The Latest: Attorney General Bondi will face Senate over political pressure on Justice Department

Attorney General Pam Bondi goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday as federal agents surge into American cities. Senators are sure to question her about political influence over a Justice Department that has already criminally charged one of President Donald Trump’s longtime foes and is facing intense White House pressure to prosecute others.

It’s now Day 7 of the shutdown, with Democrats and Republicans at an impasse. Democrats are conditioning their support for a short-term funding patch on extending the subsidies that millions of Americans count on to make health care affordable. Trump says he’ll talk about a health care deal only after the government reopens and the Democrats lose their leverage.

Peace talks continue in Egypt on the two-year anniversary of Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel that triggered the bloody conflict that has seen tens of thousands of Palestinians killed in Gaza. The negotiations center on Trump’s proposed plan to end the war in Gaza.

And Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet with Trump in the Oval Office again. One of the world’s most durable and amicable alliances has been fractured by Trump’s trade war and annexation threats, and the free trade agreement critical to Canada’s economy is up for review next year.

The Latest:

Trump to meet with American hostage freed from Gaza

The president is scheduled to meet Tuesday afternoon at the White House with Edan Alexander, who was taken hostage by Hamas in the attack two years ago that led to the Israel-Hamas war.

Trump met in July with Alexander, who was the last living American hostage in Gaza and was released from captivity in May. The meeting, which is scheduled to occur behind closed doors, comes as indirect peace talks are being held in Egypt over Trump’s plan to end the fighting.