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But these were not the errant tweets of a novice politician, he continued. These were the deliberate choices of a president who seems determined to realize his delusions of a warm relationship with Putins regime without any regard for the true nature of his rule, his violent disregard for the sovereignty of his neighbors, his complicity in the slaughter of the Syrian people, his violation of international treaties and his assault on democratic institutions throughout the world.

Mr. McCains fellow Republican senator from Arizona, Jeff Flake, released his own rebuke: I never thought I would see the day when our American President would stand on the stage with the Russian President and place blame on the United States for Russian aggression. This is shameful.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican Alaska, struck a mournful tone: Sadly President Trump did not defend America to the Russian president, and for the world to see. Instead, what I saw today was not America First, it was simply a sad diminishment of our great nation.

Senator Ben Sasse, Republican of Nebraska and a frequent critic of Mr. Trump, echoed the sentiment. Everyone in this body should be disgusted by what happened in Helsinki today, he said Monday in a speech on the Senate floor.

Even for congressional Republicans used to avoiding commenting on the presidents outbursts, Mr. Trumps performance in Helsinki was difficult to ignore. For those who are accustomed to speaking out against Mr. Trump, and those whose impending retirements have freed them to do so, it was yet another occasion for public hand-wringing.

Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, the retiring chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that he did not think this was a good moment for our country.

It was, he added, a very good moment for Mr. Putin.

It was almost an approval, if you will, a public approval by the greatest nation on earth towards him, Mr. Corker told reporters. I would guess hes having caviar right now.

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Republicans Rebuke Trump for Siding With Putin as ...

Then-candidate Donald Trump onstage with his running mate, Mike Pence, and their families at the end of the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Republicans have chosen Charlotte, N.C., a city that hosted Democrats' convention in 2012, to host their 2020 convention. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

Then-candidate Donald Trump onstage with his running mate, Mike Pence, and their families at the end of the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Republicans have chosen Charlotte, N.C., a city that hosted Democrats' convention in 2012, to host their 2020 convention.

The Republican National Convention in 2020 will be held in Charlotte, N.C., the party announced on Friday. The city was the only known contender to formally bid for the convention, and it is the city that hosted Democrats' convention in 2012 when President Barack Obama was renominated.

"We look forward to seeing the Queen City take center stage as the Republican Party renominates President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence," Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement.

Charlotte's recent history of hosting a national convention appeared to boost its bid. It also sits in a swing state that was key to Trump's 2016 victory. His campaign referred to it as part of the "core four" states necessary to win, including Ohio, Iowa and Florida.

Democrats announced that they would hold their convention earlier than usual, in mid-July of 2020, before that year's Summer Olympics. The location of the 2020 DNC is down to three finalists: Houston, Miami Beach and Milwaukee.

The city of Charlotte was split over hosting the GOP convention. The city council voted 6-5 in favor of the bid on Monday, in a meeting where more than 100 people spoke, NPR member station WFAE reports.

"I'd no sooner bring Donald Trump and the RNC to Charlotte to the home that I choose and love, where my wife and I are raising our black son any sooner than I would support a Klan rally in this city," said Justin Harlow, a Democrat on the city council.

The pitch was supported by the local tourism industry, as well as Democratic Mayor Vi Lyles. "Hosting the RNC is not an endorsement of the administration," she said at the council meeting on Monday. "I believe that hosting the Republican convention, the RNC, is about what opportunities we can make of it after this very, very difficult time of deliberation."

Convention cities are often seen as strategic political choices, but the track record is spotty for candidates to win the state in which they hold their convention.

Trump won Ohio after the 2016 RNC in Cleveland, but by a fairly wide margin that wouldn't have been decisively affected by the convention. Hillary Clinton lost Pennsylvania on the heels of the 2016 DNC in Philadelphia. In 2012, Obama lost North Carolina after his Charlotte convention, just as Mitt Romney lost Florida that year, after his convention in Tampa.

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Republicans To Hold 2020 Convention In Charlotte, N.C. : NPR

The former White House communications director warned that Trump was "going to get hurt by this issue if it stays out there," and he called for a "humane approach" to migrants arriving at the border.

"There's culpability on all sides here," Scaramucci told Fox News on Saturday. "My recommendation is you should be immediately fixing this problem. I think that this is a fuse that's been lit, and it's now burning into a big, big gunpowder pool, if you will. So you don't want all that dynamite going off.

"The president is going to get hurt by this issue if it stays out there very very long. Unfortunately, because he's the commander in chief, he's at the top of the food chain of the government. Even if it's the Democrats' fault, he's going to get tarred with it.

"My recommendation: Let's fix this immediately, because what we have to stand for in our society is our American values. When they're saying from the White House, 'Oh, well, don't break the law; if you don't break the law, then we won't have to separate you,' that's sort of incongruent with American values.

"I recognize that people should not break the law, but there's a lot of desperate people that want to enter this country, and we have to take a humane approach to those people."

Watch Scaramucci's full response around the 5:17 mark in the video below:

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List of senior Republicans against zero tolerance policy ...

Already, at least 44 House Republicans have announced they are retiring, running for another office or resigning outright, including Ryan. They're leaving from all over the map, from southern New Jersey to southern New Mexico.

Democrats need to pick up 24 House seats to retake the majority from Republicans, who've had control of the House since 2011.

Republican leadership has acknowledged it has a problem.

But the retirements kept coming.

While midterm elections are historically tough for the party of the President in power, it's too early to tell how things will unfold this year. But seats are opening up all over. A few seats will be filled by special elections before next November. But most won't.

The locations of some of these seats were pivotal during the push for health care reform and tax reform in 2017. Reps. Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey and Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania were courted during the health care debates for their votes. Both have high numbers of Medicaid enrollees in their districts. Property taxes are high in New Jersey, and LoBiondo objected to the repeal of the state and local tax deduction during the tax reform debates.

Some states are seeing higher numbers of open seats. And not all of the vacancies are coming from Republicans. Several vacancies opened in Texas, including the blue 16th Congressional District, won by Democrat Beto O'Rourke in 2016. He announced that he plans to run for the Senate in 2018.

The campaign committees on both sides of the political aisle are eyeing the 23 Republicans defending districts that Hillary Clinton won in 2016 and the 12 seats held by Democrats in districts that President Donald Trump won. These are seen as vulnerable seats to flip.

But many of the Republican retirements are occurring in districts where Trump narrowly carried the vote, like New Jersey's 2nd or Michigan's 11th. Members from these districts could have faced tough re-elections this year, when Democrats are expected to be strong performers, potentially regaining control of the House.

Republicans who say they will run for other offices are more likely to come from districts where Trump performed well. These members vote in alignment with the President at a high rate. They may count on continued support from his base to propel them into higher office.

With few exceptions, the Republicans and Democrats who are retiring largely vote along party lines. They also have levels of support for the President's agenda similar to those of their respective parties.

Past research has found the emergence of "strategic retirement" by politicians when they think re-election is less likely. The recent results in Virginia and subsequent Republican departures suggest this phenomenon may be in effect.

Here is the full list of representatives so far who have announced that they plan to leave office, broken down by whether they said they will resign, retire or run for another office. Some members resigned before their terms ended.

While the number of Democrats and Republicans planning to run for another office is close in number, the number of House Republican retirements dwarfs those announced by Democrats. Members from either party planning to run for another office tend to run for Senate seats or governorships.

CNN's Adam Levy and Wade Payson-Denney contributed to this report

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There is a wave of Republicans leaving Congress - CNNPolitics

A major question looming over the 2018 Senate contest is whether so-called wave election years in which one party makes significant gains in both chambers of Congress, as happened in 1994 and 2006 can still exist as the country grows more polarized and politics more shaped by hardening party preferences. With ticket-splitting fading, especially in federal races, voters are increasingly turning to lawmakers who reflect the presidential leanings of their state.

That could spell trouble for Democrats representing largely conservative electorates and states where surveys show that, unlike in much of the country, the president is viewed more favorably than unfavorably.

In the middle of the country people are by and large center-right, and they see the national Democratic brand as really far left, which is a ball and chain those senators have to carry around, Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, said.

But Democrats argue that the well-cultivated reputations and financial advantages of party incumbents like Senators Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Jon Tester of Montana and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia matter as much as the red-leaning nature of their states.

And they say that what passes for good news on the right simply being competitive in states the G.O.P. otherwise dominates underscores the Republicans weakness in a year when the map is so favorable.

Were feeling very good about our chances, said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, adding, At a minimum, theres a 50-50 chance were going to take back the Senate.

There are only nine Republican seats in play, but Democrats believe they have the chance to win in three: Arizona, Nevada and Tennessee.

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Senate Republicans Are Newly Hopeful About the Midterms ...