Tag: Trump Administration

As ACA enrollment nears, administration keeps cutting federal support of the law

The following article by Juliet EIlperin was posted on the Washington Post website October 5, 2017:

After failing to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Republican leaders said it will “implode.” Health-care experts disagree, saying the ACA is stable under current law — but President Trump and congressional Republicans could change that. (Daron Taylor/The Washington Post)

For months, officials in Republican-controlled Iowa had sought federal permission to revitalize their ailing health-insurance marketplace. Then President Trump read about the request in a newspaper story and called the federal director weighing the application.

Trump’s message in late August was clear, according to individuals who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations: Tell Iowa no. Continue reading “As ACA enrollment nears, administration keeps cutting federal support of the law”

Trump’s decision on Iran nuclear deal could cause major breach with allies in Europe

The following article by Karen DeYoung and Carol Morello was posted on the Washington Post website October 5, 2017:

British Ambassador to the United States Kim Darrouch, third from left, speaks during a discussion on “Europe and the Iran Deal” with French Ambassador to the United States Gérard Araud, second from left, German Ambassador to the United States Peter Wittig, right and European Union Ambassador to the United States David O’Sullivan, left, at the Atlantic Council in Washington on Sept. 25, 2017. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

More than any other issue that has threatened transatlantic cohesion this year, President Trump’s decision to decertify Iranian compliance with the nuclear deal could start a chain of events that would sharply divide the United States from its closest traditional allies in the world.

“After the Paris climate decision,” in which Trump withdrew the United States from a widely supported, painfully negotiated accord, “this could push multilateralism to the breaking point,” said a senior official from one of the three European signatories to the Iran deal.

None of the three — Britain, France and Germany — believes Iran is in violation, and each has said publicly it will not renegotiate the nuclear agreement.

U.S. imposition of sanctions affecting banks that even indirectly do business in Iran would doubtless influence those countries’ companies, they say, and would be considered an unfriendly act. Continue reading “Trump’s decision on Iran nuclear deal could cause major breach with allies in Europe”

Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. Were Close to Being Charged With Felony Fraud

The following article by Jesse Eisinger and Justin Elliott with ProPublica and Andrea Bernstein and Ilya Marritz with WNYC was posted on the ProPublica website October 4, 2017:

Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr., arrive at the 58th presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2017. (Win McNamee/Pool via Bloomberg/Getty Images)

This article is a collaboration between ProPublica, WNYC and The New Yorker and is not subject to our Creative Commons license.

In the spring of 2012, Donald Trump’s two eldest children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr., found themselves in a precarious legal position. For two years, prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office had been building a criminal case against them for misleading prospective buyers of units in the Trump SoHo, a hotel and condo development that was failing to sell. Despite the best efforts of the siblings’ defense team, the case had not gone away. An indictment seemed like a real possibility. The evidence included emails from the Trumps making clear that they were aware they were using inflated figures about how well the condos were selling to lure buyers. Continue reading “Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. Were Close to Being Charged With Felony Fraud”

Stephen Miller solidifies influence in White House

The following article by Jordan Fabian was posted on the Hill website October 5, 2017:

Kellyanne Conway and Stephen Miller walk through the colonnade of the White House on February 10, 2017. Credit: Getty)

Stephen Miller is a survivor in President Trump’s White House.

The young policy aide has solidified his influence, even as would-be allies such as Stephen Bannon have been forced out of the West Wing.

In just the past month, he played a key role in developing the administration’s new travel ban, pushed Trump to scrap an Obama-era program for young immigrants living illegally in the U.S. and argued for a historically low refugee cap. Continue reading “Stephen Miller solidifies influence in White House”

The Trump administration has already been rolling back gun regulations

The following article by Beth Reinhard and Sari Horwitz was posted on the Washington Post website October 4, 2017:

President Trump speaks in April at the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action’s Leadership Forum in Atlanta. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press)

Donald Trump campaigned as a fierce defender of the Second Amendment and the favored candidate of the National Rifle Association, vowing to undo any actions by President Barack Obama on gun control.

But when Trump nixed one of Obama’s most significant efforts to expand background checks on prospective gun buyers, he did so without fanfare. The Feb. 28 bill signing, which blocked the Social Security Administration from reporting mentally impaired recipients to a national background-check database, earned just a brief mention at the end of a White House advisory that contained no reference to firearms. Reporters ushered into the Oval Office that day heard Trump extol two other bills encouraging women to pursue careers in science. Continue reading “The Trump administration has already been rolling back gun regulations”

Billionaire Mercer Donated to Fund Paying Trump Legal Bills

The following article by Graham Lanktree of Newsweek was posted on the National Memo website October 3, 2017:

Billionaire Robert Mercer and his wife Diana donated almost $200,000 to the legal defense fund of the Republican Party on the day that President Donald Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey, financial filings show.

The combined $193,400 donation the Mercers made on May 9 went to the GOP legal fund that Trump has been drawing from to pay the lawyers defending him during the investigation into whether Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Continue reading “Billionaire Mercer Donated to Fund Paying Trump Legal Bills”

No, Mr. President — The Puerto Rico Crisis Is Not About You

The following article by Gene Lyons was posted on the National Memo website October 3, 2017:

Credit: Weather.com

When the going gets tough, the tough go golfing.

Doubtless in years to come, every home in Puerto Rico will proudly display replicas of the golfing trophy President Trump dedicated to the brave citizens of the beleaguered island to memorialize Hurricane Maria.

Unless I miss my guess, donaldjtrump.com will soon be peddling them along with Make America Great Again T-shirts, ball caps, coffee mugs and engraved medals featuring the great man’s likeness. Continue reading “No, Mr. President — The Puerto Rico Crisis Is Not About You”

Hedge fund billionaire flew top Mnuchin aide on private jet to Palm Beach

The following article by Damian Paletta and Tom Hamburger was posted on the Washington Post website October 3, 2017:

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s top aide flew on a hedge fund billionaire’s private jet to Palm Beach, Fla., several months ago, people familiar with the trip said, the latest example of senior Trump administration officials using luxury air travel even though it often raises red flags with ethics officials.

Eli Miller, Mnuchin’s chief of staff, flew with Nelson Peltz, a founding partner of New York-based Trian Fund Management, on the trip. Peltz is an activist shareholder who has sought a board seat at Procter & Gamble, seeking to shake up management. He has spoken glowingly about Trump’s proposal to slash tax rates on businesses and the wealthy, which is something designed in large part by senior Treasury officials. Continue reading “Hedge fund billionaire flew top Mnuchin aide on private jet to Palm Beach”

Fancy dinners, far-flung speeches: Calendars detail EPA chief’s close ties to industry

The following article by Brady Dennis and Juliet EIlperin was posted on the Washington Post website October 3, 2017:

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt shakes hands with miners during an April visit to a Consol Pennsylvania Coal Co. mine in Sycamore, Pa. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)

During his seven months in office, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has filled his days meeting with executives from many of the companies he regulates, while all but sidestepping environmental and public health groups. But the face time with industry representatives has extended well beyond his Washington office.

On April 26, for example, Pruitt had lunch with executives from Southern, one of the nation’s biggest coal-burning utilities. They dined at Equinox, a restaurant near the White House, where the baby-carrot-and-red-beet salad with shrimp runs $28. Later that day, Pruitt met with senior leaders at Alliance Resource Partners, a major coal-mining operation, for a dinner at BLT Prime, a steakhouse in the Trump International Hotel, just across from EPA headquarters. Continue reading “Fancy dinners, far-flung speeches: Calendars detail EPA chief’s close ties to industry”

Ivanka Trump’s Report Card on Women’s and Working Families’ Issues

The following article by Kaitlin Holmes, Shilpa Phadke, Jocelyn Frye, Laura E. Durso, Kate Bahn, Jamila Taylor and Katie Hamm was posted on the Center for American Progress website October 3, 2017:

Is Her Performance Living Up to Her Promises?

Credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

One year ago, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump announced his intentions to add new policies on paid family leave and child care to his official platform.1 These proposals reportedly were largely influenced by his daughter, Ivanka Trump, who actively campaigned to frame her father as a feminist and to pitch herself as a champion for working women and families.2 Continue reading “Ivanka Trump’s Report Card on Women’s and Working Families’ Issues”