First Draft on Politics: Chastising Russia

But privately, the Trump administration worked to hash out increasingly bitter differences.

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President Trump publicly chastised President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Wednesday. Stephen Crowley/The New York Times Good Thursday morning,  Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today: The Trump administration publicly chastised President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia but privately worked to hash out increasingly bitter differences. At the same time, President Trump embraced NATO as an effective and vital force for peace and security. President Trump backtracked from labeling China a currency manipulator, said that he no longer wanted to eliminate the Export-Import Bank and suggested that he might retain the chairwoman of the Federal Reserve. A comment by President Trump, "I am my own strategist," was taken as ominous for the president's chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, who is seen as increasingly isolated in the White House. A shell company created by Paul Manafort the same day he left the presidential campaign quickly received $13 million in loans from businesses with Trump ties. — The First Draft Team

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Guarding Washington's Most Powerful By NICHOLAS FANDOS The Diplomatic Security Service of the State Department protects Nikki R. Haley, the United States ambassador to the United Nations. The service also provides protection for visiting foreign dignitaries. Sam Hodgson for The New York Times In a city obsessed with the trappings of power, they are the ultimate status symbol: the wire-wearing, black S.U.V.-driving protective crews that come with high-level government service. So when it came to light last week that the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, had ordered the United States Marshals Service to extend a full protective detail to Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, for as much as $1 million a month, many people began to wonder about the protective pecking order in the Trump era. The answer, given the nature of the job, is difficult to know. Security forces are loath to discuss much about who they protect or what it costs, for fear, they say, of compromising their mission. But when the billionaire Wilbur L. Ross Jr., the commerce secretary, goes to dinner at a fancy Georgetown restaurant, bodyguards sit nearby. When members of Congress practice in the early mornings in an Alexandria, Va., public park for their Congressional Baseball Game, plainclothes United States Capitol Police are sitting there in a black S.U.V. The secretary of the Interior Department, who rode a horse to his first day at work, turns to the United States Park Police, better known for patrolling the nation's national parks, often on horseback. Protecting top government officials, from the president to the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, involves a patchwork of more than a dozen federal agencies and offices. It may be easier to ask who in Washington does not have a protective detail. But it is possible, based on public records, news accounts and interviews with security officials, to sketch the rough outlines. Read more »

U.S. Takes Sharper Tone on Russia's Role in Syria By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS AND DAVID E. SANGER President Trump's hopes for an alliance faded as he and his administration publicly chastised President Vladimir V. Putin. At Meeting, Putin and Tillerson Find Very Little to Agree On By DAVID E. SANGER Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson said after meeting President Vladimir V. Putin that Russia and the United States needed to "put an end to this steady degradation." Russia Vetoes U.N. Resolution Condemning Syria Chemical Attack By SOMINI SENGUPTA The resolution would have strengthened the ability of investigators to look into the attack that killed dozens of civilians. The United States blames Syria's president. Trump Reversals Hint at Sway of Wall Street Wing in White House By ALAN RAPPEPORT Startling shifts on China and the Export-Import Bank and the possible reappointment of the chairwoman of the Federal Reserve show financiers may be gaining the upper hand over the populists. Trump Undercuts Bannon, Whose Job May Be in Danger By JEREMY W. PETERS AND MAGGIE HABERMAN The president said Mr. Bannon was not the chief strategist of his campaign victory, distancing himself from the contentious hard-right adviser who is increasingly isolated in the White House. 'I Screwed Up': Sean Spicer Apologizes for Holocaust Comments By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM Facing an outcry that included calls for his resignation, Sean Spicer said his remarks, in which he compared Hitler to President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, were "inexcusable." Manafort Borrowed From Businesses With Trump Ties By MIKE MCINTIRE A shell company created by Paul Manafort the same day he left the presidential campaign quickly received $13 million in loans from the businesses. Scott Pruitt Faces Anger From Right Over E.P.A. Finding He Won't Fight By CORAL DAVENPORT Critics charge the agency's administrator should have challenged a legal finding that underpinned the Obama climate policies, but he refuses to budge. Court Approved Wiretap on Trump Campaign Aide Over Russia Ties By MATTHEW ROSENBERG AND MATT APUZZO To get permission to wiretap Carter Page, an adviser to the Trump campaign, last summer, the Justice Department had to show probable cause that he was acting as a Russian agent. Suburban G.O.P. Voters Sour on Party, Raising Republican Fears By ALEXANDER BURNS AND JONATHAN MARTIN A narrower-than-expected victory in Kansas and an even tougher contest next week in Georgia are highlighting Republicans' troubles with affluent white voters. The Republican Won, but Voters Shifted Left in the Kansas Election By ALICIA PARLAPIANO Kansas' Fourth Congressional District shifted 24 points toward Democrats in Tuesday's special election. Who Is Ron Estes, Kansas' Newest Congressman? By JULIE TURKEWITZ Mr. Estes, the state treasurer and a Republican, won a special election on Tuesday for the seat vacated by Mike Pompeo, now the C.I.A. director. At Fox News, the Murdochs Assess the O'Reilly Damage By EMILY STEEL AND MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT Bill O'Reilly has left Fox News for a vacation while his employers decide whether they should force him from the network over sexual harassment accusations. Fact Check Trump Says He Didn't Meet Bannon Until 2016, but They Met in 2011 By LINDA QIU The president also repeated falsehoods about Hillary Clinton and contradicted his own earlier positions on Syria and chemical attacks. Choice of Pro-Immigration Economic Adviser Riles Base By ALAN RAPPEPORT President Trump selected Kevin Hassett, who believes that immigration spurs economic growth, to lead his Council of Economic Advisers. Why 'Sorry' Is Still the Hardest Word to Say By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM The representatives of United Airlines and the White House both found themselves grappling with an increasingly common ritual: the public apology. To Detain More Immigrants, Trump Will Speed Border Hiring By VIVIAN YEE AND RON NIXON The internal memo also says the administration wants to find space to detain thousands more immigrants and to speed deportation cases. Riddle of Why Hitler Didn't Use Sarin Gas Remains Unsolved By WILLIAM J. BROAD Theories abound as to why the deadly nerve agent was not used during World War II, which could have dealt a major blow to the Allies, who didn't know about the lethal arms.

Right and Left: Partisan Writing You Shouldn't Miss Read about how the other side thinks. We have collected political writing from around the web and across ideologies.   From the Right • Noah Rothman in Commentary: "A president's 'foreign-policy doctrine' is a thing that becomes transcendentally relevant only in hindsight." Noah Rothman explains why it's O.K. that there is no "Trump Doctrine" when it comes to foreign policy. With the president's intervention in Syria at odds with the "America First" message of his campaign, Mr. Rothman points out that "doctrines develop out of crises" and are inherently "evolutionary." Read more » _____   From the Left • Robert Kuttner in American Prospect: "While America's biggest companies, especially those with reputational concerns, are singing kumbaya with a multicultural rainbow, these same companies are happily taking the tax cuts, the deregulation, and the anti-labor laws." It is tempting, Robert Kuttner writes, to see large corporations as a "firewall" serving to protect the country from President Trump's more illiberal policies. However, while companies in Silicon Valley and beyond may defy the president when it comes to immigration and identitarian issues, on economic policy, "corporate elites are lined up at Trump's trough." Read more » _____   More selections »

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