memeorandum: Rex Tillerson Might Be the Weakest Secretary of State Ever (Robert Jervis/Foreign Policy)

10:10 AM ET, March 11, 2017

Top Items:

Trump Abruptly Orders 46 Obama-Era Prosecutors to Resign — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Friday moved to sweep away the remaining vestiges of Obama administration prosecutors at the Justice Department, ordering 46 holdover United States attorneys to tender their resignations immediately …

Discussion: lohud.com, WJBK-TV, KTLA, New York Daily News, WiredPen, The Root, Vox, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, twitchy.com, RedState, Politicus USA, Political Wire and The Hill

CNN:

Anger mounts over handling of US attorney firings — Washington (CNN)Attorney General Jeff Sessions has asked for the resignations of 46 US attorneys, igniting anger from officials who say they were given no warning about their dismissals. — The Justice Department announced the firings Friday afternoon …

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Post, Washington Examiner and Hot Air

Harry Siegel / The Daily Beast:

Bharara Yet To Resign, Despite Trump Ask — Preet Bharara, the crusading U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York who was asked to submit his resignation letter Friday, along with the 45 other U.S. Attorneys held over from the Obama administration, has yet to do so, a federal law enforcement official tells The Daily Beast.

Associated Press:

Attorney general seeks resignations of 46 US attorneys — WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Jeff Sessions is seeking the resignations of 46 United States attorneys who were appointed during prior presidential administrations, the Justice Department said Friday.

Discussion: Fox News, National Review, Power Line and Hot Air

Bloomberg: Bharara, Wall Street's Cop, Among Prosecutors Asked to Quit

Josh Dawsey / Politico:
Trump team ousts Obama-appointed U.S. attorneys

Discussion: IJR, The Week, BuzzFeed, Reuters, zerohedge.com/fullrss2 …, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, Vox Popoli, BizPac Review and Doug Ross

Lydia Wheeler / The Hill:
Sessions asks 46 Obama-era US attorneys to resign

Discussion: BizPac Review, New York Magazine, The Gateway Pundit, Above the Law and Axios

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

What's a legitimate news outlet? A new face in the White House press pool raises questions. — In an age of partisan media, the lines between “partisan” and “media” can sometimes blur. — Case in point: The pool reporter covering Vice President Pence on Thursday — that is …

Oliver Darcy / Business Insider:
Drama in White House press room as Fox reporter vehemently denies he assaulted right-wing blogger

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Latest from Crooks and Liars and Little Green Footballs

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:
Gateway Pundit Reporter ACCOSTED, HARASSED — Screamed At in White House Press Room: “Nazi... White Supremacist!”

Discussion: BizPac Review, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
Sean Spicer's appalling answer about economic data shows how far we've lowered the bar for Trump

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Post, Business Insider, The Week and Axios

Steve Gorman / Reuters:

Trump's revised travel ban dealt first court setback — A federal judge in Wisconsin dealt the first legal blow to President Donald Trump's revised travel ban on Friday, barring enforcement of the policy to deny U.S. entry to the wife and child of a Syrian refugee already granted asylum in the United States.

Discussion: BizPac Review, The Week and The Daily Caller

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Revised Trump travel ban suffers first legal blow — President Donald Trump's revised travel ban executive order suffered its first legal setback Friday as a federal judge blocked the directive's potential impact on the family of a Syrian refugee living in Wisconsin.

Tyler Durden / Zero Hedge:

“Civil War” Breaks Out At White House Over Trade... And Goldman Is Winning — Earlier this week, when we discussed Peter Navarro's jarring op-ed in the WSJ in which he alleged that the persistent US trade deficit “would put US national security in jeopardy”, we said that …

Discussion: The Last Tradition and Vox Popoli

Financial Times:
White House civil war breaks out over trade

Discussion: Politico, Washington Monthly and Axios

New York Times:

Michael Flynn Was Paid to Represent Turkey's Interests During Trump Campaign — WASHINGTON — Michael T. Flynn, President Trump's first national security adviser, acted as a foreign agent representing the interests of Turkey's government in exchange for more than $500,000 during last year's campaign …

Discussion: NBC News, New York Magazine, Mediaite, Fox News and ABC News

The Daily Caller:
Flynn Paid Ex-FBI Agents, Behavior Analysts In Lobbying Work For Turkish Government

Discussion: The Atlantic, Daily Kos, The Last Refuge and Betsy's Page

Associated Press:
Trump transition knew Flynn might register as foreign agent

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Wire and The Atlantic

Anna Schaverien / Telegraph:

Barack Obama receives standing ovation as he enjoys lunch with Bono in New York — Barack and Michelle Obama drew a crowd once again as they met with U2's lead singer Bono in New York on Friday for lunch. — Diners in Upland restaurant on Park Avenue took pictures of the former US president …

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:

Trump threatens GOP: Back health bill or get primaried — President Trump has told Republican leaders that he's prepared to play hardball with congressional conservatives to pass the GOP healthcare bill, including by supporting the 2018 primary challengers of any Republican who votes against the bill.

Discussion: MARK-CM and RedState

Jesse Drucker / New York Times:

Wealthy Would Get Billions in Tax Cuts Under Obamacare Repeal Plan — Two of the biggest tax cuts in Republican proposals to repeal the Affordable Care Act would deliver roughly $157 billion over the coming decade to those with incomes of $1 million or more, according to a congressional analysis.

Discussion: Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

Robert Jervis / Foreign Policy:

Rex Tillerson Might Be the Weakest Secretary of State Ever — There are five avenues to power at Foggy Bottom, and they're all blocked to the current man in charge. — While much of America's political class is transfixed by the debate about connections between Russia and the White House …

Helen Raleigh / Townhall.com:

Here's How to Establish a Merit-based Legal Immigration System — At his first joint session speech, President Trump mentioned that the U.S. should have a merit-based legal immigration system similar to what Canada and Australia have. He's right and I have advocated for this very same point for years.

Reed Abelson / New York Times:

How Healthy Are You? G.O.P. Bill Would Help Employers Find Out — A bill in Congress could make it harder for workers to keep employers from getting access to their personal medical and genetic information and raise the financial penalties for those who opt out of workplace wellness programs.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Daily Kos and Mother Jones

Dino Grandoni / BuzzFeed:

Trump Appointee Who Tweeted About “Some Muslim Piece Of S**t” Is Out From Energy Department — A Trump campaign worker appointed to the Energy Department is a former massage therapist with a history of tweeting anti-Muslim remarks. — A massage therapist and former Trump campaign operative …

Discussion: Raw Story, Greentech Media and Axios

Darius Dixon / Politico: Energy Department parts company with Trump appointee who called Muslims ‘maggots’

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:

Trump adviser admits to contact with DNC hacker — Roger Stone, President Trump's former campaign advisor, on Friday admitted to having private conversations with a hacker who helped leak information from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) during last year's campaign.

Discussion: Politicus USA and RedState