Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Obama To Hold Twitter-Town Hall - first ever by an American President. It will be held on July 6 and moderated by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. It will be streamed live from the White House beginning at 2:00 PM ET. You can ask your questions and follow here.

This weekend the president and family will return to Camp David for a little R&R.

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Minnesota State Government Shutdown a Harbinger for Federal Government? - talks between DFL Governor Mark Dayton and Republican leaders broke down last night as last minute efforts to avoid a shutdown failed. 22,000 unessential government workers will be without work as a result with state parks and rest areas closed for the July 4th weekend. The Minnesota StarTribune has more here.

Sounding eerily familiar to the ongoing budget argument in D.C., the Governor proposed increasing taxes to the wealthiest (those earning more than one million) and Republicans refused.

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Two-Step Solution to Budget Deal? - as I reported earlier, the solution to the budget cut and debt ceiling increase by Congress may be to agree on a two step solution. The first part of the agreement would be to fund government for seven months with a one trillion reduction and raise in the nation's debt ceiling.

This would require Congress to reach agreement on a longer term solution in the middle of the presidential campaign next year. This idea is attracting some support. Reuters.com has more here.

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Will White House Economic Team Shuffle Continue? - the latest reports indicate Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will be the next to step down. The rumors say it would come after congress agrees on a debt ceiling increase. Geithner's departure would make him the latest in a string of economic advisers to leave the Obama administration. Austan Goolsbee leaves in August, joining Lawrence Summers, Christine Romer and Peter Orzag who have already departed top economic posts in the White House. Bloomberg.com has more here.

If true, this gives Republican presidential candidates a major area in which to criticize Obama as the economy remains fragile.

Geithner, in an interview with former president bill Clinton last night said "I will be at the Treasury Department for the foreseeable future".

If a replacement becomes necessary, an important requirement will be to select one who communicates well with media. All of the former economic advisers were stiff and appeared poorly on "Talking Heads" shows as a result.

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Dominique Strauss-Kahn Case Falling Apart - it appears the sexual assault case against the former IMF Director is breaking down as prosecutors have raised questions pertaining to the credibility of the Hotel chambermaid. The Washington Post has more here.

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Justice Department Opens Case on Two Jail Deaths - Attorney General Eric Holder announced he is opening investigations into two deaths of terrorists held in C.I.A. prisons overseas as well as the treatment of over 100 detainees. The NY Times has more here.

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