Today in 5 Lines
President Trump's budget blueprint, released Thursday, would increase defense spending by $54 billion and significantly cut discretionary domestic spending across federal agencies. “We went back and pulled lines from speeches, interviews and turned his words, his policies into numbers,” Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told MSNBC in an interview. Senate Intelligence Committee leaders said they have not seen any evidence to substantiate Trump’s allegations that former President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower. Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was paid nearly $34,000 for a 2015 speaking engagement in Moscow, according to newly released documents. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that the administration plans to appeal rulings from two federal judges that temporarily blocked the president’s revised travel ban from taking effect.
Today on The Atlantic
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On the Chopping Block: President Trump’s budget proposal includes deep cuts to domestic spending programs, but it also completely defunds several independent bodies, like the National Endowment for the Arts. Here are the 19 agencies Trump wants to eliminate. (Elaine Godfrey)
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Foot in Mouth: The president’s revised travel ban is receiving legal pushback. David A. Graham writes that by publicly affirming similarities between the two orders, Trump’s aides have helped his legal challengers build their case.
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Shoot to Kill: “Six years ago, in the first act of a budgetary drama, a group of aggrieved legislators hung a daft gun over the mantle,” writes Annie Lowrey. That gun is the fiscal tool called sequestration. Here’s how it could kill Trump’s budget proposal.