Democrats protest $200M in additional border wall transfers
President Donald Trump has quietly transferred more than $200 million from Pentagon counterdrug efforts toward building his long-promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, drawing protests from Democrats who say he is again abusing his powers. The move would shift $129 million to wall construction from anti-drug efforts in Afghanistan — the source of perhaps 90 percent of the world’s heroin — along with $90 million freed up by passage of a stopgap funding bill, top Democrats said in a letter to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. The Defense Department “was faced with a simple choice: either additional funds be used for their intended purpose, to accelerate our military’s efforts to combat heroin production in Afghanistan; or divert these funds to pay for cost increases of a border wall project that does not have the support of the American people,” the Democrats wrote. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, Chuck Schumer of New York and Patrick Leahy of Vermont took the lead, noting that the heroin trade is a major funding source for the Taliban and urging the Pentagon to “redouble its efforts to starve the Taliban of a vital funding source and reduce the scourge of heroin abuse in this country and abroad.” Trump has shifted more than $6 billion from Pentagon accounts to pay for border fence construction, considerably more than lawmakers have provided through annual appropriations bills. Wall funding has been a major source of conflict between Capitol Hill Democrats and Trump as they negotiate agency funding bills each year. For instance, Trump was forced to settle for just $1.4 billion in wall funding in talks this winter. He issued a controversial declaration of a national emergency shortly afterward that allowed him to shift almost three times as much money from military construction accounts to wall building. A fight over the wall issue is tying up efforts to begin serious negotiations on wrapping up $1.4 trillion worth of agency appropriations by Thanksgiving. Separately, the Senate is expected to vote Thursday to sustain Trump’s veto Tuesday of legislation to reject his emergency declaration. By Andrew Taylor Associated Press Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
What’s next for James Comey? Maybe law, corporate work, politics
So what’s next for James Comey? The former FBI director boldly challenged the president who fired him, accused the Trump administration of lying and supplied material that could be used to build a case against President Donald Trump. But after stepping away from the Capitol Hill spotlight, where he’s always seemed comfortable, the 56-year-old veteran lawman now confronts the same question long faced by Washington officials after their government service. His dry quip at a riveting Senate hearing that he was “between opportunities” vastly understates the career prospects now available to him — not to mention potential benefits from the public’s fascination with a man who has commanded respect while drawing outrage from both political parties. Comey was pilloried for his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, yet is now seen as a critical cog in the inquiry into possible connections between Russia and the Trump campaign. He may be called upon to provide more detail about his interactions with Trump, which he documented in a series of memos, even as he turns attention to potential opportunities in law, corporate work or perhaps even politics. “There’s some jobs where the controversy would not be a benefit, but that’s why I see him ending up in a place where he can be himself,” said Evan Barr, a former federal prosecutor in New York City who worked under Comey in the U.S. attorney’s office. “If he were the president of a college or an important think tank, he could pursue the issues that mean the most to him and not be worried about trying to make anyone happy.” Comey is unlikely to play any sort of direct role in the investigation now led by special counsel Robert Mueller, his predecessor as FBI director. But he almost certainly would avail himself as a witness to Mueller in any obstruction of justice investigation centered on his firing, or to further discuss requests he received from Trump that he interpreted as directives. Comey’s carefully crafted memos are laden with contemporaneously recorded details and verbatim quotes that could easily lay down a path for investigators, and already have been turned over to Mueller. In one note, Comey says Trump cleared the room before encouraging Comey to end an investigation into Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Comey’s decision to share with reporters, through an intermediary, details from those conversations, and his insistence on testifying in public attest to his determination to confront the president head-on. “I do think he is unquestionably, if this thing goes anywhere, one of the star witnesses,” said Robert Anderson, a retired FBI executive assistant director. “It really comes down to his testimony, in some avenues.” Career options are generally plentiful for departing FBI leaders and attorneys general. Both Mueller and former Attorney General Eric Holder, for instance, took jobs with prestigious law firms after leaving public service. But few if any have as public a profile as Comey or have generated such intense feelings. Even Democrats who disagree with his firing remain stung by his revival of the Clinton email investigation days before the November election. Pro-Trump Republicans who were pleased by Comey some seven months ago may now concur with the president’s assessment of Comey as a “showboat.” And companies that do business with the government might find it risky to bring aboard someone who’s so publicly at odds with the current administration. Comey’s name over the years has been floated in politics, though it’s not clear the former Republican — now an independent — has any interest. Educated at the College of William & Mary, where he wrote a senior thesis on a 20th century theologian, Comey went on to law school at the University of Chicago. The bulk of his work has been in government, with the exception of private practice legal work in Virginia early in his career, lucrative general counsel stints at defense contractor Lockheed Martin and a Connecticut hedge fund, and a teaching job at Columbia University. He was the U.S. attorney in Manhattan who in 2003 charged Martha Stewart with obstructing justice in a stock trade investigation. He then became deputy attorney general, the No. 2 spot at the Justice Department, where he famously faced down fellow Bush administration officials over a surveillance program authorization. In 2013, he was sworn in as FBI director, a job he’s called the honor of his life. Friends and colleagues say the father of five reveled in his public service. “Anyone who has ever worked with Jim as far as I know, certainly speaking for myself, holds him in incredibly high esteem,” said Sharon McCarthy, who worked for him at the U.S. attorney’s office. “You’d be working late, he’d have a Coke in his hand and he’d come in, sit down, put his feet on your desk and start talking,” Though Comey joked at a Senate hearing one week before his May 9 firing that he perhaps regretted picking up the phone when he was recruited for the FBI job while living comfortably in Connecticut, he also was known to pepper speeches with cracks about the “soulless” private sector. He’d urge young audiences to imagine asking themselves on their death beds who they would want to have been, saying he hoped everyone’s answer would be that they tried to help others. His own law firm life, he’d say, was lacking despite the matching furniture, parking space and Colonial-style home that accompanied the job. “You do not make much money working for the FBI. You will not get famous working for the FBI. But you will be rich beyond belief if you look at it from (the public service) vantage point,” he has said. One other question for Comey regardless of his next job will be how much he chooses, either directly or through intermediaries, to respond to allegations from Trump or Republicans rallying to the president’s defense. On Friday, Trump strongly suggested Comey had lied about their encounters and accused him of being a “leaker.” “In
Alabama Republicans quickly dismiss Barack Obama’s 2017 budget proposal
President Barack Obama sent his final budget proposal for 2017 to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, offering a $4 trillion spending blueprint to lawmakers that calls for billions of dollars to be committed to clean energy, education and Medicaid, and would be paid for it by raising taxes on big banks and the wealthy. Unsurprisingly, Alabama Republicans do not support the plan. Here’s what Alabama’s lawmakers are saying about the new budget proposal: U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby: President Obama’s wildly irresponsible budget plan further cements his legacy of liberal priorities: higher taxes, more borrowing, and wasteful spending. The American people deserve better than a President who continually offers unsustainable proposals to expand our bloated federal government while ignoring our massive $19 trillion of debt. The only positive news coming from this budget blueprint is that it is President Obama’s last. I have consistently advocated for a constitutional amendment that would require the federal government to do what Americans and their families do every day – balance a budget. Our priorities should be to cut wasteful government spending, reform our nation’s complex tax code, and get Washington out of the way so that the private sector can succeed. U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne (AL-01): President Obama and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter just don’t get it. At a time when our nation is facing a range of threats from every corner of the globe, they are proposing to ignore the advice of Navy leaders and cut the LCS program. The Navy has made crystal clear they support and need 52 Littoral Combat Ships in order to fulfill their mission. Since my first day in Congress, I have been working with my colleagues on the Armed Services Committee and throughout the House to build support for this important program. That’s why I’m confident Congress will reject this flawed proposal from a lame-duck President and a lame-duck Secretary of Defense. U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (AL-06): Increasing spending, while the Congressional Budget Office projects a shortfall in revenues, is not a path to fiscal responsibility, but that’s exactly what President Obama is proposing. His priorities do not represent the priorities of the American people. Whether it is the government or an individual, it is irresponsible to continue spending more than you earn. A responsible budget would balance without gimmicks, would cut spending, and would not raise taxes on the hard working American people. President Obama’s proposal fails in every category. A summary Obama’s budget request may be found here.
Marco Rubio’s Capitol Hill fundraiser to draw wave of new supporters
Taking advantage of a surge in popularity after several strong Republican Party debate appearances, Marco Rubio expects to draw a new crop of supporters with a Capitol Hill fundraiser Monday. As reported by Alex Isenstadt of POLITICO, the event invitation names about 70 financial backers for the Florida senator’s presidential campaign — more than half came on board after Rubio’s debate performance in Boulder, supporters say. Originally, the event was to be held at a town house in Washington D.C., but as the guest list began to swell, Isenstadt writes that organizers moved the reception to the prestigious Capitol Hill Club. Names on the invitation include several names new to the campaign: Verizon lobbyist Peter Davidson; NextEra Energy lobbyist Christopher Chapel; Crossroads Strategies lobbyist Matthew Lapinski and Russ Thomasson, a former staffer for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas. Also scheduled to appear are a number of House members, such as U.S. Reps. Sean Duffy of Wisconsin, Darren LaHood of Illinois Austin Scott of Georgia and Todd Rokita of Indiana. Isenstadt notes that this new push for hard dollars comes after Rubio recently won the support of billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Singer, a leading Republican bundler.
Personnel Update: Mike Rogers promotes Christopher R. Brinson to chief of staff
Earlier this week Alabama Today reported Congressman Mike Rogers current chief of staff Marshall Macomber announced he leaving the office. Today, Rogers announced his new chief of staff will be Christopher R. Brinson, his long time deputy chief of staff. Prior to joining Rogers office Brinson served in the U.S. Army Reserve Captain. A Salon.com article detailed a Brinson’s fight over a reprimand he received in the investigation of the Abu Ghraib scandal. U.S. Army Reserve Capt. Christopher R. Brinson, who in civilian life works as the deputy chief of staff for Alabama Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, was directly in charge of some of the military police later prosecuted for abuse at Abu Ghraib during the notorious autumn of 2003. Brinson received the reprimand in January 2006, but it had not been revealed publicly until his attorney, David P. Sheldon, confirmed it to Salon Thursday, noting that Brinson has since submitted a rebuttal to the Army. The attorney would not reveal the exact reason for Brinson’s punishment. Through Sheldon, Brinson told Salon that he was unaware of his soldiers’ actions, and blamed superior officers for what happened at the prison. “The responsibility for the command and control of the facility, and for the treatment of detainees, rests entirely with individuals well above him in the command structure,” Sheldon said in a statement to Salon. “The command structure that Captain Brinson inherited at Abu Ghraib was not of his making. Nor was the treatment of detainees something that members of his unit initiated. Captain Brinson had no knowledge while he was at Abu Ghraib of conduct by certain soldiers that subsequently led to criminal prosecutions of those soldiers,” Sheldon’s statement says. “At all times, Captain Brinson’s service to the United States Army has been and will remain honorable.” In a statement released by his office Rogers said: “First, I would like to thank Marshall for all his hard work and dedication. I know he will bring that same determination and skill to his new career. I wish him all the best. Chris has been on the Hill for over 17 years and brings a wealth of knowledge and managerial skills to the position. He is very familiar with East Alabama and I know he will be a great asset to me and my staff in this new role.”
Where politics and music collide. Roby interns tweet Taylor Swift.
Taylor Swift has two concerts in DC next week. The pop star known for engaging fans on social media has a new invite waiting for her on twitter today. Check out the tweet with photo from Rep. Martha Roby‘s interns. Not a bad idea if I do say so myself. FYI, @taylorswift13, my interns say they’re available to give a Capitol tour while you’re in DC next week #1989TourDCpic.twitter.com/C6O3Lpwi1I — Rep. Martha Roby (@RepMarthaRoby) July 10, 2015
