Politics A.M.: ‘Never any hesitation’: Trump was quickly persuaded to support memo’s release

Trump's plan to use VA firing practices at other agencies threatens civil service workers — and the public; Trump escalates attacks on FBI leadership. This time claiming agency...

Democracy Dies in Darkness     The most important politics stories today   'Never any hesitation': Trump was quickly persuaded to support memo's release The president was vaguely aware of the document when GOP lawmakers began pressing him on making it public. By Philip Rucker, Ashley Parker and Josh Dawsey  •  Read more » PowerPost • Perspective Trump's plan to use VA firing practices at other agencies threatens civil service workers — and the public By striking at workplace rights, the new law undermines civil service protections that are designed to shield the public from a politicized workforce. By Joe Davidson  •  Read more »   Post Politics Trump escalates attacks on FBI leadership. This time claiming agency favored Democrats over Republicans. The president's early morning tweets comes on the day of an expected release of a controversial congressional memo. By John Wagner  •  Read more »   The Fix • Analysis The memo, the dossier and the political weaponization of misinformation Democrats ate up the Steele dossier, despite its unverified claims. Now it's being used by Republicans to make what the FBI alleges are misleading claims. By Aaron Blake  •  Read more »   Post Politics Trump to meet with North Korean defectors in Oval Office in bid to raise pressure on Kim Jong Un Experts warned the meeting could be interpreted as a threat by North Korea's ruling regime and make negotiations on nuclear weapons more difficult. By David Nakamura  •  Read more »   Fact Checker • Analysis Kevin McCarthy's stint as a small-business entrepreneur The House majority leader often tells the story of when he ran a deli as a young man. Here's what really happened. By Glenn Kessler  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT PowerPost Joe Arpaio pleads ignorance after recent interview with anti-Semitic weekly. It was his fifth. The former sheriff in Arizona is known for his hard-line views on immigration, 'birther' conspiracy mongering and Trump's pardon. By Eli Rosenberg  •  Read more »   PowerPost U.S. 'taking steps' to prevent future Russian election interference, Haley says The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations maintained a hawkish stance toward Russia, even after the White House passed this week on adding sanctions that Congress had requested. By Mike DeBonis and Carol Morello  •  Read more »   McConnell urges Mississippi governor to consider Cochran Senate seat The Senate majority leader talked to Gov. Phil Bryant about appointing himself to the seat if ailing Sen. Thad Cochran decides to step down. By Michael Scherer, Sean Sullivan and Josh Dawsey  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT PowerPost Trump to approve release of GOP memo Friday over objections from law enforcement, intelligence community The document, which alleges surveillance abuses by FBI, has set off a political firestorm. By Carol D. Leonnig, Josh Dawsey, Ellen Nakashima and Karoun Demirjian  •  Read more »   Public Safety Ex-Trump chair Paul Manafort's co-defendant shakes up defense team in Mueller probe Manafort's business partner Rick Gates, 45, makes third change in lawyers; reasons are under seal. By Spencer S. Hsu  •  Read more »   Public Safety Paul Manafort co-defendant's attorneys leaving defense team in Mueller probe It's the third change in representation for the former Trump campaign manager's business partner, Rick Gates. By Spencer S. Hsu  •  Read more »   Republicans and Democrats do battle over 'crumbs' for working Americans in tax legislation Pelosi's comments about the new tax law have become part of the GOP's election-year arsenal. New polling suggests they may be on to something. By Karen Tumulty  •  Read more »   Analysis Trump's speech ratings were even worse than you might have thought Sixteen of the last 25 speeches had a higher percentage of Americans tuning in. By Philip Bump  •  Read more »   The State of the Union got teleprompter Trump. The GOP retreat got real Donald Trump. After several days of staying on script and acting presidential, Trump was back to being Trump. By Jenna Johnson  •  Read more »   Recommended for you     Get The Finance 202 newsletter Your daily guide to where Wall Street meets Washington. Sign Up  »         Share Politics:    Twitter     Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for Politics or because it is included in your subscription. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2018 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071