7 Things: House Speaker McCutcheon says lottery is a priority, Bentley could run for Senate, Barr may not testify after all and more …

7. While the Supreme Court debates the issue of asking citizenship questions during the 2020 census, polls show a majority of American’s support doing so

— In an op-ed in the Washington Post, former Obama administration Attorney General Eric Holder voiced his belief that asking a citizenship question would “weaponize” the census. The census involves a count of all individuals in the country, illegal or not, and will count them all for federal funding, representation and Electoral College power. Democrat politicians want illegal aliens counted to grow their power, while Republicans want the opposite. But the American people are clear. In a recent poll, 73 percent said they “believe it is appropriate for the U.S. Census Bureau to ask residents if they are citizens of the United States.” This included 68 percent of independents and 64 percent of Democrats.

6. White supremacist opens fire on a California synagogue

— On Saturday, John Earnest went to the synagogue Chabad of Poway and opened fire on the congregation. One woman, Lori Gillbert-Kaye was killed while protecting the rabbi, and three others were injured. Poway, California Mayor Steve Vaus said that the situation made him sick to his stomach. Earnest fled the scene on Saturday after opening fire, and then later called the police and turned himself in. President Donald Trump was blamed, but the shooter left a manifesto slamming him as a “Zionist, Jew-loving” traitor.

5. Due to the recent outbreak of measles, President Donald Trump has said you need to vaccinate your kids

— This year, measles cases have reached the highest numbers on record since 2000 when the disease was declared eliminated. President Donald Trump spoke to CNN’s Joe Johns and said, “They have to get their shots. The vaccinations are so important. This is really going around now. They have to get their shots.” As of Wednesday, the CDC confirmed that there have been 695 cases of measles this year. Despite the research that the MMR vaccine causes autism being discredited, many people still haven’t been vaccinating their children in fear of what could happen. Due to this increase in the number of people not vaccinating their kids, we’re seeing more and more cases of the measles every year.

4. The Russians are up to it again, according to U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

— On Sunday, Graham said that the Russians are “up to it again,” and he called on President Trump to try and stop Russia’s efforts to interfere. In an interview with CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Graham said, “This is a big deal, this isn’t a few Facebook ads. They actually got into the campaign email system of the Democratic party. … An attack on one party is an attack to all.” Graham went on to say that what we’ve done with the Russians isn’t working and he called for more sanctions now.

3. Attorney General William Barr will be a no-show at the hearing on Thursday

— After weeks of congressional Democrats accusing Barr of sacrificing his integrity just to make President Trump happy, Barr will not be testifying before the Democrat-led House Judiciary Committee. This is apparently due in part to Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) wanting to have the Judiciary Committee staff question Barr instead of members of Congress. A spokesperson for House Judiciary Committee Republicans told Fox News, “Attorney General Barr wasn’t asked to testify before the committee.” The demand for Barr to testify before a committee rather than Congress is unprecedented and not what Barr agreed to. Unless there’s an agreement reached, Barr will not be testifying on Thursday.

2. Former Governor Robert Bentley won’t rule out a 2020 U.S. Senate run

— Despite the fact that Bentley resigned from office in 2017 in an ethics and campaign finance violations plea deal, his name has come up in discussions about possible 2020 Senate candidates. Bentley was asked about the possibility of running for Senate on WVNN, and he said, “You know, doors open and doors close…And you know, I never close doors completely. If the opportunity arises and things work the way they should, then we may consider it.” Bentley also mentioned that he’s loving what he’s doing in the medical field in Tuscaloosa. Currently, Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-Montrose) and former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville are the only candidates opposing U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-Mountain Brook) in the upcoming election, but Congressman Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) hasn’t ruled it out yet.

1. Alabama House Speaker Mac McCutcheon (R-Monrovia) plans to make the lottery bill a priority

— In an interview with WHNT, Speaker McCutcheon discussed the lottery bill coming to the House. McCutcheon said, “It will be a priority in the House for sure. This time the bill that has come from the Senate is what we call a clean lottery bill.” McCutcheon also mentioned how a lot of people feel strongly that the money made from the lottery should go to education, and he’s expecting a lot of debate and discussion about the funds. If the bill passes the House it will be on the 2020 presidential election ballot.