Three Things To Watch Today

By Kate Riga, John Light and Caitlin MacNeal

May 14, 2019 8:38 a.m.

Happy Tuesday, May 14. The enormous Democratic field widens again as Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) enters the fray, leaving candidates like former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) looking to revitalize their campaigns and carve out space. Here’s more on that and the other stories we’re watching.

Three Things To Watch Today

The Democratic primary field continues to grow

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) became the 22nd candidate to enter the Democratic primary field Tuesday with an announcement video called “Fair Shot.” Meanwhile, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) is getting serious about swapping out his preferred one-on-one town halls for national airtime. Remember, we’re still 265 days from the Iowa caucuses, but only a month out from the first Democratic debate. We’ll be keeping an eye on the perpetually shifting field in the meantime.

Trump heads to court over his financial info

Lawyers for President Trump, his accounting firm Mazars, and House Oversight Committee Chair Elijah Cummings will be in court today for a hearing at 11 a.m. ET. Trump, in his personal capacity, filed a lawsuit to stop Mazars from turning over information about Trump’s finances to the committee. TPM’s Tierney Sneed will be at the D.C. courthouse to watch the proceedings.

What will Don Jr. do?

As Republican senators openly call for Donald Trump Jr. to ignore a subpoena from a GOP-led Senate committee, it remains to be seen how the President’s son will respond to the demand from the Senate Intelligence Committee. Senate Intel chairman Richard Burr (R-NC), meanwhile, insists that he had no choice but to subpoena the first son after his no-shows at scheduled hearings. We’ll be watching.

Today’s Rundown

10:00 a.m. ET Senate gavels in.

11:00 a.m. ET Trump departs the White House en route to Louisiana.

11:00 a.m. ET Lawyers for Trump, House Oversight Committee Chair Elijah Cummings, and Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars, appear before U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta.

12:00 p.m. ET House gavels in.

2:40 p.m. ET / 1:40 p.m. CT Trump arrives at and tours Cameron Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Export Terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana.

3:10 p.m. ET / 2:10 p.m. CT Trump gives a speech on promoting energy infrastructure at the LNG terminal.

6:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. CT Trump speaks at a fundraiser in Metairie, Louisiana.

Yesterday’s Top Story

Graham Tells Don Jr. To Ignore Senate Intel Subpoena: ‘You Don’t Need To Go’ — Nicole Lafond

Reading List

Inside the Pampered and Personalized World of DC’s VIP Diners — Jessica Sidman, Washingtonian

Los Angeles Fire Season Is Beginning Again. And It Will Never End. — David Wallace-Wells, New York Magazine

Inside the secret plot to turn senior Venezuelan officials against Maduro — Anthony Faiola, The Washington Post

The case for Jay Inslee — Ezra Klein, Vox

Why I (Still) Love Tech: In Defense of a Difficult Industry — Paul Ford, Wired

Kate Riga (@Kate_Riga24) Kate Riga is a news writer for Talking Points Memo based in New York City. Before joining TPM, Kate was the political reporter for The Southampton Press. She is a graduate of Georgetown University and a native of Philadelphia.

John Light (@LightTweeting) John is TPM's editor for Prime & Special Projects. His work has also appeared at The Atlantic, Reuters, Mother Jones, Salon, Slate, UN Dispatch, Vox, Worth, City & State and Al Jazeera, and has been broadcast on Public Radio International. Before joining TPM, John was a producer for Bill Moyers and WNYC, and worked as a news writer for Grist. He grew up in New Jersey, studied history and film at Oberlin College, and got his master‘s degree in journalism from Columbia University.

Caitlin MacNeal (@caitlinmacneal) Caitlin MacNeal is an assistant editor based in Washington, D.C. Before joining TPM, Caitlin interned and wrote for the Huffington Post, the Sunlight Foundation and Slate. She is a graduate of Georgetown University.

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