Fox News Channel's Tucker Carlson Tonight will air an exclusive interview with beleaguered Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who checked in from a gang violence discussion in El Salvador to discuss his place in the White House's palace intrigue.
The key quote on Trump's criticism: "It's kind of hurtful but the President of the United States is a strong leader… he wants us all to do our job and that's what I intend to do."
Why it matters: At least for the time being, Sessions is indicating that he's not planning on going anywhere — meaning Trump will have to fire him in order to oust him. Should Trump decide to go down that path, he'll open himself up to actual, sustained criticism from Republican lawmakers, who have begun to circle their wagons around Sessions.
Press Secretary Sarah Sanders faced a series of questions about the reported tense relationship between Trump's new White House Communications Director, Anthony Scaramucci, and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus during Thursday's WH briefing. Her response? "I think the President as always enjoys healthy competition and conversation."
She later dodged questions on whether Trump still has confidence in Priebus, given the president's reported disappointment with his inaction, and instead stated that the Trump WH is one that "has a lot of different perspectives because the president hires the very best people." And as for Scaramucci's suggestion on firing those responsible for the leaks coming out of the White House? "I'm not going to comment on Anthony's suggestion. I'll let him speak for himself," she said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham blasted President Trump's most recent attacks to CNN reporters this morning.
On attacking AG Sessions: "I'm 100% behind Jeff Sessions... There will be no confirmation hearing for a new Attorney General in 2017. If Sessions is fired there will be holy hell to pay.
On attacking FBI Director Mueller: ""Any effort to go after Mueller could be the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency., unless Mueller did anything wrong. Right now, I have no reason to believe Mueller is compromised."
Iranian state television announced Thursday that the country successfully launched a rocket carrying a satellite into space, per AP. The launch reportedly involved a "Simorgh" rocket (which means "phoenix" in Farsi) that is able to hold a 550 pound satellite.
Why it matters: Iran has been developing its satellite program for years, and denies claims that they're using the space program as a backdoor for long-range missiles. Despite their assurances, the U.S. and its allies worry the same technology could be used for more advanced weapons development.
InMay, following criticism from President Trump for its ballistic missile tests, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that his country would not wait for permission from the U.S. to continue its work on its missile program.
President Donald Trump said he expects in September to declare Iran not compliant with the 2015 nuclear agreement hammered out with the U.S. and five other leading countries. If he pushes forward with the expectation, made in remarks to The Wall Street Journal, he could trigger a new escalation in already-high tension between Iran and the U.S.
But the actual impact of a U.S. withdrawal on Iran or its nuclear program will depend on how Tehran and Europe respond. European powers seem unlikely to follow the U.S. in lockstep, and there is much financial reason — business deals between European companies and Iran — to keep the deal in place, at least as far as they are concerned.
Why it's important: Trump's beef and that of other deal critics is that Iran has continued its ballistic missile program, along with its aggressive regional politics. None of that is likely to halt or even slow because the U.S. withdraws from the deal. But it could lead Iran to bust out of the terms of the agreement and resume its suspected development of a nuclear weapon.
President Trump's surprise decision this morning to ban transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military was fast-tracked in order to save a House spending bill — imperiled by a dispute over Pentagon-funded gender reassignment treatment for transgender military personnel — that would fund some of his key promises, including a border wall, per Politico.
Conservative Republicans asked more moderate figures, including Paul Ryan and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, to intervene to prevent the Pentagon from funding gender reassignment treatments, but found themselves consistently rebuffed — leading them to contact the White House directly.
More than expected: Trump's decision to apparently expel all transgender individuals from military service was far beyond what conservative Republicans were asking for regarding the spending bill.
A key quote: A senior House Republican aide told Politico, ""This is like someone told the White House to light a candle on the table and the WH set the whole table on fire."
Newly-appointed Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump's decision to bar transgender people from serving in the U.S. military was "based on a military decision. It's not meant to be anything more than that." She also claimed that the Obama-era policy enabling the Pentagon to fund gender transition surgery is "a very expensive and disruptive policy."
When asked what will happen to transgender members of the military currently serving overseas, Sanders couldn't answer, but stated that the DoD and WH will have to work together "as implementation takes place and is done so lawfully."
Although he received fewer votes than Romney, McCain and George W. Bush, Trump still managed to win 14% of the LGBTQ vote in November. After Trump's twitter announcement banning transgender Americans from serving in the military, pro-Trump and conservative LGBTQ groups had varying responses.
Hillary Clinton's new memoir, which a longtime ally of hers has described as a "bombshell", will have a lengthy passage on how Russia's interference in the 2016 election and ex-FBI Director James Comey's actions contributed to her astonishing loss, reports The Hill's Amie Parnes, citing sources familiar with the book, which is set for release in September.
Privately, Clinton has told her friends that she "wants the whole story out there from her own perspective":
"She really believes that's why she lost, and she wants to explain why in no uncertain terms," said the ally. "I think a lot of people are going to be really surprised by how much she reveals."
"She believes she would have won and that Russia and Comey ultimately brought her down," said another longtime adviser. "She feels validated by all the news circulating out there about Russia."
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise has been discharged from the hospital six weeks after sustaining a life-threatening gunshot wound during an attack on a Republican congressional baseball practice in Virginia. He plans to return to Congress after completing "a period of intensive inpatient rehabilitation."
Forty-eight percent of voters said it would be wrong for Trump to remove Special Counsel Robert Mueller, while only 22% said it would appropriate, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll.
Democrats think it would be inappropriate to fire Mueller 67% to 11%, with 22% having no opinion.
Independents also tend to be against firing Mueller 47% to 19%, with 34% having no opinion.
But Republicans tend to think it would be appropriate 37% to 29%, with 34% having no opinion.
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski was one of two Republicans to vote "no" on the Senate's motion to start the health care debate last night, forcing Vice President Mike Pence to cast a tie-breaking vote. President Trump, who described the two "no" votes as "very sad," singled out Murkowski in a Wednesday morning tweet, saying that she "let the Republicans, and our country down yesterday. Too bad!"
Murkowski said Tuesday that her decision to vote no was a last-minute one, and at the end of the day, her loyalty to "the process" won out, per Alaska Dispatch News. Murkowski added that Sen. John McCain, who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer and received a standing ovation for flying in from Arizona just to vote "yes" on the motion, told her that despite that their disagreements, she "did the right thing."
President Trump's announcement this morning banning transgender individuals from military service stated that their service would cause the military to be "burdened with tremendous medical costs and disruption." However, a 2016 study by the nonpartisan RAND Corporation on the topic indicated just the opposite.
Why it matters: The reasons that Trump and his "generals and military experts" gave for the ban don't stand up to scrutiny, and the announcement seems more of a play to his base and a distraction from his growing discontent with Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Nearly half (49%) of Trump voters incorrectly believe he won the popular vote in the 2016 presidential election, according to a recent Politico/Morning Consult poll. Overall, 59% of registered voters correctly identified Clinton getting more popular votes, and 72% of registered voters correctly identified Trump winning the electoral college.
Why it matters: Hillary Clinton received 2.8 million more votes than Trump, who won the presidency by winning more votes in the electoral college, according to the Federal Elections Commission. Almost half of Trump voters disbelieving this highlights the pervasiveness and effectiveness of the fake news epidemic and illustrates again the partisan divide in the U.S.
President Trump slipped into campaign mode Tuesday evening before an enthusiastic crowd in Youngstown, Ohio. He repeated his claim that he's accomplished more than almost any other president during his first six months in office, getting some of his biggest cheers of the night by comparing himself to the greats:
"With the exception of the late great Abraham Lincoln, I can be more presidential than any president that's ever held this office."
"I'd ask whether or not you think someday I should be on Mount Rushmore, but here's the problem — if I did it jokingly, having fun, the fake news media would say he believes he should be on Mount Rushmore, so I won't say it, I won't say it."
