| | | | Puzder out as Trump's nominee for labor secretary | | Andy Puzder has withdrawn as President Donald Trump's choice for labor secretary, a dramatic decision caused by a GOP revolt that claimed the first Cabinet nominee of the new administration.
What sank Puzder? GOP sources are privately pointing the finger at business groups for not giving political cover to Republicans amid Democratic criticism over his comments about the American workforce, Hardee's ads spotlighting bikini-clad women, his divorce and more. They say they were swamped by labor groups and progressive forces looking to derail Puzder, while the business community sat on the sidelines. A source said the unions have eaten "their lunch."
Democrats can't celebrate yet. Tom Perez, the last labor secretary under President Barack Obama, said he's "not optimistic" Trump will pick someone he can support. "His nominees have received less vetting than the refugees under his Muslim ban," Perez told reporters on a call today.
The next confirmation fight: Scott Pruitt, Trump's nominee to helm the Environmental Protection Agency. Tonight Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she would oppose the Oklahoma attorney general who frequently sued the EPA over its regulations. But Republicans don't need to worry yet: Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, is likely to support Pruitt.
Dining at the White House tonight with Trump: Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, per CNN's Ashley Killough.
Coming to Washington tomorrow: Restaurants and schools are preparing for a "Day Without Immigrants" protest, CNN's Tal Kopan reports, but so far, policymakers who live in the nation's capital haven't taken much notice. | | "As a Cuban, I'm quite familiar with standing up to the Castro brothers." | | | President Donald Trump was cooped up in Trump Tower during the transition, and has largely remained cooped up in the White House during his presidency. But this weekend he's hitting the road -- holding a campaign-style rally in Florida.
Trump's campaign is even launching radio ads around his Florida event, per NYT's Maggie Haberman: | | Trump calls the man he fired 'wonderful' | | From CNN's Dan Merica: President Donald Trump, who asked for and received then-national security adviser Michael Flynn's resignation Monday, today defended the fired aide as "a wonderful man."
Let's catch up: Flynn, who had deep connections with Trump fostered throughout the 2016 campaign, was asked to resign after it became public that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence on pre-inauguration conversations Flynn had regarding sanctions on Russia with Sergey Kislyak, the Kremlin's man in Washington.
What Trump said today: "Gen. Flynn is a wonderful man. I think he has been treated very, very unfairly by the media, as I call it, the 'fake media' in many cases. And I think it is really a sad thing that he was treated so badly."
The White House is sending mixed messages. Here's press secretary Sean Spicer's explanation yesterday of Flynn's firing -- and note the lack of blame on the media: "The evolving and eroding level of trust as a result of this situation and a series of other questionable instances is what led the President to ask for a Gen. Flynn's resignation." | | | Actor Ashton Kutcher was on the Hill today testifying at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on how to put an end to modern slavery when Sen. John McCain told him, "Ashton, you were better looking in the movies." Kutcher then blew McCain a kiss. | | 3 things you might have missed today | | Trump says Netanyahu should 'hold back' on settlements: President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States is going to push for a peace deal with the Palestinians and asked Israel "to hold back" on settlement construction. "I'd like to see you hold back on settlements for a little bit," he said, a stronger opposition to the controversial building in the West Bank than he's previously articulated. More from CNN's Jeremy Diamond.
McCain questions who's making comms decisions at the White House: Sen. John McCain, one of Trump's toughest critics, said he can't believe the "dysfunction" in White House communications. "Who's making the decisions in the White House?" McCain asked reporters Wednesday. "Is it the 31-year-old? Is it Mr. [Steve] Bannon? Is it the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff? I don't know." More from HuffPo's Jennifer Bendery.
The GOP may bring earmarks back: Earmarks, the simultaneously hated and beloved DC tool that lets lawmakers direct money to specific programs and projects, may be coming back. House Republicans are reopening their debate on earmarks, six years after they banned the practice that became the target of ire among conservatives and tea party groups. More from CNN's Tom LoBianco. | | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Check out Five Things for Your New Day, CNN's morning newsletter. Give us five minutes, and we'll brief you on all the news and buzz people will be talking about. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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