Axios

The House Ethics Committee has sanctioned Reps. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Ruben Kihuen (D-Nev.) over their handling of sexual harassment allegations.

The details: The committee found the allegations against the congressmen to be credible, thus violating House rules "by failing to take appropriate steps to ensure that his House office was free from discrimination and any perception of discrimination."

Cliff Sims, a former special assistant to President Trump, is writing a memoir about his time working for the Trump administration, Politico reports.

The details: The memoir, set to release in January, adds to the growing list of books that give perspective into how Trump runs his administration. Modeled after George Stephanopoulos’ tell-all memoir “All Too Human,” Sims, who also worked on the Trump campaign, is said to write in detail about the president and senior staffers like Kellyanne Conway, chief of staff John Kelly and former communications director Anthony Scaramucci.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to hear oral arguments on February 19 regarding a legal challenge by 18 states to the Trump administration's controversial decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.

Why it matters: Census data is used to apportion congressional seats and electoral college votes that determine the winner of presidential elections, as well as the distribution of federal funds among states. The Supreme Court's decision to hear the case comes as a federal court trial in New York City is examining whether Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who heads the Census Bureau, acted legally when deciding to add the question.

President Trump told reporters Friday that he has "just finished" writing his answers to questions submitted by Robert Mueller's team, emphasizing that he has written the answers himself, not his lawyers, and that they will be submitted to the special counsel soon.

Why it matters: After roughly a year and a half of investigations, President Trump said he's been told that Mueller's team is wrapping up its probe into Russian election interference and potential collusion between members of the 2016 Trump campaign and the Kremlin.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is stepping out of his role as Senate Judiciary Committee chairman in 2019 to take over Sen. Orrin Hatch's role as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

Why it matters: The move paves the way for Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to take over the Judiciary Committee in January, which would make him President Trump's point person on judges. Under Grassley, the committee approved more than 80 of Trump's nominees to lifetime appointments on the federal bench, as well as two Supreme Court justices.

Go deeper: Full results from the Senate leadership elections

More than 2,000 women will serve in statehouses across the country, further extending this year’s reach of women in legislature positions, the AP reports.

Why it matters: Women will now represent roughly a quarter of all state lawmakers in the U.S., shattering the record of 1,875 who served in 2018. And that number is poised to grow: In Colorado and Nevada, women are expected to grab a majority of the lower legislative chambers, depending on final vote counts of uncalled races. Meanwhile, the AP has still not called 216 state legislative elections, "races that include about 185 female candidates." Go deeper: The new Democrats in DC

Conservative media pose a surprising risk to the Trump administration.

Why it matters: While outlets like Fox News' opinion programs provide unstintingly positive coverage of his administration, close presidential advisers and White House officials, as well as the president himself, often lose their inhibitions and make damaging comments when they speak with friendly outlets.

Democrat Katie Porter on Thursday flipped a GOP-held House seat in California, beating incumbent Republican Mimi Walters, the AP reports.

Why it matter: The seat is located in Orange County — which was once a GOP stronghold. Porter’s victory has further consolidated Democrats’ majority in the House as they're still hoping to flip other seats in midterm races yet to be called.

Many members of the Congressional Black Caucus are supporting Nancy Pelosi’s bid for the speakership over their own colleague and former chair, Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), who’s mulling a challenging against the Minority Leader, Politico reports.

Why it matters: This comes as the caucus’ current chairman Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) wrote recently about the need for a black speaker or majority leader. A number of CBC members, including Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the highest-ranking black lawmaker in the caucus, said they’re backing Pelosi for the top leadership post. But Politico reports that Richmond said he would support Fudge if she decides to run.

A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced legislation Thursday that would suspend the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia and block refueling of Saudi coalition warplanes bombing Yemen.

Why it matters: This legislative attempt seeks to punish the kingdom for its role in Yemen’s devastating civil war, which has killed over 10,000 people, and crown prince Mohammad bin Salman's alleged involvement in the assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Earlier Thursday, the Trump administration slapped sanctions on 17 people, including Saudi Consul General Mohammad Alotaib, for the murder of Khashoggi.

Florida's Secretary of State Ken Detzner on Thursday ordered a hand recount of the votes in the highly contested U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson and his Republican opponent Gov. Rick Scott.

Why it matters: The recount further escalates the partisan tension in the deeply divided state. Thursday's machine tallies show Scott leading Nelson by just 12,603 votes, or .15%. That falls under the 0.25% margin that automatically triggers a manual recount.

Eighteen years after hanging chads and the Brooks Brothers riot, the Sunshine State is once again at the center of an election mess of its own doing.

The big picture: Florida is in the middle of three statewide recounts, and three counties in particular (Palm Beach, Hillsborough and Broward) haven't helped the situation.

The conservative One America News Network is breaking with most media organizations by supporting the White House against CNN in the legal battle over correspondent Jim Acosta's suspended press badge.

"WE are going to file in the CNN vs White House court an Amicus Brief in favor of the White House. Acosta’s actions are stopping our people from getting their questions answered, so that we can give our audience the real news direct from our President. ... Can’t believe Fox is on the other side, but they have direct communication to the President. We are lucky if we get a five minute interview once a quarter."

Following Democrat Jared Golden's victory over Rep. Bruce Poliquin in Maine's 2nd district on Thursday, Republicans now hold zero House seats in New England and only one Senate seat — Maine's Susan Collins, who's up for re-election in 2020.

The big picture: Republicans lost big in moderate suburban districts in the 2018 midterms, and even ceded ground in deep-red rural districts that voted for Trump in 2016. The flip in Maine's 2nd blue-collar district "filled with forests, lobsters, and blueberries," could be an indicator that the GOP's shift to the right has alienated moderate Republicans in the northeast, the Boston Globe writes.

Go deeper:

• Democrats flip another House seat, this time in Maine
• The districts with college-educated women that voted Republicans out
• Full list: 2018 midterm election seats that flipped
• Suburban districts moved toward Democrats in 2018

Democrat Jared Golden, Assistant Maine House Majority Leader, has defeated Republican incumbent Rep. Bruce Poliquin in Maine's 2nd Congressional district.

Why it matters: Golden's win is not only another Trump-leaning pick-up for the Democrats, but it was also the first ever House race decided by ranked-choice voting, in which voters rank candidates in order of preference. Maine voters approved the use of ranked-choice voting in 2016.

Donald Trump Jr.'s February trip to India — during which he promoted the Trump Organization's luxury real estate projects and met privately with Prime Minister Narendra Modi — rung up $97,805 in Secret Service costs, according to Department of Homeland Security documents obtained by the Washington Post.

Why it matters: President Trump has stepped back from overseeing his family empire, but still benefits from The Trump Organization's success because he has not moved his assets to a blind trust. Critics say his family's need for Secret Service protection during their business trips ultimately means taxpayers are footing the bill for the president's personal financial gain.

With a crowded 2020 presidential field and an unpopular president who still manages to get his voters to the polls, Democrats face unique challenges in the 2020 presidential election, according to Doug Sosnik, a White House adviser to President Bill Clinton who is one of the best trend detectors in U.S. politics.

The big problem, based on 2016: "The president's voters don't always admit to pollsters that they like him. And he ran better in tossup states than his national average."

With changing demographics across the country and waning support in the Midwest, President Trump and the GOP could face a tough slog in the 2020 presidential election, according to Doug Sosnik, a White House adviser to President Bill Clinton who is one of the best trend detectors in U.S. politics.

Why it matters: Sosnik projects that there could be more tossup states in the South and Southwest than in the Midwest — with almost twice the number of electoral votes at stake.

U.S. lawmakers of both parties have lamented the mounting death toll and humanitarian crisis in Yemen's civil war, where civilian casualties have surged more than 160% in recent months and famine imperils 14 million. Yet little-noticed procedural votes in the House this week will prevent Congress from having to debate America’s continuing role in the conflict.

Why it matters: The House votes foreclosed debate on a bipartisan attempt to invoke the War Powers provision, which would have halted all U.S. support to the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi rebels. The murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi has amplified pressure for a re-evaluation of the U.S.-Saudi relationship, but these votes have revealed that questioning the war in Yemen remains a red line for House Republicans.

A Florida judge has ruled that the state will have until Saturday to potentially count mail and provisional ballots that were rejected due to mismatched signatures, reports the Washington Post.

Why it matters: Assuming the signature issues are resolved, the ballots could play a significant role in Florida's Senate race, where Gov. Rick Scott is currently leading Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson by fewer than than 13,000 votes amid Scott's groundless claims of voter fraud. The judge said there are more than 4,000 ballots in 45 counties that were not counted due to inconsistent signatures — and that the number in Florida's other 22 counties is not known. Scott's team announced Thursday it would be "immediately appealing" the decision, per CNN's Jim Sciutto.

President Trump's backing of bipartisan criminal justice reform yesterday is a 180-degree twist from Campaign Trump, who ran on 1980s-style law and order.

How it happened: Jared Kushner brought the president a long way to get his support. Criminal justice reform was not what Trump ran on — quite the opposite — and it’s been a huge effort from Kushner and allies to get Trump to this point.

To win re-election, President Trump must wage a two-front war: Not only does he have to defend Democratic-leaning Midwest states that sealed his victory in 2016, but he now needs to defend against clear Republican erosion in the South and Southwest.

What they're saying: "Changing demographics and Trump have blown up the electoral map that has dominated American politics since 1992," said Doug Sosnik, a White House adviser to President Bill Clinton who is one of the best trend detectors in U.S. politics.