Jose Garcia
Jose Garcia's JournalWH announces first picks for 'Skype seats' at press briefings
Source: The Hill
The White House has announced the first four people selected for the inaugural launch of "Skype seats," aimed at allowing individuals outside Washington, D.C., to participate in the daily White House press briefings.
Natalie Herbick of Fox-8 in Cleveland, conservative radio talk show host Lars Larson of "The Lars Larson Show," Jeff Jobe of Jobe Publishing in Kentucky and Kimberly Kalunian of WPRI in Providence, R.I., will all be joining the Wednesday press briefing via video conferencing, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday.
Kalunian interviewed Spicer, a Rhode Island native, shortly after he got the press secretary job.
"Not sure how she snuck in there," Spicer joked.
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/media/317145-wh-announces-first-picks-for-skype-seats-at-press-briefings
Miami developer Jorge Prez calls his friend Trumps border wall idiotic, report says
Source: The Miami Herald
Billionaire Miami developer Jorge Pérez — a friend and former business partner of President Donald Trump — thinks the plan for a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico is “idiotic,” according to a Bloomberg report.
Pérez told Bloomberg that Trump asked him if he would be interested in working on the project, an offer the Related Group honcho declined.
“The wall is the most idiotic thing I’ve ever seen or heard in my life,” Pérez said in a Tuesday interview with Bloomberg. “A wall for what? You think a wall is going to stop people that are hungry? Good employment in Mexico, economic growth in Mexico, equality is going to stop people from coming over the border.”
Related worked on several South Florida condo projects with Trump. As Miami’s luxury real estate market cools down, Pérez is launching new developments in Mexico.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article129787664.html
Dems delay Sessions vote
Source: The Hill
Senate Democrats used a procedural move Tuesday to stall a committee vote on Sen. Jeff Sessions’s nomination to be attorney general, one day after the growing controversy surrounding President Trump’s travel ban on seven Muslim nations led to the firing of an acting attorney general for insubordination.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will reconvene at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday to vote on Sessions’s nomination, Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said.
The announcement came after the committee took a break to allow members to vote on the floor confirmation of Elaine Chao as Transportation Secretary.
When the meeting reconvened, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) told Grassley that Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) intended to invoke the two-hour rule against holding committee meetings beyond the first two hours of the Senate's day.
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/317135-dems-delay-sessions-vote
Pelosi aide apologizes after accusing Ryan of cursing reporters
Source: The Hill
A top aide to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) apologized to Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Tuesday after wrongly alleging that the Speaker had cursed reporters on a hot mic for being a “waste my f---ing time.”
Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, Drew Hammill, tweeted a video of Ryan leaving a press conference on Capitol Hill. After Ryan falls off screen in the video, a voice can be heard venting frustration with the proceedings.
Hammill tweeted the video claiming it was Ryan who made the incendiary remark. The video quickly spread across social media.
Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong ripped Hammill over Twitter, saying it was clear from the video that Ryan was not the person who made the offending remark.
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/317107-pelosi-aide-apologizes-after-accusing-ryan-of-cursing-reporters
GOP senator: DeVos 'has not yet earned my full support'
Source: The Hill
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is still undecided on whether she’ll support President Trump’s Education secretary pick, Betsy DeVos, when her nomination comes up for a floor vote.
During Tuesday’s executive session of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, DeVos was approved 12-11, along party lines. Her nomination will now go to the Senate floor for full consideration, though a date for a vote on the controversial pick has yet be set.
While she voted to advance DeVos's nomination out of the committee, Murkowski said she remains on the fence going forward.
“Do note that she has not yet earned my full support,” Murkowski said at Tuesday’s session. “I would not advise yet that she count on my vote."
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/317122-gop-senator-on-devos-she-has-not-yet-earned-my-full-support
Senate easily confirms Trumps Transportation pick
Source: The Hill
President Trump’s nominee for Transportation secretary easily won confirmation on Tuesday, even amid fallout from the administration’s temporary ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations.
In a 93-6 vote, the Senate endorsed Elaine Chao to lead the Transportation Department, where she is expected to be a crucial ally in helping Trump move a massive infrastructure package through Congress.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D- Mass.) all voted against her.
Chao, who is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and is a veteran Cabinet member, was unanimously approved by voice vote during committee consideration.
Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/317105-senate-confirms-trumps-transportation-pick
Cruz: Nuclear option on the table if Dems filibuster SCOTUS pick
Source: Politico
Ted Cruz is taking an aggressive stance toward Senate Democrats who are threatening to block President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, issuing an explicit warning that Republicans could rewrite Senate rules if Democrats force their hand.
The Texas senator said in an interview that no matter what they try, Democrats will not be able to stop Trump's nominee — and said that the GOP should not shy away from changing the filibuster's 60-vote threshold on high court nominees if need be.
"The Democrats are not going to succeed in filibustering the Supreme Court nominee," Cruz said on Tuesday. "All procedural options are on the table. The bottom line is we will confirm a strong conservative to replace Justice Scalia."
Cruz has been particularly committed to the Supreme Court fight, floating an indefinite blockade if Hillary Clinton had won and using Trump's commitment to a conservative justice as his primary rationale for supporting a former rival. But his stance amounts to an escalation of a roiling conflict over the vacant seat.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/ted-cruz-nuclear-option-democrats-filibuster-234432
Insane Clown Posse march to protest 'gang' status moving forward
Source: MLive Media Group
WASHINGTON -- Detroit-based rap group, Insane Clown Posse is proceeding with plans for a peaceful march and protest in Washington D.C. this September.
The group is asking their fans -- known as Juggalos -- to join them for the march as the group continues to fight the FBI and the Department of Justice over a 2011 Gang Task Force that listed Juggalos as a "loosely-organized hybrid gang
"As many of you are no doubt personally aware, the FBI's inclusion of Juggalos as a 'gang' has resulted in hundreds if not thousands of people subjected to various forms of discrimination, harassment, and profiling simply for identifying as a Juggalo," reads a passage on the march's website.
ICP announced plans for the march last July and has been involved in a lawsuit with the FBI and DOJ over the classification for several years. However, the government has yet to declassify the group.
Read more: http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/01/insane_clown_posse_planning_ma.html
TransCanada Submits New Application To Build Keystone XL Pipeline
Source: NPR
The company that wants to build the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline says it has submitted a new permit application to the U.S. State Department.
The TransCanada announcement came just two days after President Trump took executive actions to speed the approval process for both the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines.
The Keystone XL is an important project for Canada's oil sands companies because it would transport their crude from rural Alberta to Steele City, Neb. From there, existing pipes would move it to the Gulf Coast where crude can fetch higher prices, either from local refineries or on the world market.
On Tuesday, Trump also signed a memorandum directing the commerce secretary to develop a plan to ensure pipelines constructed in the U.S. are built with pipes manufactured domestically.
Read more: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/26/511892321/transcanada-submits-new-application-to-build-keystone-xl-pipeline
Theresa May suggests UK health services could be part of US trade deal
Source: The Independent
Theresa May has left the door open for the greater involvement of US corporations in British healthcare as she arrives in America to lay the groundwork for a future trade deal.
Ms May would only say that she was committed to a health service that is free at the point of delivery, but made no comment on whether the NHS would be off the table in any future talks.
Trade and the UK’s economic relationship with the US will be one of the key pillars of the Prime Minister’s visit to Philadelphia and Washington DC.
Asked whether health services might form a part of a potential deal, she said: “We're at the start of the process of talking about a trade deal. We're both very clear that we want a trade deal.
Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/theresa-may-donald-trump-nhs-us-trade-deal-brexit-torture-a7548156.html
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