1/ The Senate passed a $1.3 trillion spending bill late last night, avoiding another government shutdown with less than a day before the deadline. The bill funds the federal government through the end of September and includes $700 billion for the military ($66 billion more than last year) and $591 billion for domestic agencies ($52 billion more than last year). (Washington Post / NBC News)

2/ Trump threatened to veto the spending package because it didn’t provide funding for his border wall, but he signed it anyway. He was “unhappy� about it. The bill also doesn’t address the fate of young undocumented immigrants and bill adds nearly $1.6 billion for border security, including $641 million for about 33 miles of fencing. In a tweet, Trump said he is “considering a VETO� because the budget doesn’t include the $25 billion needed to build his wall or protections for young undocumented immigrants. Trump, who has tried to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, wanted to trade long-term wall funding for protections for some young immigrants. (New York Times / CNBC / Bloomberg / Washington Post)

I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded.

3/ Another Trump lawyer is expected to step down later this year, contingent on Trump finding a replacement. White House counsel Don McGahn has told associates he’d like to leave the White House by the summer, but his departure might be put on hold through the 2018 midterms. Trump personal lawyer John Dowd resigned on Thursday. Trump wants to have in place a new White House counsel with whom he’s comfortable before McGahn exits. (Politico)

4/ Trump will replace H. R. McMaster with John Bolton as his national security adviser. Bolton is a Fox News commentator and a former United States ambassador to the United Nations. McMaster had reportedly been discussing his departure with Trump for several weeks. “The two have been discussing this for some time. The timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation,� a White House official said. “This was not related to any one moment or incident, rather it was the result of ongoing con...

1/ Trump’s lead attorney dealing with the special counsel investigation resigned. John Dowd’s departure comes days after Trump called for an end to Robert Mueller’s inquiry and days after Dowd said the investigation should end, initially claiming he was speaking for Trump before saying he was only speaking for himself. Trump’s attorneys are in negotiations with the special counsel’s team over a potential interview with Trump. It is not clear who will take over the president’s legal team. (New York Times / Washington Post / CNN)

2/ Trump: “Yes, I would like to� testify before Robert Mueller. His comment came shortly after John Dowd resigned from his personal legal team. (CBS News / CNN)

3/ Mueller’s team has discussed four main topics with Trump’s lawyers for a potential Trump interview. Specifically, the special counsel wants to know about Trump’s role in crafting a statement aboard Air Force One about Trump Jr.‘s June 2016 meeting with Russians at Trump Tower; the circumstances surrounding the Trump Tower meeting; and the firings of James Comey and Michael Flynn. Mueller’s team is also looking at connections between Trump’s campaign and Cambridge Analytica and how the data firm collected and utilized voter data in battleground states. (CNN / Associated Press)

4/ Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee voted to end their investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, concluding that the evidence failed to amount to collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. (Politico)

5/ The House passed a $1.3 trillion spending bill to fund the government through September. The budget boosts military and domestic spending, and includes $1.6 billion for more than 90 miles of physical barriers along the border with Mexico. The bill provides no resolution for DACA. The Senate will now need unanimous consent from all members to waive procedural rules in order to vote before the Friday midnight deadline when government funding is set to expire. (New York Times / Associated Press /

1/ The Senate Intelligence Committee recommended that states buy voting machines that produce paper ballots and that they secure voter databases ahead of November’s midterm elections. Senators, concerned about Russian meddling in the midterms, called on Congress to “urgently� make funds available for states to update their voting systems, institute vote audits, and hire staff focused on cybersecurity. (New York Times)

2/ Senators criticized the Trump administration for not doing enough to prepare for the 2018 midterms. “I hear no sense of urgency to really get on top of this issue,� Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, said. Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen testified before the committee, saying the 2018 midterms and future elections are “clearly potential targets for Russian hacking attempts.� (CNN)

3/ Trump ignored specific warnings from his national security advisers not to congratulate Putin on his recent election win. Instead, Trump called Putin and opened by congratulating him. A section in Trump’s briefing materials was titled “DO NOT CONGRATULATE� in all-capital letters. (Washington Post)

4/ Trump and John Kelly are reportedly furious over the leak that Trump congratulated Putin despite warnings from multiple national security advisers and briefing materials that said “DO NOT CONGRATULATE.� It’s still unclear if Trump read the guidance that was given to him by his advisers, but Trump defended his congratulatory call, tweeting that “Getting along with Russia… is a good thing,� and that his “energy and chemistry� with Putin will be constructive. He capped off his second tweet with an all-caps: “PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH!� (CNN / Axios)

I called President Putin of Russia to congratulate him on his election victory (in past, Obama called him also). The Fake News Media is crazed because they wanted me to excoriate him. They are wrong! Getting along with Russia (and others) is a good thing, not a bad thing.......

.....They can help solve problems with North Korea, Syria, Ukraine, ISIS, Iran and even the coming Arms Race. Bush tried to get along, but didn’t have the “smarts.� Obama and Clinton tried, but didn’t have the energy or chemistry (remember RESET). PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH!

1/ Trump has discussed firing one of his lawyers, while another is contemplating resignation. Ty Cobb, who has urged Trump to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation, appears to be on the chopping block, while John Dowd has considered leaving the team because Trump ignores his legal advice. Trump tweeted that he’s “VERY happy with my lawyers, John Dowd, Ty Cobb and Jay Sekulow,� although he recently met with Emmet Flood, the lawyer who represented Bill Clinton during his impeachment proceedings. Trump also added Joseph E. diGenova to his legal team on Monday. DiGenova is a regular Fox News commentator who has suggested that the FBI and the Justice Department conspired to deny Trump his “civil rights.� (New York Times)

The Failing New York Times purposely wrote a false story stating that I am unhappy with my legal team on the Russia case and am going to add another lawyer to help out. Wrong. I am VERY happy with my lawyers, John Dowd, Ty Cobb and Jay Sekulow. They are doing a great job and.....

2/ Paul Ryan says he received “assurances� that firing Robert Mueller is “not even under consideration.� The House Speaker did not elaborate on the assurances. In January, Mitch McConnell declined to take up proposed legislation to protect Mueller because he knew of no “official� White House effort to undermine him. Today, McConnell said legislation was “not necessary� to protect Mueller against the threat of being fired by Trump. (CNN)

3/ Stormy Daniels passed a polygraph exam in 2011 about her relationship with Trump. The examiner found there was a 99% probability Daniels was telling the truth when she said she had unprotected sex with Trump in 2006. The White House and Trump’s attorney have denied that the president had a sexual relationship with Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford. (NBC News)

4/ A former Playboy model, who alleges she had an affair with Trump, is suing to be released from a 2016 legal agreement requiring her silence. Karen McDougal is suing American Media Inc., the company that owns The National Enquirer, which paid her $150,000 to buy her story and bury it, a practice known as “catch and kill.� David Pecker is the CEO of American Media Inc. and a friend of Trump’s. (New York Times)

5/ A Manhattan Supreme Court judge ruled that Trump must face a defamation lawsuit by a former “Apprentice� contestant and that his job as commander-in-chief does not give him immunity from the lawsuit. Trump had argued that presidents are...

1/ Trump’s legal team recently turned over documents to Robert Mueller in hopes of limiting the scope of a possible presidential interview and minimizing Trump’s exposure to the special counsel. The documents include summaries of internal White House memos and communication about key moments, including the firings of Michael Flynn and James Comey. (Washington Post)

2/ Trump hired a lawyer who promoted the theory that the FBI and Justice Department framed Trump in order to keep him from becoming president. On Fox News in January, Joseph diGenova said: “There was a brazen plot to illegally exonerate Hillary Clinton and, if she didn’t win the election, to then frame Donald Trump with a falsely created crime.� He added, “Make no mistake about it: A group of FBI and DOJ people were trying to frame Donald Trump of a falsely created crime.� (New York Times)

3/ Jeff Sessions fired Andrew McCabe 24 hours before he was set to retire. Sessions announced the decision to fire the now-former deputy director of the FBI just before 10 pm ET on Friday, saying McCabe was fired because he “made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor — including under oath — on multiple occasions.� In an interview, McCabe defended himself. “The idea that I was dishonest is just wrong,� he said. McCabe added: “This is part of an effort to discredit me as a witness� and to undermine Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Trump campaign. (New York Times / Washington Post)

Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI - A great day for Democracy. Sanctimonious James Comey was his boss and made McCabe look like a choirboy. He knew all about the lies and corruption going on at the highest levels of the FBI!

4/ Three sources contradicted Jeff Sessions’ claims that he “pushed back� against a George Papadopoulos proposal for Trump’s campaign to meet with Russians in 2016. Some Democrats think the discrepancies in Sessions’ testimony suggest the attorney general may have committed perjury. (Reuters)

5/ Trump’s personal lawyer wants Rod Rosenstein to end Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. “I pray that Acting Attorney General Rosenstein will follow the brilliant and courageous example of the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility and Attorney General Jeff Sessions and bring an end to alleged Russia Collusion investigation manufactured by McCabe’s boss James Comey based upon a fraudulent and corrupt Dossier,� John Dowd wrote in an email comment about McCabe’s firing. Dowd initially said he was speaking on behalf of Trump “as his counsel,� but later said he was not speaking on the president’s behalf. (

1/ Trump plans to remove national security adviser H.R. McMaster and is currently considering potential replacements. Trump plans to take his time with the transition in order to avoid humiliating McMaster and ensure he has a strong replacement. Other Trump officials, like Ben Carson and Mick Mulvaney, are also rumored to be on the chopping block. “There will always be change,� Trump said. “I think you want to see change. I want to also see different ideas.� Sarah Huckabee Sanders, meanwhile, disputed the story that Trump had decided to fire McMaster, tweeting: “Just spoke to @POTUS and Gen. H.R. McMaster — contrary to reports they have a good working relationship and there are no changes at the NSC.� (Washington Post / New York Times)

Just spoke to @POTUS and Gen. H.R. McMaster - contrary to reports they have a good working relationship and there are no changes at the NSC.

2/ Trump is on track to hire multiple cable news personalities to fill out his cabinet. Trump has discussed having Fox News contributor John Bolton succeed McMaster as national security adviser. Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin could be replaced with Pete Hegseth, the co-host of Fox and Friends Weekend. Trump has already named Larry Kudlow to replace Gary Cohn as his chief economic adviser. (Washington Post)

3/ John Kelly, whose departure has been rumored to be imminent, has settled on a temporary truce with Trump. After a meeting with Kelly, Trump told advisers that his chief of staff was “100% safe.� Kelly told colleagues that the two of them have patched things up for the moment. “I’m in,� Kelly told his staff. Later, Kelly speculated that all the recent news about possible staffing changes is because Trump has been talking with people outside of the White House when he’s not around. (Wall Street Journal / Axios)

4/ Stormy Daniels was threatened with “physical harm� in response to her claims that she had an affair with Trump in 2006. When Mika Brzezinski asked on MSNBC’s Morning Joe “Was she threatened [with] physical harm?,� Daniels’ lawyer said yes but didn’t say what the specific threats were, or whether Trump was the one who personally threatened her. During a CNN interview later in the day, Daniels’ lawyer confirmed that some of the threats have taken place during the Trump presidency. Daniels’ interview with 60 Minutes is set to air on March 25. (MSNBC / CNN /

1/ Robert Mueller subpoenaed the Trump Organization to turn over documents related to Russia and other topics he’s investigating. The subpoena was delivered in “recent weeks� and is the first known order directly related to Trump’s businesses. (New York Times)

2/ A lawyer for the Trump Organization filed documents to keep Stormy Daniels from talking about her alleged affair with Trump. A “demand for arbitration� document dated February 22, 2018, names Jill Martin, a top lawyer at the Trump Organization, as the attorney representing the company Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, established to facilitate a payment of $130,000 to Daniels. The new documents, marked “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL PROCEEDING,� show a direct connection between Trump’s company and the nondisclosure agreement Daniels signed, raising questions about Cohen’s previous statement that “neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford.� Stormy Daniels’ real name is Stephanie Clifford. (Wall Street Journal / CNN)

3/ BuzzFeed wants to use Michael Cohen’s libel suit against them to demand that Stormy Daniels preserve all records related to her relationship with Trump, including all negotiations, agreements, and payments involving Cohen and the $130,000 payment she received before the 2016 election as part of a nondisclosure agreement she is now trying to void. Cohen filed a libel suit in January against BuzzFeed and four staffers over the publication of the dossier of allegations about Trump’s relationship with Russia.(Politico)

4/ Trump’s lawyers are preparing for a potential interview with Robert Mueller. They’re working out answers to possible questions and negotiating the terms of the interview. Trump’s lawyers argue that Mueller must first show that his investigation can’t be completed without an interview with Trump. They’ve also studied the possibility of answering questions in writing. (Politico)

5/ Trump imposed sanctions on Russian organizations and individuals in retaliation for interference in the 2016 presidential election and other “malicious� cyberattacks. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin called the cyberattacks “the most destructive and costly cyberattack in history,� having caused billions of dollars in damage in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. (New York Times / Washington Post / Bloomberg)

6/ The Trump administration accused Moscow of a deliberate, ongoing hacking operation to penetrate the U.S. energy g...

1/ Students from more than 3,000 schools walked out today to demand stricter gun regulation, including bans on assault weapons and expanded background checks. The National School Walkout started at 10 a.m. ET and will continue across the country at 10 a.m. in each time zone, sparked by last month’s school shooting in Florida. The protests will last for 17 minutes to honor each of the 17 people killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School one month ago. Some school districts have said they will discipline students who participate in the walkouts. “Change never happens without backlash,� Pope High School senior Kara Litwin said. “This is a movement, this is not simply a moment, and this is only the first step in our long process.� (NPR / CNN / USA Today / New York Times)

2/ A teacher who is also a reserve police officer injured three students after accidentally firing a gun inside a California classroom during a class devoted to public safety. Immediately before the gun fired, Dennis Alexander told the class that he wanted to make sure the gun wasn’t loaded as he pointed it to the ceiling. “I think a lot of questions on parents’ minds are, why a teacher would be pointing a loaded firearm at the ceiling in front of students,� the district superintendent said. [Editor’s note: Why would a teacher be bringing a loaded firearm to school?] (KSBW / Washington Post)

3/ In a separate incident, a school resource officer with the Alexandria, Virginia, Police Department accidentally fired his weapon at George Washington Middle School. The officer was inside his office at the time, and a department representative declined to say whether the officer had taken his gun out of his holster. No one, including the officer, was injured. (WTOP / NBC Washington)

4/ The House of Representatives passed a school safety bill by a vote of 407-10 to help schools and local law enforcement prevent gun violence. The bill provides training for school officials and local law enforcement to respond to mental health crises, as well as money to develop systems for reporting threats. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration. (Reuters / CNN)

5/ Democrat Conor Lamb is narrowly leading Republican Rick Saccone in a Pennsylvania special election that’s still too close to call. With 100% of votes counted, Lamb has a 627-vote lead over Saccone in a district that Trump won by nearly 20 percentage points and that was once considered an easy win for Republicans. The district will not exist in 2019, however, because the State Supreme Court ru...

1/ Trump fired Rex Tillerson. CIA Director Mike Pompeo will replace Tillerson as Secretary of State. John Kelly told Tillerson that Trump wanted to replace him last Friday. Tillerson received a call from Trump more than three hours after he’d been fired. A spokesman said Tillerson “had every intention of staying� in his job and was “unaware of the reason� for his firing. Trump said the move had been considered for “a long time� and that “we were not thinking the same.� (Washington Post / New York Times)

Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service! Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen. Congratulations to all!

🔥 Who The Fuck Has Left The Trump Administration

Tillerson will remain in his post until March 31st, but is delegating all authorities for running the State Department to Deputy Secretary John Sullivan.

Tillerson thanked career diplomats for their “honesty and integrity� during a press conference. He did not thank Trump or praise his policies.

The White House fired Rex Tillerson’s spokesman, Steve Goldstein, for contradicting the official administration account of Tillerson’s own firing. (CNBC)

2/ Hours before being fired, Rex Tillerson called the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter an “egregious act� that “clearly� came from Russia. He added that Russia is “an irresponsible force of instability in the world, acting with open disregard for the sovereignty of other states and the life of their citizens.� On Monday, British Prime Minister Theresa May said it is “highly likely� Russia is responsible for the poisoning, either directly or because it lost control of the nerve agent. The two were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent in the U.K. and were found unconscious. (NBC News)

Trump: “As soon as we get the facts straight, if we agree with them, we will condemn Russia or whoever it may be.� (Reuters)

Russian exile Nikolai Glushkov was found dead at his home in London. The Metropolitan police said there was no evidence at present to suggest a link to the incident in Salisbury, where Sergei and Yulia Skripal remain in a critical condition. (The Guardian)

3/ Gina Haspel, currently the deputy director of the CIA, will replace Pompeo as the head of the CIA. Haspel oversaw the torture of two terrori...

1/ Trump still “intends to� meet with special counsel Robert Mueller under oath, according to White House principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah. He added that Trump doesn’t plan on firing Mueller, yet. “There’s no intention whatsoever to fire Robert Mueller, the special counsel, right now,� he said. “We’ve been fully cooperative. We respect their process. We’re hoping it will come to a conclusion in the near future.� (ABC News)

2/ Robert Mueller’s obstruction of justice investigation is said to be near completion, but the special counsel may wait until other parts of his probe are completed. The calculus: Any clear outcomes in the obstruction of justice case might undercut the broader investigation. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said Mueller “is not an unguided missile. I don’t believe there is any justification at this point for terminating the special counsel.� (Bloomberg / USA Today)

3/ Trump is considering whether to add Bill Clinton’s impeachment lawyer to his legal team. Emmet Flood met with Trump in the Oval Office last week to discuss the possibility, but no final decision has been made. (New York Times)

4/ The Qatari government chose not to provide information to Robert Mueller for fear of hurting their relationship with the Trump administration. Qatari officials gathered evidence of what they claim is illicit influence by the United Arab Emirates on Jared Kushner and other Trump associates, including details of secret meetings. (NBC News)

5/ Ivanka Trump received $1.5 million in 2017 from three companies affiliated with the Trump Organization. Ivanka’s continued ties to the family business and work as a special assistant to the president has created numerous potential conflicts of interest prohibited by federal law. Some Trump-branded developments have hired state-owned companies for construction, received public land or relaxed regulations from foreign governments, and accepted payments from foreign officials. Ivanka has been accused of violating the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution, which forbids government officials to accept gifts from foreign governments without the approval of Congress. (McClatchy DC)

6/ The Trump administration promised to fund “rigorous firearms training� for schoolteachers while walking back its commitment to raising the legal purchasing age for firearms to 21. The White House also formally endorsed a bill to improve the federal background check system, and Trump plans to establish a Federal Commission on School Safety to explore possible solutions, which will be chaired by Betsy DeVos. (