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President Donald Trump on Wednesday commented on an obscure bill granting rights to a Native American tribe seeking a casino in Massachusetts. And he did this by addressing Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), his rival to Democrat 2020, whom he nicknamed "Pocahontas" and who supported previous versions of the legislation.
Trump's attack on Warren is an old hat. His commitment to casino legislation, however, was seemingly out of step with his usual Twitter rate of trivial congressional inquiries into his administration and unflattering media coverage of his business.
But that may not have been random at all. At least two Trump-related companies were hired this year to lobby for Twin River Management Group, owner of the casino in Rhode Island, which would compete directly with the Mashpee Wampanoag. The tribe needs Congress to have their tribal rights vested in order to save the troubled casino business in the nearby city of Taunton, Massachusetts.
One of these companies is led by Trump advisor Matt Schlapp, who since January has been lobbying Congress and the White House. Twin River has contributed $ 30,000 to its business, Cove Strategies, so far this year.
Schlapp, who is also the husband of the White House's director of strategic communications, Mercedes Schlapp, has publicly criticized the bill to recognize the tribe. He too did it by invoking Warren.
"The House will vote soon to reward Senator Elizabeth Warren with … wait … an INDIAN casino in Massachusetts," he said. tweeted Wednesday morning, as the House was preparing to pass the law on the restoration of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribal reserve.
One hour later, Trump rang on Twitter too. "Republicans should not vote for H. 312, Bill Bill's bill of interest, backed by Elizabeth (Pocahontas) Warren," he wrote. "It's unfair and does not treat Native Americans in the same way!"
Their opposition has succeeded, at least for the moment. Wednesday afternoon, following the tweet of the President, the Democrats of the House pulled the bill of the ground.
Bill's representative, Bill Keating (D-MA), blamed Trump's intervention – and Schlapp's likely encouragement – for the setback. "There is no doubt that his intervention via tweet, from where that comes," Keating said in an interview. "They did not even do a good job hiding it."
This is a major legislative victory for Schlapp, and proponents of the bill quickly pointed the finger directly to Councilor Trump. "I'm sure this racist lie has nothing to do with the fact that Matt Schlapp – the husband of Trump's staff – is lobbying for the bill to pass," tweeted Ruben Gallego (D). -AZ), citing the president's statement about Warren.
Schlapp did not answer questions about his lobbying at the White House or whether he had discussed the issue directly with the president. The White House also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Schlapp is not the only prominent Trumpworld personality to lobby the Mashpee Wampanoag bill on behalf of Twin River. A few days before the company hired Schlapp's Cove Strategies, she also turned to Black Diamond Strategies, which commissioned Doug Davenport, Trump Campaign Advisor 2016, to work on the account. Black Diamond executives also include Rick Wiley, a former member of the Trump campaign, and Connie Mack, former representative, an ally of the Trump administration. Black Diamond also received $ 30,000 in the first quarter of 2019.
The Mashpee tribe Wampanoag has a turbulent history in Washington. He needs Congressional approval on his tribal status as the Interior Ministry dealt a blow to his federal tribal recognition last year, jeopardizing his Taunton casino plans. The Wampanoag Mashpee did receive tribal recognition status only in 2007, in part because of lobbying by peddler Jack Abramoff.
Schlapp is lobbying at the other end of the spectrum, opposing the designation of the Mashpee Wampanoag as a federally recognized tribe. And that's what another group he's been leading, the Union of American Conservatives, has shown his support for tribal rights.
In February, at the ACU Annual Conference on Conservative Political Action, the group organized a round table nicknamed "All Nations, One America: Why Should the Conservatives Support Tribal Sovereignty"
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