memeorandum: Trump boasts he can ‘comprehend very well, better than I think almost anybody’ (Becca Stanek/The Week)

2:30 PM ET, February 8, 2017

Top Items:

Eric Bradner / CNN:

Silencing Elizabeth Warren backfires on Senate GOP — Washington (CNN)The Senate has silenced Elizabeth Warren. — And by doing so, majority Republicans just handed the liberal firebrand a megaphone — further elevating President Donald Trump's fiercest and most prominent critic in the Senate and turning her into a Democratic hero.

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren:

During the debate on whether to make Jeff Sessions the next Attorney General, I tried to read a letter from Coretta Scott King on the floor of the Senate. The letter, from 30 years ago, urged the Senate to reject the nomination of Jeff Sessions to a federal judgeship.

Discussion: The Atlantic, CNN, New York Times, New York's PIX11, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, Hullabaloo, Mashable and The Week

Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:

Republican Senators Vote to Formally Silence Elizabeth Warren — WASHINGTON — Republican senators voted on Tuesday to formally silence a Democratic colleague for impugning a peer, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, by condemning his nomination for attorney general while reading a letter from Coretta Scott King.

Discussion: American Prospect, Washington Post, NBC News, Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Common Dreams, Taylor Marsh, twitchy.com, Washington Free Beacon, The Week, Business Insider, The American Mirror, The Last Tradition and Daily Wire

Elana Schor / Politico:

Senate Democrats echo Warren on the floor, baiting GOP — Elizabeth Warren's fellow Democrats are taking to the Senate floor to read the same letter criticizing attorney general nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions that got Warren formally chastised by the GOP — but drawing no similar objections so far as they push back against her rare rebuke.

Discussion: Political Wire and The Hill

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

Republicans vote to rebuke Elizabeth Warren, saying she impugned Sessions's character — Senate Republicans passed a party-line rebuke Tuesday night of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) for a speech opposing attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions, striking down her words for impugning the Alabama senator's character.

Discussion: CNN, Washington Monthly, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, Hit & Run, Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Week, Fox News Insider, MSNBC, BuzzFeed, Power Line, NBC News, TheBlaze, Mediaite, New York Magazine, Mashable and Gothamist

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Mitch McConnell Sees ‘High Level of Satisfaction’ With Trump Administration

Discussion: Axios and Hot Air

Eder Campuzano / Oregonian:
Jeff Merkley reads Coretta Scott King's letter about Jeff Sessions on Senate floor (video)

Discussion: The Hill, ABC News, The Atlantic, Vox, CNN, ThinkProgress, Chicago Tribune, Willamette Week, Daily Kos, The Guardian, Raw Story and Boing Boing

Ben Shapiro / Daily Wire:
GOP Senate Votes To Gag Warren For Incivility. Here Are 3 Reasons That's Incredibly Dumb.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Politico, YouTube, Vox, NPR, Towleroad, The Nation, Occupy Democrats, Mother Jones, Refinery29, The Guardian, New York Magazine and Hot Air

Amy B Wang / Washington Post:
‘Nevertheless, she persisted’ becomes new battle cry after McConnell silences Elizabeth Warren

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Vox, Talking Points Memo and Jamie Dupree

Marc Caputo / Politico:
Alabama governor leaning toward ‘Big Luther’ Strange to replace Sessions

Discussion: al.com, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller and Political Wire

Derek Hawkins / Washington Post:
The silencing of Elizabeth Warren and an old Senate rule prompted by a fistfight

Discussion: The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, Washington Free Beacon, The Week, TheBlaze, Mashable, Vox, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Business Insider and Mediaite

James Hohmann / Washington Post: The Daily 202: Mitch McConnell gives Elizabeth Warren's 2020 presidential campaign an in-kind contribution

Jake Sherman / Politico:

Poll: Democrats want leaders to block Trump — Democratic voters are sending a clear message to their elected officials in Washington: Stop Donald Trump at all costs. — A new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll of 2,070 registered voters, including 740 self-identified Democrats …

Discussion: Axios, Associated Press, Hot Air, The Daily Beast, RedState, The Week, Morning Consult, Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

Cameron Easley / Morning Consult:
Trump's Approval Rating Slides Despite Support for Travel Ban

Discussion: Politico, Mediaite, Daily Wire, Business Insider and RedState

Jim Geraghty / National Review:
Nine Senate Democrats Say Gorsuch Deserves a Vote

Discussion: Washington Post, Political Wire and Washington Free Beacon

Laura Litvan / Bloomberg: Schumer Says Gorsuch Avoided His Questions ‘Like the Plague’

Christina Wilkie / The Huffington Post:

Leaks Suggest Trump's Own Team Is Alarmed By His Conduct — White House leaks are common, but leakers suggesting the president might be unfit for office are not. — S.V. Date — Senior White House Correspondent, The Huffington Post — White House reporter, The Huffington Post

Discussion: Vox, Washington Monthly, DCist, The Week, New York Magazine, Washington Post, Business Insider, The Slot, Mother Jones, Boing Boing, rubber hose and Daily Kos

Patricia Murphy / The Daily Beast:

Sean Spicer Makes Up Atlanta Islamist Terror Attack — Kellyanne Conway's “Bowling Green massacre” isn't the only case of a White House aide pointing to a terror attack that didn't happen to make the case for President Donald Trump's controversial executive order limiting travel from seven majority-Muslim countries.

Discussion: CNN, Political Insider blog, Gothamist, The Week, Mediaite, Mashable, No More Mister Nice Blog and ThinkProgress, more at Mediagazer »

CBS News:

A note from Charlie Rose — Almost 15 years ago skilled surgeons replaced my aorta valve with a new replacement valve. It has served me well enabling me to live the vigorous, full, complete life you are all so familiar with. No one loves life more than I do.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Washington Post, WHNT-TV and Mediaite

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Trump attacks judges weighing travel ban — President Trump on Wednesday went after a panel of federal judges weighing whether a court order blocking his travel ban should be lifted. — Speaking to a gathering of law enforcement officials, Trump argued the judges should immediately reinstate …

Discussion: Rewire

Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Appeals Court Panel Appears Skeptical of Trump's Travel Ban

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Daily Kos, Fox News Insider, Outside the Beltway, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, New York Magazine, Axios, alan.com, Althouse and Boing Boing

CNN: Trump to judges: Even a ‘bad high school student’ would rule in my favor

Aidan Quigley / Politico:

Trump blasts Nordstrom for dropping Ivanka's clothing line — President Donald Trump on Wednesday blasted luxury department store Nordstrom for dropping his daughter Ivanka Trump's label, a move that drew immediate criticism for further blurring the line between Trump's administration and his family's businesses.

Discussion: USA Today, Townhall.com, RedState, The Atlantic, Washington Monthly, Vox, BuzzFeed, Talking Points Memo, CNBC, Reuters, Raw Story, Mother Jones, Yahoo, Business Insider, Occupy Democrats, Common Dreams and Hot Air

Rachel Abrams / New York Times:

T.J. Maxx Backs Away From Ivanka Trump as President Assails Nordstrom — Last week, employees at T.J. Maxx and Marshalls got very clear instructions about where to put signs for Ivanka Trump products: in the garbage. — The TJX Companies, the retailers' parent company …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Business Insider, AOL, Raw Story, NBC News and Mashable

David Edwards / Raw Story:

Rick Santorum: Trump can lie about the murder rate because he's not ‘bound by all the facts’ — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — Conservative CNN contributor Rick Santorum excused President Donald Trump for lying about the U.S. murder rate by arguing that the president's false statements come …

Discussion: NPR and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Ryan Browne / CNN:

First on CNN: US military to rent space in Trump Tower — Washington (CNN)The US military is looking to lease space in Trump Tower. — “In order to meet official mission requirements, the Department of Defense is working through appropriate channels and in accordance with all applicable legal requirements …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos

Helene Cooper / New York Times:
Pentagon Considers Leasing Space at Trump Tower

Discussion: Washington Post, Gothamist, The Week and Joe.My.God.

New York Times:

Yemen Withdraws Permission for U.S. Antiterror Ground Missions — WASHINGTON — Angry at the civilian casualties incurred last month in the first commando raid authorized by President Trump, Yemen has withdrawn permission for the United States to run Special Operations ground missions …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, BuzzFeed, Associated Press, CNN, Washington Post, Defense One, Hot Air, Daily Kos, NBC News, New York Magazine, Washington Free Beacon, Mother Jones, Political Wire, The Week and Balloon Juice

Alan Levin / Bloomberg:

Investigators Probing Plane That Got Too Close to Air Force One, Sources Say — Incident involving Trump's plane occurred over Florida — Risk of collision said to be low as planes flew parallel — U.S. aviation investigators are probing an incident in which a private plane …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Julian Zelizer / Washington Post:

Protests didn't hurt Reagan, and they're not going to stop Trump — Low approval ratings and public outcry can work in favor of outsider politicians. … Demonstrators march against President Trump's executive order fast-tracking the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines.

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Tapper a GOP target after grilling Conway — A source with direct knowledge tells Axios that Republican operatives were urging at least one conservative-friendly website to write Jake Tapper hit pieces yesterday after his hard-hitting interview with Kellyanne Conway.

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite, BizPac Review, New York Magazine, Talking Points Memo, Mashable and RedState, more at Mediagazer »

Bloomberg:

Chelsea Clinton's Husband Closes His Hedge Fund — Eaglevale Partners, the hedge fund co-founded by Marc Mezvinsky, the son-in-law of Hillary and Bill Clinton, closed in December, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. — Eaglevale, based in New York, is in the process …

Discussion: Axios and The Daily Caller

NorthJersey.com:

Secaucus transgender boy returns to Scouting — MAPLEWOOD — In a moment of historic significance, Joe Maldonado put on a Cub Scout uniform on Tuesday night as he became a member of Pack 20 in Essex County while his mother held back tears — one week after the Boy Scouts of America changed …

Discussion: Associated Press and Vox Popoli

Becca Stanek / The Week:

Trump boasts he can ‘comprehend very well, better than I think almost anybody’ — President Trump defended his immigration executive order Wednesday while speaking at the National Sheriffs' Association's winter meeting. After reading the entirety of the order, which bans people …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs and Joe.My.God.

NEllingsen / Lawfare:

It's Not Foreigners Who are Plotting Here: What the Data Really Show — Former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson meets with Minneapolis Muslim Community / Department of Homeland Security — A little more than a week ago, Benjamin Wittes posted a piece about the malevolence …

The Huffington Post:

GOP Senator On Obamacare Replacement: 'There's Not Any Real Discussion Taking Place Right Now' — Republicans are finding it much harder to craft health care reform replacement than it was to campaign on repeal. — Washington bureau chief for The Huffington Post

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The Week, TheBlaze, Politico and New York Times