Trump's White House Continues to Transform the Political Landscape

[bodysong]

Trump's White House Continues to Transform the Political Landscape

Coronavirus has not changed the course of Trump, or the aims of his Loyalists

McConnell aims to elevate unqualified judge to powerful appeals court
after just 5 months on bench

April 3, 2020

Sen. Mitch McConnell blew off the second stimulus response bill to take a long weekend back in Kentucky.

Yes, it was just under three weeks ago, but in novel coronavirus time that’s 30 years.

Anyway, Mitch took that long weekend just as the shit was hitting the fan to celebrate
with Brett Kavanaugh and a guy named Justin Walker, who McConnell had secured
a federal judgeship for just a few months previous. Now, thanks to that undeserved
promotion, Walker is up for a much bigger job: Trump has nominated him to the
powerful U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Kavanaugh, who was in Kentucky with McConnell for the party, recommended
Walker, who had been one of his clerks. Which was about all Walker has done.
At just age 37 and a law professor, he had never in his life tried a case. The
American Bar Association rated him as unqualified because of his inexperience—
he hasn't even been out of law school long enough to qualify by their standards.
When he was nominated, McConnell said Walker was "unquestionably the most
outstanding nomination that I've ever recommended to Presidents to serve on the
bench in Kentucky." And he promptly bulldozed the nomination through.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/20...ul-appeals-court-after-just-5-months-on-bench

 

[hogjack]

Trump Continues to Execute the Role of US President Despite Being in Office of US President

 

[bodysong]

April 3, 2020

'This Is Despicable':

Not Even COVID-19 Pandemic Can Halt Trump's Right-Wing Takeover of Federal Courts

Critics warn the president's latest nominees for lifetime appellate court positions
are both committed to the "deadly agenda" of overturning the entire Affordable
Care Act.

Trump on Friday announced the nomination of U.S. District Judge Justin Walker
to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, following the president's
nomination on Monday of Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Cory Wilson
to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Progressive critics swiftly denounced the nominations, characterizing Walker
and Wilson as "anti-healthcare judges" and highlighting their respective records
of opposing the Affordable Care Act—a position that raised particular alarm given
the pandemic that is expected to sicken hundreds of thousands and leave millions
of Americans uninsured.

Alliance for Justice declared:
"Republicans are using the courts to attack our healthcare in the middle
of a global health crisis. This is despicable."

And I need to say this: Wilson and Walker
(who are – wait for it – both white men)
would be Trump’s 52nd and 53rd circuit court judges –
serving for life.

Trump has made 50+ appellate nominations, but NONE
are African American. Only one is Latinx. 11 are women.

It's appalling.

— Vanita Gupta (@vanitaguptaCR) April 3, 2020

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...c-can-halt-trumps-right-wing-takeover-federal

 

[bodysong]

" Everyone who isn't us is an enemy."
- Cersei Lannister, Game of Thrones

Democrats are outraged at Trump’s late night firing of intelligence community watchdog

April 4, 2020

“President Trump is using a global pandemic as cover to exact political revenge
against the Intelligence Community Inspector General who revealed his misconduct.
Firing IG Atkinson is corruption, and it threatens our national security during a
global crisis,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) tweeted Saturday morning.

It was Atkinson who alerted Congress in September to an “urgent” and
“credible” whistleblower complaint he’d received against Trump that
accused the president of asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
during a phone call to open an investigation into former vice president
Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...night-firing-intelligence-community-watchdog/

In a letter, Trump claimed it was “vital” that he had confidence
in the appointees serving as inspectors general, and
“that is no longer the case with regard to this inspector general”.

The president would nominate an individual who has his full confidence
at a later date, he added.


There was swift condemnation from Democrats. Chuck Schumer,
he minority leader in the Senate, said: “President Trump fires people
for telling the truth.

“Michael Atkinson is a man of integrity who has served our nation
for almost two decades. Being fired for having the courage to speak
truth to power makes him a patriot.”

Adam Schiff, chairman of the House intelligence committee and a
prominent figure in the impeachment hearings, described the move
as “yet another blatant attempt by the president to gut the independence
of the intelligence community and retaliate against those who dare to
expose presidential wrongdoing”.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...ligence-watchdog-michael-atkinson-impeachment

 

[bodysong]

Trump Replaced White House Pandemic-Response Team With Jared Kushner

April 2, 2020

President Trump eliminated the dedicated office of pandemic response in the National Security Council.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/04/trump-fired-pandemic-response-jared-kushner-coronavirus.html

 

[bodysong]

Even as he fired Atkinson, Trump undermined any oversight of his pandemic recovery efforts

https://www.emptywheel.net/2020/04/...inspector-general-turnover-is-about-pandemic/

emptywheel
Twitter › emptywheel

In addition to firing ICIG Michael Atkinson Trump nominated
5 IGs. The most consequential might be this one, bc Glenn Fine,
who is DOD's acting IG, is the head of the committee on oversight
of the bailout.

@LemonSlayerUS

 

[bodysong]

At heart: a disdain for science and expertise.

https://www.salon.com/2020/04/07/no-respite-from-trumps-vindictiveness-and-foolishness_partner/

Once Congress reconvenes later this month, we have other such cases
lining up in bad judicial appointments and national security appointments
who bring no experience.

Trump has nominated Judge Justin Walker, a counselor to Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), to U.S. Court of Appeals for the District
of Columbia, despite less than six months as a district court judge and an
"unqualified" rating from the American Bar. Trump also announced that
Stephen Feinberg, a New York billionaire who owns military contractor
DynCorp International, will lead a White House executive board that reviews
the effectiveness and legality of foreign intelligence. He has no particular
experience but a lot of loyalty.


All this reflects the preliminaries before we take our ringside seats to look in
as Trump nominee Rep. John Ratcliffe, a Texas Republican with absolutely
no credentials, comes before the Republican-majority Senate for confirmation
as director of national intelligence.

By contrast, Trump's appointment of Rep. Mark Meadows, his most ardent
congressional defender from North Carolina, as White House chief of staff,
required no such Senate approval.

Apart from the skill-sets of the new appointees, it is notable just how many senior
officials and cabinet officers this White House has churned through, and Trump's
preference to use acting titles for more and more appointees just to avoid Senate
review.

No Respite From Trump’s Vindictiveness and Foolishness

He Uses the Pandemic to Cover His Firing of Experts and Hiring
of More Incompetent Loyalists

https://www.dcreport.org/2020/04/06/no-respite-from-trumps-vindictiveness-and-foolishness/

 

[bodysong]

9 Apr 2020

Meanwhile, with the world looking the other way, the president continues to appoint conservative judges at a cracking pace. Last week he nominated Judge Justin Walker of Kentucky to serve on the US court of appeals for the DC circuit and Cory Wilson of Mississippi to serve on the fifth circuit.

Ben Driscoll, judiciary program director of the League of Conservation Voters, said: “In the midst of a global pandemic, the Trump administration is seeking to execute one of its most harmful and lasting legacies on the future of public health, nominating an unqualified Mitch McConnell crony and Fox News personality in his 30s to a lifetime position on the powerful DC circuit court of appeals.

“And at a time when our nation faces dire health concerns, it is unconscionable to nominate someone who has argued for stripping healthcare from millions of people, and undermining the fundamental protections of our lands and communities.”

In the year that Trump became the first sitting president to address the “March for Life” in Washington, a clampdown on reproductive rights is also under way. On Tuesday a federal appeals court affirmed Texas’s right to ban nearly all abortions, classifying it a “non-essential” medical procedure, during the pandemic. Judges have temporarily lifted similar bans in Alabama, Ohio and Oklahoma.


https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...seizes-opportunity-to-push-through-his-agenda

 

[bodysong]

Trump is putting the shock doctrine in action, using COVID-19
as an excuse to slash regulations

April 21, 2020

- Laura Clawson

It’s not just immigration. Donald Trump plans to use coronavirus as an excuse
to weaken environmental, labor, health, and other regulations in exactly the ways
he’s wanted to all along. While the White House negotiates with Congress, including
Democrats, over what the next round of coronavirus relief could look like, regulatory
changes can be made without congressional approval.

The administration already decided not to enforce air quality standards—
during a respiratory disease pandemic. Now, Trump and advisers like director
of the United States National Economic Council Larry Kudlow, Treasury Secretary
Steven Mnuchin, and incoming chief of staff Mark Meadows are talking about ideas
like suspending regulations on small businesses—an absolute invitation to wage theft
and dangerous working conditions, among other things—and “expanding an existin
administration program that requires agencies to revoke two regulations for every new
one they issue,” The Washington Post reports. Because nothing says “we’re serious
about making good policy” like arbitrary rules limiting what the government can do
on a strictly numeric level.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/20...ng-COVID-19-as-an-excuse-to-slash-regulations

White House readies push to slash regulations as major part
of its coronavirus economic recovery plan

The White House-driven initiative is expected to center on suspending federal
regulationsfor small businesses and expanding an existing administration program
that requiresagencies to revoke two regulations for every new one they issue, the
two people said.

While the plan remains in flux, changes could affect environmental policy,
labor policy, workplace safety and health care, among other areas.

The White House is also likely to seek to make permanent some temporary regulations
issued by agencies over the past few weeks to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

The timing for the launch of the regulatory rollback is unclear, but some
White House officials want the effort to begin by the end of April or in early
May as part of President Trump’s push to “reopen” the economy. White House
officials have been exploring a range of measures aimed at generating economic
growth after shutdowns meant to contain the novel coronavirus caused more than
22 million Americans to lose their jobs in a span of four weeks. Public health experts
have warned against prematurely reopening the economy and argued that it could lead
to new outbreaks and cause thousands of additional deaths.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/21/white-house-coronavirus-regulations/

 

[bodysong]

Intelligencer ✓
Twitter › intelligencer

A Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals panel has ruled against Kris Kobach's
proof-of-citizenship law, which kept 31,000 Kansans from registering
to vote

1 hour ago

Kansas can’t require voters to show citizenship proof

- Roxana Hegeman

April 29, 2020

A federal appeals court panel ruled Wednesday that Kansas can’t require voters
to show proof of citizenship when they register, dealing a blow to efforts by
Republicans in several states who have pursued restrictive voting laws as a
way of combating voter fraud.

The law was championed by former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach,
who led President Donald Trump’s now-defunct voter fraud commission.
Kobach was a leading source for Trump’s unsubstantiated claim that millions
of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally may have voted in the 2016 election.

In reaching the decision, the appeals court noted the “significant burden quantified
by the 31,089 voters who had their registration applications cancelled or suspended”
in Kansas. They said the interests of the secretary of state do “not justify the
burden imposed on the right to vote.”

The judges also noted that the district court had found that even under the calculations
of the state’s experts, the estimated number of suspended applications that belonged
to noncitizens was “statistically indistinguishable from zero.”

“This law disenfranchised tens of thousands of Kansans, denying them the most fundamental right in our democracy,

- Dale Ho, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Voting Rights Project

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...8ca4f0-8a2e-11ea-80df-d24b35a568ae_story.html

 

[bodysong]

Trump's loathsome, horrible political cronies seek high offfice

37-year-old Justin Walker

Senate Democrats again accused Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of bringing
back the Senate merely to confirm the 37-year-old Walker, one of his protégés. And they
criticized the Senate Judiciary Committee for holding its first hearing since going on an
extended recess during the pandemic on a judicial nomination instead of anything related
to the coronavirus. (six weeks off! )


“This is not about an issue of coming to work,” said an emotional Sen. Cory Booker
(D-N.J.). “This isn't about partisanship, this is about leadership. And at a time where
there’s real fear in this country … we’re having a hearing for a vacancy that’s not
even up until September.”

“Now we’re in the midst of a pandemic, where the question is being asked by everyone,
can I protect myself?” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). “And here you come before us
asking for a lifetime appointment to the second highest court in the land having mocked
the law that basically provides an attempt to extend health insurance to more Americans.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/06/trump-judicial-pick-hearing-senate-agenda-battle-240148

Rep. John Ratcliffe, Trump’s pick for intelligence chief, faces grilling by Democrats
in confirmation hearing Tuesday

The hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee — the first to be held during
the pandemic lockdown — comes as senior administration officials have been pressing
spy agencies for evidence to back an unproven theory that a government lab in Wuhan
China, was the source of the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed the lives of
almost 70,000 Americans.

Trump put Ratcliffe forward a second time in early March, and although he is expected
to receive a grilling from the committee’s Democratic minority, observers said he will
probably be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate.

Rep. John Ratcliffe drew attention last year as one of the GOP’s most dogged critics
of perceived anti-Trump bias at the FBI and in the special counsel’s investigation of
potential Trump ties to Russia.

Democrats are expected to press Ratcliffe on his credentials.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...b92bd2-8e06-11ea-a0bc-4e9ad4866d21_story.html

Trump's Nominee For Intelligence Director -

Ratcliffe already was nominated once, and then withdrew, from consideration
to serve as director of national intelligence.

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., asked Ratcliffe whether he believed Trump had
sufficiently warned Americans about the coronavirus beforehand, based on
presentations he is known to have received via intelligence reporting.

Ratcliffe said he thought the president had;

Harris said later on Tuesday that she believes "the facts say otherwise."

My question to Rep. Ratcliffe in his confirmation hearing today to be the next DNI:
do you believe Trump has accurately conveyed the severity of the threat of COVID-19
to the American people?

He said "I believe so." But the facts say otherwise.

— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) May 5, 2020

https://www.npr.org/2020/05/05/8500...ce-director-nomination-amid-covid-19-disaster

 

[jp55665566]

Russian Agent Trump continues his assault on Democracy by framing DOJ and FBI with FAKE exoneration of General Flynn and white-wash of Russia collusion evidence!

 

[hogjack]

Russian Agent Trump continues his assault on Democracy by framing DOJ and FBI with FAKE exoneration of General Flynn and white-wash of Russia collusion evidence!

This is a fascinating theory. How much blow did you do at your peak?

Bigger question: Where did you get all the money? Thousands a week on blow. Inheritance? Blowing strangers? Do tell!

 

[bodysong]

After Years of Squealing about “FISA Abuse,” Trump’s DNI Nominee
Won’t Rule Out Warrantless Wiretapping

May 5, 2020/

- emptywheel

As I noted earlier, in his confirmation hearing to be Director of National Intelligence,
John Ratcliffe made it crystal clear he will lie to protect Trump by stating that he
believed Trump has always accurately conveyed the threat of COVID-19.

https://www.emptywheel.net/2020/05/...ominee-wont-rule-out-warrantless-wiretapping/

Trump is persistent about getting Rep. John Ratcliffe appointed-

"It’s not just unqualified, he’s a sycophant."

- emptywheel

 

[hogjack]

Executive administration transforming the political landscape.

You don't say? Unprecedented!

 

[bodysong]

Progressive Group Denounces Roberts' Refusal to Investigate Federal Judge's Retirement

May 9, 2020

Demand Justice had called for the investigation into Griffith's decision to step down,
which leaves a seat open for Trump's right-wing appointee, Judge Justin Walker.

As Common Dreams reported earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell has been reaching out to veteran conservative judges like Griffith
to assure them that if they step down now, "they would have a worthy successor."

The group has demanded to know whether McConnell was in touch with Griffith
before he decided to retire.

Judge Sri Srinivasan, the chief judge of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals,
urged Roberts this week to direct another court to conduct the inquiry, a
request Roberts rejected on the grounds that there was no "probable cause."

"After bragging about those efforts as recently as two months ago, McConnell
ducked every question this week about what conversations he had," Fallon said.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...refusal-investigate-federal-judges-retirement

 

[jp55665566]

This is a fascinating theory. How much blow did you do at your peak?

Bigger question: Where did you get all the money? Thousands a week on blow. Inheritance? Blowing strangers? Do tell!

The obviousness of President Trump being a Russian agent is obvious. Likewise his henchmen Mitch McConnell, and Attorney General Barr. The Russians planned this takeover well before the 2016 election. They hacked the DNC and changed votes in several jurisdictions. The Steele Dossier is TRUTH! Hero Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff has PROOF!

 

[bodysong]

Is there anything that Trump has not corrupted ?

 

[jp55665566]

Is there anything that Trump has not corrupted ?

It's not Trump; it's PUTIN !

 

[hogjack]

Jelly, Jam and Preserves Battle for Toast Dominance

 

[hogjack]

Is there anything that Trump has not corrupted ?

Back acne.

Please see a good dermatologist.

 

[bodysong]

Trump's personal pick gets the nod

Cory Wilson crafted and then repeatedly defended voter ID laws.

“Nominating someone hostile to minority voting rights compounds the insult and injury."

June 11, 2020

Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote to advance the nomination of Cory Wilson
to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit:

“McConnell and Graham continue to ignore their constituents and communities in pain
by denying real attempts to fix a broken system that disproportionately affects people
of color. That is shameful enough. And pushing Wilson’s nomination right now is
downright cruel. Wilson’s name-calling of those with whom he disagrees, knee-jerk
support for discriminatory voting laws, and complete disdain for the Affordable Care
Act are disqualifying. The country is calling for equal justice, and Wilson’s nomination
is antithetical to this.

“The full Senate should spend its time on matters of the utmost importance and reject
attempts to stack our courts with judges who Trump selected to gut hard-fought civil
and human rights.”

https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/06/11/wilsons-nomination-affront-justice

During the impeachment trial, his lawyer argued that nothing Trump does to stay in
power can be impeachable because Trump believes his reelection is in the public
interest. This view seeks to legitimize his effort to rig the 2020 elections. Moreover,
it eliminates the most important constitutional protection against a lawless executive:
impeachment and removal. When the Senate majority voted to bar witnesses and end
the trial prematurely, they accepted this frightening and dangerous distortion of our
Constitution. The sham trial made clear that Senate Republicans cannot be trusted to
adequately vet judicial nominations, because their agenda is diametrically opposed
to the goals of a properly functioning judicial system.

Wilson wrote a newspaper column calling the Affordable Care Act “perverse”
and “illegitimate.”i For an attorney, calling a law illegitimate is a strong statement,
and it certainly offers insight on how he would regard that law as a judge. Part of
his justification was the fact that no Republicans voted for the law. But his party’s
decision to oppose insurance coverage for their constituents with pre-existing
conditions spoke to the values and priorities of those members of Congress, not
the legitimacy of the law.

Wilson’s columns regularly included standard right-wing talking points that glossed
over reality. (He felt free to lie to the public.)

Wilson is a longtime opponent of abortion rights.

Wilson’s writings and legislative voting record betray an animus against LGBTQ+ people
and equality proponents that is inconsistent with the judge’s responsibility to ensure
equal justice under the law.

In 2016, Wilson voted for the misleadingly named Religious Liberty Accommodations Act
a facially discriminatory law elevating certain religiously-based beliefs over others in
the eyes of the law.

https://www.pfaw.org/blog-posts/the...ee-cory-wilson-make-him-unqualified-to-serve/

 

[bodysong]

DCist ✓
Twitter › DCist

The U.S. House of Representatives passed D.C. statehood legislation
in a historic vote Friday

5 minutes ago

No statehood allowed

A Democrat state, and a Democrat city suffer under a Trump loyalist government

The Constitution says no to DC statehood

It’s not by accident or oversight that the nation’s capital isn’t a state:
the Founding Fathers designed it that way.

Jeff Jacoby Globe Columnist

June 21, 2020

The pro-statehood argument is straightforward: It is outrageous, advocates say,
that the 700,000 US citizens who live in Washington, D.C., are denied what their
fellow citizens in the 50 states take for granted: representation in Congress.
The case for statehood is emblazoned on every District of Columbia license
\plate: “End Taxation Without Representation.” Susan Rice, a D.C. native
who was President Obama’s national security adviser, wrote in a recent column
that only statehood can end “the enduring oppression of the citizens of the District
of Columbia.”

It’s not by accident or oversight that the nation’s capital isn’t a state:
The Founding Fathers wrote it into the Constitution. Article I, Section 8
provides explicitly for a national capital that would not be part of a state
nor treated as a state, but rather a unique enclave under the exclusive authority
of Congress — a neutral “district” in which representatives of all the states could
meet on an equal footing to conduct the nation’s business.

Not being citizens of a state, the district’s residents wouldn’t elect their own members
of Congress.

But that didn’t mean they were condemned to “taxation without representation."
Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor, testified at a 2007
congressional hearing that the framers of the Constitution “repeatedly stated that the
district would be represented by the entire Congress and that members . . . would
bear a special interest in its operations.”

Reasonable people can disagree on the wisdom or fairness of the framers’ plan,
but the only way to change it is to amend the Constitution. That’s exactly what
happened in 1961, when the 23rd Amendment was ratified and D.C. residents
were granted the right to vote in presidential elections and participate in the
Electoral College. In 1978 Congress passed another amendment, giving the
District of Columbia seats in the Senate and the House, but only 16 states
ratified it. It may frustrate Washingtonians to be denied the perquisites of
statehood on Capitol Hill, but Americans plainly have not wanted to change
the Constitution to make that happen.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/06/21/opinion/constitution-says-no-dc-statehood/

Jeff Jacoby does not say that Trump and his loyalists step on the faces of DC residents,
and piss in their faces, each time Trump feels insulted, offended, or spiteful.
DC citizens get less assistance and resources than states that have legal standing.

 

[KeithD]

The extent of the area involved can be (actually is in the bill) redefined. The center city is being designated as the "not a state" capitol area. The rest of the district can be made a state or returned to Maryland. What was the Virginia part of the original district already has been returned to Virginia, and there was no constitutional crisis over that. I'd just revert it to Maryland and telescope the D.C. area down to a national government center.