memeorandum: Rep. Farenthold of Texas says he would challenge female GOP senators to a duel — if they were South Texas men (Samantha Schmidt/Washington Post)

1:50 PM ET, July 25, 2017

Top Items:

Jeff Sessions Is Growing ‘Pissed’ at Trump, His Allies Say. And He Doesn't Plan to Quit. … Attorney General Jeff Sessions has no plans to leave office as friends say he's grown angry with President Donald Trump following a series of attacks meant to marginalize his power and, potentially, encourage his resignation.

Discussion: Raw Story and Politicus USA

Erick Erickson / The Resurgent:

Cabinet Level Revolt Over Trump's Treatment of Jeff Sessions. “A Clusterf**k” One Secretary Calls It. — “If he can get treated that way, what about the rest of us?” one of the President's Cabinet secretaries asked me with both shock and anger in his voice.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Lesley Clark / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Trump messes with Sessions, and Senate Republicans are not pleased — President Donald Trump is getting a bitter Washington lesson when he messes with Jeff Sessions - you don't pick a fight with one of the Senate's guys. — It's a lesson that could cost him politically in a Senate …

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, NPR, Power Line, TheBlaze, Washington Monthly, Mediaite, Daily Wire, The Week, IJR, Common Dreams, AOL, ABC News, CNBC, RedState and Politicus USA

Washington Post:

Trump leaves Sessions twisting in the wind while berating him publicly — President Trump and his advisers are privately discussing the possibility of replacing Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and some confidants are floating prospects who could take his place were he to resign or be fired, according to people familiar with the talks.

Adam Shaw / Breitbart:

Trump's Attack on Sessions over Clinton Prosecution Highlights His Own ‘Weak’ Stance — President Trump's decision Tuesday to attack Attorney General Jeff Sessions over Sessions' “position” on Hillary Clinton's various scandals only serves to highlight Trump's own hypocrisy on the issue …

Mike Allen / Axios:

Trump in phone call: “What would happen if I fired Sessions?” — President Trump, in one of his hallmark rituals, recently called a longtime political associate and asked out of the blue: “What would happen if I fired Sessions?” — Trump has been openly undermining Attorney General Jeff Sessions …

Discussion: RedState, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Talking Points Memo, Washington Times, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, Raw Story, Politico and Newsweek

Chris Cillizza / CNN:

The 29 most cringe-worthy lines from Donald Trump's hyper-political speech to the Boy Scouts — Washington (CNN)On Monday night, President Donald Trump jetted to West Virginia to address the annual Boy Scout Jamboree. And oh what a speech it was! — Trump ranged from the current health care bill …

Betsy Klein / CNN:

Trump slams Sessions, rips DOJ in Twitter outburst — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump lashed out at his attorney general and Justice Department in an extraordinary outburst on Twitter Tuesday morning, continuing his public shaming of Jeff Sessions while appearing …

Veronica Stracqualursi / ABC News:
The Note: Trump has sights set on belittling Sessions

Discussion: HuffPost, Washington Post, Politico, National Review, Political Wire and National Journal

Julia Marsh / New York Post:
Ex-Jets player sues Jeff Sessions to legalize marijuana

Discussion: The Root, The Daily Caller, ProFootballTalk and Gothamist

Jenna Johnson / Washington Post:
After Trump's partisan speech, Boy Scouts of America reiterates that it is ‘wholly non-partisan’

Discussion: Shareblue, Raw Story, The Week and IJR

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
Boos for Obama as Trump speaks at Boy Scout jamboree

Discussion: Raw Story, Politico, CNN, Shareblue, vice, Business Insider, The Root, Mashable and The Week

Washington Post:
Trump's Boy Scouts speech broke with 80 years of presidential tradition

Discussion: Vox, ThinkProgress, RedState, IJR, Shakesville, Mashable, Jezebel, Daily Kos, The Week and Balloon Juice

Associated Press:
AP sources: Trump speaks to advisers about firing Sessions

Discussion: Lawfare, The American Conservative, New York Magazine and IJR

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
Donald Trump's public bullying of Jeff Sessions is embarrassing

Discussion: ABC News, Bloomberg and ThinkProgress

BBC:
Trump boy scout Jamboree speech angers parents

Discussion: NPR, Breitbart, HuffPost, New York Magazine, Raw Story, Daily Wire, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Common Dreams, IJR and Friendly Atheist

Tara Palmeri / Politico:

Scaramucci threatens to ‘fire everybody’ to stop White House leaks — President Donald Trump's newly appointed communications director Anthony Scaramucci said Tuesday that he is prepared to “fire everybody” in the White House communications shop in order to put an end to embarrassing internal leaks.

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, New York Magazine, Washington Times, Political Wire, IJR, The Week, AOL, Jezebel and Washington Free Beacon, more at Mediagazer »

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Conflicting reports emerge over firing of White House press aide

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, IJR and Washington Free Beacon

Washington Post:
New communications director moves toward possible staff purge at White House

Discussion: Axios, Talking Points Memo, Politico, TVNewser, The Week, Political Wire and Booman Tribune, more at Mediagazer »

Sharon Begley / STAT:

Psychiatry group tells members they can defy ‘Goldwater rule’ and comment on Trump's mental health — leading psychiatry group has told its members they should not feel bound by a longstanding rule against commenting publicly on the mental state of public figures — even the president.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, Common Dreams, IJR, The Verge, Althouse and Washington Monthly

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Obamacare repeal vote still too close to call — Senate Republicans neared a dramatic vote Tuesday to start dismantling Obamacare claiming that momentum is on their side — but not sure they actually have the votes. — At stake are not just the seven-year-old campaign pledge to repeal Obamacare …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, Axios, Vox, The Hill, Mother Jones, Political Wire, Hullabaloo and Scared Monkeys

Dylan Scott / Vox:

Skinny repeal: the last-ditch idea to save the Senate health care bill — “Skinny repeal” is the latest ploy from GOP leaders. — Sources suggest that Senate Republicans are weighing a last-ditch idea to pass some kind of health care bill in the coming days: a narrowly focused Obamacare repeal bill.

Discussion: Axios, Mother Jones, New York Times, Jezebel, Daily Kos, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Post and Politico

Caitlin Owens / Axios:
The Senate's evolving health care plan

Discussion: Politico, Vox, New York Magazine, NBC News and Talking Points Memo

Robert Costa / Washington Post:

Boehner predicts Republicans will ‘never’ repeal and replace Obamacare — Former House speaker John A. Boehner, who has mostly avoided public commentary since leaving Congress two years ago, told a business gathering last week that Republicans are “not going to repeal and replace Obamacare” …

Discussion: ABC News, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, The Resurgent, Politico, Axios, Business Insider, Political Insider blog, NTK Network, Talking Points Memo, AOL and The Week

Madeline Conway / Politico:

Senate panel subpoenas Manafort as campaign aides provide Russia information — A Senate committee said Tuesday it sent Paul Manafort a subpoena compelling his testimony in its Russia probe, even as he and Jared Kushner were providing information to other congressional investigators …

Discussion: ABC News, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Axios, The Root, Political Wire and The Week

Josh Delk / The Hill:
Ivanka Trump retains defense lawyer for Russia investigation

Discussion: Shareblue

New York Times: Manafort Talks With Senate Investigators About June 2016 Meeting With Russians

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

Senators on hot mic: Trump is ‘crazy,’ 'I'm worried' — At the end of a Senate subcommittee hearing on Tuesday morning, Chairman Susan Collins (R-Maine) didn't switch off her microphone. Apparently speaking to Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.), the ranking Democrat of the committee …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Politicus USA, Political Wire, The Week, Washington Free Beacon and Mediaite

Samantha Schmidt / Washington Post:
Rep. Farenthold of Texas says he would challenge female GOP senators to a duel — if they were South Texas men

Discussion: Mother Jones, AOL, Bearing Arms, Off the Kuff, Mashable and Daily Kos

Josh Delk / The Hill:

US Navy ship fires warning shot at armed Iranian vessel in Persian Gulf — A U.S. Navy ship in the Persian Gulf fired warning shots on Tuesday at an armed Iranian patrol boat, which did not respond to the warnings, U.S. defense officials told CNN. — Officials believed the Iranian vessel …

Discussion: IJR

CNN: US Navy ship fired warning shots at an Iranian boat in the Persian Gulf

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Trump White House Tests a Nation's Capacity for Outrage — GLEN JEAN, W.Va. — Remember that time President George W. Bush told his attorney general to investigate Al Gore for his “crimes”? Or President Barack Obama called for a Justice Department prosecution of John McCain?

Discussion: Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog and Mother Jones

NBC Universal:

MSNBC MOST WATCHED OF ALL CABLE NETWORKS IN WEEKDAY PRIME FOR 1ST TIME IN NETWORK HISTORY — MSNBC Was Also #1 from 7pm to Midnight in Total Viewers for All of Cable for the Week — For the first time in the network's 21-year history, MSNBC finished the week as the most-watched cable …

Discussion: Daily Wire, Mediaite and The Last Tradition, more at Mediagazer »

Wall Street Journal:

More U.S. Cars Are Being Made in Mexico — Donald Trump may have targeted offshore production, but it has grown this year, fueled by sales of popular SUVs and pickups — The “Made in Mexico” label has become more plentiful on American car lots this year, even as auto makers pressured …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Courtney Vinopal / Washingtonian:

Joshua Green: In Trump's World, “You're Never Really Dead if You Just Stick Around and Endure It” — The Bloomberg Businessweek correspondent has written a fascinating account of Steve Bannon's role in Trump's campaign. — When journalist Joshua Green attended a screening of a documentary …

CNN:

Videos suggest Russian government may be arming Taliban — Two videos obtained by CNN suggest the Taliban have received improved weaponry supplied by the Russian government — Russia's Foreign Ministry declined to comment but has previously called claims they are arming the Taliban “utterly false”

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Week and Defense One