Good morning from the WSJ Washington Bureau. 

Trump's Day: President Trump attends the "Black Voices for Trump" coalition launch in Atlanta and a campaign fundraiser. 

2020 Campaign: Billionaire Michael Bloomberg is taking steps to enter the 2020 presidential race as a Democrat, after saying he wouldn’t run.

Washington Wire: Rudy Giuliani’s new lawyer advised an invention-promotion company that allegedly defrauded customers, voter enthusiasm could strain election resources in 2020, and more in the column. 

State Department official George Kent said he grew alarmed by Rudy Giuliani's efforts to set up an unofficial diplomatic channel to engage with Ukraine, according to a transcript of his deposition. He described Mr. Giuliani as “carrying on a campaign for several months full of lies and incorrect information," report Dustin Volz and Siobhan Hughes.

• Jennifer Williams, Vice President Mike Pence's special adviser for Europe and Russia, said she was surprised by the political nature of President Trump’s July 25 phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart, according to a person familiar with the matter.
• House Democrats issued a subpoena for acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney last night. They also declined to subpoena former national security adviser John Bolton.
• Mr. Trump disputed a report that he wanted Attorney General William Barr to publicly declare that he hadn’t broken any laws during a phone call with the Ukrainian leader, calling it fake.

Congress' nonpartisan investigative arm is reviewing the administration's pause on aid to Ukraine this summer, which is at the center of the impeachment inquiry, reports Andrew Duehren.

Republicans have run the gamut in their defense of President Trump’s interactions with Ukraine in recent days, report Natalie Andrews and Lindsay Wise. The House Freedom Caucus has embraced the role of Mr. Trump’s de facto defense team.

Burisma Holdings's hiring of Hunter Biden gave the Ukrainian company some Western respectability, but it was only a small part of a broader effort to win favor in Washington, report Thomas Grove and Alan Cullison. The founder of the natural-gas company enlisted help from several U.S. consultants to help convince Ukrainian prosecutors that criminal cases against the company should be closed because no laws had been broken.

Despite impeachment proceedings, stock market highs, the Syria troop withdrawal, and the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, President Trump's approval rating remains steady. Here's how his numbers compare to his predecessors'.

The senior U.S. diplomat for northeast Syria asserted in an internal memo that the administration didn’t try hard enough to dissuade Turkey from intervening militarily in northeast Syria, reports Michael R. Gordon. William Roebuck also said that the Turkish-backed Arab fighters used in the intervention have carried out “war crimes.”

• The memo comes to light as Mr. Erdogan is planning to meet with Mr. Trump on Wednesday at the White House.

Beijing claims that the U.S. and China have agreed to roll back tariffs as part of a “phase one” accord, but others raise doubts, report Josh Zumbrun, Alex Leary and William Mauldin. There were conflicting reports from within the Trump administration as to whether there was a firm commitment to reduce tariffs.

• The U.S. and China are grappling with a dual challenge on trade: wrapping up an interim deal, and getting President Trump and President Xi Jinping in the same place to sign it.
• Prosecutors have charged a New York firm with selling banned Chinese gear to the U.S. military.
• The Commerce Department is under fire for putting off fixes to the way the government restricts the sale of U.S. technology, with critics saying the delay could allow sensitive military tech to slip through to China.

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker sits down with WSJ’s Eliza Collins to discuss his criminal justice reform record and his future plans to offer clemency to thousands, as part of a series of Wall Street Journal interviews with Democratic 2020 candidates.

Pete Buttigieg has a crew of supporters, Barnstormers for Pete, making plans to show up for him at big events before the Iowa caucuses, report Eliza Collins and John McCormick. He isn’t the only candidate with a passionate following, but the Barnstormers—many of whom appeared to be middle-aged or older—gave him a clear advantage in out-of-state supporters last weekend in Iowa.

As Democratic voters assess their choices for the 2020 presidential nominee, they are dividing into clear groups by ideology, race and other personal qualities. As a result, three candidates are dominating the primary contest, reports Aaron Zitner.

The Justice Department has issued civil subpoenas to four auto makers that reached a tailpipe emissions deal this summer with the state of California, report Brent Kendall and Ben Foldy, in the latest development in a federal antitrust investigation that has generated political controversy.

High-speed trading firm Tower Research Capital LLC agreed to pay $67 million to settle spoofing claims, the biggest penalty ever imposed by the U.S. derivatives watchdog in such a case, reports Dave Michaels. Spoofing involves entering phony orders that give a false impression of supply and demand.

• President Trump's allies are working on Capitol Hill to stay in front of, and to put pressure upon, any potential Republican defectors in the impeachment debate. (Politico)
• Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch communicated with a Democratic House staff member via her private email two days after a whistleblower complaint was filed about President Trump's pressure on Ukraine. (Fox News)
• Speaking on a visit to Morocco, Ivanka Trump said the impeachment inquiry is about overturning the election of her father, but differed from the White House in saying the identity of the whistleblower who set off the process isn't particularly relevant. (Associated Press)

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.