Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Lois Beckett in San Francisco (now) and Joan E Greve in Washington (earlier)

Facebook reports Russia's 'well-resourced operation' to meddle in 2020 US election – as it happened

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photograph: Nick Wass/AP

Live political reporting continues on Tuesday’s blog:

Summary

We’re wrapping up today’s politics coverage.

Here’s an updated summary of what happened today:

  • Facebook announced that it had already disrupted four efforts by Iran and Russia to meddle in the 2020 presidential election. (Here is my colleague Julia Carrie Wong’s full report on Facebook’s disclosure.)
  • Trump mocked allegations of self-dealing in connection to his canceled plans to host the June G7 summit at his Florida resort, falsely referring to the constitutional clause forbidding gifts from foreign states to federal officeholders as the “phony Emoluments Clause.”
  • In impeachment news: Trump insisted that Republicans need to “get tougher” in combating the impeachment inquiry, even as some GOP lawmakers appear to be growing weary of constantly defending the president. Read the full story here. Nancy Pelosi released a “fact sheet” to her Democratic caucus members outlining what the House speaker considers to be the most pertinent allegations against Trump. House Democrats postponed some of this week’s scheduled depositions to allow members to attend funeral services for their late colleague, Elijah Cummings. They also defeated a Republican attempt to pass a resolution censuring House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, the public face of the impeachment inquiry.
  • Bernie Sanders defended fellow 2020 presidential contender Tulsi Gabbard, calling it “outrageous” that Hillary Clinton had suggested that Gabbard was being groomed by Russia for a third-party presidential run. Gabbard supported Sanders over Clinton in the 2012 race.
  • A state senator’s Facebook post falsely claiming that a 1978 Associated Press photograph depicts Muslim congresswoman Ilhan Omar (who was not yet born) in an Al-Qaida training camp has sparked outrage and renewed pressure on Facebook to reverse its stance on political misinformation.
  • A scandal over allegations of fake product reviews from high-end skincare brand Sunday Riley has renewed complaints that the Federal Trade Commission is doing almost nothing to protect American consumers.

Republican State Senator Shares Fake "Al-Qaida" Photo of Ilhan Omar

A Republican state senator from Nebraska posted a photo on Facebook that he falsely claimed was an image of Muslim congresswoman Ilhan Omar at an Al-Qaida training camp. In fact, according to an Associated Press fact-check, the photograph of a woman with a gun taken by The Associated Press on Feb. 25, 1978, before Omar was born.

Muslim Advocates, a civil rights groups, condemned state Sen. Oley Larsen for “spreading false, grossly anti-Muslim tropes that put a Muslim member of Congress who already regularly receives death threats in further danger.”

The group also argued that Larsen’s post provided fresh evidence of the danger of Facebook’s policy choice to allow politicians to spread lies and information in political advertisements on the platform.

“When politicians lie, it’s communities like American Muslims who suffer. This highlights why Facebook cannot let elected officials spread disinformation and hate without consequence,” Muslim advocates wrote in a statement.

A Nebraskan political blogger wrote yesterday that Larsen had not responded to a request for comment but “it seems pretty clear he believes the photo is real.”

Democrats in the House defeated a GOP-led resolution to censure House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, the public face of the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump, The Hill reported.

Trying to make sense of Hillary Clinton’s suggestion last week that Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is being groomed by Russia to run for president as a third-party candidate?

This claim has prompted some of Gabbard’s 2020 rivals to defend her, with Bernie Sanders calling Clinton’s suggestion “outrageous,” and Pete Buttigieg saying that statements like Clinton’s “ought to be backed by evidence.”

Questions about Gabbard’s relationship with Russia are not new. Here’s some context about what we know:

-In January 2017, Gabbard personally met with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. In the wake of the meeting, she dismissed the opposition against him as “terrorists,” and later “expressed skepticism that Assad’s government was behind a chemical weapons attack on the town of Khan Sheikhun – an attack that the UN, the US and many other countries determined Syria’s government was responsible for.”

-In early 2019, NBC News analyzed key English-language news sites used by Russia in its 2016 meddling and reported that the Gabbard “has become a favorite of the sites Moscow used when it interfered in 2016.” NBC reported: “In articles on the Russian sites, Gabbard is described as a ‘rebel,’ who is ‘straight-talking’ and a ‘heroic’ candidate who will ‘shake up’ the establishment.

-The Times noted that RT, the Kremlin-backed news agency, mentioned Gabbard “frequently for a candidate polling in single digits,” citing an analysis by the Alliance for Securing Democracy, an initiative of The German Marshall Fund.

-During the second Democratic debate, when Gabbard attacked California Sen. Kamala Harris, there were questions about whether suspicious bots had amplified a #KamalaHarrisDestroyed hashtag. Vox concluded that the evidence “isn’t clear.”

- In part because of her views on Assad and Syria, Gabbard has been enthusiastically embraced by a range of prominent white nationalists, far-right activists, and Trump supporters, including former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, as the New York Times highlighted earlier this month. (Gabbard attacked the Times for this coverage during the last debate.)

-Gabbard repeatedly referred to the war in Syria as a “regime change war” during the last Democratic debate. This phrase is “straight-up Kremlin terminology,” as journalist Miriam Elder, who previously reported from Moscow for The Guardian, tweeted during the debate.

-To defend herself against Clinton’s suggestion that she is being groomed by Russia, Gabbard went on Fox News to be interviewed by host Tucker Carlson, who has repeatedly aired white nationalist talking points on his show.

Updated

Bernie Sanders Tweets Support for Tulsi Gabbard

Bernie Sanders tweeted that it’s “outrageous for anyone to suggest” that Gabbard is “a foreign asset,” as Hillary Clinton implied in an interview last week.

New York Times political reporter Jonathan Martin suggested that Sanders’ support for Gabbard was a “message” to Tulsi supporters in Iowa, as well as an attempt to put pressure on rival 2020 contender Elizabeth Warren.

Teachers love Bernie Sanders, executives are excited by Pete Buttigieg, lawyers opt for Joe Biden, and the vast majority of retirees support Donald Trump.

That’s what The Guardian found when we we analyzed the professions of people who have donated to a presidential campaign this year.

Within Democratic donors, nurses are more likely to support Sanders, while doctors lean towards Buttigieg.

Who do police officers support? Trump and then Sanders.

Military personnel? Trump and then Sanders.

Retirees? Overwhelmingly Trump.

Elizabeth Warren will be joining striking teachers in Chicago tomorrow, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The Chicago Teachers Union demands include higher wages for teachers; more funding to ease overcrowded classrooms; more nurses, social workers, librarians and “restorative justice” coordinators in schools; and investment in affordable housing for both teachers and students.

“The Chicago teachers’ strike shows how to go on offense against neoliberalism,” two supporters argued in The Guardian this weekend.

Beto O’Rourke, the former Texas congressman and 2020 candidate, is “way behind” with fundraising and struggling in the polls. A recent poll of Iowa voters found that fewer than 1% (or 3 out of 500 voters) named Beto as their first choice.

But O’Rourke pledged today that he’s staying in the race:

The Pentagon is making plans for what to do if President Donald Trump suddenly orders an immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan, NBC News reported.

On Monday, Trump told reporters: “I got elected on bringing our soldiers back home.”

Two Americans who ran for president and lost are making jokes (??) in French.

This is Lois Beckett taking over our live politics coverage from our California office.

A major scandal within the world of high-end skincare has reignited questions over whether the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is failing to protect American consumers.

The FTC announced a settlement today with cult skincare brand Sunday Riley, over allegations that the company’s founder ordered employees to write fake product reviews in order to boost sales.

Sunday Riley, known for its $105 “Good Genes” lactic acid treatment and its $105 “Luna” retinol night oil, had become a popular new high-end skincare brand, one touted by beauty influencers and regularly recommended among friends.

But last year, an anonymous Sunday Riley whistleblower went to Reddit with a troubling claim: that the company was asking employees, via official company e-mails, to create fake accounts on Sephora.com, a major beauty retailer, and post fake product reviews.

Today’s allegations from the FTC back up that Reddit whistleblower’s account, and specify that brand founder Sunday Riley herself posted fake Sephora reviews to boost her products.

So what consequences are Sunday Riley and her brand facing for, in the FTC’s words, “making false or misleading claims” about beauty products that cost about $100 an ounce?

Well, basically none, other than promising not to do it again. The proposed settlement, in the words of two dissenting Federal Trade Commissioners, includes “no redress, no disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, no notice to consumers, and no admission of wrongdoing.”

In short, the dissenters argue: “the proposed settlement is unlikely to deter other would-be wrongdoers.”

As well as raising questions over whether the FTC’s current level of enforcement will have any effect on the proliferation of fake reviews online, the settlement announcement has divided beauty consumers, with some saying they are frustrated and turned off by the brand’s alleged fraud, and others saying that they’ll still be buying Good Genes regardless.

That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Lois Beckett, will take over the blog for the next few hours.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • Facebook announced that it had already disrupted four efforts by Iran and Russia to meddle in the 2020 presidential election. (Here is my colleague Julia Carrie Wong’s full report on Facebook’s disclosure.)
  • Trump mocked allegations of self-dealing in connection to his canceled plans to host the June G7 summit at his Florida resort, falsely referring to the constitutional clause forbidding gifts from foreign states to federal officeholders as the “phony Emoluments Clause.”
  • Trump insisted that congressional Republicans need to “get tougher” in combating the impeachment inquiry, even as some GOP lawmakers appear to be growing weary of constantly defending the president’s most controversial actions.
  • Nancy Pelosi released a “fact sheet” to her Democratic caucus members outlining what the House speaker considers to be the most pertinent allegations against Trump in the impeachment inquiry.
  • House Democrats have postponed some of this week’s scheduled depositions in the impeachment investigation to allow members to attend funeral services for their late colleague, Elijah Cummings.

Lois will have more on the events of the day, so stay tuned.

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg slammed Trump for falsely referring to the constitutional clause banning gifts from foreign states to federal officeholders as “phony.”

While speaking to reporters during his cabinet meeting earlier today, Trump defended his (later canceled) plan to hold the June G7 summit at his Florida resort, claiming that he only reversed the decision due to manufactured outrage from congressional Democrats.

However, multiple reports have surfaced that Trump changed his mind after a number of Republican lawmakers voiced criticism of the decision and suggested they were tired of having to defend some of the president’s most controversial actions.

The funeral for representative Elijah Cummings is not taking place until Thursday, but the power struggle within the House Democratic caucus to take over the oversight committee has already started.

The Washington Post reports:

The candidates range from the most senior to more junior Democrats on the panel, represent a mix of genders and races, and have focused on different areas of the committee’s work, from citizenship and census matters to its current investigations into Trump’s administration and business dealings.

Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) is serving as active chair of the committee, as its most senior Democratic member, and she said in a brief interview Friday that she intends to seek the gavel on a permanent basis.

Like others, she declined to speak in great detail about the contours of her bid out of respect for Cummings’s passing last week. ...

According to people familiar with their plans, speaking on the condition of anonymity to talk frankly, Reps. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) and Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) both plan to launch bids to succeed Cummings as Oversight chair.

Zuckerberg confirms he recommended potential hires to Buttigieg's campaign

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed Bloomberg News’ reporting that he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, recommended potential hires to Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg’s campaign earlier this year.

Zuckerberg told CBS News: “This shouldn’t be taken as an endorsement. We have several mutual friends in college who introduced me” several years ago to Buttigieg. The pair attended Harvard University together.

The CEO added: “When a number of colleagues who I’d worked with at Facebook or my philanthropic foundation were interested in working there, they asked me or my wife Priscilla to send over their resume. So I did that. I think that this probably should not be misconstrued as if I’m deeply involved in trying to support their campaign or anything like that.”

When asked about Zuckerberg’s recommendations earlier today, Elizabeth Warren said that Facebook had too much “political influence” and reiterated her call to break up major tech companies. However, she did not criticize Buttigieg by name.

Democrats postpone scheduled interviews in impeachment inquiry this week

House Democrats have decided to postpone the depositions that were scheduled to take place Thursday and Friday for their impeachment inquiry against Trump.

Senior Democratic lawmakers have delayed the interviews out of respect for ceremonies to be held for their late colleague Elijah Cummings, who will lie in state at the Capitol on Thursday.

However, the House committees leading the inquiry still intend to interview Bill Taylor, the acting US ambassador to Ukraine, and Laura Cooper, the deputy assistant secretary of state.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talked to NBC News about the company’s finding that multiple countries, including Russia and Iran, have already tried to meddle in the 2020 election.

Zuckerberg told NBC’s Lester Holt in an interview airing tonight: “Today, what we’re basically announcing is that we found a set of campaigns. They are highly sophisticated. They signal that these nation-states intend to be active in the upcoming elections.”

However, the Facebook CEO said he was “confident” in the company’s ability to fight those efforts: “We do see today Russia and Iran and China increasingly with more sophisticated tactics are trying to interfere in election.

“But part of why I’m confident going into 2020 is that we’ve played a role in defending against interference in every major election around the world since 2016, in France, in Germany, in the E.U. overall, in India, in Mexico, in Brazil.”

Zuckerberg will almost certainly be asked about those interference efforts on Wednesday, when he testifies before the House financial services committee.

Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren responded to a report that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has quietly recommended potential hires to Pete Buttigieg’s campaign.

Warren said that she believed Facebook has “too much political power” and echoed her proposal to break up major tech companies but avoided criticizing Buttigieg by name.

Here’s more of Bloomberg News’ report on Zuckerberg’s recommendations:

Earlier this year, Zuckerberg sent multiple emails to Mike Schmuhl, Buttigieg’s campaign manager, with names of individuals that he might consider hiring, campaign spokesman Chris Meagher confirmed. Priscilla Chan, Zuckerberg’s wife, also sent multiple emails to Schmuhl with staff recommendations. Ultimately, two of the people recommended were hired.

The emails between Zuckerberg and Buttigieg have come to light as Zuckerberg faces unrelenting attacks from politicians from both parties over such issues as misinformation, privacy, election meddling and bias. Zuckerberg is scheduled to testify Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee on Facebook’s impact on the financial services and housing sectors.

Facebook acknowledges Russian effort to meddle in 2020 election

Facebook on Monday disclosed that it had taken down a new foreign interference operation targeting the US 2020 presidential elections that appears to be linked to the Russian troll agency, the Internet Research Agency (IRA).

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg addresses Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg addresses Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service. Photograph: Carlos Jasso/Reuters

The 50 Instagram accounts and one Facebook account “had the hallmarks of a well-resourced operation”, the company said in a blog post. The accounts had about 246,000 followers, and published nearly 75,000 posts, according to Graphika, a social network analysis company that reviewed the campaign for Facebook.

The campaign included accounts that promoted both “conservative” and “progressive” content, resharing memes and tweets on potentially divisive topics in a manner similar to the IRA’s 2016 social media influence campaign.

While most of the posts were focused on polarizing political issues, some specifically addressed the 2020 election, according to Graphika. These included posts supporting Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, and attacking Joe Biden. Some also attacked Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren.

Netanyahu fails to form governing coalition

Zooming out to the world stage for a moment, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that he failed to form a governing coalition, a development that could potentially force another election in the country.

The AP reports:

Netanyahu fell short of securing a 61-seat parliamentary majority in last month’s national election. But President Reuven Rivlin gave Netanyahu the first opportunity to form a government because he had more support, 55 seats, than any other candidate.

Netanyahu had hoped to form a broad ‘unity’ government with his chief rival, former military chief Benny Gantz. But late Monday, Netanyahu announced he came up short.

Rivlin says he will now give Gantz a chance to form a government, though Gantz does not appear to have enough support either.

If Gantz fails, Israel could hold its third election in less than one year.

Meanwhile, energy secretary Rick Perry, who informed Trump last week of his intention to resign by the end of the year, has confirmed that his last day on the job will be 1 December.

Trump has already announced Perry’s successor – Dan Brouillette, who currently serves as deputy energy secretary and has been named as a potential replacement for months.

Updated

Trump bounced from one falsehood to another while speaking to reporters during his cabinet meeting at the White House.

Here are just a few fact-checks from reporters about the president’s 70-minute meeting:

While imploring Republicans to get “tougher” in combating the impeachment inquiry, Trump also took a swipe at senator Mitt Romney.

The president said of House Democrats: “They’re vicious and they stick together. They don’t have Mitt Romney in their midst.”

The Utah Republican recently gave an interview in which he offered several criticisms of the president. Asked what was the “dumbest” thing Trump has done in office, Romney said: “I think the places where I would be most critical of the president would be in matters that were divisive, that appeared to be appealing to racism or misogyny.

“Those are the kinds of things that have been the most harmful long-term to the foundation of America’s virtuous character.”

Trump: Republicans have to get 'tougher' in impeachment inquiry

While speaking to reporters during his cabinet meeting, Trump said that congressional Republicans have to get “tougher” in combating House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.

Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House.
Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House. Photograph: Pablo Martínez Monsiváis/AP

Defending his phone call with the Ukrainian president as a “perfectly fine conversation”, Trump slammed the Democrats’ probe as a “phony investigation”.

The president then said: “Republicans have to get tougher and fight. We have some that are great fighters, but they have to get tougher and fight.”

He went on to claim that House Democrats were trying to harm the Republican Party in the run-up to the 2020 election.

The timing of Trump’s comments is interesting, given that a number of Republicans have recently criticized the president’s thinking on everything from Syria to his canceled plan to host the June G7 summit at his Florida resort.

Trump needs a united Republican front to push back against the impeachment inquiry, but there are signs that GOP lawmakers are getting tired of defending him.

Updated

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • Trump dismissed allegations of self-dealing in connection to his canceled plans to host the June G7 summit at his Florida resort. Referring to the constitutional clause barring gifts from foreign states to federal officeholders, Trump said: “You people with this phony Emoluments Clause.”
  • Nancy Pelosi issued a “fact sheet” for her Democratic caucus, which outlined what the House speaker considers to be the most serious allegations against Trump in the impeachment inquiry.
  • Trump reportedly reversed his decision to hold the G7 summit at his Florida resort amid pushback from congressional Republicans, which is only the latest sign that cracks are appearing in the president’s base of support among GOP lawmakers.

The blog will have plenty more coming up, so stay tuned.

The White House press pool has been escorted out of Trump’s cabinet meeting after the president and some senior administration officials spoke for more than an hour.

Trump took reporters’ questions on everything from Syria to trade to the G7 summit, which is no longer being held at the president’s Florida resort.

Trump’s dismissal of the constitution’s emoluments clause as “phony” immediately sparked pushback from lawmakers and commentators.

From a House Democrat:

From a former federal prosecutor:

From HuffPost’s White House correspondent:

Trump slams 'phony Emoluments Clause' over scrapped G7 plans

Taking questions from reporters about his canceled plans to hold the June G7 summit at his Florida resort, Trump appeared dismissive of a constitutional clause forbidding federal officeholders from accepting gifts from foreign states.

The president said, according to the pool report: “You people with this phony Emoluments Clause.”

Trump also denied that his businesses needed a financial boost and delivered this quote for the ages: “If you’re rich, it doesn’t matter.”

Even after reversing his decision to hold the June G7 summit at his Florida resort, Trump is still insisting that the property would have been the best place for the multi-nation event.

The president is blaming Democrats for forcing his hand on the issue, but a number of reports have surfaced that Trump only changed his mind after hearing frustration from congressional Republicans about having to defend the decision.

Trump demands credit for Isis losses in recent years

Trump told the pool reporters gathered for his cabinet meeting at the White House that the ceasefire (which Turkish officials referred to as a “pause” in operations last week) was holding in Syria.

The president also demanded credit for the weakening of the Islamic State, insisting that Barack Obama deserved no credit for the group’s losses in recent years.

Trump said: “I’m the one who did the capturing. I’m the one who knows more about it than you people or the fake pundits.”

In a comment that will certainly raise eyebrows among some Republicans who have criticized his Syria policy, Trump said of America’s Kurdish allies: “We never agreed to protect the Kurds for the rest of their lives.”

Updated

Trump defends Gabbard, says she is not a Russian agent

Speaking during his cabinet meeting at the White House, Trump defended Tulsi Gabbrd, saying the Democratic presidential candidate is not a Russian agent.

The question of Gabbard’s ties to Russia arose last week, when Hillary Clinton suggested that the Kremlin was “grooming” the Hawaii congresswoman to launch a third-party presidential bid. (Clinton did not provide evidence to back up this claim.)

Gabbard vigorously denied the claim, but news reports have pointed out that Russian state media frequently mention the candidate, even though she is one of the lower-polling contenders in the Democratic primary race.

The White House press pool was just escorted into Trump’s meeting with his cabinet, which have proven to be very newsworthy events in the past.

Pelosi reportedly releases impeachment fact sheet for House Democrats

Nancy Pelosi has reportedly released a “fact sheet” for her Democratic caucus, which compiles what the House speaker considers to be the most pertinent accusations against Trump in the impeachment inquiry.

The Washington Post reports:

The citations are divided into three categories: ‘the shakedown,’ ‘the pressure campaign’ and ‘the cover up.’

As evidence of a ‘shakedown,’ the fact sheet cites quotes from the rough transcript from Trump’s July call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which it says ‘paints a damning picture of Trump abusing his office by pressing a foreign government to interfere in our 2020 elections.’

Trump, the document contends, ‘has betrayed his oath of office, betrayed our national security and be­trayed the integrity of our elections for his own personal political gain.’

The release of the fact sheet comes as vulnerable House Democrats who support the inquiry wrestle with how best to explain the investigation to their wary constituents.

Representative Cheri Bustos, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, recently wrote a memo urging her colleagues to keep their “language simple, direct and values-based” when discussing impeachment. She also urged House Democrats to emphasize that “no one is above the law.”

Castro says if he will drop out if he cannot raise $800,000 in 10 days

Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro has announced that he will end his presidential bid if he cannot raise another $800,000 by the end of the month.

One of Castro’s competitors, Cory Booker, set and achieved a similar goal last month. Announcing that he needed another $1.7 million before the third quarter concluded, the New Jersey senator managed to attract more than $2 million in the last 10 days of September.

However, Castro may be in an even more precarious position now than Booker was then. The former San Antonio mayor and housing and urban development secretary has not yet qualified for the next debate and still needs to hit 3 percent or more in at least four polls to make the cut.

Despite his disastrous press briefing last week, it appears that Mick Mulvaney still has the support of the Trump White House, with some staffers even applauding him during a meeting today.

The acting White House chief of staff’s admission (and later denial) of a quid pro quo in the delaying of military aid to Ukraine had raised speculation that he could soon be forced out of his role.

Republicans plan to force vote on Schiff censure

House Republicans intend to force a vote tonight on a resolution censuring Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, for exaggerating the White House memo on Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president.

During a hearing late last month with the acting director of national intelligence, Schiff parodied the memo to argue that the president sounded like a “Mafia boss.” Republicans accused him of intentionally misconstruing Trump’s words.

Now the House GOP caucus will attempt to force a vote on censuring Schiff, which will almost certainly fall along party lines. However, there is at least one enthusiastic proponent of the resolution who is tweeting about it.

Budget officials won't testify in impeachment probe, acting OMB director says

Russ Vought, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, said that no one from his agency would be testifying in House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.

Mike Duffey, OMB’s associate director of national security programs, was scheduled to be deposed by House Democrats on Wednesday but apparently will not appear.

The lawmakers hoped Duffey would shed some more light on the delaying of military aid to Ukraine, given that his signature was on the letters reapportioning the funding.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month on Duffey’s role in the controversy:

While career civil servants put an initial hold on the aid, Michael Duffey, associate director of national security programs in OMB, was given the authority for continuing to keep the aid on hold after the career staff began raising their concerns to political officials at OMB, according to the people familiar with the matter. Mr. Duffey also began overseeing the process for approving and releasing funds, called apportionment, for other foreign aid and defense accounts, according to a public document indicating the change.

Updated

Buttigieg surges in new Iowa poll

A new poll of Iowa voters found that Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg has surged into the top tier of candidates in the first caucus state.

Pete Buttigieg appears on Meet the Press” in Washington.
Pete Buttigieg appears on Meet the Press” in Washington. Photograph: NBC NewsWire/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

According to the Suffolk University/USA TODAY poll, the Indiana mayor is attracting the support of 13 percent of Democratic caucusgoers, compared to Joe Biden’s 18 percent and Elizabeth Warren’s 17 percent.

Bernie Sanders is in fourth place with 9 percent, and no other candidate attracts more than 3 percent of the vote.

David Paleologos, the director of the Suffolk Political Research Center, said the results indicated that Iowa was “unquestionably up for grabs.” The number of undecided voters has increased 8 points since June, and nearly two-thirds of respondents with a preferred candidate said they may change their minds before February.

Two of the most senior officials in the Trump administration struggled to explain Mick Mulvaney’s quid pro admission in Sunday interviews.

Mulvaney himself claimed that he had not admitted that Trump had withheld military aid from Ukraine to pressure officials there to open an investigation into the Democrats, instead insisting that reporters had twisted the acting White House chief of staff’s words.

However, Fox News host Chris Wallace pointed out that Mulvaney had, of course, made the quid pro quo admission standing in front of dozens of reporters. “I believe that anyone listening to what you said in that briefing could come to only one conclusion,” Wallace said. “No, you totally said that.”

Meanwhile, secretary of state Mike Pompeo claimed that he never saw the kind of quid pro quo that Mulvaney described in his press briefing last week.

Pompeo told ABC News: “The conversation was always around what were the strategic implications. Would that money get to the right place or would there be corruption in Ukraine and the money wouldn’t flow to the mission that it was intended for?”

It’s been four days since Mulvaney made the quid pro quo comments, and Trump officials are still playing clean-up for him, which doesn’t bode well for the acting chief of staff’s job security.

Trump continued to defend his Florida resort as the “best place” to host the June G7 summit, even after the president reversed course on holding the event there amid accusations of self-dealing.

Of course, the president reportedly canceled plans to hold the summit at Trump National because Republicans had voiced complaints about having to defend the decision as Democrats threatened to add the matter to their impeachment inquiry.

Trump reportedly considering keeping small number of troops in Syria

Facing criticism from a number of Republican allies, Trump is reportedly considering keeping about 200 troops in eastern Syria to combat a potential resurgence of the Islamic State.

The New York Times reports:

If Mr. Trump approves the proposal to leave a couple of hundred Special Operations forces in eastern Syria, it would mark the second time in 10 months that he has reversed his order to pull out nearly all American troops from the country. Last December, Mr. Trump directed 2,000 American troops to leave Syria immediately, only to relent later and approve a more gradual withdrawal.

The decision would also be the potential second major political reversal in a matter of days under pressure from his own party, after he rescinded on Saturday a decision to host next year’s Group of 7 summit at his own resort.

Senator Lindsey Graham has been one of the fiercest Republican critics of Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from northern Syria, repeatedly pleading with the president over Twitter to reverse course.

The South Carolina senator was also vocal in his criticism of Trump’s character in a weekend interview with Axios, calling the president “an equal opportunity abuser.”

Cracks appear in Trump's Republican firewall

Good morning, live blog readers!

It took nearly three years and countless controversies, but it appears that some Republicans are growing tired of defending Donald Trump, particularly after he scrapped plans to host the June G7 summit at his Florida resort.

The Washington Post reported this last night:

In a round of phone calls with conservative allies this weekend, Trump was told Republicans are struggling to defend him on so many fronts, according to an administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters.

Democrats, meanwhile, continued to blast Trump for awarding the massive government contract to his own company and said they might add the alleged ‘emoluments’ violation to the articles of impeachment they are preparing.

Certain Republicans have been more public with their criticism than others. Senator Mitt Romney told Axios that it was “shocking” and “a mistake” for Trump to call on Ukraine and China to investigate Joe Biden.

Senator Lindsey Graham also said in an interview that he would be open to evidence, outside of Trump’s conversation with the Ukrainian president, that he should be impeached.

These comments should ring alarm bells for Trump, given that he will need to present a united Republican front to combat House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry. With so many members of his party criticizing him on everything from self-dealing to Syria, the president could be in even more jeopardy than he was before.

Democratic presidential hopeful Andrew Yang speaks to the press after the fourth primary debate.
Democratic presidential hopeful Andrew Yang speaks to the press after the fourth primary debate. Photograph: Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

Here’s what else the blog is keeping its eye on:

  • Trump will have a cabinet meeting at 11:30 a.m. E.T., followed by lunch with the vice president.
  • Mike Pence will speak at the opening ceremony of the 2019 International Astronautical Congress in Washington and later travel to Pennsylvania to deliver remarks on the North American trade deal.
  • Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang is in Washington to appear at the National Press Club and the Washington Post.

That’s all still coming up, so stay tuned.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
43 Years Before It Was Trending, Steven Spielberg's Living Room Was a Jewelbox of Vintage Style – Recreate His Look With Tiffany Lamps, Butter Yellow, and Dark Wood
All the chicest people are decorating with antiques in 2026, but Steven Spielberg was ahead of the curve – experts discuss the trend
Homes & Gardens
Homes & Gardens
Does Zendaya Only Hold Tom Holland's Hands? 'Euphoria' Star Rejects Other Men's Sweet Gesture
Explore the rumours surrounding Zendaya and Tom Holland, including claims that they have already tied the knot.
International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
“I wound up in a place that I needed to stop and sit with myself”: Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl addresses infidelity and social media fallout in new interview
The singer/multi-instrumentalist says he’s had 430 therapy sessions in the past 70 weeks and suggests that fathering a child with a woman outside of his marriage in 2024 is part of the reason why
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Is a Huge Reality Hit. But Its Star Is in Hot Water Once Again
This is all a bad look.
The Mary Sue
The Mary Sue
Chuck Norris Dead At 86: Martial Arts Icon Faced Unexpected Crisis Just Days After Birthday
Chuck Norris has reportedly been rushed to hospital on the Hawaiian island of Kauai after an undisclosed medical emergency, days after marking his 86th birthday with a punchy sparring video.
International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Demi Moore's Unrecognisable Look: Why a Top Plastic Surgeon Says She's Finally Got It Right
A leading Beverly Hills plastic surgeon says Demi Moore's unrecognisable look in recent years is the result of subtle injectables rather than major surgery.
International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.
Download on the AppStore Get it on Google Play