memeorandum: Potential presidential candidate Cory Booker to return to NH for Democratic Party celebration (John DiStaso/WMUR)

3:20 PM ET, November 19, 2018

Top Items:

Robert Draper / New York Times:

Nancy Pelosi's Last Battle — As she prepares to lead the House of Representatives again, the most powerful Democrat in Washington will have to navigate between a rampaging president and her colleagues' plans for fighting back. — Four days before the election that would return …

Discussion: Splinter and Mediaite

John Bresnahan / Politico:

Pelosi's bid for speaker imperiled as public opposition grows — Sixteen Democrats vowed Monday to oppose Nancy Pelosi for speaker on the House floor, placing the California Democrat's bid to reclaim the gavel in serious jeopardy. — In a highly-anticipated letter that went public Monday …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:

Sixteen dissident Democrats vow to oppose Pelosi as next speaker — Sixteen dissident Democrats said Monday that they will vote to deny Rep. Nancy Pelosi another stint as House speaker, a show of defiance that puts her opponents on the cusp of forcing a seismic leadership shake-up as their party prepares to take the majority.

Discussion: Townhall

Laura Barrón-López / Washington Examiner:
16 Democrats pledge to vote against Nancy Pelosi: ‘We are committed’

Discussion: Breitbart and American Prospect

WHCA:

WHCA announces acclaimed author Ron Chernow as featured speaker for 2019 dinner — The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is pleased to announce that Ron Chernow, one of the most eminent biographers of American presidents and statesmen, will be the featured speaker at its annual dinner on Saturday, April 27, 2019.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, New Republic, CNN, AOL, Daily Wire, Mashable, HuffPost, The Guardian, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, Talking Points Memo, IJR, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite, IndieWire and twitchy.com, more at Mediagazer »

Brian Stelter / CNN:

CNN asks for emergency hearing after Trump threatens to revoke Acosta's press pass again — (CNN)The White House has issued a new warning to CNN's Jim Acosta, saying his press pass could be revoked again at the end of the month. — In response, CNN is asking the U.S. District Court for another emergency hearing.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Mediaite, Raw Story, BuzzFeed News, Breitbart, Outside the Beltway, TheBlaze, IJR, POLITICUSUSA, The Daily Caller and TVNewser, more at Mediagazer »

Mike Allen / Axios:

Trump targets Acosta ouster — again — After a federal court ruling on Friday restored the White House press pass of CNN's Jim Acosta, the West Wing moved almost immediately to once again contest his access, sources involved in the negotiations tell me. — What's happening …

Discussion: Politico, Breitbart, RedState and twitchy.com

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

Book Offers Firsthand Account of a Venomous Den Inside the White House — A firsthand account of the tumult inside President Trump's White House is scheduled to be published in January, the latest in a string of books that seek to decipher his unprecedented presidency.

Discussion: HuffPost, Fortune and Axios, more at Mediagazer »

Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite: TEAM OF VIPERS: Ousted Trump Aide Reportedly Nabs Seven-Figure Advance For White House Tell-All

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Trump Says in Interview He Is the Sole Arbiter of Truth — The conservative movement has long dismissed the value of neutral expertise — environmental scientists, arms control analysts, budget forecasters, or any other meddlesome nerds who question the simple verities of right-wing politics — as biased.

Discussion: Washington Post, Fox News, Breitbart and Defense One

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

3 takeaways from Trump's testy Fox News interview — President Trump sat down this weekend with one of the best interviewers in the business — Chris Wallace — for a segment on “Fox News Sunday.” — Wallace pressed Trump on many of the major issues of the day, including Trump's attacks …

Discussion: ABC News, Hot Air, CNN, IJR and Hullabaloo

Yeni Safak: The audio recordings of the Khashoggi case will be released today or this week... A quake …

Jason Wilson / The Guardian:

FBI now classifies far-right Proud Boys as ‘extremist group’, documents say — Group is now designated ‘with ties to white nationalism’ according to report produced by Washington law enforcement — The FBI now classifies the far-right Proud Boys as an “extremist group with ties to white nationalism” …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Wonkette, Raw Story, Boing Boing and Right Wing Watch

David Siders / Politico:

Beto O'Rourke blows up the 2020 Democratic primary — Sparked by his narrow defeat in a Texas Senate race, Beto O'Rourke is scrambling the 2020 presidential primary field, freezing Democratic donors and potential campaign staffers in place as they await word of his plans.

Discussion: CNBC, RedState, JustOneMinute, Washington Monthly, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, Axios and Talking Points Memo

The Daily Beast:

Senate Democrats Sue To Block Matt Whitaker From Serving as Attorney General — This is now the second legal action seeking to stop the now-acting AG from serving any longer — A group of Senate Democrats is suing to block Matt Whitaker from serving as acting attorney general on grounds …

Discussion: RedState, Vox, Politico, Reuters, TheBlaze, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Axios, Common Dreams, IJR, Raw Story, Mediaite and The Hill

Alan Rappeport / New York Times:

A $12 Billion Program to Help Farmers Stung by Trump's Trade War Has Aided Few — WASHINGTON — America's farmers have been shut out of foreign markets, hit with retaliatory tariffs and lost lucrative contracts in the face of President Trump's trade war. But a $12 billion bailout program …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Wall Street Journal, Wonkette and Raw Story

Anthony Man / Sun-Sentinel:

Brenda Snipes submits resignation as Broward elections supervisor — Broward Supervisor of Elections Dr. Brenda C. Snipes waves goodbye to the media, Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018, at the Broward Supervisor of Elections office in Lauderhill. Broward County reported their recount results with 52 minutes to spare Sunday.

Politico:
DID BRENDA KILL BILL? …

Discussion: The Federalist, IJR and Florida Politics

Edmund Lee / New York Times:

Founder's Big Idea to Revive BuzzFeed's Fortunes? A Merger With Rivals — Jonah Peretti, the chief executive, says his company could eventually merge with other online publishers in order to negotiate better terms with tech platforms like Facebook. — BuzzFeed has long positioned itself …

more at Mediagazer »

Aaron Rupar / Vox:

Trump indicates he trusts Saudi crown prince's Khashoggi denials over his own intelligence agency — The president puts blind faith in dictators twice in one Fox News interview. — Time and time again, President Donald Trump seems to side with dictators over his own intelligence community.

Discussion: New York Times, One America News Network and Reuters

Fred Hiatt / Washington Post:
Why bring a bonesaw to a kidnapping, Your Highness?

Discussion: CNBC, Media Matters for America, VICE News, New Republic and Axios

John DiStaso / WMUR:

Potential presidential candidate Cory Booker to return to NH for Democratic Party celebration — New Jersey senator to make second visit to first-in-nation primary state this year on Dec. 8 — MANCHESTER, N.H. — New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker is the first potential Democratic contender …

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:

If an Election Was Stolen, Say It Was Stolen — Lessons from Sherrod Brown and Chuck Todd. — In our old feature, — What Are The Gobshites Saying These Days?, — we used to do a semi-regular weekly survey of the state of Our National Dialogue based on what went down on The Sunday Showz …

Discussion: Althouse

David Leonhardt / New York Times:
Was Georgia's Election ‘Legitimate’?

Discussion: Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog and Slate

Jay Michaelson / The Daily Beast:

Thomas Farr Devised Ways to Keep Blacks From Voting. Mitch McConnell Wants to Make Him a Judge. — A protégé of Jesse Helms wrote a law targeting minority voters with ‘surgical precision’ in North Carolina. His nomination is part of a plan to pack the courts with extremists.

Meg Cunningham / ABC News:

After a 181-year ban, House Democrats aim to allow religious headwear on the floor — Ilhan Omar, one of the first two Muslim women newly-elected to Congress, is helping spearhead an effort to allow religious headwear, such as hijabs or kippahs, on the House floor.

Discussion: Axios, CNN and AOL

Andrew Malcolm / Hot Air: So What Do You Think: Hijabs In Congress? — Elections do, indeed, have consequences.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo:

Op-Ed from Governor Andrew M. Cuomo — The Amazon transaction is an historic transformative moment for the entire New York City region. I have done enough development work during my career to know there is no large development project that is accomplished without controversy …

Discussion: Breitbart, Curbed NY, Raw Story and Gizmodo

Ben Terris / Washington Post:

Elijah Cummings endured two painful years. Soon he'll be more powerful than ever. — When the word of the Lord came to Elijah, it arrived on a slip of paper tucked in a stranger's bra. — In 2017, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings had been laid up in a Johns Hopkins hospital bed for two months …

Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post:

Anti-vaccination stronghold in N.C. hit with state's worst chickenpox outbreak in 2 decades — Chickenpox has taken hold of a school in North Carolina where many families claim religious exemption from vaccines. — Cases of chickenpox have been multiplying at the Asheville Waldorf School …

Discussion: KARE-TV, ThinkProgress, Raw Story, KTLA, KFOR-TV and myfox8.com

Marty Lederman / Balkinization:

The Odd Supreme Court Grant in the Census Citizenship Question Case — Currently pending in the Southern District of New York is a case in which many States, counties, cities and private organizations have sued the Department of Commerce, seeking to enjoin the Department's plan to add …

Derek Thompson / The Atlantic:

Trump's Lies Are a Virus, and News Organizations Are the Host — The news media today face an epistemic crisis: how to publish the president's commentary without amplifying his fabrications and conspiracy theories. — One flashpoint came several weeks ago, when President Donald Trump told Axios reporters …

more at Mediagazer »

Tatiana Siegel / Hollywood Reporter:

The Dick Cheney Dossier: Inside Adam McKay's Searing Exposé of D.C.'s “Ultimate Gamesman” in ‘Vice’ — Christian Bale (who gained 45 pounds) and Amy Adams star in a satirical takedown of one of the most cunning figures in American politics as the director opens up about the current climate …

Discussion: Breitbart

James Barragán / Dallas Morning News:

Gina Ortiz Jones concedes to Will Hurd in race for Texas' most competitive congressional district — AUSTIN — Nearly two weeks after Election Day, Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones on Monday conceded to Republican incumbent Will Hurd in the race for Texas' most competitive congressional district.

Discussion: Political Wire and Axios

Greg Bluestein / politics.myajc:

A Libertarian runner-up picks a side in secretary of state race — Democrat John Barrow picked up a surprising endorsement in his Dec. 4 runoff bid for secretary of state: The third-place finisher who forced the race into overtime. — Libertarian J. Smythe DuVal on Monday threw his support behind Barrow …

Discussion: Political Wire and Front Page Magazine

Rachana Pradhan / Politico:

Trump's refugee director moved to new post — The Trump administration's controversial refugee office director is being reassigned inside the department, according to an internal HHS email obtained by POLITICO. — Scott Lloyd, who has come under fire for his oversight of migrant children …

FiveThirtyEight:

No, Democrats Didn't Win The Senate. But They Did Better Than It Seems. — The 2018 election has become a tale of divided government: the House broke for Democrats, but the Senate held for Republicans — and what's more, Republicans were even able to expand their majority in the Senate.

Benjamin Wood / Salt Lake Tribune:

Election update from Utah County widens Mia Love's lead to 1,516 votes — Rep. Mia Love widened her lead over Democratic challenger Ben McAdams on Monday after a morning update from Utah County. — Love, a two-term Republican congresswoman, is current winning the race by 1,516 votes …

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Ari Berman / Mother Jones:

The United States Is Becoming a Two-Tiered Country With Separate and Unequal Voting Laws — But the midterms showed that voting rights may finally be a political winner. … Phoebe Einzig-Roth, an 18-year-old freshman at Atlanta's Emory University, moved to Georgia in August and was excited to vote in her first election.

Axios:

Exclusive poll: America sours on social media giants — Silicon Valley has a big and growing problem: Americans have rising concerns with its most popular products and a growing majority wants big social media companies regulated, according to new poll conducted by Survey Monkey for “Axios on HBO.”

Discussion: Breitbart and CNBC