Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has won the support of President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Steve Bannon in his attempt to pass his border adjustment tax plan, according to a report from Bloomberg: Trump’s top strategist once described Ryan as “the enemy,” but now the former Breitbart News chief is the speaker’s best chance to win approval for his border-adjusted tax, which Republicans currently say has almost no hope of clearing the Senate. In a handful of White House meetings, Ryan found that Bannon was perhaps the most enthusiastic backer of the border-adjustment plan, according to a senior administration official and a person familiar with the sessions. A vigorous endorsement from Donald Trump could help save the border-adjustment plan, which is running into strong opposition from the energy industry and retailers. The retailers took the unusual step of launching an advertising campaign on the tax issue aimed at viewers of Fox News’ Fox and Friends and Saturday Night Live, TV programs Trump is known to watch. Ryan has also spoken positively of Bannon since the election, telling PBS Newshour on Feb 8, “We’re different kinds of conservatives, that we can safely say, I think. But we’re serving a purpose, which
Month: February 2017
After Public Shaming, Company Disavows Comments by Woman Who Told White House Staffer to Die ‘Slowly, Painfully’
Medical company Medtronic disavowed one of their employee’s comments after they were called out by White House Director of Social Media Dan Scavino on Facebook for wishing him a slow and painful death.
McConnell: Trump’s State Dept Budget Cuts ‘Probably’ Can’t Pass Senate
Tuesday on Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said President Donald Trump’s proposed budget cuts to State Department funding would “probably not” pass in the Senate. When asked if the Senate could approve the budget that slashes state park funding, McConnell said, “Probably not. When we get to funding, the government obviously will be done on a bipartisan basis. It could be an opportunity for our Democratic friends to participate. They have chosen to not so far. And I for one, just speaking for myself, I think the diplomatic portion of the federal budget is very important. And you get results a lot cheaper frequently than you do on the defense side. So speaking for myself, I’m not in favor of reducing what we call the 150 account to that extent. But we will sort all that out in the course of deciding how much were going to spend and how we’re going to spend it.” (h/t The Hill) Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
Two Houston Police Officers Shot, Manhunt Underway
Two Houston Police Department officers were hospitalized Tuesday after a suspected burglar reportedly shot each of them multiple times.
Joy Behar: ‘I Love George Bush Now’
On Tuesday’s broadcast of ABC’s “The View,” co-host Joy Behar reacted to former President George W. Bush’s criticisms of President Trump by saying that “I love George Bush now.” Behar said, “The thing about this is that Donald has now done something I thought he would never do. I like him — I like the fact that George Bush — I like George Bush now, is what I’m trying to say. I’m having trouble saying it.” She added, “I was after this guy for eight years, and now he has done something, he’s made me like George Bush. I might even buy one of his paintings. I love George Bush now.” (h/t Mediaite) Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
EXCLUSIVE: Linda Tripp – If I Had Leaked to Drudge Clinton Might Have Been Removed from Presidency
During a radio interview, Linda Tripp, once the chief cooperating witness to the Independent Counsel probing whether Bill Clinton committed impeachable offenses, said that she deeply regrets not leaking details about various Clinton scandals to Matt Drudge of DrudgeReport.com. She explained that leaking to Drudge may have resulted in a different outcome for the impeachment investigation, which was led by then-Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, possibly leading to Clinton’s removal from office. She was speaking on this reporter’s Sunday night talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio,” broadcast on New York’s AM 970 The Answer and NewsTalk 990 AM in Philadelphia. Tripp stated: “As a cooperating witness, and at that point I was the chief cooperating witness, I didn’t even question abiding by their requirements. That I speak to no one. That I was solely and one hundred percent their witness. Since I believed they had the intention of unearthing all of the scandal and all of the corruption that I had witnessed I was eager and willing to do so.” She explained that leaking to Drudge may have changed the course of the impeachment probe: What I regret now in retrospect was allowing the entire media during that time and
Hollywood Dentist Kicked Off Flight for Anti-Trump Comment
A dentist who caters to celebrities in Hollywood was reportedly kicked off a flight for making an anti-Trump comment to a flight attendant.