Mari Stull, a former food lobbyist and wine blogger recently appointed as a senior adviser at the State Department, has been making a list of government officials and employees of international organizations who are loyal to President Trump, Foreign Policy's Colum Lynch and Robbie Gramer report.
How she does it: She scours official's social media pages for any signs of political disagreement and researches to see if they've supported — or even merely signed off on — any Obama-era policies. She has vetted Americans working for agencies such as the World Health Organization and the United Nations as well, figuring out why and how they were hired, according to FP.
Following an 18-month investigation, the Justice Department's inspector general Michael Horowitz will release a report tomorrow on the FBI's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation prior to the 2016 presidential election.
Why this matters: The FBI has faced questions from across the political spectrum regarding the investigation since 2016. The Trump administration and far-right conservative media have repeatedly used it to challenge the trustworthiness of the Russia investigation — all while accusing the FBI of letting Clinton off the hook. Meanwhile, Democrats have blamed the bureau for mishandling the Clinton probe, costing her the election.
Republican Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy — a fixture of the Washington establishment — has been given prime real estate on the most anti-establishment website in conservative media, Breitbart, pushing an issue that has fired up the far-right: Big Tech's online censorship of conservatives.
Between the lines: McCarthy’s people say they’re simply highlighting an issue that has negatively impacted conservatives, but political operatives in Washington are viewing every move he makes through the lens of the behind-the-scenes jostling to replace Paul Ryan as Speaker. McCarthy needs the votes of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus to become Speaker, and stories like this only help his cause on the hard right.
Michael Cohen is parting ways with the lawyers who have been representing him in the federal investigation of his business dealings, ABC's George Stephanopoulos reports, as mounting pressure grows on him to flip.
The big picture: The dispute between Cohen and his current lawyers involves the paying of Cohen's legal fees, some of which are being paid by the Trump family, according to the New York Times. Cohen is now looking to strengthen his legal team by hiring attorneys who have better relationships with the federal prosecutors in New York leading the investigation of his case.
President Trump congratulated Corey Stewart on Wednesday, after Stewart took a victory in the Virginia Republican Senate primary race on Tuesday night, saying he has a "major chance of winning" against "a total stiff, Tim Kaine."
The big picture: Virginia went blue in the 2016 election for Hillary Clinton, and Stewart — a pro-Trump candidate who has received attention for defending Confederate symbols — faces an uphill climb vs. Kaine.
Several months ago, Donald Trump ordered the promotion of Rudy Giuliani’s son. But instead of getting promoted, he has lost his West Wing pass.
Details: Trump ordered junior White House staffer Andrew Giuliani’s promotion after dining at Mar-a-Lago with Rudy Giuliani, who subsequently became the president’s lawyer. He directed his body man, Jordan Karem, to ensure Kelly promoted Andrew to special assistant to the president, according to sources familiar with the conversation.
Republicans saw a trend continue in South Carolina, where an incumbent who opposed President Trump lost his primary just one week after an incumbent congresswoman in Alabama, who was critical of the president, was forced into a runoff.
Why this matters: The president is becoming a one-man litmus test for Republicans all over the country, proving the GOP has little room for an agenda or ideas that don't align with his.
Two immigration bills that would include protections for DACA recipients will get a vote in the House next week, House Speaker Paul Ryan's office announced Tuesday evening, averting efforts to force votes on four immigration bills led by moderate Republicans.
The big picture: Rep. Bob Goodlatte's bill, which is popular among hardline conservatives and most closely follows the president's immigration priorities, will get a vote, according to Politico, but is not expected to pass. The second vote will be on the Republican compromise bill, which has yet to be revealed and whose details are still being haggled over between moderates and conservative Freedom Caucus members.
Rep. Kevin Cramer won the North Dakota Republican primary for the state’s U.S. Senate seat. He'll face Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in November.
Why it matters: North Dakota is one of 10 competitive Senate seats Democrats are defending this fall. Heitkamp is vulnerable because she's running for re-election in a state President Trump won by 36 points, but her relationship with the president is worrying Republicans.
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.
