memeorandum: Trump seeks to campaign on problems he promised to fix (Washington Post)

9:15 AM ET, April 8, 2019

Top Items:

Kirstjen Nielsen Resigns as Trump's Homeland Security Secretary — WASHINGTON — Kirstjen Nielsen, the homeland security secretary, resigned on Sunday after meeting with President Trump, ending a tumultuous tenure in charge of the border security agency that had made her the target of the president's criticism.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, Washington Post, Bipartisan Report, No More Mister Nice Blog, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Al Jazeera, The Week, National Review, BuzzFeed News, Rolling Stone, TalkLeft, Splinter and Mediaite

Daniel Lippman / Politico:

Stephen Miller pressuring Trump officials amid immigration shakeups — As President Donald Trump roils the capital over illegal immigration, his influential aide Stephen Miller is playing a more aggressive behind-the-scenes role in a wider administration shakeup.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Week, Raw Story and CNN

Axios:

Behind the scenes: Kirstjen Nielsen sacked by tweet — Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen brought her resignation letter with her when she met President Trump in the White House residence yesterday afternoon, top sources tell Axios. — Inside the room: She wasn't intent on quitting but was prepared to, sources tell us.

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite and New York Post

Stephen Collinson / CNN:
DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen's ouster exposes Trump's immigration crisis

Discussion: NPR, Fox News and ImmigrationProf Blog

Dara Lind / Vox:
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigns as Trump rage continues

Discussion: Crooked Timber and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Jacqueline Alemany / Washington Post:
Power Up: Nielsen's ouster signals even tougher Trump border rhetoric

Discussion: The Week, Los Angeles Times and Mother Jones

CNN:
Trump says DHS Secretary Nielsen leaving

Discussion: New York Times, Raw Story, NBC News, Politico, Trending Home, ABC News, The Sun and Townhall

Washington Post:
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen leaving Trump administration amid surge of migrants

Discussion: Just Security, Raw Story, Axios, twitchy.com, The Guardian, Bloomberg, New York Post, The New Civil Rights Movement and The Daily Caller

Wall Street Journal:
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen Resigns

Discussion: Latest from Crooks and Liars and Axios

Associated Press:
Homeland Security Sec. Nielsen resigns amid border turmoil

Discussion: FITSNews, Washington Press, POLITICUSUSA and The Resurgent

Axios:

Scoop: Former White House counsel Don McGahn off the record — Don McGahn, who has kept his head down since leaving as White House counsel, shared some off-the-record thoughts on Thursday in a lunch with about 40 senior Republican Senate aides. — Details: “I spent the last couple …

Discussion: Raw Story, Politico and Fox News

Paula Reid / CBS News:

DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigning after clashing with Trump on immigration — Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is resigning, President Trump announced in a tweet Sunday. CBS News first reported Nielsen's impending departure, which Mr. Trump announced after a 5 p.m. meeting at the White House.

Jesse McKinley / New York Times:

To Get Trump's Tax Returns, N.Y. Democrats Try a New Strategy — ALBANY — In an attempt to work around the White House, Democratic lawmakers in Albany are trying to do what their federal counterparts have so far failed to accomplish: to obtain President Trump's tax returns.

Discussion: The Hill and Contemptor

Lauren Fox / CNN: Trump, Democrats fight over tax returns: What happens now?

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Republicans are Trashing the Law to Keep Trump's Taxes Secret

Discussion: RedState and CNN

Associated Press:

Bernie Sanders finds himself in a new role as front-runner — DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is quieting critics who questioned whether he could recapture the energy of his upstart 2016 campaign, surpassing his rivals in early fundraising and establishing himself …

Discussion: Axios and Washington Post

Andy Shain / Post and Courier:

Biden still leads but Abrams, Buttigieg join front-runners in new SC 2020 primary poll — Former Vice President Joe Biden continues to hold a large lead in early polling for the 2020 South Carolina Democratic presidential primary, but it's another politician who has not entered the race …

Discussion: FITSNews

Byron York / Washington Examiner: Face it: Biden and Bernie are too old to be president

Washington Post:

Trump seeks to campaign on problems he promised to fix — President Trump is ratcheting up his attacks on immigration — making and then rescinding a threat to close the nation's southern border in response to a problem that has worsened on his watch. He's reviving his assault …

Jonathan Swan / Axios: A Pelosi-shaped cloud over Trump's NAFTA 2.0 chances

Maureen Groppe / USA Today:

Buttigieg to Pence: If you have a problem with who I am, your quarrel is with my creator — Here are a few facts about ‘Mayor Pete.’ — WASHINGTON - Pete Buttigieg got a hero's welcome as he took the stage Sunday at a fundraising brunch for a group that supports LGBTQ candidates.

Discussion: The Guardian, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Mercury News

Josh Lederman / NBC News:
‘A kind of war’: Buttigieg describes struggle with sexual orientation in emotional speech

Discussion: The Week

Chris Fox / BBC:

Websites to be fined over ‘online harms’ under new proposals — Internet sites could be fined or blocked if they fail to tackle “online harms” such as terrorist propaganda and child abuse, under government plans. — The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) …

Discussion: NB Blog, more at Mediagazer »

Tony Romm / Washington Post: U.K. unveils sweeping plan to penalize Facebook and Google for harmful online content

Politico:

Trump's health care brain trust says no thanks — Although the president walked back his promise for an Obamacare replacement ahead of 2020, lawmakers can neither escape the issue or muster a strong response. — President Donald Trump promised a new plan to replace Obamacare.

Jeremy Herb / CNN:

Nunes sending eight criminal referrals to Attorney General William Barr — (CNN)California Rep. Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said Sunday he was planning to send eight criminal referrals to Attorney General William Barr as soon as this week.

Discussion: Splinter, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and Mediaite

Rick Moran / Trending Home:
Nunes to Make Eight Criminal Referrals to Justice Department This Week

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Fox News and The Gateway Pundit

Zack Budryk / The Hill:

O'Rourke: US-Israel relationship must transcend ‘a prime minister who is racist’ — Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D), in an apparent reference to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Sunday that the relationship between the U.S. and Israel must transcend “a prime minister who is racist.”

Discussion: RedState, Splinter, Breitbart, middleeastmonitor.com and Reuters

Holly Bailey / Washington Post:
Beto O'Rourke on Benjamin Netanyahu: ‘Racist’

Discussion: CANNONFIRE and The Week

Lesley Stahl / CBS News:

How the NYU School of Medicine is going tuition-free — One of the top medical schools in the United States is going tuition-free. Lesley Stahl reports on how and why they're doing it — Going to medical school today takes more than ambition, good grades in biology in college, and an appetite for hard work.

Eliza Collins / USA Today:

How Nancy Pelosi is leading divided Democrats through political turmoil, Trump's administration — Nancy Pelosi is presiding over a vastly different Democratic caucus than the last time she was Speaker of the House. Will she keep it together? — CONNECT — FERGUSON, Mo. — Nancy Pelosi doesn't care what you think of her.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

David Siders / Politico:

Reality bites Beto after high-flying kickoff — The Texan is campaigning strong, but he's no longer in the stratosphere. — DES MOINES, Iowa — Between the prom proposal from a young admirer, the long lines for photographs and the conservative tracker recording his every word …

Discussion: Political Wire and Washington Post

Victor Davis Hanson / American Greatness:

All the Progressive Plotters — Right after the 2016 election, Green Party candidate Jill Stein—cheered on by Hillary Clinton dead-enders—sued in three states to recount votes and thereby overturn Donald Trump's victory in the Electoral College. Before the quixotic effort imploded …

Sally Goldenberg / Politico:

City Hall communications director moves to de Blasio's PAC as 2020 decision nears — Mayor Bill de Blasio's communications director is leaving City Hall to work on his federal political action committee, the latest sign that de Blasio is leaning toward a run for president.

Discussion: New York Times