Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Trade war: “U.S. pork farmers could lose $100 million annually, after Mexico said it would slap a massive tariff on pork imports to retaliate against President Donald Trump’s aluminum and steel import levies, according to an estimate by the Iowa Farm Bureau.”
* Appointing this guy really was a bad idea: “German politicians are calling for Donald Trump’s ambassador to Berlin to be expelled after he was accused of meddling in domestic politics. Richard Grenell caused outrage over the weekend when he told right-wing outlet Breitbart that he wanted to ’empower other conservatives throughout Europe.’”
* Arkansas: “This week, Arkansas becomes the first state in the nation, and in the nation’s history, to require its non-disabled adult Medicaid expansion population to work or volunteer 80 hours a month to maintain their health care benefits.”
* Mangiante Papadopoulos, George Papadopoulos’ wife, “has taken to right-wing media to proclaim that Papadopoulos played no role in collusion with Russia. On Fox News Monday night, she expressed her hope that Trump would pardon her husband.”
* I’m skeptical about those assurances: “A Republican senator says he has been assured by the Trump administration that any North Korean nuclear deal would be submitted to Congress for approval. Sen. James Risch of Idaho made the remarks Tuesday during a Foreign Relations Committee hearing featuring two North Korea experts.”
* The inevitable appeal: “The Justice Department is appealing a ruling made last month that President Trump cannot block followers to his Twitter account based on their political views, according to a court filing.”
* Pentagon: “U.S. military operations killed approximately 500 civilians in 2017, as President Trump took command of the Pentagon and U.S. troops pursued the Islamic State and other militants overseas, a report made public on Friday found.” * Apparently, the brand wasn’t popular with the public: “This is the end of Monsanto as the world has long known it. New owner Bayer announced Monday that it will nix the brand name as soon as August, when its $66 billion acquisition of Monsanto is expected to be complete.” * Another day at the White House: “Crowd size still matters to President Donald Trump. He rescinded his invitation for the NFL champion Philadelphia Eagles to visit the White House after learning that only a ‘tiny handful’ of the team’s representatives planned to attend, according to White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.” 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
