On Politics: Trump Moves Toward Border Deal

President Trump said he had “options that most people don’t understand” to build a border wall without congressional approval. [Trouble seeing this email? View in browser]( [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( February 14, 2019 | Morning Edition Good Thursday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today. _____________________ • Close to reluctantly accepting a spending deal to avert another government shutdown, President Trump sought to reassure supporters that he would not give up on his “build the wall” pledge, saying he had “[options that most people don’t understand]( • Mr. Trump’s border wall has taken a back seat in Congress’s budget negotiations, which instead have focused on the [record number of immigrants in detention](. • A federal judge found that Paul Manafort, the onetime chairman of the Trump campaign, repeatedly lied to prosecutors after agreeing to cooperate with the special counsel’s Russia investigation. [The multiple untruths could lead to a longer sentence](. • The Trump White House has accelerated a secret program to sabotage Iran’s missiles and rockets. It is part of an expanding campaign to [undercut the country’s military and isolate its economy](. ADVERTISEMENT • In one of the deadliest attacks in Iran in years, a bombing is reported to have killed 41 members of the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. [The Revolutionary Guards are blaming the United States](. • A former United States Air Force counterintelligence agent, Monica Elfriede Witt, was charged with spying for Iran. Prosecutors said Ms. Witt, who is thought to be in Iran, gave the Revolutionary Guards secret details about intelligence operations and helped them with [spearfishing attempts against her former colleagues](. • The House voted to end American military assistance for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, condemning a nearly four-year conflict that has killed thousands of civilians and inflicted a devastating famine. If the Senate follows suit, Mr. Trump [may issue his first veto](. • There was confusion in South Korea after Mr. Trump said he’d made the country contribute $500 million more toward the cost of the American troop presence there. [An agreement signed on Sunday says nothing of the kind](. ADVERTISEMENT • Struggling to keep his past use of blackface from derailing his political career, Gov. Ralph Northam is working to [rebuild his image among black Virginians](. • As Virginia comes to terms with the possibility that for the next three years, its executive branch could include two men who wore blackface and a third accused of rape, there’s an unmistakable racial divide among the state’s women about [how to proceed](. • Senator Kamala Harris, a Democratic presidential candidate, has been criticized for appearing to say that she listened to Tupac and Snoop Dogg while in college, before either had released an album. [But early reports were missing key context](. _____________________ Today’s On Politics briefing was compiled by Tammy Tarng and Isabella Grullón Paz in New York. Were you forwarded this newsletter? [Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox.]( Is there anything you think we’re missing? Anything you want to see more of? We’d love to hear from you. Email us at [onpolitics@nytimes.com](mailto:onpolitics@nytimes.com?te=1&nl=politics&emc=edit_cn_2019021420190214). ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW NYTimes [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytimes]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »]( | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Politics newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2019 The New York Times Company | 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018