The investigations

• The office of special counsel Robert Mueller denied an explosive report from BuzzFeed News alleging that his investigators had gathered evidence showing that President Donald Trump had directed Michael Cohen, his longtime personal attorney, to lie to Congress about the Trump Organization’s efforts to build a Trump Tower in Russia. It was a rare move from Mueller’s office, which has made public statements sparingly since its creation in May 2017 and had never before commented on evidence related to the investigation.

• During a CNN interview, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said that while the president did not collude with Russia during the 2016 campaign, he did not know if other people in the campaign were working with the Kremlin. The remarks contradicted statements by the president and his supporters, who have denied any collusion, and Giuliani later tried to backtrack from his comments.

The shutdown

• Trump offered to extend temporary protections for young people brought to the country illegally as children and those fleeing disaster zones if Congress provides $5.7 billion for his proposed border wall. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) rejected the deal.

• The Trump administration ordered thousands of government employees back to work without pay, including food and plane safety inspectors and those tasked with issuing tax refunds – a move that tests the bounds of emergency furlough exemptions under federal law. The administration has also asked most State Department employees to return to work on Tuesday, saying it has found money to pay employees for work performed during the next pay period, though it has not identified funding sources for future pay periods if the government remains closed.

• Trump denied Pelosi the use of a military aircraft for a planned trip to the Middle East, calling the visit “totally inappropriate” amid the 4-week partial government shutdown. Trump – who took his own trip to Iraq just after the shutdown began on Dec. 22 – delivered the news in a letter to the California Democrat a day after she sent her own note effectively rescinding his invitation to give the State of Union address later this month.

• A new Morning Consult/Politico survey found more voters are blaming Trump for the shuttering of federal agencies as the standoff with Democrats in Congress continues. Forty-nine percent said Trump was mostly to blame for the shutdown, up 6 points since Morning Consult’s first survey on the topic last month.

2020

• Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) announced her plans to form a presidential exploratory committee during an interview on the “Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” The 52-year-old followed Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) as the second senator to announce plans to run, with a number of others still considering bids for the party’s nomination.

• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has personally courted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to run for Senate in his home state of Kansas, according to sources. Having the former congressman run for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) could anger Trump, who is said to view Pompeo as his favorite Cabinet member, but McConnell sees Pompeo key to avoiding a potentially expensive and divisive primary.

The Trump administration

• Four Americans were among 19 people killed in Syria by an Islamic State group suicide bombing, raising questions about Trump’s decision to end the American ground war in Syria and his assertion that IS had been defeated, which Vice President Mike Pence repeated after the attack. A U.S. official said it was at least the sixth major attack by the group in less than a month and one of the deadliest days for the American-led coalition.

• An audit by the Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general found the Trump administration had separated thousands more migrant children at the border than it previously acknowledged and that the separations began in 2017, months before the policy was announced. The report also found that the Trump administration failed to track separated families in a single database.

• A report from the General Services Administration’s inspector general found the agency “ignored” concerns that Trump’s lease on the federal government-owned Old Post Office building, which houses a Trump International Hotel, might violate the Constitution’s emoluments clause. Trump has faced lawsuits alleging that his company’s hosting of events from several foreign embassies and at least one U.S. governor violate the Constitution, and Democrats on Capitol Hill plan on making the issue a top target of investigations.

• A judge blocked rules from taking effect that would allow more employers to opt out of providing women with no-cost birth control. The Department of Justice had argued the rules protect a “narrow class” of people who object based on “sincere religious and moral” grounds, while California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D), whose state is affected by the ruling, argued the policy infringes on women’s rights.

• A federal judge in New York struck down an attempt by the Trump administration to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census in a ruling that’s likely to end up at the Supreme Court. Critics of adding the question have argued it would discourage non-citizens, such as undocumented immigrants, from participating in the census.

Congress

• Senate Republicans blocked an effort led by Democrats to keep sanctions on companies tied to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the House, 136 Republicans joined Democrats in support of a similar measure.

• The House voted, 424 to 1, to rebuke Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) for making racist comments in a recent interview, denunciating white supremacists and white nationalist movements, though some House Democrats argued it did not go far enough and are pushing for a censure resolution. House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), who introduced the resolution disapproving of King’s comments, and Hoyer raised concerns that censure might set a precedent for policing members’ speech.

• Pelosi denied Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.), one of her most outspoken critics, a seat on the House Judiciary Committee, according to multiple sources. Pelosi instead pushed for other members to join the panel, leaving Rice, a former prosecutor, off a list of her preferred members for the committee.

• Trump’s reported efforts to hide details from his conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin have set up a potential clash between the White House and Congress, with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) calling on Republican lawmakers to back his effort to obtain notes or testimony from the interpreter in one of the president’s private meetings with his Russian counterpart.

• Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), an 82-year-old who’s served in the House since 1993, has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and is receiving treatment in Washington, D.C. In a statement, he said he is “hopeful about survival” and his ability to continue serving in Congress.

• Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.) announced he will resign from his seat in the House on Jan. 23, just weeks after being sworn in to his fifth term. In a statement, Marino – whom Trump had selected to be the nation’s drug czar in 2017 before he withdrew his nomination – said he would be taking a job in the private sector.

• Attorney General nominee William Barr is told senators at his confirmation hearing that it is vitally important that special counsel Robert Mueller be allowed to complete his probe into Russian interference of the 2016 election. Barr also said the president never sought any promises before choosing him for the job.

• The House and Senate are in session this week. House Democrats are expected to bring up bills to reopen the government amid their stalemate with Trump over funding for his proposed border wall.

• Monday marks one month since the partial government shutdown began.

• Cohen is set to testify publicly before the Democrat-led House Oversight and Reform Committee on Feb. 7.

• Trump is planning to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in February for a second nuclear summit, according to the White House, which said the location would be announced later.

1) House condemns Steve King over racist remarks
John Bresnahan and Melanie Zanona, Politico

2) Trump Orders Thousands Back to Work Without Pay to Blunt Shutdown Disruption
Jennifer A Dlouhy, Bloomberg

3) Trump grounds Pelosi after she imperils his big speech
Catherine Lucey et al., The Associated Press

4) Bipartisan Senate group forming in search of shutdown deal amid impasse between Trump, party leaders
Erica Werner et al., The Washington Post

5) Two weeks after being sworn in, Tom Marino announces resignation from Congress
Chris Cioffi and Katherine Tully-McManus, Roll Call

6) Pelosi gets revenge against one of the Dem rebels
Heather Caygle et al., Politico

7) Will The Shutdown Hurt Trump’s Re-election Chances?
Nate Silver, FiveThirtyEight

8) President Trump Directed His Attorney Michael Cohen To Lie To Congress About The Moscow Tower Project
Jason Leopold and Anthony Comier, BuzzFeed News

9) Scoop: Trump dressed down Mulvaney in front of congressional leaders
Jonathan Swan, Axios

10) Nearly Half of Voters Say They’re ‘Definitely’ Not Voting for Trump in 2020
Eli Yokley, Morning Consult