Politics A.M.: Trump’s ‘tougher on Russia’ claim fits a pattern of striving to one-up Obama

Here's how little Americans have learned about Donald Trump; Are Senate Republicans killing 'blue slip' for court nominees?

Democracy Dies in Darkness     The most important politics stories today   Trump's 'tougher on Russia' claim fits a pattern of striving to one-up Obama The 45th president frequently tries to outdo the 44th, even when facts get in the way. By Philip Rucker and Ashley Parker  •  Read more » Monkey Cage • Analysis Here's how little Americans have learned about Donald Trump Have the news media been so negative that Americans are tuning out their coverage? By Larry Bartels  •  Read more »   Fact Checker • Analysis Are Senate Republicans killing 'blue slip' for court nominees? The Senate's "blue slip" for judicial nominees could be on its way out. But it's not all it's cracked up to be. By Salvador Rizzo  •  Read more »   Post Politics Wealthy donors ramp up political giving for 2018 midterms A handful of individual donors have given seven figures or more thus far in the election cycle — a sign of donor enthusiasm ahead of a crucial midterm year. By Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Anu Narayanswamy  •  Read more »   PowerPost Rubio faces backlash from students, gun control advocates after shooting Rubio drew special attention when he said the 2016 Orlando shooting was a life-altering event and then ran for reelection. His Senate record on guns has drawn scrutiny. By Sean Sullivan  •  Read more »   Trump, citing 'evil massacre' in Florida, starts talking about gun control The president has yet to cross the NRA, but has privately discussed ideas that could put him at odds with the gun-rights group. By Jenna Johnson, Mark Berman and Josh Dawsey  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT A lawmaker's aide called school-shooting survivors crisis actors. Within hours, he was fired. Benjamin Kelly, a Republican Florida aide, had said David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez "are not students here but actors that travel to various crisis when they happen." By Marwa Eltagouri  •  Read more »   Pence was set to meet with North Korean officials during the Olympics before last-minute cancellation The vice president's office promoted his trip as an effort to combat what it said was North Korea's effort to use the Winter Games for propaganda purposes. By Ashley Parker  •  Read more »   PowerPost Democrat wins state House race in Kentucky after a Republican's scandal and suicide In 2016, as Donald Trump won Kentucky by the biggest margin of any Republican presidential candidate in history, Belcher lost her seat by just 156 votes to Republican pastor Dan Johnson. By David Weigel  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT PowerPost Toomey, sensing 'momentum,' plans revival of bill to expand background checks "We're going to take a swing at that and I'm hoping we'll be able to do it," said Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.) By Robert Costa and Ed O'Keefe  •  Read more »   PowerPost • Perspective USDA staffer shocks agency with public admission about sex for promotion The Agriculture Department employee was placed on administrative leave after she unexpectedly told her story at a Black History Month event. By Joe Davidson  •  Read more »   Analysis Sarah Sanders offered a very bad defense of Trump's response to Russia And a worse one on Trump's tweet blaming the Russia investigation for the recent mass shooting. By Philip Bump  •  Read more »   Post Politics Trump directs Attorney General Sessions to propose regulations to ban 'bump stocks' Trump said he expects "that these critical regulations will be finalized ... very soon." By Jenna Johnson and Mark Berman  •  Read more »   Courts & Law Thomas dissents from Supreme Court decision not to review California gun law Justice says his colleagues are turning the Second Amendment into a "disfavored right." By Robert Barnes  •  Read more »   The Fix • Analysis Trump was 'too controversial' for CPAC in 2016. Now a Le Pen will address the conservative conference. CPAC has been remade in the president's image. The inclusion of Marion Maréchal-Le Pen is further proof. By Callum Borchers  •  Read more »   Recommended for you     Get the 5-Minute Fix newsletter Keeping up with politics is easy now, three days a week. 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