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First Read's Morning Clips: Inside the 'Adult Day-Care Center'

A roundup of the most important political news stories of the day
Image: Donald Trump
President Donald Trump walks to Marine One prior to departing from the South Lawn of the White House on October 11, 2017 in Washington, as he travels to Pennsylvania to talk about tax reforms.Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty Images

TRUMP AGENDA: How to rein in an impetuous president

From Ashley Parker and Greg Jaffe in the Washington Post: “When Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) described the White House as “an adult day-care center” on Twitter last week, he gave voice to a certain Trumpian truth: The president is often impulsive, impetuous and difficult to manage, leading those around him to find creative ways to channel his energies. Some Trump aides spend a significant part of their time devising ways to rein in and control the impetuous president, angling to avoid outbursts that might work against him, according to interviews with 18 aides, confidants and outside advisers, most of whom insisted on anonymity to speak candidly.”

In POLITICO: “White House chief of staff John Kelly is giving Cabinet secretaries more autonomy to pick top political appointees, reversing efforts under his predecessor Reince Priebus to run most appointments through the West Wing. Kelly’s goal, according to 10 interviews with White House officials and advisers close to the administration, is to do a better job of finding candidates for the hundreds of jobs throughout the administration that remain vacant almost nine months into President Donald Trump’s first term.”

A showdown over Obamacare is raising concerns about a late-year government shutdown, writes the Washington Post.

And in the Wall Street Journal: “The Senate this week will grapple with President Donald Trump’s decision to stop making subsidy payments to health insurers, with lawmakers seeking a deal that would keep the money flowing while Republicans try to fold in conservative-oriented health-care priorities. It remains unclear whether a package could emerge that attracts support from a critical mass of senators and also from House Republicans. That could be put to the test quickly, as Sens. Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D., Wash.) are expected to introduce a plan within days and Sen. Ron Johnson (R., Wis.) unveils his own, more-conservative-leaning version.”

Here’s what Gov. John Kasich told one of us(!) about Trump’s health care subsidy move: “Are they just passing these things and people are praising what the president did because of politics? I mean, do they understand the impact that this has on families, on people?”

“A former contestant on "The Apprentice" who accuses President Donald Trump of past sexual misconduct has filed a subpoena for "all documents concerning any woman who asserted that Donald J. Trump touched her inappropriately," it was revealed on Sunday,” per NBC’s Phil McCausland. “Buzzfeed News first reported the existence of the court document, which names Trump's campaign organization and any applicable "directors, officers, partners, shareholders, managers, attorneys, employees, agents and representatives" as subjects.”

All eyes on North Korea, via the New York Times: “Amid all the attention on Pyongyang’s progress in developing a nuclear weapon capable of striking the continental United States, the North Koreans have also quietly developed a cyberprogram that is stealing hundreds of millions of dollars and proving capable of unleashing global havoc. Unlike its weapons tests, which have led to international sanctions, the North’s cyberstrikes have faced almost no pushback or punishment, even as the regime is already using its hacking capabilities for actual attacks against its adversaries in the West.”

NBC’s Suzy Khimm: “Citing President Donald Trump's calls for deregulation, Republican lawmakers and the chicken industry are aggressively lobbying to speed up poultry inspection lines — a change the Obama administration had rejected after warnings it would endanger workers and increase food contamination.”

NBC’s Ben Popken looks at the toll Trump’s presidency has taken on his businesses.

The Washington Post: “The controversy over football players kneeling in protest during the national anthem could have simply remained a labor dispute within the NFL. But then President Trump tweeted that tax breaks should be revoked for a league that disrespects “our Anthem, Flag and Country.” Those words threatening government action to financially penalize the league injected a new dimension into a roiling debate over race, police brutality and free speech that has gripped America’s most successful sports business for more than a year.”

OFF TO THE RACES: Previewing the looming Nelson-vs.-Scott battle in Florida

AL-SEN: AL.com notes that big business groups aren’t exacting lining up behind Roy Moore.

AZ-SEN: The New York Times reports on the state of play for endangered Sen. Jeff Flake, who may end up losing his political career over his criticism of Donald Trump.

FL-SEN: POLITICO looks at the looming clash between Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson — who’s desperate for a financial and organizational boost — and well-funded Republican Gov. Rick Scott: “The all-hands-on-deck response to Nelson’s request speaks to the deep concerns among Democratic activists and elites worried about the three-term senator’s lagging fundraising and the difficulty of motivating Democratic voters in off-year elections. … Nelson — who took a month off from fundraising amid the recent hurricanes — is redoubling his efforts to fill his campaign coffers, notably with a series of fundraisers headlined by one of the party’s rising stars, California Sen. Kamala Harris. Democrats don’t see much of a threat to Nelson if Scott doesn’t run, and argue that the main reason the governor is a challenge is due to his deep pockets. Scott, who is termed out of office at the end of 2018, is expected to decide on a Senate bid by the end of this year or early next year.”

MS-SEN: In the Clarion-Ledger: “Facing a potential Republican primary battle in 2018, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi is stepping up his praise of President Donald Trump, who won the state with 58 percent of the vote last November.”

And don’t miss possible Wicker challenger Chris McDaniel’s interview last night on the first episode of Kasie DC.

NJ-SEN: The latest on the Menendez trial, from the New York Times:

And NJ.com sums up the prosecution’s main arguments in the case against Menendez.

NJ-GOV: Al Gore stumped with Phil Murphy on Sunday.

SC-GOV: “President Donald Trump's support wasn't enough for Luther Strange to win the GOP nomination in Alabama's U.S. Senate race. Will the story be different in South Carolina's gubernatorial contest?” writes the AP. “Fresh off the Alabama defeat of his chosen candidate to replace Jeff Sessions, Trump is again wading into southern, horse-race politics. He visits South Carolina on Monday to appear at a private fundraiser for one of his earliest backers, Gov. Henry McMaster.”

VA-GOV: Jonathan Martin checks in on the Trump effect in the governor’s race. (Ed Gillespie tells him “I don’t know the president.”)