Trump administration
A watchdog says the feds aren’t doing enough to investigate problem colleges
Report is the latest indictment of the Trump administration's consumer protection efforts in higher ed WASHINGTON — Incomplete written guidelines and penalties that had not been updated since 2016. Significant turnover and reductions among staff. Changing agency priorities and department probes put “on hold.”
Will it be Maryland or Virginia? Feds near a verdict on new FBI headquarters
WASHINGTON — Maryland and Virginia politicians vying for the prize of a new FBI headquarters have just a few months left before a crucial federal government decision. The U.S. General Services Administration is expected to pick the best of three locations as soon as September, ending nearly two decades of advocacy, confusion and frustration...
The tragicomedy of the U.S. immigration debate
The debate about the elimination of Title 42, a public health measure that expels migrants attempting to seek asylum, with certain exceptions, is just another chapter in the sad saga that is the migration discussion in this country, which is not based on solutions, but exploiting the issue for political-partisan ends. It’s the same tired […]
Pressure ramps up to halt Trump-era policy that expels migrants at the border
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats and immigration advocates are pushing the White House to end a controversial Trump-era immigration policy enacted during the pandemic that allowed U.S. officials to expel migrants and asylum seekers at the border. “I continue to be disappointed, deeply disappointed, in the administration’s response,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York […]
U.S. House panel hears from DHS about problems with ‘remain in Mexico’ immigration policy
WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials outlined to House members on Wednesday problems with a Trump-era immigration policy that federal courts are forcing the agency to follow. One of the Department of Homeland Security officials, Blas Nuñez-Neto, said that the court-ordered Migrant Protection Protocols is a flawed policy program and the agency believes […]
U.S. inspector general finds former Trump cabinet secretary broke ethics rules, wasn’t honest about real estate dealings
An investigation by the Inspector General of the Department of the Interior found that former Secretary Ryan Zinke, a native of Montana and current congressional candidate, committed multiple ethics violations and was not honest in disclosing real estate dealings while he served in the Cabinet of former President Donald J. Trump. The investigation, released Wednesday, […]
New report shows how close a Trump DOJ official’s letter came to fomenting a coup
On Dec. 28, a top official in the Trump Department of Justice circulated an extraordinary, potentially history-altering letter to his colleagues, writing that “I see no valid downsides” to issuing the letter and proposing that they “get it out as soon as possible.” In that letter, reported this week by ABC News, Jeffrey Clark falsely […]
‘Millions of birds will die’: Last-minute Trump rule aids polluting industries
In July 2011, a pipeline owned by ExxonMobil burst near Laurel, Mont., dumping 42,000 gallons of crude oil into the nearby Yellowstone River. As federal officials reported the damage for weeks afterward, they found American white pelicans, owls and other bird species covered in oil, injured or dead. ExxonMobil agreed to pay $12 million to […]
Governors describe their preparations for COVID-19 vaccine rollout during White House summit
Biden team intentionally excluded from the event WASHINGTON — Practice runs for distributing COVID-19 vaccines to Louisiana hospitals. A plan to have every Florida nursing home resident vaccinated by the end of the year. And in Tennessee, building off of a statewide system already in place to boost vaccination rates. Governors from Louisiana, Tennessee, Florida […]
Monday numbers: As Trump expedites U.S. executions, a closer look at federal death row
Outgoing administration proposes to bring back use of electrocution, firing squads People on federal death row could be executed by firing squad or electrocution, if a U.S. Department of Justice rule becomes final. In the waning days of the Trump administration, US DOJ is both expediting the number of federal executions and expanding the methods of how executions can be carried out.
Former NC pol Tony Tata could soon be top Pentagon policy official after all
It may not last for long, but it appears the never-ending chaos and dysfunction in the Trump administration will soon lead to former North Carolina Transportation Secretary and Wake County school superintendent Tony Tata serving as the top policy official in the U.S. Defense Department. As you will recall, Tata, who is a retired Army […]
Farmworkers’ wages threatened by Trump administration’s inaction
The middle of a pandemic is a particularly challenging time for low-wage workers to take a pay cut, but the 205,000 farmworkers across the country could face that dire situation next year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture abruptly decided to cancel its annual survey of farmworker wages, throwing 2021 wage rates for both H-2A temporary […]