It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.
- Theodore Roosevelt
ROLE REPRISED: The uproar from Trump’s immigration order reached a tipping point last night when acting Attorney General Sally Yates (an Obama appointee) ordered the Justice Department to not enforce the order as she believed it was unconstitutional. Trump swapped his MAGA hat for his old Apprentice hat and fired Yates replacing her with the more sympathetic Dana Boente. As a result, look for The White House to exert more pressure on the Senate to get his Cabinet nominees confirmed - but is Trump losing valuable capital with his penchant for keeping lawmakers and his own Cabinet out of the loop?
SUPREME STATEMENT: Amidst fallout from President Trump’s immigration order, the Administration may be looking to change the subject. The president originally planned to release the name of his SCOTUS nominee on Thursday, but now plans to announce it tonight at 8 PM. There are three leaders headed into the clubhouse with Judge Thomas Hardiman of PA on top of the pack, but we’re wondering if it’s all a smoke screen and if the unpredictable Trump will go a different direction - Diane Sykes or perhaps someone else on the longer list.
WHAT WE HAVE IS A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE: The Trump Administration circumvented lawmakers to draft the executive order on immigration by going directly to senior aides on the House Judiciary Committee. In the never seen before move, these staffers were the only people on the Hill to see the draft order or know what was in it prior to its signing- including House Judiciary Committee Chair Bob Goodlatte, Speaker Paul Ryan, and Majority Leader McConnell. To keep this top secret, Trump coerced the staffers to sign non-disclosure agreements which prevented them from even informing their bosses of the work they were doing on the order. Let’s just say Republicans on the Hill are none too pleased with this one...
PROMISE MADE, PROMISE KEPT: Congress will use the Congressional Review Act to undo three Obama era regulations. The regulations that will be overturned were designed to limit coal mining pollution in streams, another that will be undone originally added Social Security disability recipients considered unable to manage their affairs to the national instant criminal background check system for gun purchases, and a rule that requires oil and gas companies to reveal payments to foreign governments will go away. Notch another one for Trump and his campaign promise that two regulations need to be overturned for every one that is proposed.
THE ROUND: REVIEW OF HEALTH POLICY WEEK OF JANUARY 22: Our Senior Health Policy Analyst Emily Evans reviews the key themes from last week’s healthcare news. You can find the full piece here.
PENTAGON REVIEW OF F35 GOOD FOR BA AND LMT: Our Senior Defense and Aerospace Analyst Emo Gardner writes that Results of SecDef Jim Mattis' review of F35 program costs should be net positive for LMT while extending BA's future in fighter market. You can find the full analysis here.
