CABINET/EPA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “The Environmental Protection Agency has dismissed at least five members of a major scientific review board, the latest signal of what critics call a campaign by the Trump administration to shrink the agency’s regulatory reach by reducing the role of academic research. A spokesman for the E.P.A. administrator, Scott Pruitt, said he […]
Category: Cabinet
5/3/2017
CABINET/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “In his first address laying out his vision as secretary of state, Rex W. Tillerson said Wednesday [5-3-17] that the United States had been far too accommodating to emerging nations and longtime allies and that ‘things have gotten out of balance.’ Righting those imbalances, he said, will be the mission of the […]
5/3/2017
CABINET/EDUCATION/TRUMP PEOPLE/BESTY DEVOS: “It was an honor to stop by a #SchoolChoice event hosted by @VP Pence and @usedgov Secretary @BetsyDeVosED at the @WhiteHouse today.” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, May 3, 2017 03:57pm […]
5/2/2017
CABINET/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has written to his agency’s employees, asking for their input as he prepares to slash the department’s staff and budget. Tillerson announced a department-wide survey and interviews intended to determine how foreign service officers and civil servants are ‘going about completing the Department of State’s mission.’ Tillerson […]
4/28/2017
BUDGET/CABINET/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is proposing to eliminate 2,300 jobs as part of a plan to cut more than a quarter of the State Department’s budget for the next fiscal year, officials said Friday [4-28-17]. The plan will almost certainly meet resistance from lawmakers opposing President Donald Trump’s proposal to shrink […]
4/27/2017
CABINET/LABOR/TRUMP PEOPLE/ALEXANDER ACOSTA: “R. Alexander Acosta, the dean of Florida International University College of Law and a former United States attorney, was confirmed as labor secretary by the Senate on Thursday [4-27-17], becoming the only Latino in President Trump’s cabinet. The confirmation of Mr. Acosta, 48, completes Mr. Trump’s cabinet and comes at a crucial […]
CABINET/JOBS/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “The White House is placing responsibility for the large number of vacancies at the State Department on top diplomat Rex Tillerson and his staff, saying the secretary hasn’t moved on recommended personnel to fill the openings. The White House has suggested multiple candidates for every open senior position at the State Department […]
4/26/2017
CABINET/EDUCATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP EXEC ORDERS/BETSY DEVOS: “In a move meant to follow through on promises he made to conservatives during the 2016 campaign, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that aims to rein in federal control of education in the United States. The order, which Trump signed while flanked by Education Secretary Betsy […]
4/26/2017
CABINET/ENERGY/TRUMP PEOPLE/RICK PERRY: “Energy Secretary Rick Perry said Tuesday [4-25-17] he wouldn’t recommend the US pull out of the Paris climate accord — but instead would suggest the White House take steps to renegotiate the agreement. Speaking at a Bloomberg event in New York, Perry said, ‘I’m not going to tell the President of the […]
4/24/2017
CABINET/IMF/TREASURY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVE MNUCHIN/WORLD BANK: “Leaders of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund may have this past weekend won the qualified backing of the Trump administration, but their work is hardly done. Both institutions will likely still have to prove to their largest and most powerful shareholder that they represent an efficient […]
4/24/2017
AFGHANISTAN/CABINET/DEFENSE/FOREIGN POLICY/TRUMP PEOPLE/JAMES MATTIS: “Defense Secretary Jim Mattis made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan to meet with Afghan leaders and U.S. military officials Monday [4-24-17], taking a fresh look at a 15-year war where he served during its first optimistic months. Mattis’ visit capped a six-country tour through the Middle East, his first as secretary […]
4/21/2017
CABINET/RUSSIA/TREASURY/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVE MNUCHIN: ” ‘The Treasury Department will not be issuing waivers to U.S. companies, including Exxon, authorizing drilling prohibited by current Russian sanctions,’ Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, said in a statement Friday. Mnuchin said he consulted with President Trump on the decision. Exxon had applied for a waiver from sanctions imposed by the Obama […]
4/21/2017
CABINET/DEFENSE/FOREIGN POLICY/SYRIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/JAMES MATTIS: “U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Friday there was ‘no doubt’ that the Syrian government has chemical weapons, following a U.S. strike earlier this month on a Syrian air base that targeted a stockpile believed to have been used on a rebel-held town. ‘The bottom line is there can be no […]
4/18/2017
ATTORNEY GENERAL/CABINET/DHS/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS/JOHN KELLY: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly say they are on a mission: dismantle transnational criminal organizations and stop gangs from pushing drugs over the southwest border. The two agency heads painted grim visions of a nation under siege on Tuesday [4-18-17]– using similarly ominous rhetoric in […]
4/20/2017
CABINET/TAXES/TREASURY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVE MNUCHIN: “Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday [4-20-17] the Trump administration plans to release its tax reform proposal ‘very soon’ and promised that a sweeping overhaul of the tax code will get done. Speaking at a conference of international financial firms in Washington, Mr. Mnuchin said Treasury is ‘pretty close to […]
4/20/2017
CABINET/HEALTHCARE/HHS/OBAMACARE(ACA)/POLITICS/TRUMP PEOPLE/TOM PRICE: “While President Donald Trump insisted Congress repeal Obamacare within his first 100 days, the legislation was rushed, according to his Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Tom Price, and that’s why the Republicans failed. But the recent setback will not deter the Trump administration, he said during an interview at the Centers […]
4/19/2017
CAMPAIGN/CONFLICT OF INTERESTS/ETHICS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s record $106.7 million inauguration fundraising haul drew heavily from U.S. companies with policy issues in front of the new Republican administration, according to documents released Wednesday [4-19-17]… Other Trump inauguration corporate donors — named in an exhaustive 510-page Federal Election Commission report — are among those who […]
04/17/2017
ATTORNEY GENERAL/CABINET/DHS/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS/JOHN KELLY: ” ‘Yeah, marijuana is not a factor in the drug war.’ That’s the blunt assessment of Department of Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly, speaking on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ yesterday. It marks an evolution from statements Kelly made last year, when he said the ‘hypocrisy’ of legalizing pot in the […]
04/12/2017
CABINET/RUSSIA/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson opened his first meetings in Moscow on Wednesday at a moment when relations between the United States and Russia are so tense that it was unclear whether President Vladimir V. Putin would even see the man he once gave a medal of friendship. In the 24 […]
04/12/2017
CABINET/RUSSIA/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson met with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia for nearly two hours Wednesday [4-12-17], but the two men appeared unable to agree on the facts involving the deadly chemical weapons assault on Syrian civilians or Russian interference in the American election — much less move toward […]
04/11/2017
BUDGET/CABINET/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/MIKE MULVANEY: “The Trump administration on Wednesday [4-12-17] will lift the hiring freeze that it had imposed on the federal work force, even as it directs agencies to submit plans for personnel cuts and other restructuring moves to fit the budget blueprint released by President Trump last month. The new guidance, to […]
04/11/2017
CABINET/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson said on Tuesday [4-11-17] that President Bashar al-Assad’s reign in Syria was “coming to an end” and warned that Russia was at risk of becoming irrelevant in the Middle East by continuing to support him. His remarks, five days after the United States carried out missile […]
04/11/2017
CABINET/EDUCATION/TRUMP PEOPLE/BESTY DEVOS: “Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday [4-11-17] withdrew a series of policy memos issued by the Obama administration to strengthen consumer protections for student loan borrowers. The Education Department is in the middle of issuing new contracts to student loan servicing companies that collect payments on behalf of the agency. These middlemen […]
04/10/2017
CABINET/EDUCATION/TRUMP PEOPLE/BETSY DEVOS: “An unusual security arrangement for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is costing taxpayers upwards of $1 million per month. Citing a determination that ‘a threat to the secretary’s safety exists,’ the US Marshals Service said it would continue providing her a security detail, though it would not detail the nature of the threat. […]
04/10/2017
CABINET/RUSSIA/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “The Kremlin said on Monday [4-10-17] that U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will not meet President Vladimir Putin when he visits Moscow on Wednesday, a move that could point to tensions over a U.S. missile attack on a Syrian air base last week. John Kerry, Tillerson’s predecessor, often met Putin as […]
04/05/2017
BORDER/CABINET/DHS/TRUMP PEOPLE/JOHN KELLY/WALL: “Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly acknowledged Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s proposed wall on the southern border of the United States will not extend ‘from sea to shining sea’ and could partially be fencing. Kelly had few details about the size and scope of the wall when he testified in front of […]
04/05/2017
CABINET/FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “North Korea has fired a ballistic missile into the sea off the Korean Peninsula, the latest in a series of test firings and one that comes just days before President Donald Trump is set to huddle with Chinese President Xi Jinping for a two-day summit in Florida. Here’s what Secretary […]
04/04/2017
CABINET/CONFLICT OF INTEREST/HHS/TRUMP PEOPLE/TOM PRICE: “Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price more than tripled his investment when he sold shares in a small biotechnology company developing a multiple sclerosis drug that might one day seek approval from Dr. Price’s agency, public disclosures show. Dr. Price sold the shares of Australia-based Innate Immunotherapeutics Ltd. in […]
04/03/2017
CABINET/EPA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “Any expectation that Scott Pruitt, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, would be able to cruise through an appearance on ‘Fox News Sunday’ over the weekend was dashed within about 10 seconds of the interview. …Wallace began grilling Pruitt about an executive order President Trump signed last week to dismantle […]
3/29/2017
CABINET/FOREIGN AFFAIRS/MILITARY/STATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson has decided to lift all human rights conditions on a major sale of F-16 fighter jets and other arms to Bahrain in an effort to end a rift between the United States and a critical Middle East ally, according to administration and congressional […]
3/29/2017
CABINET/HHS/TRUMP PEOPLE/TOM PRICE: “Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said Wednesday he is obligated to uphold the Affordable Care Act as long it is in place but he didn’t commit to specific actions, including enforcing the requirement that most Americans pay a penalty if they don’t have health coverage. ‘So long as the law […]
3/28/2017
CABINET/EDUCATION/TRUMP FAMILY/TRUMP PEOPLE/WOMEN/IVANKA/BETSY DEVOS: “On Tuesday [3-28-17], presidential daughter Ivanka Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos visited the National Air and Space Museum in Washington. According to the Education Department, they were there to ‘highlight the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education’ and to discuss ’empowering young women to pursue STEM-related careers.’ […]
3/28/2017
CABINET/CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA/OBAMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “Scott Pruitt’s first weeks leading the Environmental Protection Agency have been marked by infighting among competing factions, three sources tell CNN, including a group that believes Pruitt may not go far enough to reshape the agency and pare back regulations. Some conservatives both inside and outside the agency are […]
3/28/2017
CABINET/CONFLICT OF INTEREST/ETHICS/TREASURY/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVEN MNUCHIN: “The top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee asked the government ethics watchdog on Monday to review comments by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin plugging ‘The Lego Batman Movie,’ a film one of his companies produced, for a possible ethics violation. In a letter to Office of Government Ethics Director Walter […]
3/29/2017
BUDGET/CABINET/EDUCATION/TRUMP PEOPLE/BETSY DEVOS: “Betsy DeVos, in her first extended policy address as education secretary, argued on Wednesday [3-29-17] for an expansion of school choice programs, pointing to lagging test scores and a program championed by the Obama administration that funneled billions into low-performing schools but failed to produce better academic outcomes. Speaking at the Brookings […]
3/29/2017
CABINET/EPA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, moved late on Wednesday [3-29-17] to reject the scientific conclusion of the agency’s own chemical safety experts who under the Obama administration recommended that one of the nation’s most widely used insecticides be permanently banned at farms nationwide because of the […]
3/24/2017
CABINET/TREASURY/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVEN MNUCHIN: “Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Trump administration is close to completing its proposal to overhaul the U.S. tax code and said any legislation to reduce corporate and individual rates needed to be comprehensive. ‘We’re not cutting this up and doing little pieces at a time,’ he said at an event in […]
3/21/2017
CABINET/FOREIGN POLICY/NATO/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will skip a meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization foreign ministers next month, the State Department announced. It is highly unusual for a U.S. Secretary of State to miss a NATO meeting. In the past 21 years, America’s top diplomat has missed a gathering only […]
3/21/2017
CABINET/LABOR/TRUMP PEOPLE/ANDREW PUZDER/ALEXANDER ACOSTA: “President Donald Trump’s second choice for labor secretary, law school dean Alexander Acosta, stands in contrast to his first pick, fast-food executive Andy Puzder… Mr. Trump tapped Mr. Acosta for the job less than 24 hours after Mr. Puzder stepped aside last month over personal controversies. The choice of the lawyer […]
3/19/2017
CABINET/DEFENSE/EPA/TRUMP PEOPLE/JAMES MATTIS/SCOTT PRUITT: “The political appointee charged with keeping watch over Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt and his aides has offered unsolicited advice so often that after just four weeks on the job, Pruitt has shut him out of many staff meetings, according to two senior administration officials. At the Pentagon, they’re privately […]
3/17/2017
CABINET/MILITARY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “The US would consider military action against North Korea if it was provoked, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Friday. Speaking in Seoul at a joint press conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, Tillerson said Washington’s policy of ‘strategic patience’ had ended. ‘Certainly, we do not want things […]
3/17/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/DINA POWELL/MCMASTER: “National security adviser H.R. McMaster has been on the job for less than a month, but the changes at the National Security Council already signal it will play a markedly different role under President Donald Trump than his predecessors. No decision makes that clearer than Dina Powell’s promotion from advising first […]
3/13/2017
CABINET/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Proud to welcome our great Cabinet this afternoon for our first meeting. Unfortunately 4 seats were empty because Senate Dems are delaying!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com March 13, 2017 3:57pm […]
3/12/2017
CABINET/LABOR/TRUMP PEOPLE/ALEXANDER ACOSTA: “In 2008, three years after R. Alexander Acosta had decamped from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division for the United States attorney’s post in South Florida, the Justice Department’s in-house investigator laid out a damning conclusion: Under Mr. Acosta’s watch, his office had repeatedly violated federal law and department policies by weighing […]
3/10/2017
CABINET/FDA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT GOTTLIEB: “The White House is expected as early as Friday to nominate Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a physician and conservative health policy expert, to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, sources familiar with the matter said. If confirmed by the Senate, Gottlieb would be in charge of implementing President Donald Trump’s plan to […]
3/09/2017
CABINET/LABOR/TRUMP PEOPLE/ANDY PUDZER: “Southern California fast-food executive Andy Puzder on Thursday [3-9-17] blamed Democrats for the collapse of his nomination to be Labor secretary, even though he admitted he withdrew after being informed there was not enough support among Senate Republicans to confirm him. ‘I think the big problem here was the left and the […]
3/09/2017
CABINET/KEYSTONE/PIPELINES/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has recused himself from application decisions on the Keystone XL pipeline amid pressure from some environmental groups. The State Department said Tuesday that Tillerson would ‘play no role in the deliberations or ultimate resolution’ of the application from TransCanada, the company seeking to build the international energy […]
3/09/2017
BUDGET/CABINET/HUD/TRUMP PEOPLE/BEN CARSON: “Housing Secretary Ben Carson sought Thursday [3-9-17] to reassure his agency that budget cuts may not be as steep as some fear, even as housing advocates and others brace for deep reductions to public housing and anti-poverty programs. The cuts said to be under consideration, more than $6 billion, would target community […]
3/09/2017
CABINET/CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “President Trump’s head of the Environmental Protection Agency says he does not believe that carbon dioxide is a major cause of global warming. ‘I would not agree that [CO2] is a primary contributor to the global warming that we see,’ Scott Pruitt said Thursday in an interview with CNBC’s Joe Kernen. […]
3/09/2017
CABINET/LABOR/TRUMP PEOPLE/ALEXANDER ACOSTA: “President Donald Trump’s nominee for labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, filed financial disclosure and ethics paperwork, clearing the way for his confirmation hearing Wednesday [3-8-17]. The paperwork released by the Office of Government Ethics on Thursday [3-9-17] showed an uncomplicated financial situation for the law school dean who served in three Senate-confirmed positions […]
3/08/2017
CABINET/SEC/TRUMP PEOPLE/JAY CLAYTON: “After spending years cultivating an elite roster of Wall Street and corporate clients, Jay Clayton will now be responsible for policing some of those same types of companies. Mr. Clayton, a longtime partner at the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell who is President Trump’s pick to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, […]
3/08/2017
CABINET/CONFLICT OF INTEREST/LEGAL/TRUMP PEOPLE/USDA/SONNY PERDUE: “In Sonny Perdue’s telling, Georgians were growing weary of the corruption and scandals in their state when he took over as governor in 2003 — a time when he gave his own version of a ‘drain the swamp’ pledge. Mr. Perdue is one of the last cabinet members awaiting Senate […]
3/08/2017
BUDGET/CABINET/TRUMP PEOPLE/MIKE MULVANEY: “Donald Trump said during his presidential campaign not to touch Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid, but Trump’s new budget director says he’s working on getting the president to ‘look at’ entitlement reform. ‘There are ways that we can not only allow the president to keep his promise but to help him keep […]
3/07/2017
CABINET/DHS/TRUMP PEOPLE/JOHN KELLY: “Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly confirmed that the department is considering separating children from their parents at the border. ‘We have tremendous experience of dealing with unaccompanied minors,’ he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on ‘The Situation Room.’ ‘We turn them over to (Health and Human Services) and they do a very, […]
3/6/2017
CABINET/HUD/TRUMP PEOPLE/BEN CARSON: “Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson referred to slaves as ‘immigrants’ while speaking Monday to department employees. ‘That’s what America is about, a land of dreams and opportunity,’ Carson said. ‘There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships, worked even longer, even harder for less. But […]
3/4/2017
CABINET/HHS/TRUMP PEOPLE/TOM PRICE: “What he said: During his confirmation hearings, Price told senators that the discount he received on a stock he bought was ‘available to every single individual that was an investor at the time.’ What really happened: The Wall Street Journal reported that only 20 people were offered the discount at the time.” […]
3/4/2017
CABINET/TREASURY/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVEN MNUCHIN: “What he said: In written testimony, Mnuchin denied that his former bank used ‘robo-signing’ to foreclose on homeowners. He wrote, ‘OneWest Bank did not *robo-sign* documents.’ What really happened: OneWest’s foreclosure practices included so-called robo-signings that pushed homeowners into foreclosure without proper review or due process. OneWest was one of many banks […]
3/4/2017
CABINET/EDUCATION/TRUMP PEOPLE/BETSY DEVOS: “What she said: DeVos said during her confirmation hearing that that she had not been involved in her family’s foundation, which has given millions of dollars to Focus on the Family, a conservative non-profit that, among other things, has pushed the benefits of conversion therapy for LGBT men and women. Democratic Sen. […]
3/4/2017
CABINET/EPA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “What he said: In his written testimony to Congress, Pruitt said he never used a private email address for business while he was Oklahoma’s attorney general. What really happened: A spokesman for the Oklahoma attorney general’s office told Oklahoma City’s Fox 25 that Pruitt used his personal email during his tenure in […]
3/3/2017
CABINET/POLITICS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “It is so pathetic that the Dems have still not approved my full Cabinet.” – Donald Trump, Twitter.com, March 3, 2017 07:19am […]
3/3/2017
CABINET/FOREIGN POLICY/STATE/REX TILLERSON: “In a possible sign of things to come, the State Department gave a decidedly low-key launch Friday [3-3-17] to its annual report on human rights worldwide. Normally the comprehensive report that looks at the human rights situation in nearly 200 countries and territories is released with a bit of fanfare. Some years, […]
3/3/2017
CABINET/FOREIGN POLICY/REX TILLERSON/STATE: “In a possible sign of things to come, the State Department gave a decidedly low-key launch Friday [3-3-17] to its annual report on human rights worldwide. Normally the comprehensive report that looks at the human rights situation in nearly 200 countries and territories is released with a bit of fanfare. Some years, […]
3/2/2017
CABINET/HUD/TRUMP PEOPLE/BEN CARSON: “The Senate on Thursday [3-2-17] confirmed Ben Carson as Housing and Urban Development secretary, placing the retired neurosurgeon in charge of a vast agency with critical roles combating poverty and financing home purchases. Mr. Carson, President Donald Trump’s rival during the early stages of the Republican primaries, was confirmed by a 58-41 […]
3/2/2017
CABINET/ENERGY/TRUMP PEOPLE/RICK PERRY: “The Senate on Thursday [3-2-17] confirmed Rick Perry to be President Donald Trump’s energy secretary, putting the former Texas governor in charge of government research into new energy technologies and protecting the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal. Mr. Perry, who was confirmed in a 62-37 vote, once said he wanted to eliminate the […]
2/28/2017
CABINET/COMMERCE/TRUMP PEOPLE/WILBUR ROSS: “Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross was sworn in as U.S. commerce secretary on Tuesday after helping shape Republican President Donald Trump’s opposition to multilateral trade deals. Vice President Mike Pence administered the oath of office to Ross, 79, a day after the U.S. Senate voted to confirm the corporate turnaround expert’s nomination, with […]
2/27/2017
CABINET/COMMERCE/TRUMP PEOPLE/WILBUR ROSS: “The Senate is expected to confirm Wilbur Ross as Commerce secretary Monday, an appointment key to allowing President Donald Trump to make progress on his campaign promise to overhaul U.S. trade policy. Mr. Trump rode a wave of economic discontent to the White House driven partly by his message that existing trade […]
2/26/2017
BUDGET/CABINET/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVEN MNUCHIN: “U.S. President Donald Trump’s first budget proposal will spare big social welfare programs such as Social Security and Medicare from any cuts, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in an interview broadcast on Sunday. Mnuchin said Trump would also use a major policy speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night […]
2/25/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/MCMASTER: “New national security adviser H.R. McMaster is already setting a strikingly different tone than his ousted predecessor, Michael Flynn, and President Donald Trump, saying the term ‘radical Islamic terrorism’ isn’t helpful for US goals. At an all-hands meeting of the National Security Council on Thursday, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster said jihadist terrorists […]
2/24/2017
CABINET/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: ” ‘Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda’ Under this order, each agency must designate an official as its Regulatory Reform Officer (RRO), who will be responsible for reviewing current regulations and making recommendations to the agency head on how to modify them. The RRO must hone in on certain regulations, such as those […]
2/23/2017
CABINET/EDUCATION/TRUMP PEOPLE/BETSY DEVOS: “The confirmation of Betsy DeVos as secretary of education was a signal moment for the school choice movement. For the first time, the nation’s highest education official is someone fully committed to making school vouchers and other market-oriented policies the centerpiece of education reform. But even as school choice is poised to […]
2/22/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/MCMASTER: “Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, President Trump’s new national security adviser, is considering a reorganization of the White House foreign policy team that would give him control of Homeland Security and guarantee full access to the military and intelligence agencies. Just days after arriving at the White House, Mr. McMaster is weighing […]
2/22/2017
CABINET/EPA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “During his tenure as attorney general of Oklahoma, Scott Pruitt, now the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, closely coordinated with major oil and gas producers, electric utilities and political groups with ties to the libertarian billionaire brothers Charles G. and David H. Koch to roll back environmental regulations, according to over 6,000 pages […]
2/22/2017
CABINET/TREASURY/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVEN MNUCHIN: “Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, in an exclusive interview with The Wall Street Journal, said the strong U.S. dollar is a reflection of confidence in the U.S. economy and its performance compared with the rest of the world and was a ‘good thing’ in the long run. The comments, made in his first […]
2/21/2017
CABINET/TREASURY/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVEN MNUCHIN: “U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged the International Monetary Fund [IMF] to use its surveillance powers to police the exchange-rate policies of its members, part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to challenge some of America’s biggest trading partners. Mr. Mnuchin told IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde in a telephone conversation on […]
2/21/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/MCMASTER: “President Donald Trump’s appointment of Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster to be his national security adviser is a brilliant decision. McMaster, 54, is the smartest and most capable military officer of his generation, one who has not only led American victories on the battlefields of the 1991 Gulf War and of the Iraq […]
2/21/2017
CABINET/DEFENSE/TRUMP PEOPLE/JAMES MATTIS: “Defense Secretary Jim Mattis appears to be at odds with President Donald Trump on Russia and other key issues, setting up potential discord but also helping to nudge the White House toward more conventional policy stances. In recent days, other top administration officials have aired foreign-policy views that don’t align perfectly with […]
2/20/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/MCMASTER: “Congratulations to our new National Security Advisor, General H.R. McMaster. Video: https://t.co/BKn9r225Kk https://t.co/VBXcJ1b6Pv” – Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 20, 2017 07:38pm […]
2/20/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/MCMASTER: “Just named General H.R. McMaster National Security Advisor.” – Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 20, 2017 04:00pm […]
2/19/2017
CABINET/ETHICS/TRUMP FAMILY/JARED KUSHNER: “The Trump administration has struggled with ethics vetting for Cabinet nominees and faced criticism for the president’s decision to remain invested in his business empire. When Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, prepared to enter the White House, however, the administration sought to do it by the book. That is the picture […]
2/19/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “President Donald Trump’s personal counsel, Michael Cohen, hand-delivered a ‘peace’ plan for Russia and Ukraine to former national security adviser Michael Flynn before Flynn was asked to resign, the New York Times reported on Sunday. The plan involved lifting sanctions on Russia in return for Moscow withdrawing its support for pro-Russia […]
2/17/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/NOMINATIONS: “General Keith Kellogg, who I have known for a long time, is very much in play for NSA – as are three others.” – Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 17, 2017 08:16am […]
2/17/2017
CABINET/EPA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “The Senate confirmed Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency, an agency Republicans desperately want to rein in after what they charge was eight years of dangerous activism under the Obama administration that hurt businesses, jobs and the economy. Pruitt maybe just the person to do it. As Oklahoma attorney general […]
2/16/2017
CABINET/LABOR/TRUMP PEOPLE/ALEXANDER ACOSTA: “President Trump moved quickly on Thursday [2-16-17] to replace his first choice for labor secretary, choosing R. Alexander Acosta, a Florida law school dean and former assistant attorney general for civil rights. Mr. Acosta would be the only Hispanic in Mr. Trump’s cabinet… In Mr. Acosta, Mr. Trump chose a nominee with […]
2/16/2017
BUDGET/CABINET/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICK MULVANEY: “A divided Senate confirmed Representative Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina to be President Trump’s budget director on Thursday, installing in his cabinet a fiscal hawk who will play a central role in the administration’s plans to reshape the federal government. Mr. Mulvaney was confirmed to lead the White House Office of Management […]
2/16/2017
CABINET/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump defended as highly effective his tenure so far in the White House, which has been marked by legal fights, West Wing power struggles, confrontations with U.S. allies, the withdrawal of one of his cabinet nominees, and the firing of his national security adviser after he misled the vice president […]
2/16/2017
CABINET/INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “The FBI is not expected to pursue any charges against former national security adviser Michael Flynn regarding a phone call with Russia’s ambassador, barring new information that changes what they know, law enforcement officials told CNN Thursday [2-16-17]. Flynn was fired by President Donald Trump earlier this week after it was […]
2/15/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “Federal agents questioned then-National Security Adviser Mike Flynn in January, shortly after the White House denied he had talked about sanctions with a Russian official, according to people familiar with the matter. The Federal Bureau of Investigation interview, which raises the legal stakes for Mr. Flynn and adds to the political […]
2/15/2017
CABINET/LABOR/TRUMP PEOPLE/ANDREW PUDZER: “Andrew Puzder has withdrawn as President Donald Trump’s choice for labor secretary. Puzder, the CEO of the company that owns the Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. fast food chains, faced fierce opposition mostly from Democrats in part related to his position on labor issues as well as the fact that he employed an […]
2/15/2017
CABINET/LABOR/TRUMP PEOPLE/ANDREW PUDZER: “Andy Puzder withdrew himself from consideration to become Labor secretary in a new personnel blow to the White House, after Republican support in the Senate disintegrated over personal issues that dogged the fast-food executive leading up to a planned confirmation hearing. His swift withdrawal came just a day after Mike Flynn, President […]
2/15/2017
CABINET/LABOR/TRUMP PEOPLE/ANDREW PUDZER: “Labor Secretary nominee Andrew Puzder’s confirmation could be in jeopardy following the release of a 1990 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show in which Puzder’s ex-wife makes claims of domestic abuse against him. A clip from the episode, which is currently being reviewed in the Senate, was published by Politico on Wednesday […]
2/15/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “Could Donald Trump’s latest scandal be as big as Watergate? Following revelations of Trump’s relationship with Russia, veteran news anchor Dan Rather says, this could be even bigger than Watergate. Taking to his Facebook, the former host of CBS Evening News writes that on a 1-10 scale of an […]
2/15/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “A bipartisan Senate duo is asking for the Justice Department to release details and transcripts that triggered the fall of Michael Flynn, the President Donald Trump’s national security adviser who was fired Monday. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Dianne Feinstein, the top Republican and Democrat respectively on the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote […]
2/14/2017
CABINET/EDUCATION/TRUMP PEOPLE/BETSY DEVOS: “Great parent-teacher listening session this morning with @VP Pence & @usedgov Secretary @BetsyDeVos. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opufN8wWBoo …” – Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 14, 2017 03:21pm […]
2/14/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “Phone records and intercepted calls show that members of Donald J. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and other Trump associates had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the election, according to four current and former American officials. American law enforcement and intelligence agencies intercepted the communications around […]
2/14/2017
CABINET/FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “The champagne toasts that some Russian officials quaffed just a few short months ago to celebrate the victory of Donald J. Trump have gone a bit flat. Euphoria was already starting to cede to caution before Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s national security adviser and a perceived friend of Russia, […]
2/14/2017
CABINET/ELIZABETH WARREN/LABOR/TRUMP PEOPLE/ANDREW PUDZER: “Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent Labor secretary nominee Andy Puzder a lengthy list of questions as top Senate Democrats trained their fire on the fast-food executive ahead of his confirmation hearing this week in hopes of knocking off the last of their top targets among President Trump’s Cabinet choices. Puzder, the […]
2/14/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “The White House sought Tuesday to quickly contain the fallout from the ouster of national security advisor Michael Flynn, but President Trump and top aides found themselves mired in further disarray as more details emerged that undermined their portrayal of the matter. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer contradicted assertions that […]
2/13/2017
CABINET/STEVE MNUCHIN/TREASURY: “Congratulations Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin! #ICYMI- watch here: https://t.co/RPsmw4yD7y https://t.co/K8tWLlXiYK” – Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 13, 2017 09:57pm […]
2/13/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “The White House is reviewing whether to retain national security adviser Mike Flynn amid a furor over his contacts with Russian officials before President Donald Trump took office, an administration official said Sunday. Mr. Flynn has apologized to White House colleagues over the episode, which has created a rift with Vice […]
2/13/2017
CANADA/JUSTIN TRUDEAU/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump said he seeks only modest changes in the U.S. trade relationship with Canada, pledging that the two nations would continue to work together on cross-border commerce and security issues. Following meetings on Monday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Mr. Trump said the U.S. would be ‘tweaking’ […]