Tag: GOP congress

Republicans redefine morality as whatever Trump does

The following commentary by Dana Milbanks was posted on the Washington Post website January 26, 2018:

President Trump leaves the stage Friday after addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. (Laurent Gillieron/Associated Press)

Someday, likely three years from now, perhaps sooner, perhaps — gulp — later, President Trump will depart the stage.

But what will be left of us?

New evidence suggests that the damage he is doing to the culture is bigger than the man. A Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday found that two-thirds of Americans say Trump is not a good role model for children. Every component of society feels that way — men and women, old and young, black and white, highly educated or not — except for one: Republicans. By 72 to 22 percent, they say Trump is a good role model. Continue reading “Republicans redefine morality as whatever Trump does”

Shall we protect Robert Mueller now, Mr. McConnell?

The following commentary by the Editorial Board of the Washington Post website January 26, 2018:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Credit: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

“I DON’T HEAR much pressure to pass anything,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in November when asked about bills that would protect special counsel Robert S. Mueller III should President Trump try to fire him. “There’s been no indication that the president or the White House are not cooperating with the special counsel,” Mr. McConnell explained.

Now there is an indication, and a pretty strong one. The New York Times reported and The Post quickly confirmed Thursday that the president moved to fire Mr. Mueller in June, shortly after the special counsel’s appointment. Mr. Trump pulled back only after White House Counsel Donald F. McGahn threatened to resign. Continue reading “Shall we protect Robert Mueller now, Mr. McConnell?”

Even now, Republicans are ignoring the storm clouds

The following commentary by Joe Scarborough was posted on the Washington Post website January 26, 2018:

Joe Scarborough
Credit: NBC/Today

We learned this week that President Trump in June ordered the firing of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, but few Republicans on Capitol Hill bothered to raise an eyebrow. In more settled times, this kind of presidential assault on an independent investigation would have stirred grave concerns throughout the halls of Congress. But Trump’s corrupted coalition has instead trotted out one twisted conspiracy theory after another, all designed to distract the president’s most fevered fans and concoct a case against Mueller’s investigation.

Wild tales of secret societies, Obama wiretaps and “deep-state” conspiracies flow freely from the tongues of Trump apparatchiks. Those preposterous narratives are then spread across cable news networks and inside Capitol Hill cloakrooms. Continue reading “Even now, Republicans are ignoring the storm clouds”

IMF chief warns Trump’s tax cuts could destabilise global economy

The following article by Graeme Wearden and Larry Elliot was posted on the Guardian website January 26, 2018:

Reforms may threaten recovery and lead to bigger US budget deficit, says Christine Lagarde

IMF managing director Christine Lagarde speaking at Davos. Credit: Gian Ehrenzeller/EPA

Donald Trump’s huge tax cuts are a threat to the stability of the global economy, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund has warned.

Christine Lagarde singled out Trump’s tax reformsas one of three risks that could destabilise the current economic recovery, especially given the boom in stock markets in the past year.

“While the US tax reforms certainly will have positive effects in the short term, for the US and other countries around, it might also lead to serious risks,” Lagarde told the World Economic Forum in Davos. Continue reading “IMF chief warns Trump’s tax cuts could destabilise global economy”

The Mueller confrontation that Republicans were trying to avoid has just arrived

The following article by Amber Phillips was posted on the Washington Post website January 26, 2018:

Before it came out that President Trump sought to fire Robert Mueller last June, Trump and his aides repeatedly said he wasn’t giving “any thought” to the idea. (Video: Jenny Starrs/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

This story has been updated with more Republican reaction to the news.

The firing of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has long been a red line for most Republicans in Congress who are trying to work with their president.

But it’s a red line they’d rather not act on — and now, with news that President Trump actually made moves to do it, they may be forced to. Continue reading “The Mueller confrontation that Republicans were trying to avoid has just arrived”

Republicans Prepare for Upcoming Abortion Vote

The following article by Sandhya Raman was posted on the Roll Call website January 26, 2018:

Votes not likely there in Senate, but measure could be a midterm issue

Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford is among the proponents of the legislation to ban late-term abortions. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Senate Republicans are readying for a vote next week on a late-term abortion bill. And while it’s unlikely they will have the votes to pass it, abortion opponents say the measure could play a role in the 2018 midterm elections.

The bill would ban abortions after the 20-week mark, while providing exceptions for rape, incest or the endangerment of a woman. It passed the House along party lines last year and has been waiting on a Senate vote.

However, with a 60-vote threshold for passage, Republicans face a tough path ahead. The legislation was recently listed as a top priority of anti-abortion groups. Continue reading “Republicans Prepare for Upcoming Abortion Vote”

OOPS: Republican senator’s FBI conspiracy theory was based on a joke

The following article by Aaron Rupar was posted on the ThinkProgress website January 25, 2018:

“Just connecting the dots.”

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), chair of Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

On Thursday morning, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) went on NPR and tried to defend a wild conspiracy theory he and other Trump-supporting Republican members of Congress have been talking about for several days. It did not go well.

Johnson tried to stand by his claim that a “secret society” within the FBI was trying to oust President Trump. When an NPR host pointed out to Johnson that it appears the text message he based his entire conspiracy theory on was just a joke, the senator became defensive, and then tried to change the topic to the Hillary Clinton email investigation. Continue reading “OOPS: Republican senator’s FBI conspiracy theory was based on a joke”

F.B.I. Texts and Dueling Memos Escalate Fight Over Russia Inquiry

The following article by Charlie Savage, Nicholas Fandos and Adam Goldman was posted on the New York Times website January 24, 2018:

Representative Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said his party would move to make its memo available to the House on the same terms as the Republican memo. Credit J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department warned the House Intelligence Committee chairman on Wednesday that it was “extraordinarily reckless” for Republicans to push to release a committee memo that draws on classified information to portray the origins of the Russian investigation as scandalous.

In a letter to Representative Devin Nunes of California, the Republican chairman of the committee, Stephen E. Boyd, an assistant attorney general, stressed that the committee had refused to show the memo to the F.B.I.

“We do not understand why the committee would possibly seek to disclose classified and law enforcement sensitive information without first consulting with the relevant members of the intelligence community,” Mr. Boyd wrote. Continue reading “F.B.I. Texts and Dueling Memos Escalate Fight Over Russia Inquiry”

“A made-up pseudo-scandal”: GOP ratchets up FBI conspiracy theories as Mueller circles Trump

The following article by Emily Singer was posted on the mic.com website January 24, 2018:

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017. Susan Walsh/AP

A torrent of news from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Trump administration’s alleged ties to Russia has streamed out over the past week: Attorney General Jeff Sessions sat for an hours-long interview with Mueller’s team, FBI Director Christopher Wray threatened to quit after Sessions pressured him to purge the FBI of staff President Donald Trump didn’t like, and Mueller’s team is now reportedly ready to interview Trump himself.

As the investigation closes in on the administration, a growing number of Republicans are going on the offensive against the FBI and Mueller’s team. Some are trying to gin up controversy over a memo that Republicans say outlines abuses in the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation, as well as missing text messages between two FBI agents who Republicans say have an extreme anti-Trump bias. Continue reading ““A made-up pseudo-scandal”: GOP ratchets up FBI conspiracy theories as Mueller circles Trump”

GOP feud with FBI ratchets up

The following article by Katie Bo Williams was posted on the Hill website January 24, 2018:

The knives are out for the FBI on Capitol Hill.

Conservative lawmakers from four separate committees are raising alarm bells about a tranche of missing text messages between two FBI agents assigned to the investigation into Russia and President Trump’s campaign, saying it calls into “further question the credibility and objectivity of certain officials at the FBI.” Continue reading “GOP feud with FBI ratchets up”