Mediaboss Marketing

(1 of ) President Donald Trump is joined by the Congressional leadership and his family before formally signing his cabinet nominations into law, Friday, Jan. 20, 2107, in the President's Room of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington. From left are, Vice President Mike Pence, the president's wife Melania Trump, their son Barron Trump, and House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool) (2 of ) President Donald Trump is joined by the Congressional leadership and his family as he formally signs his cabinet nominations into law, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, in the President's Room of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool) (3 of ) President Donald Trump formally signs his cabinet nominations into law, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, in the President's Room of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool) (4 of ) President Donald Trump formally signs his cabinet nominations into law, Friday, Jan. 20, 2107, in the President's Room of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool) (5 of ) President Donald Trump taps House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. after being presented with his official swearing in ceremony picture during the inaugural luncheon at the Statuary Hall in the Capitol, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (6 of ) Abigail Perlman, wife of Sen. Roy Blunt, R- Mo., from left, first lady Melania Trump, and Vice President Mike Pence, stand as President Donald Trump is called for a toast, during the inaugural luncheon at the Statuary Hall in the Capitol, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (7 of ) President Donald Trump is joined by the Congressional leadership and his family as he formally signs his cabinet nominations into law, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, in the President's Room of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool) (8 of ) President Donald Trump is joined by the Congressional leadership and his family, rear, wife Melania Trump, son Barron Trump, as he formally signs his cabinet nominations into law, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, in the President's Room of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool)

KEN THOMAS AND JOSH BOAK

ASSOCIATED PRESS | January 20, 2017, 11:49AM

| Updated 4 minutes ago.

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump on Friday quickly claimed the mantle of the White House, signing legislation allowing retired Gen. James Mattis to serve as his defense secretary, as well as the nomination papers for his Cabinet choices.

Less than an hour after wrapping up his inaugural address, Trump sat in an ornate room steps from the Senate floor and signed a series of papers formally launching his administration. Flanked by Vice President Mike Pence and congressional leaders, he praised each of his nominees as he signed the papers and handed out the pens he was using, exchanges that allowed him to banter with his new congressional rivals, including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California.

Trump also signed a proclamation declaring a national day of patriotism, according to a tweet from White House spokesman Sean Spicer.

The bill passed by Congress last week grants Mattis a one-time exception from federal law barring former U.S. service members who have been out of uniform for less than seven years from holding the top Pentagon job. The restriction is meant to preserve civilian control of the military. Mattis, 66, retired from the Marine Corps in 2013.

The signing ceremony captured Trump's first acts as president. It was unclear whether more was coming Friday.

The president distributed pens to top congressional leaders during the ceremony. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, for instance, received the pen with which Trump nominated Elaine Chao, McConnell's wife, to be Transportation secretary.

When Pelosi jokingly objected to a pen used to nominate Rep. Tom Price of Georgia to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, House Speaker Paul Ryan interjected, "I'll take it."

Although Trump campaigned on promises to get to work immediately, Trump officials have said they expected Monday as the first big workday of the new administration, his effective Day One.

As a candidate, Trump assembled an 18-point plan of actions for his first day in office. But has backed off some of his promised speed, downplaying the importance of a rapid-fire approach to complex issues that may involve negotiations with Congress or foreign leaders. On others issues, he has affirmed the plan, indicating significant policy announcements may be teed up in the first hours and days of the Trump administration.

"The glacial pace and the excuse of divided government in Washington, those days are gone," said White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, who served as Trump's final campaign manager. "That really will be swept into the bin of recent history."

Spicer said Thursday that two executive orders on trade would be coming soon. On his Day One list, Trump said he would formally declare the United States' intention to withdraw from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which he vigorously opposed during his campaign as detrimental to U.S. businesses and workers. He also promised to declare his intention to renegotiate the two-decades-old Clinton era North American Free Trade Agreement or withdraw from the deal.

During the campaign, Trump promised to propose on his first day a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on members of Congress. He vowed to impose a hiring freeze for federal workers, and begin to remove immigrants who are criminals and living in the country unlawfully.

He also said he would "cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama."

Given Trump's opposition to Obama's immigration actions that could mean cancellation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which has protected about 750,000 young immigrants from deportation. The program also offered those immigrants work permits.

If he terminates the program, Trump could choose to immediately cancel the deportation protection and revoke the work permits, or he could opt to block new enrollment and allow those already approved to keep their work permits until they expire.

Trump also faces an early choice of naming a Supreme Court justice to fill the vacancy left by the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Trump has said he will announce a nominee in about two weeks.

Other issues poised to receive early action include energy, where Trump is likely to undo regulations on oil drilling and coal, and cybersecurity, where he has already said he will ask for a report on the strength of the nation's cyber defenses within 90 days of taking office.

___

Associated Press writer Alicia A. Caldwell contributed to this report.

___

On Twitter follow Ken Thomas https://twitter.com/KThomasDC and Josh Boak: https://twitter.com/joshboak

See more here:
President Trump signs 1st bill, actions - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Schumer pointed to Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and Trump's Cabinet picks as two early fights between the incoming administration and Senate Democrats.

But they have also signaled they are willing to offer an olive branch to Trump on some policy issues. Schumer stressed on Friday that Democrats wouldn't say "no" to a proposal just because the president-elect supports it.

"There are certain issues, if he sticks to good values that we believe in, we'll work with him," he said. "We're not going to oppose things just because Trump's name is on it."

The New York Democrat pointed to trade andinfrastructure spending as two areas of potential cooperation, but noted on most bills Republicans will need Democratic support to clear legislation through the upper chamber.

"We are sort of the bulwark against some of the things president-elect Trump might try to do that won't be acceptable to our values or the American people," he said. "There are issue after issue because of the way the Senate works. They'll need 60 votes."

Republicans have a 52-seat majority, meaning they'll need to win over at least eight Democrats. They're hopeful that the 10 Democrats from states that Trump carried in the White House race will buck their party and work with them to help get Trump's agenda through Congress.

View original post here:
Schumer: Democrats will fight Trump 'tooth and nail' - The Hill (blog)

I cant remember the last time a Democratic and a Republican legislative leader walked together through the doors of the Chicago Sun-Times, or any newspaper, to jointly ask for the papers support on a major issue.

Senate President John Cullerton and Republican Leader Christine Radogno paid such a visit to the Sun-Times Editorial Board Thursday afternoon.

It was refreshing.

OPINION

Cullerton and Radogno, as you might have read, have been working together to bring an end to Illinois two-year old budget impasse.

Theyve cobbled together a far-reaching package of legislative measures in an effort to reach a compromise.

RELATED:Senate leaders push budget plan, wont cap income tax hike

There are 13 pieces of legislation in all, containing everything from an income tax increase to a temporary property tax freeze to a new school funding formula and massive gambling expansion that includes a Chicago casino.

Any one of these bills would be a heavy lift in normal times, but the Senate leaders have tied them all together so that if one measure fails, the whole package fails.

Its a rare, maybe unprecedented, tactic, with actual language in the individual bills tying the fate of each to the others. Neither Cullerton nor Radogno could recall trying this approach on so large a scale.

The idea is that everybody gives something, and everybody getssomething, a true compromise. But its also a lot of moving parts, making it that much easier for somebody to gum up the works, which is why they are seeking support.

Some people are already saying the individual pieces of legislation dont go far enough to fix the problems in Illinois government. Others say they go too far.

Cullerton and Radogno arent in love with everything they are putting forward either, but in their presentation to the Sun-Times, they swallowed their differences to present a united front and side-stepped opportunities for laying blame.

That was refreshing, too.

The compromise only involves the Senate, and even that is tenuous, as individual senators come under pressure to vote against portions of the deal.

The Senate leaders say they have consulted neither Gov. Bruce Rauner nor House Speaker Michael Madigan in shaping their agreement.

The goal here is to show that were not working with the governor or against the governor. Were not working with the House or against the House, is how Cullerton explained it Thursday.

That might prove the undoing of the Senate plan, or it might outmaneuver the more powerful duo who have been front and center in the political standoff since Rauners election in 2014.

Democrats are coming under fire for proposals that would cut the costs of public pensions and make the workers compensation system less costly to employers.

Republicans will have trouble supporting the income tax increase in particular. The proposal would take the individual income tax rate back up to 4.95 percent, just short of the temporary 5 percent rate that the Legislature allowed to lapse after Rauner made it a political hot potato and Democrats chickened out.

Cullerton and Radogno, who promised to cast their own vote for each of the13 bills, say they plan to pass the legislation through the Senate next week, and then hope the House will be forced to engage in compromise of its own.

Its very difficult to force Madigans hand, but in the interest of self-preservation for his members and retaining the House leadership he covets above all else its possible the Senate moves will motivate him to find common ground as well.

The possibility that voters will blame them all and hold them accountable in 2018 is part of what moved both Democrat and Republican senators to insist that their leaders look harder for bipartisan solutions.

Blessed are the peacemakers, even in Illinois politics.

Read the original:
Brown: Rare and refreshingDemocrat, Republican working together - Chicago Sun-Times

Donald Trump is not the sort of father who pretends to love his children equally. His favorite is obviously Ivanka, the one he wants to bang, created with ex-wife Ivana, who despite allegedly raping and humiliating her with a public affair with Marla Maples, he seems to (somewhat) respect. When it comes to Tiffany Trump, spawn of our soon-to-be president and mistress-turned-second-wife Maples, Trump seems to forget she exists. Perhaps its that he doesnt seem to take her mother seriously, or perhaps its because she wont accept his advances. On Daddy Donalds big day, the day hes fucking inaugurated to become the president of the United States, Tiffany brought along a date. His name isRoss Mechanic. He is 22 years old (one year younger than Tiffany) and he has been a registered Democrat since 2012.

Presidential inaugurations hardly seem like the type of event that warrants plus-ones, but, least favorite or not, Tiffany is going to be a first daughter, and has been datingMechanic for sometime. On Tuesday, Jezebel reported that Tiffany and her mother Marla had to split a $300 glam budget between the two of them, which for normal people is plenty of cash to look presentable, although granted, small considering the man theyre coming to support is a multi-billionaire, and you can assume Ivanka spent many times that amount.

But dont feel too sorry for Marla and Tiffany. They apparently tried to get stylistTricia Kelly to work for free and were assholes about it, and while photographed arriving with her Democrat date, Tiffanys hair looks fab. So obviously girl had no problems in the end working that glam budget. Towing along a boyfriend who is aregistered Democrat to the inauguration of rogue Republican Donald Trump could be a big fuck you to her father, or perhaps its simply true love and the two cant stand to be apart. Love is the only reason I can fathom that a Democrat would put on a suit and tie to sit respectfully as Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States.

[photo: Getty]

Go here to read the rest:
Shunned daughter Tiffany brings Democrat boyfriend to inauguration - Death and Taxes

Former Virginia senator and Democratic presidential candidate Jim Webb said Friday that President-elect Trump's inauguration creates the opportunity to "reset" the national discussion on race, including addressing the issue of "reverse discrimination," or discrimination directed at the white majority.

"[T]he discussion is mired in the biracial dialogue of the 1960s, while our challenges have become multicultural and mixed with reverse discrimination. Many people who want to remedy this voted for Mr. Trump. One can hope his administration will seek policies to reduce racial tensions and increase fairness for all Americans," Webb said in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal.

Webb, a former secretary of the Navy under President Ronald Reagan as well as a noted author, has long had a preoccupation with racial issues. He has often expressed the belief that emphasis on the concerns of minorities in the government and the broader U.S. culture has come at the expense of working-class whites, many of whom are suffering economically. He returned to that theme in his Journal op-ed.

"Few would dispute the original purpose of affirmative action, which was to help African-Americans remove the 'badges of slavery.' But after the 1965 Immigration Reform Act, the ethnic makeup of the country dramatically changed. Affirmative action expanded into broader diversity programs, often discriminating against poorer blacks and Americans who happened to be white. Working whites have been hit particularly hard, since white America is not a monolith but a composite of cultures widely stratified in terms of education and income," Webb wrote.

Stay abreast of the latest developments from nation's capital and beyond with curated News Alerts from the Washington Examiner news desk and delivered to your inbox.

Sorry, there was a problem processing your email signup. Please try again later.

Processing...

Thank you for signing up for Washington Examiner News Alerts. You should receive your first alert soon!

"The disparate impact of diversity programs on different white cultures is not apparent using broad statistics based on race. In addition, more frequent racial intermarriage has blurred the data further, and will continue to do so," he said.

Webb was a star in the Democratic party a decade ago for his staunch criticism of President George W. Bush and the Iraq War and for defeating Republican Senator George Allen in his 2006 re-election bid. However Webb's opinions on the issue of race and other issues have often put him on the outs with his party.

He challenged Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2015 but drew scant support and dropped out of the race in late 2015. He toyed with the idea of an independent bid after that but decided against it, and remains somewhat estranged from the party.

Top Story

D.C. police said they have arrested more than 90 people at the protest.

01/20/17 2:04 PM

Go here to see the original:
Former Senate Democrat: Trump can fix 'reverse discrimination' - Washington Examiner (blog)