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President Trump wants Congress next week to fund the government, repeal Obamacare, overhaul the tax code and deal with North Korea, clearly confusing the legislative branch with Jared Kushner. Former President Obama will make his first public appearance since conspiring with that judge in Hawaii to have Trump’s travel ban blocked. And Mike Pence made a plane full of reporter watch “Hoosiers,” a great film featuring lots of men doing business in rooms without women. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Friday, April 21st, 2017:
GIRD YER LOINS: IT’S GOING TO BE A HELLUVA WEEK - Alana Horowitz Satlin: “President Donald Trump is complaining that a deadline he set for himself for various policy plans is unfair. Trump’s first 100 days in office ends April 29, and critics have pointed out that he has yet to achieve many key goals. The president responded to such criticism on Friday by calling the benchmark a ‘ridiculous standard,’ even though he personally touted the deadline for months. Shortly before the election, he laid out his plan for his first 100 days, including two of his biggest campaign promises: building a wall along the Mexican border and repealing the Affordable Care Act. He has yet to fulfill either commitment…. In a separate announcement made in the wake of reports of Russian election meddling, Trump also promised to release a report on cybersecurity within 90 days of taking office. That report never materialized.” [HuffPost]
OBAMACARE, THE GOP CAN’T QUIT YOU - Sam Stein and Ryan Grim: “The House Republicans’ zombie health care overhaul bill rose from the dead once more Wednesday night, with moderates and conservatives coming to a tentative agreement on draft language. Immediately, though, it became clear that the new bill faces even tougher odds than the one that was already laid low in the House and that caused no shortage of political damage to Republicans. All of which raises a vexing question: Why are they doing this to themselves again?” [HuffPost]
We’re all going to die: “But it’s not just the Democrats who oppose several Trump priorities. Congressional Republicans, who are generally united in support for the increase in defense spending, are divided on the border wall, which is not popular among border-state Republicans, and the deep domestic-spending cuts. So far, it does not look like a bridgeable gap. ‘This is going to be high-stakes poker,’ the White House official said. When I asked if a shutdown was likely, the official paused for several seconds. ‘I don’t know,’ the official said. The official added, ‘I just want my wall and my ICE agents.’” [New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza]
We’re all going to die, part 2: “President Donald Trump gave many signals on the campaign trail that his presidency would be a disaster for the environment. He called global warming a “hoax” and “bullshit,” vowed to dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency, and undo regulations to revive the fossil fuel industry. Almost 100 days into Trump’s tenure, the fears of environmentalists, scientists, public health advocates have been confirmed — and then some.” [HuffPost’s Dominique Mosbergen]
THIS IS HOW A PRO INCREASES HIS CABLE NEWS BOOKINGS - Hill chiefs of staff this week received invites from Sen. Roy Blunt for their bosses to attend an off-the-record “Coffee and Conversation” with Fox News’ Bret Baier. The Fox News personality will discuss his new book, “Three Days in January: Dwight Eisenhower’s Final Mission,” which documents Ike’s last days as president. If senators wish to hold an off the record discussion about The Beltway Bible, please send a fifth of whiskey and a note to Eliot. Baier’s event will occur next Thursday in Russell 260. Congrats on the increased airtime, senator!
It’s so cool that our president is indulging his passion for public access television.
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CHAFFETZ TRYING TO GO OUT ON A NOT TOTALLY PARTISAN NOTE - A great way to quickly squash all those kompromat rumors! Paul Blumenthal: “The House Oversight & Government Reform Committee is seeking more information from President Donald Trump and his business about how he plans to donate profits from foreign governments to the U.S. treasury. Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), the committee’s chairman, and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking Democrat on the committee, sent a letter to the Trump Organization’s lawyer Sheri Dillon on Friday requesting details on how Trump will sort and return these foreign profits to the treasury. Notably, the bipartisan letter comes days after Chaffetz announced plans not to seek re-election and to possibly resign his seat in the middle of his term. Chaffetz faced intense criticism for his early refusal to hold hearings on and request information from Trump about his business and conflicts of interest.” [HuffPost]
SESSIONS’ DOJ THREATENS SANCTUARY CITIES... ::Insert “What we have heeeeyahh, is a failure to communicate” joke here:: Ryan J. Reilly: “The Justice Department on Friday warned nine jurisdictions that they could lose federal law enforcement grants unless they reassure the government that they’ll disclose information on the immigration status of the individuals they arrest. The letters targeted so-called ‘sanctuary cities’ that limit their interaction with federal immigration authorities. The letters were sent to officials in California, Chicago (as well as Cook County), New Orleans, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Miami, Milwaukee and New York City. The letters were authored by Alan R. Hanson, the acting assistant attorney general in charge of the Office of Justice Programs, which distributes Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant grants that support local law enforcement.” [HuffPost]
...AND JOURNALISTS, TOO - Michael Calderone and Ryan J. Reilly: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions didn’t assuage journalists’ fears Friday that prosecuting WikiLeaks could open the door to charging news organizations for publishing classified information, dismissing such questions in interviews as ‘speculative’ and ‘hypothetical.’ The Washington Post reported Thursday that the Justice Department is considering prosecuting members of WikiLeaks, including founder Julian Assange, in response to the massive leak of diplomatic cables and military documents in 2010 and the more recent disclosure of documents revealing CIA hacking techniques.” [HuffPost]
JESUS, HENRY KISSINGER SOUNDED MORE EXCITED ABOUT JARED KUSHNER - Daniel Marans and Ryan Grim: “Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) endorses Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff for Congress, he told The Huffington Post on Thursday night. ‘I don’t know a whole lot about Jon. I certainly hope that he wins,’ Sanders said after a rally where he was promoting Omaha mayoral candidate Heath Mello. ‘It would be an asset. It would be part of the process of reclaiming the House of Representatives for the Democrats.’ … The Vermont senator’s stance on the special election in Georgia had been a source of contention after Sanders made ambivalent comments about Ossoff earlier in the week. Ossoff is ‘not a progressive,’ Sanders said Tuesday, according to The Washington Post. That seemingly conflicted with Sanders’ support of Mello, who he did refer to as a progressive. Mello has a long history of opposing reproductive freedom, something that apparently only became clear to most national observers of the mayoral race over the past few days.” [HuffPost]
But remember when that bird landed on his lectern! “But Mello’s ‘progressive’ credentials are questionable at best. As a state senator, he co-sponsored a bill mandating that women have an ultrasound before they can have an abortion, saying it represented a ‘positive first step to reducing the number of abortions in Nebraska.’ As a populist, Sanders has built a political career protesting economic inequality — and yet by campaigning for Mello, he has demonstrated a willingness to separate economic justice from reproductive justice.” [HuffPost’s Catherine Pearson]
SENATORS TO GET NORTH KOREA BRIEFING NEXT WEEK - We’re sure the lawmakers won’t at all be bothered to skip out on what will otherwise be a slow week in Congress. Burgess Everett: “Top Trump administration officials will brief all 100 senators next week about North Korea’s provocative behavior, according to guidance sent to lawmakers Friday. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joe Dunford and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats will meet with senators at the White House on Wednesday to bring them up to speed on North Korea and U.S. policy toward the isolated nation. The briefing had been originally scheduled to occur at the Senate, but instead senators must go to the White House, according to a notice sent to Capitol Hill.” [Politico]
Please read Jason Linkins’ annotated Mar-a-Lago Instagram feed.
NO ONE TELL TILLERSON - We’ve made a lot of Tillerson-is-sleepy jokes recently, so we’ll lay off here, but LOL he’d probably be too angered by this for his sixth nap of the day. Yeganeh Torbati and Ernest Scheyder: “The United States will not make an exception for American companies, including oil major Exxon Mobil Corp, seeking to drill in areas prohibited by U.S. sanctions on Russia, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday. ‘In consultation with President Donald J. Trump, the Treasury Department will not be issuing waivers to U.S. companies, including Exxon, authorizing drilling prohibited by current Russian sanctions,’ Mnuchin said in a statement. Exxon spokesman Alan Jeffers had no immediate comment on the statement. The company this week declined to comment on a Wall Street Journal report that it is seeking permission from the U.S. government to drill in several areas of the Black Sea banned by U.S. sanctions on Russia.” [Reuters]
Lot of street closures in D.C. this weekend due to the March for Science and IMF-World Bank meetings.
OBAMA EMERGES - David Nakamura: “Former president Barack Obama will make his first public appearance since leaving office, breaking his post-presidency silence on Monday in Chicago just days before his successor marks his 100th day in office. Obama is scheduled to participate in a town-hall-style event with young adults at the University of Chicago focused on community organizing and civic engagement, his office said Friday. The event is part of Obama’s goals to ‘encourage and support the next generation of leaders driven by strengthening communities around the country and the world,’ his office said in a statement.” [WaPo]
WELL, THAT’S ONE LESS HORRIBLE STATE LEGISLATOR - Still tons and tons of them around, though! Patricia Mazzei and Mary Ellen Klas: “Sen. Frank Artiles resigned from the Florida Legislature on Friday, consumed by a scandal that erupted three days earlier over a diatribe of insults the Miami Republican unleashed against two lawmakers at a Tallahassee bar…. [Senate President Joe] Negron forced Artiles to apologize Wednesday on the Senate floor for his alcohol-fueled tirade against Sen. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville in which he called her a ‘bitch’ and a ‘girl’ and referred to some Republicans as ‘niggas.’” [Miami Herald]
BECAUSE YOU’VE READ THIS FAR - Here’s a video compilation of Bill O’Reilly losing it.
‘RUDY’ IS BETTER - But we suppose Notre Dame doesn’t have quite the statewide reach as IU. Jenna Amatulli: “Vice President Mike Pence thinks ‘Hoosiers’ is the best sports movie ever — an assertion many would contest. But, alas, he still forced an entire plane of journalists to watch the 1986 film. While aboard Air Force 2 en route to Australia from Indonesia on Friday, the VP’s press secretary told the plane that Pence specifically requested they ‘would all be required to watch’ the movie, according to the pool report of Pence’s travels.” [HuffPost]
COMFORT FOOD
- Wake up sheeple and read this red pill of a Twitter thread.
- Someone please send us one of these weird instruments.
- Child’s Venn diagram of The Rock and a rock is priceless.
TWITTERAMA
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