memeorandum: Trump to be briefed on full range of military options in Syria: source (Phil Stewart/Reuters)

5:20 PM ET, April 6, 2017

Top Items:

Asawin Suebsaeng / The Daily Beast:

Steve Bannon Calls Jared Kushner a ‘Cuck’ and ‘Globalist’ Behind His Back — Donald Trump's chief strategist Stephen Bannon has called the president's senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner a “cuck” and a “globalist” during a time of high tension between the two top aides …

Axios:

Bannon to associates: “I love a gunfight” — After a series of high-level White House leaks portraying Steve Bannon as fed up with his job and ready to quit, Trump's chief strategist has told associates the stories are “100 percent nonsense” and he's playing for keeps.

Discussion: IJR, Raw Story and CNN

CNN:

Inside the White House, paranoia and unrest among top staff — (CNN)In the West Wing, Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon occupy some of the most coveted real estate. Priebus, the chief of staff, enjoys the only outdoor patio in the White House. Bannon is mere steps from the Oval Office.

Discussion: Breitbart, New York Magazine and NPR

Josh Dawsey / Politico:
Megadonor urged Bannon not to resign

Josh Dawsey / Politico:
White House aides clash with GOP leaders over flailing Obamacare push

Discussion: Raw Story

Media Matters for America:
To Defend Bannon, Breitbart Has Opened Fire On The President's Son-In-Law

Discussion: Washington Post, Raw Story, Breitbart, Shakesville, Hullabaloo, National Review, Mediaite, Axios and Talking Points Memo

Andrew Restuccia / Politico:
Civil war rages throughout Trump administration

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Axios

Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:

Senate Republicans Deploy ‘Nuclear Option’ to Clear Path for Gorsuch — WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans changed longstanding rules on Thursday to clear the way for the confirmation of Judge Neil M. Gorsuch to serve on the Supreme Court, bypassing a precedent-breaking Democratic filibuster …

Discussion: Power Line, Outside the Beltway, Washington Free Beacon, IJR, Taylor Marsh, Shakesville, Political Wire and TheBlaze

Ari Berman / The Nation:

The GOP Has Declared War on Democracy — Going nuclear to confirm Neil Gorsuch is the latest example of how Republicans are thwarting the will of the people. — By , — Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch testifies on the second day of his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation on March 21, 2017.

Discussion: Common Dreams, BostonGlobe.com and Associated Press

Shane Goldmacher / Politico:

Trump's hidden back channel to Justice Kennedy: Their kids — After Donald Trump wrapped up his first speech to Congress and worked his way through the crowd, he lingered on his handshake with Anthony Kennedy, the 80-year-old Supreme Court justice. — The boom mics picked up their seemingly private conversation.

Discussion: Washington Post, IJR, The Week, Axios and ABC News

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
GOP triggers ‘nuclear option,’ gutting filibuster in Gorsuch fight

Discussion: Politico, Washington Monthly, ABC News, Occupy Democrats and Common Dreams

Bob Dole / Washington Post:
Bob Dole and Trent Lott: The Senate has changed. It's time to use the nuclear option.

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, Townhall.com, RedState, Washington Free Beacon and Oregonian

Laura Litvan / Bloomberg:
GOP Begins ‘Nuclear Option’ Rule Change to Advance Gorsuch Nomination

Discussion: Hit & Run and The Gateway Pundit

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
The United States Senate is a failed institution

Discussion: The Atlantic and The Week

Josh Holmes / Politico:
McConnell Is Finishing What Schumer Started

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Hot Air, The Hill, ABC News, Axios and Power Line

CNN:

Trump considering options for Syria retaliation, source says — US intel: Syrian warplanes behind gas attack — (CNN)President Donald Trump has told some members of Congress that he is considering military action in Syria in retaliation for this week's chemical attack …

Discussion: The Hill, Vox, The Atlantic, New York Times, Politico, Business Insider, Daily Wire, Vocativ, TheBlaze, Hot Air, New York Magazine, Associated Press, The Week, IJR and Axios

Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:

U.S. Said to Weigh Military Responses to Syrian Chemical Attack — WASHINGTON — Senior Defense Department officials are developing options for a military strike in response to the Syrian government's chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of civilians on Tuesday, officials said on Thursday.

Discussion: Political Wire, Business Insider, Daily Kos and The Daily Caller

Washington Post:
Trump weighing military options following chemical weapons attack in Syria

Discussion: The Atlantic, Washington Free Beacon and CNN

Sean Davis / The Federalist:
So You Want To Go To War In Syria To Depose Assad. Can You Answer These 14 Questions First?

Discussion: CNN, WTVR-TV, Hot Air, Just Security, FOX6Now.com, Israpundit, NPR and AOL

Phil Stewart / Reuters:
Trump to be briefed on full range of military options in Syria: source

Discussion: The Atlantic, ThinkProgress, The Daily Beast and Associated Press

Charles M. Blow / New York Times:
Creeping Toward Crisis

Discussion: vice, The Atlantic, CNN, Shakesville and Business Insider

Courtney Kube / NBC News:
Defense Sec Mattis to Brief President Trump on Military Options in Syria

Discussion: The Daily Caller, CNBC, NBC News and AOL

Tim Mak / The Daily Beast:

Devin Nunes Steps Aside; Ethics Committee Investigating for Spilling Secrets — Rep. Devin Nunes said Thursday he is stepping aside as chairman of the House intelligence committee because he is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for allegedly disclosing intelligence without proper authorization.

Discussion: Raw Story, Fox News, ThinkProgress, BizPac Review, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Politicus USA, Occupy Democrats and IJR

Josh Dawsey / Politico:
Nunes steps aside from Russia probe

Discussion: House Committee on Ethics, Speaker.gov, Fox News, ABC News, Dallas Morning News, The Nation, Daily Wire, Hot Air, The Mahablog, Gizmodo, Shareblue, vice, Vocativ, The Week, Towleroad and Common Dreams

The Hill:
Ethics panel opens investigation into Nunes

Discussion: Politico and Mother Jones

Karoun Demirjian / Washington Post:
House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes recuses himself from Russia probe

Discussion: Lawfare and Raw Story

Richard Natale / Variety:

Don Rickles, Legendary Insult Comic, Dies at 90 — Abrasive comic Don Rickles, the honorary Rat Pack member and celebrity roast guest whose career spanned six decades, has died. He was 90. — Rickles died Thursday morning at his home in Los Angeles from kidney failure, his longtime publicist Paul Shefrin confirmed.

Discussion: New York Times, Towleroad, Outside the Beltway, Daily Wire and East Bay Times

Dennis McLellan / Los Angeles Times:
Don Rickles, aggressively caustic comedian dubbed ‘Mr. Warmth,’ dies at 90

Discussion: Washington Post and Boing Boing

TMZ.com:
Don Rickles — Dead at 90

Discussion: Instapundit and AOL

Matt Schudel / Stars & Stripes:
Don Rickles, lightning-fast launcher of comic insults, dies at 90

Discussion: IJR

Annie Karni / Politico:

Ivanka's secret Planned Parenthood outreach — In the weeks following her father's inauguration, Ivanka Trump quietly reached out to the president of Planned Parenthood seeking common ground on the contentious issue of abortion. — The first daughter requested a sit-down with Cecile Richards …

Discussion: The Hill, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, BuzzFeed, Washington Times, Occupy Democrats, Heat Street, Hot Air, ABC News, Raw Story, IJR, AOL, RedState, Mediaite, LifeNews.com, twitchy.com, BizPac Review, The Daily Caller, The Slot, The Week and Political Wire

Mattie Kahn / ELLE:
Shonda Rhimes Has Never Been Afraid to Tell Abortion Stories. Now She's Joining the Board of Planned Parenthood

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Washington Post, Refinery29, New York Magazine and TheBlaze

Dion Lefler / Wichita Eagle:

National Republicans pour last-minute money into Estes-Thompson race — With less than a week to go until election day, the national Republican Party has stepped into Kansas' 4th District race, spending $92,000 supporting Republican Ron Estes and opposing his Democratic rival James Thompson, federal forms show.

Elena Schneider / Politico:
House Republicans pump last-minute money into Kansas special election

Discussion: New York Magazine and Daily Kos

McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:

Senator Mitt Romney? — Republican leaders and high-powered donors in Utah are waging a quiet but concerted campaign to convince 83-year-old incumbent Senator Orrin Hatch not to seek reelection next year—and now, they may have found a successor. Mitt Romney, the one-time presidential nominee …

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Axios and Politicus USA

New York Times:

Partial Transcript: Trump's Interview With The Times — WASHINGTON — The following is a partial transcript of President Trump's interview with The New York Times' Maggie Haberman and Glenn Thrush. It has been lightly edited for content and clarity, and omits several off-the-record comments and asides.

Discussion: Shareblue, Vox, Breitbart, Baltimore Sun, Hit & Run, Daily Wire, Washington Post, The Guardian, Mediaite, The Atlantic, RedState, New York Magazine, Fox News Insider, CBS Baltimore, Talking Points Memo, Balloon Juice and Business Insider

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Trump's completely bizarre claim that a Democrat said he would rank among the greatest presidents

Discussion: The Root, Daily Kos, Business Insider and Talking Points Memo

Emily Smith / Page Six:

Donald Trump Jr. talks about running for governor of New York — MORE FROM: … Donald Trump Jr. wants to run for political office, telling members of an elite gun club that he could set his sights on becoming governor of New York. — Don Jr. spoke to members of the F6 Labs gun club in Hicksville …

Discussion: Mediaite, IJR, New York Magazine, Axios, The Daily Caller, The Week, TheBlaze and vice

Bloomberg:

Trump Spurs GOP to Tweak Health Bill Before Leaving Town — House Rules Committee to consider adding amendment to bill — Move to show momentum toward deal as lawmakers return home — The White House prodded House Republican leaders to make last-minute tweaks to their Obamacare replacement …

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Magazine, Axios, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Business Insider and Politico

Axios:
GOP leaders under pressure to bring House back to vote on Trumpcare

Discussion: Bloomberg, Vox and Talking Points Memo

Tyler Durden / zerohedge.com/fullrss2.xml …:

Noam Chomsky Calls Democrats' Obsession With Russia Conspiracy Theories “A Joke” — Authored by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog, — Just because you have a strong dislike for Donald Trump, doesn't mean you latch on like a lunatic to every nonsensical Russia conspiracy theory because you're still crying about Hillary's loss.

Joseph Curl / Daily Wire:

Ben Carson Finds $500 Billion (Billion!) In Errors During Audit Of Obama HUD — Ben Carson was the first neurosurgeon to successfully separate conjoined twins, so, he's kind of a super hero. — But apparently, he's also not a bad accountant. — President Trump picked Carson to head …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Mehdi Hasan / The Intercept:

Top Democrats Are Wrong: Trump Supporters Were More Motivated by Racism Than Economic Issues — IT ISN'T ONLY Republicans, it seems, who traffic in alternative facts. Since Donald Trump's shock election victory, leading Democrats have worked hard to convince themselves, and the rest of us …

Discussion: New York Times, Power Line, Raw Story and Washington Post