President Trump suddenly faces two global crises in North Korea and Iran — via Iraq — both with the real possibility of U.S. military action, if not war.
Why it matters: Trump has benefited from relative peace abroad and prosperity at home. But these twin challenges will truly test his diplomatic mix of bluster and buddying up to bad guys on the world stage.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts warned that Americans may "take democracy for granted" in his annual year-end message published Tuesday.
"[W]e have come to take democracy for granted, and civic education has fallen by the wayside. In our age, when social media can instantly spread rumor and false information on a grand scale, the public’s need to understand our government, and the protections it provides, is ever more vital."
With a new year comes a new title for 2020 candidate Pete Buttigieg: former mayor of South Bend, Indiana.
The big picture: Buttigieg's term as mayor will end Wednesday as James Mueller, who served in Buttigieg's administration as chief of staff, is set to be sworn in. Buttigieg announced he would not run for re-election in 2018.
This is going to be a momentous presidential election year, as we face the very real possibility that an impeached president could be re-elected for the first time in U.S. history. But there will be plenty of other events that will matter in 2020, too.
Here’s what Axios’ newsletter authors and reporters will be watching — from the future of tech regulation to the impact climate change and job automation will have on all of our lives. (Sign up for their newsletters here.)
The storming of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad has launched one of the biggest foreign policy crises of the Trump presidency.
Driving the news: Trump tweeted on Tuesday afternoon, "Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities. They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat. Happy New Year!"
Supervisors at Trump Winery in Charlottesville, Va., fired at least seven undocumented workers on Monday because of their immigration status, nearly a year after it was revealed they work there, the Washington Post reports.
The big picture: Two of the fired workers told the Post they thought the company waited until after the yearly grape harvest to take advantage of them during the busy season, which involved 60-hour weeks and overnight shifts.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told Maine Public Radio Tuesday that it was "inappropriate" for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky). and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to "prejudge the evidence" in President Trump's forthcoming Senate impeachment trial.
What she's saying: "[E]ach of us will take an oath — an oath that I take very seriously to render impartial justice. ... There are senators on both sides of the aisle, who, to me, are not giving the appearance of and the reality of judging that's in an impartial way."
President Trump spent at least 86 days — more than one in five — at a golf club in 2019, according to a tally by CNN.
Why it matters: Before he was president, Trump frequently criticized former President Obama for his golf habits on cable news and Twitter. Trump said at a campaign rally in 2016 that he's "not going to have time to go play golf" because he'll be too busy "working for you," pointing at his supporters.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is the only 2020 Democratic candidate beating President Trump in polls of Florida and Virginia published by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy on Tuesday.
Why it matters: The 42 electoral votes between the two swing states could prove pivotal in the 2020 election. Trump carried Florida by about a point in 2016, while his opponent Hillary Clinton won by about 5 points in Virginia.
Some local staff were evacuated from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, while others remained inside a safe room within the compound as thousands of protesters and militia fighters thronged the gates in fury at U.S. airstrikes in Iraq, the AP reports.
The latest: Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in a statement, "We have taken appropriate force protection actions to ensure the safety of American citizens, military personnel and diplomats in country, and to ensure our right of self-defense. We are sending additional forces to support our personnel at the Embassy."
Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski announced in a Tuesday tweet that he will not run for Senate in New Hampshire next year despite the fact that he is "certain [he] would have won."
The backdrop: Lewandowski had been weighing a bid against the incumbent Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who has held her seat since 2009.
Pete Buttigieg said in an interview with AP that he "would not have wanted to see" his son serve on the board of a Ukrainian gas company while he was fighting corruption in the country, but stressed that there has been no wrongdoing uncovered with respect to Joe or Hunter Biden's activities in Ukraine.
Why it matters: Republicans have used Hunter Biden's position on the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma to rebut impeachment charges against President Trump, arguing that he had a legitimate reason to ask Ukraine to investigate the Bidens. Buttigieg called this a distraction from Trump's "spectacular misconduct," but said his administration would do everything it could to prevent "even the appearance" of a conflict of interest.
President Trump will hold a campaign rally in Milwaukee, Wisc., on Jan. 14, countering a Democratic presidential debate set for the same night in Iowa, per AP.
What's happening: CNN and The Des Moines Register are sponsoring the first Democratic presidential debate of 2020 that night at Drake University in Des Moines.
President Trump tweeted his praise Monday for the parishioners who returned fire on a gunman on a gunman who entered their church in Fort Worth, Texas, and the state's gun laws.
"Our prayers are with the families of the victims and the congregation of yesterday’s church attack. It was over in 6 seconds thanks to the brave parishioners who acted to protect 242 fellow worshippers. Lives were saved by these heroes, and Texas laws allowing them to carry arms!"
