The Hill: “Eleven members of Congress have paid family members from their campaign accounts so far this year.”
“The practice has also come under increased scrutiny since the election of President Trump, who installed his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner into top White House jobs. Neither takes a salary, but both wield significant power as senior advisers to the president.”
Bloomberg: “Almost two-thirds of Americans, or 63%, report being stressed about the future of the nation, according to the American Psychological Association’s Eleventh Stress in America survey… The ‘current social divisiveness’ in America was reported by 59% of those surveyed as a cause of their own malaise.”
“A majority of the more than 3,400 Americans polled, 59%, said ‘they consider this to to be the lowest point in our nation’s history that they can remember.’ That sentiment spanned generations, including those that lived through World War II, the Vietnam War, and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.”
President Trump called the New York Times to insist that he was not “angry at anybody” and that investigations into his campaign’s links to Russia had not come near him personally.
Said Trump: “I’m not under investigation, as you know.”
After noting his “fantastic poll numbers” he said: “I’m in the office early and leave late; it’s very smooth. Honestly, I’m really enjoying it.”
Politico: “Pelosi told lawmakers at a Democratic leadership meeting soon after that she had reached out to the Democratic megadonor to tell him that his $10 million ad campaign was a distraction.”
“Pelosi is eager to show her party can govern — in contrast to the chaos surrounding Trump — and believes that a reputation as the ‘No Drama Democrats’ is key to taking back the House in 2018 and whisking her backing into the speaker’s chair.”
“While not an official slogan, Pelosi has discussed the strategy broadly in recent leadership and caucus meetings, urging members to avoid talk of impeachment and resist taking Trump’s bait on whatever topic is dominating his Twitter feed that day.”
Rolling Stone: “Democrats fear Trump may take steps to push Mueller out in order to bury the investigation that seems to keep getting closer to him and members of his family. There are two competing bipartisan proposals floating around the Senate that would set up barriers to protect the special counsel from being ousted by the president. And with the investigation heating up, Democrats are itching to pass the bills quickly.”
“Democrats who are at the center of this push to protect Mueller say their GOP colleagues tell them when they speak with them in private that they’re open to supporting their proposals – the announcements Monday really shook many in the party.”
“House Republicans are scrambling to release their tax bill on Thursday after being forced to postpone the roll-out because of resistance from GOP lawmakers from Democratic states,” Politico reports.
“Tensions are running ‘very high,’ said a source familiar with the 11th-hour talks… In fact, Republican tax writers could be heard speaking in raised voices during a more than two-hour meeting at the Capitol Tuesday night. Sources say there is some unhappiness among rank-and-file members who feel the plan has been written largely by party leaders without their input.”
“White House economic adviser Gary Cohn told GOP senators during a closed-door lunch Wednesday that House Republicans need to release their tax bill before Friday, when Trump is leaving for Asia.”
For members: Republicans Repeat the Mistakes of Health Care
“BlackMattersUS, a social media campaign believed to be Russians meddling in the U.S. politics, promoted a large anti-Trump march in New York City in the days after the election,” BuzzFeed reports.
“The archived events page shows the event was shared with 61,000 people, 33,000 were interested in the event and 16,000 people marked themselves as going… In the weeks after the election, it wasn’t hard to convince people in New York City to attend an anti-Trump protest, which might help explain the size of the protest.”
Bill O’Reilly, the former Fox News prime-time host who was forced out this year after a series of sexual harassment claims, is apparently not welcome at conservative Sinclair Broadcast Group, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Said Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley: “We get approached all the time by a lot of people, and he did approach us. But we do not have any interest in hiring him.”
However, Politico reports that Newsmax is courting O’Reilly for a potential deal that would return him to cable television.
President Trump called for “quick” and “strong” justice for terror suspects in the wake of the deadly New York City attack, saying that it is not surprising terror attacks happen because the way the United States punishes terrorists is “a laughing stock,” CNN reports.
Trump also said he would consider sending the attacker to the controversial prison at Guantanamo Bay.
“Russian operatives targeted users on Facebook by race, political preference, religion and interests such as gun ownership, according to advertising data released by lawmakers as part of congressional investigations into Russian manipulation on social media around the U.S. election,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The new data show the sophistication of the Russian effort to hit precise groups of people to amplify specific, simmering tensions within the U.S.”
Politico: The social media ads Russians wanted Americans to see.
Washington Post: “Paul Manafort keeps three U.S. passports with different identification numbers and submitted 10 passport applications in as many years, the office of special counsel Robert Mueller disclosed in a new court filing Tuesday arguing that Manafort poses a significant flight risk.”
Gabriel Sherman: “The first charges in the Mueller probe have kindled talk of what the endgame for Trump looks like, according to conversations with a half-dozen advisers and friends of the president. For the first time since the investigation began, the prospect of impeachment is being considered as a realistic outcome and not just a liberal fever dream. According to a source, advisers in the West Wing are on edge and doing whatever they can not to be ensnared. One person close to Dina Powell and Gary Cohn said they’re making sure to leave rooms if the subject of Russia comes up.”
“The consensus among the advisers I spoke to is that Trump faces few good options to thwart Mueller. For one, firing Mueller would cross a red line, analogous to Nixon’s firing of Archibald Cox during Watergate, pushing establishment Republicans to entertain the possibility of impeachment.”
“Trump, meanwhile, has reacted to the deteriorating situation by lashing out on Twitter and venting in private to friends. He’s frustrated that the investigation seems to have no end in sight… According to two sources, Trump has complained to advisers about his legal team for letting the Mueller probe progress this far.”
A new Monmouth poll in New Jersey finds Phil Murphy (D) holds a 14 point lead over Kim Guadagno (R) among likely voters in the race for governor, 53% to 39%.
The Miami-Dade County Democratic Party will stop campaigning for Miami Beach City Commission candidate Rafael Velasquez (D), who is “accused of recently exposing himself to” congressional candidate Kristen Rosen Gonzalez (D), the Miami Herald reports.
Ta-Nehisi Coates: “On Monday, the retired four-star general and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly asserted that ‘the lack of an ability to compromise lead to the Civil War.’ This was an incredibly stupid thing to say. Worse, it built on a long tradition of endorsing stupidity in hopes of making Americans stupid about their own history. Stupid enjoys an unfortunate place in the highest ranks of American government these days. And while one cannot immediately affect this fact, one can choose to not hear stupid things and quietly nod along.”
“For the past 50 years, some of this country’s most celebrated historians have taken up the task of making Americans less stupid about the Civil War. These historians have been more effective than generally realized. It’s worth remembering that General Kelly’s remarks, which were greeted with mass howls of protests, reflected the way much of this country’s stupid-ass intellectual class once understood the Civil War. I do not contend that this improved history has solved everything. But it is a ray of light cutting through the gloom of stupid. You should run to that light. Embrace it. Bathe in it. Become it.”
Donald Trump “did not dismiss the idea of arranging a meeting with Russia’s president when it was suggested in a meeting with his campaign foreign policy advisers last year, according to a person in the room,” CNN reports.
“The idea was raised by George Papadopoulos as he introduced himself at a March 2016 meeting of the Republican candidate’s foreign policy advisers.”
“Some employees at Fox News were left embarrassed and humiliated by their network’s coverage of the latest revelations in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling,” according to conversations CNN had with several individuals placed throughout the network.
Said one: “I’m watching now and screaming. I want to quit.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.