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On the roster: Lamb is officially official - Time Out: ‘Life itself is the most wonderful fairytale’ - Trump rips Dems on DACA at Easter Egg Roll - Senate reverts to pre-McConnell days - When you give a seagull pepperoni…



LAMB IS OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL

Pittsburgh-Post Gazette: “The last county left to certify its election results for Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional district did so Monday morning, leaving no more obstacles separating Conor Lamb and his seat in the U.S. House. Allegheny County’s Board of Elections certified its results at a 10 a.m. meeting, and plans to send them to the Pennsylvania state department on Tuesday, according to county spokeswoman Amie Downs. The certification is the final step in officially declaring Mr. Lamb the winner of the March 13 special election, which was to fill the vacancy left by former Rep. Tim Murphy’s resignation last year. Mr. Lamb’s victory on election night -- by a margin of just hundreds of votes -- was marred by uncertainty for more than a week as his Republican opponent, Rick Saccone, waited for military and overseas ballots to be counted. Mr. Saccone conceded the race on March 21 as the margin appeared to be too much to overcome, but official certifications were still to come.”



House GOP place emphasis on Pelosi in attack ads - USA Today: “Nancy Pelosi has long been a favorite target of GOP attack ads. But Republicans seem to be taking it to another level in this election cycle. The House Democratic leader has been featured in roughly one-third (34%) of all GOP broadcast ads aired in House races this year, according to data provided to the USA TODAY NETWORK by Kantar Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group (CMAG), which tracks political advertising. That compares with 9% in all of 2016 and 13% in 2014. ‘Obama’s departure and the lack of a Clinton presidency has left Pelosi as the de facto stand-in as head of the Democratic Party’ and shorthand to Republican voters for ‘liberal big government,’ said Erika Franklin Fowler, a Wesleyan University political scientist who co-directs the Wesleyan Media Project, which analyzes broadcast advertising in federal elections.”



Nathaniel Rakich: Be skeptical of how Dems can win in 2018 - FiveThirtyEight: “By winning white, working-class areas (especially in the Midwest) but losing traditional GOP strongholds in suburbia and the Sun Belt, President Trump charted an electoral map… Was that mini-realignment a Trump-only phenomenon, or will the new voting patterns stick around for this year’s congressional elections? The answer will have big implications for Democrats between now and Election Day. If 2016 represents a new normal, then the party would do well to prioritize suburban districts that moved from [Mitt Romney] to Hillary Clinton, such as the California 45th, Illinois 6th or Texas 7th. But if the 2012 map still applies, then Democrats might be better off targeting districts that voted for Obama before they defected to Trump, like the Iowa 1st, Maine 2nd and New York 19th. Guess wrong, and the party will end up spending valuable time and money in districts that are redder than they appear while lower-hanging fruit goes untouched.”



Hawley finds balance with Trump in 2018 Senate run - AP: “…things get complicated when you ask Josh Hawley about President Donald Trump. Hawley, who launched a Republican Senate bid in Missouri less than a year after being elected state attorney general, won’t say whether he considers the Republican president a role model. In an interview with The Associated Press, the 38-year-old Yale Law School graduate also sidestepped questions about Trump’s behavior toward women. ‘No. 1, I am always my own man,’ Hawley said. ‘I value my independence very highly,’ he added. ‘My loyalties as a U.S. senator would be first and foremost to the people of Missouri and their needs.’ Hawley’s cautious answers underscore a delicate political reality on the ground in Missouri, one that also is challenging other Republican candidates across the country ahead of the midterm elections.”

Kasich heads back to NH - Columbus Dispatch: “John Kasich’s return to New Hampshire this week is likely to get widespread media coverage as a significant milestone toward what many view as his inevitable 2020 presidential campaign. Within the past month, the state that traditionally hosts the nation’s first presidential primary already has had visits from President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake — all potential GOP rivals for Ohio’s governor. … Kasich’s ‘fireside chat’ Tuesday evening at a college near the state capital of Concord is his only public event, spokesman Chris Schrimpf said. But there will be opportunities to reconnect with the network that propelled him to a second-place finish behind Trump in 2016, as well as connect with new potential supporters disgruntled with Trump.”



Don Jr. hits the campaign trail - Axios: “Donald Trump Jr. is ramping up his efforts for the midterms, a source tells me. Don Jr., a favorite of outdoors enthusiasts, was a draw in 2016. Now Republicans are betting (hoping?) that he’ll be equally effective for the midterms. The president’s eldest son will focus on helping members who would benefit from his involvement and have been helpful to POTUS and his agenda. Two of the first stops on his dance card: Don Jr. will headline an event for Greg Pence, the vice president’s brother who’s running for U.S. House in Indiana. Wayne Berman and Tommy Hicks are hosting that April 23 event in New York City. And he just confirmed for an event benefiting Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) that top GOP fundraiser Steve Louro is hosting in early August on Long Island.”



THE RULEBOOK: AU NATUREL

“Under a vigorous national government, the natural strength and resources of the country, directed to a common interest, would baffle all the combinations of European jealousy to restrain our growth.” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 11

TIME OUT: ‘LIFE ITSELF IS THE MOST WONDERFUL FAIRYTALE’

History: “[On this day in 1805] Hans Christian Andersen, one of the world’s greatest storytellers, is born in Odensk, near Copenhagen. During Andersen’s boyhood, his father died, and the child went to work in a factory briefly. However, he showed great talent for languages and entered the University of Copenhagen in 1828. The following year, he published his literary spoof A Walk from Amager, which became his first important work. Andersen wrote several plays that flopped, but he achieved some success with his novel The Improviser (1835). Meanwhile, he entertained himself by writing a series of children’s stories that he published as collections. The first, Tales Told for Children, (1835) included ‘The Princess and the Pea.’ Andersen released new collections every year or two for decades as he traveled widely in Europe, Africa, and Asia Minor. His stories include ‘The Ugly Duckling,’ ‘The Little Mermaid,’ and ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes.’ He died in 1875 at age 70.”



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SCOREBOARD

Trump job performance

Average approval: 41.8 percent

Average disapproval: 52.8 percent

Net Score: -11 points

Change from one week ago: no change

[Average includes: CNN: 43% approve - 53% disapprove; Marist College: 42% approve - 51% disapprove; Fox News: 45% approve - 52% disapprove; Gallup: 39% approve - 55% disapprove; Quinnipiac University: 40% approve - 53% disapprove.]

Control of House

Republican average: 41.4 percent

Democratic average: 47.8 percent

Advantage: Democrats plus 6.4 points

Change from one week ago: Democratic advantage down 0.6 points

[Average includes: CNN: 50% Dems - 44% GOP; Marist College: 44% Dems - 39% GOP; Fox News: 46% Dems - 41% GOP; Quinnipiac University: 49% Dems - 43% GOP; NBC News/WSJ: 50% Dems - 40% GOP.]

TRUMP RIPS DEMS ON DACA AT EASTER EGG ROLL

Fox News: “President Trump commented on the state of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Monday during the White House’s annual Easter Egg Roll event, saying Democrats have let down immigrants who benefit from the policy. His comments came a day after a reported ‘caravan’ of more than 1,000 illegal immigrants were reported to be traveling from Honduras to the United States seeking asylum. ‘[Democrats] had this great opportunity. The Democrats have really let them down, it’s a shame. Now people are taking advantage of DACA and that’s a shame,’ Trump said in response to a question shouted by CNN’s Jim Acosta. Acosta shouted to Trump, ‘Mr. President what about the DACA kids? Should they worry about what’s going to happen to them?’ … Trump tweeted Monday that Democrats ‘didn’t care or act,’ which resulted in the policy’s failure. He also tweeted that Congressional Republicans need to take the ‘nuclear option’ to speed up the process of passing tougher immigration laws.”



Trump suggested White House for Putin meeting location - Fox News: “The White House said Monday that President Trump discussed a possible meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the near future, suggesting the White House as a ‘potential venue’ for the summit. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders released a statement on Monday in response to reports from the Kremlin that Trump had invited Putin to a meeting at the White House, but had yet to begin any preparations for the potential visit. ‘As the President himself confirmed on March 20, hours after his last call with President Putin, the two had discussed a bilateral meeting in the ‘not-too-distant future’ at a number of potential venues, including the White House,’ Sanders said Monday.”

China moves forward with tariffs on American goods - Bloomberg: “China urged trade talks with the U.S. to prevent greater damage to relations while saying that previously announced retaliatory measures on American imports took effect Monday. The U.S. didn’t respond to China’s March 26 request for consultation on Washington’s steel and aluminum tariffs, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement Monday, adding that officials have widespread public support for tougher measures and repeating Beijing’s stance that disputes should be resolved with dialogue. China previously planned to seek compensation for trade lost because of the U.S. metals actions. ‘A lot of people have expressed their endorsement to the measures via phone and email, and they support the government to take actions to defend the interest of the nation,’ the ministry said of responses during a public comment period that ended March 31.”

SENATE REVERTS TO PRE-MCCONNELL DAYS

Politico: “Republican John Kennedy has served in the Senate a full 15 months — and not once received a roll call vote on one of his legislative amendments. ‘I think it sucks,’ the Louisiana senator fumed as Congress headed home in March for a two-week recess. … When Mitch McConnell took over as majority leader in 2015 after years in the minority, he vowed to make good on a central campaign pledge of returning to a more ‘free-wheeling’ Senate. And in the early days of his tenure, he did… But the Senate has reverted to form. The body has taken just 25 roll call votes on so-called binding amendments so far during this two-year Congress, a sharp decrease from the 154 amendments voted on by this point during the 114th Congress under Barack Obama. Each year since McConnell took over, the Senate has voted on fewer nonbudget amendments: 140 in 2015, 57 in 2016, 19 in 2017 and six so far this year. … The number of amendment votes is a key barometer of the amount, if not the quality, of debate in the Senate.”

PLAY-BY-PLAY

Trump blasts DOJ and FBI for ‘slow walking’ document production to Congress - Fox News



Conservative leaders write letter of support for Pompeo’s nomination - Conservative Action Project

Trump attacks Amazon for forcing closure of stores ‘all over the country’ - Fox News

Pressure mounts for Democratic Rep. Esty to resign over accusations against top staffer - Fox News



AUDIBLE: AND MAYBE AN UMBRELLA TOO

“So get good legal help now, because the storm is coming.” – GOP strategist Alex Castellanos on ABC’s “This Week,” explaining that he believes more will come as Special Counsel Robert Mueller continues his investigation.



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WHEN YOU GIVE A SEAGULL PEPPERONI…

[British Columbia, Canada] Times Colonist: “A Nova Scotia man has received a ‘pardon’ from the Fairmont Empress for his lifetime ban from the iconic Victoria hotel… It all happened 17 years ago when Nick Burchill booked a room at the Empress for a work conference … his Navy buddies asked that he bring some Brother’s pepperoni…. He spread the packages of pepperoni out on a table and along the window sill, then went for a leisurely four or five hour walk. ‘I remember walking down the long hall and opening the door to my room to find an entire flock of seagulls in my room’ … Burchill discovered that spicy pepperoni does not agree with a seagull’s digestive system. The room was covered in guano. … Lamps tumbled to the floor, the curtains were trashed, the coffee tray was disgusting, he described. … Tracey Drake, the hotel’s director of public relations … initially thought it was an April Fool’s joke but long-term staff confirmed the tale…”

Brianna McClelland contributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.