| | | | | Rules set out during former President Barack Obama's time regarding transgender children head to the dustbin as the Trump administration Wednesday night withdrew guidance on bathroom use in public schools. The announcement is a significant victory for opponents of the Obama administration's guidelines, who believe the federal government should never have gotten involved in the issue. Civil rights groups, meanwhile, decried the move as an attack on transgender children that denies them equal rights.
The Obama administration had interpreted Title IX, the federal law that bans sex discrimination in schools, to include gender identity. One source told CNN that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos did not originally support a draft of the plan. Read the full story from CNN's Ariane de Vogue, Mary Kay Mallonee and Emanuella Grinberg. | | Meanwhile, the State Department remains quiet | | CNN's Nicole Gaouette writes: For more than a month, as the United States has tangled with China, floated new terms for Middle East peace, watched North Korea test a ballistic missile and proposed an overhaul of ties with Russia, the State Department has been quiet.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made his debut on the international stage over two days in Europe last week -- and said less than 50 words in response to press questions, according to pool accounts. On Wednesday, he departs for Mexico, a trip Americans first learned of from the Mexican press.
When asked whether Tillerson's visit to Mexico was a "cleanup job," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said no. "I would argue that we have a very healthy and robust relationship with the Mexican government and Mexican officials and I think they would echo that same sentiment." | | Democrats try to figure out where they're headed | | 📺 WATCH TONIGHT: CNN's debate in Atlanta with Democratic National Committee leadership candidates at 10 p.m. ET.
DNC leadership race nears the end: Former Labor Secretary Tom Perez and Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison are at the forefront of an eight-candidate field to lead the Democratic National Committee.
Aides and vote-counters for several candidates say they believe Perez -- who says he has commitments of support from 180 of the DNC's 447 voting members -- has a narrow lead over Ellison. But both sides admit they don't yet have the votes necessary to clinch the job. | | "Are we a country of deportation, or are we a country of aspirations? I think that's what's on the table right now."
-- Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York on CNN's "New Day"
| | | And you thought your job was hard: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell held a town hall in Kentucky on Tuesday where an angry voter confronted him over people who could lose their health care if Obamacare is repealed.
His expression reminded us of a 2012 quote of his: He told the National Review that being a party leader is "like being the groundskeeper in a cemetery: Everyone is under you, but no one is listening to you." | | Huge stakes for Trump immigration do-over | | Take two: President Donald Trump is preparing to seize on a second chance to make a first impression with the release next week of a new executive order temporarily halting travel from citizens of seven majority-Muslim nations he says pose a high risk of terrorism.
Trump's initial attempt to install a travel ban -- one of his fundamental campaign promises -- was a disaster, halting the administration's fast start in its tracks. More from CNN's Stephen Collinson, Tal Kopan and Dana Bash. | | CPAC kicks off the Trump era | | But the conservative divisions remain: President Donald Trump left a lasting impression on the Conservative Political Action Conference last year -- without even showing up.
What should we expect? The President himself is scheduled to address the conference on Friday. Steve Bannon, the former chairman of Breitbart News who now serves as one of Trump's top advisers, will appear on a panel Thursday with White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, which sponsors CPAC. More from CNNMoney's Tom Kludt. | | 4 things you may have missed | | Poll shows people aren't keen on Trump's behavior: A Quinnipiac University poll finds majorities doubt President Donald Trump's honesty, leadership skills, strength, intelligence and more.
Emails from Pruitt's time as Oklahoma AG released: Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt worked with the fossil fuel industry to help tackle the agency he now leads, The New York Times' Coral Davenport and Eric Lipton report.
Constituents confront their congressmen: Rep. Dave Brat faced a raucous crowd Tuesday night at a town hall in Blackstone, Virginia, where a majority of the room interrupted him with angry shouts and jeers. More from CNN's Ashley Killough.
Nobel Prize-winning economist dies: Kenneth Arrow, the renowned economist who helped people understand the limitations and the logic of decision-making systems, died on Tuesday. | | | SCOTUS rules in a Texas death row case and decide not to hear an Alabama one. ... Liberals are channeling Clint Eastwood to knock Sen. Marco Rubio. ... First lady Melania Trump is still suing the Daily Mail, but her lawyers removed a controversial line from her suit. | | | 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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