President Trump now questions whether the Access Hollywood video — which showed him bragging about groping women — is authentic. Trump will visit Salt Lake City on Monday to announce cuts to two national monuments. The president will also speak with Mormon leaders while in Utah.
Happy Wednesday. President Donald Trump acknowledged during his campaign last year that the Access Hollywood video showing him bragging about groping and kissing women was authentic. Now he’s questioning the recording. “We don’t think that was my voice,” Trump apparently told a Republican senator in January. [NYTimes]
Topping the news: President Donald Trump will visit Salt Lake City on Monday to explain boundary changes to Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. [Trib] [DNews] [KUER] [ABC4]
-> Trump will also visit with leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while in the state. [Trib] [Fox13] [KUTV]
Tweets of the day: From @jacob_holzman: “Thanks to @SenatorLankford and his Federal Fumbles, the phrase ‘doggie Hamlet’ will now be in the Congressional Record”
-> From @bryanbehar: “In 2016, Donald Trump admitted that was him on the Access Hollywood tape. In 2017, this Donald Trump is calling that Donald Trump a liar.”
Happy Birthday: To Josh Smith.
In other news: Newly elected Rep. John Curtis introduced his first bill, the Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Extension Act of 2017, on Tuesday. [DNews] [Fox13]
-> The Salt Lake City Council unanimously gave preliminary approval Tuesday to add 50 officers to the police department. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Growth is expected around Point of the Mountain after the closure of the state prison, which means Utah taxpayers may need to spend billions of dollars to improve transit and highways. [Trib] [Fox13] [ABC4]
-> West Valley City broke ground Tuesday on Fairbourne Station, which will be completed in 2019. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley illustrates how White House budget director Mick Mulvaney would “feed” the banks while leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. [Trib]
Nationally: The GOP tax-reform bill passed a Senate panel on Tuesday. The full Senate vote is expected later this week. [NYTimes]
-> North Korea claimed that after its latest missile launch it has a weapon that could reach Washington, D.C. [WaPost]
-> A U.S. District Court judge ruled that President Donald Trump’s pick, Mick Mulvaney, is eligible to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. [Politico]
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— Courtney Tanner and Karenna Meredith