memeorandum: Is McCain confident in Trump? ‘I do not know’ (Cyra Master/The Hill)

8:15 AM ET, January 23, 2017

Top Items:

Rocky First Weekend for Trump Troubles Even His Top Aides — WASHINGTON — President Trump's first weekend in office unfolded much the way things often did during his campaign: with angry Twitter messages, a familiar obsession with slights and a series of meandering and at times untrue statements …

Discussion: USA Today, Raw Story, The Week, Gizmodo, Politicus USA, CBS New York, New Urban Legends, Hot Air, IJR, Mediaite, Eschaton, Outside the Beltway, Washington Post, Business Insider, The Guardian, Shareblue and Scripting News, more at Mediagazer »

Josh Dawsey / Politico:

Trump struggles to shake his erratic campaign habits — That Donald Trump chose to spend the first 48 hours of his presidency feuding with the news media over crowd sizes, crowing about his win in front of a wall of killed CIA agents, spreading inaccurate information and firing off tweets didn't shock his supporters or critics.

Discussion: The Week, Liberal Values, The Moderate Voice and Vox, more at Mediagazer »

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Eyes Michael Flynn's Links to Russia — U.S. counterintelligence agents have investigated communications that President Donald Trump's national security adviser had with Russian officials. Michael Flynn is the first person inside the White House whose links are known to have faced scrutiny …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, alan.com, The Week, Political Wire and Instapundit

New York Times:

Foreign Payments to Trump Firms Violate Constitution, Suit Will Claim — WASHINGTON — A team of prominent constitutional scholars, Supreme Court litigators and former White House ethics lawyers intends to file a lawsuit Monday morning alleging that President Trump is violating the Constitution …

Discussion: Althouse, Politico, Washington Post, New York Magazine, ThinkProgress, BuzzFeed, The Week, Daily Kos, The Guardian and Political Wire

Robert Pear / New York Times:

Trump's Health Plan Would Convert Medicaid to Block Grants, Aide Says — WASHINGTON — President Trump's plan to replace the Affordable Care Act will propose giving each state a fixed amount of federal money in the form of a block grant to provide health care to low-income people on Medicaid …

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:
With executive order, Trump tosses a ‘bomb’ into fragile health insurance markets

Discussion: AOL, NPR and Media Matters for America

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:

Hillary Clinton plots her next move — LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — In a series of private meetings and phone calls at their home in Chappaqua, in New York City and in Washington, Bill and Hillary Clinton are slowly starting to puzzle through their political future, according to over a dozen people …

Discussion: Political Wire

David Ignatius / Washington Post:

CIA officers give mixed reviews of Trump's strange visit — President Trump's visit to the CIA on his first day in office shocked some agency veterans because of its combative, political tone. But several said they were glad that Trump seemed to have stopped demonizing the intelligence community …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Politico

Paul Mirengoff / Power Line:
Trump at the CIA

Discussion: ABC News, Politico and Washington Post

Tim Alberta / Politico:

Meet the ‘New Ted Cruz’ — It was a sleepy Wednesday morning last June when Ted Cruz tipped his hand. — John McCain had sponsored an amendment to expand the FBI's online surveillance capabilities, and it was a no-brainer for the many devout constitutionalists on Cruz's Senate staff.

NBC News:

Meet The Press 01/22/17 — CHUCK TODD: — This Sunday a divided country on a split-screen weekend. It began with the inauguration of a new president. — PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: — And yes, together, we will make America great again. — CHUCK TODD: — That brought out hope to some.

Discussion: American Prospect, Hit & Run and Althouse

Kyle Balluck / The Hill:
Conway: 'We're going to have to rethink our relationship' with press

Discussion: RedState

Politico:
WikiLeaks calls out Trump for refusing to release tax returns

Discussion: CNN, Sputnik International, The Hill, ABC News, Mother Jones, RT, The Guardian, IJR, RedState, Business Insider, twitchy.com, Mediaite and Daily Kos

Filip Bondy / New York Times:

How Vital Are Women? This Town Found Out as They Left to March — MONTCLAIR, N.J. — The Starbucks coffee shop on South Park Street was still populated in the first hours of daylight on Saturday morning, but almost exclusively by men. The owner of the JaiPure Yoga Studio on Bloomfield Avenue reported …

BBC:

Madonna says White House comments ‘taken out of context’ — A row has erupted over Madonna's comments about US President Donald Trump during a speech at the weekend. — While taking part in a protest march in Washington DC on Saturday, the singer said she had thought “an awful lot about blowing up the White House”.

Discussion: Page Six, Hot Air, TheBlaze, Outside the Beltway and The Gateway Pundit

Karoun Demirjian / Washington Post:

Will Marco Rubio defy President Trump on his pick for secretary of state? — Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsey O. Graham said Sunday that they will back the nomination of Rex Tillerson, clearing the way for the oil executive to become secretary of state and leaving just one drama unresolved: What will Marco Rubio do?

Discussion: Power Line, Political Wire, Axios and Politico

Associated Press:
The Latest: Trump Changes Course After Denouncing Protesters

Discussion: Politico

Cyra Master / The Hill:

Is McCain confident in Trump? ‘I do not know’ — DON'T MISS A BRIEF. SIGN UP FOR OUR DAILY EMAIL.

Discussion: alan.com

Nicholas Fondacaro / NewsBusters:

CNN: Is Dictator Trump Making You ‘Doubt Your Own Eyes’ to Truth? — “Do citizens in dictatorships recognize what's happening right here right now,” he sneered, “Are they looking at the first two days of the Trump administration and saying, 'Oh, that's what my leader does?'”

Andrew Osborn / Reuters:

Kremlin says expects to agree date for Trump-Putin phone call soon — The Kremlin said on Monday it expected to soon agree a date for the first phone call between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, but that it had no information for now about when the two men might hold their first meeting.

Discussion: Politico