Politics

The Washington Examiner reports: The White House announced Monday that all of President Trump’s children, except for his youngest son, will attend his first State of the Union address Tuesday. “All of the president’s children, along with the first lady, will be at the State of the Union, with the exclusion of Barron. I don’t believe he will be attending …

The Palm Beach Post reports: In another indication that the world’s most powerful politician has few qualms about battling local public officials, President Donald Trump again has sued the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser over the valuation of his Trump National Golf Club. The suit marks the fifth year in a row that Trump has disputed the property tax bill …

NBC News reports: FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe stepped down Monday, multiple sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. McCabe will remain on the FBI payroll until he is eligible to retire with full benefits in mid-March, the sources said. One source familiar said McCabe was exercising his retirement eligibility and characterized his decision as “stepping aside.” McCabe has …

Law & Crime reports: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will meet the press corps in a briefing set for 1:15 p.m. ET. What will be on today’s docket? As always, the looming specter of Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his Russia investigation will take center stage, especially in light of the newly discovered GOP memo that seems to …

And the stampede continues: Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.), the chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, announced Monday that he will not seek reelection in an increasingly competitive district. “I have worked in a bipartisan manner, not just in times of crisis but always, because I believe it best serves my constituents, my state and our country,” Frelinghuysen said in …

Talking Points Memo reports: The former chair of the Colorado Republican Party was sentenced to four years of probation and 300 hours of community service on Friday for committing voter fraud and forging his ex-wife’s signature on her 2016 ballot. Steve Curtis, who chaired the state’s Republican Party from 1997 to 1999, has said in his defense that he filled …

There seems to be endless money for these: A group aligned with House GOP leadership rolled out an ad on Monday that attacks House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for her criticism of the new tax law. The American Action Network (AAN) said it is spending $1 million on the ad campaign, which will run on national television and digital …

The New York Post reports: A pair of Republicans senators Sunday said Steve Wynn’s money is now dirty. ​​The billionaire casino mogul stepped down this weekend as Republican National Committee finance chair in the face of sexual harassment allegations. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC.) said the GOP ​lawmakers ​should return Wynn’s money, much like Republicans demanded Democrats return donations from disgraced …

The Associated Press reports: No natural orator, President Donald Trump has nonetheless shown at times that he can deliver a powerful speech that effectively outlines his vision, strikes an emotional chord and moves commentators to declare that he, at last, looks presidential. And then the teleprompter gets turned off. Time and again, Trump has followed up a well-received, stuck-to-the-script address …

The Hill reports: Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) said she is boycotting President Trump’s first State of the Union because of his behavior toward black people. “To go, would be to honor the president and I don’t think he deserves to be honored at this time after being so hateful towards black people and then black countries, Haiti and the whole …

CNN reports: Hillary Clinton made a surprise appearance on Sunday night in a Grammy Awards comedy bit that took a jab at President Trump. The former presidential candidate, along with Cher, Snoop Dogg, Cardi B, John Legend and DJ Khaled were among those who read excerpts from Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” the hit book …

“Tony Perkins forgot his own theology and replaced it with a theology of revenge on people he disagrees with politically. That’s what’s going on here. This is the revenge of white evangelical right-wingers. Who they want to punch in the mouth is not just black Americans but, to put it in the words of the President of the United States, …

Mediaite reports: Appearing on Fox News, Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus took aim at Democratic leaders, telling host Neil Cavuto that derisive comments about the bonuses will come back to haunt Democrats as it paints them as elitist. “These are things that the Pelosi and Schumer group don’t have a clue about. It’s why they lost the election, it’s as …

Politico reports: A Republican member of the House Intelligence Committee said he supports Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s potential interference in the 2016 election and Donald Trump campaign’s contacts with Russia. Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Rep. Trey Gowdy said he “100 percent” supports Mueller. “I told my Republican colleagues, ‘Leave him the hell alone’ and that’s still …

The Daily Beast reports: Celebrity chef José Andrés says he was asked to leave the after-party of the annual Alfalfa Club dinner in D.C. on Saturday night, apparently after Ivanka Trump complained about his presence. Andrés, an outspoken critic of President Trump, took to Twitter to question why he was booted from the event at Cafe Milano after initially being …

The New York Times today unmasked celebrities and media figures who seek to inflate their importance by purchasing fake Twitter followers. An excerpt: All these accounts belong to customers of an obscure American company named Devumi that has collected millions of dollars in a shadowy global marketplace for social media fraud. Devumi sells Twitter followers and retweets to celebrities, businesses …

The Associated Press reports: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was wrestled to the ground and forced into a police vehicle Sunday as he headed to a Moscow protest that was part of a day of nationwide demonstrations. Navalny, the most prominent foe of President Vladimir Putin, organized the protests to urge a boycott of Russia’s March 18 presidential election, in …

The Hill reports: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday said special counsel Robert Mueller should take a look at reports that President Trump tried to fire him last summer. “I don’t know if the story is true or not, but I know this, Mueller should look at it,” Graham said on ABC’s “This Week.” “Don McGahn, if the story is …

The New York Daily News reports: President Trump took a swipe at Jay-Z after the rap icon referred to the commander-in-chief as a racist “superbug.” The rapper blasted Trump a day earlier for allegedly referring to Haiti and some African nations as “shithole countries” during a meeting on immigration. “Everyone feels anger, but after the anger it’s really hurtful because …

A brief breaking mention from Politico: Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn is stepping down as Republican National Committee finance chair, according to three Republicans familiar with the decision. The decision follows a Friday report in the Wall Street Journal alleging that Wynn engaged in sexual harassment. There’s also this from Forbes: Wynn Resort shares fell over 10% on Friday …