CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

A warning shot to Trump today from the Senate:

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill Thursday to give protections to Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III, which senators said sent a message to President Donald Trump even if it has major hurdles to ever becoming law. Although the 14-7 vote on the measure split Republicans, the message from the committee to Trump was clear.

Some Republicans who voted against advancing the bill also warned Trump about firing Mueller. And most opponents of the bill also voted for an amendment, which was not adopted, that included the line: “Robert Mueller should be permitted to finish his work in a timely fashion.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who controls what bills come to the Senate floor, said this bill won’t be scheduled. Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, one of seven Republicans who voted against the bill, noted the political obstacles for the bill. “This bill will not be taken up on the Senate floor. The House will not pass it. The president will not sign it,” Cornyn said.