memeorandum: With Mattis Gone, the Pentagon Is Playing Musical Chairs (Lara Seligman/Foreign Policy)

10:05 AM ET, January 3, 2019

Top Items:

Jennifer Haberkorn / Los Angeles Times:

California's Rep. Brad Sherman to introduce impeachment measure … Rep. Brad Sherman plans to introduce articles of impeachment against President Trump on Thursday, the first day of Democratic control of the House. — Sherman (D-Northridge) is reintroducing a measure that he first rolled out in 2017.

Discussion: Roll Call, POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

Eun Kyung Kim / TODAY.com:

Nancy Pelosi says she won't rule out indictment, impeachment for Trump — As she prepares to resume her role as House speaker, Nancy Pelosi told TODAY she isn't ruling out the idea that Trump could be indicted or impeached while in office. — Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi …

Discussion: Raw Story and The Daily Beast

Mike Allen / Axios:

Pelosi breaks with Justice: Trump can be indicted — In an interview to air on NBC's “Today,” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie asks Nancy Pelosi, who will become House speaker at around 1:30 p.m. Thursday: “Do you believe the special counsel should honor and observe the Department of Justice guidance …

Discussion: Politico

Sophie Brickman / ELLE:

Red Max Mara Coat — Nancy Pelosi is set to begin her final stint as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives tomorrow, a position she will have secured only after agreeing to term limits that would officially end her speakership in 2021. It was a politically deft move that appeased …

Rachael Bade / Politico:

The survivor: Nancy Pelosi makes history — again — The past seven speakers of the House have lost their majority, been forced out by their own colleagues, or stepped down amid personal scandal. One of them — Nancy Pelosi — now has a second chance to rewrite her legacy.

Discussion: Associated Press and Daily Kos

Lauren DeBellis Appell / Fox News:
Democrats' flip-flop on border security has everything to do with 2020 (and nothing to do with immigration)

Discussion: RedState

Henry Olsen / Washington Post:

Mitt Romney's op-ed crystallizes all the reasons the old GOP establishment has been pushed aside — Henry Olsen is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and author of “The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue-Collar Conservatism.”

Discussion: Breitbart, The American Spectator, Power Line, Front Page Magazine, CNN, Shareblue Media, The Daily Beast and New York Post

Michael Burke / The Hill:

Graham: Trump giving up on border wall fight would be the ‘end of his presidency’ — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Wednesday cautioned President Trump against giving in on his demand for funding for his proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall, claiming that doing so would likely be “the end of his presidency.”

Discussion: RedState

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
Even the Trump-hostile GOP establishment questions Romney's presidential tongue-lashing

Discussion: New York Times, Coffee House and The American Spectator

Rick Klein / ABC News:
The Note: Democrats take power as Trump's hand grows weaker

Discussion: IJR

John F. Harris / Politico:
Why Guys Like Mitt Romney Don't Scare Donald Trump

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, American Greatness and IJR

Jill Colvin / Associated Press:

Trump reclaims spotlight with long, rambling Cabinet meeting — Home alone no more, President Donald Trump had a lot to share when he convened a rambling Cabinet meeting on Day 12 of the government shutdown. — The president, eager for company after a lonely stretch in a near-empty White House …

Discussion: Bangor Daily News

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Trump Defends Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan for Some Reason — In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded neighboring Afghanistan. The American interpretation of this invasion, shared by both parties, is that the Soviets were propping up a faltering communist client state, following the …

Discussion: USA Today, Raw Story, Mediaite and The Week

Anne Gearan / Washington Post:
A defensive Trump calls a Cabinet meeting and uses it to boast, deflect and distract

Discussion: Just Security

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Trump's bizarre history lesson on the Soviet Union, Russia and Afghanistan

Discussion: Mediaite, The Week, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air and TheBlaze

New York Times:

China Lands Spacecraft on Far Side of Moon — BEIJING — China reached a milestone in space exploration on Thursday, landing a vehicle on the far side of the moon for the first time in history, state media announced. — The landing of the probe, called Chang'e-4 after the moon goddess …

Discussion: Raw Story

Associated Press:
Chinese spacecraft makes first landing on moon's far side

Discussion: The Week

Martin O'Malley / Des Moines Register:

Here's who I'd like to see run for president. (Hint: It's not me) — Voters want Former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders to run in the 2020 Presidential election, a new poll suggests. Veuer's Sam Berman has the full story. — Former Democratic candidate makes his pick for 2020

Discussion: The Guardian

Steve Peoples / Associated Press:

Sanders allies contrite, defiant amid harassment allegations — NEW YORK (AP) — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and his chief lieutenants are offering contrition and defiance as they face allegations of sexual harassment that plagued his last presidential campaign and now threaten to derail a second White House bid before it begins.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Talking Points Memo

Christina Wilkie / CNBC:
Former Bernie Sanders aide who allegedly made light of sexual harassment complaint will be chief …

Discussion: Front Page Magazine and Washington Free Beacon

New York Times:
For Bernie Sanders, Claims of Sexism in 2016 Campaign Hang Over 2020 Bid

Discussion: RedState, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Politico, USA Today, Washington Free Beacon, CNN, The Week, NTK Network, The Guardian, The Daily Caller, Front Page Magazine, Mediaite and Axios

Terry McAuliffe / Washington Post:

To beat Trump, Democrats must counter his lies with realistic solutions — Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, is former governor of Virginia. — As I traveled around the country campaigning for Democrats this past year, one of my takeaways was that there is an overwhelming desire among voters for a return to reality.

Discussion: Splinter

Simon Denyer / Washington Post:

‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ fever sweeps Japan and South Korea — TOKYO — They are calling it the “Bohemian Rhapsody” phenomenon here, as the movie that celebrates the band Queen and the life of lead singer Freddie Mercury has rapidly become a national cultural obsession in South Korea and Japan.

CNN:

No other Congress has ever looked like this — Washington (CNN)The 116th class of Congress broke barriers before its members even set foot in Washington. — There are record numbers of women who will be sworn in Thursday. Muslim women will be serving for the first time, as will Native American women.

Heather Caygle / Politico:
Dems face opportunity — and pitfalls — in new House majority

Discussion: Vox

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit: EXCLUSIVE: PHOTOS of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or “Sandy” …

Annie Lowrey / The Atlantic:

How to End Government Shutdowns, Forever — As the third government shutdown of the Donald J. Trump presidency drags on, the miserable effects are piling up. Federal workers, hundreds of thousands of whom are furloughed, are struggling to pay their bills and picking up temporary gigs to make ends meet …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, BuzzFeed News, ThinkProgress and NPR

Lara Seligman / Foreign Policy:

With Mattis Gone, the Pentagon Is Playing Musical Chairs — The secretary's departure set off a chain reaction that will reshape Defense Department leadership. — At 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31, Defense Secretary James Mattis officially handed over authority to his deputy, Patrick Shanahan …

Robert Burns / Associated Press: Trump gives new Pentagon chief a taste of his world view

Michael Calderone / Politico:

Behind the Times — Romney arrives — Campaign ‘noise’ — FORMER NEW YORK TIMES EDITOR JILL ABRAMSON SAYS Fox News host Howard Kurtz took her forthcoming book, Merchants of Truth, “totally out of context” in his Wednesday report headlined, “Former NY Times editor rips Trump coverage as biased.”

Jordan Schachtel / Conservative Review:
Video surfaces of WaPo op-ed contributor chanting ‘Death to America’

Discussion: New York Times and Daily Wire

Tal Axelrod / The Hill:

Old Post Office Tower on Trump property to reopen during shutdown with federal funding — The Old Post Office Tower, which shares facilities with the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., will reopen by the end of the week after being closed due to the partial government shutdown.

Discussion: The Week

Jennifer Yachnin / E&E News:
Old Post Office Tower at Trump hotel to open during shutdown

Discussion: Washington Press and Raw Story

Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:

Trump Is In His Best Position Yet To Confirm Incompetent Judges — Senate Republicans just strengthened their majority. Mitch McConnell is laser-focused on the courts. What could go wrong? — WASHINGTON Senate Republicans have been confirming ideologues and otherwise unqualified people …

Discussion: Raw Story

Bob Bauer / Just Security:

Coming to Terms with the Impeachment Process: The Case for Starting a Formal Inquiry — The day after Donald Trump's inauguration, Peter Wehner wrote with some restraint that the new president “is unlikely to be contained by norms”— that is, by those practices or customs that politicians …

Chico Harlan / Washington Post:

Italy invented coffee culture. Now it's a coffee time capsule. — TREVISO, Italy — The coffee shop would have been at home in so many other countries. — But it certainly didn't seem Italian. — The first oddity was the menu, which included cold brews and pour-overs that are commonplace …

Hiroko Tabuchi / New York Times:

A Trump County Confronts the Administration Amid a Rash of Child Cancers — JOHNSON COUNTY, Ind. — The children fell ill, one by one, with cancers that few families in this suburban community had ever heard of. An avid swimmer struck down by glioblastoma, which grew a tumor in her brain.

The Charlotte Observer:

Mark Harris says he'll go to court as officials delay hearing on election fraud — Republican Mark Harris said Wednesday he'll ask a Wake County Superior Court judge to certify his election in the 9th Congressional District immediately, even as a probe into alleged election fraud continues.

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Point of Order