What's happening in the political world:
Reports: Romney to announce Senate run
-- Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, will announce he will run for Senate in Utah to replace the retiring Orrin Hatch, multiple media outlets reported.
A senior adviser told ABC News Wednesday that the former Massachusetts governor is "probably going to run for Senate."
For weeks, Romney and his camp have targeted Feb. 15 for an official announcement, and now it is likely Romney confirms his Senate plans on that date.
Multiple reports suggested Romney would make a formal announcement via social media, rather than through a public appearance or rally.
Romney, who lives in Utah and is very popular in the state, has been an outspoken critic of President Trump and has not been afraid to challenge him on various political matters.
Looking forward to making an announcement on February 15th about the Utah Senate race. https://t.co/OLXWZWREEK
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) February 1, 2018
Trump's lawyer paid $130,000 of own money to porn star
-- President Donald Trump's personal lawyer said Tuesday that he paid $130,000 of his own money to a porn star who allegedly had a sexual encounter with the President before his time in office.
"In a private transaction in 2016, I used my own personal funds to facilitate a payment of $130,000 to Ms. Stephanie Clifford," Michael Cohen said in a statement. "Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed me for the payment, either directly or indirectly."
Just weeks before the 2016 election, Cohen reportedly created a private LLC to pay Clifford, otherwise known as Stormy Daniels, following an alleged July 2006 encounter with Trump, The Wall Street Journal reported in January.
Congress launches investigation into Rob Porter controversy
-- The House Oversight Committee is investigating the White House's handling of Rob Porter's employment, chairman Trey Gowdy told CNN Wednesday.
"We are directing inquiries to people that we think have access to information we don't have. You can call it official. You can call it unofficial. Those words don't mean anything to me. What means something to me is I'm going to direct questions to the FBI that I expect them to answer," Gowdy, R-South Carolina, told CNN "New Day" co-anchor Alisyn Camerota.
He added that he was "troubled by almost every aspect" of Porter's employment at the White House.
CNN contributed to this report
