One big quote: "My family and my name have been totally and permanently destroyed," Kavanaugh said in his opening remarks. "This confirmation process has become a national disgrace … you have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy."
House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) issued a subpoena on Thursday ordering the Justice Department to hand over memos drafted by former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, which detail his meetings with top government officials.
Why it matters: Interest in the McCabe memos have been revived by last week's New York Times report that said Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had suggested secretly recording President Trump and discussed the possibility of invoking the 25th amendment to remove Trump from office — which Rosenstein denies. McCabe reportedly documented Rosenstein's intentions in his memos.
Ford and Kavanaugh both fought back tears as they told the committee about the toll the past few weeks have taken on their families. The similarities ended there.
Why it matters: It was a scene students will study long after we are gone. A cool, credible Christine Blasey Ford methodically outlined how the Republican nominee to the Supreme Court allegedly sought to rape her in high school. An angry and tearful Brett Kavanaugh accused the Democrats of a devious plot to destroy his life, his family, his nomination.
At the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, President Trump raised the possibility of meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro: “I just want to see Venezuela straightened out," adding that Maduro “needs to act a lot more humanely” and reiterating that “all options are on the table.” Trump and Maduro ultimately did not hold a public meeting and the U.S. promised $48 million more to address the humanitarian crisis that Maduro’s dysfunctional authoritarian rule has caused, bringing total U.S. assistance to over $90 million.
The big picture: The Trump administration's policy toward Venezuela is torn between threatening and sanctioning the Maduro government and pledging aid to alleviate regional and human effects of the crisis. It remains uncertain whether Trump will continue to use the incentive of a meeting with the U.S. president to try to persuade Maduro — who has sought to speak with Trump before but been rebuffed — to change his behavior.
Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) has sent a letter, obtained by Axios, to his colleagues announcing his intent to run as Assistant Democratic Leader if Democrats win the House in November.
Why it matters: 2018 has proven to be a strong year for diversity, andCicilline, co-chair Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), was the first openly gay member elected to House leadership. If selected as Assistant Leader, Cicilline would become the third-ranking Democrat in the House.
President Trump has delayed his meeting with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, which was scheduled after Rosenstein had offered his resignation to Chief of Staff John Kelly on Monday.
The White House said they did not want the meeting to interfere with Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh's hearing.
President Trump's 2020 campaign office could be located in Arlington, Virginia, which is far closer to the White House than Trump's 2016 campaign headquarters at Trump Tower, the Washington Post's Philip Rucker and Ashley Parker report.
The details: The move, which hasn't been finalized, would happen after the midterms, and if completed would make Trump "the first major-party nominee to base his campaign in the Washington area" since Sen. John McCain in 2008, Rucker and Parker write. Both of Barack Obama's campaigns ran out of Chicago.
Michael Bloomberg's spending on House races in the midterms has passed the $80 million he promised for the cycle and is heading toward $100 million as he sees an increasing chance for Democrats to win control, Axios has learned.
The plan: Half of that will go to women candidates, a Bloomberg adviser told me. As this fall's blue wave strengthens, the adviser said: "We want to take a Category 3 storm and turn it into a Cat 5."
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.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has selected Arizona sex crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell to question Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford this week.
The details: Mitchell is currently on leave as Deputy County Attorney in Phoenix, and the Division Chief of the Special Victims Division, according to the committee. She is an expert on the investigation and prosecution of sex crimes. The committee has scheduled a hearing for Thursday to hear testimony from both Ford, who has accused the Supreme Court nominee of sexual assault in high school, and Kavanaugh, who has denied the allegations. A vote on Kavanaugh's nomination is currently scheduled for Friday.
