Trump wanted Mueller fired back in June, reportsa

Trump gave the order to fire the man leading the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, but he backed down after the top White House counsel told him the firing would decimate public confidence in the presidency, reports say President Donald Trump says he's "looking forward" to being interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Trump says he'd be willing to answer questions under oath.

Trump plan offers immigrant group path to citizenship

President Donald Trump is proposing a plan that provides a path to citizenship for 1.8 million of the so-called "Dreamer" immigrants, tighter restrictions on legal immigration and $25 billion in border security, the White House said, putting forward an outline likely to find resistance from some of Trump's conservative allies. Senior White House officials offered a preview of Trump's immigration framework Thursday, casting it as a compromise that could pass the Senate.

Another Republican lawmaker will not seek re-election after sex harassment claim

Republican U.S. Representative Patrick Meehan, who used taxpayer money to settle a former staffer's sexual harassment claim, will not run for re-election, a spokesman for House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday. Meehan, 62, who has represented his southeastern Pennsylvania district since 2011, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

EPA ends clean air policy opposed by fossil fuel interests

The Trump administration announced Thursday it is doing away with a decades-old air emissions policy opposed by fossil fuel companies, a move that environmental groups say will result in more pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency said it was withdrawing the "once-in always-in" policy under the Clean Air Act, which dictated how major sources of hazardous air pollutants are regulated.

Trump’s proposed immigration plan offers citizenship path to 1.8 million ‘Dreamers’

U.S. President Donald Trump is proposing a plan that provides a path to citizenship for 1.8 million of the so-called "Dreamer" immigrants, tighter restrictions on legal immigration and $25-billion in border security, the White House said, putting forward an outline likely to find resistance from some of Trump's conservative allies. Senior White House officials offered a preview of Trump's immigration framework Thursday, casting it as a compromise that could pass the Senate.

Ted Cruz: No US citizenship for ‘anybody here illegally’

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Thursday he does not believe the U.S. should be granting a path to citizenship to anybody here illegally, including so-called "Dreamers." Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Thursday he opposes granting amnesty for anyone who entered the country illegally, even as President Trump is suggesting he was willing to pursue the option.

Roy Moore asks supporters to help fight lawsuit filed by accuser

Former Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, who lost his Senate bid in December, is asking his supporters to help him pay the legal bills related to a lawsuit filed by a woman who accused Moore of pursuing sexual relations with her when she was 14. Moore's campaign sent a fundraising email to his backers Thursday, asking them to help him raise $250,000 for his legal defense fund. The conservative judge is currently being sued by Leigh Corfman, who filed a defamation lawsuit against Moore earlier this month.

Marco Rubio, Bob Menendez push Trump for tougher Venezuela sanctions

"It is clear that the United States can - and should - do more to increase international pressure against Maduro and his cronies," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., wrote in a letter to President Trump. President Trump needs to increase pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's regime, according to a pair of senators worried about drug trafficking and terrorism in the troubled country.

Leaked Memo: Trump Admin to Boost Use of Private Prisons While Slashing Federal Staff

The Trump administration is following through on its promise to use more private contract prisons, with the Justice Department seeking to identify inmates to transfer out of government-owned facilities and to cut federal guard positions. The Bureau of Prisons has the stated goal of "increasing population levels in private contract facilities," according to a memorandum sent by the agency's Assistant Director for Correctional Programs Division Frank Lara on Wednesday and obtained by Government Executive .

Trump will reportedly support path to citizenship for ‘Dreamers’

President Trump will back a path to citizenship for DACA recipients and Dreamers who were eligible for the program but didn't apply if he gets $25 billion for the border wall, an end to chain migration and ending the visa lottery system, a new report said Thursday. The disclosure came during a conference call between Trump aide Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner who along with Chief of Staff John Kelly drafted the plan, and House Republican staffers that NBC News listened in on, the network reported .

Missing from Sessions interview: a criminal lawyer

When Attorney General Jeff Sessions was called in for an interview last week with the special counsel investigating Russian election interference, he turned to a friend and fellow Alabama lawyer to accompany him. The lawyer, Chuck Cooper, worked in the Reagan Justice Department and is well-known in conservative circles for his private-practice work on social causes, such as defending a California law that banned same-sex marriage.

Senator may release Russia interviews of Trump Jr., others

The Senate Judiciary Committee is finishing its investigation into the meeting between Russians and President Donald Trump's campaign in June 2016 - and the committee chairman wants to release transcripts from closed-door interviews with Trump's son and others. Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley says he wants to work out an agreement with Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California to release transcripts from interviews with Donald Trump Jr. and others who attended the campaign meeting in Trump Tower.

Judiciary chairman plans to release Donald Trump Jr. transcript

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley said Thursday he wants to release the transcript of the committee's closed-door interview with Donald Trump Jr., joining Democrats on the committee who have pressed to make it public. Grassley said he will now move to release all of the panel's interviews involving the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between a Russian lawyer and Trump Jr., the President's son-in-law Jared Kushner and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.