Tag: Trump White House

Engel announces contempt proceedings against Pompeo

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The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Friday announced contempt proceedings against Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, saying the country’s top diplomat has ignored the panel’s request to investigate his conduct.

Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) said the committee will begin drafting a resolution to hold the secretary in contempt following his refusal to provide subpoenaed documents related to an investigation into whether he has misused government resources for political reasons.

The accusations of contempt are related to two subpoenas. The first stretches back to a September request to the State Department for documents related to the House impeachment investigation into President Trump’s withholding of military assistance to Ukraine. Continue reading.

‘That’s pretty offensive’: Kellyanne Conway snaps at reporter who called Kenosha vigilante a Trump ‘supporter’

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White House adviser Kellyanne Conway on Thursday lashed out at a CNN reporter who asked why President Donald Trump has not condemned a supporter who allegedly killed two people in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Conway, who is leaving her job to spend more time with her family, was asked by reporters about the shooting of Jacob Blake at the hands of police.

“We’re generously resourcing and we’re deeply respecting those whose job it is to keep us all safe,” Conway explained, “who run toward the gunfire, who run into the burning buildings when we’re told to run out of them and run away from them. And I pray for the Blake family.” Continue reading.

Kellyanne Conway undermined the truth like no other Trump official. And journalists enabled her.

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Among the many appalling scenes in the many tell-all books written from an inside-the-Trump-administration perspective, one in particular spoke volumes about how Kellyanne Conway operates:

Former White House aide Cliff Sims wrote in “Team of Vipers” that he once sat down in the West Wing at the personal laptop of President Trump’s senior adviser, at her direction, to compose a press statement. But because Conway’s text messages were tied to both her phone and her personal computer, Sims kept getting distracted by “a nonstop stream of iMessages popping up on the screen,” he recalled.

“Over the course of 20 minutes or so, she was having simultaneous conversations with no fewer than a half-dozen reporters, most of them from outlets the White House frequently trashed for publishing ‘fake news’ . . . As I sat there trying to type, she bashed Jared Kushner, Reince Priebus, Steve Bannon, and Sean Spicer,” and talked about Trump “like a child she had to set straight.” Continue reading.

Kellyanne Conway to leave White House at end of month

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White House counselor Kellyanne Conway will depart her position in the Trump administration at the end of the month to focus on family matters, she said in a statement late Sunday.

“This is completely my choice and my voice,” Conway said. “In time, I will announce future plans. For now, and for my beloved children, it will be less drama, more mama.”

Conway has been a close adviser to President Trump dating back to the 2016 campaign. She was the first woman to manage a victorious presidential campaign after she took the reins late in the 2016 cycle, and she has served in her White House role since the beginning of the administration. Continue reading.

Advisers Consider Whether Trump Can Cut Taxes Without Congress

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Trump’s lawyers and economic advisers have studied how far they could stretch executive authority to set tax policy, though the legality of any cuts is dubious.

WASHINGTON — White House officials have explored whether President Trump has the power to sidestep Congress and unilaterally cut a broad swath of taxes as the president looks for ways to inject fuel into a slumping economy, according to a senior administration official.

While such a move is not imminent, Mr. Trump’s advisers have sought legal guidance from White House lawyers about whether the president has the authority to eliminate certain taxes, including income and business taxes, without the approval of Congress.

The discussions about how much power the president can wield over tax policy come as Mr. Trump prepares to delay payroll taxesfor some workers until the end of the year. But unlike that move, which simply defers what workers owe until some point in the future, the White House is discussing whether the president can actually eliminate taxes owed by businesses, workers and investors. Continue reading.

White House clarifies limits of jobless aid plan as talks with Congress dim

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Unemployment benefit will be $300 per week, not the $400 Trump promised on Saturday

President Trump’s senior aides acknowledged on Tuesday that they are providing less financial assistance for the unemployed than the president initially advertised amid mounting blowback from state officials of both parties.

On Saturday, Trump approved an executive action that he claimed would provide an additional $400 per week in expanded unemployment benefits for Americans who have lost their jobs during the pandemic.

By Tuesday, senior White House officials were saying publicly that the maneuver only guarantees an extra $300 per week for unemployed Americans — with states not required to add anything to their existing state benefit programs to qualify for the federal benefit. Continue reading.

Secret Service shoots man near the White House

Washington Post logoA man was shot by a Secret Service officer near the White House on Monday, leading authorities to interrupt a briefing by President Trump and escort him from the press room.

The 51-year-old man had approached an officer posted near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW around 5:50 p.m. and said he had a weapon, said Thomas Sullivan, chief of the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service.

He said the man ran aggressively toward the officer and withdrew an object from his clothing.  Continue reading.

New Trump chief of staff drew hard line during relief talks, challenging Democrats’ approach

Washington Post logoIrritated by multiple leaks during the coronavirus relief negotiations, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi instituted a rule forbidding participants from bringing in their phones, so that talks couldn’t be recorded.

But on Wednesday, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows refused to surrender his device upon entering Pelosi’s office, insisting he had an important call to take, according to two people familiar with the episode who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe it.

Pelosi (D-Calif.) told Meadows that the phone had to go, or he did.

Still Meadows refused. Continue reading.

‘The Lord’ Created Executive Orders, Proclaims White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro

The creator stepped in “because of partisan bickering and divided government,” Navarro said on “Meet the Press.”

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said Sunday that “the Lord” created executive orders to trump partisan bickering.

That probably wouldn’t hold up against a court challenge to controversial executive actions President Donald Trump signed Saturday. House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the orders “absurdly unconstitutional.”

Navarro told Chuck Todd on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that The “Lord and the Founding Fathers created executive orders because of partisan bickering and divided government. That’s what we have here, but the president has taken action.” Continue reading.

Mnuchin suggests taxpayers will have to pay back COVID money unless Trump is reelected

AlterNet logoTreasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin suggested on Sunday that Americans will have to pay the government back for any payroll tax reduction unless President Donald Trump is reelected.

In an interview on FOX, host Chris Wallace noted that the president’s latest executive action on COVID-19 financial relief is “not a tax cut.”

“It’s a payroll tax suspension,” Wallace explained. “Isn’t there a danger that a lot of businesses won’t pass these saving through to workers because they’re going to hold on to the money because at some point, according to this executive action by the end of the year, those payroll taxes are going to be have to be paid anyway?” Continue reading.