Trump eyes Lewandowski for Kelly's job amid White House infighting

There are growing whispers that if John Kelly is eased out or bails out as White House chief of staff, the job could go to Corey Lewandowski.
I can report, based on my sources, that the president and his first campaign manager have discussed that possibility. Lewandowski has said he would accept a White House post if Trump calls him off the bench. But in the end it's unlikely to happen.
Still, the mere fact that Lewandowski is on the radar for the top job, after the campaign fired him in the spring of 2016, underscores his rising stock and the changing climate.
The president is increasingly focused on the midterms and, my sources say, believes the combative Lewandowski can be a valuable asset as Democratic chances of winning the House seem to be improving.
The signs are unmistakable that Lewandowski, now a consultant, TV surrogate and chief strategist for America First Policies, is back in the inner circle.
He and Trump speak regularly on the phone. He joined the president on Air Force One on the way to a Michigan rally over the weekend. Trump told the crowd: "Speaking of not being a patsy or a pushover, you ever watch Corey Lewandowski on the shows? Where's Corey? Corey!"
In calling Corey up to the stage, Trump said: "He only ran one campaign and he won. So he’s one for one." Lewandowski declared to the crowd that "this is Trump country!"
(The president also gave a shout-out to Citizens United chief Dave Bossie, a Fox News contributor and former deputy campaign manager.)
Trump wants Lewandowski to accompany him on other political trips as well. It's well known that the president likes being surrounded by people he is comfortable with, and the New Hampshire resident joined his orbit even before the campaign launched.
But Lewandowski is reluctant to take a top White House job, as Trump well knows. It would mean a huge pay cut for an operative who has spent two years building a business and has four children to support.
In an MSNBC interview Tuesday, Lewandowski ducked Chuck Todd’s question about "people speculating that you should be his chief of staff," and called Kelly "an American hero" who has "instilled discipline" in the building. He did not respond to several requests for comment.
Lewandowski is controversial and has his share of enemies inside the mansion. White House insiders say that while he is a trusted adviser to Trump, at least half the staff would resign if he were tapped as chief of staff. They don't believe Lewandowski, with no government experience, knows how to run an operation as complex as the West Wing, and say Trump knows he would be blowing things up by hiring him. And Lewandowski, for his part, would certainly want to bring in key aides to support him.
Another potential downside is that if Republicans get clobbered in November, Lewandowski would get much of the blame. And if the past is any indication, his tenure would be limited.
And yet chatter about the idea is growing in conservative circles. American Conservative ran a piece headlined "Corey Lewandowski: The Chief of Staff Trump Wants."
When Kelly took over last year, he tried to impose military-style discipline on the White House and limit Trump's contact with outsider advisers such as Lewandowski. Those restrictions have loosened as Kelly's authority has ebbed and his relationship with the president has grown increasingly tense.
Knowledgeable sources say that Trump's relations with Kelly are indeed strained, that they sometimes fight like brothers, but that neither one is ready to dissolve the partnership and no change is imminent.
Kelly called "total BS" on an NBC report that he has repeatedly called Trump an "idiot," saying they have an "incredibly candid and strong relationship." But the fact that the account was leaked to the network by four unnamed sources clearly shows that some in Trump's orbit are out to get Kelly.
Lewandowski is not part of that effort and has managed to forge a working relationship with the chief of staff.
Trump and Lewandowski discussed a possible senior White House post a year ago, shortly before Kelly replaced Reince Priebus as chief of staff. But the president concluded that the timing wasn't right.
Of course, Kelly may get past the "idiot" flap, repair his relations with Trump and stay on. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has denied that he is being considered for the vacancy at VA, which would provide a soft landing.
If Kelly goes and Lewandowski doesn't get the nod, it's certainly possible that Trump won't hire a chief of staff, or give someone the title in name only. He still has no communications director, two months after Hope Hicks announced her resignation.
The consensus in the White House is that Budget Director Mick Mulvaney or House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy would be a more likely replacement, although perhaps as more of an ambassador to the outside world than someone running the gears of government.
Trump's recent moves in hiring John Bolton and Larry Kudlow, who have broad independence, suggest the president is more at ease with a loose structure of trusted confidantes that mirrors the way he ran his real estate business.
What's clear is that Lewandowski, whatever his title or lack thereof, is going to be one of those voices.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m.). He is the author "Media Madness: Donald Trump, The Press and the War Over the Truth." Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz.

Cal Thomas: Hillary Clinton and the bitterness tour

When you hear “world tour” you usually think of superstars performing concerts in various cities for adoring fans. Not so with the presidentially deprived, entitlement-driven Hillary Clinton.
Last week, Hillary Clinton came to Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city, and to Sydney, its largest, with a huge chip on her shoulder. The chip has been there since the 2016 election and seems to be growing larger with every appearance.
As with almost everything else the Clintons do, it cost to hear her bitterness. Those who went to hear Clinton speak, more than 5,000 people, paid between $200 and $500 Australian dollars (about $15 to $380 US). What they heard was criticism of President Trump and his foreign and domestic policies. Not that long ago, Americans made an effort to stop “partisan politics at the water’s edge,” but no more. Especially with some Democratic politicians who seem to believe that government belongs to them and when Republicans win an election it was somehow stolen from its rightful owners.
Interviewed by former liberal Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Hillary Clinton eventually got to what she believes is the real reason she lost to Donald Trump. It was misogynistic men and women who voted the way their husbands told them to that prevented her from making history, or if you prefer, herstory.
Hillary Clinton was at it even before the event began by tweeting that President Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal was a “big mistake” that actually makes the U.S. less safe. As if America would be safer by trusting the biggest sponsor of terrorism in the world to live up to an agreement when Iran’s religious and political leaders regularly speak of their commitment to destroy us (and Israel, too).
In his account of her appearance, Chip Le Grand of The Australian newspaper writes that while Hillary Clinton was “at times disarmingly honest (that seemed to be a first), warm, funny and optimistic,” she also appeared “self-serving and sad.”

What do new contributors to the Clinton Foundation hope to get in return for their donations? More bitterness, perhaps? Very sad.

Like a boxer who doesn’t know when to leave the ring, Hillary Clinton is a two-time political loser who hasn’t gotten the message that she is unlikeable and unelectable. She would do herself and the country (not to mention the Democratic Party) a favor by retiring and leaving the scene of her political accident.
There is still money to be made, however, and to the Clintons money is their catnip.
The Wall Street Journal reported last Friday: “…it’s Clinton fundraising season. This has been true of every season of every year since the late 1970s. But this is a particularly important moment because of a major event that is now less than two weeks away. Last month Axios reported: ‘Longtime Clinton supporters last week received an invitation offering access to the family (the green invitation features photos of Bill, Hillary and Chelsea) at a Clinton Foundation benefit on May 24 in New York, at prices ranging from $2,500 (”Friend”) for cocktail party and dinner, up to $100,000 (”Chair”) for “Leadership Reception for two, a premium table of ten, program recognition as Gala Chair and invitations to the Clinton Foundation Annual Briefing.’”
The now defunct Clinton Global Initiative (which not surprisingly stopped receiving large donations after Hillary Clinton’s defeat) spent a lot of donor money on a large staff, travel and “miscellaneous” expenses. What do new contributors to the Clinton Foundation hope to get in return for their donations? More bitterness, perhaps?
Very sad.
Cal Thomas is America's most widely syndicated op-ed columnist. His latest book is "What Works: Common Sense Solutions for a Stronger America". Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribune.com.

NRA must publicly name plaintiffs fighting anti-gun law, despite high risk of 'harassment,' judge rules

A federal judge has ruled that pro-NRA plaintiffs must publicly disclose their names in a lawsuit challenging an anti-gun bill, even as the judge recognized that there is a high risk of harassment.  (AP)

A federal judge ruled Sunday that anonymous teenage plaintiffs helping to challenge Florida's sweeping anti-gun law must identify themselves publicly, even as he acknowledged the order would probably expose them to intense leftist "vitriol" and "harassment."
In a surprising turn, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker even suggested that he personally wanted to side with the NRA, which wants to shield the young plaintiffs' identities, but said his hands were ultimately tied by court precedent.
"If it were entirely up to this court, the court would not hesitate to grant the NRA's motion," Walker wrote in his ruling. "One need only look to the harassment suffered by some of the Parkland shooting survivors to appreciate the vitriol that has infected public discourse about the Second Amendment. And this court has no doubt the harassment goes both ways."
The NRA filed the lawsuit on Second Amendment grounds soon after Florida lawmakers approved gun legislation that would raise the age to buy guns to 21 years old. The age restriction is one part of a larger anti-gun bill signed by Gov. Rick Scott in the wake of the February shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 dead.
THIESSEN: CORPORATE BOYCOTTS OF NRA ARE REALLY BOYCOTTS OF UPSTANDING AMERICANS
Citing the harassment of one of its top Florida officials who was subjecting to threatening and profanity-laced emails and phone calls, attorneys for the NRA wanted to include a 19-year-old woman as a plaintiff in the lawsuit but wanted to keep her name confidential and instead identify her as Jane Doe.
The NRA also sought to include testimony from another 19-year-old man as well. The move was challenged by Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The NRA has been in the crosshairs of anti-gun activists for the past several months, with Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg leading boycotts of corporations and politicians who refuse to summarily cut ties with the organization.
Anti-gun rhetoric has markedly intensified as well. Earlier this year, a Florida billboard calling the NRA a “terrorist organization" was funded by a former White House staffer for President Bill Clinton. That criticism was echoed in March by Connecticut Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy, who said the NRA has "in essence become a terrorist organization."
NRA BREAKS 15-YEAR FUNDRAISING RECORDS, FILINGS SHOW
Marion Hammer, a former president of the NRA and its top Florida lobbyist, said the NRA was "very disappointed" in the judge's decision, but said that it was "too soon" to know what steps the organization would take next.
"We're trying to shield these young adults from some of the most evil, hateful stuff you can imagine," Hammer said in an email. "... Individuals should be able to stand up for their rights and beliefs in the Second Amendment without having to expose themselves to harassment and bullying."

Nunes, Gowdy accuse DOJ of launching anonymous attacks on congressional investigator

Two senior House Republicans are accusing the Justice Department of being behind “anonymous attacks” in the press targeting a House Intelligence Committee GOP staffer who helped author the committee’s well-publicized memo alleging surveillance abuse by the FBI and DOJ during the 2016 election.
The same House staffer is also a driving force behind the latest Russia records standoff.
"I would have a lot more respect for DOJ or House committee Democrats if they would take out their frustrations on members of Congress, and leave staffers alone,” South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, told Fox News on Monday. “The members make the final decision and are responsible for them, not staffers."
"Attacking staffers, planting false stories, and endangering national security by leaking sensitive information to the press, including information about intelligence sources -- this is what the DOJ is doing, and this why trust in the DOJ is rapidly eroding in Congress,” said California Rep. Devin Nunes, the GOP chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
In response to the GOP committee chairmen, Justice Department spokesperson Sarah Isgur Flores said, “As Deputy Attorney General [Rod] Rosenstein has said repeatedly, we don't put a lot of stock in anonymous sources over here and we are committed to continuing to work with Chairmen Gowdy and Nunes to accommodate their requests.”
Nunes and Gowdy were reacting to a weekend New York Times report that cited anonymous sources in detailing growing tension between the parties, amid a contentious request for records involving an individual and intelligence reporting that may have been used for the Russia case, as well as in obtaining surveillance warrants.
Citing a former federal law enforcement official, The New York Times reported that Rosenstein, who oversees the Russia probe, felt "misled" by Nunes' staff over House Intelligence Committee investigator Kash Patel's travel to London last year.
The newspaper, citing the same official, reported Rosenstein wanted to know if Patel was attempting to interview former British spy Christopher Steele, the author behind the salacious anti-Trump dossier.
But the House Intelligence Committee says the staffer was already in London on committee business.
“The story that Kash flew to London to meet with Christopher Steele is false, no matter how many times it’s reported,” House Intelligence Committee staff director Damon Nelson said.
Nelson said he asked Patel and another staffer to try to make contact with Steele’s lawyer as part of an effort to obtain an address to send Steele an invitation to testify to the committee.
“Anonymous DOJ officials who imply to reporters that Kash has ever been dishonest about this are spreading an outright falsehood,” Nelson said. “If the anonymous DOJ officials want the truth, they can talk to me.”
In its story, The New York Times also reported that top officials at the Justice Department are worried these congressional Republicans “are simply mining government secrets for information they can weaponize against those investigating the president,” like Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
In a statement to Fox News, Nunes backed up Patel as an "absolutely crucial committee investigator who’s always two steps ahead of the DOJ.”
“In fact we suspect his effectiveness is exactly why the DOJ are launching anonymous attacks on him in the press," Nunes said.
Gowdy said he interacts with Patel often.

"Attacking staffers, planting false stories, and endangering national security by leaking sensitive information to the press, including information about intelligence sources - this is what the DOJ is doing."

“I benefit from him giving me the other side of the argument,” Gowdy said. “He is a great career prosecutor and defense attorney. It is sad when you pick on staffers who are doing the right thing for their member or committee."
The New York Times story also reported that House Speaker Paul Ryan encouraged Gowdy go with Nunes “to help keep the meeting civil” at the Justice Department last Thursday to go over the committee’s records request.
But a source close to Ryan pushed back against that reporting, saying Gowdy was always going to the meeting.
“The original plan as widely reported was for Chairmen Nunes and Gowdy to go down to DOJ on Thursday afternoon,” the source said. “The speaker didn’t have anything to do with setting that meeting up or choosing its attendees.”
Asked for comment, a New York Times spokeswoman said, "We are confident in the accuracy of our reporting."

Palestinian Terrorist Cartoons

Michael Goodwin: Israel braces for historic celebration and violence as US embassy moves to Jerusalem

Relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is highly contested with Iran who is already bitter about President Trump's decision to pull out of the JCPOA; Doug McKelway reports.
With apologies to an old bread commercial, you don’t have to be Jewish to marvel at what is happening in Israel. And to be nervous.
The ancient land is bracing for both historic celebrations and escalating Arab violence. Throw in the possibility there will be more Iranian rocket attacks and the week ahead is shaping up as an extreme metaphor for the good, the bad and the ugly of Israel’s modern existence.
Monday brings the belated fulfillment of an old promise — that the United States would move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. President Trump’s decision makes good on his campaign pledge, and shames prior presidents who made the same pledge but went wobbly when they got to the White House.
Trump’s recognition that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital confirmed a reality widely understood by both Arabs and Jews but that foreign governments denied out of fear that acknowledging the truth would spark Palestinian violence. As if the bomb makers and knife wielders needed an excuse.

Democratic rep's bill would give 'poor' pols crashing in their offices cheap housing

Rep. Dan Donovan, R-NY, is one of several representatives who bunk overnight in their offices.  (Congress)

A Democratic congressman wants to create affordable housing in Washington, DC — for members of the House.
As the nation’s capital struggles with a homeless crisis, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson plans to introduce legislation as soon as this week calling for a study into converting a vacant residence hall blocks from the US Capitol into cheap housing for the well-paid politicians.
“I think that building should be available to members of Congress who have found housing costs to be prohibitive,” Thompson told The Post — referring to House members who rake in at least $174,000 a year.
“It can be the affordable-housing-availability option,” he said.
The move follows a recent Post exposé about the scores of House members — including Reps. Gregory Meeks, D-NY, and Dan Donovan, R-NY — who bunk overnight in their offices, claiming they can’t afford DC apartments in addition to their homes.
The average monthly rent on a studio apartment in Washington is $1,591, down 3 percent over the past year, according to a report this month from Rentcafe.com.
Meanwhile, DC — which has an estimated homeless population of 6,904 people — is spending $80,000 a night to house 600 families in hotels.
But Thompson has his eye on a two-story brick building for House members. It was built in the 1940s as a dormitory for nurses and sits in what’s now a posh neighborhood of pricey townhouses.
The government-owned property was most recently occupied by high-school students who were working as House pages. But it’s been empty since that program was shut down in 2011, following the scandal that forced Rep. Mark Foley, R- Fla., to resign in disgrace for sending lewd online messages to several former male pages.

Sarah Sanders says whining kids best practice for dealing with CNN's Jim Acosta

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders says dealing with her small children has helped her deal with CNN's Jim Acosta.

While White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders cherishes her role as a mother to three children 6 years and under, she doesn’t shy away from the fact that there are difficult motherhood days – similar to dealing with CNN’s Jim Acosta.

“Both of them whine pretty regularly. They both like to ask the same questions and sometimes their tone needs to be adjusted a little bit. So I think that having kids has prepared me for the job that I have right now,” Sanders responded to the Daily Caller question: “What’s more difficult: Dealing with your children on an onerous day or dealing with [CNN reporter] Jim Acosta?”

“In all seriousness, I think that having kids is great preparation for anything – especially a job you need patience for and they have certainly prepared me for this one,” said Sanders, in the Mother's Day interview that also included White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway and White House Strategic Communications Director Mercedes Schlapp.
The 35-year-old Sanders also expressed gratitude that her children are still too young to read “some of the negative stories that exist out there,” and that she tries to protect them from such backlash as much as possible – while offering some words of wisdom for other working moms.
“I try to make sure I’m very intentional with the time that I have with my kids,” Sanders continued. “I’m gonna miss some of the moments, but the ones that I do have, I really try to focus on them, put my phone aside, block out some of the stress of work and really focus my time and attention on what they want to talk about and really zero in on them.”
And as much as the prominent White House figure values working with the Trump administration, she emphasized that it was not the most crucial role in her life.
“I love my job. It’s an honor to work for the president, but there are a lot of people that have had this job before and there are a lot of people who are going to have it after,” Sanders added. “The most important, influential job I have is being a mom. There are a number of people who can do the job I have. Only one person can be the mom to my kids. So that’s certainly the most important and influential role I’ll ever have. I’m trying hard not to screw it up.”

Trump calls for 'changes to our thought process on terror' after Paris attack

President Trump tweeted Sunday night, “Changes to our thought process on terror must be made,” following the latest attack linked to the Islamic State in France after less than two months of calm.
“At some point countries will have to open their eyes & see what is really going on. This kind of sickness & hatred is not compatible with a loving, peaceful, & successful country!” Trump wrote.
A 20-year-old Frenchman born in Chechnya rampaged through a festive Paris neighborhood Saturday evening slashing passers-by with a knife, investigators said. The man, identified as Khamzat Azimov, killed one person and wounded four others in a festive area near Paris’ old opera house. Police shot him to death as he charged them, witnesses said.
ISIS quickly claimed responsibility for the Saturday night attack via its Amaq news agency, saying Azimov was a “soldier” of the terror group.
In a video before the attacks, as Fox News reported, Azimov apparently called on ISIS supporters living in the West to immigrate to the group’s so-called “caliphate,” or else carry out attacks locally.
“They have closed the doors of immigration in our faces, so let’s strike them in the center of their homes,” the man said in French, adding, “We are on the truth ... despite the alliance of all these unbelievers against us, they will not fulfill their goal.”
Trump often has made the case that Europe ought to respond more to terrorism like the U.S. does.
In early May to the National Rifle Association, Trump claimed that gun-toting Parisians could have thwarted Islamic State attackers at Paris’ Bataclan concert hall.
Trump sparked controversy as some in France took offense at his "trigger-firing" hand gesture imitating the Bataclan attackers. Multiple extremists with explosive belts and assault weapons killed 130 people in the 2015 attacks on the Bataclan, Paris cafes and the national stadium.
Laying out his case for dropping the Iran nuclear deal, Trump contended, "If we do nothing, we know exactly what will happen. In just a short period of time, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror will be on the cusp of acquiring the world’s most dangerous weapons."
Along those lines, Trump is set to host NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House Thursday to discuss NATO’s role in the international fight against terrorism.
Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron professed a sunny, best-friends relationship, telling Trump that together the U.S. and France would defeat terrorism, curtail weapons of mass destruction in North Korea and Iran, and act together on behalf of the planet.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States would lend a hand in the Paris investigation.
“The French authorities with all the intelligence help the United States can provide will do our best to unpack this in the coming hours,” Pompeo said on “Fox News Sunday.”
In a statement released Sunday evening, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders added: “Acts like this only strengthen the resolve of the global coalition to defeat ISIS and drive it out of existence.”

Mother's Day Cartoons