Top Political News provided by The Washington Post©

• Trump blames McGahn after Mueller paints damning portrait with notes from White House aides
  The president, long suspicious of paper trails, seethed that contemporaneous memos by aides became primary source material for the special counsel’s report.
• Trump blames McGahn after Mueller paints damning portrait with notes from White House aides
  The president, long suspicious of paper trails, seethed that contemporaneous memos by aides became primary source material for the special counsel’s report.
• After Mueller report, Democrats divided over end game — investigate Trump or impeach
  Presidential candidates Warren and Castro called for the House to begin impeachment proceedings, but Pelosi and other top Democrats have tried to tamp down the talk.
• Trump asked his lawyer to cross legal lines. The Mueller report shows how he pushed back.
  The report produced a few surprises, including that President Trump's attempts to impede the investigation were “mostly unsuccessful” because officials refused to help him. Former White House counsel Donald McGahn was a major player on that front.
• Trump asked his lawyer to cross legal lines. The Mueller report shows how he pushed back.
  The report produced a few surprises, including that President Trump's attempts to impede the investigation were “mostly unsuccessful” because officials refused to help him. Former White House counsel Donald McGahn was a major player on that front.
• How William Barr successfully pre-spun the Mueller report for Trump
  The debate over the report was always going to be partisan. Barr gave Trump supporters something to latch on to, even though it was misleading.
• Your big questions about the Mueller report, answered
  The Post's Aaron Blake is answering reader questions about the findings in the just-released Mueller report.
• ‘I have no recollection’: Trump turned to familiar refrain in response to Mueller questions
  The president offered similarly hazy responses in past civil litigation over Trump University and a defamation case he brought against a journalist.
• Mueller report updates: Longtime Manafort associate Konstantin Kilimnik rejects his depiction in Mueller report
  President Trump and his supporters sought to turn a page on his presidency, as Democrats continue to consider their options about how to respond to a special counsel’s report that detailed what they said was “alarming” behavior.
• Warren urges House to impeach Trump in view of Mueller’s findings
  The Democratic senator said the special counsel laid out the facts so Congress would act.
• Longtime Manafort associate Konstantin Kilimnik rejects his depiction in Mueller report
  The Russian and Ukrainian national said he has no ties to intelligence services and did not share internal Trump campaign polling data.
• How Sean Hannity aided the Trump Tower meeting clean-up effort
  According to the Mueller report, Hannity knew about the meeting weeks before the Times did.
• Man arrested after allegedly making racist death threats against Omar, Tlaib and Booker
  The statements made by the caller added credence to complaints by Omar's supporters that the political fixation on her statements about 9/11 could amount to an incitement of violence.
• On a number of important questions, Mueller never got answers
  The investigation was stymied a number of times in myriad ways by those being investigated.
• Russian interference in 2016 sets landscape for 2020 presidential campaign
  The Mueller report demonstrates the depth of Russian efforts, which are still paying off as President Trump and Bernie Sanders play off grudges.
• Trump plays golf with Rush Limbaugh a day after Mueller report release
  The conservative talk show host has been one of the president’s most ardent champions.
• Mueller report offers clues to what’s behind the redactions
  178 of the 448 pages contain redactions, but that doesn’t mean their contents are completely unknowable.
• Sen. Michael Bennet’s cancer surgery was ‘completely successful,’ spokeswoman says
  The Colorado Democrat has been considering joining the growing field of 2020 presidential candidates from his party.
• Sarah Sanders lied, according to the Mueller report. She’s calling it a ‘slip of the tongue.’
  The White House Press Secretary defends her statements after George Stephanopoulos brings it up on TV.
• How William Barr successfully pre-spun the Mueller report for Trump
  The debate over the report was always going to be partisan. Barr gave Trump supporters something to latch on to, even though it was misleading.
• Mueller forced prospective liars to choose: Break the law, face Trump’s wrath or clean up later
  A look at who Mueller caught lying and what happened next.
• The Daily 202: The Mueller report showcases eight Trump loyalists who resisted the president to protect themselves
  By thwarting Trump, top aides repeatedly saved the president from himself.
• Trump uses profanity to complain about the Mueller report
  The president says sections of the report that deal with his possible attempts to obstruct justice are stories fabricated to make him look bad.
• Your big questions about the Mueller report, answered
  The Post's Aaron Blake is answering reader questions about the findings in the just-released Mueller report.

Roll Call©

• Former Reps. Mia Love, Luis Gutiérrez join CNN as commentators
  Reps. Mia Love and Luis Gutiérrez have wasted no time finding new gigs after leaving Congress last week. Love, a Utah Republican and the only black female Republican in the last Congress, and Gutiérrez, a longtime Chicago-based Democrat, have joined CNN as political commentators.
• Trump’s use of border agents for wall pitch raises legal, ethical questions
  President Donald Trump was meeting privately with U.S. Border Patrol agents in the Oval Office Thursday when he suddenly told them, “Let’s go out, see the press.” His idea was for them to explain to reporters “the importance of the wall.” But the spectacle that ensued raises legal and ethical questions. Experts said the president’s use of the officers in what amounted to a border barrier infomercial on afternoon cable television likely did not run astray of a 1939 law that bars most federal employees from conducting political activities while in their official roles. But they indicated other federal laws and guidelines might have been breached in just the latest example of the 45th president’s insistence on making a splash almost daily and eviscerating Washington norms that have been followed by Republican and Democratic presidents alike for decades.
• First big bipartisan vote establishes House select committee on modernizing Congress
  Taking its first bipartisan vote of the 116th Congress, the House voted Friday to establish a select committee to come up with recommendations for modernizing the legislative branch.  The 418-12 bipartisan vote was even more significant because it is part of the House Democrats’ rules package. House rules are crafted by the majority party, and they rarely draw votes from the minority.
• Trump, Democrats remain ‘far apart’ on shutdown deal as talks resume
  President Donald Trump and congressional leaders, including top Democrats that oppose his proposed southern border wall, will try again Friday to make progress on ending a partial government shutdown. But the odds of a breakthrough appear small. “Without a wall, you cannot have border security. Without a very strong form of barrier — call it what you will — but without a wall, you cannot have border security,” Trump said Thursday during a surprise visit to the White House briefing room, his first formal appearance there.
• Ailing Rep. Walter Jones to have private swearing-in ceremony
  Rep. Walter Jones will be sworn into the new session of Congress privately at his home in Farmville, North Carolina, because he could not be in Washington this week due to an unspecified illness. “Congressman Jones has been dealing with a medical issue and will be sworn in today,” spokesman Joshua Bowlen said.
• We will ‘impeach the motherf---er,’ new Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib says of Trump
  In the steady stream of political sound bites, nothing cuts through the noise quite like what Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib said of President Donald Trump Thursday night. “We’re going to go in there, and we’re going to impeach the motherf---er,” the Michigan freshman congresswoman said to rapturous applause from a group of supporters just hours after she was sworn into the 116th Congress.
• Daines, Lankford to serve on both Appropriations and Finance
  Sens. Steve Daines of Montana and James Lankford of Oklahoma will become the first senators since Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. in 1944 to serve simultaneously on the Appropriations and Finance committees, according to panel historical records reviewed by Roll Call. The two Republicans received waivers from Senate GOP conference rules that limit senators to service on just one of the four so-called Super A committees — Appropriations, Finance, Armed Services and Foreign Relations.
• House Democrats unveil first major legislative package of voting, campaign finance and ethics overhauls
  Automatic voter registration, independent redistricting commissions, super PAC restrictions, forced release of presidential tax returns — these are just a handful of the provisions in a massive government overhaul package House Democrats will formally unveil Friday, according to a summary of the legislation obtained by Roll Call.  The package is being introduced as H.R. 1 to show that it’s the top priority of the new Democratic majority. Committees with jurisdiction over the measures will hold markups on the legislation before the package is brought to the floor sometime later this month or early in February. 
• House Democrats pass government funding bills, Pelosi jokes she’d give Trump $1 for a wall
  The new House Democratic majority passed two government funding bills Thursday to open shuttered federal agencies that President Donald Trump has said he will not sign, as Republicans predicted the partial government shutdown will be a long one.  Before the votes Speaker Nancy Pelosi reiterated that Democrats will not agree to a border wall but joked that she’d give Trump $1 for it.
• Pelosi Invites Trump for State of the Union
  Nancy Pelosi, hours after being sworn in as speaker Thursday, invited President Donald Trump to give his upcoming State of the Union speech before a joint session of Congress. “In the spirit of our Constitution, I invite you to deliver your State of the Union address before a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019 in the House Chamber,” the California Democrat wrote in a letter to the president Thursday evening.
• House adopts rules package with few Democratic defections over PAYGO provision
  The House on Thursday adopted the bulk of a rules package for the 116th Congress that featured dozens of changes designed to restore more committee and bipartisan involvement in the legislative process, increase transparency and clamp down on ethics violations.  The measure, adopted 234 to 197, was crafted by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Rules Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., with input from members across all factions of the House Democratic majority.
• Senate set to assert itself on Syria sanctions, Middle East policy early in 2019
  The Senate is moving quickly to assert its point-of-view on U.S. policy regarding Syria and in the broader Middle East, and it could serve as a rebuttal to the decision by President Donald Trump to pull back U.S. forces from Syria. Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio introduced the first piece of legislation on the first day of the new Congress (designated as S 1), and it could lay a marker  on the situation in Syria and the Middle East. The backers include the new chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
• Chaplain Patrick J. Conroy outlasts Ryan; continues his role in new Congress
  Father Patrick J. Conroy will remain in his role as House chaplain for the 116th Congress, after a year full of turmoil surrounding the role. The House voice voted Thursday afternoon to install the House officers —   but not without an extra hurdle for the chaplain.
• Trump congratulates Pelosi in briefing room, stumps for ‘wall’ by any other name
  President Donald Trump made a surprise appearance Thursday in the White House briefing room, congratulating Speaker Nancy Pelosi on taking back the gavel and predicting they will work together on substantial legislation. “It’s a very very great achievement and hopefully we’re going to work together and get lots of things done, like infrastructure,” Trump said.
• For Senate, a day of pomp and ceremony marred by shutdown clouds
  The Senate opened a new Congress Thursday with a partial government shutdown still underway. But the day was still reserved for more ceremony than substance. After swearing-in the newly elected and re-elected senators on the Senate floor just after noon on Thursday as outlined in the Constitution, Vice President Mike Pence made his way to the Old Senate Chamber for the traditional photo ops and ceremonial swearings-in for most of the third of the Senate on the ballot this past November.
• Here are the 15 Democrats who didn’t vote for Pelosi as speaker
  Nancy Pelosi of California was elected speaker of the House on Thursday, returning the gavel to her hands eight years after she lost it when Republicans took control of the chamber in 2011.  There were 15 Democrats who voted against her in the roll call vote.
• Pelosi elected speaker with 15 Democratic defections
  House Democrats, in their first act of the 116th Congress on Thursday, officially elected Nancy Pelosi to serve as speaker, returning the gavel to the longtime Democratic leader eight years after she last held it. The speaker election was not without controversy, however. The California Democrat had to cut a handful of deals over the past two months with would-be opponents to shore up the support needed to win the floor vote, even though no one was challenging her for the post.
• Feinstein signals 2020 support for Biden over Harris
  Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Thursday that it would be difficult not to support former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. if he runs for president in 2020. “I’ve worked with him, I saw him in action, I saw him as vice president, I saw his growth, his ability, and I saw his humanity,” the longtime senator told reporters. “He’s an incredible human being, so it’s very hard for me, if he runs, to ignore that.”
• Ammar Campa-Najjar will challenge indicted Duncan Hunter again in 2020
  Ammar Campa-Najjar nearly defeated California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter last year as the incumbent faced a trial on charges of illegally misusing campaign funds. Next year, Campa-Najjar will try again. The Democratic challenger filed a statement of candidacy form with the Federal Election Commission on Monday declaring his intention to run once more for the 50th District seat in 2020.
• House Ethics reminds members and staff of rules for life after Congress
  In a memo released Thursday with just hours left in the 115th Congress, the House Ethics Committee reminded departing lawmakers of criminal restrictions on certain job-hunting practices. Outgoing members and staff have been planning their next career moves for months. The memo reminds members to “familiarize themselves with ... the criminal restrictions on post-employment communications.” It also says that members should be careful when negotiating for future employment, especially with anyone who could be “substantially affected by the Member’s performance of official duties.”
• ‘Trump Show,’ Act III: What to watch as House Democrats take control
  Act III of the Trump presidency, which can often feel like an off-Broadway production, officially begins at noon Thursday when Democrats take control of the House and everything changes for Donald Trump. Republicans controlled the House for the first two years, or acts, of the “Trump Show,” but their oversight was conducted with a light touch. And they never hit a breaking point with Trump and his unique approach to and views about the presidency.
• Rules package would renew ‘Gephardt Rule’ with a major twist
  A proposed House rules package wouldn’t just reinstate the old rule that let the chamber avoid separate votes on the statutory debt ceiling 20 times in three decades starting in 1980.  The new rules offered by House Democratic leaders, set for floor debate Thursday, would turbocharge the old “Gephardt rule” into something completely new. It would allow the chamber to spin off a resolution “suspending” the debt ceiling to the Senate, without a House vote, once the House adopts its own version of a budget resolution.
• Dick Durbin says he’s running for Senate re-election in 2020, unofficially
  Senate Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin said Thursday that he intends to run for re-election in 2020. The Democrat from Illinois said he would be seeking a fifth term when asked during a CNN interview.
• Rep. Hank Johnson compares Trump to Hitler in a foreboding speech
  Rep. Hank Johnson warned his constituents against creeping authoritarianism in an intense speech peppered with historical references Tuesday, likening the political moment that brought President Donald Trump to power to the rise of Adolf Hitler. “Our democracy teeters on the brink of failure,” the Georgia Democrat said at an event held by the Atlanta NAACP earlier this week. “Americans elected an authoritarian, racist, anti-immigrant strongman to the nation’s highest office.”
• Brad Sherman to introduce impeachment articles against Trump on first day of Democratic Congress
  Rep. Brad Sherman is wasting no time letting President Donald Trump feel the pressure from a Democrat-controlled House. The California Democrat plans to reintroduce articles of impeachment against Trump on Thursday, the first day Democrats retake a majority they have not enjoyed in the House since 2011.
• Divided government will pose an obstacle to lawmaking in 2019
  Washington tends to work best when one party controls both Congress and the White House. It’s most gridlocked, usually, when control of Congress is split. The Congress of the past two years demonstrated the first principle. By any honest measure, President Donald Trump and his Republican colleagues in the House and Senate got a lot done in 2017 and 2018.
• Shutdown, House Democrats’ divisions set tone as new era of divided government begins
  A new era of divided government has arrived. Democrats officially take control of the House on Thursday as the 116th Congress convenes on the 13th day of a partial government shutdown. The day’s floor proceedings will offer a preview of what’s to come over the next two years as House Democrats define how far left their caucus will tilt heading into the 2020 cycle and decide whether there’s any room to cooperate with President Donald Trump as he seeks re-election.
• An initial rating of the 2020 presidential race
  I didn’t expect Donald Trump to win in 2016, and after his election I wrote an entire column in The Washington Post examining my analysis and mistakes. Now older, hopefully a little wiser, and definitely more cautious, I turn to the 2020 presidential contest, which has already started. My initial rating is based on a combination of Trump’s current standing, his electoral performance in 2016, his party’s performance in 2018, questions about the Democratic Party’s ability to unite behind a broadly appealing nominee next year, and assumptions about the economy and state of the nation a year and a half from now.
• Senators Confirm Slew of Trump Nominees in Final Hours of 115th Congress
  As a practical matter, the 115th Congress is finally history. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the announcement that the Senate will convene for a pro forma session at 11:50 a.m. Thursday, but there will be no real business until after noon arrives, when the new Congress begins, as outlined in the Constitution. 
• Report: Allegations Against Tom Garrett Illustrate How Not to Use Official Resources
  A report released Wednesday by the House Ethics Committee on allegations against Rep Tom Garrett sought to remind House members and staff of guidelines for using official resources and staff and the role of spouses in Congressional offices. A statement from the panel said that the committee will lose jurisdiction over the matter before a full report can be issued. But it sought to use Garrett’s situation to provide guidance to the House community.
• After Holiday Lull, Trump-Era Action Returns to White House
  Congressional leaders emerged from a Situation Room border security briefing Wednesday with Donald Trump without a deal to end a partial government shutdown, but the president showed anew how he often is driven by a belief public opinion will shift and force political foes to fold. “A lot of people are going to come around to my way of thinking,” Trump said last week of his unilateral decision to withdraw all U.S. military troops from Syria. And on Wednesday, the commander in chief made clear he believes if he merely has Homeland Security officials explain to Democratic congressional leaders why his proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall is necessary, they will, in his words, “come around” and give him more than $5 billion and agree to reopen a quarter of the federal government.
• On Day 12 of Partial Shutdown, No ‘Particular Progress Was Made’
  Despite another White House meeting among principals, President Donald Trump and congressional leaders made little progress over resolving a partial government shutdown now in its 12th day. “We had a good discussion. Obviously the border security issue — I don’t think any particular progress was made today. But we talked about all aspects of it and it was a civil discussion. And we’re hopeful that somehow in the coming days and weeks we’ll be able to reach an agreement,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said upon returning to the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon. 
• Mitt Romney, Rand Paul Preview GOP Debate Over Donald Trump in New Congress
  Two Republicans with among the largest national profiles of senators in the new Congress aren’t wasting any time in drawing the contours of a debate that is sure to run over for the next two years. Namely, the extent to which members of the Senate GOP hitch their wagons to President Donald Trump as an election cycle gets underway with a map that might be more favorable to the Democrats.
• Opposition to Pay-As-You-Go Proposal Prevents Unity on House Democrats’ Rules Package
  House Democrats’ rules for the 116th Congress contain a wide array of consensus changes, but a pay-as-you-go provision that would require offsets for deficit-increasing legislation is preventing party unity on the package.  At least two progressive members, California Rep. Ro Khanna and New York Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, said they will oppose the rules package because of the provision. 
• Frederica Wilson Takes Shot at John Kelly on His Way out the Door: ‘Good Riddance’
  Rep. Frederica Wilson has three words for John Kelly on his last day in the White House: “Good riddance. Goodbye.” Wilson issued her parting words for the outgoing chief of staff and retired Marine general in a tweet Wednesday.
• Trump Accuses Democrats of Playing Politics With Shutdown
  President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused Democrats of playing politics over the partial government shutdown, saying during a cabinet meeting he sees Democrats as focused “on 2020.” Asked how long the shutdown might last, Trump responded: “As long as it takes.” He also indicated to reporters he might negotiate with Democrats to a border barrier funding amount less than his $5 billion demand. Democratic aides have grumbled that he has yet to be clear about just what he would accept, helping to stall pre-Christmas talks.
• Harry Reid Calls Trump ‘Weird’ and ‘Amoral,’ but Has Few Words for Chuck Schumer
  Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sounds like he couldn’t have handled government shutdown negotiations much differently than his onetime colleagues in congressional Democratic leadership.   “You can’t legislate when you have a chief executive who’s weird, for lack of a better description,” the former Nevada senator told The New York Times Magazine, referring to President Donald Trump’s insistence on getting $5 billion for a southern border wall and his rejection of a stopgap spending bill that would have averted a shutdown that left government workers without the assurance of future paychecks just before Christmas.
• Rep. Robert Pittenger Won’t Run Even if ‘Ballot Harvesting’ Probe Causes Primary Do-Over
  Should an investigation into fraud allegations in the race for North Carolina’s 9th District trigger a new primary contest, the incumbent won’t be a candidate. Rep. Robert Pittenger — who was ousted in a May primary election that has attracted national attention for absentee ballot irregularities favorable to winner Mark Harris — said Monday that he won’t run again. 
• Trump Compares His Win, Romney’s Loss in Responding to Harsh Critique
  Donald Trump on Wednesday fired back at Sen.-elect Mitt Romney after the onetime GOP nominee for president wrote in an op-ed that the sitting president “has not risen to the mantle of the office.” As he waits to be sworn in on Thursday as the junior senator from Utah, the former Massachusetts governor provoked the president Tuesday with a Washington Post opinion piece that harshly criticized Trump. And in classic counter-puncher fashion, Trump questioned in a Wednesday morning tweet whether Romney would be “a Flake,” a reference to outgoing Arizona GOP Sen. Jeff Flake, who clashed with Trump but ultimately opted to leave office after Trump’s base in his state abandoned him.
• Trump Invites Congressional Leaders to WH for Border Security Briefing
  President Donald Trump has invited congressional leaders to the White House Wednesday for a briefing on border security, according to a congressional source. The top two incoming leaders of each party in both chambers were invited: Democrats Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Chuck Schumer and Dick Durbin and Republicans Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise, Mitch McConnell and John Thune.
• Trump: No Money for Wall, No Signature on Bill to Fund Government
  President Donald Trump on Monday evening signaled he would not sign an omnibus spending package House Democrats plan to bring to the floor later this week because it omits dollars for his proposed southern border barrier. “The Democrats will probably submit a Bill, being cute as always, which gives everything away but gives NOTHING to Border Security, namely the Wall. You see, without the Wall there can be no Border Security — the Tech “stuff” is just, by comparison, meaningless bells & whistles,” he tweeted.
• Man Charged in Eastern Market Suspicious Powder Incident
  Updated 2:43 p.m. | A suspicious powdery substance at the Eastern Market metro station on Capitol Hill prompted a huge emergency response Monday, including road closures and transit service changes. Around 8:45 a.m. a man sprinkled an unknown white powder on the platform and tracks at Eastern Market, before exiting the station via train. The same man also sprinkled power in the elevator at the Metro Center station, where he exited the metro, according to WMATA spokesperson Dan Stessel.
• House Democrats to Hold Votes Thursday on Spending Measures to Reopen Government
  House Democrats will vote Thursday, the first day of the new Congress in which they’ll be in the majority, to reopen the government with six full-year appropriations bills and a short-term continuing resolution for the Department of Homeland Security, according to a senior Democratic aide. The first votes of the 116th Congress will be to elect a speaker — expected to be longtime Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi — and then to adopt a rules package. The rules package will make the aforementioned appropriations legislation in order so that the Rules Committee does not have to adopt a separate rule to bring up the bills for debate.
• GOP Rep. Walter Jones Suggests Trump Pay for Part of His Wall
  Rep. Walter Jones is worried that President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall will add to the federal debt — so worried, in fact, that he’s proposing the president pony up some of his own money for the wall. “If Mexico isn’t going to be made to pay for a wall, that means funds must be found internally,” the North Carolina Republican said in a statement Friday.
• Trump Digs In For Border Wall Fight With Foe His Base Loves to Hate
  Striking a partial government shutdown-ending deal with Nancy Pelosi was always going to be difficult for Donald Trump — but then the president dug in over the weekend and made clear he is willing to endure a lengthy shutdown to placate his base. Senior Democratic Senate sources say Trump and his top lieutenants made only one serious offer to get nearly 800,000 federal workers back on the job, adding the president himself never seemed interested in cutting a deal with the Senate’s top Democrat, fellow New Yorker Charles E. Schumer.
• Elizabeth Warren Takes First Official Step to Run for President in 2020
  Sen. Elizabeth Warren took the first official step toward running for president in 2020, launching an exploratory committee on Monday to test out her chances of securing the Democratic nomination. The Massachusetts Democrat, widely seen as a vanguard of progressivism in her party, joined former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro as the second Democrat to launch an exploratory committee in recent weeks.
• McCarthy Names Top Republicans for House Ethics and Rules Committees
  House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy selected the top Republicans for the House Ethics and House Rules Committees in the new congress, which begins January 3. Texan Kenny Marchant will be the ranking member on the House Ethics Committee, replacing Indiana’s Susan W. Brooks who had served on the panel for three terms. House rules bar members from sitting on the House Ethics panel for more than three congresses, unless the member leads the panel in their fourth term.
• Rep. Mia Love MIA in Lame Duck Session
  Utah Rep. Mia Love has missed more votes in the lame duck session than any of the nearly three dozen other lawmakers who lost their reelection races in November, according to a recent analysis. The 4th District Republican was absent from a cluster of votes the week before Christmas as the federal government hurtled toward a partial shutdown. Altogether Love missed nearly 84 percent of votes since suffering her midterm loss, the most of any ousted member of Congress, according to an analysis by KUTV.
• White House to Freeze Pay for Federal Workers in 2019
  As the partial government shutdown grinds on, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday evening that would freeze pay for federal workers  in 2019. Trump telegraphed the move in his February budget request for fiscal 2019 when he proposed a pay freeze for the roughly 2.1 million federal civilian workers. That plan was confirmed by a formal announcement in August required to head off steep pay raises that would automatically take effect under a 1990 law, which presidents of both parties routinely override.
• FEMA Relents on Flood Insurance
  The Federal Emergency Management Agency reversed course late Friday and said it would allow sales of new flood insurance policies during the partial government shutdown. “As of this evening, all [National Flood Insurance Program] insurers have been directed to resume normal operations immediately and advised that the program will be considered operational since December 21, 2018 without interruption,” FEMA said in a press release.

McClatchy©

• U.S. restricts travel, remittances to Cuba as part of a new policy under Trump
  The Trump administration is tightening restrictions on travel and remittances to Cuba, reversing the engagement policies from the Obama era while increasing pressure on the island’s government in response to … Click to Continue »
• Declassified documents show CIA knew Latin juntas killed dissidents abroad
  With the broad blessing of a CIA bent on thwarting Soviet expansion, South American military juntas together formed a special unit charged with going to France and elsewhere abroad to … Click to Continue »
• These Democrats are ready to put Mueller in the rear view mirror
  There’s one group of Democrats desperate to quit talking about Robert Mueller and his Trump-Russia probe — the vulnerable ones up for re-election in Trump-friendly districts. While party leadership on … Click to Continue »
• Mueller report: WH wanted McConnell to urge Sessions to not recuse
  A White House lawyer reached out to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell at President Donald Trump’s urging in an effort to convince then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions not to recuse himself … Click to Continue »
• AG Barr: Russian operatives didn’t have cooperation of Trump or his campaign
  Before Special Counsel Robert Mueller's redacted report was made public on April 18, 2019, Attorney General William Barr said, "...The Russian operatives who perpetrated these schemes did not have the cooperation of President Trump." … Click to Continue »
• Trump initially called Mueller election probe ‘the end of my presidency,’ report says
  A redacted version of a report on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election has been released to Congress and the public by the U.S. … Click to Continue »
• Read and search the 400-page Mueller report here
  Congress received the redacted report detailing Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference and possible collusion with President Donald Trump’s campaign team Thursday. You can read and search … Click to Continue »
• Trump urged Pompeo to get word out he ‘had not done anything wrong related to Russia’
  Days after the FBI director testified to Congress on Russian interference in the 2016 election, President Donald Trump asked then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo to publicly state there were no links … Click to Continue »
• Trump White House fully cooperated with special counsel investigation, says AG Barr
  Attorney General William Barr told reporters on April 18, 2019 that he reviewed the team’s findings on allegations that President Trump tried to obstruct or impede the investigation, saying Mueller examined 10 instances of potential obstruction. … Click to Continue »
• Mueller finds Kushner was a top target of Russian influence, but he mostly steered clear
  Special Counsel Robert Mueller found evidence that affiliates of the Russian government repeatedly sought the audience and favor of Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and one of his closest advisers, … Click to Continue »
• Burr apparently briefed White House on FBI election probe, Mueller report says
  Sen. Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican and chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, “appears to have” briefed the White House as to the targets of an FBI … Click to Continue »
• The Mueller report is out, but Devin Nunes’ calls for investigations are just beginning
  Special Counsel Robert Mueller III’s redacted report is out, but Rep. Devin Nunes’ war on the officials who launched inquiries into the 2016 election is far from over. Nunes, R-Tulare, … Click to Continue »
• Lindsey Graham ‘not interested’ in calling Mueller to testify before Judiciary Committee
  Lindsey Graham has no plans to ask White House special counsel Robert Mueller to testify before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. The South Carolina Republican, reached by phone by McClatchy … Click to Continue »
• Some of Mueller report’s ‘limited redactions’ cover entire pages of 448-page report
  Before the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on his two-year investigation into Russian election interference, Attorney General William Barr said the document would include “limited redactions.” “As I … Click to Continue »
• Trump on Mueller report: This should never happen to another president
  President Donald Trump took a moment during a Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride event on April 18, 2019 to comment about the release of the redacted Mueller report on possible collusion with Russia. … Click to Continue »
• Pompeo: We’re ‘holding the Cuban government accountable for seizing American assets’
  The United States will allow lawsuits against foreign firms operating on properties Cuba seized from Americans after the 1959 revolution. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke about the decision on April 17, 2019. … Click to Continue »
• An influential conservative group makes its pick in 17-way GOP primary in Eastern NC
  Republican Celeste Cairns nabbed a key endorsement just weeks before primary election day in North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District. The Club for Growth, an influential conservative group that promotes limited … Click to Continue »
• McConnell named one of Time’s ‘Most Influential’ as he embraces Trump in re-election video
  Mitch McConnell officially kicked off his 2020 reelection campaign with a video that makes it clear he’ll run as closely tied to President Donald Trump as he can get. The … Click to Continue »
• Are anti-tax Republicans softening on the idea of a gas tax increase?
  Higher state gasoline taxes have won approval in seven Republican-run states since President Donald Trump took office, an unusual step for a party adamantly opposed to more taxes and a … Click to Continue »
• Wagle’s roadmap to U.S. Senate: stick close to Trump, push back hard against Kelly
  Even as she prepared for a White House meeting about a possible U.S. Senate run, Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle was thinking about her next round of battles with Gov. … Click to Continue »
• GOP congressman warns fellow Republicans: Be careful messing with Ocasio-Cortez
  A Kentucky Republican congressman is warning his colleagues that if they mess with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, they could be inviting trouble. “A lot of Republicans are making a mistake picking on … Click to Continue »
• California’s most vulnerable Democrat is still untangling his tax liens heading into 2020
  A freshman San Joaquin Valley congressman who narrowly unseated an incumbent in November has a complicated financial history that includes multiple tax liens and a delinquent debt that caused the … Click to Continue »
• This new House Democrat from Turlock raised more money than Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
  A rookie California congressman who flipped a Republican seat last fall has raised more money for re-election than any other freshman Democrat, even outpacing members who have become household names … Click to Continue »
• Where are Lindsey Graham and Jaime Harrison raising cash? Mostly outside SC
  Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and his likely challenger, Democrat Jaime Harrison, have both raised more money from donors in South Carolina than anywhere else so far this year. Still, … Click to Continue »
• A Kentucky progressive finds himself in the middle of the House
  Rep. John Yarmuth is a lifetime liberal but today finds himself feeling like a moderate in a Congress that’s just had a fresh infusion of progressive lawmakers. Some of the … Click to Continue »
• Kamala Harris beats Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders in 2020 money race in Florida
  Sen. Kamala Harris raised at least $325,000 from donors in Florida for her 2020 presidential campaign in the first three months of the year, more than any other Democratic candidate. … Click to Continue »
• Kamala Harris leads 2020 Democrats in raising South Carolina cash
  Sen. Kamala Harris raised at least $25,000 from donors in the critical early primary state of South Carolina, more than any other 2020 Democratic candidate in the first three months … Click to Continue »
• Kamala Harris is crushing other 2020 Democrats in California fundraising
  Sen. Kamala Harris used her home-state connections to raise more than $4.3 million from California donors in the first three months of the year, far more than any of her … Click to Continue »
• On Israel, Kamala Harris breaks with liberal 2020 pack
  California Sen. Kamala Harris is resisting pressure from the left flank of her Democratic party to take a more critical stance on the Israeli government and its policies towards Palestinians, … Click to Continue »
• Beto O’Rourke dominates 2020 Democrats in Texas fundraising
  Beto O’Rourke raised more than $2 million from his home state of Texas in the opening weeks of his presidential campaign, easily outpacing his 2020 Democratic rivals. Another Texan, Julian … Click to Continue »

Politico©

• Pelosi: 'Open discussion' on whether Trump could be indicted in office
• DNC chair praises George H.W. Bush: He 'put country over party every day'
• How will Trump take Amazon move? 'He will think Bezos made this decision to stick it to him.'
• Kasich: ‘A pox on both houses’ for Kavanaugh confirmation process
• Avenatti stars in ‘avenging angel’ role
  For the third time this year, the attorney and 2020 presidential prospect has rolled a grenade into the Trump White House.
• The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics
  Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here’s an offering of the best of this week’s crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.
• Behind the scenes as the Kavanaugh nomination hit the rocks
• Former Trump aides break their silence on Woodward book
  Rob Porter, Gary Cohn and Chris Christie are accusing the veteran journalist of creating a misleading portrait of the West Wing.
• New sexual misconduct allegations emerge against CBS boss
• Booker heading to Iowa in October