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Keeping up with the latest happenings in US Politics

Week 17 in Trump

Posted on May 22, 2017 in Politics, Trump, Uncategorized

I wasn’t following the news so closely last week, so I might have missed a few things. Here’s what I got–at least the week started off with a bang!

Russia:

  1. Sources say that in Trump’s meeting with Lavrov and Kislyak last week, he described information related to ISIS threats around laptops in airplanes, highly classified information that jeopardizes an intelligence source. The  arrangement with the source is sensitive, and it’s restricted from our allies and within our government. Trump’s revelation endangers future cooperation. In other words, we’ve shared more info with Russia than with our own allies.
  2. McMaster and others state that Trump didn’t disclose anything that wasn’t public to the Russians. Trump’s subsequent tweets indicate that he did.
  3. Some foreign officials suggest they’ll stop sharing secrets with the U.S.
  4. The source of the information Trump disclosed turns out to be based in Israel.
  5. Putin offers to give us a copy of their transcripts of the meeting to prove that classified material wasn’t discussed.
  6. Trump indicates that he records all his conversations, so Congress requests those recordings, especially after his disclosure during his meeting with Lavrov and Kislyak.
  7. Memos written by Comey after his meetings with Trump indicate that Trump had asked him to lay off the Flynn investigation.
  8. The Justice Department names a special counsel, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, to oversee the probe into Russia’s meddling in the election.
  9. During the last seven months of last year’s elections, Trump campaign advisors, including Michael Flynn, had contact with Russian officials and Kremlin ties at least 18 times.
  10. We learn that Flynn had informed the Trump campaign weeks before he was made security advisor that Flynn was under investigation for secretly working as a paid lobbyist for Turkey.
  11. Trump tweets his anger about the appointment of a special prosecutor.
    • “With all of the illegal acts that took place in the Clinton campaign & Obama Administration, there was never a special councel appointed!”
    • “This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!”
  12. In an interview, Trump says, “I just fired the head of the FBI. He was crazy, a real nut job. I faced great pressure because of Russia. That’s taken off.”
  13. A recording of a discussion between Republican representatives is publicized in which Kevin McCarthy jokes that Trump is being paid by Putin, and Paul Ryan says they should never talk about it.
  14. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), chair of the House Oversight Committee, requests all “memoranda, notes, summaries and recordings” of Trump and Comey’s communications.
  15. Investigators into Russia coordination with the Trump campaign says a current senior White House advisor is a person of interest and is under scrutiny.
  16. White House lawyers begin preparing for an impeachment defense. Note that this is not an admission of wrongdoing; they just want to be ready.
  17. After Rod Rosenstein briefed the Senate on the current state of the Russia investigation, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says that the Russia probe looks more like a criminal investigation than a counter-intelligence investigation.

Courts/Justice:

  1. The U.S. Supreme Court refuses to reverse a lower court’s decision that North Carolina’s voter restriction laws are racially discriminatory. The court didn’t rule on the law itself, but rather refused to reinstate the law on a technicality. Either way, that means voter rights are safe for now. This case was North Carolina’s last-ditch attempt to save the Voter Identification Verification Act, which a previous judge said was blatantly discriminatory and was designed to disenfranchise Black voters with “almost surgical precision.”

Healthcare:

  1. Senate Republicans plan to vote on their version of the healthcare bill by August, with no public debate.
  2. Health insurance companies issue warnings about the uncertainties in the market and say that the administration is threatening to withhold payments to insurance companies unless they back the healthcare reform bill. Insurers are also planning dramatic increases in premiums because of the inconsistent guidance they are receiving. This uncertainty comes just as some markets are stabilizing, according to insurers and state regulators.
  3. The Trump administration cut U.S. aid by about $8.8 billion to international healthcare providers that support abortion rights.

International:

  1. NATO is working on ways to keep their upcoming meeting interesting and simple enough to hold Trump’s attention.
  2. North Korea tests another type of ballistic missile. With this successful test they claim they can reach U.S. bases in the Pacific.
  3. Trump hosts Turkish President Erdogan at the White House.
  4. Erdogan’s security forces and supporters violently attack protesters outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence, while Erdogan watched from the driveway.
  5. The U.S. State Department accuses Syria of killing thousands of prisoners and burning their bodies at a crematorium. Syria denies this.
  6. Trump names Callista Gingrich, Newt’s third wife, as the ambassador to the Vatican.
  7. The US launches airstrikes against pro-Assad forces in southern Syria.
  8. Moderate Iranian President Hassan Rouhani wins his second term in a landslide victory, which comes as a relief to most of the West because his conservative opponent campaigned against the Iran nuclear deal and for closing Iran’s economy off from the world again.
  9. After interacting with Trump and his aides, foreign officials and consultants have come up with meeting guidelines.
    • Keep it short — no 30-minute monologue for a 30-second attention span.
    • Do not assume he knows the history of the country or its major points of contention.
    • Compliment him on his Electoral College victory.
    • Contrast him favorably with President Barack Obama.
    • Do not get hung up on whatever was said during the campaign.
    • Stay in regular touch.
    • Do not go in with a shopping list but bring some sort of deal he can call a victory. (NYT)
  10. UAE and Saudi Arabia pledge $100 million to Ivanka’s charity, even though during the campaign last year, Trump criticized the Clinton Foundation for accepting money from countries that “want women as slaves and to kill gays.”
  11. In his speech to Saudi Arabian officials, Trump claims to have achieved record spending on military, though his budget has not been passed through Congress.
  12. In a reversal of his previous rhetoric on Islam, Trump calls Islam on the of the world’s great faiths in the same speech. A sample of previous statements on Islam:
    • “I think Islam hates us.”
    • He called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims” to the U.S.
    • “There’s a sickness. They’re sick people.”

Travel Ban/Immigration/Discrimination:

  1. The 9th circuit court of appeals again hears Trump’s Muslim ban case.

Budget/Economy:

  1. Trump announces his plan to renegotiate NAFTA. There’s a 90-day period during which Congress and the administration will confer on the plan, and negotiations with Canada and Mexico can begin August 16 of this year.
  2. In trying to balance the budget, Senate Republicans look at cutting over $400 billion in benefits, including Medicaid, food stamps, welfare, and veterans’ benefits. The way they’re planning on implementing the changes avoids a Democratic filibuster.

Miscellaneous:

  1. Trump doesn’t believe in exercising. He thinks our bodies have a finite amount of energy and that exercising too much depletes it.
  2. Mitch McConnell calls for less drama from the White House.
  3. James Clapper thinks that our institutions are under assault from the Trump administration and urges other branches of the government to step up their checks and balances.
  4. Sheriff David Clarke, who is slated to become assistant secretary in the Department of Homeland Security, is accused of plagiarizing his masters thesis, which he denies. Naval Postgraduate School is reviewing it. You might remember Clarke as the guy who once said Black Lives Matter might team up with ISIS.
  5. The family of DNC staffer Seth Rich, who was murdered last year, sends a cease and desist order to Rod Wheeler, a Fox News contributor, after Wheeler alleged that Rich was responsible for leaking DNC emails to Wikileaks. Wheeler also alleged that the murder was related to the leaks despite no evidence of this.
  6. Trump provides North Carolina with less than 1% of the emergency funds they requested for the massive cleanup effort after hurricane Matthew.
  7. Mitch McConnell recommends Merrick Garland to replace Comey as FBI director; Garland would rather stay a judge. <opinion alert> How can he possibly think well enough of Garland to recommend him for this position, but not respect him enough to even give him a hearing for his appointment to the Supreme Court? Blatant partisanship, Mitch.
  8. Misreported from last week: The news media indicated that there was only one photographer in Trump’s meeting with Lavrov and Kislyak. There was actually one Russian and one U.S. photographer allowed.
  9. Under-reported from last week: Trump met with Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Minister Pavlo Klimkin on the same day that he met with Lavrov and Kislyak; a meeting in which Klimkin expressed appreciation for U.S. support of the Ukraine and protection against Russian aggression.
  10. Roger Ailes, former media consultant to Republican presidents and formerly of Fox News, dies.

Week 16 in Trump

Posted on May 15, 2017 in Politics, Trump

Attribution: Getty Images

Last week, the news was absolutely dominated by the firing of FBI director James Comey. So much so that I added a new section just for that. But what should’ve been the big news of the week wasn’t political; it was a world-wide hack of an estimated 200,000 computers by the WannaCry virus. The virus controls files on a computer and the hacker asks for a ransom to give you back control. So here’s a friendly reminder to be careful when clicking links and to do frequent backups of your computer (so if anyone does hold your files for ransom, you can say pffft, I have copies anyway). This is more likely to hit PCs than Macs, but these are good practices for both.

James Comey:

  1. Trump abruptly fires James Comey. The termination letter indicates that the decision is based on recommendations from AG Sessions (supposedly recused from anything Russia related) and Deputy AG Rosenstein.
  2. The White House gives mixed timelines for how long Trump has been considering this, starting anywhere from the day he was elected to a few months to a few weeks to just this week. The firing comes less than a week after Comey’s testimony to a Senate committee.
  3. Despite praising Comey for months, Trump suddenly says he’s not doing a good job.
  4. Comey is the third person investigating the Trump administration that Trump has fired (the other two are acting AG Sally Yates and NY U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara).
  5. White House spokespersons scramble to get the right story out. Sean Spicer literally hides in the bushes for several minutes before finally coming out to speak with reporters.
  6. Sarah Huckabee Sanders says that FBI agents, along with Trump and AG Sessions, had lost confidence in the director (later contradicted by Andy McCabe’s testimony).
  7. Early talking points put Rosenstein’s recommendation front and center as the reason for firing Comey. He pushes back against that and asks the White House to correct the record. He put together a memo at the request of the president, who was looking for a reason to release Comey.
  8. White House sources say that Trump made the decision after watching the Sunday talk shows over the weekend. He told some of his aides that there is something wrong with Comey.
  9. The reasons given for firing Comedy start to unravel. I don’t even know how to put this all in order, so here’s a deep dive from WaPo if you’re interested.
  10. By Friday, in an interview with Lester Holt, Trump calls Comey a “showboat” and “grandstander,” and says that he would’ve fired Comey regardless of the DoJ’ opinion.
  11. In the same interview, Trump says he was thinking about the Russia probe when he decided to fire Comey. “In fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said, ‘You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story, it’s an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won.’” This undercut the denials from the White House that Comey’s firing had anything to do with the Russia investigation.
  12. Comey learns he was fired while speaking to a group of FBI employees in California when he sees his image on the TV behind the group of employees. At first he thinks it’s a joke. But nope, he really just got fired on live TV. It appears the termination letter was delivered to the FBI offices in Washington AFTER the news broke on TV.
  13. Days before he was terminated, Comey reportedly met with Rosenstein to ask for additional resources for the Russia investigation. Andy McCabe later said he didn’t know about this.
  14. AG Sessions will be instrumental in hiring a replacement for Comey, which would put him right back in the center of the Russian investigation he is supposed to be recused from.
  15. FBI agents fear that the firing will disrupt the Russia investigation.
  16. FBI morale plummets with many agents angry over Comey’s firing, throwing shade on Trump’s allegations that morale was at a low under Comey.
  17. Trump plans a visit to FBI offices but later cancels when he learns he wouldn’t receive a warm reception there after firing a reportedly popular director.
  18. We learn that Comey had apparently refused to give Trump aides a preview of the testimony he was planning to give to a Senate Judiciary Committee prior to his firing.
  19. Comey’s scheduled testimony in the Senate is canceled, and acting director Andy McCabe testifies in his place. Congress invites Comey to testify next week behind closed doors and he says no thanks, I’d rather testify publicly.
  20. Even Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) is scratching his head over this. He asked the inspector general to add Comey’s firing to the Russia investigation.
  21. Trump suggests in a tweet that there he might have tapes of his conversations with Comey and warns him against “leaking to the press.” Comey says he isn’t worried about what might be on any tapes, if there are any.
  22. Reportedly, Trump had asked Comey to pledge his loyalty to Trump more than once and Comey refused.

 

Russia:

  1. Sally Yates testifies to a Senate Judiciary committee. Here are the main takeaways:
    • Michael Flynn was at risk for being compromised by Russian blackmail.
    • There is overwhelming evidence that Russia meddled to help Trump into office.
    • She indicated that there is evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russians (by saying she was unable to answer the question without divulging classified info).
  1. The partisanship of the committee is on display, with Republicans focusing on Yates’ refusal to support the travel ban and Democrats focusing on Flynn and Russia.
  2. After Yates’ testimony, Spicer downplays her warnings and accused her of having an agenda against Trump.
  3. In James Clapper’s testimony, he says he hasn’t seen evidence of collusion between Trump and Russia. Trump jumped on that as vindication, saying Clapper said there is no evidence. Not the same thing.
  4. During his testimony, Comey overstates the amount of email Huma Abedin forwarded to her husband’s server. He also mistakenly says the emails were marked as classified.
  5. The day after he fires Comey, Trump hosts Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Survey Kislyak (Kislyak was the target of last year’s intelligence surveillance). The White House allows only a Russian photographer into the Oval Office and bars U.S. media. The White House is surprised to learn that the photographer, who they thought was Lavrov’s official photographer, also works for the Russian news agency Tass. They claim they were “tricked” when the photographs show up in Russian propaganda and social media.
  6. Henry Kissinger also pays a surprise visit to the White House.
  7. Even after Comey’s firing, Mitch McConnell continues to reject calls for an independent investigation, saying it will impede the current investigations.
  8. Federal prosecutors issue grand jury subpoenas to associates of Michael Flynn, according to CNN. Note: Only CBS has confirmed this story so far.
  9. The Senate Intelligence Committee subpoenas Michael Flynn to obtain documents surrounding interactions with Russians.
  10. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) agrees to share financial information with Senate investigators regarding Russia ties. FinCEN tackles money laundering, and will provide financial records related to Trump or to his associates.
  11. Trump hires a law firm to send a certified letter to Lindsay Graham saying he doesn’t have monetary dealings with Russia (excepting a Miss Universe contest and a real estate deal). The law firm, Morgan and Lewis, won the Russia Law Firm of the Year award in 2016.
  12. Andy McCabe testifies to the Senate committee. The main takeaways from his testimony are:
    • Comey had not lost the support of FBI agents; he is respected and morale was high until his termination.
    • He knows of no attempts by the White House to impede the Russia investigation.
    • The Russia investigation will go on regardless of the change in leadership at the FBI.
    • This investigation is a very large part of what the FBI is working on now.

Courts/Justice:

  1. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reverses Eric Holder’s sentencing policies on low-level drug crimes, and presses federal prosecutors to charge people with the most serious offense they can and to push for the harshest sentencing (for federal offenses only).
  2. The reversal reverts back to the ‘tough on crime’ policies of the 90s that (opinion alert) gave us harsher sentences, overcrowded prisons, and a generation of mostly minority men who were aggressively pursued and prosecuted. These are the policies that were highly criticized during the 2016 election.
  3. The reversal also contradicts bipartisan agreement in Washington and the states that we put too many people behind bars for too long for mild offenses, and that our large prison population is too costly to both communities and the affected families. As a Senator, Sessions backed legislation creating harsh penalties for marijuana offenses, and he stalled bipartisan sentencing reform.
  4. The DoJ won’t say whether AG Sessions, who recused himself from the Russia investigation, will recuse himself from the selection process for Comey’s replacement.
  5. A Senate subcommittee, led by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), is looking into breaking up or restructuring the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Though Trump’s threat to break up the court makes this look suspicious, they’re looking at this because the population represented by this court is outsized.

Healthcare:

  1. Nothing new on healthcare this week aside from some raucous townhalls where GOP Representatives were forced to defend their votes. But I have to give kudos to Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ), even though he authored the state waiver amendment that saved the replacement for the ACA. He listened to his constituents argue with, yell at, and boo him for FIVE hours–mostly about healthcare and Russia. Regardless of whether you agree with his politics, that takes some steel balls.

International:

  1. Senior military and foreign policy advisers propose a new Afghanistan strategy that would add more than 3,000 new troops on top of the existing 5,400, stepping up the war with the Taliban again.
  2. Trump approves a plan to arm Syrian Kurds against ISIS. This could put U.S./Turkey relations on ice, and Erdogan does, in fact, register his disapproval later in the week.
  3. Jared Kushner’s family business brings up ethics questions when his sister encourages Chinese investors to invest at least $500,000 in a real estate deal in return for receiving visas through the EB-5 program. This is completely lawful, but bad optics.
  4. North Korea launches yet another missile test that lands near Russia. No wonder Putin’s starting to get a little edgy about North Korea.
  5. Chinese President Xi Jinping holds an infrastructure summit with 29 other heads of state from Asia, Europe, the Mid East, and Africa. China proposes a multibillion dollar plan to boost transportation and power plants throughout the participating countries, increasing their global trade and potentially pushing China past the U.S. as a global power.

Legislation:

  1. Texas Governor Abbott signs SB 4, a racial-profiling law that allows local police offers to ask anyone for proof of citizenship, similar to Arizona’s controversial laws. Some local police departments voice concern that this will further strain relationships with immigrant communities. Some say nothing will change.
  2. Trump signs an executive order creating a commission on voter fraud, specifically Trump’s allegations of massive voter fraud, and to investigate vulnerabilities in our voting systems. To sweeten the deal for Democrats, they’ll also investigate voter suppression. Mike Pence and Kris Kobach head the commission. Kobach instituted the much litigated voter ID laws in Kansas, which studies have shown reduced voter turnout.
  3. Trump signs an executive order on cyber security that builds on Obama’s previous efforts to improve security over government networks. Cyber experts and industry groups praise the order.

Travel Ban/Immigration/Discrimination:

  1. A reporter queries Spicer about Trump’s use of the phrase “Muslim ban” in the campaign, specifically about the page on the campaign website titled “DONALD J. TRUMP STATEMENT ON PREVENTING MUSLIM IMMIGRATION.” Minutes later, that page is gone.
  2. The revised travel ban goes before the 4th circuit court, with hearings in the 9th circuit court scheduled for next week. At issue is whether the ban was intended to discriminate against Muslims.
  3. The Texas legislature proposes a bill similar to the one Alabama signed into law last week that would allow adoption agencies to reject adoptive parents on religious grounds. This opens the door for discrimination against gay couples, couples of multiple faiths, and single parents.
  4. The Supreme Court reverses an Alabama court that ruled Alabama doesn’t have to honor adoptions from other states (specifically, the case was about a lesbian adoption, of course). The Supreme Court ruled that gay adoptions are no exception to the law that all states must honor other states’ agreements.
  5. The Virginia Supreme Court upholds a ruling that crimes against members of the LGBTQ community don’t qualify as hate crimes.

Climate/EPA:

  1. Trump names Ivanka to lead a group to review our policies on climate change, and meetings to start discussions are set for this week. He’s still considering pulling out of the Paris Agreement.
  2. White House advisors postpone the above meetings.
  3. The Senate rejects a Congressional Resolution passed by the House that would repeal limits on methane emissions from oil and gas drilling. This is the first resolution to repeal an Obama-era regulation that has been rejected.
  4. Secretary of State Tillerson signs the Fairbanks Declaration, acknowledging the threat of climate change to the Arctic and also stating that we need to do something about it. Again, at the same time Trump is considering leaving the Paris Agreement.
  5. Two expert EPA advisors resign to protest last week’s firing of members of a science committee, saying “We cannot in good conscience be complicit in our co-chairs’ removal, or in the watering down of credible science, engineering, and methodological rigor that is at the heart of that decision.”
  6. The Department of the Interior suspends over 200 advisory panels pending review.

Budget/Economy:

  1. The administration won’t finish its review of Dodd-Frank within the 120-day deadline. Instead, it’ll get reviewed piece-meal, with information being reported as each piece is completed.

Miscellaneous:

  1. Trump threatens to end White House press briefings because it’s to hard to speak accurately. In other words, being honest is hard.
  2. Reince Priebus warned White House staffers against trying to secretly hand news info to Trump. Apparently a staffer gave Trump a climate change article that turned out to be a hoax. Luckily, someone caught it before Trump could tweet about it. Sometimes aides slip him information to boost their agenda, and sometimes they do it as a game.
  3. Fun fact: Trump has been sued 134 times since his inauguration on a variety of issues. Several of the suits stemmed from the travel ban, and some are frivolous. But this number is 3 times that of the past 3 presidents combined for the first months of their terms.
  4. A new study finds that Wisconsin’s new voter ID requirements suppressed up to 200,000 votes in last year’s election. Trump won Wisconsin by 22,748 votes. Caveat: This study was conducted by the progressive group Priorities USA so the numbers are probably high, but the problem of voter suppression was confirmed in several other studies to a lesser extent.
  5. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) requests info from the Senate Intelligence Committee about whether the Obama administration or the intelligence community surveilled any of members of Congress.
  6. Betsy DeVos gets booed while giving a commencement address at Bethune-Cookman University.

Polls:

  1. The latest Quinnipiac poll shows Trump’s approval dropped back down to 36%. Additional results from the poll include:
    • His disapproval rating is at an all-time high of 58%
    • The percentage of Americans who strongly approve of him is tied for an all-time low at 25 percent.
    • The percentage who strongly disapprove has reached an all-time high of 51 percent.
    • For the first time the numbers are turning in his base. The number of white people without college degrees who approve dropped from 57% to 47%
  1. According to an NBC poll, 48% of Americans say the latest healthcare legislation to pass the House is a bad thing compared to 23% who say it’s good.

Things Politicians Say:

  1. When asked by Time magazine if he feels his administration has been too combative, Trump says, “It could be my fault. I don’t want to necessarily blame, but there’s a great meanness out there that I’m surprised at.” Sorry dude, but if you can’t take it, don’t dish it out in the first place.
  2. Trump calls the Navy’s new electromagnetic catapult to launch planes off aircraft carriers “no good” and says they need to go back to “goddamned steam.” This catches Navy leaders off-guard as the new digital system, though imperfect, has many benefits over the older steam systems. But it’s all part of modernizing and making our military great again.
  3. And I’ll leave you with this, from Rep. Roger Marshall (R-KS): “Just like Jesus said, ‘The poor will always be with us.’ There is a group of people that just don’t want health care and aren’t going to take care of themselves. Just, like, homeless people … I think just morally, spiritually, socially, [some people] just don’t want health care. The Medicaid population, which is [on] a free credit card, as a group, do probably the least preventive medicine and taking care of themselves and eating healthy and exercising. And I’m not judging, I’m just saying socially that’s where they are. So there’s a group of people that even with unlimited access to health care are only going to use the emergency room when their arm is chopped off or when their pneumonia is so bad they get brought [into] the ER.”

Week 15 In Trump

Posted on May 8, 2017 in Healthcare, Politics, Trump

I had to bring back the Stupid Things Politicians Say category this week… because you know when healthcare reform gets hot, people say some pretty stupid stuff. Here’s that and everything else that happened last week.

Climate/EPA:

  1. The EPA starts firing members of one of its main scientific advisory boards, releasing 5 scientists this week. Scott Pruitt says he wants to replace those empty positions with people from the very industries that the EPA is tasked with regulating.
  2. Emmanuel Macron, President Elect of France, has a message for U.S. scientists. France welcomes you and we’ll be spending money on scientific research, specifically in the area of climate change. Look for a little brain drain in the future.
  3. Flint notifies around 8,000 Flint residents that are risking tax liens on their homes for unpaid water bills.

Russia:

  1. Comey testifies to the Senate Judiciary Committee about events before last year’s election. Specifically about his announcement a week before the election, Comey says “This was terrible. It makes me mildly nauseous to think we might have had some impact on the election.” Thanks for that—it makes a bunch of us more than mildly nauseous.
  2. Here are a few take always from Comey’s testimony:
    • He said that he had no choice about breaking the news of the newly found emails in the last week of the election, even though he knew he was affecting the election.
    • He wanted to go public with the Russian meddling last summer, but the Obama administration prevented it. The administration only made the info public after 17 agencies came forward in October.
    • He confirmed that Russia was behind the DNC hack.
    • He said that Russia will continue to meddle in our elections and politics because the outcome of the election showed that their methods work.
    • He confirmed that he is being investigated for his role in the email probe and the elections.
    • He confirmed that the FBI is investigating whether active FBI agents leaked info to Giuliani in the run-up to the elections.
    • He also said that Huma Abedin had forwarded classified material to her husband’s server (Anthony Weiner).
  1. Hackers break into the campaign servers of French presidential candidate Macron (now President Elect) and dump 9 gigs of campaign documents just hours before the traditional media blackout France imposes in the 44 hours around an election. Macron wins the election handily anyway.
  2. A month before Michael Flynn was caught on tape talking with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak about lifting U.S. sanctions, Flynn was warned about U.S. surveillance of Kislyak’s conversations. Maybe he just forgot?
  3. It turns out that Obama had warned Trump against hiring Flynn during the transition period, though Spicer continues to blame the Flynn problem on the Obama administration.
  4. Trump criticizes Susan Rice for refusing to testify in the Russia hearings, though she says her reason is that it was a partisan request. The leading Republican on the committee wants her to testify; the leading Democrat disagrees.
  5. Trump ends an interview abruptly when pushed on his accusation that Obama was spying on him.

Healthcare:

  1. Early in the week, moderate Republicans have concerns over the new healthcare bill, and say it needs to be rewritten. The primary concerns are:
    • Deep cuts to Medicaid.
    • Higher premiums for older Americans.
    • Insufficient protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
  1. The bill’s authors add an $8 billion fund for the high-risk pool to bring moderate Republicans on board.
  2. In an interview with CBS, Trump’s answers indicate he doesn’t know what’s actually in the latest version of the healthcare bill.
  3. In the middle of the week, Ryan doesn’t have enough Republicans committed to a yes vote on the healthcare bill. 20 Republicans are a definite no.
  4. By Thursday, the House finally feels confident to move ahead with a vote on the new bill. It narrowly passes 217-213, with 20 Republicans voting no and 1 not voting. Here’s how the new bill changes the ACA:
    • Replace existing subsidies with refundable tax credits based mostly on age and partially on income.
    • Remove cost sharing subsidies for people making less than $30,000.
    • End Medicaid expansion and place a cap on federal Medicaid spending.
    • Repeal the ACA tax on individuals making more than $200,000 or families making more than $250,000.
    • Remove age-based premium limits, allowing older people to be charged up to 5x the premiums of someone younger .
    • Remove guarantees for people with pre-existing conditions and other coverages mandated by the ACA (by giving states waivers, but states then have to provide an alternative).
    • Implement more generous HSAs.
    • Eliminate the individual and employer mandate (but still fine people whose insurance lapses).
  1. On Friday, the House unanimously passed a bill that would not let them be exempt from the AHCA.
  2. Democrats warn that the House bill contains certain provisions that don’t comply with special budget rules, which could allow for a filibuster if it comes to that.
  3. Some Senate Republicans are in such disagreement with the House-passed healthcare bill that they say they’ll write their own from scratch. They form a group of 13 (all men) to start the process.
  4. Hospitals, physicians, and insurers all criticize the bill saying people will lose coverage and some won’t get the care they need.
  5. On the day the House passes the bill estimated to cause millions to lose insurance, Trump praises the House Republicans’ efforts on this. Seconds later, he praises Australia’s universal healthcare system. So as we move our healthcare system further away from universal care, Trump says universal care is far better than ours.

International:

  1. Reports came out this week that the Trump administration is discontinuing the ″Let Girls Learn″ global program sponsored by Michelle Obama, but according to the White House, there are no changes to the program. Something to keep an eye on.
  2. South Korea’s missile defense system is up and running.
  3. Trump says he’d be ″honored″ to meet with Kim Jung Un.
  4. Trump and Putin have a tepid phone call, where they discuss Syria, North Korea, and a possible meeting this summer.
  5. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross recalls how Trump told Chinese President Xi about the Syrian bombing over desert, saying it was “free after dinner entertainment.”
  6. McMaster says that Trump’s foreign policy approach is disruptive, and thinks that could help stabilize things in the Mideast.
  7. Trump hosts Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas at the White House.
  8. Trump announces a visit to Israel, the Vatican, and Saudi Arabia in an effort to unite the world’s three leading faiths in the fight against terror.
  9. Emmanuel Macron, who founded his own ″En Marche!″ party, is elected President of France over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.

Legislation:

  1. An Alabama judge rules to allow a mostly white city to secede from a more racially diverse school district, even though she also found the reasons for the move to be racially biased. The city must meet certain conditions regarding desegregation, but it’s likely to be caught up in lawsuits before they can even get that far.
  2. Trump signs a religious liberties executive order that the ACLU says will have ″no discernible policy outcome.″ While not changing any laws, it does the following:
    • Reiterates the governments support for freedom of religion and religious speech.
    • Essentially gives the IRS permission to relax enforcement of a rule restricting political actions and advocacy on the part of religious entities (by the way, the IRS has never prosecuted a religious entity based on this rule).
    • Directs agencies to explore avenues of relief for religious organizations in providing healthcare.
    • Gives the DoJ more freedom to interpret religious liberty protections versus civil rights.
  1. 1,330 clergy members took out a full-page ad against the executive order.
  2. Alabama’s governor, Kay Ivey, signs a law that gives adoption agencies the freedom to refuse to adopt out to parents based on religious beliefs. This is an obvious move toward allowing discrimination against gay parents. South Dakota, Michigan, North Dakota, and Virginia also have similar adoption laws.

Travel Ban/Immigration/Discrimination:

  1. Spicer gives the press a brief presentation of proposals for the wall, which appear to downgrade the wall to a series of fences and leads to a debate during the press briefing of the definition of a wall.
  2. Border agents have been turning away asylum seekers over the past several months. Under both U.S. and international law, asylum seekers are supposed to be allowed in to plead their case; it’s not up to border agents to decide.
  3. The number of refugees coming to the U.S. plummets to only 2,070 refugees in March and 3,316 in April, the lowest numbers since 2013.

Budget/Economy:

  1. The temporary spending measure signed by Congress to keep the government running allocates $120 million to help cover the increased security costs of protecting the first family, with about half going to the Secret Service and half going to reimburse the costs imposed on the municipalities they visit, like Palm Beach. This is just to get them through to September—5 months worth.
  2. The spending bill funds protections for refugees, H-2B visas, and the threatened Pell grants, NEA, NEH, ARC, EPA, Planned Parenthood, ACA subsidies, and Obama’s cancer moonshot at NIH. It doesn’t fund the border wall, not does it reduce funding for sanctuary cities. It does expand the military and border protection budgets. Democrats won concessions to keep Puerto Rico’s Medicaid program, while Republicans won on D.C.’s school choice program.
  3. Corn and soy farmers are now worried that Trump was serious about pulling out of NAFTA, and are concerned that renegotiating or pulling out completely could negatively affect the market for their crops.
  4. The budget Trump released in March would cut funding to programs under the Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER). These Obama-era programs work together at revitalizing coal communities with things like new business development and job and skills training. The approximately $1.13 billion cut would affect 7 of the 12 programs.
  5. In what appears to be an openness to suggestions from people in the trenches, Tillerson asks his staff for feedback on the budget cuts to the State Department.
  6. The economy adds 211,000 jobs this month and the unemployment rate edges down to 4.4%. Labor force participation is also down, but this is still good news.

Miscellaneous:

  1. Though Trump promised to drain the swamp, including barring his transition staff from lobbying for six month, at least nine people who worked on the transition have already registered as lobbyists.
  2. Transfers of cash from the U.S. to Mexico jumped 15% in the last month due to uncertainty around travel to the U.S. and relations with Mexico.
  3. Trump returns to New York City for the first time since taking office, to be greeted by protests and angry chants.
  4. The administration begins removing the staffers that they had installed to serve as Trump’s eyes and ears in various agencies (AKA, internal spies). Tensions have been growing between these monitors and the heads of the agencies.
  5. Hillary Clinton gives Christianne Amanpour a blistering interview where she takes responsibility for losing but also blames Comey’s timing of the email announcement along with Russian meddling. She also criticizes Trump’s performance so far and says she’s part of the resistance.
  6. According to 538, the letter Comey sent to Congress the week before the election probably did cost her the election. At a maximum, they estimate it might have shifted the race by 3 or 4 percentage points in states where she lost by less than 1 percentage point. And before you start up with how inaccurate the polls were, the final popular results was well within the margin of error of most reliable polls.
  7. It sounds like Trump wants to change the rules of passing a bill, not seeming to understand the system of checks and balances our usually slow-moving government applies. He called the system rough and archaic, and called Congressional rules bad for the country, saying that they should be changed.
  8. Trump launches a series of campaign ads singing the praises of his first 100 days in office, starting with a 30-second TV ad along with a series of more targeted online ads. It is an early return to campaigning for any sitting president. Usually they take this time to push through their most important policy changes.
  9. CNN refuses to air one of Trump’s campaign ads because it has a graphic with “Fake News” plastered across images of some familiar journalists. CNN says they aren’t fake news, therefore the ad is false and does not comply with their guidelines. Trump says this is censorship, but experts say CNN is within their rights not to air it.
  10. North Dakota is requesting $38 million from the federal government to pay for the DAPL protests.
  11. Thousands gather across the country for May Day marches and strikes. May Day, also called International Workers‘ Day, originated when U.S. trade unions declared the work day would be an 8-hour day, which united several groups and mobilized the workforce to fight for workers’ rights. Two years later, this movement brought about the first May Day strike on May 1, 1886.
  12. Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Army, Mark Green, withdraws from consideration over controversies around past comments on gender, Islam, and evolution.
  13. Sonny Perdue ends nutritional standards at schools, reducing whole-grain requirements, allowing higher sodium levels, and restoring high-fat, sweetened milk. Because childhood obesity isn’t a problem here in the states, right?

Stupid Things Politicians Say:

  1. From Donald Trump: “I also applaud the Palestinian Authority’s continued cooperation with Israel. They get along unbelievably well… They work together beautifully.”
  2. Trump wonders why we had to fight the Civil War and surmises that if Andrew Jackson would’ve still been in power, he would’ve nipped it in the bud. History lesson: Unlike Lincoln, Andrew Jackson owned many slaves. And isn’t Lincoln supposed to be the big Republican hero? Here’s the full quote:

″I mean, had Andrew Jackson been a little later, you wouldn’t have had the Civil War. He was a very tough person, but he had a big heart. And he was really angry that — he saw what was happening with regard to the Civil War. He said, “There’s no reason for this.” People don’t realize, you know, the Civil War — if you think about it, why? People don’t ask that question, but why was there the Civil War? Why could that one not have been worked out?″

  1. Arizona House Majority Leader John Allen, on teachers who have to work two jobs to make ends meet: “They’re making it out as if anybody who has a second job is struggling. That’s not why many people take a second job. They want to increase their lifestyles… They want to pay for a boat. They want a bigger house.”
  2. Wow. Just… wow. Rep. David Eastman (R-Wasilla) thinks that women in Alaska are getting abortions for the exciting travel opportunity, saying, “You have individuals who are in villages and are glad to be pregnant, so that they can have an abortion because there’s a free trip to Anchorage involved.”
  3. Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-NC) on pre-existing conditions: “People can go to the state that they want to live in. States have all kinds of different policies and there are disparities among states for many things: driving restrictions, alcohol, whatever. We’re putting choices back in the hands of the states.” As if moving to another state to get the care you need is a viable option for most people.
  4. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price says people who are sicker and riskier have to pay more for health insurance, and that it’s “pricing for what an individual’s health status is.” In reality, the reason we don’t rely on free-market pricing for health care is that the older and sicker would be charged higher insurance premiums because they’re more likely to cost more, and the younger and healthier would be charged less because they’re likely to cost less. Except you can’t predict when you’ll get sick.
  5. Rep. Raúl R. Labrador (R-Idaho): “Nobody dies because they don’t have access to health care.” Prior to the ACA, around 45,000 Americans died annually because of lack of health insurance (according to a 2009 Harvard study). Additional studies back this up.
  6. Jimmy Kimmel’s son is born with a heart condition, and he makes an emotional plea on live TV to make sure that nobody loses healthcare and that every baby is covered. Joe Walsh, former Republican Congressman tweets this response: “Sorry Jimmy Kimmel: you’re [sic] sad story doesn’t obligate me or anybody else to pay for somebody else’s health care.”
  7. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), defending an amendment that would require sicker people to pay more insurance costs: “My understanding is that it will allow insurance companies to require people who have higher health care costs to contribute more to the insurance pool that helps offset all these costs, thereby reducing the cost to those people who lead good lives, they’re healthy, you know, they are doing the things to keep their bodies healthy.” Because, you know good people who live healthy lives never get sick.

Week 14 In Trump

Posted on May 1, 2017 in Politics, Trump

Quote of the week:

“I love my previous life. I had so many things going. I, actually, this is more work than in my previous life,” Trump said. “I thought it would be easier. I thought it was more of a — I’m a details-oriented person I think you would say that. But I do miss my old life. I like to work so that’s not a problem but this is actually more work.”

Anybody who thinks presidenting is easy — in fact anyone who doesn’t think it’s just about the hardest job in the world — has never really paid attention to our government.

Russia:

  1. The Senate Intelligence Committee adds more staffers to help investigate Russia ties after they are criticized for the slow pace of their investigation.
  2. The slow pace also generates a bigger push for an independent investigation (73% of Americans want one).
  3. Rep. Jason Chaffetz says that it appears Michael Flynn broke the law in accepting foreign money for appearances and lobbying because as a retired Lieutenant General he is required to obtain permission.
  4. Sean Spicer shifts blame to the Obama administration for having given Flynn security clearance, though Obama had also fired Flynn. Meanwhile, the White House refuses to turn over the documents requested by the oversight committee, something Spicer denies.
  5. The Defense Department inspector general also launches an investigation into Michael Flynn.

 

Courts/Justice:

  1. Arkansas forges ahead with their executions, killing three more inmates this week.
  2. Trump says he’ll get rid of the requirement that employers provide birth-control coverage to their employees, but the DoJ indicates that they intend to continue fighting for that coverage.
  3. The Senate confirms Rod Rosenstein as Deputy Attorney General, and he’ll be taking over handling of the Russia probe.
  4. We learn that the DoJ, in a 180-degree turn, has withdrawn a primary claim against a Texas voter ID law. The DoJ until now has maintained that the law was written with discriminatory intent, a reversal that indicates the DoJ’s new position toward protecting minority interests. Or toward not protecting those interests.
  5. In response to a California judge ruling against Trump’s financial threats against sanctuary cities, Trump says he’s considering breaking apart the ninth circuit court of appeals, apparently unaware of presidential limits.
  6. In the ongoing conflict between North Carolina’s Republican legislature and its new Democratic governor, the legislature is trying to pass bills that would strip Governor Cooper of his ability to fill seats on the state court of appeals. In response, conservative Republican Judge J. Douglas McCullough steps down a month before his required retirement date to allow the governor to appoint someone to fill his seat. He is so opposed to the Republican antics that he is willing to have a Democrat replace him on the bench.

Healthcare:

  1. The GOP works again to revise their healthcare bill so they can bring it to a vote, this time catering to the interests of the Freedom Caucus.
  2. Changes to the bill give states more flexibility, letting them apply for waivers to some provisions. This includes rules around pre-existing conditions, patient age, prescription drug coverage, and mental health coverage.
  3. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, government costs would actually increase by $2.3 billion if they stop paying the ACA subsidies (as has been threatened in order to make the system fail).
  4. 79% of Americans say Trump should try to make the ACA work instead of trying to make it fail quickly. 50% of Americans don’t have faith in the replacement plan for the ACA.
  5. The UN sends a letter to the Trump administration warning that repealing the ACA without a robust replacement that ensures coverage is available to all could violate our obligations to international law.
  6. The House fails again to pull together enough votes to repeal and replace the ACA. The latest iteration got the Freedom Caucus on board, but lost moderate Republicans.
  7. Rep. Warren Davidson tells a woman at a town hall that her son isn’t skilled enough to have insurance coverage. When later asked about it, he reiterated that healthcare coverage is something we have to earn.

International:

  1. French President Hollande throws his support behind Emmanuel Macron in next month’s elections, calling on voters to reject far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.
  2. All the Senators are bused up to the White House for a briefing on North Korea by Rex Tillerson, Jim Mattis, Dan Coats, and General Joseph Dunford.
  3. Trump says that there could be a “major, major” conflict with North Korea. While most Senators and news media agree the situation is bad, Fox News says tensions are at a “fever pitch.”
  4. North Korea launches yet another ballistic missile test. Like the last one, this missile also fails.
  5. Secretary Mattis travels to Afghanistan to figure out how to handle the issue of Russia supplying the Taliban with weapons.
  6. In retaliation for Syria’s chemical attack, the U.S. imposes new sanctions against them.
  7. A Russian spy ship collides with a freighter and sinks in the Black Sea.
  8. The Trumps host Mauricio Macri, the president of Argentina, and his wife at the White House.
  9. Trump invites Philippine strongman (and human rights violator) Rodrigo Duterte for a White House visit.
  10. In continuing his moves to stifle dissent and free speech, Turkish President Erdogan fires around 4,000 government workers, and bans access to Wikipedia and certain TV shows countrywide. Remember Erdogan is the guy Trump called to congratulate on his win in consolidating power.
  11. The State Department wants to vet any remarks made by Nikki Haley before she speaks.

Legislation:

  1. In yet another move to pretend Obama’s presidency never happened, Trump signs an executive order to review our national monuments (federally protected and owned land). In fairness, this affects all monuments, not just those designated by Obama; however Trump has specifically pointed out those that were designated by Obama as inhibiting development. He can either abolish the designations or make the monuments smaller.
  2. The next day he tweets “As families prepare for summer vacations in our National Parks – Democrats threaten to close them and shut down the government. Terrible!” A little disconnect?
  3. In response to the executive order, clothing maker Patagonia threatens legal action.
  4. The FCC proposes rules to weaken net neutrality. More than 800 leaders of U.S. start-ups signed a letter to Ajit Pai, FCC chairman, asking that these rules not be changed. In brief, net neutrality forces ISPs to treat all packets of information equally. For example, they can’t charge Hulu more for data than Netflix or YouTube, and they can’t slow down one person’s data so another’s can flow faster.
  5. Trump signs an executive order around agriculture, which instructs Sonny Perdue (Secretary of Agriculture) to review regulations and identify unnecessary rules that can be eliminated. It creates a new task force to make recommendations on existing food and agriculture policies that could hinder profit-making of agribusiness.
  6. Trump signs an executive order to encourage offshore drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, making federal waters available for oil and gas leasing. Many cities and states have their own laws around this, so parts of the Atlantic may still be off limits.
  7. Despite his criticism of executive orders, especially of Obama’s use of executive orders, Trump ends the week with 32 executive orders under his belt, the most of any president in their first 100 days since WWII.
  8. Trump ends his first 100 days having signed 29 pieces of legislation from Congress, 11 of which do nothing more than repeal Obama-era rules and regulations.

Travel Ban/Immigration/Discrimination:

  1. According to the Anti-Defamation League, anti-semitic incidents are up 86% the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year. Only around a third of those were the hoax bomb threats against Jewish community centers.
  2. The Trump administration awards GEO, a company that donated almost half a million dollars to his campaign, the contract for a private immigration detention center.
  3. A federal judge blocks the Trump administration’s attempts to cut funding to sanctuary cities. Trump accuses his opponents of “judge shopping.” Once again, the administration’s words come back to haunt them. They previously said they would wield funding like a weapon and bring sanctuary cities to their knees, among other threats. The judge took their statements into account in his ruling.
  4. Mexico expresses concern that the border wall could violate a 47-year-old treaty between the U.S. and Mexico, and also that a wall could worsen flooding in some areas. The decision could be left up to international courts if Mexico protests the wall based on the treaty.
  5. Trump and Republican leaders butt heads over LGBTQ protections versus religious rights. Trump wants protection policies to remain; Republicans favor restricting those policies based on religious liberty. Trump has in the past professed support for protecting the LGBTQ community.
  6. Homeland Security creates a new agency, Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement or Voice, or VOICE, to assist families of victims of crimes by undocumented immigrants, even though undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than citizens. Some of their work appears to duplicate work already being done by states and localities, such as VINE, or Victim Information and Notification Everyday.
  7. Of the undocumented immigrants targeted for deportation in the days after Trump took office, around half had either no criminal offenses or minor traffic offenses. The number of immigrants picked up represents about a 32% increase over the previous year.

Climate:

  1. Energy Secretary Rick Perry endorses renegotiating parts of the Paris agreement instead of simply withdrawing from it.
  2. Protestors against Trump’s climate policies march in cities across the country on Trump’s 100th day in support of science-based policies that support our health and the health of the planet.
  3. The night before the climate marches, the EPA removes its scientific climate change website from public view. The site is archived, and they say they’re updating it to match the new direction of the agency. This causes great concern in the scientific community, but we’ll see whether the info gets put back up.
  4. Because of climate change, coffee production has been in a deficit for the past 4 years. Meanwhile consumption is reaching an all-time high. But not to worry; scientists are on it, working on plants that can withstand disease and grow with less water.
  5. Ice roads in Canada are freezing later and melting earlier than before, reducing the window in which isolated residents can travel and goods can be trucked. The roads take longer to freeze and the ice isn’t as thick, making it more dangerous for travel.

Budget/Economy/Trade:

  1. Trump issues a tax plan, which is more like a wishlist than an actual plan. In short, the plan:
    • Cuts corporate taxes for businesses of all sizes, from the biggest to mom-and-pop stores.
    • Cuts the top tax rate by 4.6 points.
    • Eliminates the ACA tax of 3.8% on top earners, bringing their total tax cut to 8.4 points.
    • Eliminates the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax (AMT).
    • Increases the standard deduction to help middle class earners (this might require eliminating other deductions).
    • Doesn’t include tax revenue to support the infrastructure plan.
    • Rejects the border tariff proposed by House Republicans.
    • Creates a loophole where people could create pass-through corporations and lower their effective tax rate to 15%.
    • Eliminates the state and local tax deductions from federal income tax.
  2. Analysts say the economy would have to grow by 5% to make up for the budget shortfall.
  3. The Tax Policy Center estimates the cuts will reduce federal revenue by $6.2 trillion over 10 years.
  4. Mnuchin says he can’t guarantee that the middle class won’t pay more under the new tax bill but he says there should be no absolute tax breaks for the wealthy. Even though their tax bracket is dropping at least four points. I’m trying to work out the math here…
  5. Analysts say that the economic policies in the tax plan don’t support policies in Trump’s trade and immigration plans. They say he needs an overall economic vision that brings all the different pieces together, a vision that is currently lacking.
  6. Trump orders a 20% tariff on softwood lumber coming in from Canada, which is predicted to increase the cost of new homes. He argues that the lumber is unfairly subsidized which hurts lumber companies in the U.S., but this seems to be in response to an import tax Canada on U.S. dairy products processed in a certain way (the processing style was used as a way to get around NAFTA trade rules).
  7. Democrats say they’ll stall the spending bill and risk a government shutdown if the healthcare vote happens this week.
  8. On Wednesday, Congress leans toward signing a one-week extension to the budget to keep the government going.
  9. Trump throws in a wrench by making demands to begin funding the border wall and to begin defunding the ACA (specifically the payments that help low-income people).
  10. Trump backs away from his demands around the border wall and the ACA this go around.
  11. Or wait, does he really?
  12. Yes. Yes, he does.
  13. Ryan says the spending bill will not include ACA payments that help lower-income people afford care.
  14. Or wait, will it?
  15. Yes. Yes, it will include those payments.
  16. The House and Senate pass a short-term budget bill to prevent a shutdown. The vote didn’t hinge on any healthcare changes nor on any funding for the wall.
  17. Also in the bill, the NIH will get a $2 billion dollar increase, a rejection of Trump’s cuts to the agency in his proposed budget.
  18. The White House submits a draft proposal to withdraw from NAFTA. Republicans and Democrats in Congress both say hold up, wait a minute here.
  19. Trump threatens to terminate NAFTA, causing shakeups in the markets, Congress, Canada, and Mexico.
  20. After both Mexican and Canadian leaders phone Trump, he agrees not to terminate NAFTA. It seems that what actually convinced him, though, was Sonny Perdue, Secretary of Agriculture, showing him map of the farmers who would be negatively affected by scrapping NAFTA and telling him that these are Trump voters.
  21. The latest numbers show that the U.S. had sluggish economic growth last quarter at just .7%, the weakest in three years. Consumer spending was down as well. This might not have much to do with Trump, though, as we’re still on Obama’s budget.

Miscellaneous:

  1. To add to Fox’s public image issues, a new class-action lawsuit against the media conglomerate alleges racial discrimination.
  2. The Senate denies Breitbart’s request for permanent press pass credentials saying they need answers to more questions.
  3. It’s another bad week for Alex Jones of InfoWars, who is in the middle of a custody suit. Chobani sues him for defamation after Jones linked the founder of the company to a sexual assault case and accused him of importing refugee rapists. And then Jones lost his custody suit.
  4. The State Department removes a page on its website featuring Mar-a-Lago after criticism that it used government resources to basically advertise the resort.
  5. The Senate confirms Alexander Acosta as Secretary of Labor.
  6. Trump thought once he won, the press would be kinder to him.
  7. Trump speaks at the annual NRA meeting in Atlanta, the first sitting president since Ronald Reagan in 1983 to do so.
  8. Ivanka travels to Germany for a panel discussion on women’s economic empowerment, on Angela Merkel’s invite. The first day doesn’t go well as she’s forced to defend her father to a skeptical audience.
  9. Ann Coulter is speaking at UC Berkeley. Then she’s not (UCB postponed for security concerns). Then she is (forget security, I’ll just speak in a public square). Then she’s not (she lost the support of the groups who asked her to speak). The primary catalyst here is the security concern with far right and far left extremist groups, but the issue quickly escalates into accusations of free speech infringement.
  10. Paul Ryan is less popular than Donald Trump with just a 22% approval rating.
  11. A new poll shows that most Trump voters do believe that Obama was spying on the Trump campaign.
  12. And finally of note this week is this Politico story about press office lies. It seems the press were warned from the start that the White House would feed them lies just to mess with them. Staffers lie more for sport than for furthering any agenda; it’s all a game. Information is plentiful when you’re doing a story on palace intrigue, but not so much when it comes to actual policy. What they say off the record is far more accurate than what they say on the record, especially when it comes to TV appearances. For example, Spicer has lied or mislead 51 times in his briefings.

Legislation Signed By Trump In His First 100 Days

Posted on May 1, 2017 in Legislation, Trump

Here’s a list of all the bills signed into law by Trump in his first hundred days. I’ll update this later with brief descriptions of each and what they do, but for now, note that every law that is a disapproval or is disapproving repeals something Obama put into place.

April 28, 2017

H.J.Res. 99 – Joint Resolution making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2017, and for other purposes.

April 19, 2017

S.J.Res. 36 – Joint Resolution providing for the appointment of Roger W. Ferguson as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.

S.J.Res. 35 – Joint Resolution providing for the appointment of Michael Govan as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.

S.J.Res. 30 – Joint Resolution providing for the reappointment of Steve Case as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.

S. 544 – An Act to amend the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to modify the termination date for the Veterans Choice Program, and for other purposes.

Signed on April 18, 2017

H.R. 353 – Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017

Signed on April 13, 2017

H.J.Res. 67 – Joint Resolution disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to savings arrangements established by qualified State political subdivisions for non-governmental employees.

H.J.Res. 43 – Joint Resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the final rule submitted by Secretary of Health and Human Services relating to compliance with title X requirements by project…

Signed on April 3, 2017

S.J.Res. 34 – Joint Resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission relating to “Protecting the Privacy of Customers of Broadband…

H.R. 1228 – An Act to provide for the appointment of members of the Board of Directors of the Office of Compliance to replace members whose terms expire during 2017, and for other purposes.

H.J.Res. 83, which nullifies the Department of Labor’s rule titled Clarification of Employer’s Continuing Obligation to Make and Maintain an Accurate Record of Each Recordable Injury and Illness; and

H.J.Res. 69, which nullifies the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service’s final rule relating to non-subsistence takings of wildlife on National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska

Signed on March 31, 2017

S.J.Res.1 – Joint Resolution approving the location of a memorial to commemorate and honor the members of the Armed Forces who served on active duty in support of Operation Desert Storm or Operation Desert Shield.

H.R.1362 – An Act to name the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Pago Pago, American Samoa, the Faleomavaega Eni Fa’aua’a Hunkin VA Clinic.

H.J.Res.42 – Joint Resolution disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to drug testing of unemployment compensation applicants.

Signed on March 28, 2017

S. 305 – Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017

Signed on March 27, 2017

H.J.Res.57 – Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Education relating to accountability and State plans under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

H.J. Res. 58 – Joint Resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Education relating to teacher preparation issues.

H.J. Res. 44 – Joint Resolution disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of the Interior relating to Bureau of Land Management regulations that establish the procedures used to prepare, revise, or amend land use plans pursuant to the Federal Land

H.J. Res. 37 – Joint Resolution disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Defense, the General Services Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration relating to the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

Signed on March 21, 2017

S.442 – National Aeronautics and Space Administration Transition Authorization Act of 2017

Signed on March 13, 2017

H.R.609 – To designate the Department of Veterans Affairs health care center in Center Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, as the “Abie Abraham VA Clinic”.

Signed on February 28, 2017

H.R. 321 – Inspiring the Next Space Pioneers, Innovators, Researchers, and Explorers (INSPIRE) Women Act

H.R. 255 – Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act

H.J.Res. 40 – Joint Resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Social Security Administration relating to Implementation of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007.

Signed on February 16, 2017

H.J.Res.38 – Disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of the Interior known as the Stream Protection Rule.

Signed on February 14, 2017

H.J.Res.41 – Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of a rule submitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to “Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers”.

Signed on January 31, 2017

H.R.72 – GAO Access and Oversight Act of 2017

Signed on January 20, 2017

S.84 – A bill to provide for an exception to a limitation against appointment of persons as Secretary of Defense within seven years of relief from active duty as a regular commissioned officer of the Armed Forces.

Trump’s Executive Orders In His First 100 Days

Posted on May 1, 2017 in Legislation, Trump

I decided to revisit this blog entry after someone posted a link on Facebook to all of Trump’s accomplishments. For your reading pleasure, here it is: President Trump’s 100 Days of Historic Accomplishments! I’m sure you’ll notice the same thing I did here. There are no actual accomplishments listed. It just compares the number of executive orders and laws signed against previous presidents. Weird, right?

So I figured I’d dig into it and see what he actually accomplished by signing his name. Here’s what I found. If you don’t want to read through it all, most of it is just either “get rid of regulations” or “reverse everything Obama did” (though many could affect more than just Obama’s work).

He signed 32 executive orders in his first 100 days. 16 of those simply direct agencies to review existing laws or regulations. 3 are stalled in the courts, and 1 is stalled in Congress.

April 29, 2017

Presidential Executive Order Addressing Trade Agreement Violations and Abuses

Orders a review all existing trades agreements and trade deficits and basically report back by the end of October any agreements or situations that don’t make things better for Americans.

Presidential Executive Order on the Establishment of the American Technology Council

Creates the OTMP, an agency that defends and serves American workers and manufacturers and advises the president on increasing economic growth, decreasing the trade deficit, and strengthen our industry and manufacturing.

April 28, 2017

Presidential executive order implementing an America-first offshore energy strategy

Encourages energy exploration and production, including the Outer Continental Shelf, as well as sets up a review of designations and expansions of National Marine Sanctuaries, and of all designations and expansions of Marine National Monuments under the Antiquities Act of 1906. Orders a review of well and air control regulations. This order contains several sections that expand oil drilling in previously disallowed waters. This one is actually huge and could affect not only natural habitats, but also remove some of the safety regulations around offshore drilling.

April 27, 2017

Presidential executive order improving accountability and whistleblower protection at the Department of Veterans Affairs

This creates an office whose purpose seems to be to protect veterans who complain about the VA from being mistreated by the VA. I’m not quite clear on this one.

April 26, 2017

Presidential executive order on enforcing statutory prohibitions on federal control of education

Attempts to give more control to state and local districts over schools, and orders a review of DEOA, GEPA, and ESEA, as amended by ESSA (regulations that help assure kids get a fair shot). This one is also huge and could mean big changes for many school districts.

Presidential executive order on review of designations under the Antiquities Act

Orders a review of lands designated as national monuments, presumably so he can reverse Obama’s recent designations. Ryan Zinke has already started a tour of the designations, including the controversial Bear’s Ears.

April 25, 2017

Presidential executive order on promoting agriculture and rural prosperity in America

Creates a task force to identify legislative, regulatory, and policy changes to promote in rural America agriculture, economic development, job growth, infrastructure improvements, technological innovation, energy security, and quality of life.

April 21, 2017

Presidential executive order on identifying and reducing tax regulatory burdens

Orders the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to immediately review all significant tax regulations issued by the Department of the Treasury on or after January 1, 2016, and to report back by June.

April 18, 2017

Presidential executive order on “Buy American, Hire American”

Orders agencies to enforce laws requiring companies to employ American parts and labor; to review trade laws to make sure these laws aren’t violated; to limit H-1B visas; and to review these laws in order to strengthen them. Of note here, he’s already granted waivers on this one, but it covers a lot.

March 31, 2017

Presidential executive order on establishing enhanced collection and enforcement of antidumping and countervailing duties and violations of trade and customs laws

Orders a review of illegal import, trade, and intellectual property activities in order to come up with a plan to crack down on violators.

Presidential Executive Order on Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Justice

Reverses his own executive order on the DoJ order of succession.

Presidential executive order regarding the Omnibus report on significant trade deficits

Orders a review of our trade deficits with other countries to see if those countries are placing an undo burden on us and if the current tariffs are fair. The report is due by June.

March 29, 2017

Presidential executive order establishing the president’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis

Creates a commission to study the scope and effectiveness of the Federal response to drug addiction and the opioid crisis and to make recommendations to the President for improving that response. The final report is due in October.

March 28, 2017

Presidential executive order on promoting energy independence and economic growth

Orders all agencies to perform a review of regulations to make sure that the benefit outweighs the cost and that no regulations are overly burdensome. The reports are due by October. This order also reverses 4 executive orders signed by Obama on climate and environmental protections, including one on climate change and national security; rescinds 2 reports created under the Obama administration on strategies to deal with climate change; calls for a gutting of the Clean Power Act; and disbands the Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases and withdraws their documents as no longer representative of U.S. policy.

Also of note, the order rescinds the final guidance by Council on Environmental Quality entitled “Final Guidance for Federal Departments and Agencies on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Effects of Climate Change in National Environmental Policy Act Reviews,” which is referred to in “Notice of Availability,” 81 Fed. Reg. 51866 (August 5, 2016). This one is enormous and reflects the administration’s feelings about climate science. I’ll add a new entry just on the changes reflected in this order because there’s just too much to include here.

March 27, 2017

Presidential executive order on the revocation of federal contracting executive orders

Rescinds Obama’s Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces order and amendments.

March 13, 2017

Presidential executive order on a comprehensive plan for reorganizing the executive branch

Orders agencies heads to review their agencies and submit plans for reorganization or elimination of each agency to the budget director. The plans are due in October, and then the budget director will solicit public opinion on the Federal Register.

March 06, 2017

Presidential executive order protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States

Suspends travel from several Muslim countries. This is the second travel ban and as of June 1 is delayed in the courts.

February 28, 2017

Presidential Executive Order on The White House Initiative to Promote Excellence and Innovation at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Instructs the DOE to work with HBCUs to foster more and better opportunities in higher education; strengthen the capacity of HBCUs to provide the highest-quality education; provide equitable opportunities for HBCUs to participate in Federal programs; and increase the number of college-educated Americans who feel empowered and able to advance the common good at home and abroad. At the same time, it of course revokes Obama’s  executive order, Promoting Excellence, Innovation, and Sustainability at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Presidential executive order on restoring the rule of law, federalism and economic growth by reviewing the “Waters of the United States” rule

Orders a review of the Clean Waters act.

February 24, 2017

Presidential executive order on enforcing the regulatory reform agenda

Orders each agency to designate a Regulatory Reform Officer to oversee the streamlining of regulations. The RROs were supposed to deliver their first reports in May. So far, only the EPA and Department of Energy seem to be on track. The EPA called for public comments in April and those are already closed.

February 09, 2017

Presidential executive order providing an order of succession within the Department of Justice

Revokes Obama’s executive order defining the DoJ’s order of succession.

Presidential executive order on enforcing federal law with respect to transnational criminal organizations and preventing international trafficking

Orders intelligence and law agencies to work together to share information on trafficking, to enforce existing laws harsher, and look for ways to use the laws better to stop trafficking.

Presidential executive order on preventing violence against federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement officers

Orders a review of existing laws protecting law enforcement officers with the purpose of pushing legislation to prevent and punish crimes against LEOs.

Presidential executive order on a task force on crime reduction and public safety

Orders the Attorney General to create a task force on crime prevention. They have a year to provide their findings to POTUS.

February 03, 2017

Presidential executive order on core principles for regulating the United States financial system

Orders a review of the U.S. financial system based on core principles of economic growth, no bailouts, economic competitiveness, and public accountability, among others. The Secretary of the Treasury is to start reporting findings to POTUS in June.

January 30, 2017

Presidential executive order on reducing regulation and controlling regulatory costs

Orders each agency to eliminate two regulations whenever it introduces one new one. It also places budgetary constraints on new regulations. This applies to all agencies except military.

January 28, 2017

Presidential executive order on ethics commitments by executive branch appointees

Defines the ethics by which White House staff must work, including things like restrictions on lobbying activities, other employment, receiving gifts, and working with foreign countries. This is a standard EO for all presidents. Of note, the administration has already granted as many waivers as the previous administration did in its entire 8 years.

January 27, 2017

Presidential executive order on protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States

This is the first of two attempts at a travel ban, restricting travel from Muslim countries and including current visa holders. This was stopped by the courts and rather than defend it, Trump created a new EO for this purpose (which is also caught up in litigation and currently stayed).

January 25, 2017

Presidential executive order on border security and immigration enforcement improvements

Directs the relevant departments and agencies) to secure the southern border, prevent further illegal immigration, and repatriate undocumented immigrants swiftly, consistently, and humanely. It includes the border wall (which is stalled), expansion of border patrol officers, reallocation of judges to the borders, expanded (private) detention centers, and more.

Presidential executive order on enhancing public safety in the interior of the United States

Directs all law enforcement agencies to execute federal immigration laws, including local police departments. This order also rescinds federal funding from sanctuary cities. A federal court place a nationwide injunction against the entire order in April.

January 24, 2017

Presidential executive order expediting environmental reviews and approvals for high priority infrastructure projects

Directs agencies to streamline and expedite review and approval for certain infrastructure projects, like the Keystone pipeline and DAPL.

January 20, 2017

Presidential executive order minimizing the economic burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act pending repeal

States the mission of repealing and replacing the ACA, and orders agency heads to do everything possible by law to NOT follow the guidelines of the existing healthcare law.

Sources: WhiteHouse.gov, Archives.gov

Week 13 in Trump

Posted on April 24, 2017 in Politics, Trump

You sunk my battleship!

After a week of raucous town halls, I was expecting there to be a lot of entries under “Stupid Things Politicians Say” but I couldn’t find anything worthy. So here’s what really did happen in Trump’s 13th week.

But first, I missed a few things in the previous week’s recap:

  1. A blast from a suicide car bomber struck several buses that were evacuating civilians from towns around Aleppo, killing over 100 people including children and aid workers.
  2. British intelligence was aware of the links between members of Trump’s campaign and Russian operatives as far back as late 2015.
  3. Paul Manafort borrowed $13 million from Trump-related businesses on the day he left the campaign.
  4. When Trump said that NATO was no longer obsolete, he credited himself with the change, saying his tough stance had made the other countries take their responsibilities more seriously.

 

And now here’s what happened in week 13 under Trump:

Russia:

  1. We learn that the FBI used the Trump dossier to obtain a FISA warrant to surveil Carter Page last year. This means that not only did the FBI think the dossier provided probable cause, but the courts thought so as well, lending credence to the information contained within the dossier.
  2. Documents show that a Russian government think tank developed a strategy to swing the U.S. election to Trump and to undermine our trust in our electoral system. The project was requested by Putin.
  3. U.S. Intelligence announces it’s preparing charges to arrest Julian Assange. A day later, U.K. Election Commission announces an investigation into Leave.EU, the organization behind Brexit led by Nigel Farage. Farage also has ties to Assange and has visited him in the Ecuadorian embassy.
  4. Amidst all the Russian hacking accusations from last year, Trump promised to put together a team to give him a cyber security plan within the first 90 days of his presidency. As of now there is no plan and no team.
  5. Russian military aircraft come near Alaska four times in four days, to be intercepted by American and Canadian fighter jets.

Courts/Justice:

  1. While AG Sessions shuffles the DoJ toward a policy of aggressive law enforcement, as of this week he has not replaced any of the U.S. attorneys who were forced to resign last month. Unless he gets staffed up, he’ll have a hard time getting tougher on crime and immigration.
  2. The DoJ debates bringing criminal charges against members of WikiLeaks over the 2010 leak of military and diplomatic documents, as well as the more recent 2017 leaks around CIA cyber tools. They’re on the hunt for the leakers.
  3. Sessions, speaking of the Hawaiian judge who put a stay on the travel ban, says he is amazed that “a judge sitting on an island in the pacific can issue an order that stops the President of the United States from what appears to be clearly his statutory and Constitutional power.” Later, given a chance to walk those comments back, he digs in deeper.
  4. Arkansas puts a prisoner to death for the first time on over a decade. After courts in Arkansas put a stay on the eight executions they wanted to carry out last week (because their execution drugs were expiring), the courts allow the state to go forward in one case. Seven are still on hold.
  5. After Trump’s lawyers failed to make their case that Trump couldn’t be named in a civil suit because he’s president, they argue that protestors had no right to “express dissenting views” during Trump’s campaign rallies.

Healthcare:

  1. Trump debates his next move on the ACA, with certain budget decisions having to be made soon. He can either cut the subsidies and risk pissing off over 11 million people, or he can continue funding, maybe even fix a few things, and risk making it more popular and harder to repeal.
  2. It looks like they’re gearing up to try again next week to repeal and replace the ACA, as House Republicans come up with a new proposal. This version gives states more flexibility, potentially removing protections for those with existing illnesses among other ACA provisions.

International:

  1. The number of civilian casualties in the Mideast has increased dramatically under Trump. It’s unclear if this is from more intensive fighting or policy changes.
  2. Israeli defense officials say that Syria still has chemical weapons.
  3. U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May calls for a general election in June though she had previously said she would wait until the regularly scheduled elections in 2020. This could strengthen her hand in the Brexit negotiations with the EU if she wins. The pound rebounds to a six-month high after the announcement.
  4. Trump calls Turkey President Erdogan to congratulate him on winning his referendum that basically consolidates government powers and sets Turkey on a path away from democracy and toward authoritarianism.
  5. Trump says both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were “outplayed by this gentleman,” referring to Kim Jong Un. Kim Jong Un has only been North Korea’s leader since 2012. Bill Clinton dealt with Un’s father.
  6. After a mixup between where the White House thought their warships were and where the warships actually were, the warships are now headed toward the Korean Peninsula.
  7. Vice President Pence pays a visit to South Korea and to the DMZ, putting North Korea on notice that the “era of strategic patience is over.”
  8. The North Korean envoy at the UN warns that they will retaliate in kind to any U.S. strike.
  9. Against Chinese opposition, South Korea is deploying an American missile defense system called the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system.
  10. While Trump continues to criticize Iran and say they’re not living up to their end of the deal, Tillerson says Iran is sticking to the rules of the nuclear agreement. He also says, though, that the agreement is still being evaluated for its efficacy.
  11. The Trump administration denies Exxon its requested waiver against Russian sanctions in order to complete a business deal with Russian oil company Rosneft. Waivers have been granted in the past, but this specific deal seems to have been frozen in 2014.
  12. China and Russian vessels follow Trump’s “armada” on its way to North Korea, saying they are just there to stabilize the situation.
  13. Trump announces the nomination of former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown to the position of ambassador to New Zealand.
  14. A shooter kills one policeman and wounds another on the Champs Elysees, with ISIS claiming responsibility for his actions. This is backed up by a note found in the gunman’s pocket.
  15. GM pulls out of Venezuela after the government says they’re taking over GM’s car manufacturing plant there. The plant hasn’t put out a car since 2015, and now all those employees are out of a job.
  16. The euro dips leading up to the elections in France. It looks like there will be a runoff election between the two candidates with the most votes, center-left Emmanuel Macron and far-right Marine Le Pen. This election is being billed as a referendum, and all other parties quickly united afterward against the far-right candidate.

Legislation:

  1. The Montana legislature is proposing a strange anti-abortion bill. “The bill, S.B. 282, defines fetal viability at 24 weeks’ gestation and prevents abortions past that point, even in a medical emergency. A pregnant person whose fetus stands a 50 percent chance of survival outside the womb would be forced to undergo a C-section or induced labor. Additionally, under the proposed law, a doctor who provides an abortion past 24 weeks could face charges of homicide.” This is the third anti-abortion bill they’ve put forward this year.
  2. As part of an effort to dismantle some of Obama’s financial regulations, Trump signs an executive order establishing a review of any major tax regulations Obama set last year. He also signed two memos that could change or eliminate parts of the Dodd-Frank reforms. If you remember, these reforms were designed to prevent the “too big to fail” problem from re-occurring.
  3. Trump signs a “buy American, hire American” executive order that directs federal agencies to crack down on fraud and abuse in the H-1B visa program, but that doesn’t change anything about the current program.

Travel Ban/Immigration/Discrimination:

  1. An immigrant protected by DACA is deported. There are varying stories on this, but the gist is that he didn’t have his ID with him and couldn’t prove his DACA status. Within three hours he was back in Mexico with no due process.
  2. In a twist of irony, Judge Gonzalo Curiel, whom Trump said last year could not hear his case fairly because he was Mexican, is the judge who will hear the above case.
  3. The border wall, if built, will likely go through the middle of Big Bend National Park.
  4. Controversy continues around the wall over how much it will cost (estimates are anywhere from $20-70 billion) and who will pay (people who send money to Mexico, taxpayers, child tax credits – even if the child is a U.S. citizen, trade revenue).
  5. None of the congressional politicians in border states (Texas, Arizona, California, and New Mexico) support funding for the border wall.
  6. Due to the new, more restrictive policies on entering the U.S., Emirates airlines starts cutting flights to the U.S. They say that travel demand is down.
  7. Even Canadian travel to the U.S. is down because of the new travel policies. There’s a feeling that America isn’t welcoming like it used to be.
  8. AG Sessions says they can’t promise they won’t deport DREAMers, though Trump says they have no plans to deport DREAMers right now and that they should “rest easy.” Mm-hmm.
  9. Ever since the election, doctors report seeing a surge in children suffering from Trump-related anxiety related. Symptoms include panic attacks and physical pain, such as chest pain and headaches. These children largely belong to the minorities targeted by Trump’s early rhetoric.
  10. Nikki Haley denounces the detention and killing of gay men in Chechnya. If you aren’t following this story, you should be. They are committing horrendous atrocities against the LGBTQ community there.
  11. AG Sessions sends letters to nine jurisdictions, including all of California, requesting proof that they’re cooperating with ICE and threatening that they’ll lose funding if they don’t.
  12. As part of the above, Sessions accuses New York City of being soft on crime, saying that the city is “crumbling under the weight of illegal immigration and violent crime.” Of note, murder is down 82% from its peak, and crime in general is down 76%. NYC crime is at its lowest recorded level in decades.
  13. Though Trump said it was a bad deal, Pence says the U.S. will honor the refugee agreement with Australia.

Climate/EPA:

  1. Even though business leaders listed eliminating EPA regulations as one of the top targets to increase business, many of America’s corporations (from Apple to Wal-Mart) plan to continue their plans to fight climate change and move toward renewable energy.
  2. Not really a climate event, but thousands of scientists and science supporters marched on Earth Day in support of science-driven policy in 600 cities on 6 continents.

Budget/Economy:

  1. The Institute of Library and Museum Sciences is on the chopping block in Trump’s proposed budget. This program finances programs at 123,000 libraries and 35,000 museums across the country.
  2. Trump is itching to get rolling on tax reform, but Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says that it’s not realistic to expect that a plan will be signed by August.
  3. I’m not sure if this exactly falls under Economy, but Trump starts an investigation into steel imports, specifically to see whether the U.S. makes enough of its own steel to defend itself if needed.
  4. While Congress is out on recess this week, everyone is bracing for a budget showdown. The money runs out on April 28, and a new budget needs to be passed to avert a shutdown. After weeks of negotiation between Democrat and Republican leaders, Trump says the budget must include funding for the border wall and an increased border patrol; Democrats say no way. Even Republicans say that’s an argument for another time. Looks like it will come down to border wall funding and ACA repeal.
  5. Politicians in Mexico consider retaliatory options to Trump’s constant criticism of Mexico and Mexicans, including aligning with China and reducing their dependence on American goods.
  6. The Dow Jones dips after Trump announces his massive tax cut plan to be presented next week.
  7. After opposition from the U.S., IMF leaders drop a pledge to fight protectionist trade policies, but still say they will work to reduce trade imbalances. Earlier they said that protectionist policies could throw a wrench in the currently improving global growth.

Elections:

  1. Jason Chaffetz says he won’t run again for office in 2018, and he might not even finish out his term. An opponent has out-raised him 4 to 1, and he’s drawn ire for recent comments on the ACA. Rumors abound about his reasons, but nothing holds water yet.
  2. Georgia’s 6th district holds a highly publicized primary election. Big news because this seat has been held by a wide margin by the GOP for decades, but a newcomer Democrat is giving them a run. Jon Ossoff needed just over 50% of the vote to win outright, but he received 48.1% so there’s a runoff between him and the leading Republican, Karen Handel, in June.
  3. Voting machines were stolen from an election officials vehicle days before the Georgia election.

Miscellaneous:

  1. The White House holds the annual Easter Egg Roll. Despite early reports that it would be a fiasco, the event went off fine though with a smaller crowd than previous years.
  2. Todd Ricketts withdraws his nomination to Deputy Secretary of commerce reportedly because it was too hard to divest from his finances well enough to meet the requirements of the Office of Government Ethics.
  3. Trump announces a campaign rally to be held on the same day as the press correspondents dinner.
  4. On the day the Ivanka had dinner with the president of China, she was awarded three Chinese trademarks.
  5. The legal team of fake news master Alex Jones says that his work on InfoWars is performance art and that the character he plays is a persona. Rush Limbaugh has said the same about himself. So for those of you listening to these two for a dose of reality, maybe it’s time to stop. A side note, Trump is friends with and listens to both of these guys.
  6. This isn’t really political news, but Bill O’Reilly and Fox cut ties after his sexual harassment suits become public. He will be paid $10s of millions as part of the exit agreement, and it took advertiser withdrawal to prompt the firing not the alleged sexual misconduct itself.
  7. The public sidewalk in front of the White House is closed indefinitely for safety reasons.
  8. Ivanka hires a chief of staff to assist her in her unpaid role in the White House.
  9. Trump replaces U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy with his deputy, Rear Adm. Sylvia Trent-Adams.
  10. Alabama politicians are having a rough year. First the Speaker of the House, Mike Hubbard (R) was forced to retire due to multiple felonies. Then Governor Robert Bentley (R) resigned pending impeachment. Now the Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice, Roy Moore, is removed from his position because he (again) told officials they don’t have to follow the Federal Supreme Court rules, this time on same-sex marriage.
  11. A lawmaker in Florida resigns after going on a (possibly alcohol aided) tirade laden with racial slurs.
  12. Trump, reverting to his old narrative, says that people who participated in the Tax Marches across the country are paid protestors.
  13. The main proponent of getting CalExit on the ballot withdraws the petition under controversy. One of the main leaders of the effort has decided to take up permanent residence in Russia. You can’t make this up.
  14. UC Berkeley cancels an upcoming speech by Ann Coulter on fears of violence, but later reverses the decision after receiving criticism. Score one for free speech.
  15. To back up the fact that it’s not UC Berkeley students responsible for violent riots, it turns out that the Patriot’s Day protestors in Berkeley traveled from all over the country to cause trouble there. According to the LA Times, “Many freely admitted they were there to make trouble and that peaceful protest… really wasn’t their goal.” Conversations on social media also show that they were working on ways to smuggle in weapons.
  16. After thousands of peaceful protests across since the election, Kellyanne Conway calls on Democratic leaders to tell people to stop the violent protests. Even though we know about the radical anti-fascists (antifa) and the black bloc instigating most of the violence, as in Berkeley above.
  17. According to an analysis by The NY Times and ProPublica, Trump is filling federal agencies with lawyers and consultants who will be creating policy for the very industries from which they received their last paychecks, setting up a huge potential for conflicts of interest.

Polls:

  1. A recent poll indicates that not only do politics alter both parties’ expectations about the economy, but politics also alter how voters think the economy is actually performing now. Last October, GOP voters in Wisconsin thought the economy had gotten worse over the last year by a margin of 28 points. In March, they thought it had gotten better by a margin of 54 points. Data show that economic indicators haven’t changed much at all, but the political landscape has.
  2. Trump’s approval rating is up a bit, to 42%.
  3. In February, 62% of Americans thought Trump was keeping his promises. That number dropped to 45% in early April.
  4. In February, 59% thought Trump was a strong and decisive leader. That number dropped to 52% in early April.
  5. 36% of Americans see Trump as honest and trustworthy.
  6. On his overall performance, 16% of voters give Trump an A; 24% give him an F. Congress didn’t get very high marks in this Politico poll either.

Week 12 in Trump

Posted on April 17, 2017 in Politics, Trump

In week 12, we had the usual international intrigue, quietly signed resolutions, and a number of policy reversals. I also added a new category, Stupid Things Politicians Say. Sadly necessary.

Here’s what happened last week.

Russian Investigation:

  1. American authorities request the arrest of Russian hacker Peotr Levashov in Spain. His wife had told Russian state media RT that he was one of the hackers involved in the 2016 U.S. elections.
  2. Documents show that Paul Manafort actively courted Trump in order to get a foothold in his campaign. Manafort claims it was the other way around.
  3. Tillerson says Russia needs to confront their meddling in our elections and Europe’s to evaluate how it fits in with their long-term goals. He also says that things won’t improve between our countries as long as this is ongoing.
  4. Both Republicans and Democrats in the House review the documents that Devin Nunes saw at the White House and that he later said unmasked the names of Trump associates who were incidentally surveilled. Members of both parties agree that there’s no there there. Nunes’ original reaction appears to have led to Trump’s accusations of Susan Rice, but it seems Rice hasn’t done anything illegal or out of the usual.
  5. We now know that the FBI obtained a secret FISA warrant last year to surveil communications of Carter Page, who was an adviser to Trump at the time. This indicates that federal agencies had probable cause to think that Page is or was an agent of a foreign power (or in layman’s terms, a spy).
  6. Documents surface that confirm that a pro-Russian political party in the Ukraine made payments to Paul Manafort. This supports the “black ledger” that was found last year with a list of payments along with accusations that money was being laundered through his company.

Courts/Justice:

  1. Neil Gorsuch is sworn in as a Supreme Court justice.
  2. In another strike against gerrymandering, a federal judge upheld a lower court’s 2014 ruling that a Texas voter ID law passed in 2011 had the intent to discriminate against blacks and Latinos. This opens the possibility that certain Texas districts could be placed under preclearance, which means they can’t implement any voting changes without approval from the U.S. Attorney General or the U.S. District Court for D.C.
  3. Gerrymandering continues to be a big issue in the courts – there are at least six active cases. As one radio host told his guest this week “I’m sorry to keep bringing you back on the same goddamn law.”
  4. AG Jeff Sessions plans to end the National Commission on Forensic Science, a scientific partnership to improve forensic science standards. The commission was chartered by Obama in 2013, so I can only assume this is why it’s being disbanded.
  5. It turns out that the money behind Gorsuch’s ad campaign came from the Judicial Crisis Network.
  6. Impeachment hearings begin for Alabama’s governor Robert Bentley. Bentley is accused of using government resources to cover up an affair. He subsequently resigns and is replaced by Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey.
  7. Based on requests from Elizabeth Warren and Elijah Cummings, the GAO announces an investigation into Trump’s transition regarding the use of funds and conflicts of interest.
  8. In response to lawsuits accusing Trump of inciting violence at some of his campaign rallies, his legal team says he is immune from lawsuits because he won the election. Hmmm… they might want to revisit Jones v. Clinton.

Healthcare:

  1. Trump says he wants to renew efforts at repealing and replacing the ACA.
  2. Trump threatens to withhold ACA payments to insurance companies in the billions of dollars in order to cause the healthcare system to blow up. He thinks this will force Democrats to work with him on a solution. Insurance companies warn that this would cause chaos in the individual markets.
  3. The administration later recants and continues to make the payments, possibly because the CBO found that the healthcare exchanges are likely to stay stable and Standard & Poor found that the markets could become profitable, refuting the theory that the ACA is in a death spiral.

International:

  1. The White House accuses Putin of trying to hide Assad’s role in the chemical attack the previous week, and officials think that Putin was aware of the attack before it happened. There is no evidence Russia was involved, though a Russian drone flying over the hospital that Assad later bombed could point to some coordination.
  2. Putin suggests that the chemical attack was a false flag attack, designed by the U.S. to frame Assad. He also compares the U.S. assessment of the Syrian chemical attack to us going into Iraq based on (seemingly incorrect) intelligence over weapons of mass destruction. Even though the results of this attack are readily apparent.
  3. After several days of back and forth over whether it would happen, Tillerson meets in person with Putin. Both agree that relations between our countries are at a low.
  4. Tillerson says Russia has to choose between Assad and the US.
  5. Russia vetoes a UN resolution that would’ve required Assad to cooperate with an independent investigation into the chemical attacks.
  6. Trump hasn’t tried to set up a meeting with Pope Francis during the G7 summit in Italy. This is a pretty unusual omission for a sitting president.
  7. A bomb explodes near the German soccer team’s bus. The suspect is an Iraqi with alleged ties to ISIS, though there is no solid evidence as of now.
  8. Hot on the heels of the 59 tomahawk missiles launched at Syria, the U.S. drops the MOAB (mother of all bombs), our largest non-nuclear bomb, in Afghanistan with the intent to destroy a network of tunnels and caves used by ISIS. It’s reported that 94 ISIS military were killed, and a network of tunnels and caves was destroyed along with weapons and ammunition.
  9. The U.S. warns of using a preemptive strike against North Korea if we suspect they’re going to test a nuclear weapon. North Korea responds by saying they’d strike first.
  10. China mobilizes 25,000 troops and its military is on nationwide alert given the tensions with North Korea. China is urging cool heads and de-escalation between the U.S. and North Korea.
  11. The day before Easter and the day after its annual military parade, North Korea attempted another missile launch which failed, blowing up almost immediately.
  12. A North Korean official says that Trump’s tweets are behind the escalating tensions between us.
  13. In Syria, a U.S. drone attack killed at least 18 Syrian allies in what the Pentagon is calling the worst friendly fire incident in the war against ISIS.
  14. Interesting comparison on support for airstrikes in Syria:
    • In 2013, 38% of Democrats supported them; in 2017, that number is 37%.
    • In 2103, 22% of Republican supported them; in 2017, that number is 86%.

Legislation:

  1. In Alabama, the Senate votes to allow the Briarwood Presbyterian church in Birmingham to form its own police force.
  2. The New York legislature passes a law making tuition at state or city colleges free for residents making less than a specified income. This will be phased in over three years.
  3. Trump signs another resolution overturning Obama-era rules. This reversal allows states to defund clinics that perform abortions even though federal funds legally cannot be used to fund abortions.
  4. Later that same day, Trump signs the 13th resolution overturning Obama-era rules. This reversal cuts a Labor Department regulation that would’ve allowed states and counties to expand retirement savings accounts for people who don’t get those through their employers.

Travel Ban/Immigration/Discrimination:

  1. The North Caroline legislature puts forth a bill to ban same sex marriage in the state. The bill doesn’t make it to the house floor and won’t be heard this year.
  2. Two members of groups labeled as hate groups by the SPLC are assigned to positions in immigration agencies in the White House. John Feere worked at CIS and Julie Kirchner worked at FAIR.
  3. ICE officials stop distributing their weekly report of cities and counties not cooperating with immigration because they kept getting it wrong. This report is required as part of the executive orders signed by Trump in January.
  4. The U.S. tourism industry has upped their estimated losses to $7 billion due to extreme vetting and other travel-related regulations enacted by Trump.
  5. Newly released data show that phones are being searched twice as frequently this year as last year for travelers entering the U.S. The data also show that the searches primarily target Muslims and that the searches are often accompanied by hostile questioning.
  6. AG Sessions toured the U.S./Mexico border and unveiled new guidance for enforcing immigration law.

Climate/EPA:

  1. Scott Pruitt says we should exit the Paris climate accord, which has been endorsed by all but about 20 countries. However, according to the rules of the agreement, it takes three years for a country to withdraw with a one-year waiting period. So it wouldn’t happen until the current presidential term is up.
  2. Trump solicits comments from business leaders on which regulations to get rid of. Not surprisingly the EPA and labor are the two biggest targets. Look for more regulation changes to come around these suggestions.
  3. The EPA proposes cutting programs that protect children (and the rest of us) from lead exposure including lead paint removal regulations and emissions testing, the two largest contributors of exposure to lead. Studies show that exposure to too much lead as a child results in developmental issues and possible violence, and it is largely irreversible.
  4. Trump prepares an order to expand offshore drilling, including Arctic drilling.
  5. 61% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of environmental issues. 79% of Americans under 35 disapprove.

Budget/Economy:

  1. The Trump administration looks to end the federal hiring freeze because of complaints that it’s hampering the government’s ability to get things done. Apparently the freeze increased the VA’s backlog of benefits claims, delayed processing Social Security payments, caused childcare facilities for military personnel to close, and reduced the number of FDA employees working on approving new drugs.
  2. Trump scraps the tax reform platform that was part of his election campaign and starts planning from scratch again. Time is tight, as Mnuchin set an August deadline for the plan.
  3. On top of the infrastructure plan being put on the back-burner, recent governmental actions will reduce infrastructure spending across the country. Cutbacks are largely around train lines and transportation grants.
  4. After Trump says that the dollar is getting too strong the dollar index reaches its lowest level of the month.
  5. The tax bill being drafted includes a repeal of the Johnson Amendment, which is in place to prevent church leaders from making political endorsements.
  6. 60% of Americans say that corporations and the very wealthy are likely not paying their fair share in taxes.
  7. The U.S. and China agree to a 100-day trade plan and avoid a trade war.
  8. The Office of Budget Management plans to send guidance to government agencies telling them to plan for big cuts.

Flip-flops:

In one week Trump changes his stance on a bunch of campaign statements.

  1. During the campaign, we were going to label China a currency manipulator. As of now, China is no longer a currency manipulator.
  2. During the campaign, NATO was an obsolete agency. As of now, NATO is no longer obsolete.
  3. During the campaign, Janet Yellen was ruining the country. As of now, Trump likes and respects Yellen and is considering keep her on.
  4. During the campaign, Trump thought low interest rates might cause a recession. As of now, he supports a low interest rate policy.
  5. During the campaign, Trump said “Our military is in shambles!” As of now, “It’s so incredible. It’s brilliant. It’s genius. Our technology, our equipment, is better than anybody by a factor of five.”
  6. During the campaign, Trump said the U.S. Export-Import Bank was excess garbage and agreed with conservatives on shutting it down. As of now, he says “It turns out that, first of all, lots of small companies are really helped, the vendor companies.”
  7. During the campaign, Trump said he would place steep tariffs on Chinese imports. As of now, he says there will be no 45% tariff on Chinese goods.
  8. During the campaign, Trump pushed a non-interventionist stance in Syria. As of now, he’s not only bombed Syria, but also increased troops on the ground.
  9. During the campaign, Trump promised to eliminate the debt in eight years. As of now, Mick Mulvaney says that was hyperbole.
  10. During the campaign, Wikileaks and Julian Assange were doing a service. As of now, Mike Pompeo says “WikiLeaks walks like a hostile intelligence service and talks like a hostile intelligence service.” He calls Assange a narcissist and a fraud.

Miscellaneous:

  1. In a newspaper interview, Trump appears to distance himself from Steve Bannon and diminished the role he played in the campaign. He won’t say whether he still has confidence in Bannon, and claims he didn’t know Bannon until the campaign even though they met six years ago.
  2. Firemen rescue Ben Carson and his wife from a stuck elevator in an affordable housing complex in Miami.
  3. Trump leaves for Mar-a-Lago a day early this week for the Easter weekend. This is his seventh trip there in 12 weeks.
  4. Betsy DeVos reverses some of Obama’s protections for student loan borrowers, including general auditing and accountability requirements for loaners.
  5. The White House announces that visitor logs will be kept secret. Three agencies sue for access.
  6. Trump’s approval rating ticks up a bit following his shows of force abroad.
  7. In what was expected to be the second biggest day of protest since the election, Tax Marches are held across the country to urge Trump to release his taxes for the past five years as is standard for recent presidents.
  8. Trump again claims the marchers are paid protestors, and I again respond, “where’s my #*$&* money?”
  9. In a Kansas district that Republicans have easily won by double-digit margins for the past 25 years, the Republican candidate won by only 7 points. Trump won by 27% and previous Republican candidates have won by margins greater than 30 points.

Stupid Things Politicians Say:

  1. Spicer puts his foot in his mouth while trying to make the point that those who support Assad are in the wrong: “You had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn’t even sink to chemical weapons.” He continued to dig himself deeper instead of just correcting himself.
  2. Defending his vote on internet privacy rules, Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R – Wisconsin) says, “Nobody’s got to use the Internet.” Huh? Except anybody who works. Or goes to school. Or really, pretty much anyone in the U.S. who wants any chance at success.
  3. Representative Markwayne Mullin (R – Oklahoma) says at a town hall meeting with constituents, “You say you pay for me to do this? That’s bullcrap.” Then doubling down, he says “I pay for myself. I paid enough taxes before I got here and continue to through my company to pay my own salary. This is a service. No one here pays me to go.”

Week 11 in Trump

Posted on April 10, 2017 in Politics, Trump

Here’s what happened in Trump’s 11th week in office. Things are getting a little more complicated…

Russian Investigation:

  1. It turns out that Susan Rice did make multiple requests to unmask the identity of Trump associates who were incidentally surveilled last year. Trump accuses her of committing a crime with no evidence that what she did was wrong. The House Intelligence Committee wants her to testify.
  2. In the days before Trump’s inauguration, Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater, met in secret with a Russian associate of Putin in an attempt to create an alleged “back-channel line of communication” between Putin and Trump. The UAE  arranged the meeting. The FBI is investigating this as part of the Russia probe, but it isn’t clear whether Trump knew about the meeting nor what they actually talked about. Prince says the meeting was incidental.
  3. Devin Nunes announces that he’ll step down from heading the house committee investigation into Russian ties. On the same day, the house ethics committee announces that Nunes is under investigation for possibly leaking classified information. He’s replaced by Mike Conaway of Texas.
  4. We find out that senior lawmakers in Washington knew last June about the intelligence community’s information that Russia was actively trying to get Trump elected. This was earlier than we were previously led to believe.
  5. I had hope that the Senate Intelligence Committee would handle their investigation more professionally than the House, but it turns out that the head of the committee, Richard Burr, was not only an avid supporter of Trump on the campaign trail but he also claims to have been instrumental in the FBI investigation into Hillary’s emails. Some Republicans say they need to remove any appearance of bias, but others vouch for Burr’s honesty. So for now, he’s the leader on this.
  6. A majority of Americans want an independent investigation of this. I think we’re all tired of the partisanship on display.

Courts/Justice:

  1. Democrats achieve enough support for a filibuster of Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation.
  2. Senator Jeff Merkley holds the floor for 14 hours in a filibuster of Gorsuch’s nomination. OK. It wasn’t technically a filibuster; it was an extended debate.
  3. We learn that Gorsuch failed to cite sources for his book, copying from previously published legal documents without crediting the original authors. A tidbit that failed to surface during his hearings.
  4. Senate Republicans resort to the “nuclear option” to confirm Neil Gorsuch. This changes the rules of the Senate so they can confirm Supreme Court nominees with a simple majority instead of a filibuster-proof 60. All 52 Republicans voted for it; no Democrats did. Note that Democrats changed the rules for lower courts in 2013, but not for the Supreme Court. Fingers are pointed in every direction over whose fault this is and reactions are mixed. Some people are furious and others are like “good riddance, outdated filibuster.”
  5. AG Sessions orders the DoJ to review all police reform agreements (called consent decrees), both currently active and pending. He says he wants to be sure they support police safety and morale, but civil rights activists are wary.
  6. Trump says he can’t be sued while in office, citing Clinton vs. Jones as his basis. But the Supreme Court decision allowing the Jones suit is what led to Clinton’s impeachment.

Healthcare:

  1. Republicans in the House start negotiations on the healthcare bill again. Discussions between the White House and Freedom Caucus include removing the ACA’s pre-existing condition requirement and loosening requirements in general, meaning that states could opt out of any of the things we liked about the ACA like covering essential health benefits, keeping children on your plan until age 26, protections for people with pre-existing coverage, and so on. The markets could become largely inaccessible to a large group of Americans.

International:

  1. A bomb explodes in a metro train in St. Petersburg, Russia, as it was running between two stations. Eleven are killed and 45 injured. A second, larger bomb is defused in another station. It is being labeled a terrorist attack though no group has claimed responsibility.
  2. In a reboot of U.S./Egypt relations, Trump meets with Egypt’s President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. This is an apparent change from Obama’s stance on Sisi as an authoritarian leader. Trump’s shift indicates that fighting ISIS is more important than fighting authoritarian regimes.
  3. Jared Kushner flies to Iraq with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joseph Dunford (on Dunford’s invitation). The purpose of the trip is to get a first-hand assessment of anti-ISIS operations and find ways to speed up the defeat of ISIS.
  4. Trump meets with King Abdullah of Jordan.
  5. Syria’s Assad allegedly gasses civilians in a chemical attack (using sarin) in Syria, just days after Tillerson says we have no quarrel with Assad staying in power. Moscow and Assad both deny that Assad is responsible.
  6. Trump denounces the attack roundly, and, in the U.S.’s first direct attack against the Assad regime, retaliates with a military strike of 59 Tomahawk missiles against a military base in Syria. While many members of Congress approve, Trump is also criticized by those who think he should’ve obtained congressional approval first and by nationalists who think we should butt out. Worries are he might escalate further without congressional approval.
  7. Putin condemns the missile attack and labels it as an act of aggression, though Russia was warned well ahead of time. This cements Putin’s support of Assad. Western leaders support the missile attack.
  8. U.S. and Russia suspend air coordination over Syria, and Russia moves a warship to the Mediterranean.
  9. Trump blames Obama for the chemical attack in Syria, saying Obama should have been more aggressive about his red line threats. Which contradicts his own non-interventionist stance prior to the election (Twitter is forever, folks). Tillerson also blames Russia for not making sure the chemical weapons were destroyed in 2013.
  10. Russia and Iran both warn of retaliation if the US attacks Assad again.
  11. U.S. says it will keep the pressure up on Syria, though it’s not clear what that means.
  12. The day after the tomahawk missile attack, Syrian planes return to bomb the city that it launched the chemical attacks against.
  13. ISIS claims responsibility for two church bombings in Egypt on Palm Sunday that kill 45 and injure more than 100 people. Trump calls Sisi to offer support and condolences.
  14. In Sweden, an Uzbek asylum seeker drives a stolen beer truck into a crowd killing four and injuring 15. He had been denied asylum and was slated to be deported.
  15. North Korea executes a ballistic missile test for the fourth time this year.
  16. Days ahead of his meeting with China’s president, Trump says he can solve the North Korea nuclear weapons problem with or without China. He also says he doesn’t have to tell us how.
  17. The U.S. moves a warship toward the Korean peninsula.
  18. The State Department cuts off funding to UNFPA, the UN group that works on reproductive health care around the world. The reason they gave is an accusation that their own task force found to be incorrect around coercive abortions in working with China. In one year, US funding to UNFPA prevented around 320,000 unintended pregnancies and around 100,000 unsafe abortions, numbers that will assuredly go down without the contraception and education UNFPA provides.

Legislation:

  1. 
The Texas state House defeats a bill that would’ve established a school voucher system in the state. The bill went down 103-44 in the GOP-held House, likely due to Democrats teaming up with Republicans from rural areas who see the bill as harming smaller, rural schools.
  2. Trump signs the congressional resolution reversing internet privacy rules so internet providers can once again sell your private information, including browsing history, for ad revenue.
  3. The Senate passes the resolution repealing the Refuge Rule, which protects carnivorous animals in Alaska. While predators need to be managed, the rule prohibited extreme hunting practices like using steel-jaw traps and killing wolf pups, bear cubs, and mama bears with cubs. Trump later signs the resolution into law.
  4. A federal judge blocks a law signed by Mike Pence when he was still governor of Indiana that would require women to have an ultrasound at least 18 hours before getting an abortion.
  5. A federal court rules that the district lines drawn by North Carolina’s state legislature in Greensboro were based on racial gerrymandering. Courts have repeatedly shot down Republican-led efforts to redistrict in North Carolina. How much time and money do we waste on gerrymandering lawsuits? These are efforts to make sure that the democratic process is not carried out and it happens on both sides.
  6. A new caucus is forming in Congress, with a membership currently up to 70 members. The Problem Solvers Caucus consists of both Democrats and Republicans whose goal is to work together and develop common approaches to solve the problems we face. If you’re tired of partisanship and gridlock, urge your representative to become a member of this caucus and put partisanship aside.
  7. Members of Represent Us submit a constitutional amendment in South Dakota for 2018 that would protect voter rights and get money and corruption out of politics. If you remember, last year South Dakota constituents voted to pass a sweeping anti-corruption law, but the legislature called a fake state of emergency so they could repeal it, overriding the voice of the people. SD peeps — keep an eye out for signature gatherers this summer so you can help get this bill on the ballot.

Travel Ban/Immigration/Discrimination:

  1. Trump considers an extreme form of vetting where incoming travelers could have to give up their contact and password information as well as answer questions about ideology. And we’re not just talking about travelers from certain countries, but all travelers.
  2. The EU votes to suspend the visa waiver program with the U.S. based on our failure to include certain EU countries in our VWP. This is non-binding and we could possibly remedy it. But for now, we’re looking at the possibility of having to obtain a visa to travel anywhere in Europe.
  3. On top of issues with eminent domain around building the Mexico wall, some US citizens are looking at the possibility that parts of their land, or even their homes, will end up on the Mexico side of the wall. As with the fence in 2006, this will lead to extended law suits, which landowners all lost in 2006.
  4. University of California school systems report a decline in foreign student applications.
  5. The government receives a deluge of H-1B visa applications this year due to the lack of clarity around the future of the program.
  6. Just this year alone, the U.S. is expected to lose $1.6 billion in tourism dollars from visitors from Mexico largely due to confusion around the administration’s rules governing travel to the U.S. This doesn’t include the amount the industry expects to lose in tourism from other countries. Canada, on the other hand, is experiencing a dramatic increase in Mexican tourism.
  7. The California Senate passed a bill that would make CA a sanctuary state, moving it to the Assembly for approval. The latest bill makes it easier for law enforcement to contact ICE about violent felons.
  8. A UCLA study finds that 37% of LA County residents fear that family or friends will be deported under Trump.
  9. John Kelly of Homeland Security says the wall likely won’t be built all the way across the border. He also denies the previously reported plan to separate mothers and children on arrival, saying that won’t happen unless circumstances require it.
  10. A federal appeals court rules that the Civil Rights Act must be interpreted on changing societal norms and that it includes protections for members of the LGBT community. Thus companies can’t discriminate based on sexual orientation.
  11. After Twitter launches a first amendment lawsuit, the Trump administration withdraws a request to identify Twitter use who’s been highly critical of Trump.

Climate/EPA:

  1. The New York AG sues the Trump administration over changes to fuel efficiency standards, claiming that the changes obstruct the implementation of energy efficiency standards, which would save billions of dollars and eliminate millions of tons of air pollution. In fact, 17 states have filed a lawsuit against the administration over the rollbacks to climate change regulations.
  2. In a twist of irony, the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum announces they are switching to solar panels to cut down on the cost of electricity for the building.
  3. California signs an agreement with Scotland to work together on climate issues.
  4. California declares the historic drought is finally over for most of the state. Now we have no excuse for our dead lawn.
  5. Trump seeks to put a DC circuit court decision on the Clean Power Act on hold.
  6. Trump has opened a path for a project to remove groundwater from the Mojave desert with the intent to sell it to California municipalities. Expect several lawsuits over this one.

Budget/Economy:

  1. In a move that will raise taxes on anyone who pays state and federal taxes, House Republicans are looking at a plan to get rid of the federal income tax deduction for state and local taxes.
  2. Analysts say that Trump’s proposed budget cuts would have a disproportionate effect on rural areas. Not only would it reduce assistance to the poor (hot meals, legal aid, housing, and so on), but it would also include cuts to air services, train service, healthcare services and facilities, and agricultural funding, among others.
  3. Trump’s proposal to cut biomedical research spending by 18% gets a lot of blowback from both parties. This would affect funds to all states, and would seriously hamper our ability to conduct research on diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and so on. Spicer explained that they are cutting indirect costs, which includes things like utilities, data storage, and lab maintenance. These expenses won’t go away just because they aren’t funded.
  4. The unemployment rate continued downward to 4.5% this month, a 10-year low — despite only adding 98,000 jobs in March. This is down from 235,000 jobs added in February and from 215,000 in March a year ago.

A Whole Lotta Miscellaneous Stuff:

  1. Rumors abound about White House staff shakeups and infighting, primarily around Bannon, Preibus, and Kushner. It’s all just rumor at this point though.
  2. According to Trump’s trust that was supposed to divest him of his business interests, he can take out principle or income whenever he wants.
  3. Jared Kushner is in charge of these things: Middle East peace, the new White House Office of American Innovation (which includes the opioid epidemic), Criminal Justice Reform, Liaison to Mexico, Liaison to China, and Liaison to the Muslim community.
  4. Lt. Gen. McMaster, Trump’s national security advisor, manages to get Steve Bannon removed from the National Security Council and reinstates the senior military and intelligence personnel who had been previously downgraded. The White House says Bannon was only there to monitor Michael Flynn, but a) why did they appoint someone who needed monitoring, and b) why didn’t they remove Bannon from the council after Flynn resigned?
  5. Trump donates his first quarter salary to the National Park Service.
  6. Trump’s approval rating hits a low of 34% and Vegas odds are 3:1 that he gets impeached.
  7. In one interview, Trump defends Bill O’Reilly against his sexual harassment accusers, and says Susan Rice might have broken the law. He has now accused both Obama and his AG of committing crimes.
  8. In a speech to construction workers, Trump says “There was a very large infrastructure bill that was approved during the Obama administration, $1 trillion, and nobody ever saw anything being built. To this day I haven’t heard of anything that’s been built. They took this money and used it on social programs.” First, it was a stimulus bill, and second it did build things. According to the Transportation Department, it “initiated more than 13,000 projects through the Federal Highway Administration, improving more than 42,000 miles of road and more than 2,700 bridges.” At the time, Trump praised Obama’s stimulus approach.
  9. The secret service works to increase funding to keep up with the demands of securing the president’s far-flung and much-traveled family. They’ve been pulling dozens of agents off criminal cases to pull two-week stints covering the family.
  10. An ISIS spokesman calls Trump a foolish idiot, saying our demise is evident.
  11. Trump entertains Rush Limbaugh over dinner at the White House.
  12. Trump tells the NY Times “Elijah Cummings was in my office and he said, ‘You will go down as one of the great presidents in the history of our country.'” Cummings said he actually told the president he could be a great president if he would stop using divisive rhetoric.
  13. Despite Trump’s order on lobbying restrictions, some of his former staffers are looking for lobbying work with foreign clients.
  14. As of week 11, Trump has yet to man up the departments responsible for monitoring released Gitmo detainees and making sure they are reintegrating into society and not starting up terrorist or militant activities. Experts worry that we’re losing valuable intel, but this could be part of Trump’s plan to reduce the size of government.
  15. The German government drafts a bill aimed at curbing fake news, and it is expected to pass into law.
  16. Facebook and Google both launch tools to help you ferret out fake news. Facebook’s is an educational tool that appears at the top of your feed and that you can click to get more information. Google will highlight fact-checking information in search results if it’s available.

Week Ten in Trump

Posted on April 3, 2017 in Politics, Trump

As I mentioned last week, Congress is making extensive use of the Congressional Review process to reverse many of Obama’s regulations from last year. As of now, Trump has signed eight resolutions reversing regulations, and Congress passed six more with a couple dozen more yet to be voted on. Paul Ryan says “these things will help get people back to work, and after years of sluggish growth, give a real boost to our economy,” even though the rules being overturned were all enacted last year and have not really had a chance to affect the economy either way.

Trump is also using executive orders to make changes. One thing to remember as far as executive orders go is that many of them only start the process of changing the regulations. The relevant agencies still need to review and revise the regulations, and these things take time. And they’ll like hit legal challenges.

By the way, if you like these roundups, you might also like these two. Both are a bit further left than I am, but I love how the Vice newsletter rounds up the week in one big, long-assed sentence.

Russia Investigation:

  1. After last week’s questionable activities on the part of Devin Nunes around classified Russia documents, Democrats call for him to step down from the House Intelligence Committee and Senator Schumer says he should be replaced.
  2. Jared Kushner volunteers to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee in the Russia probe.
  3. According to the DoJ, the Trump administration tried to prevent Sally Yates, the fired acting AG, from testifying to the House Intelligence Committee, citing executive privilege. Yates had previously written the DoJ to be sure she could testify about this in a public hearing. She says her testimony will contradict previous statements made by the administration.
  4. Spicer refutes reports that the White House pushed to prevent Sally Yates from testifying in the Russia probe.
  5. Nunes subsequently cancels the hearing this week where Yates was supposed to testify. House Democrats on the Intelligence Committee provide a witness list, yet Nunes accuses them of stalling the investigation. It seems by the end of the week that the House investigation is on hold.
  6. It turns out Nunes did get his information about incidental surveillance last week from White House staffers Ezra Cohen-Watnick and Michael Ellis, who both work on national security.
  7. In a twist of irony, Sean Spicer says in his briefing that it shouldn’t matter who talked to whom. That what’s important is the substance… Huh? I thought the leaks were the important thing in the Russia scandal, not the substance?
  8. Mike Flynn says he’ll testify in the Russia probe if he gets full immunity, a request that both the Senate and House Intelligence Committees rejected saying it was too early to justify it.
  9. The Senate Intelligence Committee begins their hearings on Russia’s meddling in the elections and ties to the administration. They have at least 20 interviews lined up. (FYI: Richard Burr (Rep.) and Mark Warner (Dem.) head this committee.)
  10. A USA Today review of court cases and legal documents shows that Trump’s businesses have been linked to ”at least 10 wealthy former Soviet businessmen with alleged ties to criminal organizations or money laundering.”
  11. It turns out that Russia wasn’t just helping Trump during the general election, they were helping during the primaries as well.
  12. In the initial Senate hearings, we hear testimony that there were 15,000 operatives around world who were involved in creating and spreading fake news around the election.
  13. Mark Warner says there are reports that Russia had upwards of 1,000 hackers working in a facility in Russia to troll social media and create fake news targeting key areas in the U.S. using a network of bots. They used advanced algorithms to directly pinpoint certain demographics with misinformation.
  14. The FBI investigation goes back further than we thought. They are looking into whether the Trump campaign or its associates were complicit (knowingly or not) in assisting with the hacks of the DNC and others in early 2016.
  15. While no evidence has surfaced to support Trump’s wiretapping claims, it is true that the Obama administration was careful to keep records of the investigation, including an indexed list of the existing documents on the Russian investigation out of concern for what might happen to the documents.
  16. Trump continues to tweet about the unproven wiretapping claims and to call the Russia probe fake news.
  17. Clinton Watts testifies in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee. If you didn’t listen to it, you should. None of it should be much of a surprise, but the way he ties it together is interesting. Here are a few clips:

Court:

  1. Democrats threaten to filibuster the Gorsuch nomination, which Republicans call unprecedented… seeming to forget all about the unprecedented move of blocking Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland for nearly a year due to it being an election year and all.
  2. Republicans need eight Democratic senators to support the Gorsuch nomination in order to avoid a filibuster. So far they have two – Senators Joe Manchin (WV) and Heidi Heitkamp (ND). (Update today: Democrats have enough to filibuster).
  3. A federal judge says that the lawsuit against Trump for inciting violence at one of his rallies can proceed. Three protestors at a rally were roughed up by Trump supporters, and video shows Trump appearing to egg them on. Trump’s defense claimed freedom of speech, which the judge rejected.

Healthcare:

This is simmering on the back burner for now, but there were a few newsworthy items this week:

  1. Negotiations start up again in the House for the repeal of the ACA, but the Senate and the White House are not interested.
  2. Paul Ryan says he doesn’t want to work with Democrats on healthcare.
  3. Sean Spicer says Trump is absolutely willing to work with Democrats on this.
  4. After the Freedom Caucus fails to fall in line on the healthcare bill, Trump threatens to go after the them in the 2018 elections if they don’t get behind him.

International:

  1. NATO changes the date of their meeting to accommodate Secretary of State Tillerson’s schedule, so he will attend the meeting with NATO foreign ministers after all.
  2. Britain formally starts the process of exiting the EU (better known as Brexit), ending a 44-year relationship. The process must be completed within two years.
  3. Trump loosens combat rules in Somalia, opening up greater areas to air strikes, putting more civilians at risk, and laying the groundwork for expanded military action against Islam militants in the area. These rules were in place to prevent civilian casualties.
  4. On the campaign trail, Trump called NAFTA the “worst trade deal” but now says he will keep major portions in place. He’s wants stricter enforcement of the rules, but indicates there will not be big changes to the agreement.

Legislation:

  1. The House introduces a bill to repeal the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. It establishes a voucher program and removes some of the nutritional standards set forth original bill.
  2. After a reporter asks Trump about Michael Flynn during a signing event, Trump leaves without signing the executive orders. Pence tries to bring him back for the signing, but Trump ends up signing them later, away from the media.
  3. Trump continues to cut back regulations by signing four bills into law this week:
    • The first is a congressional resolution that reverses Obama’s BLM resource management rule aimed at managing and conserving public lands. Obama’s changes were intended to use “science-based, landscape-scale approaches” to issues like wildfires, wildlife habitats, and renewable energy, which some feared would take away too much local control.
    • The second reverses the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces rule, which prevented the government from granting federal contracts to companies with a history of wage, labor, or workplace safety violations.
    • The next two remove requirements for teacher training and for how states execute the Every Student Succeeds Act. This act was a bipartisan law supported by the Chamber of Commerce along with civil rights and business groups.
  4. Trump signs executive orders to address the trade deficit and to create trade policies that are more supportive of US companies and consumers. As part of this, he commissioned a 90-day study on trade deficits and abuses.
  5. Following last week’s Senate vote, the House also passes the resolution to reverse the FCC internet privacy rules from last year. With the reversal, internet service providers won’t need to get your permission to use or sell your personal info, including your location and your browsing history. Trump is expected to sign it into law, though democrats are urging him not to, citing privacy concerns. Now’s the time to bolster up your internet security and look into setting up a VPN. Anonymous browsing doesn’t work against your ISP; they still know it’s you. Fun fact: Fundraising campaigns raised $250,000 to buy the browsing history of lawmakers who support the bill.
  6. Mike Pence casts a vote in the senate to break a 50-50 tie on a rule that would overturn Title X protections and essentially allow states to withhold funds from family planning centers that provide abortions, even if those funds are not used for abortions.
  7. The Senate votes to reverse a rule that made it easier for states to create retirement plans for workers who do not have a company-sponsored retirement plan. The House already passed this bill, so it is headed to Trump for a signature.
  8. The Kansas Senate passes House Bill 2044 to expand Medicaid and take advantage of those provisions in Obamacare. This should extend healthcare insurance coverage to an estimated 150,000 Kansas residents. Governor Sam Brownback vetoes the bill despite evidence that Medicaid works.
  9. Iowa is on a roll:
    • Governor Terry Branstad signed legislation not only blocking hikes to the minimum wage, but also bringing back down the minimum wage in localities that had already raised it above the current minimum. In essence, he defined a maximum minimum wage.
    • He also signed a law reducing worker compensation laws.
    • On a strictly party-line vote, a house committee adopted the 20-week abortion ban amendment. A Republican lawmaker catches flack when she says women should carry miscarried fetuses to term.
  10. The UN raises concerns about our basic right to protest. Since the election, 19 states have introduced legislation to criminalize peaceful protests, to increase penalties for blocking traffic, and to remove basic protections for protestors.

Travel Ban/Immigration/Discrimination:

  1. The judge from Hawaii who was the first to block Trump’s second travel ban decides to extend the blocking order.
  2. ICE arrests three people who were beginning the process of becoming citizens by applying for green cards. They kept their appointments despite their fear of being detained. One is a mother of three, married to a US citizen. Of the five, two had no criminal violations and three had minor traffic violations.
  3. Two doctors who run a pain management facility in Texas are threatened with deportation after an administrative error lists them as overstaying their visas. They were given 24 hours to leave, though they each had procedures, including surgeries, scheduled with their patients. They were able to obtain a stay.
  4. Men dressed in shirts that say “Jewish Defense League” beat a Palestinian-American school teacher with flag poles near the APAIC conference.
  5. North Carolina moves to repeal and replace the bathroom rule that stated you must use the restroom according to the gender on your birth certificate, buckling under financial pressure from NCAA boycotts. The deal was a compromise to get more Republicans on board, which included limiting cities’ ability to create any anti-discrimination rules until 2020. Members of the LGBTQ community say it doesn’t go far enough.
  6. The final version of the 2020 census questionnaire no longer includes questions about gender identity and sexual orientation. A draft version included these questions, which would have been the first time this information would have been included.
  7. AG Jeff Sessions says the DoJ will withhold grants for criminal justice programs from sanctuary cities. Mayors of sanctuary cities around the country say they’ll put up a fight in court if federal funds are withdrawn.
  8. Seattle sues the administration over the executive order demanding federal funds be withheld from sanctuary cities.
  9. The LA County Sheriff comes out against the current bill in the CA state legislature that would make CA a sanctuary state, saying it would make it too hard to deport felons. All CA sheriffs say that when ICE requests that they hold a parolee a few days over their release date (presumably so ICE can come pick them up), they do not comply (for constitutional reasons mostly).

Climate/EPA:

  1. Trump signed executive orders that basically halt efforts by the Obama administration to address climate change. The orders instruct the EPA to focus on clean air and water and to stop working on climate change — meanwhile, coal plants can now dump waste into waterways, so I’m not sure where the clean water part comes in.
  2. In the wake of the rollbacks, environmental groups already have lawsuits in the works.
  3. Staff in the Energy Department are prohibited from using the following phrases in written communications: “climate change,” “emissions reduction,” and “Paris Agreement.”
  4. Exxon sends a letter to Trump urging him to stay in the Paris climate accord, stating that it’s an ”effective framework for addressing the risks of climate change.”
  5. Trump lifts a moratorium on federal leases for coal mining, though few companies are interested in mining the newly available areas. Though Trump says he’ll bring back coal jobs, more and more power plants are moving to natural gas and 6 coal plants have either closed or plan to close since the election. Coal production has outpaced consumption, on average, since 2000.
  6. The House passes the Honest and Open New EPA Science Treatment Act, which prohibits the EPA from using science that isn’t publicly available when creating new regulations. The EPA often uses scientific data that they don’t own and therefore don’t always have the right to release it publicly. This restricts the scientific studies and data they can use.
  7. Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE, encourages companies to step up and fill in the void left by Trump gutting EPA regulations. Several companies (from Apple to Walmart), cities, and states say they’ll continue down the climate regulation path set out by Obama despite the rollback of regulations.
  8. EPA scientists conclude that the insecticide chlorpyrifos should be banned due to its affect on learning and memory. Scott Pruitt rejects their conclusion. It’s already been banned from household use, but is currently used on around 50 types of crops.

Miscellaneous:

  1. The economy is expected to grow more slowly than the 3-4% Trump promised. Economists expect it to grow 2.3% this year and 2.5% next year.
  2. A woman hits at least one police car and almost hits several officers in DC Wednesday morning. Terrorism is not suspected.
  3. Trump selects Chris Christie to run his drug commission.
  4. Felony charges are filed against the two anti-abortion activists who misrepresented themselves as researchers and secretly filmed Planned Parenthood meetings.
  5. The entire White House staff, in support of Trump, plans to skip the correspondents dinner.
  6. After taking heat for her non-government office in the White House last week, Ivanka will become a government employee after all. TBD what will happen with her business holdings.
  7. Some of Trump’s wealthier donors chip in millions for a 10-state ad campaign to bolster his approval ratings and highlight his achievements.
  8. Trump groups Democrats and the Freedom Caucus together as his enemy in a tweet: “The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don’t get on the team, & fast. We must fight them, & Dems, in 2018!”
  9. Three people at the inauguration in January claim to have heard George W. Bush remark afterward, “That was some weird shit.”
  10. Kushner is placed in charge of the White House Office of American Innovation, a group that will look at business-based solutions to government problems.
  11. Trump proclaims April 2017 to be National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. I hope everyone sees the irony here.
  12. The Trump administration released the financial disclosures for White House staff. Notable findings:
    • Bannon made up to $2.3 million last year.
    • Gary Cohn, a former Goldman executive, is worth between $252-$611 million.
    • Ivanka and Jared retain their vast real estate and investment business.
    • Kellyanne Conway made over $800,000 last year.
  13. Mike Pence says he doesn’t dine alone with women other than his wife. It may seem a gallant gesture, but it limits the power of women who work with him. For example, he could eat alone and talk government with any one of his male staff members but not any of his female staff members. It harks back to the old boys club, it’s archaic, and it’s built on the premise that men can’t control themselves around women.
  14. Republicans indicate that they won’t fight support for Planned Parenthood as part of budget negotiations (but they might do it under reconciliation, which puts their decisions into law).
  15. Trump’s infrastructure plans had been put on hold until 2018, but now he wants to work on tax reform and infrastructure at the same time. This is seen as an attempt to get the support of Democrats and avoid the Freedom Caucus.