Domestic Politics: United States Archives

US Debt Tops $22 Trillion as Lawmakers Deliver New Deal

23Jul

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Domestic Politics: United States, Finance, Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Global Economics, Types of News: Brief

US Debt Tops $22 Trillion as Lawmakers Deliver New Deal

July 23, 2019--U.S. lawmakers agreed to raise the limit on incurring national debt to $22 trillion to July 31, 2021. They also agreed to a two-year budget agreement that increases spending by $320 billion. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it a "bold, bipartisan and a victory for Democrats and the American people." President Donald Trump said in a tweet the deal is "a real compromise in order to give another big victory to our Great Military and vets." According to Pelosi's statement, the deal increases both defense and non-defense spending and avoids a government shutdown. The U.S. national debt has risen from $11.9 trillion in 2009 to $22 trillion in 2019. Meanwhile, the interest on the debt (marketable non-government) has risen from 2.28 percent to 2.5 percent in th...

Trump Proposes Merit-Based U.S. Immigration System

17May

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Domestic Politics: United States, Immigration, Migration, Types of News: Brief

Trump Proposes Merit-Based U.S. Immigration System

May 17, 2019-U.S. President Donald Trump introduced sweeping changes to the U.S. immigration system. "We are proposing an immigration plan that puts the jobs, wages, and safety of American workers first," Trump said while outlining the plans on Thursday. If enacted by Congress, the new system would reshape the American immigration system by increasing merit-based admissions while accepting fewer family-based and humanitarian immigrants. It would identify-candidates based on age, talent, vocation and academic records. Meanwhile, it would prioritize immediate family relationships such as parent and child. 'Dead on Arrival' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the plan was "dead on arrival" in Congress. She said the plan had "repackaged the worst" of immigration ...

Trump Emboldened By Completion of U.S. Special Counsel Investigation

25Mar

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Domestic Politics: United States, Types of News: Brief

Trump Emboldened By Completion of U.S. Special Counsel Investigation

March 25, 2019 -- A 22-month Special Counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election concluded on Friday, clearing President Donald Trump from a suspicion of conspiring with foreign agents to influence the outcome of the election. Special Counsel Robert Mueller submitted his report to the Justice Department Attorney General Robert Barr. On Sunday, Barr released a four-page letter to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate judiciary committees summing up key findings from the report. 'No collusion' The fundamental finding is that the Trump campaign did not "knowingly coordinate with" the Russia's Internet Research Agency in its disinformation and social media operations to sow social discord in the United States or with th...

U.S. Lacks Funds to Handle Migrants, Asylum Cases, Trump Says

25Jun

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Domestic Politics: United States, Immigration, Migration, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Lacks Funds to Handle Migrants, Asylum Cases, Trump Says

June 25, 2018-The United States not only has "the worst immigration laws in the history of the world," it also lacks the funds and resources to deal with migrants crossing its borders, President Donald Trump said late last week as he met with his Cabinet. The statements came just before the U.S. Congress set aside immigration legislation and as the federal government came under scrutiny for separating migrant families. Blame the Other Party Congress appears to be stalemated despite the need to clarity U.S. immigration laws and despite the fact that tens of thousands of migrants are crossing into the United States from Mexico and Central America each year. According to the White House, 200,000 unaccompanied minors migrated to the United States since 2014. "So [Democrats] want us to ...

As Gov’t Begins Reuniting Families, Congress Sets Immigration Reforms Aside

23Jun

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Domestic Politics: United States, Immigration, Migration, Types of News: Brief

As Gov’t Begins Reuniting Families, Congress Sets Immigration Reforms Aside

June 23, 2018-As the U.S. government began reuniting migrant children with their parents, who are being held for illegally crossing the U.S. border, the prospects for immigration reform in Congress appeared dead. The massive migration from Central America to the United States and the U.S. government's inability to handle it have created a crisis with both human and economic costs. The issues involved relate to bureaucratic incompetence, human smuggling, transnational crime, and a broken political system. Many Children And Parents Remain Apart Under pressure mounting pressure from an outrages public, the U.S. government started reuniting parents held under prosecution with their children. According to CBS News, the government returned 500 of the 2,300 children held in detention centers wi...

U.S. Struggles to Clarify Laws on Immigration

21Jun

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Domestic Politics: United States, Immigration, Migration, Types of News: Analysis

U.S. Struggles to Clarify Laws on Immigration

June 21 -- A day after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reverse his administration's policy of separating children from their parents as the parents are prosecuted, Congress took up legislation to reform the nation's immigration and employment laws. If legislation is enacted, it would make sweeping changes to policies affecting political asylum, guest worker programs, employment-verification requirements, transnational criminal organizations, border security and the legal status of foreign-born people who were brought to United States as children. But the question of "if" is a big one. A Longstanding Impasse Congress's track record in enacting immigration legislation is not good. Despite the need to clarify the nation's laws, its members have not enacted m...

Trump Fires Top U.S. Diplomat Rex Tillerson

13Mar

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Diplomacy, Domestic Politics: United States, Types of News: Brief

Trump Fires Top U.S. Diplomat Rex Tillerson

March 13-With a simple tweet, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he is replacing his top diplomat with a former congressman and the current head of the Central Intelligence Agency. CIA Director Mike Pompeo will replace Rex Tillerson as the Secretary of State, Trump posted on Twitter this morning. Meanwhile, he is appointing an intelligence officer named Gina Haspel, known for running a "black site" facility in Thailand for the U.S. government, as the new CIA director. Both Pompeo and Haspel would need to clear the Senate confirmation process to take office. Pompeo is a former congressman from Kansas who served on the House intelligence and energy committees. A tea party affiliate, Pompeo is considered a hard-line Republican and Trump loyalist. Prior to serving in Congress,...

U.S.: Top Economic Adviser to Trump Resigns on Brink of New Tariffs

7Mar

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Domestic Politics: United States, Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

U.S.: Top Economic Adviser to Trump Resigns on Brink of New Tariffs

March 7--A top White House economic advised resigned yesterday, reportedly over a disagreement about a recent decision by President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum. Gary Cohn, held the position of the director of the National Economic Council since Trump took office January 20, 2017. Cohn is a 25-year veteran on Wall Street and is the former chief operating officer at Goldman Sachs. His departure from the White House is one of several recent staff changes. Six Trump administration officials resigned in 2018 and several more, including Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, face difficulties with their U.S. security clearances. Trump's spokesperson Sarah Sanders brushed aside reporters' concerns about the staff changes in her March 7 press briefing. "This is an inte...

Russia Spends Millions to Interfere in U.S. Politics, DOJ Says

21Feb

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Democracy, Domestic Politics: United States, Types of News: Brief

Russia Spends Millions to Interfere in U.S. Politics, DOJ Says

February 21-The U.S. Justice Department filed an indictment on Feb. 16 against 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies for conducting an "information warfare against the United States." The indictment comes as a result of an ongoing Special Counsel investigation led by Robert Mueller. None of the individuals or companies charged are currently in the United States and are unlikely to be extradited from Russia for trial. The 37-page indictment is significant in that it may indicate the methods in which Russian intelligence officers use tools of democracy against its rivals. It also begins to establish some clarity about Russia's activities in the U.S. political system after more than a year of widespread speculation on the issue, focused mainly on possible collusion with th...

U.S. Grand Jury Indicts Two in Counterintelligence Investigations

30Oct

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Domestic Politics: United States

U.S. Grand Jury Indicts Two in Counterintelligence Investigations

October 30, 2017--Six months into a counterintelligence investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Special Counsel Robert Mueller has filed a criminal indictment against Paul J. Manafort, Jr., and Richard W. Gates, former campaign manager and deputy campaign manager to the Donald Trump presidential campaign from June to August 2016. The 31-page indictment speaks to the shadowy inner workings of Washington and the interplay between the political and for-profit lobbying worlds. The charges involve hiding and laundering "tens of millions of dollars" through foreign nominee companies and offshore bank accounts across the globe, including Cyprus, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Seychelles. According to the indictment, more than $75 million flowed ...