2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang raised $1.7 million from 80,000 individual donors in the 1st quarter of 2019, The Daily Beast reported.
By the numbers: Donors to Yang gave an average contribution of of $17.92, with 99% of donations coming in at less than $200. Having passed the minimum threshold of 65,000 donors, Yang has qualified to participate in the Democratic primary debates.
Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) is the latest GOP official linked to a federal corruption case in North Carolina in which businessman Greg Lindberg, who was indicted early Tuesday, asked officials to convince North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey to dismiss his deputy, Politico reports.
Details: FEC records show that Lindberg donated $150,000 to Walker's campaign during the 2018 midterm elections after Lindberg had already donated more than $78,000 to another Walker-affiliated campaign. Walker told Politico that he has not been charged in the investigation.
President Trump, while doubling down on his threat to close the U.S. border with Mexico on Tuesday, acknowledged that it would inflict negative consequences on the economy, but said that "security is more important to me than trade."
The big picture: Last Friday, Trump threatened to shut down the border this week unless Mexico "immediately" stops the flow of Central American migrants en route to the U.S., though Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters today that Trump is not operating with a "specific timeline" in mind. The Washington Post reported Tuesday that White House officials are looking for ways to allow commercial trade to continue through a border shutdown, following warnings about the damage it could to do the economy.
CNN will host the 2nd pair of Democratic debates on July 30 and 31 in Detroit, Michigan.
Details: Candidates can qualify for the debate by polling at 1% or by having at least 65,000 unique donors, with a minimum of 200 unique donors per state in 20 states. The first debates are taking place on June 26 and 27 in Miami and will be hosted by NBC News. No more than 20 candidates will participate.
In a Tuesday interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, former FBI Director James Comey conceded that his decision to announce in October 2016 that the FBI was reopening an investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server may have helped Trump win the election, but defended it as "the least terrible option."
Amanpour: "Do you ever think that you might be responsible for the election of President Trump? Does that keep you up at night?"
Comey: "Sure. And I hope someday somebody proves that we were irrelevant. ... I hope we had no impact. I hope it's proven that it was irrelevant. But all it does is increase the pain. It doesn't change how I think about the decision. My view and the view of my team was: I cannot conceal from the American people that the investigation we told them, and fought to tell them, is done, is done, is done — is not done, and the result could change."
Dan speaks with John Delaney, a three-term Maryland congressman and former CEO who was the first Democrat to announce his candidacy for president. Topics include education, health care and Big Tech monopolies.
Go deeper: Listen to our recent Pro Rata Podcast interviews with 2020 presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg and Andrew Yang.
The Trump administration and Congress will host a flurry of NATO events this week, timed to the alliance's 70th anniversary.
Why it matters: The past couple of years have been tough for NATO, with Europeans still struggling to pull their own weight on defense spending and warily watching President Trump to see if he'll pull the plug on the alliance. Although such concerns can be overcranked — the U.S. military is doing more in Europe than it was two years ago — the alliance is still strained by unpredictable disruptions from its largest and most important member.
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders announced Tuesday that he has raised $18.2 million from more than 900,000 individual donations since launching his campaign on Feb. 19.
By the numbers: Sanders raised $5.9 million in the first 24 hours after announcing his candidacy. His campaign told reporters on a press call that he has $28 million cash on-hand thanks to transfers from pre-existing funds, and that out of 525,000 contributors, 20% are new.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at a Politico Playbook event on Tuesday that while she doesn't think two recent allegations of inappropriate touching by former Vice President Joe Biden are "disqualifying" for his potential 2020 run, she wants Biden to know that it "isn't what was intended — it's how it was received."
"To say I'm sorry you were offended is not an apology. It's 'I'm sorry I invaded your space.' ... I've known Joe Biden a long time. My grandchildren love Joe Biden. He's an affectionate person, to children, to senior citizens, to everyone, that's just the way he is ... But he has to understand in the world that we're in now that people's space is important to them, and what's important is how they receive it and not necessarily how you intended it."
Democratic 2020 candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) released 12 years of tax returns Monday night, a dig at her Republican opponent President Trump, who has notoriously refused to do the same since the 2016 election.
Why it matters: Klobuchar is the fourth Democrat who's gunning for the White House to release her tax returns, increasing pressure for other Democratic hopefuls to do the same. Klobuchar's family tax documents are from 2017 to 2006, whereas some candidates have finished and released this year's.
Joe Biden advisers believe coverage of allegations of inappropriate behavior is being stoked by rival Democrats — a dynamic that could actually fire up the vice president at a time when others see success as increasingly improbable.
Why it matters: Several around Biden think advisers to Bernie Sanders are at least partly behind the anti-Biden campaign. One prominentbacker thinks Biden will run, and "is ready to kill Bernie."
President Trump is considering a "border czar" or "immigration czar" to coordinate immigration policy across various federal agencies as he continues to threaten to close the U.S.-Mexico border, AP reports.
Between the lines: Two potential candidates — former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.
Michael Bloomberg might still run for president in 2020, especially if former Vice President Joe Biden winds up not getting in, according to people who have discussed the matter with the former New York mayor.
Between the lines: These people tell me that Bloomberg, 77, who announced March 5 that he wouldn't run, might reconsider if a centrist lane were to open up. The most likely scenario for that would be if Biden, 76, whose displays of public affection have burst into a major issue, were to stay out or fade fast.
Democratic 2020 hopeful Pete Buttigieg is — by every measure — having an ascendant moment as a candidate for president.
Why it matters: The South Bend, Ind. mayor is generating more social media interest on a per article basis than any of his rivals, according to data from social media analytics company Newswhip. And that's just one of many signs of intensifying interest in "Mayor Pete."
STORM LAKE, Iowa — In 1991, Manuel Arceo emigrated to the United States, finally settling three years later in the small Washington state city of Chehalis. There, he parlayed his cooking skills into Plaza Jalisco, a restaurant he named after his native state in Mexico.
A quarter-century later, Arceo and several of his brothers are the owners of 14 restaurants in three states — including an improbable five here in Iowa. Against the toxic U.S. debate around Hispanic immigrants, the Arceos' story illustrates a lesser-told dimension of the decades-long Mexican influx into the country — a familiar tale of pluck aligning with bedrock American tradition.
President Trump on Monday night criticized Democrats for blocking a GOP disaster aid bill because they said funding for Puerto Rico did not go far enough for the hurricane-devastated U.S. territory.
What he's saying: "The Democrats today killed a Bill that would have provided great relief to Farmers and yet more money to Puerto Rico despite the fact that Puerto Rico has already been scheduled to receive more hurricane relief funding than any 'place' in history," Trump began, in the first of a series of tweets on the issue.
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner defended himself on Fox News' "'The Ingraham Angle" Monday evening amid fresh scrutiny after a whistleblower said the Trump administration reversed 25 security clearance denials.
What he's saying: "I can’t comment for the White House’s process, but what I can say is that over the last two years that I’ve been here, I’ve been accused of all different types of things, and all of those things have turned out to be false," Kushner told host Laura Ingraham.
President Trump's threat to close the southern border is designed to "pressure everybody" on illegal migration, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner told Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle" Monday evening.
Details: "I think the president’s definitely made increased awareness to the issue," Trump's son-in-law told host Laura Ingraham. "I think he’s weighing all the options." Ingraham asked Kushner if the goal of the strategy was to pressure Mexico. "No, I think it's to pressure everybody," he replied.
Following two accusations of inappropriate touching against Joe Biden, a number of Democrats — including those who worked with him in the Obama administration and before — are coming to the defense of the former vice president, describing him as a warm, grandfatherly figure who would never be intentionally malicious.
Why it matters: As Biden edges closer to announcing a 2020 presidential run, his alleged history of inappropriate behavior has come under scrutiny. Both of Biden's accusers have said Democrats cannot condone his behavior while condemning President Trump's treatment of women, and have urged the party to pick another candidate or risk losing to Trump in 2020.
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris announced Monday that she raised $12 million from more than 218,000 individual contributions in the first quarter of 2019.
The big picture: Harris, who raised $1.5 million in the first 24 hours after launching the campaign, announced her new totals one day after the Federal Election Commission's first quarter fundraising deadline. 98% of Harris' donations were under $100, with the average online contribution coming in at $28. Harris also said she received more than 11,000 individual contributions from teachers, after unveiling a plan last week to give the average teacher a $13,500 raise.
