Day 5 – January 25th, 2017

– “We are going to restore the rule of law in the United States,” Trump said & signed a pair of executive actions Wednesday to begin ramping up immigration enforcement, including a new border wall with Mexico, vowing that construction on his chief campaign pledge would begin in months. https://goo.gl/w1OrHT

– An executive order apparently drafted by the Trump administration calls for a policy review that could authorize the CIA to reopen “black site” prisons overseas and potentially restart an interrogation program that was dismantled in 2009 after using methods widely condemned as torture. https://goo.gl/8aE2Zp

– President Trump is expected to sign an executive order temporarily blocking visas for immigrants from seven “terror prone” Muslim-majority countries. https://goo.gl/gqwpIZ

– “Voter fraud” There is no benign explanation for President Trump’s false assertion that millions of people voted illegally in the last election. It is either a deliberate attempt to undermine faith in the democratic process, an exhortation to those who favor new restrictions on access to the ballot box or the worrisome trait of someone with immense power willing to make wild statements without any credible evidence. https://goo.gl/SjoxG2

*- Dow makes history: cracks 20,000 barrier! https://goo.gl/q9Qh5L

– President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday night about Chicago’s violence, saying he will “send in the Feds!” if the city “doesn’t fix the horrible ‘carnage’ going on.” https://goo.gl/nAfPJd

Update – EPA Scientists’ Work May Face ‘Case By Case’ Review By Trump Team, Official Says https://goo.gl/UenyZY

– Federal agencies are clamping down on public information and social media in the early days of Donald Trump’s presidency, limiting employees’ ability to issue news releases, tweet, make policy pronouncements or otherwise communicate with the outside world, according to memos and sources from multiple agencies. https://goo.gl/hGnKfP
– The Department of Agriculture (USDA) has reportedly lifted an order that called for scientists and employees of its research arm not to release any of its work to the public. https://goo.gl/6x4sI1

– US House of Representatives makes having an abortion harder if you are poor – Despite the recent demonstrations across US cities demanding women’s rights be protected, the ‘No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act’, also known as HR7, was approved by 238 votes to 183. https://goo.gl/3geCkk

– Russia to decriminalize some forms of domestic violence (Fox News) https://goo.gl/GrQ75V

– Trump to sign executive orders enabling construction of proposed border wall and targeting sanctuary cities https://goo.gl/513h8R

Day 4 – January 24th, 2017

 – Information lockdown hits Trump’s federal agencies – The steps to mute federal employees — seen to varying degrees in the Environmental Protection Agency and the departments of the Interior, Transportation, Agriculture and Health and Human Services — are sparking early fears of a broader crackdown across the government, as Trump vows to pursue an agenda sharply at odds with his predecessor.

– President Donald Trump believes millions of votes were cast illegally in last year’s election, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said on Tuesday, but he wouldn’t provide any concrete evidence for the claim and says it is a longstanding belief of the President but no investigation planned as of now

– FBI Director James B. Comey, who is under a DoJ Inspector General investigation for his handling of the Clinton email investigation, has been asked to stay in his post in the Trump administration

– President Trump has signed executive orders clearing the way for the controversial Dakota Access and Keystone XL oil pipelines to move forward

– NYT Headline – ‘Trump Repeats Lie About Popular Vote in Meeting With Lawmakers’ – as Trump lies again in front of peers that more than 3 million people voted illegally in the 2016 election

– Democrats hoping Trump fulfills infrastructure promise – A group of senior Senate Democrats on Tuesday plan to unveil their own $1 trillion plan to revamp the nation’s airports, bridges, roads and seaports, urging President Trump to back their proposal, which they say would create 15 million jobs over 10 years.

– Trump meets with heads of Auto industry says “I am, to a large extent, an environmentalist, I believe in it, but it’s out of control,” and
that he intends to eliminate a majority of regulations and “massively” cut corporate taxes, but that in return those companies must keep production in the United States and preserve American jobs.
The executives were told to submit a “series of actions” that would boost U.S. manufacturing to Trump within the next 30 days.

– Trump says he’ll choose Supreme Court Nominee next week