The Note

The Note: Kavanaugh fight raises stakes for midterms

The storylines have converged to set up a defining couple of days.

The Note: Kavanaugh allegation tests Washington on #MeToo

The politics of a smooth-sailing Supreme Court nomination have turned.

The Note: Storm brews over Trump's death toll claims

President Trump's tweet did fresh damage to his credibility.

The Note: Primary season highlights Democrats’ leftward march

It’s not all about who wins and who loses.

The Note: As storm approaches, a self-imposed test for Trump

Trump has set up his own fresh tests for his administration.

The Note: Left’s squabbles play out in final primaries

The campaign worries for this fall reside mainly on the right. But much of the remaining primary action is on the left.

The Note: GOP's hopes and fears in Trump's hands

GOP's hopes and fears lie in Trump's hands.

The Note: Obama takes the midterms stage

Out of the chaos and norm-busting and institution-bursting of the last few days comes a voice from the not-so-distant past.

The Note: Trump firestorms that could spark an explosion

It does not get, in matters of state, much deeper than this.

The Note: Democrats seizing fight over Kavanaugh

The RUNDOWN with Adam Kelsey The pre-race comparison was easy and so it dominated the storyline as Election Day approached: A white, male incumbent congressman representing an urban East coast district since the late '90s faces an upset by a younger, minority woman running on a progressive platform.

The Note: Democrats could see better days according to poll, leaving Trump and Republicans on defense

Two months out, it’s easy to see how things might get worse for President Donald Trump and the Republican Party – and less easy to see how things could get better.

The Note: A look back on McCain, a future with Trump

Sen. John McCain loved a good fight. He did not live to witness what could be a whole lot of bad fights this fall.

The Note: Trump on the ballot, everywhere?

Trump’s push to put himself on the ballot puts his style of politics everywhere.

The Note: A Sanders vs. Trump matchup for Florida governor

Remember when Donald Trump challenged Bernie Sanders to a debate?

The Note: Florida and Arizona primaries show lure of Trumpism

The moment belongs to Sen. John McCain. But the GOP still belongs to Trump.

The Note: The McCain legacy finds no obvious heir

The nation can use a touch of McCain’s stubborn optimism at this or any moment.

The Note: A bad week for Trump clarifies the stakes

A week with so many game-changers didn’t actually change the game very much at all.

The Note: Words matter, even in the age of Trump

So truth isn’t truth, a crime isn’t a crime, and doing “nothing wrong” includes paying off a porn star who wanted to go public about an alleged affair.

The Note: No finality to legal sagas surrounding Trump

Two former top aides to President Donald Trump played opposite sides of the loyalty card to the same stunning conclusion: guilty pronouncements in federal court.

The Note: Can Democrats beat Trump’s GOP with Obamacare?

Trump has said the fight over Obamacare continues – and the men and women he’s trying to defeat are welcoming that.

The Note: Trump’s truths hurt

President Trump's lawyer says "truth isn't truth."

The Note: Trump's week of disrespect

This week was about people asking for respect.

The Note: Trump yanks security clearance from Trump critic

Call it a blacklist, Nixonian or simply an execution of presidential power.

The Note: More than irony in play for Trump

From the White House to Wisconsin … Oh, the irony.

The Note: Both parties on offense in Tuesday primaries

There is primary voting on Tuesday and both parties are playing some offense.

The Note: Trump continues to reset the bar

In two years, the voters will decide where they think the bar should be.

The Note: Trump effect not what GOP hoped for

President Donald Trump took another post-election victory lap.

The Note: Swamp waters rising for Trump

The waters of President Donald Trump's swamp continue to rise.

The Note: Ohio squeaker sounds alarms for GOP

A squeaker in a special House election in Ohio is making loud noises in the GOP.

The Note: Trump effect undeniable in Tuesday’s primaries

The Note: The many matchups of Trump

Trump is positioning himself against Democrats in typically misleading ways.

The Note: The risks of talking impeachment on the trail

There are some topics we know animate voters on both sides.

The Note: Trump’s strategy revealed where tweets and rallies intersect

It all connected. And it’s all about Trump.

The Note: Trump White House MIA in election meddling fight

American politics is under attack. Who, exactly, is leading the fight back?

The Note: Manafort trial could hold hints for Trump’s future

The veil comes down just a bit starting Tuesday.

The Note: Trump offers help — and challenges — to GOP candidates

The midterm stage is set, but there’s a whole lot that’s not easy to predict.

The Note: Trump takes aim at November and his critics

President Donald Trump is trying to look toward November.

The Note: More clean-ups ahead for Trump

Thursday brings another marking point in the Trump admin's difficulties.

The Note: Pompeo holds keys to Trump credibility on Russia

Pompeo’s one and only opportunity for congressional testimony this week.

The Note: The unbothered enemies of Trump

The enemies list is growing. Ask those targeted whether they really care.

The Note: For Trump, potential threats – from friends and foes alike – are everywhere

Trump sees Vladimir Putin as a potential friend, and Michael Cohen as a foe.

The Note: Keeping Trump inside the guardrails

Republicans offered up guardrails to the boundaries the president can stretch.

The Note: A long, strange trip for Trump and the GOP

House Republicans forced a vote Wednesday on a resolution to express support for ICE -- Immigration and Customs Enforcement -- enraging Democrats who complained the measure was a political stunt intended to embarrass Democrats who have called to abolish the embattled agency.

The Note: Trump’s do-over doesn’t mean it’s over

Trump on Tuesday did something he rarely does in asking for a do-over of his comments about Russia meddling.

The Note: After Trump’s performance, what next?

"When our president sides with Putin over his own executive branch, he emboldens the Russian organizations set on threatening us," said Michigan Democratic congressional candidate Elissa Slotkin, who is challenging GOP Rep. Mike Bishop.

The Note: Beyond summit, Trump must assure Russian interference won’t happen again

Senate Intelligence Vice Chair Mark Warner, D-Va., and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speak at the Atlantic Council's discussion on "Pulling at the Strings: The Kremlin's Interference in Elections" at 2 p.m. QUOTE OF THE DAY "Unfortunately, no matter how well I do at the Summit, if I was given the great city of Moscow as retribution for all of the sins and evils committed by Russia ... over the years, I would return to criticism that it wasn’t good enough – that I should have gotten Saint Petersburg in addition!"

The Note: Trump triumphs watching others scramble

He departs London at 2 p.m. and heads to his golf course in Turnberry, Scotland.

The Note: The world pushes back on Trump

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered U.S. Marshals to move Paul Manafort from his rural Virginia jail to a detention facility in Alexandria, Va., in the Washington metro area, where the former Trump campaign chairman faces two trials – one set to begin later this month and the second in September.

The Note: Trump’s Supreme Court pick could rock political landscape

Trump picks Judge Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme Court vacant seat.

The Note: President Trump’s instincts put to the test with SCOTUS pick, NATO summit

Now comes a legacy-defining week that will test Trump's instincts at home and abroad.