The Congressional Leadership Fund is pulling its planned TV advertising for Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman and Michigan Rep. Mike Bishop, Politico first reported and Axios has confirmed. The combined $3.1 million initially invested in these races will be redistributed elsewhere.
Why it matters: Both are tough races and Coffman's district was recently moved to favor Democrats. Moving money away from vulnerable GOP incumbents suggests that the party sees these races as a lost cause, but the NRCC is still advertising in both of them.
President Trump has approved an FBI investigation into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh that "must be limited in scope and completed in less than one week."
Why it matters: The results of an FBI investigation could sway the votes of uncommitted senators either way. Investigators will likely talk to Mark Judge, who has agreed to cooperate in an investigation "confidentially." The investigation could give those senators the evidence they need to confirm Kavanaugh or kill the nomination — or an inconclusive report could leave them right back where they started.
Democrats are getting their requested FBI investigation into Brett Kavanaugh, setting up a week of tension as investigators launch a time-limited probe into the allegations that surfaced in recent weeks.
Driving the news: Jeff Flake publicly changed his course on the Kavanaugh nomination after being personally challenged by a pair of sexual assault survivors.
President Trump chaired a meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday, leading a more or less restrained discussion of non-proliferation issues. He delivered prepared remarks focused on touting his diplomatic outreach to North Korea and expanding the case against Iran that he had made in his General Assembly remarks. The 14 other members then spoke, with even Kuwait arguing in favor of the Iran deal.
Why it matters: Historically, such a forum allows a U.S. president to put a difficult issue on the international agenda and push other countries toward progress, however uncomfortable the decisions involved. The meeting Trump led did little to advance solutions to national security challenges, other than underscore U.S. isolation on Iran (despite valiant efforts from President Macron of France to highlight areas of agreement).
Potential 2020 presidential candidate Michael Avenatti is calling for a "full and complete FBI investigation" into Brett Kavanaugh, with impeachment on the line, to become a 2020 litmus test for Democrats.
Why it matters: Jeff Flake just became the first Senate Republican to call for an FBI investigation, but on a more limited scale — and with no mention of impeachment. The only Supreme Court justice to ever be successfully impeached by the House was Samuel Chase, who was appointed by George Washington. The Senate failed to convict.
President Trump told reporters Friday that Republican senators "have to do what they think is right" on the Brett Kavanaugh vote, adding that he found Christine Blasey Ford's testimony to be "very credible."
The big picture: Trump said he has not considered a back-up nominee to replace Kavanaugh, and that he found Kavanaugh's testimony to be "incredible" and "something I hadn't seen before." Note that Trump also has the power to order an FBI investigation into the allegations against Kavanaugh, as several senators have requested, but he has yet to say if he will do so.
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who voted yes to advance Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Senate floor, asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to delay the vote for one week so the FBI can investigate.
Why it matters: Currently, the numbers stand 49 in support for Kavanaugh and 47 opposed. But there are still key swing votes from Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.)and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) in the balance. Kavanaugh's nomination now goes to the Senate floor for a full vote, but it is uncertain when the vote will take place.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has voted to advance Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the to the Senate for a full vote — but only after Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said he wants a one-week delay in the Senate vote so the FBI can conduct an investigation into the allegations against Kavanaugh.
What to watch: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can still bring Kavanaugh’s nomination to a floor vote as early as Saturday. But Flake made it clear that “I won’t be comfortable moving on the floor” until the FBI conducts an investigation.
On September 5, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed that Zalmay Khalilzad will join the State Department as President Trump’s special adviser on Afghanistan. His main mission will be to facilitate talks between the Afghan government and Taliban.
The big picture: Appointing Khalilzad as a special advisor indicates that the Trump administration is serious about an Afghan-led peace process, and about maintaining its hardline approach toward Pakistan. But what remains unclear is how the Pakistani government, now led by first-time prime minister Imran Khan, will work with Khalilzad.
Democratic Senators Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) walked out of the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing room Friday after the committee set a 1:30 p.m. vote on sending Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination to the full Senate.
The details: The Democrats who left then held an impromptu press conference outside the committee room. They said the move was not coordinated.
A sexual assault survivor confronted Senator Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) in an elevator Friday shortly after the senator announced that he will vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
"You're telling all women that they don't matter, that they should just stay quiet ... you're telling me that my assault doesn't matter, that what happened to me doesn't matter."
The Senate Judiciary Committee has set a 1:30 p.m. vote on sending Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination to the full Senate. The committee was initially set to vote at 9:30 a.m.
The bottom line: Senator Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) has announced he will vote to approve the Kavanaugh nomination — all but assuring the committee will approve it.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has 48 hard "yes" votes, and needs 50 for a win, with Vice President Pence breaking the tie.
What's next: The Judiciary Committee is racing to vote at 9:30 a.m. today. The full Senate could start taking procedural votes Saturday, setting up a final vote as soon as Tuesday, per AP.
In a foreshadowing of how much uglier U.S. politics could get, top Democratic operatives are already talking about impeachment of Brett Kavanaugh as a 2020 campaign issue if he gets confirmed to the Supreme Court.
The impeachment talk reflects the conclusion of Democrats and Republicans close to the Senate Judiciary Committee that Kavanaugh's confirmation is more likely than not — and certainly more likely than it was 24 hours ago.
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh defiantly rejected alleged charges of sexual misconduct that occurred more than 30 years ago during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday after his accuser, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, offered a compelling testimony.
What's next: Just moments after concluding the nearly nine hour hearing, Senate Republicans said the committee will vote on the nomination Friday morning as scheduled. They also plan to hold the first procedural vote on the Senate floor Saturday. It's immediately unclear if Republicans have the 50 votes needed to confirm the nominee.
A GoFundMe campaign that was set up to help Christine Blasey Ford with expenses has raised more than $270,000 just hours after she mentioned it existed in her testimony, totaling more than $400,000 by Thursday evening with donations from more than 9,500 people.
Why it matters: The campaign to "Help Christine Blasey Ford," had $175,000 when the hearing began Thursday at 10 a.m., per The New York Times. Ford and her family moved out of their home as they had faced death threats, and hired a security detail since she went public with her allegation of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. There are currently more than a dozen campaigns on GoFundMe aimed to raise money for the fees Ford has incurred throughout the process of coming forward with her allegations, according to Slate.
