memeorandum: Trump's Doomed Budget Helps Democrats by Hurting Republicans (Joshua Green/Bloomberg)

10:10 AM ET, March 14, 2019

Top Items:

Joe Hagan / Vanity Fair:

Riding around with Beto O'Rourke as he comes to grips with a presidential run. — It's nine P.M. on a Thursday night and Beto O'Rourke is trying to manage a couple of life-altering and possibly world-historical political events while also driving his family home from a Mexican restaurant.

El Paso Times:

Exclusive: Beto O'Rourke discusses run for president, why he's the one to battle Trump on border — Beto O'Rourke sat inside the kitchen in his home, located just blocks from Mexico, as he made the case for his presidential campaign — one born from President Donald Trump's intense focus …

Discussion: Political Wire

KTSM-TV:

Beto O'Rourke is running for President in 2020, KTSM confirms — EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) - Beto O'Rourke is running for President of the United States. — The former El Paso Congressman will make the announcement on Thursday morning, but he confirmed via text to KTSM Wednesday afternoon that he is seeking the Democratic nomination.

Josh Voorhees / Slate:

Beto 2020 Has No Reason to Exist — Of all the major candidates, he brings the least to the Democratic primary. — It's been two weeks since Beto O'Rourke announced he'd made up his mind about whether to run for president, but the former Texas congressman wants to keep us in suspense for at least a little longer.

Discussion: The Guardian, New York Magazine, BuzzFeed News, Vox and The Week

New York Times:

Beto O'Rourke Enters the 2020 Presidential Campaign — Beto O'Rourke, the 46-year-old former Texas congressman whose near-miss Senate run last year propelled him to Democratic stardom, joined the presidential race on Thursday, betting that voters will prize his message of national unity …

Discussion: YouTube, Politico, FiveThirtyEight, The Daily Beast and Towleroad Gay News

Will Weissert / Associated Press:
Democrat Beto O'Rourke announces 2020 White House bid

Discussion: Axios, twitchy.com and The Daily Caller

Rick Klein / ABC News:
The Note: Beto O'Rourke sparks debate about Obama legacy for Democrats

Discussion: Politico, Breitbart and Washington Post

CNN:
Beto O'Rourke announces he's running for president in 2020

Discussion: Washington Post, National Review, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Washington Free Beacon and Mediaite

Carrie Johnson / NPR:

Top Mueller Prosecutor Stepping Down In Latest Clue Russia Inquiry May Be Ending — One of the most prominent members of special counsel Robert Mueller's team investigating Russia's attack on the 2016 presidential election will soon leave the office and the Justice Department, two sources close to the matter tell NPR.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, Breitbart, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story and Fox News

New York Post:

Son defends parents caught in college admissions scandal while smoking blunt — SEE ALSO — Maybe this is why Gregory and Marcia Abbott allegedly bought their daughter's way into college. — Their “rapper” son, Malcolm, popped out of the family's Park Avenue building to smoke a giant blunt …

Discussion: Observer, The American Conservative, The Root, Raw Story and Eater NY

Eli Rosenberg / Washington Post:

Tucker Carlson says he's the victim of a powerful bully. Meet the 24-year-old who found the tapes. — Madeline Peltz works the night shift at the liberal media watchdog group Media Matters for America. Given the timing of that particular shift, one of her main responsibilities is watching Tucker Carlson's 8 p.m. show on Fox News.

Discussion: CNN, Bangor Daily News, Lewiston Sun Journal, Fox News, Contemptor and Variety, more at Mediagazer »

Derek Hunter / Townhall:

It's Time For Conservatives To Choose: Fight Back Or Surrender — The best characteristic of President Donald Trump is his willingness to fight. Actually, he doesn't really fight, he fights back. If someone goes after him, he goes back at them twice as hard.

Discussion: Power Line, The Wrap, The Daily Caller, Louder With Crowder and RedState

Bubba Clem / Wall Street Journal:
The Speech Police Come for Tucker Carlson

Discussion: Breitbart

Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:
Fox News Host Jeanine Pirro Loses at Least 4 Advertisers Amid Backlash

Discussion: Washington Post, Splinter and TVNewser

TMZ.com:

Lori Loughlin's Daughter Olivia Leaves Yacht of USC's Board of Trustees Chairman — As Lori Loughlin traveled from Vancouver to L.A. Tuesday night to surrender to federal authorities in the college bribery scandal — which got her daughter, Olivia Jade, into USC — Olivia spent the night …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Stranger, The Daily Beast, Fox News, Variety and Page Six

Washington Post:

Trump disparages Boeing 737s in private before grounding the plane after deadly crash — As President Trump consulted with administration officials Wednesday over whether Boeing's 737 Max jetliners should be grounded after a crash killed more than 150 passengers in Ethiopia over the weekend …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Splinter, Politico, Raw Story, The Week and Washington Free Beacon

Washington Post:
At tense meeting with Boeing executives, pilots fumed about being left in dark on plane software

Discussion: Fortune, Vox and Breitbart

Paul Roberts / The Seattle Times: 737 MAX crashes make it the most troubled airliner debut in modern aviation

New York Times:

Facebook's Data Deals Are Under Criminal Investigation — Federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into data deals Facebook struck with some of the world's largest technology companies, intensifying scrutiny of the social media giant's business practices as it seeks to rebound from a year of scandal and setbacks.

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Forbes, MIT Technology Review, ABC7, Financial Times, Deadline, Engadget, The Verge, Mashable, The Daily Caller and CBS San Francisco, more at Techmeme »

John Bresnahan / Politico:

‘Extraordinary’: GOP heads for unprecedented clash with Trump — President Donald Trump invited some Senate Republicans to the White House on Wednesday afternoon for a two-hour conversation about trade. But the president couldn't quite get the looming GOP rebuke of his national emergency declaration off his mind.

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, IJR, USA Today, The Week, Fox News, The Hill and TheBlaze

YouTube: The West Should Cut Ties With Saudi Arabia

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Senate breaks with Trump on Saudi-led war in Yemen

Discussion: Front Page Magazine

Daniel Friedman / Quillette:

Why Elites Dislike Standardized Testing — On Tuesday, March 12 2019, federal prosecutors exposed a crooked college admissions consulting operation that bribed SAT administrators and college athletic coaches in order to get wealthy, underqualified applicants into elite universities.

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Hit & Run, The Atlantic, New York Times, Raw Story and Observer

Stephen J. Dubner / Freakonomics:

A Free-Trade Democrat in the Trump White House (Ep. 371) — For years, Gary Cohn thought he'd be the next C.E.O. of Goldman Sachs. Instead, he became the “adult in the room” in a chaotic administration. Cohn talks about the fights he won, the fights he lost, and the fights he was no longer willing to have.

Discussion: Politico, CNN, Raw Story and Bloomberg

David J. Lynch / Washington Post: Gary Cohn says Trump is ‘desperate’ for trade deal with China

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Michael Cohen Has Email Showing Trump Obstructed Justice by Dangling Pardon — Michael Cohen has testified that President Trump directed him to lie to Congress about Trump's business dealings with Russia during the campaign. The weakness of the accusation is that Cohen does not seem to have any proof …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, CNN, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

New York Times:
Prosecutors Seek Records on Cohen's ‘Back Channel’ With Giuliani

Discussion: Just Security and Fox News

Charles Sykes / The Contrarian Conservative:

The Real Tucker Carlson Question — I am all in favor of favor of having a statute of limitations for dumb things we've said, written, or posted in the past, especially in our callow and stupid youth. But I'm not sure even a generous amnesty for past dumbf***ery would cover Tucker Carlson …

Wall Street Journal:

Steve Wynn Met With Treasury Officials About Opportunity Zones After Stock Sale — Steve Wynn met with Treasury Department officials last year as they were writing rules for a new tax incentive. The meeting took place months after the casino magnate was forced to quit as CEO of Wynn Resorts following sexual-misconduct allegations.

Laurence I. Barrett / Washington Post:

Birch Bayh, Indiana senator who championed Title IX, dies at 91 — Former senator Birch Bayh, the author of two major constitutional amendments as well as legislation that dramatically improved women's rights in classrooms and on athletic fields, died March 14 at his home in Easton, Md. He was 91.

Andrew Desiderio / Politico:

Lawmakers clash over Trump's talks with Whitaker — Former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker told the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that he was involved in conversations about the Justice Department's investigation into President Donald Trump's former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and New York Times

Wall Street Journal: Whitaker Didn't Deny Discussing Cohen Probe With Trump, Nadler Says

Ian Geoghegan / Politico:

Donald Tusk: Will urge EU27 to back ‘long extension’ for Brexit rethink — European Council President Donald Tusk said he will back a “long extension” to the Article 50 Brexit process if the U.K. cannot agree on an exit plan. — “During my consultations ahead of the European Council …

Discussion: One America News Network and Bloomberg

Anne Applebaum / Washington Post:
Brexit has devastated Britain's international reputation — and respect for its democracy

Discussion: New York Times

Andrew C. McCarthy / The Hill:

NY's political prosecution of Manafort should scare us all — View Latest Opinions >> — The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has indicted Paul Manafort for mortgage fraud and more than a dozen other state felonies. This is a nakedly political prosecution.

Discussion: Byline Times, Common Dreams and Washington Press

Reid Wilson / The Hill:

Democrats upset over Omar seeking primary challenger — Some Minnesota Democrats, aghast at controversial comments made by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D), are taking initial steps to recruit a candidate to run against her in next year's primary election, seeking to buck history in one of the nation's most progressive legislative districts.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Political Wire

Andrew Restuccia / Politico:

House Dems to test Wilbur Ross' ‘survivor’ status — He's been accused of flouting federal ethics rules, adding an illegal citizenship question to the 2020 Census and even falling asleep in meetings. Rumors of his pending ouster have been floating around the White House for months and at least …

Owen Davis / The Baffler:

A for Effort — Why the latest college admissions exposé will only make things worse — IF YOU RIGHTEOUSLY OPPOSE the idea that we live in anything resembling a meritocracy, the recent FBI bust of a vast college admissions cheating conspiracy probably brings some delight.

Discussion: New York Times, The Atlantic and CNBC