Tipsheet: GOP feud with FBI ratchets up

View in your browser     GOP feud with FBI ratchets up By Alexander Bolton   The knives are out for the FBI on Capitol Hill. Conservative lawmakers from four separate committees are raising alarm bells about a tranche of missing text messages between two FBI agents assigned to the investigation into Russia and President Trump’s campaign, saying it calls into “further question the credibility and objectivity of certain officials at the FBI.” Read the full story here     Listen to the HillCast AM View: Sessions questioned in Russia probe By Alexis Simendinger   Attorney General Jeff Sessions faced questioning last week by special counsel Robert Mueller as part of the ongoing investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election. Sessions is the first Cabinet member and most senior official known to have been questioned as part of the probe. Listen to The Hill's podcast here     Stakes intensify: Mueller seeks to question Trump By Morgan Chalfant Special counsel Robert Mueller’s office interviewed Attorney General Jeff Sessions last week in connection with the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and now wants to question the president. Read the full story here       Trump appears to call out Samsung over missing FBI text messages By Max Greenwood President Trump appeared to call out Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung for a missing trove of text messages between two senior FBI officials that was not retained by the agency. Read the full story here     Dems sour on shutdown tactics By Alexander Bolton Senate Democrats say there’s no appetite in their caucus for forcing another government shutdown if Republicans refuse to agree to an immigration deal by a March 5 deadline. Read the full story here     Emboldened conservatives press Ryan to bring hard-right immigration bill to floor By Scott Wong and Melanie Zanona Emboldened by what they believe was a victory in the three-day government shutdown, House conservatives are raising the pressure on Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to bring a tough border enforcement bill to the floor. Read the full story here     Senate faces difficult path to immigration deal By Jordain Carney Senators are bracing for a three-week slog as they jockey for leverage on immigration. Read the full story here     Trump: If there's no wall, there's no DACA fix By Brandon Conradis President Trump on Tuesday night delivered a blunt message to Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), saying there would be no agreement to help so-called Dreamers without funding for the president's long-promised border wall. Read the full story here     Tax law showers cash on lobby firms By Megan R. Wilson Tax reform was very good to K Street. The successful Republican drive to overhaul the tax code, which consumed much of the legislative agenda in 2017, resulted in a bonanza of business for Washington’s law and lobby firms. Read the full story here     Prison reform gains new momentum under Trump By Lydia Wheeler Momentum is building under the Trump administration for criminal justice reform. Read the full story here     Mike Pence in the Middle East: The new pointman on foreign policy? By John Bolton OPINION | Vice President Mike Pence’s trip to Egypt, Jordan and Israel exemplifies how much the Trump administration has changed America’s Middle East policy in its first year. Read the full story here     The ISIS defeat myth: No one talks about ISIS sympathizers and US military remaining in Syria By Danny Sjursen OPINION | Under President Obama’s watch, the Islamic State conquered a so-called caliphate the size of Ohio in Syria and Iraq. Luckily a new, “tough” president — Donald Trump — stepped in, loosed restrictions on his military, and, defeated the bad guys. At least that’s the popular story and the party line. Read the full story here     The Washington Post: Trump asked FBI official Andrew McCabe how he voted in 2016 By Ellen Nakashima, Josh Dawsey and Devlin Barrett In an Oval Office meeting, McCabe — the acting FBI director at the time — told President Trump that he didn’t vote in the election, officials said. Trump also vented his anger over donations that McCabe’s wife, a Democrat, received for her failed 2015 Virginia state Senate bid. One official said the conversation is of interest to special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Read the full story here     The Associated Press: Top Democrat rescinds offer of $25 billion for Trump’s wall By Andrew Taylor and Jill Colvin Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer has pulled back an offer of $25 billion for President Donald Trump’s long-promised southern border wall, as lawmakers scrambled to figure out how to push a deal to protect 700,000 or more so-called Dreamer immigrants from deportation. Read the full story here     Reuters: Senate confirms Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair By Howard Schneider   The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell as the next head of the central bank, succeeding Janet Yellen, a move likely to provide continuity in U.S. monetary policy with the economy growing now for nine years straight. Read the full story here     The New York Times: Senators’ quest to fix immigration is quest to fix Senate By Carl Hulse Members of the bipartisan group that intervened to bring the shutdown to an end hope the push for an immigration bill can reignite opportunity for debate. Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: Companies explore whether US can replace ‘double Irish’ By Sam Schechner   A new deduction in the tax code makes the U.S. a more attractive option after a shake-up in global tax rules. Read the full story here         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for The Hill Tipsheet       Forward this Tipsheet     You might like         Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.