News Reporter: Politics A.M.: Trump puts new attorney general in an awkward position from the start

Democracy Dies in Darkness

The most important politics stories today

'Enjoy your life': Trump puts new attorney general in an awkward position from the start

William P. Barr's first days on the job have been marked by a wave of Trump attacks on the Justice Department or the officials who came before him.

By Philip Rucker and Matt Zapotosky · Read more

Intelligence chief draws Trump's ire, leading some administration officials to fear he could be fired

President Trump said Daniel Coats is "not loyal," after the national intelligence director gave congressional testimony that contradicted many of Trump's statements on security threats.

By Shane Harris, Josh Dawsey and Ellen Nakashima · Read more

Analysis

Power Up: (Nuclear) bombshell report signals Trump administration could be escalating Middle Eastern arms race

And Andrew McCabe says it's 'possible' Trump is a Russian asset.

By Jacqueline Alemany · Read more

Putin warns new weapons will target U.S. if missiles are deployed in Europe

The Russian president used his annual address to the nation to threaten the United States.

By Amie Ferris-Rotman · Read more

White House readies panel to assess if climate change poses a national security threat

Initiative would be at odds with the assessment of U.S. intelligence and defense communities.

By Juliet Eilperin and Missy Ryan · Read more

2020 Democratic candidates have two big challenges: The far left and Trump

The party's presidential hopefuls are tussling over how far left to move policies as Republicans take aim at their most liberal proposals.

By Sean Sullivan and Annie Linskey · Read more

Analysis

The Trailer: What Trump's talk about Venezuela has to do with 2020

In this edition: The subtext of Trump's words on Venezuela, the emergency declaration and 2020, and how this time is different for Bernie Sanders.

By Toluse Olorunnipa · Read more

Facing ethics violation, Wilbur Ross says he didn't mean to file inaccurate financial disclosures

Ross — one of the wealthiest members of President Trump's Cabinet — did not sell stock he held in a bank, despite reporting otherwise, ethics officials said.

By Reis Thebault · Read more

Fact Checker · Analysis

Have Trump's policies 'lifted' nearly 5 million Americans off food stamps?

The president often flips economic statistics to demonstrate his economic prowess. His recent use of SNAP participation data is no different.

By Meg Kelly · Read more

The Fix · Analysis

Tucker Carlson and the oversold 'Republicans pounce' complaint

Conservatives including Carlson have objected to a number of headlines in recent weeks, suggesting the media unfairly frames Democratic slip-ups as "Republicans pounce" stories. The data suggest it's a very bipartisan framing.

By Aaron Blake · Read more

Top Trump appointees promoted selling nuclear power plants to Saudi Arabia over objections from national security officials, House Democratic report says

The internal White House battles are detailed in a report released Tuesday by the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

By Tom Hamburger, Steven Mufson and Ellen Nakashima · Read more

Candidate did not know of alleged fraud in N.C. congressional race, consultant testifies

Consultant Andy Yates of Red Dome Group denied seeing evidence that a campaign operative directed an illegal scheme to collect mail-in ballots on behalf of Republican Mark Harris.

By Amy Gardner · Read more