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Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Sen. Kamala Harris of California, who officially said she is running for president in an announcement on Good Morning America on Monday, has the potential to be among the strongest contenders in the 2020 Democratic field. There may be no other candidate who better embodies how the modern Democratic Party has changed over the last few decades in identity and ideology.
A few months ago a friend wrote me an email with the subject line, “What is Sean McElwee.”
Investigation season is here. The House Oversight and Reform Committee announced Michael Cohen, the president’s former lawyer, will testify publicly on Feb. 7, which will be followed the next day in the House Judiciary Committee by public testimony from acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker. The hearings may not include any bombshells about the content of the Russia investigation, since House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said they hope to discuss that topic in closed-door testimony with Cohen. But it still will be an early test of how effectively House Democrats can marshal their newfound investigative abilities — a power that has significantly weakened previous presidencies but is not without risks.
Welcome to a special weekend edition of FiveThirtyEight’s weekly politics chat. The transcript below has been lightly edited.
You’d be forgiven for not knowing, or at least not knowing how to pronounce, Pete Buttigieg’s last name (it’s boot-uh-judge). His political experience to date includes two terms as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and … well, that’s pretty much it.
