CONGRESS: Congress made its long-awaited return to Washington on Monday, with open questions surrounding what could be done to reduce gun violence in the wake of three mass shootings since the beginning of August. More than any, the answer to one question remains elusive as the conversation heats up on the topic: What will the president support? As Jordain Carney writes, just over a week after the shooting in West Texas and over a month since those in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, the president is facing a make-or-break moment on gun reforms. Lawmakers, who say they are still in the dark about what the president would sign, are calling on him to provide "guidelines" for potential legislation. On Sunday, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) did just that, saying the president needs to "step up" and create guidelines for lawmakers to follow. "The president needs to step up here and set some guidelines for what he would do," Blunt told "Meet The Press." "I'm afraid what's going to happen here is what always happens, is we take this silly 'if we don't get everything, we won't do anything.'" Since the shootings in early August, Trump has consistently sent mixed signals about what he could back, having said on a number of occasions — including in discussions with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) — that he wants to look at expanded background checks but then backing off and arguing that mental illness is the main issue to tackle. Murphy said in a statement on Monday that while he continues to negotiate, "time is running short" to strike a deal on background checks, adding that it's more likely that nothing will get done on the issue the way things are moving at this point. "I think time is running short to find a compromise on background checks. I'm still negotiating in good faith to find a bipartisan proposal that will expand checks to cover more commercial sales and save lives, and I continue to take the president at his word that he wants the same thing," Murphy said. "But as each day goes by, it seems more likely that we're going to find ourselves back in a familiar place where 90 percent of the Americans who want more background checks are going to be disappointed once again." Nevertheless, supporters need him on their side to strike a deal. Senate Republicans, under pressure to act on some gun control measures, say they don't want to move forward without political cover from Trump, as they want to keep support from their base strong ahead of the 2020 election, as Alexander Bolton reports. Trump's lack of clarity has made life difficult for vulnerable Republicans, giving mixed signals as to where he might go on the issue and leaving them stalling for time as they try to figure out where the president will ultimately end up. > Impeachment: House Judiciary Committee Democrats have expanded their already sprawling investigation into Russian interference to include new areas of inquiry, as the panel weighs whether to introduce articles of impeachment against the president. In addition to Democrats examining possible episodes of obstruction as laid out in former special counsel Robert Mueller's report, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) has announced in recent days that the panel will also examine payments made to two women claiming they had affairs with Trump, reports the president dangled pardons to border officials, and whether the president has profited from government trips in which administration and Air Force officials used taxpayer dollars to stay at his family-owned properties. Additionally, the panel is also preparing to have its first recorded vote this week on a resolution that would formalize procedures for the panel amid its growing impeachment investigation. Both the expansion and efforts to lay out its investigative powers come as the panel lacks public support for impeachment (The Hill). Politico: House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) lashes Michael Flynn for refusing to cooperate. The Washington Post: Democrats investigate whether Trump, Giuliani pressured Ukraine to aid 2020 reelection bid. The Hill: Ten notable Democrats who do not favor impeachment ***** POLITICS & CAMPAIGNS: The president's reelection campaign is moving to block three Republicans challenging him in next year's primary election, cognizant of the potential threat those challengers represent to Trump's hold on his vaunted Republican base. Trump's campaign has worked for months to limit a challenger's ability to test the president's hold on his Republican base, as Reid Wilson reports. His team has moved to install pro-Trump party officials in key states, ousting incumbents to do so if necessary. Most recently, several states voted over the weekend to end primaries or caucuses that would have given those challengers an opportunity to attract votes and attention. South Carolina party officials went so far as to do so in apparent violation of their own rules. The Hill: Trump says he won't debate primary opponents. The Atlanta Journal Constitution: Jon Ossoff to run for Senate in Georgia. The Wall Street Journal: Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) weighs future in Trump's GOP. > Criminal Justice: Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) released a new criminal justice plan on Monday that would end mandatory minimum sentencing, the death penalty and cash bail in an effort to create a system focused on fairness and building safe communities. Harris says her plan to end mass incarceration is part of a shift to a "crime reduction" policy. Ending mandatory minimum sentences would be effective at the federal level, with her pushing for states to follow suit. Her plan would also legalize marijuana, expunge records containing marijuana convictions, and nix federal bans that prevent previously incarcerated individuals from accessing public assistance programs. "My entire career has been spent making needed reforms and fighting for those who too often are voiceless -- from young people arrested for the first time and getting them jobs instead of jail, to grieving Black mothers who wanted justice for their child's murder as the system ignored their pain," Harris said in a statement. "This plan uses my experience and unique capability to root out failures within the justice system." Harris released the plan only days before she is set to take part in the third Democratic debate in Houston and as she tries to claw her way back into the top tier of the primary battle. After a polling surge following the first debate in Miami, Harris has seen her support levels crater to where they were before that debate (The Hill). Politico: "It's a deceptive lead": Why former Vice President Joe Biden's rivals are planning around his big collapse. The Hill: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) endorses Rep. Henry Cuellar's (D-Texas) primary challenger. 
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