IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Friday's Mini-Report, 2.10.17

Today's edition of quick hits.
Today's edition of quick hits:* This won't make the issue go away: "Still regrouping from a federal appeals court's refusal to reinstate President Trump's controversial ban of nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries, White House lawyers are working on a rewrite of his executive order that could pass legal muster, NBC News has learned."* This guy's in trouble: "National Security Advisor Mike Flynn discussed hacking-related sanctions with the Russian ambassador before the Trump administration took office, contrary to the public assertions of Vice President Mike Pence and White House spokesman Sean Spicer, a U.S. intelligence official told NBC News."* This was a strange White House event: "President Donald Trump on Friday praised the U.S.-Japan relationship, calling the country an 'important and steadfast ally.'"* Quite a start: "Newly confirmed Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos had to enter a middle school in Southwest Washington through the back door after protesters blocked the front entrance."* In the middle of the night, the Senate voted to confirm Tom Price to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Every Republican voted for him; every Democrat voted against him.* Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) "postponed eight executions on Friday, two weeks after a federal judge ruled that the state's lethal injection method might be too painful to be legal."* How badly did Trump screw up the One China fiasco? Chinese state-run media is now openly trolling him on Twitter.* It looked like a near-certainty that Chuck Cooper would be the White House's choice for Solicitor General, but the Republican lawyer withdrew from consideration yesterday.* CEA: "The White House Council of Economic Advisers is being demoted by the Trump administration, which said in a statement Wednesday that the president's cabinet won't include the chairman of the CEA, an official that President Donald Trump also has yet to name."* Ron Lewis: "One of the Army's most promising generals will be demoted to one star and retired following a scandal that involved sex clubs in Seoul and Rome, high-priced booze and indiscretions with young female troops, the Army announced Thursday. Ron Lewis, who had been a three-star general and top aide to the then-Defense secretary Ash Carter, will also lose about $10,000 a year in pension payments due to the demotion."* And it continues to be weird when the White House touts economic data that the president condemned as unreliable in the recent past.Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.