House Oversight Chair Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) has announced the committee will vote on Wednesday to hold Attorney General Bill Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt for refusing to comply with subpoenas related to its investigation of the Census citizenship question.
Between the lines: The announcement comes on the same day that House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler said he had reached a deal to delay a contempt vote for Barr in exchange for the Justice Department turning over underlying documents from the Mueller report. While the Oversight Committee's vote is related to an entirely different subpoena, DOJ's willingness to compromise under threat of contempt may again come into play over the next 48 hours.
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said at a news conference Monday that there is no secret immigration deal between Mexico and the United States, the New York Times reports.
Why it matters: The claim contradicts a tweet from President Trump earlier Monday that stated that the two parties had "fully signed and documented" an agreement related to immigration and security that would be unveiled soon. Trump also wrote that the measure would need to be voted on by Mexico's legislative body, which he did not foresee being a problem.
The Justice Department sent a letter on Monday to House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) providing details of its review of the intelligence gathering activities that took place before and during the FBI's investigation of the Trump campaign.
Why it matters: Defenders of President Trump have long demanded that the "investigators be investigated," with the president himself accusing the U.S. intelligence community of engaging in an attempted coup to overturn the results of the 2016 election.
Top Democrats tell "Axios on HBO" they expect Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may eventually primary one of the two New York senators — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in 2022, or Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in 2024.
Why it matters: AOC has instantly become one of the party's most coveted endorsers (up there with Clintons and Obamas) — and has recently made common cause with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a pairing that could take off.
ERIE, Pa. — A small group of voters we spoke to here, who had switched from Barack Obama to Donald Trump, are sticking with Trump in 2020 — unlike other swing voters who are getting tired of him.
Why it matters: Their loyalty is a wakeup call to all 2020 Democrats, but especially Joe Biden, since he's banking heavily on his ability to win the state.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that the U.S. is more ready for a democratic socialist president than it was when he ran for the 2016 Democratic ticket.
Why it matters: Socialism is losing its Soviet-era stigma, a Harris poll for "Axios on HBO" shows. The poll found 4 in 10 Americans would prefer living in a socialist country over a capitalist one — and it's the preferred system of 55% of women age 18–54 surveyed.
We always think of Trump as a New York guy, or the president in the White House. But at heart, he's a Florida Man with a Trumpian Florida life: big mansions and big money.
Why it matters: At Mar-a-Lago, we're seeing a whole new form of lobbying. People pay dues to the private club of the president of the United States, then try to influence him in person on government policy — all outside the normal watchdogs and strictures and surveillance of Washington. It's a stunning situation.
The 2020 Census could see the worst undercount of black and Latinx people in 30 years, according to a new study from the Urban Institute.
The big picture: The 2020 Census is already facing "unprecedented challenges and threats to its accuracy" as a result of demographic changes, underfunding, and complex and undertested process changes. That's not to mention the Trump administration's addition of a citizenship question, which will likely have a chilling effect on responses regardless of whether or not it's upheld by the Supreme Court this month.
Beto O'Rourke defended his 2% total in a new Iowa Democratic caucus poll on ABC's "This Week," arguing that if he relied on polls in any race he had run, he never would have served in Congress or taken on Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018.
Pete Buttigieg's high college debt — $130,000, between him and his husband, Chasten — has helped make student loans a major 2020 issue, AP's Michelle Smith writes.
The big picture: Several candidates have made major proposals to address the crisis, including wiping away debt, lowering interest rates, expanding programs that tie repayment terms to income, and making college free or debt-free.
The niceties have ended: 2020 Democrats are breaking their own pledge not to go after one another. The attacks of the past week show what a long primary they're in for.
Why it matters: These jabs and skirmishes show a fracturing Democratic Party — exactly what some top Democrats wanted to avoid in order to maximize their chances of defeating President Trump.
Many of the 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls have descended on Des Moines’ Capital City Pride Fest in Iowa this weekend — demonstrating how important the first caucus state and LGBTQ issues are for the Democrats.
The big picture: Organizers say 17 presidential candidates will speak at the 2019 Hall of Fame Celebration in Cedar Rapids on Sunday. As this year's festival marks the 10th anniversary of Iowa's Supreme Court overturning a ban on same-sex marriage in the state, many candidates criticized President Trump for anti-LGBTQ policies, AP reports.
"President Trump undermined America’s preeminent leadership role in the world by recklessly threatening to impose tariffs" on Mexico, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement Saturday that criticized the expansion of the administration's Remain-in-Mexico policy.
Threats and temper tantrums are no way to negotiate foreign policy."
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) addressed in South Carolina Saturday criticisms she's faced since entering the 2020 race about her record as a district attorney and state attorney general who was tough on crime, AP reports.
Details: Harris told the NAACP state conference her prosecutorial background makes her uniquely qualified to hold President Trump accountable, per AP. She also outlined her vision for a criminal justice system in which "safety is a civil right," according to the Los Angeles Times, which noted she said it's a "myth that black people don’t want public safety."
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during an address at Wellesley College Saturday the Mueller report shows Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election in which she was the Democratic candidate and that "obstruction of justice occurred."
You cannot read the report, chapter and verse, fact after fact, without reaching those conclusions."
Former Vice President Joe Biden is the top presidential pick of the Iowa Democratic caucuses, a CNN/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll published Saturday night shows — but his nearest rivals are gaining ground.
By the numbers: The poll, conducted by Selzer & Co., shows 24% of those surveyed back Biden and 16% support Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg both enjoyed surges, polling at 15% and 14%, respectively.
