US delegation returns from Beijing amid threats of a trade war

A delegation of senior U.S. officials led by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross returned from Beijing on Monday without a clear path forward on trade relations with China.

"The meetings focused on reducing the United States' trade deficit by facilitating the supply of agricultural and energy products to meet China's growing consumption needs, which will help support growth and employment in the United States," the White House said Monday in a readout of the weekend summit in Beijing.

Ross joined China's top economic official, Vice Premier Liu He, over the weekend to discuss the Trump administration's concerns over China's trade surplus of $375.3 billion and President Trump's renewed threat to impose 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods. Officials in Beijing had warned the U.S. ahead of its second round of negotiations that the process should be "based on the premise" of avoiding a "trade war," according to a statement carried by state-run media.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has told the Trump administration his country will remain open to resolving the trade dispute unless and until the U.S. moves forward with new tariffs. China made no mention of new agreements prior to Ross' departure.

The standstill with China comes as Trump faces backlash for imposing new tariffs last week on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and our European partners. The president is slated to meet with leaders from those countries at the G7 summit in Quebec on Friday.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/us-delegation-returns-from-beijing-amid-threats-of-a-trade-war

Koch network warns Republicans on trade in new ad campaign

The Koch brothers network on Monday announced a multi-million dollar ad campaign to promote free trade that will also serve as a warning shot saying that Republicans need to stand up to President Trump, and keep him from imposing tariffs on imported goods and raw materials.

“Trade is a major priority for our network. We will work aggressively to educate policymakers and others about the facts,” James Davis, a senior spokesman for the Koch network, said in a statement shared with the Washington Examiner. “This announcement is a demonstration of our long-term commitment to advance common-sense trade policies that will ensure America’s brightest days are ahead, and to directly confront the protectionist ideas that would hold us back.”

The Koch network of political advocacy organizations this year pledged to spend nearly $400 million to help Republicans defend majorities in the House and Senate that are threatened by the potential for a voter backlash against Trump.

But while the network is a fan of the GOP tax cuts, it appears to have grown frustrated with Republicans, and is now signaling that planned financial and grassroots support in key midterm contests could be withheld or re-directed.

Unhappiness with Trump’s trade policies is the latest in a string of disappointments. He is proceeding with steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from not just adversaries such as China, but allies such as Canada, Mexico, and the European Union. These levies could spread to other imports if the fight escalates.

That disagreement was preceded by the failure to pass legislation to protect illegal immigrants participating in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and the passage of a massive, omnibus spending bill. Now, rather than emphasizing preservation of the GOP’s congressional power, the network is signaling its intention to support politicians of any party that supports its priorities.

Just last week, the Koch brothers’ main grassroots organization, Americans for Prosperity, unveiled a digital campaign praising Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., for supporting a roll back of the Dodd-Frank financial protection law, even though she is a top Republican target. Her presumptive Republican challenger, Rep. Kevin Cramer, wasn’t amused.

“This president has demonstrated strong leadership in his effort to provide the American people with the most substantial tax relief this nation has seen in decades,” AFP president Tim Phillips said in a statement. “These tariffs amount to self-imposed barriers to the success of tax reform and we urge the administration to reconsider.”

The Koch network declined to elaborate on what its advertising and grassroots efforts would like in the months head. However, network officials suggested that Monday’s announcement should not be interpreted as a toothless threat.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/koch-network-warns-republicans-on-trade-in-new-ad-campaign

Chuck Grassley suggests Trump may need to hire new lawyer after Giuliani pardon comments

Senate Judiciary chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, suggested Monday that President Trump may need to hire a new lawyer after his attorney Rudy Giuliani argued a day earlier that the president has the constitutional powers to pardon himself.

“If I were president of the United States and I had a lawyer that said I could pardon myself, I think I would hire a new lawyer,” Grassley told CNN.

Here’s Grassley responding to question on whether he agrees with Trump that he could pardon himself https://t.co/dswhL5kiW1

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) June 4, 2018

Giuliani made his rounds on the morning news shows Sunday to argue that Trump has the powers to pardon himself but he has no plans to do so because he could be impeached.

Trump echoed Giuliani’s statement in a tweet Monday, claiming he has the “absolute right” to pardon himself but he currently sees no reason to do so because he has “done nothing wrong.”

Both the president and his lawyer have maintained that Trump is innocent as they ramp up attacks at special counsel Robert Mueller. Their comments follow reports that Trump’s legal team sent a letter to Mueller in January arguing that the president cannot be charged with obstruction of justice and should not be interviewed by special counsel investigators.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/chuck-grassley-suggests-trump-hire-new-lawyer-rudy-giuliani-pardon-comments

Democrats outline demands for North Korea deal

Senate Democrats told President Trump on Monday that they won’t accept a deal to lift sanctions on North Korea unless the country completely and permanently eliminates its nuclear and missile testing program.

"Sanctions relief by the U.S. and our allies should be dependent on dismantlement and removal of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. wrote in a letter to Trump. "Any deal that explicitly or implicitly gives North Korea sanctions relief for anything other than the verifiable performance of its obligations to dismantle its nuclear and missile arsenal is a bad deal."

They also said the deal must also result in the "complete and verifiable denuclearization of North Korea," an end to North Korea's ballistic missile tests, and "robust compliance inspections." Any deal that doesn't meet these requirements could be blocked by Congress, they warned.

"We believe that Congress therefore has an important role to play in working with the administration to support your efforts and to shape U.S. policy toward North Korea," they wrote. "However, we also believe that Congress must act as a check on any agreement that does not live up to these principles by imposing tougher sanctions and oversight."

“If we think the president is veering off course, we won’t hesitate to move, but let’s see where he’s headed,” Schumer told reporters Monday.

The Democrats unveiled their list of demands a little more than a week ahead of an anticipated June 12 summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that is to take place in Singapore. The meeting was called off earlier this month but Trump announced last week it is back on.

“Now that the meeting will proceed as planned, we want to make sure the president’s desire for a deal with North Korea doesn’t saddle us… with a bad deal,” Schumer said. “The president needs to be willing to walk away from the table if there isn’t a good deal to be had.”

Schumer was originally an opponent of President Obama's nuclear deal with Iran, which lifted sanctions in exchange for Iran temporarily suspending its nuclear program. Schumer has since withdrawn his opposition to that deal. Schumer said Monday that the North Korean deal must be permanent, not temporary, because the country, unlike Iran, already has nuclear weapons.

"The danger is so much more the greater," Schumer said.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congress/democrats-outline-demands-for-north-korea-deal

CDC would lose control of emergency drug stockpile under House bill

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would lose control over massive warehouses of drugs, medical supplies, and vaccines under a House bill being taken up this week.

The provision, part of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act, or PAHPA, would fulfill a request by President Trump to shift the emergency supplies, formally known as the Strategic National Stockpile, from the CDC to the Department of Health and Human Services' assistant secretary for Preparedness and Response.

Proponents of shifting the $547 million program to a different agency say the supplies contained in the warehouses are meant not only to address the threats under which they were initially created, such as a terrorist attack or nuclear war, but also to fight off infectious diseases and to respond to natural disasters and even more unexpected threats. When the stockpile was created in 1999, the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response did not exist.

That agency is also responsible for choosing and buying the supplies in the stockpile, so supporters say the roles should fall under the same agency.

Rep. Susan Brooks, R-Ind., one of the authors of the bill, said the move would streamline public health emergency response measures so that "we are in a better position to respond with the appropriate supplies and resources to adequately protect the homeland and everyone who lives in it.”

Still, critics say the change would be disruptive when an emergency comes because the CDC has established relationships with local healthcare agencies after operating the stockpile for roughly two decades. The Senate version of the bill, which advanced almost unanimously out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, did not contain the stockpile change.

An aide to Brooks said members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's health subcommittee likely will have concerns and will want more information about the proposed change during the hearing on the bill, scheduled for Wednesday. The American Public Health Association has said that it has "serious concerns" about the potential transfer.

As the bill is being considered, the U.S. and other countries are facing various outbreaks. In the U.S., at least eight states have reported outbreaks and deaths from hepatitis A, an illness that can lead to liver failure or death if left untreated. The illnesses appear to be spreading through needle sharing or through infections that first sicked restaurant workers and then spread to customers.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is fighting a deadly outbreak of Ebola with an experimental vaccine and financial assistance from the U.S. In India, at least 17 people have died from the Nipah virus, which can lead to severe brain swelling and death. Global health officials have sent an experimental antibody to the region.

The pandemics bill up for consideration originally passed soon after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the Gulf Coast and a strain of bird flu was spreading across Europe and Asia. The law aimed to better organize the ways that federal, state, and local departments respond to outbreaks and disasters, including by working with healthcare facilities, encouraging vaccine development, and boosting the number of healthcare workers.

Congress has until the end of September to pass a final version before the program expires. The law has been in place since 2006, and the latest provisions would go into effect over the next five years.

The House bill makes other deviations from the Senate version. For instance, it gives the HHS secretary authority to transfer money out of an emergency response fund as needs emerge. In recent years, public health funding has been mired in political debates, which has resulted in delayed appropriations and has caused the secretary to shift money from other agencies.

The idea, said the aide to Brooks, is put forward by "members who recognize that going from crisis to crisis with emergency supplementals isn't necessarily the best way to respond to public health needs."

The Senate version uses clarifying language about when the funds can be immediately used.

Subcommittee Chairman Michael Burgess, R-Texas, said it was "critical" to reauthorize the program in a timely way.

“This is important legislation that will bolster our nation’s preparedness infrastructure, and support the development of critical medical countermeasures in the instances of a wide-ranging variety of attacks," Burgess said. "Our nation has learned much from events at home and abroad since the program’s last reauthorization."

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/healthcare/cdc-would-lose-control-of-emergency-drug-stockpile-under-house-bill

US kills nearly 50 suspected terrorists in quiet war in Somalia

The U.S. military says it has killed 49 members of the militant group al Shabaab in three separate airstrikes over the past 12 days in Somalia.

The latest strike was conducted Saturday southwest of Bosasso, Somalia, in which 27 suspected terrorists were killed, according to the U.S. Africa Command.

Two other strikes southwest of the capital Mogadishu on May 23 and May 31 resulted in a total of 22 deaths, the U.S. said.

Africa Command does not release the type of aircraft used in the precision strikes, but Pentagon sources say most airstrikes in Somalia are carried out by American drones.

In all three recent strikes, the U.S. says it believes no civilians were killed.

The strikes were carried out in coordination with the government of Somalia, and are part of its counterterrorism campaign targeting terrorists, their training camps, and their havens throughout Somalia and the region.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/us-kills-nearly-50-suspected-terrorists-in-quiet-war-in-somalia

>>1630581

>>1630597

I think they will try or say anything that makes them look like they are doing something.