Trump donor nominated for UN ambassador

Kelly Craft is also wealthy GOP donor who gave at least US$265,400 to Trump campaign.

Nominated new ambassador to UN https://t.co/KyZHHQgD9N
— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) February 22, 2019

With push from McConnell, Kelly Craft rises as candidate for U.N. ambassador https://t.co/JyJNjsUDWP pic.twitter.com/ZvP2OoA9S5
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) February 21, 2019

Kelly Kraft is the wife of the CEO of Alliance Resource Partners, one the largest coal mining companies in the United States. The billionaire couple have donated more than $2 million to Trump through various means. https://t.co/qAPFir1XMp https://t.co/j4zZOlx2YG
— Eric Lipton (@EricLiptonNYT) February 22, 2019

Kelly Craft is to climate change what Trump is to Charlottesville. https://t.co/pNKRt6Fncf
— Eric Columbus (@EricColumbus) February 22, 2019

Trump’s nominee is also his customer. Trump hotel docs show she was “high rate” guest w/20+ visits, hit Gold status in “Trump Card” rewards https://t.co/1a1azwDg0L
— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) February 22, 2019

A billionaire McConnell pick from Kentucky whose wealth comes from coal. No visible qualifications for her role as Ambassador to Canada, let alone for the truly sensitive role of UN Ambassador. https://t.co/PAB5hOAg4u
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) February 24, 2019

Trump defends Acosta

I think Trump is lying. He watches a lot of TV and this has been a big story. I am sure he knows about it. Remember, Trump and Bill Clinton know Epstein, too.

Labor Secretary Acosta must go.

Asked about criticism of Labor Sec’y Acosta for his handling as US Attorney of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex abuse of underage girls, POTUS said “I really don’t know too much about it. I know he’s done a great job as labor secretary and that seems like a long time ago,”
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 22, 2019

As with every case involving Epstein, this one could further embarrass his once-impressive roster of A-list friends and associations, which included Bill Clinton, President Trump and Prince Andrew. A guide to Epstein’s inner circle: https://t.co/v4pzuFAaQg #PerversionofJustice
— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) February 21, 2019

The Pulitzer committee should seriously consider @jkbjournalist for her work in turning over the rocks covering Jeffrey Epstein's scandalous plea deal.https://t.co/KwS8zruHKa
— Patrick Nonwhite (@NonWhiteHat) February 22, 2019

Judge’s order is actually pretty uncomplicated and clear: DOJ and then-US Attorney Acosta’s office demonstrated everything but fealty to the accused pedophile and misled his victims. The question is WHY. https://t.co/7wv64f3RXx
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 22, 2019

Ken Starr is the attorney for Jeffrey Epstein. You really can’t make this stuff up. All so disturbing and just plain awful.
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@K_JeanPierre) February 22, 2019

Taking a closer look at Judge Kenneth Mara's opinion and order finding that the DOJ — and specifically then-US Attorney, now Labor Secretary Alex Acosta — violated the law in the Epstein plea deal. (Thread)https://t.co/QfengNVRAa
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 22, 2019

Miami Herald: A judge ruled Thursday that federal prosecutors — among them, U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta — broke federal law when they signed a plea agreement with Jeffery Epstein and concealed it from more than 30 of his underage victims.https://t.co/N8XIFFdvyc
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) February 21, 2019

Another example of Ross’s corruption

Commerce Secretary Ross does it again. Not the first example of his disregard for ethics and conflicts of interest. He should be removed.

Ross's finances have raised questions of serious, possibly criminal, conflicts of interest. Now we learn that four days ago OGE declined to certify his financial disclosure after concluding that Ross wasn't "in compliance with applicable laws and regulations" https://t.co/eORrUtK19x
— Robert Maguire (@RobertMaguire_) February 19, 2019

This is a BIG DEAL. We're not aware of OGE ever declining to certify a cabinet level official's financial disclosures before. https://t.co/m4oc9I9Chs
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) February 20, 2019

This is your occasional reminder that in a normal administration Ross would have been forced out eighteen months ago. https://t.co/FH28ppAOWR
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) February 19, 2019

Facing ethics violation, Wilbur Ross says he didn’t mean to file inaccurate financial disclosures https://t.co/rE49oAloZC
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 20, 2019

re-upping my suggestion for how to deal with officials like Ross who "forget" that they still own major assets: if you "forget" it you, you forfeit it. #harbergertax #bananarepublicrule https://t.co/l8vOtPNSj9 https://t.co/tEbrusQCg2
— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) February 19, 2019

"Richard Painter, a former ethics attorney for President George W. Bush, told CNN he has never seen a Cabinet member's financial disclosure form rejected in this way." https://t.co/X4VSjy4zFA
— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) February 19, 2019

Trump appoints club members to positions

This is corrupt. It’s just another reason why Trump should have gotten rid of his businesses.

NEW: President Trump has named more members of his private clubs to top posts in his administration. Presidents traditionally hired friends and allies; Trump is the first modern president to award government jobs to his customers.
https://t.co/aKFKbnC6m9
— Brad Heath (@bradheath) February 8, 2019

Kushner shouldn’t have a Top Secret security clearance

Two House Democrats asked acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to immediately revoke senior White House adviser Jared Kushner's security clearance https://t.co/tIuSNoSXEf pic.twitter.com/FSBctIXFr9
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) January 31, 2019

If you’re not paying attention to this story, you should be. Our intelligence and national security professionals recommended that Kushner and others should not receive a Top Secret clearance and they were overruled by the White House.

Our national security is at stake. https://t.co/L26eNwrV40
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) January 29, 2019

Officials rejected Jared Kushner for top secret security clearance, but were overruled https://t.co/4afEJbyEig
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 25, 2019

In May 2018, Kushner’s criminal defense lawyer said he’d received permanent clearance. What he didn’t say was that a Trump hire overruled two career adjudicators to grant the clearance & the CIA denied him a higher level clearance. https://t.co/QHL6mSYzue
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) January 25, 2019

Agreed. Anyone familiar with the process knows it's virtually impossibly Jared—or Ivanka for that matter—would be approved for a TS/SCI considering the known issues. To have it confirmed is still the makings of a massive scandal.

Get them out of the White House, immediately. https://t.co/tXfQwfUUOL
— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) January 25, 2019

1/ Having worked on security clearance issues at the White House, this story is terrifying. It is not normal for the head of the Personal Security Office to ever overrule the career employees who adjudicate clearances. This says it's happened 30 times in the last 1.5 years! https://t.co/aO3hF9LDwZ
— Daniel Jacobson (@Dan_F_Jacobson) January 25, 2019

In other words, they got overrruled on determining Kushner was denied clearance. https://t.co/yCCJ01t6M8
— Juliette Kayyem (@juliettekayyem) January 29, 2019

Penalties for polluters are much lower under the Trump administration

The Polluter Pays principle is fundamental to environmental law. This lack of enforcement is alarming.

And now @EPA is shut down, but the polluters aren’t. @EPAAWheeler must answer for what this means for our air and water, and ultimately, our future.

— Tom Udall (@SenatorTomUdall) January 24, 2019

other bad EPA news:

EPA Says Limiting Mercury Pollution From Power Plants Is No Longer 'Appropriate and Necessary' https://t.co/j8YmI6O1rO

— Carlos A Gonzalez D (@cadenusa) January 24, 2019

And when @EPA fails to properly enforce environmental laws, states aren't able to pick up the slack – https://t.co/JuPGAHfF1x

— Policy Integrity (@PolicyIntegrity) January 24, 2019

Decisions made on toxic chemicals have lasting consequences for health – Must read op-ed from the former leader of EPA's chemical safety office. #TSCA https://t.co/teVQn5O7Hh pic.twitter.com/82IexxGUSv

— EDF Health (@EDFHealth) January 24, 2019

EPA’s Return to Bush-Era Clean Air Act Reforms Sacrifices Agency’s Duty to Protect Environment, Ignores the Law https://t.co/eHeG8HZwLs pic.twitter.com/uTNqk5dNDR

— Dan Farber (@dfarber) January 24, 2019

Thank you…we need EPA protections https://t.co/PcHIeJgK0J

— Marcella Ruble (@marcellaruble) January 24, 2019

Pesticides are tested in
– one exposition route at a time
– in isolation
More about the complete failure of the EPA to protect the population from the 60000 (2012 figure) authorised pesticides. Here.https://t.co/3HLIEc4W36

— Alain Pannetier (@AlainPannetier) January 24, 2019

Wow. Look at the expected increase in industrial emissions. That's without taking EPA's proposed changes to New Source Review and New Source Performance Standards into account. https://t.co/bjSo235HFn

— Gavin Bade (@GavinBade) January 24, 2019

Ross is clueless

Billionaire Trump cabinet member Ross doesn’t have any idea what the unpaid federal workers are going through. Neither does Trump’s daughter-in-law or Kudlow. Many people live paycheck to paycheck.

Trump has referred to the shutdown as a "strike." He has complained that furloughed workers could hurt his economic numbers. He he groused that many are Democrats and part of the "deep state." And he has made comments seen by many as out-of-touch. https://t.co/jY5UZyr9o6

— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) January 25, 2019

So a few things:
1) This isn’t remotely what Wilbur Ross was saying;
2) The world Trump describes sounds surreal; and
3) It’s amazing that Trump is this bad at offering advice at the one thing he is an expert on: indebtedness. https://t.co/sf5O2KnDj7

— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) January 24, 2019

What Wilbur Ross and the Trump team’s tone-deaf shutdown comments really say https://t.co/S8am6D3O8z

— Post Politics (@postpolitics) January 24, 2019

Yesterday, Trump’s wealthy daughter-in-law Lara Trump said the #TrumpShutdown was just a “little bit of pain” for 800,000 federal workers. Today Trump’s wealthy Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says he doesn’t understand why unpaid federal workers would go to a food bank for help. pic.twitter.com/CvGRbvef7O

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) January 24, 2019

Today in billionaire cabinet secretaries https://t.co/a3AeYh1bmv

— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) January 24, 2019

It's called "hunger" Wilbur. https://t.co/e2DyaCt3Vg

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) January 24, 2019

Thoughts on unpaid federal workers:

"In some sense they're better off."
– Kevin Hassett

"It is a little bit of pain but it's going to be for the future of our country."
– Lara Trump

"There’s no real reason why they shouldn’t be able to get a loan."
– Wilbur Ross

— Binyamin Appelbaum (@BCAppelbaum) January 24, 2019

Hey Wilbur Ross: Let me explain this to you:

1. @realDonaldTrump shut down the government;
2. That means many federal workers, such as FBI agents & Coast Guard personnel, are working without pay;
3. Food is not free.

Get it @SecretaryRoss? https://t.co/SkqEJ8741o

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) January 24, 2019

If you live paycheck to paycheck, ‘eventually’ can be devastating. https://t.co/8bwgIWVIUf

— Juana Summers Markland (@jmsummers) January 24, 2019

Wilbur Ross is @realDonaldTrump’s Secretary of Commerce.

Wilbur Ross is a billionaire.

And this is billionaire Wilbur Ross saying he doesn’t understand why federal workers not getting paid during the #TrumpShutdown don’t just take out loans *to feed their families*.

Unreal. pic.twitter.com/YHHZqKa8sx

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 24, 2019

Sen. Schumer calls Wilbur Ross comments "appalling" and "the 21st century equivalent of 'let them eat cake.'"

"Secretary Ross, they just can't call their stock broker and ask them to sell some of their shares." https://t.co/5OkzsDv0CV pic.twitter.com/zT3ErjyBiN

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) January 24, 2019

54% of people say they could only miss 2 paychecks before they wouldn't be able to pay their bills, per a Fox News poll.

Federal workers are about to miss their 2nd paycheck. pic.twitter.com/6vRKXSatBI

— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) January 24, 2019

Because they need food? Because they are not getting paid? And many live paycheck to paycheck? https://t.co/5jF0uNgoFA

— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) January 24, 2019

Paul Krugman points out that the US has started a trade war over fewer employees than the number affected by the shutdown.

Wilbur Ross, who has been leading us into a trade war on behalf of the steel industry, says that the number of workers affected by the shutdown is small, so it's no big deal. A useful chart pic.twitter.com/5sWkjtwug8

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) January 24, 2019

Actually primary metals is just 0.3% of GDP, and a lot of that is stuff that uses the output from steel mills. The industry being protected is much smaller. https://t.co/FZ4OjlvmqU

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) January 24, 2019

After telling the press that federal workers are "volunteering" by continuing to come to work without pay, a reporter calls out Larry Kudlow's incorrect assessment and he fumbles further, saying they are working without pay out of respect for the presidency and Trump. pic.twitter.com/ofN3unRVSY

— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) January 24, 2019

Open this tweet to get the thread of reactions from federal employees:

Feds working unpaid: I will anonymously tweet out any reactions I get to Kudlow's assessment. DMs are open. https://t.co/aOJiAGEvgW

— Dara Lind (@DLind) January 24, 2019

VA Secretary was a member of a pro-Confederate group

🚨🚨 NEW: VA secretary Robert Wilkie did not list his membership in pro-Confederate groups or speeches to them on his confirmation paperwork despite submitting a sworn affidavit he disclosed all speeches, published works and group memberships. https://t.co/3REqiNHboE

— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) January 4, 2019

The Interior Department won’t honor information requests it thinks are too burdensome

The Department of the Interior's proposed new FOIA regulations propose that the agency "will not honor" FOIA — which is a federal law, not a suggestion — in cases where the agency decides it's too burdensome. https://t.co/cCQRzFz8Ic pic.twitter.com/VdSnzzFhtw

— Steve Reilly (@BySteveReilly) January 2, 2019

Trump lies at his cabinet meeting

Trump defended Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan, too. Which side is he on?

With his statement today about Afghanistan, Trump has finally bested Bluto's analysis of World War II

— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) January 2, 2019

Trump, in cabinet meeting now past hour mark, has:
-lied about illegal immigration stats
-disparaged/claimed to have fired his most respected cabinet member
-dismissed stock market losses as a "glitch"
-complained about Romney not being a "team player"
-praised the wheel

— Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) January 2, 2019

Jeff Mason is tweeting from the Cabinet meeting, and the president does not seem to be doing much saying of true things. https://t.co/sGHI475uM6

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) January 2, 2019

. @pewresearch study in November said there were 10.7 million undocumented immigrants in 2016, down 1.5 million from 2007 https://t.co/dlxKiMIc3H https://t.co/yqd6ZyYuzM

— David Nakamura (@DavidNakamura) January 2, 2019

Fox is now showing Trump's comments at Cabinet. He begins the clip by saying he's "heard numbers as high as $275 billion" for how much the U.S. loses per year from illegal immigration. That's a number he himself made up in the last month.

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) January 2, 2019

It seems impossible, but it's true: President Trump just endorsed the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Who's he working for? https://t.co/vRMfr3hQ8W

— David Frum (@davidfrum) January 2, 2019

Trump says that Russia was in Afghanistan because terrorists from there were going into Russia. He’s confusing it with Chechnya. Also says that Pakistan is there and should be fighting. It is—it’s promoting the Taliban which has been fighting against the US and its allies. 🤦‍♂️ https://t.co/eH39OTLs0H

— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) January 2, 2019

Trump falsely claims Mexico is paying for wall, demands taxpayer money for wall ahead of meeting with Democrats https://t.co/Ws2l9ZTjOT

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 2, 2019

Pres Trump kicks off new year w/a Cabinet mtg 12p.

7 out of 21 Cabinet positions currently filled by someone in an “acting” capacity:

Chief of Staff (Mulvaney), AG (Whitaker), SecDef (Shanahan), Amb to UN (Cohen), EPA (Wheeler), OMB Director (Voght) & Interior run by DepSec

— Karen Travers (@karentravers) January 2, 2019