On Politics A.M.: Aides Say Trump’s Ukraine Call Was ‘Inappropriate’

2019年11月20日星期三

November 20, 2019

Good Wednesday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today.

In the second week of impeachment hearings, two White House national security aides recalled their concerns about President Trump’s conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart. Both aides called his request for Ukraine to investigate political rivals “inappropriate.” Read more about the testimonies here and a rundown of what we learned here.
Mr. Trump quickly went on the attack against the two aides, even though both still work at the White House. “This is the first time in history I am aware of a White House openly attacking its own staff — especially for merely upholding their constitutional duties,” a former aide of President George W. Bush remarked.
Gordon D. Sondland, the United States ambassador to the European Union who is set to testify on Wednesday, has a lot of explaining to do. He will have to answer for several inconsistencies that have emerged in his story so far.

Senator Ron Johnson, a long outspoken advocate of Ukraine, is emerging as one of Mr. Trump’s most vocal congressional allies. The outsize role Mr. Johnson has played in Mr. Trump’s Ukraine policy was illustrated in an 11-page slash-and-burn letter he released Monday.
Lawmakers in the House are using the public impeachment hearings to highlight their respective views of Mr. Trump’s unusual foreign policy with Ukraine. But two Intelligence Committee lawyers have seized leading roles and are asking many of the questions.

The Trump administration’s policy announcement on Monday, which reversed decades of American policy on Israel, is extinguishing any hope that a long-awaited proposal from the president can resolve the 70-year territorial conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

The House on Tuesday voted to extend government funding for another month, rushing to ward off a shutdown just days before the deadline. This could lead to a pre-Christmas clash over spending just as the House is considering whether to impeach Mr. Trump.
After keeping a careful distance from Mr. Trump, Nikki R. Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations, appears to have made the political calculation to go all in supporting the president. Her pivot is seen as a recognition of the realities of today’s Republican Party — there is little future after separating yourself from the president.

The demographic changes in the city of Yakima, situated in a fertile farming valley in Washington, mirror trends across the United States where the population is becoming increasingly less white. This is what the changes look like up close.

Once a core Democratic constituency, blue-collar voters, both white and nonwhite alike, could go a long way toward determining who captures the Democratic presidential nomination. Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who is often viewed among those voters as one of their own, is racing to press his advantage.
Ten Democratic candidates will debate tonight in Atlanta, including a group of four leaders at the center of the stage — Mr. Biden, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Bernie Sanders and Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Join our reporters for a live chat on nytimes.com beginning shortly before 9 p.m. Eastern time. In the meantime, here’s a guide to the debate.