Chuck Schumer: Republicans should be 'very worried' about 2020

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Sunday that Republicans should be worried about their chances in the 2020 cycle after the “rout” they suffered Tuesday at the hands of Democrats, who are headed for their largest gains in the House since 1974. Democrats appear poised to lose one to two seats in the Senate, depending on whether Rep. Kirsten Sinema, D-Ariz., maintains her lead in the Arizona Senate race. Sen. Bill Nelson’s re-election bid against Republican Rick Scott in Florida is headed for a recount, and Mississippi’s Senate race is set for a Nov. 27 runoff. “I’d be very worried for Republicans in 2020 elections if all they can claim is they won in North Dakota,” Schumer said on CNN’s "State of the Union."

Pressed on if Democrats couldn’t get their message right in the three "Trump" states in which they lost incumbents, Schumer said “nothing could be further from the truth.” Prognosticators thought Democrats would lose 8-10 seats, Schumer said. Instead, Democrats won six of the 10 Senate races in states President Trump won in 2016, Schumer added. Democrats could gain as many as 40 seats in the House if a handful of the outstanding races swing their way, the largest gain for Democrats in the House since the 1974 election after the Watergate era. As it stands, Senate Democrats have lost two seats, but if the outstanding races turn toward Democrats, they would lose a net zero seats.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/chuck-schumer-republicans-should-be-very-worried-about-2020

Top Democrat ready to subpoena Matthew Whitaker, Robert Mueller

The Democrat poised to become chairman of the House Judiciary Committee is ready to leverage subpoena power against key players in the federal Russia investigation. Rep. Jerry Nadler, currently the ranking member of the panel, said Sunday that he intends to protect special counsel Robert Mueller's probe and first on his list of officials to interview is acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, whose appointment he doubts was legal. "Our very first witness after Jan. 3, we will subpoena – or we will summon, not necessarily subpoena – Mr. Whitaker," the New York Democrat said on CNN's "State of the Union."

Democrats have warned that the forced resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions last week puts the country on the brink of a constitutional crisis. They have decried also Whitaker's appointment to the post. Whitaker, who served as Sessions' chief of staff, has in the past been critical of the investigation. For instance, in an opinion piece last year he said Mueller's office had breached the scope of its inquiry and that funding cuts could be used to contain it. With Democrats taking the House in the midterm elections last week, Nadler touted his party's newfound ability to offer cover to Mueller – and an avenue of transparency for the special counsel should Whitaker try to bury the final report compiled by Mueller's team.

"We could subpoena the final report. We could subpoena Mueller and ask him in front of the committee, 'what was in your final report,'" he said on ABC's "This Week." "Those are things we could do. But the fact is any such interference would be a pattern of obstruction of justice especially since – and [Whitaker] should recuse himself because he has expressed total hostility to the investigation."

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/top-democrat-ready-to-subpoena-matthew-whitaker-robert-mueller

Putin gives Trump thumbs-up ahead of Paris luncheon

PARIS — Russian President Vladimir Putin flashed President Trump a thumbs up after the men shook hands at a ceremony marking the centennial of World War I's end. The interaction near the Arc de Triomphe ceremonies is believed to be the first between the men this weekend, ahead of a multinational lunch that both will attend.

Trump and Putin were supposed to have a second substantive meeting this weekend in Paris, but plans for a high-profile summit were abandoned in an apparent nod to French President Emmanuel Macron, who feared it would distract from his elaborate ceremonies. Putin, arriving after Trump to the weekend's primary commemoration ceremony around 11 a.m. Sunday, shook Trump's hand while walking past him. After getting a thumbs up from Putin, a staple of the American president's own body language, Trump patted the Russian leader on the back.

Путин и Трамп в Париже: Та самая встреча «на полях» pic.twitter.com/eABQYblWRO

— Дмитрий Смирнов (@dimsmirnov175) November 11, 2018

Some experts believe that Trump and Putin may still have talks on Sunday, despite public disavowals from Trump, who said they will instead have in-depth discussions at the G-20 summit in Argentina later this year. Although original plans to meet in Paris were scrapped, Trump injected acrimony into their once-close relationship, tweeting Friday night that had Macron made "very insulting" remarks about needing a European military. Trump and Macron met in person Saturday and greeted each other warmly, despite the tweet.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/putin-gives-trump-thumbs-up-ahead-of-paris-luncheon

Trump speaks at military cemetery without umbrella in soaking rain

PARIS – President Trump spoke without an umbrella during a cold, rainy Veterans Day ceremony in France. The ceremony at Suresnes Cemetery near Paris was Trump's final scheduled stop before returning to the U.S. "This is certainly the highlight of the trip," Trump said, after putting down his umbrella to speak.

The few reporters who chose to attend huddled under umbrellas, with ponchos over their computers. Many others chose to remain at a hotel press filing center. At one point during his speech, Trump made light of the driving rain in a cool 55 degrees Fahrenheit, telling one guest under an overhang, "you look so comfortable up there under cover while we are getting drenched." Trump spoke after taking heavy criticism for canceling a visit Saturday to another military cemetery farther from Paris.

The Saturday event was canceled because rain made helicopter transport more hazardous and security more difficult along a long driving route. Trump delivered a Veterans Day speech Sunday, focusing specifically on World War I history and the legacy of that war's American troops, more than 1,000 of whom are buried at Suresnes. Sunday marks the centennial of the wars end.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-speaks-at-military-cemetery-without-umbrella-in-soaking-rain

>>3850577

Indeed it is.

>>3850622

Tears from heaven..

>>3850691

Kek..

Chris Christie: Trump has not asked me to be attorney general

Former Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Sunday that President Trump has not asked him to serve his administration as the country's next attorney general, despite reports Trump was interested in offering his ally the job. "He hasn't asked, and we haven't even spoken about it," Christie said during an interview with ABC News' "This Week" regarding speculation he was being considered for the position after being spotted last week at the White House. "I was in the White House Thursday for a previously scheduled meeting on prison reform and sentencing reform, which we did a lot of in New Jersey," Christie said. "It's been really successful, so the White House has asked me to help with what they are trying to do on the national level."

Trump last week appointed Matthew Whitaker to temporarily head the Justice Department following the resignation of fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Trump had publicly berated Sessions for choosing to recuse himself from overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller's federal Russia investigation. Whitaker, however, now faces pressure to step down from the same supervisory role over statements he has made in the past expressing opposition to the probe.

Christie, a former federal prosecutor who served as a 2016 campaign surrogate for Trump after ending his own campaign, was firm in his denial that he was in the running to become the nation's top law enforcement official. "I didn't even see the president or speak to him," Christie said of his White House visit. "Listen, I've been through this dance a lot of times before. The fact is the president makes his own decision on these things."

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/chris-christie-trump-has-not-asked-me-to-be-attorney-general

>>3850634

Of that I have no doubt..