A political newsletter for normal people
WTF Just Happened Today? is a sane, once-a-day newsletter helping normal people make sense of the news. Curated daily by Matt Kiser and delivered to 200,000+ people every afternoon around 3 pm Pacific.
Day 421: 100% safe.
1/ Trump plans to remove national security adviser H.R. McMaster and is currently considering potential replacements. Trump plans to take his time with the transition in order to avoid humiliating McMaster and ensure he has a strong replacement. Other Trump officials, like Ben Carson and Mick Mulvaney, are also rumored to be on the chopping block. “There will always be change,” Trump said. “I think you want to see change. I want to also see different ideas.” Sarah Huckabee Sanders, meanwhile, disputed the story that Trump had decided to fire McMaster, tweeting: “Just spoke to @POTUS and Gen. H.R. McMaster — contrary to reports they have a good working relationship and there are no changes at the NSC.” (Washington Post / New York Times)
Just spoke to @POTUS and Gen. H.R. McMaster - contrary to reports they have a good working relationship and there are no changes at the NSC.
— Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45) March 16, 2018
2/ Trump is on track to hire multiple cable news personalities to fill out his cabinet. Trump has discussed having Fox News contributor John Bolton succeed McMaster as national security adviser. Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin could be replaced with Pete Hegseth, the co-host of Fox and Friends Weekend. Trump has already named Larry Kudlow to replace Gary Cohn as his chief economic adviser. (Washington Post)
3/ John Kelly, whose departure has been rumored to be imminent, has settled on a temporary truce with Trump. After a meeting with Kelly, Trump told advisers that his chief of staff was “100% safe.” Kelly told colleagues that the two of them have patched things up for the moment. “I’m in,” Kelly told his staff. Later, Kelly speculated that all the recent news about possible staffing changes is because Trump has been talking with people outside of the White House when he’s not around. (Wall Street Journal / Axios)
4/ Stormy Daniels was threatened with “physical harm” in response to her claims that she had an affair with Trump in 2006. When Mika Brzezinski asked on MSNBC’s Morning Joe “Was she threatened [with] physical harm?,” Daniels’ lawyer said yes but didn’t say what the specific threats were, or whether Trump was the one who personally threatened her. During a CNN interview later in the day, Daniels’ lawyer confirmed that some of the threats have taken place during the Trump presidency. Daniels’ interview with 60 Minutes is set to air on March 25. (MSNBC / CNN / Washington Post)
Notables.
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Ivanka Trump will meet with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha in the U.S. in the wake of the abrupt firing of former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. (The Hill)
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Vanessa Trump filed for divorce from Trump Jr. The filing comes a day after Robert Mueller subpoenaed documents related to Trump’s family businesses, which Eric Trump and Trump Jr. have been running while their father is in office. (Page Six)
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All seven U.S. troops aboard a military helicopter that crashed in western Iraq on Thursday are dead. The cause of the crash is currently under investigation, but U.S. officials do not believe it was downed as a result of enemy action. (New York Times)
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Rep. Louise Slaughter died Friday at age 88, while serving her 16th term in the House of Representatives. Slaughter was the oldest sitting member of Congress, and had been planning to seek reelection in November. (NPR)
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The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals tossed out a rule that required financial advisers to act in the best interest of their clients. In a 2-1 ruling, the court said the fiduciary rule bears the hallmarks of “unreasonableness” and constitutes an arbitrary and capricious exercise of administrative power. (The Hill)
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A resolution denouncing white nationalists and neo-Nazis died in the Tennessee statehouse 36 seconds after being introduced. (CNN)
A political newsletter for normal people
WTF Just Happened Today? is a sane, once-a-day newsletter helping normal people make sense of the news. Curated daily by Matt Kiser and delivered to 200,000+ people every afternoon around 3 pm Pacific.
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