Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) told Axios that he hasn't given up hope on Attorney General Jeff Sessions coming around on sentencing reform, pointing to that fact that as a senator Sessions helped pass the Fair Sentencing Act, which improved the racial disparity in cocaine crime sentencing.
Why it matters:In a White House meeting with criminal justice reform advocates, Sessions seemed open to pursuing prison reform in order to save money, but sentencing reform was not discussed. Prison reform has more bipartisan support, while sentencing reform is often seen as being "soft on crime" by hardline conservatives like Sessions.
President Trump received a letter on Thursday from 54 Republicans and Democrats, pressing him to have Attorney General Jeff Sessions "reinstate Obama-era policy that gave states leeway" in marijuana legalization, the Hill reports.
Why it matters: Sessions rescinded a 2013 policy called the Cole Memo, which kept "federal prosecutors from bringing marijuana-related charges in states that had legalized recreational use," per the Hill. The bipartisan group of lawmakers who wrote to Trump say this violates states' rights.
"Davos 2018 has emerged as a bastion for anti-Silicon Valley sentiment," writes Vanity Fair's Maya Kosoff:
Key figures: George Soros compared Google and Facebook to mining and oil companies, saying that both “earn their profits by exploiting their environment... Salesforce C.E.O. Marc Benioff said on Tuesday that Facebook should be regulated like a cigarette company. ... Theresa May ... urged them to take responsibility for 'harmful and illegal' activity online."
Trump just got back from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, yesterday, and he's ready to talk about immigration issues and border security. "Thank you to Brandon Judd of the National Border Patrol Council for his strong statement on @foxandfriends that we very badly NEED THE WALL. Must also end loophole of “catch & release” and clean up the legal and other procedures at the border NOW for Safety & Security reasons."
Be smart: He's wasting no time on his first morning back returning to his regular media diet, which includes a lot of Fox News and less of anything else.
Most national polls show Americans preferring Democrats over Republicans in the mid-term congressional elections by 10-18 percentage points, though the margin has narrowed in some recent polls. Republicans and Democrats alike are giving extra attention to a a few Senate seats in particular.
Why it matters
The president's party traditionally takes a hit in his first midterm, and Democrats only need 24 House seats and two Senate seats to win majorities in both. But the odds are low that the Senate would change hands, since 10 Democratic senators are up for re-election in states Trump won. It's also worth watching to see if the polls change after the debacle over the government shutdown.
Since Thursday's New York Times report revealed President Trump had at one point thought about firing special counsel Robert Mueller, Republicans have taken varied stances on what to do if that were to happen.
Why it matters: This was a concern for Republicans for a long time, and the Times report confirmed their worries. Now Sen. Chuck Grassley says he may support legislation protecting Mueller, while Sen. Thom Tillis is backing off legislation he once supported to do just that.
The White House has drafted a proposal, as part of President Trump's infrastructure plan, that would "scale back environmental requirements ... to make it easier to construct roads, bridges and pipelines," the Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: That kind of tradeoff would be sure to complicate negotiations with Democrats, whose support Trump wants for an infrastructure plan. Administration officials are open to negotiations on certain elements in order to get it through the Senate, per the Post, but "they have made it clear they are seeking to make the most sweeping changes in decades."
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut are suing the federal government over the GOP tax bill, specifically over the provision that added a $10,000 limit on state and local tax deductions. High-tax states often perceive this as an effective increase on their residents' tax burden.
Why it matters: This is the latest in a series of pitches many blue, high-tax states have been launching to try and bypass the new requirements.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has struck a deal with Vigilant Solutions to give the agency access to billions of license plate records, reports The Verge.
Why it matters: Vigilant's massive vehicle-tracking network will allow ICE agents to search every place a specific license plate has been captured on camera in the last five years. It will also give agents the ability to set up alerts for whenever a particular license plate is spotted, making it extremely difficult for vehicles of interest to remain unnoticed for long.
President Trump made his America-first pitch at the World Economic Forum in Davos today, touting the strength of the U.S. economy, telling the other world powers: "There has never been a better time to hire, to build, to invest and to grow in the United States."
Why it matters: Trump used the speech to reaffirm America as the leader in the global economy, but kept with his administration's motto in assuring the other countries that "America First does not mean America alone."
The White House framework on immigration reform that came out yesterday is a non-starter for influential figures on the left and right.
But, but, but: A senior White House official pushed back at our reporting, noting only President Trump or a member of congressional leadership can stop a bill in its tracks.
During a meeting with Swiss Confederation President Alain Berset at Davos, President Trump touted his economic policies and predicted that the United States would have faced a disaster if Hillary Clinton had won the 2016 presidential election:
“I will say this with great conviction, that had the opposing party won, in my opinion, because they would have added tremendous regulation, I believe the markets would’ve been down anywhere from 25 to 50 percent.”
President Trump expressed willingness to "shift more" on immigration in a CNBC interview that aired Friday morning, adding that he wants to help protect Dreamers:
"These are good people, these are people that should be able to stay in this country. We're going to solve the DACA problem. But we also want to solve a tremendous problem on the southern border, which is crime. We need a wall, we need the drugs to stop flowing in."
As President Trump visits Davos, Americans are more confident in the United States' ability to compete with other countries — but not necessarily because of Trump's economic leadership, according to a new Axios/SurveyMonkey poll. The change is mainly because Republicans are more confident than they were in 2011.
Data: SurveyMonkey poll conducted Jan. 11 to 18, 2018. Poll methodology. Washington Post poll conducted Jan. 13 to 17, 2011.; Chart: Lazaro Gamio / Axios
Rep. Patrick Meehan no longer plans to seek re-election after reports emerged that he used taxpayer dollars to settle a sexual harassment claim from a former staffer, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Background: Meehan says he thought of the aide as "a soul mate," and that was "struggling to make sure that I would never put that into our professional relationship." She says he became "hostile" after she rejected his advances.
