The Note: Pence bats down 2020 talk and pledges loyalty
Mike Pence is strongly denying he's considering a run in 2020 for president.
— -- WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY
THE TAKE with ABC News' Rick Klein
You can take the man out of the palace, but you can't keep the intrigue away. In a White House rocked by departures, loyalty oaths are popping from unlikely places. The vice president followed the attorney general in stating fealty to the president, and even the president found it necessary to side publicly with his national security adviser as a "good man" with whom he works well. (President Trump also sought to prove that, with the Oval Office empty for a while, he was working through the weekend: "This is not a vacation – meetings and calls!" tweeted the man spotted back on the golf course.) Perhaps Vice President Mike Pence isn't coveting the presidency and hates "fake news," and Attorney General Jeff Sessions wasn't worried about being fired if he didn't go after leakers, and Trump just wanted to give a shout-out to H.R. McMaster. Or it may be that, in a White House that's now being cleaned, fears abound that the housecleaning isn't done.
TWO GOP SENATORS GREETED WITH THANKS
Resist...and recognize? Lawmakers are home again for recess and opposition groups are revved up and raring to meet them. But there seems to be a new goal for activist groups this summer: saying thanks where thanks is due. Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski were greeted at airports in their home states with applause from constituents thanking them for their votes against Republican health care bill. Major groups from Planned Parenthood to the AARP spent money in the last week on ads praising the two female senators. The Women's March and other groups on the left wrote social media posts thanking and urging their followers to call Collins' and Murkowski's offices and personally convey their gratitude, ABC News' MaryAlice Parks reports.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"It is absolutely true the vice president is getting ready for 2020 -- for reelection as vice president," Kellyanne Conway on "This Week."
NEED TO READ with ABC News' Daksha Sthipam
Vacationing Trump greets wedding guests at his New Jersey golf club. Guests attending a wedding Saturday at Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey bumped into one of the club's most notable members: President Trump, who is spending his 17-day working vacation at the Bedminster property. The president's selfies in the wedding come at odds with his tweet on Saturday, stressing that his vacation was "not a vacation" and filled with "meetings and calls." http://abcn.ws/2v8PVaT
Republican senator unsure he agrees with Trump that Russia probe is "witch hunt." Sen. Tom Tillis, R-N.C., said on ABC News' "This Week" that he is not sure he agrees with President Donald Trump's dismissal of the Russia investigation. "I'm not sure that I agree with the witch hunt, and we'll let the facts lead us to whether or not it was a hoax," Tillis said. http://abcn.ws/2vCNEW6
ANALYSIS: Trump's crackdown on "leaks" could hide important truths. Now we are in even more dangerous territory with President Trump and Attorney General Sessions announcing a new concerted effort to crack down on leakers. http://abcn.ws/2vD2onZ
The Mooch's replacement could be Stephen Miller. Axios
Under Trump, Coal Mining Gets New Life on U.S. Lands. The New York Times
Controversial appointment clouds US Senate race in Alabama. Associated Press
McConnell on health care failure: "Feel better, Hillary Clinton could be president." The Hill
Op-ed: Mueller's investigation of Trump is going too far. CNN
The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the key political moments of the day ahead. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.
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