memeorandum: Dems hit new low in state legislatures (Reid Wilson/The Hill)

2:40 PM ET, November 18, 2016

Top Items:

Donald Trump Selects Senator Jeff Sessions for Attorney General — WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump has selected Senator Jeff Sessions, a conservative from Alabama who became a close adviser after endorsing him early in his campaign, to be the attorney general of the United States …

New York Times:

Michael Flynn, Anti-Islamist Ex-General, Offered Security Post, Trump Aide Says — WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump has offered the post of national security adviser to Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, potentially putting a retired intelligence officer who believes Islamist militancy poses …

Elise Viebeck / Washington Post:

Trump chooses Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general, Rep. Mike Pompeo for CIA director — President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday that he plans to nominate Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) as attorney general and Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) as CIA director, the first selections to his Cabinet …

Discussion: ABC News, Politico, Power Line, Gothamist, Mediaite, CNN, The Gateway Pundit, New York Magazine and Talking Points Memo

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Donald Trump Building Team of Racists — Donald Trump's presidential campaign bludgeoned modern norms about the acceptability of racism. The candidate proposed a religious test for immigrants, and called a federal judge unfit on the grounds of his heritage.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, neo-neocon, RedState, Breitbart, Joe.My.God. and Politicus USA

Bloomberg:

Jeff Sessions Said to Be Trump's Pick for Attorney General — Alabama lawmaker was an early and ardent Trump supporter — Sessions was also under consideration for Defense secretary — President-elect Donald Trump has settled on Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions for attorney general, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Discussion: ABC News, Politico, Washington Monthly, RedState, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, The Week and The Geller Report

James Hohmann / Washington Post:

The Daily 202: Trump poised to learn the Pottery Barn rule of governing — THE BIG IDEA: — A more apt reference, especially after Trump's inauguration, might be the Pottery Barn Rule. Colin Powell popularized this doctrine in the foreign policy context.

Michael Isikoff / Yahoo:

Michael Flynn, Trump's reported pick for national security adviser, sat in on intel briefings — while advising foreign clients — Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who has reportedly been offered the role of national security adviser in Donald Trump's White House, began receiving classified …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg, Politico, The Intercept, Washington Free Beacon, Business Insider, The Last Refuge and Daily Kos

New York Times:

Mike Pompeo Is Trump's Choice as C.I.A. Director — WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump has selected Representative Mike Pompeo, a hawkish Republican from Kansas and a former Army officer, to lead the C.I.A., his transition team said Friday. — Mr. Pompeo, who has served …

Discussion: ABC News, Gizmodo, The Daily Signal, The Nation, The Week, Common Dreams and Hit & Run

CBS News:
Donald Trump offers Jeff Sessions attorney general post

Discussion: National Review, Media Matters for America, CBS New York, CBS Miami and Mediaite

Ari Berman / The Nation:
Jeff Sessions, Trump's Pick for Attorney General, Is a Fierce Opponent of Civil Rights

Discussion: Vox, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, New York Times, Washington Post, Law News, electionlawblog.org, The Hayride, Common Dreams and Right Wing Watch

Amber Phillips / Washington Post:
10 things to know about Sen. Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump's pick for attorney general

Discussion: RedState, New Republic, The Atlantic, Mashable, Rewire and Boing Boing

CNN:
Sessions dogged by old allegations of racism

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Occupy Democrats, Hot Air, The Week, Vox and Joe.My.God.

Esme Cribb / Talking Points Memo:
Trump Team Dodges On Anti-Muslim, Racist Comments From Flynn, Sessions

Discussion: CNN and The Week

Ryan J. Reilly / The Huffington Post:
Jeff Sessions Was Deemed Too Racist To Be A Federal Judge. He Might Become Trump's Attorney General.

Discussion: Washington Post, ThinkProgress, The Atlantic, Washington Monthly, Los Angeles Times, Mediaite, Common Dreams, Above the Law, CNN, ImmigrationProf Blog, The New Civil Rights Movement, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Independent Journal Review and The Week

Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
Trump National Security Adviser Pick Michael Flynn Has Medals — and Baggage

Discussion: ThinkProgress, RT, Washington Post, CNBC, Daily Kos, Media Matters for America, Right Wing Watch, NBC News and The Week

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Trump taps Sessions for attorney general, Pompeo for CIA

Discussion: NBC News, Guardian, ABC News, twitchy.com and Just Security

Steve Holland / Reuters:
Trump picks conservative loyalists for top security, law enforcement jobs

Discussion: Hot Air and Talking Points Memo

McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo, an Army veteran, will become Trump's CIA director

Discussion: The Week, Daily Kos, RT, Guardian and Towleroad

CNN:
Michael Flynn's son and chief of staff pushed conspiracy theories, obscene memes online

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Jezebel

Kenneth Lovett / New York Daily News:

President-elect Donald Trump nearing settlement in Trump University fraud case — ALBANY — In a complete turnaround from his previous position, President-elect Donald Trump is nearing a settlement of the fraud cases brought in New York and California involving his now defunct for-profit Trump University, the Daily News has learned.

Discussion: ABC News, Mother Jones, RedState, CNBC, The New Civil Rights Movement, TheBlaze, Law News, Jezebel and Raw Story

Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:
Source: Trump nearing settlement in Trump University fraud cases

Discussion: Politico

Karen Freifeld / Reuters:
President-elect Trump nears settlement in Trump University lawsuit

Discussion: Hot Air

Michael Wolff / Hollywood Reporter:

Ringside With Steve Bannon at Trump Tower as the President-Elect's Strategist Plots “An Entirely New Political Movement” (Exclusive) — “I'm not a white nationalist, I'm a nationalist. I'm an economic nationalist,” Bannon tells THR media columnist Michael Wolff as the controversial Breitbart …

Discussion: Politico, Business Insider, Raw Story, Mediaite and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Matt Shuham / Talking Points Memo:

Obama Suggests Meeting With Trump Wasn't All It Was Cracked Up To Be — President Barack Obama acknowledged in a New Yorker profile published online Thursday that his first meeting with Donald Trump may not have actually lived up to its sunny official description.

Discussion: Daily Kos, New Century Times and AOL

David Remnick / New Yorker:
Obama's Days of Reckoning

Discussion: RedState, Guardian, Independent Journal Review, Business Insider, AOL, BizPac Review and New York Magazine

Walter Russell Mead / The American Interest:
Obama's Never-Ending Lecture Tour

Discussion: New York Times

Jim Tankersley / Washington Post:

Trump just took credit for stopping Ford from moving a plant to Mexico. But it wasn't planning to. — President-elect Donald Trump claimed credit on Thursday for keeping a Ford plant in Kentucky from moving to Mexico. But the company never planned to move the entire plant, only one of its production lines.

Binyamin Appelbaum / New York Times:
Donald Trump Takes Credit for Helping to Save a Ford Plant That Wasn't Closing

Discussion: Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters, NBC News, Associated Press, Gothamist, CNBC, Courier-Journal, Media Matters for America, The New Civil Rights Movement, Politicus USA, NPR, Mediaite, Hot Air, Boing Boing, Daily Wire and alan.com

The Independent:

Chaos, projectile shoes at Kanye show as he give pro-Trump speech — Kanye West has always been something of a provocateur and a nihilist, and is staunchly anti-political correctness. Last night he stirred a maybe unprecedented level of controversy, however, declaring at a Saint Pablo Tour show …

Discussion: Daily Wire, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and mrctv.org/videos

CNN:
Kanye West: I didn't vote but if I did, ‘I would have voted for Trump’

Discussion: Business Insider, Guardian, RedState, KRON4.com, SFist, BizPac Review, Heat Street, The Daily Caller, Refinery29, Mashable, Mediaite, The Week, CBS San Francisco, Washington Free Beacon, Independent Journal Review and CBS New York

Mark Lilla / New York Times:

The End of Identity Liberalism — It is a truism that America has become a more diverse country. It is also a beautiful thing to watch. Visitors from other countries, particularly those having trouble incorporating different ethnic groups and faiths, are amazed that we manage to pull it off.

Burgess Everett / Politico:

GOP could nuke filibuster for Supreme Court nominees — Top Senate Republicans are drawing a hard line on the Supreme Court, guaranteeing that no matter what tactics Democrats deploy, they will be forced to swallow Donald Trump's imminent nominee to the high court.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Progressive Pulse, The Week and Political Wire

Michael Gerstein / Detroit News:

Michigan electors cite threats over Trump vote — Michael Banerian wants to show that young adults still have faith in the political system, but he said his selection as one of Michigan's 16 Electoral College voters has prompted emails urging him to vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton and even threatening death.

Discussion: The Geller Report, Liberty Unyielding, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Clayton Cramer and Infowars