memeorandum: Republicans in House and Senate strike a deal on tax bill (CNN)

5:30 PM ET, December 13, 2017

Top Items:

Ronald Brownstein / The Atlantic:

‘We Are in a Trump-Driven Worst-Case Situation Right Now’ — Roy Moore was a uniquely flawed and vulnerable candidate. But what should worry Republicans most about his loss to Democrat Doug Jones in Tuesday's U.S. Senate race in Alabama was how closely the result tracked with the GOP's big defeats …

Discussion: New Republic, New York Magazine, Washington Post, America's Voice, Vox, AOL and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »

Jim Tankersley / New York Times:

Republicans Say They Have a Deal on Tax Bill — WASHINGTON — House and Senate Republicans have reached an agreement, in principle, on a consensus tax bill on Wednesday, keeping the party on track for final votes next week with the aim of delivering a bill to President Trump's desk by Christmas, according to people briefed on the deal.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Shareblue Media, CNN, mikeallen, Outside the Beltway, Daily Kos, Booman Tribune and The Week

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Republicans Shouldn't Assume Roy Moore Was An Outlier — I've been covering American elections at FiveThirtyEight for almost 10 years. During that time, by far the most remarkable outcomes — of course — were Barack Obama being elected president in 2008 and Donald Trump being elected in 2016.

Discussion: NBC News, Politicus USA, New York Magazine and Business Insider

New York Times:

Once a Long Shot, Democrat Doug Jones Wins Alabama Senate Race — BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Doug Jones, a Democratic former prosecutor who mounted a seemingly quixotic Senate campaign in the face of Republican dominance here, defeated his scandal-scarred opponent, Roy S. Moore …

Nancy Cook / Politico:
Republicans strike deal on sweeping tax overhaul

Discussion: Roll Call, Hit & Run, Business Insider and New York Times

Alice Stewart / CNN:
Steve Bannon's political science experiment blew up in Trump's face

Discussion: Washington Post, Weekly Standard and Fox News Insider

Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:
Democrats call on GOP to hold off on tax bill until Jones is seated in the Senate

Discussion: Splinter, Forbes, Washington Examiner, Business Insider, Daily Kos and Balloon Juice

Geoff Pender / The Clarion Ledger:
Roy Moore Mississippi fallout: Chris McDaniel can't catch a break

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, Variety, New York Times and Vox

David French / National Review:
Alabama Conservatives Made Their Stand

Discussion: Breitbart, Infowars, The Federalist, The Daily Caller, The Guardian, Booman Tribune, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Washington Monthly

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
It's not just scandal: Moore lost in Alabama because the GOP agenda is toxically unpopular

Discussion: Washington Post, NBC News and BillMoyers.com

Richard Fausset / New York Times:
Why Black Voters Backed Doug Jones: 'It's a Matter of Character for Us'

Discussion: CNN, Business Insider and The Daily Caller

Albert R. Hunt / Bloomberg:
Republicans Now Have a Reason to Panic

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Washington Post

The Hill:
Negotiators strike deal in principle on tax bill

Discussion: IJR

CNN:
Republicans in House and Senate strike a deal on tax bill

Discussion: RedState, KTLA and The Right Scoop

Shannon Vavra / Axios:
GOP reaches deal on tax overhaul plan

Discussion: New York Magazine

Wall Street Journal:
Alabama Sends a Message

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Sabato's Crystal Ball, The Hill, Washington Post, CityLab, Talking Points Memo, Infowars, Media Matters for America, Washington Times and RedState

Eli Stokols / Wall Street Journal:

White House Aide Omarosa Manigault Newman to Depart in January — The former contestant on ‘The Apprentice’ was director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison — Omarosa Manigault Newman, a former star of “The Apprentice” and one of President Donald Trump's …

Discussion: Splinter and Mediaite

John Bowden / The Hill:

April Ryan: Omarosa fired by Kelly, escorted out of White House — White House aide Omarosa Manigault may have been escorted out of the White House shouting profanities after being told of her firing by chief of staff John Kelly — , according to a report by American Urban Radio Networks reporter April Ryan on Wednesday.

Discussion: theGrio, Raw Story, Sputnik International, The Right Scoop, Business Insider, Mediaite and Balloon Juice

Denis Slattery / New York Daily News:

Omarosa Manigault reportedly escorted kicking and screaming from White House as resignation announced — The White House said Wednesday that Omarosa Manigault Newman, a former “The Apprentice” contestant turned political aide, is leaving the administration next month.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

April Ryan / American Urban Radio Networks:

Omarosa Out of the White House — April Ryan has the exclusive on the exit of Omarosa Manigault Newman from the White House. — The post Omarosa Out of the White House appeared first on American Urban Radio Networks.

Discussion: Business Insider, Washington Post, Splinter and New York Times

Carrie Johnson / NPR:

White House: Nomination of Alabama Lawyer Brett Talley ‘Will Not Be Moving Forward’ — The nomination of Brett Talley, the Justice Department official in line for a lifetime judicial appointment, “will not be moving forward,” a Trump administration official told NPR Wednesday.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Right Wing Watch, Splinter and The Week

David Mack / BuzzFeed:
Omarosa Is Out At The White House

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Hot Air, Washingtonian, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Shareblue Media, RedState, twitchy.com, VICE News, IJR and The Week

Avery Anapol / The Hill:
WH withdrawing Trump judicial pick who has never tried a case

Discussion: RedState and Splinter

Darlene Superville / Associated Press:
Prominent black supporter of Trump set to leave White House

Discussion: theGrio, Axios and IJR

Salma Hayek / New York Times:

Harvey Weinstein Is My Monster Too — HARVEY WEINSTEIN was a passionate cinephile, a risk taker, a patron of talent in film, a loving father and a monster. — For years, he was my monster. — This fall, I was approached by reporters, through different sources, including my dear friend Ashley Judd …

Discussion: twitchy.com, Axios, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Mashable, The Guardian, NBC News, The Week, TMZ.com, Mediaite and AOL, more at Mediagazer »

Andrew C. McCarthy / New York Post:

Ugly as Mueller's investigation may look, it's on track to clear Trump — There was a rush to judgment last week on Peter Strzok, a top FBI counterintelligence agent and one of the lead agents on the Hillary Clinton e-mails investigation, after revelations that Strzok exchanged text messages during …

Natasha Bertrand / Business Insider:
In ‘highly unusual’ move, DOJ secretly invited reporters to view texts sent by ousted FBI agents

Discussion: twitchy.com

Laura Jarrett / CNN:
Months-worth of FBI employees' texts dreading Trump victory released to Congress

Discussion: The Federalist, New York Magazine, The Last Refuge, Breitbart, No More Mister Nice Blog, Infowars, Washington Free Beacon and amp.dailycaller.com

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
'We Can't Take That Risk' — FBI Officials Discussed ‘Insurance Policy’ Against Trump Presidency

Discussion: Power Line, Associated Press, Reuters, Infowars, The Gateway Pundit and IJR

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
In texts, FBI agents on Russia probe called Trump an ‘idiot’

Discussion: Vox, Breitbart, New York Times, ABC News, Reuters, The Daily Beast, IJR, CBS News, RedState, Salon, Hullabaloo, Washington Free Beacon, The Hill, Fox News, Sputnik International and Washington Post

Alayna Treene / Axios:
Deputy AG: “I'm not aware of any impropriety” within Russia special counsel

Discussion: Politico and ABC News

Monmouth University:

Monmouth University Polling Institute — Trump Rating Hits Record Low — Democrats have 15 point edge in generic House vote — West Long Branch, NJ - Donald Trump's current job approval rating is the lowest registered in the Monmouth University Poll since he took office, with the biggest drop coming from independent women.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Week, Political Wire and Politicus USA

Stef W. Kight / Axios:
Trump approval at lowest ever after losing support from women

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Brittany Packnett / thecut:

Black Women Kept Roy Moore Out of Office. Here's How to Actually Thank Them. — Late on Tuesday night, America was once again reminded of the power of Black women. Thanks in large part to overwhelmingly high turnout among Black voters and Black women in particular, Alabama managed to elect …

Discussion: USA Today, Vox, Shareblue Media, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, The Root and Splinter

The Intercept:
How Black Voters Lifted Doug Jones Over Roy Moore

Discussion: New York Times, The Daily Caller, Mother Jones, The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, VICE News, Business Insider and Hullabaloo

Washington Post:
Preliminary exit poll results: How different groups voted in the U.S. senator election in Alabama

David Byler / Weekly Standard:
Alabama Slamma: Four Takeaways from Roy Moore's Devastating Loss to Doug Jones

Discussion: Washington Post, Vox, National Journal, ThinkProgress, Media Matters for America, Townhall.com, Religion News Service and The Daily Caller

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

“Nikki Haley Stuck a Knife in His Back”: Roger Stone Is Already Writing the Story of Trump's Downfall — One of Trump's closest allies believes the president could be removed from office by disloyal Cabinet members—and he's writing a book about it. — In the closing days …

Discussion: Raw Story and AOL

Kelly Weill / The Daily Beast:

Alt-Right Hyped Sexual Harassment Hoax to Attack Schumer … A forged document accusing the top Democrat in the Senate of sexual harassment copied language verbatim from a real sexual-harassment complaint filed against Rep. John Conyers. — On Tuesday afternoon, right-wing social media …

Discussion: Roll Call

Eileen Sullivan / New York Times:
Schumer Files Police Report After Fraudulent Document Emerges

Discussion: IJR

Mike Allen:
Schumer calls cops after forged sex scandal charge

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, The Week, Fox News, NBC News, Betsy's Page, Talking Points Memo and TheBlaze, more at Mediagazer »

Heather Caygle / Politico:

Democratic lawmaker: Women's clothing an ‘invitation’ to harassment — A female Democratic House member shocked fellow lawmakers Wednesday when she said that the revealing clothing that some members and staffers wear is an “invitation” to sexual harassment.

Discussion: Vox, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, Boing Boing and The Week

George F. Will / Washington Post:

Trump's Moore endorsement sunk the presidency to unplumbed depths — The first time ended badly, so when, 156 years later, Alabamians were incited to again try secession, this time from the national consensus that America is a pretty nice place, they said: No. No, that is, to rubbish like this:

Discussion: Splinter and The Guardian