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Capital Journal
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Good morning from the WSJ Washington Bureau.
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Trump's Day: The president attends a fundraising event in the San Francisco Bay area this afternoon.
House Probe: Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski will appear before the House Judiciary Committee as part of its investigation into whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice.
GM Strike: The walkout involving roughly 46,000 full-time workers could dent GM’s profit by $50 million to $100 million daily, analysts say. Sticking points in negotiations include health care and the use of temporary workers.
Trump Taxes: State prosecutors in Manhattan have subpoenaed eight years of President Trump’s tax returns from his accounting firm.
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The strikes on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure have led to a production shutdown on a scale the world hasn’t seen for decades. It could have long-lasting consequences for global markets and politics. Photo: Reuters
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U.S. officials say intelligence indicates that Iran was the staging ground for the attack on the Saudi Arabia's oil industry, report Dion Nissenbaum and Summer Said. The assessment, which the U.S. hasn't shared publicly, comes as President Trump said he hoped to avoid a war with Iran. In Riyadh, the Saudi military’s first assessment stopped far short of accusing Iran of orchestrating the attacks.
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The timing of the attacks is deeply suspicious, writes Jerry Seib. The attack came just as President Trump has been considering taking a small step back from his campaign of harsh economic sanctions on Iran. But there are plenty of people who don’t want an outbreak of diplomacy.
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U.S. oil prices rose 15% Monday, their biggest gain since January 2009.
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Do you think the administration should move forward in its diplomatic efforts with Iran? Why or why not? Join the conversation.
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Why the U.S. Could Be Less Likely to Defend Saudi Arabia
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Fears of a military conflict between the U.S. and Iran are high following an attack on a critical Saudi oil facility Saturday. Here are three reasons the U.S. is less likely than it once was to defend Saudi Arabia if that happens.
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New Allegation Reignites Fierce Debate Over Kavanaugh
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A new account of alleged sexual misconduct by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh has put both Republicans and Democrats on political offense.
A book excerpt printed in the New York Times this weekend included a previously unreported assertion that Mr. Kavanaugh had exposed himself to a female classmate in college—though the paper later updated its story to say that the female student declined to be interviewed and with friends telling the paper that she didn’t recall the episode.
Justice Kavanaugh faced similar accusations during his confirmation process last year, igniting weeks of national controversy.
He has denied all allegations of sexual misconduct, and declined to comment on the latest account.
But the new allegation—which hasn’t been independently confirmed by The Wall Street Journal—has temporarily revived a dynamic that dominated national politics in the run-up to the midterms last year: Democrats are calling for a thorough investigation of the allegations or for Justice Kavanaugh to step down, while Republicans are denouncing the claims as spurious and politically motivated.
Many Republicans viewed the backlash to the allegations against Mr. Kavanaugh during his 2018 confirmation hearings as a motivating factor for conservative voters across the country that helped the GOP expand its majority in the Senate.
“This laughable suggestion is already earning scorn throughout the country, across the political spectrum,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said Monday. “A majority of senators — and the American people — rightly rejected these politics of unsubstantiated personal destruction last year.”
President Trump tweeted about the allegations on Monday, repeatedly targeting the New York Times.
At the same time, the new allegation prompted some Democrats to channel national liberal support (and dollars) against incumbents like Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a centrist Republican who voted to confirm Justice Kavanaugh and faces a competitive re-election race next year.
While it seems unlikely that the latest controversy will play an important factor in next year’s elections, the episode illustrates just how much emotion lingers over Justice Kavanaugh’s fraught confirmation hearing—and how quickly politicians are willing to seize the moment to motivate loyal voters.
Write to Andrew Duehren at andrew.duehren@wsj.com
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PHOTO: JESSICA HILL/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren is proposing a federal ban on all fundraising activities hosted by lobbyists. Her plan would expand the definition of lobbyist to include “all individuals paid to influence government" and prevent senior executive branch officials and members of Congress from serving on for-profit boards, reports Joshua Jamerson.
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“I know what’s broken, I’ve got a plan to fix it, and that’s why I’m running for president of the United States."
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— Sen. Elizabeth Warren
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The Working Families Party has endorsed Elizabeth Warren for president. (Full story)
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Andrew Yang’s campaign raised $1 million after giveaway announced during the last debate. (Full story)
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What matters this week. (Full story)
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Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is leading his colleagues to cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point this week, for the second time in as many months, but Fed officials are unlikely to signal plans for a series of rate cuts because trade policy is out of their hands and difficult to predict, reports Nick Timiraos.
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President Trump on Monday again badgered the Fed to lower the interest rate, citing a strong dollar’s harmful effect on U.S. exporters.
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The United Auto Workers union strike could lower the thermostat on the U.S. economy by reducing manufacturing production, but it would take a lengthy stoppage to make a major mark, Harriet Torry reports.
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Turf battles between the FTC and DOJ are revving up, report John D. McKinnon and Brent Kendall. In a letter from the FTC to the DOJ last week, the FTC raised concerns about interactions between the two agencies. Both antitrust enforcers are asserting authority to investigate whether big tech companies are engaging in anticompetitive behavior.
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A report from international air-safety regulators is expected to criticize the initial U.S. approval process for Boeing’s 737 MAX, report Andy Pasztor and Andrew Tangel. The upshot, some members of the panel say, is that essential design changes didn’t receive adequate FAA attention.
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The U.S. is poised to impose new tariffs on EU exports over the bloc’s subsidies to Airbus. The EU has filed its own World Trade Organization complaint against Boeing.
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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, says there won't be any talks with the U.S. at any level. (Associated Press)
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Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis may soon have to fulfill his promise to speak out on President Trump when the time is right. (The Hill)
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Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet is thoughtful, well-read, a good listener and someone who searches for common ground--and he has almost no chance of winning the Democratic presidential nomination. (The Atlantic)
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This newsletter is a production of the WSJ Washington bureau. Our newsletter editors are Tim Hanrahan, Kate Milani, Troy McCullough and Daniel Nasaw. Send feedback to capitaljournal@wsj.com. You can follow politics coverage on our Politics page and at @wsjpolitics on Twitter.
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