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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

Tucker Calrissian Tonight  —  Tucker Carlson has called Pres. Trump “nuts” for his repeated humiliations of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whom Trump would like to resign (ostensibly over his failure to prosecute Hillary Clinton, but really over his recusal from the Russia investigation, as Trump himself told the NYT).

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.

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 …

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 …

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.”

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.

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 …

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.