On day of planned Capitol Hill visit, Trump tweets that Tennessee senator ‘couldn’t get elected dog catcher.’ Jason Chaffetz takes the early lead in polling for Utah’s 2020 gubernatorial race. Majority of Utahns support medical marijuana ballot initiative.
Happy Tuesday. President Donald Trump will visit Capitol Hill today to speak with Senate Republicans — and sparks are already flying. GOP Sen. Bob Corker, a vocal critic of the president, said “the best way for us to have success” on tax reform is for Trump to “leave well enough alone.” The president fired back with a tweet suggeting the senator “couldn’t get elected dog catcher in Tennessee.” [WaPost]
Topping the news: Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz is considered the very early front-runner for Utah’s 2020 gubernatorial race. [Trib] [ABC4]
-> Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin and other Democrats wrote a letter to President Donald Trump, urging him not to shrink Bears Ears or Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. [Trib]
-> Three in four Utahns support a proposed ballot initiative that would legalize medical marijuana, according to a new poll. [Trib]
Tweets of the day: From @adamgoodell: “The mayor from Jaws is still the mayor in Jaws 2. It is so important to vote in your local elections.”
-> From @seungminkim: “Asked for his position on CSR deal, @JohnCornyn responds: ‘I’m with the president.’ I asked where Trump is and Cornyn throws hands in air”
-> From @byrdinator: “u know u cover Congress when autocorrect thinks ‘hope you guys have fun‘ should be ‘hope you guys have funding’”
In other news: Weber High School officials have taken “appropriate action” after a video surfaced of students chanting a racial slur. [Trib] [DNews] [ABC4] [KUTV]
-> A transportation task force has called for reform of the Utah Transit Authority — though it’s unclear what that reform would be. [Trib] [DNews] [Fox13]
-> Utahns are split over the Count My Vote ballot initiative, according to a new poll. [Trib]
-> The conviction of San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman was upheld by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. [Trib] [DNews] [KUER]
-> Pat Bagley illustrates a Trump supporter’s reaction to “the lying press.” [Trib]
-> Paul Rolly suggests the death of Gary Ott has resulted in further political division among Utah Republicans and Democrats. [Trib]
-> Rolly also questions the mailers sent out by Canyons School District that seem to promote a ballot bond proposal. [Trib]
Nationally: President Donald Trump announced Monday that he would not support any reduction of pretax income that can be saved in retirement accounts as part of a tax reform proposal. [NYTimes]
-> After the attacks in Niger, Sen. John McCain is working on a proposal that would give Congress new authorization for U.S. military operations overseas. [Politico]
Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Email us at cornflakes@sltrib.com. If you haven’t already, email us to sign up for our weekday email and get this sent directly to your inbox.
— Courtney Tanner and Karenna Meredith