Category: Latest News

Biden to sign executive order reforming ‘Buy American’ rules

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President Biden plans to sign an executive order on Monday aimed at strengthening “Buy American” rules with the goal of increasing the federal government’s procurement of American-made goods.

The order would set in motion several changes to the implementation of the laws requiring federal government agencies to procure materials and products domestically.

According to administration officials, the order Biden plans to sign Monday would create a new senior role at the White House Office of Management and Budget to oversee the implementation of the new rules. It would create a central review of waivers for Buy American requirements with the aim of reducing the number of unnecessary waivers, which allow agencies to purchase goods overseas. It would also call for a website where waiver requests can be publicly viewed. Continue reading.

Trump Administration Quietly Eased Sanctions on Israeli Billionaire

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The reversal by the Treasury Department during the administration’s final days came after an appeal by lobbyists with close ties to the former president.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration quietly moved in its final days to ease sanctions imposed in late 2017 on an Israeli billionaire who had been punished by the Treasury Department for corrupt and abusive mining practices in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The reversal by the Treasury came after an appeal by lobbyistswith close ties to former President Donald J. Trump who were hired by Dan Gertler, the Israeli billionaire, including the lawyer Alan M. Dershowitz, who helped represent Mr. Trump during his first impeachment, and Louis J. Freeh, a former F.B.I. director.

Mr. Gertler was accused in 2017 by the Trump-era Treasury Department of using his connections to the former Congolese president, Joseph Kabila, to arrange “opaque and corrupt mining and oil deals” that cost the citizens of Congo more than a billion dollars in lost revenue. Continue reading.

Birx says someone was giving Trump ‘parallel data’ about Covid pandemic

Dr. Deborah Birx, the Trump White House coronavirus response coordinator, said in a CBS interview released on Sunday that Former President Donald Trump had been reviewing “parallel” data sets on the coronavirus pandemic from someone inside the administration.

“I saw the president presenting graphs that I never made,” Birx told Margaret Brennan on CBS News’ “Face The Nation.” “Someone inside was creating a parallel set of data and graphics that were shown to the president.”

Birx, who announced her retirement as President Joe Biden took office last week, said she doesn’t know the identity of the person who gave the president different information. She added that there were Covid-19 deniers within the Trump administration. Continue reading.

Sen. McCain’s Widow, Arizona Governor Shrug Off GOP Censure

Top Arizona Republican party officials are still upset with lawmakers for not objecting to presidential election results. But their criticisms are being met with yawns from their targets. 

Over the weekend, the Arizona state GOP censured three top leaders of their own party: Governor Doug Ducey, former Sen. Jeff Flake and Cindy McCain – the widow of late Sen. John McCain.

The state party organization censured Sen. Flake because he did not object to the electoral votes on January 6, the same day supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol. McCain, a businesswoman, was censured for supporting what they called “leftist causes” after endorsing President Joe Biden. Continue reading.

Members are quitting ‘sad’ Mar-a-Lago after Trump loses

NEW YORK(CNN Business) — Many once-loyal members of Mar-a-Lago are leaving because they no longer want to have any connection to former President Donald Trump, according to the author of the definitive book about the resort.

“It’s a very dispirited place,” Laurence Leamer, historian and author of “Mar-a-Lago: Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump’s Presidential Palace,” told MSNBC host Alex Witt on “Weekends with Alex Witt” Saturday. He said members are “not concerned about politics and they said the food is no good.” 

Leamer said he spoke to a number of former members who “silently walked out” after Trump left office. Continue reading.

Kevin McCarthy’s rude awakening

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Kevin McCarthy is learning you can get torched when you try to make everyone happy, especially after an insurrection.

Why it matters: The House Republican leader had been hoping to use this year to build toward taking the majority in 2022, but his efforts to bridge intra-party divisiveness over the Capitol siege have him taking heat from every direction, eroding his stature both with the public and within his party.

The latest proof: McCarthy’s digital director, Caleb Smith, sent a blast email to a group of GOP communications staff Saturday afternoon asking them to show their support for his boss. Continue reading.

Calls mount for Republican Rep. Scott Perry to resign for reported role in effort to overturn Georgia election

Calls are mounting for U.S. Rep. Scott Perry to resign after a report late Saturday exposed his “significant role” in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election. 

Perry, a Republican from York County, connected President Donald Trump with a Justice Department official to try to remove the acting U.S. attorney general from his post and pressure Georgia lawmakers to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential contest, according to The New York Times. 

The congressman did not respond to questions from The Times before publication. He also did not immediately respond to questions from the USA TODAY Network on Saturday night. Continue reading.

Lawmakers move to oust extremists from military

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Lawmakers are taking matters into their own hands to prevent white supremacists and other extremists from joining and remaining in the military.

Following the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol — and the subsequent revelation that nearly 1 in 5 people charged in connection with the riot have some form of military background — Congress plans to insert language into this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to address extremism at the Pentagon and other federal agencies.

“The attack on our Capitol was an insurrection fueled in large part by groups that espouse the same extreme white supremacists’ views groups that actively recruit veterans and from the ranks of our military,” Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Md.) said in a statement to The Hill. Continue reading.

‘The trial is stupid’: Marco Rubio battles Chris Wallace over Trump’s insurrection impeachment

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Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on Sunday said that he will attempt to end former President Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial because it is “stupid.”

Rubio make the remarks during an interview with Fox News host Chris Wallace.

“First of all, I think the trial is stupid,” Rubio said dismissively. “We already have a flaming fire in this country and it’s like taking a bunch of gasoline and pouring it on top of the fire.” Continue reading.

Numerous Capitol Police officers who responded to riot test positive for coronavirus

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Since the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, 38 U.S. Capitol Police employees have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the head of the officers’ union said Saturday. Cases are also climbing among members of the D.C. National Guard stationed around the Capitol.

Meantime, the Justice Department said five more people have been arrested in the Capitol riot, including a county jail guard from New Jersey who took an “emergency holiday” from work to travel to Washington and a Federal Aviation Administration employee from California who is a QAnon follower, court records stated.

In another development, two police officers from rural Virginia who had admitted their participation in the Capitol siege were suspended without pay by their department after a search warrant affidavit disclosed that one told a friend on Jan. 10: “I’m going to war . . . DC on the 20th for sure.” Continue reading.