Top Items:
Helene Cooper / New York Times:
Trump, Angry Over Mattis's Rebuke, Considers Removing Him 2 Months Early — WASHINGTON — President Trump, angry over days of news coverage characterizing the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis as a rebuke of the president, has told administration officials that he is considering removing …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Daily Wire, POLITICUSUSA, Task & Purpose, The Daily Beast, Daily Kos, CNN, Joe.My.God., The Guardian, Althouse, Mother Jones, BuzzFeed News, AOL and Algemeiner.com
RELATED:
David Axe / The Daily Beast:
Trump's Incoming Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan Pushed Military to Buy Weapons It Didn't Want — Patrick Shanahan's corporate allies have thrived under Trump. Now he's going to be Secretary of Defense. — By DAVID AXE12.23.18 6:37 PM ET — By tapping former Boeing executive Patrick Shanahan …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Bloomberg, KTLA, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Mediaite
John A. Nagl / New York Times:
Jim Mattis and I Fought Together. No One Called Him Mad Dog. — Jim Mattis was a scholar of war, blunt, courageous and loyal to his troops. Our enemies will cheer his departure. — Mr. Nagl is a former Army officer. — I met Jim Mattis in Anbar Province, Iraq, in 2004.
Susan E. Rice / New York Times:
The Threat in the White House — With the impetuous decisions that drove Jim Mattis into retirement, President Trump does more to undermine American national security than any foreign adversary. — Ms. Rice is a former national security adviser and a contributing opinion writer.
Lolita C. Baldor / Associated Press:
After criticism, Trump pushes out Mattis sooner than planned
After criticism, Trump pushes out Mattis sooner than planned
Discussion:
Splinter
Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Trump forces Mattis out two months early, names Shanahan acting defense secretary
Trump forces Mattis out two months early, names Shanahan acting defense secretary
Discussion:
Task & Purpose, Washington Monthly, Outside the Beltway and Joe.My.God.
Nancy A. Youssef / Wall Street Journal:
Departing Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to Leave Jan. 1
Departing Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to Leave Jan. 1
Discussion:
Raw Story, Los Angeles Times and USNI News
David Cohen / Politico:
Senators begged Mattis to stay, Durbin says
Senators begged Mattis to stay, Durbin says
Discussion:
One America News Network
Washington Post:
Treasury secretary startles Wall Street with unusual pre-Christmas calls to top bank CEOs — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin startled financial analysts, bankers and economists on Sunday by issuing an unusual s declaring that the nation's six largest banks had ample credit to extend to American businesses and households.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Splinter and Reuters
RELATED:
Donna Borak / CNN:
Mnuchin speaks with US bank executives to reassure investors after Wall Street whiplash — When stock market swings should raise alarms — Washington (CNN)Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spent Sunday speaking with chief executives of large US banks in a bid to reassure investors that it's business as usual on Monday.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, twitchy.com, One America News Network, Axios, AOL, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times and The Week
Jason Lange / Reuters:
Top Trump official calls bankers, will convene ‘Plunge Protection Team’ — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's Treasury secretary called top U.S. bankers on Sunday amid an ongoing rout on Wall Street and made plans to convene a group of officials known as the “Plunge Protection Team.”
Kevin Bohn / CNN:
Chief Justice pauses contempt order for mystery company in Mueller investigation — (CNN)Chief Justice John Roberts on Sunday issued a temporary pause on an order holding an unnamed, foreign government-owned company in contempt over a mystery court case related to special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
Discussion:
Political Wire and Joe.My.God.
RELATED:
Kevin Daley / The Daily Caller:
Supreme Court Intervenes In Apparent Mystery Mueller Case — Chief Justice John Roberts stayed a subpoena and contempt order in a case that likely arose from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation in a Sunday night order. — Sunday's order could mark the first time that the Supreme Court …
Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Roberts, Leader of Supreme Court's Conservative Majority, Fights Perception That It Is Partisan — “We don't work as Democrats or Republicans,” he has said, a theme he has returned to while trying to strike a delicate balance as the chief justice. — WASHINGTON — In his first 13 years …
Axios:
Trump says he had a “long” call with Turkish president Erdogan — Days after announcing the U.S. would exit Syria, President Trump tweeted: … Why it matters: Turkey is also the country that was most active in sharing information about the Saudi killing of Jamal Khashoggi.
Discussion:
Al Jazeera, Wall Street Journal, CNN and One America News Network
Jake Sherman / Politico:
The ‘all-I-want-for-Christmas-is-$5- billion-for-the-wall’ shutdown — It's the “All-I-Want-For-Christmas-is-$5- billion-for-the-wall” shutdown of 2018. Well, actually $2.6 billion. OK, $2 billion. Or the “Please just give us something” shutdown. — The partial government closure …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast and POLITICUSUSA
RELATED:
Kris Schneider / ABC News:
Mick Mulvaney says DHS can't ‘spend money from Mexico’ for wall: ‘We have to get it from the treasury’
Mick Mulvaney says DHS can't ‘spend money from Mexico’ for wall: ‘We have to get it from the treasury’
Discussion:
The New Civil Rights Movement, POLITICUSUSA, Politico, The Daily Beast, Joe.My.God., Washington Times and Axios
Farah Stockman / New York Times:
Women's March Roiled by Accusations of Anti-Semitism — Within days of Donald J. Trump's election, a diverse group of women united by their concern about the incoming administration gathered at a restaurant in New York to plan a protest march in Washington.
Discussion:
Front Page Magazine
Michael R. Bloomberg / Bloomberg:
Trump Rings in the New Year in the Worst Possible Way — One week sums up a failing presidency. — There are many reasons to be optimistic about 2019. The increasingly isolated man in the Oval Office is not one of them. — With the first two years of Donald Trump's presidency drawing to a close …
Associated Press:
Court says Justice Ginsburg up and working after surgery — WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is up and working as she recuperates from cancer surgery. — A spokeswoman for the court, Kathy Arberg, also says that Ginsburg remained in New York at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center on Sunday.
Discussion:
Splinter
NBC News:
Inside Bernie-world's war on Beto O'Rourke — As the Texas congressman's star rises, Sanders supporters turn up the heat: 'Reading Karl Marx is cool. Doing a livestream while you're doing your laundry is a gimmick.' — WASHINGTON — Forces loyal to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders are waging …
Discussion:
twitchy.com
David Ignatius / Washington Post:
What Trump's Syria decision means on the front lines of the fight against the Islamic State — The voice of Gen. Mazloum Abdi, the Kurdish commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces militia, is tight and controlled as he describes President's Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops …
RELATED:
Sarah El Deeb / Associated Press:
Turkey masses troops near Kurdish-held Syrian town
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Schiff: Democrats will subpoena Mueller report if Trump tries to hide it — Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the incoming chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, says Democrats will subpoena special counsel Robert Mueller's report if President Trump tries to invoke executive privilege to keep it secret.
Discussion:
Joe.My.God., Politico and Breitbart
RELATED:
Eli Watkins / CNN:
Schiff: ‘Prepared’ to force Mueller report release if White House blocks
Schiff: ‘Prepared’ to force Mueller report release if White House blocks
Discussion:
The Guardian, POLITICUSUSA and Axios