memeorandum: Mike Lee: Senate parliamentarian told me it's possible to push harder on repealing Obamacare regulations (Philip Klein/Washington Examiner)

11:20 PM ET, March 22, 2017

Top Items:

CNN:

US Officials: Info suggests Trump associates may have coordinated with Russians — Washington (CNN)The FBI has information that indicates associates of President Donald Trump communicated with suspected Russian operatives to possibly coordinate the release of information damaging to Hillary Clinton's campaign, US officials told CNN.

Holman W. Jenkins, Jr / Wall Street Journal:

Leakgate Finds Its Joe McCarthy — On Trump-Russia links, Rep. Schiff tries to fool the public with randomness. — If Donald Trump tweeted his accusations about President Obama wiretapping Trump Tower to get the media off his alleged ties to Russia, then Democrats at Monday's hearing …

Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
Comey Is Now the Most Powerful Person in Washington

Discussion: Power Line

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Poll: By 2 to 1 margin, registered voters reject Comey

Discussion: IJR, Daily Wire, Hot Air, Washington Times, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine and Political Wire

Madeline Conway / Politico:
Schiff: There is now ‘more than circumstantial evidence’ of Trump-Russia collusion

Discussion: Political Wire

Austin Wright / Politico:

Nunes claims some Trump transition messages were intercepted — House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes declared Wednesday that members of Donald Trump's transition team, possibly including Trump himself, were under inadvertent surveillance following November's presidential election.

Tom LoBianco / CNN:

House Intel chairman: Trump's personal communications may have been collected — Its chairman said Wednesday Trump's communication might have been part of ‘incidental collection’ — (CNN)House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes said Wednesday that President Donald Trump's personal communications …

Discussion: The Hill, Business Insider, The Atlantic, Booman Tribune, Politicus USA, Shareblue, Taylor Marsh, Jamie Dupree, Hot Air, Patterico's Pontifications, TheBlaze and Axios

David A. Graham / The Atlantic:

What Devin Nunes's Bombshell Does and Doesn't Say — In a head-spinning development on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Representative Devin Nunes, the chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, revealed that ... well, what Nunes revealed isn't totally clear.

Discussion: Raw Story, Mother Jones, CANNONFIRE, ThinkProgress, Axios and Real Clear Politics

Bloomberg:
Nunes Says Trump Team Conversations Caught in Surveillance

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, Balloon Juice and Vox Popoli

Nikita Vladimirov / The Hill:
Schiff: I have ‘grave concerns’ over Nunes's surveillance claim

Discussion: Occupy Democrats

Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart:
Nunes ‘Unmasking’ Report Vindicates Trump Claims on Surveillance

Discussion: CNN, Geller Report and RedState

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:
BOOM=> House Intel Chair: We Cannot Rule Out That Sr. Obama Officials Were Involved in Trump Surveillance

Discussion: ABC News and Daily Wire

Jennifer Haberkorn / Politico:

White House moves to tweak health care bill to win over conservatives — White House officials are moving to eliminate broad coverage requirements for health insurers in the Obamacare repeal bill in a bid to win over holdout members of the House Freedom Caucus.

Discussion: The Hill, New York Magazine, CNN, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, The Daily Signal, STAT and RedState

Jim Newell / Slate:

There's a secret, cynical reason Paul Ryan can't give conservatives what they want on the American Health Care Act. — You cannot fault House conservative holdouts for a lack of clarity in their refusal to support the American Health Care Act. Each one I spoke with on Tuesday made the same point …

Discussion: Vox and Talking Points Memo

Dylan Matthews / Vox:

The latest health care cut Republicans are weighing, explained — Politico's Josh Dawsey and Jennifer Haberkorn report that the White House is in negotiations with the House Freedom Caucus about getting the caucus's hard-line conservative members to support the American Health Care Act …

Discussion: The Hill, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Politico

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:

Mike Lee: Senate parliamentarian told me it's possible to push harder on repealing Obamacare regulations — Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said on Wednesday that the Senate parliamentarian has told him that it may be possible for Republicans to push harder on repealing Obamacare's regulations …

Discussion: Washington Post and Hot Air

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:
House Republicans, Deeply Divided, Face Painful Choice on Health Vote

Discussion: Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Des Moines Register and The Atlantic

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Democrats weigh deal to let Gorsuch through — A group of Senate Democrats is beginning to explore trying to extract concessions from Republicans in return for allowing Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch to be confirmed, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

Discussion: The Resurgent, Mediaite and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
While Gorsuch was testifying, the Supreme Court unanimously said he was wrong

Discussion: Bloomberg, Occupy Democrats, Daily Kos, USA Today, New York Times, Latest from Crooks and Liars, New York Magazine, Reuters and CNN

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Joviality at Neil Gorsuch's Hearing Masks Drama Behind the Scenes

Discussion: Washington Post, Refinery29, SCOTUSblog, NPR.org and Politico

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Democrats sharpen attacks on Gorsuch after Supreme Court rebuff

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Beast, ABC News, Vox, The Atlantic, SCOTUSblog and Washington Free Beacon

Rep. Daniel Donovan / Staten Island Advance:

Why I will vote ‘no’ on the American Health Care Act — Rep. Daniel Donovan will vote “no” on the current Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. (Staten Island Advance/Rachel Shapiro) — Since my first day serving in Congress I made a commitment to weigh the impact …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Congressman Lou Barletta, NBC News and The Republic

Ezra Klein / Vox:
Trump's weak closing argument on health care — and why it matters

Discussion: bradford-delong.com, Townhall.com, New York Times and Occupy Democrats

Steven Shepard / Politico:
Poll: Approval wanes for GOP health bill

Discussion: Hot Air, The Hill, Common Dreams, Daily Kos, Morning Consult, AOL, Washington Post and The Daily Caller

New York Daily News:

Racist Maryland man who fatally stabbed black New Yorker admits his intent to kill African-American men — The 28-year-old man busted for fatally stabbing a black stranger in Midtown on Tuesday has told cops he came the city from Baltimore to kill African-Americans, sources said.

Discussion: New York Post, Occupy Democrats, Associated Press, New York's PIX11, Raw Story, The Times of Israel, Mediaite, AOL, The Root and Gothamist

Ashley Southall / New York Times: Suspect in Manhattan Killing Hated Black Men, Police Say

Daniel Prendergast / New York Post:
Well-dressed suspect in fatal stabbing surrenders to cops

Discussion: Gothamist

Theodore Schleifer / CNN:

Kochs to withhold millions for health care ‘yes’ votes — Washington (CNN)In a last-minute effort to sink the Republican health care bill, a powerful network of conservative donors said Wednesday it would create a new fund for Republican 2018 reelection races — but they'll only open it up to GOPers who vote against the bill.

Discussion: TheBlaze

John Bresnahan / Politico:
Conservatives claim votes to stop GOP Obamacare repeal

Discussion: CNBC, ABC News, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, Mediaite, TheBlaze, Daily Kos, The Hill, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Stranger …, Balloon Juice and The Huffington Post

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Rubio ducks questions about supporting House Obamacare repeal

Discussion: RedState and Shark Tank

Fox News:

UK Parliament terror attack: 4 people killed, including cop and alleged assailant; 20 injured — DEVELOPING - Four people, including a London police officer who was stabbed and the alleged assailant, were killed after a terror attack that saw more than 20 people injured outside the Parliament building on Wednesday.

Angela Dewan / CNN:
UK Parliament terror alert: One woman dead and police officer stabbed

Discussion: The Sun, The Guardian, WPMT FOX43, Daily Mail, Hollywood Life, Infowars and TheBlaze

Washington Post:
Attacker kills 3, injures 20 in vehicle and knife assault near British Parliament, according to officials

Discussion: National Review, Outside the Beltway and The Daily Signal

Associated Press:

AP Exclusive: Manafort had plan to benefit Putin government — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, secretly worked for a Russian billionaire to advance the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin a decade ago and proposed …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Shakesville, Outside the Beltway, Shareblue, Mediaite, Booman Tribune, twitchy.com, Taylor Marsh, Towleroad, Little Green Footballs, The Atlantic and Washington Post

Andrew Restuccia / Politico:

Federal staffers panicked by conservative media attacks — Conservative news outlets, including one with links to a top White House official, are singling out individual career government employees for criticism, suggesting in articles that certain staffers will not be sufficiently loyal …

Discussion: Conservative Review

Washington Post:

Secret Service asked for $60 million extra for Trump-era travel and protection, documents show — The U.S. Secret Service requested $60 million in additional funding for the next year, offering the most precise estimate yet of the escalating costs for travel and protection resulting …

Discussion: Occupy Democrats, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, Politicus USA, Business Insider and Raw Story

Mark Hensch / The Hill:
White House jumper caught on fence: report

Discussion: TMZ.com, BizPac Review and RedState

P.R. Lockhart / Mother Jones:

Congressional Black Caucus Shows Trump Its Policy Vision for Black America — In the lead-up to their meeting today with President Donald Trump, Congressional Black Caucus leaders said they would focus on explaining what African Americans stand to lose under a Trump presidency.

Discussion: Daily Kos and Axios

Matthew Nussbaum / Politico:
Trump meets Black Caucus and vows action on drug prices

Discussion: ABC News and Mother Jones

Graydon Carter / Vanity Fair:

The Trump Presidency Is Already a Joke — But it's no laughing matter. — It can reasonably be said that our dear leader is now the most ridiculed man on the planet. In fact, he may well be the most ridiculed man in history. For a preening narcissist who takes himself terribly seriously …

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Zoe Tillman / BuzzFeed:

Prosecutors Are Extracting Data From More Than 100 Locked Phones Seized During Inauguration Day Arrests — Police detain a demonstrator on January 20, 2017 — WASHINGTON — Prosecutors are extracting data from more than 100 locked cell phones seized during arrests in downtown Washington …

Discussion: The Verge