If you were shocked by the news that President Trump had fired FBI Director James Comey, you were in good company — so was James Comey, everyone at the FBI, most members of Congress, and apparently almost everyone in the White House. Trump and his top advisers who did know, Politico reports, were mostly surprised that not everyone thought firing Comey was a great idea. "White House officials believed it would be a 'win-win' because Republicans and Democrats alike have problems with the FBI director," Politico says, citing a person briefed on their deliberations. "By Tuesday evening, the president was watching the coverage of his decision and frustrated no one was on TV defending him. ... Instead, advisers were attacking each other for not realizing the gravity of the situation as events blew up."

In fact, Trump had been planning to oust Comey for at least a week, The New York Times and CNN report, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions had been charged with finding a good pretext. The president was increasingly incensed at the FBI's investigation into his orbit's ties to Russia during the election, Politico and The Wall Street Journal report. With understaffed investigations languishing in Congress, the FBI's investigation was the most active and serious.

Trump specifically "grew unhappy that the media spotlight kept shining on the director," and "questioned whether his expanding media profile was warping his view of the Russia investigation," White House officials tell The Wall Street Journal. "A person with knowledge of recent conversations said they wanted Mr. Comey to 'say those three little words: There's no ties,'" and he did not. Trump was also angry that Comey "wouldn't support his claims that President Barack Obama had tapped his phones in Trump Tower" and refused to prioritize inquiries into the leaking of information that made Trump look bad, Politico reports, but the main irritant was Russia:

[Trump] had grown enraged by the Russia investigation, two advisers said, frustrated by his inability to control the mushrooming narrative around Russia. He repeatedly asked aides why the Russia investigation wouldn't disappear and demanded they speak out for him. He would sometimes scream at television clips about the probe, one adviser said. [Politico]

You can read more at Politico, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. Peter Weber

Former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial appears on track to begin within days, with an article of impeachment against him headed to the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Friday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) plans to transmit an article of impeachment charging Trump with incitement of insurrection to the Senate on Monday, and Pelosi subsequently confirmed this timing.

"Make no mistake: a trial will be held in the United States Senate, and there will be a vote on whether to convict," Schumer said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has suggested the trial should be delayed until the middle of February, adding that Trump deserves a "full and fair process where the former president can mount a defense," NBC News reports. But Axios notes that "the Senate is required to begin the impeachment trial at 1 p.m. the day after the article is transmitted." The trial would, therefore, be set to begin on Tuesday, Jan. 26, though as Politico writes, this is assuming Schumer and McConnell don't "agree to a different timetable" before then.

The House impeached Trump again for "incitement of insurrection" after a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol building in a deadly riot. His forthcoming second impeachment trial will be the first to ever take place against a former president. Brendan Morrow

Some members of the National Guard stationed near the Capitol after Inauguration Day were forced to use a parking garage for a rest area last night, and it's unclear who is to blame.

Politico first reported that the soldiers were pushed out from the Capitol and congressional office buildings Thursday night, with one Guard member saying they were told to set up new command centers outside or in hotels. Breaks after Guard members completed their 12-hour shifts were supposed to be taken outside or in a nearby parking garage, another member said. Photos soon showed dozens of troops huddled in the garage.

The incident prompted outrage and finger pointing from both lawmakers on sides of the aisle. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) made House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) his scapegoats, while Schumer promised he would "get to the bottom of this." By Friday morning, the troops were allowed back into the Capitol.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) implied in a Thursday tweet that the Capitol Police were the ones who'd ordered the Guard out of the Capitol, and the D.C. National Guard confirmed to Military Times in a statement that the police had made the call. But two soldiers told Military Times that the police shouldn't be blamed. "I hate that senators are blaming this on the Capitol Police,” one said, recounting how the force has done "nothing but act like coworkers to us." Another Guard soldier said it's the senators who "keep increasing the Guard force and decreasing the space we are allowed to rest in."

State governors are the commanders in chief of their individual Guard forces. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) ordered his Guard members home Friday morning after the incident. Kathryn Krawczyk

Hall of Fame slugger Hank Aaron — thought by many to be Major League Baseball's "legitimate" home-run king — has died at 86, his daughter said on Friday. Aaron, who played from 1954 to 1976, mostly with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves, finished his career with 755 home runs — a record that stood until 2006, when he was surpassed by the steroid-assisted Barry Bonds.

Aaron still holds major-league records for RBI, extra-base hits, and total bases, and won his lone MVP award in leading Milwaukee to the 1957 World Series title. But Aaron is also revered for his fortitude in facing down racism as he chased Babe Ruth's career home run record in the early 1970's. "When people finally realized I was climbing up Ruth's back, the 'Dear N----r' letters started showing up with alarming regularity," he wrote in his 1991 memoir. "There's no way to measure the effect those letters had on me, but I like to think every one of them added another home run to my total." The Associated Press reports Aaron died peacefully in his sleep. Jacob Lambert

Vaccinated health care workers are headed to next month's Super Bowl.

The National Football League said Friday it will allow a total of 22,000 fans to attend Super Bowl LV, which will be held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, CNN reports. The league said it made this decision following "discussions with public health officials, including the CDC, the Florida Department of Health, and area hospitals and health care systems."

Approximately 7,500 health care workers who have received their COVID-19 vaccine are scoring free tickets to the game from the NFL. The league posted a video Friday showing NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sharing the news with one group of health care workers.

"We can't thank you enough, and we hope this program will be a small way to celebrate you, honor you, and most importantly, thank you," Goodell says in the video.

The NFL says health officials have "reviewed and provided feedback on the NFL's comprehensive plans that will enable the league to host fans and the vaccinated health care workers in a safe and responsible way," and it plans to "enhance the already rigorous COVID-19 protocols" it has been using, including mandating mask-wearing. The Raymond James Stadium "has a capacity of around 65,000," the "plan is that for each pod of non-vaccinated fans, a group of vaccinated health care workers would be seated in the row behind, staggered to the side, throughout the stadium," The Washington Post writes.

Super Bowl LV is scheduled for Feb. 7. Brendan Morrow

House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney is facing an internal resistance after splitting from her party on former President Donald Trump's impeachment.

Cheney, the No. 3 Republican in the House, was one of only a handful of Republicans who voted to impeach Trump over his role in inciting the Capitol riot. More than a majority of GOP House members have since indicated they'd support ousting Cheney from her leadership spot, while at least two other Republicans have lined up to replace her, Politico reports.

At least 107 House members — more than half the caucus — privately support removing Cheney from power, multiple GOP sources involved in the effort told Politico. Meanwhile New York Reps. Elise Stefanik and Lee Zeldin, who defended Trump during both of his impeachments, are reportedly looking to replace her.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) have said they don't intend to remove Cheney. But McCarthy also echoed Republicans' reported anger that Cheney voiced her support of impeachment the day before the House vote, giving Democrats time to use her views in their own arguments. "Questions need to be answered," such as the "style in which things were delivered," McCarthy told reporters Thursday.

Many other Republicans, including some who voted against impeachment, meanwhile don't want Cheney removed just for "vot[ing] her conscience," as Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) put it. Others argue removing Cheney would fly in the face of the party's unification message in the post-Trump era — something Cheney herself is trying to counter by making "making calls to all corners of the conference to hear lawmakers out," Politico reports. Kathryn Krawczyk

After admitting to feeling "uncomfortable" about unscientific statements made under former President Donald Trump, Dr. Anthony Fauci says a lack of candor and facts during the previous administration "likely" cost lives in the pandemic.

Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert and chief medical adviser to President Biden, spoke with CNN on Friday after pledging in a White House briefing that the new administration will make all of its decisions on the pandemic "based on science and evidence." He implied this is a change from Trump's administration, and when CNN host John Berman asked if a previous "lack of candor" and "lack of facts" in 2020 cost lives, Fauci said he believes so.

"It very likely did," Fauci said. "I don't want that, John, to be a sound bite, but I think if you just look at that, you can see that when you're starting to go down paths that are not based on any science at all, and we've been there before — I don't want to rehash it — that is not helpful at all."

At Thursday's White House briefing, Fauci said it's a "liberating feeling" to be able to now "let the science speak" without "repercussions" under the new president. He also said he felt "uncomfortable" by certain baseless assertions that were made about COVID-19 during the previous administration. In addition to sometimes contradicting Trump himself, Fauci was known to clash with controversial former COVID-19 adviser Scott Atlas.

"It was very clear that there were things that were said, be it regarding things like hydroxychloroquine and other things like that, that really was uncomfortable because they were not based on scientific fact," Fauci said at the briefing. Brendan Morrow