Top Items:
New York Times:
Trump Won't Let No. 2 Spy Chief Take Over When Coats Leaves — WASHINGTON — The White House is planning to block Sue Gordon, the nation's No. 2 intelligence official, from rising to the role of acting director of national intelligence when Dan Coats steps down this month …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Fox News, NPR, The Guardian, Spectator USA, Daily Kos, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post, RedState, The Last Refuge, Vox, Talking Points Memo and The Atlantic
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New York Times:
Trump Drops Plans to Nominate John Ratcliffe as Director of National Intelligence — WASHINGTON — President Trump on Friday abruptly dropped his plan to nominate Representative John Ratcliffe, Republican of Texas, as the nation's top intelligence official, following bipartisan questions …
The Daily Beast:
White House Asks for List of Top Spies During Intelligence Shakeup
White House Asks for List of Top Spies During Intelligence Shakeup
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, Foreign Policy and ThinkProgress
Axios:
Trump walks back plan to nominate John Ratcliffe as DNI
Trump walks back plan to nominate John Ratcliffe as DNI
Discussion:
Washington Press, Sara A. Carter, GovExec.com, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, National Review, Vanity Fair and Mother Jones
Akela Lacy / The Intercept:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Chief of Staff and Communications Director Will Depart Her Office — Two of Rep. Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez's top staffers are leaving her office. — Saikat Chakrabarti, her chief of staff, and Corbin Trent, her director of communications — who …
Discussion:
Fox News, RedState, New York Times, Washington Examiner, Politico, New York Post, CNN, Breitbart, PJ Media Home, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, twitchy.com and Mediaite
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Juliegrace Brufke / The Hill:
Ocasio-Cortez chief of staff to leave her office
Washington Post:
GOP senator held up Trump nominee, demanding to see border wall contracts after Army Corps panned construction firm he prefers — A Republican senator held up the confirmation of a White House budget official this week in an attempt to obtain sensitive information about border wall contracts he's …
Discussion:
Political Wire
Elaina Plott / The Atlantic:
'We're All Tired of Being Called Racists' — CINCINNATI—Donald Trump's supporters would like to be clear: They are tired of being called racists. — Leave it to the president's eldest son to set the tone. Last night at the 17,500-person-capacity U.S. Bank Arena downtown here …
Discussion:
USA Today, PJ Media Home, Hullabaloo, Daily Wire, National Review, Daily Kos and Washington Post
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Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
At rally, Trump seethes with elite contempt for Real Americans — The candidate for president was seething with disdain for a large swath of Real Americans. The candidate scoffed at their suffering. The candidate oozed with haughty superciliousness as he wrote off all those Americans as unworthy of concern or outreach.
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, The Crime Report, New York Times and Baltimore Sun
Pelosi Press / Speaker Nancy Pelosi:
Pelosi Statement on Progress of House Investigations — Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi released this statement on the progress of the House's investigations: — “When we take the oath of office, we solemnly vow 'to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies …
Discussion:
Fox News
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CNN:
Majority of House Democrats now say they support starting an impeachment inquiry
Majority of House Democrats now say they support starting an impeachment inquiry
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA and National Review
Paul Blumenthal / HuffPost:
A Majority Of House Democrats Now Back Impeachment Inquiry For Donald Trump
A Majority Of House Democrats Now Back Impeachment Inquiry For Donald Trump
Discussion:
ABC News and Washington Post
Bethonie Butler / Washington Post:
Ben Folds makes a song called ‘Moscow Mitch’ — Rock musician Ben Folds was performing on the roof of New York City's Pier 17 Thursday when he asked the audience to help him out with a new song. “What I want to do is put a little cool stutter in it, like, you know, 'My-my-my-my-my-my Sharona …
Discussion:
Fox News, Associated Press and Mother Jones
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Colorado Pols:
Hick4Senate: New Domains Signal Big Moves In Senate Race? — UPDATE: Ernest Luning of the Colorado Springs Gazette's politics page fills in the details: … We take longtime local political fixture Curtis Hubbard at his word, of course-but we'll also be waiting, and at this point probably expecting, for the other shoe to drop.
H. Alan Scott / Newsweek:
‘Moscow Mitch’ McConnell is Now a Ben Folds Song
Washington Post:
‘Take Texas seriously’: GOP anxiety spikes after retirements, Democratic gains — Republicans have long idealized Texas as a deep-red frontier state, home to rural conservatives who love President Trump. But political turbulence in the sprawling suburbs and fast-growing cities are turning …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA and ThinkProgress
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Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
First, the GOP shrinks. Next it should get crushed.
First, the GOP shrinks. Next it should get crushed.
Discussion:
FiveThirtyEight, The Root, The Atlantic and DCCC
Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
Will Hurd and the Hollowing Out of the Republican Party
Will Hurd and the Hollowing Out of the Republican Party
Discussion:
The Guardian, Vanity Fair and Shareblue Media
New York Times:
Detailed Maps of the Donors Powering the 2020 Democratic Campaigns — Candidates with the most individual donors — Darker shades on the map indicate a greater share of estimated donors. — 1. Sanders — 2. Warren — 3. Buttigieg 4. Harris — 5. Biden — 6. O'Rourke
Discussion:
Politico, Common Dreams, DCist, Bring Me The News and Washington Post
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Joanna Piacenza / Morning Consult:
Detroit Debates Deliver Meager Returns for Biden's Challengers
Detroit Debates Deliver Meager Returns for Biden's Challengers
Discussion:
NBC News, The Hill, CNN, POLITICUSUSA, Outside the Beltway, Washington Times, No More Mister Nice Blog, Political Wire, Fortune and New York Times
Robin Wright / New Yorker:
Iran's Foreign Minister Was Invited to Meet Trump in the Oval Office — Last month, amid a rapid-fire escalation in tensions between Washington and Tehran, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, received an unexpected invitation—to meet President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.
Discussion:
The National Interest, New York Times, Breitbart, Big League Politics, ABC News and France 24
Harry Siegel / New York Daily News:
Garner, Pantaleo, de Blasio and truth: Let's be honest about how New York City got here — Bill de Blasio is gaslighting New Yorkers again. — “Today, for the first time in these long five years, the system of justice is working,” he said Friday, after a deputy NYPD commissioner issued a secret …
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Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:
Anti-Muslim Activist Laura Loomer to Run for Congress — Banned from every major social media network, Laura Loomer will almost certainly lose her challenge to Rep. Lois Frankel. — Anti-Muslim activist Laura Loomer launched a congressional bid on Friday, setting herself up for almost certain defeat …
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs
Ted Hesson / Politico:
Emails show Stephen Miller pressed hard to limit green cards — White House senior adviser Stephen Miller wasn't getting an immigration regulation he wanted. So he sent a series of scorching emails to top immigration officials, calling the department an “embarrassment” for not acting faster, according to emails obtained by POLITICO.
Carrie Johnson / NPR:
Trump's Judicial Legacy — Toggle more options — President Trump has now appointed nearly one in four of all federal circuit court judges, cementing an important part of his legacy. The picks are far less diverse than his predecessor's. — STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
It didn't take long for Democratic candidates to rush to embrace Obama — It took progressive Democratic candidates for president less than 24 hours to realize they had gone way overboard in slamming President Barack Obama's record and suggesting that defense of it was akin to “Republican talking points.”
Discussion:
The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg and CNN
Los Angeles Times:
Gilroy Garlic Festival shooter killed himself, coroner says, contradicting police version of events — The Gilroy Garlic Festival gunman killed himself, the county medical examiner concluded Friday, contradicting an earlier police account that three officers had shot him dead within a minute.
Discussion:
KTLA
Lisa Friedman / New York Times:
Climate Could Be an Electoral Time Bomb, Republican Strategists Fear — WASHINGTON — When election time comes next year, Will Galloway, a student and Republican youth leader at Clemson University, will look for candidates who are strong on the mainstream conservative causes he cares about most …
Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Nikki Haley hits Trump's ‘unnecessary’ response to Cummings break-in — Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Friday pushed back against President Trump's tweet in which he appeared to mock an attempted robbery at the home of Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.).
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, No More Mister Nice Blog, Rolling Stone, The Guardian and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Eliana Johnson / Politico:
Top State Department adviser fired over ‘abusive’ management style — A senior adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was fired this week over what officials described as her “abusive” management style, including making homophobic remarks and accusing people of having affairs, according to two people.
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Quinta Jurecic / New York Times:
Look at the Mueller Report as a Detective Story. It Will Blow Your Mind. — It may turn out to be a film noir. The investigators uncovered the plot, but the society is too rotten to do anything about it. — Ms. Jurecic is the managing editor of Lawfare.