On Politics A.M.: Bolton Willing to Testify in Impeachment Trial

2020年1月7日星期二

January 7, 2020

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

John Bolton, the former national security adviser, who so far has complied with a White House order not to cooperate with the impeachment trial of President Trump, said Monday that he was willing to testify if subpoenaed, putting new pressure on Republicans hoping for a speedy proceeding and raising the possibility of fresh revelations.
American military units stationed in Iraq and Syria are readying for attacks from Iranian forces or their proxies after the drone strike that killed a senior Iranian general last week. The Pentagon has directed about 4,500 troops to the region on top of the roughly 50,000 already there as tensions rise with Iran.

Years before Mr. Trump ordered the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former C.I.A. officer and prominent neoconservative commentator, had endorsed taking such a dramatic action against the senior Iranian general. Mr. Gerecht and other frequent Trump critics have cheered the strike against General Suleimani.
Democratic leaders in Congress are moving to swiftly invoke the War Powers Resolution in an attempt to block Mr. Trump from taking the United States into a war with Iran, but Congress’s control over decisions about going to war has been eroding for generations.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is said to have told Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, that he does not plan to run for Senate in 2020, most likely ending Republicans’ hopes of securing a potentially dominant candidate for the open seat in his home state of Kansas.
Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. are seizing on the escalating tensions with Iran to press their starkly divergent cases for the presidency, illustrating the divisions among Democrats about what American leadership abroad should look like.

Julián Castro, the former housing secretary, has endorsed Senator Elizabeth Warren for president, offering a potential lift as her campaign tries to reignite excitement one month before the Iowa caucuses.

New data shows that consumers and American businesses are paying the cost of Mr. Trump’s penchant for using tariffs to try to rewrite trade pacts in favor of the United States.

Virginia Democrats are preparing to take power for the first time in 25 years. In a 60-day legislative sprint, they will seek to restrict gun purchases, outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation and give undocumented people licenses to drive.

Today’s On Politics briefing was compiled by Isabella Grullón Paz in New York.

Is there anything you think we’re missing? Anything you want to see more of? We’d love to hear from you. Email us at onpolitics@nytimes.com.