Tag: Mick Mulvaney

Trump wants to slash food stamps and replace them with a ‘Blue Apron-type program’

The following article by Caitlin Dewey was posted on the Washington Post website February 12, 2018:

White House budget director Mick Mulvaney explained on Feb. 12 how the Trump administration hopes to save money on food aid. (The Washington Post)

The Trump administration wants to slash food aid to low-income families and make up the difference with a box of canned goods — a change that Office of Management and budget director Mick Mulvaney described in a Monday briefing as a “Blue Apron-type program.”

“What we do is propose that for folks who are on food stamps, part — not all, part — of their benefits come in the actual sort of, and I don’t want to steal somebody’s copyright, but a Blue Apron-type program where you actually receive the food instead of receive the cash,” Mulvaney said. “It lowers the cost to us because we can buy [at wholesale prices] whereas they have to buy it at retail. It also makes sure they’re getting nutritious food. So we’re pretty excited about that.” Continue reading “Trump wants to slash food stamps and replace them with a ‘Blue Apron-type program’”

Desperate Trump flack Mick Mulvaney forced to resort to easily debunked lies

The following article by Tommy Christopher was posted on the ShareBlue website February 11, 2018:

When pathetic excuses and spin don’t work, Trump’s surrogates go for blatant dishonesty.

Mick Mulvaney Credit: CBS

Trump’s vile defense of accused domestic abuser Rob Porter has forced his advisers to spin, deflect, and finally, to flat-out lie about his resignation in disgrace.

The White House sent senior advisers out to each of the five Sunday news shows this weekend in a desperate attempt to mitigate the damage from Trump’s embrace of Porter, and his own history of abuse. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway tried attacking Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), while senior adviser Marc Short went after NBC News. Continue reading “Desperate Trump flack Mick Mulvaney forced to resort to easily debunked lies”

Five questions about the new Trump budget and health issues

The following article by Rachel Robein was posted on the Hill website February 11, 2018:

© Thinkstock

The White House is expected to release its fiscal 2019 budget request on Monday, and health advocates will be watching closely to see if this year’s proposal will contain deep cuts to the agencies charged with bolstering public health and finding cures for complex diseases.

Lawmakers from both parties are also waiting to see if the budget will propose major changes to the anti-drug office that have already sparked an outcry.

The release of President Trump’s budget last year set off a firestorm of criticism in the health world from science and public health advocates — and even some disapproval from fellow Republicans. Continue reading “Five questions about the new Trump budget and health issues”

Payday Rules Relax on Trump’s Watch After Lobbying by Lenders

The following article by Alan Rappeport was posted on the New York Times website February 2, 2018:

Mick Mulvaney, the White House budget director and the acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has taken a more hands-off approach to the payday lending industry. Credit Al Drago for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — In mid-April, hundreds of members of the payday lending industry will head to Florida for their annual retreat featuring golf and networking at a plush resort just outside Miami. The resort just happens to be the Trump National Doral Golf Club.

It will cap a year in which the industry has gone from villain to victor, the result of a concentrated lobbying campaign that has culminated in the Trump administration’s loosening regulatory grip on payday lenders and a far friendlier approach by the industry’s nemesis, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Continue reading “Payday Rules Relax on Trump’s Watch After Lobbying by Lenders”

Trump administration strips consumer watchdog office of enforcement powers in lending discrimination cases

The following article by Renae Merle was posted on the Washington Post website February 1, 2018:

The White House and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are in a standoff over who will become its acting director: Leandra English or Mick Mulvaney. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

The Trump administration has stripped enforcement powers from a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unit responsible for pursuing discrimination cases, part of a broader effort to reshape an agency it criticized as acting too aggressively.

The move to sharply restrict the responsibilities of the Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity comes about two months after President Trump installed his budget chief, Mick Mulvaney, at the head of the bureau. The office previously used its powers to force payouts in several prominent cases, including settlements from lenders it alleged had systematically charged minorities higher interest rates than they had for whites. Continue reading “Trump administration strips consumer watchdog office of enforcement powers in lending discrimination cases”

Mulvaney helped shut down the government in 2013. Now he’s trying to keep it running without funding.

The following article by Damian Paletta and Mike DeBonis was posted on the Washington Post website January 21, 2018:

Some party leaders and President Trump have changed their tune on government shutdowns since the last one in 2013. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

With President Trump largely hidden from public view during the government shutdown, the face of the White House’s response belongs to Mick Mulvaney, who has plenty of experience with such events.

He helped cause one in 2013.

Mulvaney, the White House Office of Management and Budget director, said Trump tasked him with minimizing the impact of the shutdown, which could send 800,000 federal employees home without pay and limit operations at the Pentagon. Continue reading “Mulvaney helped shut down the government in 2013. Now he’s trying to keep it running without funding.”

Is the Consumer Bureau ‘Unaccountable’ and Ineffective?

The following article by Linda Qiu was posted on the New York Times website November 28, 2017:

President Trump named his budget chief, Mick Mulvaney, as the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, in a bid to take control of the agency just hours after its departing leader had taken steps to install his own choice for acting chief. Credit Carlos Barria/Reuters

WASHINGTON — Alongside a legal showdown over who will lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency also faces renewed criticism — including from the official overseeing the bureau as the case is being considered.

Confusion has reigned as two acting directors have claimed the title: Mick Mulvaney, who was appointed by President Trump, and Leandra English, designated by the departing director of the bureau, Richard Cordray, as his successor.

Ms. English, the deputy director of the consumer bureau, filed a lawsuit on Sunday seeking to block Mr. Mulvaney, the White House budget chief, from taking control. A federal judge on Tuesday said that Mr. Mulvaney could lead the agency. Continue reading “Is the Consumer Bureau ‘Unaccountable’ and Ineffective?”

‘Tax Week’ Starts With a Wacky Day at White House

The following article by John T. Bennett was posted on the Roll Call website November 27, 2017:

‘Pocahontas’ remark, CFPB move threaten to overshadow tax message

Credit: Gary Cameron/Reuters

“Tax Week” kicked off with another wacky day at the Trump White House.

A relatively quiet morning at the executive mansion turned into a chaotic afternoon Monday, with the White House again going on the defensive just as President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers attempt to pass major legislation.

A routine day — with White House officials trying to focus on a Senate GOP tax bill scheduled for a floor vote later this week — ended with the president and his administration stepping on their own message. Continue reading “‘Tax Week’ Starts With a Wacky Day at White House”

The GOP’s Tax Cut Bonanza Is a Major Attack on Medicare

The following article by Nancy Altman and Linda Benesch was posted on the AlterNet website November 20, 2017:

Credit: www.speaker.gov/blog

Do you trust Paul Ryan to protect your Medicare benefits? How about White House budget director Mick Mulvaney, a former member of the House Freedom Caucus, and like Ryan, a longstanding foe of Medicare?

If the just-passed House tax bill, its Senate counterpart or some compromise of the two is signed into law, the enactment will put Medicare’s future in the hands of Ryan and Mulvaney.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the GOP tax bill will instantly trigger $400 billion in automatic cuts to Medicare in the next 10 years, including $25 billion in the first year after enactment alone.

Continue reading “The GOP’s Tax Cut Bonanza Is a Major Attack on Medicare”

Trump’s Problematic Math: Budget Plan Adds Growth, but Doesn’t Subtract Cost

The following article by Binyamin Applebaum was posted on the New York Times website May 23, 2017:

Eric Ueland, right, a Senate Budget Committee staff member, distributing the 2018 federal budget proposal on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s budget proposal, unveiled on Tuesday, purported to show the benefits of cutting taxes on businesses and consumers: By the end of the decade, faster growth could balance the federal budget.

The numbers looked great because the White House left out something essential: the cost.

When the government cuts taxes, it collects less money. That is the purpose of a tax cut. But Mr. Trump’s budget does not include any hint of a decrease in federal revenue. To the contrary, it projects that federal tax revenue will increase every year for the next decade. Continue reading “Trump’s Problematic Math: Budget Plan Adds Growth, but Doesn’t Subtract Cost”