A Republican PAC that supports President Trump's re-election campaign plans to use location data from voters' smartphones "to find people who may not be registered to vote" in about 6 swing states before 2020, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The big picture: This technique — called "geofencing" — was used by 2020 Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke during his 2018 Senate race, WSJ reports, and by CatholicVote, a conservative political advocacy group.
President Trump defended his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Twitter, saying the Ukraine investigation is a "one sided Witch Hunt."
"So now they are after the legendary "crime buster" and greatest Mayor in the history of NYC, Rudy Giuliani. He may seem a little rough around the edges sometimes, but he is also a great guy and wonderful lawyer. Such a one sided Witch Hunt going on in USA. Deep State. Shameful!"
States and cities have set aside bigger budgets than ever to prepare for the once-a-decade population count, with Washington's harsh immigration stance as a backdrop.
Why it matters: While the official Census count doesn't get under way until April, officials worry that immigrants won't complete the necessary forms for fear of retaliation.
Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke's campaign said on Friday that it raised $4.5 million in Q3, which puts the candidate in the bottom rung of 2020 Democrats' fundraising for the quarter.
The state of play: Sen. Bernie Sanders currently leads all 2020 Democrats in Q3 fundraising with $25.3 million, followed by Elizabeth Warren with $24.6 million, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg with $19.1 million. President Trump's re-election campaign and the Republican National Committee recently said they raised a whopping $125 million for Q3, setting a new presidential fundraising record.
President Trump announced on Friday evening that acting Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan will leave his position and move into "the private sector" after 6 months in the role.
The big picture: Trump has been wary of McAleenan, whom he associates with the Obama administration, officials told Axios in August. McAleenan, the former commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, took over the acting role following Kirstjen Nielsen’s abrupt resignation.
A federal appeals court ruling Friday morning in House Democrats' favor was just one piece of a web of ongoing court and legislative battles to obtain President Trump's tax returns and financial records.
Why it matters: The case to subpoena President Trump's financial records from Mazars USA, his longtime accounting firm, is much farther along in the courts than most of the opposition's other efforts — and it might be Democrats' best chance to make them public.
A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration's proposed rule to deny residency to immigrants who use or are likely to use public benefit programs such as food stamps, housing assistance or Medicaid, the New York Times reports.
Driving the news: In a separate proposal last week, the Trump administration proposed requiring immigrant-visa applicants to prove they can obtain health insurance within 30 days of entering the U.S. or cover their own health care expenses.
Following former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch's Friday testimony, the 3 House committees investigating President Trump and Ukraine said they subpoenaed the ambassador after the White House, through the State Department, directed her not to testify.
The big picture: The White House has refused to comply with House investigations into whether Trump jeopardized national security by allegedly pressing Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 presidential election, and by withholding security assistance provided by Congress to help Ukraine.
The Commission on Presidential Debates on Friday revealed the 2020 general election debate schedule and locations, as well as details on the vice presidential debate.
Details: Each debate will begin at 9 pm ET, and have a 90-minute runtime with no commercial breaks. The commission will announce the particulars about next year's general election debates, including format and moderators, in 2020.
Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch appeared Friday before the 3 House committees investigating President Trump and Ukraine and said the president pressured a top State Department official to oust her, according to her prepared remarks obtained by the Washington Post.
Why it matters: The Trump administration said it would block officials from appearing before the committees, but Yovanovitch's appearance coupled with U.S. ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland's planned testimony next week undermines its position. The AP notes that it's unclear whether Yovanovitch's appearance "signals a shift in that strategy or if she is breaking with White House policy."
President Trump relaunched his attacks against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who came to the U.S. as a Somali refugee, and targeted the Somali community in Minnesota, reports the Washington Post.
Why it matters: Minnesota is home to the largest concentration of Somalis in the U.S. Trump told the cheering crowd at a Thursday night campaign rally that he plans to "give local communities a greater say in refugee policy and put in place enhanced vetting and responsible immigration controls," per the Post.
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Friday a House subpoena for President Trump's financial records to Mazars USA, the president's longtime accounting firm.
Why it matters: This is one of the last stops for this case. Unless the president's legal team asks the full D.C. Circuit to take up the case or appeals it to the Supreme Court, the president could lose his fight to keep his financial records private.
U.S. ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland plans to testify before the House committees investigating President Trump and Ukraine next week, according to a statement issued by his lawyer on Friday.
Why it matters: Axios' Alayna Treene scooped yesterday that Sondland was on the committees' schedule for next Wednesday after previously being blocked from testifying by the Trump administration. Sondland's lawyer also said while he wants to produce documents requested by the committees, that decision is ultimately up to the State Department.
The late musician Prince's estate tweeted that President Trump's campaign used the song "Purple Rain" at its Minneapolis rally on Thursday despite a 2018 letter from the campaign's lawyers confirming that it would no longer use the artist's music.
The big picture: Musicians have spoken out against Trump using their music at campaign rallies for years, but this is an interesting case where the artist in question has actually produced a legal agreement on the matter.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said Friday President Trump is trying to work the Oval Office as a business play, and has "converted the presidency into self enrichment and re-election."
Why it matters: Raskin told Axios' Margaret Telev at an Axios event that Congress must hold President Trump accountable, citing the domestic and foreign emoluments clauses, which outline the payments a president may not receive.
A memo from GQR about a nationwide survey sponsored by sponsored by Stand Up America and Need to Impeach found that Americans "view the Ukraine events as much stronger reasons to support impeachment than the Mueller report and evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 elections."
Why it matters: The memo says the Ukraine scandal has "fundamentally different dynamics" than the debates about the Mueller report, which could pose a stronger challenge to the Trump administration.
President Trump may be telling voters everything that they want to hear when it comes to health care, but much of it isn't true.
Why it matters: Trump is claiming victories he hasn't achieved and making promises he's not prepared to live up to, all on an immensely personal subject that voters consistently rank as one of the most important issues of 2020.
U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland will testify next Wednesday before the House committees investigating President Trump and Ukraine, despite being blocked by the State Department from appearing at a closed-door deposition this week, 4 congressional sources tell Axios.
Driving the news: Sondland's lawyer confirmed Friday that the ambassador does plan to testify — "notwithstanding the State Department's current direction not to testify."
