February 5, 2019

Democrats seek to take on Trump at State of the Union

Democrats seek to take on Trump at State of the Union
By Cristina Marcos - 02/05/19 06:00 AM EST

snip//

Viewers at home will primarily see Pelosi seated behind Trump for the first time, offering a partisan contrast next to Vice President Pence in how they respond to what the president says in his speech.

And when Trump looks at his audience, he’ll see a congressional body that includes record numbers of women and minorities.

Scores of Democrats are also bringing guests designed to send political messages.

They include immigrants who worked at Trump’s New Jersey golf club without documentation and people affected by the Trump administration’s family separations policy at the southern border.

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), a senior Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) member who skipped last year’s address, will be in the chamber this year. He plans to join Democratic women in wearing white to show solidarity with suffragettes and acknowledge the record number of women serving in the House.

“Mr. Rush wants the President to look out and see the Democratic majority that will serve as a strong Constitutional check on his power,” said Ryan Johnson, the lawmaker’s communications director.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), who also skipped last year’s address, plans to attend with a federal worker from Chicago who was furloughed during the shutdown.

“She feels it’s important for President Trump to see the impact of the shutdown on hardworking Americans,” Schakowsky spokesman Guy King said.

Other Democrats who boycotted last year’s address confirmed on Monday that they be in attendance on Tuesday, including Reps. Albio Sires (N.J.), Gregory Meeks (N.Y.) and Danny K. Davis (Ill.).

more...

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/428450-democrats-seek-to-take-on-trump-at-state-of-the-union

February 5, 2019

Adam Schiff Blows Up Trump's Plan To Hide The Mueller Report

https://www.politicususa.com/2019/02/04/adam-schiff-mueller-report.html

Posted on Mon, Feb 4th, 2019 by Jason Easley
Adam Schiff Blows Up Trump’s Plan To Hide The Mueller Report


Trump’s plan to hide the Mueller report was blown up by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) who is threatening to subpoena the special counsel report if Trump refuses to release it.

Schiff said, “This is too big to be buried. This is of too great a consequence to the country to be swept under the rug. And so we will use whatever compulsion we can and must to make sure that the public gets the full story. ”

https://twitter.com/politicususa/status/1092564471330062342

Adam Schiff isn’t going to let Trump hide the details of his potential crimes

It has become increasingly obvious through Trump’s public comments that he is intending on burying the Mueller report. Once Trump realized that he couldn’t fire Mueller without being impeached, his next move appears to be letting Mueller finish his report and then doing everything he can to stop the report from seeing the light of day.

Adam Schiff isn’t playing games with the president. If Trump tries to bury the report, Schiff will subpoena it, which he has full power to do as the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Trump is playing games and hoping that he can prevent the public from ever seeing what Robert Mueller has found, but Democrats already have a strategy in place and are ten steps ahead of any move that the president could make to hide the Mueller report.

February 4, 2019

Democrats protest Trump's transgender troop ban by bringing trans people who served to SOTU

Democrats protest Trump’s transgender troop ban by bringing trans people who served to SOTU
Trump wants to ban transgender people from serving openly in the military. Democrats are protesting the policy.
By German Lopez@germanrlopezgerman.lopez@vox.com Feb 4, 2019, 12:40pm EST


Congressional Democrats are protesting President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender troops by inviting trans people with military experience to the State of the Union on Tuesday.

According to Washington Blade reporter Chris Johnson, at least four members of Congress are taking part in the quiet protests: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is inviting Navy Lieutenant Commander Blake Dremann, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) is inviting Air Force Staff Sergeant Logan Ireland, Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA) is inviting Navy Petty Officer Second Class Megan Winters, and Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) is inviting Navy veteran Tavion Dignard.

Gillibrand, who’s running for president, tied her invitation to new legislation she plans to introduce to protect trans troops.



The invitations and call to action come as Trump continues trying to ban transgender people from serving openly in the military. The ban recently won a major victory at the Supreme Court, which struck down some of the injunctions against the ban as legal challenges against the policy proceed in court. But the courts could still ultimately rule against the ban, which would lead to its demise.

more...

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/2/4/18210530/transgender-military-trump-state-of-the-union

February 4, 2019

Senate Democrats Try to Cut Off 'Emergency Funds' for Trump's Border Wall

Senate Democrats Try to Cut Off ‘Emergency Funds’ for Trump’s Border Wall
The RAIDER Act looks to preempt the president from going down the route he seems destined to take.
Sam Brodey
02.04.19 1:03 PM ET


A group of Senate Democrats are aiming to block President Donald Trump from building his proposed border wall by declaring a national emergency – an announcement the president could make as soon as Tuesday during his State of the Union address.

Roughly a dozen Democrats are getting behind a bill, being introduced Monday afternoon, that would prohibit Trump from building the wall using funds drawn from either the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or the Department of Defense’s military construction accounts.

One of the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), said that Congress must “assert its role as a co-equal branch of government” and block Trump from raiding these accounts—which could contain as much as $35 billion for emergency projects—for a “politically-motivated, unjustified national emergency declaration that isn’t based in reality.”

The bill, which is titled the Restrictions Against Illegitimate Declarations for Emergency Re-Appropriations, or RAIDER, Act, states that “no funds appropriated or otherwise made available prior to the date of the enactment of this Act may be used for the construction of barriers, land acquisition, or any other associated activities on the southern border without specific statutory authorization from Congress.”

more...

https://www.thedailybeast.com/senate-democrats-try-to-cut-off-emergency-funds-for-trumps-border-wall?ref=home

February 4, 2019

Big Majority Thinks It's Time for a New President

https://politicalwire.com/2019/02/04/big-majority-think-its-time-for-a-new-president/

Big Majority Thinks It’s Time for a New President
February 4, 2019 at 12:24 pm EST By Taegan Goddard

February 4, 2019

Republicans Are Finally Seeing Trump's Intelligence Problem

There are none so blind as those who will not see.

Republicans Are Finally Seeing Trump’s Intelligence Problem
Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Richard Shelby (R-AL) spoke out on Sunday about the president’s routine intel dismissals
By Ryan Bort


President Trump took aim at the intelligence community last week, tweeting that its officials should “go back to school” after their threat assessments contradicted his rosy vision of international relations. It wasn’t the first time the president has dismissed the findings of the U.S. intelligence apparatus — last year he sided with Vladimir Putin in refusing to accept that Russia meddled in the 2016 election — and Republicans are finally starting to grow frustrated with the president’s fidelity to Fox News and foreign autocrats over the FBI and CIA.

Johnson also criticized the president’s plan to pull U.S. troops out of Syria, a move based on his false belief that ISIS has been defeated, which National Intelligence Director Dan Coats contradicted last week.
https://twitter.com/FoxNewsSunday/status/1092083273579122689
Over on CNN, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) elaborated on why the president’s politicization of intelligence is so troubling. “These are professional people,” he said. “The president’s briefed every day on it. He’s not an intelligence officer. None of us are. But they, the people on the front lines, the people who analyze who gather and disseminate intelligence information to our higher-ups, we should respect them. Most of the time they’re pretty much on point.”
https://twitter.com/CNNSotu/status/1092072185638858752

more...

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/republicans-trump-intel-789449/

February 4, 2019

Princeton Historians: Democrats Must Impeach Trump to 'Heal the Nation'

https://www.politicususa.com/2019/02/04/princeton-historians-democrats-must-impeach-trump-to-heal-the-nation.html

Posted on Mon, Feb 4th, 2019 by Leo Vidal
Princeton Historians: Democrats Must Impeach Trump to ‘Heal the Nation’


Two experts from Princeton University published an article this morning in USA Today saying that Democrats must immediately take action to impeach Donald Trump. If they don’t, they wrote, the president may do irreparable harm to our democracy.

snip//

The writers concluded their op-ed by asking that Democrats take immediate steps to right decades of historical wrongs. They could do this by drawing a line at Trump’s illegal and treasonous behavior. They should do everything in their power to prevent Trump from escaping justice.



The truth is that Donald Trump, his children, and his cronies and business associates are “elites” who have escaped justice for years. If Trump is not held accountable for his crimes, then Vladimir Putin will have succeeded in his primary goal: to undermine faith in American democracy.

Democrats in Congress are now in a position to prevent this from happening, and they must be sure that everything they do is focused on this number one goal: saving the country from the damage done by Donald Trump.

February 4, 2019

Patriots player: I won't visit White House, but it 'would be dope' to meet Obama instead

Patriots player: I won't visit White House, but it 'would be dope' to meet Obama instead
By Avery Anapol - 02/04/19 09:07 AM EST



New England Patriots player Duron Harmon said that he won’t visit President Trump’s White House to celebrate the team’s Super Bowl win.

Speaking to TMZ Sports after the Patriots’ win against the Los Angeles Rams, Harmon said he wouldn’t join his teammates for a visit.



He did, however, acknowledge it “would be dope” to meet former President Barack Obama, like the Golden State Warriors did earlier this year.

“We love you over here, man,” Harmon said, referring to Obama.

more...

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/428308-patriots-player-i-wont-visit-white-house-but-it-would-be-dope?fbclid=IwAR263SCGoCXS6FRzJxp0OjaZ8CVEcMDlz5QouykmWZVjgpkA8cvpWu71CV0

February 4, 2019

Senator Sanders to ask why drug, once free, now costs $375k

February 4, 2019 / 6:06 AM / Updated 2 hours ago
Senator Sanders to ask why drug, once free, now costs $375k
Yasmeen Abutaleb

3 Min Read

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders plans to send a letter to Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (CPRX.O) on Monday asking it to justify its decision to charge $375,000 annually for a medication that for years has been available to patients for free.

The drug, Firdapse, is used to treat Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome (LEMS), a rare neuromuscular disorder, according to the letter, made available to Reuters by the senator’s office. The disorder affects about one in 100,000 people in the United States.

The government is intensifying its scrutiny of the pharmaceutical industry and rising prescription drug prices, a top voter concern and a priority of President Donald Trump’s administration.

Both the Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, controlled by Republicans, have begun holding hearings this year on the rising costs of medicines. Sanders is an independent who usually votes with Democrats.

In the letter dated Feb. 4, Sanders asked Catalyst to lay out the financial and non-financial factors that led the company to set the list price at $375,000, and say how many patients would suffer or die as a result of the price and how much it was paying to purchase or produce the drug.

more...

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-healthcare-catalyst-idUSKCN1PT0ZJ?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_content=5c582f2404d301555789244c&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3rxTGUdc1Z5wQGJKs5_WJgX3J3KpNeApH3SvOJy2SV8ejW3-nch4nQrJM

February 4, 2019

Trump Justice Dept. reversing Obama-era positions on discrimination policies

Trump Justice Dept. reversing Obama-era positions on discrimination policies
By Joan Biskupic, CNN legal analyst & Supreme Court biographer
Updated 6:05 AM ET, Mon February 4, 2019


Washington (CNN)Recent Trump administration moves on civil rights bring into sharper focus its efforts to reverse the Obama era and curtail decades-old laws designed to shield blacks, Latinos and other racial minorities from discrimination.

Last week, the Justice Department retreated from a prior position and said Texas' record of voter discrimination did not justify requiring prior approval for any new redistricting maps. The Obama administration had argued that a provision of the Voting Rights Act empowering judges to intervene should cover Texas, which has been mired in minority-voter disputes for years.

The administration is also apparently considering retrenchment against policies that appear neutral but have the effect of discriminating against minorities. In December, a federal commission convened by the White House recommended the rescission of Obama policy intended to ensure that African-American students are not disproportionately targeted under school discipline rules.

The Washington Post reported in January that the administration is considering a "far-reaching" curtailment of such regulations against practices that -- although not intentionally discriminatory -- have a "disparate impact" on minorities, whether at schools, on the job, or in the pursuit of housing. (The Justice Department would not comment on the report.)

At the same time, the administration is also engaged in a lawsuit against Harvard's affirmative action admissions practices that have traditionally benefited blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans. It is siding with a group that says Asian-American applicants are held to a higher standard for admissions, compared especially to black students.

All told, the Trump team continues to demonstrate that despite an atmosphere of disarray, its lawyers have kept a singular focus on transforming racial-bias laws -- alarming civil rights activists and gratifying veteran conservative advocates.

more...

https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/04/politics/trump-justice-department-race/index.html?utm_term=link&utm_medium=social&utm_content=2019-02-04T12%3A32%3A05&utm_source=fbCNNp&fbclid=IwAR0KvazdjW1oYd7tahnHL2vRIJkKV017kQ4GbXPNx55w_P5SMq2qzw4R2ic