Tag: Tillerson

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 We learn that the DoJ, in a 180-degree turn, has withdrawn a primary claim against a Texas voter ID law.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.

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 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.

Week Nine in Trump

Posted on March 28, 2017 in Politics

In his two months in office, Trump has signed the rollbacks of protections for trade, the environment, workers, borrowers, women, retirees, internet privacy, and transgender folks. He’s approved the construction of the Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines, and he conducted his first military excursion with mixed results. He’s also gotten several appointees confirmed.
But he’s meeting resistance from both sides on the plan to repeal and replace the ACA (which ultimately failed), his budget proposal (which includes the wall), and the new travel ban (hitting legal issues again). Gorsuch won’t be a slam dunk either. He hasn’t started yet on his tax reform and infrastructure plans, and the plan to defeat ISIS is still in the works (though a recent report says we’re close to a military success already).

Russia Investigation:

  1. James Comey and Mike Rogers testify in front of the House intelligence committee over Russian collusion and Trump’s wiretap accusations. Here’s what we found out:
    • Russia meddled in our elections and favored Trump over Hillary.
    • The FBI is investigating members of the current administration for coordinating with Russia.
    • The FBI has no information to support Trump’s claims of wiretapping.
  2. Prior to the testimony, Trump sends out a series of tweets saying the Democrats made up the Russia story and that it’s fake news when the media reports that there’s no evidence to support his wiretapping accusations.
  3. House Republicans ignore the testimony and focus on the leaks coming from the White House.
  4. Trump sends out multiple inaccurate tweets during the testimony, some of which Comey refutes in real time.
  5. The FBI, the NSA, and the Department of Justice all refute Trumps accusations of wiretapping.
  6. Sean Spicer tells the press that Michael Flynn was a volunteer in the election campaign and that Paul Manafort had a very limited role. Manafort was Trump’s campaign chairman from March to August (unpaid, though).
  7. It turns out that Mike Flynn worked with Turkey to try to find a way to avoid the US extradition process to transfer Fethullah Gulen (the mullah blamed for the failed Turkish coup) to Turkey.
  8. Documents reveal that Paul Manafort not only received payments from pro-Russian agencies in Ukraine, he tried to hide them. Manafort says the records are a forgery.
  9. Manafort apparently worked for a Russian billionaire on behalf of Putin where his role was to come up with a plan to undermine anti-Russian opposition in former Soviet republics (source: AP). His strategy was to influence US and European politics, business, and news for Putin’s benefit. He used non-profit groups and media to undercut Putin’s adversaries in eastern Europe.
  10. Allegedly, Manafort’s daughter sent these two texts (among many others) about her father to her sister: “He has no moral or legal compass” and “Do you know whose strategy that was to cause that, to send those people out and get them slaughtered.”
  11. Officials reveal that the FBI is investigating collusion between Trump associates and Russian officials around information that was released that damaged Clinton’s campaign. Specifically, they have information that there may have been some coordination around the timing of the releases.
  12. Breitbart and Info Wars are included in the investigation into the Russian meddling in the election.
  13. Devin Nunes, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, secretly receives classified information revealing that some Trump communications, or those of his associates, were incidentally intercepted as part of surveillance of foreign nationals. Without briefing committee members first, he rushes to tell the president and the press that names were unmasked (they should have been hidden), seemingly giving some credence to Trump’s wiretapping accusations. The RNCC uses this in their marketing emails saying that the wiretapping accusations were confirmed. It is suspected, and later confirmed, that Nunes received the information from someone in the White House.
  14. Remember when Roger Stone tweeted that something was about to go down with Podesta right before his emails were leaked? Stone’s over-familiarity with WikiLeaks are under increased scrutiny as part of the investigations into Russia’s meddling in the election.
  15. Anti-corruption protests break out across Russia, mainly protesting Prime Minister Medvedev. Hundreds of protesters are arrested, including the organizer and Putin’s primary opposition leader, Alexei Navally.
  16. Polling shows 66% of Americans want an independent investigation into Russia.

Court:

  1. The confirmation hearings for Neil Gorsuch begin with some scorching reminders of the year-long refusal of the GOP senate to hear Merrick Garland confirmations.
  2. Some Democratic senators say they will block the confirmation of Gorsuch until the Russian investigations are complete, saying that their reasoning is similar to Mitch McConnell refusing to hold hearings for Merrick Garland.
  3. A campaign in support of Gorsuch is being funded to the tune of $10 million in political spending, but we don’t know who is funding it.
  4. Awkward. While Gorsuch testifies on his own behalf, the Supreme Court rules unanimously against one of his previous decisions (in a case involving rights of disabled students).
  5. Later in the week, Democrats say they’ll filibuster Gorsuch’s nomination for a few reasons. One is to make a point that Democracy doesn’t work when one party refuses to hold hearings for a president’s nominations because he’s in his last year in office. They say it sets a bad precedent, and makes for a blurry line that could stretch to the last two years in a term or to election years. The second point is that the current administration is under investigation and that casts doubt on the legitimacy of any of their nominees.
  6. Democrats on the judiciary committee delay the vote to send Gorsuch’s nomination to the full senate for a week.
  7. Fun fact: “Gorsuch” auto-corrects to “Grouch” on my phone.

Healthcare:

If you want more detail, WaPo has a pretty good article about what went wrong with the healthcare deal.

  1. According to the latest CBO report, more people would lose coverage under the healthcare replacement bill than if they just repealed the ACA without a replacement.
  2. Ryan makes these changes to the healthcare bill:
    • Give states the option to make Medicaid recipients work.
    • Give states the option to receive Medicaid per capita or as a block grant.
    • Ban the federal government from reimbursing Medicaid funds raised by state governments.
    • Set aside $75 billion for more tax credits, but let the senate decide how to regulate it.
  3. The original repeal plan reduced the deficit by about $337 billion. The above changes would reduce the deficit by half that and wouldn’t insure any more people.
  4. Paul Ryan pulls the Thursday vote in order to hold further negotiations and to modify the bill. Even with the changes, it didn’t cut enough for the Freedom Caucus to support it.
  5. House Republicans consider dropping the following 10 requirements. Without these, it can’t pass the senate though.
    • Ambulatory services
    • Emergency services
    • Hospitalization (like surgery and overnight stays)
    • Pregnancy, maternity and newborn care
    • Mental health and substance use disorder services
    • Prescription drugs
    • Rehabilitative and habilitative services
    • Laboratory services
    • Preventive care and chronic disease management
    • Pediatric services
  6. After working into the night Thursday to make the updates, the House scuttles the rule that a bill has to be available for full day before a vote, scheduling the vote for Friday. That vote is also pulled because they don’t have the support to pass it just in the House.
  7. After the bill was pulled, several ads created by the American Action Network PAC ran on CBS. The ads congratulated House Republicans for the passing of the bill. Whoops.
  8. Trump blames Democrats for the healthcare bill’s failure, even though they were never approached and Republicans control both the House and the Senate. He also says Dems will be seeking a deal on healthcare within a year when Obamacare explodes, which Trump says he would not only allow but would accelerate.
  9. Trump at various times blames Reince Preibus, Tom Price, and Jared Kushner for the bill’s failure.
  10. Trump urges supporters to watch “Justice With Judge Jeanine” a few hours before Jeanine says Paul Ryan must step down because he let everyone down on healthcare reform.
  11. Additional states look into expanding Medicaid now that the ACA isn’t being repealed.

International:

  1. Five people die and 50 are injured when a terrorist drives his car onto a sidewalk on Westminster Bridge and then stabs an officer.  Trump offers our full cooperation and support and Donald Trump Jr. criticizes London’s mayor.
  2. Tillerson has a scheduling conflict with the NATO foreign ministers meeting and plans instead to accompany Trump to Mar-a-Lago for a visit with China’s president. He plans to visit Russia in April.
    UPDATE: NATO agrees to change the meeting dates to accommodate Tillerson.
  3. Tillerson tells Erin McPike, the journalist from IJR that he brought along on his Asia trip, that he was about to retire to his ranch in March and that he never wanted this job.

Legislation:

  1. The House and Senate both passed a bill that would expand drug testing for people receiving unemployment benefits, and forwarded it to Trump to sign.
  2. Mission to Mars! Trump signs Senate Bill 442 into law, authorizing appropriations for NASA.
  3. In another party-line vote, the Senate voted to reverse FCC internet privacy rules from last year. With the reversal, internet service providers won’t need to get your permission to use your personal info for ads.

Travel Ban/Immigration:

  1. The US and UK ban carrying electronic devices bigger than a certain size on flights from certain countries. Computers and iPads must be checked. Intel says that people have figured out how to fit a bomb inside the battery compartment. Emirates Airlines is monitoring the effects of this ban and might reduce flights to the US.
  2. ICE specifically targets sanctuary cities to put pressure on them to cooperate.
  3. There were no African attendees at the African Global Economic and Development Summit in Southern California. Every African citizen who applied for a visa was denied.
  4. More undocumented immigrants are reportedly afraid to interact with the police, even to report a crime, for greater fear of deportation. Sexual assault reports are down 25% and domestic violence reports are down 10% among Los Angeles’s Latino population. What this really means is that more criminals are getting away with more crimes.
  5. Many undocumented immigrants begin making plans in case they are deported and someone else has to care for their children.
  6. Schools in Toronto, Ontario, will no longer allow school field trips to the US for fear of running into issues at the border.
  7. Stories are starting to come out that the Trump administration has threatened eminent domain to take the property needed to build his damn wall.

Miscellaneous:

  1. Trump gives an interview where he repeats the same debunked lines about voter fraud, immigrants in Sweden, how NATO works, wiretapping, Muslims celebrating on 9/11, and wiretapping allegations, finishing with “I can’t be doing so badly, because I’m president and you’re not.”
  2. The Secret Service requests an additional $60 million to protect Trump and his family next year.
  3. There are several pro-Trump “Make America Great Again” rallies across the US, some of which broke out in violence (though the stories aren’t clear about who started what).
  4. Eric Trump says he’ll update his father on the Trump business quarterly, though Trump has said he’s divested himself of the biz.
  5. Ivanka Trump’s not technically a government employee and doesn’t have a title, but she’ll have an office in the West Wing office with security clearance to classified information and government-issued communications devices.
  6. And while I don’t care how much any president has golfed during their term, Trump promised he wouldn’t golf and said he’d spend all his time working until everything is fixed. He’s golfed 13 times in 9 weeks, outpacing his predecessors, including the last president, who Trump complained about golfing the most.
  7. Trump’s approval rating drops another percent to 36%.