| | | | 'Nuclear option' now looks imminent over Gorsuch | | Four more Democratic senators announced that they plan to filibuster Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court, which means Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is now poised to invoke the "nuclear option" -- lowering the threshold for confirming justices from 60 votes to 51 votes and eliminating the minority party's option of filibustering nominees. CNN's Ashley Killough and Ted Barrett break it all down.
Today's move: The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11-9 along party lines to move Gorsuch's nomination to the full Senate.
South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham's take on the likely end of the filibuster: "To my Democratic colleagues, yeah, this is going to be very bad. Let me tell you what's going to happen. The judges are going to become ideological because you don't have to reach across the aisle to get one vote any longer."
What Chris Cillizza wrote on his first day at CNN: The Senate is about to change forever ... and, yes, use of the filibuster is out of control.
Eric's take: Democrats know there's no going back from here -- they just don't care. "The filibuster is such a silly, non-intuitive tactic that most people don't even believe it exists," Markos Moulitsas, founder of the liberal blog DailyKos.com, told CNN in an email, adding that he'd say "good riddance" if McConnell abolished it. "The filibuster is effectively gone. If you don't filibuster Gorsuch, McConnell will just get rid of it next time," said Adam Jentleson, a former Harry Reid aide who's now a senior strategic adviser for the Center for American Progress Action Fund. | | "Certainly didn't hurt us!" -- House Freedom Caucus member Jim Jordan to conservative talk radio host Laura Ingraham on previous federal government shutdowns. His comments could be an ominous sign with a funding battle looming this spring. | | | | President Donald Trump warmly welcomed his Egyptian counterpart, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, to the White House in a visit that's meant to signal a shift in the US approach to Egypt. It was the first visit by an Egyptian leader in seven years. "We are very much behind Egypt and the people of Egypt," Trump said, speaking in the Oval Office with Sisi at his side. "I look forward to a very long and strong relationship." | | Jared Kushner: Trump's secretary of everything | | CNN's Kevin Liptak looks at the rising influence of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser. He writes: "Multiple White House and administration officials say Kushner has now eclipsed nearly all of Trump's West Wing and Cabinet advisers in terms of influence, establishing himself as the key envoy for those outside the administration -- including foreign diplomats, business executives and even some members of Congress -- to direct their bidding. He's also, by the way, running a government reform effort and spearheading criminal justice reform.
"The elevated position has caused some annoyance at the agencies and departments more typically tasked with carrying out American foreign policy. One ally of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described the top diplomat as frustrated with Kushner's diplomatic exploits. Officials said Tillerson intervened last month to delay a White House meeting with top Saudi officials over a plan to combat ISIS because he felt there was not enough planning for it." | | 4 things you may have missed today | | Jared Kushner travels to Iraq: White House senior adviser Jared Kushner landed in Iraq, his first visit to the country since assuming a broad portfolio of foreign affairs in the Trump presidency. Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, was invited by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, and is traveling with him. More from CNN's Jim Acosta and Jeff Zeleny.
Flynn left Russian speaking fees off initial financial disclosures: Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, did not include receiving thousands of dollars in speaking fees from three Russian companies in initial financial disclosures to the Office of Government Ethics covering the last two years, copies of the reports show. More from CNN's Julia Horowitz, Theodore Schleifer and Eugene Scott.
Trump donates first-quarter salary to National Park Service: During the White House daily press briefing, Press Secretary Sean Spicer gave a check for $78,333.32 to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and Tyrone Brandyburg, the superintendent of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia. More from Politico's Aidan Quigley. Trump's trust lets him take money at any time: Trump's lawyers promised before he took office that he was "completely isolating himself" from his businesses -- but he has the right to take cash payments from the businesses anytime he wants. That's because of a clause, first reported by ProPublica, in a summary of the trust set up to hold Trump's business assets while he serves as president. More from CNNMoney's Jill Disis. | | | President Donald Trump won't throw out a Washington Nationals first pitch -- but it isn't because he can't. ... Members of the House Intelligence Committee are meeting as the future of the House's Russia investigation hangs in the balance. ... The White House released the official portrait of first lady Melania Trump. | | | 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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