Tag Archives: Trump administration

Mnuchin: Don’t Expect Stimulus Deal Before Election

The New York Times reports: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday that he did not expect an economic relief package to be enacted before the Nov. 3 election as he and Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California have continued to struggle to reach an agreement on a broad package to support the economy. Negotiators on Wednesday resumed discussions over a …

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Russia Rejects Trump’s Bid For Pre-Election Nuke Deal

The Guardian reports: US-Russian nuclear arms control talks have sunk into confusion after the top American negotiator claimed there was “an agreement in principle” between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, a claim Moscow quickly rejected as a “delusion”. Marshall Billingslea, the US special envoy for arms control, said he had flown to Helsinki on Monday to meet the Russian deputy …

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Labor Sec’s Wife Tests COVID+, Attended Barrett Event

Yahoo News reports: Trish Scalia, the wife of Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday afternoon, the Labor Department told staffers in an email on Tuesday night. Trish Scalia is “experiencing mild symptoms but doing well,” the Labor Department said, while the secretary has tested negative for the virus and has not shown any symptoms. Trish Scalia, …

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Barr’s “Unmasking” Probe Collapses In Pile Of Nothing

Glorious Leader will be ever so pissed: The federal prosecutor appointed by Attorney General William P. Barr to review whether Obama-era officials improperly requested the identities of individuals whose names were redacted in intelligence documents has completed his work without finding any substantive wrongdoing, according to people familiar with the matter. The revelation that U.S. Attorney John Bash, who left …

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SCOTUS Lets Trump Admin End US Census Early

NPR reports: The Trump administration can end counting for the 2020 census after the Supreme Court approved a request for now to suspend a lower court order that extended the count’s schedule. The high court’s ruling, following an emergency request the Justice Department made last week, is the latest turn in a roller coaster of a legal fight over the …

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DOJ Seeks To Seize Profits From Melania Tell-All Book

Reuters reports: The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday accused Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, author of a tell-all book about first lady Melania Trump, of breaking their nondisclosure agreement and asked a court to set aside profits from the book in a government trust. In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, Justice Department lawyers said Wolkoff, a former aide …

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Dems Demand Audit Of Trump’s $200 Gift Card Plan

Politico reports: Senior Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday called on government auditors to quickly review the Trump administration’s hastily devised plan to award drug-discount cards to seniors, warning it could be an election-linked gambit and violate federal law. “Given the unusual nature of these taxpayer-funded payments to Medicare beneficiaries, we are concerned that the demonstration fails to comply with relevant federal …

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Trump Shovels Record Farm Subsidies To Rural Base

The New York Times reports: For the American farmers President Trump counts on for support, the government money is flowing faster than ever. Federal payments to farmers are projected to hit a record $46 billion this year as the White House funnels money to Mr. Trump’s rural base in the South and Midwest ahead of Election Day. The gush of …

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Gallup: Willingness To Get COVID Vax Drops To 50%

Just in from Gallup Polling: Americans’ willingness to be vaccinated against the coronavirus has dropped 11 percentage points, falling to 50% in late September. This sharp decline comes after the percentage dwindled from 66% in July to 61% in August. Meanwhile, according to Gallup Panel data from Aug. 17-30, the percentage of Americans who are inclined to delay returning to …

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New Cases Hit Two-Month High, Increases In 19 States

Reuters reports: New cases of COVID-19 in the United States hit a two-month high on Friday with over 58,000 infections of the coronavirus reported and hospitalizations in the Midwest at record levels for a fifth day in a row, according to a Reuters analysis. Ten of the 50 states reported record one-day rises in cases on Friday, including the Midwestern …

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Postmaster Donated $685K To 2020 GOP Convention

The Hill reports: Postmaster General Louis DeJoy donated over $685,000 to the committee that ran the Republican National Convention, according to new files with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The new FEC filings show DeJoy, who was previously a prominent North Carolina businessman and Republican donor before taking the helm of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), gave a total of …

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WH Blocked CDC Order For Masks On All Transport

The New York Times reports: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention drafted a sweeping order last month requiring all passengers and employees to wear masks on all forms of public and commercial transportation in the United States, but it was blocked by the White House, according to two federal health officials. The order would have been the toughest federal …

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Trump Admin May Seek Pre-Election Resignation Letters From All Political Appointees In Last Ditch Loyalty Test

Politico reports: The White House Presidential Personnel Office is considering asking nearly every political appointee in the Trump administration to write and tender provisional letters of resignation right before the election, according to two senior administration officials. The personnel office would then decide which ones to accept and which to reject — giving President Donald Trump maximum flexibility in choosing …

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Trump Administration Loses Court Battle To Withhold Citizenship From Child Born To Binational Gay Couple

The New York Daily News reports: The son of a gay binational couple who was born in Canada via surrogacy is a citizen of the United States, an appellate court ruled Friday. “Today, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously upheld a lower court ruling recognizing the citizenship from birth of Ethan Dvash-Banks, a …

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Mike Pence Abruptly Cancels Trip To Vote In Indiana

The Indianapolis Star reports: Vice President Mike Pence has canceled his Friday appearance in Indianapolis, where he planned to vote at the Indianapolis City-County Building. His office did not provide an explanation when asked why. His office said the trip would be rescheduled soon. Pence spoke at a rally Thursday in Nevada for President Trump’s reelection campaign. He flew out …

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Former Top Trump/GOP Fundraiser Elliot Broidy Charged With Illegal Lobbying On Behalf Of Foreign Interests

Bloomberg News reports: Elliott Broidy, a former top political fundraiser for President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, has been charged as part of a wide-ranging federal probe into back-channel efforts to influence the U.S. government on behalf of foreign interests. Broidy participated in a scheme to illegally lobby the Trump administration to stop investigating the embezzlement scandal at the …

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Meadows Hosted Wedding Against Lockdown Rules

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: White House chief of staff Mark Meadows hosted a lavish wedding for his daughter in Atlanta this May, despite a statewide order and city of Atlanta guidelines that banned gatherings of more than 10 people to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus. The wedding took place May 31 at the Biltmore Ballrooms in Midtown Atlanta. …

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Trump Admin Petitions SCOTUS To Stop US Census

CNN reports: The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to intervene and allow it to wrap up the 2020 census by blocking a lower court opinion requiring the count to continue until the end of October. The administration asked the high court for “immediate relief” because the trial court order will prevent Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross from delivering an …

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Federal Duck Stamp Contest Requires Hunting Images

The Audubon Society reports: The paintings submitted for this year’s federal duck stamp contest feature familiar images of wildlife art: A Cinnamon Teal bobs on a mountain lake. Two Brant tuck in to land in coastal chop. A placid pair of Red-breasted Mergansers float side by side, their jaunty crests aglow in early morning light. But a closer look at …

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Sessions In 2018: “We Need To Take Away Children”

The New York Times reports: The five U.S. attorneys along the border with Mexico, including three appointed by President Trump, recoiled in May 2018 against an order to prosecute all undocumented immigrants even if it meant separating children from their parents. They told top Justice Department officials they were “deeply concerned” about the children’s welfare. But the attorney general at …

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