S1P09 - Politics & News

A recap of politics and news since about 01/14/2019

National & International

• 01/14 - William P. Barr, President Trump’s nominee for attorney general, promised on Monday that he would allow the special counsel to continue his investigation. But will he release the full unedited final report?
• 01/14 - Two federal judges rule that the Trump administration can not roll back the ACA mandate to cover birth control. 
• 01/14 - Mitch McConnell speaks out against Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) following his racist remarks. Now, what will the GOP do about King?
• It looks like Republican House leadership moves to remove Steve King from all his committee seats. That's a start.
• The full House votes to rebuke white supremacy in general. Weak.
• An old real estate loan by Mick Mulvaney comes to light. He is being sued for $2.5 million. 
• 01/15 - William Barr, Trump's Attorney General nominee, goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing. 
• 01/15 - A federal judge has blocked the Commerce Department from asking a citizenship question on the 2020 census. It is expected to be appealed. 
• 01/15 - The Department of Defense extends its assistance to the Department of Homeland Security along our southern border through September 2019. Seems like a political move to enforce the "Trump Crisis". How much will this cost?
• 01/15 - A federal judge refused to compel the government to pay employees who are currently working without pay during the shutdown. 
• 01/15 - The UK parliament overwhelmingly rejects Theresa May's Brexit agreement with the EU 432-202. This is a complete clusterfuck. Noone has a plan. 
• 01/15 - Kirsten Gillibrand enters the Democratic race for president. Another woman in the race. 
• 01/16 - Speaker Pelosi suggests Trump postpone the State of the Union Address until after the government shutdown ends or to submit it in writing. Pelosi playing hardball.
• 01/17 - Trump cancels Pelosi's trip to Afghanistan. The pissing match is on. 
• 01/16 - US troops are killed in a bombing in Syria. ISIS has taken credit. Maybe ISIS isn't quite defeated as Trump says. 
• 01/16 - Theresa May narrowly survives a no-confidence vote (325-306) in Parliament. Unfortunately, they still have no confidence in her handling of Brexit. 
• 01/16 - The General Services inspector general says that the agency ignored concerns that Trump's lease on the old Post Office Building (Trump International Hotel) might violate the US Constitution's emoluments clauses. A new legal review is recommended. 
• 01/17 - The House votes 362-53 to oppose the lifting of sanctions against Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska controlled companies. A rebuke of the Trump administration.
• The GOP Senate supports the Russians and Trump despite eleven Republican defections. MRGA, Make Russia Great Again.
• 01/17 - The State Department found enough money to call back employees for one pay period. 
• 01/17 - Once again Rudy Giuliani changes his story. Now maybe there was collusion by the Trump campaign, but not by Trump himself. Rudy has to be the worst lawyer in the country.
• Michael Cohen admits to trying to manipulate online polls in favor of Trump. Then in true Trump manner didn't pay the IT firm he hired what was agreed to. Trump consistently said the polls were rigged. Turns out he was correct and he was the one rigging them. 
• According to a BuzzFeed report, Trump instructed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about the Russian real estate deal. 
• In a very rare public statement, the Special Counsel's office denies the details of the news report but not the underlying allegation. 
• 01/18 - Trump's disclosure of the planned Congressional trip to Afghanistan is not only petty but is a dangerous security breach. What a sad little person he is. 
• 01/18 - Trump announces that he will meet with North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, in late February. 
• 01/19 - Trump addresses the nation on the shutdown. His proposal is to give him all the money he wants for the permanent border wall. He offers to give Dreamers temporary three-year protection from deportation. Permanent vs temporary, I get everything I want, you get a small temporary part of what you want. Compromise.
• 01/21 - Kamala Harris (D, CA) announces that she is running for president.
• 01/21 - Fact Checker states that Trump has lied or mislead 8,158 times during his first two years in office.
• 01/21 - Trump's attorney, Rudy Giuliani, tries to walk back his statements that the Moscow Trump Tower deal negotiations continued well into 2016. Surprise, Giuliani put his foot in his mouth again. Why do they let this guy make public statements?
• 01/22 - In a 5-4 decision, The Supreme Court allows Trump's ban on transgender people in the military to go into effect while the case is litigated. 
• 01/22 - The Supreme Court takes no action on Trump's request to take up the DACA issue now. 
• 01/22 - Trump asks the Supreme Court to quickly make a decision on the 2020 Census "citizenship" question.  A US District judge has ordered the administration to stop plans to include the question. 
• 01/23 - Trump says he will deliver the State of the Union speech at the Capitol on January 29th.
• Speaker Nancy Pelosi says you will not as long as there is a government shutdown. Her House, she wins.
• Trump says he will deliver the speech at a different venue.
• Trump decides to wait until after the #TrumpShutdown to deliver the SOTO at the Capitol. Pelosi wins again. 
• 01/23 - Venezuelan opposition leader and Nation Assembly President, Juan Guaido, declares himself president of the country.
• Trump recognizes Guaido as interim president.
• Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, gives US diplomats 72 hours to leave the country.
• US and Venezuela agree to a cooling off period of 30 days. 
• 01/24 - Former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen has been subpoenaed by the Senate Intelligence Committee.
• 01/24 - Government funding bills with and without the wall both fail to pass in the Senate. The partial shutdown remains in effect. 
• 01/25 - Trump associate, Roger Stone, is arrested and indicted on seven counts by Robert Mueller. Counts include witness tampering, obstruction, and lying. 
• 01/25 - Trump agrees to the same temporary government funding bill that was on the table before the #TrumpShutdown. No wall money. The great negotiator caved.
• The Trump organization fired about a dozen employees at Trump National Golf Club in Westchester County. They are undocumented immigrants who have been working at the club, many for several years. Where will they get workers if Trump builds his wall?

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