Wiretap: Congressional Ethics, Megyn Kelly’s move and why Trump is making the world safer for dictators

Run for cover

Democrats were ready to take full credit for the House Republicans’ embarrassing decision to reverse their gutting of the Office of Congressional Ethics. But a pair of Trump tweets stole the headlines. The Washington Post puts it this way: Trump aims fire at House Republicans and they run for cover.

Weighing in

Assuming that Trump’s interest in congressional ethics or congressional ethics committees is very high, what was he doing weighing in on the House GOP’s big misstep? Amy Davidson guesses in the New Yorker that he was showing them not to step — or misstep — on his time.

No secret plan

Of course Trump isn’t taking on only House Republicans. His battle with the intelligence agencies continues unabated — with no secret plan, as far as we know, to end hostilities. Via the New York Times.

In need of defectors

 

Two takes on the beginning of the GOP’s effort to repeal Obamacare. At Vox, they note that the effort can’t be stopped by Democrats alone; they need some Republicans to defect. At MSNBC, they are saying that Republicans are making promises they can’t keep on replacing Obamacare.

The truth about WikiLeaks

From the National Review, the question is whether Julian Assange is telling the truth about WikiLeaks and the Russians. Meanwhile, the Hannity-Assange partnership that shocked the world.

Tweetstorm cometh

The Economist weighs in on the upcoming Trump administration, predicting it will mark the beginning of a “new and darker world order.” At minimum, it could mark the beginning of an anti-British tweetstorm.

Safety first

Foreign Policy magazine seems to take a similar view, saying Trump may be the first president in the modern era unconcerned with spreading democracy around the world, in a piece headlined, “Making the World Safe for Dictators.”

Bad move

Jack Shafer has his doubts that Megyn Kelly’s star will transfer successfully from Fox to NBC. But he’s pretty sure that the big winners in the deal will be CNN and MSNBC. Via Politico.

He has covered Dr. J, four presidential inaugurations, six national conventions and countless brain-numbing speeches in the New Hampshire and Iowa snow.