The Justice Department is circulating a revised version of the bipartisan criminal justice reform bill already publicly endorsed by President Trump, which addresses concerns from some law enforcement groups and hardline conservatives such as Sen. Tom Cotton, according to a draft obtained by Axios and first reported by the Free Beacon.
Why it matters: Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker has reportedly expressed concern over parts of the original version, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell indicated before the midterms that he would only bring the bill to the floor if it had sufficient support from Republicans.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said Thursday that he will oppose Thomas Farr's nomination to the federal bench in North Carolina, effectively killing the controversial Trump nominee's confirmation.
The backdrop: All 49 Senate Democrats have pledged to oppose Farr’s nomination, citing his record of supporting election policies that have been labeled by federal courts as racially discriminatory. Meanwhile, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) has promised to vote against all of President Trump's judicial nominees until the Senate approves a bill aimed at shielding special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired. With that said, Scott's opposition means Farr's confirmation will fail at least 51-50 in the Senate.
A November surprise: Michael Cohen pleads guilty for lying to Congress about the plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, shining a freshly uncomfortable spotlight on President Trump.
Why it matters: "The new guilty plea firmly — and dramatically — shifts the narrative and timeline of the Russia investigation," journalist Garrett Graff writes for WIRED. "While pursuing the White House, Donald Trump was also pursuing personal business deals with a foreign adversary that, according to Mueller’s earlier indictments, engaged in a multifaceted, complex, expensive, and long-running criminal conspiracy to help deliver Trump to the presidency."
After months of negotiations, legislators have finally reached an agreement in principal on the $400 billion farm bill that jeopardizes benefits and subsidies for farmers across the country if not passed by the end of the year, the Washington Post reports.
One big thing: Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) told the Post that the deal scraps a key provision proposed by House Republicans that would have added stricter work requirements for recipients of food stamps.
Senate GOP leaders have postponed Thursday’s confirmation vote on Thomas Farr, who was nominated by President Trump to serve as a federal judge in the Eastern District of North Carolina, to next week.
State of play: Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), who was absent due to a family situation, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who told NBC News that he’s still undecided despite having supported Farr’s nomination on Wednesday, were cited as reasons for the delay. Meanwhile, all 49 Senate Democrats and a number of civil rights groups are hoping to sink Farr’s nomination, pointing to his defense of voting measures that federal courts have struck down as racially discriminatory.
In the 2018 midterm elections, 67% of Mormons voted for a Republican candidate, but only 56% approve of Trump as president, according to a new AP survey.
Why it matters: This is one religious group that Trump is struggling with, despite Mormon voters' widespread support of the GOP. By comparison, President Trump has a stronghold on white Evangelical Christian voters, 79% of whom approve of his job as president and 80% of whom voted for a Republican in the midterms. This could put incoming Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah in an interesting position. Among his fellow Mormon voters in his state, 64% of them want Romney to confront Trump, according to the survey.
While Democrats jumped on the news that President Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen struck a plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller, Trump and his team attempted to spin Cohen as "weak" and a "proven liar."
The big picture: Speculation is mounting that Mueller's investigation may be nearing its endgame, especially after Trump handed over answers to a list of questions from Mueller's team. And that's bolstered by Democrats' eagerness to get started on their own oversight investigations of Trump and his ties to Russia when they take control of the House next year.
"Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!"
The backdrop: Trump's decision comes just hours after his former attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2017 about the length and scope of his work on plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.
Women were the driving force behind Democrats taking back the House, winning over 60% of the House seats that the party flipped in the 2018 midterms, according to the New York Times.
Why it matters: This year's midterm election was dubbed the "Year of the Woman," and it turned out to be true — for Democrats. The incoming freshman class is "the most racially diverse and most female group of representatives ever elected to the House," as NYT notes, but that diversity isn't reflected much among the newly elected Republicans.
President Trump told reporters Wednesday that Michael Cohen is "a weak person" for pleading guilty to lying to Congress about plans for a Trump Tower in Moscow, and said he believes Cohen is "lying to get a reduced sentence."
Why it matters: As Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen was the only person intertwined in Trump’s professional, political, personal, legal and family life. Now that information is being unearthed by Robert Mueller.
President Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in federal court Thursday about plans for a Trump Tower in Moscow.
The big picture: Special counsel Robert Mueller charges that Cohen made three false statements to the Senate Intelligence Committee, including when the project ended, his discussions with Trump about the deal, and the Russian government's response.
President Trump's former personal lawyer — and longtime fixer — Michael Cohen has entered into a plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller for lying to Congress about a Trump real estate project in Russia, the AP reports.
The big picture: Cohen has long been a source of concern for key people in Trump's orbit. According to ABC News, Mueller now has 70 hours of interviews with Cohen, focusing on questions regarding Trump's business ties to Russia, Trump associates contacts with Russia during the 2016 campaign, obstruction of justice and possible pardons. Former U.S. attorney in Florida, Kendall Coffey, told ABC News: "The potential significance of Cohen's cooperation is immense."
Fourteen Republicans joined every Senate Democrat to take a step toward directing the removal of U.S. support in Yemen.
The big picture: In March, only 44 senators voted for the resolution. 63 voted for it yesterday, signaling how much the situation has changed since then. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), a lead sponsor of the measure, said: "The Khashoggi killing has begun a major rethinking of our relationship with Saudi Arabia. It may happen slowly, but policy with the kingdom will never be the same."
Women are far more pessimistic about the state of the U.S. economy than men: Nearly half of female voters rate the U.S. economy as "not so good" or "poor," compared to only 26% of men, according to a new SurveyMonkey/S&P Global Post-Election poll given first to Axios.
Why it matters: There's already a large gender gap as women drifted away from the GOP in the midterm elections. If this many female voters are concerned about the country's economic future, that could undermine President Trump's economic messaging in 2020, too.
President Trump and Senate Republicans' efforts to swiftly confirm conservative judges to federal courts across the country hit a speed bump on Wednesday after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley canceled panel votes set for Thursday on almost two dozen judicial nominations.
The backdrop: The cancellation comes amid a standoff with retiring Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who is holding firm on his pledge to oppose Trump's judicial nominees unless Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell schedules a vote on a bipartisan measure to protect the special counsel Robert Mueller. Republicans blocked a vote on the measure Wednesday.
