D.C. vote closes primary season

Clinton, Sanders huddle up

Bernie Sanders holds a news conference Tuesday outside his campaign headquarters in Washington. He vowed to continue to “fight as hard as we can” to transform the Democratic Party.
Bernie Sanders holds a news conference Tuesday outside his campaign headquarters in Washington. He vowed to continue to “fight as hard as we can” to transform the Democratic Party.

WASHINGTON -- Hillary Clinton closed out the presidential primary season with a win Tuesday in the nation's capital and a meeting with Bernie Sanders, hoping to set a tone of Democratic unity heading into next month's party convention in Philadelphia.



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Hillary Clinton speaks Tuesday at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Circuit Center in Pittsburgh. She met later with rival Bernie Sanders.

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Remarks by Donald Trump on Muslims, terrorism and President Barack Obama have brought dissenting responses from Republican leaders.

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AP

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks Tuesday during a rally at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Circuit Center in Pittsburgh.

Clinton's win in the District of Columbia, the final primary of 2016, had no bearing on her status as the Democrats' presumptive nominee, with a mere 20 delegates up for grabs, but it nevertheless marked a transition in the two candidates' lengthy primary fight.

The two met for about 90 minutes Tuesday night at the Capital Hilton hotel in Washington, but neither spoke to reporters after the session.

In virtually identical statements released later, the Clinton and Sanders campaigns said the two candidates discussed their primary campaign, "unifying the party and ... the dangerous threat that Donald Trump poses to our nation."

"We're going to have a wide-ranging conversation because we share a lot of the same goals," Clinton said Tuesday night in an interview with Telemundo, ahead of the meeting with Sanders. "We both want to raise the minimum wage, we want to fight inequality of income, we want to make college affordable and we certainly want everybody to get health care."

She added, "I very much am looking forward to having his support in this campaign, because Donald Trump poses a serious threat to our nation."

Before the polls closed in Washington, Sanders vowed again to do all he can to prevent the Republican presidential candidate from reaching the White House -- but he declined to endorse Clinton.

Sanders said the private meeting would help him determine how committed Clinton will be to the policy issues he has staked out during his 13-month campaign.

"Our goal must not be to allow politicians, Donald Trump or anyone else, to divide us," Sanders said outside his Washington headquarters, telling reporters he will continue to fight hard to transform the Democratic Party.

"The time is long overdue for a fundamental transformation of the Democratic Party," Sanders said. "We need major, major changes."

Sanders says he will take his campaign to the convention in July and advocate for his policy issues while urging Democrats to be more inclusive of independents, young people and working-class voters, all of whom were pivotal in his victories in 22 states.

He also said he would push for new leadership in the Democratic National Committee; his campaign has sparred with U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, the committee's chairman.

Sanders hasn't yet worked out the details of what he'll be doing before the convention, his spokesman, Michael Briggs, said. He announced in an email to supporters Tuesday that he will reveal his plans Thursday night in a live online video.

Sanders won't drop out "today, tomorrow, or the next day," Briggs said Tuesday.

"We're meeting with Secretary Clinton this evening, and we'll see how that goes and where things stand after that and make some decision about the future based on more intelligence about where we're going," Briggs said.

Peers applaud Sanders

Sanders received at standing ovation Tuesday from Senate Democrats at their weekly luncheon, where he offered an update about his campaign and some of the lessons he had learned during the past year.

Some of those who have wanted him to withdraw said they have made their peace with his decision to stay in. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania said Sanders can play a constructive role in making sure Clinton, a former secretary of state and U.S. senator from New York, wins.

Lawmakers in attendance said Sanders did not indicate his future plans.

"He had an opportunity to talk to us about his campaign and how it has changed him and what he has learned," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. "I think we all listened intently because we are anxious to always do better and grow as a party and be more inclusive."

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who leads the Senate Democrats' campaign arm, said Sanders "absolutely will" support fellow Senate Democrats in the fall elections. "It was productive, it was good, it was vintage Bernie," Tester said.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said Sanders "really challenged us" as Democrats to be more responsive to issues of income inequality, the power of banks, big money in politics" and other aspects of his platform.

"He said he's going to take his message to the convention, for progressive values and party reform. I'm open to that. I think we all should be open to that," Durbin said.

Sanders met last week with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, who both later endorsed Clinton.

The president of the Communications Workers of America, one of the largest labor unions that backed Sanders, said Tuesday that Clinton, not Sanders, will be the nominee and that the time had come for the union to rally around her. In remarks to members and in an interview with The Huffington Post, Chris Shelton said Clinton isn't as populist as the union might want but is thoughtful and experienced. He said that a choice between her and Trump is "a no-brainer" and that Clinton is now "the only course."

Looking forward, Sanders has begun helping Democrats preparing for congressional races and the battle to regain control of the Senate.

Sanders has opened up his campaign's email donor list to several Democratic candidates, hauling in more than $2.4 million for his allies.

GOP criticizes Trump

The mass shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla., has commanded the attention of both campaigns and prompted Democrats to point to Trump's call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S., an issue they view as a key contrast in the general election.

Among other things, Trump suggested that moderate Muslims and perhaps even Obama himself might sympathize with radical elements.

Without mentioning Trump by name, Clinton warned during a speech in Cleveland on Monday that demonizing Muslims would only empower extremist groups. "We should be intensifying contacts in those communities, not scapegoating or isolating them," she said.

Sanders attended a vigil in his hometown of Burlington, Vt., on Monday night to show solidarity with the victims. Pointing to Trump's comments about Muslims, Sanders said the massacre was conducted by "one hateful person" and not committed by the Muslim people.

Several of Trump's fellow Republicans are openly disagreeing with him.

"Mr. Trump seems to be suggesting that the president is one of them. I find that highly offensive, I find that whole line of reasoning way off-base," said Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. "Mr. Trump's reaction to declare war on the faith is the worst possible solution."

GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois said Trump's comments could be used to radicalize uneducated Muslims.

"I guess I appreciate Mr. Trump's fieriness in talking about it, and strength, but you don't do it by alienating the very people we need, and those are moderate Muslims," Kinzinger said. "To use religion as a test, to say we're going to discriminate against all Muslims, is so counterproductive it really almost doesn't deserve being talked about."

House Republicans said they would meet with Trump on July 7, but the reactions of lawmakers underscored an atmosphere of anxiety and unease among Capitol Hill Republicans, who hoped to see Trump moderate his impulses in the weeks since clinching enough delegates to claim the nomination.

One senior Senate Republican, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, suggested Trump might not end up as the party's nominee.

"We do not have a nominee until after the convention," Alexander said in response to a question. Reminded that Trump is the presumptive GOP nominee, Alexander retorted, "That's what you say."

Other congressional Republicans said they had not to have heard what Trump said.

"I just don't know what he was talking about, I frankly don't know what you're talking about. I hadn't heard it," said Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, in response to a question about Trump's suggestions about Obama.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, who backed Trump after a lengthy delay, declined to answer shouted questions Tuesday about whether he stood by his support. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters that he would not comment Tuesday about Trump.

"I continue to be discouraged by the direction of the campaign and comments that are made," said Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, Republican chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Monday's Trump address was not "the type of speech that one would give that wants to lead this country through difficult times."

For many Republicans, the prospect of continually facing questions about Trump was wearing thin.

"I'm just not going to comment on more of his statements. It's going to be five months of it," said Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming.

Information for this article was contributed by Ken Thomas, Erica Werner, Wilson Ring, Mary Clare Jalonick, Lisa Lerer, Richard Lardner and Jill Colvin of The Associated Press and by Margaret Talev, Arit John, Sahil Kapur and Laura Litvan of Bloomberg News.

A Section on 06/15/2016

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