Trump Administration

The Hill reports: The Pentagon is moving $3.8 billion from various weapons programs such as the F-35 fighter jet to pay for President Trump’s southern border wall, according to a notice sent to Congress on Thursday. The notice sent to Congress said the money is going toward the “support of higher priority items” and is “required to provide support for …

ABC News reports: Hope Hicks, formerly President Donald Trump’s most trusted and longest serving aide, is expected to return to the administration in the coming weeks, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News. Hicks, who departed in early 2018, will return in the coming weeks as a senior adviser reporting to Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law. Her official title …

The Atlantic reports: Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, the former National Security Council aide and impeachment witness President Donald Trump fired Friday, was just doing his job, former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told students and guests at a Drew University event here Wednesday night. Over a 75-minute speech and Q&A session, Kelly laid out, in the clearest terms …

Just in from the House Judiciary Committee: Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) sent a letter signed by 23 Judiciary Committee Democratic Members confirming Attorney General William Barr will testify before the Committee on March 31st to address numerous concerns regarding his leadership of the Department of Justice and the President’s improper influence over the Department and our …

The Guardian reports: Senator Elizabeth Warren becomes the first Democratic presidential candidate to weigh in on the justice department reversal in the Roger Stone case. Warren says attorney general William Barr is corrupt and calls for his resignation. She includes a harsh appraisal of Senate Republicans. “Donald Trump is shredding the rule of law in this country. His AG overruled …

Raw Story reports: President Donald Trump boasted that Attorney General William Barr was corrupting the Department of Justice to help out his friends caught up in the Russia probe. Four prosecutors abruptly resigned from Roger Stone’s case after Barr appeared to intervene and reject their sentencing recommendation, and Trump removed all doubt that his attorney general was involved in a …

The Daily Beast reports: Three government attorneys on the Roger Stone case—former Mueller prosecutors Adam Jed, Aaron Zelinsky, and Jonathan Kravis—indicated in Tuesday court filings that they would be quitting the Roger Stone case immediately. Zelinsky said in a Tuesday filing that he would be resigning “effective immediately” as Special Assistant United States Attorney role in D.C. Kravis wrote in …

The New York Post report: The White House is expected to pull the nomination of Elaine McCusker to be the Pentagon’s comptroller and chief financial officer in the latest staffing fallout from President Trump’s impeachment, The Post has learned. McCusker resisted the president’s directive to stall about $250 million in military aid to Ukraine and her emails protesting the delay …

The Washington Post reports: The Justice Department plans to reduce its sentencing recommendation for longtime President Trump confidant Roger Stone, after top officials were apparently blindsided by the seven-to-nine year penalty prosecutors urged a judge to impose, a senior Justice Department official said Tuesday. In a stunning rebuke of career prosecutors that will surely raise questions about political meddling in …

The Washington Post reports: Attorney General William P. Barr acknowledged Monday that the Justice Department would evaluate material that Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trump’s personal attorney, had gathered from Ukrainian sources claiming to have damaging information about former vice president Joe Biden and his family — though Barr and other officials suggested Giuliani was being treated no differently than any …

Politico reports: White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Monday hinted that additional officials could be forced out of their roles following the ousters last week of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and Ambassador Gordon Sondland — both high-profile witnesses in the impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump. Asked during an interview on “Fox & Friends” whether there will be more dismissals …

The New York Post reports: White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham says she can’t get airtime on most of the big networks to discuss last week’s momentous events in Washington, including the State of the Union address, President Trump’s acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial and a strong jobs report. Appearing on Fox News, Grisham said every network but Fox …

Courthouse News reports: The Trump administration has quietly dropped its antitrust probe of California’s agreement with four major automakers on clean emissions standards. California Gov. Gavin Newsom wasn’t surprised. “These trumped up charges were always a sham – a blatant attempt by the Trump administration to prevent more automakers from joining California and agreeing to stronger emissions standards,” Newsom said …

Politico reports: Housing Secretary Ben Carson appeared to stray from prepared remarks as he introduced Donald Trump on Friday, declaring that the president “is not a racist” and pointing to how he treats the members and service workers at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The comments came at the beginning of a North Carolina event touting the administration’s Opportunity Zone …

The New York Times reports: New York State officials said on Friday that they planned to sue the Trump administration over its decision this week to ban thousands of New Yorkers from enrolling in programs that allow travelers to circumvent long lines at airports and borders. The lawsuit would be the latest escalation in tensions between President Trump and his …

Roll Call reports: Mining, logging and drilling in areas of southern Utah once part of two national monuments would be allowed under plans finalized Thursday by the Interior Department, igniting the anger of conservation groups and congressional Democrats. President Donald Trump drew the ire of tribes and environmentalists when he issued proclamations in December 2017 significantly reducing the size of …

Reuters reports: Ivanka Trump, the president’s jobs czar, is being credited with boosting the creation of permanent and well-paying positions by the nation’s leading manufacturing group. On a day when the administration recorded another good jobs report, the National Association of Manufacturers said that President Trump’s daughter has led the way in expanding unemployment “like no one in government has …

Mediaite reports: White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who has not held a public press briefing during her entire eight-month tenure, slammed the press in a memo sent to network TV anchors for leaking details of their off-the-record, pre-State-of-the-Union luncheon with President Donald Trump—and then strongly encouraged the press to leak said memo. Washington Post media critic Erik Wemple released …

NPR reports: Attorney General William Barr has issued new restrictions on opening investigations into politically sensitive individuals or entities, including a requirement that he approve any inquiry into a presidential candidate or campaign. Barr outlined the new policies in a three-page memo obtained by NPR as the Democratic primaries are underway and the country gears up for November’s presidential vote. …

ABC News reports: Residents of New York are no longer eligible to enroll in or renew Trusted Traveler programs, an official with Donald Trump’s administration told Fox News. In an interview on Wednesday night, acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf told Tucker Carlson that applications and renewals for Global Entry and other programs are suspended for all New …