DAY 95 (4/25/17)
As time runs out on the stop gap spending measure that would prevent a full government shutdown, President Trump has appeared to blinked first, indicating that he is willing give up on funding his pet border wall with Mexico in order for Republicans to pass the temporary budget. Passage of the spending bill, also known as a continuing resolution looks far more likely, though negotiations could still catch on healthcare insurance subsidies, which White House budget director Mick Mulvane has indicated President Trump will not agree to. Such cost-sharing subsidies are part of the Affordable Care Act and allow low and moderate income Americans to cover the costs of health insurance. http://reut.rs/2oIymsu , http://kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/cost-sharing-subsidies-in-federal-marketplace-plans/
A House of Representatives Oversight Committee announced onTuesday that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who spent a record 24-days in the role before stepping down amid investigations into Russian and Turkish connections, likely broke the law in failing to disclose payments from foreign nationals during confirmation hearings. Failure to disclose such transactions would likely constitute a felony. http://reut.rs/2q3w2QG
In an totally unrelated note, Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates are now scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism on May 8th regarding alleged Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election. http://reut.rs/2p0CuGJ
U.S. District Judge William Orrick III ruled President Trumps executive order to withhold funds from sanctuary cities was unconstitutional, effectively blocking the order. In recent weeks so-called sanctuary cities and municipalities around the country have declared, that while they will not act specifically against Trump administration immigration policies, they will not set aside funds to enforce increasingly stringent immigration laws. In response Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Justice Department said they would withhold federal funding to any city or municipality they perceived as failing to support the stricter immigration policies. The Justice Department, however, sought to frame this withholding was not a punishment to local governments but instead argued that funds withheld would only affect sanctuary city police departments. In his ruling Judge Orrick stated that language in Trumps executive order made clear that it was aimed to impact beyond police departments and was instead being used as "a weapon." http://reut.rs/2p1SEjg
The Trump administration took aim at Canadian lumber exports to US markets, instituting a preliminary 20% tariff in an effort to stave off what it declared as price fixing and gouging of the softwood lumber market by Canadian officials. The duty, imposed by Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, is expected to bring in $1billion a year. This move, and the increasingly deteriorating US-Canadian relationship, comes before the two countries are set to renegotiate NAFTA trade deals. http://reut.rs/2oH7Izh
And speaking of deteriorating relationships with NAFTA partners, Mexico declared Tuesday it would fight any moves by the United States it perceived as a threat to international trade rules and regulations, saying any moves against Mexican markets would be perceived as a "breaking point" in US-Mexico economic relations. This comes not only as both nations prep for NAFTA negotiations but also follows the World Trade Organization giving the all clear for Mexico to enact retaliatory trade measures against US tuna market disputes. http://reut.rs/2oHa2Xe
Following the failure of commemorative missile launches North Korea exhibited its artillery in large scale live-fire exercises. Amid increasingly tense relations between the North Korean nation and the Trump administration, the exercises marked the 85th anniversary of the North Korean military as well as served to signal North Korean anger over the approach of aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson to Korean waters. Leading Republicans are sending mixed signals regarding the preferred US response to North Korea, with some calling for sanctions rather than strikes, while others (such as Sen. Lindsey Graham R-SC) praise President Trumps willingness to act against Kim Jong-un. http://reut.rs/2prswj4
Speaking before the W20 Women's Summit alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel and IMF Chief Christine Lagarde, adviser to, and daughter of, the President Ivanka Trump was booed during her comments that her father was "a tremendous champion of supporting families and enabling them to thrive.” http://reut.rs/2pZQQpt
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced on Tuesday a new Trump Executive Order, expected to go into effect Wednesday, would require a review of dozens of National Monuments with an eye for lifting or limiting monument status, thus opening the land to various development, including drilling and mining. One such site at risk: the Bears Ears National Monument, set aside by then President Obama in late 2016. Bears Ears is culturally significant to five Native American tribes, including the Navajo. It also sits on deposits that a Texas company wants to drill out. http://reut.rs/2pxwdDV
The biggest benefactors of Trumps new budget looks to be corporations http://reut.rs/2oHnASn









