Trump Administration

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 …

The Hill reports: A former writer for “The Simpsons” on Wednesday ripped Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for using a snapshot from the show to knock Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), saying “please do not ever ever ever use Simpsons material in your twitter or watch the show or refer to it in any way.” Bill Oakley, along with his writing …

Roll Call reports: The Justice Department on Monday night backed President Donald Trump in the Supreme Court fight over congressional subpoenas for his financial documents, telling the justices that lawmakers must meet a higher bar when seeking a sitting president’s personal records. The cases, set for March 31 oral argument, center on subpoenas from three House committees to accounting firm …

From the government watchdog group CREW: White House Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President Jared Kushner violated the Hatch Act during a CNN interview on Sunday, according to a complaint filed today by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) with the Office of Special Counsel (OSC). Throughout the interview, Kushner advocated on behalf of the Trump campaign …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump’s targeting of CNN is moving to yet another arena: The annual presidential lunch with television network anchors. CNN anchors are being excluded from Tuesday’s lunch, three sources said on Monday night. Trump, like presidents before him, typically invites anchors from all the major networks to dine with him at the White House in advance of …

The New York Times reports: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services notified Congress on Sunday it may need to transfer up to $136 million to help combat the fast-moving coronavirus epidemic, a new sign of how the White House has increased its response in recent days. The notification came as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is …

Politico reports: A businessman facing federal charges over an alleged plot to trade political donations for help obtaining marijuana licenses around the country was working on a medical cannabis research deal with the Department of Veterans Affairs just weeks before his indictment. Andrey Kukushkin, a Ukraine-born cannabis investor whose multi-state marijuana projects and political donations were allegedly illegally funded by …

She’ll probably just ignore it. Nothing matters anymore. House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) warned Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Monday that the panel may subpoena her to testify after she attended campaign events on behalf of President Trump rather than testifying before the committee. The committee chair wrote that while DeVos is not barred from campaigning for the …

The New Jersey Advance reports: A Senate vote to end President Donald Trump’s impeachment proceedings without calling witnesses should be considered “half a trial,” the president’s former chief of staff John Kelly said Friday. “In my view, they kind of leave themselves open to a lot of criticism,” Kelly said in an interview in advance of his Feb. 12 appearance …

The BBC reports: A top Tanzanian official who launched a surveillance squad dedicated to hunting down gay people has been banned by the US from entering the country. The US state department said Paul Makonda, the administrative chief of the capital Dar es Salaam, was involved in “gross violations of human rights”. His immediate family members have also been barred …

NBC News reports: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday that the coronavirus outbreak in China could lead businesses to bring jobs back to the U.S. and Mexico. “Well, first of all, every American’s heart has to go out to the victims of the coronavirus. So I don’t want to talk about a victory lap over a very unfortunate, very …

Reuters reports: The U.S. economy maintained a moderate pace of growth in the fourth quarter, and again fell short of attaining the Trump administration’s coveted but elusive 3% annual growth target because of slumping business investment amid damaging trade tensions. The Commerce Department’s snapshot of gross domestic product on Thursday will show the Federal Reserve’s three interest rate cuts in …

The Washington Post reports: An attorney for John Bolton has pushed back against the White House’s assessment that his book manuscript contains classified material and asked for an expedited review of a chapter about Ukraine in case the former national security adviser is called to testify in the Senate impeachment trial. The Jan. 24 email to the White House from …