As many GOP lawmakers continue to defend President Trump amid an expanding impeachment inquiry, Colin Powell, the retired general who served under three Republican presidents, said the party ‘‘has got to get a grip on itself.’’
In remarks broadcast Sunday on CNN, Powell criticized Republican members of Congress for staying silent as Trump’s efforts to pressure a foreign power to target a political rival were exposed.
Republican leaders, Powell said, ‘‘are holding back because they’re terrified of what will happen to any one of them if they speak out.’’
He continued, ‘‘When they see things that are not right, they need to say something about it, because our foreign policy is in shambles right now.’’
Last month, Trump altered a hurricane forecast chart, adding on to Hurricane Dorian’s projected path so it appeared the storm would reach Alabama. Trump had warned, incorrectly, that Alabama would be affected by the hurricane.
In his remarks to CNN and made earlier at the New Albany Community Foundation in Ohio, Powell mentioned the doctored map as an example of the Grand Old Party enabling and latching itself to the president.
‘‘In my time, one of us would have gone to the president and said, ‘Mr. President, you screwed up, so we’ve got to fix it and we’ll put out a correction,’’ Powell said. Instead, he noted, the administration ordered the Commerce Department to back up Trump’s misstatement. ‘‘This is not the way the country’s supposed to run, and Congress is one of the institutions that should be doing something about this.’’
Washington Post
Trump hails his own ‘great and unmatched wisdom’
In the latest assessment of his own abilities, President Trump on Monday warned Turkey that there would be devastating economic consequences if the Turkish government takes any steps ‘‘that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits.’’
Trump made the statement in a tweet defending his decision to withdraw US troops from Syria’s border with Turkey.
The tweet is not the first time that Trump has talked up his own capabilities.
In tweets last year, the president pronounced himself a ‘‘very stable genius.’’ He also declared: ‘‘Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart.’’
This summer, Trump looked skyward and said, ‘‘I am the chosen one’’ to fix US trade relations with China.
Trump also said last month that he deserves a Nobel Prize ‘‘for a lot of things’’ but claimed that the committee that makes the decision does so unfairly.
Washington Post
McConnell largely avoids impeachment talk at home
While impeachment drama swirls in Washington, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell was back home in Kentucky on Monday talking about fighting opioid misuse and confirming conservative judges.
The Republican leader, a steadfast defender of President Trump, made only momentary references to impeachment during his public appearances. McConnell left both events without speaking to reporters.
House Democrats are leading the impeachment inquiry into Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, but McConnell will assume a key role if the matter reaches the Senate. But the potentially monumental issue of whether the president should be removed from office barely came up during McConnell’s speeches Monday.
His only direct reference to impeachment came while speaking to members of the conservative Federalist Society about the Senate process of confirming judges.
‘‘There’s no doubt that the confirmation process means whatever the Senate thinks at any given time,’’ McConnell said during the appearance at Kentucky’s Capitol in Frankfort. ‘‘It’s much like impeachment, which is in the news now. Some people think of it as a judicial-type proceeding. It’s a political decision.’’
While he has avoided talking about impeachment while back in Kentucky for the congressional recess, he released a social media campaign ad vowing to stop any Democratic push to remove Trump from office. He’s using the ad to raise campaign funds off the Trump inquiry. McConnell is running for reelection next year.
‘‘All of you know your Constitution,’’ McConnell said in the video. ‘‘The way that impeachment stops is with a Senate majority with me as majority leader.’’
Associated Press
Minnesota Representative Omar files for divorce
US Representative Ilhan Omar has filed for divorce from her husband.
The freshman Democrat cited an ‘‘irretrievable breakdown’’ of her marriage with Ahmed Hirsi in her filing Friday in Hennepin County District Court. Aside from a period of separation in which Omar married another man — Ahmed Nur Said Elmi — Omar has been with Hirsi for years and he is the father of her three children.
Marriage license and divorce records show Omar legally married Hirsi in 2018, after her divorce from Elmi was finalized.
Omar’s filing comes more than a month after a Washington, D.C., woman in her own divorce filing accused Omar of having an affair with her husband, Tim Mynett. Mynett has worked as a political consultant for Omar.
Mynett has denied in court papers his wife’s assertion that he admitted to an affair with Omar.
Associated Press
Democrat Amy Klobuchar raises $4.8m for primary bid
Democrat Amy Klobuchar says she raised $4.8 million in the third quarter for her 2020 presidential campaign.
The total announced Monday places the Minnesota senator in the middle of the field in fund-raising for the third straight quarter. Klobuchar has raised more than some rivals but less than top-tier candidates such as Senator Bernie Sanders, who raised $25.3 million last quarter, and Senator Elizabeth Warren, who raised $24.6 million.
She said Sunday that ‘‘we feel good about our number.’’
Klobuchar says she’s been careful about how the campaign spends money and ‘‘I’m staying in this race till the end.’’ She began airing her first TV ads in Iowa and New Hampshire last week.
Associated Press