Here’s your dose of What the Fuck is Going on News (2/1/2017 edition)
Donald Trump said that he would encourage Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to change the Senate rules if his Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, does not receive enough votes for confirmation. This falls in line with statements he made last month that he would change the rules to confirm his Cabinet nominees. (source)
Two Republican senators have announced that they plan to vote against education secretary nomination Betsy DeVos. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins said that they plan on voting against DeVos, meaning only one more senator needs to deny her nomination. Murkowski told the Senate floor today that she’s made her decision based off thousands of calls, emails, and letters she’s received from people in her state who do not want DeVos as secretary of education. If you would like to see if your senator is one of those on the fence regarding DeVos and would like to contact them voicing your concerns, click here for the list. (source)
Congress is going to attempt to dismantle two big environmental regulations today. The stream protection rule for coal mining, which worked to protect streams from coal mining debris dumping, and the methane waste rule which required oil and gas companies to reduce methane leaks from operations on federal and tribal lands. Environmental groups support the stream protection rule saying it would protect people in coal country from health risks from pollutants like mercury. (source) (source)
Another order that is up for dismantling is called the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces, which states that taxpayer money should only go to companies that are abiding by the laws that protect American workers and that the federal government should only give contracts to companies that pay their workers the wages they’ve earned, protect the health and safety of employees, and prohibit discriminatory practices. It would also require federal contractors to disclose labor law violations from the last three years and change their practices before they can receive a contract. (source)
The Senate has approved former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as the next secretary of state. (source)
The House GOP voted to kill off the regulation that requires publicly traded oil, gas, and mining companies to disclose any payments they made to foreign governments, including taxes and royalties. It was intended to cut down on corruption by increasing transparency. Interestingly enough, the newly appointed secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, personally lobbied against this rule back in the day. (source)
Dozens of lawsuits have been filed against Trump since his inauguration, mostly in regards to the travel ban affecting the 7 Muslim-majority countries, Trump’s ethics violations/conflicts of interest, and sanctuary cities. (source as well as a breakdown of some of the lawsuits filed)
Donald Trump made a statement to mark the first day of Black History Month, and you can read the full transcript here. In his statement, he mainly focused on himself and those who voted for him, he then went on to rant about “fake news,” his desire to increase law enforcement in Black communities, and listing the Black people that he knows. Trump also made a vaguely worded present-tense comment on Frederick Douglas that makes it seem like he is unaware who Douglas is.
A reporter later asked press secretary Sean Spicer to clarify Trump’s comments and did so without telling him that Douglas has been dead for 122 years. Sean Spicer remarked “I think he wants to highlight the contributions that he has made, and I think through a lot of the actions and statements that he’s going to make, I think the contributions of Frederick Douglass will become more and more.” This lead more people to believe that neither Trump nor Spicer know who they’re talking about. (source along with videos of both Trump and Spicer’s interviews)
Rep. Tom Price and Steve Mnuchin were pushed forward to receive a full vote on the Senate floor - meaning they’re one step closer to being confirmed. This happened despite the fact that the Democrats boycotted the nominations. Senate Finance Committee Chair Orrin Hatch suspended the rules and pushed these two Cabinet picks forward anyway. Price is the nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and Mnuchin is the pick for treasury secretary. There was opposition to move forward because the two nominees held back information about their backgrounds and have possible ethics violations that have yet to be addressed. (source)House Republicans are attempting to institute right-to-work policies for the entire country. This would be a serious blow to the labor movement and has received extreme opposition for labor unions. (source)
Another change was made in regards to Trump executive order that barred refugees and stopped people from the 7 Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. A counsel to the president issued guidance to government agencies saying the executive order does not apply to legal permanent residents, also known as green card holders, and that they will no longer need special waivers to re-enter the U.S. (source)
The Dakota Access Pipeline will receive a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to allow construction of the project to be completed. This comes after Trump’s executive order last week that reinstated the building of this and the Keystone Pipeline. In a statement to NBC News, Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault II said granting an easement now would effectively “abandon the EIS” and would amount “to a wholly unexplained and arbitrary change based on the president’s personal views.” The Standing Rock Sioux tribe plans to fight this easement in court. (source)
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