Top Items:
Josh Dawsey / Politico:
Inside Trump's snap decision to ban transgender troops — After a week sparring with his attorney general and steaming over the Russia investigation consuming his agenda, President Donald Trump was closing in on an important win. — House Republicans were planning to pass a spending bill stacked …
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mccain.senate.gov:
STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON TRANSGENDER AMERICANS IN THE MILITARY — Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on President Trump's tweet regarding transgender Americans in the military:
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Mediaite, National Review, Business Insider, Axios and Politicus USA
Christopher Ingraham / Washington Post:
The military spends five times as much on Viagra as it would on transgender troops' medical care — On Twitter this morning, President Trump announced a ban on transgender people serving in the military, citing “medical costs” as the primary driver of the decision.
Discussion:
Business Insider, IJR, Mashable, Richard Dawkins Foundation, Vox, CNBC, ThinkProgress and AOL, more at Techmeme »
New York Times:
Trump Says Transgender People Will Not Be Allowed in the Military — WASHINGTON — President Trump announced on Wednesday that the United States will no longer “accept or allow” transgender people in the United States military, saying American forces “must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory” …
Eric Boehlert / Shareblue:
Trump “blindsided the Pentagon” with new military policy he got watching Fox News — Twelve hours after one of Donald Trump's TV favorites, Tucker Carlson, hosted a representative from an anti- LGBTQ hate group on Fox News to spew “junk science” about transgender people …
Discussion:
IJR, Daily Kos, Media Matters for America, The White House and Politicus USA
Jason Noble / Des Moines Register:
Ernst breaks with Trump on transgender military ban
Ernst breaks with Trump on transgender military ban
Discussion:
Washington Post, Vox, Business Insider, IJR, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, RedState, Hit & Run, IndieWire and Deadline
Cora Lewis / BuzzFeed:
Trump Says Transgender People Cannot “Serve In Any Capacity” In The Military
Trump Says Transgender People Cannot “Serve In Any Capacity” In The Military
Discussion:
Shareblue, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Mashable, UPI, AOL, Daily Kos, WAVY-TV and IJR
Media Matters for America:
Before Trump banned transgender people from serving in military, here's who praised him as pro-LGBTQ
Abby Phillip / Washington Post:
Trump announces ban on transgender people in U.S. military
Trump announces ban on transgender people in U.S. military
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, ABC News, Axios, Mediaite, Fox News, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, www.wnyc.org, NPR, Mashable, Business Insider, IJR, Refinery29, CBS Dallas, vice, Media Matters for America, The Daily Signal, Conservative News Today, The Gateway Pundit, Talking Points Memo, CNBC, Just Security, KTLA, New York's PIX11, CBS New York, Snopes.com, The Times of Israel, NBC News, TheBlaze, Raw Story, The First Street Journal, RedState, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, WCCO | CBS Minnesota, Task & Purpose, The Atlantic, FOX News Radio and The Federalist
The Hill:
Trump to ban transgender people from all military service
Trump to ban transgender people from all military service
Discussion:
Politico, ABC News, Shareblue, Task & Purpose, Axios, Business Insider, Hot Air, Vox, Splinter, Washington Post, Deadline, Mother Jones, IJR, Mediaite, ThinkProgress, Bearing Arms, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Human Rights Campaign, Common Dreams, Right Wing Watch, Friendly Atheist, Mashable, The Root, 9to5Mac, twitchy.com, No More Mister Nice Blog and Washington Monthly
Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
Hatch: ‘Transgender people are people’
Hatch: ‘Transgender people are people’
Discussion:
Politico, Shareblue, Task & Purpose and The Daily Caller
Jeremy Herb / CNN:
House defeats bid to block Pentagon funding transgender surgeries
House defeats bid to block Pentagon funding transgender surgeries
Discussion:
Foreign Policy, Politico, Business Insider, Jezebel, New York Magazine and Talking Points Memo
Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
Trump to reinstate US military ban on transgender people
Trump to reinstate US military ban on transgender people
Discussion:
Breitbart, GLAAD, Politico, Business Insider, HuffPost, Slate, NBC News, The Guardian, Mediaite, The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit, Media Matters for America, ThinkProgress, The Daily Signal, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, IJR, VICE News, The Pavlovic Today, Task & Purpose, Politicus USA, Mashable, Refinery29 and CBS Dallas
Mark K. Matthews / Denver Post:
Colorado Republican Ken Buck: “Any American ... should be allowed to serve” …
Colorado Republican Ken Buck: “Any American ... should be allowed to serve” …
Discussion:
The Atlantic
Connor O'Brien / Politico:
What to know about Trump's transgender military ban
What to know about Trump's transgender military ban
Discussion:
USA Today, Business Insider, ABC News, AOL, Washington Post, Task & Purpose and Vox
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
The ‘Skinny Bill’ Is a Farce. Here's the Real Reason Republicans Are Doing It. — At times, various factions in Congress have called for repealing, replacing, or repairing Obamacare. Senate Republicans have been unable to agree on which of these ends to pursue, and so instead …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
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Dylan Scott / Vox:
The latest vote to repeal Obamacare fails in the Senate — But the debate lives on. — The Senate failed Wednesday to advance a bill that would have partially repealed Obamacare without replacing it, another step in the Senate health care debate that is likely heading toward a much more scaled-down bill.
Discussion:
Axios, The Daily Caller and Balloon Juice
Seung Min Kim / Politico:
‘Skinny’ Obamacare repeal still lacks votes to pass — Even a bare-bones repeal of Obamacare is no sure thing in the Senate. — A handful of key Republican senators who had spurned earlier overtures from GOP leadership endorsed the latest plan to gut Obamacare's individual and employer coverage mandates and its medical device tax.
Discussion:
Vox, USA Today, Hit & Run, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Reuters and Booman Tribune
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
A Trump Tower of Absolute Folly — Donald Trump's campaign against his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, in which he is seemingly attempting to insult and humiliate and tweet-shame Sessions into resignation, is an insanely stupid exercise. It is a multitiered tower of political idiocy …
Discussion:
CNN, Breitbart, JustOneMinute, Booman Tribune and Washington Monthly
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Mike Allen / Axios:
Jeff Sessions won't take Trump's hint — Attorney General Jeff Sessions doesn't plan to take the hint. President Trump continues hitting him in all body parts — apparently hoping he'll resign, which could pave the way for firing special counsel Bob Mueller.
Discussion:
Politico, Wall Street Journal, ABC News, Business Insider, Washington Examiner, The Mahablog and The White House
Jake Gibson / Fox News:
Sessions to announce investigations into intelligence leaks: source
Sessions to announce investigations into intelligence leaks: source
Discussion:
Townhall.com, Axios, The Daily Caller, ThinkProgress, The Week and Talking Points Memo
Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney:
Matt Drudge is firing warning shots at Trump, and that should worry the president — Conway: White House staff is tough, but humble — Matt Drudge has been in the White House an awful lot these days — “all the time,” as one senior administration official puts it.
Page Six:
‘Dancing with the Stars’ wants Sean Spicer … Sean Spicer is taking his first steps to transition from the White House briefing room to the bright lights of a TV news studio — but he's also being courted by “Dancing with the Stars,” Page Six has learned. — The outgoing press secretary spent …
Discussion:
Townhall.com, Political Wire, TVNewser, Raw Story and The Week
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Wisconsin Foxconn deal could include $1 billion to $3 billion in taxpayer-backed incentives — MADISON - A plan to bring a massive Foxconn Technology Group plant to Wisconsin could cost $1 billion to $3 billion in local, state and federal incentives over coming years …
Discussion:
Politico, CNBC, Bloomberg, The Verge, Crain's Detroit Business, Business Insider, Mediaite and Wall Street Journal
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Tom Winter / NBC News:
DOJ: Ex-Manafort Associate Firtash Is Top-Tier Comrade of Russian Mobsters — The Department of Justice has identified a former business associate of ex-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort as an “upper-echelon [associate] of Russian organized crime.” — The declaration came in a 115-page filing …
Discussion:
Political Wire and Raw Story
New York Times:
Health Care Vote: Senate Rejects Repeal Without Replace — • The Senate on Wednesday afternoon rejected a proposal to repeal major parts of the Affordable Care Act without providing a replacement. Follow the live vote tracker to see how each senator voted.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Townhall.com, Jezebel, Political Insider blog, Refinery29, New York Times, NBC News, Mediaite, Vox, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller and The Week
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The Hill:
Welcome to The Hill's 50 Most Beautiful! — After receiving hundreds upon hundreds of nominations, it was tough to choose just 50. — But following a lot of debate, we finalized this year's winners. — There is one thing that's different than our prior lists.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and John Hawkins' Right Wing News
Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
State Department head of diplomatic security resigns — The head of the State Department's diplomatic security bureau has resigned and will leave his post on Thursday, leaving the two top positions vacant for the foreseeable future in the bureau in charge of embassy security around the world.
Kashmir Hill / Splinter:
Why Did Jared Kushner Download an Encrypted, Disappearing Message App? — The list of people interested in Jared Kushner's communications history keeps growing: This week, the White House advisor and presidential son-in-law voluntarily handed over documents to the Senate intelligence committee …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Amie Parnes / The Hill:
Clinton book to double down on Russia, Comey message — 's upcoming book will double down on Russia's interference and James Comey's involvement in her stunning election defeat, according to sources familiar with the memoir. — Privately, Clinton has told friends and longtime associates that she …
Discussion:
Axios, Liberal Values, Business Insider, NTK Network, Mediaite, IJR and Washington Free Beacon
Billy House / Bloomberg:
Gowdy Acted Like Kushner's Lawyer Behind Closed Doors, Democrat Says — Gowdy says Democrats ‘ran out of questions’ for Kushner — Intelligence panel interviewed Kushner as part of Russia probe — Republican Trey Gowdy acted behind closed doors like a lawyer for President Donald Trump's son-in-law …
Discussion:
Weekly Standard and Politico