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 […]
Category: A- Trump People
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 […]
5/3/2017
BUDGET/TREASURY/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVEN MNUCHIN: “A key advisory committee at the Treasury Department has advised that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s idea to create 50-year and 100-year U.S. bonds is unlikely to be successful. The Treasury’s Borrowing Advisory Committee, composed of representatives from some of the largest financial institutions that participate heavily in the bond market, told the […]
5/3/2017
BORDER/BUDGET/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICK MULVANEY: “White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said Tuesday [5-2-17] the White House plans to use monies in a border security spending increase to initiate construction of the border wall at the core of President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. Mulvaney said the Trump administration will use several hundred million dollars of a $1.5 […]
5/2/2017
ATTORNEY GENERAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SALLY YATES/MICHAEL FLYNN: “Former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates is expected to testify before Congress next week that she warned White House officials that former national security adviser Michael Flynn wasn’t being truthful when he denied having discussed U.S. sanctions with a top Russian diplomat, according to people familiar with her version of […]
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 […]
5/1/2017
OBAMA FAMILY/TRUMP PEOPLE/SUNNY PERDUE: “The Trump administration took aim Monday [5-1-17]at two signature programs of the former first lady Michelle Obama, rolling back her efforts to promote healthy school lunches nationwide and potentially rebranding her program to educate adolescent girls abroad. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that school meals would no longer have to meet […]
5/1/2017
ARMY/MILITARY/TRUMP PEOPLE/MARK GREEN: “President Donald Trump’s pick to be secretary of the Army, former army doctor Mark Green, is a self-identified ‘creationist’ who delivered a lecture arguing against the theory of evolution. Green’s views and past statements are facing scrutiny ahead of his confirmation hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. If confirmed, Green wouldn’t […]
5/1/2017
SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE/NEIL GORSUCH: “Justice Neil Gorsuch has been on the bench for less than a month and conservatives are already preparing for the next Supreme Court confirmation fight. The only hitch: there’s no vacancy. But that hasn’t stopped some Republicans, including President Donald Trump, from talking openly about a next seat and even possibly […]
4/30/2017
TRUMP PEOPLE/SEBASTIAN GORKA: “An adviser to President Donald Trump will be leaving the White House. A senior administration official says Sebastian Gorka, a former counterterrorism analyst for Fox News who joined the administration as a counterterrorism adviser, will be leaving the White House in the coming days. The official says that Gorka had initially been […]
4/28/2017
TRUMP PEOPLE/UN/NIKKI HALEY: “The United States ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki R. Haley, has often been the first, most outspoken member of the Trump administration to weigh in on key foreign policy issues, on everything from military strikes on Syria to sanctions against Russia and how to approach human rights. Much of that has […]
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 […]
4/28/2017
HHS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/CHARMAINE YOEST: “President Donald Trump on Friday [4-28-17] said he would name one of the most prominent anti-abortion activists in the nation to a top communications post at the Department of Health and Human Services. Charmaine Yoest, tapped to be to be assistant secretary of public affairs, is a senior fellow at […]
4/28/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/STATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “The Trump administration’s top diplomat said the US is willing to engage in talks with North Korea, even as President Donald Trump warned about the possibility of armed conflict with the nuclear-armed regime. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told NPR Thursday [4-27-17] that the US would be willing […]
4/28/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/STATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signaled on Friday [4-28-17] that the Trump administration may have finally accepted the one course of action that could stop North Korea’s nuclear threat to the world: direct talks. After months of US military posturing and shows of force met by North […]
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 […]
4/27/2017
LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “Former national security adviser Michael Flynn is in deep trouble. New revelations — first reported by CNN’s Manu Raju, Jim Sciutto and Tom LoBianco — make clear that the retired general was warned by the Defense Intelligence Agency, way back in 2014, not to accept money from foreign governments as he moved […]
4/27/2017
RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/CARTER PAGE: “A former Trump campaign adviser who is one of the central figures in the controversy over alleged ties between Russia and the campaign claims the allegations have led to significant violations of his civil rights. ‘I’ve been the victim of the one of the most horrendous civil rights violations in recent US […]
4/26/2017
INTERIOR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/RYAN ZINKE: “President Donald Trump is set to order the review of tens of millions of acres of land and water set aside as national monuments by the past three presidents on Wednesday, a move that environmental groups warn will undermine a crucial conservation tool and open up sensitive areas to fossil […]
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
ATTORNEY GENERAL/BORDER/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/WALL/JEFF SESSIONS: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Sunday he does not expect the Mexican government to outright pay for President Donald Trump’s border wall, but there are a number of ways to extract the billions of dollars needed to build it. Sessions made his comments in an appearance on ABC’s ‘This […]
4/24/2017
TRUMP PEOPLE/SEAN SPICER: “Weekday afternoons at 1:30, it’s the can’t-miss Sean Spicer Show. President Trump refuses to axe his harried, gaffe-prone press secretary because his daily briefings are ratings gold, an insider told the Washington Post for a story published Sunday. ‘I’m not firing Sean Spicer,’ Trump reportedly said during a White House lunch last […]
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 […]
4/24/2017
HHS/PUBLIC FIGURES/TRUMP PEOPLE/VIVEK MURTHY/TOM PRICE: “Surgeon General Vivek Murthy resigned at the request of the White House after assisting in the transition to the Trump administration. Dr. Murthy’s deputy, Rear Adm. Sylvia Trent-Adams, will assume the position of acting surgeon general. Trent-Adams, a 24-year veteran of the corps, also served as its chief nurse officer […]
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
ATTORNEY GENERAL/IMMIGRATION/SANCTUARY CITIES/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “The U.S. Justice Department has escalated its approach to so-called ‘sanctuary cities,’ writing at least eight jurisdictions Friday to put them on notice they could be failing to cooperate with immigration authorities. Alan Hanson, the acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s grant-making arm, warned the cities that they’re […]
4/21/2017
BUDGET/DEFENSE/MILITARY/TRUMP PEOPLE/JAMES MATTIS: “Defense Secretary James Mattis has privately told Congress the Trump administration’s Pentagon budget request isn’t sufficient to cover the cost of rebuilding the military as President Donald Trump has vowed to do, four sources familiar with the conversations told CNN. Trump has repeatedly said he would rebuild the military with a massive […]
4/21/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “When President Donald Trump travels to Southeast Asia this fall, he will likely be going without the help of one key adviser: a chief of protocol. Vice President Mike Pence announced Thursday that the President will attend two summits in the Philippines and one in Vietnam this November, and before that, […]
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
CONFLICT OF INTEREST/EPA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “Dow Chemical is pushing a Trump administration that’s open to scrapping regulations to ignore the findings of federal scientists who point to a family of widely used pesticides as harmful to about 1,800 critically threatened or endangered species. Lawyers representing Dow, whose CEO is a close adviser to President Donald […]
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
ATTORNEY GENERAL/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions said this week he was amazed that a judge in Hawaii could block President Donald Trump’s executive order halting immigration from several majority Muslim countries. Sessions made the comments in an interview with ‘The Mark Levin Show’ Tuesday [4-18-17] evening that was put online Wednesday. ‘We’ve got […]
4/20/2017
AMBASSADOR/FOREIGN POLICY/NEW ZEALAND/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT BROWN: “Scott Brown may soon be headed off to greener pastures. President Trump announced his intent to nominate Brown to be the next U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand on Thursday [4-20-17], offering him a plum ambassadorship to the kiwi country after Brown’s vocal 2016 campaign support. Brown, who served as senator […]
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
FBI/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/CARTER PAGE: “The FBI reportedly used the explosive, unverified dossier detailing President Donald Trump’s alleged ties to Russia to bolster its case for a warrant that would allow it to surveil Carter Page, an early foreign-policy adviser to Trump’s campaign. It’s a key signal that the FBI had enough confidence in the validity of […]
4/19/2017
FBI/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/CARTER PAGE: “Ever since F.B.I. investigators discovered in 2013 that a Russian spy was trying to recruit an American businessman named Carter Page, the bureau maintained an occasional interest in Mr. Page. So when he became a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign last year and gave a Russia-friendly speech at a prestigious […]
4/19/2017
ATTORNEY GENERAL/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “More than a month after Attorney General Jeff Sessions directed dozens of the country’s top federal prosecutors to immediately resign, not one of the 93 US attorney positions has been filled. ‘We really need to work hard at that,’ Sessions said Tuesday after being asked about the vacancies, The Washington Post […]
04/17/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Just as a grim-faced Vice President Mike Pence was alighting from his Blackhawk helicopter a mile from the Korean Demilitarized Zone on Sunday, his boss, President Donald Trump — fresh from Florida — was at home, tweeting. Ensconced with his family inside the White House after three nights at Mar-a-Lago, […]
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 […]
04/04/2017
POLITICS/SEC/TRUMP PEOPLE/JAY CLAYTON: “The Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday approved Jay Clayton to head the Securities and Exchange Commission in the Trump administration, sending the nominee to the Senate floor for a final vote. Mr. Clayton has called for scaling back regulations to prod more companies to go public while expressing skepticism that large corporate […]
04/13/2017
CAMPAIGN/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/CARTER PAGE: “Carter Page, an early foreign-policy adviser to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, on Thursday [4-13-17] said he ‘can’t definitively say’ the issue of US sanctions on Russia ‘was never raised by anyone’ while he was in Moscow last July. Page’s conversations with Russian officials last summer have come under scrutiny since an unverified […]
04/13/2017
RUSSIA/SYRIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/UN/NIKKI HALEY: “The UN Security Council failed Wednesday [4-12-17] to so much as condemn last week’s chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of people in Syria. Russia vetoed a UN resolution condemning the killings, believed to have been carried out with sarin gas, and calling on Moscow ally Syria to cooperate with an international […]
04/12/2017
RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/UKRAINE/PAUL MANAFORT: “Aug. 19 was an eventful day for Paul Manafort. That morning, he stepped down from guiding Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign, after a brief tenure during which Mr. Trump won the Republican nomination, Democrats’ emails were hacked and the campaign’s contacts with Russia came under scrutiny. Dogged by revelations about past financial […]
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 […]
04/14/2017
BORDER/DHS/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The Trump administration has begun the detail work of stiffening the country’s immigration infrastructure, according to an internal memo from the Department of Homeland Security, moving to speed the hiring of border agents, to find space to detain thousands more immigrants and to hasten deportation cases. Even as the federal courts trip up […]
04/12/2017
CAMPAIGN/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/WIRTAPPING/CARTER PAGE: “The Justice Department obtained a secret court-approved wiretap last summer on Carter Page, a foreign policy adviser to Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign, based on evidence that he was operating as a Russian agent, a government official said Wednesday [4-12-17]. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court issued the warrant, the official said, after […]
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 […]
04/12/2017
CAMPAIGN/FBI/TRUMP PEOPLE/CATER PAGE: “The FBI obtained a warrant to monitor President Donald Trump’s former campaign adviser, Carter Page, last summer on suspicions he knowingly engaged in clandestine intelligence activities on behalf of Moscow, The Washington Post is reporting. The FBI and Justice Department obtained a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant to monitor the communications of […]
04/12/2017
TRUMP PEOPLE/SEAN SPICER: “White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Wednesday [4-12-17] that his gaffe about Adolf Hitler’s use of gas had distracted from President Donald Trump’s accomplishments. ‘I’ve let the president down,’ Spicer told MSNBC’s Greta Van Susteren during a forum at Washington, D.C.’s Newseum. Spicer said he has not spoken to the president […]
04/12/2017
TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVE BANNON: “White House chief strategist Steve Bannon appears to be fighting for his political life following stunningly lukewarm comments about him from President Donald Trump on Tuesday. ‘I like Steve, but you have to remember he was not involved in my campaign until very late,’ Trump told New York Post columnist Michael Goodwin. […]
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
NANCY PELOSI/POLITICS/TRUMP PEOPLE/SEAN SPICER: “House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called for the firing of White House press secretary Sean Spicer following his comments he made Tuesday [4-11-17] at his briefing related to Adolf Hitler and the use chemical weapons. ‘While Jewish families across America celebrate Passover, the chief spokesman of this White House is downplaying […]
04/11/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/RUSSIA/STATE/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday [4-11-17] that Russia had information that the United States was planning to launch new missile strikes on Syria, and that there were plans to fake chemicals weapons attacks there. Putin was speaking hours before U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was due to […]
04/11/2017
RUSSIA/SYRIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SEAN SPICER: “White House press secretary Sean Spicer, in an effort to shame Russia’s alliance with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his use of chemical weapons, said Tuesday [4-11-17] Adolf Hitler ‘didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons’ during World War II. While Hitler did not use chemical weapons on the battlefield, Hitler and […]
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
ATTORNEY GENERAL/DOJ/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions directed attorneys from the Department of Justice on Tuesday [4-11-17] to increase the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws, including laws against unlawful entry, human smuggling and identity fraud. It was yet another escalation of the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants, and immigrant-rights groups blasted the policy […]
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 […]
04/11/2017
ATTORNEY GENERAL/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions directed federal prosecutors to pursue harsher charges against undocumented immigrants who commit crimes, or repeatedly cross into the U.S. illegally, and he promised to add 125 immigration judges in the next two years to address a backlog of immigration cases. The moves are part of the administration’s […]
04/11/2017
ATTORNEY GENERAL/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has dispensed with another federal feature designed to protect citizens from over-reach by government, perhaps giving context to the Trump administration’s vow to crack down on crime, one way or the other. Sessions announced yesterday [4-10-17] that his Justice Department will no longer require the services […]
04/10/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/SEAN SPICER: “White House press secretary Sean Spicer said twice Monday [4-10-17] that the Trump administration will respond if the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad uses barrel bombs against his own people, something that’s been a regular occurrence in the six-year civil war. ‘If you gas a baby, if you […]
4/10/2017
SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE/NEIL GORSUCH: “Congratulations to Justice Neil Gorsuch on his elevation to the United States Supreme Court. A great day for America! #SCOTUS https://t.co/RM9lfTaePS” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, April 10, 2017 04:59pm […]
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 […]
04/10/2017
SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE/NEIL GORSUCH: “Justice Neil Gorsuch has yet to hear his first case, but the partisan conflict over President Donald Trump’s nominee on the Supreme Court already has left a legacy on the federal judiciary, further blurring the line between law and politics. More than any appointment in recent memory, Justice Gorsuch’s was tied […]
04/10/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/RUSSIA/STATE/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/UN/REX TILLERSON/NIKKI HALEY: “Foreign ministers of leading US allies were meeting Monday [4-10-17] amid mixed signals from the Trump administration on the future of Syrian President President Bashar al-Assad. At a summit in Italy, foreign ministers of the G7 group of industrialized nations were expected to seek clarity from US Secretary […]
04/09/2017
POLITICS/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVE BANNON: “When Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump’s chief strategist, appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, he appeared to be at the height of his powers. Trump had pushed through an executive order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries. He had placed Bannon, controversially, on the National Security Council. Bannon and […]
04/09/2017
AMBASSADOR/NATIONAL SECURITY/SINGAPORE/TRUMP PEOPLE/KT MCFARLAND: “K.T. McFarland, the one-time top deputy to ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn, has accepted the US ambassadorship to Singapore and will likely leave the National Security Council in the coming months, a senior administration official has told CNN. ‘She is going to do it, assuming she gets confirmed,’ the official […]
4/8/2017
SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE/NEIL GORSUCH: “Judge Gorsuch will be sworn in at the Rose Garden of the White House on Monday [4-10-17] at 11:00 A.M. He will be a great Justice. Very proud of him!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, April 8, 2017 02:58pm […]
04/07/2017
SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE/NEIL GORSUCH: “The Senate handed President Donald Trump his biggest victory so far, confirming Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch after Republicans muscled past Democratic opposition with a unilateral rule change that may wind up poisoning the debate over the president’s agenda in Congress. With Vice President Mike Pence in the presiding officer’s chair, […]
04/06/2017
POLITICS/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVE BANNON: “The man credited with honing Donald Trump’s populist message and guiding him into the White House has grown frustrated amid continued infighting in the West Wing, so much so that in recent weeks a top donor had to convince him to stay in his position. Five people, including a senior administration official […]
04/06/2017
TRUMP FAMILY/TRUMP PEOPLE/JARED KUSHNER/STEVE BANNON: “Thick with tension, the conversation this week between Stephen K. Bannon, the chief White House strategist, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, had deteriorated to the point of breakdown. Finally, Mr. Bannon identified why they could not compromise, according to someone with knowledge of the conversation. ‘Here’s […]
04/06/2017
INTELLIGENCE/POLITICS/RUSSIA/DEVIN NUNES/MIKE CONAWAY: “Rep. Mike Conaway has been given the reins to the House intelligence committee’s fractured Russia investigation following chairman Rep. Devin Nunes’ announcement Thursday that he is temporarily stepping aside — but who is the man now tasked with getting things back on track after weeks of partisan conflict? A seven-term Republican representing […]
04/06/2017
POLITICS/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE/NEIL GORSUCH: “More than a year of tension over an empty Supreme Court seat comes to a dramatic climax Thursday [4-6-17], when both parties in the Senate are poised to take action leading to an outcome neither party wants. It’s a head-scratching situation loaded with nuance, procedural twists and Senate history — not […]
04/05/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/SYRIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/UN/NIKKI HALEY: “Holding photographs of dead Syrian children after a suspected chemical bomb attack, the United States ambassador to the United Nations warned on Wednesday [4-5-17] that her country might take unilateral action if the Security Council failed to respond to the latest atrocity in the Syria war. Facing her first serious Syria […]
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
SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE/NEIL GORSUCH; “It’s probably naive to think that there could be a nuanced conversation about Judge Neil Gorsuch’s citation of sources in his 2006 book, ‘The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia.’ But that’s precisely what we need. There’s no doubt that in at least one extended passage, Gorsuch, President Donald Trump’s nominee […]
04/05/2017
POLITICS/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE/NEIL GORSUCH: “Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley has ended his marathon speech on the Senate floor against President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch. The Oregon lawmaker yielded the floor at 10:15 a.m. Wednesday [4-5-17] — 15 hours after he began highlighting his party’s opposition to Gorsuch. During his attention-grabbing talk-a-thon, Merkley stood next […]
04/05/2017
POLITICS/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE/NEIL GORSUCH: “Senate Republicans took their first procedural step Tuesday [4-4-17] toward implementing the ‘nuclear option’ to get Judge Neil Gorsuch confirmed to the Supreme Court over Democratic opposition when Majority Leader Mitch McConnell moved to end debate on his nomination. A vote on that ‘cloture’ motion will take place Thursday. Democrats can […]
04/05/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVE BANNON: “Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump’s chief strategist, has been removed from the National Security Council, according to a senior administration official. An official says Bannon was only on board to oversee now-ousted National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s work to ‘deoperationalize’ the National Security Council from the broad purview it had under […]
04/05/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVE BANNON: “President Trump’s decision to remove chief strategist Steve Bannon from the National Security Council’s principals committee suggests a potentially significant change in the power balance among the four top White House advisers. Bannon’s placement on the principals committee at the start of the Trump administration drew criticism not only from Democrats […]
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 […]
04/04/2017
ATTORNEY GENERAL/POLICE/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ordered a sweeping review of federal agreements with dozens of law enforcement agencies, an examination that reflects President Trump’s emphasis on law and order and could lead to a retreat on consent decrees with troubled police departments nationwide. In a memorandum dated March 31 and made […]
04/04/2017
EDUCATION/TRUMP PEOPLE/CARLOS G MUNIZ/CANDICE E. JACKSON: “A lawyer who represented Florida State University in an explosive sexual assault case and another lawyer who during the 2016 presidential campaign accused Hillary Clinton of enabling sexual predators have been chosen for key roles in the Department of Education, raising fears that the agency could pull back from […]
04/04/2017
INTELLIGENCE/LEGAL/TRUMP PEOPLE/RUSSIA: “Carter Page, who served briefly as a foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, made an appearance in a federal espionage case several years ago because he communicated with a Russian intelligence agent under surveillance by the FBI. In a statement released Tuesday [4-4-17], Page confirmed his role in the 2015 Justice […]
04/04/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/UN/NIKKI HALEY: “The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has condemned Syrian strongman Bashar Assad for being ‘a war criminal’ who’s done ‘disgusting’ things to his own people. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s made the comments at the U.N. headquarters in New York City on Monday during a press conference held to mark […]
04/04/2017
MEDIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SEAN SPICER: “Veteran radio reporter April Ryan’s run-ins with the White House in recent weeks have turned her into a kind of symbol. But it’s not exactly clear what kind. After press secretary Sean Spicer responded sharply to Ryan’s question at a daily briefing last week, Hillary Clinton suggested the episode demonstrates how women […]
04/03/2017
POLITICS/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE/NEIL GORSUCH: “The Supreme Court agreed to consider whether corporations can be sued by foreign individuals in U.S. courts for alleged violations of international law, including giving aid to terrorists. The high court on Monday said it would review an appeal by citizens of Israel and other nations who filed U.S. lawsuits against […]
04/03/2017
POLITICS/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE/NEIL GORSUCH: “Four Senate Democrats announced Monday [4-3-17] they plan to oppose Neil Gorsuch, bringing the Democratic caucus to the 41 votes needed to sustain a filibuster against the Supreme Court nominee. The announcement sets Republicans up to change Senate rules — referred to as the ‘nuclear option’ — to lowering the threshold […]
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 […]
04/02/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, failed to disclose payments from a Russian television network and a second firm linked to Russia in a February financial disclosure form, according to documents released by the White House on Saturday [4-2-17]. In a financial disclosure form signed by Flynn on […]
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 […]
3/31/2017
LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday supported the decision of his former national security adviser to seek immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony in congressional probes of possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Retired General Michael Flynn wants protection against ‘unfair prosecution’ if he testifies before […]
3/31/2017
INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “Mike Flynn should ask for immunity in that this is a witch hunt (excuse for big election loss), by media & Dems, of historic proportion!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, March 31, 2017 06:04am […]
03/31/2017
NATO/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “The top U.S. diplomat and the Pentagon’s chief stressed the importance of NATO and criticized Russia for aggression and meddling in other countries’ POLICY, easing European allies’ concerns about President Donald Trump’s commitment to trans-Atlantic security. In his first appearance at a meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Secretary of State […]
03/30/2017
SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE/NEIL GORSUCH: “Two Democratic senators from solidly Republican states announced their support on Thursday [3-30-17] for President Trump’s Supreme Court pick, Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, giving the nominee a measure of bipartisan sheen but doing little to dissuade leading Democrats from planning to block him. The lawmakers — Senator Joe Manchin III of […]
3/30/2017
TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “On the fourth floor of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the staff of the White House chief technology officer has been virtually deleted, down from 24 members before the election to, by Friday [3-31-17], only one. Scores of departures by scientists and Silicon Valley technology experts who advised Mr. Trump’s predecessor […]
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 […]