Despite several accusations of sexual harassment, President Donald Trump praised Bill O’Reilly, and nobody can tell which person we’re describing in the prepositional phrase at the start of this sentence. President Trump demoted Steve Bannon from his position on the National Security Council, greatly diminishing the administration’s readiness for events predicted by racist French novels from 1973. And Paul Ryan said Republicans are “at the concept stage right now” on repealing Obamacare, so that means they’ve finished with cardio and will be moving to weights next. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Wednesday, April 5, 2017:
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STEVE BANNON DEMOTED - And Rick Perry got promoted. Jennifer Jacobs: “President Donald Trump reorganized his National Security Council on Wednesday, removing his chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, and downgrading the role of his Homeland Security Adviser, Tom Bossert, according to a person familiar with the decision and a regulatory filing. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster was given responsibility for setting the agenda for meetings of the NSC or the Homeland Security Council, and was authorized to delegate that authority to Bossert, at his discretion, according to the filing.” [Bloomberg]
Bannon believes we are in the midst of an apocalyptic struggle called the “Fourth Turning” and that a messianistic strongman figure called “The Grey Champion” may already be among us.
BANNON DIDN’T DO ANYTHING ANYWAY: SPIN - Also he was only there to keep an eye on Mike Flynn: further spin. Robert Costa and Abby Phillip: “Two senior White House officials said Bannon’s departure was in no way a demotion and that he had rarely attended meetings since being placed on the council…. Instead, one of the officials said, Bannon was put on the council early in the administration to guide and keep watch over then-national security adviser Michael Flynn, who was tasked with reshaping the operation.” [WashPost]
TRUMP ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY? Unusual, right? Abby Phillip: “President Trump on Wednesday acknowledged that he is now responsible for handling the ongoing conflict in Syria, but would not say how he intends to address Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s apparent use of a chemical weapon in a deadly attack on civilians this week. ‘I now have responsibility,’ Trump said at a news conference with King Abdullah II of Jordan in the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday. ‘It crossed a lot of lines for me.’” [WashPost]
Donald Trump is “a confused old man who believes what the TV tells him,” concludes Alex Pareene.
NOTED ASSAULTER OF WOMEN DEFENDS PEER - In an oval office interview with Glenn Thrush and Maggie Haberman, the president said Susan Rice committed a crime and praised O’Reilly’s coverage of his “wire tapping” lies: “The president then went on to defend Mr. O’Reilly, who has hosted him frequently over the years. ‘I think he’s a person I know well — he is a good person,’ said Mr. Trump, who during the interview was surrounded at his desk by a half-dozen of his highest-ranking aides, including the economic adviser Gary Cohn and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, along with Vice President Mike Pence. ‘I think he shouldn’t have settled; personally I think he shouldn’t have settled,’ said Mr. Trump. ‘Because you should have taken it all the way. I don’t think Bill did anything wrong.’” [NYT]
Reminder that this week we learned O’Reilly has settled multiple sexual harassment lawsuits because he is an awful, awful man. Also, reminder that last week Trump declared that April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
PAUL RYAN NEEDS TO GET THAT BACKWARDS HAT - Grace Sparks: “Speaker Paul Ryan’s ratings keep falling in a new Quinnipiac poll released Tuesday. Only 28 percent of American voters said they feel favorably toward the Wisconsin Republican. Fifty-two percent said they view him unfavorably, an 18-point increase from May 2016. Ryan’s unfavorable ratings have been rising since December. Even Rasmussen Reports, whose numbers are often more conservative than those of other pollsters, found him with lower ratings in its March 27 poll.” [HuffPost]
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WELLS FARGO RIPPED OFF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE: LOL - Jamie Lovegrove reports on a House Financial Services hearing on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today: “At one point, [Rep. Jeb] Hensarling had to slam his gavel to stop Republicans from laughing after Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., commended Cordray for sounding the alarm on the Wells Fargo scandal. Republicans have argued that the agency was late to the issue, stepping in after a Los Angeles Times investigation had already uncovered the core of the problem.” [DallasNews]
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DEMS TO MARCH FOR TRUMP’S TAXES - Daniel Marans: “Senior Democratic lawmakers are due to speak at a march on April 15 ― the day when Americans’ tax returns are typically due ― to demand that President Donald Trump release his tax returns. ‘The Tax March,’ as the progressive groups organizing it have dubbed it, will begin with a rally and speeches at the U.S. Capitol, followed by a parade that passes the Trump International Hotel, as well as the FBI and IRS buildings. Over 100 smaller marches are due to take place in cities across the country. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee; Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), ranking member on the House Financial Services Committee; and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) will join a host of faith, policy and grassroots leaders scheduled to speak on Trump’s continued lack of financial transparency.” [HuffPost]
Sometimes when your president is hopelessly corrupt all you can do is go for a long walk.
THIS AD MAKES HOUSE REPUBLICANS LOOK KINDA DESPERATE - About the special election in Georgia. Igor Bobic: “An ad released Wednesday by a super PAC that works closely with the GOP House leadership attempts to tie Democratic congressional candidate Jon Ossoff to terrorism by invoking the image of Osama bin Laden. The 30-second spot from the Congressional Leadership Fund attacks the first-time Georgia candidate for reportedly receiving $5,000 from Al Jazeera, which the ad calls a ‘media outlet that has been described as a mouthpiece for terrorists.’ (Al Jazeera ran films created by Ossoff’s investigative film company, according to the Washington Free Beacon.)” [HuffPost]
REPUBLICAN HEALTH CARE AGENDA DOWNGRADED TO SAD - Things were looking up earlier this week, but now they’re looking down again. Sorry, guys. Matt Fuller: “A theoretical deal between House Republicans and the White House to bring back their stalled health care bill is already running into the same old problem: reality. Conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus looked ready to accept a proposal from the Trump administration that would allow states to opt out of key requirements in the Affordable Care Act ― namely, the essential health benefits and community rating provisions….But GOP leadership spent a good part of Tuesday hearing from moderates who said they could not accept such changes. While those rank-and-file moderates were publicly telling reporters they’d be willing to look at the legislative text of the proposal, some of them told The Huffington Post privately that the community rating change would be a non-starter for them.” [HuffPost]
NO VOTE THIS WEEK - And recess starts tomorrow, whee! Nicole Duran: “House Speaker Paul Ryan indicated Wednesday that the House would not take up a bill this week to repeal and replace Obamacare, and said Republicans need more time to reach an agreement among Republicans this week. ‘We’re at concept stage right now,’ said Ryan, R-Wis.” You had seven years. [Examiner]
PENCE IN CHARGE - Scott Wong and Peter Sullivan: “The Speaker has taken a backseat to Vice President Pence when it comes to this week’s efforts to revive the American Health Care Act, which collapsed last month after Ryan and President Trump failed to cobble together the necessary votes to pass the bill out of the House.” [The Hill]
GORSUCH PLAGIARIZED A BIT - John Bresnahan and Burgess Everett: “Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch copied the structure and language used by several authors and failed to cite source material in his book and an academic article, according to documents provided to POLITICO. The documents show that several passages from the tenth chapter of his 2006 book, “The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia,” read nearly verbatim to a 1984 article in the Indiana Law Journal. In several other instances in that book and an academic article published in 2000, Gorsuch borrowed from the ideas, quotes and structures of scholarly and legal works without citing them.” [Politico]
BREITBART GUY TO WORK DIRECTLY FOR PUTIN - Huh. Rosie Gray: “A former Breitbart News writer is launching a radio show for Russian propaganda network Sputnik. ‘I’m on the Russian payroll now, when you work at Sputnik you’re being paid by the Russians,’ former Breitbart investigative reporter Lee Stranahan told me. ‘That’s what it is. I don’t have any qualms about it. Nothing about it really affects my position on stuff that I’ve had for years now.’” [The Atlantic]
BECAUSE YOU’VE READ THIS FAR - Catch up on the Reichstag Fire.
TRUMP ADMIN WON’T SPLIT FAMILIES AT THE BORDER - Very nice! Roque Planas and Elise Foley: “Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said on Wednesday he is not planning to routinely split up children and mothers at the U.S.-Mexico border, after previously alarming immigrant advocates by suggesting such a policy would help deter illegal border crossings. Speaking before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Kelly said he would separate families apprehended at the border ‘only if the situation at that point in time requires it’ ― for example, if a mother is sick or addicted to drugs. He said he ‘can’t imagine’ doing it unless there is reason to believe a child is in danger.” [HuffPost]
MILITARY WOULD LIKE CONGRESS TO FUNCTION - Joe Gould: “The U.S. military’s top brass warned lawmakers Wednesday it will mean lost lives, halted training and sidelined equipment if Congress punts on spending legislation for this year and forces the military to operate for the next five months under fiscal 2016 levels. Lawmakers must finalize a budget for the remainder of fiscal 2017 by the end of April or trigger a partial government shutdown. In recent days, talk of a continuing resolution to fund the government through the end of September has slowly built in the halls of Congress, raising concerns among defense officials who say that would cause tremendous funding headaches for the military.” [DefenseNews]
SCOTT GOTTLIEB WOULD LIKE TO BE FDA COMMISSIONER - Thomas Burton reports on today’s confirmation hearing for Gottlieb, who has many ties to the drug industry: “Democrats on the panel expressed concern about Dr. Gottlieb’s previous consulting work for the industry. The committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, noted in an opening statement that the nominee has ‘unprecedented financial entanglements with the companies he would regulate as commissioner.’ She also criticized his written position opposing extensive regulation by the FDA of the lab-testing industry.” At least he said vaccines are safe and good. [WSJ]
COMFORT FOOD
- Student paper forces principal to resign
- Indiana’s governor with a puppy
- Only one person saw Shia LaBeouf’s new movie
- Lessons of the hermit
- Everyone hates Pepsi’s new ad
TWITTERAMA
@StevenTDennis: The funding for the government runs out in 23 days.
But first, Congress will go on a 2-week vacay, because that’s how they roll.
@AEdwardsLevy: BANNON FODDER
@JesseLTaylor: Who knew that “Strange Fruit” was about Wild Cherry Pepsi
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