Jose Garcia
Jose Garcia's JournalHoyer: Dems 'wary' of giving waiver to Defense pick without testimony
Source: The Hill
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) suggested Wednesday that Democrats would oppose granting an eligibility waiver to Donald Trump's pick to head the Pentagon unless the nominee testifies before a key committee beforehand.
Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis would need a congressional waiver to lead the Defense Department because he hasn't been out of uniform for at least seven years, as the law requires.
Reps. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) and Adam Smith (D-Wash.), who head the House Armed Services Committee, had requested Mattis's testimony ahead of the waiver vote, only to be denied by Trump's transition team.
"It is my understanding that Mr. Thornberry is not happy about that, [and] I know Mr. Smith is not happy about it," Hoyer told reporters Wednesday in the Capitol.
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/313805-hoyer-dems-wary-of-giving-waiver-to-defense-nominee-without-testimony
Schumer to Trump, Tillerson: Back new Russia sanctions
Source: The Hill
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is urging President-Elect Donald Trump and his top Cabinet picks to publicly support tougher sanctions against Russia for meddling in the White Houser race.
"I am very concerned that, thus far, the President-elect, Mr. [Rex] Tillerson and Sen. [Jeff] Sessions have not endorsed these tough new sanctions," Schumer said Tuesday of Trump's picks to run the State and Justice departments, respectively.
Ten senators—spearheaded by Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.)—introduced new sanctions against Russia on Tuesday for the election hacking and ongoing conflicts in Syria and Ukraine. Schumer is urging Republicans to bring up the legislation "promptly."
Schumer pointed to Tillerson's comments on Russia, sanctions and Iran during his confirmation hearing Wednesday as "troubling signs of things to come."
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/313800-schumer-to-trump-tillerson-back-new-russia-sanctions
IRS: Fewer paid ObamaCare penalty in 2015
Source: The Hill
Fewer people paid a penalty for not having health insurance in 2015 than the year before, according to new data from the IRS.
About 6.5 million Americans paid an average penalty of $470 when they filed their income taxes in 2015, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in a letter to members of Congress.
That's 20 percent fewer than in 2014, when 8 million taxpayers paid the penalty.
The IRS in total collected $3 billion in penalties from those who didn't have coverage in 2015.
Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/313750-irs-fewer-paid-obamacare-penalty-in-2015
Bill Nelson campaigning for Stephen Bittel
UPDATE--Bill Nelson just made official what most people already knew: "I have known Stephen Bittel for over 30 years and believe he will be an extraordinary Chair of the Florida Democratic Party. Stephen has been a dedicated advocate for the principles of the Democratic Party for many years and is a leader who has the smarts and heart to unite the party in addition to implementing plans that will help rebuild the party from the ground up. While there are several qualified candidates in this race, I am convinced that Stephen is the right person to chair the Florida Democratic Party, he has my full support and I ask that you join me in this effort.”
Messy,heated campaigns for chairman of of the Florida Democratic Party are as common and predictable as love bugs smooshed on your windshield in May and September. But as long as most living Floridians have been alive the ultimate winner winds up being the man or woman preferred by the party establishment --- which usually means U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and, more recently, also U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. In Florida it's as predictable as Bill and Grace Nelson waving campaign signs in traffic in the days before election day.
This year, Nelson and DWS are backing Democratic mega donor Stephen Bittel of Miami, and we hear Nelson has been making some persuasive phone calls lately to help put in place a party chairman he fully trusts as he heads into a tough reelection cycle. That helps explain why the more than 20 officers, and club and caucus presidents of the Hillsborough Democratic Executive Committee are now backing Bittel. So is Florida House Democratic Leader Janet Cruz of Tampa, a longtime friend of Bittel rival Alan Clendenin.
“The Hillsborough DEC Executive Steering Committee is proud to support Stephen Bittel for Florida Democratic Party Chair. Bittel brings a lifetime of support for progressive causes and helping elect Democrats in Florida and around the country,” said Hillsborough DEC Chair Ione Townsend in a statement.
more: http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/bill-nelson-campaigning-for-stephen-bittel/2309110
Perez wants in-house cybersecurity expert at DNC
Source: The Hill
Labor Secretary Tom Perez wants the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to have an in-house chief cybersecurity officer.
“I think this office should report directly to the chair," Perez, a top candidate to become the next chairman of the DNC, told Politico on Wednesday.
"And, among other responsibilities, have them proactively monitor the DNC for attacks and breaches."
Perez added he thinks it's equally important to make sure the chief cybersecurity officer works with all of the committee's state partners.
Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/313711-perez-wants-in-house-cybersecurity-expert-at-dnc
Duckworth 'confident' she can work with Mattis
Source: The Hill
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) said she is “confident” she can work with Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis if he is confirmed as Defense secretary.
“While we disagree on some policies, I respect his distinguished career and, if he is confirmed, I am confident we can work together to protect our troops and keep our nation secure,” she said in a statement.
Duckworth, who met with Mattis on Tuesday, has voiced concern over a waiver that would allow Mattis to serve, due to a law requiring Defense secretaries to be out of uniform for seven years so as not to erode the American principle of civilian leadership of the military.
“Though I've made my concerns clear about eroding the civilian leadership or our military, I had a candid and thoughtful conversation about military strategy, personnel, and procurement reform with General Mattis,” said Duckworth, a 23-year combat veteran.
Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/defense/313717-duckworth-confident-she-can-work-with-mattis
Senate Intel chair: 'No reason' to doubt Russia's election hacks
Source: Politico
Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr said on Tuesday he has “no reason” to question the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia launched a cyber assault on the 2016 presidential election.
Intelligence agencies last week released a report accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering a digital campaign to interfere with the U.S. election. The operation eventually aimed to help install President-elect Donald Trump in the White House, the report said.
During a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on the subject, Burr said his briefings on the evidence behind the report “give me no reason to doubt the findings contained within the product.”
That said, the North Carolina Republican added that the panel would launch its own bipartisan investigation to assess “the sourcing behind the report.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/russia-election-hack-senate-hearing-233420
MTV host deletes tweets mocking Asian-American granddaughter of AG-nominee Jeff Sessions
Source: Alabama.com
An MTV host has deleted a tweet making fun of Sen. Jeff Sessions' Asian-American granddaughter.
The tweet from Ira Madison III, a host and writer for the music network, was posted this morning just as confirmation hearings for Sessions, President-elect Donald Trump's choice for Attorney General, were getting underway.
"Sessions, sir, kindly return this Asian baby to the Toys R' Us you stole her from," Madison said as television cameras captured images of a young girl sitting on Sessions' lap. He later added "There is no reason for that child to be in his lap in a hearing other than to send an 'I'm not racist message."
"In fact, Americans have long used Asian-Americans as "model minorities" since the rise of the civil rights act," he said.
Read more: http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/01/mtv_host_deletes_tweets_making.html
U2 delays album release after Trump win
Source: The Hill
The band U2 is delaying the release of its new album in the aftermath of the unexpected victory of President-elect Donald Trump.
The band is reconsidering some aspects of "Songs of Experience," a follow-up to its 2014 album, "Songs of Innocence."
The band's guitarist, The Edge, told Rolling Stone the album was "pretty much complete," and then the election happened and "suddenly the world changed."
“We just went, ‘Hold on a second — we’ve got to give ourselves a moment to think about this record and about how it relates to what’s going on in the world,'" the guitarist said.
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/313456-u2-delays-album-release-after-trump-win
Trump meets with vaccine skeptic Robert Kennedy Jr.
Source: USA Today
Donald Trump met Tuesday with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the president-elect and longtime environmental activist discussed what many regard as a public health conspiracy theory: vaccines.
Like Trump, Kennedy has questioned whether vaccines cause autism, a claim consistently debunked by medical professionals across the board.
In March 2014 — before he became a presidential candidate — Trump said on Twitter: "Healthy young child goes to doctor, gets pumped with massive shot of many vaccines, doesn't feel good and changes - AUTISM. Many such cases!"
Kennedy, the son of former 1960s-era attorney general, U.S. senator and Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, has promoted a documentary film linking autism to the vaccine preservative thimerosal and criticizing public health officials who dispute that claim.
Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/01/10/donald-trump-robert-kennedy-vaccines-autism/96391920/
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