Tumult continues to plague the National Security Council and President Trump’s broader natsec team. On Wednesday, deputy national security adviser for strategy Nadia Schadlow tendered her resignation, just a few months after being tapped for the position to succeed Dina Powell. Schadlow had been a respected and important member of the NSC staff, including being the principal author of the president’s National Security Strategy, released in December 2017.
Some close to the West Wing say Ricky Waddell, the deputy national security adviser and a two-star general in the Army reserves, could be next on the chopping block for new national security adviser John Bolton. Waddell was brought in by H.R. McMaster to replace Michael Flynn deputy K.T. McFarland, and it’s possible Bolton will be looking to get a new deputy NSA.
Schadlow’s departure is the latest in what appears to be an extended shake-up of the national security team. Michael Anton, the NSC spokesman with an outsized policy role, tendered his resignation on Sunday, while Tom Bossert, the Homeland Security Adviser who reports to the president but sits on the NSC, resigned Tuesday, a day after Bolton began.
House speaker Paul Ryan told reporters Wednesday he still is not concerned that President Trump will try to fire special counsel Robert Mueller or the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein. “I think they should be allowed to do their jobs. We have a rule of law in this country, and that’s a principle we all uphold,” Ryan said in a press conference addressing his decision to not seek reelection in November. “I have no reason to believe that’s going to happen. I have assurances that’s not because I’ve been talking to people in the White House about it.”
Who has given him those assurances? Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong declined to name anyone. “We aren’t getting more specific,” she said. And at the White House, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined to share who had given Ryan those assurances. “I don’t have any announcements on that front.”
Mueller Watch—The Senate Judiciary Committee, meanwhile, is moving to consider a bill to prevent Trump from firing the special counsel. Committee chairman Chuck Grassley and ranking member Dianne Feinstein have agreed to add the bill to the committee’s markup calendar for next week, Feinstein announced in a press release Wednesday evening.
The move was somewhat surprising, as several Senate Republicans have maintained that legislation protecting Mueller’s role would be superfluous. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Tuesday that “I haven’t seen a clear indication yet that we needed to pass something to keep him from being removed, because I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
More Ryan Fallout—My colleague David Byler explores how Paul Ryan’s Wisconsin district could be in danger of flipping Democratic without the House speaker running.
Photo of the Day
Honored to have Republican Congressional Leadership join me at the @WhiteHouse this evening. Lots to discuss as we continue MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/b9z5Nfdkcl
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018
Donald Trump fired off a series of tweets about Russia Wednesday morning that alternately threatened missile strikes in Syria, lamented the ragged state of U.S.-Russia relations, and blamed special counsel Robert Mueller for the diplomatic deterioration between the two countries.
Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018
Our relationship with Russia is worse now than it has ever been, and that includes the Cold War. There is no reason for this. Russia needs us to help with their economy, something that would be very easy to do, and we need all nations to work together. Stop the arms race?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018
Much of the bad blood with Russia is caused by the Fake & Corrupt Russia Investigation, headed up by the all Democrat loyalists, or people that worked for Obama. Mueller is most conflicted of all (except Rosenstein who signed FISA & Comey letter). No Collusion, so they go crazy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018
The White House has not yet announced how it plans to respond to the Russia-backed Syrian government’s alleged chemical attack against its own people last week. Asked to elaborate on Trump’s tweets Wednesday, Sarah Huckabee Sanders appeared unable to articulate a defense for them, opting instead for a terse “all options are on the table,” a phrase she repeated eight times.
“So does it mean anything at all?” a reporter asked. “What does it mean?”
“It certainly means—” Sanders said, then trailed off. “I think there’s a lot there that you can read from. But at the same time, the president has a number of options at his disposal, and all of those options remain on the table, and we’re continuing to look at each one of them.”
One More Thing—What about the president’s claim that the “Fake and Corrupt Russia Investigation” is a source of “much of the bad blood with Russia”? Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed that view Wednesday.
“I think that the president has been extremely clear that the constant focus of the fact that the president and his campaign had any collusion with Russia has hurt those relationships,” she said. “The president has maintained, for a very long time, that the United States and Russia having a good relationship is good for the world. He certainly still believes that. But at the same time, that’s hampered the ability to do so, as well as the actions—particularly the bad actions—that Russia has taken, including meddling in our election among other things. But tying the president to that has created a lot of unnecessary problems.”
Quote of the Day—From my colleague Tony Mecia in a piece about the uproar over Facebook: “Facebook users are not the customers. We’re the content providers. And we’re working for free.”
Hollywood Watch—Writing at the Washington Post, Sonny Bunch examines how the hit new horror film A Quiet Place has a pro-life message, just not the ham-handed one you might expect.
Song of the Day—“Boots of Spanish Leather” by Mandolin Orange
