Top Items:
David Dayen / The Intercept:
White House Memo Justifying CFPB Takeover Was Written by Payday Lender Attorney — The lawyer who wrote the Office of Legal Counsel memo supporting the Trump administration's viewpoint that the president can appoint Mick Mulvaney as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau represented …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Washington Post, Notice & Comment, Credit Slips and Balkinization
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Renae Merle / Washington Post:
At the CFPB, two acting directors show up to take command; one brings doughnuts, the other well-wishes — As a Republican congressman, Mick Mulvaney called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau a “joke” and said he wished it didn't exist. On Monday, Mulvaney showed up at the agency's D.C. offices …
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.
Discussion:
The Federalist and Politico
Reuters:
White House's Mulvaney tells CFPB staff to ‘disregard’ Leandra English: memo — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mick Mulvaney, U.S. President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, on Monday instructed agency staff to disregard directions from Leandra English …
Discussion:
Axios and Political Wire
Lorraine Woellert / Politico:
Consumer bureau's top lawyer sides with Trump in leadership clash — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's top lawyer sided with the Justice Department over President Donald Trump's appointment of Mick Mulvaney to lead the CFPB as a leadership battle over the controversial watchdog agency escalated.
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Trump wants to destroy Elizabeth Warren's brainchild. In a new interview, Warren hits back. — THE MORNING PLUM: — President Trump's perpetual scamming of his working- and middle-class voters takes a new turn Monday, amid a war that has erupted over the fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and CNN
Renae Merle / Washington Post:
Leandra English, the woman at the center of a White House battle for control of the CFPB, files lawsuit against Trump pick to lead watchdog agency — The tug-of-war over leadership of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau intensified Sunday as a high-ranking agency official sued …
Discussion:
RedState, Reuters, Business Insider, NBC News, Washington Free Beacon, American Banker, Balloon Juice, Lawfare, IJR and ABC News
Patrick Rucker / Reuters:
Doughnuts, dueling memos factor in showdown over U.S. consumer agency
Doughnuts, dueling memos factor in showdown over U.S. consumer agency
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Barney Frank: English should ‘clearly’ lead consumer bureau
Barney Frank: English should ‘clearly’ lead consumer bureau
Discussion:
Politico
Stacy Cowley / New York Times:
Battle for Control of Consumer Agency Heads to Court
Battle for Control of Consumer Agency Heads to Court
Discussion:
ABC News, ThinkProgress, Politico, Business Insider, The Guardian, bizpacreview.com, NBC News and RedState
Allie Malloy / CNN:
Cordray's successor sues Trump administration over Mulvaney's appointment to CFPB
Cordray's successor sues Trump administration over Mulvaney's appointment to CFPB
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Axios and Daily Kos
Heather Long / Washington Post:
Senate GOP tax bill hurts the poor more than originally thought, CBO finds — The Senate Republican tax plan gives substantial tax cuts and benefits to Americans earning more than $100,000 a year, while the nation's poorest would be worse off, according to a report released Sunday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, IJR and Daily Kos
RELATED:
Bernie Becker / Politico:
Tax reform hangs in balance in critical week for GOP
Tax reform hangs in balance in critical week for GOP
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Politicus USA, Axios and Washington Monthly
David Usborne / Esquire:
THE LAST DETAIL — When Donald Trump won the presidency, many Americans hoped John McCain would live up to his maverick image and resist his agenda. But after the senator was diagnosed with brain cancer in July, his contrarian resolve revealed itself in unexpected ways that may shape his legacy—and our future.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, AOL, The Daily Caller, Axios, Mediaite, Washington Times and Washington Free Beacon
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Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
McCain: Trump doesn't have any ‘principles and beliefs’
McCain: Trump doesn't have any ‘principles and beliefs’
Discussion:
RedState and The Daily Caller
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:
Politico, Washington Free Beacon, Politicus USA, AOL 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:
Axios, CNBC and Business Insider
John Hilliard / BostonGlobe.com:
Tufts postpones Scaramucci event after he threatens to sue student, paper — Tufts University postponed a Monday event featuring Anthony Scaramucci, a former Trump White House spokesman, after he threatened to sue a student and the school newspaper for defamation following the publication of an op-ed column criticizing him.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, The Tufts Daily and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »
Travis M. Andrews / Washington Post:
Al Franken on whether he will face more groping allegations: 'I don't know. I can't say.' — Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) spoke to a handful of Minnesota media outlets on Sunday in response to the four allegations of sexual misconduct against him, saying he is “embarrassed and ashamed” …
Discussion:
Townhall.com, CNN, Power Line, IJR, WCCO | CBS Minnesota, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, Slate, mprnews.org, New York Magazine, NPR, Political Wire and The Hill
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Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite:
Al Franken on Whether He's Ever Groped a Woman's Butt: 'I Can't Say I Haven't' Done That'
Al Franken on Whether He's Ever Groped a Woman's Butt: 'I Can't Say I Haven't' Done That'
Discussion:
Scared Monkeys, Washington Free Beacon and twitchy.com
Julia Manchester / The Hill:
Bharara compares Trump to Jan Brady after Russia tweet — For U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara invoked the classic sitcom “The Brady Bunch” after President Trump lamented coverage of the Russia investigation, comparing Trump's “Russia, Russia, Russia” comment to Jan Brady's famous “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia” line.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Taylor Marsh, Daily Kos, The Gateway Pundit and Mediaite
David Goldman / CNNMoney:
Time Inc. has new owners, including the Koch brothers — Time Inc. gets new owners — Time magazine is about to have new owners — including the billionaire Koch brothers. — Media company Meredith (MDP) announced Sunday that it has agreed to buy the 95-year-old magazine's publisher, Time Inc., for $2.8 billion.
Discussion:
Politicus USA
RELATED:
Lucia Graves / The Guardian:
‘Their own media megaphone’: what do the Koch brothers want from Time?
‘Their own media megaphone’: what do the Koch brothers want from Time?
Discussion:
Townhall.com
Katie J.M. Baker / BuzzFeed:
More Than 180 Women Have Reported Sexual Assaults at Massage Envy — Across the US, people go to Massage Envy spas in search of a soothing, affordable escape. More than 180 people say what they got instead was sexual assault. But the billion-dollar company says that's not its problem to solve.
Discussion:
WTVR-TV, IJR, NBC News, CBS Philly and AOL
Julia Marsh / New York Post:
CBS boss told me to sleep with coworkers to get ahead: suit — It's another black eye for Black Rock. — A week after CBS host Charlie Rose was outed as an alleged serial sex harasser, one of the network's former producers says she was told by a boss that she would have to sleep with coworkers to get anywhere in the company.
Discussion:
Mediaite and bizpacreview.com
Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:
Bernie makes moves pointing to 2020 run — Bernie Sanders is taking steps to address longstanding political shortcomings that were exposed in 2016, ahead of another possible presidential bid in 2020. — From forging closer ties to the labor movement to shoring up his once-flimsy foreign policy credentials …
Discussion:
RedState and twitchy.com
Susan B. Glasser / Politico:
Trump's Russian Schizophrenia — The United States should send arms to Ukraine to help in its “self-defense” against Russian aggression. It should hold Russia accountable for its illegal “occupation” of territory there, and push for international peacekeepers.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Trump White House ethics lawyer exits — The ranks of former White House ethics lawyers available to comment on the ongoing controversies engulfing President Donald Trump's administration has just grown by one — an attorney who's certain to offer a much different perspective …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Michael Kranish / Washington Post:
Michael Flynn's role in Mideast nuclear project could compound legal issues — In June 2015, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn took a little-noticed trip to Egypt and Israel, paid for by a U.S. company he was advising. The company hoped to build more than two dozen nuclear plants in the region in partnership with Russian interests.
Discussion:
Arutz Sheva