President Trump causing a firestorm Wednesday after releasing an official statement saying his former advisor Steve Bannon has "lost his mind." Washington Examiner Commentary Writer Philip Wegmann explains the significance of this statement.
"I expected the pushback to come through a tweet because that's President Trump's style," said Wegmann. "But by going through the press office they made it official." The statement was reportedly in response to excerpts from a new book by Michael Wolff titled "In Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House."
"This was a serious miscalculation by the White House," said Wegmann. During Wednesday's White House press briefing Press Secretary Sarah Sanders doubled down on the administration's statement.
With a government shutdown five days away, Congress is moving into crisis mode as Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces an insurgency from hard-right Republicans eager to slash spending even if it means curtailing federal services for millions of Americans.
Rep. Andy Kim of New Jersey announced on Saturday that he will run against Sen. Robert Menendez in the state’s Democratic primary for Senate next year, saying he feels compelled to run against the three-term senator after he and his wife were indicted on sweeping corruption charges.