Today’s edition of quick hits:
* The acting DNI on the Hill: “Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire faced a grilling from members of Congress on Thursday about a whistleblower complaint that centers on President Donald Trump and his interactions with Ukraine.”
* The final vote was 53 to 44: “The Senate on Thursday confirmed Eugene Scalia to succeed Alex Acosta, the labor secretary who resigned in July amid an outcry over his role in a plea deal for the multimillionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Scalia is a partner at the Washington law firm Gibson Dunn, where he has represented companies such as Walmart, Ford and UPS in workers rights claims.”
* It looks like there won’t be a shutdown next week: “The Senate passed a stopgap spending bill Thursday to keep the government open through Nov. 21, punting tough decisions about President Trump’s border wall and other funding disputes until just before Thanksgiving.”
* Asylum deal: “The Trump administration announced a migration deal Wednesday that will give U.S. immigration authorities the ability to send asylum seekers from the border to Honduras, one of the most violent and unstable nations in the world.”
* GDP: “The U.S. economy grew more slowly in the second quarter, updated figures confirm, and slow growth is expected to persist through the end of the year largely because of the festering trade fight with China.”
* Bannon is back in the news: “The Federal Trade Commission unsuccessfully tried to serve a civil subpoena Wednesday on Steve Bannon, the former Trump campaign CEO and chief White House strategist, over his role in the Cambridge Analytica data scandal that recently resulted in a $5 billion fine for Facebook.” * A case worth watching: “Seventeen states from California to Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Wednesday in order to block a significant rollback of the Endangered Species Act.” * The editorial board deserves the plaudits: “The White House’s release of a readout of President Donald Trump’s call with Ukraine’s president largely vindicates a Washington Post editorial from Sept. 5 that first revealed that Trump had pressured Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden.” See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
