Closing summary
That’s it for the blog today. Here’s where things stand:
- Michael Cohen will testify before Congress in February less than a month before he begins his jail sentence
- Donald Trump edged closer towards declaring a national emergency as he visited the southern border
- Liz Cheney, the number three Republican in the House, denounced her colleague Steve King for asking when the phrase “white supremacist” became offensive
- Trump announced that he would not go to Davos due to the ongoing partial government shutdown
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Former congressional candidate Richard Ojeda, who is mounting a presidential campaign, announced Thursday that he would resign from his seat in the West Virginia state senate to pursue a White House bid.
Today I announced my resignation from the WV Senate to run for President. The issues of West Virginia are the issues of the nation. I will never stop fighting for the working class citizens in my community and in every community. We deserve respect and #WeAreWorthy. pic.twitter.com/G1NIhMLKNI
— Richard N. Ojeda, II (@VoteOjeda2020) January 10, 2019
The House just approved the Agriculture appropriations bill with 10 Republicans voting to fund that segment of the government. It’s two more than voted to fund financial services yesterday but two fewer than the number who voted to fund transportation and housing a few minutes ago.
The House of Representatives has approved the Agriculture Appropriations bill in an effort to re-open that section of government.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 10, 2019
The vote was 243-183
All Democrats voted yea.
10 Republicans joined Democrats and voted yea.
Here is the full list of the Republicans who voted to fund some government agencies without a border wall just now.
12 Republicans on the Transportation/HUD Approps bill (and several Dems on the MTR). pic.twitter.com/EPn5kSRAei
— Mike DeBonis (@mikedebonis) January 10, 2019
12 Republicans crossed party lines to support an appropriations bill to fund the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. This is an increase of four from yesterday when 8 Republicans voted for an appropriations bill.
Twelve Republicans break ranks today to support a bill funding the Transportation Department and HUD.
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) January 10, 2019
Bill passes the House 244-180.
Trump is now at the Rio Grande and one member of the media there with him is being treated very differently.
Per pooler @PhilipRucker in Texas with Trump: @seanhannity "huddled with Bill Shine and Secretary Nielsen and is following along on Trump’s tour, only standing with the staff and federal officials as opposed to the press corps."
— Annie Karni (@anniekarni) January 10, 2019
Cohen to give 'full and credible account of the events which have transpired'
Michael Cohen has also issued a statement about his testimony:
“In furtherance of my commitment to cooperate and provide the American people with answers, I have accepted the invitation by Chairman Elijah Cummings to appear publicly on February 7th before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. I look forward to having the privilege of being afforded a platform with which to give a full and credible account of the events which have transpired.”
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Elijah Cummings, the chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, has issued a brief statement about Cohen’s appearance.
“I thank Michael Cohen for agreeing to testify before the Oversight Committee voluntarily. I want to make clear that we have no interest in inappropriately interfering with any ongoing criminal investigations, and to that end, we are in the process of consulting with Special Counsel Mueller’s office. The Committee will announce additional information in the coming weeks.”
Michael Cohen to testify before Congress
Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen will testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on February 7.
He will be the first key figure connected to Trump to testify before Congress now that Democrats have taken control. The testimony comes only weeks before Cohen will surrender himself to federal authorities to serve a three-year prison term.
Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in an interview today that he is pushing for more federal funded UFO research.
“I personally don’t know if there exists little green men other places, I kind of doubt that, but I do believe that the information we have indicates we should do a lot more study,” the Nevada Democrat said. “We have hundreds and hundreds of people that have seen the same thing — something in the sky, it moves a certain way.”
The Associated Press reports that Kirsten Gillibrand is considering basing her presidential campaign in Troy, New York if she runs for the White House.
Gillibrand grew up in the area and went to high school in Troy which is seven miles up the Hudson River from Albany.
Liz Cheney, the #3 Republican in the House, has condemned Steve King for his comments.
These comments are abhorrent and racist and should have no place in our national discourse. Steve King asks how terms 'white nationalist' and 'white supremacist' became offensive | TheHill https://t.co/yL23avpNFB
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) January 10, 2019
Steve King has issued a statement on the New York Times article where he said “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” King pushes back without questioning or contradicting anything in the article.
Rep. Steve King’s statement *in* the New York Times article: “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” https://t.co/57tTFqnLlo
— Scott Bixby (@scottbix) January 10, 2019
A Montana Republican is proposing that the state send $8 million to the federal government to help pay for the border wall.
The Associated Press reports that Scott Scales, the president of the Montana State Senate, is proposing the state spend the money as a “small token” to emphasize the importance of border security.
Sales said he calculated Montana’s “share” of the cost of the wall by dividing the state’s gross domestic product by the national GDP and multiplying it by $5.7 billion.
Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Mike Pence insisted that Trump has the “absolute right” to declare a national emergency and build a wall without congressional approval.
NEW … Hill press corps just sat down w @VP …
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 10, 2019
“The president believe he has an absolute right to declare a national emergency under his authority as president of the United States.” He said Trump has not made a decision, but will get this done “one way or another"
Trump just announced on Twitter that he is cancelling his trip to Davos.
Earlier this morning, he declined to rule a trip out, telling reporters “I intended to go and speak in front of the international community in Davos. That’s still on, but if the shutdown continues — it’s a little while from now — but if the shutdown continues, I won’t go.”
Because of the Democrats intransigence on Border Security and the great importance of Safety for our Nation, I am respectfully cancelling my very important trip to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. My warmest regards and apologies to the @WEF!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2019
Sanders apologizes for sexual harassment on his campaign
Bernie Sanders has given a formal apology to “the women on my 2016 campaign who were harassed or mistreated.” It comes the day after Politico reported new allegations of inappropriate behavior by a top staffer.
To the women on my 2016 campaign who were harassed or mistreated, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for speaking out. I apologize.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) January 10, 2019
We can't just talk about ending sexism and discrimination. It must be a reality in our daily lives. That was clearly not the case in 2016. pic.twitter.com/eJtCAGjHZu
CNN is reporting that special counsel Robert Mueller’s team met with Tony Fabrizio, one of Trump’s pollsters and a former business partner of Paul Manafort last year.
The report comes days after it was revealed that Manafort shared polling with Konstantin Kilimnik, an employee of his with ties to Russian intelligence.
A source familiar with the special counsel’s interest said Fabrizio’s interview included questions about his polling work for Manafort in Ukraine rather than his internal Trump campaign polling. It is not clear what other topics were broached in the interview or whether it solely focused on Fabrizio’s knowledge of Manafort’s business dealings.
Former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe just said in an interview with MSNBC that he would make a decision on a presidential bid by March.
"I would put my progressive credentials up against anybody," @TerryMcAuliffe tells @mitchellreports. Says he'll make 2020 decision by March
— Mike Memoli (@mikememoli) January 10, 2019
CBS is currently in negotiations to interview Trump during the Super Bowl pregame show next month.
Trump did a pregame interview with Fox in 2017 but declined to do one with NBC last year.
CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus says that CBS is still discussing with the White House about a Super Bowl LIII pregame interview with President Trump. “No announcement on that right now.”
— Frank Pallotta (@frankpallotta) January 10, 2019
Pro Trump superPACs are already investing in opposition research against potential Democratic opponents in 2020.
Buzzfeed reports that pro-Trump super PAC America First is making a significant investment in America Rising, the longtime Republican opposition research group to help shape the Democratic field.
Those close to Trump say the work from America Rising will be used against Democrats in the primary to hammer candidates they think will be most challenging for Trump to beat, weakening the overall field and the eventual Democratic nominee.
FBI agents say shutdown is impacting their work
FBI agents are saying that the government shutdown is having an impact on their work.
The association that represents thousands of FBI agents says the partial federal government shutdown is affecting the bureau’s operations.
The FBI Agents Association sent a petition Thursday to the White House and congressional leaders encouraging them to fund the FBI immediately.
The association’s president, Tom O’Connor, told reporters in a conference call that Friday will be the first day that FBI personnel will not receive a paycheck.
He said the problems caused by the shutdown could make it harder to recruit and retain agents, cause delays at the FBI lab and in getting or renewing security clearances.
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One of Steve King’s Republican colleagues has condemned his most recent remarks.
This is an embrace of racism, and it has no place in Congress or anywhere. https://t.co/jUXsNgckPE
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) January 10, 2019
In other news today, former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke has a dental appointment.
breaking news: beto is at the dentist pic.twitter.com/ceFP9aOYL0
— David Wright (@DavidWright_CNN) January 10, 2019
A former top staffer on Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign has been accused of sexual misconduct.
Politico reports that Robert Becker, who ran Sanders’s operation in Iowa, was accused of misconduct during the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in 2016.
Becker, now 50 years old, told the 20-something woman that he had always wanted to have sex with her and made a reference to riding his “pole,” according to the woman and three other people who witnessed what happened or were told about it shortly afterward by people who did. Later in the night, Becker approached the woman and abruptly grabbed her wrists. Then he moved his hands to her head and forcibly kissed her, putting his tongue in her mouth as he held her, the woman and other sources said.
The report also details other allegations of misconduct against Becker, who is the latest former Sanders staffer to face allegations of inappropriate conduct during the campaign. Former Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver told Politico that Becker would not be employed by the Vermont senator in any future campaign.
Tensions between Florida’s former governor Rick Scott and its newly elected governor Ron DeSantis are building after DeSantis allies think Scott deliberately insulted them.
Politico suggests that at the root of this are dueling White House ambitions in 2024.
Others in Tallahassee saw the outline of a coming 2024 clash. The governorship of Florida is a good springboard to the White House, and each man might believe that Florida isn’t big enough for the two of them — just as it wasn’t for former Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio in the 2016 GOP primary.
An “inconsiderate” Scott leaves DeSantis camp fuming at the way, they say, the former guv frustrated & slighted his successor —from 11th hour appointments to throwing a rival inaugural ball to hosting a party at the Gov Mansion after DeSantis fam moves inhttps://t.co/Lp2mW3TKCy
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) January 10, 2019
Trump’s address to the nation on Tuesday drew roughly 40 million viewers as it was televised on both broadcast networks and cable news. However, the joint Democratic response from Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi drew slightly more viewers. Ratings increased 4% from the period from 9:00-9:15 EST to that from 9:15-9:30 EST.
Trump just insisted that he never meant Mexico would directly pay for a border wall when he pledged Mexico would pay for it on the campaign trail.
“Obviously I never meant Mexico would write a check.”
Trump on national emergency: 'I’ll probably will do it, maybe definitely'
Trump also continued to express his openness to declaring a national emergency to use the military to construct a border wall without congressional approval.
“If this doesn’t work out, I’ll probably will do it, maybe definitely,” he said.
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Trump: I don't have temper tantrums
President Trump spoke to reporters at the White House before leaving for his trip to the border.
He insisted ““I don’t have temper tantrums” and further pushed back at claims from Democrats that he slammed the table in the White House Situation Room before storming out of the meeting (or, as Trump has put it, saying “bye bye.”) “I didn’t pound the table. I didn’t pound the table. That is a lie,” said Trump.
He also yet again insisted that “Mexico paying for wall indirectly, many, many times over” and that without a barrier on the border, MS-13 would enter the United States.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is giving a foreign policy speech in Cairo right now that is a direct rebuke of Obama’s speech there a decade ago.
Adam Kredo from the Washington Free Beacon reports:
Pompeo took direct aim at Obama, standing in the same city the former president did when he advocated a fundamental shift in U.S. policy in the region, one that denies Islamic radicalism as the root of jihadi fervor.
“Remember: It was here, in this very city, another American stood before you,” he said. “He told you that radical Islamist terrorism doesn’t stem from ideology. He told you 9/11 led my country to abandon its ideals, particularly in the Middle East.”
“He told you that the United States and the Muslim world needed ‘a new beginning,’” Pompeo continued. “And the results of these misjudgments were dire. In falsely seeing ourselves as a force for what ails the Middle East, we were timid about asserting ourselves when the times—and our partners—demanded it.”
America, under Obama, “underestimated” the scourge of radical terrorism.
Steve King, the controversial Iowa Republican congressman, gave an interview with the New York Times after a serious primary challenger emerged against him yesterday. King, known for his racially charged comments, made yet another inflamatory statement.
Rep. Steve King to the New York Times: “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” https://t.co/wjSsq6jONO
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) January 10, 2019
Trump heads to southern border
Good morning, Donald Trump is on his way to the Mexican border, the government shutdown has reached its 20th day and there’s growing speculation that a national emergency may be declared in an attempt by Trump to force construction of a wall.
It’s Thursday in American politics.
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