Top Items:
Axios:
House GOP health care peacemaking deteriorates — There was an effort yesterday to get House GOP conservatives — the House Freedom Caucus and Republican Study Committee — to meet with GOP moderates — the Tuesday Group — to talk about a path forward after last week's failed health care effort.
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Rich Lowry / Politico:
The Crisis of Trumpism — Trumpism is in crisis. — This isn't a function of poll numbers, or the Russia controversy, or any other melodrama of the past three months, but something more fundamental: No officeholder in Washington seems to understand President Donald Trump's populism …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Mediaite and Raw Story
Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Trump says ‘We must fight’ hard-line conservative Freedom Caucus in 2018 midterm elections — President Trump effectively declared war Thursday on the House Freedom Caucus, the powerful group of hard-line conservative Republicans who blocked the GOP health-care bill, vowing to “fight them” in the 2018 midterm elections.
Discussion:
New York Times, ABC News, Vox, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Hit & Run, Daily Kos, Daily Wire and The American Conservative
Bloomberg:
House GOP Weighing Another Try on Obamacare Vote Next Week
House GOP Weighing Another Try on Obamacare Vote Next Week
Discussion:
Politico, Vox, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Business Insider, Joe.My.God., Reuters, Axios, Hot Air and Political Wire
Kelsey Snell / Washington Post:
Hill Republicans trying to avert a shutdown need Democrats — and Trump
Hill Republicans trying to avert a shutdown need Democrats — and Trump
Discussion:
Daily Kos, BostonGlobe.com, Balloon Juice, BuzzFeed and Political Wire
Newsweek:
FBI Director James Comey tried to reveal Russian tampering months before election — U.S. JAMES COMEY FBI RUSSIA 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION — FBI Director James Comey attempted to go public as early as the summer of 2016 with information on Russia's campaign to influence …
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CNBC:
Putin says claims that Russia interfered in US elections are ‘lies’ — Accusations that Russia interfered in last year's U.S. elections are “lies” used for “domestic American politics,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday. — “We said on numerous occasions and I reiterate …
Discussion:
CNN, Talking Points Memo, Washington Times, The Week, Raw Story, Mediaite, Joe.My.God. and Towleroad
Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Dem senator: Intel panel should probe financial ties between Trump, Russia
Dem senator: Intel panel should probe financial ties between Trump, Russia
Discussion:
Politico, The Daily Beast, New York Times and Al Jazeera English
Adam Kelsey / ABC News:
How the House, Senate Russia probes are headed down different paths
How the House, Senate Russia probes are headed down different paths
Discussion:
Politico, Axios and Associated Press
Paul Wood / BBC:
Trump Russia dossier key claim ‘verified’ — The BBC has learned that US officials “verified” a key claim in a report about Kremlin involvement in Donald Trump's election - that a Russian diplomat in Washington was in fact a spy. — So far, no single piece of evidence has been made public proving …
Discussion:
Business Insider, Raw Story, Political Wire, CANNONFIRE, The Week, Balloon Juice and Occupy Democrats
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Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:
Who is ‘Source D’? The man said to be behind the Trump-Russia dossier's most salacious claim.
Who is ‘Source D’? The man said to be behind the Trump-Russia dossier's most salacious claim.
Discussion:
Naked Politics
Yashar Ali / New York Magazine:
What George W. Bush Really Thought of Donald Trump's Inauguration — The inauguration of Donald Trump was a surreal experience for pretty much everyone who witnessed it, whether or not they were at the event and regardless of who they supported in the election.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Mediaite, Daily Mail, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, Occupy Democrats, AOL, twitchy.com, Althouse, The Slot, The Last Tradition, The Daily Caller, Mashable and Political Wire
Nan Aron / USA Today:
Don't torpedo Senate rules for Gorsuch: Nan Aron — If a nominee for a lifetime job on our highest court can't get 60 votes, don't go ‘nuclear.’ Change the nominee. — For four days this month, court-watchers were glued to C-SPAN or the web for the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.
Discussion:
Politico, Daily Kos and Campaign for America's Future
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Bryan Lowry / Kansas City Star:
McCaskill warns Democratic donors of pitfalls of blocking Trump nominee for high court
McCaskill warns Democratic donors of pitfalls of blocking Trump nominee for high court
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Seung Min Kim / Politico:
Gorsuch battle brings Senate to brink of a new low
Daniel Fisher / Forbes:
Cash Price Or Credit? Supreme Court Says That Might Be First Amendment Question
Cash Price Or Credit? Supreme Court Says That Might Be First Amendment Question
Discussion:
SCOTUSblog and Althouse
Raleigh News & Observer:
Lawmakers vote Thursday on deal to repeal HB2 — RALEIGH — North Carolina lawmakers could repeal House Bill 2 on Thursday under a deal struck late Wednesday night by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican legislative leaders. — Senate leader Phil Berger announced the deal shortly …
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Richard Fausset / New York Times:
North Carolina Strikes a Deal to Repeal Restrictive Bathroom Law — ATLANTA — North Carolina's Republican-controlled legislature and its Democratic governor announced late Wednesday that they had reached an agreement to repeal the controversial state law that curbs legal protections for lesbian …
Tommy Christopher / Shareblue:
Watch real climate scientist shoot down climate “skeptic” at GOP's sham “science” hearing — Donald Trump's presidency continues to be a disaster for the environment. The Energy Department's Climate Office banned use of the phrase “climate change,” and Trump recently signed an executive order …
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, ABC News and Climate Depot
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Brooke Seipel / The Hill:
Energy Department tells staff not to use phrase ‘climate change’: report
Energy Department tells staff not to use phrase ‘climate change’: report
Discussion:
Geller Report
Eric Wolff / Politico:
Energy Department climate office bans use of phrase ‘climate change’
Energy Department climate office bans use of phrase ‘climate change’
Discussion:
Common Dreams, New York Magazine, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Occupy Democrats, The Week, Axios and AOL
New York Times:
Trump Said to Ease Combat Rules in Somalia Intended to Protect Civilians — WASHINGTON — President Trump has relaxed some of the rules for preventing civilian casualties when the American military carries out counterterrorism strikes in Somalia, laying the groundwork for an escalating campaign …
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Decision Desk HQ:
Creating a National Precinct Map … In January 2011, I sent an email to the Washington State Democratic Party asking about precinct results from the 2008 presidential caucus race. State party chairman Jaxon Ravens replied simply with the question, “Why would you want them?”
Discussion:
Political Wire
Nick Gutteridge / Daily Express:
EU could BREAK UP the US: Juncker in jaw-dropping threat to Trump over support for Brexit — EUROPEAN Union boss Jean-Claude Juncker this afternoon issued a jaw-dropping threat to the United States, saying he could campaign to break up the country in revenge for Donald Trump's supportive comments about Brexit.
Discussion:
TheBlaze, Fox News, Althouse and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
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Laura Smith-Spark / CNN:
Brexit: UK publishes ‘Great Repeal Bill’ plan to replace EU laws
Brexit: UK publishes ‘Great Repeal Bill’ plan to replace EU laws
Discussion:
The Guardian, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Business Insider
New York Times:
Ivanka Trump, Shifting Plans, Will Become a Federal Employee — Ivanka Trump, the elder daughter of President Trump, is becoming an official government employee, joining her husband in serving as an unpaid adviser to her father in the White House. — Ms. Trump already has an office in the West Wing …
Discussion:
RedState, The Guardian, PRI, BizPac Review, CNN, Hot Air, Politico, The Slot, The Hill, Mediaite, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, Refinery29, Towleroad, KTLA, CNBC, Mother Jones, New York Magazine, The Federalist, The Atlantic, NBC News, AOL, The Week, Political Wire and Talking Points Memo
RELATED:
Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
Trump touts affordable childcare plans
Trump touts affordable childcare plans
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Refinery29, Washington Free Beacon, twitchy.com and Mediaite
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Signals It Would Seek Mostly Modest Changes to Nafta — One change would be in government-procurement section of deal that could open up door for ‘Buy American’ policies — WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is signaling to Congress it would seek mostly modest changes …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Mother Jones and Axios
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Why Trump's unpopularity is historically unique — President Trump is not the first president to see his approval rating drop to 35 percent, as it did in Gallup's most recent tracking poll. — But he is the first president on record to go that low without it owing to one of three things: war, Watergate or economic strife.
Discussion:
The Week, Business Insider, The Hill, Eschaton, Political Wire, RedState, AOL, Talking Points Memo and Politicus USA
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Trump, Ryan Both Hit Record Low Approval — PPP's newest national poll finds Donald Trump's approval rating falling to its lowest level yet in our polling. Only 40% of voters approve of the job he's doing, to 53% who disapprove. — Health Care: — The upshot of last week's health care debate …
CBS News:
Paul Ryan on Russia probe, health care bill “growing pain” — Despite mounting calls for House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes to recuse himself from the investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia, House Speaker Paul Ryan has thus far stood by the chairman.
Discussion:
Breitbart, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air and Raw Story
Tom James / Reuters:
Seattle sues Trump administration over threat to ‘sanctuary’ cities — The city of Seattle sued U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday over its executive order seeking to withhold federal funds from “sanctuary cities,” arguing it amounted to unconstitutional federal coercion.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and ImmigrationProf Blog
Ryan Beene / Bloomberg:
Volkswagen Says It Has EPA Approval to Sell Repaired Diesels — Sales of 2015 model diesels can begin after software update — Diesel still unlikely to play major future role in U.S. for VW — Volkswagen AG will soon do what's been impossible since its emissions crisis began: sell diesel-powered cars in the U.S.
Discussion:
Engadget
Brent Scher / Washington Free Beacon:
It Took Three People Two Months to Create Hillary Clinton's Campaign Logo — Hillary Clinton's infamous campaign logo was created by a three-person team of designers who were invited to work on the “secret” design project four months before the official campaign launch in April 2015 …