Here's our look at the Trump administration and the rest of Washington:
- GOP leaders are fuming over President Trump's deal with Democrats
- Republicans remain deeply divided over what to do about immigration
- Legal fight over President Trump's termination of "Dreamers" program has already begun
- For live updates about President Trump's action on the "Dreamers" immigration program, check here
- Defense Secretary James N. Mattis warns North Korea that it risks "total annihilation"
Congress approves Trump's deal with Democrats, giving the minority party momentum on tax reform, Dream Act
When President Trump convened congressional leaders this week to negotiate disaster aid and avert a month-end fiscal crisis, the Oval Office conversation quickly turned to what Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called “the currency of the realm”: votes.
Republican leaders wanted to avoid a short-term accord, and Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin argued that financial markets would prefer a deal to push the next deadline out 18 months, past the midterm election. At every step in the negotiation, Pelosi raised a simple question: Do Republicans have the votes?
Pelosi, perhaps the most skilled vote-counter in Congress, knew they did not. Back and forth it went until Trump cut off debate, stunning all sides by agreeing with Democrats on a stopgap measure to fund the government and lift the nation’s borrowing limit only until Dec. 8, and provide Hurricane Harvey aid.
“The president has been in a business where knowing your numbers is essential,” Pelosi said Friday in an interview with reporters. “He saw they didn’t have the votes. And we had the plan.”
Congress gave final approval Friday to the surprise package, which Trump swiftly signed into law, giving Democrats momentum over Republicans in the battles ahead over tax cuts and deportation protections for young immigrants known as “Dreamers.”
The outcome was unexpected even a few days ago, but it shows the power that Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) are still able to wield in a Congress controlled by a Republican majority unable to present a unified front and with a political newcomer in the White House willing to make deals.
U.S. military isn't evacuating service members, terrorist detainees from Guantanamo Bay as Hurricane Irma bears down
The Pentagon decided not to evacuate more than 5,000 people, including U.S. service members and their families, from the naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba as Hurricane Irma closed in Friday.
A special prison at the base also holds 41 detainees captured overseas and held on suspicion of terrorism, including the ringleaders of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The base has "initiated its severe weather plans and is preparing to shelter in place," Navy Cmdr. John Robinson, a prison spokesman, said in a statement.
"It has plans and procedures in place to ensure the safety of detainees in its custody during severe tropical weather conditions," he said.
"Due to force protection and operational considerations, we do not discuss details about those plans and procedures."
Irma was on a path to narrowly miss hitting Cuba head-on by moving northward, which factored into the military's decision. The "Gitmo" base is on the Cuba's southeastern shore.
It still is likely to face heavy winds and driving rain.
When the first effects of Irma blew into the base Friday afternoon, personnel were instructed to remain off the roads "unless necessary" and told to secure all outdoor furniture and equipment.
Service members were instructed to watch social media, emails and public radio for further information.
Heather Babb, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said the military would "ensure the safety and security of the detainees" at Guantanamo Bay.
"Tropical weather is an expected part of life in the Caribbean and for our personnel charged with securing the detainee facilities," she said.
"Likewise, they routinely prepare for any contingencies required to safeguard all individuals at the installation in the event that extreme weather impacts the region. There is no intent for the safety of the detainees to come into question during Hurricane Irma."
Trump administration presses Kuwait on Qatar, North Korean workers
| Tracy Wilkinson |
The Trump administration on Friday pressed close ally Kuwait to stop employing North Korean workers in its oil fields, and to do more to defuse the crisis between Qatar and its neighbors.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, after meetings with senior Kuwaiti officials, said the U.S. and Kuwait would take new steps to resolve a three-month-old dispute that pits a Saudi-led coalition, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, against Qatar over its alleged support for terrorist groups and Iran.
Kuwait has been serving as mediator, with U.S. backing, but without results thus far.
"The United States and Kuwait both recognize the important of GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] unity, to meet the challenges of the region that we all face together," Tillerson said.
Qatar is home to the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East, and its isolation could hurt U.S. operations in the fight against Islamic State and other missions.
President Trump has sided with Saudi Arabia, but on Thursday, following his own meeting with the emir of Kuwait, Sheik Sabah al Ahmed al Jabbar al Sabah, he voiced support for mediation.
Tillerson said the U.S. had agreed to "expedite" delivery of F-18 Super Hornet aircraft, sold to Kuwait last year as part of a $10-billion arms deal, and both countries agreed to expand sharing of counter-terrorism and border security information.
Tillerson said he and his Kuwaiti counterparts also discussed the emirate's employment of guest workers from North Korea.
As part of sanctions to punish Kim Jong Un's government for its recent nuclear and ballistic missile tests, the U.S. is urging countries everywhere to expel North Korean workers, whose salaries provide much-needed foreign currency for Pyongyang.
Today's newsletter: The Art of the Deal for Democrats
Here's the Friday edition of our free Essential Politics newsletter, in which we look at the events of the week in Washington and elsewhere in national politics and highlight some particularly insightful stories.
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Trump lawyers urge Supreme Court to rule for Colorado cake maker who turned away gay couple
Trump administration lawyers joined sides with a Colorado baker Thursday and urged the Supreme Court to rule that he has the right to refuse to provide a wedding cake to celebrate the marriage of two men.
Acting Solicitor Gen. Jeffrey B. Wall filed a friend-of-the-court brief arguing that the cake maker's rights to free speech and the free exercise of religion should prevail over a Colorado civil rights law that forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation.
“A custom wedding cake is a form of expression,” he said. “It is an artistic creation that is both subjectively intended and objectively perceived as a celebratory symbol of a marriage.” And as such, the baker has a free-speech right under the 1st Amendment to refuse to “express” his support for a same-sex marriage, Wall argued.
The case of the Colorado cake maker has emerged as the latest battle in the culture wars. It is a clash between the religious rights of a conservative Christian against gay rights and equal treatment for same-sex couples.
The brief filed Thursday is likely to bolster the cake maker’s case, and is in line President Trump’s repeated promises to protect “religious liberty.”
China and Pakistan take swipes at Trump's Afghanistan policy
| Associated Press |
The top diplomats from China and Pakistan took swipes at President Trump's newly unveiled Afghanistan policy on Friday as they called for new talks with the Taliban to resolve the 16-year conflict.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing stood firmly behind its "ironclad friend" Pakistan, even though "some countries" did not give Islamabad the credit it deserved in fighting terrorism, a pointed reference to the U.S.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif's first trip abroad to Beijing this week appeared to highlight how ties between the two all-weather allies have grown even closer while Pakistan's crucial relationship with the U.S. is disintegrating amid mutual recriminations and distrust.
Wang and Asif announced that China, Pakistan and Afghanistan will hold a new series of three-way talks later this year in China to push forward settlement negotiations with the Taliban while the U.S. doubles down on its military campaign.
Trump infuriated Pakistan last month when he accused Islamabad of providing extremists a haven and threatened to withhold military aid. He further raised alarms in Pakistan when he raised the prospect of recruiting archrival India into the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan.
U.S. officials said this week that $225 million in military aid for Pakistan have been suspended while about 3,500 additional troops will head to Afghanistan to reverse the Taliban's battleground advances and gain leverage in negotiations.
"It's our firm view that there is no military solution in Afghanistan, the focus should be on a politically negotiated settlement," Asif told reporters in Beijing. "China is playing a very constructive role in this regard."
Pakistan has repeatedly rejected U.S. accusations that it is abetting groups such as the Taliban-linked Haqqani Network, a position that China has backed.
"The government and people of Pakistan have made huge sacrifices in the fight against terror for everyone to see, and the international community should recognize that," Wang said.
The two ministers presented a closely unified front just days after China handed Pakistan an unexpected diplomatic setback at the BRICS economic summit in Xiamen. On Monday, China joined several nations to declare the Pakistan-based militant groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad as terrorist organizations, in a move that was praised by India and the U.S.
Asif did not address the terror designation on Friday but was quoted by Pakistani media before arriving in Beijing as saying that it should not jeopardize bilateral ties. Rather, Pakistan should put its "house in order," he said.
Despite some GOP opposition, Congress gives final approval to hurricane aid and Trump's deal with Democrats
Congress gave final approval Friday to hurricane disaster aid and a short-term debt-and-spending package, with Democrats delivering the majority of votes President Trump needed for the deal.
House passage, by a 316-90 margin, fended off what could have been a month-end fiscal crisis, and assured FEMA won’t run out of money.
But it sets up the next showdown in December as a weakened Republican majority struggles to regroup and Trump reaches across the aisle to Democrats to make gains on his stalled agenda.
As expected, conservatives opposed the deal, but in doing so they bucked their own president’s plan to allow more borrowing beyond the debt limit and continue funding government operations through Dec. 8 without spending cuts or broader fiscal reforms. In the House, 90 Republicans opposed the package.
Trump is expected to sign it swiftly into law.
The package provides $15.2 billion in disaster-related aid, including $7.4 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which was running out of money after Hurricane Harvey hit Texas and Louisiana last month, and with Hurricane Irma now devastating the Caribbean and threatening Florida. Another $7.4 billion in community block grants was included for housing aid, and $450 million for Small Business Administration loans.
Texas Republicans, a powerful bloc of generally conservative votes, largely backed the measure, even though GOP lawmakers had come under criticism for opposing past aid after Superstorm Sandy in 2013 because it was not offset with spending reductions elsewhere.
Analysis: Trump's turn to Democrats: A reflection of temporary pique or a larger breach with Republicans?
| Cathleen Decker, Lisa Mascaro and Noah Bierman |
President Trump’s startling alliance with Democrats stemmed from his building frustration with Republican leaders’ inability to secure the legislative victories he assumed would come more swiftly — but its genesis is far more certain that its potential for success.
The new relationship saw its first result on Thursday. The Senate advanced legislation based on Trump’s deal Wednesday with the Democratic leaders, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Charles E. Schumer, to extend until Dec. 8 the government’s debt limit and funding, and to offer the first billions in relief money for victims of hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
Trump also indicated his interest in working with Schumer on a longer-term deal: to void the requirement that Congress vote to extend the government’s debt ceiling, a budget exercise that authorizes the Treasury to borrow to cover spending already approved. But lawmakers’ reluctance to cast that unpopular vote has regularly threatened to send the country into default.
The president also met with Democrats from New York and New Jersey to discuss improving transit infrastructure in those states.
Working with Schumer, a New York Democrat he derided as “Crying Chuck” as recently as June, was a sign from the president unseen in the last seven months. From his start, Trump worked solely with Republicans on measures meant to satisfy a narrow, conservative base. But the president suddenly seemed intent on pursuing whatever path allowed him to be seen as the successful deal-maker he’d vowed to be — a promise he has not been able to achieve as his priorities have stalled on Republican-controlled Capitol Hill.
Trump says military action against North Korea is 'an option' but not inevitable
President Trump on Thursday said military action against North Korea remains an option to counter its nuclear missile program, speaking ahead of a weekend when Pyongyang is expected to make another provocative move advancing its effort.
"Military action would certainly be an option," Trump said at a White House news conference alongside the leader of Kuwait. "Is it inevitable? Nothing is inevitable. It would be great if something else could be worked out."
Boasting that the U.S. military is stronger than ever with the addition of "new and beautiful equipment," Trump added, "Hopefully we're not going to have to use it on North Korea. If we do use it on North Korea, it will be a very sad day for North Korea."
He concluded, "North Korea is behaving badly, and it's got to stop."
Pressure has mounted on Trump to respond as North Korea appears to be getting closer to building a nuclear weapon small enough to be compatible with a missile that can reach the United States.
North Korea appeared to carry out its sixth and most powerful test explosion of a nuclear bomb on Sunday.
Last month, the North Korean military fired a missile into the upper atmosphere in its latest missile test. A threatened South Korea believes the North Korean military is preparing for another test of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Saturday, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Thursday.
Saturday is the anniversary of North Korea's founding, and its leaders typically celebrate with a show of force.
Trump didn't answer a question about whether he would accept North Korea as a nuclear power and switch the U.S. strategy to one of containment and deterrence.
Decades of attempts by previous presidents to use sanctions and diplomacy to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions haven't worked, Trump said.
"We've had presidents for 25 years now, they've been talking, talking, talking, and the day after an agreement is reached, new work begins in North Korea, continuation on nuclear," he said. "So I would prefer not going the route of the military, but it's something certainly that could happen."
Senate approves Hurricane Harvey aid and stop-gap funding package to avoid shutdown, raise debt limit
The Senate overwhelmingly approved disaster aid Thursday for Hurricane Harvey as part of a stopgap package President Trump negotiated with Democrats to fund the government and raise the nation's debt limit, days before the Federal Emergency Management Agency was expected to run out of money.
Senate passage, by an 80-17 vote, sends the measure to the House, where swift approval is expected Friday, staving off a looming fiscal crisis at month's end. Most Democrats voted in favor, with the no votes coming from Republicans.
The agreement, which drew protests from conservatives who were largely cut out of the deal, signals Trump's willingness to leave fellow Republicans behind. In siding with Democrats during a meeting Wednesday at the White House, Trump not only quickly dispensed with weeks of wrangling, he cracked open a strategy that could develop other deals, particularly on immigration to protect young "Dreamers" from deportations, a priority for both the president and many in Congress.
"Let's hope this is a sign of something to come," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Thursday. "What I do know is that the world we live in is a giant kaleidoscope. ... Everybody you work with is a resource to you, or can be."
Conservatives and other rank-and-file Republicans were fuming that House Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell failed to negotiate their party's priorities, including spending cuts. Republicans complained that a short-term deal gives leverage to Democrats for the next round of talks, when the deal expires in December, and forces lawmakers to take another politically difficult vote on the debt limit.
"I will tell you that I gasped when I heard it," Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), a Trump ally, told reporters on Air Force One as the president visited his state Wednesday.
"In fact, I sought clarification when the president told us before the flight. I sought clarification to make sure I understood," Cramer said. "Voting to raise the debt ceiling more than once in an election cycle is too many, and once is about one too many."
The deal provides of more than $15 billion in disaster-related aid, replenishing $7.4 billion for FEMA accounts that are being drawn down at a rapid rate to cover the aftermath of Harvey, which devastated Texas and parts of Louisiana. It includes $7.4 billion for community block grants and $450 million for Small Business Administration loans as part of the recovery.
To ensure aid money could flow, Congress needed to allow continued borrowing beyond the current debt limit, which Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin warned would be hit sooner than initially expected because of the storm costs.
Sept. 30 is also the end of the fiscal year, when Congress needs to fund the government to prevent a federal shutdown, and the confluence of deadlines was creating a potential crisis.
The deal provides continued funding and pushes the debt limit to December, when Congress again will face a deadline, and a potential crisis, ahead of the Christmas holiday break.
12:30 p.m. Updated with more details about the disaster aid.
Senate committee approves two key banking regulators, including one for short-handed Fed
A Senate committee on Thursday approved two of President Trump’s choices for key financial regulatory posts, including one for the short-handed Federal Reserve board, despite concerns from Democrats that the nominees were too close to the industry.
Investment fund manager Randal Quarles has been tapped to be the Fed’s first vice chairman for supervision. His approval by the Senate Banking Committee on a 17-6 vote came a day after another Fed vice chairman, Stanley Fischer, announced he would be stepping down next month, leaving the seven-member central bank board with four vacancies.
The other nominee given the OK on Thursday was Joseph Otting, former chief executive of Pasadena’s OneWest Bank and an ally of Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin.
Democrats attacked Otting for what they said was OneWest’s aggressive foreclosure practices, and his nomination narrowly was approved 13-10.
Donald Trump Jr. details controversial Trump Tower meeting to committee investigating Russian interference
| Associated Press |
Donald Trump's eldest son has told Senate staffers he was open to receiving information about Hillary Clinton's "fitness, character or qualifications" when he accepted a meeting with a Russian lawyer last year.
Donald Trump Jr. made an opening statement of about 15 to 20 minutes before taking questions behind closed doors from staff members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, one of several congressional panels that have been investigating Russian interference in the election. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., a member of the committee, said Thursday that the president's son delivered an opening statement and then described the meeting and "his recollection of it."
Trump Jr. told the committee, "I did not collude with any foreign government and do not know of anyone who did."
Trump Jr.'s appearance marks a new phase in the Senate's investigation and reveals continuing interest in the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower. Emails he released in July show that Trump Jr. was told before the meeting that he would receive damaging information about his father's opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, as part of what was described to him as a Russian government effort to aid his father, the GOP nominee.
Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and the House and Senate intelligence committees also are investigating that meeting, which was also attended by President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort. A grand jury has heard testimony about it.
Senate aides also could pursue other possible connections that the president's family had with Russia.
Trump Jr. agreed to the interview after the committee chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), subpoenaed him and Manafort. The committee withdrew the subpoenas after the two agreed to be interviewed privately by staff members. Grassley said they both would eventually be questioned by senators in a public hearing.
Trump Jr. also was expected to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee at some point.
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the committee, said the panel wants to speak with others who attended the June meeting, before interviewing Trump Jr.
"We want to do this in a thorough way that gets the most information possible," Warner said.
Manafort met privately with staff on that committee in July. Kushner has met with that staff, as well as members of the House Intelligence Committee.
That House committee has tried to talk to Trump Jr., but Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin.) said negotiations are underway and a date hasn't been set.
9:42 a.m.: This article has been updated with Trump Jr.'s quotes.
This article was originally published at 8:52 a.m.
Pelosi urged Trump tweet on DACA, says president willing to sign Dream Act
President Trump indicated that he was willing to sign the long-stalled Dream Act into law if it passes Congress, House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi said Thursday, another sign that Trump may be uneasy about his decision to phase out DACA.
Pelosi said she encouraged the president in a morning phone call to assure young immigrants that they are not in immediate danger of deportation.
Trump tweeted a message to the so-called Dreamers shortly after his conversation with Pelosi, saying they were in "no danger" during the six months he has given Congress to find a solution to the program.
"The president, I think -- I'm hoping and I'm praying ... that the president really cares about the Dreamers," the San Francisco Democrat told reporters.
Democrats have vowed to push a vote on the Dream Act, a bill first introduced in 2001 but never approved, as part of must-pass legislation on the congressional agenda this fall.
The latest version of the bill would put young immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children on a path to legal status.
About 800,000 who received work permits and other protections under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program could be affected.
Trump on Wednesday outlined the contours of a deal that would beef up border security as part of a legislative fix for DACA, which President Obama created in 2012.
"It's very clear he wants Congress to act to get this done," Pelosi said, adding the president indicated he would suppport the Dream Act. "The president said he supports that, he would sign it."
President Trump's campaign takes aim at his new allies, Chuck and Nancy
President Trump's newfound alliance with "Chuck and Nancy" has its limits.
The morning after Trump bewildered Republicans by siding with the top two Democrats in Congress, Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York and Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, over those in his own party, the president's reelection campaign Thursday released an ad that targeted them as "career politicians ... trying to stop him."
The two Democrats also starred as Trump's nemeses in an ad released by the campaign in August, although that ad took aim at a broader group of Trump opponents.
The new ad includes pictures of Schumer, Pelosi, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. Maxine Waters of Los Angeles, while also taking a quick swipe at the media.
"President Trump is fighting for America," the ad says, then offers a litany of praise: "Over 1 million new jobs, companies investing billions in America, stock market reaching all-time record highs, our border more secure."
"Americans are saying, 'Let President Trump do his job and make America great again," the ad concludes.
Trump shocked his own party Wednesday night when he agreed during a White House meeting with congressional leaders from both parties to the Democrats' proposal to extend the nation's borrowing limit and keep the government funded until mid-December. The deal also provided the initial billions expected to be approved for Hurricane Harvey relief.
By making the deal with Schumer and Pelosi, the president undercut Republican leaders' strategy and significantly weakened their political position heading into a fall full of fights over controversial issues.
During most of Trump's business career in New York he was a registered Democrat and contributed to numerous Democratic campaigns, including Schumer's.
En route to an appearance Wednesday night in Bismarck, N.D., Trump also spoke familiarly about the Democratic leaders when it came to finding a solution for young immigrants who had been protected by an Obama administration ruling that Trump voided on Tuesday.
"Chuck and Nancy would like to see something happen, and so do I," the president said.
Trump sets contours of a possible legislative compromise for 'Dreamers'
A day after President Trump threatened to end protections for so-called Dreamers, he stunned all sides again Wednesday by endorsing a legislative fix that could put the young immigrants on the path to legal status.
Trump appeared eager to cut a deal, embracing a plan that has potential to appeal to both Republicans and Democrats. It would combine beefed-up border security with more lasting deportation protections for the nearly 800,000 recipients of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Contours of any emerging agreement remain a work in progress. And Trump, who has shown little hesitation about changing his mind, may do so again, especially if the anti-immigration wing of the Republican Party, led by former advisor Stephen K. Bannon, pressures Congress or Trump to reject any agreement that critics will surely label as amnesty.
But the dire outlook that loomed Tuesday over the young immigrants — sparking an eruption of street protests and an outpouring of public support — lifted somewhat.
“Congress, I really believe, wants to take care of this situation,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “I’d like to see something where we have good border security, and we have a great DACA transaction where everybody is happy and now they don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
Putin jokes that Tillerson has fallen into 'bad company'
| Sabra Ayres |
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday joked that U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had veered off the path of cooperation and "fallen into bad company."
Putin's comments at an economic conference in the eastern city of Vladivostok came during an address in which he referenced current tensions between the U.S. and Russia.
In recent weeks, Washington and Moscow have been engaged in a diplomatic tit-for-tat. Russia has ordered the culling of 755 staff members from the U.S. diplomatic mission in Russia. Last week, the U.S. ordered the closure of Russia’s consulate in San Francisco. Putin said this week that he would instruct the Foreign Ministry to take up that move within the U.S. legal system.
Washington and Moscow are also at odds concerning how to resolve the crisis on the Korean peninsula.
Tillerson and Putin have a long, personal history. Tillerson, a former Exxon Mobil chief executive, helped build the oil company’s presence in Russia in the 1990s. He first met with Putin in 1999, when the Kremlin leader was Russia’s prime minister. Later, as president, Putin presided over the signing of a massive deal between Exxon Mobil, then led by Tillerson, and the state-owned Rosneft to develop oil and gas reserves in the Arctic and Baltic seas.
A year later, Putin presented Tillerson with Russia’s Order of Friendship for his contributions to developing Russia’s energy sector.
The Kremlin at first welcomed Tillerson’s appointment as secretary of State. But Kremlin rhetoric is beginning to sound more frustrated. On Tuesday, Putin quipped that President Trump was “not his bride” when asked by a reporter if the Kremlin was disappointed in the new U.S. administration.
In his comments Thursday, Putin hinted that there was still some hope for the relationship with Tillerson.
“I hope that the wind of cooperation, friendship and interaction will bring him to the right course in the end,” Putin said during his address, Russian news agencies reported.
Facebook says accounts from Russia spent $100,000 on ads during the 2016 election
| Associated Press |
Hundreds of fake Facebook accounts, probably run from Russia, spent about $100,000 on ads aimed at stirring up divisive issues such as gun control and race relations during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the social network said Wednesday.
Although the number of ads is relatively small, the disclosure provides a more detailed peek into what investigators believe was a targeted effort by Russians to influence U.S. politics during the campaign, this time through social media.
The 470 accounts appeared to come from a notorious "troll farm," a St. Petersburg-based organization known for promoting pro-Russian government positions via fake accounts, according to two people familiar with the investigation. The people were granted anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation.
In all, the accounts purchased about 3,000 ads between June 2015 and May 2017. Though the ads didn't specifically reference the election, a candidate or voting, they nevertheless allowed "divisive messages" to be amplified via the social media platform, the company's chief security officer, Alex Stamos, said in a statement.
Facebook has turned over its findings to federal authorities investigating Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election. Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, is charged with overseeing the probe into Russian meddling in the U.S. election and any potential coordination with associates of President Trump.
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Facebook briefed the panel's staff on Wednesday, but he still wants to know more.
"I have a lot more questions for Facebook, and I've got a lot of questions for Twitter," Warner said, noting that "we've got Twitter coming in." He did not say when a meeting with representatives from Twitter might occur other than "soon."
A spokeswoman for Twitter declined comment Wednesday evening.
Warner said he also wants to know more about the content of the ads pushed out by the Russian-based Internet Research Agency and whether they targeted specific voters or locations in the U.S.
He said in many cases the social media messaging "was more about voter depression and suppression without having to necessarily mention an individual candidate's name."
Rep. Adam Schiff of Burbank, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Facebook's disclosure confirmed what many lawmakers investigating Russian interference in the U.S. election had long suspected.
"One of the things that we're interested obviously in finding out is whether there was any coordination in terms of the use of those paid social media trolls or the Russian use of bots," he said.
The fake accounts were discovered during a company review of ad buys that was spurred by a broader investigation the company initiated into Russian meddling after the election, Stamos said.
In addition to the 470 accounts that appeared to be run from Russia, Stamos said Facebook's investigators also discovered an additional $50,000 in spending via 2,200 ads that "might have originated in Russia," even including ads purchased by accounts with IP addresses in the U.S. but set to Russian in the language settings.
The dollar amount of ad spending identified by Facebook is an infinitesimal amount compared with the total amount of advertising spending during the election. According to ad tracker Borrell Associates, more than $1.4 billion was spent during the 2016 election cycle on digital advertising alone. That figure includes spending on national, state and local elections.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin), who also serves on the House Intelligence Committee, said Facebook's disclosures help to "fill in with more color some of the lines that exist," but he would like to know more about the sophistication of the ads. He also wants to know if the content of the ads smacked of Russian propaganda.
"We know they had a cyber operation, we suspect U.S. persons may have been involved, now we know a U.S. company was used. So now we need to see if there are dots that connect," he said.
The company has come under intense pressure since the election to curb the flow of false information. After the election, it updated its advertising policy to say it wouldn't run spots that are "illegal, misleading or deceptive, which includes fake news."
Trump calls for a 'permanent deal' for 'Dreamers,' along with 'good border security'
President Trump on Wednesday expressed willingness to work with congressional Democrats for a "permanent deal" to protect from deportation people brought to the country illegally as children.
That threat to the so-called Dreamers now looms because Trump on Tuesday ordered a phase-out of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program that President Obama created in 2012.
Given widespread public sympathy for the beneficiaries, Trump has seemed eager to find a remedy despite his campaign promise to shut the program down.
"I’d like to see something where we have good border security, and we have a great DACA transaction where everybody is happy," Trump told reporters on Air Force One before his departure for Bismarck, N.D., where he delivered remarks about tax reform.
Passing a law to give Dreamers permanent legal status came up during an Oval Office meeting of Trump and congressional leaders earlier Wednesday.
At that session, Trump also sided with the Democratic leaders -- Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi -- on a stopgap budget deal that upset Republicans but, if passed, would avert at least until mid-December any government shutdown or debt crisis.
Trump, alluding to legal protection for Dreamers, spoke amicably of the Democratic leaders, telling reporters, "Chuck and Nancy would like to see something happen, and so do I."
"And I said if we can get something to happen, we’re going to sign it and we’re going to make a lot of happy people," he added.
A law to both protect Dreamers from deportation, allowing them to work and go to school lawfully, and to provide more money for border security would be narrower than the comprehensive plan to reduce legal immigration that administration officials spoke of on Tuesday.
Republicans have condemned Obama's order creating DACA as an abuse of executive power. Trump's order to phase it out gives Congress six months, until March 5, 2018, to write a law for an alternative program. Beneficiaries whose two-year permits expire after that date would not be able to renew them, making them liable for deportation to the countries where they were born if Congress doesn't act.
Trump also attempted to explain what he meant when he wrote in a tweet late Tuesday, hours after announcing he would cancel DACA, that he would "revisit" the issue if Congress failed to act in six months.
"I want to see what happens in Congress. I have a feeling that’s not going to be necessary," Trump said.
A headline on Breitbart News on Tuesday night called Trump's tweet about revisiting DACA a "rare negotiating blunder."
Not often has the president been criticized by that media organization, which is run by Trump's former strategist Stephen K. Bannon, who was pushed out of the White House last month.