The 10 most vulnerable Democratic senators could lose four weeks of campaigning in their states just two months before the midterm election if Mitch McConnell cancels the August recess.
Driving the news: The Senate Majority Leader is seriously considering doing just that, Politico reports, after President Trump and a group of 16 GOP senators emphasized the need for extra time to work on spending bills and confirming POTUS' nominees.
The Senate Judiciary Committee’s release of the transcripts from Donald Trump Jr.’s testimony about the 2016 Trump Tower meeting answers some lingering questions but still doesn't provide much clarity regarding whether the meeting is definite evidence of the Kremlin’s efforts to boost President Trump's chances in the 2016 election.
What we learned: Trump Jr.'s statements surrounding the meeting have notably shifted as more news has emerged about its details, but his statements to the committee indicate that he did seem to hope to receive some sort of dirt about Hillary Clinton or her campaign. And while he expounded on his father's involvement, it's still not clear what the president did — or didn't — know about the meeting.
The Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday announced they back prior findings by U.S. intelligence agencies that conclude Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. election in an effort to boost Donald Trump’s campaign.
Why it matters: Their findings break from Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee which announced in March they found no evidence of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.
The Senate Intelligence Committee has favorably recommended that Gina Haspel be confirmed for Director of the CIA, Chairman Richard Burr and Sen. Mark Warner announced Wednesday.
What's next: The full Senate will now vote on whether to confirm her, but with strong Democratic support now behind her, and this favorable recommendation from the Committee, she is well on her way to being confirmed.
Democratic lawmakers say they can make political hay of the battle over net neutrality among a small — but committed — group of midterm voters.
Why it matters: The linchpin of that strategy is a vote in the Senate Wednesday on a measure to undo the Federal Communications Commission’s 2017 repeal of net neutrality rules. That raises the prominence of the effort to preserve the neutrality rules — and will put at least some Republicans on record as opposing it.
There's an enthusiasm gap for President Trump in the Republican Party, with younger Republicans — especially women — less likely to strongly approve of Trump than Republicans age 45 and older, according to a SurveyMonkey analysis of its polls since the start of Trump's presidency.
Why it matters: That could be good for GOP voter turnout, since older voters are traditionally more likely to show up at the polls. But it also suggests Trump's brand of politics is getting a more skeptical look from the younger voters who are the future of the party.
Polls have closed in Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary election, which comes as a major test for Democrats eying to win control of the House this fall. Tonight's results will set the stage for what is largely seen as one of the country’s most contested congressional races.
The backdrop: Redistricting and a slew of resignations and retirements have created a wider playing field for Democrats who are likely to pick up more seats in the state where Republicans hold a 13-5 majority in the congressional delegation. Voters are also choosing nominees for governor and the U.S. Senate.
Prominent Democratic politicians and policy thinkers are finding ways to make economic issues front and center — even though the economy is doing relatively well — by emphasizing that opportunity is not equal and proposing solutions geared towards those left behind.
Why it matters: It's not easy to campaign against the party in power when the economy is in good shape. But as the speeches at the Center for American Progress's ideas conference today showed, it's also the Democrats' best chance of making gains, since pocketbook issues are the ones that are usually decisive with the voters.
Sen. Mark Warner, Democratic vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, announced today he will vote in favor of confirming Gina Haspel as CIA director, the Washington Post reports. He joins a growing list of Senate Democrats voicing support for Trump's pick including, Heidi Heitkamp who announced her support today, and Joe Manchin, who announced his support last week.
Why it matters: This all but assures Haspel's confirmation. Warner announced his decision after receiving a letter from Haspel today, in which she said the CIA should never have used its "enhanced interrogation" program.
The Trump administration is considering sheltering migrant children on military bases in Texas and Arkansas, according to a report in The Washington Post.
Why it matters: While the Obama administration sheltered kids — who often arrived unaccompanied, per Vox — on military bases during the 2014 child migrant crisis, this news comes after Trump's DHS signaled its intention to separate families who illegally cross the border.
The latest edition of the Platts Capitol Crude podcast describes yet another challenge the Trump administration faces in trying to punish Iran with new energy sanctions. In short — it's a bandwidth problem.
Why it matters: The administration's ongoing personnel problems compound the already tough task of hitting Iran's energy sector without support for the move from allies in Europe and major Iranian crude buyers in China and elsewhere.
The president "is mostly uninterested in the mechanics of managing a political party. ... So Mr. Trump’s supremely disciplined running mate has stepped into the void," the N.Y. Times' Alex Burns, Jonathan Martin and Maggie Haberman write. "Republican officials now see Mr. Pence as seeking to exercise expansive control over a political party ostensibly helmed by Mr. Trump."
Why it matters: "Even as he laces his public remarks with praise for the president, Mr. Pence and his influential chief of staff, Nick Ayers, are unsettling a group of Mr. Trump’s fierce loyalists who fear they are forging a separate power base."
As President Trump's campaign aides quietly launch his reelection campaign, they're eyeing two states as possible pickups for 2020: Minnesota, where Trump came close in 2016 without even trying; and Colorado, where his hands-off approach to marijuana enforcement is a possible selling point.
What's happening: The addition of those states is part of a plan that's coming together in a basement suite at the Republican National Committee, where the Trump campaign has moved from Trump Tower. The campaign, now fewer than 10 people, eventually will number hundreds.
Trump reelection campaign manager Brad Parscale starts with 18 million email addresses and phone numbers (“hard contacts") of likely Trump voters, and has a goal of doubling that that to 30 million to 40 million by Election Day 2020 — roughly half of the votes Trump needs. (He got 63 million in 2016.)
The big picture: Parscale plans to spend $1 million per month for the rest of '18 on digital prospecting, with hopes to increase that next year. The campaign says it has had great success recruiting Trump supporters with ads on AOL (an older, Trump-friendly demographic), Bing, Facebook, Google and conservative news sites.
