Critics: Trump pardon his latest affront against judiciary

In this Jan. 26, 2016 file photo, then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is joined by Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of metro Phoenix, at a campaign event in Marshalltown, Iowa. President Donald Trump has pardoned former sheriff Joe Arpaio following his conviction for intentionally disobeying a judge's order in an immigration case.

Mark Shields: Attacking Is Easier Than Governing, But Winning Presidents Know the Difference

Eric Hoffer , a San Francisco longshoreman and philosopher who died in 1983, the year President Ronald Reagan awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom , could have been analyzing contemporary American politics when he wrote, some 66 years ago, that "mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without belief in a devil." Campaigns are easy.

Paul Ryan ‘does not agree’ with Arpaio pardon, spokesman says

House Speaker Paul Ryan disagrees with President Donald Trump's decision Friday to pardon Sheriff Joe Arpaio, his spokesman said Saturday. "The Speaker does not agree with this decision," spokesman Doug Andres said in a statement.

As Trump struggles, some Republicans talking 2020 challenge

Yet Cuban, an outspoken Texas billionaire who describes himself as "fiercely independent" politically, sees an opportunity for someone to take down the Republican president, who is increasingly viewed as divisive and incompetent even within his own party. "His base won't turn on him, but if there is someone they can connect to and feel confident in, they might turn away from him," Cuban told The Associated Press.

Statue of rights leader rises as other icons fall in South

The sculpted clay was dry and the bronze would soon be cast, but artist Martin Dawe still found himself waking with a start before dawn, worried that he didn't get the details of the famous man's face exactly right. On Monday, Dawe will find out if he succeeded when officials unveil his statue of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. on the Georgia state Capitol's grounds for the 54th anniversary of the March on Washington.

McConnell to speak at Kentucky GOP dinner

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will speak at the Kentucky Republican Party's annual Lincoln Day Dinner Saturday evening, presenting an opportunity for him to weigh in on drama unfolding in Washington. While there is ample controversy to discuss - from Trump's pardoning Friday of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, to his directive banning transgender military recruits, to his continued attacks on members of McConnell's Senate majority, including the majority leader himself - the Kentucky Republican has been sticking to the GOP agenda in remarks in his home state during the August congressional recess.

Trump makes a mess for Arizona GOP with Arpaio pardon

In just nine days, President Donald Trump might have badly hobbled Arizona Republicans headed into a competitive Senate race and hurt his own re-election prospects in the state. Trump's efforts to unseat Sen. Jeff Flake in the state's 2018 Republican primary have left Trump's allies confused and divided over which of several possible anti-Flake candidates should get their support.

Dem rep on Gorka exit: ‘2 down and 1 to go’

A Democratic lawmaker praised Sebastian Gorka 's exit from the White House on Saturday on the heels of Steve Bannon's ouster earlier this month, declaring, "2 down and 1 to go." Rep. Steve Cohen offered a cryptic warning on Twitter for the Trump aide seen as one of the last members of the nationalist wing of Trump's White House.

Democratic fury, and mostly GOP silence, over Trumpa s pardon of Arpaio

President Donald Trump's end-of-the-week pardon of former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, a campaign supporter who shares Trump's hard-line views on immigration, touched off a political outcry that did not abate Saturday even as much of the nation was focused on a hurricane that pummeled Texas. Democrats condemned the president's decision, which was made public by the White House on Friday night as Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 storm, churned toward the Texas coast.

US senators call on FDA to ban sale of menthol cigarettes

U.S. Sen. Edward Markey is calling for a ban on menthol cigarettes, arguing that tobacco companies disproportionately target African-Americans when they market and promote the cigarettes. The Massachusetts Democrat is leading a group of fellow senators in calling on the Food and Drug Administration to prohibit the cigarettes, noting that African-Americans suffer the greatest burden of tobacco-related mortality of any ethnic or racial group in the U.S. The letter to the FDA sent earlier this week was also signed by fellow Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, of Rhode Island, and Richard Blumenthal, of Connecticut.

Critics fear Dana Rohrabacher creatingWikiLeaks back channel to Trump

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California has returned from Europe with a plan to brief President Trump on a meeting with WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange that he says touched on information disproving RussiaA s role hacking Democratic emails. The Orange County Republican visited Assange inside EcuadorA s London embassy last week and told the Washington Examiner on Thursday, shortly after his return, that "I would not talk on the telephone" with the president about the three-hour conversation.

RNC condemns white supremacy but makes no mention of Trump’s remarks

The Republican National Committee on Friday approved a resolution condemning racism and white supremacy at its summer meeting in Nashville - but don't call it a rebuke of President Donald Trump. "This has nothing to do with the president," said the resolution's sponsor, Bill Palatucci, an RNC committeeman from New Jersey.

Trump pardons ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio over federal conviction

President Donald Trump spared his ally former Sheriff Joe Arpaio a possible jail sentence on Friday by pardoning his conviction, reversing what critics saw as a long-awaited comeuppance for a lawman who escaped accountability for headline-grabbing tactics during most of his 24 years as metropolitan Phoenix's top law enforcer. FILE - In this Jan. 26, 2016 file photo, then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is joined by Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of metro Phoenix, at a campaign event in Marshalltown, Iowa.