President Donald Trump traveled 12 time zones across the world only to walk out on a second high-stakes summit with the North Korean despot Kim Jong Un. At night in Vietnam and during the daytime in DC, his former lawyer and fixer spilled the beans during open and closed hearings on Capitol Hill.
There was a consequential vote in Congress over Trump’s national security emergency declaration and the US will hit the borrowing limit on Saturday.
The unsuccessful Hanoi summit ended up feeling like a subplot to the consequential and criminal allegations of Cohen.
Here’s a day-by-day look at one of the newsiest weeks of the year so far:
Monday
Trump leaves for Hanoi — Most of the President’s Monday will take place on Air Force One. He leaves for his summit journey in the afternoon. Kim is traveling by private train.
Pence and Guaido — Vice President Mike Pence meets in Bogota, Colombia, with South American leaders, including Juan Guaido, the leader in opposition to President Nicolas Maduro. Guaido has been recognized by the US and other nations as the rightful interim leader of Venezuela.
9/11 first responders — Comedian Jon Stewart joins union officials and survivor groups to lobby for new funding for the Victim Compensation Fund, which is meant to help 9/11 first responders and survivors suffering from cancer and other ailments as well as their families.
Bernie Sanders town hall — CNN hosted Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for its fourth town hall with a 2020 presidential candidate. Trump has accused Democrats of pushing socialism and Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats and considers himself a democratic socialist, fired back at the President.
Tuesday
Trump arrives in Vietnam — Trump landed in Hanoi in the evening local time and morning Eastern Time. He meets with the Vietnamese president, but doesn’t have any other events on his schedule.
Michael Cohen testifies behind closed doors — The President’s former lawyer begins three days on Capitol Hillwith behind-closed-doors testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Cohen was sentenced in December for, among other crimes, lying to Congress.
House rebukes Trump on national emergency declaration — The House passed a resolution of disapproval regarding the declaration of a national emergencyby Trump made to start building his border wall without money from Congress. More than a dozen Republicans crossed the aisle to vote against Trump, but the measure did not achieve the two-thirds majority it would require to override his veto. But the successful vote in the House means the Senate will have to vote in the near future. That will put some Republicans there in the uncomfortable position of potentially voting against the President. Three have already said they will vote against him on the declaration.
Child separations — The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the administration’s controversial child separations policy that drew an outcry in 2018 and is still having repercussions. The hearing won’t feature Cabinet secretaries, but it did include key officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Justice — and it was a reminder for the administration of the new scrutiny for policies now that Democrats control the House. At least 245 children have been separated from their parents at the border since the administration said it would stop the practice.
Wednesday
Trump meets with Kim — The main event in Vietnam, Trump’s meeting with Kim, began with promise as the two men met and shook hands and had dinner. Shouted questions from reporters led to remarkable new curbs on press access.
Michael Cohen accuses Trump of criminal activity — The main event in Washington, Cohen’s public testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, took up nearly all the oxygen in the nation’s capitol as, during hours in front of TV cameras, the former Trump insider said his former boss was a racist, a conman and a cheat. Cohen said Trump directed him to lie repeatedly, that he knew of Wikileaks and Russian efforts to help his campaign, that he inflated his own net worth, and so much more. Trump said Cohen is a liar and can’t be believed.
Heated debate over racism — Reps. Mark Meadows of South Carolina and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan got into a heated debate over racism at the hearing after Cohen accused Trump of making racist statements in private and Meadows used a black HUD employee, brought in to stand behind him, to argue the President isn’t racist.
Thursday
Trump/Kim summit ends with a whimper — It was supposed to end with a lunch and a signing ceremony, but Trump would not bend to Kim’s demands and walked out before the ceremony and the meal the chefs were already preparing. Trump was criticized for saying he believed Kim didn’t know about the treatment of Otto Warmbier, the American student who was beaten into a coma while jailed in North Korea and later died after being returned to the US.
Accusations Cohen lied to Congress again — Cohen went back behind closed doors for a third straight day of grilling by lawmakers, this time before the House Intelligence Committee. Meanwhile, Republicans picked over his public testimony and said he lied to Congress when he said he didn’t try to land a job in the Trump White House.
Trump demanded security clearance for Kushner — The New York Times dropped a report that Trump commanded his former chief of staff to give his son-in-law security clearance, a remarkable suspension of protocol.
Friday
Agents still not paid after shutdown — CNN reports that more than 1,000 TSA agents still have not been fully reimbursed with back pay for their service during the government shutdown.
Another Democrat jumps into the 2020 race — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says he’ll run for Presidentas a single-issue candidate raising the alarm on climate change.
Saturday
US debt ceiling comes back into effect — The federal government’s borrowing authority will be exhausted, with the congressionally-mandated debt ceiling back in effect. The Department of Treasury can employ “extraordinary measures” to cover the country’s bills, but this will trigger intense debate in Congress about spending and debt — and lawmakers will have to raise the debt ceiling, now at $22 trillion, before the money runs out early next fall. Democrats running for president want to create massive new social programs. Republicans in 2017 passed a massive new tax law that cut taxes for many Americans but will also mean runaway and ballooning deficits.
What didn’t happen this week
The Mueller report — One thing Trump didn’t have to worry about was the release or filing of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian election interferenceand possible collusion with Trump’s campaign. Trump has said the timing of the report is “totally up to Barr” — his new attorney general William Barr — and it stands to reason the Department of Justice wouldn’t release a document that could jar him while the President is headlining a nuclear summit.
Chinese tariffs — They don’t exactly have a new trade deal yet, but Trump announced he would delay the imposition of planned new tariffs on China while US and Chinese trade negotiators try to find an agreement.
