Every president loses top staff during their first year in office, but an AP analysis of the latest White House filings has found that37% of President Trump's staffers who worked in the 12-month period ending June 30 are now gone — a record for any president.
The big picture: As Axios Mike Allen reported last October, the massive staff exodus is "the biggest threat to the Trump presidency."
President Trump sent letters to several NATO allies, including Germany, Belgium, Norway, and Canada, last month criticizing them for not spending the required 2% of their GDP on defense, and warning that the U.S. is growing frustrated with member countries for not meeting their part of the agreement, reports the New York Times' Julie Hirschfeld Davis.
Why it matters: Tensions between the U.S. and some of its closes allies are on the rise following last month's G7 summit. And next week, Trump and allied leaders will meet again for a NATO summit in Brussels, where several officials from member countries worry that Trump will undercut the alliance's shared values by criticizing them for not meeting their spending commitments.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel reached an agreement with her hard-line interior minister, Horst Seehofer, on Monday amid a growing standoff between them over how to tackle the country’s migrant crisis, per the Wall Street Journal.
Why it matters: Merkel has been seeking to end a standoff with Seehofer, the chairman of the Christian Social Union, the sister party to her Christian Democratic Union, which has put her coalition government on the brink of collapse. Just less than a day ago, Seehofer said he would resign after rejecting a previous deal Merkel clinked with European Union leaders, saying it's insufficient.
EU leaders agreed last week on proposals for its ongoing migration challenges, including questions around migrant processing centers both on the continent and in North Africa and policies for moving migrants among EU countries. On top of this, German Chancellor Angela Merkel also managed to stitch together a number of bilateral agreements with individual EU countries on returning migrants in exchange for assistance.
Why it matters: While not a comprehensive solution, the agreements will restore a degree of stability to Berlin and give Merkel breathing room. Yet they prompted pushback, including a resignation threat from Interior Minister Horst Seehofer that was later revoked.
Ahead of his meeting with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, President Trump said he interviewed with four potential Supreme Court picks Monday, and will meet with two or three others before announcing his decision on Monday.
Why it matters: The behind-the-scenes plotting to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who retired on Wednesday, has happened a rapid pace. Trump and Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell have been pushing to get Kennedy's replacement confirmed prior to the midterm elections, despite pushback from Democrats to wait until after November.
In a historic election on Sunday, leftist Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) challenged and defeated the incumbent Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) for the Mexican presidency.
Why it matters: Campaigning against systemic corruption and violence, the former Mexico City mayor and third-time candidate will be Mexico's first leftist president in decades.
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told the BBC's Andrew Marr on Sunday that although she doesn’t think President Trump is a fascist, she believes that he is the "most undemocratic president in modern American history."
A key line: "And by the way, it's not easy as a former diplomat to be in a foreign country and criticize one's own president. But I am concerned."
Border Patrol arrests at the United States-Mexico border dropped by 16% from May to June, according to data given to AP, ending a four-month streak of increasing arrests.
The big picture: There's no clear evidence that the drop is due to the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" border policy. While border crossings are traditionally at their peak in the spring and summer due to good weather, the number of monthly arrests has dipped from May to June since at least 2000 — except for last year, which featured anomalous stats due to the uncertainty of the Trump administration's policies.
On the same day that President Trump is in Helsinki to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, legislators from Western nations will be in Washington for a meeting, sponsored by the Atlantic Council, to discuss the Russian threat and the challenges posed by social media and disinformation.
The state of play: "Pulling at the Strings: The Kremlin’s Interference in Elections," will feature Sens. Mark Warner and Marco Rubio, with members of parliament from the U.K., Canada, Eastern Europe and elsewhere.
President Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen stated that he will "put family and country first" over any allegiance to Trump amid his ongoing legal woes in an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos — Cohen's first since the FBI raided his home and offices in April.
Why it matters: Cohen has long been Trump's fix-it man, and he is the only person on earth intertwined in Trump’s professional, political, personal, legal and family life. Cohen has also been in the spotlight thanks to both Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation and a federal investigation of his business dealings, prompting speculation that he may cooperate with authorities.
Republican governors and the Trump administration both suffered a serious setback on Friday when a federal judge blocked Kentucky's version of Medicaid work requirements from taking effect.
Why it matters: Work requirements are among the most significant changes the Trump administration has made so far in health policy. The new rules are also a critical part of conservatives' effort to frame Medicaid as a welfare program.
