Tag Archives: Trump adminstration

Politico reports: The Trump administration is weighing requiring all foreign students applying to study in the United States to undergo social media vetting — a significant expansion of previous such efforts, according to a cable obtained by POLITICO. In preparation for such required vetting, the administration is ordering U.S. embassies and consular sections to pause scheduling new interviews for such …

NewsNation reports: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the current 10 percent tariffs imposed across the board are not increasing prices on consumers. “The world has a 10 percent tariff now,” Lutnick told NewsNation’s “CUOMO” in an interview. “So, the way it actually runs through the markets is that the selling countries overseas, they eat most of it, the currency as …

“Nothing at FEMA has been made more efficient. In fact, I would tell you that the Secretary of Homeland Security has turned FEMA into the Newark airport, okay? It is going to fail this summer. And so look, there’s no doubt that FEMA needed reform, but what they’ve done at Homeland is they’ve taken something that needed help and they …

The Associated Press reports: Two major law firms are expected to ask separate judges on Wednesday to permanently block President Donald Trump’s executive orders that were designed to punish them and hurt their business operations. The firms — Perkins Coie and WilmerHale — have said the orders imposed in March are unconstitutional assaults on the legal profession that threaten their …

Axios reports: The government of El Salvador denied a request from Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) to see or speak to his Maryland constituent who was mistakenly deported there, the senator said during a visit to the country on Wednesday. Van Hollen told reporters he asked El Salvador Vice President Félix Ulloa during a meeting Wednesday why Abrego Garcia is …

The Washington Post reports: Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg of Washington, D.C., on Wednesday said he would launch proceedings to determine whether to hold Trump administration officials in criminal contempt for defying his order not to remove Venezuelan migrants from the country based on the wartime Alien Enemies Act. Boasberg’s order is the latest development in a broader …

The Huffington Post reports: Kristi Noem’s fondness for photo-ops may be undermining her own agency’s mission, according to an array of government sources who spoke to The Wall Street Journal. The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security’s frequent, often flashy appearances at border crossings and alongside Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have made her a walking billboard for President …

The Associated Press reports: Facing a deadline from an immigration judge to turn over evidence for its attempted deportation of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, the federal government has instead submitted a brief memo, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, citing the Trump administration’s authority to expel noncitizens whose presence in the country damages U.S. foreign policy interests. The …

USA Today reports: A disgraced former Milwaukee cop with credibility issues helped seal the fate of a gay Venezuelan makeup artist sent to El Salvador’s notorious prison, according to documents reviewed by USA TODAY. A report approved by the police-officer-turned-prison-contractor claimed the Venezuelan man was a member of the notorious Tren de Aragua gang. But the credibility of Charles Cross, Jr., …

Politico reports: National security adviser Mike Waltz’s team regularly set up chats on Signal to coordinate official work on issues including Ukraine, China, Gaza, Middle East policy, Africa and Europe, according to four people who have been personally added to Signal chats. Two of the people said they were in or have direct knowledge of at least 20 such chats. …

“So, let’s me get this straight. The Atlantic released the so-called ‘war plans’ and those ‘plans’ include: No names. No targets. No locations. No units. No routes. No sources. No methods. And no classified information. “Those are some really shitty war plans. This only proves one thing: Jeff Goldberg has never seen a war plan or an ‘attack plan’ (as …

Axios reports: A House Democrat is introducing long-shot legislation to make it a crime punishable by up to 5 years in prison to share classified information on messaging apps like Signal, Axios has learned. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) told Axios in a phone interview that his bill will ensure that the Espionage Act’s prohibition against disclosing classified information extends to …

Mediaite reports: The challenge for politicians in our digital age is that it’s all too easy for digital sleuths to dig up video clips of their past selves and smack them with charges of hypocrisy. Such is the tale of National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, who accidentally added a reporter on a group chat discussing secret war plans but less …

“I think the commerce secretary was reiterating that the president supports an American-made company like Tesla, who produces a very good product for the American people, which was beloved by the American people — particularly Democrats — until Elon Musk decided to vote for Donald Trump. And now we’ve seen despicable and unacceptable violence taking place across our country at …

The Military Times reports: Veterans Affairs officials this week unveiled new rules banning LGBTQ Pride flags and other unofficial banners at department offices and spaces, saying the move will bring “consistency” to agency messaging. VA Secretary Doug Collins said the new policy would limit the display of all flags except for the American flag at all VA facilities. Exceptions include …

Reuters reports: Medical advocacy group Doctors for America on Tuesday sued the main U.S. health agencies over the sudden removal of websites containing “a broad range of health-related data and other information” after President Donald Trump took office. The lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C. federal court, names the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, Department of …

The New York Times reports: The White House has removed the scientist responsible for the National Climate Assessment, the federal government’s premier contribution to climate knowledge and the foundation for regulations to combat global warming, in what critics interpreted as the latest sign that the Trump administration intends to use its remaining months in office to continue impeding climate science …

CNBC reports: Attorney General William Barr has authorized federal prosecutors across the U.S. to pursue “substantial allegations” of voting irregularities before the 2020 presidential election is certified, despite little evidence of fraud. Barr’s action comes days after Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump and raises the prospect that Trump will use the Justice Department to try to challenge the …

CNN reports: Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, has approached the President about conceding the election, two sources tell CNN. The move comes following Trump’s assertion in a statement from his campaign — moments after CNN projected that President-elect Joe Biden will become the 46th president of the United States — that Biden is “rushing to falsely …

Politico reports: When Vice President Mike Pence first took charge of the White House’s coronavirus task force, among his earliest moves was establishing a standing call with all 50 governors aimed at closely coordinating the nation’s pandemic fight. Yet as the U.S. confronts its biggest Covid-19 surge to date, Pence hasn’t attended one of those meetings in over a month. …