Chris Pizzello / AP
The president accused his predecessor today of tapping his phones during the election. That's pretty significant.
His next tweet was about his TV show:
Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't voluntarily leaving the Apprentice, he was fired by his bad (pathetic) ratings, not by me. Sad end to great show
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017
Susan Walsh / AP
Jeff Sessions discussed campaign-related matters with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, including policy issues important to the Russian government and the potential relationship between the Russian government and a Trump administration, according to current and former U.S. officials, The Washington Post reports.
The evidence: This report is based on U.S. intelligence intercepts of Kislyak's accounts of two conversations with Sessions, who was a foreign policy advisor to Trump at the time of the alleged conversations.
One big caveat: Russia is known to create false intelligence reports to sow confusion in the U.S., and Kislyak may have exaggerated his meetings.
One U.S. official said that when Sessions testified that he had no recollection of an April encounter with Kislyak, he was giving "misleading" statements "contradicted by other evidence."
Andrew Harnik / AP
The Senate parliamentarian ruled Friday that some parts of the Senate health care bill do not comply with budget rules, meaning that if they're included in the bill, they'll need 60 votes to pass. (They won't get 60 votes.)
The biggest provisions that will have to come out if the Senate follows past precedent: Planned Parenthood defunding, abortion funding restrictions, and funding for insurer cost-sharing payments. However, one of the most controversial amendments of the bill, Sen. Ted Cruz's Consumer Freedom Act, wasn't included in her ruling, as it only addressed an earlier version of the bill that didn't include it.
The big things she said don't comply:
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra held a press conference today on behalf of 20 attorneys general who have signed a letter to President Trump urging him to maintain and defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program — a law protecting more than 750,000 undocumented young people, or "DREAMers." The attorneys general have said they will defend DACA if the president does not.
"Mr. President … you've said you want to see those DREAMers and those DACA recipients have a chance," Becerra said. "It makes no difference what the climate is in D.C., it's always a good thing to give a young person a chance."
Flashback: Trump has pledged to treat DACA recipients with "great heart" when looking at immigration reform. "To me, it's one of the most difficult subjects I have, because you have these incredible kids," he said.
Steven Senne, Carolyn Kaster, Susan Walsh, Evan Vucci, Alex Brandon / AP
A story written on Sally Yates firing has received the most social engagements of any other Trump story since he took office, according to SocialFlow. It used an algorithm to calculate which published stories had the most total engagement seconds based on whether someone clicked, reacted to, commented on or shared the article. Here are the top 5 most engaged stories from Trump's first 6 months in office:
Top coal industry lobbyist Andrew Wheeler is likely to be tapped as the No. 2. official at the Environmental Protection Agency, according to two people familiar with the decision-making process.
The expected appointment for deputy EPA administrator is a turnaround from last month when the White House was poised to tap Jeff Holmstead, a former top EPA official under President George W. Bush. Holmstead is considered to be a more moderate conservative compared to Wheeler and other officials inside the Trump administration.
Why it matters: Wheeler's likely nomination shows the influence of conservatives, both inside and outside the administration, over environmental and energy policy. Wheeler has been more outspoken in questioning the science behind climate change than Holmstead.
Wheeler's bio: Wheeler, now a principal at firm Faegre Baker Daniels Consulting, is a top lobbyist for Murray Energy, the coal mining company whose CEO, Bob Murray, is close with President Trump. Wheeler has steadily lobbied on behalf of the private coal producer since at least 2009, according to lobbying disclosure data. His most recent filing for the company was posted July 20, according to the federal disclosure website.
Wheeler has worked on Capitol Hill, including for Sen. James Inhofe (R., Okla.), when he was a leader on the environment committee. Many top officials at EPA and the White House have worked for Inhofe, who in turn has a long-standing relationship with EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. Pruitt was attorney general of Oklahoma before getting the EPA job.
For the record: Reached by email, Wheeler had no comment. Spokespeople for the EPA and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
What's next: No final decision has been made on the nomination, which would require Senate confirmation and is certain to face intense pushback from Democrats.
Lazaro Gamio / Axios
Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders briefed reporters on-camera (for the first time in 22 days) following Sean Spicer's resignation from the White House. Sanders then brought Anthony Scaramucci, the newly appointed WH Communications Director, up to the podium, where he announced that Sanders will replace Spicer moving forward. "The president loves Sarah. He think she's doing a phenomenal job," said Scaramucci.
Highlights from Friday's on-camera briefing:
Anthony Scaramucci
The last three months brought record-high lobbying spending from four major tech companies:
More 💰: Facebook spent $2.38 million this quarter, up from the same period last year but far from a record. Microsoft's bill for the quarter was just over $2 million.
Key context: Tech has been pushing back on some of the Trump administration's high-profile actions. But there's also issues like taxes and trade where major companies could score wins from the Republican Congress and White House.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has sent a letter to the White House requesting it preserve all documents relating to Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer last June, CNN first reported.
What they're requesting: emails, text messages, notes, voicemails, and any other documents about that June 9 meeting, as well as any communications about it since then.
Why this matters: This notice further confirms Mueller and his team are investigating Trump Jr.'s meeting, which was first suggested when he requested an interview from Ike Kaveladze, the 8th person who was revealed to have been in the meeting. And Axios previously learned that Trump's legal counsel advised him to avoid any discussions of the Russia probes with Jared Kushner, ultimately as a way to protect Trump since Kushner is so wrapped up in them. This all suggests the Russia probes are getting closer to Trump by way of those who are rather close to him, ultimately making it harder for him to avoid addressing.
Part of the letter, per CNN:
Lazaro Gamio / Axios
Reince Priebus and Anthony Scaramucci told the White House comms team earlier today that they were old friends and have known each other forever. While the length of their relationship is a fact, Reince, with the support of Steve Bannon and Sean Spicer, tried to block Scaramucci from getting the job, telling people he was woefully unqualified for the position.
At a 10 a.m. meeting this morning, President Trump offered Scaramucci the job as White House Communications Director.
Spicer quit after that meeting, according to the NYT's Glenn Thrush.
After the Oval Office meeting: Spicer, Priebus and Scaramucci stood in a row behind Sean's desk in the corner of the press secretary's office. A wall of TVs playing cable news was in the background. Some 40 staff gathered, according to a source in the room.
Spicer started off:
What's next: Scaramucci will spend the next week transitioning into the role and meeting his new staff.
Are the tweets what people want?