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Trump Appointments Tag

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 07, 2017 32 Comments
It's understandable why everyone is focused on The Greatest Show on Earth, the appearance of James Comey before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, June 8, 2017. But barring some surprise testimony not in Comey's prepared statement, the hearing will merely confirm "bad" news for Trump already leaked to the press - none of which rises to the level of criminality. And there are some good aspects of the testimony, including that Trump was not personally under investigation and never asserted any type of interference in the Russia probe. While everyone was focused on Comey's prepared statement, Trump went about his business filling vacancies in the federal judiciary.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 07, 2017 11 Comments
President Donald Trump announced on Twitter this morning that he will nominate former assistant attorney general Christopher Wray for FBI director. The announcement comes one day before former FBI director James Comey testifies in front of a Senate committee.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on May 17, 2017 15 Comments
Earlier this month, President Trump fired FBI director James Comey.  Since then, a number of people of have withdrawn their names from consideration for the post, with the latest being Former Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher. The Hill reports:
A former Justice Department official has withdrawn her name from consideration to replace former FBI Director James Comey, according to multiple reports.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 15, 2017 20 Comments
Okay, I'll admit this is a good bit of trolling, but I can't help myself this morning. You remember Merrick Garland? He's the guy Obama nominated for the Scalia seat, but who never got a vote. That was like an injection of hot sauce into the veins of Democrats. Senator Mike Lee recently floated the idea of Trump nominating Garland to replace James Comey as FBI Director. Lee did it in a very Trumpian way - on Twitter:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 08, 2017 19 Comments
As we have pointed out repeatedly, Trump has an unprecedented opportunity to nominate a substantial percentage of the federal judiciary. There are currently over 100 vacancies, and many more are likely to open up, Liberal nightmare: Trump could appoint half federal judiciary. Yet Democrats, so blinded by the light of #TheResistance, appeared oblivious to the approaching Tsunami of Trump lower court nominations. Today the first waves of the Trump judicial nomination tsunami hit the beaches in D.C. USA Today reports, Trump names 10 conservatives to federal courts:

Posted by Mary Chastain on April 25, 2017 13 Comments
House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and top Democrat Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) have announced that the committee could not find evidence that President Donald Trump's former National Security adviser Michael Flymm reported payments for his foreign work. Chaffetz and Cummings reviewed classified military documents, which showed them that "Flynn did not ask permission or inform the government about payments he got for appearances before Russian organizations and for lobbying that helped Turkey's government.

Posted by Mary Chastain on April 10, 2017 7 Comments
The Honorable Neil Gorsuch took his Constitutional oath in a private ceremony and the Judicial Oath in the Rose Garden today to become the 113th justice of the Supreme Court. From Fox News:
Gorsuch took the Constitutional Oath in a private ceremony, administered by Chief Justice John Roberts in the Supreme Court’s Justice’s Conference Room. He was accompanied by his wife Louise, who held the Bible, and his two daughters. That oath will be followed by a public ceremony at the White House where Justice Anthony Kennedy – Gorsuch’s former boss – will administer the Judicial Oath.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 06, 2017 20 Comments
Neil Gorsuch will be confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, April 7, 2017, on a straight up or down vote. That up or down vote will happen after Democrats filibustered the nomination by getting 45 Democrats to vote against closing debate. Republicans then exercised what usually is referred to as the Nuclear Option, but really should be called the Harry Reid Option, to eliminate the need for 60 votes to close debate. It should be called the Harry Reid Option because in 2013 Democrats used that procedure to eliminate the 60-vote requirement for all nominations, judicial or otherwise, other than the Supreme Court.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 06, 2017 33 Comments
The Senate Republicans used the "nuclear option" to end the filibuster on Judge Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court. The Senate now has 30 hours to debate before the confirmation vote, which should take place on Friday at 7PM EST. The Senate voted 55-45 to end the debate with three Democrats voting yes: Donnelly (IN), Heitkamp (ND), and Manchin (WV). With this change, a Supreme Court nominee can receive confirmation with a simple majority instead of 60 votes.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 05, 2017 6 Comments
A recent revamp of Trump's National Security Council cut former Breitbart News Chief Executive Steve Bannon's role entirely. Bannon's role as a National Security Advisor was controversial from the get-go.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 29, 2017 18 Comments
Donald Trump moved fairly quickly in the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to fill the Scalia Seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. The hearings have moved more slowly than many of us would have liked, but Mitch McConnell is promising an up or down vote by April 7, regardless of any attempts by Democrats to filibuster. Whether Republicans will exercise the Nuclear Option is a current media obsession. Yet there is another aspect of the federal judiciary on which Trump can have a lasting legacy, the lower federal courts (appeals and district courts).

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 24, 2017 3 Comments
Last week, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn acknowledged that he worked as a foreign agent with the firm Inovo, owned by Turkish-American businessman Ekim Alptekin, who has links to the Turkish government. The firm hired Flynn to investigate Fehtullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric living in Pennsylvania, that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed for many attempts coups. Today, ex-CIA director James Moosley released a bombshell with The Wall Street Journal, stating he attended a meeting with Flynn and Turkish foreign ministers to discuss removing Gulen back to Turkey. At the time, Flynn served as a Trump campaign advisor.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 24, 2017 18 Comments
Chuck Schumer thinks he has the votes to prevent 8 Democratic Senators from voting for cloture on the nomination of Neil Gorsuch, effectively creating a filibuster:
“After careful deliberation I have concluded that I cannot support Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court,” Mr. Schumer said, citing concerns over Judge Gorsuch’s record on workers’ rights and his degree of independence, adding, “My vote will be no, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.” Judge Gorsuch must earn the support of at least eight Democrats to break a filibuster — a threshold he is not on track to meet, at least so far, according to interviews and internal party discussions.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 22, 2017 29 Comments
According to Politico, Senate Democrats are hoping to strike a deal with Senate Republicans to ensure Trump's Supreme Court Justice nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch, is confirmed. In exchange for confirmation, Politico reports, Democrats "are most likely" to request a deal that would exchange Gorsuch's confirmation for the preservation of the filibuster for any subsequent Supreme Court bench openings. Gorsuch is likely to be confirmed with or without a deal, so there's seemingly zero reason for Senate Republicans to even entertain such a deal if it was being discussed.

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 22, 2017 1 Comment
President Trump's second pick for labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, faced the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee today for his confirmation hearing. The hearing lasted three hours. During that time, he defended his recorded as a United States attorney and promised to push back against Trump if he disagrees with the president:
“If confirmed, I will work to enforce the laws under the department’s jurisdiction fully and fairly,” Mr. Acosta said in his opening pitch to senators. “As a former prosecutor, I will always be on the side of the law and not any particular constituency.”
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