Mick Mulvaney says Donald Trump is likely annoyed with Republican leaders over their inability to pass legislation. And Mulvaney says he can understand because he is too. As a friend notes, this is almost comical hypocrisy. Mulvaney may not be in the House anymore. But as a founding member of the Freedom Caucus, Mulvaney is ground zero for why Republicans are no longer able to act as a functioning caucus.
So what on Earth is up with Trump now ringing up Nancy Pelosi to ask her advice on reassuring DACA recipients? I would certainly say it’s one of the weirder developments of the Trump era. It’s an extremely high bar. Read More
I’ve just read through Donald Trump Jr’s account of the now-notorious June 2016 meeting with that Russian lawyer in Trump Tower. Here are my thoughts. Read More
Mnuchin: We’re very happy Trump made a deal with the Dems.
Why did President Trump shock Republicans and official Washington by abandoning his own Congressional leadership and cutting a debt-ceiling deal with Congressional Democrats? To review, Trump abruptly agreed to a Democratic proposal for a three month debt ceiling extension tied to Harvey relief aid. Democrats were so stunned they tried to go as lo-fi as they could with their victory lap, fearful that any overt celebration would prompt Trump to reconsider. This late Times report confirms that even Trump’s Treasury Secretary, the husband of actress Louise Linton, was caught off guard.
So what’s up with this? Read More
Read this piece. President Trump just stunned and angered Republicans by agreeing to Schumer and Pelosi’s proposal to tie a temporary debt ceiling increase to disaster relief in Texas and Louisiana.
In the rush to remove statues, rename facilities and generally close the era of memorialization of Confederate leaders and military figures, I’m surprised there’s been so little mention of US military bases. To be clear, it’s certainly not like I’m the first to ever raise the issue. It’s been discussed quite a lot over the years and especially in recent years. But I’ve seen relatively little mention of it in the post-Charlottesville period. Read More
I want to add a few thoughts about what’s unfolding with DACA. But before I do I want to be clear that it is largely or at least for now seemingly disconnected from the fate of the hundreds of thousands of young people President Trump has put on the chopping block. But that could change. Read More
Let me share a few thoughts about President Trump’s decision to end DACA. If reports are to be believed – and I suspect they generally are – the President was conflicted on this decision. He wanted to satisfy his promise to his core voters but he also did not want to get the blame for the impact of the decision. This is an important distinction between not wanting to inflict human suffering and not wanting to get blamed for it. In any case, as he put it in his tweet this morning, he’s leaving it up to Congress to prevent the carnage. Read More