The Final Humiliation of Reince Priebus  —  Six years ago, a humble party hack from Kenosha, Wisconsin, took on the thankless job of turning around the Republican Party.  As he exits the White House—battered, bruised, and humiliated—Reince Priebus argues he accomplished just what he set out to do.

Flake: ‘As conservatives, our first obligation is to be honest’  —  (R-Ariz.) said in an interview released early Monday that the first obligation of conservatives is to “be honest.”  —  Flake told NPR he is “very troubled” with the Republican Party.  —  “It seems that we've been compromised …

NJ gov gets in Cubs fan's face: 'You're a big shot'  —  Brad Joseph says the governor made contact with him with his knee and asked if he wanted to ‘do something’ and ‘start something’  —  HIDE TRANSCRIPT SHOW TRANSCRIPT  —  MILWAUKEE —  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie paused …

Ivanka and Jared find their limits in Trump's White House  —  By one measurement, last week was a good one for Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.  —  President Donald Trump's daughter and son-in-law had been double-teaming for weeks to persuade him to oust chief of staff Reince Priebus …

Dem campaign chief vows no litmus test on abortion  —  Democrats will not withhold financial support for candidates who oppose abortion rights, the chairman of the party's campaign arm in the House said in an interview with The Hill.  —  Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) …

For Trump and Sessions, a warm beginning turned into an icy standoff  —  They met more than a decade ago, when the genteel junior senator from Alabama invited the brash real estate mogul to testify on Capitol Hill about the renovation of the United Nations.  Jeff Sessions was taken by Donald Trump …

RNC Tells Staff To Preserve All Documents Related To 2016 Campaign  —  According to the memo, the RNC “has not been contacted regarding any of the ongoing investigations” — but the committee has instructed employees not to delete or modify any documents related to last year's campaign.

Putin's Bet on a Trump Presidency Backfires Spectacularly  —  A little more than a year after the Russian effort to interfere in the American presidential election came to light, the diplomatic fallout — an unraveling of the relationship between Moscow and Washington on a scale not seen in decades — is taking its toll.

in Politics  —  The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 39% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump's job performance.  Sixty-one percent (61%) disapprove.  —  The latest figures for Trump include 26% who Strongly Approve of the way Trump is performing and 49% who Strongly Disapprove.

McConnell wages war down South  —  Mitch McConnell is unleashing the full force of his political machine in an all-out push to stop two far-right conservatives who threaten to make his life miserable in the Senate.  —  The Republican leader is aiming to thwart Rep. Mo Brooks …

Ryan Zinke, Trump's Cowboy Enforcer, Is Ready for His Closeup  —  He raised eyebrows for his threats against Senator Lisa Murkowski after she voted to block the Republican health care bill; he raised ire for slashing Obama-era environmental protections.  And all the while, Ryan Zinke …

How the Trump Administration Broke the State Department  —  Morale has hit rock bottom at Foggy Bottom, as American foreign service officers languish and Rex Tillerson builds a mini-empire. … THE OFFICE FURNITURE STARTED APPEARING WEEKS AGO.  —  Employees at the State Department …

The Military Coup Against Donald Trump of 2018, Part 1  —  “We cannot tolerate this any longer,” said the former CIA Director at the head of the table.  “We have to forcibly retake the government from Donald Trump.  It is the only way save our democracy.”  —  His audience nodded solemnly.

Dem redistricting group clocks $10.8 million in first 6 months  —  The National Democratic Redistricting Committee, the group backed by former President Barack Obama and chaired by former Attorney General Eric Holder to make Democrats competitive in redistricting fights …

Sam Shepard, Pulitzer-Winning Playwright and Actor, Is Dead at 73  —  Sam Shepard, the celebrated avant-garde playwright and Oscar-nominated actor, died on Thursday at his home in Kentucky.  He was 73.  —  A spokesman for the Shepard family said the cause was complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

Who Ate Republicans' Brains?  —  When the tweeter-in-chief castigated Senate Republicans as “total quitters” for failing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, he couldn't have been more wrong.  In fact, they showed zombie-like relentlessness in their determination to take health care away …

Secret donations are helping to boost President Trump's agenda, fights with investigators  —  If there's one thing that Donald Trump values, it's loyalty.  He's placed an emphasis on it throughout his life, and he consistently requires it of those who surround him.  Often, his brand of loyalty can be a one-way street.

The Pakistani Hackers Working for the DNC  —  At last, I am in a position to help the New York Times.  It's a good feeling.  As anyone who has stumbled upon their website knows, our former paper of record, underscoring its insatiable appetite to provide the public with all the news that fits its agenda …