Tipsheet: Dems struggle to turn page on Omar controversy

View in your browser     Dems struggle to turn page on Omar controversy BY CRISTINA MARCOS AND MIKE LILLIS  Democrats desperately want to turn the page on a painful week, but doing so is proving to be difficult. Freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who has been the center of a debate on anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred that has exposed deep divisions within the new majority, on Friday signaled she’s not going to stop battling on social media with her critics. Read the full story here     White House rejects Dem request to interview ex-Trump aide BY SCOTT WONG AND MORGAN CHALFANT The White House on Friday rejected a Democratic congressional request to interview a former White House lawyer about hundreds of thousands of dollars in hush-money payments made by President Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen. Read the full story here     Questions mount over Cohen pardon claims BY JACQUELINE THOMSEN  Washington has a pressing question for Michael Cohen: Did he lie to Congress, again? President Trump was among those on Friday claiming that Cohen had lied, stating in a tweet that his former "fixer" directly asked him for a pardon. Read the full story here     Judge rules thousands more migrants should be in lawsuit over family separations BY TAL AXELROD A federal judge ruled Friday that potentially thousands of migrant families who were separated at the southern border under the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy could be added to an existing class-action lawsuit. Read the full story here       Trump plans to implement transgender military ban after court ruling BY TAL AXELROD   The Trump administration signaled Friday it intends to implement a ban on transgender people serving in the military after a federal court struck down the last injunction levied against the policy the previous day. Read the full story here     Ex-Fox executive Shine makes abrupt exit from Trump White House BY JORDAN FABIAN Bill Shine, a former top Fox News executive, is resigning after less than a year leading President Trump’s communications team, the White House announced on Friday. Shine will serve as a senior adviser to Trump's 2020 reelection campaign. Read the full story here     Biden in Caribbean to discuss potential 2020 bid with wife BY TAL AXELROD Joe Biden was spotted traveling in the Caribbean this week as the former Democratic vice president weighs potentially launching a 2020 White House bid. Read the full story here     Federal judge rules DeVos illegally delayed Obama-era special education rule BY TAL AXELROD A federal judge ruled this week that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos illegally delayed an Obama-era rule that would force states to rectify racial inequities in special education programs. Read the full story here     5 things to know about Dems' sweeping election reform bill BY MAX GREENWOOD House Democrats approved on Friday a sweeping elections reform measure that would reshape campaign finance rules, impose new voter registration requirements and compel presidential candidates to release their personal tax returns. Here are five things to know about bill. Read the full story here     Supreme Court race sets up new battle for Wisconsin BY REID WILSON Democrats and Republicans are gearing up for an unexpectedly high-profile battle over a seat on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court that will offer new hints about President Trump’s chances of winning the key Midwestern battleground for a second time. Read the full story here     A Manafort pardon would guarantee impeachment proceedings BY BRENT BUDOWSKY Opinion | If President Trump pardons Paul Manafort, he would trigger a national firestorm and guarantee the convening of impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives.   Read the full story here     Four years for Paul Manafort is the right sentence BY DAVID OSCAR MARKUS Opinion | “Too light.”  “Lenient.”  “A slap on the wrist.” “Perverted.” There’s quite a bit of hand-wringing about the 4 year sentence that Judge T.J. Ellis handed down Thursday to Paul Manafort. Read the full story here     The Washington Post: Howard Schultz’s ‘nightmare’: How his first big gamble outside Starbucks ended in defeat BY JEFF STEIN AND RACHEL SIEGEL When Howard Schultz bought the Seattle SuperSonics in 2001, his friends told the Starbucks chief he was overestimating what he could do to save the struggling basketball franchise. Read the full story here     The New York Times: Paul Manafort's 47 Months in Prison Highlight Inequities in Sentences BY SHARON LAFRANIERE AND ALAN BLINDER Judge T.S. Ellis III offered some pointed advice for those who expected him to throw the book at President Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, for perpetrating a decade-long, multimillion-dollar fraud scheme. Read the full story here     NBC News: Puerto Ricans fight against women's rights setbacks on International Women's Day BY NICOLE ACEVEDO For Alexandra-Marie Figueroa Miranda, International Women’s Day is not just about celebrating women’s accomplishments. It’s about speaking out against what she sees as a series of women’s rights setbacks that have taken place in Puerto Rico over the last year. Read the full story here     The Associated Press: First lady: Growing ease in official role, but not politics BY DARLENE SUPERVILLE AND CATHERINE LUCEY Melania Trump came armed with surefire applause lines when she stepped up to address a largely female audience that had gathered to celebrate other women. Read the full story here     Reuters: Trump's budget to land with a thud on Monday BY ROBERTA RAMPTON When President Donald Trump proposes his 2020 federal budget on Monday, official Washington will likely have a quick look, shrug and move on, marking another stage in the quiet decay of the U.S. government’s traditional policy-making processes. Read the full story here   Did a friend forward you this email? 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