The Houston Chronicle is endorsing Democratic Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate over incumbent Republican Senator Ted Cruz, the paper's editorial board announced Friday.
Why it matters: Newspaper endorsements aren't necessarily symbolic of what is to come on election day, but the Chronicle endorsing O'Rourke is a sharp turn away from the paper traditionally endorsing Republican candidates. It endorsed Mitt Romney over Barack Obama in 2012 and both George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush during their presidential campaigns.
Honduran immigrants in the caravan of about 4,000 people heading toward the U.S. tore down a border gate between Guatemala and Mexico on Friday afternoon, the AP reports. A small group crossed into Mexico Thursday night.
The big picture: President Trump has threatened to cut off federal aid for countries such as Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, reevaluate his proposed trade deal with Mexico and even "close our southern border" in response to the caravan. Mexico has sent additional police to the border and requested that the UN set up a migrant processing center on the border, according to the Washington Post.
Before the alleged murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi there were already murmurs of displeasure in Congress towards Saudi Arabia, many of them based on the horrors inflicted on civilians in Yemen. Where there were sparks, Khashoggi's disappearance has lit a fire.
What they're saying: Sen. Chris Murphy told Axios last month that pulling support from the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen "should be at the core of the Democratic foreign policy argument." Now, after Khashoggi's disappearance, he has called for a "fundamental review" of the entire U.S.-Saudi relationship. And he's not the only one.
A number of President Trump's hard-line Republican allies in the House, as well as conservative commentators, have been privately fueling suspicion of Jamal Khashoggi in order to "protect President Trump from criticism" of his handling of the situation, the Washington Post reports.
The details: They're sharing articles from right-wing outlets which focus on Khashoggi's past connection to the Muslim Brotherhood, and "raising conspiratorial questions" about his interactions with Osama bin Laden, whom he covered as a journalist. This comes at the times as Saudi government supporters have worked to tie Khashoggi to the Muslim Brotherhood on Twitter, the Post reports.
President Trump, spelling out his closing arguments for the 18 days of midterm campaigning ahead, told a rally in Montana last night: "This will be an election of Kavanaugh, the caravan, law and order, and common sense."
Be smart... Trump's new list is a variation on the unifying themes we identified earlier this fall in his tweets and rallies: migration, MS-13, media and Mueller.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi likes to say that “beauty is in the mix," arguing that diverse viewpoints lead to a better debate and stronger policy outcomes.
Why it matters: If Dems win back the House in November's midterms, as expected, Pelosi will usher in the most diverse leadership team (in either chamber) in the history of Congress.
Speaking at a Montana campaign rally for GOP Rep. Greg Gianforte Thursday evening, President Trump told the crowd: "Any guy that can do a body slam, he is my type! ... I shouldn’t say that. You know, that’s nothing to be embarrassed about."
Flashback: Trump was referring to an incident last year in which Gianforte body slammed reporter Ben Jacobs and broke his glasses the night before Montana's election. Records later showed that Gianforte falsely told the police that Jacobs initiated physical contact with him.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders disputed reports of a "shouting match" over immigration between Chief of Staff John Kelly and National Security Adviser John Bolton. "The shouting match was so intense that other White House aides worried one of the two men might immediately resign," Bloomberg reported.
“While we are passionate about solving the issue of illegal immigration, we are not angry at one another."
— Sanders statement
Why it matters: The fight "over immigration and border crossings, including the performance of the Homeland Security Department under Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen," according to Bloomberg, shows that "tension is flaring in the White House" before midterm elections with Republicans might lose control of Congress.
The U.S. Interior Department's deputy inspector general, Mary Kendall, will be remaining in her job, a senior advisor to Secretary Zinke told reporters in an email Thursday.
Context: The update comes despite reports earlier this week that a Trump-appointed official in the Department of Housing and Urban Development would be taking over the role. Those reports were circulating based on an email at HUD, which Swift said was based on "false information."
President Trump told reporters Thursday that “it certainly looks” like journalist Jamal Khashoggi is dead, calling it “very sad.”
Why it matters: Despite acknowledging that Khashoggi is likely dead, and a flood of reporting that suggests Khashoggi was gruesomely murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Trump has been hesitant to place blame on the Saudis. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who recently went to Saudi Arabia to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has advised the president that the U.S. wait "a few more days" before getting involved.
Pat Robertson, a prominent evangelical, defended the U.S.'s relationship with Saudi Arabia in an appearance on "The 700 Club," calling the Saudis "key allies."
"We’ve got an arms deal that everybody wanted a piece of… it’ll be a lot of jobs, a lot of money come to our coffers. It’s not something you want to blow up willy-nilly."
Why it matters: His support comes in the wake of reports that Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi had been brutally murdered at the hands of the Saudis. Many companies have been backing away from doing business with Saudi Arabia citing the alleged incident and subsequent investigation.
If U.S.–Saudi relations depended solely on President Trump’s and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MBS) wishes, the tragic Khashoggi affair would likely have blown over by now. But Congress and the U.S. media appear unwilling to let that happen, while MBS' opponents in Saudi Arabia might seize on this fiasco to question his fitness to rule.
Emmet Flood has been temporarily appointed Assistant and Counsel to the President until Pat Cipollone joins the staff, the White House announced on Thursday.
Why it matters: Flood has been representing President Trump in the Russia investigation but will shift roles in the interim. Former White House counsel Don McGahn formally left the administration on Wednesday. After Cipollone joins the staff, Flood will return to his role as special counsel to the president.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that he told President Trump "we ought to give [Saudi Arabia] a few more days" to conduct a full investigation into the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Why it matters: As Axios' Jonathan Swan reported this morning, Pompeo told Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia that he had 72 hours to complete his "investigation" or risk wrecking the kingdom's place on the world stage. Trump, meanwhile, has taken a softer stance toward the Saudis, speculating that "rogue killers" could have been responsible for Khashoggi's death and stressing the importance of the U.S.-Saudi relationship.
President Trump tweeted Thursday morning that Central American countries must act on immigration or he will cut off aid and call on the military to close the U.S.-Mexico border — all while blaming Democrats for the issue.
"I am watching the Democrat Party led (because they want Open Borders and existing weak laws) assault on our country by Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, whose leaders are doing little to stop this large flow of people, INCLUDING MANY CRIMINALS, from entering Mexico to U.S. In addition to stopping all payments to these countries, which seem to have almost no control over their population, I must, in the strongest of terms, ask Mexico to stop this onslaught - and if unable to do so I will call up the U.S. Military and CLOSE OUR SOUTHERN BORDER! The assault on our country at our Southern Border, including the Criminal elements and DRUGS pouring in, is far more important to me, as President, than Trade or the USMCA. Hopefully Mexico will stop this onslaught at their Northern Border. All Democrats fault for weak laws!"
While President Trump took a soft stance, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman he had 72 hours to complete his "investigation" into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, or risk wrecking the kingdom's place on the world stage.
What we're hearing: A source with knowledge of the conversation told Axios that Pompeo told MBS, in their Tuesday meeting, that he needs to "own" the situation. Pompeo stressed the timeline for dealing with the situation is "limited" because global pressure is mounting.
Don McGahn, who spent almost two years as White House counsel and became a witness against the president in the Mueller investigation, has departed the Trump administration, the New York Times reports.
What's next: McGahn will be replaced by Washington litigator Pat Cipollone, as scooped by Axios' Jonathan Swan on Saturday. Trump had been looking for loyalty in his next White House Counsel, per Swan. He grew to loathe and distrust McGahn, and wanted somebody whom he felt would be unquestioningly "loyal" and who actually wanted the job. McGahn had been working "extensively" with Robert Mueller's team and had shared "detailed accounts about the episodes at the heart" of the special counsel's investigation.
