memeorandum: Senate nears confirmation of Trump's pick to head Treasury (Associated Press)

6:10 AM ET, February 13, 2017

Top Items:

Turmoil at the National Security Council, From the Top Down — WASHINGTON — These are chaotic and anxious days inside the National Security Council, the traditional center of management for a president's dealings with an uncertain world. — Three weeks into the Trump administration …

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Week, Washington Monthly, Gizmodo, Hullabaloo, ThinkProgress, Fox News and Talking Points Memo

CNN:

At Mar-a-Lago, Trump tackles crisis diplomacy at close range — Trump, Abe respond to N. Korea missile test — (CNN)The iceberg wedge salads, dripping with blue cheese dressing, had just been served on the terrace of Mar-a-Lago Saturday when the call to President Donald Trump came in …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Week, Political Wire, New York Magazine and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Wall Street Journal:

Mike Flynn's Position Grows Tenuous in White House — The White House is reviewing whether to retain National Security Adviser Mike Flynn amid a furor over his contacts with Russian officials before President Donald Trump took office.

Discussion: The Week

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Trump reviews top White House staff after tumultuous start — President Donald Trump, frustrated over his administration's rocky start, is complaining to friends and allies about some of his most senior aides — leading to questions about whether he is mulling an early staff shakeup.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Washington Post:

As Flynn falls under growing pressure over Russia contacts, Trump remains silent — White House national security adviser Michael Flynn is under increasing political pressure and risks losing the confidence of some colleagues following reports that he misled senior administration officials …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian and Daily Wire

John R. Schindler / The New York Observer:
The Spy Revolt Against Trump Begins

Discussion: Raw Story, Instapundit, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Washington Post and Booman Tribune

Ryan Sabalow / Sacramento Bee:

BREAKING: Oroville under immediate evacuation as spillway collapse feared — “It's uncontrolled. It's uncontrolled.” — Fearing a gush from Lake Oroville if the emergency spillway collapses, officials are releasing as much as 100,000 cubic feet per second from the main …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Raw Story, ABC News, New York Magazine, Associated Press, Gizmodo and RedState

Brian Chappatta / Bloomberg:

America's Biggest Creditors Dump Treasuries in Warning to Trump — Japanese investors cull U.S. government debt by most since '13 — Currency-hedged returns were worst on record last quarter — In the age of Trump, America's biggest foreign creditors are suddenly having second thoughts about financing the U.S. government.

Discussion: Mother Jones and CANNONFIRE

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:

Trump: Media won't report on ‘enthusiastic supporters’ at Mar-a-Lago — President Trump on Sunday again slammed the media, this time claiming that there were “enthusiastic supporters lining the roads” as he left his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. — “Just leaving Florida.

Discussion: New York Times and Raw Story

Hollywood Reporter:

Grammy Awards: A Pro-Trump Statement on the Red Carpet — Singer Joyce Villa wore a “Make America Great Again” gown. — Scandalous dresses on the Grammys red carpet aren't what they used to be. It wasn't deep cleavage or a thigh-high leg slit that had tongues wagging about singer Joyce Villa on Sunday night.

Discussion: IJR and AOL

Joy Villa / Breitbart:

Photos: Joy Villa Unveils Donald Trump Dress at Grammys — Pop singer Joy Villa arrived Sunday at the 2017 Grammy Awards wearing a simple white outfit- until she removed it on the red carpet, revealing a dress in the style of Donald Trump's “Make America Great Again” presidential campaign posters.

Discussion: BizPac Review

Jennifer Calfas / The Hill:

Trump's official inauguration poster has glaring typo — President Trump's official inauguration portrait offered by the Library of Congress had a glaring typo on it, social media users pointed out Sunday evening. — The print of Trump, which was sold on the Library of Congress's website …

Discussion: Business Insider, Raw Story and Little Green Footballs

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

Stephen Miller's bushels of Pinocchios for false voter-fraud claims — White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller appeared on ABC's “The Week” on Sunday, spouting a bunch of false talking points on alleged voter fraud. (He also repeated similar claims on other Sunday talk shows.)

Discussion: Power Line, IJR and Talking Points Memo

Esme Cribb / Talking Points Memo:
Top White House Advisor Claims Trump's Wall ‘Will Pay For Itself’

Discussion: Raw Story and Outside the Beltway

ABC News:
‘This Week’ Transcript 2-12-17: Stephen Miller, Bob Ferguson, and Rep. Elijah Cummings

Discussion: Fox News, NBC News, Daily Wire, Washington Post, NPR, Talking Points Memo and The Week

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
White House adviser: We have provided ‘enormous’ evidence of voter fraud

Discussion: RedState

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

Trump friend says Priebus is ‘in way over his head’ — One of President Trump's longtime friends made a striking move on Sunday: After talking privately with the president over drinks late Friday, Christopher Ruddy publicly argued that Trump should replace his White House chief of staff.

Discussion: The Week, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Mother Jones, twitchy.com, Mediaite and Outside the Beltway

New York Times:

G.O.P. Lawmakers Like What They See in Trump. They Just Have to Squint. — WASHINGTON — Republican congressional aides have set their iPhones to flutter every time President Trump hurls a thunderbolt on Twitter. Senators nod politely at his false claims of mass voter fraud during private White House meetings.

Loren Grush / The Verge:

A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone — Two weeks ago, Sidd Bikkannavar flew back into the United States after spending a few weeks abroad in South America. An employee of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Bikkannavar had been on a personal trip …

Discussion: Mashable

Rhett Jones / Gizmodo:
Border Agent Demands NASA Scientist Unlock Phone Before Entering the Country

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Associated Press:

Senate nears confirmation of Trump's pick to head Treasury — The Senate is poised to confirm President Donald Trump's pick for Treasury secretary despite complaints by Democrats that Steven Mnuchin failed to protect thousands of homeowners from unnecessary foreclosures when he headed OneWest Bank.

Discussion: Politico

Kyle Balluck / The Hill:

Franken: GOP colleagues question Trump's mental health — (D-Minn.) said early Sunday that Republican colleagues have expressed concern to him about President Trump's mental health. — “A few, yeah,” he said on CNN's “State of the Union.” — “We all have this suspicion that, you know, he lies a lot.

Discussion: The Talking Dog, Raw Story and alan.com

Tom Boggioni / Raw Story: Sen. Al Franken confirms to CNN's Tapper that GOP senators are concerned about Trump's mental health

UN Watch:

Walk of shame: Sweden's “first feminist government” don hijabs in Iran — Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Google+Share on LinkedinShare on PinterestShare on Xing — Trade minister Ann Linde and other members of Sweden's “first feminist government in the world” …

Discussion: presstv.ir, The Geller Report, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and RedState

Erin McCann / New York Times:

Trump Criticized Obama for Golfing. Now He Spends Weekends on the Links. — As a private citizen, Donald J. Trump was repeatedly critical of President Obama's fondness for relaxing with a round of golf. — “Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf.”

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit