Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos — who pled guilty in 2017 to making false statements to the FBI about Russian contacts — filed his statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday for California's 25th district.
What's happening: As he previewed on Twitter, Papadopoulos is gunning for the district after former Rep. Katie Hill resigned on Sunday following allegations she had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a congressional staffer. Papadopoulos is after the traditionally Republican stronghold that elected Hill in the 2018 midterms.
President Trump's senior adviser Jared Kushner told me during an exclusive interview with Israel's Channel 13 News that the president’s "record of accomplishments is unimpeachable" — and that "he hasn't done anything wrong."
Why it matters: Kushner is one of the officials working on the White House's impeachment strategy, per CNN — but this is the first time he has spoken publicly about the issue since the Ukraine scandal erupted.
President Trump's senior adviser Jared Kushner told me during an exclusive interview with Israel's Channel 13 News that many of his efforts since he started working at the White House were focused on "cleaning up the messes that Vice President Biden left behind."
Why it matters: Kushner’s swing against Biden came in response to Biden’s remarks during an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" over the weekend, when the former vice president said it was "improper" for Trump to appoint his son-in-law Kushner and daughter Ivanka for senior positions in the White House.
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg answered questions about the training, design and certification of the Boeing 737 MAX jet, and apologized to family members of the victims in two plane crashes, telling lawmakers the company deserves the scrutiny it has received in a testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday.
Why it matters: The crashes that killed a total of 346 people resulted in the global grounding of the Boeing aircraft, thousands of cancelled flights and millions of dollars in lost revenue.
Joe Biden was denied communion at a Catholic church in Florence, S.C., while on the 2020 campaign trail, reports SCNow.
Why it matters: Father Robert E. Morey sayid he refused Biden — a lifelong Catholic — communion due to the former vice president's stance on abortion. Biden's long history with abortion policy has been a thorn in his side during the 2020 campaign, with other candidates challenging him over his stance on the Hyde Amendment.
Well-wired Republicans tell Axios that former Attorney General Jeff Sessions is making calls in Alabama, and will decide soon whether to enter the Republican primary to take back his old Senate seat from Democratic Sen. Doug Jones.
What we're hearing: Sessions could lose the primary. Trump, who soured on Sessions amid the Mueller probe, can be expected to attack him. "He couldn't help himself," an outside adviser said.
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the National Security Council's top Ukraine expert, is to testify that he conveyed concerns internally to officials after listening to President Trump's phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart, the New York Times first reported Monday.
Why it matters: Vindman, a decorated Iraq War veteran, would be the first official from the White House who listened to the July 25 call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussing former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, which resulted in a formal impeachment inquiry being launched Trump.
A panel of judges ruled Monday that North Carolina's 2020 congressional elections must happen under new maps to correct partisan favor, the News & Observer reports.
Why it matters: The current Republican-drawn maps were ruled as unfair to voters and will head back to the state legislature for redistricting, likely with significant consequences for control of Congress in 2020. The ruling does not require an outside expert to take over the districting process, and no strict deadline was set for the procedure.
Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan received the National Order of José Matías Delgado award from the government of El Salvador on Monday morning, a thank you for his key role in advocating for Salvadorans in the U.S. under the Temporary Protected Status program.
The big picture: McAleenan, whose last day as acting DHS secretary is Thursday, is married to a Salvadoran native and has sought to blunt the humanitarian impact of some of the Trump administration's hardline immigration policies, even as his department has carried them out. The White House has yet to announce his replacement.
As pressure grows on senators to take a stance on impeachment, both Republicans and Democrats have argued that their positions as potential jurors in the case against President Trump precludes them from commenting.
The big picture: Trial jurors in traditional criminal cases are not permitted to speak about a case outside of the courtroom. But while the Senate would technically be holding a "trial" against the president in the likely scenario that the House votes to impeach, the trial — which is a political proceeding — would not be held to the same standards as a criminal case.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has called a special election for next year to fill the late Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings' 7th Congressional District seat.
The big picture:Cummings died earlier this month following long-standing health complications. He had been one of the most influential House Democrats. As chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, he was a leading figure in the impeachment inquiry against President Trump.
Former Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) has died after a 3-year battle with encephalitis, an inflammatory brain condition, the Charlotte Observer reports.
The big picture: Hagen climbed from being a Capitol Hill intern to her state's first female Democratic senator. She was elected in 2008, beating Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole, but was defeated by Republican Sen. Thom Tillis in 2014.
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, announced Monday that he will retire at the end of his current term, according to Politico.
The big picture: Walden is the 22nd House Republican to announce that they will not seek re-election this cycle.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan signed an agreement with El Salvador on Monday, giving Salvadorans covered by the Temporary Protected Status program (TPS) an extra year to return to their home country.
Why it matters: There are around 200,000 Salvadorans living in the U.S. under the special, temporary status, which is provided to people who are unable to return to their home country due to violence or catastrophe. A federal court has temporarily blocked the administration from ending the program for El Salvador.
Americans across all generations have something in common: They are more likely to say President Trump is a bigger threat to world peace than North Korea's Kim Jong-un, Russia's Vladimir Putin, China's Xi Jinping or Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro, according to a new YouGov poll for the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit educational group.
Why it matters: Those of all ages see the president — the leader of the free world — as equally or more dangerous to global peace than dictators with histories of oppression and human rights violations.
To kill Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi — arguably the most important national security accomplishment of the Trump presidency, along with wiping out ISIS' caliphate — the U.S. relied on many tools President Trump has spurned.
Why it matters: Trump has said President George W. Bush's Middle East invasion was the greatest mistake in American history. Trump says he wants to end endless wars, and bring troops home from Syria — but events keep pulling him back.
Young Americans continue to lose faith in capitalism and embrace socialism, according to a new YouGov/Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation survey of more than 2,000 Americans 16 years and older.
Why it matters: Bernie Sanders, a self-avowed democratic socialist, is one of the top presidential candidates in the 2020 Democratic field. His flagship health care proposal, Medicare for All, has driven the national conversation and moved the Democratic Party significantly to the left — even among candidates like Elizabeth Warren who consider themselves capitalists.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) became the latest member of the influential "Squad" to endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for president when she appeared at his campaign rally in Detroit on Sunday night.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden defended his son's actions in Ukraine in a wide-ranging interview with CBS' "60 Minutes, broadcast Sunday, in which his wife, Jill Biden also appeared.
