Reps. Doug Collins (R-GA) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) are hopeful that their bipartisan prison reform bill, which would send 4,000 prisoners home, provide hygiene products to all incarcerated women, and has won the support of the "law and order" President, will pass the House tomorrow afternoon.
Where it stands: Jeffries told reporters on Monday afternoon that support for the bill is "trending in our direction from all corners of the House Democratic Caucus" and that significant support for the bill from the Congressional Black Caucus has emerged in the past few days.
Democrats unveiled a new plank of their "A Better Deal" policy platform today, which largely focuses on corruption under President Trump and campaign finance.
Why it matters: "A Better Deal" was introduced last summer and mainly focused on the economy. The addition of corruption reveals what Democrats hope will be a winning message for the party come November.
President Trump's top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, recommended appointing Stefan Halper, an academic and suspected FBI informant on the Trump campaign, to a senior role in the Trump administration, Axios has learned.
Behind the scenes: During the presidential transition Navarro recommended Halper, among other people, for ambassador roles in Asia. A White House official said Halper visited the Eisenhower Executive Office Building last August for a meeting about China.
Tens of thousands of asylum-seekers have left the U.S. for Canada over the past year, as the Trump administration continues to impose and threaten stricter immigration policies, and many are now working north of the border, the Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: Canada is trying to use the unprecedented wave of border crossings to its advantage. The tactic seems to be somewhat successful, a labor ministry official told the Post, with 55% of asylum seekers quitting Quebec's social support program by the end of last year.
An ugly Bitcoin battle is brewing in California's 45th Congressional District, where Democratic Party voters next month will choose their candidate to take on vulnerable GOP incumbent Mimi Walters.
Bottom line: The attack line doesn't hold water, but the crypto industry should watch the primary's outcome carefully. If exploiting Bitcoin fears proves to be a winning strategy, expect other politicians to follow.
"President Trump, increasingly concerned that his summit meeting in Singapore next month with North Korea’s leader could turn into a political embarrassment, has begun pressing his aides and allies about whether he should take the risk of proceeding," the N.Y. Times David E. Sanger reports.
Why it matters: 'Trump’s aides have grown concerned that the president — who has said that 'everyone thinks' he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts — has signaled that he wants the summit meeting too much."
As improbable as it sounds, it looks like Trump is genuinely embracing an issue — prison reform — that seemed unthinkable when he was yelling "law and order" on the campaign trail. At an event at the White House on Friday, Trump endorsed prison reform— and promoted upcoming House legislation — with more passion than we've ever seen.
The big picture: Prison reform wasn't on his radar at all during the campaign and his impulses on this issue have frequently been muddled (he wants the death penalty for drug dealers and privately has spoken admiringly of what President Rodrigo Duterte is doing in the Philippines).
Paul Ryan's House is collapsing, and if the chaos keeps accelerating it could force him out of the speakership before his planned graceful exit at the end of the year:
The state of play: A group of about 20 moderate Republicans are threatening to help Democrats force a vote on a DACA bill. If this works, it could trigger a larger rebellion — likely driven by the Freedom Caucus — similar to the revolt that brought down Ryan's predecessor John Boehner.
At 1:37 p.m. today, the President issued a consequential and ominous tweet: "I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!"
Why this matters: Trump was effectively rolling a grenade into the Department of Justice — ordering the agency to conduct a politically-motivated investigation of itself.
President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani told The New York Times' that Special Counsel Robert Mueller plans to wrap up the portion of his investigation surrounding potential obstruction of justice by Trump by September 1.
Yes, but: While Giuliani claimed in his interview with the Times that Mueller believes that continuing the obstruction investigation any longer would affect this fall’s midterm elections, this isn't the first time we've heard similar talk from a lawyer close to Trump.
Capping off a Sunday morning tweetstorm about the Mueller investigation, President Trump alleged that its expanding scope is designed to "put some hurt on the Republican Party" during this fall's midterm elections.
The big picture: Trump is referencing yesterday's New York Times story that detailed how his son, Donald Trump Jr., heard suggestions from an emissary that the Saudis and Emiratis both wanted to help the Trump campaign in the 2016 election.
The longer the Robert Mueller investigation drags on, the more we're told by President Trump's supporters that Mueller's focusing on the wrong target, because the real collusion on Russia was by the Clintons.
Between the lines: It's easy to dismiss the talk as a distraction, since Hillary Clinton isn't president and has no power. But the real question is whether the talk would deserve more attention if she had won. And the answer is, one broad storyline — foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation — would certainly be getting a closer look. The rest falls apart under scrutiny.
