A federal judge issued a stay against the Trump Muslim Ban Executive Order, temporarily blocking travel ban, effective nationwide. White House officials (Spicer, Priebus, et al) lied, saying that it effected only 109 people, and then lied again, saying they weren’t badly affected. At this point, Customs has denied over three hundred people, who were either turned back or sent to other foreign nations (where they would be homeless, unable to even leave the airports).
Later, the State Department reported that they had cancelled 60,000 visas. Later still, while under oath in court, the administration revised that upwards, testifying they had cancelled “100,000+” visas. They then argued that this sidestepped the judicial restrictions on the ban, since that ruling applied to valid visas. It’s unknown if CBP or HSD personnel will follow the new judicial orders since they failed to follow earlier orders, or personal intervention by several local Senators and Congresspeople (Dulles Airport, VA).
The President’s spokespeople tried to walk back Trump’s blustering about not honoring the US agreement to accept Syrian refugees from Australia. No commitment from Trump about that.
Trump is floating an Executive Orders aimed at rolling back Dodd-Frank financial laws. Among other goals, it eliminates the upcoming “fiduciary rule” that requires financial advisors to represent their customer’s interests.
Still no investigation of the Russian interference in the US election. The Republican Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn complained that there were too many committees investigating the issue, and there was confusion. But not, of course, enough to create a select committee. Senator Ron Wyden, an intelligence committee member, cannot be specific about secret information, but says the agencies know more than they’ve released so far.
Trump’s silly promise – to never take a vacation while in office – was broken within two weeks. His first vaca started today at 2 PM. Despite complaining about every Obama vacation, no Fox or Republican comments about the millions of dollars this cost.
Trump didn’t simply forget to mention Jewish suffering during his Remembrance Day speech. Today we found out that The State Department included the usual reference to Jews in their version of the President’s Remembrance Day speech. Trump’s people removed the reference. Later, they directed that State Department people were not to mention this change in the speech.
Candidate Trump promised to negotiate better drug prices to save $300B. President Trump met with Pharma leaders today, promising them relief; no word about lower prices.
Trump planned a Friday meeting on women in the workplace. Led by two male CEOs. No, his meeting to learn about women’s issues in the workplace did not include any women.
Republicans suspended committee rules again, recommending Scott Pruitt to the full Senate to lead the EPA despite no Democrats showing up.
Trump tweet:
A new radical Islamic terrorist has just attacked in Louvre Museum in Paris. Tourists were locked down. France on edge again. GET SMART U.S.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2017
A man attacked soldiers at the Louvre with two machetes. He hurt one soldier slightly before they shot him to death. Still no tweet about the terrorist attack by a Canadian white nationalist against a Muslim mosque in Quebec City (where he killed six people).
Despite being obviously and demonstrably wrong, Trump continues to lie about how he would have “won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.”
South Dakota Republicans held an emergency session and formally declared a state of emergency solely in order to suspend the new ethics requirements approved in a referendum. It started with one Republican legislator accused of having sex with several interns, so the legislature voted against a new law that would have (literally) barred ‘sexual contact’ with interns. (They want more of that?) Eventually, though, they voted down the entire ethics reform package. The Republican Governor signed that legislation this evening.
Republicans voted to kill an Obama rule that requires oil companies to report payments to foreign governments.
Republicans voted to overturn an Obama rule that restricts gun sales to the severely mentally ill (by definition, that’s people who admit they cannot handle their own affairs).
The administration continues to lie that this EO is not a Muslim ban, despite Trump’s campaign promise to “Temporarily ban most foreign Muslims from entering the United States,” and their subsequent, open characterization of it as “a Muslim ban.”
After repeating her lie about the imaginary “Bowling Green Massacre” several times, Kellyanne Conway finally admitted it wasn’t true, but justified the lie by saying that other people had considered untrue things as well. (There really were two men arrested in Bowling Green, KY for supporting terrorists in the Middle East, but there was no ‘massacre’.)
Press Secretary Sean Spicer continued to lie about Obama having approved the Yemen operation in July, 2016. That never happened. The Pentagon released a video that purportedly showed some of the intelligence garnered during the Yemen operation. The Pentagon pulled the video when the press reported it was really a decade old. Trump approved the raid over dinner, while political consultants and his son-in-law were in the room.
Trump hasn’t divested himself of his conflicts of interest. Papers released today show that the Donald J. Trump Trust is to hold his assets for the exclusive benefit of the President, and reports profits under Trump’s SSN. He remains tightly connected to his commercial interests.
Trump’s nominee for Army Secretary, Vincent Viola, withdrew his name from consideration, citing business conflicts. Imagine what Republicans would have said if this were an Obama nominee?
Status of the Trump promises:
Temporarily ban most foreign Muslims from entering the United States? Check. Bar Syrian refugees from entering the country and kick out any who are already living here? Working on that second part, I suppose. Heavily surveil mosques in the United States? We wouldn’t know. Start closing some mosques? None that we know of yet. Create a database of Syrian refugees? Took care of that with the ban, I suppose. Create his Muslim database? No idea. He does use the term “radical Islamic terrorism,” so there’s one promise met.
Released his tax returns. Nope. Divested from conflicts of interest? Pfeh! (See above.)
Trump hasn’t made Mexico pay for the wall.
Hasn’t gotten rid of Obamacare, or replaced it with anything “terrific”. There is still not so much as a framework for the replacement.
Never take a vacation while serving as president. (Didn’t last two weeks.)
Prosecute Hillary Clinton? Not yet, thankfully.
Stop spending money on space exploration? (Did he really promise that?)
He opposed the killing of journalists. Good so far, but looking shaky.
Fire “the corrupt and incompetent” leaders of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs? The purge is underway.
Said he’d impose new taxes on many imports into the country. Numbers thrown around have included 32 percent, 34 percent and 35 percent. He has proposed (and abandoned) a 25% tariff on Mexico, but only because they won’t pay for the wall.
Reduce the $18 trillion national debt? Working against it so far.
Cut the budget by 20 percent by simply renegotiating existing agreements? Too early for that, I suppose.
Get rid of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act? Making progress with that one.
No longer charge income tax to single individuals earning less than $25,000 per year or couples earning less than $50,000? Not yet.
On his first day in office, Trump would get rid of gun-free zones at military bases and in schools. Not yet, but Steve Bannen is probably working on it.
On the first day in office, Trump would terminate President Obama’s executive orders related to immigration. This includes getting rid of “sanctuary cities” that Trump says have become refuges for criminals. Not the first day, but he did issue another Executive Order illegally banning federal payments to self-declared sanctuary cities.
Deport the almost 11 million immigrants illegally living in the United States? Not yet, thankfully, but Bannen is probably investing in railroad cars.
Triple the number of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers? Nope.
Make America great again? Not according to our allies. Or a majority of Americans.
