Archive for the ‘Donald Trump’ Category

Donald Trump Calls Out Susan Rice For Declining to Testify About Russia – Fortune

Donald Trump has turned to his Twitter account to shame Susan Rice for declining a request to testify at a Congressional hearing related to Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

On Thursday morning the commander-in-chief tweeted: Susan Rice, the former National Security Advisor to President Obama, is refusing to testify before a Senate Subcommittee next week on allegations of unmasking Trump transition officials. Not good!

Subscribe to the Broadsheet, Fortunes newsletter for and about powerful women.

Rice, Obama's national security adviser refused an invitation from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committees Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism regarding Russias interference in last years election. She declined via a letter from her attorney, Kathryn Ruemmler, that was first obtained by CNN .

In the letter, Ruemmler explained that Rice was turning down the invitation because it came only from Graham and was not bipartisan in nature (the subcommittees ranking Democrat, Rhode Island's Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse reportedly did not agree Grahams request).

The former national security adviser got involved in the Russia scandal last month , when Bloomberg columnist Eli Lake, citing anonymous U.S. officials, reported that White House lawyers learned she had requested the identities "of U.S. persons in raw intelligence reports on dozens of occasions that connect to the Donald Trump transition and campaign." In other words, Rice sought the names of those in Trump's circle who were caught up in the legal surveillance of foreign targetseven though those identities are usually redacted from summaries reviewed by the White House.

Rice told MSNBC in April that she didn't use intelligence reports to spy on Trump associates for political purposes, though she acknowledged that she had had the ability to request their names. She did not say whether she sought intelligence on Trump's associates or asked for their identities; that information would be classified, she said.

More here:
Donald Trump Calls Out Susan Rice For Declining to Testify About Russia - Fortune

Donald Trump and Paul Ryan Are Going to Regret Repealing Obamacare – New Republic

We dont know exactly how many people will lose their insurance, or how much this bill will cost, because the House, in an unprecedented and insanely reckless move, voted on the bill without getting a score from the CBO. Its worth underscoring this: They voted for a massive bill to reorganize a sixth of the American economy without knowing what it would do.

This vote will backfire even if the bill doesnt ultimately become law. Its worth pointing out that spiking the football, as Ryan and Trump did, is remarkably short-sighted. The CBO is going to give this bill a terrible score, erasing whatever positive coverage Republicans are getting right now (CNN and other outlets are labeling this a win). And Republicans in the Senate are going to take months to change this bill into something more palatable, and its not clear that they can even do that.

If this bill does end up becoming law, it will do more than simply return the countrys health care system to the shambles it was in before Obamacare. Millions will lose their health care. Costs will rise. People will literally die. And if the bill doesnt become law, it will stand as a morally repugnant vote. Republicans put millions of peoples lives at risk so they could tell their base they had voted to get rid of Obamacare. At the Rose Garden press conference, Trump and Ryan acted as if the bill had already become law. Expect footage of that press conference to haunt them when it is hurled at House Republicans in 2018.

Some Democrats were not-so-secretly rooting for the bill to pass the House, expecting it to die in the Senate. This is a classic example of counting political chickens before theyve hatched. With this group of Republicans, in this climate, anything is possible, including the destruction of President Obamas biggest domestic achievement. Still, the ads against Trump and the 217 Republicans who voted for this bill are already being cut, and health care will be the defining issue in the 2018 election. (Premiums are going to be coming down. Deductibles are going to come down, Trump declared. Well see about that.) For the first time since 2010, Democrats wont be on the defensiveand Republicans may have just given them the key to take back the House.

Excerpt from:
Donald Trump and Paul Ryan Are Going to Regret Repealing Obamacare - New Republic

Post-DeMint Heritage ‘Donald Trump’s favorite think tank’ says interim president – The Hill

Despite the recent ouster of its president, the Heritage Foundations interim leadership insists the conservative think tank will continue to be a power player in Washington as well as President Donald TrumpDonald TrumpPence at Cinco de Mayo party: Trump has made Latinos 'a priority' Alphabet's Eric Schmidt: H1-B visa cap is 'stupid' Lewandowski to leave lobbying firm: report MORE's favorite think tank."

Interim Heritage President Ed Feulner made the comments at an internal meeting this week.

Feulners spoke to about 300 Heritage staffers at a time when questions are swirling about the future of the nonprofit and the resignation of Heritage president and former GOP Sen. Jim DeMint.

On Tuesday, the same dayDeMint resignedamid a flurry of rumors, Feulner reportedly told staff that Heritage would remain "the leading ideas factory in Washington," according toa Thursday Washington Examiner report.

"We were Ronald Reagan's favorite think tank," said Feulner, who was also the president from 1977 to 2013. And today we are, and will continue to be, Donald Trump's favorite think tank."

Feulner appeared to address concerns that Heritage might take a step back from politics now that DeMint is out of leadership, saying Heritage will continue to work with Trump to make things better" and occasionally "point out to him maybe little errors in some of his policies.

He also emphasized that he will be working closely with Heritage Action CEO Mike Needham, who leads the organizations lobbying branch. Needham will remain "at my side reminding [Ryan] that we are who we are and what it is that we stand for, Feulner reportedly said.

Many expressed surprise when DeMint, a former South Carolina senator, was ousted after developing a close relationship with the president and the White House.

Since DeMint's exit, Feulner indicated he has been shoring up relationships with the House GOP. He reportedly said he had "a very good conversation" with House Speaker Paul RyanPaul RyanTrump: GOP healthcare bill 'could change a little bit' Amash: 'A lot of exaggeration' from both sides on health bill GOP looks to heal from healthcare divisions MORE (R-Wis.) early in the week and claimed the Speaker reaffirmed his commitment to jointly working on conservative policy, according to the Examiner. The two men reportedly discussed healthcare policy ahead of the Houses successful vote on Thursday to replace ObamaCare.

"So I think you could say it was a pretty friendly meeting with Paul Ryan last night," Feulner said. He reminded me of where we were and how far we've come with him and how we can work closely together."

"He wants to work with us. He wants to hear what we have to say and I think we can have a very good and positive relationship," Feulner continued, accordingly the recording obtained by the Examiner.

Read the original here:
Post-DeMint Heritage 'Donald Trump's favorite think tank' says interim president - The Hill

Why Wall Street Has Stopped Listening to Donald Trump – Fortune

At an annual gathering of the world's most powerful thinkers and trendsetters in Beverly Hills this week, business leaders and major investors said they have gotten used to dismissing most things that President Donald Trump says or tweets .

On panels at the Milken Institute Global Conference, CEOs and billionaires were generally enthusiastic about Trump's mission to reform health care, cut taxes, reduce regulations, and stimulate the economy. Panelists including JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon and hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin offered positive remarks about the president and urged attendees to give him more time to accomplish such sizeable goals.

But in interviews on the sidelines, the Wall Street set was far more dubious that Trump can get anything done.

"I don't take Trump seriously," said a senior executive at one of the country's six largest banks. "I'm listening less and less."

Like most who wanted to share their more candid views privately, the executive spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid angering the president, his employer or business associates. But his comments were echoed by at least a dozen institutional investors and bank executives who spoke to Reuters.

While they remain hopeful Trump will be able to get reforms through Congress , the lack of progress combined with conflicting messages coming out of the administration make it hard to put faith in anything, they said.

Several cited comments on Monday from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who joked on a panel that bank investors should thank him for boosting share prices. Hours later, Bloomberg News published an interview with Trump, in which said he was considering breaking up the country's biggest banks an idea that is an anathema to shareholders of lenders like JPMorgan, Bank of America Corp or Citigroup Inc.

However, few people at the event in the Beverly Hilton Hotel appeared to take the comment seriously.

"Until it's signed into law, you can't bank on it," said Aaron Cutler, a regulatory lawyer at Hogan Lovells who lobbies Congress on behalf of banks and hedge funds and was milling about on a sunny terrace. He said his clients are not yet acting on anything the administration says.

A report last week by PwC's financial services regulatory practice echoed that view. Despite Trump's talk of quick action, PwC predicts his executive orders will "yield few results," that plans to repeal a package of financial regulations called Dodd-Frank will not happen, and that any change in Washington will be slow due to a lack of consensus, a slothy appointments process and upcoming midterm elections.

A spokeswoman for Trump did not return a request for comment for this article by publication time.

Even as Wall Street honchos privately disregard the administration's mixed messages, they were rubbing shoulders with top White House officials around the event and afterwards at swanky parties. Among the guests at one evening soire was a cheetah from the San Diego Zoo.

In addition to Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos were all featured speakers at the Milken conference. Each has a background in business or finance, something other conference-goers found encouraging.

Ultimately, some said, they have to consider whether Trump is making a statement to win political points or because he truly wants to accomplish a goal. If the former, his remarks can be more easily dismissed, they said. The head of a multi-billion-dollar hedge fund firm said the situation has become "a Rorschach test" where people celebrate or shrug off Trump's comments depending on what they want to see.

Sir Michael Hintze, founder of $12.5 billion investment firm CQS, said people are being too hard on the president. Trump may have a different style because he is not a politician by nature, but has his heart in the right place, Hintze said.

"I'm pretty constructive about the whole thing," he said. "Everyone was there to hate him, (but) Trump's a decent man."

The rest is here:
Why Wall Street Has Stopped Listening to Donald Trump - Fortune

In Response To President Donald Trump, Silicon Valley Creates ‘Tech Pledge’ – Forbes


Forbes
In Response To President Donald Trump, Silicon Valley Creates 'Tech Pledge'
Forbes
A small working group of entrepreneurs with deep Silicon Valley roots is about to ask every major tech company a simple question: Are you with us? "The Tech Pledge," as it's called now, is a list of core values that the group hopes will elicit a 'Yes ...

and more »

See more here:
In Response To President Donald Trump, Silicon Valley Creates 'Tech Pledge' - Forbes