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Is Team Trump Ready for Pelosi’s ‘Death by a Thousand Cuts’?

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By Washington Examiner. The Trump administration is preparing for House Democrats to be a constant thorn in its side for the for the next two years, launching investigations into the president, his family, and members of his administration. . .

Armed with congressional subpoena power, House Democrats are expected to investigate everything from the president’s real-estate holdings and unreleased tax returns to his hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to his termination of former FBI Director James Comey to any potential ties between himself, his associates and Russia. . .

As the administration remains outwardly confident, expressing willingness to work across the aisle, former administration officials and sources close to the White House who spoke to the Washington Examiner paint a different picture. They argue that White House officials underestimate the ability of Democratic inquiries to derail a presidential agenda.

Facing congressional subpoenas, document requests and requests for administration officials to appear before committees, House Democrats are guaranteed to make it difficult for the White House to control the message and promote the president’s “America First” policies. The concern is that even if the administration scores a policy win, like infrastructure, having an official appear before a committee to give sworn testimony will get the media coverage and “suck all the oxygen out of the room.”

“I think they are certainly not prepared for the death by a thousand cuts that is almost undoubtedly coming from Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats,” one source close to the administration told the Washington Examiner. “They are going to take every little thing they can take and use it against the president and the administration. Where it will have the biggest effect is it will derail their ability to communicate their policies or get coverage on their policies.” (Read more from “Is Team Trump Ready for Pelosi’s ‘Death by a Thousand Cuts’?” HERE)

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Pelosi, rebels discuss limiting her time as speaker to 4 years

By Politico. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and a group of House Democratic rebels are discussing a proposal to cap her time as speaker to four years, a move that could clear the way for the California Democrat to clinch the gavel in the coming days.

The idea is part of a broader deal being floated that would limit the time all House Democratic leaders can serve, including Pelosi’s two longtime lieutenants, Reps. Steny Hoyer of Maryland and James Clyburn of South Carolina.

The plan would be a dramatic shift for Pelosi, who has refused to put an end date on her tenure as she works to reclaim the speakership.

Under the terms of the deal, Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn would be able to serve three terms with an option for a fourth term if they can win the support of two-thirds of the caucus, according to multiple Democratic sources. The effect would be retroactive, meaning the two terms the trio ruled in the majority from 2007 to 2011 would count against their tenure. (Read more from “Pelosi, rebels discuss limiting her time as speaker to 4 years” HERE)

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Not Obama’s State Department Anymore: Trump’s State Department Blasts Iran Full-Force

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On Sunday, the Trump administration’s State Department, a far cry from the Obama State Department’s sycophantic dealings with Iran, targeted the Iranian government with a series of blunt tweets that pointed out the corruption of Iranian officials, even referring to Iran’s Supreme leader, the Ayatollah Khamenei, as a “so-called holy man.” The State Department wrote, “Today is #AntiCorruptionDay. Sadly, for the Iranian people, their government is full of corrupt hypocrites. Take Ayatollah Khamenei, who has a tax-free hedge fund worth billions. This so-called holy man devours property from religious minorities, then funnels the cash to IRGC.”

Just in case you thought the State Department was only targeting Khamenei, think again. They were taking no prisoners. They followed with more tweets targeting more officials. They next tweeted, “This #AntiCorruptionDay Iranians have much to despair about. Their government is full of corrupt hypocrites. Meet Sadegh Mahsouli—The Billionaire General. Somehow he had a knack for winning lucrative construction and oil contracts from IRGC businesses. He is now worth billions.”

That was followed by tweeting, “Unfortunately, this #AntiCorruptionDay is a reminder for Iranians that their government is full of corrupt hypocrites. Meet Grand Ayatollah Makaram Shirazi—The Sultan of Sugar. He made millions flooding the market with expensive imported sugar, putting Iranian people out of work.”

(Read more from “Not Obama’s State Department Anymore: Trump’s State Department Blasts Iran Full-Force” HERE)

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How Trump and House Democrats Can Work Together on Foreign Affairs

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Following the 2018 midterms, political observers have begun forecasting dramatic battles between the Democratic House and the Trump administration over the next two years.

They predict that between the congressional investigations of the White House, wrangling with Republicans in the Senate, and political showmanship all around, little governing will actually take place. They may well be right, but for those on either side of the aisle interested in passing meaningful policy into law, there are definitely two areas where President Trump and congressional Democrats could work together: national security and foreign policy. . .

A place to start would be addressing the U.S. military’s ongoing involvement in Yemen. Despite bipartisan pushes for extracting our support from the Saudi-perpetuated humanitarian crisis, Trump has been reluctant to pull assistance from an ally. But there are signs that this obstacle might be eroding in the face of the admission that Saudi officials were complicit in the murder of a U.S. resident in Turkey.

American intervention in a small, strategically unimportant country’s civil war is precisely the kind of costly foreign entanglement Trump campaigned against. Steps can be taken by Congress and the administration to limit support to countries involved in the conflict and remove the boot from the throat of the Yemeni people.

There is also room for positive work on the broader war on terrorism, where the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) — written in the impassioned aftermath of the 9/11 attacks — has long needed revisiting. Leaders in both parties have shown interest in reforming or ending the open-ended authorization for a global war on terror and the Trump administration could demonstrate good governance by collaborating in this process. (Read more from “How Trump and House Democrats Can Work Together on Foreign Affairs” HERE)

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Trump Administration Issues Major Decision on American Oil Production

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In what is sure to seem a controversial move to some, the Trump administration proposed Thursday that it is considering permitting drilling in most U.S. continental-shelf waters.

The plan includes drilling in areas such as the Atlantic and Arctic, considered protected areas and staunchly opposed by governors along the east coast and more than 100 U.S. lawmakers, according to The Washington Post.

According to Interior secretary Ryan Zinke, the proposal would exclude oil and gas exploration in only one of 26 planning areas in the Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

However, the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management recently identified 47 potential areas where companies within the industry can buy leases between 2019 and 2024 — the duration when the proposal would begin and end.

Yet, even though those such as The Draft Five Year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program seem to be on board with the decision, the administration is expecting to face opposition from numerous state officials and environmentalists.

“Nothing is final,” Zinke said during a news conference. “This is a draft program. The states, local communities and congressional delegations will all have a say.”

And many conservatives, including Zinke, state the proposal is consistent with the president’s executive order in April when he made a pledge to widen energy exploration.

Zinke added that there was a clear difference between Trump’s plan and the previous administration’s policies.

The Obama administration, heeding the call of many environmentalists, had considered a five-year plan that would have permitted drilling in the Atlantic but abandoned the proposal by March of 2016 after concerns that the Navy conducted military exercises near those particular areas.

“This is a clear difference between energy weakness and energy dominance,” Zinke said, adding that the current administration would be cautious of environmental safeguards put in place.

However, environmental disasters of the past remain on the minds of many state officials along the east coast, specifically those who oppose drilling in the four planning regions all the way from Maine to the Florida Keys.

During a bipartisan call, both Republicans and Democrats have rejected to the uncertain terms that oil and gas drilling proposals have given.

“I’m not in favor of offshore drilling,” said Republican Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.

And even Henry McMaster, the Republican governor for South Carolina, has expressed concern over the impact to natural resources when drilling is performed.

Yet, Zinke didn’t address the other potential resistance from the Pentagon, but Assistant Secretary Kate McGregor stated that a task force has been implemented between the Interior and Defense departments in order to cool any misunderstanding and deal with the conflicts.

“We believe things can be done safely,” McGregor said. “In fact, in the central Gulf of Mexico planning area, 36 percent of leases are in military planning areas.

“We intend to continue a very strong relationship with DoD.” (For more from the author of “Trump Administration Issues Major Decision on American Oil Production” please click HERE)

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Why Is Trump Accepting the Resignation of an Ex-West Point Professor Who Criticized Obama’s Mother on Social Media?

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William C. Bradford, a Trump administration appointee who heads the Energy Department’s Office of Indian Energy, resigned Thursday after claiming this week inflammatory comments that appeared to have been made by him online were the result of hacking . . .

The account that appeared to be Bradford questioned Obama’s birth certificate and called the former president’s mother “a fourth-rate p&*n actress and w@!re.” . . .

In June, following his appointment to the Department of Energy, The Washington Post reported provocative comments Bradford made on Twitter — including calling Obama a Kenyan and saying that the World War II-era internment of Japanese-Americans was necessary. Bradford apologized for the comments at the time in a statement to the Post, calling them “inexcusable.”

In 2015, Bradford resigned as a professor at West Point after penning an academic paper that argued the US military should target Islamic holy sites as part of the war on terror. (Read more from “Why Is Trump Accepting the Resignation of an Ex-West Point Professor Who Criticized Obama’s Mother on Social Media?” HERE)

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Loser Federal Employee Quits Trump Admin ‘Because the People in Charge Want to Burn It Down’

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A former employee of a federal agency announced Wednesday that the reason for his recent departure was mainly due to his belief that the Trump administration is essentially “burning down” the government.

Noah Kunin originally felt compelled to write following the 2016 presidential election that he was staying on as an engineer for 18F, an agency that is modeled after a startup and operates within the federal government’s General Services Administration (GSA). But roughly eight months later (and six months into President Donald Trump’s tenure) he changed his mind, citing his discomfort with Trump’s conduct.

Specifically, Kunin cited two events as the tipping points.

First was the pre-release of former FBI Director James Comey’s written remarks before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence . . .

The last straw for Kunin was that 18F — along with another larger service he helped create and its sibling organizations — is being reconfigured. He says that, to fully explain the whole ordeal, he would have to write a very lengthy “analytical piece.” Nevertheless, his primary grievance is that the commissioner of a particular agency soon to be higher up on the organizational hierarchy will “become a political position, with a person appointed directly by the White House” (emphasis his). (Read more from “Federal Employee Quits Trump Admin ‘Because the People in Charge Want to Burn It Down'” HERE)

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