Today’s edition of quick hits:
* I’m not sure who else would want her job: “Prime Minister Theresa May survived an effort to oust her as head of Britain’s ruling Conservative Party on Wednesday, leaving her standing but wounded as the government scrambles to negotiate Brexit just months before the U.K. is due to leave the European Union.”
* I’m not sure who’d want Kelly’s job, either: “President Trump has told Rep. Mark Meadows, considered one of the front-runners for the White House chief of staff job, that he wants him to remain in Congress, a White House official said on Wednesday.”
* I wish he understood why comments like these cause so much trouble: “U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would intervene with the U.S. Justice Department in the case against a Chinese telecommunications executive if it would help secure a trade deal with Beijing.”
* On a related note: “U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he stood by Saudi Arabia’s crown prince despite a CIA assessment that he ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and pleas from U.S. senators for Trump to condemn the kingdom’s de facto ruler.”
* Stories like these don’t inspire confidence in Team Trump: “The Trump Organization, the family real estate interests of presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner and Trump friend Richard LeFrak, a New York developer, could all benefit from a new federal program that has designated ‘opportunity zones’ in ‘economically distressed’ areas around the country and offers tax benefits for developers.”
* This will die in the House, but I was glad to see it pass anyway: “The Senate passed legislation Wednesday to reverse a Trump administration policy limiting donor disclosure requirements for political nonprofits in a rare rebuke to the White House.”
* Seriously, Michigan? “The state’s chief medical executive is facing a jury trial on Flint water crisis criminal charges including involuntary manslaughter but that hasn’t prevented her from securing a new job — one that pays well and has civil service protections.”
* It’s about time: “More than a year after the #MeToo era began, the House and Senate reached a deal Wednesday to change their policies on sexual harassment, paving the way for reforms to take effect when the new Congress convenes in January.” * Once in a while, Trump manages to get some good news from a court case: “A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels to pay President Trump about $293,000 in legal fees and sanctions after her defamation suit against him was dismissed.” * Something for the Barr file: “President Trump has repeatedly derided prosecutors investigating potential coordination between his presidential campaign and Russia as ‘angry Democrats,’ pointing to their past political donations as proof of bias. But William P. Barr, Trump’s nominee to lead the Justice Department and oversee the Russia investigation, would be by far the most prolific political donor to step into the country’s top law enforcement post in at least a quarter-century, according to a Washington Post analysis.” 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
