Ryan To Remove Election Commissioner, HUD Official Fired Over Office Decor Budget, And Trump Shouts 'WITCH HUNT!'

February 27th, 2018 Top Stories --------------------------------------------------------------- [Ryan’s Move To Replace Election Commissioner Worries State Officials]( The Gist: From the way that Democratic state election officials have rushed to praise a federal elections agency commissioner who is being passed over for another term, you wouldn’t know that the commissioner originally was a Republican appointee. But Speaker Paul Ryan’s apparent decision not to extend Matt Masterson’s tenure at the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission has been met with disappointment and outright anxiety from state election officials who worked with Masterson on a regular basis. [HUD Official Says She Was Demoted For Refusing To Blow Budget Cap On Decor]( The Gist: A senior official at the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) alleges that she was demoted after pushing back on requests to spend more than was allowed on the redecoration of Secretary Ben Carson’s office, The Guardian reported Tuesday morning. [‘WITCH HUNT!’: Trump Gets Riled Up About Russia Probe While Watching Fox]( The Gist: President Donald Trump fired off several tweets about the Russia investigation early Tuesday morning, ostensibly while catching up on Fox News’ coverage of the matter. From The Reporter's Notebook --------------------------------------------------------------- [TPM’s Allegra Kirkland reported]( that the Oath Keepers militia group wants to station armed volunteer guards outside of schools across the country in the wake of the Stoneman Douglas massacre. As Kirkland points out, they’ve put out similar “calls to action” before. In 2014, founder Stewart Rhodes urged members to protect Ferguson businesses from looters during the protests against police brutality. Oath Keepers were also present at both of the anti-government standoffs organized by the Bundy ranching family. Agree Or Disagree? --------------------------------------------------------------- Josh Marshall: "I was struck by the interview of Lorenzo Prado. In the chaos of that afternoon he was briefly mistaken for the gunman at Stoneman Douglas High School and reported as such – somewhat similar physical appearance and clothing and nervous pacing (unsurprising) that made him look suspicious at a distance to some others at the school. As he describes it, the SWAT Team stormed in, put him on the ground with guns drown, searched and cuffed him. He was in custody for some short period. That must have been terrifying for him. But it sounds like it was handled professionally by the members of the SWAT Team. It takes training and professionalism to get through that situation without something tragic happening. That’s their job. They train. [There’s really no way armed teachers are going to have that training]( Say What?! --------------------------------------------------------------- "Okay everybody, nobody’s going to shoot at me or anything, are you?" - West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) [opening a speech]( at Spring Mills High School on Monday with a joke about getting shot. BUZZING: Today in the Hive --------------------------------------------------------------- From a TPM Prime member: "Translation: We expect the Democrats to win back majorities in both Houses in the Mid Terms and would not want to strong arm the confirmation of a nominee whose main qualification is his friendship with Donald Trump during the run up to these elections." Related: [Top Senate GOPer: I’d ‘Prefer’ WH Not Nominate Trump’s Pilot To Lead FAA]( Have something to add? Become a [Prime]( member and join the discussion [here](. What We're Reading --------------------------------------------------------------- Democrats In Philly: Money Corrupts Politicians, Unless We’re The Ones Taking It ([Vox]( A Slave Taught Jack Daniel How To Make Whiskey. She's Made Telling His Story Her Life's Work. ([The Tennessean]( [unsubscribe from this list]( | [update subscription preferences]( | [view email in browser](