Politics

Talking Points Memo reports: House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) on Wednesday said he doesn’t “think a government shutdown is necessary,” though President Donald Trump has suggested he would be willing to threaten a shutdown to get funding for his proposed border wall. “I don’t think a government shutdown is necessary, and I don’t think most people want to see a …

The Los Angeles Times reports: Former California Democratic U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer is taking on Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) over his healthcare vote in an ad for her super PAC aimed at electing Democrats. The online ad, titled “Darrell-iction,” aimed at people in Issa’s district, began running Wednesday. It is the first in the super PAC’s campaign targeting House Republicans …

Public Policy Polling reports: Things are continuing to look good for Democrats in 2018, as they lead the generic Congressional ballot 49-35. The 14 point lead for Democrats may be too good to be true though- it’s a function of a highly divided Republican base at this point. While Clinton voters say they’ll vote Democratic for Congress next year 90-4, …

The Hill reports: Former British ambassador to the U.S. Peter Westmacott compared President Trump to an autocrat in Nazi Germany after the president’s campaign-style rally in Phoenix, Arizona. The tweet on Wednesday morning came in response to a report from NBC’s Andrea Mitchell that former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is “scared and worried about the President’s fitness to …

Politico reports: Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said her “skin crawled” during last year’s second presidential debate, a reaction to Donald Trump standing ominously near her as she delivered answers before a national audience. “This is not OK, I thought. It was the second presidential debate and Donald Trump was looming behind me. Two days before, the world heard …

Vice News reports: Margaret Kim is an Asian American. She’s definitely not a Republican. She’s also not… real. But that hasn’t stopped the Arizona Republican party from using Kim, the 1994 sitcom alter ego of living, Republican-loathing comedienne Margaret Cho, as an example of its diverse support. The cast photograph of “All-American Girl” is prominently featured on the Arizona Republican …

The Hill reports: President Trump will not pardon controversial former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio at a campaign rally Tuesday night in Arizona. “There will be no discussion of that today at any point and no action will be taken on that front at any point today,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters aboard Air Force One. …

The Washington Post reports: Years before running for president, Trump had a clear message on Afghanistan: It was time to get out. In 2012, he said the war was “wasting our money.” In 2012, he called it “a total disaster.” In 2013, he said, “We should leave Afghanistan immediately.” Trump continued his criticism of the war during the year and …

The Associated Press reports: The White House is appealing to the news media for privacy for President Donald Trump’s young son, Barron. Stephanie Grisham, a spokesman for first lady Melania Trump, says the 11-year-old “deserves every opportunity to have a private childhood.” The request follows criticism of Barron in a column published by The Daily Caller, a conservative website. The …

Mediaite reports: On CNN this morning, Congressman Ruben Gallego (D- AZ) slammed President Trump as a racist and an “abject liar.” He told John Berman, “The President is clearly racist. I don’t understand how much more history we need… Many people may not want to admit it that we’ve elected a President that’s racist, but he is.” During the segment, …

The Hill reports: Vice President Mike Pence said on Tuesday that the United States should be building more monuments around the country, not tearing them down. Pence was asked on “Fox & Friends” Tuesday morning whether he supported local municipalities around the country in their efforts to remove Confederate statues in the wake of the violence in Charlottesville, Va., and …

Ad Age reports: The Washington Post has done a tremendous job keeping readers abreast of what Donald Trump is up to — in its reporting, of course, but also in the various online tools it’s created. In December, for example, it debuted the “Trump Tweet Fact- Checker,” which allowed readers to fact-check any of the then President-Elect’s tweets, right on …

The New York Daily News reports: The wife of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin went on a tirade after an Instagram commenter criticized her for posting a picture of herself disembarking a government plane. Louise Linton, a Scottish actress who was famously ridiculed for writing a “white savior” memoir about her time in Zambia, posted a photograph of her and her …

The Hill reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has an 18 percent job approval rating in Kentucky, according to a new survey. A Public Policy Polling survey found just 18 percent of respondents approve of the job McConnell is doing, compared with 74 percent who disapprove. If McConnell were up for reelection today, 37 percent of respondents said they …

Variety reports: The opening credits for “American Horror Story,” which – in keeping with the anthology format of the show – change every season, always lay clues to the overall theme and mystery of that installment’s plot. For “American Horror Story: Cult,” the biggest hints to glean deal with how the recent political climate with come into play in the …

Talking Points Memo reports: President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday took a moment in the afternoon to observe the first total solar eclipse to pass over the United States from one coast to the other since 1918. White House pool reporter Ted Mann, from the Wall Street Journal, tweeted updates from the nation’s capital, which was not in the path …

Politico reports: Though President Donald Trump has already ramped up efforts for a 2020 reelection campaign, one of his frequent critics, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), says it’s unclear whether he will be the GOP nominee. “It’s too difficult to say,” Collins said in an interview with MSNBC on Monday when asked whether she thinks Trump will be the Republican Party’s …

USA Today reports: The Secret Service can no longer pay hundreds of agents it needs to carry out an expanded protective mission – in large part due to the sheer size of President Trump’s family and efforts necessary to secure their multiple residences up and down the East Coast. Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles, in an interview with USA …

From a lengthy Vanity Fair piece on Steve Bannon: Recently, according to several sources, Bannon has told friends he wants Priebus to give his account of the James Comey firing to special prosecutor Robert Mueller. According to a source close to Priebus, the former chief of staff believes that the decision was made during an early May weekend in Bedminster, where …

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration has decided to disband the federal advisory panel for the National Climate Assessment, a group aimed at helping policymakers and private-sector officials incorporate the government’s climate analysis into long-term planning. The charter for the 15-person Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Climate Assessment — which includes academics as well as local officials and …