memeorandum: On shutdown, Democrats have a lot of explaining to do (Alice Stewart/CNN)

11:30 AM ET, January 22, 2018

Top Items:

A President Not Sure of What He Wants Complicates the Shutdown Impasse — WASHINGTON — When President Trump mused last year about protecting immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children, calling them “these incredible kids,” aides implored him privately to stop talking about them so sympathetically.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Raw Story, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, IJR, AOL, New York Magazine, No More Mister Nice Blog, Weekly Standard, NTK Network, Politico, The Week and Mediaite

CNN:

Senate to vote on Monday on ending shutdown — Washington (CNN)Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pledged Sunday to take up legislation to address the expiring Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program if enough Democrats vote to re-open the government, and scheduled a key vote for noon Monday.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, KTLA, Breitbart, TheBlaze, Outside the Beltway, Hit & Run, CNBC, Hullabaloo, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, CBS New York, Joe.My.God., Roll Call, Mediaite and The Hill

Wall Street Journal:

Working for the Weekend, Lawmakers Dress Down — Shutdown brings curious fashion choices; 'I don't plan to go to the Senate floor' — WASHINGTON—One of the first victims of the government shutdown: the dress code. — Capitol Hill—usually a staid, formal workplace where members …

Alice Stewart / CNN:

On shutdown, Democrats have a lot of explaining to do — Alice Stewart is a CNN political commentator and former communications director for Ted Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign. The views expressed in this commentary are hers. — (CNN)When is a spending deal not a spending deal?

Discussion: New York Times, FiveThirtyEight and Geller Report

CNN:

‘Dealmaker in chief’ largely absent in weekend shutdown negotiations — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — “I had to stay here in DC, which I'm becoming pretty proficient at,” Trump told donors by video on Saturday — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump may be presiding over the first government shutdown ever …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, WQAD-TV, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Post, AOL, IJR, CNBC, TheBlaze and Vox

Tommy Hicks / The Hill: Schumer's shutdown reveals: Democrats will destroy America just to spite Trump

Associated Press:
The Latest: Trump: Democrats are prioritizing noncitizens

Discussion: Politico

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Shutdown's Crux: Democrats' Deep-Rooted Distrust of G.O.P. on Immigration

Discussion: Washington Post, NBC News, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, Shareblue Media, Raw Story, bizpacreview.com and ThinkProgress

CNN:
Senate to vote at noon on whether to end government shutdown

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Verge, Breitbart, New York Times, CNBC, bizpacreview.com, WTVR-TV, The Atlantic, USA Today, NPR, CBS News, AOL, Vox, ImmigrationProf Blog, LifeZette, IJR and Politicus USA

Elena Gaona / Center for American Progress …:

RELEASE: Most Americans Blame President Trump and Republicans in Congress for the Government Shutdown, New Poll Shows — Washington, D.C — Two days into the government shutdown, Americans clearly blame President Trump and congressional Republicans for the closure, a new poll released tonight finds.

Sofi Sinozich / ABC News:

Democrats solidify their lead in midterm elections matchup (POLL) — Democrats have solidified their position in the November midterm elections in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, maintaining a 12-point lead among registered voters while improving to a wide 14-point advantage among likely voters in congressional preference.

Discussion: Shareblue Media and Taylor Marsh

Scott Clement / Washington Post:

Women and independents drive advantage for Democrats ahead of midterm elections, Post-ABC poll finds — Strong support from women and independents is fueling Democrats' large early advantage ahead of this year's congressional elections, a sign that two groups that have recoiled …

Discussion: Vox, The Week and Political Wire

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

The Democrats Are Right — and Should Settle — The government shutdown is overwhelmingly the fault of Republican leaders. They, not Democrats, are the ones trying to make sharp changes in federal policy, like reduced legal immigration and a border wall. Democrats are largely trying …

Discussion: National Review, Hullabaloo, Politico and Washington Post

Rebecca Morin / Politico:
Poll: Almost half of voters question Trump's mental stability

Discussion: ABC News, The Week, Political Wire, Taylor Marsh and Hullabaloo

Ashley Parker / Washington Post:

‘Defiance Disorder’: Another new book describes chaos in Trump's White House — In late July, the White House had just finished an official policy review on transgender individuals serving in the military and President Trump and his then-chief of staff, Reince Priebus, had agreed to meet …

Discussion: ABC News, The Daily Beast, Mediaite, Joe.My.God. and Politico

Ashley Parker / Washington Post:
Stephen Miller: Immigration agitator and White House survivor

Discussion: Politico and Splinter

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Graham: Stephen Miller makes immigration deal impossible

Discussion: Breitbart and RedState

Samantha Schmidt / Washington Post:

ICE detains a Polish doctor and green-card holder who has lived in the U.S. for nearly 40 years — Lukasz Niec was 5 years old when his parents brought him and his sister to the United States from Poland. With two suitcases in tow, his parents — both doctors — left behind a country on the verge of social turmoil.

Discussion: Jezebel, Eschaton and WCMH-TV

Timothy L. O'Brien / Bloomberg:

Trump Kept One Promise. The Shutdown Is Proof. — We all should have seen it coming. — Over and over and over, first as a candidate and then as president, Donald Trump made a pledge to voters: He would run the White House just like he's run his business. That's a promise that he's kept.

Discussion: Politicus USA

Michael Kranish / Washington Post:
Jared Kushner's father on probe into family company: “We are not at all concerned.”

Discussion: New York Magazine and The Week

Dean Balsamini / New York Post:

Police union slashes number of ‘get out of jail free’ cards issued — The city's police-officers union is cracking down on the number of “get out of jail free” courtesy cards distributed to cops to give to family and friends. — Patrolmen's Benevolent Association boss Pat Lynch slashed …

Discussion: Marginal REVOLUTION, Business Insider and SiliconBeat

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:

Chief Justice John Roberts Has Changed A Little Bit. And That Could Be A Big Deal. — Chief Justice John Roberts last year. — Win Mcnamee / Getty Images — WASHINGTON — Thirteen years into the job, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. remains a conservative — but he has shifted …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

New York Times:

Here Are the Senators Trying to Find a Bipartisan Solution to the Government Shutdown — WASHINGTON — On the second day of the shutdown, a bipartisan group of senators emerged as a primary force behind the effort to end the gridlock and reopen the government.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Louis Nelson / Politico:

Pence: U.S. to open embassy in Jerusalem in 2019 — A new U.S. embassy in Israel, located in Jerusalem, will open in 2019, Vice President Mike Pence told the Israeli parliament Monday, putting a timeline on a move that has proven controversial in the region and around the world.

Discussion: ABC News, Breitbart and One America News Network

Margaret Talev / Bloomberg:
Pence Asks Egypt, Jordan to Reach Out to Palestinians, Source Says

Discussion: The Times of Israel, Breitbart, Associated Press and Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Wfla Web / WFLA-TV:

Person of interest sought after 2 pipe bombs explode at Eagle Ridge Mall — POLK COUNTY, Fla. - Lake Wales police will be patrolling at the Eagle Ridge Mall Monday after someone detonated explosives inside on Sunday. — Police are looking for a man who was seen running away from the mall …

Discussion: Associated Press, CNN and KTLA

Spencer Ackerman / The Daily Beast:

Team Trump Bypassed DHS Analysts to Produce Bogus Terror Report … The document didn't mince words. It claimed three-quarters of “international terrorism” convicts were immigrants, an assertion meant to bolster Donald Trump's cherished Muslim-focused ban on entering the country.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Al Jazeera English and Raw Story

Larry Elliott Economics / The Guardian:

Inequality gap widens as 42 people hold same wealth as 3.7bn poorest — Oxfam calls for action on gap as wealthiest people gather at World Economic Forum in Davos — The Inequality Project is supported by … The development charity Oxfam has called for action to tackle the growing gap between rich …

Lyndsay Winkley / Los Angeles Times:

Video of La Mesa police officer throwing handcuffed teen to ground sparks outrage … Video footage of a La Mesa police officer slamming a handcuffed high school student to the ground has sparked outrage, with some community members calling for the officer's removal.

Discussion: The Root and Raw Story

Sonam Sheth / Business Insider:

It looks like Jeff Sessions is taking Trump's cues to clean house at the FBI — Attorney General Jeff Sessions is pushing FBI director Christopher Wray to replace deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe and former FBI general counsel James Baker. — President Donald Trump has accused McCabe …

Wall Street Journal:

China, Unhampered by Rules, Races Ahead in Gene-Editing Trials — U.S. scientists helped devise the Crispr biotechnology tool. First to test it in humans are Chinese doctors — HANGZHOU, China—In a hospital west of Shanghai, Wu Shixiu since March has been trying to treat cancer patients using a promising new gene-editing tool.

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight