Politics A.M.: Trump needed $225 million. A little-known bank came to the rescue.

Mitch McConnell freezes mid-sentence, escorted away at news conference; Biden to welcome Italy's Meloni despite her far-right leanings; Why Hunter Biden's plea deal wasn't approved on Wednesday ; What Democrats want to hear in Biden's climate speech; The GOP's lengthy impeachment and censure lists; The GOP claim that Biden is running a 'shell game' on the border ; UFO reports demand greater transparency, lawmakers say; McCarthy, House GOP tiptoe toward Biden impeachment inquiry ; A quarter of Americans see Trump as moderate or liberal; Patty Murray leads Democrats' charge toward funding showdown with House GOP ; Judge pumps the brakes on Hunter Biden's guilty plea; What if the problem with Ron DeSantis's campaign is that it exists? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Get unlimited access to The Post for $1 a week  Sign up for this newsletter Read online The most important politics stories today.     (Sandy Huffaker/for The Washingtonn Post) Trump needed $225 million. A little-known bank came to the rescue. When Trump needed $225 million, an unlikely partner came to the rescue: Axos Bank, an online-only financial firm headquartered in suburban San Diego. By Michael Kranish ●  Read more »   Mitch McConnell freezes mid-sentence, escorted away at news conference The incident took place about four months after McConnell fell and suffered a concussion and a broken rib at a private dinner at a Washington hotel. By Amy B Wang, Paul Kane and Maegan Vazquez ●  Read more »   Biden to welcome Italy's Meloni despite her far-right leanings Biden has expressed reservations as Meloni was rising to power, but the two have formed a connection. By Meryl Kornfield ●  Read more »   Why Hunter Biden's plea deal wasn't approved on Wednesday A federal judge exposed a rift over immunity provisions, and questioned whether the structure of the deal was legal. By Amber Phillips ●  Read more »   ANALYSIS What Democrats want to hear in Biden's climate speech President Biden will address the punishing heat wave afflicting Washington and much of the rest of the country today — and some Democrats and climate activists want to see him use the moment to build support for further action on climate change. By Theodoric Meyer, Leigh Ann Caldwell and Tobi Raji ●  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   ANALYSIS The GOP's lengthy impeachment and censure lists Republicans have lodged more impeachment and censure threats than at any point since at least the 1980s, including using punitive measures at the state level. By Aaron Blake ●  Read more »   ANALYSIS The GOP claim that Biden is running a 'shell game' on the border It's not a shall game, but the numbers are often confusing and hard to decipher. By Glenn Kessler ●  Read more »   UFO reports demand greater transparency, lawmakers say An hours-long congressional hearing on UFOs captured the intensifying public interest in the unexplained and how authorities investigate such reports. By Abigail Hauslohner, Shane Harris and Dan Lamothe ●  Read more »   McCarthy, House GOP tiptoe toward Biden impeachment inquiry In broaching impeachment, the House GOP majority is entering what many acknowledge is a treacherous time that will test the conference's ideological factions. By Leigh Ann Caldwell, Theodoric Meyer and Marianna Sotomayor ●  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   ANALYSIS A quarter of Americans see Trump as moderate or liberal A fifth of Americans, meanwhile, can't identify his ideology. By Philip Bump ●  Read more »   ANALYSIS Patty Murray leads Democrats' charge toward funding showdown with House GOP The 30-year veteran of the Senate, now chairing the powerful Appropriations Committee, is looking to get the Senate back to its deal-making roots, at least on government funding. By Paul Kane ●  Read more »   Judge pumps the brakes on Hunter Biden's guilty plea A federal judge delayed accepting a plea deal Hunter Biden, saying the terms struck by prosecutors and defense lawyers may not be constitutional. By Perry Stein, Karl Baker, Devlin Barrett and Matt Viser ●  Read more »   ANALYSIS What if the problem with Ron DeSantis's campaign is that it exists? New reporting adds an intriguing context for the stumbles of the DeSantis campaign. By Philip Bump ●  Read more »     News whiz? Play our daily news quiz. Test your knowledge of current events with our new quotable game, On the Record. Play game   We think you'll like this newsletter Check out The Climate 202 for a daily guide to climate news and policy. Sign up »

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