2/13/2017

CABINET/COMMERCE/TRUMP PEOPLE/WILBUR ROSS: “Wilbur Ross Jr. plans to keep millions of dollars invested in offshore entities whose values could be affected by policies that he implements as commerce secretary… But he plans to hold on to investments in an oil-tanker company and 10 other entities that invest in shipping and real-estate financing, according to federal […]

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2/13/2017

CABINET/STEVE MNUCHIN/TREASURY: “Following a bruising confirmation battle that centered on his actions as head of Pasadena’s OneWest Bank, Wall Street executive Steven T. Mnuchin was narrowly confirmed by the Senate as Treasury secretary on Monday. Mnuchin becomes one of President Trump’s top Cabinet officers. He immediately faces a packed agenda. The wealthy hedge fund manager […]

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2/13/2017

CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “Michael Flynn resigned late Monday as President Trump’s national security advisor, following mounting scrutiny over his conflicting accounts of contacts with a Russian diplomat and his admission that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about the matter. Flynn’s departure, which came after several days in which Trump conspicuously refused to […]

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2/12/2017

CABINET/EDUCATION/TRUMP PEOPLE/BETSY DEVOS: “The confirmation hearings for Betsy DeVos provided an inordinate amount of drama: guns and grizzlies, an all-night talkathon on the Senate floor, and Vice President Mike Pence’s tie-breaking vote — and with good reason. DeVos, now confirmed as secretary of Education, is not just another inexperienced member of the president’s Cabinet. She […]

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2/12/2017

CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/MICHAEL FLYNN: “The ominous silence around the Trump administration’s national security advisor, retired Gen. Michael T. Flynn, deepened Sunday as a senior White House official in a televised interview declined to say if the president still has confidence in him. ‘That’s the question that I think you should ask the president, the question you […]

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2/12/2017

CABINET/LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “It turns out, being the commander in chief may not what President Donald Trump thought it would be. Politico reports that aides to the president and close allies say that he is becoming frustrated with the challenges of being the most powerful man in the world. That includes everything from congressional fights […]

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2/10/2017

CABINET/MICHAEL FLYNN/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA: “White House National Security Adviser Mike Flynn discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with that country’s ambassador to the U.S. before President Donald Trump took office, current and former American officials said, citing transcripts of intercepted communications that contradict his repeated assurances that the subject hadn’t come up in a series of phone […]

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2/9/2017

CABINET/HHS/TRUMP PEOPLE/TOM PRICE: “The Senate is expected to confirm House Budget Chairman Tom Price (R., Ga.), President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, in a party-line vote in the early-morning hours Friday, placing him atop a sprawling agency tasked with dismantling the Affordable Care Act. His confirmation would boost […]

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2/9/2017

CABINET/STEVE MNUCHIN/TREASURY: “The newly christened ‘Mnuchin rule’ — the assurance given by the Treasury nominee Steven T. Mnuchin that ‘there would be no absolute tax cut for the upper class’ — seems as if it was made to be broken. Mr. Mnuchin initially made the statement during an interview on CNBC in November, after President […]

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2/8/2017

CABINET/LABOR/TRUMP PEOPLE/ANDREW PUZDER: “Labor secretary nominee Andy Puzder pledged that, if confirmed, he would divest his multimillion-dollar stake in CKE Restaurants Inc. — the fast food company he has headed since 2000 — and sell a wide array of other holdings, according to federal financial disclosure and ethics forms. Puzder also promised not to participate […]

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2/7/2017

CABINET: “It is a disgrace that my full Cabinet is still not in place, the longest such delay in the history of our country. Obstruction by Democrats!”  – Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 7, 2017 08:04pm […]

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2/7/2017

CABINET/EDUCATION/TRUMP PEOPLE/BETSY DEVOS: “Phone calls jammed congressional switchboards. Two Republican senators defected. Democrats held a last-ditch, 24-hour Senate debate in hope of shaking loose one additional vote. But the effort was not enough to prevent Betsy DeVos from becoming U.S. secretary of Education. DeVos squeaked through the confirmation process Tuesday with the tie-breaking vote of […]

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2/6/2017

CABINET/EDUCATION/BETSY DEVOS: “Betsy DeVos lacks basic knowledge of American schools and should not be confirmed as secretary of Education, Sen. Kamala Harris said Monday night as Democrats made a last-ditch effort to sink DeVos’ nomination… After watching DeVos’ confirmation hearing, Harris said, ‘It was clear Ms. DeVos didn’t know the difference between two basic theories […]

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2/3/2017

CABINET/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Vincent Viola, a billionaire Wall Street trader and President Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Army, abruptly withdrew his name for the post on Friday night after concluding it would be too difficult to untangle himself from his business ties, two government officials said… A former Pentagon official and close friend said Mr. […]

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2/3/2017

CABINET/FOREIGN POLICY/JAMES MATTIS/NORTH KOREA: “U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis promised an ‘effective and overwhelming’ response to any use of nuclear weapons against America or its allies, delivering a firm message to North Korea during his first overseas trip. Mr. Mattis said during a meeting Friday with South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo that the U.S.’s […]

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2/3/2017

CABINET/TREASURY/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVE MNUCHIN: “President Trump’s Treasury secretary nominee, Steven Mnuchin, has been sued again by a film financier that accuses Mnuchin and others of fraud related to the collapse of movie and TV company Relativity Media.  RKA Film Financing, in an amended complaint filed Thursday in New York County Supreme Court, renewed its claim that […]

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1/23/2017

CABINET/COMMERCE/WILLBUR ROSS: “Willbur Ross [Net Worth $2.5 Billion] Commerce. The ‘king of bankruptcy’ made his fortune accquiring and restructuring failing companies.”  – Abigail Abrams, “Trump’s Gilded Team,” Time Magazine, Jan 23, 2017 […]

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1/10/2017

CABINET/DHS/JOHN KELLY/WALL: “John Kelly, the president-elect’s choice to head the Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for guarding the nation’s borders, said Tuesday that a wall won’t solve the problem… ‘A physical barrier in and of itself will not do the job,’ Kelly told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. ‘It has […]

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3/10/2016

ATTORNEY GENERAL/CABINET: “Mr. Sessions, a Methodist of deep faith, has argued that the Establishment Clause of the Constitution has been overinterpreted and the Free Exercise Clause has been ignored. The result, he said, is the unnecessary prohibition of expressions of faith in public spaces. [On 3-10-16 during a Senate Speech Jeff Sessions said] ‘The Constitution says we […]

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1/27/2015

ATTORNEY GENERAL/CABINET: “Mr. Sessions has questioned the science behind global warming and argued that proposed policies to address it would hurt the economy. [During the Senator’s 1-27-15 Senate Speech he said] ‘They claim the science of global warming is settled, but I suggest questions remain.’ “  – “Jeff Sessions, in His Own Words,” New York Times, Jan […]

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1/6/2011

ATTORNEY GENERAL/CABINET/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “Mr. Sessions opposes using federal courts to prosecute Qaeda suspects. He supports holding those suspected of terroism at the military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. [In his 1-6-11 Press Release the Senator stated] ‘The president’s pledge to shutter Gitmo was built on the naïve premise that softening America’s image would somehow soften […]

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2/8/2008

ATTORNEY GENERAL/CABINET/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “Like President-elect Trump, Mr. Sessions has defended waterboarding as a useful interrogation tactic, even in the face of a Senate investigation that declared otherwise. [Senator Sessions’ statement in is 2-8-08 Senate Speech] ‘It worked. I hate to say, it worked.’ ”  – Matt Apuzzo, “Jeff Sessions, in His Own Words,” New York Times, […]

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6/27/2006

ATTORNEY GENERAL/CABINET/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “Mr. Sessions supported a constitutional amendment that would have banned burning the American flag. [In Senator Sessions stated in his 6-27-06 Senate Speech] ‘Some would say: Well, you want to limit free speech when you want to stop burning the flag. Now, it is true that the Supreme Court, by a 5-to-4 […]

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12/15/2005

ATTORNEY GENERAL/CABINET/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “Mr. Sessions strongly supports the USA Patriot Act, which he said provided necessary, common-sense powers for fighting terrorism. He defended President George W. Bush’s warrantless wiretapping and opposed changing surveillance laws after Edward J. Snowden’s revelations. [In his Senate Speech on 12-15-05, Senator Sessions said] ‘The provisions in the Patriot Act are […]

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4/28/1999

ATTORNEY GENERAL/CABINET/JEFF SESSIONS: “Mr. Sessions has received A+ ratings from the National Rifle Association. He has opposed expanding background checks and requiring trigger locks. He argues for aggressive enforcement of existing criminal gun laws. [In his Senate Speech on 4-28-1999, following the Columbine Massacre, he stated] ‘It is hypocritical and really dishonest for the president to […]

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