Before meetings and calls with world leaders, President Trump receives briefings of only "about two minutes... and sometimes that gets cut by a bit," a recently departed White House official said today.
What they're saying: Fernando Cutz, who left the White House in April and served on the National Security Councils of both Trump and Barack Obama, said Obama would read detailed pre-briefs — highlighting key passages and scribbling notes in the margins — before an oral briefing ahead of such meeting. Not so for President Trump.
Shortly after Axios published its story this morning, saying that Rod Rosenstein had "verbally resigned" to John Kelly, Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores drafted a statement that would announce Rosenstein's departure, written in the voice of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Driving the news: The White House received the statement within an hour of the Axios story being published online, according to a source close to the White House. Flores would not comment on the record about her statement.
President Trump will meet with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein at the White House on Thursday, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a Monday statement.
Driving the news: Axios reported Monday morning that Rosenstein verbally offered to resign to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has verbally “offered to resign” in discussions with White House Chief of Staff Kelly, according to a source close to Rosenstein, but as of now, it’s unclear whether his resignation has been accepted.
Background: Rosenstein talked last year about invoking the 25th Amendment and wearing a wire during Trump meetings, the N.Y. Times' Adam Goldman and Michael S. Schmidt reported last week. He denied both allegations.
Clarification: This article and headline have been updated to add that it's unclear whether the resignation offer has been accepted.
"I represent a woman with credible information regarding Judge Kavanaugh and Mark Judge. We will be demanding the opportunity to present testimony to the committee and will likewise be demanding that Judge and others be subpoenaed to testify. The nomination must be withdrawn."
After several days of what Hill sources called a never-ending game of pingpong, Christine Blasey Ford's attorney told the Senate Judiciary Committee her client will testify in an open hearing on Thursday.
Why it matters: The uncertainty and sensitivity of Thursday's showdown has key senators scrambling to prepare for the moment.
President Trump will address the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. A source briefed on his remarks shared one word on his theme: "Sovereignty."
The big picture: "Mutual respect and sovereignty" will be his frame for cooperation with other countries, another source with direct knowledge of his remarks told me. He'll talk about reforming international trade, that source added.
52% of registered voters would like to see the Democrats control Congress after the November elections, while 40% prefer Republicans, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
Why it matters: This is the biggest lead Democrats have held yet in midterm polling from NBC/WSJ, and it's bolstered by figures that show more Democrats turned out in House primaries than Republicans for the first time since 2008. The poll also indicates, however, that Republican enthusiasm for the midterms has increased.
Republicans at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue are edgy about the agreement for Christine Blasey Ford, Judge Brett Kavanaugh's accuser, to testify publicly before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
The big picture: The arrangement isn't really a gamble because Republicans have no choice. They have to let Ford testify if they're going to confirm Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, as top GOP sources still (nervously) predict.
