Inside Trump's head-scratching deal with “Chuck and Nancy”  —  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is perplexed, with no idea what President Trump thinks he was gaining.  — In fact, McConnell rather doubts the president has a strategy, a close source tells Axios.

Freedom Caucus leaders vent to Paul Ryan after talks with Steve Bannon  —  Leaders of the Freedom Caucus met with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) on Wednesday to candidly express their frustrations with his leadership and his handling of the Republican legislative agenda, according to two people familiar with the discussion.

GOP livid after Trump cuts deal with Democrats  —  President Donald Trump's and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's tête-à-tê te on Tuesday — after a summer of sniping between the two — lifted Republican hopes that the GOP was finally back in sync ahead of a brutal fall of fiscal deadlines.

How Democrats Rolled Trump on the Debt Ceiling  —  On Wednesday morning, Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House, stepped before cameras on the Hill and spoke about the fraught negotiations on debt and spending that will consume Washington through the end of the year.

To Allies' Chagrin, Trump Swerves Left  —  WASHINGTON — Republican congressional leaders perched on the couches in the Oval Office froze in mid-smile on Wednesday afternoon when they realized President Trump was bypassing them to cut a short-term spending and debt ceiling deal with Democrats, and not them.

Scoop: Inside the Freedom Caucus' tax plan  —  The House Freedom Caucus — a group of around 35 ultra-conservative House Republicans who can block their party's leadership on key legislation — is in the final stages of drafting its own tax plan, according to sources familiar with the process.

Facebook says it sold political ads to Russian company during 2016 election … Representatives of Facebook told congressional investigators Wednesday that it has discovered it sold ads during the U.S. presidential election to a shadowy Russian company seeking to target voters …

Steve Bannon says Catholic Church has “economic interest” in “unlimited illegal immigration”  —  In his first extensive interview since leaving the Trump administration, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is speaking out about President Trump's decision to end the DACA program.