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.’ […]
Category: A- Trump People
3/29/2017
PHARMA/POLITICS/TRUMP PEOPLE/CHRIS CHRISTIE: “New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will take on an advisory role to help figure out ways the Trump administration can fight the opioid epidemic. Christie told ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ on Wednesday [3-29-17] that as chair of a special commission he will ‘take a look at what we are doing across the […]
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 […]
3/27/2017
ATTORNEY GENERAL/IMMIGRATION/SANCTUARY CITIES/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Monday [3-27-17] that cities and states that protect immigrant felons from federal immigration laws may see cuts in grants from the Justice Department. ‘Failure to deport aliens who are convicted of criminal offenses puts whole communities at risk, especially immigrant communities in the […]
03/30/2017
TRUMP PEOPLE/KATIE WALSH: “Katie Walsh, the White House deputy chief of staff and one of the only women working in a senior role in the West Wing, is moving on, her now-former boss Reince Priebus said Thursday. The former RNC staffer was the top aide for Priebus, the White House chief of staff, who tried […]
3/30/2017
LEGAL/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVE BANNON: “White House chief strategist Steve Bannon won’t face any criminal charges related to his mysterious voter registration in Miami-Dade County. Prosecutors announced Thursday that they could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Bannon, President Donald Trump’s special assistant, broke the law when he signed up to vote in Miami-Dade County after […]
3/30/2017
PLANNED PARENTHOOD/TRUMP PEOPLE/MIKE PENCE: “With a rare tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence, the Senate on Thursday sent a bill to President Donald Trump’s desk giving states permission to withhold federal family planning funds from Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers. Pence and Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson, who is recovering from back surgery and […]
3/30/2017
BUDGET/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVE BANNON: “Donald Trump’s budget proposal was a statement of intent. And his actions this week were a down payment. The warning to Americans from the government is clear: your national defense will be well-funded and your security will be a priority, but for benefits beyond the most basic services, don’t count […]
3/27/2017
AIR FORCE/MILITARY/TRUMP PEOPLE/HEATHER WILSON: “The third time seems to be the charm for President Donald Trump’s military service nominees. After Trump’s picks for Army and Navy secretary both withdrew amid problems with their financial vetting, Air Force secretary nominee Heather Wilson is moving forward with her confirmation. The Senate Armed Services Committee has scheduled a […]
3/27/2017
INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/ROGER STONE: “Two former advisers to President Donald Trump said Friday that they’re willing to speak to the House Intelligence Committee about their role in Trump’s campaign for the committee’s investigation into Russian meddling in the US election. The attorney for former Trump adviser Roger Stone is informing the committee that his client is […]
3/27/2017
SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE/NEIL GORSUCH: “Delaware Sen. Chris Coons said he doubts Neil Gorsuch will get the necessary 60 votes in the Senate to be confirmed to the Supreme Court, and that he is bracing for Republicans to go for the so-called nuclear option to push the Trump administration’s pick through without any support from Democrats. […]
3/26/2017
INTELLIGENCE/OBAMA/WIRETAPPING/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/REINCE PRIEBUS: “Fox News anchor Chris Wallace pressed White House chief of staff Reince Priebus on Sunday over President Donald Trump’s baseless claim that President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential campaign. In an interview on ‘Fox News Sunday,’ Wallace asked Priebus whether Trump accepted the conclusion from law […]
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
INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/PAUL MANAFORT: “Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman has agreed to an interview with the House committee probing alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. Paul Manafort, who served as Mr. Trump’s campaign chairman and ran the day-to-day operations of the campaign for about five months, agreed through an attorney to speak with the House […]
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 […]
3/28/2017
ATTORNEY GENERAL/MIKE PENCE/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “It was an honor to welcome @GLFOP to the @WhiteHouse today with @VP Pence & Attorney General Sessions. THANK YOU for all you do 24/7/365! https://t.co/VHzTB4c69h” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, March 28, 2017 03:57pm […]
3/23/2017
FBI/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The FBI has information that indicates associates of President Donald Trump communicated with suspected Russian operatives to possibly coordinate the release of information damaging to Hillary Clinton’s campaign, US officials told CNN. This is partly what FBI Director James Comey was referring to when he made a bombshell announcement Monday [3-20-17] before Congress […]
3/23/2017
AMBASSADOR/ISRAEL/TRUMP PEOPLE/DAVID FRIEDMAN: “The U.S. Senate on Thursday [3-23-17] narrowly confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee to be ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, an outspoken bankruptcy lawyer aligned with the Israeli right. The vote was 52 to 46, with almost every Senate Democrat voting against Friedman.” –Patricia Zengerle, “Senate confirms Trump nominee to be Israel envoy,” […]
3/23/2017
POLITICS/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE/NEIL GORSUCH: “The top U.S. Senate Democrat on Thursday [3-23-17] pledged to pursue a procedural hurdle to try to block the confirmation of Republican President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, a move that could provoke a nasty partisan fight and change the way the Senate does business. Republicans hold a 52-48 […]
3/22/2017
SECRET SERVICE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “In the century or so since Congress first assigned the Secret Service the task of protecting the president of the United States, its top job has always gone to an agency veteran. Like so many things in the Trump era, that may soon change. Aides to President Trump are narrowing […]
3/21/2017
LEGAL/TORTURE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/NEIL GORSUCH: “Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has suggested that President Trump ‘may get impeached’ if he tries to reauthorize waterboarding, reports the Washington Post. During a hearing for Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, Graham asked Gorsuch in reference to Trump, “You have said several times he is not above the law as […]
3/21/2017
SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE/NEIL GORSUCH: “Gorsuch spent a bulk of the time trying to prove his judicial independence and said the Trump administration never asked him to make promises to rule certain ways on certain decisions. Asked specifically if he was asked to overrule Roe v. Wade, Gorsuch said no. He was further pressed on what […]
3/21/2017
SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE/NEIL GORSUCH: “…Gorsuch appeared to distance himself from the President’s previous comments calling for the reinstatement of torture. Asked by Leahy whether he thinks the President has the right to authorize torture if it violates law, Gorsuch ticked off a list of precedents that ban torture. ‘We have a convention against torture and […]
3/21/2017
OBAMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Let’s all agree that no other person ever elected President would have hurled a charge that his predecessor wiretapped him. Especially not in a tweet that referred to a former President this way: ‘This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!’ But as his supporters like to say, Donald Trump is no […]
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 […]
3/21/2017
CAMPAIGN/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/UKRAINE/PAUL MANAFORT: “US President Donald Trump’s ex-campaign chair Paul Manafort is facing fresh allegations over his links to former pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Ukrainian lawmaker Sergii Leshchenko claims a document found in a safe in Kiev may be evidence that Manafort tried to mask payments to him from Yanukovych’s party. The claim comes […]
3/20/2017
CONFLICT OF INTEREST/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/KELLYANNE CONWAY/GEORGE CONWAY: “President Trump is expected to nominate the husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, to run the Justice Department’s civil division, two sources familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN. If confirmed by the Senate, George Conway would lead an office that would handle legal challenges to major […]
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 […]
3/18/2017
TRUMP PEOPLE/SEAN SPICER: “White House press secretary Sean Spicer flatly denied Friday [3-17-17] that the White House apologized to the British government after citing an uncorroborated Fox News report to allege that a UK intelligence agency spied on President Donald Trump at the behest of former President Barack Obama. Earlier in the day, however, a […]
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 […]
3/16/17
NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, was paid more than $33,750 by Russia’s state-run broadcaster RT TV-Russia for a speech in Moscow in December 2015, a top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee has learned. The US intelligence community has long assessed RT to be […]
3/13/2017
OBAMA/TRUMP PEOPLE/WIRETAPPING/KELLYANNE CONWAY: “White House adviser Kellyanne Conway is denying she suggested there was wider surveillance of President Donald Trump during the campaign, telling CNN Monday that her comments in a recent interview were taken out of context. Sunday night, Conway appeared to expand Trump’s allegations that the Obama administration wiretapped his phones at Trump […]
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 […]
3/13/2017
TRUMP PEOPLE/JARED KUSHNER: “A company owned by the family of Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, stands to receive over $400 million from China’s Anbang Insurance Group, that is investing in a Manhattan building owned by the Kushners, Bloomberg reported. Details of the agreement are being circulated to attract additional investors, Bloomberg reported on […]
3/13/2017
SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE/NEIL GORSUCH: “Corporate tool. Enemy of disabled people. Deferential to the privileged, including the man who chose him. One week before Judge Neil M. Gorsuch is to sit for his Supreme Court confirmation hearing, Democrats have zeroed in on their most prominent planned line of attack: Judge Gorsuch’s rulings have favored the powerful […]
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
ATTORNEY GENERAL/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions asked Friday [3-10-17] for the resignations of dozens of politically appointed U.S. attorneys held over from the Obama administration, the Justice Department said. Sessions wanted ‘to ensure a uniform transition’ to the Trump administration, spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said in a statement. ‘Until the new U.S. attorneys […]
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 […]
3/10/2017
ATTORNEY GENERAL/LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “The American Civil Liberties Union has filed an ethics complaint against Attorney General Jeff Sessions over his testimony to a Senate committee that he had no communications with the Russian government. The complaint, filed with the Alabama State Bar’s disciplinary commission, comes less than two weeks after The Washington Post revealed […]
3/10/2017
ATTORNEY GENERAL/GUANTANAMO/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions thinks Guantanamo Bay is a ‘very fine place’ to send recently captured terrorists, and said he’d recommend President Trump to do so. The top law enforcement official added he was opposed to shuttering the controversial Cuban prison — a staple promise of the previous administration that never […]
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
FREC/TRUMP PEOPLE/ROBERT POWELSON/KEVIN MCINTYRE/NEIL CHATTERJEE: “President Donald Trump will soon nominate three new commissioners to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [FREC], which has been unable to conduct most business because it has too few leaders, according to multiple people familiar with the move. Mr. Trump is poised to tap Robert Powelson, a member of the […]
3/09/2017
CONFLICT OF INTEREST/ETHICS/TRUMP PEOPLE/IVANKA/KELLYANNE CONWAY: “The Office of Government Ethics isn’t happy with the White House’s decision not to punish top aide Kellyanne Conway for plugging Ivanka Trump’s products in a TV interview. OGE Director Walter Shaub told the White House in a letter Thursday [3-9-17] that he remains concerned with Conway’s ‘misuse of position.’… […]
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
AMBASSADOR/ISRAEL/TRUMP PEOPLE/DAVID FRIEDMAN: “Over considerable opposition, a Republican-controlled Senate panel Thursday [3-9-17] approved President Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Israel. The nomination of David Friedman, Trump’s long-time bankruptcy lawyer, now faces a final vote in the full Senate. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 12-9 to advance Friedman, despite statements he has made attacking liberal […]
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 […]
3/09/2017
AMBASSADOR/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/JON HUNTSMAN: “Former Utah governor and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman has accepted President Donald Trump’s offer to serve as the next ambassador to Russia, several senior administration officials told CNN. If confirmed, Huntsman would become one of the highest-profile US ambassadors, helming the diplomatic mission to a country that has seen its […]
3/08/2017
CONFLICT OF INTEREST/LEGAL/LOBBYING/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “POLITICO reported in November that Flynn’s consulting firm, Flynn Intel Group, was lobbying for a Dutch consulting firm with ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The new documents confirm that Flynn lobbied for the Turkish-linked firm, Inovo BV, before and immediately after the election. They also reveal that […]
3/08/2017
BUDGET/EPA/TRUMP PEOPLE/SCOTT PRUITT: “President Donald Trump pushed his White House team on Wednesday [3-8-17] to craft a plan for $1 trillion in infrastructure spending that would pressure states to streamline local permitting, favor renovation of existing roads and highways over new construction and prioritize projects that can quickly begin construction. Mr. Trump said he would […]
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
ETHICS/LEGAL/TRUMP PEOPLE/MONICA CROWLEY: “Monica Crowley backed away from a top national security spot for Donald Trump after plagiarism reports surfaced in January. She has now spoken publicly for the first time during an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity. In doing so, Crowley called herself a victim of a ‘political hit job.’ Controversy arose when […]
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 […]
3/6/2017
2016 ELECTION/OBAMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/WIRETAPPING/KELLYANNE CONWAY: “President Donald Trump’s top communications officials are vaguely suggesting that the president possesses classified information supporting his thus-far unsubstantiated accusation that President Barack Obama ordered wiretaps of Trump’s phones during the 2016 presidential campaign. Appearing on ‘Fox and Friends’ on Monday, Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway was asked how the […]
3/6/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/ROGER STONE: “Former Trump campaign advisor Roger Stone admitted that he had a ‘perfectly legal back channel’ to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. The Huffington Post reports that Stone, a close friend of President Donald Trump tweeted the statement, then deleted it on Saturday. Stone denied having direct contact with Assange but said in […]
3/6/2017
LEGAL/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “Sessions’ recusal in the Russian case places the investigation for now in the hands of Dana Boente, a career prosecutor and the acting deputy attorney general. Before Sessions was sworn into office, Boente briefly served as acting attorney general after Trump fired his predecessor, Sally Yates, for refusing to defend the […]
3/4/2017
ATTORNEY GENERAL/OBAMA/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “Just out: The same Russian Ambassador that met Jeff Sessions visited the Obama White House 22 times, and 4 times last year alone.” – Donald Trump, Twitter.com, March 4, 2017 06:42am […]
3/4/2017
ATTORNEY GENERAL/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “The first meeting Jeff Sessions had with the Russian Amb was set up by the Obama Administration under education program for 100 Ambs…” – Donald Trump, Twitter.com, March 4, 2017 06:26am […]
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/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 […]
3/3/2017
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
INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/RUSSIA: “President Donald Trump’s senior aide Jared Kushner and ousted adviser Michael Flynn met with the Russian ambassador to the United States at a time when the Trump administration’s relationship with the Russians was under close scrutiny. Kushner and Flynn sat down in December at Trump Tower with Sergey Kislyak, according to a […]
3/2/2017
ATTORNEY GENERAL/LEGAL/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “Jeff Sessions is an honest man. He did not say anything wrong. He could have stated his response more accurately, but it was clearly not…intentional. This whole narrative is a way of saving face for Democrats losing an election that everyone thought they were supposed…to win. The Democrats are overplaying […]
3/2/2017
ATTORNEY GENERAL/FBI/INTELLIGENCE/LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions met twice last year with the top Russian diplomat in Washington whose interactions with President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn led to Flynn’s firing, according to the Justice Department. Sessions did not mention either meeting during his confirmation hearings when he said he knew […]
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 […]
3/2/2017
ATTORNEY GENERAL/FBI/INTELLIGENCE/LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “Sen. Lindsey Graham said Wednesday if the FBI determines that President Donald Trump’s campaign illegally coordinated with Russia, Attorney General Jeff Sessions should recuse himself from making the decision whether to pursue prosecutions. Sessions, a Trump appointee, ‘cannot make this decision,’ Graham said. But Graham deflected a question about a Washington […]
3/2/2017
FBI/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/FELIX SATER: “Working from a 24th-floor office in Manhattan’s Trump Tower, Felix Sater spent years trying to line up lucrative deals in the United States, Russia and elsewhere in Europe with Donald Trump’s real estate organization. For much of that time, according to court records and U.S. officials, Sater also worked as a confidential […]
3/2/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/FIONA HILL: “The White House has tapped Fiona Hill, a highly regarded Russia scholar, to be the National Security Council’s senior director for Europe and Russia, an administration official said. The Trump administration’s selection of Ms. Hill would bring a top expert with a sober view of Russian President Vladimir Putin […]
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 […]
2/28/2017
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/DAN COATS: “Dan Coats, President Trump’s nominee to head the U.S. intelligence community, said at his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday [2-28-17] that he believes Russia attempted to meddle in last year’s presidential race, putting him potentially at odds with the White House. Russia ‘definitely did try to influence the campaign,’ said Coats, […]
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
TRUMP PEOPLE/NAVY: “President Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Navy, Philip Bilden, has withdrawn his name from consideration, Bilden and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said Sunday in statements. Both Bilden’s and Mattis’ statements said Bilden’s business interests created complications. He recently retired from a private equity investment management firm, according to a White House […]
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 […]
2/23/2017
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 […]
2/23/2017
TRUMP PEOPLE/KELLYANNE CONWAY: “President Trump’s senior adviser denied a CNN report claiming she was ‘sidelined’ for a week on Wednesday night, saying somebody is ‘trying to stir up trouble.’ The former Trump campaign manage turned pseudo-White House-spokeswoman found herself in hot water last week when she told MSNBC that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn […]
2/23/2017
ATTORNEY GENERAL/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday withdrew an Obama-era Justice Department memo that set a goal of reducing and ultimately ending the Justice Department’s use of private prisons. In a one-page memo to the acting head of the Bureau of Prisons, Sessions wrote that the August 2016 memo by former Deputy […]
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
TRUMP PEOPLE/KELLYANNE CONWAY: “Kellyanne Conway, once the most visible spokesperson for the Trump White House, has been sidelined from television appearances for making statements that were at odds with the administration’s official stance, White House sources told CNNMoney on Wednesday [2-22-17]. Conway has not given a television interview since early last week. On that Monday […]
2/22/2017
TRUMP PEOPLE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s former campaign staffers claim they cracked the code for tamping down his most inflammatory tweets, and they say the current West Wing staff would do well to take note. The key to keeping Trump’s Twitter habit under control, according to six former campaign officials, is to ensure that […]
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
NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/SEAN SPICER: “White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday that if President Donald Trump’s newly appointed national security adviser wanted to remove chief strategist Steve Bannon from the National Security Council’s principals committee, the president would ‘take that under serious consideration.’ ‘The president has made clear to him he’s got full authority […]
2/21/2017
TRAVEL BAN/TRUMP PEOPLE/SEAN SPICER: “White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Tuesday contradicted a Justice Department court filing on President Donald Trump’s plans to rescind his executive order on visas and refugees, saying the original ban wouldn’t be revoked as another one is issued. At a White House press briefing, Mr. Spicer said the president […]
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 […]
2/20/2017
TRUMP PEOPLE/REINCE PRIEBUS: “White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said Sunday there was no collusion between anyone involved in President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russian officials. Priebus, in an interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace, also offered the closest thing to an official timeline for former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s firing, who […]