Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Checking off names from Trump’s enemies list: “Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council who testified during the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, was ‘escorted out of the White House’ on Friday afternoon, his lawyer said.”
* There’s no record of it ever reaching 64.9 degrees Fahrenheit at the tip of Antarctica: “The U.N. weather agency said Friday that an Argentine research base on the northern tip of Antarctica is reporting a temperature that, if confirmed, could be a record high for the icy continent.”
* New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced today that “the state will sue the Trump administration over its decision to bar New Yorkers from enrolling in Global Entry and other programs that allow travelers to pass quickly through airport security and customs.”
* AQAP: “President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. at his direction has conducted a counter-terrorism operation in Yemen that killed Qassim al-Rimi, an al-Qaida leader who claimed responsibility for last year’s deadly shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola, where a Saudi aviation trainee killed three American sailors.”
* Another immigration ruling of note: “A federal judge issued a permanent nationwide injunction Thursday against yet another Trump administration immigration policy: a move to make it harder for foreigners to remain in the U.S. after their legal status runs out.”
* Perhaps the cruelty is the point: “A rule change to the federal food stamp program proposed by the Trump administration would cause children in low-income families across the United States to go hungry, educators and hunger advocates told Congress on Thursday.”
* I’d like to hear more about this: “Lana Marks is a successful fashion designer and member of U.S. President Donald Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. Though she has no prior diplomatic experience, Marks is also Trump’s ambassador to South Africa, and last month she forced out her second in command, the veteran career foreign service officer David Young. Multiple current and former officials familiar say issues at the embassy arose over disputed accounts of the ambassador pushing for her son to take on an elevated role with the embassy.” * I suspect she’s afraid not to clap, given Trump’s sensitivities: “CIA Director Gina Haspel’s attendance at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union on Tuesday — and her decision to stand and clap at certain lines — has surprised former senior intelligence officials who say the agency director should consistently appear nonpartisan.” * No good can come of this: “House GOP lawmakers have picked Rep. Jim Jordan — one of President Donald Trump’s most loyal allies on Capitol Hill — to be the next top Republican on the powerful House Judiciary Committee.” Enjoy the weekend.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
