Tommy Tuberville joins legislation to hold VA employees accountable
Recently, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) told Alabama reporters he has joined as a co-sponsor for the Restore VA Accountability Act. “I also Announced my support for new legislation to bring back accountability at the VA,” Tuberville told Alabama press corps reporters in a phone conference. “Under President [Barack] Obama, there was a national scandal. VA facilities in Phoenix and elsewhere had long lines for veterans to get care – then they covered it up and at least 40 veterans even died. It was an absolute disgrace, so President Trump signed a bipartisan bill to fire VA employees who weren’t doing their jobs.” Recently, the Biden Administration settled a class action lawsuit brought by the fired employees and agreed to give them their jobs back. “More than 4,000 VA employees across the country were fired, but now the Biden Administration is ignoring that law,” Sen. Tuberville explained. “They have reached a settlement to give these people their jobs back. They’re even giving them back pay. It is outrageous to the American taxpayer. It’s going to mean worse care for our veterans, so I am supporting legislation to give VA leaders the power they need to hold people accountable. Our veterans deserve the best care we can provide.” Sponsors say that the legislation would restore accountability for the VA while protecting whistleblowers. Specifically, the legislation would: · Ensure VA decisions supported by substantial evidence are upheld on appeal. · Negate the requirement for a performance improvement plan prior to disciplinary action. · Unlock expedited removal, demotion, or suspension authority for use with all categories of VA employees. · Align the disciplinary authority for unsatisfactory VA managers and supervisors with the process currently in place for members of the Senior Executive Service. The passage of the VA Accountability Act of 2017 allowed the VA to cut through cumbersome bureaucratic processes and paperwork to more easily hold bad employees accountable and fire them in an expedited manner. The Biden VA decided it would no longer utilize Section 714 authority as of April 3, 2023. This allowed many of the 4,000 VA workers dismissed from their duties with cause to return to their positions. In March, VA Secretary Denis McDonough testified before the House Veterans Affairs Committee that “Section 714 wasn’t really helping us necessarily manage our workforce as much as it was getting us in front of federal judges and in front of administrative bodies.” McDonough stated, “In all cases, we do think we have what we need to manage our authorities outside” the 2017 law. Tommy Tuberville was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2020. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Tommy Tuberville continues to denounces taxpayer-funded elective abortions at VA facilities
Earlier this week, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville sent a letter to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough demanding answers about the agency’s new rule that funds abortions at VA medical facilities. “I have asked several times for data and materials on the implementation of the rule, but your Department has refused to provide information, claiming privacy and sensitivity issues,” wrote Senator Tuberville. “As a Member of this Committee, with a duty to provide oversight of services to veterans, taxpayer funding, and effective legislation, I reject the notion that VA can intentionally withhold information from Congress.” Tuberville has been asking questions about the VA’s revised abortion rule since a committee hearing in September 2022. Tuberville followed up with submitted questions in writing the same month and again in February 2023. “I have asked several times for data and materials on the implementation of the rule, but your Department has refused to provide information, claiming privacy and sensitivity issues,” Tuberville wrote. “I submitted a question for the record related to the hearing on September 21, 2022, regarding to this rule’s implementation. On February 15, 2023, I asked, again, for information related to this rule. On March 15, 2023, at a hearing of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee on the Electronic Health Record Modernization program, I asked Under Secretary for Health, Dr. [Shereef] Elnahal, for information on the implementation of the rule, and he refused to provide any information. As of today, I still have not received answers to my questions.” Tuberville claims that to this point, the VA and Secretary McDonough have refused to fully comply with his requests for information. “I have asked several times for data and materials on the implementation of the rule, but your Department has refused to provide information, claiming privacy and sensitivity issues,” Tuberville charged. Tuberville gave the VA a deadline of May 17 to fully comply with his formal request for information and answer the questions he posed to the Biden Administration. Abortions are illegal in Alabama, but the Biden Administration has sought to thwart state law and the Alabama Constitution. Tuberville has voted to defund abortions at VA facilities. Sen. Tuberville has drawn criticism from the Biden administration and the Department of Defense for his holding up of military and Department of Defense promotions over his disagreement with the Biden administration’s controversial abortion policies in pro-life states. The Biden administration has denounced the Dobbs v. Jackson U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade and maintains that abortion is a necessary healthcare procedure. Tuberville was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2020 following a long successful career as a football coach, sports broadcaster, and educator. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville and Rep. Michael Cloud introduce resolution to block VA abortion Rule
U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville and U.S. Representative Michael Cloud led more than 65 Senate and House colleagues in introducing a bicameral joint resolution voicing their disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to nullify a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rule that provides abortion services through the taxpayer-funded VA health care system. The CRA gives Congress the authority to review major rules issued by federal agencies before they take effect. If Congress disapproves of a rule via resolution, the rule will have no force or effect under the law. “Using our VA medical facilities to provide publicly-funded abortions is an unconstitutional abuse of the system, and it will not be tolerated,” said Sen. Tuberville. “No taxpayer should be forced to pay for abortion services that disregard the will of millions of Americans in states with legal protections for life, rightfully upheld by the Supreme Court last year. The interim final rule highlights this administration’s willingness to ignore the law and exploit limited federal resources to serve their extreme abortion agenda.” “The Biden Administration continues to advance their radical abortion-on-demand agenda, this time through the Department of Veterans Affairs,” said Rep. Cloud. “Directing the Department of Veterans Affairs to perform abortions is a clear abuse of the law, and it forces taxpayers to fund abortions, something the majority of Americans oppose. I will always be a voice for the unborn and oppose taxpayer-funded abortions.” The VA published the interim final rule in September 2022, just a few months after the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling that reversed the controversial 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. “This is a patient safety decision,” said Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs. “Pregnant Veterans and VA beneficiaries deserve to have access to world-class reproductive care when they need it most. That’s what our nation owes them, and that’s what we at VA will deliver.” Dobbs returned the decision to legislate on abortion to the states. The people of Alabama had already voted to ban abortions in Alabama and protect the lives of unborn Alabamians, meaning that the Dobbs ruling effectively made abortion illegal in Alabama. The Biden rule would thwart the Alabama Constitution and the will of the people of Alabama by using VA medical facilities to perform abortions in defiance of state law. Tuberville and Cloud maintain that this not only violates state laws but also is in clear conflict with Section 106 of the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992, which explicitly prohibits the VA from providing abortion services. The rule also extends abortion services to certain veterans’ dependents and fails to provide any conscious protections for VA medical staff. U.S. Sen. Katie Britt and Congressman Jerry Carl also signed on as original cosponsors of the Tuberville-Cloud resolution. The joint resolution introduced by Tuberville and Cloud is endorsed by Susan B. Anthony Pro Life-America, March for Life, National Right to Life, Catholic Vote, Heritage Action, and Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee. While Republicans have a narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrats control the Senate and are unlikely to get behind Tuberville’s resolution. The rule has been challenged in the Courts by conservative attorneys general, including Alabama’s Steve Marshall. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Tommy Tuberville questions VA Secretary Denis McDonough about priorities for veterans’ care
U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville questioned U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough about the department’s priorities regarding caring for veterans. A recent interim rule from the department authorizing abortion and abortion counseling services to be offered at its medical facilities has led to many questioning how the VA is implementing this new rule. Tuberville emphasized his strong opposition to the new policy. “I’m strongly opposed to the recent interim final rule that permits the VA to provide abortion services in every state, even in those states who have prohibited abortion,” Sen. Tuberville said. “For nearly two weeks now, the VA has authorized medical facilities to provide abortion services to enrolled veterans and certain dependents. At this time, do you know has the VA medical facility performed an abortion since this has started in the last two weeks? Do you know if there’s been one?” “I’m told that there has been one, yes,” McDonough said. “The interim final rule is silent on abortion restrictions after a certain point of pregnancy,” Tuberville said. “Does the VA have a plan on the abortion procedures up until the birth of a child?” “We provide health care to 300,000 women veterans of childbearing age,” McDonough said. “My hope is that no one would ever have to have faced the health or life-threatening, let alone rape or incest results to have this service, but because of the importance of ensuring the health and safety of those veteran patients, we have determined that we needed to do this.” Many states, including Alabama, have outlawed abortions. The Biden Veterans Affairs Department has announced that it plans to defy state laws and authorize abortions at federal VA facilities. “Many veterans suffer from sleep apnea due to medical conditions they manage as a result of their service. CPAP machines used to aid veterans’ sleep apnea have been in short supply since the pandemic – I think you know that – due to a chip shortage and a global recall on CPAPs,” Tuberville asked. “I understand there are some devices available that do not…require a chip and could be available to veterans today. We’re having a huge problem in our state. Would you consider it an ethical violation of the VA if the VA provider was not providing a CPAP if they knew it was available? And have you heard any problems with this?” “We’ll make sure we dig into that,” McDonough answered. “If there’s something, if there’s an available—clinically proven available option, then we’ll do it.” Sen. Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, and HELP Committees. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Barry Moore joins colleagues in calling on VA to rescind abortion rule
A number of states, including Alabama, have outlawed abortions following the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs versus Jackson Women’s Health Organization. A defiant Biden administration has announced that they will perform abortions at Veterans Administration facilities in response to the closing of the abortion clinics by state law. On Thursday, U.S. Representative Barry Moore joined a letter led by Reps. Andrew Clyde and Michael Cloud to Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough, demanding he immediately rescind the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) new rule. Moore was one of 43 Republicans to join the letter. “The VA is supposed to be focused on caring for our nation’s veterans, especially in the face of a massive backlog that has thousands of veterans waiting months for critical care, but instead they are prioritizing the extinguishing of innocent lives,” Moore stated in a press release. “Congress needs to hold President [Joe] Biden and Secretary McDonough accountable for violating current law as this flies in the face of numerous state abortion laws and the Hyde Amendment, which bars taxpayer funded abortions for active military members.” “It is incredibly disturbing to us that this rule publication comes out in apparent response to the recent Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling,” the Republican Congressmembers wrote. “The Supreme Court rightfully overturned the misguided Roe v. Wade decision and returned the issue of abortion to the American people to decide through state legislatures. If this SCOTUS ruling is the basis for your alleged “good cause” for issuing the interim final rule, your Department is bypassing regular rulemaking processes as part of a blatant political response to a Supreme Court decision, which is wholly unacceptable and inappropriate.” “Your Department is knowingly violating current law as the Hyde Amendment restricts abortions for active military members, and Section 106 of the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992 explicitly prohibits the VA from providing abortion services – both of which are still the law of the land,” the letter continued. “Make no mistake: your Department’s decision to expand and promote abortion services – “regardless of state restrictions”– is blatantly illegal. You must reverse course immediately, or we will be forced to take further action to hold your Department accountable for this overreach.” “The VA should be focused on providing timely, high-quality care to our nation’s veterans, not murdering precious citizens with taxpayer dollars,” said Clyde. “If Secretary McDonough refuses to rescind this reprehensible and unlawful rule, Congress must swiftly hold the Biden Administration accountable for this unprecedented overreach and abuse of power.” “President Biden is again attempting to twist the law to his will by illegally authorizing the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide abortion services,” Congressman Cloud said. “The VA should remain committed to providing critical care to support the lives of our veterans, not be another last ditch attempt by the Biden administration to provide taxpayer-funded abortions.” Barry Moore is in his first term representing Alabama’s First Congressional District. He previously served two terms in the Alabama House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
VA requires COVID-19 vaccination for health care workers
The Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday became the first major federal agency to require health care workers to get COVID-19 vaccines, as the aggressive delta variant spreads across the nation and some communities report troubling increases in hospitalizations among unvaccinated people. The VA’s move came on a day when nearly 60 leading medical and health care organizations issued a call for health care facilities to require their workers to get vaccinated. No federal law stands in the way of employers requiring vaccinations, but like mask mandates, the issue has been politicized in a society that’s divided on matters of public health. “With more than 300 million doses administered in the United States and nearly 4 billion doses administered worldwide, we know the vaccines are safe and highly effective at preventing severe illness and death from COVID-19,” Dr. Susan Bailey, immediate past president of the American Medical Association, said in a statement. “Increased vaccinations among health care personnel will not only reduce the spread of COVID-19 but also reduce the harmful toll this virus is taking within the health care workforce and those we are striving to serve.” Although vaccination among physicians is nearly universal — 96% according to an AMA survey — that’s not the case for many other people working at health care facilities. In nursing homes, only about 60% of staffers are vaccinated, compared with about 80% of residents, according to recent numbers from Medicare. And COVID-19 cases are rising. At the VA, vaccines will now be mandatory for certain medical personnel — including physicians, dentists, podiatrists, optometrists, registered nurses, physician assistants, and others who work in departmental facilities or provide direct care to veterans, said VA Secretary Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough. Employees will have eight weeks to be fully vaccinated. “It’s the best way to keep veterans safe, especially as the delta variant spreads across the country,” McDonough said in a statement. “Whenever a veteran or VA employee sets foot in a VA facility, they deserve to know that we have done everything in our power to protect them from COVID-19. “With this mandate, we can once again make — and keep — that fundamental promise,” he added. It was unclear what would happen to VA employees who refuse to be vaccinated. The agency said vaccination will be required “absent a medical or religious exemption.” The longstanding policy in the health care industry is for staff to stay up-to-date with vaccinations, such as annual flu shots. Exceptions for medical reasons include known allergies. In addition to the AMA, the medical and health care groups calling for mandatory vaccines for health workers included the American Academy of Nursing, the American Public Health Association, the American Pharmacists Association, and, for the first time, a nursing home industry group. LeadingAge, which represents nonprofit nursing homes and eldercare facilities, had previously advocated educating nursing home employees about the benefits of getting their shots. Also joining the call was the National Medical Association, the leading professional group representing Black physicians. “Unfortunately, many health care and long-term care personnel remain unvaccinated,” the groups said in a statement. “We stand with the growing number of experts and institutions that support the requirement for universal vaccination of health workers.” Earlier this year, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said current federal laws do not prevent an employer from requiring employees physically entering the workplace to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has heavily promoted vaccinations as a way to slow the pandemic and save lives. However, the agency has not recommended that state or local officials or employers mandate vaccinations for their employees. “The politics is really tricky because President Biden hasn’t ordered mandatory vaccinations for federal workers,” said Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University. “And it would seem hypocritical if CDC made that recommendation” to businesses or state and local officials, he said. A CDC spokeswoman would not comment. To make matters more complicated, the COVID-19 vaccines have yet to win full approval from the Food and Drug Administration. They continue to be provided under emergency use authorization, and the lack of full approval has fed into hesitancy among some people. Still, the FDA’s emergency approval process was thorough and didn’t skip the extensive testing required of any vaccine. Of the three manufacturers of vaccines approved in the U.S., Pfizer and Moderna have applied for full approval, and a Pfizer decision is expected soon. The COVID-19 vaccines were not brewed overnight, either. They were the fruit of more than 10 years of behind-the-scenes research and huge injections of funding that laid the groundwork for them to be rolled out so quickly. Katie Smith Sloan, CEO of LeadingAge, said it’s time to go beyond the power of persuasion. “As COVID-19 variants emerge and proliferate, we can start saving more lives today by ensuring staff are fully vaccinated,” she said. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Donald Trump’s silent public outing belies White House in tumult
Donald Trump spent 10 minutes in public Wednesday honoring America’s war veterans — a veneer of normalcy for a White House that’s frozen by a defeated president mulling his options, mostly forgoing the mechanics of governing and blocking his inevitable successor. Trump’s appearance at the annual Veterans Day commemoration at Arlington National Cemetery was his first public outing for official business in more than a week. He’s spent the past few days in private tweeting angry, unsupported claims of voter fraud. The president has made no comments in person since Democrat Joe Biden clinched the 270 electoral votes on Saturday needed to win the presidency. All the while, his aides grow more certain that legal challenges won’t change the outcome of the election, according to seven campaign and White House officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the thinking of the president and others in the executive mansion. Before setting off for the solemn commemoration at Arlington, Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday to slam “fake pollsters” and grouse that a Republican city commissioner who defended the vote tabulation in Philadelphia wasn’t a true Republican. He also sought to draw attention to a Pennsylvania poll worker who recanted allegations of voter fraud on Tuesday before reasserting his allegations on Wednesday. Trump later posted a debunked video that had purported to show poll workers collecting ballots too late. “You are looking at BALLOTS! Is this what our Country has come to?” Trump fumed. Although his official schedule has been bare of public events, Trump has made several personnel moves — firing Defense Secretary Mark Esper and installing three staunch loyalists in top defense jobs. His pick as acting defense secretary, Christopher Miller, was among the Pentagon brass that joined him at Arlington. Some supporters pushed back against the notion that Trump is shirking his presidential duties. “The president is out there as much as he’s ever been on Twitter, and the White House team are moving ahead with budget and staffing priorities,” said Dan Eberhart, a prominent Republican donor and Trump backer. He added, “The president is understandably focused on the ballot counting, but at some point soon he needs to turn his attention back to the lame-duck session and putting a capstone on his first four years.” However, few senior staffers have been around the president in recent days, with many either in quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19 or in insolation after a confirmed exposure or simply not wanting to be near the Oval Office, according to White House staffers and campaign officials. Staff working from the White House thinned out after chief of staff Mark Meadows confirmed last week that he had tested positive for the virus. Some staffers still believe the election outcome can change with litigation and recounts. But there is a growing recognition among most that the election is lost and the building will be vacated by Jan. 20. Trump’s moods have vacillated over recent days. At times, he has seethed with anger, fuming that he lost to a candidate he doesn’t respect and believing that the media –- including what he views as typically friendly Fox News — worked against him. In addition to misdoings with mail-in ballots. But aides say he has been calmer than his tweets suggest, showing greater understanding of his predicament and believing that he needs to keep fighting almost as performance, as a show to the 70 million people who voted for him that he is still battling. In recent days, some aides, including his daughter Ivanka Trump, have started to talk to him about an endgame, questioning how much longer he wants to fight. Outside the White House, one prominent former ally turned Trump critic warned that the president was doing potentially irreparable damage to the Republican Party. “The real issue is the grievous harm he is causing to public trust in America’s constitutional system,” former Trump national security adviser John Bolton wrote in a Washington Post op-ed Wednesday. “Trump’s time is running out, even as his rhetoric continues escalating.” But no one in his inner circle — West Wing staff or Cabinet — is forcefully pushing him to stop. Though he has been in the Oval Office late two nights this week, the president has done little in the way of governing and has instead been working the phones. He has called friendly governors — in red states like Arizona, Texas, and Florida — and influential confidants in the conservative media, like Sean Hannity. But he has not been as responsive to Republican lawmakers as before the election. Always an obsessive cable news viewer, he has been watching even more TV than usual in recent weeks, often from his private dining room just off the Oval Office. Trump’s approach to two crucial Senate run-off elections in Georgia remains an open question: He has not yet signaled if he will campaign there, and aides have started to worry that the extended legal battle could sap support for the GOP candidates. Trump has also begun talking about his own future upon leaving office. He has mused about declaring he will run again in 2024, and aides believe that he will at least openly flirt with the idea to enhance his relevance and raise interest in whatever money-making efforts he pursues. While he ponders his options, his involvement in the day-to-day governing of the nation has nearly stopped: According to his schedule, he has not attended an intelligence briefing in weeks, and the White House has done little of late to manage the pandemic that has surged to record highs in many states. The president’s resistance to acknowledging the outcome of the race has stalled the transition process. The head of the General Services Administration, a Trump appointee, has held off on certifying Biden as the winner of the election. The certification — known as ascertainment — would free money for the transition and clear the way for Biden’s team to begin placing transition personnel at federal agencies. White House spokesman Judd Deere said he
Chief of staff Reince Priebus? Some Donald Trump loyalists still dubious
When President-elect Donald Trump tapped Reince Priebus as his chief of staff, Republican leaders cheered the prospect of a close ally having a top White House job. But as Priebus tries to wield his influence and bring more structure to the president-elect’s freewheeling political organization, he’s frustrating some longtime Trump allies who see him as too conventional a pick for an unconventional president. Others fear being left behind as Priebus fills out West Wing jobs. The dismay over Priebus stems in part from a belief among some Trump loyalists that the outgoing Republican National Committee chairman expected Trump to lose the election. They resent the president-elect “rewarding people who thought he wasn’t going to win,” according to one top adviser. Still, Priebus appears to have Trump’s trust. He’s been given wide authority to name senior White House staff, according to people involved in the transition, and in shaping the decision on who will succeed him at the RNC, though deliberations over that post continue. “Reince Priebus has done an outstanding job,” Trump said in a statement to The Associated Press. “All you have to do is look at all of the Republican victories and one in particular.” If Trump runs his White House like past presidents — and that’s hardly a sure thing — Priebus, 44, could hold enormous sway over what issues reach the Oval Office. Chiefs of staff also typically control who has access to the president — no easy task given Trump’s penchant for consulting a wide network of associates before making key decisions. Priebus, a Wisconsin native and father of two young children, comes to the White House with no significant experience in foreign and domestic policy. He has close ties with House Speaker Paul Ryan and other GOP congressional leaders. And he’s seen by those who have worked with him previously as a well-organized manager with little appetite for drama. “One of the things he’ll bring to the White House is an ability to work well with people, to be inclusive, not to get in to intrastaff squabbles,” said Henry Barbour, an RNC member and Priebus ally. Yet internal squabbling and competing factions are a hallmark of Trump’s political and business organizations. He cycled through three campaign managers during his White House run, with the feuds that led up to each shake-up playing out messily in the media. In tapping Priebus as chief of staff, Trump appeared to be setting up another rivalry. He put Steve Bannon, the controversial conservative media executive, at the White House as a senior adviser and called him an equal partner with Priebus. Trump’s influential son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is also weighing a White House role, but will remain a personal power center even without a formal position. Transition officials say Priebus and Bannon have a respectful relationship, and there’s no outright control struggle underway. But Trump’s deliberation over whom to name as secretary of state is seen as an indicator of a tug-of-war, with Bannon among those said to be against Mitt Romney. Priebus is seen as an advocate for Romney and was notably the only adviser who joined Trump for a private dinner with the 2012 GOP presidential nominee. Several Trump advisers described Priebus’ role only on the condition of anonymity in order to speak candidly about the chief of staff. Josh Bolten, who served as President George W. Bush‘s final chief of staff, said he was concerned by the description of Bannon as Priebus’ equal. While presidents usually have multiple influential advisers, Bolten said, it’s imperative for the lines of authority to be clear. “If that were to mean that there’s more than one chief of staff, that’s a recipe for disaster,” Bolten said. Bolten is among several former chiefs of staff Priebus has consulted since the election. He’s spoken at least twice with Denis McDonough, President Barack Obama‘s chief of staff, as recently as last week. Priebus was frequently by Trump’s side in the final weeks of the campaign. After the release of a videotape in which the businessman was heard bragging about predatory behavior with women, Priebus stood by Trump and made clear the RNC would not abandon the party’s nominee. But some Trump advisers contend Priebus and the RNC believed he would lose the election. Indeed, on the Friday before Election Day, top party officials told reporters their data showed Trump falling short by about 30 electoral votes. Some Trump advisers have also blamed Priebus for the messy spectacle around the president-elect’s interview with The New York Times. Trump accused the Times of changing the terms of the interview and tweeted that he would cancel. Then the Times said the terms had not changed, and the interview was back on. One person involved in the situation said it was Priebus who incorrectly led Trump to believe the Times had changed the terms of the interview. “No matter how loyal the overall collection of personalities is to the president, there are always internal rivalries and tugging and pulling,” said John Sununu, who served as chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush and has spoken with Priebus in recent weeks. “It’s up to the chief of staff to deal with all of that.” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Barack Obama mentoring Donald Trump on world leadering
It’s the last thing President Barack Obama ever expected he’d be doing in his final months in office: Coaching Donald Trump on how to be a world leader. As the president-elect holes up in his skyscraper, Obama is giving Trump policy advice, style tips and gentle nudges to let the fervor of the campaign give way to the sobriety of the Oval Office. And as Obama completes his last world tour, he’s been thrust into the unexpected role of Trump translator to anxious U.S. allies. Standing next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, Obama said Trump would quickly see that a president’s responsibilities can’t be treated casually and that diverse countries can only be governed by “listening and reaching out.” “It is my hope that that is what will happen,” Obama said. “And I’m going to do everything I can over the next two months to help assure that that happens.” Though the outgoing president made clear his profound disdain for Trump throughout the campaign, perhaps no one is better positioned than Obama to get him up to speed in a matter of weeks. It’s unclear, though, how much help Trump wants or will accept from Obama. And no one expects that the executive tutoring will substantially change Trump’s vast differences with Obama, who he called the worst president in U.S. history. After meeting with Trump following the election, Obama resolved to spend more time helping prepare Trump than he might under different circumstances — say, if Hillary Clinton had been elected, aides said. Trump, to the surprise of many, seemed game. He said he wanted Obama’s “counsel” and looked forward to “many, many” more meetings. In the run-up to the election, the White House had planned only perfunctory, refresher-style briefings for Clinton, who is no stranger to the White House and whose transition team had prepared extensively for an expected takeover. Soon after Trump’s victory, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough directed that his preparatory materials be thickened and his intelligence briefings expanded to include more basic information, according to U.S. officials, who weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and requested anonymity. Obama and his closest advisers were irritated when it leaked out that Trump, during his White House visit, had displayed a lack of thorough knowledge about key issues while Trump’s aides appeared unfamiliar with the process of staffing up a White House, officials said. They were concerned if Trump felt insulted or aggrieved, he might pull the plug on accepting Obama’s advice and help. After all, Obama’s aides had been pleasantly surprised when Trump, after their Oval Office chat, had agreed to preserve key elements of the “Obamacare” health law, which he’d pledged during the campaign to repeal. If Trump has felt patronized by Obama, so far he hasn’t shown it. Asked why Trump’s meeting this week with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was closed to the press, senior transition adviser Kellyanne Conway pointed out that Obama was traveling overseas. “We are very deferential and respectful of the fact that we already have a president of the United States, Barack Obama,” Conway told reporters. “President Obama is still in office for the next two months, and we won’t be making diplomatic agreements today.” Though Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence have spoken by phone to more than 30 heads of state since the election, Trump hasn’t been heard from publically, save for one television interview and occasional tweets. From his suite in Trump Tower, he and top aides have been interviewing candidates for the 4,000-odd roles they must fill. Unsure how Trump as president may shake up foreign relations, world leaders have turned to Obama for information about what to expect. Traveling this week to Greece, Germany and Peru, Obama has tried to reassure U.S. partners that Trump, in their Oval Office meeting, expressed a “full commitment” to NATO. “I am encouraged by the president-elect’s insistence that NATO is a commitment that does not change,” Obama said in Germany. During the campaign, Trump said the U.S. didn’t “really need NATO in its current form,” calling it obsolete and threatening not to defend NATO allies unless they pay more into the alliance. Though Trump has since softened those comments, he hasn’t offered the explicit reassurances in public that Obama said he offered in private. But Obama said he was “cautiously optimistic” that transitioning from candidate to president-in-waiting would force Trump to focus and get serious about “gaining the trust even of those who didn’t support him.” “That has to reflect itself not only in the things he says, but also how he fills out his administration,” Obama said. “And my hope is that that’s something he is thinking about.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows
Guest lineups for the Sunday TV news shows: ABC’s “This Week” — White House chief of staff Denis McDonough; Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Republican presidential candidate John Kasich; Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus. ___ NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Kasich, McConnell; Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. ___ CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Kasich; Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders; Sen. Lindsey Graham R-S.C. ___ CNN’s “State of the Union” — Kasich, McConnell, Priebus. ___ “Fox News Sunday” — McDonough, Kasich, McConnell. ___ Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
