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 …
Discussion:
CNBC, Raw Story, Balloon Juice and The Week
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Jason Noble / Des Moines Register:
Ernst breaks with Trump on transgender military ban — U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst on Wednesday broke with President Donald Trump's call to bar transgender Americans from serving in the military, telling the Des Moines Register that anyone qualified should be allowed to serve.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Vox, Hit & Run, IndieWire and Deadline
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, ThinkProgress, Vox and Richard Dawkins Foundation
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” …
Discussion:
Log Cabin Republicans, Washington Post, Above the Law, Outside the Beltway, Red Alert Politics, Refinery29 and Althouse
Cora Lewis / BuzzFeed:
Trump Says Transgender People Cannot “Serve In Any Capacity” In The Military — He made the announcement on Twitter on Wednesday. — President Trump tweeted on Wednesday that transgender people cannot “serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” repeating a claim from conservative Republicans …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, UPI, WAVY-TV, Associated Press, WREG-TV and IJR
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:
Hot Air, Shareblue, Task & Purpose, Vox, Axios, Politico, Mother Jones, ABC News, ThinkProgress, IJR, Washington Post, Common Dreams, The Daily Caller, Mashable, Bearing Arms, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, Washington Monthly, Business Insider, Human Rights Campaign, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Atlantic, Right Wing Watch, Friendly Atheist, The Root, twitchy.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, Politicus USA and The Week
Alex Lockie / Business Insider:
Trump tweets reveal plan to bar transgender people from serving in the military — President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday that the US military would not accept transgender people, saying their service would cause “tremendous medical costs and disruption.”
Discussion:
mccain.senate.gov, Shareblue, RedState, Washington Post, AOL, NPR, Task & Purpose and Mediaite
Jeremy Herb / CNN:
House defeats bid to block Pentagon funding transgender surgeries
House defeats bid to block Pentagon funding transgender surgeries
Discussion:
Foreign Policy, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Business Insider, Jezebel and New York Magazine
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:
Axios, Fox News, Media Matters for America, vice, Just Security, Refinery29, CBS Dallas, Task & Purpose, The Daily Signal, Political Wire, The First Street Journal, The Atlantic, RedState, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, FOX News Radio, Conservative News Today, The Gateway Pundit, CNBC, KTLA, New York's PIX11, CBS New York, Raw Story, Snopes.com, The Times of Israel, Mashable, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, WCCO | CBS Minnesota, NTK Network, The Federalist, IJR, The Week, Washington Free Beacon, Mother Jones, Pirate's Cove, CBS Philly and Mediaite
Meghan Keneally / ABC News:
Donald Trump's past statements about LGBT rights
Donald Trump's past statements about LGBT rights
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Post, Shareblue, Talking Points Memo and Associated Press
John Bowden / The Hill:
GOP senators break with Trump over transgender troop ban
GOP senators break with Trump over transgender troop ban
Discussion:
RedState, Talking Points Memo and Politicus USA
Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
Trump to reinstate US military ban on transgender people
Trump to reinstate US military ban on transgender people
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Slate, Breitbart, Talking Points Memo, GLAAD, HuffPost, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, The Guardian, The Pavlovic Today, The Daily Caller, IJR, Task & Purpose, Business Insider, Media Matters for America, ThinkProgress, The Daily Signal, VICE News, NBC News, Politicus USA, Mashable, Refinery29, CBS Dallas and The Week
Connor O'Brien / Politico:
What to know about Trump's transgender military ban
What to know about Trump's transgender military ban
Discussion:
Vox, USA Today, Washington Post, AOL, Task & Purpose and Business Insider
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:
JustOneMinute, Breitbart, Washington Monthly and Booman Tribune
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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:
CNN, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Beast, Breitbart, Newsweek, TheBlaze and Daily Wire
Mike Allen / Axios:
Jeff Sessions won't take Trump's hint
Jeff Sessions won't take Trump's hint
Discussion:
Politico, Business Insider, ABC News, The White House, Mediaite, Right Wing Watch, Salon, Shakesville and Daily Kos
Rick Wilson / Washington Post:
Jeff Sessions has done more for Trumpism than anyone. Trump still wants to ditch him.
Jeff Sessions has done more for Trumpism than anyone. Trump still wants to ditch him.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Salon, The Gateway Pundit, CANNONFIRE and Hullabaloo
Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:
On Twitter, Trump continues attacks on Sessions
On Twitter, Trump continues attacks on Sessions
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Hill, The Daily Caller and Washington Free Beacon
Bloomberg:
Trump's Focus on Leaks and Loyalty Puts Sessions in Crosshairs
Trump's Focus on Leaks and Loyalty Puts Sessions in Crosshairs
Discussion:
CNN, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, IJR, NBC News, Daily Wire, Washington Times and Business Insider
David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
Republicans warn Trump: Don't fire Jeff Sessions
Republicans warn Trump: Don't fire Jeff Sessions
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, Red Alert Politics, Weekly Standard, Daily Wire and Talking Points Memo
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:
The Atlantic, The Guardian, NBC News, Axios, Political Wire and CRFB Papers and Blog Posts
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Seung Min Kim / Politico:
GOP scrapes for bare minimum on Obamacare repeal
GOP scrapes for bare minimum on Obamacare repeal
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Vox, Booman Tribune and New York Times
Dylan Scott / Vox:
Republicans face a monumental choice on Obamacare repeal: go big or go skinny
Republicans face a monumental choice on Obamacare repeal: go big or go skinny
Discussion:
Politico, Bloomberg, The Daily Caller and Business Insider
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: Voters say Mueller ouster would be inappropriate
Poll: Voters say Mueller ouster would be inappropriate
Discussion:
The Hill, The Daily Caller, Axios and RedState
Steven Shepard / Politico:
Poll: Half of Trump voters say Trump won popular vote
Poll: Half of Trump voters say Trump won popular vote
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Axios, The Daily Caller and The Week
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.”
Discussion:
Viking Pundit
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.
Discussion:
IJR
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 AOL
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, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, IJR and The Week
WKBN-TV:
Police remove protesters from Trump rally — YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) - There were no arrests at President Donald Trump's rally in Youngstown on Tuesday, but a few protesters were removed during his speech. — Youngstown Police officers, working with Mahoning County Sheriff's deputies …
Discussion:
John Hawkins' Right Wing News and IJR
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Salena Zito / New York Post:
Why the Rust Belt just gave Donald Trump a hero's welcome
Why the Rust Belt just gave Donald Trump a hero's welcome
Discussion:
CNN, twitchy.com and Scared Monkeys
Fox News:
Russia probe: Democrats block key witness against shadowy firm Fusion GPS — Senate Democrats used a parliamentary maneuver Wednesday to cut short a high-profile hearing, where a key witness was set to testify on Russia's misdeeds and also raise fresh allegations against the company behind the infamous anti-Trump dossier.
Discussion:
Daily Wire and The Gateway Pundit
McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:
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 …
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:
PravdaReport, Vox, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, Political Wire and The Week
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, Vox, Washington Post, Raw Story, The Week and Balloon Juice
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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 American Conservative and The Daily Caller
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, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Lawfare, IJR, Conservative News Today and The Week