Newsletter: Essential Politics: Russia probe deepens as Trump’s campaign continues

Many questions remain about what, if anything, members of the Trump campaign knew about Russia’s alleged attempts to influence the 2016 election, and the Senate Intelligence Committee is asking agencies to hold any records that may be connected to its probe.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus on Sunday morning flatly denied the campaign and the former Soviet power colluded during the campaign.

I’m Sarah Wire, and I cover the California congressional delegation. Welcome to the Monday edition of Essential Politics.

President Trump returned to campaign mode Saturday with a rally in Florida where he laid out a rosy picture of his first month in office.

Michael Memoli has the story on Trump’s criticism of the media during the event, his early moves on a 2020 run, and how much taxpayers may have paid for the rally, which he traveled to on Air Force One. For years, Trump criticized President Obama for campaigning while president.

Memoli also has the story on Trump’s work to pick a new national security advisor over the weekend.

Get the latest about the Trump administration on Essential Washington and follow @latimespolitics, and keep an eye on our Essential Politics news feed

MEDIA CRITICISM

Trump raised his war with the press to a new level Friday, calling media “the enemy of the American people.” And Kurtis Lee took a peek at how presidents have dealt with their contempt for the media in the past.

Defense Secretary James N. Mattis refused to align with his boss on Sunday, saying the media is not the “enemy of the American people.”

THE FAMILY BUSINESS

In his first weeks in office, Trump has made little effort to maintain an appearance that he is keeping the family business at arm’s length. Noah Bierman and Joseph Tanfani looked into the ways the ethics firewall built by Trump’s attorneys has already failed to prevent his family’s businesses from touching the presidency.

IMMIGRATION ORDER DETAILS

Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly is drafting broad new guidelines to implement immigration directives that Trump laid out in executive orders in his first week in office, Del Quentin Wilber reported Sunday.

The department will try to hire 10,000 more enforcement agents and 5,000 Border Patrol officers, as well as begin construction of a wall on the country’s southern border, according to the proposed guidelines.

A PROGRESSIVE WAVE

Some Democrats in the California delegation are using this week’s congressional recess to organize some of the thousands of concerned constituents who have been asking for direction on what they can do to challenge Trump. It could be the first step in the progressive movement’s attempt to win back the House for Democrats.

FEINSTEIN FUNDRAISING

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has a $10,000 a person fundraiser scheduled March 17 in Los Angeles, Seema Mehta reports.

The long-serving senator hasn’t definitively said she will run for another six-year term, and some have pointed to her age and health as possible decision factors, but Feinstein has indicated in multiple interviews that she’d like to continue representing the state..

TRYING TO SLOW SLOW-GROWTH MEASURE

One of the biggest items on the city of Los Angeles’ March 7 ballot is Measure S, which would slow down residential growth citywide in response to traffic and neighborhood character concerns.

But the measure would also further restrict the supply of homes at a time when a housing shortage is leading to a statewide affordability crisis. Assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) wants to make it harder for cities to pass measures like Measure S in the future. His Assembly Bill 943 would increase the threshold from a simple majority to a two-thirds supermajority for passage of any local ballot measure that would block or delay development, Liam Dillon reports.

PREVENTING VOTER FRAUD

Republicans in the state Assembly introduced a variety of bills they said would limit instances of voter fraud in California weeks after Trump made unproven accusations of widespread problems in the state and elsewhere.

The most high-profile effort would require Californians to show a photo ID card before casting a ballot at the polls.

California’s top elections officer Alex Padilla was blocked on Friday from introducing a resolution critiquing Trump’s voter fraud accusations at a national meeting of secretaries of state.

TODAY’S ESSENTIALS

— State Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) has introduced a bill that would create a single-payer healthcare system in California.

— Want to tip your Uber driver? A bill filed Friday would force companies, such as Uber, that accept payments with credit cards to allow users to tip workers with credit cards as well.

— A California lawmaker wants to bar the state from compelling landlords to disclose a tenant’s immigration status.

— A new bill would increase the inspections at Oroville Dam and other dams across the state.

— $488.8 million: That’s how much was spent, combined, on last fall’s statewide ballot measures. And things could be even more expensive for candidates and interest groups in 2018.

— California has joined a third amicus brief in support of a lawsuit challenging Trump’s travel ban.

LOGISTICS

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