Tipsheet: Trump curveballs give Congress whiplash

View in your browser     Trump curveballs give Congress whiplash By Jordain Carney   President Trump's mixed messaging is increasingly throwing a curveball into negotiations on Capitol Hill, leaving lawmakers struggling to keep up with his changing opinions. The most recent example came this week when the president reversed course on a bipartisan health-care deal, first encouraging Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) in private to negotiate a deal, then coming out against the agreement and seemingly stopping it cold. Read the full story here     Senate narrowly passes 2018 budget, paving way for tax reform By Jordain Carney and Niv Elis Senate Republicans took the first step Thursday evening toward passing a tax plan and fulfilling a long-held campaign pledge. Senators narrowly voted 51-49 to pass the fiscal 2018 budget after a grueling hours-long marathon on the Senate floor.  Read the full story here     The Memo: Obama returns, but Dems lack new leader By Niall Stanage   Barack Obama returned to the campaign trail for the first time since leaving office on Thursday, stumping for Democratic candidates in New Jersey and Virginia. But the sense of wistfulness the former president invokes among the party faithful is sharpened because, aside from him, the Democrats have no obvious leader. Read the full story here     Republican’s decision to retire seen as sign of growing frustration in Washington By Scott Wong and Naomi Jagoda    Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) on Thursday became just the latest in a string of long-serving, influential moderate Republicans who’ve announced they are quitting Congress, a sign of growing frustration with gridlock in Washington despite full GOP control of government. Read the full story here       Bill Clinton sought State’s permission to meet with Russian nuclear official during Obama uranium decision By John Solomon and Alison Spann   As he prepared to collect a $500,000 payday in Moscow in 2010, Bill Clinton sought clearance from the State Department to meet with a key board director of the Russian nuclear energy firm Rosatom — which at the time needed the Obama administration’s approval for a controversial uranium deal, government records show. Read the full story here     Trump hits 'wacky' Dem lawmaker after phone call with soldier's family By Brandon Carter   President Trump blasted Rep. Frederica Wilson in a tweet Thursday night, calling her “wacky” and accusing the Florida Democrat of lying about the content of his phone call with the family of a fallen soldier. Read the full story here     Senate votes down effort to block drilling in Alaska refuge By Devin Henry The Senate on Thursday defeated a Democratic attempt to block oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Read the full story here     Pentagon officials insist they are informing lawmakers on Niger attack By Ellen Mitchell Pentagon officials insisted on Thursday that they were being open with Congress while briefing lawmakers on the attack in Niger that left four U.S. special forces dead and two others injured. Read the full story here     Frustrated senators demand cyber war strategy from Trump By Morgan Chalfant Lawmakers are growing impatient with the Trump administration on the issue of cyber war, saying the United States lacks a clear policy for responding to attacks. Read the full story here     Dems call on Trump to renew key immigration program By Rafael Bernal Democrats and activists are calling on the Trump administration to renew immigration permits for hundreds of thousands of citizens from a pair of Central American countries that have experienced serious disasters. Read the full story here     The GOP establishment's days may be numbered By former Rep. David M. McIntosh OPINION | The GOP establishment has reason to be on guard. Republicans haven’t even been in control of the White House and Congress for a full year, but voters are already beginning to signal buyer's remorse. Read the full story here     Trump's long list of accomplishments By Thomas Hicks, Jr. OPINION | For the nearly two decades I’ve known him, Trump has consistently succeeded against the odds, with great instinct and a unique ability to achieve a victory when challenged. It’s up to Congress to act on the president’s tax proposal and make America the best place in the world to earn a living. Read the full story here     The New York Times: Puerto Ricans Ask: When Will the Lights Come Back On? By Deborah Acosta and Frances Robles Four weeks after Hurricane Maria, packing winds of up to 155 miles an hour, knocked out power to the entire island, 80 percent of Puerto Rico still does not have electricity.  Read the full story here     The Associated Press: Trump’s border wall models take shape in San Diego By Elliot Spagat The last two of eight prototypes for President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall took shape Thursday at a construction site in San Diego. Read the full story here     Reuters: Trump administration weighs tighter vetting for women, children refugees By Yeganeh Torbati and Mica Rosenberg The Trump administration is considering tightening the vetting process for women and children seeking to enter the United States as refugees, a proposal that if adopted would bring security checks closer to those for adult men, three sources with knowledge of the plan told Reuters. Read the full story here     The Washington Post: Bush and Obama try something new with implicit rebuke of Trump By David Nakamura The decision by two ex-presidents to speak against the current one's political approach and leadership style has no precedent in modern politics, historians said. Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: Tillerson Balances Trump’s Goals With His Own By Michael C. Bender and Felicia Schwartz Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described how he seeks to manage an often-fraught relationship with President Donald Trump, saying he tries to deliver short-term victories to an impatient commander-in-chief while focusing on a longer horizon himself. 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.