President Trump apparently has plenty of time to think up those off-the-wall tweets he's so famous for.
The leader of the free world's days are often dominated by undefined chunks of "Executive Time," private schedules examined by Politico show. Trump spends much of it "tweeting, phoning friends, and watching television," Politico writes — and he had a whole nine hours of it scheduled last Tuesday alone.
Past presidents notoriously crammed their schedules to make best use of their time. It was their "most valuable commodity," President George W. Bush's former chief of staff Mark McLarty told Politico. But Trump often complained about his rigorous schedule when he first took office. So when White House Chief of Staff John Kelly started his job, he invented "Executive Time," a former White House aide says. And now, senior staffers are reportedly the ones complaining about what he does with it.
Trump has recently started pushing his commitments later and later in the day, filling his mornings with tweetstorms and hours in front of the TV, another former White House aide tells Politico. Last Tuesday, he kicked off his day at 11:30 a.m. with a meeting, and only had a few other engagements scheduled for the rest of the day. The other nine hours were "Executive Time."
The rest of the week wasn't quite so relaxed as Tuesday, Politico notes. Aides also say Trump often fills those unscheduled hours with impromptu briefings and phone calls. Still, these freewheeling breaks show how "short-term bugaboos become the drivers of [Trump's] agenda, rather than any long-term vision," Politico writes. Read more about Trump's calendar at Politico. Kathryn Krawczyk
One game is already under way in the NFL, but there's a lot more to come. Here are four Week 6 games to keep an eye on:
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans, 1 p.m. ET on CBS — This matchup between two potential playoff teams could be an offensive explosion. Kansas City and Houston feature two of the game's top young playmakers in quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and DeShaun Watson, respectively. Houston was clicking on all cylinders last week when they torched the Atlanta Falcons for 53 points behind a stellar Watson performance. Kansas City and Mahomes, meanwhiel, played their worst game of the season against the Indianapolis Colts last week.
Miami Dolphins vs. Washington Redskins, 1 p.m. ET on Fox — Full disclosure: this is a bit tongue-in-cheek. Miami and Washington are probably two of the worst teams in the league this year, but one of them will have to win this one. It's also Washington's first game since firing head coach Jay Gruden earlier this week. In the long run, though, this is about the race for the number one pick.
Minnesota Vikings vs. Philadelphia Eagles, 1 p.m. ET on Fox — Alright, back to quality football. After a rough start to the season, the Eagles look formidable again, but a road game in Minnesota remains a tall task. Minnesota has had an up and down season, but they're coming off a strong performance against a weak New York Giants team. This should be a good litmus test for two 3-2 teams aiming for division crowns.
Los Angeles Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers, 4:05 p.m. ET on Fox — This promises to be an exciting divisional game. The Rams have been a bit of disappointment this year, but knocking off the 49ers, who remain the only undefeated team not called the New England Patriots, would be a great way to shake off some of their post-Super Bowl rustiness. The Niners, meanwhile, just destroyed the Cleveland Browns last Monday and look like a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Tim O'Donnell
It might not satisfy the Trump administration, but Hunter Biden, the son of Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, said in a statement Sunday that he's stepping down from his position on the board of a Chinese-backed private equity form.
The decision comes after the Bidens became entagled in President Trump's Ukraine-related impeachment sags. Members of the Trump administration, namely the president's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, accused the Bidens of corruption related to Hunter's foreign business ties, including in Ukraine and China. Although there's no evidence that either Hunter or Joe Biden did anything illegal, it looks like they aren't going to take any risks going forward.
"Under a Biden administration, Hunter will readily comply with any and all guidelines or standards a President Biden may issue to address purported conflicts of interest, or the appearance of such conflicts, including any restrictions related to overseas business interests," Hunter Biden's attorney, George Misers, said in the statement. "In any event, Hunter will agree to not serve on boards of, or work on behalf of, foreign owned companies." Read more at The Washington Post and CNBC. Tim O'Donnell
Hundreds of people with suspected links to the Islamic State reportedly escaped from a camp for displaced people near a U.S.-coalition base in northern Syria on Sunday amid a Turkish military offensive and a simultaneous U.S. troop withdrawal from the region, Syrian Kurdish officials said.
The camp is home to around 12,000 people, including around 1,000 wives and widows of ISIS fighters and their children. The Kurdish-led administration in northern Syria said in a statement that more than 700 ISIS supporters escaped as clashes broke out between Turkey-backed Syrian fighters and Kurdish forces, though news sources were not immediately able to confirm that number. The remaining inhabitants of the camp are reportedly being evacuated by U.S. forces to another area, The Guardian reports.
U.S. troops stationed at bases to the west of the camp said they came under Turkish artillery fire Friday night, in what some suspect was a deliberate attempt to drive them away from the bulk of U.S. forces further east. Read more at The Associated Press and The Washington Post. Tim O'Donnell
Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, will reportedly testify to Congress next week that President Trump assured him he was not withholding military aid to Ukraine until Kyiv investigated former Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, a personal familiar with Sondland's testimony said.
Sondland will reportedly say that a text message he wrote denying a quid pro quo with Ukraine came after he spoke with Trump, who told him there was no such thing. Sondland will reportedly tell Congress he is unsure as to why the aid was held up.
At the same, Sondland will reportedly testify that he has no knowledge as to whether Trump may have changed his mind on the matter at some point, though he did believe Trump at the time and reportedly relied on the president's words in "good faith" when he relayed the information to William Taylor, the acting ambassador to Ukraine, who had expressed concern about the ethics of withholding aid.
"It's only true that the president said it, not that it was the truth," the person familiar with the planned testimony told The Washington Post, referring to Trump's assurances about the aid. "Whether he's deciding it's getting too hot to handle and he backs off whatever his position really was a month earlier, I don't know."
Sondland plans to testify Thursday. Read more at The Washington Post and NBC News. Tim O'Donnell