Top Items:
Washington Post:
Trump leaves Sessions twisting in the wind while berating him publicly — President Trump and his advisers are privately discussing the possibility of replacing Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and some confidants are floating prospects who could take his place were he to resign or be fired, according to people familiar with the talks.
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Veronica Stracqualursi / ABC News:
The Note: Trump has sights set on belittling Sessions — WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY — Is Jeff Sessions in danger of losing his job? The president is continuing his public attacks against Sessions, tweeting this morning: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a VERY weak position …
Discussion:
Politico, HuffPost, Political Wire, Washington Post, National Review and National Journal
Lesley Clark / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Trump messes with Sessions, and Senate Republicans are not pleased — President Donald Trump is getting a bitter Washington lesson when he messes with Jeff Sessions - you don't pick a fight with one of the Senate's guys. — It's a lesson that could cost him politically in a Senate …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Power Line, NPR, TheBlaze, Washington Times, Mediaite, Daily Wire, ABC News, IJR, Common Dreams, The Atlantic, AOL and CNBC
CNN:
Rudy Giuliani: Jeff Sessions ‘made the right decision’ to recuse from Russia probe — (CNN)Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani on Monday swatted away a report that he is a contender to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and said Sessions made the right decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation.
Mike Allen / Axios:
Trump in phone call: “What would happen if I fired Sessions?”
Trump in phone call: “What would happen if I fired Sessions?”
Discussion:
Business Insider and Raw Story
Daniel Lippman / Politico:
Trump shames Sessions amid shake-up speculation
Trump shames Sessions amid shake-up speculation
Discussion:
New York Times, Business Insider, The Week, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, AOL, FOX40, CNN, The Root and Axios
Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:
Cruz being considered to replace Sessions: report
Cruz being considered to replace Sessions: report
Discussion:
The Week, RedState, Balloon Juice and Vox
Associated Press:
The Latest: McConnell calls for GOP dissenters to back bill — https://www.apnews.com/aa59b766a4294989 a62c922112580af7 — Link copied! — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the ongoing effort by congressional Republicans to pass a health care bill (all times local):
Discussion:
Bearing Arms, TheBlaze, twitchy.com, Mashable, The Texas Tribune, Vox, Daily Kos, Washington Free Beacon, Balloon Juice, Jezebel and The Week
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Wall Street Journal:
Can Republicans Govern? — Some Senators want to talk forever about health care. Time for a vote. — Mitch McConnell is scheduling another showdown vote in the Senate—the third attempt—as early as Tuesday on a motion to proceed to debate on health reform.
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Trumpcare Is the Worst-Designed Social Policy in History
Trumpcare Is the Worst-Designed Social Policy in History
Discussion:
The Atlantic
Robert Costa / Washington Post:
Boehner predicts Republicans will ‘never’ repeal and replace Obamacare — Former House speaker John A. Boehner, who has mostly avoided public commentary since leaving Congress two years ago, told a business gathering last week that Republicans are “not going to repeal and replace Obamacare” …
Discussion:
Axios, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, Political Insider blog and The Week
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William Sullivan / American Thinker:
For leading Republicans today, the answer is almost certainly yes.
Washington Post:
New communications director moves toward possible staff purge at White House … Anthony Scaramucci, the flashy financier President Trump hired to overhaul the White House communications operation, is exercising a broad mandate from the president and intends to follow through on threats …
Discussion:
The Week, Political Wire, Booman Tribune and AOL, more at Mediagazer »
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William D. Cohan / New York Times:
This Is Not the Mooch I Know — It's been a rough start for my friend Anthony Scaramucci as President Trump's surprise — and surprising — choice as the new White House communications director. That's too bad, because I would like nothing better than for him to succeed wildly in his new job.
Discussion:
Washington Post and John Hawkins' Right Wing News
Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Trump praises Kushner: ‘Next up, 11 year old Barron Trump’ — President Trump on Tuesday praised Jared Kushner after the senior White House aide denied any collusion with Russia. — Trump in an early morning tweet also decried the Russia investigation and referenced his 11-year-old son, Barron Trump.
Discussion:
RedState, CNN, Just Security, Mediaite and AOL
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Travis Gettys / Raw Story:
Jason Chaffetz, who recently stepped down from the House …
Jason Chaffetz, who recently stepped down from the House …
Discussion:
Mediaite and Hullabaloo
Eric W. Dolan / Raw Story:
CNN analyst rips Kushner's statement to shreds: He's going to solve the Middle East but can't fill out forms
CNN analyst rips Kushner's statement to shreds: He's going to solve the Middle East but can't fill out forms
Discussion:
Common Dreams and CNN
Scott Lemieux / Lawyers, Guns & Money:
Stripping Health Insurance From 23 Million People to Pay For Upper-Class Tax Cuts Is So Mavericky — I'm sure you'll be surprised by how the story turns out! … He wouldn't be flying in for a vote that was a lost cause. I'd put the odds of BCRA passing at over 50% now, perhaps well above.
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Teresa Welsh / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Sen. McCain will return to Senate Tuesday ahead of health care showdown
Sen. McCain will return to Senate Tuesday ahead of health care showdown
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
Jordain Carney / The Hill:
McCain returning to Senate in time for health vote
McCain returning to Senate in time for health vote
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Mediaite, CBS New York, Political Wire, Business Insider and SHUGERBLOG
Sharon Begley / STAT:
Psychiatry group tells members they can defy ‘Goldwater rule’ and comment on Trump's mental health — leading psychiatry group has told its members they should not feel bound by a longstanding rule against commenting publicly on the mental state of public figures — even the president.
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump White House Tests a Nation's Capacity for Outrage — GLEN JEAN, W.Va. — Remember that time President George W. Bush told his attorney general to investigate Al Gore for his “crimes”? Or President Barack Obama called for a Justice Department prosecution of John McCain?
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Just Security, Daily Wire and IJR
CNN:
Videos suggest Russian government may be arming Taliban — Two videos obtained by CNN suggest the Taliban have received improved weaponry supplied by the Russian government — Russia's Foreign Ministry declined to comment but has previously called claims they are arming the Taliban “utterly false”
Discussion:
The Week, Defense One and The Daily Caller
Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
Boos for Obama as Trump speaks at Boy Scout jamboree — The crowd attending President Trump's Monday evening speech to the Boy Scouts of America's National Jamboree appeared to boo former President Barack Obama — at one point. — “By the way, just a question. Did President Obama ever come to a jamboree?”
Natasha Bertrand / Business Insider:
A pro-Putin California congressman has been accused of violating US sanctions on Russia — A new complaint filed with the Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control alleges that California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher and his staff director, Paul Behrends, violated the Magnitsky Act when they tried …
Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
The Agony and the Anxiety of The New York Times — Despite a historic run, unease is now gripping the paper as a large-scale reorganization (physical, personnel, and psychic) looms. “The mood at the paper is poisonous in a way I've never seen it in the past 15 years,” as one editor put it.
Matthew Sheffield / Salon:
Alt-right activists say Trump and Bannon are giving them “space to destroy” by keeping FBI away — Top alt-right podcasters say the Trump administration is deliberately backing off investigating domestic extremists — While the neo-fascist alt-right is not entirely happy with President Donald Trump's …
Discussion:
Raw Story