Donald Trump laughs at Florida rally as supporter suggests shooting immigrants
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Donald Trump’s eldest son, Don Jr, has been subpoenaed to testify before the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee over his contacts with Russia, sparking the latest drama in Washington surrounding that investigation.
The subpoena comes as the White House remains at odds with Congress after the Democrat-controlled House Judiciary Committee voted on Wednesday to hold attorney general William Barr in contempt of Congress over his failure to release the full, unredacted Mueller report into alleged ties between the Trump administration and the Kremlin.
Democrats have demanded the unredacted version of that report, but also the underlying evidence so they can weigh whether charges are warrant further legal action.
That action may one day mean impeachment for Mr Trump — as some Democrats like presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren have demanded — but House speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday that she does not believe the time has come for that effort.
Ms Pelosi said that she plans on waiting for House committees to finish their investigations, and then she would be open to considering further actions.
The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020
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The president himself meanwhile addressed a rowdy rally in Panama City Beach, Florida, on Wednesday evening, where he pledged to deliver $448m (£344m) in disaster relief funding seven months after the Panhandle was devastated by Hurricane Michael. While delivering that good news, the president also laughed and joked when a member of the crowd yelled about shooting Central American migrants, who he said constituted an “invasion”.
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Here's Andrew Buncombe for Indy Voices on the constitutional crisis Trump has sparked in Washington by exerting his executive privilege to shield William Barr over the Mueller report.
The Trump administration has sent new guidelines to asylum officers directing them to take a more "sceptical and confrontational approach" during interviews with migrants seeking refuge in the United States - the latest measure aimed at tightening the nation’s legal “loopholes” Homeland Security officials blame for a spike in border crossings.
Here's something that is sure to make Donald Trump mad when it is published.
Elizabeth Warren will be the third Democratic presidential candidate featured on the cover of TIME Magazine this year, after Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg. Other prominent Democrats have also been featured recently including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
In other 2020 news, Beto O'Rourke has hired the "unsung" hero of Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, Jeff Berman, who is considered to be an expert in delegate choosing in the primary process.
The news, reported by Buzzfeed News, may not be the most exciting, but shows that the O'Rourke campaign is serious about developing a strategy and machine to win the Democratic nomination.
“One of the most critical elements is a delegate strategy,” Jen O'Malley Dillon, the campaign manager, said. “That’s how you’re going to win.”
A new analysis of the so-called "2020 media primary" by POLITICO has yielded some interesting results.
The analysis, conducted for the news outlet by the media intelligence agency Meltwater, found that just four candidates laid claim to half of the overall media mentions between 1 January and 30 April.
Two are the Democratic front-runners: Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. The other two are a bit more surprising (though still far from the bottom of the over 20-candidate barrel): Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris.
The stats are noteworthy in that getting media coverage can be a major boon to a presidential candidate: Just ask Donald Trump, who managed to get his rallies and controversial statements near-constant media coverage in 2016.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi has claimed that Donald Trump is working against his best interest by attacking US Congress.
While pointedly refusing to endorse impeachment for Mr Trump — instead saying that she trusts the House to discover "the facts" in due time — Ms Pelosi said that the president is undermining himself by resisting Congress.
“The president is almost self-impeaching because he is every day demonstrating more obstruction and disrespect for congress’ legitimate role to subpoena,” Ms Pelosi said.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi has called out Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell for calling himself the "grim reaper" — meaning that he plans on killing any bill sent over from the Democrat-controlled House.
Ms Pelosi claimed that the House is crafting legislation that can receive bipartisan support on a range of issues including healthcare and climate change, and that Mr McConnell will be hearing from the American people.
"The grim reaper is going to be hearing from the alive and well people out there who care abut this legislation," Ms Pelosi said.
Here's how Republicans have responded to Democrats in the House.
Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in the House, has claimed that his Democratic colleagues are rewriting the rule book when it comes to the attorney general.
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