Trump spent the week lobbing grenades—into the healthcare market, into the budget and tax reform plans, into the NFL, at Bob Corker, and into the Iran agreement. Now his Cabinet and Congress have to figure out how to put out the fires he started.

And speaking of fires, the devastation in Northern California is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. If you’re looking for ways to help out, Fast Policy gives a number of resources: https://www.fastcompany.com/40479325/how-to-help-napa-fire-victims-8-things-you-can-do-for-californias-wine-country-right-now

And here’s what happened in week 38. As always, if I missed something, let me know.

Russia:

1. In contrast to what Donald Trump Jr.’s email records show, a lawyer for one of the Russians present at the Trump Tower meeting last year claims to have documents showing that the meeting was not about getting dirt on Clinton. This is likely going to be their defense against collusion.
2. Congressman Devin Nunes again puts himself in the middle of the Russia investigation (from which he is supposed to be recused), and signs off on new subpoenas to Fusion GPS. He seems to be doing this on his own without approval from the committee.
3. We learn where the Kaspersky Lab intel came from. Israeli intelligence watched in real time as Russian government hackers exploited software from Kaspersky Lab to search for American intelligence program code names. Israeli officials gave us the heads up. Ironically (and ICYDK) Kaspersky is security software.
4. Carter Page says he won’t cooperate with requests to appear in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and will plead the 5th if forced to appear.
5. Bob Mueller’s team interviews Reince Priebus.
6. Paul Manafort has business dealings worth $60 million with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who has close ties to the Kremlin.
7. The background check chief says he’s never seen the level of mistakes on any clearance form as were found on Jared Kushner’s.
8. Researchers find thousands of additional posts that were part of the Russian disinformation campaign but that had been hidden on Facebook. Also, due to their terms of agreement, Twitter had deleted several posts by Russian agents, and they aren’t sure whether they can retrieve that information.
9. Cambridge Analytica, which is partially owned by Steve Bannon and which provided big data services to the Trump campaign, begins turning over documents to the House Intelligence Committee.
10. The House Intelligence Committee plans to release the Facebook ads bought and spread by Russians during the election. There are around 3,000 of them.

Courts/Justice:

1. North Carolina Republicans pass a bill to get rid of primary elections for state judges, another attempt to control the courts. These guys have already been reprimanded by federal courts for their voter ID restrictions and unlawful district lines, both of which target minority voters. The governor vetoes the bill, but Republicans have a supermajority and can override the veto.
2. Every time Trump deletes a tweet, the question comes up of whether it’s a violation of the Presidential Records Act. The DOJ argues in court that Trump can destroy records without judicial review. The DOJ also says it’s OK for Trump to delete secret recordings and phone records, even if they think those records might be subpoenaed in connection to an investigation.

Healthcare:

1. The Trump administration’s cuts in funding and lack of outreach for ACA enrollment affects groups across the country. The funding for Michigan Consumers for Health Care was cut by 89%. The Ohio Association of Foodbanks’ funding was cut by 71%. The Cheyenne Regional Medical Center was cut by 61%, the Utah Health Policy Project by 61%, and the South Carolina Palmetto Project by 46%.
2. Tired of Congress failing to repeal the ACA, Trump does his best to take it down this week:
   • He signs a new executive order that would allow individuals and small businesses to group themselves into association health plans that would let them negotiate prices better. The order also would allow insurers in that market to provide policies that don’t cover all medical expenses mandated by the ACA. While this could reduce costs for younger or healthier Americans, it could raise costs for older or sicker Americans.
   • He then signs an order directing his agencies to “repeal and replace the disastrous Obamacare law and provide real relief to the American people” because “the government cannot lawfully make the cost-sharing reduction payments.”
3. Trump nearly walks out of the signing ceremony for his executive order gutting the ACA without signing the bill.
4. Experts say this kind of fuckery will cause insurance premiums to soar, insurance companies to flee markets, costs to rise, and millions to lose insurance.
5. Trump admits he did this to sabotage the ACA and blackmail Democrats into “helping him fix it.”
6. Insurance companies warn that premiums and out-of-pocket cost will go up, and covered medical expenses will be reduced as a result of this order.
7. The CBO and insurance companies warn of increasing premiums and out-of-pocket costs, reducing coverage for medical expenses, adding $194 billion to the deficit, millions of Americans losing coverage, and a 20-25% increase in premium costs. In other words, the government will spend more to insure fewer.
8. Trump says he’ll oppose any attempt by Congress to rescue Obamacare unless he gets something in return. It sounds like he thinks he’s been giving away too much and not getting anything in return, and this is his way of setting new negotiation terms.
9. Twenty states and Washington DC threaten lawsuits over this week’s orders.
10. Washington state, Massachusetts, California, and the ACLU sue over Trump’s new restrictions on birth control coverage under the ACA.
11. Fourteen commonly used prescription drugs are sourced out of Puerto Rico. The hurricane damage could cause a shortage of the drugs people depend on for their health.

International:

1. NBC reports that Trump asked the military to increase our nuclear warheads tenfold—a violation of international treaties. Trump responds by threatening to challenge their broadcast license. Trump’s request stemmed from a presentation that showed the gradual decline of our nuclear stocks, but our military posture is stronger right now than it was at the height of our nuclear buildup.
2. An overwhelming number of groups, both national and international, diplomatic and military, Democrat and Republican, urge Trump to stay in the Iran nuclear agreement, saying it’s against our security interest to decertify it.
3. Trump refuses to recertify the Iran agreement, punting the issue to Congress to either impose sanctions again or find ways to change the agreement. The international community opposes this move, although France is open to hardening the conditions of the agreement a bit. It’s not likely we’ll get a better deal.
4. Iran threatens to bomb U.S. bases as a result.
5. North Korean hackers go after U.S. electrical power companies using spearphishing emails.
6. Trump withdraws the U.S. from UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, saying it’s because of their anti-Israel bias. Note that the U.S. has had issues with UNESCO for several years.
7. A truck bomb in Mogadishu, Somalia, kills nearly 300 people. The government blames Al Shabab.
8. Trump says how much he wants to end NAFTA, though Mexico warns it would hamper their joint efforts to stem the flow of drugs between countries.
9. Justin Trudeau says that American negotiators are throwing proposals into the NAFTA negotiations that are deal breakers, possibly in an attempt to destroy the agreement.
10. The Chamber of Commerce warns that ending NAFTA would pose an “existential threat” to North America’s economic and national security.
11. In Palestine, Fatah and Hamas agree on a unity deal where they combine security and government control.
12. Cyberheists are big business in North Korea, bringing in up to $1 billion a year. That’s a third of the nation’s exports.

Legislation/Congress:

1. Congress won’t move on gun laws, but California just did. The state passes three gun laws this week:
   • People convicted of hate crime misdemeanors can’t buy or have a firearm for 10 years.
   • School employees can’t bring firearms to work.
   • Since the Centers for Disease Control is not allowed to study gun violence, California will fund its own gun violence research.

Travel Ban/Immigration/Discrimination:

1. Trump threatens to use the new tax reform bill to penalize the NFL teams whose players take a knee.
2. NFL owners and Goodell appear to express disapproval of player protests. Trump tweets that the NFL did what he wanted, the NFL denies his and says that’s not what the letter they published said. Goodell’s memo asked players to stand but also validated the issues that the protesting players are trying to bring attention to.
3. But Trump continues to escalate this war with the NFL.
4. Republican Senator Thom Willis and Democrat Dick Durbin are working together on a clean Dreamer act that would allow undocumented immigrants who were brought here as minors to obtain permanent status. They fear something needs to be done sooner than later or these people who have lived here all their lives could be deported.
5. Trump again demands border wall funding in return for Dreamer legislation.
6. Trump speaks at the Values Voters Summit in DC. This makes him the first president to speak at the gathering, which includes white supremacists, homophobes, and far-right activists. He promises them that they will no longer be silenced. I wonder if he saw the anti-gay pamphlets in the swag bag? The group is considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
7. Trump says he will extend the DACA deadline himself if Congress doesn’t act in time.
8. Homeland Security looks at ways to reform immigration itself without the help of Congress. Ideas include clamping down on unaccompanied minors, tightening visa rules to limit legal immigrations, and expanding the use of quick deportations.
9. The Supreme Court dismisses one of the challenges to Trump’s now expired travel ban, not on the merits of the challenge but because the ban is expired making the challenge moot.

Climate/EPA:

1. Scott Pruitt of the EPA officially announces plans to rescind the Clean Power Plan, Obama’s rule to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Pruitt as much as told Fox News earlier this year that environmental health isn’t his priority; jobs are.
2. The EPA’s current estimate is that the Clean Power Plan would prevent up to 6,600 premature deaths and 150,000 asthma attacks.
3. Pruitt wants to eliminate tax credits for solar and wind power, saying all power industries should be on a level playing field. I’m sure he’s aware of all the subsidies received by the fossil fuel industry as well, right?
4. Scott Pruitt removes mention of climate change, greenhouse gases, and carbon dioxide completely from the EPA’s 4-year plan. He says the EPA’s priorities are ensuring clean air, land, and water; giving states more power; and enforcing laws. Forget global warming.
5. Trump nominates climate change skeptic Kathleen Hartnet to lead the White House’s environmental policy board. She thinks that because we need carbon dioxide to live, that excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can’t possibly hurt us.
6. Trump nominates AccuWeather’s Barry Myers to head NOAA. NOAA is the parent agency of the National Weather Service, and Myers has pushed for limits on what the NWS can offer to the public. If he’s confirmed, he can make those limits the rule.

Puerto Rico:

I wasn’t sure what category this all belongs in, so I’m giving Puerto Rico their own category this week.

1. Recovery efforts still lag in Puerto Rico, more than 3 weeks after the hurricane hit. Most of the island is still without power, and a third of the island has no access to clean drinking water.
2. FEMA says it’s not their job to deliver food and water to municipalities in Puerto Rico, though they did deliver both in Texas and Florida after they were hit by hurricanes. FEMA also says it’s the job of the mayor of each city to move supplies from the distribution centers to their towns. Though most don’t have electricity or cell phone service yet.
3. FEMA has visited some of the towns without food, water, or electricity, but generally only to help them fill out paperwork.
4. Google gets approval from the FCC to float its Project Loon balloons over Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This should at least give everyone an internet connection.
5. Congress approves $4.9 billion in relief to Puerto Rico. As a loan. That they have to pay back. Is that how it works for Texas and Florida too?
6. Some Puerto Ricans are getting drinking water from a superfund hazardous waste site.
7. After Trump vaguely threatens to pull back the recovery effort in Puerto Rico (FEMA can’t stay there forever), FEMA jumps in to reassure the island saying they’ll be in Puerto Rico as long as it takes.
8. When Trump says that we can’t provide aid to Puerto Rico forever, it makes him look like he still doesn’t understand that they are part of the United States.
9. And not only is Trump unaware that Puerto Rico is part of the U.S., but also that the U.S. Virgin Islands are as well. He says he met with the president of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Meaning he met with… himself?
10. A Bloomberg reporter is accidentally copied on an email chain between the Pentagon and FEMA about how to spin the recovery effort in Puerto Rico. The spin included emphasizing the federal government’s full attention on the response in order to fight the San Juan Mayor’s complaints; stressing FEMA’s success in reaching all cities; and playing down Trump’s attack on the Mayor of San Juan for “poor leadership.”

Budget/Economy:

1. In an interview with Sean Hannity, Trump implies that the increase in value of the stock market of $5 trillion offsets half of the $10 trillion deficit added over the last eight years. It sounds like he thinks the stock market and the deficit are tied together. They aren’t. At all.
2. Trump brags about how insurance company stocks dipped after his announcement that he’ll stop paying the ACA subsidies.
3. Steve Mnuchin admits that the estate tax repeal will only help the wealthy, contradicting what Trump has been telling us.
4. Republicans can’t agree on what constitutes the middle class for the tax plan. Pew Research puts it between about $42,000 and $125,000 in income. But Republicans’ idea of middle class ranges from $100,000 to $400,000 at the high end.
5. Trump holds a rally for a group that includes several truckers. He touts his tax plan and says how it will save them in taxes. It likely won’t.

Elections:

1. Steve Bannon vows to run a challenger in every single Republican primary next year.

Miscellaneous:

1. Bob Corker has the support of many of his fellow Republicans on the Hill over what he said last week about Trump, but most of them are afraid of retaliation if they also speak up. Corker continues to speak up this week over issues with Trump.
2. Sean Hannity has more of the president’s ear than we thought. Trump frequently calls him after his evening show, and now on weekends too.
3. Hmmm… lots of criticism of Harvey Weinstein and his relationship with Democrats from people who voted for an alleged sex offender themselves. And for those of you saying this reveals liberal hypocrisy, Democratic politicians are scrambling to return any donations from Weinstein. We need a little introspection here, specifically around how we let powerful men get away with this shit for so long.
4. #MeToo (and Me, Too) trends on social media, once again showing how many women have been affected by sexual harassment/discrimination/assault. The last (or only?) time this happened was when Trump’s audio tape came out.
5. Ryan Zinke faces additional scrutiny over travel costs when it’s revealed that he attended fund raisers during official government trips, which is not allowed.
6. Trump calls team members of the Pittsburgh Penguins great patriots, even though they’re mostly not even American.
7. At least one Republican publicly supports articles of impeachment, and he says others want this presidency to end as well.
8. Larry Flynt offers $10 million for information leading to the impeachment of Trump.
9. Trump challenges Tillerson to an IQ test comparison.
10. Trump restarts the war on Christmas narrative, saying we’ll be saying “Merry Christmas” again. News flash: People never really stopped saying it.
11. Trump’s good friend Thomas Barrack makes some interesting comments to the press. He’s shocked and stunned by Trump’s rhetoric and his inflammatory tweets. Barrack says that Trump is better than this. He disagrees with Trump on immigration and the border wall. He thinks Trump is wasting time pandering to fringe groups. And he tells Trump all of this all the time. However, given what Trump campaigned on, how can he be surprised?

Polls:

1. 64% of voters support stricter gun laws (including universal background checks and waiting periods). 29% oppose them. But a majority still thinks Congress will do nothing.
2. Trump’s approval rating falls in every state, including with Republicans.
3. 76% of Americans think the wealthiest of us should pay higher tax rates.