Big picture: This is another move by the Trump administration in an effort to compensate for the overcrowded immigrant detention centers. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is already sending 1,600 immigrants to federal prisons throughout the country.
Vice President Mike Pence told Senate Republicans during a lunch on Capitol Hill Tuesday that, while the U.S. is ending semiannual "war games" (joint military exercises) with South Korea, regular readiness training will continue.
President Trump threw his weight behind South Carolina congressional candidate Katie Arrington ahead of the state's Tuesday night primary, saying Mark Sanford is "better off in Argentina." Sanford has been an outspoken critic of President Trump in the past.
Jared Kushner has been meeting with Senators on the Hill today whipping support for the White House-backedprison reform bill that passed in the House last month, deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley told Axios in a statement.
Big picture: The bill would send around 4,000 inmates home, incentivize participation in rehabilitation programs and provide hygiene products to incarcerated women. It received wide bipartisan support in the House, but in the Senate, Republican Chuck Grassley and Democrats Dick Durbin, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker are adamantly opposed to any bill that does not lower harsh federal sentencing guidelines. But adding these measures would likely lose needed hardline Republican support.
During their historic meeting, President Trump showed North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un a video displaying the possibilities of a peaceful future between North Korea and the United States.
"What if history can be changed? Will the world embrace this change? And when can this moment in history begin? It comes down to a choice, on this day, in this time at this moment."
The Canadian House of Commons unanimously condemned attacks, by President Trump and his trade adviser Peter Navarro, on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with a symbolic vote on a motion supporting Canadian steel and aluminum — hit by U.S. tariffs, Reuters reports.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services plans to open a new office in Los Angeles aimed at targeting Americans suspected of "cheating" to get their citizenship, agency director, L. Francis Cissna told the AP.
Why it matters: This comes as the Trump administration continues to ramp up its crackdown on illegal immigration, while simultaneously cutting back legal immigration.
President Trump has tweeted that his top economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, 70, had a heart attack and is in the hospital. The White House later said he's expected to make a full recovery.
The backdrop: Kudlow, a veteran of the Reagan administration who rose to prominence as a cable TV host and commentator, joined the Trump administration in March. He sharply defended Trump in an interview with CNN on Sunday, saying Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had "stabbed [the United States] in the back" with his comments following the G7 summit. Trump's tweet came just minutes before he was set to meet with North Korea's Kim Jong-un.
The foreign ministers of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine met in Berlin today to take another stab at peace in Ukraine. The U.S. is not represented, but President Trump’s presence will likely be felt in ways that he didn’t intend — and that Vladimir Putin will not appreciate.
The big picture: President Trump’s suggestion that Russia be re-invited to meetings between the leading Western democracies got this year’s G7 summit in Quebec off to a tumultuous start. Like his previous attempts to improve relations with Putin, Trump’s latest diplomatic effort was so ham-handed that it will likely make international cooperation more fraught, even for Russia.
On a leader-to-leader level, relationships between the U.S. and its most powerful allies are in tatters. That much is clear when a senior U.S. official declares "there's a special place in hell" for the prime minister of Canada. Canada!
The bigger picture: Antipathy for the U.S. in allied countries extends far beyond those leaders, and it's spiking under Trump. The U.S. has historically been the de facto leader within its strategic alliances, but an unpopular leader can quickly become a bully. The G7 summit showed the limits to that approach.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Monday afternoon that domestic violence and gang violence will no longer serve as sufficient reasons to automatically grant an immigrant asylum.
Why it matters: The decision comes as the U.S. faces a significant uptick in asylum claims, and as the Trump administration continues to do all it can to cut back on border crossings and immigration numbers. Sessions has often been skeptical of the asylum process in the U.S., claiming that it is often abused by immigrants trying to come to the U.S. for other reasons.
GuideWell Mutual Holding Corp., the parent company of health insurer Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, appointed former Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell to its board of directors Monday. It's a paid position, but GuideWell declined to give specifics.
Between the lines: Florida Blue was one of the most profitable health insurers on the Affordable Care Act's exchanges during Burwell's tenure at HHS, and it remains highly profitable today. Her board position also falls in line with the longstanding trend of HHS secretaries gettingseatsincorporateAmerica'sboardrooms.
Spain's Prime Minister announced Monday that his country would take in a stranded ship with 629 immigrants on board after Italy's new populist, right-wing government blocked it from docking on its shores.
Why it matters: This is the first concrete action from Matteo Salvini, the leader of the far-right League party and Italy's new Interior Minister, to back up his anti-immigration rhetoric. Salvini tweeted about the ship several times yesterday and called Spain's move a "victory." Salvini has indicated he plans to turn away such ships in the future as well, which could lead to a humanitarian crisis in Europe. An estimated 3,100 migrants died at sea trying to cross from North Africa to Europe last year.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is changing the way it processes voter file data to make the Democratic Party more competitive in 2020, Raffi Krikorian, the group's chief technology officer, told Axios.
Why it matters: Democrats are trying to fix what went wrong for them in 2016 by overhauling their entire tech operation, from data management to email strategies.
Former President Barack Obama has held private meetings with at least nine Democratic contenders for the 2020 presidential nomination, Politico's Edward-Isaac Dovere reports, citing sources familiar with the conversations.
Why it matters: A meeting with Obama is an easy way for 2020 contenders to gain legitimacy and presidential wisdom — and, most importantly, a foothold with the man still largely considered to be the Democratic Party's figurehead.
So much of the Trump presidency feels like reality TV. But the pardon process is turning into a let’s-make-a-deal game show.
The big picture: Trump, the host, has asked friends, staff, celebrities and even NFL kneelers for ideas on who to pardon. Should Martha Stewart get one? How about Muhammad Ali? Blago? Trump himself? Anyone? (Programming note: This is not just abnormal, it’s never happened in American history. Back to the show ... )
