Politico

[Commentary] As if powered by a celestial mainspring, the press publishes the same three basic stories about every new presidential administration. Usually up first in their rotation is a breathless beat-sweetener about the incoming vice president. The second inevitable wave of stories claims that the administration is “rebooting.” March 27’s Washington Post brings us, on Page 1 above the fold, the third classic of the first 100 days of reporting: A story about the coming “reorganization“ of government—this time by Prince Jared, the president’s son-in-law.

The White House has called for eliminating two regulations for every new one imposed, and though the policy doesn't apply to independent agencies like the Federal Communications Commission, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is sticking with the spirit of it. He told reporters that during his short tenure so far, the FCC has repealed, revised or tweaked what he described as outdated regulations. "I think the prism within which the FCC views any regulations that are on the books is: Do they continue to be necessary in the public interest and to promote competition in 2017," Chairman Pai said. "And if they don't, then we obviously want to modernize them to make sure that we're not standing in the way of investment or innovation or otherwise imposing more costs."

[Commentary] For years, conservatives breathlessly accused the media of being too easy on President Barack Obama and acting like a bunch of sycophantic boot-lickers for his administration. Turns out, some only wanted the chance to try it out for themselves once a Republican was in office.

The Trump Administration, with all its ethical mishaps and conflicts, presents conservatives the perfect opportunity to establish themselves as a tough, new vanguard of right-of-center journalism. Unfortunately, right-wing trolls and fanboys with press passes seem more interested in racking up brownie points with POTUS and nursing grudges against liberal media competitors. Sadly these media personalities—easily found in places such as Breitbart and Fox News—have become exactly what they hated their mainstream media foes for being: biased cheerleaders all too willing to ignore any misdeeds by the president in the name of helping him enact his agenda. Some of those who used to be the conservative movement’s most loyal government watchdogs are nothing but lapdogs now for President Trump.

[Amanda Carpenter is a CNN contributor, former Communications Director for Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Speechwriter for Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC).]

President Donald Trump overcame more than a dozen Republican opponents, Hillary Clinton, an array of scandals and daunting electoral math to land in the Oval Office. But now, he may have finally met an opponent he cannot slay: Big Bird.

Republicans argue that they do not want to see the demise of the stations, only the demise of taxpayer funding for them. “The idea is that it can be privately financed,” said Paul Winfree, the White House’s director of budget policy and a Heritage Foundation alum. However, wealthy metropolitan areas would likely be able to continue to support their public stations, while poorer rural areas — places that lack access to quality news programming to begin with — would lose out. That could give pause to a number of Republican representatives. The universality of public broadcasting that supporters argue make it so crucial also make it tougher to eliminate for purely political reasons. There are many federal programs with far fewer fans — and far smaller budgets — whose elimination would be more politically palatable.

Sen Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) is introducing a bill that would give the Justice Department additional authority to investigate Russia's English-language news outlet RT America for possible violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The bill, called the Foreign Agents Registration Modernization and Enforcement Act, would increase the Department of Justice’s power to compel organizations to produce information about their foreign connections and the sources of their funding.

Sen Shaheen said the bill comes in response to a report from the director of national intelligence about Russian influence in the 2016 election, part of which examined RT America. That report stated that RT News was skirting disclosure requirements by using a nonprofit structure and that RT's programming intended to advance stories that benefited Russian interests. “We have good reason to believe that RT News is coordinating with the Russian government to spread misinformation and undermine our democratic process,” Shaheen said in a statement. “The American public has a right to know if this is the case.”

The relationship between new Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and President Donald Trump is likely to continue to be a focal point for technology and telecommunications watchers. The pair met at the White House a week ago, one day before President Trump re-nominated Chairman Pai for another term. The Electronic Privacy Information Center is trying to pull back the curtain on that meeting, filing a Freedom of Information Act request seeking “memos, briefing papers, emails and talking points” pertaining to their conversation.

Federal Communications Commissioner Ajit Pai held a flurry of meetings with congressional Republicans and television broadcasters in the weeks before he took charge of the FCC, records obtained show — offering a flavor of his priorities and agenda as he sought the agency's top slot. His appointment calendar from Election Day to Jan. 25 shows then-Commissioner Pai kept in close contact with top GOP lawmakers, who are poised to play a key role in supporting and assisting with his deregulation agenda. He met with no congressional Democrats during that time frame, according to his schedule.

Chairman Pai also carved out a notable amount of time for broadcasters, an interest group that was frequently at odds with the previous FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. He met twice with Sinclair Broadcast Group, one of the nation's largest TV station owners, and huddled with the chief executives of T-Mobile and DISH as well as leading industry trade groups. Commissioner Pai checked in with former-Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) on Dec. 5, after President Trump picked her to be ambassador to the United Nations. And if you’re looking to run across Chairman Pai at your daily power lunch, consider Oceanaire, Del Frisco’s and Charlie Palmer — three restaurants where he lunched with major communications trade group CEOs.

White House official Boris Epshteyn, a combative Trump loyalist tasked with plugging the president’s message on television, threatened earlier in 2017 to pull all West Wing officials from appearing on Fox News after a tense appearance on anchor Bill Hemmer’s show. Epshteyn, apparently, got in a yelling match with a Fox News booker after Hemmer pressed him for details of President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order cracking down on immigration from Muslim-majority countries — a topic he was not expecting to be grilled on. “Am I someone you want to make angry?” Epshteyn told the booker, the sources said. When he threatened to pull White House officials from the network, the fed-up booker had had enough. “Go right ahead,” the booker fired back, the sources said, aware that Epshteyn had no power to follow through on a threat that would have upended the administration’s relationship with a sympathetic news network. Ultimately, White House officials have continued to appear on Fox News, and the network said that it handled the flare-up professionally.

ABC News President James Goldston has pledged to “stand with our colleagues who cover the White House" and "protest” if the White House does not operate with transparency, he said in response to a petition imploring the broadcasting company to take a stand over the White House’s decision to exclude news organizations from a press gaggle Feb 27. “We’ve expressed our concerns to the White House that it operates in a way that’s open, transparent and fair,” Goldston said. “And we will continue to stand with our colleagues who cover the White House and to protest when any government official fails to live up to those standards.”

Earlier, Goldston received a petition signed by more than 230 former ABC News executives, correspondents, producers and other former staffers calling on him to refuse to take part in White House briefings if news organizations are barred from attending.

Paid prioritization appears to be a flashpoint as Republican leaders consider next steps on network neutrality.

On one side, some GOP lawmakers, like House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) are OK with letting internet service providers cut deals with websites for faster access to consumers, a concept known as ‘paid prioritization.’ But other powerful Republicans, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) consider the practice harmful to consumers and want to make it illegal. Chairman Blackburn acknowledged she differs from Chairman Thune and House Commerce Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) on the issue, but expressed confidence they can ‘talk it through.’