Israel, Iran take center stage in latest White House power struggle

A long-simmering dispute between two top White House aides has boiled into a public battle over the direction of US President Donald Trump's foreign policy, with a cadre of conservative groups pushing for the ouster of national security adviser H.R. McMaster. In recent days, conservative groups and a website tied to Trump adviser Steve Bannon have targeted McMaster as insufficiently supportive of Israel and insufficiently tough toward Iran.

Trump at 200 days: Declining approval amid widespread mistrust

Six months into his presidency, Donald Trump's overall approval rating stands at its lowest point in CNN polling, while three-quarters of Americans say they can't trust most of what they hear from the White House. Overall, 38% say they approve of Trump's handling of the presidency, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS , with 56% saying they disapprove.

Trump raps Democratic Sen. Blumenthal as phony ‘con artist’

President Donald Trump on Monday lashed out at Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, calling him a "phony Vietnam con artist" after the lawmaker expressed strong support for a special counsel's probe of Russia meddling in the election and possible collusion with Trump campaign officials. In a series of tweets from his vacation in New Jersey, Trump dismissed the "hoax Russian collusion" and revived a 2010 embarrassment for Blumenthal.

The Guardian Claims Trump’s USDA Blacklists And Censors Use Of Term ‘Climate Change’

Officials at the Department of Agriculture are telling employees at the agency to use terms such as "weather extremes" when referring to "climate change," The Guardian reported Monday. Bianca Moebius-Clune, a director of foil health at the Natural Resources Conservation Service , told employees at the USDA to replace terms referring to global warming with more vanilla terms such as "weather extremes," according to a series of emails the outlet obtained.

Top Trump aides clashing over direction of US foreign policy

A long-simmering dispute between two top White House aides has boiled into a public battle over the direction of President Donald Trump's foreign policy, with a cadre of conservative groups pushing for the ouster of national security adviser H.R. McMaster. tied to Trump adviser Steve Bannon have targeted McMaster as insufficiently supportive of Israel and insufficiently tough toward Iran.

Trump voters’ patience wears thin in Arizona

The voters who carried Donald Trump to victory in Arizona increasingly see the President as just another politician -- and one who is running out of time to deliver on his campaign promises. Republicans in focus groups held here last week by the Democratic super PAC Priorities USA largely said they are giving Trump between six months and a year before they run out of patience.

Trump says he’s not on vacation but working hard

Washington, Aug 8 - US President Donald Trump tweeted on Monday that he was working hard from his golf club in New Jersey, after being criticized for taking a vacation, and said his base of voters was growing despite the fake news against him. Working hard from New Jersey while White House goes through long planned renovation.

There’s no such thing as a Trump Democrat

If so, you may have taken interest in a new mythical creature that appeared during the 2016 election: the Trump Democrat. It has become an article of faith that an unusually large number of people who voted for Barack Obama in 2008 or 2012 switched sides and voted for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton.

Ryan can’t escape GOP failures

With a dysfunctional Congress on recess, House Speaker Paul Ryan has turned his focus back home, touring flood-damaged areas and visiting local businesses in Wisconsin. But he can't escape the questions about why Republicans in charge of Washington aren't delivering.

Trump administration sides with Ohio on purging voter rolls

President Donald Trump's administration has reversed the government's position on a voter roll case before the U.S. Supreme Court and is now backing Ohio's method for purging voters. Ohio's system for removing inactive voters from the rolls does not violate the National Voter Registration Act, the Justice Department said Monday.

Big rise in number of active leak probes

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has pledged to clamp down in government leaks that he said undermine American security, taking an aggressive public stand after being called weak on the matter by President Donald Trump. The nation's top law enforcement official is citing no current investigations in which disclosures of information had jeopardized the country, but says the number of criminal leak probes had more than tripled in the early months of the Trump administration.

California lobbyists soldier on despite that swamp-draining talk

President Donald Trump came to Washington, D.C., decrying lobbyists and vowing to “drain the swamp” - but six months into his administration, California's top lobbyists say the only major changes they've had to make are in their language. For the most part, California government agencies lobbying in D.C. are largely focused on the same issues as always: getting a cut of the federal budget and advocating for increased federal spending, according to federal lobbying disclosures due late last month.