“The White House is installing senior aides atop major federal agencies to shadow the administration’s Cabinet secretaries, creating a direct line with loyalists who can monitor and shape White House goals across the federal bureaucracy,” Politico reports.

“The aides chosen by the White House—given the title of senior adviser in each agency—have already been responsible for hiring at some departments and crafting the blueprint of Trump policy before the Cabinet members win Senate confirmation to take office. They have worked with congressional aides, lobbyists and others seeking influence in the new administration.”

“The arrangement, described by four people involved in the transition planning, appears designed to help the White House maintain control over its priorities despite pledging to give Cabinet secretaries unusual autonomy. Having senior advisers reporting to both the agency chiefs and the White House could spur early tensions and create conflicts with that pledge of autonomy.”

Politico: “Now, just days after Trump’s inauguration, the donors expected to provide much of the funding for the group — the hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer and his daughter, Rebekah Mercer — are considering abandoning the effort and launching an independent effort of their own.”

“It is unclear precisely why Rebekah Mercer became unhappy with the plans for the organization, though tensions surfaced between her and Brad Parscale, who served as the Trump campaign’s digital director, during a December meeting in Trump Tower.”

The Washington Post has a must-read on the power struggles already happening inside the Trump White House.

“The broader power struggles within the Trump operation have touched everything from the new administration’s communications shop to the expansive role of the president’s son-in-law to the formation of Trump’s political organization. At the center, as always, is Trump himself, whose ascent to the White House seems to have only heightened his acute sensitivity to criticism.”

“I think sometimes we can disagree with the facts.”

— White House press secretary Sean Spicer, quoted by The Guardian.

“It’s not just about a crowd size. There’s this constant theme to undercut the enormous support he has. And it’s unbelievably frustrating when you’re continually told it’s not big enough; it’s not good enough. You can’t win.”

— White House press secretary Sean Spicer, quoted by The Hill.

Graydon Carter: “In manner and execution, and in his almost touching desire to be liked, Trump comes across not as larger than life but as one of the smaller people on the world stage. He always had a sort of oafish charisma: as we used to say at Spy, a hustler on his best behavior. In small groups, as many can attest, he has mastered the salesman’s trick of creating faux sincerity and intimacy when answering a question by including the first name of the person who asked it.”

“But no amount of grifter charm can conceal his alarming disregard for facts and truth. It’s this combination of utter ignorance and complete certitude that his detractors find most terrifying. Trump not only doesn’t know the unknowns but appears to have no interest in even knowing the knowns. Fact-checkers can’t keep up. How often does Obama play golf? Who cares—let’s inflate the number by 50 percent. What’s the murder rate in a major American city? What the hell—let’s multiply it by 10.”

“The writer Michael O’Donoghue used to say that the definition of insanity is the length of time it takes for a lie to be uncovered. The shorter the period, the crazier you are. By this standard, our president will be setting a new threshold for that definition.”

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that beginning later this week, he will take questions at his daily press briefing via Skype from reporters based outside of Washington, Politico reports.

“Spicer said four of the so-called ‘Skype seats’ will be available for each daily briefing… The Skype seats will be available to reporters based 50 miles or more outside of Washington who work for organizations who do not have a permanent ‘hard pass’ to the White House.”

A new Gallup survey finds President Trump’s approval rating at 45%, the lowest initial approval rating in the modern polling era.

U.S. government sources tell CBS News that President Trump’s visit to CIA headquarters on Saturday “made relations with the intelligence community worse” and described the visit as “uncomfortable.”

“Authorities are also pushing back against the perception that the CIA workforce was cheering for the president. They say the first three rows in front of the president were largely made up of supporters of Mr. Trump’s campaign.”