CORNYN, exiting a meeting in McConnell’s office, re: next steps on Kavanaugh: “Next order of business will be a motion to proceed to the nomination tomorrow at noon.”
CORNYN: “There’s essentially going to be a supplemental background investigation” that’ll push the Kavanaugh nomination “no later than one week.”
NEWS: Senate Judiciary Cmte Republicans call on the Trump administration to instruct the FBI to do a supplementary background investigation into Kavanaugh.
McConnell says he’s negotiating with Schumer on a package of judges they can agree to fast-track to a vote.
McConnell isn’t endorsing the Schumer-Flake plan to rename the Russell building after John McCain, and prefers to leave it to the “gang.”
“The way we have approached this kind of thing in the past has been on a thoroughly bipartisan basis.”
And here it is: Senate just cut a deal to fast-track votes starting at 3:45p today on 11 nominations—including SEVEN Trump nominees to be district court judges.
Sen. Bob Corker characterizes Trump's farm aid proposal: "You have a terrible policy that sends farmers to the poorhouse, and then you put them on welfare, and we borrow the money from other countries."
"It's hard to believe there isn't an outright revolt right now in Congress."
MURKOWSKI isn't happy Trump wants to "single out" farmers for aid, saying his tariffs threaten Alaska's seafood industry. "What about the manufacturing sector? What about the energy sector? The oil and gas industries?"
"Where do you draw the line? I've got some real concerns."
LANKFORD on Trump’s tariffs and farmer bailout: “Conceptually, I still think it's the wrong direction to go."
"Most of the folks I know in the ag community aren't looking for an additional subsidy. They want their markets back open.”
“This was a very constructive few hours that we spent together,” Trump says, standing with Putin. "I’m sure we’ll be meeting again in the future, often.”
Trump-Putin handshake in Helsinki.
Trump on Putin: "I called him a competitor. And a good competitor he is. And I think the word competitor is a compliment."
NEWS: Trump announces he's nominating Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court. 53-year-old DC Circuit judge, former Bush White House staff secretary, worked on Ken Starr's team in the Bill Clinton investigation.
Trump says Kavanaugh is committed to "equal justice under the law."
100% of Trump's Supreme Court nominees have clerked for Anthony Kennedy.