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 …

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 …

GOP scrapes for bare minimum on Obamacare repeal  —  Forget ripping out Obamacare “root and branch”: At this point Senate Republicans are just looking to get something — anything — through the chamber with a bare majority.  —  After managing to resurrect their repeal bid Tuesday in dramatic fashion …

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.

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 …

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.”

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 …

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.

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 …

Justin Trudeau: The North Star  —  He was raised in jet-set privilege but overcame tragedy to become Canada's prime minister.  Is he the free world's best hope?  —  Let's begin by synchronizing our watches.  We are in the Eastern time zone.  —  The legislative session is over …

Jeff Flake's Gamble  —  The constituents filing into the Mesa Convention Center one evening in mid-April for the Republican senator Jeff Flake's town hall had a decidedly un-Republican look.  Tattoos and political T-shirts abounded.  Activists stood near the entrance distributing stickers …

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.

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.

Condition Report: Rep. Steve Scalise  —  Congressman Steve Scalise has made excellent progress in his recovery from a life-threatening gunshot wound six weeks ago.  Yesterday, he was discharged from MedStar Washington Hospital Center and is now beginning a period of intensive inpatient rehabilitation.

The Real Civil War in the Democratic Party  —  As Democrats try to unite around their new “Better Deal” agenda, the supposed battle between the “socialist” left and the “corporatist” center seems to have collapsed into a bland but serviceable slogan, with a reasonably progressive economic agenda …