MORNING MESSAGE
A Big Day for Trump’s Budget Pick, Social Security — and Millionaires
A
full Senate vote is expected today on Donald Trump’s pick for White House Budget
Director, Rep. Mick Mulvaney. That means that Mulvaney’s nomination could come
up for a vote just as a group of lawmakers and experts are speaking on the Hill
in support of Social Security — and on the same day that millionaires stop
paying their Social Security taxes. The timing is interesting, since Mulvaney
has been trying to cut Social Security for years.
Resistance Builds
Progressives
to storm congressional town halls next week. CNN: “Target your local
lawmakers. Tell them personal stories about how the Affordable Care Act affects
you and your family. Take videos … That’s what Organizing for Action — the group
that evolved from President Barack Obama’s political campaign structure — is
teaching 25,000 liberal activists in a series of six webinars and calls ahead of
next week’s congressional recess … MoveOn.org has launched a website —
ResistanceRecess.com — that’s serving as a hub for events …”
Republicans
dismissive. Roll Call: “Even as some GOP lawmakers move to hold their
constituent forums online or over the phone instead of in-person, they insist
they’re not worried … To Republicans, the conservative bent of the districts
where some of the most vociferous protesting has occurred is proof that GOP
lawmakers have nothing to worry about.”
“Day
Without Immigrants” hits Washington today. NYT: “…some of Washington’s
best-known restaurants will close their doors on Thursday in solidarity with a
national campaign to draw attention to the power and plight of immigrants.”
Tax
Day protests to press Trump on tax returns. Politico: “Leaders from
January’s women’s marches are joining with a constellation of liberal groups,
including MoveOn.org, the American Federation of Teachers, and Our Revolution
[to march] to the White House … more than 60 other marches [are] planned in
cities across the country.”
Puzder Out
Politico
tracks “How Puzder Fell” “Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller, two of the most
powerful voices in President Donald Trump’s inner circle, were never strongly
behind Andy Puzder as labor secretary, believing he was too soft on immigration
… allegations that he abused [his wife] in the 1980s moved a critical number of
wavering Republican senators … [The Labor Dept.] found violations in nearly 60
percent of its investigations of CKE restaurants … That was enough to rally
labor unions in protest against Puzder.”
“Democrats
declare victory” reports The Hill: “‘Andrew Puzder’s withdrawal as Labor
Secretary is a victory for the American worker,’ Senate Minority Leader Chuck
Schumer (D-N.Y.) said … ‘The simple truth is that given his relationship to
employees at the companies he runs, he was not fit to lead a department
responsible for defending workers’ rights,’ [Sen. Bernie Sanders] said.”
Sen.
McCain will oppose OMB nominee. The Hill: “McCain stressed his opposition
wasn’t personal but focused on Mulvaney’s previous policy positions, accusing
the conservative lawmaker of working to ‘torpedo’ Senate efforts to increase
defense spending.”
Sen.
Collins will oppose EPA nominee. The Hill: “Collins is the only Senate
Republican to come out against Scott Pruitt, the Oklahoma attorney general who
sued the EPA 14 times during former President Obama’s administration.”
Immigrant Crackdown
Denver
church protects immigrant from deportation. AP: “A Mexican woman trying to
avoid deportation took refuge in a Denver church Wednesday after U.S.
immigration authorities denied her request to remain in the country … ICE
spokesman Shawn Neudauer said [Jeanette] Vizguerra was an ‘enforcement priority’
because she had two misdemeanor convictions … With three of her four children
joining her on the altar, the former union organizer and house cleaner said her
only crimes were related to working in the country illegally to support her
family … not having a driver’s license or current vehicle registration. Officers
also discovered that she had a forged identity document…”
“ICE
detains alleged domestic violence victim” reports USA Today: “Federal
immigration agents went to the El Paso County Courthouse last week and arrested
an undocumented woman who had just received a protective order alleging that she
was a victim of domestic violence. The agents apparently detained the woman Feb.
9 after receiving a tip, possibly from her alleged abuser … The detention has
alarmed [El Paso County Attorney Jo Anne] Bernal and other county officials who
fear that the arrest will scare undocumented victims of domestic abuse into
staying with their abusers…”
“DACA
Immigrant’s Detention Is ‘Terrifying and Chilling,’ Civil Rights Lawyers Say” to
Time: “Daniel Ramirez Medina, 23, is currently being detained in Tacoma,
Wash. He was arrested Friday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials
who had come to take his father into custody … He has a 3-year-old son and has
never been convicted of a crime … The Department of Homeland Security [called]
Ramirez a ‘gang member’ … Ramirez’s lawyers refuted their claims…”
Trump Agenda Stuck
Conservative
agenda largely stalled in Congress. NYT: “At this point in Barack Obama’s
presidency … Congress had passed a stimulus bill totaling nearly $1 trillion to
address the financial crisis, approved a measure preventing pay discrimination,
expanded a children’s health insurance program, and begun laying the groundwork
for major health care and financial regulation bills. President George W. Bush
came into office with a congressional blueprint for his signature education act,
No Child Left Behind … [Now,] the Senate has done little more than struggle to
confirm Mr. Trump’s nominees…”
House
border tax plan hits Senate resistance. The Hill: “Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.)
is raising concerns about a House-proposed border adjustment tax a day after
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) huddled with Senate Republicans … He [said]
Senate Republicans ‘most certainly will not keep our powder dry and see working
Americans railroaded with a precooked deal that raises their taxes and increase
the prices of the stuff they buy every single day.’ … A GOP source familiar with
the meeting told The Hill that Ryan urged senators to ‘keep your powder dry’
while House lawmakers work out the details…”
EPA
executive orders coming. Reuters: “A senior EPA official who had been
briefed by members of the Trump administration mentioned the executive orders at
a meeting of staffers in the EPA’s Office of General Counsel on Tuesday, but did
not provide details about what the orders would say … Trump and Pruitt’s
positions have worried EPA staff, who are concerned the new administration will
cut the EPA’s budget, critical programs and scientific research. “
Banks
may get windfall from Trump. Bloomberg: “The six largest U.S. banks could
see annual profit jump by an average of 14 percent if President Donald Trump
delivers on his promise to cut corporate taxes … While investors have focused on
Trump’s campaign pledge to relax bank regulations, tax cuts could happen faster
and their impact could be greater.”
W.
Post’s Robert Samuelson tries to resurrect TPP: “…it seems astounding that
anyone would suggest that the TPP may rise from the dead, with a new name and
slightly altered provisions. Yet that’s the message of a new study from the
Peterson Institute for International Economics, a think tank and unabashed
advocate of TPP [which] speculates that Trump will change his mind.”
Breakfast Sides
Education
Secretary DeVos “fires back at protesters.” US News: “‘The protesters’
behavior is a reflection of the way some seek to treat our education system – by
keeping kids in and new thinking out,’ DeVos said during a keynote address to a
policy and training conference for the nonprofit association Magnet Schools of
America. ‘Friday’s incident demonstrates just how hostile some people are to
change and to new ideas.'”
Boeing
organizing effort falls short. NYT: “Organizers with the International
Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers failed to persuade a majority of
about 3,000 union-eligible Boeing workers in [South Carolina] to vote for the
union amid enormous pressure from management … Many analysts say that Boeing
decided to put its second Dreamliner aircraft assembly line in the state to
reduce the leverage of the machinists’ union … The company implied to workers
that a union would drive a wedge between them and management.”
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