President Trump gave a full-throated defense of his 'America First' approach to foreign policy Wednesday, fresh off a 12-day trip to Asia. "My fellow citizens, America is back," he said, before walking away from the podium amid shouted questions about Roy Moore.
The context: Trump is saying, "America First has been vindicated on the world stage," a source familiar with the speech told Axios' Jonathan Swan. "We view this as an exclamation mark on a year of foreign policy under Trump."
GOP Alabama Senate nominee Roy Moore now trails his Democratic opponent Doug Jones by 12 points (51 to 39 percent) in the latest National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) poll, per Politico. The Real Clear Politics average shows Moore with a 3-point lead, though the scandal surrounding him is clearly having an impact.
Meanwhile Larry Sabato, founder of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, said his team now projects that Alabama "Leans Democrat" ahead of the Dec. 12 special election. "We can't believe we're doing this..." he wrote on Twitter. "The GOP may find a way out of this mess, but the party — thanks to Roy Moore — is on the verge of blowing what was once a sure thing."
Sen. Ron Johnson (WI) says the tax plan benefits corporations more than any other kind of business, and for that reason he is opposed to the bill, the Wall Street Journal reports. "If they can pass it without me, let them. I'm not going to vote for this tax package," Johnson told WSJ.
Why it matters: Unless they get Democrats on board, Republicans can only afford to lose two GOP votes. This is one.
Correction: This post has been updated to correct an editor's error. Republicans can afford to lose two votes, not three.
In a potential threat to future U.S. innovation, new international enrollment at U.S. colleges is down for the first time in more than a decade, according to a new report. It is the first hard sign that the Trump administration's rhetoric may be frightening away some of the world's best and brightest who traditionally have been drawn to settle and work in the U.S.
Why it matters: "The Chinese whiz kid, if he can find a way to America, he'll come here. If you're good, you can make a lot of money," Anthony Carnevale, director of Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce, tells Axios. "That whole set of incentives has always been tied to the immigrant stream, and we're severing that connection."
Six Democratic congressmen presented 5 articles of impeachment against President Trump on Wednesday, adding to the growing list of congressmen calling for his removal.
Why it matters: With 40% of Americans supporting impeachment, according to an August poll by the Public Religion Research Institute, there will likely more efforts to impeach the president. Impeachment requires a majority of House members, and no Republicans have publicly supported efforts for impeachment.
House and Senate Republicans are trying to keep the deficit impact of their tax plans under the budget's $1.5 trillion limit, in part by proposing sunsets on some of the plan's major cuts and exclusions. House Speaker Paul Ryan and Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady said some of those sunsets won't actually happen.
Why it matters: The nonpartisan think tank Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says extending the sunsets in the future would "add over $350 billion to the cost of the bill" and bring the deficit impact closer to $2 trillion. A Penn Wharton Budget Model analysis similarly found the plan would add more than $2 trillion over 10 years.
52% of American voters disapprove of the GOP tax plan, according to the latest Quinnipiac poll. 25% of American voters approve of it. The tax plan has 60% support among Republicans.
Why it matters: The GOP's message is that the tax overhaul is supposed to be good for all Americans and reduce taxes for most Americans, but 61% think the plan will benefit the wealthy the most, and only 16% say the plan will reduce their taxes.
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced a bill Wednesday aimed at streamlining the response to sexual harassment in Congress. The "Me Too" Act calls for more transparency, an overhaul of the flawed complaint process, and better support for victims.
Key quote: "There is a serious sexual harassment problem in Congress, and too many congressional offices are not taking this problem seriously at all," said Gillibrand.
According to Fox News' Chad Pergram, Lindsey Graham said he wants people to be able to come to work on Capitol Hill and not get harassed. And he wants those who have harassed other colleagues in Congress named:
Richard Cordray, the Obama-appointed director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), said in an email to employees Wednesday that he will step down at the end of the month. The move comes amid speculation that he plans to run on the Democratic ticket for governor of Ohio.
Why it matters: Congressional Republicans have targeted Cordray since he took over the bureau. Now President Trump will have the freedom to appoint a conservative director to take his spot.
Two House members, Republican David McKinley of West Virginia and Democrat Mike Thompson of California, have proposed a bill that would stop pending drug payment cuts to hospitals. Three major hospital lobbying groups and three health systems also sued the feds this week to prevent the cuts to those drug subsidies, which are part of the federal 340B drug discount program.
The bottom line: The 340B proposal is a major threat to hospital profits, threatening to cut $1.6 billion in drug payments next year. Hospitals are often the biggest employers in congressional districts and therefore have a lot of sway with Congress — and they are using that power forcefully on the 340B issue.
Anthony Scaramucci is looking for a publisher to pick up his new book on his short-lived time (all 10 days of it) in the White House. Sources told Page Six that "the Mooch" has been meeting with several publishing companies, and that the book is being repped by Trident Media Group, whose clients include Jon Stewart and Paris Hilton, among others.
Get smart: Scaramucci didn't hide from the spotlight after being fired. Instead, he embraced the media attention and used it to further his latest career moves. Since his White House departure he's signed with a famous Hollywood publicist, done several TV interviews, and is now capitalizing on his time with Trump through a hopeful book deal.
Speaker Ryan said "that the House will require anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training for all members and their staffs," AP reports. "The announcement came just hours after a hearing in which two female lawmakers spoke about sexual misconduct involving sitting members of Congress."
"The move comes days after the Senate unanimously approved a measure requiring all senators, staff and interns to be trained on preventing sexual harassment."
California Rep. Darrell Issa's bill on H-1B visa allocations heads to its first committee vote Wednesday morning. The bill would make it more difficult for so-called "H-1B dependent" companies to obtain the work permits. Currently, companies with 15% or more employees using the visas are labeled as H-1B dependent.
Why it matters: The Trump administration has already taken aim at H-1B dependent companies that it sees as abusing the H-1B visa program, which currently allocates 85,000 visas annually for high-skilled workers. Issa's bill would be the first legislative step toward reforming visa eligibility — a move that India-based IT services firms say unfairly targets them.
