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GOP Crushes Opposition 02-13-17
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DEMOCRATS: WE’RE MAKING PROGRESS!
FEBRUARY 13, 2017 BY JOHN HINDERAKER POWERLINE
Ever since Donald Trump was inaugurated, the Democrats have tried hysterically, but with a stunning lack of success, to frustrate his ability to assemble an administration. Given their lack of control over any branch of the federal government, it is hard to see what the endgame of the Democrats’ strategy might be.
Michael Ramirez sums up how the Democrats have fared so far.
FEBRUARY 13, 2017 BY JOHN HINDERAKER POWERLINE
Ever since Donald Trump was inaugurated, the Democrats have tried hysterically, but with a stunning lack of success, to frustrate his ability to assemble an administration. Given their lack of control over any branch of the federal government, it is hard to see what the endgame of the Democrats’ strategy might be.
Michael Ramirez sums up how the Democrats have fared so far.
Steven Mnuchin confirmed as Trump's treasury secretary
JOSEPH LAWLER ( • 2/13/17
President Trump has his economic right-hand man in place.
The Senate voted Monday evening to confirm Steven Mnuchin, a former investor, banker and Trump campaign official, to be the 77th secretary of the treasury.
Confirmation means that Mnuchin will be in a position to help carry out Trump's ambitious agenda for cutting tax rates, lessening financial regulation and revamping trade agreements.
The treasury secretary is the top economic post in an administration, and Mnuchin's swearing-in will go a long way toward filling out Trump's understaffed Cabinet and, potentially, facilitating the president's legislative agenda. read more
JOSEPH LAWLER ( • 2/13/17
President Trump has his economic right-hand man in place.
The Senate voted Monday evening to confirm Steven Mnuchin, a former investor, banker and Trump campaign official, to be the 77th secretary of the treasury.
Confirmation means that Mnuchin will be in a position to help carry out Trump's ambitious agenda for cutting tax rates, lessening financial regulation and revamping trade agreements.
The treasury secretary is the top economic post in an administration, and Mnuchin's swearing-in will go a long way toward filling out Trump's understaffed Cabinet and, potentially, facilitating the president's legislative agenda. read more
Andy Puzder's Confirmation Could Be in Peril
Trump's First 100 Days: Reince on the rocks? And more foreign visits.5:00 AM, FEB 13, 2017 | By MICHAEL WARREN
The political world is abuzz about the possibility Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, is on the outs with Donald Trump. That’s due to a not-so-deep reading of some comments by Chris Ruddy, the CEO of Newsmax Media and a donor and friend to Trump, on CNN's Reliable Sources Sunday.
"The White House is showing not the amount of order that we need to see. I think there's a lot of weakness coming out of the chief of staff. I think Reince Priebus, good guy, well intentioned, but he clearly doesn't know how the federal agencies work," Ruddy told host Brian Stelter. "He doesn't have a really good system. He doesn't know how the communications flow.
Ruddy continued: "The president's not getting the back-up he needs in the operation of the White House and sometimes the pushback he needs to have with a stronger White House counsel, that you would have with a strong White House chief of staff."
Jonathan Swan at Axios notes that Ruddy met with the president at Mar-a-Lago on Friday night, so the Newsmax chief likely gave us "a public glimpse into some of the advice Trump is getting privately." Whether Trump would be willing to dump his chief of staff so early into his administration—remember, we're not even a month in—will be a sign about how the new president views his time in the White House so far.
Puzder's Problems in the Senate
Could Andy Puzder, Donald Trump's nominee for Labor secretary, be in real trouble for confirmation? Word on Capitol Hill is that Republican senators are shying away from supporting Puzder—and that Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell may not have enough votes to deliver. If that's the case, McConnell will ask the president to withdraw the nomination rather than forcing his members to cast a vote for which they'll be beat up by unions and others if they vote yes, and by Trump supporters if they vote no.
The CEO of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants, Puzder had liberals howling shortly after his nomination. He's opposed to raising the minimum wage, and a series of TV ads for his restaurants that featured scantily clad women chomping on burgers have drawn the ire of feminists (not to mention some social conservatives). But these aren't the reasons Republicans are wary of Puzder. In a context of getting tough on illegal immigration and populist wariness of special treatment for the wealthy and well-connected, GOP senators say in private they find it hard to overcome the revelation that Puzder employed an illegal immigrant as a maid and paid her in cash, paying no employer taxes at the time.
Puzder's confirmation hearing has been delayed multiple times and is now scheduled for this Thursday. Many observers will be surprised if the hearing happens, and won't be surprised if Puzder's nomination is withdrawn beforehand. McConnell spokesman Don Stewart said in an email that the Senate majority leader "has spoken out publicly in support of Mr. Puzder and looks forward to his confirmation." The White House is also standing by its nominee. "We look forward to Mr. Puzder's hearing this week and his confirmation following the President's Day recess," said deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Trump's First 100 Days: Reince on the rocks? And more foreign visits.5:00 AM, FEB 13, 2017 | By MICHAEL WARREN
The political world is abuzz about the possibility Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, is on the outs with Donald Trump. That’s due to a not-so-deep reading of some comments by Chris Ruddy, the CEO of Newsmax Media and a donor and friend to Trump, on CNN's Reliable Sources Sunday.
"The White House is showing not the amount of order that we need to see. I think there's a lot of weakness coming out of the chief of staff. I think Reince Priebus, good guy, well intentioned, but he clearly doesn't know how the federal agencies work," Ruddy told host Brian Stelter. "He doesn't have a really good system. He doesn't know how the communications flow.
Ruddy continued: "The president's not getting the back-up he needs in the operation of the White House and sometimes the pushback he needs to have with a stronger White House counsel, that you would have with a strong White House chief of staff."
Jonathan Swan at Axios notes that Ruddy met with the president at Mar-a-Lago on Friday night, so the Newsmax chief likely gave us "a public glimpse into some of the advice Trump is getting privately." Whether Trump would be willing to dump his chief of staff so early into his administration—remember, we're not even a month in—will be a sign about how the new president views his time in the White House so far.
Puzder's Problems in the Senate
Could Andy Puzder, Donald Trump's nominee for Labor secretary, be in real trouble for confirmation? Word on Capitol Hill is that Republican senators are shying away from supporting Puzder—and that Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell may not have enough votes to deliver. If that's the case, McConnell will ask the president to withdraw the nomination rather than forcing his members to cast a vote for which they'll be beat up by unions and others if they vote yes, and by Trump supporters if they vote no.
The CEO of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants, Puzder had liberals howling shortly after his nomination. He's opposed to raising the minimum wage, and a series of TV ads for his restaurants that featured scantily clad women chomping on burgers have drawn the ire of feminists (not to mention some social conservatives). But these aren't the reasons Republicans are wary of Puzder. In a context of getting tough on illegal immigration and populist wariness of special treatment for the wealthy and well-connected, GOP senators say in private they find it hard to overcome the revelation that Puzder employed an illegal immigrant as a maid and paid her in cash, paying no employer taxes at the time.
Puzder's confirmation hearing has been delayed multiple times and is now scheduled for this Thursday. Many observers will be surprised if the hearing happens, and won't be surprised if Puzder's nomination is withdrawn beforehand. McConnell spokesman Don Stewart said in an email that the Senate majority leader "has spoken out publicly in support of Mr. Puzder and looks forward to his confirmation." The White House is also standing by its nominee. "We look forward to Mr. Puzder's hearing this week and his confirmation following the President's Day recess," said deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Books by Michael P. Ramirez
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DeVos Confirmation Marks Crushing Defeat For Unions
Organized labor reeling after massive campaign to block Trump's pick for education secretary
by Brendan Kirby | Updated 07 Feb 2017 at 4:30 PM
Tuesday’s historic 51-50 confirmation vote of Betsy DeVos to be the next secretary of education not only highlights the impotence of the Democratic minority in the Senate — it marks a crushing defeat for the teachers unions.
Union leaders went all out to defeat DeVos, a school choice activist from Michigan. Democrats staged a 24-hour talk-a-thon in the Senate in an attempt to scuttle the nomination. They managed to persuade two Republicans to join a united Democratic caucus. But Vice President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote, likely ending the Democrats’ last best hope to stop any of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees.
Read more
Organized labor reeling after massive campaign to block Trump's pick for education secretary
by Brendan Kirby | Updated 07 Feb 2017 at 4:30 PM
Tuesday’s historic 51-50 confirmation vote of Betsy DeVos to be the next secretary of education not only highlights the impotence of the Democratic minority in the Senate — it marks a crushing defeat for the teachers unions.
Union leaders went all out to defeat DeVos, a school choice activist from Michigan. Democrats staged a 24-hour talk-a-thon in the Senate in an attempt to scuttle the nomination. They managed to persuade two Republicans to join a united Democratic caucus. But Vice President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote, likely ending the Democrats’ last best hope to stop any of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees.
Read more
For 8 years, you fought to end Progressive policies supported by the Obama Administration. Reward yourself and be the envy of your friends with this snarky print of the original artwork for National Review. Our good friend Roman Genn is one of our favorite fine artists and he has created a limited print of his brilliant watercolor seen on the Jan. 23rd issue of the National Review magazine. "Outta Here" is limited to only 100 signed and numbered fine giclee prints. It is conveniently sized at 12 x 16, with the image measuring 9 x 12 inches. We love the fact that Roman immigrated to the United States in 1991 after a storied career in Moscow as a teenaged political activist who used his art to protest the Soviet system. Read more about Roman HERE.
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Click here or on Image to purchase (may take a few minutes to load).
Senate Gears Up For Partisan Vote on Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary
by LEIGH ANN CALDWELL
The Senate Monday will vote on the confirmation of President Donald Trump's pick to head the Treasury Department, marking the start of what will be a third straight week of a highly partisan process filled with late nights and political theatrics.
The confirmation vote on Steven Mnuchin Monday night is expected to once again break down along party lines, with Democrats criticizing him as a Wall Street friendly banker who breaks with Trump's promise to stand for American workers.
The former Goldman Sachs employee who also helmed One West bank, a bank that was embroiled in the foreclosure crisis, was Trump's finance director during the his presidential campaign. Read more
by LEIGH ANN CALDWELL
The Senate Monday will vote on the confirmation of President Donald Trump's pick to head the Treasury Department, marking the start of what will be a third straight week of a highly partisan process filled with late nights and political theatrics.
The confirmation vote on Steven Mnuchin Monday night is expected to once again break down along party lines, with Democrats criticizing him as a Wall Street friendly banker who breaks with Trump's promise to stand for American workers.
The former Goldman Sachs employee who also helmed One West bank, a bank that was embroiled in the foreclosure crisis, was Trump's finance director during the his presidential campaign. Read more