Monday, Jan. 14

· The Supreme Court, without comment, turned away a challenge to the legality of Matthew Whitaker’s appointment as acting attorney general.

· In response to reporters’ questions about President Donald Trump denied that he worked for Russia, and called FBI agents who launched an investigation into the question “known scoundrels” and “dirty cops.”

· A panel of Republican leaders voted unanimously to keep Iowa Rep. Steve King off House committees, who sparked outrage last week after openly questioning whether the term “white supremacist” was offensive.

· A Pennsylvania district court judge blocked a rule nationwide that would have allowed employers with religious or moral objections to opt out of the Affordable Care Act’s no-cost coverage requirement. That and a more limited injunction Sunday by a California judge, who blocked the rule in 13 states and the District of Columbia, came just as the rule was to take effect.

Tuesday, Jan. 15

· Judge Jesse M. Furman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered the administration Tuesday to stop its plans to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, calling Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s decision to add the question “arbitrary and capricious,” and blasting Ross for “egregious” violations of the Administrative Procedure Act.

· Attorney General nominee William Barr said in his confirmation hearings that he did not think Special Counsel Robert Mueller he did not think Mueller “would be involved in a witch hunt,” that that he agreed with former Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation, and that he would not fire Mueller “without cause.”

· U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon refused to force the government to pay federal employees who have been working without compensation during the partial government shutdown, rejecting arguments from labor unions that unpaid work violates labor laws and the Constitution.

· The House of Representatives voted 424 to 1 to condemn the substance of Rep. Steve King’s recent remarks questioning when the terms “white supremacist” and “white nationalist” became offensive.

Wednesday, Jan. 16

· Four American service members were killed and three others wounded in a suicide attack in Syria, the largest loss of life in the Pentagon’s war against Islamic State militants there

· House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked Trump on to postpone his State of the Union address — or deliver it in writing — if the government shutdown doesn’t end this week. The address is currently scheduled for Jan. 29, although neither house of Congress has passed the resolution needed for the address to take place.

· A new report from the General Services Administration showed that it ignored concerns that President Trump’s lease on a government-owned building that houses his Trump International Hotel in Washington might violate the Constitution when it allowed Trump to keep the lease after he took office.

Thursday, Jan. 17

· A federal audit was released showing the Trump administration separated thousands more migrant kids at the border than it previously acknowledged, and the separations began months before the policy was announced.

· An investigation of former Veterans Affairs secretary David Shulkin was released, largely clearing him of allegations he misused his security detail for shopping and other errands, but concluding he violated ethics rules by allowing his driver to provide transportation for his wife.

· More than 130 Republicans joined House Democrats in a 362-53 vote opposing the lifting of sanctions on Putin ally Oleg Deripaska, despite heavy lobbying by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. A similar measure failed in the Senate despite 11 Republicans voting with Democrats for the measure.

· Trump cancelled a trip on military aircraft by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other congressional representatives to Afghanistan, saying “It would be better if you were in Washington negotiating with me.”

· Trump cancelled the U.S. delegation going to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum, due to the government shutdown.

· Rep. Adam B. Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, demanded a new investigation after BuzzFeed News reported that Trump directed his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to lie to Congress about a proposed Trump Tower deal in Moscow and negotiations over the deal during the 2016 election.

· Deputy HUD Secretary Pam Patenaude left the agency following disagreements with other members of the Trump administration over housing policy and the White House’s attempt to block disaster-recovery money for Puerto Rico, according to five people with direct knowledge of the situation.

· The Pentagon issued a report to Congress on the effects of climate change on the armed forces, warning that rising seas could inundate coastal bases and drought-fueled wildfires could endanger other, inland facilities.

Friday, Jan. 17

· Speaker Nancy Pelosi on cancelled travel plans and accused the Trump administration of leaking news that her delegation planned to salvage their Afghanistan trip by flying commercial, saying the disclosure made the situation “much more dangerous” for her and others.

· Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office issued a statement disputing BuzzFeed’s report that the president directed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress saying, without further elaboration, “BuzzFeed’s description of specific statements to the Special Counsel’s Office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen’s Congressional testimony are not accurate.”

· Trump announced that he will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the end of February.

Saturday, Jan. 19

· Trump offered Democrats three years of deportation protections for some immigrants, including “Dreamers,” in exchange for $5.7 billion in border wall funding, a proposal immediately rejected by Democrats and derided by conservatives as amnesty.

Sunday, Jan. 20

· Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said on “Meet the Press” that conversations with Russia about a potential Trump Tower project in Moscow continued throughout 2016 up to perhaps October or November, not through January 2016 as former Trump attorney Michael Cohen originally testified to Congress.