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After Ayers Turns Down Chief of Staff Job, Trump Is Left Without a Plan B — WASHINGTON — President Trump has often bragged about having his pick of only the best people to serve in his administration. — Being publicly rejected by his first choice for chief of staff …
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You've hired me before, Mr President, so hire me again. I'm the one person whose reputation can't be tarnished by becoming your Chief of Staff and I'm perfectly qualified for the job! — I wish to formally apply to be your new Chief of Staff. — You might not immediately recognize …


Trump allies becoming increasingly aware of his legal and political jeopardy — Last week's stunning court filings detonated what one official calls a “reality tremor” that has White House officials and key allies increasingly aware of President Trump's rising legal and political vulnerability.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Taylor Marsh, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, New York Post, New York Times and Associated Press


CNN Poll: Approval ratings for Trump, Mueller fall — WASHINGTON (CNN)As Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election inches closer to the President, approval of Donald Trump's handling of the investigation has fallen, matching its all-time low in CNN polling.
Discussion:
Feeds

Some Trump allies starting to worry about investigations
Discussion:
Shareblue Media

Kellyanne Conway says Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 'doesn't seem to know much about anything'
Discussion:
Politico

Trump concerned about being impeached, sees it as a ‘real possibility,’ source says


Time's 2018 ‘Person of the Year’ is killed and imprisoned journalists — Time magazine is spotlighting a handful of journalists who have one thing in common: They were targeted for their work. — “The Guardians.” — That's what Time magazine is calling the journalists behind 2018's …
Discussion:
Townhall, Conservative News Today and Breitbart, more at Mediagazer »
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TIME's 2018 Person of the Year: ‘The Guardians and the War on Truth’ — Four journalists and one newspaper “are representative of a broader fight by countless others around the world.” — A group of journalists whose work has landed them in jail — or cost them their lives — have been named TIME's Person of the Year for 2018.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Joe.My.God. and The Daily Caller


We are former senators. The Senate has long stood in defense of democracy — and must again. — By 44 Former U.S. Senators — As former members of the U.S. Senate, Democrats and Republicans, it is our shared view that we are entering a dangerous period, and we feel an obligation to speak …
Discussion:
New Republic, CNN, Mediaite, The Resurgent, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, Conservative News Today, Joe.My.God., HuffPost, Axios and Politico


Emmer, NRCC Start to Rebuild for 2020 — The incoming chair doesn't think the GOP is doomed in the suburbs or that Trump will be a liability in 2020. — Ally Mutnick and Kyle Trygstad — ADD TO BRIEFCASE — Rep. Tom Emmer spent last Monday in a briefing on an email hack that plagued …
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House Republicans clash over Trump's role in downfall, look to 2020 — Five weeks after their Election Day thumping, Republicans in the House of Representatives are still arguing internally over President Trump's role in the 40-seat thrashing of their majority.

'I wasn't asking for permission': GOP women put leaders on notice
Discussion:
Raw Story


How Michael Cohen could help the feds get the Trump Organization — Feds: Cohen broke the law at Trump's direction — New York (CNN)In most respects, Michael Cohen was a frustrating witness for New York investigators. — He toyed with, but wouldn't commit to, “full cooperation” with prosecutors, according to court filings.
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Orrin Hatch and the GOP's contortions to defend Trump
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Hot Air and CNN


How Theresa May blew Brexit — Shakespeare famously wrote of the “sceptered isle” of Britain acting as a moat “against the envy of less happier lands.” Lately, the less happier lands are winning in a rout. — Britain is suffering a political meltdown as it struggles to make good on a historic vote …
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McConnell to bring up criminal-justice bill for a Senate vote — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that the Senate will vote on a sweeping overhaul of the criminal justice system that has proven deeply controversial within the Senate Republican ranks.
Discussion:
Politico, Axios, Political Wire and The Crime Report
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McConnell agrees to vote on Trump-backed criminal justice bill
Discussion:
Townhall, Outside the Beltway and Fox News Insider


Beto O'Rourke narrowly tops wide-open MoveOn 2020 presidential straw poll; Biden runner up — The progressive group had backed Bernie Sanders in 2016 over Hillary Clinton. — An early straw poll of members of the progressive group MoveOn.org shows a wide-open competition for liberal voters …
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How the IRS Was Gutted — An eight-year campaign to slash the agency's budget has left it understaffed, hamstrung and operating with archaic equipment. The result: billions less to fund the government. That's good news for corporations and the wealthy. — In the summer of 2008 …
Discussion:
Mother Jones


Targets of U.S. Sanctions Hire Lobbyists With Trump Ties to Seek Relief — WASHINGTON — On a July evening, Trump administration officials and allies, including the president's personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, gathered with investors atop the Hay-Adams hotel overlooking the White House …
Discussion:
Observer, New Republic and Raw Story
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Trump Prepares to Unveil a Vast Reworking of Clean Water Protections
Discussion:
Axios


Maria Butina, accused Russian agent, reaches plea deal with prosecutors that includes cooperation — Maria Butina, a 30-year-old Russian gun rights activist who stands accused developing a covert influence operation in the United States, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and cooperate with federal …
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Maria Butina Agrees to Cooperate With U.S.
Discussion:
News Agency UNIAN and ABC News


Slate's Newly Unionized Writers and Editors Give OK to Strike — Outlet's editorial staff authorize walkout by 52 to 1 vote — Company's “right-to-work” stance riles its employees — Writers and editors at Slate have voted nearly unanimously to green-light a strike …


The Arctic is in even worse shape than you realize — The Arctic Ocean has lost 95 percent of its oldest, thickest ice. If this thinning trend continues, scientists fear an added boost to global warming. — Over the past three decades of global warming, the oldest and thickest ice …


Accused of rape, former Baylor fraternity president gets no jail time after plea deal — A former Baylor University fraternity president who was accused of rape will not serve any jail time or be forced to register as a sex offender after a judge accepted a plea deal he had been offered by Texas prosecutors, according to news reports.
Discussion:
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Crime Report and Waco Tribune-Herald
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Thousands of mailed ballots in Florida were not counted — TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida officials say thousands of mailed ballots were not counted because they were delivered too late to state election offices. — The Department of State late last week informed a federal judge …
Discussion:
Florida Politics, Splinter, Seymour Tribune and Tampa Bay Times


Michelle Obama's Book Sales Hit 3 Million as She Adds New Cities to 2019 Tour: 'I'm So Humbled' — Not only is Michelle Obama continuing her book tour after attending former President George H.W. Bush's funeral last week, she's adding new cities to the lineup!
Discussion:
FOX6Now.com, CBS Miami and Joe.My.God.


PolitiFact's Lie of the Year: Online smear machine tries to take down Parkland students — In the days after 17 people were viciously gunned down at a high school in Florida, the state's Republican governor called for tighter gun laws and President Donald Trump hosted victims' families in the State Dining Room.
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.


How a powerful Russian propaganda machine chips away at Western notions of truth — The initial plan was a Cold War classic — brutal yet simple. Two Russian agents would slip onto the property of a turncoat spy in Britain and daub his front door with a rare military-grade poison designed …
Discussion:
Mother Jones


In an email to Tablet the Women's March wrote: … But whatever concerns were popping up were ultimately no match for the steamroller of the event's progress. And when the day came, the reality far exceeded expectations. Estimates for the March on Washington range between half a million …

Mnuchin doesn't want chief of staff — Editor's Note: This edition of Morning Money is published weekdays at 8 a.m. POLITICO Pro Financial Services subscribers hold exclusive early access to the newsletter each morning at 5:15 a.m. To learn more about POLITICO Pro's comprehensive policy …
Discussion:
Breitbart and Wall Street Journal