Monday, May 8
á President
Donald TrumpÕs statement calling for a Òtotal and complete shutdown of Muslims
entering the United StatesÓ was deleted from his campaign website.
Tuesday, May 9
á Trump fired FBI Director James Comey,
saying Comey had treated Hillary Clinton unfairly, damaging the credibility of
the Justice Department and FBI.
á Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke suspended
38 resource advisory councils that advise the BLM on science and the management
of public lands.
á The Kushner Companies apologized for using
Jared KushnerÕs name in a sales presentation to lure Chinese investors with the
promise of an Ôinvestor visaÕ if they invested $500,000 in New Jersey real
estate ventures.
á The
ACLU reported that more than 30 anti-protest bills in 20 states have been introduced
since the election in November — an unprecedented effort to put a cap on
dissent and free speech.
á TrumpÕs
advisers postponed a meeting on whether the U.S. should withdraw from the Paris
climate agreement because of so much opposition to withdrawal.
á Trump-appointed
FCC chair, Ajit Pai reinstated the ÒUHF discount,Ó an outdated loophole that
allowed media conglomerates to exceed the nationÕs 39 percent cap on ownership
of media outlets. This allowed Sinclair Broadcast Group, the conservative media
behemoth that owns more local news stations than any other company in the
country, to buy Tribune Media for $3.9 billion.
á Trump
appointed longtime renewable energy antagonist Daniel
Simmons to lead the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
á Trump announced plans to nominate Clean
Power Plan opponents to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Wednesday, May 10
á Following
FBI director ComeyÕs firing, Republicans rejected DemocratsÕ call for a special
prosecutor to investigate Trump-Russia ties.
á Sen.
John McCain said, Òif Trump was trying to thwart the
Russia investigation [by firing Comey], it wonÕt work.Ó
á Before
Comey was fired, he reportedly asked the Justice Department for a significant
increase in resources for the bureauÕs investigation into RussiaÕs influence in
the election.
á The Senate Intelligence Committee subpoenaed
Michael Flynn in the Russia investigation.
Thursday, May 11
á According to news sources, TrumpÕs anger
and impatience with Comey had boiled over into fury when Comey refused
to divulge his planned Senate panel testimony, and denied assurances of loyalty
to Trump.
á FBI
agents were concerned that the way Trump fired Comey fundamentally compromised
the bureauÕs political neutrality.
á Trump
signed an order to create a commission to review his controversial allegations
of widespread voter fraud.
á The Daily Beast reported that Deputy
Attorney General Rod Rosenstein threatened to resign after the White House
portrayed him as the driving force behind FBI director ComeyÕs dismissal.
á The FBI refused to disclose documents
about TrumpÕs contentious election year call on Russia to hack Hillary
ClintonÕs emails.
á Census
Bureau director John H. Thompson resigned amid a budget crunch, raising fears
that, with bad census data, people will not receive their fair share of electoral college votes.
á Senate bill S1114 was introduced to nullify the recent executive order that discriminates
against LGBTQ individuals, women, religious minorities, and others under the
pretext of religious freedom.
á The
DOE and White House continued to operate without any advisory groups of experts
on science, research, energy, technology and innovation.
á Former
Director Of National Intelligence James Clapper said that he never exonerated
Trump of collusion, as Trump claimed.
Friday, May 12
á Trump continued to attack ComeyÕs 10-year
career by humiliating him in demeaning tweets and media interviews.
á Trump
threatened in a tweet that Comey should hope Òthere are no tapes of
conversations.Ó
á EcoWatch
reported that the Interior Department has plans for seismic surveys in the
Atlantic Ocean following TrumpÕs order to expand offshore drilling.
á Attorney
General Jeff Sessions announced the Justice Department, in a reversal of Obama
administration policy, would enforce a mandatory minimum sentence for all drug
offenses.
á The
EPA reached a legal settlement with a Canadian company to build the massive
ÒPebbleÓ gold, copper and molybdenum mine in AlaskaÕs Bristol Bay watershed
threatening one of the last, untouched salmon spawning grounds in the world.
á Trump
selected Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a major architect of voter
suppression measures, as the vice chair of TrumpÕs new Voting Integrity
Commission.
á In a blow to the oil and gas industry,
the Senate blocked a repeal of the so-called methane rule aimed at curbing natural gas and oil
field waste on public land.
á Interior Department deputy nominee David
Bernhardt was scrutinized for conflicts of interest and allegations that he
helped doctor scientific documents.
á Secretary
of Defense James Mattis and national security adviser HR McMaster asked to
secure long-term military roles in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
Saturday, May 13
á The TreasuryÕs Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network, specializing in combating money-laundering,
will provide information for the SenateÕs probe of Trump-Russia ties.
á The Washington Post reported that Trump
has a long history of secretly recording phone calls.
Sunday, May 14
á
Legislators
in both parties said Trump will need to turn
over his tapes of conversations with Comey to Congress.