Government
in action
Monday, July 23
á
The Washington
Post reported that emails and other documents inadvertently made public by the
Interior Department in mid-July showed that, as the Department reviewed
national monuments last year, staff did not consider evidence that would favor
keeping the monuments protected, such as tourism and other economic benefits,
and sought evidence for removing the protections. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/trump-administration-officials-dismissed-benefits-of-national-monuments/2018/07/23/5b8b1666-8b9a-11e8-a345-a1bf7847b375_story.html?utm_term=.9670d4a6653d&wpisrc=al_news__alert-hse--alert-national&wpm
á
The
Washington Post reported that North Korea has begun dismantling the facilities
at the satellite launch station in Sohae, according to an analysis of
commercial satellite imagery. If correct it would be a step towards fulfilling
recent agreements between Trump and Kim Jong Un. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/07/23/north-korea-begins-dismantling-key-test-site-satellite-imagery-suggests/?utm_term=.a3e506ca4bb7
á
White
House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Donald Trump is
targeting the security clearances of former CIA director John Brennan; former
FBI director James B. Comey; former CIA director Michael V. Hayden; former
national security adviser Susan E. Rice; former director of national
intelligence James R. Clapper Jr.; and former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe
for making Òbaseless accusationsÓ against the president. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/rand-paul-says-hell-ask-trump-to-revoke-former-cia-director-john-brennans-security-clearance/2018/07/23/8eb11ccc-8e7c-11e8-b769-e3fff17f0689_story.html?utm_term=.ecb9bf292b76&wpisrc=al_news__alert-politics--alert-n
Tuesday.
July 24:
á
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Purdue announced $12 billion
in aid to farmers who will be among the first to suffer from trade retaliation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/us/politics/farmers-aid-trade-war.html
á
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov was reticent about whether Russian
President Vladimir Putin would accept an invitation from Trump to meet in
Washington later this year. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-putin-trump/kremlin-coy-on-new-summit-idea-says-putin-and-trump-can-meet-at-g20-idUSKBN1KE1R8
Wednesday,
July 25:
á
A group of Republican members of the House of
Representatives introduced articles of impeachment against Deputy Attorney
General Rod Rosenstein, contending he has not fulfilled his obligation to
produce documents concerning the investigation of Russian influence in the 2016
presidential election led by Robert Mueller. http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/398902-gop-lawmakers-introduce-impeachment-resolution-against-rosenstein?rnd=1532560243?userid=280231
á
Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker
announced that the U.S. and the European Union they are taking steps to resolve
trade differences and to work to eliminate all tariffs between the worldÕs two
largest economic entities. http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/398856-trump-strikes-deal-with-eu-to-avoid-trade-war-report?userid=280231
á
U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte ruled that a lawsuit that
alleges Trump is violating the emoluments clauses of the Constitution by
certain business dealings with foreign governments can proceed. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal-judge-allows-emoluments-case-against-trump-to-proceed/2018/07/25/c8070206-8fa4-11e8-8322-b5482bf5e0f5_story.html?utm_term=.1ff2b31e902d
á
Japan and
Germany said Wednesday they would step up their alliance to promote free trade
and the Paris climate agreement. https://www.wsj.com/articles/japan-and-germany-find-common-ground-opposing-trump-on-trade-1532519287?tesla=y&mod=article_inline&mod=article_inline
á
The White House announced it is delaying any plans for Putin
to come to Washington until Special Counsel Robert Mueller concludes his
investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-pushes-follow-up-trump-putin-meeting-to-next-year/2018/07/25/a8e1ed4c-9039-11e8-bcd5-9d911c784c38_story.html?utm_term=.f1e19e3fd6a1&wpisrc=al_politics__alert-politics&wpmk=1
Thursday,
July 26
á
U.S. automakers reported earnings decreases, due in part
from rising commodity prices related to the tariffs on aluminum and steel
imposed by Trump. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/business/autos-earnings-trade.html
á
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said he opposes the move to
impeach Rosenstein, saying he believes the
Department of Justice is largely complying with the GOP demand for documents
surrounding the FBI's Russia investigation. https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/26/ryan-rejects-conservative-push-to-impeach-rosenstein-743487?nname=playbook-pm&nid=0000015a-dd3e-d536-a37b-dd7fd8af0000&nrid=00000158-890d-dfd4-ad7b-c96fadf30001&nlid=964328
á
U.S.
District Judge ruled that the largest of six lawsuits against the new
citizenship question on the 2020 census can move forward in court, saying there
is some evidence that the decision to reinstate the citizenship question was
motivated by discrimination. NPR
Friday,
July 27
á
Michael Cohen, TrumpÕs former personal lawyer, said Trump
had advance knowledge about the June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower in which
Russians were expected to offer political dirt on Hilary Clinton, contradicting
TrumpÕs claims that he was unaware of the meeting. https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/26/politics/michael-cohen-donald-trump-june-2016-meeting-knowledge/index.html
á
The U.S. economy grew at a rate of 4.1 percent in the second
quarter of 2018, according to the Commerce Department, up from 2.2 percent in
the first quarter. It was the first time since 2014 that economic growth topped
4 percent in a quarter. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/27/business/economy/economy-gdp.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
Saturday,
July 28
á
Trump
declared that an emergency exists in the State of California and ordered
federal assistance to help with the wildfires that began July 23. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-approves-california-emergency-declaration-2/
Sunday,
July 29
á
President Trump threatened to shut down the government if
Congress does not appropriate funds to build a border wall with Mexico. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/29/us/politics/trump-shutdown-republicans-midterms.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
á Following
a meeting at the White House, New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger and
Trump engaged in a public clash in which the president characterized the press
as Òthe enemy of the people,Ó and the publisher Òwarned [the
president] that this inflammatory language is contributing to a rise in threats
against journalists and will lead to violence,Ó particularly abroad. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/29/us/politics/trump-new-york-times-sulzberger.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news