Trump Administration

GERMANY: US Ambassador Richard Grenell To Lead Campaign To Decriminalize Homosexuality Worldwide

NBC News reports: The Trump administration is launching a global campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality in dozens of nations where it’s still illegal to be gay, U.S. officials tell NBC News, a bid aimed in part at denouncing Iran over its human rights record. U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, the highest-profile openly gay person in the Trump …

Read More »

DHS Guts 2020 Foreign Election Meddling Task Force

The Daily Beast reports: Two teams of federal officials assembled to fight foreign election interference are being dramatically downsized, according to three current and former Department of Homeland Security officials. And now, those sources say they fear the department won’t prepare adequately for election threats in 2020. “The clear assessment from the intelligence community is that 2020 is going to …

Read More »

Disgraced Former Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke Teams Up With Corey Lewandowski At DC-Based Lobbying Firm

Politico reports: Ryan Zinke, who resigned as interior secretary last year amid scandal, is teaming up with Corey Lewandowski, President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, to work as senior advisers at Washington lobbying firm Turnberry Solutions. Zinke is the first former member of Trump’s Cabinet to join a lobbying firm — a new milestone for a president who took office …

Read More »

Trump Appointee Brock Long Out As FEMA Chief

The Associated Press reports: Brock Long, administrator at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has reportedly resigned. In a statement announcing his resignation, Long said in part, “this has been the opportunity of the lifetime, it is time for me to go home…” Long said Peter Gaynor will serve as acting FEMA administrator in the meantime. From September 2018 report …

Read More »

State Department Hires Former Fox News Reporter To Head Counter-Propaganda And Disinformation Agency

CNN reports: A former Fox News reporter is expected to be appointed to lead the State Department agency in charge of efforts to counter foreign propaganda and disinformation, two officials told CNN. Lea Gabrielle is expected to be officially named the special envoy and coordinator of the Global Engagement Center as soon as Thursday, the official said. The GEC was …

Read More »

Resurfaced Video Shows Kellyanne Conway Threatening To Perform An Abortion On Feminists “With A Gun”

“I always love to say to those gender studies people, if you say ‘abortion’ or ‘stem cells’ or ‘guns’ one more time, I’m going to perform one of those on you because, with a gun, because you, by implication, are suggesting that women can’t do the math.” – Kellyanne Conway, in a 2007 speech to the College Republican National Committee, …

Read More »

Trump: I’m Told I’m Not A Target Of Mueller’s Probe

The Hill reports: In an interview with The New York Times, Trump says that deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has made clear to him that he is “not a subject” of Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. “He told the attorneys that I’m not a subject, I’m not a target,” Trump said in the interview. “Rod …

Read More »

Nikki Haley Rakes It In On Speaking Circuit: $200,000 And Use Of A Private Jet For Domestic Engagements

CNBC reports: With the Trump Cabinet’s revolving door continually spinning, organizations looking for an inside glimpse into the administration have increasing options — but they come with increasingly higher price tags. Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is currently quoting $200,000 and the use of a private jet for domestic speaking engagements, according to seven people with …

Read More »

Former Pharma Lobbyist To Be Top WH Policy Aide

Politico reports: The White House is expected to soon name Joe Grogan as the next head of its Domestic Policy Council, two sources with knowledge of the decision told POLITICO. The move would elevate Grogan, a top Office of Management and Budget health care official and ally of acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, to a role that …

Read More »

State Department Condemns Renewed Attacks On Gays By Chechnya: Russia Must “Investigate These Abuses”

Posted to the State Department’s website: We are deeply disturbed by credible reports out of Chechnya about renewed attacks against individuals perceived to be members of the LGBTI community. Civil society groups report that at least 40 individuals have been illegally detained since December, including two who reportedly died in custody after being tortured. We call on Russia to live …

Read More »

Chris Christie Scorches Jared Kushner In New Tell-All

The Guardian reports: Chris Christie, who was ousted as chairman of Donald Trump’s White House transition team in 2016, has written a blistering attack on Jared Kushner, whom he accuses of having carried out a political “hit job” on him as an act of revenge for prosecuting his father, Charles Kushner, a decade ago. In his soon to be published …

Read More »

US Halts Work With UN On Human Rights Violations

The Guardian reports: The Trump administration has stopped cooperating with UN investigators over potential human rights violations occurring inside America, in a move that delivers a major blow to vulnerable US communities and sends a dangerous signal to authoritarian regimes around the world. Quietly and unnoticed, the state department has ceased to respond to official complaints from UN special rapporteurs, …

Read More »

Trump Admin Mulls Broad Rollback Of Civil Rights Law

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration is considering a far-reaching rollback of civil rights law that would dilute federal rules against discrimination in education, housing and other aspects of American life, people familiar with the discussions said. A recent internal Justice Department memo directed senior civil rights officials to examine how decades-old “disparate impact” regulations might be changed or …

Read More »

DOJ Tells Acting AG He Need Not Recuse On Mueller

CNN reports: Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker has consulted with ethics officials at the Justice Department and they have advised him he does not need to recuse himself from overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, a source familiar with the process told CNN Thursday. The source added Whitaker has been in ongoing discussions with ethics officials since taking the …

Read More »

Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke To Resign Amid Ethics Scandal

Bloomberg reports: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has notified the White House that he intends to step down amid federal investigations into his travel, political activity and potential conflicts of interest, according to three people familiar with the matter. Zinke’s decision, expected to be announced on Wednesday, comes as Democrats, who’ve vowed to grill the him over his conduct, are about …

Read More »

Trump Inauguration Team Paid Trump Organization For Rooms, Meals, And Event Space At Trump’s DC Hotel

ProPublica reports: When it came out this year that President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee raised and spent unprecedented amounts, people wondered where all that money went. It turns out one beneficiary was Trump himself. The inauguration paid the Trump Organization for rooms, meals and event space at the company’s Washington hotel, according to interviews as well as internal emails and …

Read More »

DeVos Forced To Cancel $150M In Student Loan Debt

Politico reports: The Trump administration said Thursday it will cancel thousands of borrowers’ federal student loans, carrying out an Obama-era policy that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos had fought to kill. The move comes as DeVos is being forced to implement a package of regulations that created more protections for student loan borrowers who were affected by a school closure or …

Read More »

Pompeo Lies About Saudi Murder Of Journalist [VIDEO]

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared on Fox & Friends this morning where he appeared to deny that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince ordered the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Brian Kilmeade noted that many members of Congress are convinced of Salman’s guilt, especially after CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed lawmakers about the evidence collected by her team. To this point, Kilmeade …

Read More »

Trump Administration Shuts Down NIH Study That Uses Fetal Tissue Implanted In Mice In Search For HIV Cure

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration has shut down at least one government-run study that uses fetal tissue implanted into mice even before federal health officials reach a decision on whether to continue such research, which is opposed by antiabortion groups. A senior scientist at a National Institutes of Health laboratory in Montana told colleagues that the Health and …

Read More »

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke Reacts To Multiple Ethics Allegations By Calling Democratic House Rep A “Drunk”

Politico reports: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Friday accused the House Natural Resources Committee’s top Democrat of “drunken” behavior and paying “hush money” after the Democrat called for the secretary to resign for his series of ethics scandals. “It’s hard for him to think straight from the bottom of the bottle,” Zinke wrote on his official Interior Department Twitter account …

Read More »