House GOP leaders fear support eroding for Trump's shutdown fight

Source: Politico

Several dozen House Republicans might cross the aisle this week to vote for Democratic bills to reopen shuttered parts of the federal government, spurring the White House into a dramatic effort to stem potential GOP defections.

White House officials and Republican congressional leaders worry that GOP support for the shutdown is eroding, weakening President Donald Trump’s hand as he seeks billions of dollars for a border wall that Democrats have vowed to oppose, according to GOP lawmakers and aides.

Hoping to sway skeptics in his party and the broader public, Trump will make an Oval Office address Tuesday night to discuss what he called the “Humanitarian and National Security Crisis on our Southern Border," he said on Twitter. Then he will visit the border region on Thursday.

Vice President Mike Pence and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen will address House Republicans on Tuesday evening. The House is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a Democratic bill designed to fund the IRS and several other agencies, the first of four bills Democrats hope will peel off Trump's GOP support in the House.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/07/gop-support-trump-government-shutdown-1085348

Pissed Off Mom Confronts Scott Pruitt at Washington Restaurant About His Many Misdeeds

Source: Splinter

Kristin Mink was having lunch with her toddler in Washington, D.C., when she noticed who was sitting three tables over: EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.

In a video posted to her Facebook account, Mink walks up to Pruitt and an unidentified companion and confronts him over his record of environmental deregulation and open corruption. According to Mink’s video, the confrontation occurred at Teaism in downtown Washington on Monday.

“Hi, I just wanted to urge you to resign because of what you’re doing to the environment and our country,” Mink says. “This is my son. He loves animals. He loves clean air. He loves clean water. Meanwhile, you’re slashing strong fuel standards for cars and trucks, for the benefit of big corporations.”

Pruitt’s smile turns to a frown as Mink speaks, and he glances nervously to the man sitting across from him.

Read more: https://splinternews.com/pissed-off-mom-confronts-scott-pruitt-at-washington-res-1827299922

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny arrested at anti-Putin protest

Source: CNN

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was detained by police Saturday shortly after arriving at a protest against President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, his official Facebook page said.

Navalny's team, which organized the protest in Moscow and several other cities in Russia, told CNN he was detained shortly after arriving at central Pushkinskaya Square in the Russian capital.

Images showed Navalny, who was arrested for illegal protest organization, being carried through the crowds by police.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/05/europe/russia-navalny-arrest-protest-intl/index.html

Senate to postpone confirmation hearing for Ronny Jackson to head Veterans Affairs, White House offi

Source: Washington Post

Senate lawmakers have postponed the confirmation hearing for Ronny L. Jackson, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, after top Republicans and Democrats raised concerns about his qualifications and oversight of the White House medical staff, White House and other administration officials were told Monday.

The development came just two days before Jackson was scheduled to testify before the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and threw what was already looking to be a difficult confirmation process into further jeopardy.

In addition to Jackson’s lack of management experience, the White House physician and former combat surgeon had come under fire for his glowing appraisal of Trump’s health in January, during which he said the president might live to the age of 200 with a healthier diet. In recent days, fresh concerns arose about his management of the White House medical office, said the officials, who declined to provide details.

“I can tell you we’re vetting out Jackson,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the committee’s ranking Democrat. “I can’t get into specifics, but we’re doing our job to make sure he’s fit for the job.”

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-postpones-confirmation-hearing-for-ronny-jackson-to-head-veterans-affairs/2018/04/23/8d2bfd14-471d-11e8-ad53-d5751c8f243f_story.html

CIA Director Pompeo met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over Easter weekend

Source: Washington Post

CIA Director Mike Pompeo made a top-secret visit to North Korea over Easter weekend as an envoy for President Trump to meet with that country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, according to two people with direct knowledge of the trip.

The extraordinary meeting between one of Trump’s most trusted emissaries and the authoritarian head of a rogue state was part of an effort to lay the groundwork for direct talks between Trump and Kim about North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, according to the two people, who requested anonymity because of the highly classified nature of the talks.

The clandestine mission, which has not previously been reported, came soon after Pompeo was nominated to be secretary of state.

“I’m optimistic that the United States government can set the conditions for that appropriately so that the president and the North Korean leader can have that conversation will set us down the course of achieving a diplomatic outcome that America so desperately — America and the world so desperately need,” Pompeo told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week during his confirmation hearing.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/us-china-trade-dispute-looms-over-trump-summit-with-japans-abe/2018/04/17/2c94cb02-424f-11e8-bba2-0976a82b05a2_story.html

Mueller Investigating Ukrainian's $150,000 Payment for a Trump Appearance

Source: New York Times

The special counsel is investigating a payment made to President Trump’s foundation by a Ukrainian steel magnate for a talk during the campaign, according to three people briefed on the matter, as part of a broader examination of streams of foreign money to Mr. Trump and his associates in the years leading up to the election.

Investigators subpoenaed the Trump Organization this year for an array of records about business with foreign nationals. In response, the company handed over documents about a $150,000 donation that the Ukrainian billionaire, Victor Pinchuk, made in September 2015 to the Donald J. Trump Foundation in exchange for a 20-minute appearance by Mr. Trump that month through a video link to a conference in Kiev.

Michael D. Cohen, the president’s personal lawyer whose office and hotel room were raided on Monday in an apparently unrelated case, solicited the donation. The contribution from Mr. Pinchuk, who has sought closer ties for Ukraine to the West, was the largest the foundation received in 2015 from anyone besides Mr. Trump himself.

The subpoena is among signs in recent months that the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, is interested in interactions that Mr. Trump or his associates had with countries beyond Russia, though it is not clear what other payments he is scrutinizing.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/09/us/politics/trump-mueller-ukraine-victor-pinchuk.html

Trump decides to remove national security adviser, and others may follow

Source: Washington Post

President Trump has decided to remove H.R. McMaster as his national security adviser and is actively discussing potential replacements, according to five people with knowledge of the plans, preparing to deliver yet another jolt to the senior ranks of his administration.

Trump is now comfortable with ousting McMaster, with whom he never personally gelled, but is willing to take time executing the move because he wants to ensure both that the three-star Army general is not humiliated and that there is a strong successor lined up, these people said.

The turbulence is part of a broader potential shake-up under consideration by Trump that is likely to include senior officials at the White House, where staffers are gripped by fear and un­certainty as they await the next move from an impulsive president who enjoys stoking conflict.

For all of the evident disorder, Trump feels emboldened, advisers said — buoyed by what he views as triumphant decisions last week to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum and to agree to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The president is enjoying the process of assessing his team and making changes, tightening his inner circle to those he considers survivors and who respect his unconventional style, one senior White House official said.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-decides-to-remove-national-security-adviser-and-others-may-follow/2018/03/15/fea2ebae-285c-11e8-bc72-077aa4dab9ef_story.html?utm_term=.f5f59f713e1d

Fox host on Trump s---hole remark: 'This is how the forgotten men and women talk'

Source: The Hill

Fox News host Jesse Watters defended President Trump's reported remark calling Haiti and some African nations "shithole" countries on Thursday, arguing that the "forgotten men and women" who make up the president's base would approve of the remark.

On Fox News's "The Five," Watters fought back against criticism from Democrats and some Republicans over Trump's remark, which some have deemed racist and offensive to immigrants from those nations.

"This is how the forgotten men and women of America talk at the bar," Watters told his co-hosts. "If you're at a bar, and you're in Wisconsin, and you think they're bringing in a bunch of Haiti people, or El Salvadorans, or people from Niger, this is how some people talk."

"Is it graceful? No," he added. "Is it polite, or delicate? Absolutely not. Is it a little offensive? Of course it is. But you know what? This doesn't move the needle at all."

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/368631-fox-host-on-trump-s-hole-remark-this-is-how-the-forgotten-men

It's been almost a year since the New Yorker's most heartbreaking cover

Did Lindsey Graham forget that his friend John McCain gave the dossier to Comey?

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who has often clashed with Trump and who passed the dossier to Comey after receiving it last year, said even after learning about Clinton’s role in its production, he still believes the FBI needs to look into the allegations.

“I received the document, I looked at it, I thought that it ought to be seen by the proper authorities and I took it immediately over to Mr. Comey,” McCain said on Wednesday. “Who else was involved or whatever else players there were, it was my duty to give it to him and not to do anything else with it.”