Democratic presidential candidates are laying out plans for expanding health-care coverage, with Medicare for All overpowering the conversation.
The big picture: Most 2020 Democrats say they buy into the concept of universal health care, except they vary on how to achieve it — and on which plan would be more appealing to achieve nationwide support.
Many 2020 candidates have been flirting with the idea of expanding the Supreme Court, while others have fully rejected the idea.
Background: The Constitution allows Congress to change the number of justices that sit on the court. Historically, the number has flexed 7 times. In recent years, Democrats have had little success pushing their picks through: Republicans blocked President Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, and pushed Justice Brett Kavanaugh's controversial nomination through.
2020 Democrats are divided over whether to abolish the Senate filibuster, with some candidates opting to merely reform the rule and others pushing to eliminate it altogether.
Why it matters: Killing the filibuster is likely the only way Democrats could advance major progressivepolicies 2020 candidates are promising — like the Green New Deal and Medicare for All — even if they secured unified control of Washington, because such legislation often gets filibustered in the Senate so long as Republicans maintain a supermajority.
The fourth round of Democratic debates will be held on Oct. 15 in Westerville, Ohio, with 12 candidates onstage, making it the biggest single-night debate to date.
How it works: This debate had the same requirements as September's. Qualifying candidates must have reached 2% in 4 DNC-approved polls and drawn 130,000 unique donors — including 400 donors in 20 different states. Oct. 1 was the final day to make the cut.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Just before his medical procedure, Bernie Sanders told supporters at a Muslims for Bernie event that whoever the Democratic nominee is, every candidate — including himself if he doesn't come out on top — "will support the winner and do everything that we can" to defeat Donald Trump.
Why it matters: Sanders' statements on the future of the race will get more scrutiny now that he's been sidelined by his procedure.He was hospitalized after the event with a blocked artery, had 2 stents put in and has canceled all events until further notice.
The Department of Homeland Security is working with the Justice Department on a new rule that would expand immigration agencies' ability to collect DNA samples from immigrants in its custody, a DHS official confirmed to reporters on a call.
Why it matters: The rule would allow the government to acquire personal information — which would be stored in the FBI's criminal database — from people who have not been accused of any crime other than illegally crossing the border. Details as to whether any immigrants would be exempt from the regulation and when the rule will be published are still being worked out, a DHS official said.Buzzfeed's Hamed Aleazizfirst reported on the regulation in August.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Finance Committee chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) on Wednesday formally requested that the IRS investigate the National Rifle Association for potential violations of tax law related to its interactions with Russian nationals.
The big picture: A report by Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee alleged that the NRA acted as a Russian asset in 2016 by offering a promise of access to elected U.S. officials in exchange for business deals. The revelations raise questions about whether the NRA could lose its tax-exempt status, as tax exempt organizations are not allowed to use funding to personally benefit their officials or for actions significantly outside their stated mission.
The Trump administration's dealings with Ukraine — including details first brought to light in a whistleblower complaint and now under investigation by multiple House committees — may have undermined critical American security interests both in Europe and across the globe.
The big picture: The House impeachment inquiry — spearheaded the the Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight Committees — is already reshaping the 2020 elections and could also have a profound impact on the United States' global standing and ability to project influence.
At a press conference with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday, House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) condemned President Trump's tweets demanding to "meet" the Ukraine whistleblower as "a blatant effort to intimidate witnesses" and "an incitement of violence."
2020 candidate Andrew Yang's campaign says it raised $10 million in 2019's third quarter, according to Politico.
Why it matters: Yang's Q3 report is more than triple the $2.8 million he raised in the second quarter — a push powered by some strong debate performances that elevated his national profile.
The chairs of the House Intelligence, Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees released a memo and draft subpoena on Wednesday that would compel the White House to turn over documents related to their impeachment inquiry into President Trump's alleged efforts to push Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden.
"The White House’s flagrant disregard of multiple voluntary requests for documents—combined with stark and urgent warnings from the Inspector General about the gravity of these allegations—have left us with no choice but to issue this subpoena."
— Chairs Adam Schiff, Elijah Cummings and Eliot Engel
2020 Democratic candidate Sen. Kamala Harris asked Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in a Tuesday letter to consider suspending President Trump's account for violating its user agreement with his tweets about the Ukraine whistleblower and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
Thanks to Greta Thunberg, climate change stories generated 18 million interactions on social media over the last two weeks, the most for the issue this year by far, according to data from NewsWhip provided exclusively to Axios.
Why it matters: Climate change has lagged in generating significant online interest, even as it's taken on a great urgency among Democrats and young voters. The latest findings suggest the messenger matters.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed during a press conference in Rome Wednesday that he was on the line during the July phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Why it matters: Pompeo had previously been coy about his role in the call, giving ABC News' Martha Raddatz an evasive answer when she asked him directly about the call last week: "You just gave me a report about an IC whistleblower complaint — none of which I've seen."
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet's 2020 campaign says it raised $2.1 million during 2019's third quarter, reports CNN.
Why it matters: Bennet's Q3 total is likely to rank near the bottom of the 2020 Democratic field, and it's lower than his second-quarter haul of $2.8 million. Still, Bennet told CNN that there's "no doubt" he'll stay in the race through Iowa and New Hampshire given what his spokeswoman called a "lean, sting campaign."
Former Vice President Joe Biden is out with an 11-page proposal to end gun violence in the United States.
The big picture: Biden's plan would ban the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, but it would not call for a mandatory assault weapons buyback program as Beto O'Rourke has proposed.
The UAW strike against GM is now in Week 3, and the longer it lasts, the worse Michigan's fragile economy becomes — with huge potential consequences for the 2020 presidential race.
Why it matters: Michigan, which voted twice for Barack Obama then narrowly flipped to Donald Trump in 2016, will be a key battleground state in next year's election. A loss in Michigan would raise the stakes for Pennsylvania or Wisconsin. Meanwhile, other states with large auto-worker populations are watching.
A federal judge issued an opinion Tuesday that a new California law requiring presidential candidates to release their tax returns in order to appear on primary ballots likely violates the U.S. Constitution, as he temporarily blocked it. But Californian officials told AP they would appeal the ruling.
The big picture: The move is a win for President Trump, who filed a lawsuit against California in August to block implementation of the law. U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. of the Eastern District of California indicated in a preliminary injunction he issued last month on the law that he would likely rule in favor of Trump, per Bloomberg.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris doubled down on her call for Twitter to suspend President Trump's account for his combative tweets Tuesday, urging Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to act after Trump described the impeachment inquiry as a "coup."
The chairs of the House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and Oversight committees said in a letter Tuesday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo "appears to have an obvious conflict of interest" over President Trump's impeachment inquiry. And they warn that Pompeo may be in violation of the law if he tries to prevent staff from testifying.
Why it matters: The letter to Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan is the latest escalation in a war of words between Pompeo and these House committees probing the Trump administration's alleged efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate 2020 candidate Joe Biden.
An adaptation published Tuesday of the upcoming book "Border Wars: Inside Trump’s Assault on Immigration," details President Trump's plans to secure the southern border with snake-filled trenches and shooting migrants in the legs to slow them down.
The big picture: The book by New York Times reporters Michael D. Shear and Julie Hirschfeld Davis is based on interviews with more than a dozen anonymous White House and administration officials involved in Trump's attempts to implement immigration policy and fulfill his campaign promises on the issue.
