A deeply divided Republican Party took a major step toward unity [yesterday]. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan met [Thursday] morning to discuss their differences as well as areas of agreement. After their meeting on Capitol Hill, they issued a joint statement. Below are some excerpts:

“…we had a great conversation this morning. While we were honest about our few differences, we recognize that there are also many important areas of common ground. We will be having additional discussions, but remain confident there’s a great opportunity to unify our party…

"We are extremely proud of the fact that many millions of new voters have entered the primary system, far more than ever before in the Republican Party’s history. This was our first meeting, but it was a very positive step toward unification.”

In a press conference shortly afterwards, Speaker Ryan said he was “very encouraged” by the meeting. Ryan continued to praise Donald Trump’s record of winning the most Republican primary votes ever — even before California has voted.

And when pressed by reporters about his differences with Trump, Ryan reminded them that even as the vice presidential nominee in 2012, he and Mitt Romney did not always agree on everything.

Democrat Divisions?

Senator Bernie Sanders appeared on MSNBC [Wednesday] following his big West Virginia victory. But host Andrea Mitchell wasn’t in a celebratory mood.

Instead, she was highly critical of Sanders for staying in the race and suggested that his continued campaigning was hurting his party’s chances in November. During one heated exchanged, Sanders shot back, saying:

“Oh, really? Andrea, in every state that we have won, in 19 states, we have had to take on the entire Democratic establishment. We have had to take on senators and governors and mayors and members of Congress, so please do not moan to me about Hillary Clinton’s problems.”

House Demands Answers

There was breaking news late last week from the New York Times Magazine indicating that the Obama White House manipulated the media and created its own narratives, some of which were false, to push the Iranian nuclear deal.

In the Times Magazine story, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes openly mocked the media, saying, “Most of the outlets are reporting on world events from Washington. The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old, and their only reporting experience consists of being around political campaigns… They literally know nothing.”

House Republicans are now demanding answers from the White House. There will be a hearing next week in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on the White House deceptions to sell the deal and Republicans are demanding that Rhodes testify. Chairman Jason Chaffetz is threatening to issue a subpoena, if necessary.

In addition, Rep. Mac Thornberry, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has introduced legislation to cut Rhodes’ budget. “The current NSC has grown so large that the White House cannot even give us a clear estimate of how many people actually work for it,” Thornberry said. “Now we hear reports of NSC staffers running misinformation campaigns targeted at Congress and the press.”

The House is doing what a co-equal branch of government should be doing. Now, can we see some resistance against the administration’s efforts to radically redefine bathroom policies in our public schools?

Happy Birthday, Israel!

[Thursday marked] the 68th anniversary of the founding of the modern state of Israel. You can read the complete declaration issued on that day by David Ben-Gurion here. Below are a few excerpts:

“The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books.

"After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their Dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom.

"Impelled by this historic and traditional attachment, Jews strove in every successive generation to re-establish themselves in their ancient homeland. In recent decades they returned in their masses. Pioneers, defiant returnees, and defenders, they made deserts bloom, revived the Hebrew language, built villages and towns, and created a thriving community controlling its own economy and culture, loving peace but knowing how to defend itself, bringing the blessings of progress to all the country’s inhabitants, and aspiring towards independent nationhood…

"The State of Israel will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations…

"We extend our hand to all neighboring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighborliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land. The State of Israel is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East…

"Placing our trust in the Almighty, we affix our signatures to this proclamation at this session of the provisional Council of State, on the soil of the Homeland, in the city of Tel-Aviv, on this Sabbath eve, the 5th day of Iyar, 5708 (14th May, 1948).”