BUDGET/IMPEACHMENT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In a 72-hour stretch this week, President Donald Trump went a long way toward putting two looming threats to his bid to retain power to rest. The first, impeachment, took a blow on Wednesday [7-24-19] when former special counsel Robert Mueller delivered muted and sometimes shaky testimony before two House panels — and failed to serve up the sort of compelling fresh red meat that might sway Democrats who have been reluctant to launch an impeachment inquiry. The president also threw his weight behind the budget deal negotiated by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, heading off another government shutdown that could have led to political damage, and he swore in a new secretary of Defense, ending the longest vacancy atop the department in U.S. history. Late Thursday [7-25-19] afternoon, the House passed the bill overwhelmingly…The spate of good news for the president may be short-lived, of course. North Korea fired two missiles Wednesday evening that the South Korean government quickly described as a new type of short-range missile. The U.S. government has yet to offer an official response.”
–Eliana Johnson and Burgess Everett, “Trump’s good week,” Politico, July 25, 2019 6:10 pm