The House Ethics Committee instructed Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) to stop voting in the House on Thursday in light of his guilty plea to conspiracy to misuse campaign funds for his personal expenses.
The big picture: Hunter has not answered reporters' questions on whether he intends to resign from the House entirely, following his guilty plea on Tuesday. He insisted in 2018 that he would not resign after being forced to step down from all committee assignments, per the New York Times.
Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D-N.Y.) released a gun safety plan as part of his 2020 platform on Thursday.
The big picture: Gun control has been a key issue for Democrats in the crowded presidential primary field. The party largely advocates for common sense reforms to address background checks, loopholes and assault weapons.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi's formal impeachment announcement on Thursday was addressed squarely at skittish members within her caucus.
Why it matters: President Trump wants as many Democratic "no" votes on the board when the inevitable vote to impeach comes, so Republicans are trying to scare House Democrats from red and swing districts.
Former Vice President Joe Biden told a voter attending one of his campaign events on Thursday that he is "a damn liar" for making unsubstantiated allegations that Biden “sent” his son, Hunter, to work for a Ukrainian gas company in order to sell access to President Obama.
Why it matters: President Trump's request that Ukraine's president announce an investigation into the Biden's dealings in Ukraine is what sparked the impeachment inquiry. Hunter’s role with Ukrainian energy company Burisma did raise conflict-of-interest concerns at the time, but there is no evidence that the former vice president committed "corruption" of any kind in the country, as Trump has claimed.
The White House directed Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) to block an effort by Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Thursday to pass a resolution via unanimous consent formally recognizing Turkey's genocide of the Armenian people, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Why it matters: This is the third time that the White House has directed a Republican senator to block the resolution, a symbolic measure already passed by the House that would infuriate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry endorsed Joe Biden in an interview with the Washington Post Thursday, adding that he will join the former vice president on the campaign trail beginning on Friday.
Why it matters: The endorsement isn't a surprise, but it comes from a former Democratic nominee for president and a respected figure within the party.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi returned to the lectern after finishing her weekly press briefing on Thursday to address a reporter who asked whether she hates President Trump.
Why it matters: Pelosi — often steely during her press appearances — was angered by the question that came as she was walking away, telling Sinclair's James Rosen, who asked the question, "Don't mess with me when it comes to words like that."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has surged in a new California poll at the expense of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and former Vice President Joe Biden, according to a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies survey published by the Los Angeles Times on Thursday.
The big picture: Warren's lead in September in the same poll dropped by 7 points to 22%, meaning she is statistically tied with — but nominally behind — Sanders, who sits at 24%. Biden also dipped by 6 points to 14%, with South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 12%.
At least 58 people died and dozens more were forced to swim to shore after a boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast of Mauritania, per the AP.
Why it matters: The drownings are one of this year's deadliest disasters among people attempting to make the perilous journey to Europe. The boat was carrying at least 150 people — including women and children — from Gambia and was en route to Spain’s Canary Islands.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday that she will ask the chairmen heading the House committees handling the impeachment inquiry to proceed with articles of impeachment against President Trump.
Why it matters: Pelosi's statement means that House Democrats are continuing full speed ahead on impeachment — and will ultimately bring a full House vote.
President Trump dared House Democrats to impeach him in a Thursday tweet, suggesting that he would attempt to force a number of powerful Democrats to testify during a Senate trial.
"The Do Nothing Democrats had a historically bad day yesterday in the House. They have no Impeachment case and are demeaning our Country. But nothing matters to them, they have gone crazy. Therefore I say, if you are going to impeach me, do it now, fast, so we can have a fair trial in the Senate, and so that our Country can get back to business."
The big picture: Wednesday's hearing, which featured testimony from legal scholars, saw House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) provide the clearest signal yet about what the articles of impeachment against Trump could ultimately look like — including an indication that they could be broadened to include Robert Mueller's findings.
As impeachment moves into its next phase, House Democrats lack testimony from major players in the Trump administration about allegations that the president withheld military aid and a coveted White House meeting to pressure Ukraine into investigating his domestic political rivals.
The big picture: Warren's recent decline among college students mirrors polling of the general population, but while Pete Buttigieg has been gaining among all voters during that time, Sanders is the one who's gained the mostamong students.
George Nader, a key witness in the Mueller investigation with ties to President Trump, is among eight people indicted on campaign finance charges related to Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and others, per unsealed documents, CNN reported Wednesday.
Details: The Department of Justice said in a statement Tuesday that Nader, 60, is, among other things, accused of conspiring with co-accused Allied Wallet CEO Ahmad "Andy" Khawaja "to conceal the source of more than $3.5 million in campaign contributions, directed to political committees associated with" a 2016 presidential candidate.
As House Democrats step up their impeachment inquiries,President Trump sought to clarify via Twitter Wednesday night the context of his infamous July 25 phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart, President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Former Vice President Joe Biden's 2020 campaign seized on video of world leaders seemingly chuckling about President Trump at the NATO summit, including the hot mic clip, in an ad saying the "world is laughing at" Trump.
Kash Patel, a senior National Security Council official, told CBS News in an interview that aired Wednesday that his phone conversation with Rudy Giuliani documented in a draft impeachment report had nothing to do with Ukraine. He added he was "never a back channel to President Trump on Ukraine matters, at all, ever."
Why it matters:Call records included in an impeachment report released by House Democrats Tuesday show Patel spoke with Guiliani two months before the Trump administration suspended military aid to Ukraine.
