The world of President Donald Trump news is always hectic, and this week was no different. Trump's 2017 tax cut bill isn't resulting in the economic growth the administration promised; the EPA under Trump is rolling back Obama-era regulations on waste from coal plants; Trump is being sued for defamation by a woman who accused him of rape; and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday that Trump's accountants must turn over his tax returns to the Manhattan District Attorney.
This week saw little new information in the impeachment inquiry beyond corroboration of testimony given by earlier witnesses and the release of transcripts of the closed door hearings.The new information includes the revised testimony of Ambassador to the E.U. Gordon Sondland who returned to Capitol Hill this week after his memory was jogged by the version of events presented by other Trump officials. Among other things, Sondland now admits that he himself established the quid pro quo with Ukranian Officials. Again, this is in line with testimony given by Bill Taylor, Lt. Col. Alexander Lindeman, and others.
Speaking of Bill Taylor, he is currently the first person scheduled to be deposed in public hearings in the coming week. Others on the list include former Ambassador to Ukraine Maria Yovonovich and an assistant of Mike Pompeo. Of course, Pompeo himself has not appeared before Congress. The Trump administration is unlikely to allow either Pompeo, John Bolton, or Mick Mulvaney to comply with any subpoenas issued to them by the Committee despite the importance of their insight into U.S. foreign policy and Trump's actions regarding aid that was withheld from Ukraine. Trump says allowing his aids to testify would merely "give credibility to a corrupt witch hunt", and it is possible the administration will also use executive privilege in order to avoid complying with the investigation
While impeachment was certainly dominating the news cycle, there were several key elections this week that may offer an insight into Trump's chances in 2020. Overall, Democrats won big taking control of both chambers of Virginia's state legislature officially turning the state blue. In Kentucky, Democrat Andy Beshear beat incumbent Republican Governor Matt Bevin by around 5,000 votes; although, Bevin has yet to concede the race. He is claiming there were irregularities in the voting process but has given no evidence for this claim. This loss comes after President Trump campaigned for Bevin. At a rally in Kentucky, Trump told voters that if Bevin lost, the media would call this the "greatest defeat in the history of the world" for Trump himself. So far, no one seems to think this was the greatest defeat in the history of the world, but these elections are bad news for Trump's campaign for 2020. From these races we learned that the impeachment has not fired up rural voters as Republicans had hoped and that there may be a swing left on issues such as gun reform and health care.