Mike Pence To Keynote AIPAC Conference

WASHINGTON – Vice President Mike Pence and a bipartisan slate of top members of Congress are scheduled to address AIPAC’s upcoming annual conference. An American Israel Public Affairs Committee official confirmed to JTA that Pence will keynote the conference scheduled for March 26-28 in Washington, D.C. Pence, who enjoyed a long relationship with the pro-Israel lobby as a congressman and later as Indiana governor – but as a local congressman in 2009, told AIPAC that he didn’t know of the three synagogues in his district – spoke last month at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual confab and has taken a lead in condemning recent anti-Semitic incidents.

Corker Lauds Trump Meeting With Japanese Leader

Senator Bob Corker on Friday made the following statement about President Donald J. Trump’s meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: “There is tremendous opportunity to expand a relationship that is hugely beneficial for both countries, and I commend President Trump for recognizing that by welcoming Prime Minister Abe to the White House so … (more)

US Attorney Stanton Announces Resignation

Edward L. Stanton III has announced his resignation as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, effective Feb. 28. Stanton, who has served as U.S. attorney since August 2010, called the job “the professional honor of a lifetime.” “To be able to serve the district where I was born, raised and educated, and for which I have tremendous love and respect, was a remarkable experience,” he said in a statement.

Clash over refugee ban brings firing of Justice Dept. head

In an extraordinary public showdown, President Donald Trump fired the acting attorney general of the United States after she publicly questioned the constitutionality of his refugee and immigration ban and refused to defend it in court. The clash Monday night between Trump and Sally Yates, a career prosecutor and Democratic appointee, laid bare the growing discord and dissent surrounding an executive order that halted the entire U.S. refugee program and banned all entries from seven Muslim-majority nations for 90 days.

More

The panel voted along party lines, 11-10, to recommend Rex Tillerson’s nomination to the full Senate, where the former chief executive of Exxon Mobil is almost certain to be confirmed by the Republican-led chamber. Sen. Bob Corker, the committee’s Republican chairman, says he has “no doubt” Tillerson is well-qualified, citing his leadership of the energy giant.

Trump steps into security bubble; will he bring his phone?

President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump arrive at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017, ahead of Friday’s inauguration. President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump arrive at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017, ahead of Friday’s inauguration.

Trump’s choice for top US diplomat talks tough on China

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,, right, pats Secretary of State-designate Rex Tillerson , left, on the shoulder after his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017, less Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,, right, pats Secretary of State-designate Rex Tillerson , left, on the shoulder after his testimony before the Senate Foreign … more Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. questions Secretary of State-designate Rex Tillerson during the committee’s confirmation hearing Tillerson, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Paul Ryan surrenders on healthcare repeal: goal now is to repeal/replace ‘concurrently’

Donald Trump has won the presidency after narrowly carrying a few states to put him above 270 electoral votes.But according… That whole repeal immediately, replace later thing-not going so well for Republicans. Paul Ryan admitted as much Tuesday morning, writes The Hill: “It is our goal to bring it all together concurrently,” Ryan told reporters after meeting with House Republicans behind closed doors.

Republicans may speed up parts of Obamacare replacement

Senate Republican leaders, under growing criticism for not having their own alternative to Obamacare, are actively exploring moving more quickly to replace key elements of the law earlier in the year. They are looking at folding some new health care provisions as part of the bill to repeal Obamacare, a proposal that Congress could enact as soon as this month, according to senior GOP aides and a top party leader.

UKa s Johnson woos Trump after May signals clean break with EU

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will meet with key congressional leaders in Washington on Monday as the U.K. seeks to strengthen ties with Donald Trump’s incoming administration a day after Prime Minister Theresa May signaled Britain may quit the European Union single market. The pound fell to a 10-week low after May said in a Sky News television interview on Sunday that leaving the EU will be about “getting the right relationship, not about keeping bits of membership,” suggesting Britain may opt for a so-called hard Brexit.

The oilman who brought Trump and the Bush world together

Throughout the presidential campaign, the Bush family and many of its Republican allies turned their backs on Donald Trump. Now, they’re finding common cause with Trump over his pick to lead the State Department: Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, who has long orbited their same political, philanthropic and business worlds.