House GOP leaders vote to strip Steve King of committee assignments following 'white supremacy' remarks
"I think we spoke loud and clear that we will not tolerate this in the Republican Party,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Calif.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/mcconnell-if-steve-king-doesn-t-understand-why-his-white-n958606
Ivanka Trump to help pick new World Bank president, but will not be one of the candidates
White House adviser Ivanka Trump is going to help pick the new World Bank president, but she herself is not under consideration for the position, the White House said.
Trump will work with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to help manage the U.S. nomination process, according to the statement, which said it was "false" that she was under consideration for the role.
“Secretary Mnunchin and Chief of Staff Mulvaney have asked Ivanka Trump to help manage the U.S. nomination process as she’s worked closely with the World Bank’s leadership for the past two years – however, reports that she is under consideration are false,” White House spokeswoman Jessica Ditto said in the statement.
The Financial Times last week reported Trump was one of multiple possible contenders for the U.S. nomination.
The report sparked backlash from multiple lawmakers and public figures, including Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Democratic mega-donor Tom Steyer, who claimed the move would be an act of nepotism.
World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim announced earlier this month that he will resign from his post on Feb. 1, three years before his term was set to expire. The financial institution's CEO, Kristalina Georgieva, is expected to act as interim president following Kim's departure.
The World Bank works to promote economic development and poverty eradication through loans and technical support.
– Updated at 5:23 p.m.
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/425283-ivanka-trump-to-help-pick-new-world-bank-president
https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1084980942870118401
https://twitter.com/Ruptly/status/1084985401863884800
https://twitter.com/senjudiciary/status/1084984721422061568
https://twitter.com/LucasFoxNews/status/1084987210963787777
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Pompeo to hold talks with North Korea this week: South Korean paper
SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is about to hold high-level talks in Washington D.C. with North Korean senior official Kim Yong Chol on Thursday or Friday, and both sides are fine-tuning details, a South Korean newspaper said.
The North Korean official is likely to meet President Donald Trump as well, the Chosun Ilbo said on Tuesday, citing an unnamed diplomatic source familiar with the talks between the United States and North Korea.
Asked about the South Korean newspaper report, a State Department official said, “We don’t have any meetings to announce.” The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The United States is considering partially easing sanctions on North Korea in exchange for the isolated nation discarding, or sending abroad, its ICBMs, in addition to the adoption of a “nuclear freeze,” the U.S. talks with the South Korean government have shown, the Chosun Ilbo said, citing the source.
“If North Korea accepts, it’s a realizable scenario,” it quoted the source as saying.
South Korea’s presidential office directed questions to the foreign ministry, which did not have immediate comment.
This month, Trump said he had received a “great” letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and would probably meet him again in the not-too-distant future, as part of efforts to persuade him to give up his nuclear weapons.
Pompeo made several trips to Pyongyang last year, but the two sides have not rescheduled an abruptly canceled November meeting between him and Kim Yong Chol that aimed at paving the way for a second summit.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa/pompeo-to-hold-talks-with-north-korea-this-week-south-korean-paper-idUSKCN1P9021
https://twitter.com/BuckTurgidson79/status/1084988693281230848