DNC on Trump’s Latest ACA Sabotage

In response to the Trump administration’s new guidance encouraging states to skirt the ACA’s current income and coverage standards for federal health insurance subsidies, DNC spokesperson Daniel Wessel released the following statement:

“Despite the fact that voters overwhelmingly rejected Republicans’ health care sabotage in the midterm elections, Trump just took one of his most extreme steps yet to undermine the Affordable Care Act. The Trump administration’s new guidance undermines the law’s protections that currently help millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions obtain affordable coverage, and it could put health care out of reach for families across the country.

“While Republicans have made it clear they have no interest in protecting Americans’ health care, Democrats will continue to fight to increase access and affordability so working families can get the care they need.”

DNC on Trump’s Failed Nomination of Thomas Farr

DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement:

“Thomas Farr has spent his professional life attacking the civil rights of African Americans. He doesn’t belong anywhere near the federal bench, and his nomination was yet another example of the lengths Republicans will go to silence communities of color.

“Unlike Thomas Farr and Republican leaders, Democrats believe diversity makes our democracy stronger. We believe every eligible voter should be able to make their voice heard. Today is a victory for everybody who organized, spoke out, and refused to accept bigotry on the bench. And we will keep fighting back against any Trump nominee who threatens the values of equality and justice for all.”

Even More Editorial Boards Call on Trump Administration to Tackle Climate Change

A week after the Trump administration tried to bury its own report revealing the that climate change could cost our economy hundreds of billions of dollars and harm Americans across the country, editorial boards nationwide are still calling out Trump’s ignorance and inaction on this looming threat. See below:

NEW— Palm Beach Post: “By rejecting the reality of climate change, the president is putting all of America – all the world, really – in unnecessary danger. The same goes for other leading Republicans who maintain that taking steps to curb greenhouse gas emissions – with, say, a carbon tax – will harm our economy (Read: fossil-fuel industries). If that’s our government’s unshakable position, we’re in trouble.”

NEW — Yakima Herald: “Here, according to a scientific consensus, is the gist about what awaits our state should climate change continue unabated: fires in the forest, spread of disease, droughts in parched fields, floods on the coast, salmon die-offs, closed ski resorts, smoky summer (and fall) skies. Think the drought year of 2015. Every. Single. Year. Yes, it’s that severe.” Continue reading “Even More Editorial Boards Call on Trump Administration to Tackle Climate Change”

Whitaker made $1.2 million from conservative nonprofit

Newly released financial disclosures also show that acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker made $15,000 during a three-month stint as a paid CNN commentator in 2017. Credit: Nicholas Kamm, AFP, Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s controversial pick to run the Justice Department, acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, appears to have made more than $1.2 million heading a conservative nonprofit organization before joining the department last year.

As executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, or FACT, Whitaker made $502,000 in salary during the first nine months of 2017 before joining the Justice Department in September of that year as Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ chief of staff, according to a financial disclosure form released Tuesday.

Whitaker took in $402,000 in salary from FACT in 2016, according to the group’s tax filings. The remainder of his compensation came from previous years with the group, where he started in 2014.

View the complete November 20 article on the Politico.com website here.

Want to Know More About: Mueller’s Russia Investigation?

David Gregory: “The President Has Demonstrated Over And Over Again He Will Do Whatever He Can Do To Undermine The Investigation Short Of Firing Mueller. The Game Is Not Over Yet.” DAVID GREGORY: “The president has demonstrated over and over again he will do whatever he can do to undermine the investigation short of firing Mueller. The game is not over yet. He fired Jim Comey because he did not like how he was handling the investigation, and he deliberately brought on a new attorney general that had been outspoken in his criticism of this investigation and he is now making it clear that in his opinion the special prosecutor is pressuring people to lie and to flip against him. He’s been engaged in a political attack on this investigation from the very beginning and now it’s not just a message to manafort but others out there, whether it’s Flynn, whether it’s Michael Cohen, that if you can stay strong, obviously, Flynn already cooperated, that he may come to the rescue.” [New Day, CNN, 11/29/18; Video]

Nia Malika Henderson: “The President Seems To Have Some Sort Of Window Into The Mueller Investigation That He Might Not Have Had Weeks Ago.” NIA MALIKA HENDERSON: “Manafort’s lawyers are talking to Trump’s lawyers and the President seems to have some sort of window into the Mueller investigation that he might not have had weeks ago.” [New Day, CNN, 11/29/18; Video]

David Gregory: “Whatever, The Conclusion Of The Investigation, The Stunning Disregard Of How To Behave As A Presidential Candidate Is What Leaps Off The Page When You Look At This History.” DAVID GREGORY: “The fact there was this flirtation with Russia that was very open, that the president was talking about it on the campaign trail and there was nobody around the president to say how incredibly inappropriate it would be to get opposition research from a foreign government, to say nothing that, in fact, it would come from Putin’s Russia is astonishing. Whatever, the conclusion of the investigation, the stunning disregard of how to behave as a presidential candidate is what leaps off the page when you look at this history.” [New Day, CNN, 11/29/18; Video] Continue reading “Want to Know More About: Mueller’s Russia Investigation?”

GM WORKERS SPEAK OUT: ‘I can’t believe our president would allow this to happen’

Trump’s broken promises have devastated autoworkers and their communities in the wake of the latest announcement of layoffs and plant closures from General Motors. As one autoworker said, “I can’t believe our president would allow this to happen.”

Here are real stories of autoworkers and communities hurt by Trump’s broken promises:

“You are going right into Christmas, you are looking for celebration, and that’s not there now. So what do you do? Do you still continue to buy gifts?” – UAW member

“I can’t believe our president would allow this to happen.” – GM Lordstown worker

“This is devastating…Without GM, this area would be a ghost town.” – Previously laid off GM worker

Continue reading “GM WORKERS SPEAK OUT: ‘I can’t believe our president would allow this to happen’”

Trump demands action to reduce deficit, pushes new deficit spending

President Trump told Cabinet members they must cut budgets by 5 percent, saying, “One penny, every year, after four or five years, country’s in good shape.” (The Washington Post)

President Trump is demanding top advisers craft a plan to reduce the country’s ballooning budget deficits, but the president has flummoxed his own aides by repeatedly seeking new spending while ruling out measures needed to address the country’s unbalanced budget.

Trump’s deficit-reduction directive came last month, after the White House reported a large increase in the deficit for the previous 12 months. The announcement unnerved Republicans and investors, helping fuel a big sell-off in the stock market. Two days after the deficit report, Trump floated a surprise demand to his Cabinet secretaries, asking them to identify steep cuts in their agencies.

This account of Trump’s deficit stance is based on conversations with 10 current and former officials in the White House and Congress. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations or private conversations. The White House has not responded to repeated requests for comment.

View the complete November 25 article by Josh Dawsey and Damian Paletta on The Washington Post website here.

White House lacks lawyers to deal with empowered Democrats

Don McGahn, ex-White House senior attorney, left the counsel’s office in October. Credit: Evan Vucci, AP Photo

The office has been without a permanent leader since October and top deputies are departing, leaving just a skeletal staff in place.

The White House counsel’s office is down to a skeletal staff, potentially leaving it unprepared to deal with a flood of subpoenas for documents and witnesses when Democrats take control of the House.

The office has been without a permanent leader since White House senior attorney Don McGahn left the administration in mid-October. His replacement, Pat Cipollone, is caught up in an extended background check that’s prevented him from starting. And in the coming weeks, deputy counsel Annie Donaldson, who served as McGahn’s most trusted aide and as the office’s chief of staff, is expected to leave the administration, according to two Republicans close to the White House. Donaldson is moving to Alabama with her husband, Brett Talley, whose nomination for a federal judgeship the White House withdrew in December 2017.

Amid the leadership tumult, the counsel’s office has shrunk to about 25 lawyers, according to a second Republican close to the administration. That’s fewer than its recent high point of roughly 35 attorneys and well short of the 40 that some expect it will need to deal with a reinvigorated Democratic Party eager to investigate President Donald Trump’s tax returns and business dealings in foreign countries, reopen probes into Russian election meddling and explore the behavior of a bevy of Cabinet officials.

View the complete November 26 article by Nancy Cook and Darren Samuelsohn on the Politico.com website here.

What Trump has not done for African Americans and Hispanics

“African American poverty has reached its lowest rate ever, lowest rate ever.”

— President Trump, at a rally in Lebanon, Ohio, Oct. 12

“Hispanic American poverty has reached an all-time low.”

— President Trump, at a rally in Houston, Oct. 22

“Hispanic American homeownership recently hit its highest rate in much more than a decade.”

— President Trump, at a rally in Houston, Oct. 22

Continue reading “What Trump has not done for African Americans and Hispanics”

Trump administration paying informants to spy on migrant caravan

Credit: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP Photo

Taxpayer dollars are being used to spy on migrants fleeing violence, adding to the huge cost of Trump’s wasteful border stunt.

The Trump administration is reportedly paying undercover informants to infiltrate the migrant caravan and spy on the group as they make their way north after fleeing violence in Central America.

According to NBC News, the Department of Homeland Security is overseeing the operation to gather intelligence from the group of about 4,000 asylum-seeking migrants.

In addition to placing undercover informants within the caravan, DHS personnel are also reportedly collecting intelligence from migrants using WhatsApp groups to communicate along their journey.

View the complete November 21 article by Caroline Orr on the ShareBlue.com website here.