Tipsheet: Polls swing toward GOP, easing fears of midterm disaster

View in your browser     Polls swing toward GOP, easing fears of midterm disaster By Alexander Bolton   Republicans are feeling better about their prospects in the midterm elections, buoyed by recent polls that show their numbers improving. An ebullient President Trump touted the shift in public sentiment reflected in recent polls during a joint Senate-House Republican retreat in West Virginia this week.   Read the full story here     Trump says memo release 'totally vindicates' him in Russia probe By Brandon Carter President Trump took to Twitter Saturday to react to the release of a previously classified memo alleging abuse of government surveillance powers by the Justice Department, claiming the memo “totally vindicates" him and assailing the Russia investigation as “an American disgrace.” Read the full story here     Republicans open to releasing Democrats' countermemo By Max Greenwood Facing mounting political pressure, Republicans are signaling increasing openness to releasing a Democratic rebuttal to a controversial GOP memo made public Friday by the House Intelligence Committee. Read the full story here       GOP turns Pelosi's words into weapon for tax law By Naomi Jagoda Republicans are putting House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) front and center in their messaging as they seek to use their tax-cut law against Democrats in the midterm elections. Read the full story here     Hacking threats loom over 2018 Olympics By Morgan Chalfant and Olivia Beavers   Nation-state and criminal hackers are targeting the Winter Olympics at a rapidly increasing rate, raising fears of phishing scams, hacks and other disruptive attacks. Read the full story here     High-ranking Trump official attends hunting convention By Morgan Green and Timothy Cama A high-ranking Trump administration official attended a convention hosted by a group that promotes hunters' rights to kill big game and import the body parts to the United States as trophies. Read the full story here     Trump to headline fundraiser to make up for missed event during shutdown By Julia Manchester President Trump will headline a fundraiser in March at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., to make up for the missed event celebrating his first year in office during last month's government shutdown.  Read the full story here     Obama to visit New Zealand in March By John Bowden Former President Obama plans to visit New Zealand in March for a yet-to-be-announced reason Read the full story here     Paul Ryan deletes tweet touting $1.50 pay hike after backlash By Julia Manchester Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) deleted a tweet on Saturday, in which he said a woman's paycheck went up by $1.50 due to the Republican tax-reform plan.  Read the full story here     DOJ wants Manafort’s suit against Mueller dismissed By Josh Delk The Department of Justice (DOJ) is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit by former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort claiming that the department overstepped its authority by appointing the special counsel who indicted him on conspiracy charges.  Read the full story here     Congress needs to compromise with Trump to move forward for America By Douglas Schoen OPINION | The president abandoned the inflammatory, populist rhetoric of his campaign, replacing it with offers to compromise and collaborate with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Read the full story here     New polling proves President Trump is right — 'Americans are #Dreamers, too' By Jen Kerns OPINION | A new left-leaning poll proves the point President Donald Trump made at his State of the Union address: “Americans are dreamers, too.”  Read the full story here     The Associated Press: Trump seized on what memo could mean even before reading it By Jonathan Lemire and Zeke Miller Even before he’d read the memo, President Donald Trump seized on what it could mean. Read the full story here     The New York Times: The president’s unparalleled war on law enforcement By Sharon LaFraniere, Katie Benner and Peter Baker President Trump’s assault on the nation’s law enforcement apparatus is unlike anything America has seen in modern times. Read the full story here     The Washington Post: At FBI, anger and fear of lasting damage amid GOP attacks By Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky Bureau officials say the accusations in the memo produced by House Republicans are inaccurate and corrode the agency’s ability to remain independent and do its job. “There’s a lot of anger. The irony is it’s a conservative-leaning organization, and it’s being trashed by conservatives,” one law enforcement official said. Read the full story here     Reuters: No progress on 'Dreamers' as another US shutdown looms By James Oliphant and Amanda Becker   The U.S. Congress made no notable progress this week toward a deal on the status of 700,000 “Dreamer” immigrants, with President Donald Trump saying on Friday that one “could very well not happen” by a deadline next month. Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: States look at establishing their own health insurance mandates By Stephanie Armour   Congressional repeal of ObamaCare’s individual mandate leaves a number of lawmakers examining replacement measures. 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.