Document 4vNNQ0oq3vqqB9qLmDa1yar8G

rushing into the public spotlight to engage their constituents on the controversial plan and their own decision-making about the proposal. "Then again, at least they have released information about where they will be. That's more than most Senate Republicans have done at the start of a 10-day break wrapped around the nation's Independence Day celebration. This creates the belief among liberal activists that Republicans are trying to hide, which in turn primes every public moment to become that much more confrontational." http://wapo.st/2tzSYZ9 -- W.H. LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR MARC SHORT ON TIMING, to JOHN ROBERTS on "Fox News Sunday": "Well, look, we've gone through a long process in the House and got it completed and passed in the House. We now are in the Senate where there's been obviously a lot of procedural delays in this process. We are at the point of scoring two separate bills throughout the course of this recess this week. So, we hope that we come back the week after recess, we'll have a vote." WHAT BRAD PARSCALE IS READING -- "Pro-Trump Twitter operatives market paid tweets," by Shawn Musgrave: "From the moment he declared his candidacy, President Trump commanded legions of online followers. Now, having helped win the White House, factions of self-made social media operatives are redirecting their skills and infrastructure to promote other candidates nationwide. Some are even vying to spin their experiences from the presidential race into new business models, seeking to promote other candidates by paying pro-Trump Twitter users to tweet and retweet scripted messages. Pro-Trump tweeters say they deserve at least partial credit for defeating Hillary Clinton, as well as for the string of Republican victories in recent special elections. A handful are pursuing paid gigs from aspiring conservative politicians, pitching their organized -- and often secretive -- follower networks to 'America First' candidates willing to pay. "It's an unproven concept, one viewed with skepticism from established campaign veterans and with varying levels of disdain from those who tweet Trump's virtues for free. After all, Twitter derives its power from authentic, grass-roots messaging. But payto-tweet enthusiasts say they're selling the future of social media strategy, and that candidates won't have any choice but to pay." http://politi.co/2tEmwFV MAUREEN DOWD in the NYT: "Cruella de Trump": "The 71-year-old president's pathological inability to let go of slights; his strongman reflex to be the aggressor and bite back like a cornered animal, without regard for societal norms; his lack of self awareness about the power he commands and the proportionality of his responses; his grotesque hunger for flattery and taste for Tony Soprano tactics; his Pravda partnership with David Pecker, the head honcho at The National Enquirer, which has been giving Trump the Il Duce treatment while sliming his political opponents, the 'Morning Joe' anchors and Megyn Kelly -- these are all matters that should alarm men and women equally. "Trump has moved his shallow kiddie wading pool of gossip and ridicule from Trump Tower to the White House, where it is so outlandishly out of place that it often feels like we have a Page Six reporter as our president. ... Before he got to D.C., Trump was used to media that could be bought, sold and bartered with. He is not built for this hostile environment and it shows in his deteriorating psychological state. Even though he's in the safest space of all, he's not in a safe space." http://nyti.ms/2tye4rz THE WHITE HOUSE appears to be putting more of their aides on television to talk about the president's agenda. They had Tom Bossert, the president's homeland security adviser, on ABC and Marc Short, the president's legislative affairs director, on Fox. The Trump administration has had no one on the Sunday shows on many occasions. A few weeks ago, Trump's attorney Jay Sekulow went on the shows. SUNDAY BEST -- HHS SECRETARY TOM PRICE to NBC'S CHUCK TODD on "MEET THE PRESS" -- TODD: "I'm just asking you as a father. If your son tweeted about a woman like that, what would you say to him?" PRICE: "Chuck, you know, this is really remarkable. You've got incredible challenges across this nation, incredible challenges around the world. The challenge that I've been given is to address the health care issues. And your program, a program with the incredible history of Meet the Press, and that's what you want to talk about?" TODD: "I don't." PRICE:"Let me suggest to you that the American people want to talk about the challenges." TODD: "Mr. Secretary, I don't. Mr. Secretary, with all due respect, you're blaming me for what the president of the United States has spent his entire week focused on?" PRICE: "No. Listen to me, with all due respect. The American people are concerned about a health care system that is not providing choices, where premiums are going up, where insurance companies are vacating markets all across this land. And that's what they want us to concentrate on. And that's what they want us to fix. And that's what I and the president are working on." TWO INTERESTING BITES FROM JAKE TAPPER'S interview of SEN. BEN SASSE (R-NEB.) on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" ...