Politics

Mediaite reports: Prankster/Comedian John Melendez may have to make a run for it after pranking the White House staff into speaking with President Donald Trump. Melendez defied the odds this week by posing as Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and after nearly twenty minutes, he managed to get a hold of the Commander in Chief from Air Force One. However, the …

The New Jersey Advance reports: The Democrats who lead New Jersey agree: They want to raise somebody’s taxes. But the debate over exactly who pays could shut down state government at midnight. Again. So the stage is set Saturday for another dramatic day in Trenton, one that could hit people across New Jersey. Gov. Phil Murphy and legislative leaders remained …

Foreign Policy reports: The U.S. ambassador to Estonia, James D. Melville Jr., a career diplomat and member of the senior foreign service ranks, announced to friends Friday that he was resigning amid a string of controversial comments President Donald Trump made about U.S. allies in Europe. Melville, who has served as a diplomat for 33 years and as ambassador to …

The New York Daily News reports: President Trump announced on Friday two women are among the jurists he’s considering appointing to the Supreme Court, adding he will finalize his decision early next month. Trump made the revelation onboard Air Force One while en route to his private New Jersey golf club, noting he will officially name his replacement for outgoing …

The New York Times reports: In the days after the F.B.I. director James B. Comey was fired last year, the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, repeatedly expressed anger about how the White House used him to rationalize the firing, saying the experience damaged his reputation, according to four people familiar with his outbursts. In public, Mr. Rosenstein has shown …

Axios reports: The host of “The Stuttering John” podcast, John Melendez, got President Trump on the phone yesterday by pretending he was New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez. “This is how easy it is to infiltrate the administration,” Melendez said in the episode. Why it matters: This calls into question White House security. White House staff members are freaking out today …

Just in from the Republican National Committee: Democrats are willing to fight for ANYONE illegally crossing our border. But they too often refuse to fight for their own fellow American citizens who voted to Make America Great Again! Too many on the Left push a message of anger, resistance, and violent rhetoric. Our movement is about prosperity, security, and love …

Sen. Marco Rubio this morning took to Twitter to lament the F-word’s appearance in news reports, likely spurred by last night’s unbleeped F-bomb on CNN, which was delivered by a Maryland shooting survivor in response the the usual “thoughts and prayers” that spill out after every mass shooting. Rubio apparently sees no link between coarsened language in the media and …

The New York Times reports that Trump greased the wheels of Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement by stocking the lower courts with judges that had once clerked for him. Even the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court may have been part of that plan as Gorsuch himself is a former clerk for Kennedy. And then there’s this: One person …

Axios reports: President Trump has repeatedly told top White House officials he wants to withdraw the United States from the World Trade Organization, a move that would throw global trade into wild disarray, people involved in the talks tell Axios. What we’re hearing: “He’s [threatened to withdraw] 100 times. It would totally [screw] us as a country,” said a source …

Politico reports: Barack Obama’s message to Democrats: Stop dreaming of him. Speaking at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser Thursday in the lush backyard of two Beverly Hills megadonors, Obama warned of a country and world on the brink — “you are right to be concerned,” he told the crowd — but said they’d flub their chance to change that if …

Mediaite reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was awful giddy Thursday night while discussion the future confirmation of President Donald Trump‘s next Supreme Court nominee. Appearing on Fox News, McConnell was asked to react to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) accused the Senate Majority Leader of “setting the rules” by not allowing “a Supreme Court justice during an election year.” …

The Daily Beast reports: When Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) leaves his current job at the beginning of 2019, he could already have a new one lined up: cable-news pundit. On Monday, he met with MSNBC president Phil Griffin; and on Tuesday, he met with rival network CNN’s chief Jeff Zucker. Flake was absent Monday for a series of Senate votes …

The Charlotte Observer reports: A website tied to a candidate for the North Carolina General Assembly says God is a racist white supremacist and that Jews are descended from Satan. Russell Walker is a Republican candidate running for state House District 48 which includes Scotland and Hoke counties. On Tuesday, the North Carolina Republican Party withdrew its support for Walker. …

Haaretz reports: A Knesset committee on Wednesday approved a draft law sponsored by the government itself, allowing single women who cannot conceive to obtain surrogacy services in order to build a family. With the approval of the Knesset’s Labor, Welfare and Health Committee, The bill can now proceed to its second and third readings into law. The committee rejected propositions …

The Washington Post reports: Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray are scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee Thursday about an inspector general’s report that found serious failings in how federal law enforcement handled a high-profile investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. The hearing will mark the first time …

Reuters reports: A federal appeals court judge in Washington was the early favorite among political bettors to succeed U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement on Wednesday. Brett Kavanaugh, a judge since 2006 on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, was seen as having a 34 percent chance of being tapped by President …

CBS News reports: President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladmir Putin are set to meet on July 16 in Helsinki where the leaders are expected to discuss national security issues as well as the issue of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Moscow and Washington confirmed the location and date of the summit in a joint statement released Thursday morning. …

He probably wouldn’t even be the worst choice. Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R) said in an interview Wednesday that he “would not say no” if he was asked by President Trump to serve on the Supreme Court as Justice Anthony Kennedy’s replacement. “I started watching Supreme Court arguments for fun when I was 10 years old. So if somebody asked …

USA Today reports: President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would move quickly to nominate a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced that he will retire on July 31. Trump told reporters the process would “begin immediately .” The president said he would review an existing list of candidates for the opening. The list was put together …