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Capital Journal
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Good morning from the WSJ Washington bureau.
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What's Happening at the Impeachment Trial Today:
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The Senate votes on the articles of impeachment against President Trump at 4 p.m. ET.
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Senators are expected to acquit the president on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
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Twenty Republicans would have to join the entire Democratic caucus to vote to remove the president.
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Trump's Day: President Trump has lunch with Defense Secretary Mark Esper. He is expected to address the impeachment inquiry later today.
Campaign 2020: We're waiting for the complete results from the Iowa caucuses as the Democratic candidates look to sway New Hampshire voters.
Trade Data: The U.S. deficit in goods with China decreased 17.6% in 2019, falling to $345.62 billion, its lowest level since 2014. Here's more.
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Nancy Pelosi tears up a copy of Mr. Trump’s State of the Union address. PHOTO: MARK WILSON/GETTY IMAGES
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The nation’s political divides were starkly on display yesterday, reports Andrew Restuccia. President Trump touted his record in a lengthy and triumphal State of the Union. He painted an optimistic picture of America's future, presented himself as the lead architect of the country's economic boom, and avoided commenting on impeachment.
The speech was punctuated by enthusiastic applause from Trump backers and mostly silence from Democrats; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi notably ripped her copy of the speech in half as Mr. Trump finished.
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Highlights From Trump’s State of the Union
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President Trump’s third State of the Union address touched on the economy, health care, and foreign policy, but avoided the topic of impeachment. Here’s a look at key moments:
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Photo: Doug Mills/CNP via ZUMA Wire
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With Remarks on 'Sanctuary Cities,' Trump's State of the Union Boosts a Vulnerable Republican Senator
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President Trump’s State of the Union address offered a possible political boon to a vulnerable Republican senator up for re-election this year.
Toward the end of his speech, Mr. Trump gave a shout-out to Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who faces one of the most competitive Senate races this year.
Mr. Tillis has introduced legislation that would allow people to sue sanctuary states or cities, which typically refrain from helping federal authorities identify undocumented immigrants for deportation unless they have committed serious crimes. With a Democratic House, it has almost no chance of becoming law.
“Sen. Tom Tillis has introduced legislation to allow Americans like Jody to sue sanctuary cities and states when a loved one is hurt or killed as a result of these deadly practices,” Mr. Trump said, referring to a man whose brother was shot and killed by an illegal immigrant in California, who was in the gallery for the speech.
Until December, Mr. Tillis faced a self-funded primary challenger who was critical of Mr. Tillis’s initial opposition to Mr. Trump’s decision to declare a national emergency to repurpose money for building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
After a backlash from Republicans, Mr. Tillis reversed his position on the national emergency, but it damaged his standing with Republican base voters for months, especially on the issue of immigration. The primary candidate, Garland Tucker, focused his campaign on attacking Mr. Tillis as insufficiently supportive of Mr. Trump.
In ads that he started running this fall to respond to the conservative criticism, Mr. Tillis touted Mr. Trump’s support for the legislation. The support from the president will add another boost to Mr. Tillis’s effort to rebuild support with conservatives—and maybe even become fodder for another campaign ad.
Write to Andrew Duehren at andrew.duehren@wsj.com
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The Senate is expected to acquit President Trump on two impeachment charges today, concluding a turbulent inquiry that was upended by revelations from former national security adviser John Bolton. For the president, the Senate’s vote will mark a victory after a more than four-month process he decried as politically motivated. Natalie Andrews and Rebecca Ballhaus report on the trial and what to watch.
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“An acquittal is an acquittal, and it would be a bonus” if Republicans are fully united. "Of course, it would be even better if it was a bipartisan acquittal.”
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— Sen. Kevin Cramer (R., N.D.)
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Former mayor of South Bend, Ind. Pete Buttigieg, left, and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, have the most votes after the first wave of results from Iowa. PHOTO: (L) SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES|, (R) JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg took early leads in the Iowa caucuses. A close finish between the two would underscore the larger Democratic primary battle between progressives and more moderate candidates in a still-crowded field, report John McCormick, Julie Bykowicz and Chad Day.
Iowa slipped away from Joe Biden. The former vice president now must convince donors and voters in other early states to stick with him in a fiercely competitive field, reports Ken Thomas. Mr. Biden was in fourth place in Monday’s chaotic caucuses based on partial results.
The company behind the Iowa debacle. Shadow, founded by a former Hillary Clinton staffer, brought the first major nominating contest of the election season to a halt when its app failed. The debacle is threatening to end the decadeslong tradition of starting the nomination race in Iowa.
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In New Hampshire, four candidates are locked in a tight race. At political events across the state on Monday, voters said they were eager to see what Iowans had decided and would look to the Friday debate in New Hampshire for guidance, report Julie Bykowicz and Joshua Jamerson.
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Michael Bloomberg's campaign plans to double its ad spending (Full story)
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Observers expect record participation in California’s primary (Full story)
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Businessman Bob Hamilton considers bid for Kansas Senate seat (Full story)
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Donald Trump Jr. stars in new Tennessee Senate campaign ad (Full story)
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The U.S. government is preparing to evacuate by air hundreds of Americans from central China, the second such operation in a week following the outbreak of a dangerous coronavirus there, report James T. Areddy and Liza Lin. Beijing has continued to criticize Washington’s overall response to the pathogen's spread as unhelpful.
Coronavirus may delay the Chinese purchases at the center of Trump's "phase one" trade deal, but few trade experts expect the virus will prove fatal to the pact, report Katy Stech Ferek and William Mauldin.
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The Pentagon has added a new warhead to its nuclear armory, the first in decades, to counter what it says is the threat posed by Russia, reports Gordon Lubold. The W76-2, which fits on the top of existing submarine-borne Trident ballistic missiles, carries about one-third of destructive power of other nuclear weapons in the American arsenal.
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Iran said it would soon execute an Iranian citizen for allegedly giving details about the country’s nuclear program to the U.S., after months of tension with Washington, report Aresu Eqbali and Sune Engel Rasmussen. The U.S. didn’t immediately react to the announcement.
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WSJ News Exclusive |
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The U.S. is pushing an effort to develop a 5G technology alternative to Huwaei. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said companies including Microsoft, Dell and AT&T are part of the effort along with the White House to create advanced software for next-generation 5G telecommunications networks, report Bob Davis and Drew FitzGerald.
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WSJ News Exclusive |
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Justice Department ramps up Google investigation. The department has reached out to more than a dozen companies—including publishers, advertising-technology firms and advertising agencies—as the company's online ad tools become a major focus in its antitrust probe, report Keach Hagey and Rob Copeland.
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Makan Delrahim, the Justice Department’s chief antitrust enforcement official, has recused himself from the investigation into whether Alphabet’s Google is unlawfully suppressing competition because of his past work in private practice, report Brent Kendall and Sadie Gurman.
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The Trump administration will allow companies to pursue tariffs against foreign competitors if they can prove those comapnies have benefited from an artificially weakened currency, reports Josh Zumbrun. Companies will be able to pursue such tariffs as soon as April 6.
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The Federal Reserve has permanently banned Andrea Vella from the banking industry for his role in Goldman’s financing of a multibillion-dollar fraud involving the 1Malaysia Development Bhd. sovereign-wealth fund, report Andrew Ackerman and Liz Hoffman.
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Home-loan banks may soon channel funds to more mortgage players. The goal is to help those nonbank firms and REITs fill the void left by big commercial banks, reports Andrew Ackerman. Some critics question whether nonbanks should have access to taxpayer-subsidized funding.
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A legal fight between the SEC and messaging startup Telegram represents the first test of the government’s attempt to punish companies that raised money with an unusual cryptocurrency strategy, Dave Michaels reports. The stakes are high for the SEC.
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The best argument for Pete Buttigieg among Democrats is that he's progressive but still electable. (Vox)
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While the U.S. is stuck in political gridlock, China is positioning itself as the architect of the structures of the 21st century. (Axios)
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The Senate's vote to keep witnesses out of its trial of President Trump may benefit Democrats in the fall by allowing them to run against a "show trial." (American Conservative)
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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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