Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Quite a sight: “Capitol Police forcibly removed protesters gathered outside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office on Thursday, with at least one photo showing drops of blood on the hallway floor.”
* Missile defense: “An American attempt to gauge the military’s ability to shoot down medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles and counter potential threats from North Korea failed Wednesday night, according to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and the Japan Ministry of Defense.”
* Quite a swamp: “More than 100 former federal lobbyists have found jobs in the Trump administration, despite President Trump’s campaign pledge to restrict the power of special interests in Washington, according to a tally provided to USA TODAY by a Democratic group.”
* On a related note: “One of President Donald Trump’s newest appointees is a registered agent of Saudi Arabia earning hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobby on the kingdom’s behalf, according to U.S. Department of Justice records reviewed by the Center for Public Integrity.”
* This really was weird: “President Trump blasted wind power during a rally in Iowa Wednesday night despite the fact that the state gets nearly a third of its power from the alternative energy source.” * I’d be interested in the White House’s response to this: “The inflammatory pundit Sebastian Gorka worked for the FBI while he was a paid consultant to Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, lecturing bureau employees on counterterrorism issues. Until the FBI terminated Gorka for his over-the-top Islamophobic rhetoric.” * Anyone know why the White House still hasn’t formally submitted Chris Wray’s FBI nomination to the Senate? That seems weird. Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
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
