President Trump defended Labor Secretary Alex Acosta Tuesday but said he'd look "very carefully" into his handling of a 2008 plea deal with accused pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Why it matters: The wealthy financier now faces sex trafficking charges in New York. Democrats including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are demanding Acosta resign over the lenient deal reached in Epstein's earlier case, when he was serving as U.S. attorney in southern Florida.
Democrat Joe Sestak is a former Pennsylvania congressman and three-star admiral, serving as the "highest ranking military officer ever elected to Congress" from 2007 to 2010. He is an alumnus of the U.S. Naval Academy and obtained his master's and a Ph.D. from Harvard University. He made 2 failed bids for Senate in 2010 and 2016, earning the Democratic nomination in his first run, but falling short the second time.
Joe Biden's annual personal financial disclosure, released on Tuesday, shows that he is the richest top 2020 Democratic candidate, the Washington Post reports.
By the numbers: Biden reported more than $15 million in earnings over the past 2 years, with just over $4.5 million in 2018 and $11 million for 2017. He brought in $396,456 in gross income for 2016. His speaking fees and book payments totaled $3.2 million in 2018 and $10 million in 2017, per the Post. Biden also released his tax returns on Tuesday.
Tom Steyer, who launched his presidential campaign on Tuesday, was early to the hedge fund game.
The state of play: In general, there are two ways to become a billionaire hedge-fund manager. The first is to be a pirate — raid the Bank of England, bet on a housing collapse, that kind of thing. The returns on those bets can be so enormous, you can make billions even off a relatively small asset base.
U.K. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who is in the running to replace Theresa May as prime minister later this month, has scolded President Trump for his "disrespectful and wrong" comments about May and the U.K.'s ambassador to Washington, Kim Darroch.
Context: Darroch described Trump's administration as "inept" and "incompetent" in private memos back to London that leaked to the Mail on Sunday. After May declined to censure Darroch, Trump unleashed a series of tweets accusing the prime minister of taking a "foolish" approach to Brexit, and claiming his administration would cut off ties with Darroch.
The House Judiciary Committee will vote on Thursday to subpoena the Trump administration on two fronts: their ongoing investigations into President Trump's potential obstruction of justice and his administration's immigration policies.
The big picture: These subpoenas "will jolt two of the Democrats' highest-profile oversight investigations into Trump and his administration and are certain to further inflame relations with the White House," reports the Washington Post.
Sarah McBride, national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, announced her bid on Tuesday for Delaware's 2020 state Senate race.
Why it matters: McBride made history in 2016 as the first transgender person to speak at the Democratic National Convention, and she was the first openly transgender intern at the White House. If elected, she would be the first openly transgender state senator in U.S. history.
Billionaire Democratic activist and donor Tom Steyer announced Tuesday that he will enter the 2020 presidential race.
Why it matters: Steyer, whose recent work has focused on impeaching President Trump, promised to sink at least $100 million of his own money into his campaign, via the New York Times, which could instantly make him a player in the race.
Democrat Amy McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot and the first female Marine to fly in an F-18 during combat, announced Tuesday that she will take on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for his Kentucky Senate seat in 2020.
Why it matters: McGrath, who failed in her House bid during the 2018 midterm elections, will be a high profile — and cash-flush — challenger for McConnell, the longest-serving Republican Senate leader.
The children who have been detained in overcrowded, squalid migrant camps at the border aren't just facing poor living conditions. They are also facing higher risks of serious mental health problems, some of which could be irreparable.
The big picture: Children are fleeing life-or-death situations in their home countries, and instead of healing their psychological and emotional trauma, federal officials are exacerbating the damage through means that the medical community views as flagrant violations of medical ethics.
The U.K.'s ambassador to the U.S. has the "full support" of the prime minister, a spokesman said in a statement to news outlets. He made the comment after President Trump said he'd "no longer deal" with ambassador Kim Darroch over leaked cables showing he criticized Trump.
We have made clear to the U.S. how unfortunate this leak is. The selective extracts leaked do not reflect the closeness of, and the esteem in which we hold, the relationship."
According to Politico, senior Democratic aides said Monday that Democrats will continue to pursue criminal contempt against Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Attorney General William Barr for not complying with subpoenas for documents on the 2020 census.
Why it matters: The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee issued its contempt report for the two figures to the full chamber last month, but little is likely to come from the effort.
"The Justice Department is almost certainly not going to charge the attorney general or another cabinet secretary with a crime," according to Politico.
"DOJ has urged officials not to comply with the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s subpoenas, which seek information related to the decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census," Politico writes.
Nonetheless, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday that she's planned to schedule a full House vote "soon," according to the New York Times.
Catch up quick: Democrats have been trying to block a Trump administration effort to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census, which they say is meant to undermine immigrant response and amp up Republican representation.
Last month, the Supreme Court, for now, shot down the question. Ross later conceded that the census forms would be printed without it. But President Trump claimed last week that he is seeking other means around the court's ruling.
What's next: Earlier Monday, Barr said he's been having "constant discussions" with Trump on the question and that the administration will determine its next move this week.
