During a rare solo press conference Wednesday spanning an hour and twenty-two minutes, President Trump sounded off on issues including Brett Kavanaugh, Rod Rosenstein, North Korea and peace in the Middle East.
One big thing: Trump said he's had "a lot of false charges" made against him and called sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh a "big fat con job." The president declined to respond on whether he believed the accusers, saying Democrats and the third accuser’s lawyer are using the allegations to personally harm Brett Kavanaugh.
The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to ask Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh about Julie Swetnick, the third woman accusing him of sexual misconduct, according to correspondence obtained by Politico.
Why it matters: All eyes are on Christine Blasey Ford and Kavanaugh's hearing on Thursday. And while the White House continues to support Kavanaugh, several Republicans said Wednesday that they want to study the affidavit released Wednesday by Swetnick's attorney, Michael Avenatti, before commenting on how it might affect Kavanaugh's nomination.
President Trump said during a news conference Wednesday that he would much rather keep his Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who offered his resignation to chief of staff John Kelly on Monday following reports that he had discussed secretly recording Trump and invoking the 25th Amendment, than fire him.
“He said he never said it. He said he doesn’t believe it. He said he has a lot of respect for me. And he was very nice, and we’ll see ... I would certainly prefer not [firing him]."
Trump added that he might ask Rosenstein to delay their Thursday meeting so that he can watch Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford testify before the Senate Judiciary committee.
President Trump said Wednesday's interest rate hike is an example of how strong the economy is, but also slammed the Federal Reserve for raising rates.
Why it matters: This is not the first time Trump has publicly knocked the Fed for hiking rates, but this is definitely the fastest. At a news conference on Wednesday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, citing the independence of the central bank, said it "does not consider political factors" when determining monetary policy.
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), who is running for Minnesota attorney general and is the DNC deputy chairman, is asking the House Ethics Committee to investigate the domestic abuse allegations his ex-girlfriend made about him in August, BuzzFeed News' Lissandra Villa reports.
What's next: Ellison told Villa that he is "innocent and eager to see this entire matter resolved." He is leaving Congress in January whether he wins his AG race or not.
All eyes will be on Capitol Hill tomorrow as Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, his first accuser who alleges he sexual assaulted her in the 1980s, appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee for a public hearing at 10 a.m. ET.
Why it matters: In a year that has the seen the #MeToo movement force a reckoning in the ranks of dozens of powerful men, Trump's second Supreme Court nominee could be on the verge of being toppled by allegations of sexual assault.
A new rule proposed by the Trump administration over the weekend would disqualify some immigrants from visas and green cards if they use — or are likely to use — federal safety net programs such as Medicaid, food stamps and Section 8 housing vouchers.
Why it matters: There are millions of immigrants in the U.S. who use these programs, according to the Migration Policy Institute's analysis of Census data, and the group estimates that 31% of all non-citizens would be impacted if the rule is finalized. Those applying to be admitted to the the U.S. would also face increased scrutiny of their financial stability and prospects.
