The Senate voted largely along party lines on Friday to move forward with President Trump's impeachment trial without calling for additional witnesses.
The bottom line: The 49-51 vote was largely expected, after two out of four key Republicans backed away from allowing more witnesses in the trial — Sens. Lamar Alexander and Lisa Murkowski.
On Sunday, the United States will deny entry into the country to any foreign national who poses a risk of transmitting the coronavirus, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Friday.
Why it matters: The public health emergency comes with a quarantine for U.S. citizens arriving from Hubei province, and a temporary ban on foreigners without family in the U.S. who have recently visited China.
The Trump administration will begin deterring immigrants from Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Eritrea, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania, the administration announced on Friday.
Why it matters: This comes three years after Trump's signature travel ban was first announced, which barred people from several Muslim-majority nations from entering the U.S. The move serves as another sign of the U.S. closing its doors to immigrants under the Trump administration.
Michael Bloomberg's 2020 campaign spent more than $188 million in just the last quarter of 2019, according to new FEC data.
Why it matters: Bloomberg didn't officially announce his presidential bid until late November. But in one quarter, his campaign spent more than twice as much as Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign spent in all of 2019 — $89.9 million.
Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said Friday that the Senate impeachment proceedings for President Trump seem "like a half trial" without witnesses, according to NJ.com.
Context: Kelly's statement comes on the same day the New York Times detailed a portion of former national security adviser John Bolton's unpublished book in which he reportedly writes that Trump asked Bolton to ensure that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would meet with Rudy Giuliani. Kelly described Bolton as a "copious note taker" and "an honest guy and an honorable guy."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been working on a proposal that would push the final impeachment vote to Wednesday, according to GOP aides familiar with the plan.
Why it matters: The plan isn't final, but it raises the prospect that the Senate's final verdict might not come until after the Iowa caucuses on Monday and President Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday — unless he delays it.
Former national security adviser John Bolton says in a manuscript of his forthcoming book that President Trump asked him in early May to ensure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would meet with Rudy Giuliani, the New York Times reports.
Why it matters: If verified, Bolton's account marks the earliest known point that Trump asked his subordinates to begin to coordinate a push Ukraine to investigate the president's political rivals, including former Vice President Joe Biden and his family.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) announced Friday that she will vote against having additional witnesses testify during President Trump's impeachment trial, saying she doesn't "believe the continuation of the process will change anything."
Where it stands: Murkowski's vote likely closes the door on any additional witnesses during the trial. If four Republicans don't side with the Democrats on witnesses, the proceedings could end as soon as tonight.
2020 Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden told George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning America" Friday that he'll support any Democrat who wins the nomination, even if it's a politician that has fundamentally different ideas from him—like Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Driving the news: With the Iowa caucuses days away, Sanders and Biden have been flip-flopping between first and second place within the state, FiveThirtyEight reports based off the several polls out this week.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) has confirmed he will side with Democrats and vote to have witnesses at President Trump's impeachment trial, CNN first reported.
Where it stands: President Trump is likely set for an acquittal as soon as tonight, and it's improbable Romney's announcement make a difference on that front. Democrats would need four Republicans to defect to their side. Romney is the third, after Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) announced they would also vote for witnesses.
What's next: The Senate reconvenes at 1 p.m. today and will begin up to four hours of debate, evenly divided, over the witness vote.
Former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) announced Friday that he was dropping out of the 2020 presidential race.
The big picture: Delaney was the first Democrat to announce his candidacy in the 2020 election, yet failed to establish himself once the field grew. In July, Axios reported that Delaney's staff had asked him to drop out, suggesting he wasn't spending enough money to run a competitive race and had flopped at the first debate.
President Trump plans to expand the White House Domestic Policy Council by appointing an official to focus exclusively on combating human trafficking, AP reports.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Pete Buttigieg is making a notable shift in his closing appeal to Iowa voters ahead of the Feb. 3 caucuses, swinging at both frontrunners: Joe Biden is a "risk," he says, while Bernie Sanders' politics are polarizing.
Why it matters: Buttigieg's pugilistic turn reflects what the polling keeps showing: it's still a jump ball for Democrats in the nation's first nominating contest, a dogfight that could go all the way to the end.
President Trump is poised to win his long-expected acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial as soon as tonight, after Sen. Lamar Alexander's dramatic 11th-hour announcement that he'll vote against calling new witnesses.
The state of play: The big question is no longer whether the Senate will sink this afternoon's witness vote, but rather how long it will take to deliver a final verdict on Trump after the vote fails.
Senators ended their two-day question-and-answer period on Thursday, the ninth day of President Trump's Senate impeachment trial.
The state of play: The biggest news happened off the Senate floor, as Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) announced after the session that he'd oppose calling additional witnesses. With that key swing vote off the table for Democrats, it sets up the president for a speedy acquittal — perhaps as early as late Friday night.
It may not get the most attention, but Medicaid is the prime target of the Trump administration’s health care agenda.
Why it matters: Medicaid covers about 70 million people — more than Medicare. It’s the biggest item in many states’ budgets. It is a huge part of the health care system, and the Trump administration has been fully committed, since day one, to shrinking it.
The Senate is on track to swiftly acquit President Trump after Sen. Lamar Alexander announced Thursday night that he will vote against calling for additional witnesses.
Why it matters: Alexander's vote is crucial to whether the impeachment trial extends beyond this weekend, and his decision to stick with his party all but guarantees that Friday's witness vote will fail.
In his final rally before the Iowa caucuses, President Trump greeted Iowans Thursday by saying: "If we don't win, your farms are going to hell, I can tell you right now."
