memeorandum: Grassley warns White House not to oust any more top immigration officials (Seung Min Kim/Washington Post)

8:35 AM ET, April 9, 2019

Top Items:

Grassley warns White House not to oust any more top immigration officials — The most senior Senate Republican is warning the White House not to oust another top immigration official, making appeals to the administration against dismissing Lee Francis Cissna, the director of U.S. Citizenship …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, The Week, Wall Street Journal, Test Feed Using Fields and Mediaite

Melanie Zanona / Politico:

Trump's DHS purge floors Republicans — President Donald Trump's congressional allies are alarmed by his purge at the Department of Homeland Security — urging him not to fire more top officials and warning him how hard it will be to solve twin crises at the border and the federal agencies overseeing immigration policy.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, ImmigrationProf Blog, The Guardian, Reuters, The Daily Beast, Daily Wire, Vox, Breitbart, Mother Jones and New Republic

Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:

Cancel Kirstjen Nielsen — Her role in terrorizing children should make her a permanent pariah. — On Sunday evening, news broke that Kirstjen Nielsen was leaving her job as head of the Department of Homeland Security. The New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman tweeted that according …

Discussion: CNN, Daily Kos, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Daily Beast, Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Talking Points Memo, RedState, Slate, Crooked Timber and Shareblue Media

Jake Tapper / CNN:

Trump pushed to close El Paso border, told admin officials to resume family separations and agents not to admit migrants — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump has been pushing to reinstate broader family separation policies and sought to close the US-Mexico border at El Paso, Texas …

New York Times:

Trump Purge Set to Force Out More Top Homeland Security Officials — WASHINGTON — President Trump moved to clear out the senior ranks of the Department of Homeland Security on Monday, a day after forcing the resignation of its secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, as he accelerated a purge of the nation's immigration and security leadership.

Discussion: CNN, Politico, POLITICUSUSA, The Week, Bipartisan Report, Raw Story, Media Matters for America, Mediaite, Mashable, NBC News, Washington Post, Rolling Stone and Splinter

CNN:

Trump is removing US Secret Service director — (CNN)United States Secret Service director Randolph “Tex” Alles is being removed from his position, multiple administration officials tell CNN. — President Donald Trump instructed his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, to fire Alles.

Axios:

Trump orders dramatic changes in immigration policy, aims to accelerate deportations — President Trump has directed top officials to execute the most aggressive changes in immigration policy since his inauguration, sources tell Axios. Some officials consider the moves legally and politically dubious.

Discussion: Politico

New York Times:

Trump Signals Even Fiercer Immigration Agenda, With a Possible Return of Family Separations — WASHINGTON — President Trump's purge of the nation's top homeland security officials is a sign that he is preparing to unleash an even fiercer assault on immigration, including a possible return …

Discussion: Political Wire, Washington Post, CNN, Raw Story, The Week, Daily Kos and The Root

Miami Herald:

‘She lies to everyone’: Feds say Mar-a-Lago intruder had hidden-camera detector in hotel — Trump Tourism: Access for Sale — The Miami Herald is investigating how U.S. President Donald J. Trump has become a favorite target of a little-known Chinese industry peddling access to the rich and powerful.

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Beast, CNN, The Week, Gizmodo, Law & Crime, TechCrunch, One America News Network, Mashable, Raw Story, Eschaton and Mediaite

Jacqueline Alemany / Washington Post:
Power Up: Trump's Homeland Security purge puts spotlight back on Stephen Miller

Discussion: CBS News, Vox, The Sun and CNN

Ross Douthat / New York Times:
Trump's Immigration Crisis

Discussion: Politico and Breitbart

Maria Sacchetti / Washington Post:
Federal judge blocks Trump administration program forcing asylum seekers to remain in Mexico …

Discussion: CNN, RedState, Bipartisan Report, Splinter and The Week

Associated Press:
Inside 12 days of turmoil that shook Homeland Security

Discussion: theGrio, The Daily Signal and KTLA

Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:
Who Is Left to Say No to Trump? — Kirstjen Nielsen is the latest …

Discussion: Fox News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Rolling Stone, Washington Press, Mother Jones and CNN

Michael Gerson / Washington Post: Trump takes an honor of a lifetime and turns it into a black hole

New York Times:
More Top Homeland Security Officials Set to Leave in Trump Purge

Discussion: Breitbart, The Guardian, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Shareblue Media, Vox and CNN

Emily Singer / Shareblue Media:
Trump puts Muslim ban author Stephen Miller ‘in charge’ of immigration

Discussion: Slate and Political Wire

Washington Post:
Trump removes Secret Service director as purge of DHS leadership widens

Discussion: Right Wing Watch, Just Security, HuffPost and Mercury News

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Kirstjen Nielsen's legacy of cruelty and incompetence is sealed

Discussion: The Resurgent, The Week and Political Wire

Lawrence H. Summers / Washington Post:

The IRS chief must release Trump's tax returns — and Mnuchin must not stop him — Lawrence H. Summers is a professor at and past president of Harvard University. He was treasury secretary from 1999 to 2001 and an economic adviser to President Barack Obama from 2009 through 2010.

Discussion: CNN, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, ThinkProgress, Vox and Shareblue Media

Jesse McKinley / New York Times:

Push to Obtain Trump's N.Y. Tax Returns Wins Cuomo's Support — [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] — For more than two years, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has railed against President Trump, attacking his policies on everything from immigration …

Discussion: Washington Times, Political Wire, The Hill, Liberty Unyielding, Law & Crime, The Daily Caller, POLITICUSUSA and Gothamist

Paul Waldman / Washington Post:
Trump's tax return scam has taken yet another turn

Discussion: New Republic, Townhall and Contemptor

Fox News:

Nunes files $150M lawsuit against McClatchy, alleging conspiracy to derail Clinton, Russia probes — House Intelligence Committee ranking member Devin Nunes filed a $150 million lawsuit in Virginia state court against The McClatchy Company and others on Monday, alleging that one of the news …

Discussion: New York Times, Mediaite, Raw Story, Splinter, American Greatness, The Gateway Pundit, Axios, New York Post, Shareblue Media, Daily Kos, IJR and Daily Wire, more at Mediagazer »

Associated Press:

White House steps up attacks as Mueller report release nears — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump took a victory lap after special counsel Robert Mueller concluded his Russia investigation. It may have been premature. — The scramble to frame the investigation's findings …

Discussion: KTLA

Asha Rangappa / Politico: The Forgotten Reason Congress Needs to See the Mueller Report

Michael Burke / The Hill:
House Judiciary chair calls on Mueller to testify before committee

Discussion: The Bulwark, NPR and Washington Press

Victoria Guida / Politico:

Trump's Fed threats meet a firewall: GOP lawmakers — GOP lawmakers have given in to President Donald Trump on almost every contentious issue, but they're quietly breaking from him on one front that has drawn the president's repeated ire: the Federal Reserve.

Discussion: The Week

Peter Nicholas / The Atlantic: Why Trump Is Serious About Herman Cain

Catherine Rampell / Washington Post: Herman Cain and Stephen Moore follow Trump's lazy conspiracy theorizing

New York Times:

The Democratic Electorate on Twitter Is Not the Democratic Electorate in Real Life — A detailed look at the voters with the numbers to decide the 2020 Democratic nominee. — Democrats on social media — Progressive activists Other Democrats — The Democratic electorate off social media

Discussion: Axios

Roll Call:

Only 15 Mainers gave $200 or more to Susan Collins — Maine Sen. Susan Collins, one of the most vulnerable Republican senators in 2020, raised more than $1.1 million in itemized contributions during the first three months of the year. But less than 1 percent of that money came from her home state.

Paul McLeod / BuzzFeed News:

Republicans Are Warning Drug Companies Not To Cooperate With A Congressional Investigation — WASHINGTON — In an unusual move, House Republicans are warning drug companies against complying with a House investigation into drug prices. — Republicans on the House Oversight Committee sent letters …

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Times:

Trump Says the U.S. Is ‘Full.’ Much of the Nation Has the Opposite Problem. — An aging population and a declining birthrate among the native-born population mean a shrinking work force in many areas. — President Trump has adopted a blunt new message in recent days for migrants seeking refuge …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and The Week

Meagan Flynn / Washington Post:

Rep. Ilhan Omar called Stephen Miller a ‘white nationalist.’ GOP critics accused her of anti-Semitism. — A familiar story line played out Monday night for Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who condemned one of President Trump's most trusted advisers only to end up being accused of anti-Semitism.

Discussion: Conservative News Today, Vox, Bipartisan Report and Breitbart

New York Times:

At Trump's Florida Resort Empire, a Quiet Effort to Eliminate an Undocumented Work Force — PALM BEACH, Fla. — Behind the clipped hedges of President Trump's sumptuous private clubs in South Florida, including his Mar-a-Lago estate where he has spent many getaway weekends …

New York Times:

Sanctions Deal With Russian Oligarch Included Transfer of Shares to Benefit His Children — WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department allowed the influential Russian oligarch Oleg V. Deripaska to satisfy the terms of his divorce by transferring tens of millions of dollars in stock to benefit …

Noga Tarnopolsky / Los Angeles Times:

Netanyahu says Trump named Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group at his request … Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing a hotly contested bid for a fourth term, tweeted on the eve of the election that the Trump administration designated Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps …

Abby Livingston / The Texas Tribune:

U.S. House Democratic campaign arm to open Austin office, boosting focus on Texas in 2020 — The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is opening an office in Austin as the committee aims to flip six U.S. House seats in Texas next year. … WASHINGTON - National Democrats are ratcheting …

Frances Robles / New York Times:

Chinese Woman Arrested at Mar-a-Lago Had a Hidden Camera Detector, Prosecutors Say — WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Chinese woman who was arrested after gaining entry to President Trump's private club had a device used to detect hidden cameras and a large amount of cash in her Palm Beach hotel room …

Discussion: CNN, The Verge, National Review, IJR and Reuters

Joyce Karam / The National:

Exclusive: US could open talks with Assad if Damascus releases missing journalist — Robert O'Brien told The National that Washington is confident Austin Tice is alive and inside Syria — The Trump administration could open a public channel with the Syrian regime if Damascus releases …

Steven Shepard / Politico:

Poll: Biden tops Democratic field after rough week — The spate of negative stories about Joe Biden's interactions with women hasn't upended the former vice president's standing as presumptive 2020 Democratic front-runner, according to the first national poll of the presidential field conducted since the controversy erupted.

Discussion: Political Wire

Tara Golshan / Vox:

Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, is running for president — He joins a crowded presidential primary, potentially bolstered by his role on the House Intelligence Committee investigating Trump. — Avid followers of cable news Trump-Russia coverage are probably at least acquainted …

Discussion: New York Times, CNBC, Splinter, Breitbart, Variety and Washington Post