memeorandum: Trump approves Oracle's proposed deal with TikTok (Steven Overly/Politico)

8:15 PM ET, September 19, 2020

Top Items:

Jane Mayer / New Yorker:

For Mitch McConnell, Keeping His Senate Majority Matters More Than the Supreme Court — As the Democrats weigh their options about how to stop Mitch McConnell from filling Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Supreme Court seat, one tactic that they should forget about immediately is arguing …

Discussion: New York Times, Fox News, Redstate, The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, New York Post, Raw Story and TheBlaze

Nina Totenberg / NPR:

A 5-Decade-Long Friendship That Began With A Phone Call — In 1971, newly assigned to cover the Supreme Court, I was reading a brief in what would ultimately be the landmark case of Reed v. Reed. It argued that the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause applied to women.

Discussion: Washington Times and Reason

Alexander Nazaryan / Yahoo News:

A Ginsburg replacement is ‘worth the White House and Senate’: Why, and how, Republicans will push through Trump's Supreme Court nominee — WASHINGTON — Even before the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday night, November's presidential election was shaping …

Discussion: Slate, TheBlaze, Forbes and Breitbart

Amanda Carpenter / The Bulwark:

Mitch McConnell's Calculation — There is going to be a SCOTUS vote before the election — Anyone who has observed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's career knows there are only two things he cares about: maintaining his Senate majority leader position and confirming judges.

Discussion: Law & Crime, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The 19th, The Daily Caller, The Hill, Redstate, POLITICUSUSA, Catholic Herald, Raw Story, Newsbusters, Daily Kos, NPR, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, Twitchy and Politico

NBC News:

A Mark Kelly win in Ariz. Senate race could spoil McConnell's plans to replace Ginsburg — WASHINGTON — Arizona's critical Senate race has suddenly taken on extra weight since Democrat Mark Kelly could potentially be sworn in early enough to vote on a replacement for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg if he wins.

Discussion: Fox News, Just The News, The Hill, Arizona Republic and The Root

Jeffrey Toobin / New Yorker:

Can Trump and McConnell Push Through a Successor to Ruth Bader Ginsburg? — In Washington, grief yields quickly to calculation. The announcement of the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Supreme Court Justice and epic figure in American legal history, came in the early evening on Friday.

Discussion: Fox News, Reason, NPR, Raw Story and Breitbart

Carrie Johnson / NPR:

Trump's Supreme Court Pick Shrouded In Secrecy — Candidates on the short list for a Supreme Court vacancy undergo intense vetting that typically culminates in a one-on-one interview with the president. — The process is shrouded in secrecy, but President Trump's flair for the dramatic …

Edward-Isaac Dovere / The Atlantic:

What Republican Senators Say in Private — N, early every reporter in Washington has experienced it: A Republican member of Congress says “off the record,” shifts into a quieter voice, and expresses how much he or she doesn't like President Donald Trump. Soon after, you watch …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Washington Post, New York Times, NBC News, New Republic, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, The Mahablog and The Hill

Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:

Democrats shatter ActBlue's donation records after Ginsburg's death. — Democratic donors gave more money online in the 9 p.m. hour Friday after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death was announced — $6.2 million — than in any other single hour since ActBlue, the donation-processing site, was started 16 years ago.

Discussion: Variety, Washington Post, Mediaite, The Week, The Wrap, BuzzFeed News, Rolling Stone, The Colorado Sun, Slate, Raw Story, Common Dreams, Politico and The Guardian

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

The tortured logic from right-wing media about replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg — Back in 2016 and early 2017, Fox News was the self-satisfied home to a great deal of principled thinking about the importance of the American people's will. — Here, for example, was Laura Ingraham …

Discussion: Raw Story, Mother Jones, Townhall and Talking Points Memo

Jill Lawrence / USA Today:
Will Democrats grow backbones amid Trump-Republican rush to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg?

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Post, New York Times, Axios, Washington Free Beacon, Breitbart and Snopes.com

Rebecca Traister / The Cut:
It Shouldn't Have Come Down to Her Some will try to blame Ruth Bader Ginsburg for not stepping down sooner. They are missing the point.

Discussion: Washington Post

Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast:
Here Are the Ways to Stop Mitch and Trump From Replacing RBG

Discussion: Associated Press, Politico, Reuters, Fox News, Washington Post, Breitbart, The Hill and Raw Story

Barack Obama:
My Statement on the Passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Associated Press:
Trump to Senate: Vote ‘without delay’ on his high court pick

Discussion: NBC News, The Hill, Florida Politics, Mediaite, Washington Times, Common Dreams, New York Post, MSNBC and Vox

Elena Schneider / Politico:
Dem donors smash ActBlue's daily record after Ginsburg's death

Discussion: ABC News, The Hill, New York Times and Reuters

Tamara Keith / NPR:
Democrats Raised More Than $46 Million Following RBG's Death

Discussion: Axios, Rolling Stone and New York Times

Bloomberg:
Donors Flood Democrats With Cash After Ginsburg's Death

Discussion: Breitbart, Daily Kos, Mother Jones, Iowa Starting Line and The Nation

Jill Filipovic / Washington Post:
If McConnell pushes through a nominee, President Biden should pack the court

Discussion: New York Times, NPR, Politico, Vox, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Mother Jones, LifeNews.com, TheJournal.ie, Washington Times, The Week and NBC Bay Area

Jesse Paul / The Colorado Sun:
Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death pours intensity on, could reshape Colorado's hotly contested Senate race

Discussion: Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Politico and KRON4

Des Moines Register:
Here's how Iowa's Republican US senators said they would handle an election-year Supreme Court vacancy

Discussion: Bloomberg, Boston Herald, New York Times and The Daily Caller

Jonathan Cohn / HuffPost:
What Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Death Could Mean For The Obamacare Hearing Nov. 10

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, ABC News and NBC News

Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Coming Political Crisis

Discussion: NPR, Breitbart, Axios, Raw Story, Spectator USA, Common Dreams, The Daily Caller, New York Times, Vox, Radio Iowa, Bangor Daily News, Politico, Chicago Sun-Times, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press and KRON4

Washington Post:
Trump says he will nominate woman to the Supreme Court next week

Discussion: CNN, Associated Press, The Hill, NPR, Redstate, Politico, Bloomberg, Just The News, Vox, One America News Network, Talking Points Memo and Los Angeles Times

Richard Hine / Unprecedented:
A Moment of Grief and Terror

Discussion: New York Times, New Republic and Fox News

New York Times:
Polls Have Shown Voters Prefer Biden to Pick Next Justice

Discussion: NBC News, Washington Post, Vox, Slate, Daily Kos, Politico, GZERO, The National Interest, TheJournal.ie, POLITICUSUSA, KSNT-TV and MyNorthwest.com

Katelyn Burns / Vox:
Democratic donors raised millions after Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Just The News, Raw Story and New York Times

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump Presses for New Justice ‘Without Delay’ as Election-Season Battle Looms

Discussion: Redstate, Washington Post, The Moderate Voice, Raw Story, Breitbart, Daily Kos, Bloomberg, POLITICUSUSA, Washington Times, Townhall, ABC News, The Daily Caller, NPR, New York Post, The Hill, Politico and Slate

Errin Haines / The 19th:
‘An extraordinary force in the law:’ Ruth Bader Ginsburg's legacy on gender equity

Discussion: NPR

Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
The winner of the Arizona Senate race could be seated in time for a vote on a Supreme Court pick.

Discussion: Fox News, NBC News, Vox, Washington Post, Forbes, The Guardian, Bulwark+, Jacobin, Bangor Daily News, Politico and TMI

Des Moines Register:

Iowa Poll: Theresa Greenfield narrowly leads Joni Ernst in hyper-competitive Senate race — Democrat Theresa Greenfield leads Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst by 3 percentage points in a Senate race that appears to be among the most competitive in the country.

Discussion: Political Wire

Katie Benner / New York Times:

Ricin Is Said to Have Been Sent to White House — Federal investigators are working to track down who sent it and determine whether other envelopes have been sent through the postal system. — WASHINGTON — An envelope addressed to the White House contained a substance …

Discussion: The Guardian, Breitbart, Law & Crime and Mediaite

Evan Perez / CNN:

A package containing the poison ricin and addressed to Trump intercepted by law enforcement — (CNN)A package containing the poison ricin and addressed to President Donald Trump was intercepted by law enforcement earlier this week, according to two law enforcement officials.

Discussion: Forbes, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Just The News, The Daily Caller, The Hill, TheBlaze, Newsy, New York Post and Twitchy

Aruna Viswanatha / Wall Street Journal:
Package Containing Ricin Was Intercepted in the White House Mail

Discussion: Rolling Stone

Brittany Bernstein / National Review: Package Containing Ricin Said to Have Been Intercepted in White House Mail

NBC News:
Letter sent to White House containing deadly poison ricin intercepted, officials say

Discussion: Fox News, MSNBC and Press Herald

NBC News:

U.S. Covid-19 death toll surpasses 200,000 — In the predawn hours of March 30, Dr. Deborah Birx stepped in front of the camera on the White House lawn and made an alarming prediction about the coronavirus, which had, by then, killed fewer than 3,000 people in the United States.

Discussion: Mother Jones and NBC4 Washington

The Daily Beast:

ICE Hysterectomy Doctor Wasn't Even a Board-Certified OB-GYN — Dr. Mahendra Amin has been accused of performing unnecessary uterus removals on detained immigrants. — The doctor at the center of a scandal over unwanted hysterectomies at an immigrant detention facility in Georgia …

Jonathan Blitzer / New Yorker: The Private Georgia Immigration-Detention Facility at the Center of a Whistle-Blower's Complaint

Steven Overly / Politico:

Trump approves Oracle's proposed deal with TikTok — President Donald Trump approved a deal Saturday that will allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States, a decision that comes after more than a month of geopolitical turmoil between Washington and Beijing over the future of the video-sharing app.