“A Russian hacker arrested in Spain on a U.S. warrant said he previously worked for President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party and feared he would be tortured and killed if extradited,” Reuters reports.
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NSA Warned White House About Personal Email
“The National Security Agency warned senior White House officials in classified briefings that improper use of personal cellphones and email could make them vulnerable to espionage by Russia, China, Iran and other adversaries,” Politico reports.
“The briefings came soon after President Donald Trump was sworn into office on Jan. 20, and before some top aides, including senior adviser Jared Kushner, used their personal email and phones to conduct official White House business.”
Quote of the Day
“You’re going straight to hell, Donald Trump. No long lines for you. Someone will say, ‘Right this way, sir.’ They’ll clear a path.”
— Lin Manuel Miranda, on Twitter, after President Trump attacked the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Tillerson Says U.S. Is Talking to North Korea
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson acknowledged in Beijing on Saturday that the Trump administration is in “direct contact” with North Korea over its recent escalation of missile and nuclear tests, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Said Tillerson: “We’re not in a dark situation, a blackout. We have a couple, three channels open to Pyongyang. We can talk to them, we do talk to them.”
“The acknowledgment suggests a potential deescalation after months of bellicose rhetoric on both sides, as well as repeated, provocative intercontinental ballistic missile tests and a nuclear test by North Korea.”
Garcetti’s Travel Raises Questions at Home
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) “logged 112 days, or nearly one-third of his time, away from California over the last 12 months, according to his public calendar,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“Reelected in March with 81% of the vote, Garcetti has refused to commit to serving his entire second term. As he visits New Hampshire and Wisconsin, the mayor remains coy about whether he’ll run for president in 2020.”
“But as he flirts with the idea, Garcetti tests the public’s willingness to tolerate his absences.”
Trump May Face Backlash on Puerto Rico
Mike Allen: “Long after people have finished talking about Tom Price’s flights or tax reform or NFL protests, they’ll remember how Trump handled Puerto Rico. So the stakes are massive for the hours ahead.”
Kelly Struggles to Make Sense of Kushner’s Role
Politico: “It’s not just Kelly who is uncertain of how to make the arrangement work. In recent months, according to multiple administration officials, the president has also been casually surveying people close to him about whether having his family members in the government is creating too much noise.”
“Since Kelly put his firm grip on the West Wing in July, however, the role of the Trump children has shifted. Aides claim the couple was eager for a more functional work environment, and have been happy to fall in line with Kelly’s rules.”
“But Kushner has also complained to friends and allies about his stunted status in the new regime. He can no longer simply float in and out of the Oval Office, or function in the freewheeling role he has grown used to since the campaign, he has told associates. That marks a change of status for the former real estate scion, who before working as a free-ranging agent for his father-in-law, served as the top dog at his family-owned real estate company in Manhattan.”
Trump’s Breaking Point with Tom Price
Politico: “Tom Price’s downfall was his penchant for pricey jets. But his demise was months in the making, as the president continued to lose trust in the Health and Human Services secretary who rarely attended Oval Office strategy meetings, had little sway or influence on Capitol Hill, and was associated in the president’s mind with one of the administration’s biggest defeats — the failure to repeal Obamacare.”
“Of particular notoriety: A picture of Price in March drinking at Bullfeathers, a famed Capitol Hill bar, as his colleagues tried to wrangle votes for the president’s signature initiative.”
General Says Trump Doesn’t Care About Poor People
Retired Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, who commanded the military response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, slammed President Trump’s response to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, telling CNN “he doesn’t give a damn about poor people, doesn’t give a damn about people of color.”
Trump Blames San Juan Mayor
President Trump accused the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, of demonstrating “poor leadership” amid the deepening crisis on the island that was devastated by Hurricane Maria, the Washington Post reports.
Trump launched his personal attack on Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz on Twitter from his golf resort in New Jersey, where he is spending the weekend:
The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump. Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help. They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job.
Cruz had criticized the Trump administration’s response to the hurricane, saying: “I am begging, begging anyone who can hear us to save us from dying.”
Aaron Blake: “Anybody who is surprised at this from a president who attacked a former prisoner of war for being a prisoner war, criticized a Gold Star family and made fun of a reporter’s physical disability has a short memory. This is who Trump is. He doesn’t accept criticism and move on; he brings a bazooka to a knife fight — even when those wielding the knife are trying to save lives.”
GOP Insurgency Plans for Civil War in 2018 Midterms
Washington Post: “That populist rage in the base as Trump struggles to enact his priorities — which lifted former judge Roy Moore to victory on Tuesday against Trump’s ally, Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.) — now threatens to upend GOP incumbents in 2018 as the latest incarnation of Republican grievance takes hold.”
“Stoked by former White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon and his incendiary media platform, Breitbart News, a new wave of anti-establishment activists and contenders are emerging to plot a political insurrection that is with Trump in spirit but entirely out of his — or anyone’s — control.”
“Central command is the ‘Breitbart Embassy,’ a Capitol Hill townhouse where Bannon has recently huddled with candidates, from House prospects to Senate primary recruits. Hedge fund executive Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah — Bannon’s wealthy allies — have already pledged millions to the cause, said people briefed on their plans.”
Trump Golfed as Puerto Rico Struggled
Washington Post: “As Hurricane Maria made landfall on Wednesday, Sept. 20, there was a frenzy of activity publicly and privately. The next day, President Trump called local officials on the island, issued an emergency declaration and pledged that all federal resources would be directed to help.”
“But then for four days after that — as storm-ravaged Puerto Rico struggled for food and water amid the darkness of power outages — Trump and his top aides effectively went dark themselves.”
“Trump jetted to New Jersey that Thursday night to spend a long weekend at his private golf club there, save for a quick trip to Alabama for a political rally. Neither Trump nor any of his senior White House aides said a word publicly about the unfolding crisis.”
Another Bonus Quote of the Day
“The loss of life, it’s always tragic. But it’s been incredible. The results that we’ve had with respect to loss of life.”
— President Trump, quoted by CNN, on relief efforts in Puerto Rico.
Trump Kids’ Ski Vacation Cost Taxpayers $300K
“The annual Aspen ski vacation taken in March by President Trump’s children, Ivanka and Eric Trump, and their families, including son-in-law Jared Kushner, left taxpayers on the hook for security costs of at least $330,000,” CBS News reports.
Tom Price Resigns
Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price “resigned under pressure on Friday after racking up at least $400,000 in travel bills for chartered flights and undermining President Trump’s promise to drain the swamp of a corrupt and entitled capital,” the New York Times reports.
“Already in trouble with Mr. Trump for months of unsuccessful efforts to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s health care program, Mr. Price failed to defuse the president’s anger over his high-priced travel by agreeing to pay a portion of the cost and expressing ‘regret’ for his actions.”
Sam Baker: “Price might not have gotten ACA repeal over the finish line, but even in his short tenure, he was able to undermine the law significantly. Under his leadership, HHS waged a PR campaign against the ACA; slashed funding to help promote enrollment; and directed regional department officials not to assist state-based enrollment efforts.”
Fine Print in GOP Budget Would Help Rush a Tax Cut
“Buried in the fine print of the newly released Senate Republican budget: language making it much easier to rush a tax cut through Congress,” Bloomberg reports.
“The budget would erase a Senate rule requiring a full Congressional Budget Office estimate of the cost of the legislation at least 28 hours before a vote. It would get rid of a provision that required a Senate budget reconciliation bill to reduce the deficit by at least as much as a House reconciliation bill. That language caused headaches for Republicans during their failed Obamacare repeal effort.”
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Taxpayers Paid for Part of VA Chief’s Vacation
“Nearly three days into a trip to Europe this past July, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin had attended a Wimbledon championship tennis match, toured Westminster Abbey and taken a cruise on the Thames. The 10-day trip was not entirely a vacation. Shulkin was in Europe for meetings with Danish and British officials about veterans’ health issues,” the Washington Post reports.
“Yet he and his wife spent about half their time sightseeing, including shopping and touring historic sites, according to an itinerary obtained by the Washington Post and confirmed by a U.S. official familiar with their activities.”
“Shulkin’s six-person traveling party included his acting undersecretary of health and her husband, his chief of staff and another aide, the itinerary says. They were accompanied by a security detail of as many as six people.”
