Democratic Senators Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) walked out of the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing room Friday after the committee set a 1:30 p.m. vote on sending Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination to the full Senate.
The details: The Democrats who left then held an impromptu press conference outside the committee room. They said the move was not coordinated.
Brian Hook. Photo: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Image
President Trump's Iran envoy, Brian Hook, is stepping down, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed Thursday. He will be replaced with Venezuela envoy Elliott Abrams, a noted Iran hawk who will serve in both roles.
Why it matters: Hook had been tasked with executing Trump's "maximum pressure" policy toward Iran, working closely with Pompeo. That strategy has deepened tensions and thus far failed to force Iran back to the negotiating table, as Trump had hoped.
Photo: Justin Merriman/Getty Images
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has tested positive for COVID-19 and plans to quarantine at his home for the next 14 days, his office announced Thursday. He currently has no symptoms.
Why it matters: The 73-year-old DeWine was set to meet President Trump Thursday on the tarmac at an airport in Cleveland and was tested as part of standard protocol. He is the second governor known to have contracted the coronavirus, after Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R).
Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios