1/ Hope Hicks will resign as White House communications director. Hicks, one of Trump’s longest-serving advisers, had been considering leaving for several months. Her resignation came a day after she testified for more than eight hours before the House Intelligence Committee. She declined to answer many questions during her appearance. (New York Times / Bloomberg / Politico)

2/ Hope Hicks told the House Intelligence Committee that she sometimes has to lie for Trump. After an extended conversation with her lawyers, however, the White House communications director insisted that she has never lied about matters related to Russian interference or possible collusion with Trump associates. (New York Times)

3/ Robert Mueller’s investigators have been asking witnesses about Trump’s business activities in Russia prior to the 2016 campaign. Mueller’s team has been asking about the timing of Trump’s decision to run, any potentially compromising information the Russians may have, and why a deal for a Trump Tower in Moscow fell through. (CNN)

  • A judge in Washington, D.C., set a September 17th trial date for Paul Manafort, putting the former Trump campaign chairman on trial at the height of midterm election season. (Politico)

  • Paul Manafort pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in federal court to a rewritten set of charges that had been levied against him late last week. (CNN)

4/ Mueller’s team is also asking witnesses whether Trump knew about the hacked Democratic emails before they were publicly released, and whether he was involved or aware of WikiLeaks’ plan to publish the emails. Investigators have also asked about the relationship between GOP operative Roger Stone and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and why Trump took policy positions favorable to Russia. (NBC News)

5/ Trump attacked Jeff Sessions on Twitter for his “disgraceful” handling of an investigation into potential surveillance abuses. “Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc,” Trump tweeted. “Isn’t the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!” Yesterday, Sessions announced that the Justice Department is looking at whether the FBI properly handled FISA applications to monitor members of Trump’s transition team. (CNN / The Hill)

  • Jeff Sessions pushed back: “I will continue to discharge my duties with integrity and honor.” (Bloomberg / ABC News)

6/ ICE arrested more than 150 suspected undocumented immigrants in the Bay Area, two days after Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf publicly warned of imminent ICE raids in Northern California. ICE Deputy Director Thomas Homan called Schaaf’s decision “reckless” and that “864 criminal aliens and public safety threats remain at large.” Schaaf said she didn’t regret sharing the information, calling it her “ethical obligation” and that “It is Oakland’s legal right to be a sanctuary city and we have not broken any laws. We believe our community is safer when families stay together.” (The Mercury News / Washington Post)

  • After a U.S. judge rejected an attempt by California to stop Trump from building a border wall, Trump “decided” that the California wall will not be built until the entire southern wall is approved. “I have decided that sections of the Wall that California wants built NOW will not be built until the whole Wall is approved,” Trump tweeted. It was unclear what Trump meant about parts of the wall “that California wants built.” (Reuters)

7/ HUD agreed to spend $165,000 on “lounge furniture” and $31,000 on a dining set for Ben Carson’s office while the Trump administration proposed a $6.8 billion budget cut to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Details of the furniture purchases were revealed after a senior career official filed a whistle-blower complaint that she was demoted for refusing to break a $5,000 spending limit on improvements to Carson’s office. (The Guardian / New York Times)

8/ United Nations investigators accused North Korea of supplying Syria with materials used in the production of chemical weapons. North Korean missile technicians have also been spotted working at known chemical weapons and missile facilities inside Syria. (New York Times)

poll/ 83% of Americans are in favor of continuing DACA. The program has support from 94% of Democrats, 83% of independents and 67% of Republicans. (CNN)

poll/ 54% of Floridians disapprove of Trump’s handling of the issue of gun violence and 50% disapprove of Trump’s response to the recent school shooting in Florida. (Quinnipiac)

poll/ 38% of Floridians approve of Marco Rubio’s job performance – an all-time low. Rubio was criticized following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School earlier this month for his stance on gun control reform. (Quinnipiac)

Notables.

  1. Democrats flipped state legislative seats in Connecticut and New Hampshire, bringing the total number of flipped seats since Trump was elected to 39. The latest mark the fifth and sixth seats flipped in 2018. (The Daily Beast)

  2. Reigning NBA champs the Golden State Warriors traded a White House visit for a trip to the Museum of African-American History with a group of students.💛💙 (CNN)

  3. The NRA asked Trump not to raise the age limit for buying firearms. Instead, the NRA asked Trump to pursue school safety programs, which the White House plans to unveil on Thursday. (CNN)

  4. A teacher was arrested after firing a gun inside a Georgia high school classroom and then barricading himself there for about 30 minutes before he was taken into custody. No students were harmed. (WGNO / Associated Press)

  5. Trump stunned a group of lawmakers by telling them to pursue gun bills that have been opposed by the Republican Party and the NRA for years. Trump repeatedly suggested that lawmakers start with the bipartisan bill put forward in 2013, which died months after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, following intense Republican opposition. (New York Times)

Last year today: Day 40: Split. Choice.