Tipsheet: Mystery surrounds Sessions appointee to FBI investigation — Sponsored by FICO

View in your browser     Mystery surrounds Sessions appointee to FBI investigation By Katie Bo Williams      Questions surround the work of U.S. Attorney John Huber, who is playing a key role in one of the multiple investigations surrounding President Trump and the Justice Department. Known as a no-nonsense prosecutor whose primary experience is fighting violent crime, the U.S. attorney for Utah is an appointee of President Obama whose job was saved by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) when Trump asked state attorneys to resign so that he could field a new slate of professionals. Read the full story here     Trump orders officials to look at $100B in new Chinese tariffs By Jordan Fabian and Julia Manchester  President Trump on Thursday ordered the U.S. Trade Representative to consider slapping $100 billion in additional tariffs on China, escalating a heated trade dispute between Washington and Beijing. Read the full story here     Senate GOP skeptical of Trump idea to cancel spending By Alexander Bolton and Scott Wong Senate Republicans are reacting tepidly to proposals from President Trump and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) that Congress use an arcane budget maneuver to claw back spending from the $1.3 trillion omnibus package passed just last month with bipartisan support. Read the full story here     Trump denies knowledge of Stormy Daniels payment By Jordan Fabian President Trump on Thursday broke his silence on Stormy Daniels, saying he had no knowledge of a $130,000 payment his personal attorney made to the porn star days before the 2016 election. Read the full story here     Conservatives fear trade war could cripple tax cuts message By Naomi Jagoda and Niv Elis Conservatives are worried a trade war with China could wipe out the positive economic benefits of the tax-cut law and cost Republicans their majorities in Congress. Read the full story here     Pruitt directed staff to approve raises for top aides: report By John Bowden Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt reportedly instructed staff to approve raises for two top aides despite the EPA chief implying in a television interview he wasn't involved in the decisions. Read the full story here     GOP senator on tariff threat: Hopefully Trump is blowing off steam because ‘this is nuts’ By Julia Manchester Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) slammed President Trump's announcement Thursday that he was considering imposing $100 billion in tariffs on China amid the ongoing trade dispute between Washington and Beijing, calling it nuts and dumb. Read the full story here     Pentagon has few answers on Trump's National Guard plan Ellen Mitchell By Ali Breland The Pentagon on Thursday had few details to provide regarding President Trump's plan to deploy the National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border. Read the full story here     House tees up vote on balanced budget amendment By Juliegrace Brufke The House is slated to vote next week on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution after lawmakers return from their Easter recess. Read the full story here     Stormy Daniels's lawyer: Trump just increased strength of our case 'exponentially' By Julia Manchester Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team has reportedly questioned whether Russian oligarchs illegally sent cash donations to President Trump’s campaign or inauguration. Read the full story here         SPONSORED CONTENT   Sponsored by FICO Don't be fooled. VantageScore is not an independent startup -- it's owned by the three credit bureaus. Allowing the credit bureaus to offer a credit score they own and control in mortgage lending decisions would consolidate their power over the entire credit reporting process. That's not good for competition or for consumers. Read More.         Roger Stone's WikiLeaks statement is still not enough to charge Trump By Jonathan Turley OPINION | There is another disconnect between the coverage and the criminal code. Even if former Trump associate Roger Stone received early word of the Wikileaks release, it would not necessarily be a crime for Trump, his campaign, or Stone himself. Read the full story here     Judging Trump: Are elites disconnected or is the public in denial? By Lara M. Brown OPINION | Although public opinion polls show that most groups have grown less supportive of President Trump over the past year, college-educated elites appear much more concerned about where things are now than they were at the end of the Trump’s first 100 days in office. Read the full story here     The Washington Post: Trump says he wants to send 2,000 to 4,000 National Guard troops to Mexican border By Seung Min Kim and Missy Ryan   President Trump said Thursday that he wants to send 2,000 to 4,000 National Guard troops to the southern border as part of his administration’s effort to ramp up security there. Read the full story here     The Associated Press: Trump faceoff with China exposes GOP weakness in rural US By Nick Geranios, Steve Peoples and Steve Karnowski   Gary Bailey is certain China is trying to rattle Donald Trump voters with its threat to slap tariffs on soybeans and other agriculture staples grown in rural America. The wheat farmer in eastern Washington, a state that exports $4 billion a year in farm products, is also certain of the result. Read the full story here     The New York Times: Bernie Sanders courts black voters anew. But an Obama reference stings. By Jonathan Martin   Senator Bernie Sanders insists he hasn’t decided whether to run again for president, but a 14-hour sprint across the Deep South on Wednesday made clear that he is not only thinking about it but is already trying to remedy his most significant vulnerability in 2016: his lack of support from black voters. Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: Trump administration set to sanction Russian elite on Friday By Ian Talley   The Trump administration is set to sanction some of Russia’s ruling elite on Friday, delivering on long-promised punitive actions mandated by Congress after Moscow’s meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. Read the full story here     Reuters: Oklahoma Senate takes up tax hike to halt week-long teachers' strike By Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton The Oklahoma Senate is set to debate a tax hike package on Friday to raise education funds in the hope of halting a week-long strike by its public school teachers, who are some of the lowest-paid educators in the country. Read the full story here         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for The Hill Tipsheet       Forward this Tipsheet           Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.