A GOP Revolt Threatens Trump’s Agenda
Time: “Problems await Trump’s agenda at every turn. The Republican tax-reform plan has sparked a backlash from key GOP Senators, big-box retailers and powerful conservative advocacy groups with millions in ads at the ready. The plan to repeal and replace Obamacare faces a two-front revolt in the House, where some Republicans think the working replacement plan is too severe, while others believe it would permanently enshrine a new big-government entitlement. Even the plan to pour billions into the Pentagon is unlikely to happen while Republicans protect cherished programs in law enforcement, diplomacy and education.”
“As a business mogul, Trump has typically thrived amid chaos. But now that he’s President, the stakes are higher and the players far more difficult to manage. The Republican math for getting things passed remains unforgiving, prompting no less a figure than former House Speaker John Boehner to predict a quick end to GOP ‘happy talk’ about repealing and replacing Obamacare quickly.”
Quote of the Day
“Misleading the Senate in sworn testimony about one own contacts with the Russians is a good way to go to jail.”
— Bush White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter, quoted by The Hill.
Republicans Not Coming to Sessions’ Defense
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Why Was Russian Ambassador at GOP Convention?
CNN: “Sessions met with Kislyak twice, in July on the sidelines of the Republican convention, and in September in his office when Sessions was a member of the Senate Armed Services committee.”
Update: Josh Rogin says the State Department has a program to bring dozens of Ambassadors to both conventions, “to witness democracy in action.”
Lawmaker Calls for Release of Taxes But Votes Against It
Rep. David Young (R-IA) called for President Trump to release his tax returns during a town hall meeting with constituents, but then voted against a Democratic-led resolution that would require the president to release his taxes to Congress, the AP reports.
Why GOP Must Call for Deeper Investigations on Russia
Chris Cillizza: “Where there’s smoke and smoke and smoke and smoke and smoke, most reasonable people will assume there is fire — or that there should be an independent investigation to determine whether there is fire. Arguing that ‘there’s nothing to see here’ is simply not a tenable position for Republicans at this point.”
After a report that Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke to Russian officials during the campaign, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) suggested an independent counsel on CNN last night.
“I suspect lots of Republicans will follow Graham’s lead over the next 24 or 48 hours. The details here — particularly given the Flynn resignation — almost certainly will force an act of political triage from GOPers. They need to find a way to wall themselves off from what, with each passing day, is becoming more and more toxic. Otherwise, the spillage could leak all over them.”
Trump Wants to Cut EPA Budget By 20%
“The White House has proposed deep cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget that would reduce the agency’s staff by one-fifth in the first year and eliminate dozens of programs,” according to details of a plan reviewed by the Washington Post.
“While administration officials had already indicated that they intended to increase defense spending at the expense of other discretionary funding, the plan spells out exactly how this new approach will affect long- standing federal programs that have a direct impact on Americans’ everyday lives.”
Trump’s Twitter Numbers Boosted by Bots
“President Trump’s first congressional address — widely celebrated as the most-tweeted presidential address to Congress ever — appears to have been boosted by pro-Trump ‘bot’ accounts,” Politico reports.
“Even before they started trending yesterday, the official hashtags — #JointAddress and #JointSession — accumulated decidedly inorganic traffic, including from some accounts that had never tweeted about any other topic. Telltale signs of automated traffic include lack of a profile picture and prolific output.”
Trump’s Team Skipped Ethics Course
President Trump’s team “rejected a course for senior White House staff, cabinet nominees and other political appointees that would have provided training on leadership, ethics and management,” according to documents obtained by Politico.
“The documents suggest the program could have better prepared officials for working within existing laws and executive orders, and provided guidance on how to navigate Senate confirmation for nominees and political appointees, how to deal with congressional and media scrutiny, and how to work with Congress and collaborate with agencies — some of the same issues that have become major stumbling blocks in the early days of the administration.”
Iowa Lawmaker Falsely Claims Business Degree
Iowa State Sen. Mark Chelgren (R), who is pushing a controversial bill that caps the number of Democrats that state universities can hire as professors, claimed on a government web site that he got a “business degree” from the “Forbco Management school,” NBC News reports.
But Chelgren’s alleged alma mater is actually a company that operated a Sizzler steak house franchise.
Said Iowa GOP spokesman Ed Failor: “This was a management course he took when he worked for Sizzler, kind of like Hamburger University at McDonald’s. He got a certificate.”
Sessions Did Not Disclose Contacts with Russia
“Then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) spoke twice last year with Russia’s ambassador to the United States, encounters he did not disclose when asked about possible contacts between members of President Trump’s campaign and representatives of Moscow during Sessions’s confirmation hearing to become attorney general,” the Washington Post reports.
Said sessions at his confirmation hearing: “I did not have communications with the Russians.”
“The previously undisclosed discussions could fuel new congressional calls for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Russia’s alleged role in the 2016 presidential election. As attorney general, Sessions oversees the Justice Department and the FBI, which have been leading investigations into Russian meddling and any links to Trump’s associates. He has so far resisted calls to recuse himself.”
Obama Aides Left Intelligence Trail on Trump-Russia
“In the Obama administration’s last days, some White House officials scrambled to spread information about Russian efforts to undermine the presidential election — and about possible contacts between associates of President-elect Donald Trump and Russians — across the government,” the New York Times reports.
“Former American officials say they had two aims: to ensure that such meddling isn’t duplicated in future American or European elections, and to leave a clear trail of intelligence for government investigators.”
Beau Biden’s Widow and Brother In Relationship
“Former Vice President Joe Biden’s youngest son is in a romantic relationship with his sister-in-law and the widow of Beau Biden, the vice president’s older son who died in 2015 after a prolonged fight with brain cancer,” CNN reports.
“Hunter Biden confirmed the relationship with Hallie Biden in a statement to the New York Post.
Trump Urged to Remove Iraq from Travel Ban
“Senior U.S. administration officials have lobbied President Trump to remove Iraq from a list of seven Muslim-majority nations included in an initial travel ban, and two sources said they were confident the country would not appear on a new executive order expected soon,” Reuters reports.
“Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security chief John Kelly all made the case to Trump to remove Iraq because of ongoing U.S. military and civilian operations in the country.”
Trump Has Just $20 Million In Funds for Border Wall
President Trump’s “promise to use existing funds to begin immediate construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border has hit a financial roadblock,” according to a document seen by Reuters.
“The rapid start of construction, promised throughout Trump’s campaign and in an executive order issued in January on border security, was to be financed, according to the White House, with ‘existing funds and resources’ of the Department of Homeland Security. But so far, the DHS has identified only $20 million that can be re-directed to the multi-billion-dollar project.”
GOP Hides Latest Draft of Obamacare Replacement
“House Republican leaders have a new version of their major Obamacare repeal and replacement bill. They just don’t want you to see it,” Bloomberg reports.
“The document is being treated a bit like a top-secret surveillance intercept. It is expected to be available to members and staffers on the House and Energy Commerce panel starting Thursday, but only in a dedicated reading room, one Republican lawmaker and a committee aide said. Nobody will be given copies to take with them.”
“The unusual secrecy is a reflection of the sensitivity — and the stakes — surrounding the GOP effort to rewrite the Affordable Care Act… Republican leaders are trying to avoid a repeat of what happened last time. When an outdated draft leaked last week, it was quickly panned by conservatives.”
White House Explores Options on North Korea Threat
“An internal White House review of strategy on North Korea includes the possibility of military force or regime change to blunt the country’s nuclear-weapons threat, people familiar with the process said, a prospect that has some U.S. allies in the region on edge,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“While President Donald Trump has taken steps to reassure allies that he won’t abandon agreements that have underpinned decades of U.S. policy on Asia, his pledge that Pyongyang would be stopped from ever testing an intercontinental ballistic missile—coupled with the two-week-old strategy review—has some leaders bracing for a shift in American policy.”
