Tag: Trump Administration

Read Anthony Scaramucci’s old tweets. You’ll understand why he deleted them.

The following article by Kristine Phillips was posted on the Washington Post website July 23, 2017:

New White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci hasn’t always shared the political views of the administration he now serves.

But shortly after taking on the new job, the Wall Street financier announced that he’s deleting old tweets, some of which praised Hillary Clinton and showed that he’s at odds with his new boss on issues such as gun control, climate change, Islam and illegal immigration. Scaramucci said Saturday that his previous social media posts shouldn’t distract from his new job. Continue reading “Read Anthony Scaramucci’s old tweets. You’ll understand why he deleted them.”

Former Obama spy chiefs upbraid Trump for his remarks about his intelligence agencies

The following article by Ellen Nakashima was posted on the Washington Post website July 21, 2017:

ASPEN, Colo. — Two former senior Obama administration intelligence officials on Friday expressed anger at President Trump’s statements disparaging the intelligence community and disbelief at his embrace of Russia.

In remarkably strong terms and in their first extensive remarks on the topic since leaving office on Jan. 20, former CIA director John Brennan and former director of national intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. let loose on Trump, who before taking office had compared his intelligence community to Nazi Germany. Continue reading “Former Obama spy chiefs upbraid Trump for his remarks about his intelligence agencies”

Trump ends covert CIA program to arm anti-Assad rebels in Syria, a move sought by Moscow

The following article by Greg Jaffe and Adam Entous was posted on the Washington Post website July 19, 2017:

President Trump has decided to end the CIA’s covert program to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels battling the government of Bashar al-Assad, a move long sought by Russia, according to U.S. officials.

The program was a central plank of a policy begun by the Obama administration in 2013 to put pressure on Assad to step aside, but even its backers have questioned its efficacy since Russia deployed forces in Syria two years later. Continue reading “Trump ends covert CIA program to arm anti-Assad rebels in Syria, a move sought by Moscow”

Trump Accuses Voting Officials of Hiding Something

The following article by John T. Bennett was posted on the Roll Call website July 19, 2017:

At first vote commission meeting, accusations surround data claims

President Donald Trump kicked off the first meeting of a panel he has tasked with probing his own voter fraud claims by questioning why some states are refusing to turn over voting data to his administration.

“I’m pleased that more than 30 states have already agreed to share the information with the commission and the other states that information will be forthcoming,” Trump said. “If any state does not want to share this information, one has to wonder what they’re worried about.”

That’s when the unpredictable president appeared to venture from his prepared remarks and went right after state officials who are withholding the voter data his administration is seeking. Continue reading “Trump Accuses Voting Officials of Hiding Something”

Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s claim that ‘criminals take notice’ of cities with sanctuary policies

The following article by Michelle Ye Hee Lee was posted on the Washington Post site July 17, 2017:

Credit: AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

“When cities like Philadelphia, Boston, or San Francisco advertise that they have these policies, the criminals take notice. According to a recent study from the University of California Riverside, cities with these policies have more violent crime on average than those that don’t.”
— Attorney General Jeff Sessions, speech on sanctuary cities in Las Vegas, July 12, 2017 

In a speech about “sanctuary cities,” Sessions cited research from University of California at Riverside that does not actually support his point. There is little research looking at the impact of sanctuary policies on crime. It’s a difficult correlation to study; many factors affect crime, and state and local law enforcement do not always track inmate citizenship status. Continue reading “Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s claim that ‘criminals take notice’ of cities with sanctuary policies”

Keeping Voters off the Rolls

The following article by Liz Kennedy and Danielle Root was posted on the Center for American Progress website July 18, 2017:

Introduction and summary

The ability to cast a ballot freely is key to having our voices heard and exercising control over our government. Without the right to vote, people do not have a say in the laws they must follow, and if the basic precept of a liberal democracy—the consent of the governed—is broken, the descent into authoritarianism begins. But to cast a ballot, every state except North Dakota requires people to register to vote.1

Many states have made great advances in lowering barriers to voter registration, providing a gateway to voter participation through tools such as automatic voter registration, same-day registration, and online voter registration.2 Unfortunately, many states are using voter registration tricks that manipulate the voter rolls and keep eligible

Americans from having their voices heard. This report looks at two of the worst practices used to block eligible voters from participation: documentary proof of citizenship requirements, where people must show evidence of citizenship in order to become registered to vote, and illegal voter purges. Like other forms of voter suppression, both of these practices close off the democratic process to wide swaths of eligible Americans.

Continue reading “Keeping Voters off the Rolls”

Why Repeal-and-Delay Is a Risky Health Care Strategy

The following article by Margot Sanger-Katz was posted on the New York Times website July 7 2017:

President Trump and Senator Ted Cruz have each talked up the possibility of repealing Obamacare without an immediate replacement. Credit Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

If you can’t repeal and replace Obamacare all at once, what about just repealing it first, and coming up with new ideas later?

That was the preferred political strategy of many in Congress after the election, but it was ultimately rejected by the White House and House Speaker Paul Ryan, who determined that Republicans should repeal and install a new plan simultaneously.

Now, as Republican senators balk at the health bill their leaders have drafted, several politicians have suggested that it’s time to return to the original idea. Such a strategy would come with tremendous political risks for Republicans and practical risks for consumers, many of whom might end up dealing with zombie-like markets. Continue reading “Why Repeal-and-Delay Is a Risky Health Care Strategy”

Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s treasury secretary, is hurtling toward his first fiasco

The following article by Damian Paletta was posted on the Washington Post website July 17, 2017:

President Donald Trump walks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to The White House after signing Executive Orders at the Treasury Building on April 21. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

Shortly before he was sworn in as treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin spoke with his predecessor to get some advice.

Pay attention to the debt problems in Puerto Rico, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warned Mnuchin, and remember that China’s currency issues are more complex than the incoming president, Donald Trump, had suggested during the campaign, according to two people briefed on the exchange who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal private discussions.

And in pointed remarks, Lew told Mnuchin to take the debt ceiling seriously — or face a potential financial crisis.

Months later, Mnuchin is hurtling toward his first fiasco, unable to get Congress, let alone his colleagues in the Trump administration, on board with a strategy to raise the federal limit on governmental borrowing. Continue reading “Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s treasury secretary, is hurtling toward his first fiasco”

‘Lie after lie after lie’: Fox News’s Shepard Smith has a Cronkite moment on Russia

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website July 14, 2017:

Leanne Naramore @LeanneNaramore

Shep Smith: “The deception, Chris, is mind-boggling…why are we getting told all these lies?”

Chris Wallace: “I don’t know what to say”

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Between its “Fox and Friends” morning show and Sean Hannity at night, Fox News has become a haven for those who think this whole Russia thing is nonsense. On Friday morning, Steve Doocy even declared that “the Russia story is starting to fall apart.” Continue reading “‘Lie after lie after lie’: Fox News’s Shepard Smith has a Cronkite moment on Russia”

Feeling That Trump Will ‘Say Anything,’ Europe Is Less Restrained, Too

The following article by Steven Erlanger was posted on the New York Times website July 9, 2017:

Credit: Felipe Trueba / EPA

HAMBURG, Germany — The Europeans have stopped trying to paper over their differences with President Trump and the United States.

Traditionally respectful of American leadership and mindful of the country’s crucial role in European defense and global trade, European leaders normally repress or soften their criticism of United States presidents. Europeans were generally not happy with President Barack Obama’s reluctance to involve the country in Libya and Syria, for example, or his tardiness to engage in what became an international confrontation with Russia in Ukraine, but their criticism was quiet. Continue reading “Feeling That Trump Will ‘Say Anything,’ Europe Is Less Restrained, Too”