Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Last fall, Trump described Petro as “an illegal drug leader,” but I guess he’s changed his mind: “President Donald Trump hosted Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the White House on Tuesday in the first meeting between two leaders who have feuded on and off over the past year.”
* This was a hearing Republicans didn’t want to call, so Democrats organized the discussion on their own: “A brother of Renee Good, a U.S. citizen killed by a federal agent in Minneapolis last month, told congressional Democrats on Tuesday that his family had been disheartened that immigration officials had not seemed to change their behavior since his sister’s death.”
* In related news: “House Oversight Committee Democrats released a report on Tuesday blaming the Trump administration’s ‘extreme’ law enforcement for the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and accusing the federal government of a ‘cover-up’ by obstructing impartial investigations into their deaths.”
* A key court order from Monday night: “A federal judge late on Monday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending a humanitarian protection for more than 350,000 Haitians, who have been able to live and work in the United States under what is known as Temporary Protected Status, or T.P.S.”
* In the Middle East: “A U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, U.S. Central Command said Tuesday, threatening to ramp up tensions as the Trump administration warns of possible military action to get Iran to the negotiating table.”
* On Capitol Hill: “House Republicans on Tuesday canceled a planned vote to hold Bill and Hillary Clinton in criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to testify in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, after the Clintons agreed to be deposed on camera this month and requested that they be allowed to do so at public hearings.” * The White House’s crusade against Harvard is getting dumber: “President Donald Trump is demanding a $1 billion payment from Harvard University to end his prolonged standoff with the Ivy League campus, doubling the amount he sought previously as both sides appear to move further from reaching a deal.” * I often wonder how much Musk regrets buying the platform formerly known as Twitter: “French investigators raided X’s Paris headquarters on Tuesday as part of an expanded criminal probe involving seven alleged offenses including spreading antisemitic content and involvement in distributing child pornography.” See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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