Monday's politics & policy stories

Comey won't be testifying Wednesday
A House Oversight Committee hearing that was scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed. Jason Chaffetz had invited ousted FBI Director James Comey, who has not spoken publicly since President Trump fired him earlier this month, to testify at the hearing.
The reason for the delay: Comey wanted to consult with Bob Mueller, his predecessor as FBI chief and the Russia investigation's special counsel, per House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz.

The latest on Trump's Israel visit
President Trump is in Israel Monday, the second leg of his first foreign trip, where he's holding meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Follow along for live updates.
The latest: Trump and Melania have arrived at Netanyahu's residence, where they signed Bibi's guestbook and took a brief tour of the house. The two leaders then delivered a joint statement. They took no questions, but traded compliments and spoke of their optimism that a peace deal could be reached.

The Donald and Bibi Show
President Trump and Israeli PM Netanyahu delivered a joint statement before a dinner at Netanyahu's residence. They took no questions, but traded compliments and spoke of their optimism that a peace deal could be reached.

Report: Michael Flynn will plead 5th, decline subpoena
The Associated Press is reporting that Michael Flynn, the former general fired from his National Security Advisor role by President Trump for lying about his contacts with Russians, will decline a subpoena from the Senate Intelligence Committee.
- The sourcing: "[A] person with direct knowledge of the matter... spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private interactions between Flynn and the committee."
- Why this was coming: "Legal experts have said Flynn was unlikely to turn over the personal documents without immunity because he would be waiving some of his constitutional protections by doing so. Flynn has previously sought immunity from "unfair prosecution" to cooperate with the committee."
Background on the subpoena, here.

The trick for Trump: Sustain foreign trip successes
Air Force One just landed at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, with President Trump saying to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the tarmac arrival ceremony: "Hello, my friend." The President and First Lady will visit the Western Wall later this morning, ET.
Trump's weekend overture to the Muslim world, combined with his call to the national leaders in his audience to be tougher on their homegrown threat ("history's great test — to conquer extremism and vanquish the forces of terrorism"), has given him a momentary respite from the legal peril he left at home.

Trump wanted to veto bill to keep government open
Publicly, President Trump didn't seem overjoyed when, earlier this month, he signed a $1 trillion bill to keep the government open. Privately, his mood was much, much worse.
Behind-the-scenes: When the spending bill had been negotiated and finalized, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus phoned the former House Speaker John Boehner and told him the president doesn't like how the negotiation came out and is thinking about vetoing the bill. Boehner has told associates that Priebus asked him if he could talk Trump into signing the spending bill. Boehner said he would.

Trump budget to slash entitlements by $1.7 trillion
President Trump's 2018 budget proposal on Tuesday won't cut Social Security payments to retirees or Medicare, but it will make serious cuts to other entitlement programs. A source with direct knowledge tells me the Trump budget will save $1.7 trillion on the mandatory side over the next ten years.
Expected reaction: In the past couple days I've spoken to a number of White House officials about the budget proposal. The best summary, from one White House source: "Conservatives will love it; moderates will probably hate it." These mandatory cuts — especially to politically-sensitive programs like food stamps — will make some moderate Republicans as nervous as the recent health care bill did.

Trump's Saudi visit draws to a close
President Trump, pictured above with Egyptian President el-Sisi (L) and King Salman of Saudi Arabia at the opening of the Global Center for Combatting Extremist Ideology, has skipped the final item on his agenda in Saudi Arabia — a keynote address at the "Tweeps 2017" forum on using social media to combat extremism. Ivanka Trump appeared in her father's place.
- Saudi Arabia was Trump's first foreign stop as president, and he received a warm welcome — including an airport greeting from King Salman and an invitation to take part in a traditional sword dance.
- What the White House is saying, per the Washington Post's Philip Rucker: "Words senior White House officials used tonight to sum up Saudi leg of trip- "Historic," "ambitious," "action," "tough," "exhausted."
- Next stop: Israel. Follow along with the itinerary of the 8 day trip using this helpful card deck.

Trump's Saudi Arabia trip in six sentences
- "As Trump prepared for Riyadh visit, Saudis blocked U.S. on terrorist sanctions," by WashPost's Joby Warrick: "The plan to add the Islamic State's Saudi affiliate to a U.N. list of terrorist groups was quietly killed two weeks ago in a bureaucratic maneuver at the U.N. Security Council."
- "Corporate A-Listers Descend on Riyadh for Trump's CEO Summit," by Bloomberg's Anthony Capaccio and Kevin Cirilli: "Defense contractors were the big winners, but ... Trump's first day in Saudi Arabia yielded a slew of high-profile investment deals that showcased the administration's ability to draw support from major corporations."
- "To Saudis, ... Trump has become 'Abu [father of] Ivanka,'" by L.A. Times' Molly Hennessy-Fiske: "Saudi Arabia's fascination with Ivanka Trump highlights how far women have advanced in the kingdom, and how much further they have to go.
- NYT's Peter Baker and Mike Shear: "Trump and his team made clear they are willing to publicly overlook repression in places like Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states ... as long as they are allies in areas the president considers more important, namely security and economics."
- WSJ's Carol Lee: "Saudi Arabia, U.A.E. Pledge $100 Million to World Bank's Women Entrepreneurs Fund: Donation to be announced at event with Ivanka Trump, an advocate for businesswomen who proposed the fund." (White House notes it's not her fund — she's championing the issue and gave them the idea.)
- AP: Trump said this morning "he would accept an invitation made by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to visit Egypt. ... Trump was also overheard complimenting el-Sisi's shoes."

In speech to Muslims, Trump to push teamwork against terror
Seeking to reset both his own and his country's relationship with the Muslim world, President Trump will declare Sunday during a major speech in Saudi Arabia that he hopes the United States and Islamic countries can share "a hopeful future" while "stamping out extremism" together.
Trump also plans to sign an agreement among the U.S. and Persian Gulf countries to increase cooperation in tracking and prosecuting financiers of terror.
Why it matters: Trump's address, to the Arab-Islamic-American summit, follows an administration effort to get the Muslim world to take action in a united front against terrorism. This is part of a White House effort to shape a new Middle East coalition, with the aim an eventual Middle East peace agreement.

Co-founder: "I'm sorry" if Twitter helped elect Trump
On Friday, Twitter co-founder and Internet mogul Evan Williams said that if Twitter is to blame for the presidency then, "Yeah. I'm sorry." He added, "It's a very bad thing, Twitter's role in that." His remarks come less than a month after Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey said "it's important" the president has the power to tweet because it holds him accountable.
Why it matters: The conflicting perspectives resemble a familiar dilemma for tech media giants: Could their openness and accessibility, meant to promote democracy, be causing more political chaos than we are equipped to responsibly handle?










