Good morning did anons see this yet?

Another Obama hold-over bites the dust.

State Department inspector general who faulted Trump administration moves is fired by Pompeo

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo provided no reason for Steve Linick’s removal from his job, in which he had served since 2013, according to a senior department official

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has fired the State Department’s inspector general, an Obama administration appointee whose office was critical of alleged political bias in the department’s management. The ouster is the latest in a series of moves against independent executive-branch watchdogs who have found fault with the Trump administration.

A senior department official said Pompeo removed Steve Linick from his job Friday but gave no reason for his removal. Linick had served in the job since 2013. Linick’s office had issued several reports critical of the department’s handling of personnel matters, including accusing some of President Donald Trump’s appointees of retaliating against career officials.

Linick will replaced by Stephen Akard, a former career foreign-service officer who has close ties to Vice President Mike Pence, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Akard currently runs the department’s Office of Foreign Missions. He had been nominated to be the director general of the foreign service but withdrew after objections he wasn’t experienced enough.

Linick, a former assistant U.S. attorney in California and Virginia, had overseen inspector-general reports that were highly critical of the department’s management policies during the Trump administration. His office had criticized several Trump appointees for their treatment of career staff for apparently being insufficiently supportive of Trump and his policies.

Under Linick, the State Department’s inspector general office was also critical of former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s hiring freeze and attempts to streamline the agency by slashing its funding and personnel.

Trump has been taking aim lately at inspectors general. In several instances this year, news of their firings or demotions has broken late on Fridays.

In April, he fired Michael Atkinson, the inspector general for the intelligence community, for his role in the whistleblower complaint that led to Trump’s impeachment.

Then Trump removed Glenn Fine as acting inspector general at the Defense Department, a move that stripped him of his post as chairman of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.

During a White House briefing on COVID-19, Trump questioned the independence of an inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services over a report that said there was a shortage of supplies and testing at hospitals.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/state-department-inspector-general-who-faulted-trump-administration-moves-is-fired-by-pompeo-2020-05-15?mod=home-page

Posted 5hrs ago..

Trump Removes State Department Inspector General Steve Linick

President Trump is ousting State Department Inspector General, Steve Linick, extending a string of administration firings of government watchdogs.

The president sent notice of Linick's removal, effective in 30 days, to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday. A State Department spokesperson offered no reason for the change, but issued a statement confirming that Linick will be replaced by Ambassador Stephen Akard, who currently directs the department's Office of Foreign Missions.

Pelosi warned of a "dangerous pattern of retaliation against patriotic public servants."

Linick had been on the job since 2013 and had recently issued reports criticizing some Trump appointees of retaliating against career public servants. Democrats expressed outrage at his firing. The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., accused President Trump of taking the action to protect Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

"I have learned that the Office of the Inspector General had opened an investigation into Secretary Pompeo," Engel said. "Mr. Linick's firing amid such a probe strongly suggests that this is an unlawful act of retaliation."

Engel did not offer further detail, but promised to press the State Department for answers.

A Democratic aide on Capitol Hill elaborated that "the OIG was looking into the Secretary's misuse of a political appointee at the Department to perform personal tasks for himself and Mrs. Pompeo."

In recent weeks, the president also removed Michael Atkinson as inspector general of the Intelligence Community, as well as Glenn Fine, who had been named to oversee the federal government's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

https://www.npr.org/2020/05/16/857334790/president-trump-removes-state-department-inspector-general-steve-linick

>>9198145

Oophs sorry anon-forgot.

Justice Department, State Attorneys General Likely to Bring Antitrust Lawsuits Against Google

Both the federal and state investigations are focused on Google’s ad business

Both the Justice Department and a group of state attorneys general are likely to file antitrust lawsuits against Alphabet Inc.’s Google—and are well into planning for litigation, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Justice Department is moving toward bringing a case as soon as this summer, some of the people said.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-state-attorneys-general-likely-to-bring-antitrust-lawsuits-against-google-11589573622

Published 2 hours ago

Rep. Andy Biggs: New House rule allowing proxy votes is outrageous – Increases Pelosi’s power

Americans should be outraged and frightened by an unprecedented rule change backed by Democrats and approved by the House on a 217-189 vote Friday night allowing for proxy voting and remote committee meetings to guard against the spread of the coronavirus.

While the duration of the rule change – which drew strong objections from Republicans – was labeled as “temporary” for 45 days, in government there is rarely a “temporary” duration to any new centralization of power.

Under this new House rule, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has more control over the House than any previous speaker in American history.

House members now no longer have to travel to Washington to cast votes. We can vote from the comfort of our air-conditioned living rooms and avoid any questions from reporters or constituents.

We can vote by proxy. Only a small number of House members are required to be in the chamber for future votes, and each member can be armed with proxies from other members who decided against traveling to our nation’s capital to cast their own votes.

Until now, each member was responsible for casting his or her own vote, and none of us could allow another member to vote for us. The tradition and transparency of this process has now been turned completely on its head thanks to Speaker Pelosi.

Under the new rule change, we can’t make parliamentary inquiries to ask questions of the chair about the bills we are voting on. We also can’t make a motion to adjourn the House. These two important changes severely handicap the already fading rights of the minority party.

The vote Friday night was not only unprecedented in our nation’s history – it was completely unwarranted.

Even in the midst of a public health emergency, the Senate – which has access to the same health information as does Speaker Pelosi – has been resuming its constitutional responsibilities.

Americans should applaud Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for refusing to play Pelosi’s game by opposing remote voting for his own chamber.

Worse still, Pelosi and her Democratic colleagues expect essential workers in their home districts to show up to their health care clinics, hospitals, grocery stores and other crucial assignments to provide services and resources to members of Congress in our homes.

How could Pelosi refill her luxury freezer with ice cream without these essential workers?

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/rep-andy-biggs-new-house-rule-allowing-proxy-votes-is-outrageous-increases-pelosis-power

New POTUS Tweet

The Radical Left is in total command & control of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google. The Administration is working to remedy this illegal situation. Stay tuned, and send names & events. Thank you Michelle!>>9198198

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1261626674686447621

Goes with>9198213

>>9198322

Goes with >>9198213