memeorandum: The shadow secretary of State (Stef W. Kight/Axios)

11:35 AM ET, May 29, 2017

Top Items:

Kushner's Relationship With Trump Tested as Russia Accusations Swirl — WASHINGTON — The most successful deal of Jared Kushner's short and consequential career in real estate and politics involves one highly leveraged acquisition: a pair of adjoining offices a few penny-loafer paces from his father-in-law's desk in the White House.

Discussion: The Guardian, Talking Points Memo, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mediaite, Raw Story, War in Context, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Times of Israel and Joe.My.God.

NBC News:

Kushner Asked to ‘Lay Low’ After Russia-Related Reports, Source Says — WASHINGTON — Back on his home turf after an eight-day foreign trip, President Donald Trump is once again facing down controversy — and now it's hitting close to home. — Trump was greeted on U.S. soil by new reports involving …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, CNN, Forbes, Washington Post, Raw Story, Business Insider, Balloon Juice, CNBC, The Times of Israel, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Media Matters for America and IJR

Eliana Johnson / Politico:

Trump's obsession over Russia probe deepens — President Donald Trump has been aggressively working the phones since returning this weekend from his foreign trip, talking to friends and outside lawyers as he obsesses over the deepening investigations into his aides and Russia.

Discussion: Politicus USA, Raw Story and Political Wire

Stef W. Kight / Axios:

The shadow secretary of State — While Rex Tillerson fills the official duties of America's top diplomat, Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, has a parallel foreign policy role that was on full display during Trump's first foreign trip last week. — A White House official told Axios …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Political Wire and ABC News

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
Kushner under pressure to take hiatus from White House: report

Discussion: The Right Scoop

Molly Ball / The Atlantic:

How Trump Is Torturing Capitol Hill — The speaker of the house strode to his lectern on a recent Thursday to confront another totally normal day on Capitol Hill: health care, tax reform, a president under investigation, rumblings of impeachment. — “Morning, everybody!” Paul Ryan chirped.

Discussion: Raw Story

Scott Bixby / The Daily Beast:

President Trump Turned International Diplomacy Into A Fistfight—And Lost … During his inaugural international trip as the leader of the free world, President Donald Trump learned the problem with first impressions—you only get to make one. — After indulging the royals of Saudi Arabia …

Discussion: Raw Story, Daily Mail, The Moderate Voice, Mediaite and New York Times

Washington Post:
Following Trump's trip, Merkel says Europe can't rely on ‘others.’ She means the U.S.

Discussion: The Atlantic, France 24 and Hot Air

Nile Gardiner / CNN:
President Trump passes his first test on the world stage

Discussion: Axios, War in Context and New York Post

ABC:

Vladimir Putin a bigger threat than Islamic State, John McCain says — Russian President Vladimir Putin is a bigger threat to world security than the Islamic State group, US senator John McCain has told the ABC. — The Republican also admitted in an exclusive interview with 7.30 …

Discussion: Axios, The Guardian, Political Wire, Associated Press, The Last Tradition, Raw Story and Mediaite

Brandon Carter / The Hill:

McCain: Putin a greater threat than ISIS … (R-Ariz.) said Monday that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is a greater threat to the world than ISIS. — In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's “7:30,” McCain said Putin is the “premier and most important threat, more so than ISIS.”

Discussion: ABC News

Richard Rubin / Wall Street Journal:

GOP's Proposed Tax Changes Are No Match for Status Quo — Republicans are scouring the tax code, searching for breaks to eliminate so they can offset the deep rate cuts they desire. But the biggest tax breaks are surviving and the boldest ideas for change are on political life support or already dead.

Julia Manchester / The Hill:

Huckabee on Trump priorities: ‘A beheading is still worse than a sunburn’ … Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) touted President Trump's priorities as combatting terrorism ahead of addressing climate change on Sunday by saying, “a beheading is worse than a sunburn.” — “I think Donald Trump

Discussion: Political Wire, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Gateway Pundit, Fox News Insider, IJR, War in Context, The Week, Breitbart and ThinkProgress

Matthew Karnitschnig / Politico:
What Angela Merkel meant at the Munich beer hall

Discussion: The Right Scoop and Hot Air

Samuel Osborne / The Independent:
Angela Merkel says Germany can no longer rely on Donald Trump's America: 'We Europeans must …

Discussion: Walid Shoebat, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Sputnik International, Conservative News Today, The Verge, bradford-delong.com, RedState and Breitbart

Charles M. Blow / New York Times:

Donald Trump: The Gateway Degenerate — Last week, when voters in Montana elected Greg Gianforte to fill the state's lone seat in the House of Representatives, even after he was recorded in a physical altercation with a reporter, many Americans — like me — were left to look on in astonished bewilderment.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Kurt Schlichter / Townhall.com:

Liberals Are Shocked To Find We're Starting To Hate Them Right Back — I know it's theoretically wrong for a Republican candidate to smack around an annoying liberal journalist, but that still doesn't mean that I care. Our ability to care is a finite resource, and, in the vast scheme of things …

Arutz Sheva:

Trump furious with Abbas: You lied to me — President Trump reportedly outraged with Palestinian Authority leader. ‘The Israelis showed me that you are involved in incitement.’ — Abbas and Trump — President Donald Trump lambasted Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas …

Discussion: Israpundit and RedState

Dan Rather:

Dear President Trump, — Their names were Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche and Ricky John Best. One was a recent college graduate. The other was an army veteran and father of four. I wish we would hear you say these names, or even just tweet them. They were brave Americans who died …

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Raw Story