Tag: Trump Administration

Gold Star Families Getting Rushed Condolence Letters

The following article by John M. Donnelley was posted on the Roll Call website October 24, 2017:

The White House tried to quickly make the president’s overstatement accurate

Myeshia Johnson kisses the casket of her husband, U.S. Army Sgt. La David Johnson, during his burial service in Hollywood, Florida, on Saturday. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

A substantial number of families who have lost military servicemembers during the Trump presidency had not been contacted as of this weekend by President Donald Trump, despite his claim to the contrary several days earlier, according to news accounts.

And some of the families that the White House did contact were reached only in recent days by apparently rushed condolence letters that were sent in some cases months after the families lost their loved ones, the reports said.

Roll Call disclosed Friday that the White House had asked the Pentagon on Oct. 17, through emails, to provide “ASAP” a list of those killed in the line of duty and their families’ contact information. The email exchanges came just hours after the president had said in a radio interview that he had already contacted virtually all those families. Continue reading “Gold Star Families Getting Rushed Condolence Letters”

Ivanka Omits Trump Foundation From Disclosures

The following article by Celeste Katz with Newsweek was posted on the Naitonal Memo website October 23, 2017:

Maybe it just slipped her mind.

Ivanka Trump’s federal financial disclosure report doesn’t mention her past involvement with the charitable foundation that bears her family’s name—and which remains under investigation for self-dealing.

President Donald Trump’s daughter is working as an advisor to him in Washington while her two adult brothers run the family’s business empire. As a result, she was required to submit details about her income and jobs outside the federal government over a period of several years before she joined the executive branch. Continue reading “Ivanka Omits Trump Foundation From Disclosures”

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s claim that the U.S. is ‘leading the world’ in ‘C02 footprint’ reductions

The following article by Nicole Lewis was posted on the Washington Post website October 23, 2017:

Environmental Protection Agency Administer Scott Pruitt boasted of America’s shirking CO2 footprint, but he neglected to mention that the country is also among the world’s highest emitters. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

“We are leading the nation — excuse me — the world with respect to our CO2 footprint in reductions.”
— Scott Pruitt, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, during an interview on Fox News’s “Your World,” Oct. 17, 2017

“We have reduced our CO2 footprint by over 18 percent, almost 20 percent, from 2000 to 2014.”
— Pruitt, remarks during an interview on Fox News’s “Your World,” Oct. 17

When the host of “Your World” pressed EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt on his views on climate change, Pruitt dodged the question and instead spoke about President Trump’s reasons for leaving the Paris climate accords. He expressed frustration that “China and India didn’t have to take any steps with CO2 reductions until the year 2030,” before asserting that the United States was a leader in reducing carbon emissions. Continue reading “EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s claim that the U.S. is ‘leading the world’ in ‘C02 footprint’ reductions”

The corrosion of support for First Amendment principles started before Trump. He’s supercharged it.

The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve was posted on the Washington Post website October 23, 2017:

THE BIG IDEA: Donald Trump celebrated Sunday that his campaign to delegitimize the free press is working.

President Trump arrives back at the White House yesterday after playing golf at his club in Sterling, Va. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

The president touted a Politico–Morning Consult poll published last week that found 46 percent of registered voters believe major news organizations fabricate stories about him. Just 37 percent of Americans think the mainstream media does not invent stories, while the rest are undecided. More than 3 in 4 Republicans believe reporters make up stories about Trump.

“It is finally sinking through,” the president tweeted.

The first rule of propaganda is that if you repeat something enough times people will start to believe it, no matter how false. Trump uses the bully pulpit of the presidency to dismiss any journalism he doesn’t like as “fake news.” This daily drumbeat has clearly taken a toll on the Fourth Estate. Continue reading “The corrosion of support for First Amendment principles started before Trump. He’s supercharged it.”

Lawrence Summers: One last time on who benefits from corporate tax cuts

The following article by Lawrence H. Hummers was posted on the Washington Post website October 22, 2017:

Kevin Hassett, President Trump’s chief economist, estimated Monday that the administration’s plan to cut corporate tax rates will cause average household incomes to jump $4,000 a year. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press)

I recently asserted that Kevin Hassett deserved a failing grade for his “analysis” projecting that the Trump administration proposal to reduce the corporate tax rate from 35 to 20 percent would raise the wages of an average American family between $4,000 to $9,000. I chose harsh language because Hassett had, for what seemed like political reasons, impugned the integrity of people like Len Burman and Gene Steuerle who have devoted their lives to honest rigorous evaluation of tax measures by calling their work “scientifically indefensible” and “fiction.” Since there have been a variety of comments on the economics of corporate tax reduction, some further discussion seems warranted.

The analysis from Hassett, chief of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), relies heavily on correlations between corporate tax rates and wages in other countries to argue that a cut in the corporate tax rate would boost returns to labor very substantially. Perhaps unintentionally, the CEA ignores our own historical experience in their analysis. As Frank Lysy noted, the corporate tax cuts of the late 1980s did not result in increased real wages. Actually, real wages fell. The same is true in the United Kingdom, as highlighted by Kimberly Clausing and Edward Kleinbard. These examples feel far more relevant to the corporate tax issue analysis than comparisons to small economies and tax havens like Ireland and Switzerland upon which the CEA relies.

Continue reading “Lawrence Summers: One last time on who benefits from corporate tax cuts”

Timeline: How the Trump administration responded to the Niger attack

The following article by Ellen Mitchell and Julia Manchester was posted on the Hill website October 21, 2017:

Lawmakers are pressing the Trump administration over the death of four U.S. soldiers in Niger earlier this month, questioning the United States’s presence in the African nation and American support for troops stationed in the region.

The Pentagon and White House have faced questions over the Oct. 4 incident after it was revealed that the body of one of the soldiers killed in the ambush was recovered two days after the raid, with reports Friday indicating the soldier was recovered nearly a mile from the attack.

President Trump’s delayed public response to the ambush has also drawn questions, while comments he made in a press conference early this week defending his handling of calls to the families of fallen soldiers sparked backlash and a subsequent feud over his handling of one call to the widow of a soldier killed in Niger. Continue reading “Timeline: How the Trump administration responded to the Niger attack”

DeVos rescinds 72 guidance documents outlining rights for disabled students

The following article by Moriah Balingit was posted on the Washington Post website October 21, 2017:

President Donald Trump looks at Education Secretary Betsy DeVos as he speaks during a meeting with parents and teachers, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP)

The Education Department has rescinded 72 policy documents that outline the rights of students with disabilities as part of the Trump administration’s effort to eliminate regulations it deems superfluous.

The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services wrote in a newsletter Friday that it had “a total of 72 guidance documents that have been rescinded due to being outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective — 63 from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and 9 from the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA).” The documents, which fleshed out students’ rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Rehabilitation Act, were rescinded Oct. 2.

A spokeswoman for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos did not respond to requests for comment. Continue reading “DeVos rescinds 72 guidance documents outlining rights for disabled students”

Trump’s Pick for Top Environmental Job Has Said Some Really Nutty Things About Climate Change

The following article by Reynard Loki was posted on the AlterNet website October 20, 2017:

Kathleen Hartnett White’s comments are pretty extreme, even for a fossil fuel-loving climate denier.

From EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to Energy Secretary Rick Perry, President Trump has filled his administration with a rogue’s gallery of fossil fuel-loving climate deniers. Now he’s set to sign up another: Kathleen Hartnett White.

Last week, Trump nominated Hartnett White, a longtime critic of climate change policy, to head the White House Council on Environmental Quality, which advises the administration on environmental policy. If she is confirmed by the Senate, America will have yet another fox in charge of the henhouse, putting the global environment further at risk. Continue reading “Trump’s Pick for Top Environmental Job Has Said Some Really Nutty Things About Climate Change”

Many Trump voters who got hurricane relief in Texas aren’t sure Puerto Ricans should

The following article by Jenna Johnson was posted on the Washington Post website October 20, 2017:

Junk haulers take from items ruined by floodwaters at the Houston home of Rosie Alvarez, right. (Michael Stravato for The Washington Post)

HOUSTON — Sitting on Mary Maddox’s back porch, which flooded with 22 inches of water when Hurricane Harvey hit nearly two months ago, is a Lady of the Night plant from Puerto Rico that a friend gave her. Ever since Hurricane Maria ravaged the island, she says, she has paused at the blooming plant when she passes it, rubbing a leaf and saying a prayer for those still without water or electricity.

Often, the prayer is accompanied by frustration with President Trump, whom she voted for and who visited this neighborhood after Harvey.

“He really made me mad,” said Maddox, 70, who accused Trump of trying to pit those on the mainland against Puerto Ricans, even though they’re all Americans. Continue reading “Many Trump voters who got hurricane relief in Texas aren’t sure Puerto Ricans should”

Uninsured Up 3.5 Million Amid Health Care Uncertainty, Survey Finds

The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Roll Call website October 20, 2017:

After reaching record low in 2016, uninsured rate has steadily crept up as 2010 health law’s future remains uncertain

President Donald Trump announced last week his administration is ending cost-sharing reduction payments that help insurance companies pay part of lower- and middle-income people’s coverage costs. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Roughly 3.5 million more Americans are uninsured compared to the last quarter of 2016, a new survey found.

An ongoing Gallup-Sharecare survey that has asked at least 500 randomly sampled people each day since 2008 whether they have insurance shared its 2017 third-quarter results Friday.

The uninsured rate among adults was 12.3 percent as of Sept. 30. That’s up 1.4 percent from the third and fourth quarters of 2016, when the uninsured rate reached a record low of 10.9 percent.

The number and rate of uninsured Americans will likely continue to creep upward without Congress and President Donald Trump taking steps to “stabilize the insurance markets,” according to an analysis of the survey released by Gallup on Friday. Continue reading “Uninsured Up 3.5 Million Amid Health Care Uncertainty, Survey Finds”