Buttigieg Is Backed by New Hampshire Lawmaker: Campaign Update

(Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg netted the first endorsement from the New Hampshire congressional delegation on Friday, winning the support of Representative Ann Kuster.

Kuster, who represents the Second Congressional District, will campaign with Buttigieg in Concord, New Hampshire, on Friday.

“Pete Buttigieg is the leader who can finally turn the page on the Trump presidency and bring our nation together to usher in a new era where we finally solve our most urgent problems,” Kuster said in a statement. “Like Barack Obama before him, Pete is young, inspiring, brings fresh ideas to the table, and is motivated to win.”

Kuster’s endorsement comes at a crucial time for Buttigieg, who is in a tight four-way race in New Hampshire with Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

Bloomberg Says E-Cigarettes are ‘So Bad’ (12:50 p.m.)

Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg vowed Wednesday to ban all flavored e-cigarettes and move to reduce tobacco use and nicotine exposure.

The former New York mayor said the move was necessary to protect children who he says are targeted by tobacco companies with products designed to attract them.

“Today one in four high school students are addicted to vaping and it’s a brand new thing. It’s so bad,” he said on ABC’s “The View.”

President Donald Trump made a similar pledge after a wave of respiratory illnesses and deaths linked to vaping, but later stepped back from the move, allowing menthol flavored e-cigarettes and any liquid flavorings that are not in a cartridge to remain on the market.

Bloomberg also reiterated that he will not release several women from confidentiality agreements who accused him in 1990s lawsuits of creating an uncomfortable workplace, saying that “most women in the company” would say it’s a good place to work. -- Ryan Teague Beckwith

Biden Blasts Trump’s China Trade Deal (11:48 a.m.)

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden blasted the “phase one” trade deal with China that President Donald Trump is signing Wednesday as a loss for the U.S. that fails to make headway on the central issues of the trade dispute.

“China is the big winner of Trump’s ‘phase-one’ trade deal with Beijing,” the former vice president said in a statement. “True to form, Trump is getting precious little in return for the significant pain and uncertainty he has imposed on our economy, farmers, and workers.”

The deal “won’t actually resolve the real issues at the heart of the dispute, including industrial subsidies, support for state-owned enterprises, cybertheft, and other predatory practices in trade and technology,” Biden said.

The U.S. has agreed to halve 15% duties on $120 billion of imports and delay others in return for Chinese promises to make structural reforms and purchase an additional $200 billion in American goods and services over the next two years. Punitive tariffs are expected to remain on almost two-thirds of U.S. imports from China -- $360 billion in goods -- until at least the November presidential election. The full text will be released on Wednesday. -- Jennifer Epstein

COMING UP:

The Democratic presidential candidates will debate again in New Hampshire on Feb. 7.

The first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses will be held Feb. 3. The New Hampshire primary is Feb. 11. Nevada holds its caucuses on Feb. 22 and South Carolina has a primary on Feb. 29.

(Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. He is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)

--With assistance from Jennifer Epstein and Ryan Teague Beckwith.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tyler Pager in Washington at tpager1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, John Harney, Max Berley

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