LOS ANGELES — Two big developments playing out this week will hang over tonight's debate: President Trump's impeachment and a contentious labor union dispute that nearly canceled tonight's gathering.
Why it matters: Both dynamics could shake up the final Democratic presidential debate of 2019, which comes at a pivotal time as the top contenders jockey for position ahead of the Iowa caucuses in February, and as other campaigns consider if and how to hang on.
An editorial published Thursday by Christianity Today, a magazine founded by the late Rev. Billy Graham, called for President Trump's removal from office in the wake of his impeachment, deeming him "grossly immoral."
"We have reserved judgment on Mr. Trump for years now. Some have criticized us for our reserve. But when it comes to condemning the behavior of another, patient charity must come first. ... To use an old cliché, it’s time to call a spade a spade, to say that no matter how many hands we win in this political poker game, we are playing with a stacked deck of gross immorality and ethical incompetence."
The Senate on Thursday voted 81-11 to approve a $1.37 trillion spending measure to avoid a government shutdown when federal funding runs out at midnight on Friday, NPR reports.
What they're saying: Kellyanne Conway told reporters President Trump is “very happy” about the legislation and signaled that he plans to sign the two bills to avoid a shutdown, according to CNBC.
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Stephen Biegun, the current U.S. special representative for North Korea, as deputy secretary of state with a 90-3 vote, AP reports.
Why it matters: The confirmation ensures a line of succession for the head of the State Department should Mike Pompeo resign to run for Kansas' open Senate seat in 2020, as many have speculated he will. Pompeo has repeatedly denied that he will run.
The House voted 385-41 Thursday to pass a revised version of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a trade pact President Trump negotiated to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Why it matters: Completing the trade deal has been one of President Trump's biggest policy goals in 2019. House Democrats' decision to back it earlier this month highlights how they want something concrete to bring home to their constituents ahead of the new year as well, even after voting to impeach the president on Wednesday night.
President Trump may only be the third American president to be impeached, but a quick look around the world might give him comfort.
By the numbers: “Since 1990, at least 132 different heads of state have faced some 272 impeachment proposals in 63 countries,” per the Economist. Most leaders survive most impeachment attempts, as Trump almost certainly will.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll released Thursday found that less than half of Americans polled believe Donald Trump, now the third president in U.S. history to be impeached, should be convicted in a Senate trial and removed from office.
Why it matters: The poll, conducted hours after the House charged Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, signifies that voters remain divided on impeachment and found that Wednesday's vote did little to change public opinion.
President Trump announced in the Oval Office Thursday that New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew will join the Republican Party.
Why it matters: Van Drew, elected as a Democrat in the 2018 midterms, was one of only two House Democrats who voted against both articles of impeachment on Wednesday night. He represents a congressional district that Trump won by nearly 5 points in the 2016 election.
Congress voted Thursday to raise the legal age to purchase tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, from 18 to 21 as part of a $1.37 trillion spending measure.
The state of play: The larger funding bill helped to avoid a government shutdown. President Trump signaled he will likely sign it before federal funding runs out Friday at midnight.
Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) responded Wednesday night after President Trump used his Michigan rally to mock her and her late husband, former Rep. John Dingell, whom the president suggested may be in hell, saying his words were "hurtful."
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she plans to name House managers for President Trump's impeachment trial in the Senate after that chamber's leaders set the parameters for what the trial will look like, suggesting that the newly passed articles of impeachment will be transmitted to the Senate soon after.
Why it matters: Some House Democrats floated delaying the delivery of the articles in an effort to buy more time and potentially more favorable terms for the Senate trial. However, Pelosi signaled that she doesn't plan for there to be a long standoff with the Senate.
Senate Republicans told Politico that they hope President Trump will stay off Twitter during his impeachment trial.
The big picture: GOP lawmakers fear that a tweetstorm — like the one the president embarked on the day of the impeachment vote — could disrupt their strategy, sway undecideds and ruin the chances of a unanimous acquittal from Senate Republicans.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke from the Senate floor on Thursday regarding the House's vote to impeach President Trump, saying that the Founding Fathers designed the chamber "to provide stability" and prevent an "unprecedented constitutional crisis."
The big picture: While McConnell didn't provide any new details regarding his plans for the Senate trial during his floor speech, he laid out his theory of the case on impeachment, indicating his belief that the House inquiry was rushed and circumvented constitutional safeguards designed to protect Trump.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that House Democrats' impeachment process against President Trump is "far-fetched" and predicted that the president will be acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate, the AP reports.
The big picture: Putin also echoed a Republican talking point during his annual press conference in Moscow, saying that "the party that lost the [2016 presidential] election, the Democratic Party, is trying to achieve results by other means" via impeachment.
Some House Democrats are pushing to delay sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate — a potentially powerful weapon that could delay President Trump's trial.
Why it matters: It's leverage to get Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to agree to provisions, such as witnesses, that Senate Democrats want and McConnell initially rejected.
With the House impeachment roll call underway at the Capitol last night, President Trump said at the "Merry Christmas Rally" thrown by his campaign in Battle Creek, Mich.: "By the way, it doesn't really feel like we're being impeached!"
It was very real. 151 years after President Andrew Johnson, and 21 years after President Bill Clinton, Trump became the third president to be impeached by the House of Representatives.
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) announced Thursday that he won't seek re-election in 2020.
Why it matters: Meadows is one of the visible House Republicans and one of President Trump's most loyal defenders on Capitol Hill. He becomes the 24th House Republican to announce his retirement in 2020, further complicating the GOP's path to regaining the chamber's majority next year.
It has hardly registered while impeachment consumes the country, but gun control has passed immigration as the issue generating the next most interest online over the last four months, according to data from NewsWhip provided exclusively to Axios.
Why it matters: In a trend that could help shape the 2020 races, immigration — an issue that animates the right — is being usurped by a topic that animates the left.
The House voted largely along party lines to impeach President Trump Wednesday night for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after a daylong debate. Here's how the historic drama unfolded for Trump, Republican and Democratic lawmakers, and American voters, in photos.
Donald Trump is now the third president in U.S. history to be impeached.
The big picture: The legislative ending seems clear — he's headed for acquittal in the Senate as early as next month and won't be removed from office. But this seals his place in history.
Only twoHouse Democrats crossed party lines to vote to oppose both articles of impeachment against President Trump on Wednesday. Both of them are feeling the pressure of representing swing districts Trump won in 2016.
Why it matters: Dissent was low as dozens of other Democrats who represent districts that Trump won sided with impeachment, either voting their conscience or calculating it could be even politically riskier to vote no.
President Trump called his impeachment a "political suicide march for the Democratic Party" as the House of Representatives cast two fateful votes Wednesday night.
The big picture: Trump became America's third president to be impeached after the House voted on charges of abuse of power and obstruction. But supporters remained unfazed at a rally in Battle Creek, Michigan, showing up through slushy snow wearing MAGA hats and "deplorables" gear to get a look at the president.
Sen. Kamala Harris wrote in a New York Times op-ed Wednesday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell "wants a Senate cover-up," as she pushed for acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton to testify at the Senate trial.
"He is already trying to limit the impeachment trial by preventing witnesses from testifying, and he has all but announced a verdict. In doing so, he showed the American people that he has no intention of honoring his oath."
— Excerpt from Kamala Harris' New York Times op-ed
