memeorandum: Mitch McConnell says GOP will pass health and tax reform without Democrats (Caitlin Owens/Axios)

3:55 PM ET, February 17, 2017

Top Items:

David Brooks / New York Times:

What a Failed Trump Administration Looks Like — I still have trouble seeing how the Trump administration survives a full term. Judging by his Thursday press conference, President Trump's mental state is like a train that long ago left freewheeling and iconoclastic, has raced through indulgent …

Discussion: NBC News and Liberal Values

Evan McMullin / New York Times:

A Party to the Russian Connection — President Trump's disturbing Russian connections present an acute danger to American national security. According to reports this week, Mr. Trump's team maintained frequent contact with Russian officials, including senior intelligence officers, during the campaign.

Discussion: Politicus USA

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

The Silence of the Hacks — The story so far: A foreign dictator intervened on behalf of a U.S. presidential candidate — and that candidate won. Close associates of the new president were in contact with the dictator's espionage officials during the campaign, and his national security adviser …

David Leonhardt / New York Times:
A Big Week for Health Care

Discussion: Vox and Lawyers, Guns & Money

New York Times:
Bring On the Special Prosecutor

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Common Dreams, Simple Justice, Salon, CNN and Hullabaloo

Alex Guillén / Politico:

Democrats: GOP will ‘rue the day’ it pushed Pruitt vote for EPA — The Senate confirmed Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency Friday, installing one of the agency's fiercest critics as the nation's leading environmental regulator just hours …

Discussion: ABC News, New York Magazine, Business Insider, Mashable and NPR

Amy Harder / Wall Street Journal:
Senate Set to Confirm Scott Pruitt as EPA Chief

Discussion: Axios, BostonGlobe.com and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Max Greenwood / The Hill:
EPA employees call on senators to reject Trump EPA pick: report

Discussion: MichelleMalkin.com, CNN and New York Times

Emily Atkin / New Republic:
Scott Pruitt Deserves as Much Outrage as Betsy DeVos

Discussion: Politico, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Common Dreams, The Huffington Post, Mother Jones and The Daily Caller

Brady Dennis / Washington Post:
Judge orders EPA nominee Pruitt to release emails with oil, gas, coal industry

Discussion: The Atlantic, Washington Post, The Week, Media Matters for America and Business Insider

Wall Street Journal:

Jared Kushner Delivers Critique of CNN to Time Warner Executive — Trump's son-in-law and adviser complains that coverage has been slanted against the president — Jared Kushner, senior White House adviser, has expressed the administration's deep concerns about CNN's news coverage.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Politico, TheBlaze, New York Magazine, Mediaite and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:
Ana Navarro hits Kushner for complaining about CNN: 'Oh, baby boy, I'm so sorry'

Discussion: The Guardian and RedState, more at Mediagazer »

Erin Corbett / Raw Story:
‘Little Jared complaining about me’: Ana Navarro slams Kushner for complaints about her Trump coverage

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Associated Press:

Trump Weighs Mobilizing National Guard for Immigration Roundups — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (GARANCE BURKE) — (AP) — The Trump administration is considering a proposal to mobilize as many as 100,000 National Guard troops to round up unauthorized immigrants, including millions living nowhere near …

Discussion: The Atlantic, ThinkProgress, No More Mister Nice Blog, Talking Points Memo, IJR, RedState, Snopes.com and Eschaton

Teresa Welsh / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Trump wouldn't be first president to mobilize National Guard for immigration enforcement

Discussion: TheBlaze

Dara Lind / Vox:
The Trump administration proposed deputizing some National Guard units to arrest immigrants

Discussion: Daily Wire, Slate, Hot Air, Business Insider, AOL, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Tim Alberta / Politico:

'I'm a Dead Man Walking' — None of this feels normal. The congressman greets me inside his Washington office wearing a wrinkly collared shirt with its top two buttons undone, faded denim jeans and grungy, navy blue Crocs that expose his leather-textured feet.

Discussion: RedState, Washington Post, AOL, Balloon Juice, Raw Story, The Week and Axios

Laurie Goodstein / New York Times:

A Jewish Reporter Got to Ask Trump a Question. It Didn't Go Well. — Jake Turx is a newly minted White House correspondent for a publication that has never before had a seat in the White House press corps: Ami Magazine, an Orthodox Jewish weekly based in Brooklyn.

Discussion: Newsmax, RedState, ThinkProgress, Media Matters for America, Washington Post, Infowars, BizPac Review, Haaretz, CNN, Mediaite, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Week, Lawyers, Guns & Money and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:
In 77 Chaotic Minutes, Trump Defends ‘Fine-Tuned Machine’

Discussion: Rush, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, New York Magazine, Mother Jones, The Week, Balloon Juice and Eschaton, more at Mediagazer »

Oliver Holmes / The Guardian:

Suspect in North Korea killing ‘thought she was taking part in TV prank’ — Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, duped and ‘not aware it was assassination attempt by alleged foreign agents’, says head of police — An Indonesian woman arrested for suspected involvement in the killing …

Discussion: Mediaite and New York Magazine

Simon Denyer / Washington Post:
In China, a sense of betrayal after the assassination of Kim Jong Nam

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Reuters, AOL and Hot Air

CNN:

Officials: Mike Dubke to be named as White House communications director — Washington, D.C. (CNN)Crossroads Media founder Mike Dubke is expected to be named as White House Communications Director, two administration officials tell CNN. — The appointment is expected to be announced as early as Friday, the officials say.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, RedState, Hot Air, The Root, New York Magazine, Need To Know Network, The Week and Washington Times

Hugh Hewitt / The Hugh Hewitt Show:
CBS News John Dickerson On The Elite media, President Trump And The Public's Opinion Of Both

Discussion: Breitbart, The Federalist and Mediaite

Michael Goodwin / New York Post:

Sorry media — this press conference played very different with Trump's supporters — MORE FROM: — Maybe it's not a coincidence that Barnum & Bailey is folding its tents this year. After all, how could the circus possibly compete with Donald Trump? — The president proved once again that he is the greatest show on earth.

Discussion: Althouse, The Atlantic, Betsy's Page, BizPac Review, US News, Washington Monthly, Geller Report and Liberal Values

Nick Timiraos / Wall Street Journal:

Trump Team's Growth Forecasts Far Rosier Than Those of CBO, Private Economists — While there are often disparities between the White House and independent agencies on growth projections, they are rarely this large — WASHINGTON—The Trump administration has drafted preliminary economic growth forecasts …

Discussion: Vox

Asawin Suebsaeng / The Daily Beast:

Journalists Whisper at Trump's Crazy Press Conference: ‘This Is Insane’ — On Thursday afternoon, President Donald Trump's staff corralled the White House press corps into the East Room of the White House so that he could sing the praises of his new Labor Secretary pick, Alexander Acosta.

Discussion: CNBC, Salon, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo, Raw Story, Real Clear Politics, American Greatness and Maggie's Farm

John Podesta / Washington Post:
Trump's dangerous strategy to undermine reality

Discussion: Politico

Max Greenwood / The Hill:

Dem senator: I may face 2018 primary from Tea Party-esque progressives — (D-Mo.) on Thursday compared a faction of Democrats calling for their party to become increasingly progressive to the Tea Party movement that grew out of Republicans' opposition to President Barack Obama

Chris Massie / CNN:
Sen. Claire McCaskill says she may face 2018 primary, compares Democratic base to Tea Party

Discussion: Mediaite

Margaret Brennan / CBS News:

State Dept. carries out layoffs under Rex Tillerson — While Rex Tillerson is on his first overseas trip as Secretary of State, his aides laid off staff at the State Department on Thursday. — Much of seventh-floor staff, who work for the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources …

Discussion: Reuters, The Guardian, Rush, Hot Air, RedState and New York Post

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:

Democrats raise questions about Trump's mental health — A growing number of Democrats are openly questioning President Trump's mental health. — Rep. Earl Blumenauer — (D-Ore.) in a floor speech this week called for a review of the Constitution's procedures for removing a president.

Discussion: New York Times, Raw Story, Booman Tribune, The Week, alan.com, NBC News and New York Magazine

Asawin Suebsaeng / The Daily Beast:

Leaked Emails: Dem State Leaders Think Obama's New Organizing Army is ‘Grade A Bulls**t’ — It is difficult to overstate just how enraged state Democratic activists and leaders are with Organizing for Action (OFA), the political and community-organizing army that grew out of Barack Obama's presidential campaigns.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Daily Caller and twitchy.com

Colum Lynch / Foreign Policy:

Flynn Pressured U.N. On Israel Vote Before Taking Office — A month before inauguration, President Donald Trump's would-be national security adviser sought to scupper a U.N. resolution condemning Israel. — Nearly a month before Donald Trump was sworn in as president, Michael Flynn …

Discussion: Fox News

Sheera Frenkel / BuzzFeed:

White House Staff Are Using A “Secure” App That's Really Not So Secure — Some senior officials are using a new messaging app that may not be as secure as it claims. “We would not recommend this app to someone looking for secure messaging,” one expert told BuzzFeed News.

Discussion: Axios

Associated Press:

Chaffetz seeks charge of ex-Clinton aide in email inquiry — WASHINGTON — The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, who has refused Democratic requests to investigate possible conflicts of interest involving President Donald Trump, is seeking criminal charges …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, RedState, garnetnews.com, Political Wire and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

John McCain just systematically dismantled Donald Trump's entire worldview — John McCain is increasingly mad as hell about President Trump. And on Friday, he went after Trump — hard. — During a speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, the Arizona Republican delivered …

Discussion: Medium

Sydney Brownstone / The Stranger …:

Detained Dreamer's Lawyers Say Government Doctored Document to Justify False Gang Affiliation — Daniel Ramirez Medina's lawyers say the government doctored his request to be removed from the Northwest Detention Center's gang unit. — Lawyers for Daniel Ramirez Medina, the twice-authorized …

Discussion: Seattle City Council Insight, Daily Kos, The Seattle Times, The Atlantic and ThinkProgress

Wall Street Journal:

President Donald Trump Praises Boeing, Suggests More Plane Purchases Coming — In speech in South Carolina, president reinforces economic themes of campaign — President Donald Trump on Friday heaped praise on Boeing Co. and suggested the U.S. government could increase its business …

Discussion: CNBC and Cafe Hayek