President Trump Retweets a National Security Leak

President Trump’s war against leakers may not apply to Fox News. Trump retweeted a Fox story about U.S. intelligence on North Korea Tuesday morning sourced to anonymous officials discussing classified information. Minutes later, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said she couldn’t talk about the disclosure because it was classified and condemned the leakers. While presidents have broad authority to declassify information, it was nonetheless striking given the current White House-cheered anti-leak probe initiated by the Justice Department.

As Trump weighs the U.S. options for Afghanistan, a plan to use private contractors in place of U.S. forces is getting a second look. Trump’s quiet deregulation push. And the military gets the authority to shoot down drones over U.S. bases.

Here are your must reads:

Must Reads

Trump Appeals to Loyalists as Support Slips, Agenda Stalls
New weakness in GOP base is latest WH problem [Associated Press]

US Federal Department Is Censoring Use of Term ‘Climate Change’, Emails Reveal
Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service advised to reference ‘weather extremes’ instead [The Guardian]

Secrecy and Suspicion Surround Trump’s Deregulation Teams
The deconstruction of the administrative state continues [New York Times]

In Afghan Policy Debate, Trump Struggles With Himself
The president who hates losing fears he is stuck with a losing proposition [Wall Street Journal]

Trump White House Weighs Unprecedented Plan to Privatize Much of the War in Afghanistan
Under the proposal, 5,500 private contractors, primarily former Special Operations troops, would advise Afghan combat forces [USA Today]

Sound Off

“It’s incredibly dangerous when things get out into the press like that.” — U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley on a Fox story about classified surveillance of North Korea. President Donald Trump tweeted out the story moments earlier

“The Fake News Media will not talk about the importance of the United Nations Security Council’s 15-0 vote in favor of sanctions on N. Korea!” — President Donald Trump in a Monday tweet

Bits and Bites

President Trump retweets anonymously sourced Fox News story right before his UN Ambassador Nikki Haley complains about it [New York Daily News]

Trump to hold ‘major briefing’ on opioid crisis [Washington Post]

Jeff Sessions Fires Back After Chicago Sues Over Sanctuary City Threat [Associated Press]

Military commanders get OK to shoot down drones over bases [Associated Press]

The curious case of ‘Nicole Mincey,’ the Trump fan who may actually be a bot [Washington Post]

Miami Is No Longer a Sanctuary City — At Least According to the Trump Administration [TIME]