Tag Archives: The White House

Mediaite: House Republican Comes Out Swinging Against ‘Amateur Person’ Pete Hegseth and Calls for His Ouster

Posted on by
Reply

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) became the first House Republican to suggest that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is no longer fit to keep his job, in scathing comments made to Politico’s Rachel Bade on Monday.

“I had concerns from the get-go because Pete Hegseth didn’t have a lot of experience,” Bacon told Bade, following the bombshell revelations over the weekend that Hegseth had shared national security details in a second Signal group chat – this time one that included his wife.

Bacon, a retired Air Force general, added, “ … I find it unacceptable, and I wouldn’t tolerate it if I was in charge,” …,

House Republican Comes Out Swinging Against ‘Amateur Person’ Pete Hegseth and Calls for His Ouster
“I’m not in the White House, and I’m not going to tell the White House how to manage this … but I find it unacceptable, and I wouldn’t tolerate it” The post House Republican Comes Out Swinging Against ‘Amateur Person’ Pete Hegseth and Calls for His Ouster first appeared on Mediaite.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/house-republican-comes-out-swinging-against-amateur-person-pete-hegseth-and-calls-for-his-ouster/ar-AA1Dl5oC

MeidasTouch News: White House Initiates Search for New Secretary of Defense, Report

Posted on by
Reply

In a stunning turn of events, NPR is reporting that the White House has begun the process of seeking a new Secretary of Defense, according to a U.S. official who spoke under condition of anonymity. This development follows a rapidly escalating crisis within the Department of Defense, as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth faces mounting scrutiny and calls for his resignation amid a series of scandals and growing dysfunction at the Pentagon.

I guess the drunken wifebeater isn’t working out?

White House Initiates Search for New Secretary of Defense, Report
The White House has denied the report.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/white-house-initiates-search-for-new-secretary-of-defense-report/ar-AA1DkWLh

Newsweek: Republican Support Collapses Under Donald Trump

Posted on by
Reply

An April 16 poll of 1,000 registered voters conducted by RMG Research, a public opinion research firm founded by conservative pollster Scott Rasmussen, for Napolitan News Service found that if an election for Congress were held today, 48 percent would vote for the Democrat on their ballot, while 44 percent would vote for the Republican.

When including those who would lean Democratic or Republican, the Democratic lead increased to 50 percent, while Republican support increased to 45 percent.

This marks a seven-point swing since February, according to the pollsters. Before Trump was inaugurated on January 20, Republicans had a seven-point lead of 51 percent to the Democrats’ 44 percent.

Republican Support Collapses Under Donald Trump
A new poll showed fewer voters would support Republicans in Congress.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/republican-support-collapses-under-donald-trump/ar-AA1DnerZ

WCCO Radio: Hegseth had a second Signal chat where he shared details of Yemen strike

Posted on by
Reply

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth created another Signal messaging chat that included his wife and brother where he shared similar details of a March military airstrike against Yemen’s Houthi militants that were sent in another chain with top Trump administration leaders, both The New York Times reported and CBS News has confirmed.

…

The second chat on Signal — which is a commercially available app not authorized to be used to communicate sensitive or classified national defense information — included 13 people, the person said. The person also confirmed the chat was dubbed “Defense ‘ Team Huddle.”

The New York Times reported that the group included Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, who is a former Fox News producer, and his brother Phil Hegseth, who was hired at the Pentagon as a Department of Homeland Security liaison and senior adviser. Both have traveled with the defense secretary and attended high-level meetings.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/hegseth-had-a-second-signal-chat-where-he-shared-details-of-yemen-strike/ar-AA1DjQgV

CNN: IRS making plans to rescind Harvard’s tax-exempt status

Posted on by
Reply

The Internal Revenue Service is making plans to rescind the tax-exempt status of Harvard University, according to two sources familiar with the matter, which would be an extraordinary step of retaliation as the Trump administration seeks to turn up pressure on the university that has defied its demands to change its hiring and other practices.

…

President Donald Trump in recent days raised the idea of punishing the Ivy League university for not complying with what the administration has sought to portray as a campaign to fight antisemitism.

Big problem here: Just as the First Amendment protects what you say, it also prohibits others from forcing you to support their causes. Whatever the administration has in mind “as a campaign to fight antisemitism”, Harvard’s participation cannot be compelled.

IRS making plans to rescind Harvard’s tax-exempt status
The Internal Revenue Service is making plans to rescind the tax-exempt status of Harvard University, according to two sources familiar with the matter, which would be an extraordinary step of retaliation as the Trump administration seeks to turn up pressure on the university that has defied its demands to change its hiring and other practices.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/taxes/irs-making-plans-to-rescind-harvard-s-tax-exempt-status/ar-AA1D3yDY

Trump administration revokes humanitarian parole of local teacher

Posted on by
Reply

Vanegas and his family moved to the U.S. 10 months ago on humanitarian parole, a Biden-era program that gives individuals temporary legal status for urgent humanitarian reasons or for significant public benefit.

Vanegas, who taught high schoolers in Nicaragua for 15 years, now works three part time jobs. He teaches Spanish at two grade schools, including one in Prince George’s County, and at Howard University.

Last month, he received notice his parole was being revoked and he and his family needed to leave by April 25.

“How can I get a solution about this situation in a short period of time?” Vanegas said. “That is something that I, that we have been thinking about and it’s been something that is difficult, you know.”

Trump administration revokes humanitarian parole of local teacher
Hundreds of thousands of people in the United States under a program called humanitarian parole are at risk of being sent back to their home countries by the Trump administration.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-administration-revokes-humanitarian-parole-of-local-teacher/ar-AA1D1fdn

The Hill: Trump administration removes Democratic members of credit union watchdog

Posted on by
Reply

The Trump administration has fired two Democratic board members from the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the officials said Wednesday.

Todd Harper, one Democrat on the board, shared the news of his removal in a post on LinkedIn and said the firing was “just plain wrong.”

“The decision of the White House to fire me before the completion of my term is wrong. It violates the bipartisan statutory framework adopted by Congress to protect credit union members and their deposits,” Harper said in his statement.

Harper argued the firings were an attack on the NCUA and undermines the organization’s independence and work. The NCUA regulates credit unions and protects credit members.

“If a President can fire an NCUA Board member at any time, how will we maintain public trust in our nation’s financial services regulatory system?” he questioned.

The other Democrat removed was Tanya Otsuka. Their departures leave just one member of the board left, Republican Chair Kyle Hauptman, Reuters reported.

In a separate statement, reported by Reuters, Otsuka said she was informed about her immediate termination in an email Tuesday evening and said it was “yet another attempt to undermine the rule of law and blatantly ignore Congress and our democratic values.”

Trump administration removes Democratic members of credit union watchdog
The Trump administration has fired two Democratic board members from the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the officials said Wednesday. Todd Harper, one Democrat on the board, shared the news of his removal in a post on LinkedIn and said the firing was “just plain wrong.” “The decision of the White House to fire me…

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-administration-removes-democratic-members-of-credit-union-watchdog/ar-AA1D3C9v

Financial Times: EU issues US-bound staff with burner phones over spying fears

Posted on by
Reply

European Commission officials heading to IMF and World Bank spring meetings advised to travel with basic devices

The European Commission is issuing burner phones and basic laptops to some US-bound staff to avoid the risk of espionage, a measure traditionally reserved for trips to China.

Commissioners and senior officials travelling to the IMF and World Bank spring meetings next week have been given the new guidance, according to four people familiar with the situation.

They said the measures replicate those used on trips to Ukraine and China, where standard IT kit cannot be brought into the countries for fear of Russian or Chinese surveillance.

“They are worried about the US getting into the commission systems,” said one official.

The treatment of the US as a potential security risk highlights how relations have deteriorated since the return of Donald Trump as US president in January. 

…

Officials said the guidance for all staff travelling to the US included a recommendation that they should turn off phones at the border and place them in special sleeves to protect them from spying if left unattended.

The advice was unsurprising, according to Luuk van Middelaar, director of the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics, a think-tank.

“Washington is not Beijing or Moscow, but it is an adversary that is prone to use extra-legal methods to further its interests and power.”

https://archive.is/8HLcg#selection-2229.0-2240.0

Mediaite: The Wall Street Journal Torches Trump for ‘Hurting His Own Cause and Country’ Instead of China: ‘Making It Up as He Goes’

Posted on by
Reply

The Wall Street Journal continued its assault on President Donald Trump’s trade policy in a new editorial questioning if he even has a “China trade strategy.”

“It’s all going according to plan, says the White House, and you almost have to smile at this spin in trying to sell President Trump’s partial tariff reversal this week as a triumph,” began the Journal in its opening salvo. “The reality is that Mr. Trump is making it up as he goes, and it would help if he had an actual strategy to deal with China in particular.”

After noting that Trump has escalated his trade war with China, it went on to submit that it isn’t clear whether the administration seeks “complete decoupling” or a “trade deal” with the Chinese.

The Wall Street Journal Torches Trump for ‘Hurting His Own Cause and Country’ Instead of China: ‘Making It Up as He Goes’
The Wall Street Journal continued its assault on Donald Trump’s trade policy in a new editorial questioning if Trump even has a “China trade strategy.”
The Wall Street Journal Torches Trump for ‘Hurting His Own Cause and Country’ Instead of China: ‘Making It Up as He Goes’

Mediaite: Trump Boots Obama’s Portrait From Prominent White House Spot – Replaces It With Assassination Attempt Photo

Posted on by
Reply

Pure narcissism!

The White House removed a portrait of former President Barack Obama from a prominent spot and replaced it with artwork of President Donald Trump surviving last summer’s shooting attempt in Pennsylvania.

Just after 3 p.m. ET Friday, the verified White House X page posted a short clip of a photo of Trump bleeding from the ear and raising his fist in the air.

The image appeared to be a painting and was identical to one that went viral last July after Trump was grazed in the ear by a bullet fired by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.

Trump Boots Obama’s Portrait From Prominent White House Spot – Replaces It With Assassination Attempt Photo
The image appeared to be an oil painting and was identical to one that went viral after Trump was grazed in the ear by a bullet last July.
Trump Boots Obama’s Portrait From Prominent White House Spot – Replaces It With Assassination Attempt Photo