Trump Won't Let No. 2 Spy Chief Take Over When Coats Leaves  —  WASHINGTON — The White House is planning to block Sue Gordon, the nation's No. 2 intelligence official, from rising to the role of acting director of national intelligence when Dan Coats steps down this month …

GOP senator held up Trump nominee, demanding to see border wall contracts after Army Corps panned construction firm he prefers  —  A Republican senator held up the confirmation of a White House budget official this week in an attempt to obtain sensitive information about border wall contracts he's …

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Chief of Staff and Communications Director Will Depart Her Office  —  Two of Rep. Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez's top staffers are leaving her office.  —  Saikat Chakrabarti, her chief of staff, and Corbin Trent, her director of communications — who …

'We're All Tired of Being Called Racists'  —  CINCINNATI—Donald Trump's supporters would like to be clear: They are tired of being called racists.  —  Leave it to the president's eldest son to set the tone.  Last night at the 17,500-person-capacity U.S. Bank Arena downtown here …

Elizabeth Warren is running a brilliant campaign  —  David Axelrod, a senior CNN political commentator and host of “The Axe Files,” was senior adviser to President Barack Obama and chief strategist for the 2008 and 2012 Obama presidential campaigns.  The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.

Ben Folds makes a song called ‘Moscow Mitch’  —  Rock musician Ben Folds was performing on the roof of New York City's Pier 17 Thursday when he asked the audience to help him out with a new song.  “What I want to do is put a little cool stutter in it, like, you know, 'My-my-my-my-my-my Sharona …

Pelosi Statement on Progress of House Investigations  —  Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi released this statement on the progress of the House's investigations:  —  “When we take the oath of office, we solemnly vow 'to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies …

First, the GOP shrinks.  Next it should get crushed.  —  Sane Senate Republicans and critics of President Trump, including Bob Corker (Tenn.) and Jeff Flake (Ariz.) as well as a slew of House Republicans, retired in 2018 rather than face the challenge of reelection in the Trump era.

Iran's Foreign Minister Was Invited to Meet Trump in the Oval Office  —  Last month, amid a rapid-fire escalation in tensions between Washington and Tehran, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, received an unexpected invitation—to meet President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.

Garner, Pantaleo, de Blasio and truth: Let's be honest about how New York City got here  —  Bill de Blasio is gaslighting New Yorkers again.  —  “Today, for the first time in these long five years, the system of justice is working,” he said Friday, after a deputy NYPD commissioner issued a secret …

Anti-Muslim Activist Laura Loomer to Run for Congress  —  Banned from every major social media network, Laura Loomer will almost certainly lose her challenge to Rep. Lois Frankel.  —  Anti-Muslim activist Laura Loomer launched a congressional bid on Friday, setting herself up for almost certain defeat …

Emails show Stephen Miller pressed hard to limit green cards  —  White House senior adviser Stephen Miller wasn't getting an immigration regulation he wanted.  So he sent a series of scorching emails to top immigration officials, calling the department an “embarrassment” for not acting faster, according to emails obtained by POLITICO.

Trump's Judicial Legacy  —  Toggle more options  —  President Trump has now appointed nearly one in four of all federal circuit court judges, cementing an important part of his legacy.  The picks are far less diverse than his predecessor's.  —  STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It didn't take long for Democratic candidates to rush to embrace Obama  —  It took progressive Democratic candidates for president less than 24 hours to realize they had gone way overboard in slamming President Barack Obama's record and suggesting that defense of it was akin to “Republican talking points.”

Gilroy Garlic Festival shooter killed himself, coroner says, contradicting police version of events  —  The Gilroy Garlic Festival gunman killed himself, the county medical examiner concluded Friday, contradicting an earlier police account that three officers had shot him dead within a minute.

Nikki Haley hits Trump's ‘unnecessary’ response to Cummings break-in  —  Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Friday pushed back against President Trump's tweet in which he appeared to mock an attempted robbery at the home of Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.).

Climate Could Be an Electoral Time Bomb, Republican Strategists Fear  —  WASHINGTON — When election time comes next year, Will Galloway, a student and Republican youth leader at Clemson University, will look for candidates who are strong on the mainstream conservative causes he cares about most …

Top State Department adviser fired over ‘abusive’ management style  —  A senior adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was fired this week over what officials described as her “abusive” management style, including making homophobic remarks and accusing people of having affairs, according to two people.

Look at the Mueller Report as a Detective Story.  It Will Blow Your Mind.  —  It may turn out to be a film noir.  The investigators uncovered the plot, but the society is too rotten to do anything about it.  —  Ms. Jurecic is the managing editor of Lawfare.