Political Wire

Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!

GOP Worries Bannon Is Putting Senate Majority at Risk

October 10, 2017 at 8:53 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Republicans on Capitol Hill fear that Stephen Bannon’s plan to wage primary challenges against incumbent senators will put their majority at risk in 2018,” The Hill reports.

“Senate GOP aides warn that Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist, is not motivated by a desire to advance President Trump’s agenda, but instead by a quest to remake the GOP in his own, nationalist image.”

Said one Senate aide: “If anyone misunderstands what Steve Bannon’s goal is, they have to open their eyes. He doesn’t care if we win or lose the Senate. He doesn’t care about the consequences for the president.”

How Israeli Spies Detected Russian Hackers

October 10, 2017 at 8:43 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“It was a case of spies watching spies watching spies: Israeli intelligence officers looked on in real time as Russian government hackers searched computers around the world for the code names of American intelligence programs,” the New York Times reports.

“What gave the Russian hacking, detected more than two years ago, such global reach was its improvised search tool — antivirus software made by a Russian company, Kaspersky Lab, that is used by 400 million people worldwide, including by officials at some two dozen American government agencies.”

“The Israeli officials who had hacked into Kaspersky’s own network alerted the United States to the broad Russian intrusion, which has not been previously reported, leading to a decision just last month to order Kaspersky software removed from government computers.”

Ex-Trump Adviser Refuses to Testify

October 10, 2017 at 5:59 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, informed the Senate Intelligence Committee that he will not be cooperating with any requests to appear before the panel for its investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and would plead the Fifth,” Politico reports.

“A former naval-officer-turned-energy consultant, Page came under fire last year after reports emerged that he had met with high-level associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in 2016. While Page denied those meetings occurred, the Trump campaign distanced itself from the adviser not long after.”

White House Fears Paul Will Block Tax Plan

October 10, 2017 at 5:25 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) “outspoken opposition to a leadership-backed Obamacare repeal-and-replace bill and the backup Graham-Cassidy plan helped demolish the GOP’s health care agenda. And now Republicans are worried that the contrarian Paul is going to do the same on tax reform by coming out early and vocally against their work,” Politico reports.

Said one ally to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: “You have to assume he’s going to be a no on everything.”

“The Senate will consider the budget teeing up tax reform in mid-October, and Paul is privately sending signals he’ll vote against it, just as he did on the budget setting up Obamacare repeal in January, when he was the lone Republican senator to do so.”

Trump Says He’ll Keep Many Government Positions Vacant

October 10, 2017 at 5:23 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump told Forbes that the size of some federal agencies is “unnecessary,” which is why he has left vacant so many positions that would require a presidential appointment.

Said Trump: “I’m generally not going to make a lot of the appointments that would normally be — because you don’t need them. I mean, you look at some of these agencies, how massive they are, and it’s totally unnecessary. They have hundreds of thousands of people.”

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

October 10, 2017 at 4:15 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The big advantage that I would get is if the economy does well. That’s a great thing for me–politically and otherwise. But the economy is a very, you know it’s very interesting, Randall. I built a great business, but it doesn’t mean anything to me. My children are running it. It doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. I don’t even think about it because this is so big, what I’m doing now.”

— President Trump, in an interview with Forbes, on whether his tax reform plan would benefit his own family.

Clinton ‘Appalled’ by Allegations Against Weinstein

October 10, 2017 at 2:40 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Hillary Clinton says she’s “shocked and appalled” by the revelations of sexual abuse and harassment being leveled at Harvey Weinstein, the AP reports.

“Clinton has been a beneficiary of the Weinstein family’s donations to Democratic causes. She said nothing about those donations in her statement.”

A must-read from the New Yorker: Weinstein’s accusers tell their stories.

And from the New York Times: Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and others say Weinstein harassed them.

Collins Will Announce Plans on Running for Governor

October 10, 2017 at 1:33 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) will announce Friday morning whether she will run for governor of Maine in 2018, CNN reports.

“Collins, among the most moderate GOP senators, has been a thorn in President Donald Trump’s side… But were she elected, her departure from the Senate would be a sharp blow to Republicans because without Collins, the seat would become much more difficult to keep out of Democratic hands in 2020.”

NFL May Require Players to Stand During Anthem

October 10, 2017 at 1:09 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The owners of the NFL are reportedly considering a rule change that would make it mandatory for players to stand during the national anthem,” CNBC reports.

“A league spokesman said that the owners would discuss the potential change during a meeting next week.”

California’s Primary System Helps Feinstein

October 10, 2017 at 12:58 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

Despite intense criticism from liberals over Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) decision to seek reelection, the 84-year old senator is heavily favored to win.

Join now to continue reading.

Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more.

If you’re already a member, sign in to your account.

Trump Mocks Corker’s Height

October 10, 2017 at 12:33 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump escalated his attack on Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) “by ridiculing him for his height, even as advisers worried that the president was further fracturing his relationship with congressional Republicans just a week before a vote critical to his tax cutting plan,” the New York Times reports.

“Trump gave Corker a derogatory new nickname — ‘Liddle Bob‘ — after the two exchanged barbs in recent days.”

“In labeling Mr. Corker ‘liddle,’ the president was evidently returning to a theme. He considered Mr. Corker for secretary of state during the transition after last year’s election but was reported to have told associates that Mr. Corker, at 5-foot-7, was too short to be the nation’s top diplomat.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

October 10, 2017 at 12:09 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I think one of the greatest of all terms I’ve come up with is ‘fake.'”

— President Trump, quoted by The Hill.

Husband and Wife Both Challenge Tester

October 10, 2017 at 12:07 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Another Republican has announced that he’s running to unseat Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) next year – and his wife is challenging Tester as a Democrat, KXTN reports.

James Dean (R) and his wife, Sarah Dean (D), filed their respective paperwork as candidates this week with the Federal Election Commission.

Bannon Privately Slammed Pence Pick

October 10, 2017 at 11:57 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Steve Bannon privately slammed the selection of Mike Pence as Donald Trump’s running mate a month before taking over the Trump campaign,” according to emails obtained by BuzzFeed News.

“The email exchange during Bannon’s first stint as executive chairman of Breitbart is of new relevance as Bannon — two months removed from his role as President Trump’s chief strategist — rolls out his plan for a wide-ranging attack against establishment Republicans in 2018. And it reveals that Bannon regarded the Pence pick as something of a deal with the devil necessary to bolster Trump’s standing in the GOP.”

Is Facebook Spinning Out of Control?

October 10, 2017 at 10:36 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Financial Times: “Like a shamed company announcing a product recall, Facebook bought full-page adverts in The New York Times and The Washington Post last week in an attempt to shore up its reputation. It was not suspending the social network that has become a ubiquitous news source and multibillion-dollar ad machine. But Russia’s weaponisation of Facebook to influence last year’s US election has raised grave questions about whether Mark Zuckerberg’s product is spinning out of control.”

Trump Has Backdoor Way to Lift Obamacare Regulations

October 10, 2017 at 9:51 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump, desperate for a health-care win that Congress couldn’t hand him, is pursuing a backdoor way of letting more Americans buy insurance plans free of the Obamacare regulations that Republicans have blamed for big premium hikes and costly deductibles,” the Washington Post reports.

“In theory, letting people buy cheaper, leaner plans sounds great. Until you’re diagnosed with a chronic condition or serious disease. Experts say that if insurers are allowed to sell stripped-down plans, the move will prompt healthy people to exit the Obamacare marketplaces and flock to those plans instead.”

Trump Says Corker Was Set Up

October 10, 2017 at 9:46 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump tweeted that the New York Times set up Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) up by recording his recent interview with the newspaper.

Said Trump: “Was made to sound a fool, and that’s what I am dealing with!”

However, reporter Jonathan Martin responded that Corker’s staff also recorded the conversation and were aware he was recording.

Hawley Will Challenge McCaskill

October 10, 2017 at 9:16 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) officially announced his intention to challenge Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) in 2018, the Kansas City Star reports.

“Hawley’s official announcement also comes shortly after The Star reported that Hawley had been reaching out to former White House strategist Steve Bannon amid speculation that Bannon, executive chairman of the conservative website Breitbart, may back another candidate.”

Bannon’s site praised Hawley over the weekend, calling him a “hardcore conservative who will not go along to get along like McConnell wants in Washington.”