Politics

The Hill reports: The Senate’s top two Republican lawmakers say Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) might be subject to an official review by the Senate Ethics Committee for releasing documents labeled “confidential” related to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s past work at the White House. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Hugh Hewitt on Friday that Booker’s decision — which the …

Mediaite reports: At Donald Trump‘s rally in Billings, Montana, one audience member placed just behind the president was not buying it. Twitter users noticed that the rallygoer — known only as the man with the plaid shirt — kept responding to some of the more Trumpian claims made by the president at his rally with expressions of shock, doubt and …

Reuters reports: A Miss America contestant won her preliminary round in the competition after she was asked what advice she would give NFL players on whether to kneel or stand for the national anthem. Miss Virginia, Emili McPhail, said that kneeling during the national anthem is “a right you have” but also emphasized in her answer that national anthem protests …

NBC News reports: In November, Americans could elect more than 100 women to the House for the first time in history — and put more new women in the House than in any prior election, a new race-by-race analysis shows. But the impending surge is being driven entirely by Democrats: The number of Republican women in the House is actually …

The Washington Post reports: More than 12 hours after the questioning began Thursday morning, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) adjourned the confirmation hearing for the day. Grassley closed the session by praising Kavanaugh for his “compelling and credible” answers, highlighted his history on the bench and said that “unquestionably, you’re qualified to serve on the Supreme Court …

The Hill reports: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said today that President Trump should use lie-detector tests to find out which senior administration official authored an anonymous op-ed in The New York Times this week blasting the president. “We use the lie-detector test routinely for CIA agents and FBI agents,” he argued. “If you have a security clearance in the White …

Politico reports: Melania Trump on Thursday said the anonymous author of an explosive New York Times op-ed alleging her husband is unfit for office is “sabotaging” the country. “To the writer of the op-ed — you are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions,” she told CNN. “People with no names are writing our nation’s …

CNN reports: “If senior administration officials think the President of the United States is not able to do his job, then they should invoke the 25th Amendment,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren today told CNN. “The Constitution provides for a procedure whenever the Vice President and senior officials think the President can’t do his job. It does not provide that senior officials …

The Hill reports: President Trump’s removal from office, either by impeachment or electoral means, would not endanger America’s economy or trend of economic growth, financial analysts at Barclays said Thursday. In a post on LinkedIn published Wednesday, the firm’s head of investment strategy in London wrote that economic growth has “little” to do with actions taken by or affecting the …

The New York Times reports: Voters in Texas received a mysterious text message on Wednesday, one that purported to be from a campaign volunteer for Beto O’Rourke, the Democrat who is running against Ted Cruz for Senate this fall. “We are in search of volunteers to help transport undocumented immigrants to polling booths so that they will be able to …

NBC News reports: President Trump’s policy that has resulted in the separation of parents and children along the southern border may have accomplished something Latino activist groups haven’t before: Prompting a long-term voter registration drive uniting progressive and traditional Democratic groups. On Thursday, a new coalition led by the nonprofit advocacy group Voto Latino will launch a three-year, multi-million dollar …

Roll Call reports: The nearly moribund Blue Dogs, the coalition of moderate-to-conservative House Democrats, is looking to rebuild influence in the next Congress — and they think they’re in an especially good position to do so if the November midterms result in a single-digit House majority. The leaders of the Blue Dog Coalition, speaking with a small group of reporters …

The New Jersey Advance reports: Former Vice President Joe Biden gave New Jerseyans a (sometimes loud) taste late Wednesday of what his speeches might sound like if he challenges President Donald Trump in two years. Shouting at points during a nearly 40-minute address, Biden tore into Trump’s handling of America during a campaign appearance at Montclair State University for Democratic …

The Associated Press reports: Senators will launch a final round of questioning of Brett Kavanaugh on Thursday, but after a marathon 12-hour session, President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court appears to have avoided any major missteps that could trip his confirmation. So far, Kavanaugh does not seem to have changed minds on the Judiciary Committee, which is split …

John Kerry pulled no punches last night: Appearing on The Late Show, Kerry began by saying the op-ed “scares the Hell” out of him. “There is a reassurance. It means that for James Buchanan, he’s no longer the worst president,” Kerry joked. Stephen Colbert asked Kerry if anyone tried doing things like stealing documents from the president’s desk during the …

The Miami Herald reports: Miami state Rep. Jeanette Nuñez is to be named Republican Ron DeSantis’ running mate Thursday, the first time a Cuban-American woman has been chosen as a lieutenant governor candidate in Florida, sources familiar with the decision tell POLITICO. Nuñez, a Miami native who has served for eight years in the Florida House, would not comment about …

The Washington Post reports: John McCain’s former chief of staff said Wednesday that he is considering running for the Senate as a Democrat as he grapples with President Trump’s policies and the late Arizona senator’s death. Grant Woods, who is also a former Arizona attorney general, said in an interview that he has spoken to several Democratic senators about the …

Politico reports: Roughly 100 of the 240 Republican-controlled House seats are currently within Democratic reach, posing the most serious threat to the GOP majority since the party won control in 2010. Despite the GOP’s built-in advantages due to incumbency and redistricting, 60 of those seats are even more precariously positioned, with the Republican nominee either holding just a slight competitive …

Jared Holt reports at Right Wing Watch: Today, representatives from Facebook and Twitter were called to testify before the House and Senate about misinformation on the platform and the way enforcement is carried out. The hearings attracted a swarm of right-wing media figures who work in the conspiracy theory media market, including Infowars’ Jones, One America News’ Jack Posobiec, alt-right …

Mediaite reports: The New York Times published a stunning op-ed on Wednesday, written by an anonymous, senior official in President Donald Trump‘s White House. Calling the publication of an anonymous op-ed a “rare step” in their preamble, the Times notes the story was being published at the request of the author, and offers “an important perspective.” The op-ed begins: President …