memeorandum: Tim Ryan's Long, Weird History of Palling Around With Fluoride and Vaccine Skeptics (Tim Murphy/Mother Jones)

10:00 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: NBC News, Talking Points Memo, Politico, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, The Week, Test Feed Using Fields, Mediaite and CNN

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, The Guardian, Reuters, Daily Wire, ImmigrationProf Blog, The Daily Beast, Vox, Breitbart and Mother Jones

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, The Daily Beast, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, RedState, Rolling Stone, Bipartisan Report, Slate, Shareblue Media and Crooked Timber

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

Trump's Immigration Crisis — Behind the flailing lies a potential disaster for immigration hawks. — Across the decade that preceded Donald Trump's election, American politicians of both parties consistently tried to pass big, sweeping immigration bills that would legalize …

Discussion: The American Conservative, Politico and Breitbart

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: Vox, Shareblue Media, Breitbart, POLITICUSUSA and Politico

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, POLITICUSUSA, Conservative News Today, Bipartisan Report, Mashable, The Week, Raw Story, Media Matters for America, Mediaite, NBC News, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo and Washington Press

Michael Gerson / Washington Post:

Trump takes an honor of a lifetime and turns it into a black hole — The ouster of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen — the implementer of some of the most unjust immigration policies since the internment of citizens and noncitizens of Japanese descent during World War II …

CNN:
Trump is removing US Secret Service director

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

Discussion: KTLA, theGrio and The Daily Signal

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

Discussion: Shakesville, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Right Wing Watch and Just Security

Jonathan S. Tobin / New York Post:
Behind the homeland security shakeup: This prez demands results

Discussion: Fox News

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

Discussion: CNN, NPR, Media Matters for America, RedState, Bipartisan Report, Splinter and The Week

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

Discussion: Slate and Political Wire

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

Discussion: Vox, American Greatness, CBS News and The Sun

New York Times:
Kirstjen Nielsen Is the Latest Trump Official to Meet an Unceremonious End

Discussion: Hmm Daily, Fox News, Trending Home and Mashable

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

Discussion: The Resurgent, The Week and Political Wire

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

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Democrats plan to use hearing to press Barr on Mueller report — House Democrats plan to grill Attorney General William Barr about his handling of special counsel Robert Mueller's final report when he appears before an Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday morning.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CNN, The Week, Washington Post, PJ Media Home and Trending Home

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

Associated Press:
White House steps up attacks as Mueller report release nears

Discussion: KTLA and Associated Press

Fox News:
AG William Barr testifies at House hearing, first since Mueller report memo release — LIVE BLOG

Discussion: Politico

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

Discussion: NPR, The Bulwark and Washington Press

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: Talking Points Memo, Gizmodo, Mediaite, twitchy.com, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Splinter, American Greatness, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, Axios, New York Post, Daily Kos and Shareblue Media, more at Mediagazer »

Daniel Victor / New York Times:

Devin Nunes Sues Newspaper Company, Alleging ‘Character Assassination’ — Less than a month after suing Twitter for allowing its users to insult him, Representative Devin Nunes, a Republican from California, said he was suing the McClatchy Company, a newspaper chain, over what he called “character assassination.”

Discussion: Sacramento Bee, The Week, Fox News Insider and Raw Story

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 …

Miami Herald:
‘She lies to everyone’: Feds say Mar-a-Lago intruder had hidden-camera detector in hotel

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

Frances Robles / New York Times:
Chinese Woman Arrested at Mar-a-Lago Had a Hidden Camera Detector, Prosecutors Say

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

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Why Does Trump Want to Debase the Fed? — The tax cut fizzled; send in the clowns! — As far as I know, the Federal Reserve — the world's most important economic policy institution — doesn't have an anthem. But if it were to adopt one now, the choice would be obvious: “Send In the Clowns.”

Discussion: Daily Kos and CNBC

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

Victoria Guida / Politico:
Trump's Fed threats meet a firewall: GOP lawmakers

Discussion: The Week

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

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

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

Discussion: New Republic, Townhall and NBC News

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

Henry Olsen / Washington Post:
Biden and Sanders are the front-runners. They'll need different voters to win.

Discussion: CNN

Zack Budryk / The Hill:
Sanders calls for ban on state right-to-work laws

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Raw Story and IJR

Justin Elliott / ProPublica:

Congress Is About to Ban the Government From Offering Free Online Tax Filing. Thank TurboTax. — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom based in New York. Sign up for ProPublica's Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox as soon as they are published.

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: Vox, Washington Monthly and The Week

Jacopo Barigazzi / Politico:

Michel Barnier: No-deal Brexit ‘never’ the EU's decision — LUXEMBOURG — A no-deal Brexit will “never be the decision of the EU,” the bloc's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said Tuesday. — His statement, made after briefing EU ministers attending the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg …

Discussion: One America News Network

Michael Birnbaum / Washington Post: This is a pivotal week for Brexit. Here are four ways it could end.

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: New York Post, Mediaite, Conservative News Today and IJR

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: Splinter and Raw Story

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.