Things Trump (and his nominated minions) Did - Day III | Blog#42
The Great Undoing at Dizzying Speed
Lots of footage of confirmation hearings. Lots of tinkering with our civil service. There will be many updates throughout the day. If you are not subscribed, please do, free or paid ($5 much appreciated).
Elon Musk bashes the $500 billion AI project Trump announced, claiming its backers don’t ‘have the money’
Shortly after President Donald Trump announced a new massive AI infrastructure investment from the White House, “First Buddy” Elon Musk tried to tear it down.
Continue reading at CNN
News Alert: US military ordering thousands more troops to southern border
Thousands of additional active duty US troops are being ordered to the southern US border with Mexico, just two days after President Donald Trump mandated that the US military step up its presence there, according to officials familiar with the matter.
There are already roughly 2,200 active duty forces at the border as part of Joint Task Force-North, US Northern Command’s border mission based out of El Paso, Texas. They help support US Customs and Border Protection’s work there, performing mostly logistical and bureaucratic tasks like data entry, detection and monitoring, and vehicle maintenance.
Continue reading at CNN
Trump to meet with Republican key to tax negotiations
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), a leader in the effort to lift the limit on a state and local tax deduction some key House Republicans are demanding, said at a POLITICO Playbook event on Wednesday morning that he will be meeting with President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday.
New York, New Jersey and California Republicans made a pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago recently to reiterate their demands to lift the so-called SALT cap, which limits the deduction to $10,000, in negotiations over a large tax bill. The lawmakers say the cap is harming constituents in their politically competitive, high-tax districts.
Continue reading at Politico
News Alert: Justice Department issues memo threatening to prosecute officials who resist immigration crackdown
A new Justice Department memo outlines the Trump administration’s plans to challenge sanctuary cities laws by threatening to prosecute state and local officials who resist the federal immigration crackdown, according to a copy of the document obtained by CNN.
The memo from acting Deputy Attorney General Emile Bove also says that federal prosecutors who decline to prosecute those immigration cases will be reported immediately the Justice Department for investigation and potential prosecution.
Continue reading at CNN
Trump administration directs federal health agencies to pause communications
Amid a deluge of executive actions, the Trump administration has directed federal health agencies to pause external communications, such as regular scientific reports, updates to websites and health advisories, according to sources within the agencies.
The initial orders were delivered Tuesday to staff at agencies inside the US Department of Health and Human Services, including to officials at the US Food and Drug Administration, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health, according to the Washington Post, which first reported the story.
Continue reading at CNN
Trump's federal health website scrubs 'abortion' search results
On the second day of the second Trump administration, a search for the term "abortion" on the website for the federal Department of Health and Human Services brings up 166 results. The top hit is from January 24, 2020, during President Trump's first term, and is about how California violated the rights of two religious organizations that wanted to offer health plans that excluded coverage for abortion.
Trying to sort the results to see the most recent items first returns no links at all and the message reads "search unreachable."
Continue reading at NPR
ICE returns to calling immigrants "aliens"
Why it matters: The early Trump move is both in line with anti-DEI and hardline immigration rhetoric.
The new memo is another sign of how the administration came in ready to make clear their aggressive stance on combatting illegal immigration, right away.
Continue reading at Axios
News Alert: Flights canceled for refugees who were slated to travel to US
Refugees who were slated to travel to the United States after a years-long and often cumbersome process have had their flights canceled, according to a State Department memo to resettlement partners obtained by CNN.
The memo comes on the heels of President Donald Trump’s executive order suspending refugee admissions and marks another example of the swift impact his actions are already having. The move stands to affect thousands of refugees who had flights already scheduled.
Continue reading at CNN
Full video of Tim Burchett on CNN with Jim Acosta
Trump orders FAA to terminate DEI hiring efforts
“All so-called DEI initiatives, including all dangerous preferencing policies or practices, shall immediately be rescinded in favor of hiring, promoting, and otherwise treating employees on the basis of individual capability, competence, achievement, and dedication.”
The directive follows Trump’s Monday executive order to end DEI efforts across all federal workplaces.
The Republican party leader said DEI hiring policies, which aim to consider individuals who have historically faced professional barriers due to racial or gender discrimination, may impede on passengers’ “confidence” in an individual’s abilities.
Continue reading at The Hill
Judge won’t wipe Bob Menendez’s corruption conviction over improper evidence claim
A federal judge on Wednesday denied former Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D-N.J.) bid to toss his corruption conviction and receive a new trial because jurors during their deliberations had access to trial exhibits without proper redactions.
Continue reading at The Hill
Kentucky police probe KKK flyers telling immigrants to ‘leave now’
Authorities in Kentucky are investigating racist Ku Klux Klan (KKK) flyers telling immigrants to “leave now” and “avoid deportation” that were discovered in multiple cities over the past few days.
The flyers, which were found in Ludlow, Fort Wright and Fort Mitchell, depict a cartoon of Uncle Sam kicking a family with five members, including two young kids and a baby. Uncle Sam is also shown holding a proclamation that refers to “Mass Deportation” on Jan. 20, President Trump’s inauguration day, calling for citizens to “Monitor & Track all Immigrants REPORT THEM ALL,” according to images posted Monday by WKRC.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump threatens Russia with taxes, tariffs, sanctions if ‘ridiculous’ Ukraine war not ended
President Trump on Wednesday threatened to impose tariffs and sanctions on Russia if there is no deal to stop the fighting in Ukraine “soon.”
“I’m not looking to hurt Russia. I love the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin – and this despite the Radical Left’s Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX,” Trump posted on Truth Social, referencing a special counsel investigation into any coordination between his 2016 campaign and Moscow.
“All of that being said, I’m going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE,” Trump continued.
Continue reading at The Hill
Susan Collins: ‘Troubling’ that Hegseth FBI report omitted key information
“I’ve heard from others that pertinent information has not been included, and that is troubling,” Collins said. “When you’re making a decision about a nominee, you want to have as complete a picture as possible.”
Continue reading at The Hill
Democratic infighting is rising as Trump takes center stage
Democrats are finding themselves mired in infighting and schoolyard sniping just as President Trump begins his new term.
Continue reading at The Hill
** Take this with the kinds of grains of salt you would apply to any right leaning news organization. This article was written by a reporter - not an opinion writer.
Donald Trump’s No. 2 Pick for the EPA Represented Companies Accused of Pollution Harm
David Fotouhi, a lawyer who recently challenged a ban on asbestos, worked to roll back climate regulations and water protections while serving in the Environmental Protection Agency during Trump’s first administration.
Continue reading at ProPublica
Senate Democrats block GOP’s ‘born-alive’ abortion bill
Senate Republicans failed on Wednesday to invoke cloture on a bill legislating care for infants “born alive” during attempted abortions, with the motion largely serving to get Democrats on the record as voting against a bill being framed as anti-infanticide.
Continue reading at The Hill
Tarrio, Rhodes talk ‘retribution’ upon release after Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons
Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader, told Alex Jones on his show “Infowars” that the measure of success to him “is going to be retribution,” The New York Times reported.
Continue reading at The Hill
Jan. 6 rioter declines Trump pardon: ‘We were wrong that day’
Pamela Hemphill, who served prison time for actions she took on Jan. 6, 2021, said she will not accept President Trump’s pardon and that his supporters were “wrong” for storming the Capitol four years ago.
Continue reading at The Hill
Trump’s perceived enemies worry about losing pensions, getting audited and paying steep legal bills
It’s not just criminal prosecutions that worry those who have crossed President Donald Trump. There are more prosaic kinds of retaliation: having difficulty renewing passports, getting audited by the IRS and losing federal pensions.
For the many people who have made an enemy of Trump, his return to the presidency this week sparked anxiety. Some are concerned they could go bankrupt trying to clear their names.
Continue reading at the Associated Press
Virus season roars back with "quad-demic" of illness
The spread of influenza A, COVID and RSV is "high" or "very high" across much of the U.S. at the same time norovirus cases are well above normal levels, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and wastewater surveillance data shows.
Continue reading at Axios
Trump White House begins remaking national security staff
White House national security adviser Mike Waltz has ordered a “full review” of personnel at the National Security Council (NSC), starting a process to weed out detailees at the agency who are not aligned with President Trump’s agenda.
Continue reading at The Hill
Speaker Johnson forms committee to probe Jan. 6, Democrats’ original investigation
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday said he will establish a new select subcommittee that will probe the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot — and likely dig into the now-defunct Jan. 6 Select Committee that was led by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) will chair the upcoming select subcommittee, which will be housed within the House Judiciary Committee.
Continue reading at The Hill
Rubio’s Trumpian plans for State
Rubio issued a new memo to his employees, a copy of which was obtained by NatSec Daily, that outlined his Trumpian vision for the State Department. He hit on everything from refocusing foreign policy to “the realities of today’s re-emerging great power rivalry” to the pivot away from climate change to ending diversity, equity and inclusion hiring practices.
The memo was light on specifics, but offered early insights into how DONALD TRUMP’s top diplomat plans to reorient U.S. priorities on the world stage, and serves as a first impression for the State Department of their new boss.
Continue reading at Politico
Justice Department freezes all cases in civil rights division
The memo doesn’t state how long the freeze will last, but it essentially shuts down the civil rights division for at least the first weeks of the Trump administration.
The Justice Department has ordered its civil rights division to halt any ongoing litigation from the Biden administration and not pursue any new cases or settlements, according to a memo sent to the temporary head of the division that was obtained by The Washington Post.
The letter instructs Kathleen Wolfe — designated by the Trump administration as supervisor of the division — to ensure that civil rights attorneys do not file “any new complaints, motions to intervene, agreed-upon remands, amicus briefs, or statements of interest.”
Continue reading at The Washington Post
Trump admin fires security board investigating Chinese hack of large ISPs
Dismantled Cyber Safety Review Board was investigating Salt Typhoon telecom hack.
The Department of Homeland Security has terminated all members of advisory committees, including one that has been investigating a major Chinese hack of large US telecom firms.
"The Cyber Safety Review Board—a Department of Homeland Security investigatory body stood up under a Biden-era cybersecurity executive order to probe major cybersecurity incidents—has been cleared of non-government members as part of a DHS-wide push to cut costs under the Trump administration, according to three people familiar with the matter," NextGov/FCW reported yesterday.
Continue reading at Ars Technica
White House asks key government privacy watchdogs to resign
The White House has requested that the three Democratic members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) resign by end of day Thursday or face termination, a source close to the agency confirmed.
Why it matters: The move will dismantle a key intelligence program watchdog agency, leaving it with just one member as it prepares to help lawmakers navigate a highly contentious debate over whether to keep certain government surveillance powers intact.
The big picture: PCLOB is just the latest privacy and security-related board to have its membership wiped as the new Trump administration settles in.
Continue reading at Axios
National Security Council staffers grilled about loyalty to Trump
Why it matters: The screenings are part of a larger push by President Trump to reshape the federal workforce that includes staffing the administration with loyalists and making it easier to fire civil servants.
State of play: There are approximately 160 civil servants, known as detailees, on the NSC whose employment is being reviewed. These reviews are at "different stages" but nearly all "are being impacted today," a national security source briefed on the matter told Axios Wednesday.
The sidelined detailees have been told to temporarily work from home as the process continues, per AP, which first reported the story.
Continue reading at Axios
What RFK Jr.’s disclosures tell us about the Trump HHS pick
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s nominee for Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, vowed to keep receiving fees from a law firm if confirmed by the Senate.
Listed among his investments were assets which Kennedy has already committed to divesting from should he be confirmed as HHS chief.
These include $15,001-$50,000 in Amazon, an investment in Dragonfly Therapeutics also ranging between $15,001-$50,000 and $1,001-$15,000 in CRISPR Therapeutics.
[…]
But Kennedy will continue to receive fees from a law firm currently suing American pharmaceutical company Merck.
The prominent anti-vaccine proponent was co-counsel with the law firm Wisner Baum in suing Merck over allegations that Gardasil caused life-altering injury to young men and women.
Continue reading at The Hill
This is not a joke. Phil Lewis is a senior editor at HuffPost.
From the linked article:
In a statement to WLBT News, Blackmon wrote, “All across the country, especially here in Mississippi, the vast majority of bills relating to contraception and/or abortion focus on the woman’s role when men are fifty percent of the equation.
This bill highlights that fact and brings the man’s role into the conversation. People can get up in arms and call it absurd but I can’t say that bothers me.”
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