This week, Trump takes credit for an all-time low in African-American unemployment. And African-American unemployment is down under him; but it’s also a continuation of the trend started under Obama. And the far right will never give Obama the credit he deserves for helping our economy recover so much faster than the rest of the world. Look at the graph above, and you can see Trump inherited an economy already trending in his favor. I remember hearing all through Obama’s presidency that economic indicators were faked, and that the Bureau of Labor and Statistics uses misleading data. I give credit to Trump for keeping the economy going; but conservatives need to give Obama some credit for jump-starting it. Take a look at these graphs to see the trends.

Russia:

1. According to Joe Biden, Obama didn’t speak out about the Russian interference in our elections because Mitch McConnell refused to sign on to a bipartisan statement of condemnation.
2. Paul Manafort’s attorneys accidentally file a memo in their court filings that indicates that federal investigators had a mole in Manafort’s company. The mole is the source of the information about his financial transactions.
3. Mueller wants to talk with Trump about the firing of both James Comey and Michael Flynn.
4. Flynn spoke with the Mueller investigation a year ago this week, and never told the White House about it.
5. After seesawing over whether he was willing to speak with Mueller, Trump says he will. Then his lawyer says Trump spoke too fast. Then Trump again says he will. Then his lawyer walks it back again. He wants his testimony to be part oral and part written statements.
6. Mueller gives Trump a list of topics he wants to talk about.
7. Mueller questions CIA Director Mike Pompeo, National Intelligence Director Dan Coats, and NSA Director Mike Rogers.
8. The Justice Department confirms that Mueller questioned Jeff Sessions last week. He’s the first member of Trump’s cabinet to be questioned.
9. We learn that Christopher Wray, Director of the FBI, threatened to quit after being pressured by Trump and Sessions to fire Deputy Director Andy McCabe. White House counsel Don McGahee told Sessions it wasn’t worth losing the director over this.
10. The New York Time reports that in June, Trump tried to fire Mueller, but his White House Counsel threatened to quit if he did. Trump and his team denied this at least eight times since June of last year.
11. Wray is replacing two senior positions that were appointed by James Comey.
12. Mueller questions at least one Facebook employee who was embedded in the Trump campaign.
13. Rick Gates hires a new attorney, indicating he’s in the middle of negotiations with Mueller.
14. The Senate Judiciary Committee says they’ll release the transcripts of Donald Trump Jr.’s closed-door testimony.
15. Congressional Republicans spread a conspiracy theory about a secret society within the FBI to take down Trump. Their proof is a text between two FBI staffers who were having an affair where they talked about a “secret society.” Because if the FBI had a secret society, that’s exactly what they’d call it, right?
16. Sessions orders an investigation into months of missing text messages between the two above FBI staffers. Because of a Samsung 5 update problem, the texts weren’t properly archived. The texts are located by the end of the week.
17. With all the hype about the memo commissioned by Devin Nunes on the FBI and DOJ, it’s hard to separate fact from fiction. Axios has a pretty decent time line of the whole thing.
18. Trump makes it clear that he wants the memo released, and says if the House Intelligence Committee wants to release the memo, he’ll approve it.
19. The DOJ says it would be irresponsible and reckless to release the memo.
20. It’s easy to see what side Russians are on. After Russian bots on social media make #releasethememo the top trending hashtag, they surpass it with #SchumerShutdown.
21. White House sources say that last June, Trump pressed staff to carry out a campaign to discredit three members of the FBI who would likely be witnesses in the Russia probe: FBI Deputy Director Andy McCabe, Comey’s chief of staff Jim Rybicki, and former general counsel James Baker.
22. It turns out that Dutch intelligence was also monitoring Cozy Bear, the Russia group behind the DNC email hacks. They’ve been providing U.S. intelligence with information.
23. People across Russia rally in protest of the upcoming presidential election. They say the election is rigged for Putin after Putin’s opponent, Alexei Navalny, is once again arrested.

Courts/Justice:

Nothing major this week.

Healthcare:

1. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, once a strong opponent of Obamacare, proposes funding the state ACA market with an additional $200.
2. The first legal challenges are filed against Trump’s changes to Medicaid waivers for states.
3. Over 1,000 community health centers, which help over 27 million Americans, remain without funding four months after Congress fails to renew funds. While Congress renewed CHIP funding, they failed to renew it for community health centers.
4. The Senate will likely have a procedural vote on a 20-week abortion ban. Proponents of the bill say fetuses can feel pain at 20-weeks. Scientists say fetuses can feel pain at 27-30 weeks.
5. In one of the worst flu seasons in years, hospitals run short on the saline drip bags used to treat severe flu cases because most of the bags come from Puerto Rico, which is still recovering from hurricane.

International:

1. Members of the Taliban drive an ambulance loaded with explosives into a crowd in Kabul, killing at least 95 and injuring at least 158.
2. State Department employees accuse the administration of punishing them for their work under the Obama administration by reassigning them to positions for which they are either over-qualified or don’t have any experience with. Not only do many retain lawyers, fearing retaliation for their past work, but congressional Democrats call for an investigation by the State Department’s inspector general.
3. The doomsday clock takes a 30-second jump closer to midnight due to the state of geopolitical affairs, specifically our inability to deal with nuclear threats.
4. Here’s a note of interest with the deadline for implementing Russian sanctions coming up. The drain of expertise from the State Department extends to experts on sanctions, and the number of people who know how to implement them is dwindling.

Legislation/Congress:

1. For the eighth time, Vice President Mike Pence casts a vote to break a tie in the Senate. This time was to confirm Kansas Governor Sam Brownback as ambassador at large for international religious freedom.
2. It turns out that Patrick Meehan, who was investigating sexual harassment claims against four congressmen, used taxpayer dollars to pay off a sexual harassment claim against him.

Travel Ban/Immigration/Discrimination:

1. Because of Trump’s actions during the funding negotiations, Schumer withdraws a deal to include funding for the wall in their DACA negotiations. Schumer also shoots down Trump’s immigration reform proposal, which would create a pathway to citizenship for up to 1.8 million immigrants brought here as children, fund $25 billion for the wall, restrict family-based immigration, and get rid of the visa lottery system.
2. The DOJ threatens 23 “sanctuary cities” with subpoenas to prove they’re cooperating with federal ICE authorities. As a result, mayors from across the country boycott a planned meeting with Trump.
3. Trump says the mayors put the needs of “criminal illegal immigrants over law-abiding Americans.”
4. After Trump rejects a bipartisan plan that includes a path to citizenship for Dreamers, Trump says he supports such a path. He continues to go back and forth on this. I don’t think he really knows what he wants here, except for funding for the wall.
5. Trump says he’d be willing to apologize for retweeting anti-Muslim videos from a known British hate group whose leader is in jail for hate crimes. He then goes on to NOT apologize.
6. A judge blocks ICE from deporting a group of Somalis held in custody. In a separate case, a judge rules that ICE can’t simply deport 92 Cambodians, many of whom came here to escape the Khmer Rouge.
7. ICE targets activists who stand up for immigration rights.
8. ICE arrests a Polish doctor who came to the U.S. when he was 5. He’s now a doctor at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo.

Climate/EPA:

1. NOAA says the Arctic’s permafrost is melting and shows no signs of going back to it’s previously frozen condition. Scientists fear that melting of the permafrost could unleash massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
2. Scientists sue the EPA over the removal of many scientists from EPA advisory boards and committees. They were removed because of new EPA guidelines about receiving federal grants, but the lawsuit claims the removals violate the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
3. The Department of the Interior prepares to roll back protections for migratory birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The act previously applied to both intentional and unintentional killings, but now will apply only to intentional killings, letting certain industries off the hook.
4. Solar company Sun Power suspends its plans to invest $20 million into a U.S. factory expansion after Trump announces tariffs on imported solar panels. They’re asking for an exception from the tariff so they can continue to grow in California and Texas. 
5. The EPA withdraws a policy of the Clean Air Act that categorized high-polluting facilities as major sources of pollutants even if they lower their emissions. The policy focuses on toxic pollutants like mercury and lead.
6. California develops its own rules to protect waterways to mitigate the effects of the Trump administration’s repeals of federal water protections, specifically the Clean Water Act.

Budget/Economy:

1. Enough Senate Democrats vote with Republicans to pass another short-term funding bill to reopen the government. The bill also reauthorizes CHIP for six years and rolls back some healthcare taxes. In exchange, Chuck Schumer got promises from Mitch McConnell that there would be a vote on DACA. Sure there will…
2. The U.S. loses it’s standing as the second-most popular travel destination by foreigners, costing the tourism industry $4.6 billion and 40,000 jobs.
3. Trump imposes 30% tariffs on imported solar panel technology. We currently get around 80% of our solar panel equipment from China, and they have undercut companies across the globe with their low prices. Still, this will hurt domestic solar companies at least in the short term, resulting 23,000 fewer jobs in the industry.
4. However, Al Gore defends the idea of tariffs, but not the way Trump implemented them. He says solar technology needs to be more competitive globally. Analysts don’t think tariffs are enough to bring back our solar manufacturing industry.
   
5. On the anniversary of Trump withdrawing from TPP, Justin Trudeau announces the signing of the TPP between the remaining countries. Trump pulled us out of the TPP last year, and assumed the deal would be dead without us.
6. The next day, Trump says he’d be open to rejoining the TPP if he could negotiate a better deal. Interest from the TPP partners is… nonexistent.
7. Trump’s threats to withdraw from NAFTA make some sectors in the U.S. nervous. Farmers stand to lose trading partners, and a new economic analysis says 1.8 million U.S. jobs would likely be lost in the first year.
8. The world moves on without us when it comes to trade. There are 35 new bilateral and regional trade agreements currently being negotiated, with the U.S. being part of just one of them (with the European Union and negotiations are stalled). A spokesperson for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says pulling out of the TPP marks “a missed opportunity for the United States to gain greater access to some of the world’s most vibrant and growing markets.”
9. Trump pushes his America first message to mixed review at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
10. At the same forum, Trudeau tells CEOs Canada won’t be cutting taxes like the U.S. He also tells them they need to change the way they do business by putting workers before profits and supporting women’s rights. In his words, “Too many corporations have put the pursuit of profit before the well-being of their workers … but that approach won’t cut it any more.”
11. At Davos, Trump markets America to business leaders, saying the new tax plan makes us a better place to do business. He doesn’t mention the contentious geopolitical atmosphere.
12. GDP growth slowed down slightly in the last quarter of 2017, ending economists hopes of having three straight months of 3% or better growth.
13. The U.S. International Trade Commission rules in favor of Canada’s Bombardier in a trade dispute brought by Boeing against Bombardier over planes sold to Delta Airlines.

Elections:

1. Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court rules that the GOP-drawn congressional district lines violate the state constitution and that they must redraw all district lines by February 9.
2. Released documents from Trump’s disbanded voter fraud commission show that when they requested voter information from Texas, they specifically asked for information about voters with Hispanic surnames. Even so, Kris Kobach says that “at no time did the commission request any state to flag surnames by ethnicity or race.”

Miscellaneous:

1. An explosion on a gas rig in Oklahoma kills five workers.
2. A shooter in a Kentucky school kills two and injures 18.
3. Jared Kushner still doesn’t have his security clearance, yet he still gets the president’s daily briefing.
4. The Senate confirms Alex Azar to replace Tom Price as Secretary of Health and Human Services. While the administration praises Azar for being a proponent of better healthcare and lower drug prices, Azar has been criticized for raising drug prices while CEO of Eli Lilly USA. The company was fined for colluding on drug prices under Azar.
5. About the World Economic Forum, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao says, “Davos should feel very flattered that he [Trump] has chosen this as a forum. Those who don’t want to listen to him can leave.”
6. The NSA removes honesty and transparency from their stated mission, and adds commitment to service, respect for people, and accountability.
7. A draft of Trump’s 2019 budget proposal calls for an end to funding of the International Space Station by 2025. Support for the station currently costs NASA between $3 and $4 billion each year.
8. All in one show, Sean Hannity says that there’s no confirmation of the story about Trump wanting to fire Mueller (and that the New York Times always gets stories wrong) and then says the story is confirmed.
9. Steve Wynn resigns as finance chairman for the Republican National Committee after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. What we don’t hear are cries for Republican officials to return his donations like there were for Democrats to return Harvey Weinstein’s.
10. The entire USA Gymnastics board resigns amid the sexual harassment scandal with Dr. Nassar.
11. The FBI arrests a Michigan man who threatened to shoot and kill CNN employees because of their fake news.
12. Montana becomes the first state to pass laws protecting net neutrality.
13. Trump complains to aides that he doesn’t understand why he can’t just give orders to his guys at the DOJ.

Polls:

1. 74% of Americans favor granting legal status to children brought here illegally.
2. 60% of Americans oppose the wall.
3. Trump’s approval rating among Evangelicals is down to 61%.
4. 60% of Americans don’t trust Trump with the power to launch a nuclear war.

Stupid Things Politicians Say:

“I found out for the first time last night that the person who technically shuts the government down is me, which is kind of cool”.

~ Mick Mulvaney WH Budget Director

No, that’s not cool, Mick. Not cool at all.