify under oath to rebut former FBI Director James B. Comey’s account.

Trump called Comey “cowardly.”

A defense lawyer for Trump said the president will not unconditionally cooperate with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation. Jay Sekulow, appearing on Sunday talk shows, declined to rule out ordering at some later date the firing of the widely praised Mueller.

Meanwhile, fired U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said that Comey’s vivid testimony sounded a lot like Trump’s two calls to him earlier this year. “I’m not the FBI director, but I was the chief federal law enforcement officer in Manhattan with jurisdiction over a lot of things including, you know, business interests and other things in New York.”

We’ve got a running he said/he said project, detailing important moments that have more than one account of what happened.

And in coming attractions, Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions announced he’ll appear before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Tuesday to clear up some of the things Comey said the FBI had learned about his meetings with Russian diplomats.

Some things to keep in mind: Sessions initiated this event, saying he wanted to answer questions raised by Comey’s testimony. Given reports about Sessions’ standing in the White House at the moment, it’s another intriguing twist.

Join us as we cover it all live on Essential Washington.

THE COMEY SHOW

Thursday’s hearing attracted at least 19.5 million viewers. Among the senators making headlines were California’s own Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris.

As Colleen Shalby reports, Harris and Senate Democrats’ campaign arm are fundraising off of a moment Wednesday when two male senators interrupted the freshman senator’s questioning.

Feinstein had a noteworthy exchange with Comey, telling the 6-foot-8-inch-tall panel witness: “You’re big, you’re strong. I know the Oval Office, and I know what happens to people when they walk in. There is a certain amount of intimidation. But why didn’t you stop and say, ‘Mr. President, this is wrong – I cannot discuss that with you’?”

Comey’s reply? “Maybe if I were stronger, I would have.”

DILEMMA FOR DEMOCRATS

Two stories this week underscore the challenges ahead for a party that seemingly would have an advantage, given the Trump White House’s struggles and the president’s tanking popularity figures.

The next class of Democratic Party candidates is made up of young, angry people who reflect a national disaffection with Trump and the Republican agenda that could propel a wave of victories. But, as Evan Halper reports on today’s front page, that’s only if party leaders can figure out how to channel it.

And California is viewed as the centerpoint of the liberal resistance to Trump, but top Democrats are worrying that an escalating feud in a state party race may fracture their membership and undercut their message, Phil Willon and Seema Mehta reported on Friday’s front page.

ON THE ATTACK

In the 2018 governor’s race, Antonio Villaraigosa is getting more and more aggressive in attacking rival Gavin Newsom. The former L.A. mayor says the lieutenant governor bases decisions not on principle, but on “polls or popular whim,” Michael Finnegan reports. Villaraigosa’s latest shots at Newsom came at a Monterey Park campaign stop on Saturday.

CA34: GOMEZ PREPS FOR WASHINGTON

By all accounts, Jimmy Gomez’s win over Robert Lee Ahn in last week’s 34th Congressional District runoff was a rout. Gomez was up 60-40 over Ahn by the end of the night, and Ahn called his opponent to concede well before 11 p.m. Tuesday.

Gomez said he woke up the next morning wondering if it was all a dream. “I’m still the community college kid with immigrant parents,” Gomez told Christine Mai-Duc in an interview Wednesday.

On Thursday, Ahn’s campaign sent out a statement suggesting he could still win if he received a surge in provisional and mail ballots that hadn’t been tallied. By Friday, with all but about 1,700 ballots counted, it became clear that wouldn’t happen and Ahn’s campaign aides said they were “satisfied” with the result.

Meanwhile, Gomez reflected on what his win means for his family and what his plans are as he prepares to head to Washington. One of his first orders of business, Gomez said, was to tour the 34th District, particularly neighborhoods that didn’t vote for him, to get an idea of their needs and build relationships.

CALIFORNIA AND CLIMATE CHANGE, BY THE NUMBERS

The state released new data last week showing its progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The numbers show a small reduction in emissions in 2015, and provided more evidence that California will need to pick up the pace to meet an ambitious goal by 2030.

Meantime, state officials say they are forging ahead with emissions-cutting measures despite the Trump administration’s move this week to delay implementation of Obama-era limits on ozone, the lung-searing gas in smog.

CALIFORNIA’S BUDGET DEADLINE IS THURSDAY

Lawmakers in Sacramento have the ultimate incentive this week to get their work done on time: A late state budget means they don’t get paid.

The deadline for a spending plan to be sent to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk is Thursday night, and while the main framework of the deal was crafted last week, a few key issues remain, Sacramento Bureau Chief John Myers reports.

Tops on that list: How to spend $1.3 billion in new tobacco tax dollars. Lawmakers and advocates spent the weekend negotiating the final points of a compromise. Brown has insisted the money be spent broadly on the state’s Medi-Cal program, while backers of the tax (which was approved by voters last year) want it to spent on payments to doctors and dentists who treat Medi-Cal patients.

Among the things we do know: A plan to spend $400 million on low-income housing is not in next year’s budget. The final plan does, however include money for flood control projects. It’s not as much as Brown originally wanted, but his administration said it’s enough to keep the projects on track.

Keep an eye on our Essential Politics news feed for the very latest from Sacramento all week.

A $5-BILLION POT INDUSTRY IN CALIFORNIA?

A new state-sponsored economic study projects a future legal marijuana market so vast that it will help make California a destination for pot-loving tourists from around the world. Patrick McGreevy has the details.

HELP COULD BE ON THE WAY FOR TAXIS IN THEIR FIGHT AGAINST UBER

For years, Uber and Lyft have been quickly and steadily eroding the taxi industry. Cabs, which have notoriously tough governmental regulations especially compared to ride-hailing, now have been thrown a lifeline from a state lawmaker. Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) wants to loosen taxi regulations as a way to help cabs compete. But, as Liam Dillon reports, it might be too little, too late for cabs to rebound.

POLITICAL ROAD MAP: PUTTING GAS IN THE GOP’S ELECTORAL TANK?

A new poll finds the tax hikes in California’s $52-billion transportation plan signed into law in April are widely unpopular -- the kind of opposition that could provide badly needed fuel to the state’s ailing Republicans.

In his Sunday column, Myers takes a look at how a relatively small amount of campaign cash could put a repeal of the new gas tax and vehicle fee on the statewide ballot. It might give Republican candidates, who otherwise may be mired in all things Trump, a chance to change the conversation.

In related news, the Legislative Analyst’s Office has recommended lawmakers create accountability measures for spending the gas tax proceeds.

TODAY’S ESSENTIALS

-- On this week’s California Politics Podcast, the wrangling over a new state budget takes center stage. And the panel raises an interesting point about the 2018 race for governor: How long do second-tier candidates really have to make their move?

-- With the Ahn vs. Gomez contest over, the campaign to replace Gomez in the 51st Assembly District can begin in earnest. Former CA34 candidate Wendy Carrillo announced a run for Gomez’s seat.

-- L.A. Rep. Brad Sherman joined the formal effort to impeach Trump last week.

-- David Savage has your quick look at the most interesting of the Supreme Court’s 21 pending cases, including disputes over religion, free speech and immigration that could have broad significance.

-- Becerra argued Thursday that Trump has no legal authority to revoke or modify national monuments created by previous administrations. He vowed “to take any and all legal action necessary” to preserve six California monuments, including one in Los Angeles’ backyard, that the Trump Administration may attempt to revoke or shrink.

LOGISTICS

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