Trump news: House fails to override president's veto, as impeachment vote numbers are under 'consideration'
Follow the latest updates from Washington
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox
Get our free Inside Washington email
Donald Trump will use the supposedly favourable outcome of the Mueller report to go after his enemies in Washington with a “political bludgeon”, an aide has warned.
The FBI special counsel’s 22-month investigation found no evidence of his having colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential election, according to attorney-general William Barr, who reviewed the filing over the weekend after being appointed by the president in February.
“In terms of political payback, the people that I’ve talked to in the White House over the last 24 hours talk about what this means for 2020 and where we go from here. And I think you are going to see [Trump] use this as a political bludgeon,” ex-White House staffer Cliff Sims told CNN.
The FBI is meanwhile poised to brief the leaders of the House and Senate and the chairmen of the two chambers’ intelligence committees on Robert Mueller’s findings as to whether the president or anyone close to him is under the influence of a foreign power. Senior Democrats are meanwhile weighing up their options with regard to possible impeachment proceedings against the president.
Radiating a sense of vindication, Mr Trump strode into the Senate Republicans' lunch on Tuesday flanked by party leaders. GOP senators applauded.
Mueller investigation: The key figures
Show all 12“It could not have been better,” he said of the summary of the Mueller report by Mr Barr, which did not find the president colluded with Russia over the 2016 elections.
He told senators he was given a “clean bill of health,” according to those in the room.
But Mr Trump cut short the celebration by quickly turning senators focus on the challenges ahead, claiming, “The Republican Party will soon be known as the party of health care. You watch!”
Inside the meeting, he urged Republicans to figure out a way to repeal Barack Obama's signature health care law and replace it with a GOP version, a major goal that has eluded the party during the first years of his presidency.
Mr Trump's trip to Capitol Hill came right after his administration said late Monday it would not defend the Affordable Care Act in a court challenge - and as the House Democrats, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, were unveiling a sweeping measure to rescue the program.
Additional reporting by AP. Read live updates from The Independent below.
Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
More on the Trump administration seeking to eliminate Obamacare entirely, from me:
Democrats in the US House of Representatives have unveiled major legislation to rescue the Affordable Care Act as Donald Trump’s White House administration seeks to eliminate the bill in its entirety.
The move follows new filings in a case pending before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals titled Texas v the United States, in which a trial court judge previously sided with the administration in voiding the law during a December ruling.
The House of Representatives has failed to override Donald Trump's veto blocking a resolution that would prevent his national emergency declaration from taking effect along the US-Mexico border.
The president declared the national emergency after failing to receive his demands for border wall funding through Congress. The move allows him to circumvent Congressional spending guidelines and take money from federal funding elsewhere in order to fulfill his longtime campaign promise.
Here’s video of Donald Trump departing a closed door meeting with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill.
“We had a very good meeting,” the president said as he waved to reporters.
Democratic freshman Ilhan Omar is calling out the Trump administration on Twitter for refusing to allow entry for International Criminal Court investigators.
The FBI has released its records on the Trump Organisation thanks to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. It is a heavily redacted document, however, with many pages left entirely blank.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer lambasted Donald Trump in a tweet mocking his statement from earlier today that his “Republican Party will become ‘The Part of Healthcare!’”
“Fixed it for you,” the New York Democrat wrote, adding an image that appeared to change the president’s statement to “The Republican Party will become The Party that ended your health care.”
The criticism arrived a day after new court filings revealed the Trump administration called on the courts to completely eliminate the Affordable Care Act.
George Papadopoulos has requested a presidential pardon from Donald Trump through his lawyers while considering a withdrawal of his guilty plea, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
As many as 84 per cent of Americans want Robert Mueller’s report into Russianelection interference and the actions of Donald Trump made public, according to a new poll.
As Democrats, and some Republicans, urged the depart of justice for the entirety of the special counsel’s investigation to be released, a poll found the vast majority of Americans agreed with them.
That's all for today's live coverage on the controversies surrounding Donald Trump's White House. Read updates as they came in below, and be sure to check back in tomorrow as The Independent continues to bring you the latest.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies