Top Items:
Axios:
Pre-Christmas Trump: Rebuked, rampaging — The last member of an informal alliance of top Trump officials with enough swat or stature to stand up to President Trump — the Committee to Save America, as Jim VandeHei and I called these officials 16 months ago — resigned in epic fashion.
Discussion:
Reuters, New York Times, Associated Press, Althouse, Political Wire, Taylor Marsh, The Week, Mediaite and The Guardian
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Axios:
What should worry Trump most: Republican allies are turning on him — Another reason this is a historic week — and what President Trump should really worry about — is that lots of different Republicans have been turning on him over different topics. — Why it matters: A former Trump aide …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Joe.My.God., Politico, One America News Network, POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story
Helene Cooper / New York Times:
Jim Mattis, Defense Secretary, Resigns in Rebuke of Trump's Worldview — WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, whose experience and stability were widely seen as a balance to an unpredictable president, resigned Thursday in protest of President Trump's decision to withdraw American forces …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic, PRI, Washington Post, Axios, Defense News, Bloomberg, Front Page Magazine, middleeastmonitor.com, Wall Street Journal, WORLD, Investor's Business Daily, BuzzFeed News, NBC News, CNBC, The Week, The Defense Post, JustOneMinute, NPR, The Guardian, CNN, USA Today, LewRockwell, NY State of Politics, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, AOL, FiveThirtyEight, ThinkProgress, Media Matters for America, Chicks On The Right, Raw Story, RedState, HuffPost, Daily Wire, The Last Refuge, twitchy.com, Task & Purpose, Townhall, Joe.My.God., Politico, The American Conservative, Breitbart, Contemptor, Wonkette, Home Page Rotator, Outside the Beltway and Althouse
Associated Press:
Trump call with Turkish leader led to US pullout from Syria — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw American troops from Syria was made hastily, without consulting his national security team or allies, and over strong objections from virtually everyone involved …
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.
Jamie Ross / The Daily Beast:
Trump Already Souring on Next Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney Over ‘Terrible Human Being’ Jibe, Says Report — Donald Trump is reportedly already turning on Mick Mulvaney—who hasn't even started his new job as acting White House chief of staff yet—due to a two-year-old video uncovered by The Daily Beast …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA
Washington Post:
‘A tailspin’: Under siege, Trump propels the government and markets into crisis — President Trump began Thursday under siege, listening to howls of indignation from conservatives over his border wall and thrusting the government toward a shutdown. He ended it by announcing the exit …
Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
Mattis Puts Trump's Presidency in Peril — This resignation stings because it's not about policy, it's about values. — Donald Trump may not know it yet, but his presidency is collapsing. — His tweets Thursday announcing the resignation of Defense Secretary James Mattis by the end of February were polite and respectful.
New York Times:
U.S. to Withdraw About 7,000 Troops From Afghanistan, Officials Say — President Trump made the decision at the same time he decided he was pulling American forces out of Syria, one official said. — Turmoil in Congress, National Security and Markets: The State of Play — A lot has happened in the last couple days.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog and Politico
Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
The Year in Trump Freakouts — Jim Mattis is out, the President is leaving Syria without consulting anyone, and that's just this week in crises of the President's own making. — President Trump is ending the year as he began it: outraging Washington with a Twitter diktat, one that was cheered in Moscow and jeered on Capitol Hill.
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
In budget brinkmanship, Republicans once again hold themselves hostage — House Republicans are ending their eight-year run in the majority exactly the way it began — grabbing a hostage and seeking ransom. — This week's standoff, like so many others this decade, pits an alienated House GOP caucus …
The Daily Beast:
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' Resignation Message to Trump Is Basically ‘F*** This’
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Post, Just Security, Politico, ABC News, Task & Purpose, Breitbart, Axios, The Week and Talking Points Memo
The Daily Beast:
Fear Mounts as Mattis Quits Pentagon
Discussion:
The Guardian, CNN, RedState and Politico
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Is Considering Substantial Afghan Troop Drawdown
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Politico, HuffPost, The Guardian, CNN, Hullabaloo, The New Civil Rights Movement, Reuters, The Defense Post, Raw Story, Breitbart, KTLA, POLITICUSUSA, Splinter, Defense One, AOL, USNI News, Hit & Run, Task & Purpose, BuzzFeed News, Mediaite and Daily Wire
Washington Post:
Mattis resigns after clash with Trump over troop withdrawal from Syria and Afghanistan
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
With Mattis out, we're in uncharted territory
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and twitchy.com
David Rothkopf / The Daily Beast:
Mattis' Message to the World: Trump Is Out of Control
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Free Beacon and Patterico's Pontifications
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Hurtling toward a shutdown
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Post and Politico
Fred Kaplan / Slate:
The Last Grown-Up Is Gone — James Mattis is not “retiring with distinction.”
Discussion:
The Atlantic, NPR and The Guardian
Paul Szoldra / Task & Purpose:
In 2014, Mattis Said What Would Make Him Resign In Protest. In 2018, He Actually Did It
Discussion:
New York Times
Julia Ioffe / Washington Post:
Please don't wish me ‘Merry Christmas’ — It's impolite and alienating to assume I follow your religion. — 'Twas five nights before Christmas, and my Lyft driver was the umpteenth person to wish me a “Merry Christmas” that day. He probably just meant it the way most people do …
Erin Dunne / Washington Examiner:
In leaving Syria, the US sells out its Kurdish allies to bloodthirsty Turkey — In the fight against the Islamic State, the Kurds have been our best and most reliable ally. In Syria, in partnership with U.S. Special Operations, the Kurdish-led militia, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces …
Discussion:
The Hill, The Resurgent and NPR
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Washington Post:
Turkish president announces delay of planned offensive in Syria, welcomes Trump decision to pull out troops
Nahal Toosi / Politico:
A ‘Never Trumper’ bets on Trump, and loses
Discussion:
One America News Network, Raw Story, CNN, Washington Post, Al Jazeera and New York Times
Jeffrey Goldberg / The Atlantic:
Mattis Always Understood Trump's Severe Defects — In the spring of 2016, not long after The Atlantic published an article I had written about President Obama's foreign-policy record, I visited the Hoover Institution, a think tank on the campus of Stanford University, where James Mattis …
Discussion:
The Week
RELATED:
David Frum / The Atlantic:
No More Excuses — For almost two full years, James Mattis …
Discussion:
New York Times, CNN and The Root
James N. Mattis / Washington Post:
Read the Jim Mattis resignation letter
Discussion:
The Daily Signal and The Moderate Voice
David French / National Review:
Will the Nation Heed the Warning Jim Mattis Delivered Today?
Discussion:
Vox, KXLF-TV, Middle East Eye, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, KTLA, Mother Jones and HuffPost
NBC News:
Founder of viral fundraiser for Trump's border wall has questionable news past — Brian Kolfage told NBC News he didn't want to mention his previous projects because he “didn't want it to be a distraction.” — An internet fundraiser for Donald Trump's border wall took in more than $7 million …
Discussion:
USA Today, HuffPost, AOL, Media Matters for America and Snopes.com
New York Times:
A Top Aide's Exit Plan Raises Eyebrows in the White House — WASHINGTON — After weeks of discussions about his future, Zachary D. Fuentes, the 36-year-old deputy White House chief of staff, had a plan. — Mr. Fuentes told colleagues that after his mentor, John F. Kelly …
Washington Post:
Ethics officials said Whitaker should recuse from the Mueller probe, but his advisers told him not to, officials say — A senior Justice Department ethics official concluded acting attorney general Matthew G. Whitaker should recuse from overseeing special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's probe …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Washington Press, Bloomberg, Raw Story, Hot Air, emptywheel, Reuters, RedState, Hullabaloo, Lawfare, Townhall, National Review, Daily Kos and CNN
RELATED:
NBC News:
Mueller may submit report to attorney general as soon as mid-February, say sources
Discussion:
Law & Crime and The Week
Natasha Bertrand / The Atlantic:
The Special Counsel Is Bearing Down on Roger Stone
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Washington Post and Washington Press
Ken Meyer / Mediaite:
Brian Kilmeade Goes Off on Sarah Sanders Over Syria: Trump Just ‘Refounded ISIS’ By Leaving — Brian Kilmeade grilled Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday by saying President Trump essentially “refounded ISIS” if he pulls the U.S. military out of Syria. — The White House press secretary gave …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
As stocks drop, Trump fears he's losing his best argument for re-election — President Trump has kept an almost obsessive watch on the stock market as it has lurched lower in recent weeks. — He has complained to aides how unfair it is that he is blamed for the market's slide …
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Tyler Pager / New York Times:
After Big Losses, a N.Y. House Republican Clashes With Her Party — She arrived in Washington as a rising star, the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, and she quickly won leadership positions and garnered effusive praise from her party leaders. — Now, not even four years later …
Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
Nikki Haley Isn't So Sure About the UN — The departing ambassador has a question for the American public: Should the U.S. remain a member? — As Nikki Haley finishes her tenure this month, the woman who has spent the last two years representing the U.S. at the United Nations has a question …
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