memeorandum: Senators Seek Changes to Tax Bill as Busy Week Kicks Off (Wall Street Journal)

10:25 PM ET, November 27, 2017

Top Items:

A woman approached The Post with dramatic — and false — tale about Roy Moore. She appears to be part of undercover sting operation. — A woman who falsely claimed to The Washington Post that Roy Moore, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Alabama, impregnated her as a teenager appears …

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Conservative Tries to Prove the Washington Post Is Fake News, Proves Opposite by Mistake — James O'Keefe is a celebrated right-wing pseudo-journalist whose job consists largely of attempting to prove various conservative conspiracy theories but, instead, accidentally disproving them.

Discussion: The American Conservative, Washington Post, Mediaite and Raw Story

Michael Scherer / Washington Post:

Retired Marine colonel to launch Senate write-in campaign in Alabama — A retired Marine colonel who once served as a top aide to White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly plans to launch a long-shot write-in campaign Monday afternoon to become Alabama's next senator, with just 15 days left in the campaign.

Discussion: Breitbart, AOL, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Political Wire and Washington Times

James LaPorta / The Daily Beast:

Marine Colonel Announces Run Against Roy Moore: ‘Hold My Beer’ … When retired Marine Col. Lee Busby read it was too late for a write-in candidate for the Alabama senate race, he said, “Hold my beer, we will just see about that.” — Busby told The Daily Beast on Monday he is launching …

Discussion: Washington Post, Mediaite, Shareblue Media, Patterico's Pontifications, New York Magazine, IJR, The Daily Caller, WHNT-TV and Raw Story

Paul Gattis / al.com:

Roy Moore says allegations ‘completely false,’ gets standing ovations at north Alabama rally — Updated at 7:57 p.m.: Roy Moore spoke for 29 minutes Monday night in rural northeast Alabama, took no questions from his audience or the media, left the room 20 seconds after he spoke his final word and received two standing ovations.

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Axios, Raw Story, Political Wire and Mediaite

Scott Bland / Politico:

Moore buried under TV ad barrage — The Alabama airwaves are flooded with ads — and the embattled Republican can't keep pace. — Doug Jones and Roy Moore both released new television ads on Monday. But many Alabama voters will only see one of them. — That's because of the massive disparity …

Discussion: Washington Post

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Alabama GOP senator: I voted for a write-in instead of Moore

Discussion: Politicus USA and Joe.My.God.

Zeke Miller / Associated Press:
The Latest: Moore pushes back on allegations in new TV ad

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politicus USA, IJR, Washington Times, Joe.My.God. and The Daily Beast

Caroline Kenny / CNN:
Graham rues Trump's support for Roy Moore

Discussion: WHNT-TV, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Joe.My.God., New York Times, IJR, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, The Guardian and Raw Story

Sen. Rand Paul / Fox News:

Here's why I plan to vote for the Senate tax bill (and my colleagues should step up) — One of the fundamental problems in Washington is the attitude that the money that people make belongs to the government. That's why you hear arguments about how much a tax cut “costs,” …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, CNBC and Axios

Jim Tankersley / New York Times:

Senate Tax Bill's Potential Hurdle: Republicans — WASHINGTON — The Republican tax bill hurtling through Congress is increasingly tilting the United States tax code to benefit wealthy Americans, as party leaders race to shore up wavering lawmakers who are requesting more help for high-earning business owners.

Discussion: The Hill, Political Wire, Washington Times and The Daily Caller

The Hill:

Two Budget Committee GOP senators threaten to vote against tax bill — (Tenn.), are threatening to vote against the GOP tax reform bill in the Senate Budget Committee on Tuesday unless changes are made to address their concerns. — Corker's and Johnson's primary issues with the legislation are different …

Discussion: Politicus USA

Bloomberg:
Here's Where the GOP Tax Plan Stands Right Now

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Caller, Vox, National Review and Politico

Naomi Jagoda / The Hill:
Montana Republican is second to oppose current Senate tax bill

Discussion: Mother Jones

Wall Street Journal:
Senators Seek Changes to Tax Bill as Busy Week Kicks Off

Discussion: Washington Post, ABC News and Vox

Bernie Becker / Politico:
Senate GOP making last-ditch changes to tax plan

Discussion: Political Wire

Matthew Mosk / ABC News:

Michael Flynn's lawyer meets with members of special counsel's team, raising specter of plea deal — The lawyer for President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn met Monday morning with members of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team, the latest indication …

Discussion: Axios, The Root, Washington Monthly, Business Insider, RedState, Daily Kos, Just Security, CNBC, Washington Times, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., Jake Bernstein and NPR

Natasha Bertrand / Business Insider:
A key witness in the Russia probe had a ‘lengthy conversation’ with Trump at Mar-a-Lago

Discussion: AOL and Raw Story

Jonathan Easley / The Hill: FreedomWatch sues to remove Mueller

Natasha Korecki / Politico:

Gutierrez won't seek reelection — Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) a leading national voice on immigration reform, will not seek reelection and is expected to announce his decision on Tuesday morning, three Democratic sources with knowledge of the decision told POLITICO.

Discussion: Washington Times and The Daily Caller

Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:
Rep. Luis Gutierrez, longtime advocate for immigration reform, is set to retire, Democrats say

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Katie Rogers / New York Times:

2 Bosses Show Up to Lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — WASHINGTON — On Monday, Mick Mulvaney, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, brought in doughnuts. Around the same time, Leandra English, the agency's other acting director, sent an all-staff email thanking employees for their service.

David Dayen / The Intercept:
White House Memo Justifying CFPB Takeover Was Written by Payday Lender Attorney

Discussion: Bloomberg, Allied Progress, Reuters, Gupta Wessler PLLC, Balkinization, Mother Jones, Washington Post, Daily Kos, The Mahablog, Whatever Source Derived, Notice & Comment, ThinkProgress and New York Times

Erica Pandey / Axios:
The laws that will determine who will lead the CFPB

Discussion: Politico and CNN

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Trump calls Warren ‘Pocahontas’ at event honoring Native American veterans — President Trump on Monday referred to Sen. Elizabeth Warren — (D-Mass.) as “Pocahontas” at an event honoring Native American “code talkers” who served in World War II. — “You were here long before any of us were here …

Discussion: Washington Post, Associated Press, The Moderate Voice, ABC News, The Daily Beast, The Root, Politico, RedState and Balloon Juice

Ali Vitali / NBC News:
Trump calls Warren ‘Pocahontas’ at event honoring Native Americans

Discussion: Axios, Shareblue Media, CNN, CBS News, ThinkProgress, Refinery29 and Roll Call

Associated Press:
Trump, honoring Navajos, revives ‘Pocahontas’ jab at Warren

Discussion: Power Line and Axios

Bloomberg:

White House Weighs Personal Mobile Phone Ban for Staff — The White House may ban its employees from using personal mobile phones while at work, raising concerns among staff including that they'll be cut off from family and friends, according to five administration officials.

Discussion: Gizmodo, AOL, The Daily Caller, IJR, Axios and The Verge

Alyssa Rosenberg / Washington Post:

Enjoying Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's romance doesn't make you a bad American — The Prince of Wales announced early this morning that his son Prince Harry is engaged to American actress Meghan Markle. In England, the much-anticipated news set off a storm of speculation about Markle's eventual title …

Discussion: New York Times, The Atlantic and The Federalist

Gordon Rayner / Telegraph:
Meghan Markle's title expected to be the Duchess of Sussex - and the controversial name the Queen will probably reject

Discussion: The Guardian, New York Times, Washington Post, AOL and Mashable

Nick Wadhams / Bloomberg:

Tillerson's Redesign Chief Quits After Three Months — Maliz Beams had been overseeing Tillerson's signature effort — Redesign plan has run into stiff opposition from Congress — The senior State Department official charged with overseeing U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's effort …

Discussion: IJR

Sarah Ellison / Vanity Fair:

“She Didn't Want This Come Hell or High Water”: Inside Melania Trump's Secretive East Wing — Understanding the most enigmatic First Lady—and unusual marriage—in modern political history. — I. “NOT MY THING” — Back in 2014, when Donald Trump was considering yet again a run for president …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Business Insider, IJR, AOL, Politicus USA, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite, Raw Story and Politico

The White House:
First Lady Melania Trump Unveils Christmas at the White House 2017

Discussion: Business Insider

German Lopez / Vox:

“We are friends”: Rep. Al Green's bizarre attempt to get ahead of sexual misconduct allegations — The statement apparently goes back to an accusation over a 2007 incident. — Rep. Al Green (D-TX) really wants the world to know that he and Lucinda Daniels, a former staffer, are friends. — Really.

Discussion: Politico, Fox News, abc13.com, Washington Free Beacon and NBC News

Associated Press:
The Latest: Congressman says suits resolved without payment

Discussion: Politico

New York Times:

Macron to make ‘gender-based insults’ a legal offense in France — As part of a broad initiative to combat sexual harassment and assault, French President Emmanuelle Macron promised to make “gender-based insults” punishable by law. — As France24 reports, Macron outlined his plans …

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Caller, France 24 and The Daily Signal

Alan Suderman / Associated Press:

Chaos Erupts In VA House Weeks After Wrong Ballots Given To Crucial District — RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Democratic tidal wave on Election Day in Virginia three weeks ago has left chaos in its wake, with control of the House of Delegates still undecided and no end in sight to the dispute.

Discussion: Political Wire

Patrick Lawrence / Salon:

American policy totally failed in Syria — let's be thankful — Despite media obfuscation, last week's meeting between Putin and Assad suggests a new order in the Middle East — I kept hearing National Public Radio programs this week to the effect that liberals and “progressives,” …