President Trump welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte to the White House on Tuesday, marking the first state visit of Trump's presidency.
The details: Following the first official welcome ceremony at the White House, the two leaders participated in a closed-door bilateral meeting before giving a joint press conference later that morning. Tonight, the Macrons and Trumps will dine on “rack of spring lamb” and “burnt cipollini soubise” at the state dinner.
That sound you heard at President Trump's press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron this afternoon was the orchestra playing Dr. Ronny Jackson off the stage.
What's next: Jackson isn’t bowing out, and the White House is now signaling it will mount a stronger fight for his confirmation as the next Veterans Affairs secretary. But it's hard to see how he recovers after his confirmation hearing was postponed and Trump said, "I wouldn't do it."
Ric Grenell will almost certainly be confirmed this week as President Trump's ambassador to Germany after months of being stalled in the Senate.
Details: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has moved to end debate on Grenell and a senior Republican aide told me he'll almost certainly be confirmed into the position before the end of the week.
The National Guard is helping West Virginia’s Secretary of State watch out for Russian interference during its congressional primaries next month, Bloomberg reports.
Why it makes sense: Although states run their own elections and several states were at first apprehensive of the federal government getting involved in their election security, the National Guard is already in place in states and ready to deploy quickly. There are also clear funding lines when it comes to cyber assistance at the state level — states pay for it and control the forces.
President Trump acknowledged Tuesday that his pick to head the Veterans Affairs Department, Dr. Ronny Jackson, has an "experience problem," adding that, if he were Jackson, he would pull his name from the running, but said that it's up to him to decide.
Why it matters: Jackson has come under intense scrutiny ahead of his recently postponed confirmation hearing to lead VA, as allegations of improper conduct and growing concerns about the physician's ability to lead the agency continue to swirl. And while Trump later said he would stand behind Jackson in whatever he decides, his comments have essentially provided Jackson with an easy way out of the nomination.
James Comey's book "A Higher Loyalty," has dominated headlines for the past few weeks and is now dominating the charts after selling more than 600,000 copies in its first week, the New York Times reports.
The big picture: Hillary Clinton's memoir "What Happened" sold over 300,000 in its first week, and Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury" sold about 200,000 in the same time frame. Comey at least doubled both of those totals.
At an Axios event in Chicago yesterday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel told me midterm Democratic candidates are unwise to rely on the allure of impeaching President Trump as an issue in November's races.
His advice: "I lived through the Clinton White House. This is a serious legal and constitutional, not political, issue. ... I couldn't be angrier at Donald Trump. ... That said, you don't just flippantly say: We're for [impeachment]."
Former FBI director James Comey's highly publicized interviews about his new book haven't convinced anyone who wasn't already on his side, according to a new Axios/SurveyMonkey poll.
The bottom line: The public's views of Comey, and President Trump's decision to fire him, have been baked in for the last year — so Comey's high-profile book tour has barely moved the needle on how they view the showdown.
Data: SurveyMonkey poll conducted April 17–19, 2018. Poll Methodology; Note: Historical comparison polls conducted May 26–June 4, 2017 and Dec. 1–3, 2017; Chart: Axios Visuals
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is planning to roll out new proposals that would change the kind of jobs H-1B workers can do, what their relationship with their employers must look like, and how much employers must pay them, according to a letter from USCIS Director Francis Cissna to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley.
Big picture: This administration has already increased scrutiny for employers who send H1-B workers to third-party worksites. H-1B critics believe these employers take advantage of the visa and steal jobs from U.S. workers. By redefining "specialty occupation" and "employer-employee relationship," USCIS will likely make it more difficult for companies to obtain H-1Bs, particularly outsourcing companies.
Fresh off a Fox News interview in which he described President Trump as a fellow "maverick," French President Emmanuel Macron arrived today for the first state visit of the Trump presidency. He and his wife Brigitte dined on Dover sole, lemon ricotta agnolotti, and chocolate soufflé with the Trumps this evening at Mount Vernon.
The visit provides Trump with an opportunity to showcase his strong relationship with a key ally, and perhaps snag a couple positive news cycles. But given Trump's widespread disapproval in France, what's in it for Macron?
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted in favor of Mike Pompeo's nomination for Secretary of State 11-9-1 on Monday, thanks to Sen. Rand Paul who flipped from opposing to supporting his nomination.
Why it matters: At one point, it appeared that Pompeo did not have the votes for a favorable recommendation from the committee, which would have marked the first time in nearly 100 years they voted against a Secretary of State nominee. But with the endorsement in tact, Pompeo's nomination is now headed to the Senate floor for a full vote, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ensured a smooth approval.
Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday he will vote in support of Mike Pompeo, President Trump's pick for Secretary of State. His reversal almost guarantees that Pompeo will be endorsed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He still has to be confirmed by the full Senate.
Sen. Joe Manchin announced via Twitter on Monday that he would vote to confirm CIA Director Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State — joined later by Sen. Joe Donnelly.
Why it matters: Pompeo needed two votes from Democrats to ensure his confirmation. Republicans currently control the Senate 51-49, but they're down as many as three votes: Sen. John McCain is at home receiving cancer treatment, Sen. Rand Paul has repeatedly stated he'd vote against Pompeo, and Sen. Jeff Flake has not yet announced his vote. Manchin and Donnelly now join fellow Dem Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, who announced her support last week, in backing Pompeo.
There's a fundraising battleunfolding between congressional Democrats and Republicans ahead of the 2018 midterm election, and Democratic groups and candidates are starting to get an edge, according to recent FEC filings.
Americans have finally started to lose faith in tech companies' ability to protect their information, according to a survey fielded by HarrisX, a research consultancy, within 24 hours of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony before Congress this month.
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May apologized to Caribbean leaders and diplomats last week over her government’s "appalling" treatment of some immigrants who migrated to Britain as children after World War II, but the scandal is rumbling on.
Why it matters: The immigrants, also referred to as the "Windrush generation," are legal residents whose parents were invited to the country to address labor shortages. Thousands are at risk of deportation, eviction and losing health care coverage because they don't have documentation required under a 2012 law May implemented.
The Safe Streets and Second Chances initiative, along with a diverse group of organizations including Koch Industries, Uber, and Butterball Farms, expressed their "strong support" for prison reform focused on inmate rehabilitation in a letter sent today to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte.
The big picture: The House prison reform bill is expected to go through markup this week, although some specifics of the bill are still being debated. And Sen. Grassley has been adamant that any criminal justice reform effort must include changes to harsh sentencing guidelines — something Attorney General Jeff Sessions has opposed.
Before the confirmation process for Gina Haspel gets underway, 109 retired military officers representing the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard — including former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Henry Hugh Shelton — signed a letter expressing concern over her nomination as CIA director. A key quote:
"[W]e do not accept efforts to excuse her actions relating to torture and other unlawful abuse of detainees by offering that she was 'just following orders,' or that shock from the 9/11 terrorist attacks should excuse illegal and unethical conduct. We did not accept the 'just following orders' justification after World War II, and we should not accept it now ... Individuals in the service of our country, even at the lowest levels, have a duty to refuse to carry out such actions."
