Top Items:
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:
Washington Monthly, Breitbart and Booman Tribune
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Devlin Barrett / Washington Post:
The standoff between Trump and Sessions escalates … The public standoff between the White House and the nation's senior law enforcement official took another strange turn Tuesday as President Trump escalated his verbal attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who was urged by fellow conservatives to stand his ground.
Fox News Insider:
Tucker Carlson Blasts Donald Trump for Attacking Jeff Sessions Attorney General — Tucker Carlson criticized President Trump for repeated attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions. — Carlson said Trump is continuing a “protracted rhetorical assault” on Sessions, who he said is the one cabinet member …
Discussion:
THE WARREN (HENRY) REPORT, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, Daily Wire, TheBlaze and The Rush Limbaugh Show
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:
ABC News, Vox, Business Insider, The White House, IJR, Shakesville, Washington Post, Just Security and Daily Kos
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Eyes Tax-Code Overhaul, With Emphasis on Middle-Class Break — In Oval Office interview with the Journal, president again criticizes Sessions — In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, President Trump continued to criticize Attorney General Jeff Sessions over his decision …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Washington Post, Raw Story, The Week, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos, Political Wire, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Politico, Mediaite, IJR and Daily Wire
Josh Dawsey / Politico:
Trump and Sessions locked in silent battle
Trump and Sessions locked in silent battle
Discussion:
The Hill, American Prospect, RedState, Salon, PEN America, The Resurgent, Hullabaloo, Business Insider, Newsmax, Talking Points Memo, AOL, Wall Street Journal and ABC News
Paul Beckett / Wall Street Journal:
Transcript: Donald Trump's Interview With The Wall Street Journal
Transcript: Donald Trump's Interview With The Wall Street Journal
Discussion:
Vox, The Daily Caller and The American Conservative
David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
Republicans warn Trump: Don't fire Jeff Sessions
Republicans warn Trump: Don't fire Jeff Sessions
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Weekly Standard, Lawfare, The Week and National Review
Bloomberg:
Trump's Focus on Leaks and Loyalty Puts Sessions in Crosshairs
Trump's Focus on Leaks and Loyalty Puts Sessions in Crosshairs
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Washington Times, Business Insider, New York Times, The Week, Politicus USA and IJR
Sophia Tesfaye / Salon:
Breitbart, conservatives, are ready to go to the mat for Jeff Sessions — and turn on Donald Trump
Breitbart, conservatives, are ready to go to the mat for Jeff Sessions — and turn on Donald Trump
Discussion:
Breitbart, Washington Post, The Guardian, The Week and Shareblue
Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
Top White House aides press Trump to pull back on Sessions criticism
Top White House aides press Trump to pull back on Sessions criticism
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Politicus USA
Berkeley Lovelace Jr / CNBC:
GOP senators must do whatever it takes to get to 50 votes on Obamacare repeal, says HHS secretary — Do whatever “gets us to 50 votes so that we can move forward on a health-care reform legislation,” Tom Price says. — A plan to repeal and replace Obamacare by Senate Republicans failed …
Discussion:
Axios, Political Wire, The Guardian, CRFB Papers and Blog Posts and NBC News
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Plain Dealer:
Sen. Rob Portman, you just let Ohio down: editorial — Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, center, followed by Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, walk to their seats for a White House luncheon July 19 with President Donald Trump. Portman cast a key vote Tuesday in favor …
New York Times:
The Senate's Health Care Travesty
The Senate's Health Care Travesty
Discussion:
Washington Post, Business Insider, Daily Kos, The Nation and ThinkProgress
New York Times:
Senate Votes Down Broad Obamacare Repeal
Senate Votes Down Broad Obamacare Repeal
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Washington Post, Fox News, Axios, Politico, Vox, Hit & Run, Bloomberg, Jezebel, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, DCReport.org, USA Today, The Hill, NPR, WNEP-TV, Seven Days and Outside the Beltway
Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Senate rejects ObamaCare repeal, replacement amendment
Senate rejects ObamaCare repeal, replacement amendment
Discussion:
IJR, Mediaite and The Gateway Pundit
Brian Beutler / New Republic:
There Is No End to the Lies — Republican senators vowed …
There Is No End to the Lies — Republican senators vowed …
Discussion:
Politico, Talking Points Memo, Lawyers, Guns & Money, ThinkProgress, New York Times and Daily Kos
The Hill:
Trump to ban transgender people from all military service — President Trump on Wednesday said he would ban transgender people from any military service. — Trump made the announcement, which would represent a major shift in military policy, on Twitter. He said he had made the decision …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Shareblue, Vox, Washington Post, New York Times, Washington Monthly, The Atlantic, Business Insider, Friendly Atheist, New York Magazine, Human Rights Campaign, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite, Mashable, The Root, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, twitchy.com, The Week, IJR and Daily Kos
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Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
Trump to reinstate US military ban on transgender people — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he plans to reinstate a ban on transgender individuals from serving “in any capacity” in the US armed forces. — The decision reversed …
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:
RedState, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, The Atlantic, Politico, Jezebel, The Times of Israel, The Daily Signal, NPR, The First Street Journal, Business Insider, STAT, CNBC, Conservative News Today, Mother Jones, Daily Wire, Refinery29, The Gateway Pundit, TheBlaze, Snopes.com, The Daily Caller, Associated Press, KTLA, IJR, New York's PIX11, Mashable, Washington Free Beacon, The Federalist, WCCO | CBS Minnesota, The Week, Geller Report, Pirate's Cove, CBS Dallas, Mediaite, CBS Philly, CBS New York, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Balloon Juice
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Donald Trump Says Transgender People No Longer Allowed To Serve In Military
Donald Trump Says Transgender People No Longer Allowed To Serve In Military
Discussion:
Washington Post, Vox, Business Insider and Right Wing Watch
Eli Yokley / Morning Consult:
Many Republicans Doubt Clinton Won Popular Vote — A plurality of Republicans say President Donald Trump received more of the popular vote in 2016 than his Democratic rival, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. — According to a new Morning Consult/POLITICO poll …
Discussion:
Business Insider and Political Wire
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Steven Shepard / Politico:
Poll: Half of Trump voters say Trump won popular vote
Poll: Half of Trump voters say Trump won popular vote
Discussion:
Axios, The Daily Caller and The Week
Timothy Gardner / Reuters:
U.S. energy secretary duped into fake interview with Russian comedians — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry optimistically discussed expanding American coal exports to Ukraine and other energy matters during a lengthy phone call this month with a Russian prankster who Perry thought was Ukraine's prime minister.
Discussion:
Vox, Political Wire and The Week
RELATED:
Ari Natter / Bloomberg:
Rick Perry Got Punked in a Fake Interview With Russian Pranksters
Rick Perry Got Punked in a Fake Interview With Russian Pranksters
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, vice and Washington Free Beacon
Cleve R. Wootson Jr / Washington Post:
Rick Perry thought he was talking to a world leader about pig manure. It was a prank call.
Rick Perry thought he was talking to a world leader about pig manure. It was a prank call.
Discussion:
PravdaReport, The Daily Caller, The Verge, The Guardian, Daily Wire, Raw Story and Jezebel
John Bowden / The Hill:
Wasserman Schultz staffer arrested trying to leave the country — A House IT aide working for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), the former Democratic National Committee chairwoman, was arrested this week on bank fraud charges while trying to leave the country.
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John Bresnahan / Politico:
Wasserman Schultz aide arrested trying to leave the country
Wasserman Schultz aide arrested trying to leave the country
Discussion:
National Review, New York Daily News, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Scared Monkeys, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Daily Wire, Clayton Cramer and IJR
Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review:
Mr. President, Please Be Quiet — Once again, Donald Trump has tweeted himself into the center of the day's news. He does this almost every morning — even, perhaps especially, when he has nothing new to say. Upon seeing today's efforts, I sighed and muttered “there goes Wednesday.”
Michael Kruse / Politico:
To America, It Looks Like Chaos. For Trump, It's Just Tuesday. — It started Monday morning with Donald Trump calling his own attorney general “beleaguered.” It continued with an Air Force One flight to West Virginia and a rambling, partisan speech to thousands of hollering Boy Scouts.
Discussion:
VICE News, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Conservative News Today, Vox, WWAY-TV, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post, CBS Philly and TheBlaze
CNN:
Tillerson takes time off as State Dept. refuses to say he is happy in his role — Sources: Tillerson thinking about early exit — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Nauert dodged a question about Tillerson's feelings over the White House's involvement in foreign policy decisions
Discussion:
The Week
RELATED:
William Cummings / USA Today:
Sec. of State Tillerson ‘taking a little time off’ but not resigning
Sec. of State Tillerson ‘taking a little time off’ but not resigning
Discussion:
VICE News, Washington Post, ABC News, Business Insider, The Hill, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller and IJR
New York Times:
Trump Finds Reason for the U.S. to Remain in Afghanistan: Minerals — WASHINGTON — President Trump, searching for a reason to keep the United States in Afghanistan after 16 years of war, has latched on to a prospect that tantalized previous administrations: Afghanistan's vast mineral wealth …
Discussion:
New York Magazine and The American Conservative
Emily Shapiro / ABC News:
Rep. Steve Scalise discharged from hospital 6 weeks after shooting — Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., was discharged from MedStar Washington Hospital Center on Tuesday, the hospital said in a statement today, nearly six weeks after he and three others were shot at a baseball field in Alexandria, Virginia.
Discussion:
MedStar Washington …, Axios and Politico
Michael Lewis / Vanity Fair:
Why the Scariest Nuclear Threat May Be Coming from Inside the White House — Donald Trump's secretary of energy, Rick Perry, once campaigned to abolish the $30 billion agency that he now runs, which oversees everything from our nuclear arsenal to the electrical grid. The department's budget is now on the chopping block.