Archive for April, 2017

Trump admin. to push ahead with tax overhaul without Democrat support – CBS News

WASHINGTON -- A senior administration official said Thursday the White House plans to push its tax overhaul without any support from congressional Democrats.

It's a sign of the intense partisanship over President Trump's outlines for cutting tax rates in hopes of stimulating faster economic growth, increasing business activity and helping the middle class. The proposal unveiled Wednesday would also repeal several taxes that target the wealthy but eliminate many deductions they use. Democratic lawmakers say the plan would favor the wealthy and blow a deep hole in the federal budget.

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President Trump says his tax plan is going to put people back to work, but some important details were missing from the one-page blueprint that c...

An independent estimate by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates federal revenue would plunge $5.5 trillion over a decade under the Trump plan, likely causing the deficit to balloon. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has suggested faster economic growth of 3 percent or more would replace the lost tax revenue, a position most budget experts dispute.

The administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss private deliberations, suggested Thursday that the White House might also find a way to work around a Senate rule that requires a 60-vote majority to pass bills that increase the deficit over the longer term. Under the rule, measures passed by a simple majority that increase the deficit expire in a 10-year window.

The official indicated that the administration might not necessarily need to follow a 10-year window, noting that budget forecasts are often inaccurate. It was unclear how the suggested maneuver would overcome Senate procedure.

Republicans currently hold a 52-seat majority in the Senate, leaving them in need of support from at least eight Democrats under the rule.

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Amid President Trump's effort to overhaul the tax system, Democrats are pushing to know what Mr. Trump would stand to gain if his policies are en...

On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he planned to pass a tax overhaul without Democratic support, but only if it didn't add to long-term deficits.

"Regretfully we don't expect to have any Democratic involvement in" a tax overhaul, McConnell said. "So we'll have to reach an agreement among ourselves."

The Trump tax outline would reduce the top corporate tax rate by 20 percentage points, to 15 percent, and enable private business owners to claim the new lower rate for their incomes. The number of tax brackets for individuals would be reduced from seven to three, with the top tax rate lowered from 39.6 percent to 35 percent. It would roughly double the standard amount taxpayers could deduct.

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The Trump administration released details of its proposal to overhaul taxes in the U.S. CBS News chief White House correspondent Major Garrett re...

The measure would eliminate the estate tax and reduce taxes on investments primarily paid by the wealthy. It would further reduce the tax burden for the rich by eliminating the alternative minimum tax, which ensures the high-income can't get away with paying little to no taxes.

Senate Democrats quickly came out against the proposal.

"This scheme is a massive tax giveaway to millionaires, billionaires and big corporations at the expense of middle-class families," said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.

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Marie Harf: A Democrat’s honest take on Trump’s first 100 days – Fox News

For the eight years Barack Obama was president, Republicans argued aggressively and persistently that they should be trusted with the leadership of our nation instead. After winning majorities in both houses of Congress during the Obama years, the GOP outlined an agenda they promised to follow through on as soon as they re-took the White House.

Donald Trumps victory in 2016 finally gave them that opportunity.

In these first 100 days, however, President Trump and the Republicans in Congress have been stymied by a fundamental truth: its much easier to be in the opposition than it is to actually govern.

The chaos emanating from the White House and within the Republican caucus on Capitol Hill demonstrates how deeply the GOP started believing its own political hype so much so that the party failed to realize how truly difficult the ideas it was promoting would be to implement (for example, insuring everyone while lowering costs and keeping the popular aspects of ObamaCare).

President Trump and the Republicans in Congress have been stymied by a fundamental truth: its much easier to be in the opposition than it is to actually govern.

We now have a government run entirely by Republicans that is floundering, unable to achieve big legislative victories and without a strategy to turn that around, heading very quickly into a midterm election year where voters are going to expect much more progress.

The confirmation of Neil Gorsuch was the high point for the administration in its first 100 days a campaign promise quickly fulfilled. But things go rapidly downhill from there.

President Trump has attempted to check off many of his agenda items using executive action, which the White House is trumpeting as real progress. But on two of his signature orders, he learned firsthand that the judiciary is indeed a co-equal branch, and those EOs were stayed because of serious legal questions based in part on his own inflammatory public statements. His words really do matter.

Turning overseas, we tumble to some of the worst moments of the first 100 days. President Trump has governed based on a caricature of what he appears to believe strong foreign policy is: bragging about raw use of military power, acting dismissively towards diplomacy, and bullying our friends and our adversaries.

Mostworrisome,the administration has failed to outline detailed strategies to address any of the serious foreign policy challenges we face. Slogans are not strategy.

At the same time, the administration is doing real damage on the world stage. It is true that countries probably believe President Trump is more willing to use military force than President Obama was. But the Trump administration is also increasingly viewed as dangerous and unpredictable unaware of the basics of international politics or simple facts, led by someone lacking a core set of principles who believes erratic behavior in foreign affairs is a good thing.

President Trump and his team have upset some of our closest allies, including the United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, and Australia. These unforced errors have consequences, because as powerful as we are, we cannot solve the worlds biggest challenges alone.

As we grapple with the start of the Trump presidency, my Democratic Party has had its own growing pains in determining the best ways to rebuild our ranks.

How do we re-constitute the norms and institutions of public service that have been so eroded since President Trump came onto the scene?What do we have to offer as a party to the American people in places like my home state of Ohio? And are we still a big tent open, as I believe we should be -- to strong principled candidates without any one issue serving as a litmus test (including abortion)?

If the first 100 days taught us anything, its that we all have a lot more work to do.

Republicans, you asked to be put in the game, and the American people said yes. Its time to stop fumbling the football. If you dont, 2018 is coming fast, and you risk being back on the sidelines.

Marie Harf joined the network in January 2017 and currently serves as a contributor for FOX News Channel (FNC), offering national security and political analysis across FNC and FOX Business Network's (FBN) daytime and primetime programming.

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Marie Harf: A Democrat's honest take on Trump's first 100 days - Fox News

Alex Jones Turns on Ivanka Trump and Her ?Democrat? Husband Jared Kushner Over Syrian Refugees – Daily Beast

The InfoWars host reminded his viewers that we did not elect Ivanka Trump to be the 45th President of the United States.

InfoWars host Alex Jones, an avid supporter of President Trump during the campaign and his administration, said in a video posted to his Facebook on Thursday that Ivanka Trumps policies are beginning to sound a lot like those of Hillary Clinton.

We did not elect Ivanka Trump to be the 45th President of the United States, Jones says dressed in a white-collared shirt while driving a car. I think shes talented, shes beautiful, I think the dresses she wears, the clothing line are cool. I have nothing against her personally. Or Jared Kushner, but we didnt elect him to be president either. Hes a Democrat, his dad went to prison for fraud, his 666 buildings going sideways.

The remarks come as Jones is in the midst of a contentious child custody battle and just a few days after the yogurt giant Chobani sued him claiming that he had fabricated stories about the company and its CEO Hamdi Ulukuya.

Jones is butting heads with Ivanka Trumps recent interest in accepting Syrian refugees into the United Statesa divergence from the platform that Trump ran on as a candidate.

That has to be part of the discussion, Ivanka Trump said regarding the admission of refugees during an interview with MSNBC. But thats not going to be enough in and of itself.

Jones also took issue with Ivanka Trumps appearance in Germany alongside Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has diverged with President Trump on the policy of admission of foreign refugees.

Shes over there in Germany with Merkel who opened the borders up for all the Islamisists [sic], Jones continues in the video. She says for women we should let refugees in. And that her dads wrong and she wants him to change his mind. What?

InfoWars has long been a cheerleader of Trumps nationalist agenda. Jones radio show and livestream have recently featured appearances by longtime Trump friend Roger Stone to blast the influence of Jared Kushner in the White House. The two men claim they are criticizing with gentle nudges so Trump keeps his promises to his baseand to not allow the president to be kowtow to the establishment.

The rest of the video is slightly more hopeful. Jones contends President Trump is helping to spread the brand of nationalism worldwide and that his listeners and youthful nationalists are helping to defeat globalism.

Im Alex Jones, this is in the Info War, Jones says, still driving.

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Alex Jones Turns on Ivanka Trump and Her ?Democrat? Husband Jared Kushner Over Syrian Refugees - Daily Beast

Man severely injured in West Broadway Boulevard accident – Sedalia Democrat

Members of the Sedalia Fire and Police departments survey the scene of a two-vehicle accident involving a motorcycle and a GMC Yukon around 8 p.m. Thursday at the intersection of West Broadway Boulevard and Ruth Ann Drive. The motorcycle driver was taken by the Pettis County Ambulance District to Bothwell Regional Health Center with severe injuries.

Photos by Nicole Cooke | Democrat

The motorcycle drivers helmet can be seen lying on the pavement with the motorcycle in the background as Sedalia Police Department officers investigate the scene of Thursday nights two-vehicle accident. A man at the scene who said he was friends with the driver later took the helmet without permission, ignoring officer requests to return it. He and another man were taken into custody.

Photos by Nicole Cooke | Democrat

SPD Sgt. Ryan Reed takes photos of the scene of a motorcycle and SUV accident on West Broadway Boulevard.

Photos by Nicole Cooke | Democrat

A man was taken to the hospital with severe injuries after a two-vehicle accident Thursday night on West Broadway Boulevard.

The Sedalia Police Department, Sedalia Fire Department and Pettis County Ambulance District responded just before 8 p.m. to an accident involving a motorcycle and a vehicle at the intersection of West Broadway Boulevard and Ruth Ann Drive, next to Family Pawn.

According to SPD Sgt. Ryan Reed, the motorcycle was traveling east on Broadway at a high rate of speed when the GMC Yukon was turning south onto Ruth Ann Drive. The motorcycle then collided with the SUV.

Reed said the motorcycle driver was taken by PCAD to Bothwell Regional Health Center with severe injuries. An update on the drivers condition was not available at press time. No injuries were reported for the driver or passengers of the other vehicle.

While officers were investigating the scene, a citizen took the drivers helmet off the ground without permission, saying its my best friends helmet. An officer attempted to retrieve it, but the man continued to walk away despite requests to stop. Other officers and emergency personnel tried to help the officer get the helmet back as the man continued to ignore requests and shoved the officer away from him. He and another man were both taken into custody.

The Pettis County Sheriffs Office and Missouri State Highway Patrol were called in to help with directing traffic, as the eastbound lanes were completely blocked.

Members of the Sedalia Fire and Police departments survey the scene of a two-vehicle accident involving a motorcycle and a GMC Yukon around 8 p.m. Thursday at the intersection of West Broadway Boulevard and Ruth Ann Drive. The motorcycle driver was taken by the Pettis County Ambulance District to Bothwell Regional Health Center with severe injuries.

http://sedaliademocrat.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TSD042817Wreck.jpgMembers of the Sedalia Fire and Police departments survey the scene of a two-vehicle accident involving a motorcycle and a GMC Yukon around 8 p.m. Thursday at the intersection of West Broadway Boulevard and Ruth Ann Drive. The motorcycle driver was taken by the Pettis County Ambulance District to Bothwell Regional Health Center with severe injuries. Photos by Nicole Cooke | Democrat

The motorcycle drivers helmet can be seen lying on the pavement with the motorcycle in the background as Sedalia Police Department officers investigate the scene of Thursday nights two-vehicle accident. A man at the scene who said he was friends with the driver later took the helmet without permission, ignoring officer requests to return it. He and another man were taken into custody.

http://sedaliademocrat.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TSD042817Wreck2.jpgThe motorcycle drivers helmet can be seen lying on the pavement with the motorcycle in the background as Sedalia Police Department officers investigate the scene of Thursday nights two-vehicle accident. A man at the scene who said he was friends with the driver later took the helmet without permission, ignoring officer requests to return it. He and another man were taken into custody. Photos by Nicole Cooke | Democrat

SPD Sgt. Ryan Reed takes photos of the scene of a motorcycle and SUV accident on West Broadway Boulevard.

http://sedaliademocrat.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TSD042817Wreck3.jpgSPD Sgt. Ryan Reed takes photos of the scene of a motorcycle and SUV accident on West Broadway Boulevard. Photos by Nicole Cooke | Democrat

One person taken to hospital

Nicole Cooke can be reached at 660-530-0138 or on Twitter @NicoleRCooke.

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Man severely injured in West Broadway Boulevard accident - Sedalia Democrat

One Republican congressman’s wild ride on the Trump train – USA TODAY

Ohio Rep. Steve Chabot on the stormy start to Trumps presidency. Video by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, prepares to leave his office for a House hearing.(Photo: Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)

WASHINGTON Once his election-night shock wore off, Rep. Steve Chabot let himself dream a little.

Republicans would finally be able to repeal Obamacare, he thought. With Donald Trump in the White House and Republicans in full control of Congress, the GOP could cut taxes, zap federal regulationsand maybe even pass new abortion restrictions.

Neither Trump confidantnor Trump detractor, Chabot is a hard-core, low-profile conservative from Cincinnati who rode the Republican Contract with America to electoral victory in 1994. The veteran congressman is now on his fourth, and most unusual, president a man he has alternately praised and scolded.

On Wednesday, as Trump hurtled toward his100-day mark in the White House, Chabot was gaveling to order a hearing on the Small Business Administrations disaster loan program. It was a bastion of bipartisan oversight a collection of seasoned lawmakers and earnest bureaucrats trying to make sure a tiny but critical federal program was working efficiently.

As the hearing unfolded, Twitter was abuzz with the latest news on a possible government shutdown, GOP efforts to revive a failed health reform bill, and new threats from the White House later withdrawn to pull out of NAFTA by executive order.

The contrast was striking. At the micro-level, Washington was humming along smoothly. At the macro-level, not so much.

Welcome to the life of a rank-and-file Republican in the era of Trump.

Chabot knew Trumps tenure would be rocky, given the New York businessmans raw political instincts and his own partys unease with some of the new presidents positions not to mention unyielding Democratic resistance.

The jurys still out, Chabot said Wednesday of Trumps young presidency.

Hes thrilled with Trumps more assertive foreign policy.Hes had it with the presidents provocative tweets. Hes unconcerned, for now, about the multiple investigations into the Trump campaigns possible contacts with Russia, though perplexed by the presidents odd fondness for Russian PresidentVladimir Putin.

Hes frustrated with hardliners in his own party for torpedoing Trumps top priority repealing Obamacare a defeat he fears may derail other key elements of the GOP agenda. But hes optimistic that House Republicans will get their act together, develop a smoother relationship with the White House, and eventually accomplish big things.

Its always an adjustment with a new president, the 64-year-old congressman said. Well adjust to him and eventually hell adjust to us, and well make it work.

On the eve of Trumps inauguration, Chabot offered the incoming president some unsolicited advice: Apologize to the people hed offended during the campaign Hispanics, Muslims, POWs.

Admit you were wrong, and that you made mistakes, Chabotadvised Trump in a Jan. 18blog post on his campaign website. It echoed a similar post Chabot penned when Trump was on the verge of capturing the GOP nomination.

Stop saying thuggish things, he counseled in March 2016, admonishing Trump for appearing to incite violence at his campaign rallies. Donald, be dignified.Show some class.

Chabot and Trump have met only briefly on two occasions, and theres no evidence that Trump has ever read Chabots blog, let alone heeded any of the Cincinnati Republicans advice. At his inauguration, Trump delivered afierce America First message and then spent the next few days embroiled in a public spat with the press over the size of his inauguration crowd.

Rep. Steve Chabot arrives for a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on April 26, 2017.(Photo: Jack Gruber, USAT)

He clearly has an ego, and it works for him, Chabot said of that brouhaha. But the congressman shrugged off questions about whether Trumps false statements about crowd size, voter fraud, illegal wiretapping were troubling to him.

Its irrelevant, Chabot said of Trumps inaccurate boasts. It seems to be in his personality but I think hell get better over time.

Much more important, in his view, are two of Trumps key achievements: winning the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and reinstating the so-called Mexico City policy, which bars U.S. aid from going to any international groups that perform or promote abortion.

There have been some accomplishments, although theyre not as significant as wed like to see, Chabot said. And the biggest failure so far, he said, is the fault of House conservatives, not Trump.

That would be the GOPs effort in March to repeal and replace Obamacare, the 2010 health reform law. Arch-conservatives in the House Freedom Caucusrefused to support a plancrafted by the House Republican leadership, despite intense lobbying and multiple revisions offered by Trump and his top aides.

Chabotnever saidhow he would have voted on that bill, arguing that because it kept changing he wasnt sure whetherhe could support it. But after GOP leaders yanked the bill in defeat, Chabot chastised the Freedom Caucus for an embarrassing loss.

We managed to come up with the votes to repeal Obamacare (about 60 times) when it really didnt matter, because it was known that Obama would veto it, Chabotwrote in his blogthat week. But now when we were shooting with real bullets, it was just too hard I cant think of a bigger legislative disappointment in my two decades in the House.

In an interview on Wednesday, Chabot pointed to new efforts to revive the Obamacare replacement bill, and he said theres a reasonably good chance that House Republicans would pass some version of that in the coming weeks. Whether anything gets through the Senate and to Trumps desk, he said, is not clear.

Theres still lots of time left to get a whole lot of things done, Chabot said.

As with any lawmaker, Chabots days are jammed with House hearings, constituent meetingsand GOP strategy sessions. When theres a fresh controversy brewing at the other at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, he usually learns about it from his colleagues, his staff, or a news alert pinging on the iPad he carries around the Capitol.

It keeps us on our toes, Chabot said when asked about the seemingly constant presidential hullabaloo, whether its a new revelation in the investigation of the Trump-Russia connections or an inflammatory tweet that has the media in a fresh frenzy.

For the most part, Chabot seems unfazed and unaffected by such events. Hes not on the House Intelligence Committee, which is probing the Russia ties. He has suggested the media and liberal activists are trying to prove Russia helped Trump win the election to discredit him, but he has also voiced support for the congressional investigations underway.

Back home, Chabot has heard from constituents who hate Trump and those who love him. He has not held any recent public town halls, opting instead for teleconferences with constituents where hes fielded mostly friendly questions. And since hes in a safe Republican district, Chabot has more freedom than other GOP lawmakers to embrace Trump on some issues and distance himself on others.

Rep. Steve Chabot attends a House Small Business Committee hearing on the SBA Disaster Loan Program.(Photo: Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)

But there is at least one person who has put Chabot on the spot publicly over Trump: Mark P. Painter, a former judge and one-time Cincinnati Republican who has called on the congressman to start drafting impeachment articles against the president.

We must end this dangerous presidency, Painterwrote in a February op-ed, published by theEnquirer. He accused Trump of doing a series of dazzlingly illegal things and called on Chabot to man-up and start drafting the articles of impeachment.

Chabot sits on the House Judiciary Committee, and he served as one of the 12 House Managers during the Senateimpeachmenttrial of then-president BillClinton. But he scoffed at Painters take on Trump.

I didnt give it a whole lot of credibility, Chabot said in between hearings and meetings on Wednesday. I think were far from any serious consideration of impeachment, and I hope we dont get there because its not a pleasant process.

Chabot insisted that Trump's tenure is not as tumultuous as it might seem to outside observer and that he's not all that different from other new presidents who struggle to settle in to such a big job.

"Right now there's a lot of energy" in Washington's political climate,he said. "I think that will probably tone down a bit as time goes on and as people get used to this president."

Read more on Trump's first 100 days:

100 days into Trump presidency, Americans are united on this: They're divided

In Gettysburg speech, Trump made 100 days of promises. Did he keep them?

The Trump years: Hope, fear, elation and angst in 100 days

No regrets: 100% approval at 100 days from these Trump voters

Chuck Schumer, President Trump don't talk much in first 100 days

What did Trump tweet in his first 100 days?

Analysis: A bumpy 100 days for Trump? Just wait for the 1,361 to follow

Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump: Comparing first 100 days of last six presidents

USA TODAY roundtable: Advice for Trump? Take a deep breath

The first 100 days of the Trump presidency

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