| | | | Trump: 'I now have responsibility' over Syria | | President Donald Trump said the chemical attack against Syrian civilians this week "crossed a lot of lines for me" and changed the way he views Syria and its leader, Bashar al-Assad. "I now have responsibility, and I will have that responsibility and carry it very proudly," Trump said at a news conference today, responding to a question about a White House statement Tuesday that blamed the attack in part on President Barack Obama. "It is now my responsibility. It was a great opportunity missed," Trump said. More on his comments from CNN's Theodore Schleifer and Jeremy Diamond.
Trump is under pressure to act on Syria from lawmakers. Republican Sen. Marco Rubio pointed a finger at Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, saying he's been too accepting of Assad. "My belief that if you're Bashar al-Assad and you read that it is no longer a priority of the United States to have you removed from power, I believe that that is an incentive to act with impunity," Rubio said at a news conference.
Trump's Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley also suggested Wednesday at a UN meeting that the United States could be "compelled to take our own action" if the United Nations doesn't act. | | Trump removes Bannon from security committee | | From CNN's Chris Cillizza: "President Donald Trump's decision to remove chief strategist Steve Bannon from the National Security Council's principals committee suggests a potentially significant change in the power balance among the four top White House advisers. ... The removal of Bannon from the NSC comes in the wake of a series of other moves -- most notably the arrival of Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, in the West Wing -- that suggest that the president is moving away (at least for the moment) from the more hard-line ideological bent of Bannon."
Details on Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner's role in Bannon's removal, from Politico's Shane Goldmacher, Josh Dawsey, Tara Palmeri and Bryan Bender: "One person familiar with Kushner's thinking says Kushner believes Bannon is more of a problem than Reince Priebus, the chief of staff. 'Big fight is between nationalists and the 'West Wing Democrats,' one senior administration official said." | | "When the UN consistently fails in its duty to act collectively, there are times in the life of states that we are compelled to take our own action." -- US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on the chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians. | | | | Here's the latest evidence the energized Democratic base is showing up in fundraising: ActBlue, which processes contributions for Democratic candidates and groups, took in more than $111 million from 4.1 million donors in the first quarter of 2017. That's more than four times the fundraising total from this point two years ago. | | Trump, without evidence, says Rice committed a crime | | President Donald Trump gave an exclusive interview to the The New York Times' Glenn Thrush and Maggie Haberman, in which he said that former National Security Adviser Susan Rice had committed a crime by seeking the identities of Trump associates who were involved in the surveillance of foreign officials by American spy agencies -- but he didn't provide any evidence for his claim. "I think it's going to be the biggest story," Trump said, adding later, "It's such an important story for our country and the world. It is one of the big stories of our time."
In response, Erin Pelton, a spokesperson for Rice, told CNN: "I'm not going to dignify the President's ludicrous charge with a comment." Current and former intelligence officials from both sides of the political aisle have said they do not believe Rice's actions were unlawful.
Rice denied in an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday that she did anything wrong. "The allegation is that somehow the Obama administration officials utilized intelligence for political purposes," she said. "That's absolutely false."
Bill O'Reilly defense: In the interview, Trump also defended Fox's Bill O'Reilly against new revelations that he, Fox News and parent company 21st Century Fox had paid a total of $13 million in settlements to five women who accused him of sexual harassment or verbal abuse. "I think he's a person I know well -- he is a good person," Trump told the Times. (Trump has also faced accusations of sexual assault and crudely bragged about grabbing women's privates without permission in a 2005 tape unearthed during the 2016 campaign.) | | | First lady Melania Trump and Queen Rania of Jordan stopped by a Washington charter school with Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos in a visit meant to highlight the Trump administration's focus on school choice. More from CNN's Betsy Klein. | | 3 things you may have missed today | | Ivanka Trump does her first interview since her father took office: She told CBS News' Gayle King that she doesn't "know what it means to be complicit." In her new role as special assistant to the President, she said she will continue her work on women's economic empowerment. Check out the interview here.
Pelosi and other Democrats are not letting go of Trump's tax return: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats argued their case for a discharge petition, a process by which legislation can skip committee and move straight to the House floor if a majority of the House supports it. More from CNN's Simone Thomas and Kristin Wilson.
Tillerson is set to visit Moscow next week: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is scheduled to visit Moscow next Wednesday to meet with foreign officials, including the Kremlin's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. More from Politico's Madeline Conway. | | | A former Breitbart reporter will host a radio show for the Russian government outlet Sputnik. ... The debate over opioid treatment hits home in Trump country. ... More than half of Americans approve of Obamacare now, a Gallup Poll finds. | | | 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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