FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The American-backed coalition in Syria has repelled an attack by forces supporting the Assad government, carrying out deadly strikes Wednesday [2-7-18] night, in a rare confrontation between competing factions that have both fought the Islamic State… The S.D.F., a mix of Kurdish, Arab and other fighters, is allied with the international […]
2/8/2018
RELIGION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump delivered a brief, uncharacteristically subdued message of faith and American values to religious leaders as a fresh crisis swirled in his White House, declaring on Thursday morning ‘we praise God for how truly blessed we are to be American.’ ‘Faith is central to American life and to liberty,’ Mr. Trump […]
2/8/2018
HOLIDAY/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Congress members of both parties on Wednesday [2-7-18] criticized President Donald Trump’s desire for a grand military parade through the streets of Washington, D.C. The Pentagon is reviewing options, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said a day after reports that Mr. Trump had requested the military begin planning a spectacle akin to […]
2/8/2018
IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Time to end the visa lottery. Congress must secure the immigration system and protect Americans. https://t.co/yukxm48x9X” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 8, 2018 06:26pm […]
2/8/2018
2016 ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/VOTING: “The Senate Intelligence Committee is drafting a report on vulnerabilities in the U.S. election system that is expected to be released in the coming weeks, according to lawmakers and aides, in what will be the first product of a yearlong investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The leaders of the Senate […]
2/8/2018
RELIGION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “As long as we open our eyes to God’s grace – and open our hearts to God’s love – then America will forever be the land of the free, the home of the brave, and a light unto all nations. #NationalPrayerBreakfast https://t.co/1cwxs3l0uK” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 8, 2018 03:10pm […]
2/8/2018
MILITARY/RUSSIA/SYRIA: “Syria condemned a rare U.S. airstrike on forces fighting for President Bashar al-Assad and Russia ratcheted up criticism of Washington’s military operations, as tensions rose in a resource-rich part of the country that has been relatively calm in recent months. The U.S. military launched the strike and aimed artillery fire at the pro-regime forces […]
2/8/2018
IRS/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The White House announced Thursday [2-8-18] that President Donald Trump will nominate Charles Rettig, a California tax lawyer, to run the Internal Revenue Service, which is implementing the GOP tax overhaul this year. Mr. Rettig, if confirmed by the Senate, will face a number of challenges at the agency. With the new […]
2/8/2018
FOREIGN POLICY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “I will be meeting with Henry Kissinger at 1:45pm. Will be discussing North Korea, China and the Middle East.” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 8, 2018 01:44pm […]
2/8/2018
FEDERAL RESERVE/NOMINATIONS/RAND PAUL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Thursday [2-8-18] he will vote against Marvin Goodfriend’s bid to become a member of the Federal Reserve board, a move that could sink the nomination on the Senate floor. Goodfriend was approved by the Senate Banking Committee in a 13-12 party line vote, indicating the […]
2/8/2018
RELIGION: “Our founders invoked our Creator four times in the Declaration of Independence. Our currency declares ‘IN GOD WE TRUST.’ And we place our hands on our hearts as we recite the Pledge of Allegiance and proclaim that we are ‘One Nation Under God.’ #NationalPrayerBreakfast https://t.co/zukP40Ezpo” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 8, 2018 12:13pm […]
2/8/2018
DREAMERS/IMMIGRATION/POLITICAL FIGURES: “Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) is preparing a fallback measure that would extend Obama-era legal protections for young undocumented immigrants paired with some border security funding if Congress fails to come up with a broader agreement on so-called ‘Dreamers.’ That result is one few on Capitol Hill want, yet may become reality as lawmakers […]
2/8/2018
BUDGET/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA)/POLITICS: “In a rare show of congressional cooperation, Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate announced a two-year budget deal Wednesday [2-7-18] that would increase federal spending for defense as well as key domestic priorities, including many health programs. Not in the deal, for which the path to the president’s desk remains unclear, is any […]
2/8/2018
CLIMATE CHANGE/EPA/SCOTT PRUITT: “Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt suggested Tuesday [2-6-18] that climate change could benefit humans, despite scientific evidence to the contrary. In an interview with KSNV in Las Vegas, Pruitt conceded that climate change is a reality and humans have contributed to it ‘to a certain degree.’ However, the EPA administrator cast […]
2/8/2018
NET NEUTRALITY: “A trade group representing Alphabet Inc, Facebook Inc and other internet firms on Thursday [2-8-18] backed a congressional reversal of the Trump administration’s December repeal of net neutrality rules. U.S. Senate Democrats said last month they had the backing of 50 members of the 100-person chamber for repeal, leaving them just one vote […]
2/8/2018
2016 ELECTION/BUSH [W.]/CYBERWAR/RUSSIA: “Former President George W. Bush said Thursday [2-8-18] that there is ‘pretty clear evidence that the Russians meddled’ in the 2016 presidential election, a seeming rebuke of President Donald Trump, who has at times questioned the intelligence community’s assessment that the Kremlin is to blame. ‘Whether (Russia) affected the outcome is another […]
2/8/2018
BUDGET/POLITICAL FIGURES: “Rand Paul and Nancy Pelosi have virtually nothing in common. But on Thursday [2-8-18] night, the conservative Kentucky firebrand and San Francisco Democratic leader teamed up to push Washington into what Capitol Hill dwellers are calling the dumbest shutdown fight ever. Incensed that a bipartisan budget deal would balloon the national debt, Paul […]
2/8/2018
RELIGION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Will be heading over shortly to make remarks at The National Prayer Breakfast in Washington. Great religious and political leaders, and many friends, including T.V. producer Mark Burnett of our wonderful 14 season Apprentice triumph, will be there. Looking forward to seeing all!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 8, 2018 06:08am […]
2/8/2018
FOREIGN POLICY/IRAN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The White House secretly reached out to Iran in December to propose creating a direct channel to negotiate the release of prisoners held by each side, according to U.S. officials and people briefed about the discussions, marking the first U.S. diplomatic overture to Iran on the issue under President Donald Trump. […]
2/8/2018
JOHN KELLY: “Chief of staff John Kelly’s search for a No. 2, which has dragged on for more than four months, shows no signs of wrapping up anytime soon. The White House was widely expected to make a public announcement about the position early this year, with officials floating a senior administration lawyer, Jim Carroll, […]
2/8/2018
GOP/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A throng of Republican senators is holding up the confirmations of some of President Donald Trump’s nominees — even as he continues to blame the logjam on Democratic ‘obstruction.’ At least 11 Republican senators in recent months have disclosed they’re blocking votes on nominees for agencies including the Energy, Agriculture, State, Homeland […]
2/8/2018
CENSUS: “The U.S. Census Bureau has announced it will change the way it counts troops deployed overseas, while keeping its policy on counting prisoners for the upcoming national headcount in 2020. How these two populations are factored into the 2020 census could affect the balance of power in government at both the federal and local […]
2/7/2018
FOREIGN POLICY/MIKE PENCE/NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA: “Vice President Mike Pence, dispatched to Asia to blunt a North Korean charm offensive at South Korea’s Olympic Games, said Wednesday [2-7-18] that the United States planned to levy the toughest sanctions yet on the North over its nuclear and missile programs. Mr. Pence’s threat, delivered in Tokyo, came two […]
2/7/2018
TRUMP PEOPLE: “Rob Porter will be out as early as Thursday [2-8-18], a senior White House official said Wednesday night, in another signal the West Wing is scrambling to contain the fallout over his continued employment even though officials were aware of the domestic abuse allegations against him. Porter, a top White House staffer, resigned […]
2/7/2018
DREAMERS/IMMIGRATION/POLITICAL FIGURES/POLITICS: “Representative Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, took the House floor at 10:04 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday [2-7-18], intent on speaking about the young undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers. Eight hours and seven minutes later, she quit talking. Her marathon monologue — highly unusual for the House, which has no equivalent to the […]
2/7/2018
ETHICS/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s new pick to head a key federal ethics office is winning praise from an unlikely source: the man who quit the post last year. The White House announced Wednesday [2-7-18] evening that Trump intends to nominate a current associate counsel at the Office of Government Ethics, Emory Rounds, to […]
2/7/2018
BUDGET/POLITICS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP POSITION CHANGES: “Senate leaders, disregarding President Trump’s blustery threats to shut down the government, neared a far-reaching agreement on Wednesday [2-7-18] to set spending levels on military and domestic spending for the next two years, breaking the cycle of fiscal crises that have bedeviled the Capitol since last summer. The accord was […]
2/7/2018
CONFLICT OF INTEREST/LABOR/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s nominee to chair the independent agency tasked with adjudicating mine safety cases is a lawyer who has defended coal companies with safety violations. Marco Rajkovich was nominated in January to chair the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, an independent board responsible for deciding cases under […]
2/7/2018
2016 ELECTION/FBI/OBAMA/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A text message between two FBI employees from September 2016 released by a Republican senator Wednesday [2-7-18] says that then-President Barack Obama ‘wants to know everything we’re doing.’ What exactly the text refers to isn’t specified in the exchange. Associates of the FBI employees said it refers to preparation to brief […]
2/7/2018
BUDGET/JAMES MATTIS/MILITARY: “The Budget Agreement today is so important for our great Military. It ends the dangerous sequester and gives Secretary Mattis what he needs to keep America Great. Republicans and Democrats must support our troops and support this Bill!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 7, 2018 05:36pm […]
2/7/2018
DEMS/DREAMERS/IMMIGRATION/POLITICAL FIGURES: “House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has spoken over seven hours to oppose the spending deal to lift spending caps and avert a government shutdown — because the plan does not address immigration issues. The House Historian’s office told CNN that Pelosi’s speech is the longest on record on the House floor, according to […]
2/7/2018
NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA/SPORTS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Congratulations to the Republic of Korea on what will be a MAGNIFICENT Winter Olympics! What the South Korean people have built is truly an inspiration! https://t.co/giN2B1h6Ph” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 7, 2018 05:13pm […]
2/7/2018
BUDGET/DEMS: “A bipartisan budget deal announced in the Senate Wednesday [2-7-18] afternoon is already facing an internal Democratic rebellion. As Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) took to the floor to announce a massive deal that would boost domestic and defense spending, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was […]
2/7/2018
BUDGET/GOP: “Fiscal hawks on Capitol Hill panned the budget deal reached by Republican leaders and Democrats on Thursday [2-8-18] as fiscally irresponsible and an abrogation of the GOP’s congressional majorities. Senators and House members on the right immediately came out against the agreement, while a large number of leadership-aligned Republicans were also noncommittal. It’s unclear […]
2/7/2018
NAFTA/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Lawmakers from both parties urged President Donald Trump’s top negotiator in talks over the North American Free Trade Agreement to maintain dispute-resolution mechanisms that have been a central part of the 24-year-old pact. The dispute-arbitration systems embedded in Nafta have been a flashpoint in the talks, where Mr. Trump’s administration has […]
2/7/2018
CYBERWAR/POLITICAL FIGURES: “Equifax Inc. failed to disclose that hackers gained access to consumers’ passport numbers, according to a report from Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s office on Wednesday [2-7-18]. The company said that is because it didn’t happen. The Democratic senator from Massachusetts released the report following a four-month investigation by her office into the Equifax breach. […]
2/7/2018
TRUMP PEOPLE: “One of President Donald Trump’s top advisers, White House staff secretary Robert Porter, said Wednesday [2-7-18] that he has resigned his position amid allegations that he was abusive toward his ex-wives. Mr. Porter denied many of the allegations, which were first reported by the Daily Mail, a British daily newspaper. His sudden departure […]
2/7/2018
LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT/RUSSIA: “The judge assigned to the criminal case against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his ex-deputy Rick Gates held a closed-door hearing Wednesday [2-7-18] on a request by three of Gates’ attorneys to quit the case. Gates and his three defense attorneys — Shanlon Wu, Walter Mack and AnneMarie McAvoy — arrived […]
2/7/2018
BUDGET/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Lawmakers balked at the potential cost of President Donald Trump’s desired military parade after news broke Tuesday [2-6-18] that the Pentagon was exploring possible dates. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., called the idea a ‘fantastic waste of money to amuse the president.’… Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., also expressed concerns about the parade, telling […]
2/7/2018
LGBTQ/MIKE PENCE/SPORTS: “US Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon reportedly turned down a meeting with Vice President Mike Pence after criticizing him for his stance on gay rights. After reading a January 17 interview in which Rippon criticized Pence, the vice president’s staff asked the US Olympic Committee to set up a conversation that same day […]
2/7/2018
RELIGION/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump will attend the National Prayer Breakfast Thursday [2-8-18], a prime networking opportunity for Beltway insiders. But this year’s event is also an opportunity for dozens of Russians. As many as 60 representatives from Russia’s religious and political elite are expected to attend, more than three times last year’s number, […]
2/7/2018
NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA/SPORTS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Best wishes to the Republic of Korea on hosting the @Olympics! What a wonderful opportunity to show everyone that you are a truly GREAT NATION! https://t.co/aboM2Up48y” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 7, 2018 01:01pm […]
2/7/2018
DEMS/INTELLIGENCE/JOHN KELLY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “White House lawyers have until Thursday [2-8-18] to recommend whether President Donald Trump should release a classified Democratic memo rebutting Republican allegations of wrongdoing in the federal investigation of a former Trump campaign aide. White House chief of staff John Kelly said Tuesday he told lawyers reviewing the document to ‘get […]
2/7/2018
BUDGET/POLITICS: “Congressional leaders said Wednesday [2-7-18] they have reached an agreement on a two-year budget deal, charting a path out of the long-running turmoil over spending and immigration that culminated in a government shutdown last month. The agreement raises federal spending by almost $300 billion over two years above limits imposed by a 2011 budget […]
2/7/2018
POLITICAL FIGURES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Former Vice President Joe Biden said President Donald Trump is a ‘joke’ in the wake of the President’s remarks that Democrats who didn’t clap for him during his State of the Union address are ‘treasonous’ and ‘un-American.’ White House press secretary Sarah Sanders attempted to clarify Trump’s comments by telling reporters […]
2/7/2018
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/REX TILLERSON/RUSSIA/STATE: “Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned that any Russian interference in November’s midterm elections would ‘invite consequences,’ but suggested the United States is still vulnerable to such meddling… Tillerson said the Trump administration is seeing signs of meddling in European elections, as well as elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere, and suggested they […]
2/7/2018
LGBTQ/MIKE PENCE/SPORTS: “Gay U.S. figure skater Adam Rippon said on Thursday [2-8-18] he is willing to meet U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who has expressed staunchly anti-gay rights views, for an ‘open conversation’ – but only after the Olympics. Rippon set off a furore last month by reportedly criticizing Pence’s views on LGBT rights and […]
2/7/2018
FBI/INTELLIGENCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “NEW FBI TEXTS ARE BOMBSHELLS!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 7, 2018 11:10am […]
2/7/2018
DOW/ECONOMY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In the ‘old days,’ when good news was reported, the Stock Market would go up. Today, when good news is reported, the Stock Market goes down. Big mistake, and we have so much good (great) news about the economy!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 7, 2018 09:59am […]
2/7/2018
MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Initial planning for the military parade requested by President Donald Trump is now underway, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford has confirmed. It is expected that the Army Military District of Washington, which oversees some military activities in the city, will be designated to coordinate parade planning, according […]
2/7/2018
DEMS/GOP/POLITICS/VOTING: “Democrats on Tuesday [2-6-18] picked up a state House seat in a Missouri legislative district that President Donald Trump won easily in 2016. The victory, coming on the heels of other Democratic state-level triumphs in deep-red territory in the past year, provides another indication of the engaged Democratic base that has Republicans worried about […]
2/7/2018
BUDGET/DEFENSE/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. Department of Defense is planning a military parade at the request of President Donald Trump, White House and Pentagon officials said Tuesday [2-6-18]. After observing the Bastille Day celebrations in Paris last year, Mr. Trump said he wanted to hold a similar parade on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, perhaps to […]
2/7/2018
INTELLIGENCE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Wednesday [2-7-18] that he is unfazed by taunts from President Donald Trump, lamenting on CNN that such rhetoric has become ‘the new normal.’ Trump listed Clapper this week among the ‘biggest liars and leakers in Washington,’ a group that the president said also includes Rep. […]
2/7/2018
RELIGION/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A Texas-based evangelist with ties to President Donald Trump came under fire this week after video re-surfaced of her telling followers that they don’t need to get a flu shot because ‘Jesus himself gave us the flu shot.’ Gloria Copeland, a member of the president’s faith advisory council, posted the video last Wednesday, […]
2/6/2018
JOBS/TRUMP MEMORANDA: “NATIONAL SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM/NSPM – 9… SUBJECT: Optimizing the Use of Federal Government Information in Support of the National Vetting Enterprise Border and immigration security are essential to ensuring the safety, security, and prosperity of the United States. The Federal Government must improve the manner in which executive departments and agencies (agencies) coordinate […]
2/6/2018
NASA: “Congratulations @ElonMusk and @SpaceX on the successful #FalconHeavy launch. This achievement, along with @NASA’s commercial and international partners, continues to show American ingenuity at its best! https://t.co/eZfLSpyJPK” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 6, 2018 10:05pm […]
2/6/2018
SUPREME COURT/VOTING: “The Supreme Court partly granted on Tuesday [2-7-18] a request from North Carolina Republicans to block a voting map drawn by a federal court there. That court had interceded after finding that a map drawn by state lawmakers for the General Assembly had relied too heavily on race and had violated state laws. […]
2/6/2018
DEMS/GOP/VOTING: “A Democratic group backed by former President Barack Obama intends to pour millions of dollars into an eclectic array of elections in a dozen states, in an effort to block Republicans from single-handedly drawing congressional maps after 2020, officials leading the group said. The National Democratic Redistricting Committee, formed last year under the leadership […]
2/6/2018
BUDGET/DRUGS/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: “State and local law enforcement officials are fighting a Trump administration proposal to move oversight of a $275 million drug prevention program to the Justice Department, fearing that such a move would steer the country’s drug-fighting strategy toward federal legal crackdowns and away from years of holistic, community-based approaches. A draft budget plan […]
2/6/2018
CRISIS/FEMA/PUERTO RICO: “The mission for the Federal Emergency Management Agency was clear: Hurricane Maria had torn through Puerto Rico, and hungry people needed food. Thirty million meals needed to be delivered as soon as possible. For this huge task, FEMA tapped Tiffany Brown, an Atlanta entrepreneur with no experience in large-scale disaster relief and at […]
2/6/2018
FOREIGN POLICY/MIKE PENCE/NORTH KOREA: “Vice President Mike Pence on Monday [2-5-18] did not rule out contact with North Korean officials when he attends the Winter Olympics in South Korea this week, saying, ‘I have not requested a meeting, but we’ll see what happens.’ The comments came as North Korean athletes, artists and officials were descending […]
2/6/2018
POLITICAL FIGURES: “HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our 40th President of the United States of America, Ronald Reagan! https://t.co/JtEglBhm4c” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 6, 2018 07:48pm […]
2/6/2018
DREAMERS/IMMIGRATION/JOHN KELLY: “White House chief of staff John Kelly suggested Tuesday [2-6-18] that some undocumented immigrants were ‘too afraid’ or ‘too lazy’ to sign up for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program… Later Tuesday, after another meeting on Capitol Hill, Kelly said some people who were DACA eligible but didn’t sign up had reasons […]
2/6/2018
IMMIGRATION/JOHN KELLY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The White House signaled little flexibility on immigration on Tuesday [2-6-18] , saying lawmakers must pass a bill on President Donald Trump’s terms and offering no relief on the tight timeline for Congress. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, who has been a key adviser to Mr. Trump on immigration, […]
2/6/2018
CRIME/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Today, we heard the experiences of law enforcement professionals and community leaders working to combat the threat of MS-13, and the reforms we need from Congress to defeat it. Watch here: https://t.co/VPMTnko7Ik https://t.co/4OaXXuj9Va” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 6, 2018 05:45pm […]
2/6/2018
EDUCATION/GOP: “Americans enrolling in college over the next decade would receive about $15 billion less in subsidies than under current law if House Republicans pass their education bill, according to an official estimate Tuesday [2-6-18]. The bill, unveiled late last year, would eliminate debt-forgiveness programs for future borrowers and allow interest on student loans to […]
2/6/2018
CHINA/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WTO: “China is showing a willingness to push back against mounting trade pressure from the Trump administration, filing challenges to new U.S. tariffs on solar panels and washing machines at the World Trade Organization. The petitions submitted to the global commerce arbiter on Tuesday [2-6-18] argue that the tariffs ‘are not consistent’ […]
2/6/2018
DEMS/POLITICAL FIGURES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, who is a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, sharply criticized the President on the Senate floor Tuesday for his remarks he made where he called Democrats ‘treasonous.’ Trump had accused stone-faced Democrats of treason for not standing and applauding during his State of the Union […]
2/6/2018
FEDERAL RESERVE: “Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will deliver his first semiannual monetary policy report to the House Financial Services Committee on Feb. 28, the committee said Tuesday [2-6-18]. Mr. Powell also will testify before the Senate Banking Committee the following day, March 1, a spokeswoman for that committee confirmed. The two-day Humphrey-Hawkins hearings—a reference […]
2/6/2018
DEMS/GOP/INTELLIGENCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump was set to be briefed later Tuesday [2-6-18] afternoon on a classified Democratic memo that rebuts GOP allegations of partisan motives in the federal investigation of his former campaign aide, as the president decides whether to authorize the document’s release. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told reporters […]
2/6/2018
LEGAL/TRUMP BUSINESS: “A federal court approved a $25 million settlement on Tuesday [2-6-18] with students who said they were duped by Donald Trump and his now-defunct Trump University, which promised to teach them the ‘secrets of success’ in the real estate industry. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco finalized the settlement after […]
2/6/2018
ETHICS/HOUSE OF REPS/LEGAL: “The House of Representatives voted Tuesday [2-6-18] to overhaul its policies on sexual harassment, banning lawmakers from using taxpayer funds to pay for settlements and mandating public reporting of cases. The measures, which passed unanimously, would mark a major shift in how sexual-harassment claims are handled in the Capitol. The legislation, which […]
2/6/2018
FAKE NEWS/GOP/MEDIA: “Led by President Donald Trump, Republicans have railed repeatedly against the New York Times, Washington Post and CNN—but, as a group, they trust mainstream sites like those more than ‘fake news’ sites or even highly partisan outlets like Breitbart and InfoWars, according to a Yale study that directly mirrored the methodology being used […]
2/6/2018
BORDER/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump said Tuesday [2-6-18] he would accept a government shutdown if Congress doesn’t strike an immigration deal that includes stricter border enforcement. ‘If we don’t change it, let’s have a shutdown,’ Mr. Trump said during the portion of a meeting at the White House that reporters were invited to observe. […]
2/6/2018
AFGHANISTAN/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Republican and Democratic senators on Tuesday [2-6-18] questioned whether President Donald Trump’s strategy in Afghanistan will bring an end to the nation’s longest war, which U.S. officials estimated will cost taxpayers more than $45 billion this year. In their first hearing on the war since the Republican president unveiled his strategy in […]
2/6/2018
IMMIGRATION: “We need a 21st century MERIT-BASED immigration system. Chain migration and the visa lottery are outdated programs that hurt our economic and national security. https://t.co/rP9Gtr2E5N” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 6, 2018 11:05am […]
2/6/2018
BORDER/DREAMERS/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP POSITION CHANGES: “Polling shows nearly 7 in 10 Americans support an immigration reform package that includes DACA, fully secures the border, ends chain migration & cancels the visa lottery. If D’s oppose this deal, they aren’t serious about DACA-they just want open borders. https://t.co/XDMcDOr9vM” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 6, 2018 11:00am […]
2/6/2018
COMMERCE/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. posted its largest monthly trade deficit since the recession for December, as stronger global growth increased demand for American-made products while robust U.S. consumer spending boosted imports even more. The foreign-trade gap in goods and services expanded 5.3% from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted $53.1 billion in […]
2/6/2018
CONSUMER PROTECTION/STEVE MNUCHIN/TREASURY: “U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday [2-6-18] said he wants to know how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is handling a probe into a hack of credit bureau Equifax Inc after a report that the agency’s chief has pulled back from investigating the matter. Equifax disclosed in September that hackers had […]
2/6/2018
POLITICAL FIGURES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “An Illinois Democrat who was seriously wounded in Iraq derisively referred to President Donald Trump’s draft deferments after Trump called Democrats ‘treasonous’ for not clapping during his State of the Union speech. ‘We don’t live in a dictatorship or a monarchy. I swore an oath—in the military and in the Senate—to […]
2/6/2018
SPORTS: “My prayers and best wishes are with the family of Edwin Jackson, a wonderful young man whose life was so senselessly taken. @Colts” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 6, 2018 08:37am […]
2/6/2018
IMMIGRATION/SPORTS: “So disgraceful that a person illegally in our country killed @Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson. This is just one of many such preventable tragedies. We must get the Dems to get tough on the Border, and with illegal immigration, FAST!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 6, 2018 08:32am […]
2/6/2018
BUDGET/GOP/HOUSE OF REPS: “The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives was set to vote on Tuesday [2-6-18] on a short-term budget measure that would avert a rerun of last month’s three-day partial government shutdown, as lawmakers continued to grapple with divisive immigration measures. The stop-gap measure drafted by House Republicans would extend funding through March 23, […]
2/6/2018
BUDGET/DEFENSE/GOP/HOUSE OF REPS: “House GOP leaders on Tuesday [2-6-18] are expected to bring up for a vote legislation that would fund the Defense Department for the rest of the fiscal year, but keep the rest of the government running only through March 23, setting up a showdown with the Senate. With the government’s current funding […]
2/6/2018
CRIME/DRUG/KELLYANNE CONWAY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP POSITION CHANGES: “President Donald Trump’s war on opioids is beginning to look more like a war on his drug policy office. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway has taken control of the opioids agenda, quietly freezing out drug policy professionals and relying instead on political staff to address a lethal crisis claiming […]
2/5/2018
DEFENSE/INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/STATE/TREASURY/TRUMP MEMORANDA: “SUBJECT: Delegation of Certain Functions and Authorities under Section 1238 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby delegate […]
2/5/2018
CYBERWAR/SEC/TRADE DEALS: “Digital currencies such as bitcoin were in the spotlight again on Tuesday [2-6-18] as lawmakers in the U.S. Senate questioned top markets watchdogs over how to better regulate the highly volatile and risky emerging asset class. Christopher Giancarlo, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and Jay Clayton, chairman of the Securities […]
2/5/2018
DEMS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump accused a top Democratic lawmaker on Monday [2-5-18] of being ‘one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington,’ calling Representative Adam Schiff of California ‘Little Adam Schiff’ and accusing him of illegally leaking confidential information from the House Intelligence Committee. In an early-morning tweet, Mr. Trump ominously said that […]
2/5/2018
2016 ELECTION/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Lawyers for President Trump have advised him against sitting down for a wide-ranging interview with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, according to four people briefed on the matter, raising the specter of a monthslong court battle over whether the president must answer questions under oath. His lawyers are […]
2/5/2018
BUDGET/DEMS/GOP/POLITICS: “With government funding set to expire on Thursday [2-8-18], Congress careened toward another standoff on Monday as House Republicans moved ahead with a temporary spending measure that Senate Democrats have promised to block. By late Monday night, lawmakers had barely 72 hours remaining to avert another government shutdown after last month’s three-day closure, and […]
2/5/2018
DEFENSE/GUANTANAMO/JAMES MATTIS: “Secretary of Defense James Mattis fired two top Guantanamo Bay officials on Monday [2-5-18] over a ‘loss of confidence,’ a senior defense official tells CNN… Crosson said that Mattis has appointed Jim Coyne, who currently serves as the general counsel at the Defense Logistics Agency, as the acting convening authority. There are several […]
2/5/2018
FEDERAL RESERVE/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Jerome Powell spent his first day as chairman of the Federal Reserve sizing up the largest stock selloff in 6½ years and the largest one-day point decline on record for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Fed was an indirect player in the recent market tumult. A Friday [2-2-18] report of […]
2/5/2018
FOREIGN POLICY/TRUMP FAMILY/IVANKA: “Ivanka Trump will lead the Presidential delegation to South Korea for the closing ceremony of the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic winter games, a White House official told CNN Monday [2-5-18]. The first daughter and senior adviser was asked to attend the closing ceremony by her father, President Donald Trump, and the United States […]
2/5/2018
DOW/ECONOMY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “It was supposed to be a chance for President Donald Trump to sell the economic benefits of Republicans’ overhaul of the country’s tax code to the voters who will help decide this fall whether the GOP keeps its majority in Congress. But it became clear to White House aides during Trump’s speech […]
2/5/2018
GOP: “The day after Conor Lamb won the Democratic nomination to run in this very pro-Donald Trump House district, Republican strategist Corry Bliss knew his party had another special election problem on its hands. Bliss, who heads the main super PAC for House Republicans, arrived at his office at 6:30 a.m. and played an internet […]
2/5/2018
GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Monday [2-5-18] attacked Democratic leaders as unpatriotic and urged Republicans not to be ‘complacent’ when it is time to vote, laying out what appeared to be an opening argument for the midterm elections. Mr. Trump, appearing at a business in Ohio, a perennial battleground state, cast Democratic lawmakers […]
2/5/2018
GOP/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: “Two Republican senators allege the author of a controversial dossier lied to federal agents, or the Justice Department knowingly or mistakenly permitted ‘materially false statements’ to appear in classified records, according a criminal referral from the lawmakers released on Monday [2-5-18]. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina made […]
2/5/2018
DOW/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “For a connoisseur of cable news like Donald Trump, it was not a pretty picture. As the President touted his economic agenda in Ohio on Monday [2-5-18], his face stared out of millions of television screens next to blaring red graphics and yellow numbers whirling like the reels on a slot machine, […]
2/5/2018
COMMERCE/CONSUMER PROTECTION/ENERGY: “The top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee asked the Trump administration Monday [2-5-18] to investigate fake online comments uncovered by The Wall Street Journal on a rule to restrict high-interest payday lending. Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey made the request in a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s […]
2/5/2018
DEMS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump mocked Democrats Monday [2-5-18] for their stony reactions during his State of the Union speech last week, saying that it was even ‘treasonous.’… ‘Can we call that treason? Why not,’ he added. He made the remarks during a speech at a manufacturing plant in Cincinnati, Ohio… Trump’s comments came […]