In the wake of revelations about President Trump's shadow Ukraine diplomacy, the State Department has found itself in arguably its worst internal crisis since the Red Scare purges of the McCarthy era.
Why it matters: Like the military, the U.S. diplomatic corps is meant to do its work apart from the partisan political fray of Washington. But evidence suggests the Trump administration has interfered with that mission, circumventing career officials in the process, to pursue personal business interests and political aims.
Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney has walked back comments he made at a press conference Thursday about the Trump administration freezing military aid as leverage to get Ukraine to investigate a conspiracy theory about the Democratic National Committee server hacked by Russia in 2016.
A survey published on Thursday by the Pew Research Center found that 54% of 3,487 adults polled currently approve of the House decision to pursue an impeachment inquiry into President Trump for his dealings with Ukraine.
Between the lines: This represents a subtle change since early September before House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the inquiry.
America is not a meritocracy. Wealth and power are both largely inherited traits, to the point at which there's a name for the seeming inability of the children of the rich to fail: the glass floor.
Yes, but: While inheriting wealth is relatively uncontroversial, inheriting power can be problematic.
House Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) died on Thursday at age 68 due to "complications concerning longstanding health challenges," according to a statement from his office.
The big picture: A longtime public servant, Cummings worked for 13 years in Maryland's House of Delegates before he was elected to represent Maryland's 7th Congressional District in 1996. He served in Congress for 23 years.
2020 Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Mayor Pete Buttigieg raised more than $1 million each in campaign donations in less than 24 hours after Tuesday's debate in Ohio, according to the New York Times.
Between the lines: Buttigieg and Klobuchar, who have both positioned themselves as moderates in the Democratic field, were two of the candidates to go hardest after progressive frontrunner Sen. Elizabeth Warren, especially on how she would pay for her Medicare for All health care plan. With a weakened Joe Biden reporting rather anemic Q3 fundraising numbers, the two Midwesterners are looking to siphon off moderate support.
Why it matters: On the Trump site, hackers could have sent emails from the site or intercepted emails being sent — but user and donor information was never at risk.
Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, will tell the House committees investigating President Trump and Ukraine on Thursday that he was "disappointed" with Trump's approach to Ukraine — specifically with his request that he work with Rudy Giuliani.
"Let me be clear: Mr. Giuliani does not work for me or my Mission and I do not know what official or unofficial role, if any, he has with the State Department. ... Please know that I would not have recommended that Mr. Giuliani or any private citizen be involved in these foreign policy matters. However, given the President's explicit direction, as well as the importance we attached to arranging a White House meeting between Presidents Trump and Zelensky, we agreed to do as President Trump directed."
There have been many holy-crap-that-did-not-just-happen days in the Trump White House, but few top the soap opera of Oct. 16, 2019 — exactly Day 1,000 of the Trump presidency.
What they're saying: A GOP official in California told Axios' Margaret Talev: "The needle on the Batsh*t Crazy Meter may have gone past the red zone today."
Michael McKinley, former senior adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, aired concerns about an increasingly politicized State Department to House committees leading an impeachment inquiry into President Trump on Wednesday, according to excerpts of his prepared remarks released to news outlets.
What he's saying: McKinley said he abruptly resigned last week after the State Department did not publicly support former Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, following Trump disparaging her on a July 25phone call to the Ukrainian president, the New York Times reports. McKinley said the State Department had discouraged diplomats from testifying to House investigators, per the Times.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry told the Wall Street Journal Wednesday that President Trump directed him to contact Rudy Giuliani in the spring about alleged Ukraine corruption concerns.
Why it matters: Per the WSJ, Perry's comments about the phone call he had with Trump's personal lawyer Giuliani concerning unsubstantiated allegations that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 U.S. election demonstrates "how closely the president’s personal lawyer worked with the administration on Ukraine policy."
Lawmakers mulling changes to the law that shields Facebook, Reddit and other online platforms from liability over user-generated content found some bipartisan common ground during a House Energy & Commerce joint subcommittee hearing Wednesday.
Why it matters: Technology companies say changing the law that protects online platforms — Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act — is an existential threat to their business models and the internet itself. But both Republicans and Democrats agreed the platforms are not doing enough to police themselves when it comes to removing harmful content from their sites.
U.S. postmaster general Megan Brennan — the first woman to serve in the role — announced on Wednesday that she will retire on Jan. 31 of next year, completing her planned five years in the position.
The big picture: A task force created by President Trump said last December that the U.S. Postal Service should consider increasing the cost of shipping for some packages, which could hurt Amazon and other e-commerce companies.
President Trump hit back on Wednesday at House Democrats' suggestions that he had a "meltdown" during their meeting as he launched a personal attack on Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
