Democrats accuse White House of obstructing GAO investigations

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are demanding a hearing to examine the White House's decision to obstruct inquiries from congressional investigators.

"We are writing to request that you hold an immediate hearing on the dramatic decision by the White House to obstruct investigations by our independent investigators at the Government Accountability Office," Oversight Democrats wrote to panel chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.

Democrats point to a letter GAO General Counsel Thomas Armstrong sent this month to White House Counsel Donald McGahn, in which Armstrong complained the National Security Council would not respond to inquiries or engage with the GAO reviews.

“This approach represents a clear departure from past practice,” Armstrong wrote to McGahn.

The GAO, which operates as a nonpartisan investigative branch of Congress, is probing the White House over several issues, including “the role of the NSC in the coordination of conflict prevention, mitigation, and stabilization efforts abroad; Inspector General vacancies; and the cost of presidential travel and related security measures,” according to Armstrong.

Oversight Democrats are also demanding testimony from McGahn and the GAO.

“The committee must act swiftly to determine who instructed White House staff to refuse to provide information to GAO, as well as to evaluate the justification for this decision and its potential to impair Congress from fulfilling its constitutional oversight responsibilities,” Democrats wrote to Gowdy.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congress/democrats-accuse-white-house-of-obstructing-gao-investigations

Trump kills Obama loophole for illegal immigrant ‘entrepreneurs’

The Trump administration has shut down an Obama-era loophole that let immigrants who otherwise could not legally enter the U.S. claim a free pass by saying they were “entrepreneurs.”

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Homeland Security, announced an end to the program, claiming Obama overstepped his powers in creating it.

The administration also said that the program that let immigrant small businessmen and women enter was a threat to U.S. workers, a key focus of the White House.

In a statement, Homeland Security said that “the department believes that it represents an overly broad interpretation of parole authority, lacks sufficient protections for U.S. workers and investors, and is not the appropriate vehicle for attracting and retaining international entrepreneurs.”

It is not clear how many immigrants came in through the loophole.

The administration said in closing it that there are many other ways for investors and entrepreneurs to enter the U.S. legally and, if needed, Congress could offer new legislation to address the issue.

While those let in under Obama might have felt their immigration status was open-ended, the Trump administration said it is not and at the end of their “temporary” status the immigrants will be required to return home.

The temporary status, said the administration, undermined the value of the businesses created by the immigrants. DHS said the program “focused too narrowly on the economic benefits that potential foreign entrepreneurs may bring, without giving sufficient attention to the existing statutory scheme and the absence of a durable immigration status for these individuals, which is not made available through the device of temporary parole.”

It is the latest example of the Trump administration moving to close many of the Obama-era immigration expansion programs.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/trump-kills-obama-loophole-for-illegal-immigrant-entrepreneurs

Joe Scarborough asks ABC to pull the plug on 'Roseanne': 'There are red lines that can never be crossed'

Joe Scarborough, co-host of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," on Tuesday called on ABC to cancel its reboot of "Roseanne," after Roseanne Barr said former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett looked like a product of the Muslim Brotherhood and “Planet of the Apes.”

"Hey @ABC, Roseanne Barr compared Valerie Jarrett to an ape. There is no apology she can make that justifies @ABC turning a blind eye to this bigotry by airing another second of her show. Even in the Age of Trump, there are red lines that can never be crossed. This is one," Scarborough tweeted Tuesday.

Hey @ABC, Roseanne Barr compared Valerie Jarrett to an ape. There is no apology she can make that justifies @ABC turning a blind eye to this bigotry by airing another second of her show.

Even in the Age of Trump, there are red lines that can never be crossed. This is one.

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) May 29, 2018

“Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj,” Barr tweeted Tuesday, in response to another user suggesting that Jarrett helped former President Barack Obama hide secrets.

Barr is an outspoken Trump supporter and voted for him in 2016. She now portrays a Trump supporter on screen in the reboot of her 1990s TV sitcom that premiered on ABC this year.

Shortly after the controversial tweet, Comedian Wanda Sykes, who is a consulting producer on Roseanne, announced she would not be returning to the show.

I will not be returning to @RoseanneOnABC.

— Wanda Sykes (@iamwandasykes) May 29, 2018

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/joe-scarborough-asks-abc-to-pull-the-plug-on-roseanne-there-are-red-lines-that-can-never-be-crossed

Sen. Bill Cassidy aims to revive bipartisan reforms on healthcare

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., shared a new series of proposals to lower healthcare costs while lamenting that Democrats have torpedoed earlier efforts.

The plan outlined Tuesday by Cassidy aims to create greater transparency of healthcare prices, eliminate “gag clauses” on pharmacies, and spark reforms to Obamacare. But Cassidy conceded it might be difficult to pass something this year.

He pointed to the collapse of a bipartisan effort to stabilize Obamacare’s insurance exchanges on the individual market, which is used by people who don’t get insurance through a job or the government. The effort fell apart after a disagreement over restrictions on the new funding covering abortions.

“The bad news is that the U.S. Senate is split almost evenly, and Washington Democrats refuse to work with us to make things better,” Cassidy said in a statement. “We saw Senator [Bill] Nelson ultimately oppose Collins-Nelson, a bipartisan agreement he helped initiate. We saw Senator [Patty] Murray ultimately oppose Alexander-Murray, a bipartisan agreement she helped initiate. Why did they do this? Election-year politics, plain and simple.”

Cassidy added that “just because the votes in the Senate aren’t there right now doesn’t mean we should stop coming up with ideas to address the problems in our healthcare system.”

Among Cassidy's proposals are changes to Obamacare.

He called for incentives for states to “encourage young people to enter the individual market.” A major problem for Obamacare has been an insufficient number of younger people signing up on the law’s insurance exchanges.

Cassidy also called for combining the risk pool and money for both the individual market and the Medicaid expansion.

Other ideas include improving transparency to enable patients to know the prices of healthcare procedures.

Another proposal would end “gag clauses” in contracts between pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacies. The gag clause prevents a pharmacy from telling a patient they can buy a drug cheaper out of pocket than through insurance.

Cassidy has co-sponsored legislation in the Senate to address “gag clauses” in private plans.

The Trump administration recently called for an end to the practice for vendors of Medicare Part D, the program’s prescription drug plan. But the practice still exists for private plans.

Cassidy’s plan also calls for addressing surprise medical bills and would eliminate Obamacare’s tax on medical devices, which is currently delayed until 2020.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/healthcare/sen-bill-cassidy-aims-to-revive-bipartisan-reforms-on-healthcare

Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Arkansas abortion law

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request from Planned Parenthood to hear a challenge to an Arkansas abortion law that pro-abortion activists say would force two of the state's three abortion clinics to close.

The justices denied the request from Planned Parenthood Great Plains to review a ruling from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court’s order paves the way for the Arkansas law to take effect.

The Arkansas law, passed in 2015, requires physicians who conduct medication abortions to have a contract with a doctor with hospital admitting privileges. Medication abortions involve taking a first pill, mifepristone, at the clinic, and then a second pill, misoprostol, up to 48 hours later, typically at home.

Planned Parenthood said in a statement it would "move swiftly for emergency relief in the district court" but is telling patients they can no longer access medication abortions at its clinics in the state.

"Arkansas is now shamefully responsible for being the first state to ban medication abortion," Dawn Laguens, Planned Parenthood executive vice president, said in a statement. "This dangerous law also immediately ends access to safe, legal abortion at all but one health center in the state. If that's not an undue burden, what is? This law cannot and must not stand. We will not stop fighting for every person's right to access safe, legal abortion."

Planned Parenthood Great Plains challenged the law after it was passed, arguing it placed an undue burden on a woman's right to have an abortion.

A federal district court in Arkansas issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Arkansas law from taking effect. In her ruling, Judge Kristine Baker said the Arkansas law was a “solution in search of a problem.”

But a three-judge panel on the 8th Circuit vacated the district court’s injunction, saying the lower court did not make “factual findings” estimating how many women would be impacted by the law.

Planned Parenthood Great Plains appealed the decision, saying the 8th Circuit’s ruling “flouts" the high court's decisions in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey and Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt.

In its petition to the court, Planned Parenthood Great Plains said the Arkansas law would effectively ban medication abortions and leave the state with one abortion provider.

The appeals court’s order was put on hold pending the Supreme Court's review.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/courts/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-challenge-to-arkansas-abortion-law

Elizabeth Warren 'not there' yet on Trump impeachment bill

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Tuesday that she is “not there” on supporting a bill to impeach President Trump before the end of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.

“I’m not there,” Warren said on ABC's "The View" when asked about moving an impeachment bill. “Where I am is that we need this independent investigation without political interference.”

“Look, that’s what we owe to the American people. This is more important than politics. This is more important than whether or not you agree with him on 100 different things,” Warren explained. “What matters is that no one in this country, no one, not even the president of the United States, is above the law."

Warren has consistently stated that she would support impeaching Trump if he is found to have obstructed justice.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/elizabeth-warren-not-there-yet-on-trump-impeachment-bill

Mitt Romney: I wouldn't point to Trump as 'role model for my grandkids'

Mitt Romney hopes his 18 grandchildren don't look toward President Trump for a role model.

“I don’t think that I would point to the president as a role model for my grandkids on the basis of his personal style,” the U.S. Senate candidate from Utah said. “He has departed in some cases from the truth and has attacked in a way that I think is not entirely appropriate.”

Romney made the remarks during an NBC News interview that aired Tuesday on MSNBC, he also condemned Trump over comments he has made that are “not entirely appropriate.”

While the former Massachusetts governor offered some harsh criticism of Trump, he did offer some praise for the president's policy achievements while in office.

Romney specifically touted the president's successes in tax policy, regulatory, and public land policy.

Romney harsh critic of the president during the 2016 presidential election, and when asked how he will work more closely with the president if he joins the Senate, Romney said he will "call ‘em like I see ‘em."

Romney added that he would stand by the president on policies he agrees with, but "if the president were to say something that I consider highly divisive or racist or misogynistic, I'll call him out on it because I think its important for people to know exactly where one stands."

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/mitt-romney-i-wouldnt-point-to-trump-as-role-model-for-my-grandkids

>>1577278 He has got to be the biggest male whiner I have ever seen, waiting for the fake tears next.

>>1577280 She sure is! It's something the average person can appreciate.

>>1577292 100% agree there, I bet he cries like a little school boy when he finally answers for it.

>>1577327 Did you hear, she's the media's sacred cow and I say that with all seriousness.

>>1577414

Indeed, it's only the beginning:)

>>1577467

I was looking at the eyes on that guy, pic 3 looks like eye contact signal, of some sort, (as though he understands)

w. pic 4 a wink, (done don't mention it, I got you)

>>1577498

Great catch anon!

>>1577696

It is an excellent decision for sure.

About the Roseanne show being canceled by ABC, they will be the biggest losers with this decision. They we able to tap into an audience they missed previously with other entertainment markets. I suspect, they will at least drop to those levels pre-Roseanne and maybe more.