Category: Republican

Honest, truthful scientist fired by DOE for not defending Obama’s climate action plan

The U.S. Department of Energy is the latest government agency to be exposed for putting politics over principle after it was revealed that a top DOE scientist was fired simply for telling the truth about climate change. Reports indicate that Noelle Metting was basically canned by the Obama administration when she was caught answering questions from a legislative committee honestly, which apparently is a major no-no when it comes to anything related to climate change policy .

Quick Takes: Is Trump Planning to Deport the DREAMers?

First of all, Julia Edwards Ainsley reports on a disturbing request from the Trump transition team to the Department of Homeland Security. The transition team also asked for copies of every executive order and directive sent to immigration agents since Obama took office in 2009, according to the memo summarizing the meeting.

Trump objects after House GOP votes to gut ethics office

President-elect Donald Trump criticized House Republicans Tuesday for making one of their first acts a vote to gut the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, arguing that tax reform and health care should be higher priorities. “With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority,” Trump asked over Twitter the morning after the surprise and secretive move by the House GOP.

GOP drops weakening of ethics office, challenged by Trump

House Republicans reversed themselves Tuesday under pressure from President-elect Donald Trump, and dropped plans to swiftly gut an independent congressional ethics board. GOP drops weakening of ethics office, challenged by Trump WASHINGTON – House Republicans reversed themselves Tuesday under pressure from President-elect Donald Trump, and dropped plans to swiftly gut an independent congressional ethics board.

Friends in high places: Asa edition

WELL CONNECTED: Political consultant Jon Gilmore, leading a fund-raiser for former boss Asa Hutchinson, uses this photo on his private business page to tout his connectyions to the state’s top politician. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson , getting out ahead of the legislative session – when campaign fund-raising has an even more fraught appearance than normal – is throwing a fund-raiser for his 2018 gubernatorial campaign Thursday at the Capital Hotel.

GOP commands new Congress dogged by ethics office vote

The new Republican-led Congress lined up to be sworn in Tuesday, facing questions about a secretive move to gut an independent ethics board that drew criticism from President-elect Donald Trump over the priorities of GOP leaders. Trump, who takes office later this month, challenged the decision to immediately weaken the Office of Congressional Ethics, arguing that tax reform and health care are more important.

Republicans primed for push to dismantle Obama’s policies

Members of the 115th Congress will be sworn in at noon Tuesday, setting off an aggressive campaign by Republicans who control the House and Senate to dismantle eight years of President Barack Obama’s Democratic policies. The first and biggest target is Obama’s signature health care law, which Republicans have long sought to gut and blamed as a primary cause for a economic recovery.

House GOP votes to gut independent ethics office

House Republicans have voted to eviscerate the Office of Congressional Ethics, the independent body created in 2008 to investigate allegations of misconduct by lawmakers after several bribery and corruption scandals sent members to prison. The ethics change, which prompted an outcry from Democrats and government watchdog groups, is part of a rules package that the full House will vote on Tuesday.

Morning Bits

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi speaks at her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Nov. 17. One is precedent, two is a trend . “Another way for Australia to demonstrate its unswerving support for Israel, as the Middle East’s only liberal, pluralist democracy, might be to join any move by the Trump administration to move its embassy to Jerusalem.”

Congress returns with aggressive conservative agenda

As a new Congress convenes Tuesday, Republicans will arrive with a long and aggressive to-do list, emboldened by majorities in the House and the Senate and the promise of President-elect Donald Trump. Working from a blueprint of the last half-decade, they’re anxious to enact the conservative policy agenda that a Democratic White House has thwarted, undoing much of President Barack Obama’s legacy in the process.

Paul Ryan expected to be re-elected as House speaker Tuesday

Paul Ryan is expected to be easily re-elected Tuesday as speaker of the House, kicking off the new Congress and marking a quiet end following a year that saw both parties questioning their congressional leadership. Ryan was re-elected by the House Republican conference in November to serve a second term as speaker of the House.

Police end NAACP sit-in against attorney general nominee

The national president of the NAACP and five others were arrested after staging a sit-in Tuesday at the Alabama office of Sen. Jeff Sessions, the nominee for U.S. attorney general, the civil rights group said. The organization held the demonstration to protest Sessions’ nomination by President-elect Donald Trump, criticizing Sessions’ record and views on civil rights, immigration, criminal justice reform, and voting rights enforcement.

Trump to name Lighthizer as trade representative, tap Pence adviser for West Wing

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to nominate Robert E. Lighthizer as the U.S. trade representative, a transition official confirmed Monday night, recruiting to his Cabinet a veteran of the Reagan administration who has decades of experience in trade policy and litigation. Lighthizer, whose nomination is expected to be formally announced as early as Tuesday, will join a team of Trump lieutenants charged with fulfilling one the central promises of Trump’s populist candidacy: aggressively confronting China, Mexico and other nations the president-elect believes have been taking advantage of international trade agreements, to the detriment of U.S. workers.

House Republicans Move To Weaken Congressional Ethics Office

U.S. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy laughs as he and House Speaker Paul Ryan, flanked by House Republican Whip Steve Scalise , introduce Representative Jason Smith and Representative Luke Messer as new members of the House Republican leadership team after their caucus held leadership elections on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. November 15, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst In an abrupt move made without the backing of their leaders, Republicans in the House of Representatives plan to dramatically scale back an independent congressional ethics office created eight years ago.

Ex-Chicago top cop blames Black Lives Matter for surge in murders

Chicago’s disgraced top cop thinks Black Lives Matter is to blame for his city’s sharp surge in violence. Garry McCarthy – who served as the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department for nearly four years before getting fired in 2015 – went on “The Cats Roundtable” radio show on New Year’s Day and accused police brutality protesters of creating a “political atmosphere of anti-police sentiment.”

Democrats target eight Cabinet nominees, threaten to drag out process

Senate Democrats are vowing to stall action on eight of Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees tasked with carrying out his economic, law enforcement and regulatory agenda, a senior Democratic aide told CNN Monday. Those targeted include secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson, attorney general pick Jeff Sessions and health and human services secretary hopeful Tom Price.

State of the Statehouse: Pence’s turnaround led Indiana political stories in 2016

Gov. Mike Pence started the year of 2016 as politically vulnerable, with sinking approval ratings and a looming rematch against a well-funded opponent who almost beat him four years ago. He is ending the year as vice president-elect, having helped Donald Trump surprisingly claim the presidency and power through a 20-point victory in Indiana, a margin far higher than any polls predicted.

Chicago Paper: Make All Universities – Sanctuary Campuses’

The Chicago Sun-Times editorial board is now asking that every college and university in the state be transformed into ‘sanctuary campuses’ for shielding illegal immigrants from federal law. In a piece , “Make colleges a sanctuary from deportation threat,” asks that every college and university in Illinois risk losing federal funding for the cause: Universities have an obligation to stand up for their students – all of them.

Resistance at the Ready as GOP Licks Chops Over Regressive Agenda

Since Donald Trump was elected in November, House Speaker Paul Ryan has been poised to advance a GOP agenda. From slowing President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet confirmations to hampering GOP attempts to repeal Obamacare or defund Planned Parenthood, Democrats and allied progressive forces stand ready to resist the looming Republican agenda.

GOP Congress feels it has mandate to undo Obama’s agenda

In this Dec. 8, 2016 file photo, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., and others, listen as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Republicans’ grip on all levers of power stands as a mandate to the GOP-led Congress, which will move swiftly to try to undo eight years of outgoing President Barack Obama’s agenda.

GOP Congress feels it has mandate to undo Obama’s agenda

In this Dec. 8, 2016 file photo, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., and others, listen as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Republicans’ grip on all levers of power stands as a mandate to the GOP-led Congress, which will move swiftly to try to undo eight years of outgoing President Barack Obama’s agenda.

Democrats Will Target 8 of Trump’s Cabinet Picks

Washington Post : “Incoming Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer has told Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that Democrats will home in especially on Rex Tillerson, Trump’s choice for secretary of state; Sen. Jeff Sessions , his pick for attorney general; Rep. Mick Mulvaney , tapped to lead the Office of Management and Budget; and Betsy DeVos, selected to serve as education secretary.” “There’s also Rep. Tom Price , Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and oversee changes to Obamacare, who is expected to be attacked by Democrats for his support for privatizing Medicare.

Liberal groups want delay of Sessions hearing

MAY 20: Sen. Jeff Sessions speaks at the National Rifle Association’s NRA-ILA Leadership Forum during the NRA Convention at the Kentucky Exposition Center on May 20, 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky. The convention, which opened today, runs May 22. Liberal groups are calling for a delay in Sen. Jeff Sessions’ confirmation hearings for the post of attorney general, citing gaps in his record that the Alabama Republican didn’t address in a questionnaire sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

2017 to be year of massive change in Washington

Washington is bracing for a year of breakneck change as President-elect Trump and a new Congress take office with a jam-packed agenda ahead. “Look, I can tell you what I got out of Donald Trump today is, this is a man of action,” said House Speaker Paul Ryan after a post-election meeting.

Trump tells Schumer he likes him more than other GOP leaders :0

Donald Trump told Democrat Sen. Charles Schumer in a phone call he likes him more than his GOP brethren House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a source close to the transition team said. During a recent phone call, the president-elect “said to Schumer he likes Schumer more than Ryan and McConnell because they both wanted him to lose,” the source said.

Commentary: Safety net faces dire threats from Trump, GOP

Poor Americans are facing the gravest threat to the federal safety net in decades as President-elect Donald Trump takes office accompanied by a Republican-controlled Congress. The risks to essential benefits for tens of millions of low- and moderate- income Americans include losing coverage extended to them by the Affordable Care Act , threats to the fundamental structure of the Medicaid health-insurance program for the poor, and further reduction of already squeezed funding for scores of other important programs serving the most vulnerable Americans.