memeorandum: The Republican Health-Care Plan Has Disappeared Again (Jonathan Chait/New York Magazine)

9:35 PM ET, March 20, 2017

Top Items:

President Trump faces his hardest truth: He was wrong — On the 60th day of his presidency came the hardest truth for Donald Trump. — He was wrong. — James B. Comey Jr. — the FBI director whom Trump celebrated on the campaign trail as a gutsy and honorable “Crooked Hillary” …

New York Times:

Comey Confirms F.B.I. Inquiry on Russia; Sees No Evidence of Wiretapping — The F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, publicly confirmed an investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election and whether associates of the president were in contact with Moscow.

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

All the President's Lies — The ninth week of Donald Trump's presidency began with the F.B.I. director calling him a liar. — The director, the very complicated James Comey, didn't use the L-word in his congressional testimony Monday. Comey serves at the pleasure of the president, after all.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and The Stranger …

McClatchy Washington Bureau:

FBI's Russian-influence probe includes a look at far-right news sites — WASHINGTON — Federal investigators are examining whether far-right news sites played any role last year in a Russian cyber operation that dramatically widened the reach of news stories — some fictional …

Discussion: Geller Report, The Gateway Pundit, Vox Popoli and Media Matters for America

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Spicer digs in after FBI confirms Russia probe

Discussion: Associated Press and Daily Kos

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:
Roger Stone responds to Comey hearing, denies claims of Russia collusion

Discussion: RedState, Talking Points Memo and Axios

Amie Parnes / The Hill:
Mook: Trump aides ‘should be prosecuted for treason’ if they conspired with Russia

Discussion: Raw Story and Politicus USA

New York Times:
F.B.I. Is Investigating Trump's Russia Ties, Comey Confirms

Discussion: The Atlantic, Vox, Washington Post, Jamie Dupree, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Raw Story, Washington Monthly, Deadline, The Daily Signal, Talking Points Memo, CNBC, IJR, Mashable, Political Wire and Mother Jones

Martin Matishak / Politico:
Roger Stone takes center stage as Congress lines up Russia probe witnesses

Discussion: CNN, NBC News, Raw Story and Business Insider

Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
Comey: ‘No Information’ To Back Trump's Claim Obama Wiretapped Him

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:
Clinton camp unloads on Comey

Discussion: RedState

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
White House: ‘No evidence’ of Trump-Russia collusion

Discussion: Vox, Washington Post, Geller Report, RedState, Mediaite, The Last Tradition, Occupy Democrats and AOL

Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:

Fox News pulls Judge Napolitano over his Trump wiretap claims — Judge Andrew Napolitano, the senior judicial analyst for Fox News, is being kept off the air indefinitely. (Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images) — Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano is being kept off …

Discussion: Occupy Democrats, Daily Wire, Raw Story, Mediaite and twitchy.com, more at Mediagazer »

Media Matters for America:

The Bigotry And Idiocy Of Donald Trump's Favorite News Show — “For the record,” a top Fox News executive explained to the network's newsroom a decade ago, “seeing an item on a website does not mean it is right. Nor does it mean it is ready for air on FNC.”

Discussion: The Guardian and The Hill

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill: Fox News pulls Napolitano after his Trump wiretap claims

Peter Hasson / The Daily Caller:

The Blaze Suspends Tomi Lahren — Conservative media company The Blaze has suspended political commentator Tomi Lahren, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Daily Caller. — Lahren's show is suspended for effect for at least one week starting Monday, according to TheDC's sources.

Discussion: Glenn Beck, Raw Story, The Federalist, Washington Free Beacon, Heat Street, Daily Wire, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, Business Insider, New York Magazine, The Resurgent, TVNewser, Axios, twitchy.com and IJR, more at Mediagazer »

Andrew Kirell / The Daily Beast:
Glenn Beck Publicly Battles Tomi Lahren, His Most Famous Employee

Discussion: Mediaite, Dallas Morning News, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, Hit & Run and The Daily Caller

Josh Dawsey / Politico:

GOP leaders pile on sweeteners to sell Obamacare repeal — House Republican leaders are poised to release Monday evening an expansive series of changes to their Obamacare repeal bill in a last-ditch attempt to win enough support to get the bill passed. — Requested by President Donald Trump …

Discussion: Vox, Business Insider and Axios

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

The Republican Health-Care Plan Has Disappeared Again — The greatest advantage the Republican Party held, through eight years of political war over the provision of health care, was not having a plan to defend. After November's elections handed them full control of government …

Jacob Gardenswartz / Vox:
Every House Republican who could sink the GOP health care bill

Discussion: Politico

Arnie Seipel / NPR:

Amid Charges By Former Law Student On Gender Equality, Former Clerks Defend Gorsuch — Editors' note 12:55 p.m. ET: Since this story was first published, we have added material from another former student and former law clerks of Gorsuch, as well as more information about Jennifer Sisk's political affiliations.

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
SCOTUS nominee Neil Gorsuch faces extraordinary sexism allegation from former student

Discussion: Shareblue, Mother Jones, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Shakesville, NWLC, The Daily Signal, Washington Free Beacon and Washington Monthly

New York Times:
Six Highlights From the Gorsuch Confirmation Hearing

Discussion: Bloomberg, NBC News, New Republic, NPR, New York Magazine, Fox News, The Daily Signal, Economist, Fox News Insider, SCOTUSblog, Daily Wire, Raw Story, Denver Post, FOX31 Denver, Political Wire, Take Care Blog and Politico

Ariane de Vogue / CNN:
Neil Gorsuch on the issues

Discussion: KFOR-TV, FOX31 Denver, Raw Story and IJR

Annie Karni / Politico:

Ivanka Trump set to get West Wing office as role expands — Ivanka Trump, who moved to Washington, D.C., saying she would play no formal role in her father's administration, is now officially setting up shop in the White House. — The powerful first daughter has secured her own office …

Discussion: RedState, ABC News, Political Wire, Washington Post, Business Insider, Occupy Democrats, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Mediaite, NBC News and Axios

Jon Ostrower / CNNMoney:

Electronics banned from cabins on some Middle Eastern and African flights to U.S. — Airlines that fly from certain countries in the Middle East and Africa to the U.S. must require passengers to check in almost all electronic devices rather than carry them into the cabin, said a U.S. official.

Discussion: Business Insider and TheBlaze, more at Techmeme »

Sam Thielman / The Guardian:
US forbids any device larger than cellphone on airlines from 13 countries

Discussion: The Stranger …

Jon Fingas / Engadget:
US temporarily bans most electronics on Middle Eastern airlines

Discussion: RedState, NBC News and The Verge

Melanie Zanona / The Hill:
Feds temporarily ban electronics on certain flights to US

Discussion: NBC News and The Daily Caller

Jonathan O'Connell / Washington Post:

Trump drops 208 spots on Forbes list of billionaires — Donald Trump is $1 billion poorer since becoming president, according to Forbes's latest list of the world's billionaires. — The magazine's newest ranking, released Monday, estimated that Trump's net worth has fallen from $4.5 billion …

Discussion: The Hill, Forbes and CNBC

Rupert Neate Wealth / The Guardian:
Forbes billionaire list: Trump loses $1bn as elite club gets 233 new members

Discussion: Occupy Democrats and AOL

Olivia Beavers / The Hill:

NY attorney general hires prosecutor likely to target Trump administration: report — New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a vocal critic of President Trump, has hired a prosecutor who served under fired U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara to focus on public corruption cases …

Discussion: Hullabaloo and The Daily Caller

Erica Orden / Wall Street Journal:
New York Attorney General Steps Up Scrutiny of White House

Discussion: Liberal Values, Occupy Democrats, ThinkProgress, New York Magazine, Raw Story and Political Wire

Matt Lewis / The Daily Beast:

Sen. Pat Toomey's Serious Medicaid Idea — One of the most controversial aspects of Republican efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act has been Medicaid. The program, which was originally meant to help poor Americans obtain health insurance, was expanded under Obamacare …

Frank Rich / New York Magazine:

The Trump Voters Who Don't Deserve Democrats' Sympathy — Democrats need to stop trying to feel everyone's pain, and hold on to their own anger. — On the morning after, traumatized liberals set out hunting for answers as if Election Day were 9/11 all over again.

Discussion: Washington Post, Hullabaloo and Power Line

Avi Selk / Washington Post:

Trump wants to defund PBS. ‘Sesame Street’ brutally parodied him for decades. — You should know a couple of things before we embark on a recap of “Sesame Street's” surprisingly vicious takedowns of Donald Trump, which span three decades leading up to his political rise.

Discussion: Mashable