Today Jens Stoltenberg became the first NATO Secretary General to address a joint session of Congress, where he touted the alliance's success and emphasized the continuing need for unity.
The big picture: NATO has much to celebrate, having emerged successfully from the Cold War and engaged in numerous operations in the Balkans, Afghanistan and the Mediterranean. Yet questions about the U.S. commitment to the alliance, Europe's willingness to shoulder more of the burden, and other sources of division hang over this week's 70th anniversary festivities.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told the Dallas Morning News that he called President Trump on Tuesday to warn him that closing the U.S.-Mexico border would be a “terrible mistake” and that it could “inflict unintended harm on Americans.”
Why it matters: The U.S. exported $265 billion worth of goods to Mexico in 2018, with approximately $1.67 billion in trade daily between the two countries. Produce, as well as the auto, alcohol and oil industries would be particularly strained with a border closure. Trump intends to stop illegal crossings with the closure.
House Ways and Means Committee chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) formally asked the IRS on Wednesday to turn over 6 years of President Donald Trump's tax returns.
The big picture: This request could potentially trigger a court battle, per the New York Times. The long-awaited move comes as House Democratic committee leaders have issued subpoenas as part of a series of investigations into the president and his inner circle.
Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams said Wednesday that she had not conceded to Gov. Brian Kemp, who she also called an "architect of voter suppression," at civil rights leader Al Sharpton's 2019 National Action Network convention.
The U.S. already has a special visa to attract foreign doctors to treat rural Americans — now a new report suggests expanding that to all skilled immigrants who'd be willing to settle in areas facing long-term demographic problems.
Why it matters: "[M]igration out of struggling places has become skill-biased," according to a new report released by the Economic Innovation Group.
In an effort led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Republicans voted 51-48 on Wednesday to approve new rules to limit debate time for most of President Trump's nominees to 2 hours instead of the 30 hours now required.
The big picture: The new rule, approved by a procedural motion known as the "nuclear option," is designed to confirm Trump's nominees at a much faster pace. It affects nominations for Cabinet officials, circuit court judges and Supreme Court picks. But later on Thursday, McConnell is expected to make the change to speed up judicial nominees at the district court level as well.
Former Vice President Joe Biden responded to multiple claims of harassment from women on Twitter Wednesday.
Details: While he didn't specifically issue an apology, Biden said he understands "social norms are changing," acknowledging, "the boundaries of protecting personal space have been reset," and saying, "I get it."
Beto O'Rourke's campaign announced Wednesday he raised $9.4 million in the first quarter, 18 days after launching his 2020 bid.
Details: O'Rourke raised an average of $520,000 per day, with 218,000 total donations. A majority of the donors are new, with 98% of donations coming in at under $200, his campaign said in a press release. The campaign did not release the total number of donors or the average donation.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) wrote a letter to President Trump on Wednesday expressing support for his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria.
Details: In the letter obtained by Politico, the lawmakers write that they "welcome the completion" of U.S. withdrawal from Syria "within the next six months" and recommended the use of U.S. weapon sales to Turkey as leverage to deter a "Turkish military assault on Syria's Kurds." Trump's initial decision to hastily withdraw from Syria drew criticism for the possibility that it could leave the U.S.' Kurdish allies vulnerable to a Turkish military campaign.
Fox News' Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will host a town hall with Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders on April 15 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with a focus on the economy and jobs.
Why it matters: Earlier this year, the Democratic National Committee barred Fox News from hosting any of its primary debates, after a New Yorker investigation shed light on the extent of the network's ties to the Trump administration. Sanders and Hillary Clinton appeared together in one Fox News town hall during the 2016 election.
A proposal to block H-4 visa holders — the spouses of H-1B visa holders — from legally working will be published "shortly," according to a Department of Homeland Security court filing from earlier this week.
The backstory: A U.S. IT worker organization sued the Obama administration over H-4 visa work authorization, claiming that their jobs had been taken by H-1B and H-4 workers. The case continued into the Trump administration. This week, DHS asked the D.C. circuit court to drop the case because the new rule would remove work authorization for certain H-4 visa holders anyway — making the case moot.
In a Washington Post op-ed on Wednesday, 2020 presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) proposed a law that "expands criminal liability to any corporate executive who negligently oversees a giant company causing severe harm to U.S. families," citing her previous campaigns against former Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf and his predecessor Tim Sloan.
The big picture: Warren's trustbusting campaign is following a playbook she laid out in 2016. After placing targets on Big Agriculture and Big Tech, the 2020 candidate is going after banking — with health care, telecom and big retail potentially on the list.
From throwing his opponent's balls into bunkers to exaggerating his 2.8-stroke handicap, Donald Trump's alleged penchant for cheating on the golf course is the subject of retired sportswriter Rick Reilly's new book, "Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump."
Why it matters: "It's a way to look at Trump in an apolitical way," Reilly told me by phone yesterday. "It's not about his presidency, but rather a way to look at his soul."
The Collective PAC, which helps elect black candidates to federal and state offices, has asked major progressive groups to stop pushing Democratic candidates away from super PACs, Politico reports.
Driving the news: Collective PAC co-founders Quentin James and Stefanie Brown James argued in a letter obtained by Politico that super PACs are a vital means of fundraising for black candidates, especially in primaries. According to its website, The Collective PAC has previously contributed campaign funds for Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and 2020 candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.).
Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich has formed a center-right, Ohio-based group, Two Paths America, to promote solutions that he considers more positive than President Trump and more modern than Ronald Reagan.
The big picture: Kasich, whose 2017 book was called "Two Paths," has assembled a national advisory committee for Two Paths America that includes Bill Kristol, and is studded with prominent former Republican officials.
President Trump was in buoyant campaign mode at the National Republican Congressional Committee's annual spring dinner Tuesday.
Details: Trump declared Republicans would "take the House back" in 2020 and the GOP was working on an as-yet undisclosed "great" health care plan to be voted on after the elections. He dismissed Democratic candidates as "socialists" and mocked former Vice President Jo Biden over allegations of unwanted contact with women.
Democratic presidential hopeful Julián Castro told MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show" Tuesday the U.S. needs immigration and if President Trump's policies aren't reversed, the nation may end up "begging" for migrants.
Several of the industries in this country benefit already from their labor. We need a young and vibrant workforce. ... immigrants seeking refuge in our country aren’t a threat to national security. "
Democrat Pam Iovino, who served in then-President George W. Bush's Department of Veterans Affairs, has triumphed in a state Senate special election in a Pittsburgh district President Trump won in 2016.
Why it matters: Pennsylvania is a swing state and Navy veteran Iovino claimed victory in the seat left vacant by Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R)."The district is being watched because it voted overwhelmingly for the president in 2016, so we'll see how strong that foothold is," Iovino told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Monday.
Another 2 women have come forward with accusations of inappropriate touching against Joe Biden according to the New York Times in a report Tuesday evening, intensifying the scrutiny against the former vice president as he edges closer to announcing a 2020 presidential run.
Details: Like the Lucy Flores and Amy Lappos, who leveled accusations of inappropriate physical contact, the Times reports that none of the women have accused Biden of sexual harassment or assault. Biden had denied the accusations in a statement Sunday, saying: "Not once — never — did I believe I acted inappropriately. If it is suggested I did so, I will listen respectfully. But it was never my intention."
