Author: Data and Research Manager

As Election Nears, Trump Makes a Final Push Against Climate Science

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The administration is imposing new limits on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that would undercut action against global warming.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has recently removed the chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the nation’s premier scientific agency, installed new political staff who have questioned accepted facts about climate change and imposed stricter controls on communications at the agency.

The moves threaten to stifle a major source of objective United States government information about climate change that underpins federal rules on greenhouse gas emissions and offer an indication of the direction the agency will take if President Trump wins re-election.

An early sign of the shift came last month, when Erik Noble, a former White House policy adviser who had just been appointed NOAA’s chief of staff, removed Craig McLean, the agency’s acting chief scientist. Continue reading.

Ballrooms, candles and luxury cottages: During Trump’s term, millions of government and GOP dollars have flowed to his properties

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‘The 45th President’: One in a series looking back at the Trump presidency

President Trump welcomed the Japanese prime minister at Mar-a-Lago, in front of a towering arrangement of roses. The two could have met in Washington, but Trump said his private club was a more comfortable alternative.

“It is, indeed, the Southern White House,” Trump said, greeting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in front of the press in April 2018.

For Trump, there was another, hidden benefit. Money.

At Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s company would get paid to host his summit.

In the next two days, as Trump and Abe talked about trade and North Korea, Trump’s Palm Beach, Fla., club billed the U.S. government $13,700 for guest rooms, $16,500 for food and wine and $6,000 for the roses and other floral arrangements. Continue reading.

GOP former US attorneys back Biden, say Trump ‘threat to rule of law’

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On Tuesday, twenty Republican former U.S. attorneys endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, citing that President Trump has threatened the rule of law, Reuters reported.

“We believe that President Trump’s leadership is a threat to the rule of law in our country,” the group wrote in a letter released to the public, according to Reuters.

All of the prosecutors, who have served under Republican presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to George W. Bush, noted that they did not agree with the president’s leadership style. They noted that they were unnerved by the president firing FBI Director James Comey in 2017 and dismissing former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, according to Reuters. Continue reading.

Judge rejects Justice Dept. bid to short-circuit defamation case brought by woman who accused Trump of rape

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A federal judge Tuesday rejected the Justice Department’s bid to make the U.S. government the defendant in a defamation lawsuit brought by a woman who says President Trump raped her decades ago, paving the way for the case to again proceed.

In a 59-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan wrote that Trump did not qualify as a government “employee” under federal law, nor was he acting “within the scope of his employment” when he denied during interviews in 2019 that he had raped journalist E. Jean Carroll in a Manhattan department store during the 1990s.

Carroll sued Trump over that denial in New York in November, and last month the Justice Department moved the case to federal court and asked a judge to substitute the U.S. government as the defendant. The department argued Trump was “acting within the scope of his office as President of the United States” when he disputed Carroll’s allegations. Continue reading.

House Judiciary GOP slammed for ‘psychopathic’ tweet implying Barrett is a birthday gift for Hillary Clinton

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On Monday evening, the House Judiciary Committee tweeted a gloating jab at Hillary Clinton following the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

The juvenile behavior of the committee, whose ranking member is Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), promptly earned criticism from commenters on social media Continue reading..

Trump appointee resigns over the president’s order removing job protections for many civil servants

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The Trump administration-appointed head of a key advisory council on the civil service has resigned over an executive order to strip away protections against political interference in hiring and firing for a large portion of the career federal workforce.

The order, which could affect tens of thousands or more career positions involved in making or carrying out policy, “is nothing more than a smoke screen for what is clearly an attempt to require the political loyalty of those who advise the President, or failing that, to enable their removal with little if any due process,” Ronald Sanders wrote in his letter of resignation Sunday from the Federal Salary Council.

“I simply cannot be part of an Administration that seeks . . . to replace apolitical expertise with political obeisance. Career Federal employees are legally and duty-bound to be nonpartisan; they take an oath to preserve and protect our Constitution and the rule of law . . . not to be loyal to a particular President or Administration,” he wrote. Continue reading.

Senate packs up with coronavirus relief bill on ice until after elections

Mnuchin, Pelosi still talking, but little sign of a breakthrough

Senators prepared to leave town Monday night for their October recess with virtually no prospect of passing new COVID-19 aid legislation before the Nov. 3 elections.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke by phone for 52 minutes on Monday in what has become a near-daily attempt to narrow differences on pandemic relief between Democrats and the Trump administration. But there was no indication of any major progress.

Democrats “continue to eagerly await the Administration’s acceptance of our health language, which includes a national strategic plan on testing and tracing,” Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill tweeted after the call. And Hammill suggested that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has resisted a large-scale aid deal, would need to show a greater willingness to compromise. Continue reading.

House Climate Action Caucus introduces Climate Action Plan

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SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – On Tuesday of this week, the Minnesota House Climate Action Caucus held a virtual public forum to introduce the Minnesota Climate Action Plan, a new science-based plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to ongoing climate change, and build resilience.

“Minnesotans are already facing impacts of climate change, and we are running out of time to prevent irreversible and potentially catastrophic changes to the state we cherish,” said Rep. Patty Acomb (DFL – Minnetonka), Chair of the House Climate Action Caucus. “We must take immediate action to protect our planet for generations to come. The Minnesota Climate Action Plan outlines the steps that will lead us to a thriving, carbon-free future, including a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. This ambitious plan will help tackle the climate crisis and provide a bright future for all Minnesotans.”

The main goal of the Climate Action Plan is a 45 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, which would put Minnesota on the path to be carbon-free by 2050. In addition, the plan aims to help communities adapt to changes that are already occurring and build climate resilience across the state.

Continue reading “House Climate Action Caucus introduces Climate Action Plan”

Twitter labels Trump post about mail ballots as ‘disputed’ and ‘misleading’

The president claimed, without evidence, there were “problems and discrepancies” with mail-in ballots “all over the USA.”

Twitter blocked a post by President Donald Trump on Monday that claimed, without evidence, there were “problems and discrepancies” with mail-in ballots “all over the USA.”

“Must have final total on November 3rd,” Trump wrote at the end of his post.

The social media company said the tweet was “disputed and might be misleading about how to participate in an election or another civic process.” Continue reading.

Walz calls on Minnesotans to hold the line on COVID-19

People letting their guard down, aiding the virus’ spread, officials say. 

Gov. Tim Walz urged Minnesotans to stick with mask-wearing and social distancing to reduce the spread of COVID-19 after conferring with a top White House official over the weekend and looking at troubling infection growth rates in bordering states.

“The next six to 12 weeks are going to be critical in this fight on COVID,” Walz said Monday at a news conference.

Walz and state health officials struck perhaps their most concerning tone in weeks regarding the pandemic — with several meaningful metrics of the spread of the novel coronavirus going in the wrong direction. Continue reading.