memeorandum: GOP Senators Weigh Taxing Employer-Health Plans (Wall Street Journal)

1:10 PM ET, June 2, 2017

Top Items:

Michael Grunwald / Politico:

Why Trump Actually Pulled Out Of Paris — Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement was not really about the climate. And despite his overheated rhetoric about the “tremendous” and “draconian” burdens the deal would impose on the U.S. economy, Trump's decision wasn't really about that, either.

Discussion: Washington Post, Reuters, BillMoyers.com, Axios, Curbed, ABC News, The Verge, The Guardian, Vox and Washington Free Beacon

New York Times:

Bucking Trump, These Cities, States and Companies Commit to Paris Accord — Representatives of American cities, states and companies are preparing to submit a plan to the United Nations pledging to meet the United States' greenhouse gas emissions targets under the Paris climate accord …

Amy Harder / Axios:

To Trump, Paris deal isn't about climate — The most revealing moment of President Trump's announcement that he is withdrawing from the Paris climate deal came in an off-hand response of a White House official after Trump's speech. Asked whether Trump thinks climate change is real, the official said: “Can we stay on topic?”

Discussion: Washington Post and Politico

Foreign Policy:

Why Abandoning Paris Is a Disaster for America … Ever the showman, President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday about his soon-to-be-announced decision on whether or not to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement with the air of a 1950s Las Vegas emcee building up his audience's anticipation for an upcoming act.

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, Washington Post, The National Interest, Fast Company, Vox, The Hill, Mother Jones, NPR and The Guardian

Hannah Parry / Daily Mail:

Fox news host Kimberly Guilfoyle - once tipped to be taking Spicer's job - reveals Trump called her for her opinion on Paris Accord before announcing his decision — Guilfoyle, the co-host of The Five, revealed Trump called her Thursday before making the public announcement to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement

Discussion: Political Wire and Reuters

Lauretta Brown / Townhall.com:

Rand Paul Blasts Climate Alarmism in Debate with Jake Tapper: ‘Mass Extinction, Really?’ — Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) spoke Thursday with CNN's Jake Tapper about the U.S. leaving the Paris Climate Agreement and ended up debating the extent of the threat of climate change as well as arguing that the agreement was bad for jobs.

Discussion: The Resurgent

Emily Flitter / Reuters:

Trump misunderstood MIT climate research, university officials say — Massachusetts Institute of Technology officials said U.S. President Donald Trump badly misunderstood their research when he cited it on Thursday to justify withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement.

Discussion: CNN, The Guardian, New York Times, Vox, Hullabaloo and USA TODAY College

Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
White House Protesters Shame Donald Trump Over Paris Climate Deal

Discussion: Raw Story, TheBlaze and Politicus USA

Washington Post:
Inside Trump's climate decision: After fiery debate, he 'stayed where he's always been'

Discussion: The Week, AOL, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, New York Magazine, War in Context, Mediaite, The Guardian, Politico, The BRAD BLOG and Reuters

Steven Mufson / Washington Post:
These titans of industry just broke with Trump's decision to exit the Paris accords

Discussion: Al Gore, CNN, The Hill, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Week, Politico, The Daily Caller, AOL, New York Times, War in Context, Axios and Raw Story

Mark Hensch / The Hill:
Macron responds to Trump: ‘Make our planet great again’

Discussion: NPR, CNN, Mashable, Sputnik International and Business Insider

Washington Post:
Fact-checking President Trump's claims on the Paris climate change deal

Discussion: Mother Jones, ThinkProgress, The White House, IJR, BillMoyers.com, Vox, CNNMoney, Gizmodo, The Daily Caller, Latest from the Office …, Daily Kos, Lawfare and New York Times

New York Times:
Our Disgraceful Exit From the Paris Accord

Discussion: The Week, The Hugh Hewitt Show, Daily Kos, Washington Post and Media Matters for America

Peter Holley / Washington Post:
Obama's harsh words for Trump after Paris withdrawal

Discussion: Breitbart, Daily Wire, Conservative News Today, Axios, Politico, Motherboard, Mashable, Power Line and ABC News

Josh Dawsey / Politico:

White House orders agencies to ignore Democrats' oversight requests — The White House is telling federal agencies to blow off Democratic lawmakers' oversight requests, as Republicans fear the information could be weaponized against President Donald Trump. — At meetings with top officials …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Political Wire, Common Dreams, Daily Kos, Politicus USA, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

Brian Ross / ABC News:

Lawmakers: Did looming debt leave Jared Kushner vulnerable to Russian influence? — Congressional investigators are seeking to determine whether President Trump's son-in-law was vulnerable to Russian influence during and after the campaign because of financial stress facing …

Brad Reed / Raw Story:
Scarborough fingers Bannon as leaker: He's been ‘bragging’ he would sideline Kushner on Russia

Discussion: The Root

Washington Post:
Explanations for Kushner's meeting with head of Kremlin-linked bank don't match up

Discussion: Politico, Daily Kos, Defense One, The Week, Washington Free Beacon, Raw Story and New York Times

Ken Dilanian / NBC News:

Former Diplomats: Trump Team Sought to Lift Sanctions on Russia — The Trump administration was gearing up to lift sanctions on Russia when the president took office, but career diplomats ginned up pressure in Congress to block the move, two senior former State Department officials told NBC News Thursday.

Discussion: CNBC and Talking Points Memo

Michael Isikoff / Yahoo:
How the Trump administration's secret efforts to ease Russia sanctions fell short

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, RedState, The Daily Caller, The Week, Just Security, Politicus USA, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES and Shareblue

Reuters:

Exclusive: Special counsel Mueller to probe ex-Trump aide Flynn's Turkey ties — Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating possible ties between the Trump election campaign and Russia, is expanding his probe to include a grand jury investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, three sources told Reuters.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, The Right Scoop and The Week

Bloomberg:

Mnuchin and Mulvaney Are at Odds on Debt Ceiling Strategy — Mulvaney, Cohn counter Mnuchin's request for clean bill — Budget director has downplayed risks of U.S. default — President Donald Trump's chief economic adviser said Friday that Congress has no choice but to vote to raise …

Joseph Lawler / Washington Examiner:
Mulvaney favors attaching spending reforms to increase in debt ceiling

Discussion: CNBC and Washington Post

Jeff Cox / CNBC:

May nonfarm payrolls total 138,000 vs 185,000 expected — Job creation fell sharply in May with just 138,000 new positions created, while the unemployment rate declined to 4.3 percent, according to Labor Department data released Friday. — Economists surveyed by Reuters expected nonfarm payrolls …

Discussion: Forbes and New York Times

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Rip roaring or rip snoring? Only 138,000 jobs added in May

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Atlantic, FiveThirtyEight and Outside the Beltway

Patricia Cohen / New York Times: Jobs Report Leaves Fed Room to Raise Rates

New York Times:

C.I.A. Names New Iran Chief in a Sign of Trump's Hard Line — WASHINGTON — He is known as the Dark Prince or Ayatollah Mike, nicknames he earned as the Central Intelligence Agency officer who oversaw the hunt for Osama bin Laden and the American drone strike campaign that killed thousands …

Discussion: Power Line, The Daily Caller and Political Wire

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Franken backtracks, cancels event with comedian Griffin after Trump photo controversy — Sen. Al Franken has reversed himself and decided “it would be best” for Kathy Griffin not to attend an event that the Minnesota senator had scheduled with the comedian for July.

Discussion: Variety, Patterico's Pontifications, The Daily Caller, Conservative News Today, Scared Monkeys, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, MichelleMalkin.com and Washington Free Beacon

Andrew Bahl / Yahoo:
Franken: Clinton should ‘move on’ from election loss

Discussion: Washington Times

Wall Street Journal:

GOP Senators Weigh Taxing Employer-Health Plans — Senate Republicans set on reworking the Affordable Care Act are considering taxing employer-sponsored health insurance plans, a move that would meet stiff resistance from companies and potentially raise taxes on millions of people who get coverage on the job.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Daily Kos

Mike Allen / Axios:

Behind the scenes of Trump's Paris decision — The “debate” was mostly a charade. A source who spends a lot of time with President Trump has never heard him say a positive thing about the Paris climate accord. — Ivanka Trump was optimistic to the end that she could change her father's mind.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Annie Karni / Politico:
After climate loss, Ivanka moves on

Discussion: Vox, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, twitchy.com and New York Magazine

Siobhan Hughes / Wall Street Journal:

Republican Senator Says Deal on Health Care Unlikely This Year — Talking Taxes: What's Your Fair Share? — Opinion Journal: Did Obama's Team Illegally Spy on Trump?

Discussion: Axios, Associated Press, Politicus USA, Talking Points Memo, The Last Tradition and Political Wire

Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:

The News You Didn't Hear — Reporters only want to talk about Russia, instead of what Team Trump is getting done.

Discussion: Instapundit

Liz Spayd / New York Times:

The Public Editor Signs Off — There probably hasn't been a time in recent American history when the role of the media was more important than now. The Trump administration is drowning in scandal, the country is calcified into two partisan halves. And large newsrooms are faced with a choice …

more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

How to Raise a Feminist Son — We raise our girls to fight stereotypes and pursue their dreams, but we don't do the same for our boys. — We're now more likely to tell our daughters they can be anything they want to be — an astronaut and a mother, a tomboy and a girlie girl.

Discussion: Althouse

Alexander Smith / NBC News:

Vladimir Putin to Megyn Kelly: Even Children Could Hack an Election — LONDON — Vladimir Putin again denied that Russia interfered in last year's U.S. election, joking to NBC News' Megyn Kelly on Friday that even her “underage daughter” could have been behind the hacking.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Hot Air and TheBlaze