The White House

• President Donald Trump approved military strikes against a handful of Iranian targets in response to Tehran’s shooting down an American surveillance drone, according to sources, but abruptly pulled back. On Twitter, Trump said he called off the strike after a general told him 150 people would die.

• Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan withdrew from consideration to be confirmed as Pentagon chief, and Trump said Army Secretary Mark Esper will take over in an acting capacity and be nominated to lead the department on a full-time basis. Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, decided to resign as media organizations began to publish stories about nearly decade-old domestic violence incidents he has sought to keep out of public view.

• Trump directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to begin a mass roundup in as many as 10 U.S. cities of up to 2,000 migrant families that have received deportation orders, but announced he would delay the raids so that Democrats and Republicans in Congress could work out a compromise on immigration policy.

• The writer and advice columnist for Elle magazine E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a dressing room in the mid-1990s, according to an excerpt of her new book. In a statement, the White House called her account “completely false and unrealistic” and said it was “created simply to make the President look bad.”

• A federal court ruled that the Trump administration can deny federal funding to family planning organizations such as Planned Parenthood that provide abortions or referrals for them. Federal funding for abortions has been illegal for years, but abortion rights advocates fear the new rule could force clinics to choose between providing abortion services or receiving federal funding that keeps their other health care operations in business.

• The Trump administration moved to ease Obama-era rules that would wean the country’s electric grid off of coal-fired power plants, proposing a rule that would give states wide discretion to decide whether to require limited efficiency upgrades.

• A federal judge in Maryland said he believes new evidence alleging political motivation behind the 2020 census citizenship question “raises a substantial issue,” and issued an order allowing groups suing the government to ask an appeals court to remand the case to his lower court. The judge’s decision is a blow to the Trump administration and could lead to reopening one of three federal trials into the citizenship question.

Congress

• House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said lawmakers and officials from both parties were “further apart” after a nearly 90-minute meeting about striking a deal to fund the government after funding expires on Oct. 1. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the Trump administration was prepared to extend current funding and raise the debt ceiling for one year, a move Democrats view as a last-ditch option.

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) ruled out a congressional censure of Trump, saying “if the goods are there, you must impeach.” Censure is viewed as less divisive than moving to full impeachment proceedings, though support for impeachment has grown to 73 House Democrats.

• The Senate voted to block the sale of billions of dollars of arms to Saudi Arabia, rebuking Trump’s attempt to circumvent Congress to allow the exports by declaring an emergency over Iran. The House is expected to follow suit in blocking the sales, but Trump has pledged to veto the legislation and it is unlikely that either chamber has the votes to override him.

The investigations

• Former Trump business associate Felix Sater failed to appear before House Intelligence Committee investigators who are interested in his work on a proposed Trump real estate project in Moscow. Sater’s lawyer said his client was unable to attend “due to health reasons” and was willing to reschedule, but the committee’s chairman, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), said a subpoena was “fairly imminent.”

• Former Trump adviser Hope Hicks appeared before the House Judiciary Committee, where she read to lawmakers from former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report but refused to answer questions under the advice of her lawyers, according to sources. Transcripts of Hicks’ testimony showed White House lawyers intervened hundreds of times claiming she had “absolute immunity” from talking to Congress.

2020

• Former Vice President Joe Biden refused to apologize for citing two Southern segregationists as people he “got things done” with in the Senate, responding to remarks from several of his 2020 Democratic rivals who criticized him for speaking fondly of working with segregationists.

• Trump formally launched his re-election bid in Florida, the nation’s largest swing state, rehashing grievances about former special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe and 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s emails. Polls show Trump starting his 2020 campaign with a disadvantage, though his campaign manager argued in an interview that the metrics are inaccurate and predicted the president would win “even more electoral points than he did last time.”

• Trump’s re-election campaign reportedly fired three pollsters after internal numbers that showed him trailing former Vice President Joe Biden in key states, including Michigan and Wisconsin, were leaked. A source said that two of the pollsters, Michael Baselice and Adam Geller, are expected to begin working with the pro-Trump super PAC America First, while another, Brett Lloyd of The Polling Company, is not expected to continue working with any Trump-affiliated entities.

• South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg is facing heat in his hometown over the recent officer-involved shooting that has shaken the city over the last week. Buttigieg skipped scheduled campaign stops in order to return to South Bend and meet with community members.

• Former North Carolina state Sen. Eric Mansfield launched his campaign for the Democratic nomination to take on Republican Sen. Thom Tillis next year. His candidacy comes a day after former state Sen. Cal Cunningham (D) dropped his own bid for lieutenant governor of North Carolina and switched to the Senate race.

• Alabama Republican Roy Moore announced his candidacy for Senate, ignoring objections from Trump and other top Republicans who voiced concern that he can’t beat Democratic Sen. Doug Jones next year.

• Former Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R) filed with the Federal Election Commission to run for Senate in Wyoming, though her campaign treasurer she has not yet made a final decision about running.

• The House and Senate are in session this week.

• The first debates of the Democratic presidential primary will be held in Miami on Wednesday and Thursday.

• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said he will bring up legislation that would provide $4.6 billion bill to respond to the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. The House, which released a $4.5 billion measure that includes less money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and extra oversight demands not included in the Senate bill, is aiming for a Tuesday vote on its own measure.

• House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said House Democrats will soon file a lawsuit seeking to force former White House counsel Don McGahn to testify on Capitol Hill.

1) Acting defense secretary bows out of running to be confirmed as Pentagon chief
Missy Ryan et al., The Washington Post

2) Thomas urges Supreme Court to reverse ‘demonstrably erroneous decisions’
Jacqueline Thomsen, The Hill

3) Donald Trump’s presidency has moved America left
The Economist

4) Trump could have tough time meeting his deportation threat
Colleen Long et al., The Associated Press

5) Lawmakers, White House Deadlocked in Budget Talks to Avert Next Shutdown
Kristina Peterson and Andrew Duehren, The Wall Street Journal

6) Strikes on Iran Approved by Trump, Then Abruptly Pulled Back
Michael D. Shear et al., The New York Times

7) Jared Kushner Was My Boss
Aaron Gell, Medium

8) Paul Manafort Seemed Headed to Rikers. Then the Justice Department Intervened.
William K. Rashbaum and Katie Benner, The New York Times

9) Trump campaign fires multiple pollsters after unflattering numbers leak
Kaitlan Collins et al., CNN

10) Biden defiant as Democrats unleash barrage of criticism
Maggie Severns, Politico