memeorandum: Trump Names Mark Meadows Chief of Staff, Ousting Mick Mulvaney (New York Times)

10:40 AM ET, March 7, 2020

Top Items:

David Nakamura / Washington Post:

‘Maybe I have a natural ability’: Trump plays medical expert on coronavirus by second-guessing the professionals — The Debrief: An occasional series offering a reporter's insights — President Trump likes to say that he fell into politics almost by accident, and on Friday …

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

Which is Trump more worried about: Coronavirus numbers or coronavirus patients? — A comment on Friday suggests it's the former. — A comment President Trump made during his visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday brought into focus a unifying theory …

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo, The Atlantic and Daily Kos

Washington Post:

21 people test positive for coronavirus on California cruise ship, out of 46 tested so far — Nearly half of the people initially tested aboard a cruise ship being held in waters off San Francisco have been infected with coronavirus, Vice President Pence said Friday.

ABC News:
2 die from coronavirus in Florida, raising US death toll to 17

Discussion: HuffPost

Washington Post:

Trump picks Mark Meadows to be new White House chief of staff — WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump announced Friday that he has selected outgoing Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) as his next White House chief of staff, tapping one of his most stalwart congressional allies to run the White House …

Discussion: The Week, Outside the Beltway, POLITICUSUSA, Breitbart, The Daily Beast, ABC News and FOX6Now.com

New York Times:

Trump Names Mark Meadows Chief of Staff, Ousting Mick Mulvaney — President Trump said Friday that Representative Mark Meadows, Republican of North Carolina and a stalwart conservative ally, will become White House chief of staff, replacing Mick Mulvaney, who has served as the acting chief for more than a year.

Discussion: The Week, New York Post, Bloomberg, Breitbart, Big League Politics, HuffPost, Raw Story, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Roll Call and The Daily Caller

Tamara Keith / NPR:
Mick Mulvaney Out, Mark Meadows In As White House Chief Of Staff

Discussion: NBC News, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit and Twitchy

Ryan Saavedra / The Daily Wire: ‘A TOTAL LEGEND’: How Dan Scavino Became One Of Trump's Most Important Advisers

CNN:
Trump replaces Mick Mulvaney with Mark Meadows as chief of staff

Discussion: IJR, The Guardian, HuffPost, Raw Story and PJ Media Home

Associated Press:
Trump names Rep. Mark Meadows his new chief of staff

Discussion: Slate, Politico and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Sharon LaFraniere / New York Times:

Barr Increasingly Appears Focused on Undermining Mueller Inquiry — A judge's criticism cast light on the first in a series of steps by the attorney general to take aim at the Russia investigation. — WASHINGTON — Attorney General William P. Barr testified before Congress last spring that …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Talking Points Memo, Redstate, Law & Crime, POLITICUSUSA and Reason

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Another judge orders review of Russia-probe related document

Discussion: Letters from an American

Masha Gessen / New Yorker:

The Innocuous Story of Bernie Sanders's Trip to Russia — On Thursday night, the Times published an article titled “As Bernie Sanders Pushed for Closer Ties, Soviet Union Spotted Opportunity.” The subtitle: “Previously unseen documents from a Soviet archive show how hard Mr. Sanders worked …

Discussion: Media Matters for America, New York Times, Townhall, Fox News and The Federalist

Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:

A Sanders Voter, Weary of Debt at 29: ‘I Have Nothing to Lose’ — Brian Michelz has never worn a political T-shirt or been to a campaign rally. But when he voted for the first time in his life, it was for Bernie Sanders. What will he do if Mr. Sanders loses?

New York Times: The Bernie Sanders Personality Test

CNN:

Six former wrestlers say Rep. Jim Jordan knew about abusive OSU doctor — Watch Drew Griffin's report on what Jim Jordan knew about the OSU abuse allegations at 5 p.m. ET, on CNN's “The Situation Room” with Wolf Blitzer. — (CNN)Tito Vazquez says he still remembers the day three decades ago when …

Discussion: HuffPost, The Columbus Dispatch, The Gateway Pundit, POLITICUSUSA, The Intellectualist and Law & Crime

New York Times:

With Test Kits in Short Supply, Health Officials Sound Alarms — Despite efforts by President Trump and others to reassure the public that tests are getting disseminated quickly, several states, doctors and patients complained that access was limited. — President Trump claimed again …

Discussion: CNBC and Bloomberg

Marlow Stern / The Daily Beast:

Bill Maher Goes Full Sexist, Defends Chris Matthews and Mocks His Sexual Harassment Accuser — It was a truly ugly, outrageously sexist display from the “Real Time” host. — After an extended (and terribly lame) opening monologue bit on the coronavirus and the bang-up job that “Donald Trump …

Discussion: Raw Story

Matt Wilstein / The Daily Beast:

Fox News Catches Kellyanne Conway Lying for Trump About Cutting Entitlements — “He didn't say that,” Conway said just before Fox News played a clip of Trump saying just that. — “Oh, we'll be cutting.” — Those four words—spoken in response to a question about entitlements during …

Discussion: The Hill, Vox, The Intellectualist and The Daily Beast

Matthew Choi / Politico:

Trump calls Inslee a ‘snake’ over criticism of coronavirus rhetoric — President Donald Trump on Friday called Washington Gov. Jay Inslee “a snake” for criticizing his administration's response to the coronavirus outbreak. — Speaking in Atlanta at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention …

Discussion: Financial Times, The Gateway Pundit, Outside the Beltway, HuffPost and The Hill

USA Today:
Trump praises CDC amid coronvirus outbreak, calls Washington governor ‘a snake’ during visit to agency

Discussion: The Root

Steven Nelson / New York Post:
How the White House protects Trump and his staff from coronavirus

Discussion: Jezebel, The Intellectualist, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Caller

KGO / ABC7:

Live coronavirus updates: Stanford canceling all in-person courses for remainder of winter quarter amid COVID-19 concerns — SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The outbreak of novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, is having a major impact across the world but also in cities across Northern California.

Discussion: New York Post, KRON4, NPR and CBS San Francisco

New York Times:

Saudi Prince Detains Senior Members of Royal Family — Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has detained a brother of the king, a former crown prince and a cousin, royals who may have been seen as threats to his rule. — In a fresh episode of Saudi palace intrigue, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman …

Wall Street Journal:
WSJ News Exclusive | Top Saudi Royal Family Members Detained

Discussion: Common Dreams, Bloomberg and Informed Comment

Katy Tur / MSNBC:

Columbia U doctor on federal response to coronavirus: ‘gross amateur hour incompetence’ — This morning President Trump signed an emergency bill for $8.4 billion coronavirus funding. Dr. Irwin Redlener, Director Of Columbia University's National Center For Disaster Preparedness joins Yasmin Vossoughian …

Nick Mutch / The Daily Beast:

Christopher Steele Whacks Mueller Report and ‘Bad Faith’ Team Trump — The former head of MI6's Russia desk was speaking publicly for the first time since his dossier on Trump's relationship with Russia was published in 2017. — OXFORD, England—Christopher Steele, a former British spy …

Todd Ruger / Roll Call:

Arrest McGahn? House hints of possibility in court filing on subpoenas — The move would be an effort to force federal courts to decide whether congressional subpoenas can be enforced — The House hinted Friday that it might have to arrest former White House Counsel Don McGahn …

Charles Trepany / USA Today:

Jane Fonda avoids arrest at LA climate change protest, talks Bernie as ‘climate candidate’ — LOS ANGELES - Jane Fonda may be back in Hollywood shooting “Grace and Frankie,” but she's still carving out time to protest. — On Friday, dressed in her classic red protest coat …

Discussion: IJR and New York Post

Joanne Kenen / Politico:

How testing failures allowed coronavirus to sweep the U.S. — On Saturday Jan. 11 — a month and a half before the first Covid-19 case not linked to travel was diagnosed in the United States — Chinese scientists posted the genome of the mysterious new virus, and within a week virologists …

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Trump Says Coronavirus Will Help the Economy by Stopping All Travel — Last night, President Trump made an attempt to reassure the public on the state of the economy. It was not very reassuring. His answer implied that, however low your assessment of his grasp of the economy beforehand …

Discussion: Political Wire

Chris Sommerfeldt / The Seattle Times:

Biden and Sanders expected to be alone in qualifying for next debate — Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden are likely to go head-to-head for the first time this month. — Democratic presidential candidates must have picked up at least 20% of the convention delegates disbursed so far to qualify …

Tristan Justice / The Federalist:

Obama's Homeland Security IG Indicted On Fraud, Theft Charges — Former Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Charles Edwards and his former aide Murali Yamazula Venkata were indicted Friday on charges of stealing government property to defraud the U.S. government.

U.S. Department of Justice:
Former Acting Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Indicted on Theft …

Discussion: Redstate, Granite Grok, The Gateway Pundit and Law & Crime, more at Techmeme »

Politico:

Biden, Bullock boost Dems' Senate hopes — Democrats' bid to recapture the Senate got a major boost this week. — Joe Biden surged to the top of the presidential primary, temporarily calming widespread fear about running with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) at the top of their ticket.

Discussion: Raw Story