January 18, 2017

Trump Stuff

• Approval ratings comparing Trump with recent incoming presidents have been released. They, uh...are not good. (Politico)
(These were actually released 1-2 days ago, but made news because the PEOTUS tweeted about how they were "rigged". I'm not linking to his Twitter, for my own sanity and yours.)

• Chinese President Xi Jinping had some things to say about protectionism and trade wars at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (a.k.a. the world's biggest rich people party). “Pursuing protectionism is just like locking one’s self in a dark room. Wind and rain may be kept outside, but so are light and air,” he said during his address. “No one will emerge as a winner in a trade war.” (Vox)

• Trump's supposed ACA replacement plan gets weirder by the day. At the beginning of the week, he was talking up his plan to "insure everybody" (still no specifics, obv.). Congressional Republicans walked that back pretty hard today, because of course universal coverage isn't part of their replacement plan. Which they don't have yet. Trump also said repeal and replace would happen simultaneously. Also not part of the GOP's plan. Then today, he was talking about Medicaid block grants, which would effectively lead to the exact opposite of universal coverage. Basically, nobody is on the same page here, but it's pretty fun to watch Ryan, et al. try to publicly make sense of whatever crazy shit he comes up with. (The Hill)

• Sen. Tom Price (HHS nominee) had his Senate hearing today. It went approximately how you'd expect, especially the Bernie Sanders part. The Office of Governmental Ethics did masterfully subtweet him in the middle of the questioning about his potentially shady stock transactions, though.

• Scott Pruitt's EPA hearings. Whoo, boy. There was a lot to unpack here.

• First and foremost, he did NOT deny the effects of human activity on climate change. But he did take issue with the idea that warming is happening at a catastrophic pace, and needs to be addressed immediately. I guess he missed the memo that 2016 was the hottest year on record (followed by 2015, then 2014).
• Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) asked Pruitt if there was any level of lead that would be considered safe in drinking water. Pruitt said he "hadn't reviewed the scientific research on that." (CSPAN)
• He did at least admit that he would be "very concerned" about any level of lead in water, and criticized the EPA for not reacting to the Flint crisis more quickly. He made no mention of the criminal conduct by city and state officials that led to the crisis in the first place.

• Energy Secretary nominee Rick Perry (whose hearings begin tomorrow) apparently initially misunderstood what the Energy Secretary's job actually is. He thought he was going to be a "global ambassador for the American oil and gas industry," and wasn't aware that he would actually be in charge of overseeing things like our nuclear arsenal. Also, the Department of Energy was one of the departments Perry wanted to abolish last time he ran for president (it was the one he famously couldn't remember). In his own immortal words, "Oops." (NYT)


Obama Administration

The final press conference of the Obama Administration was today. You can watch it here. (NPR)


Light Side

I need some balance in my life, so I've decided to include something more light-hearted every day. Today's item comes from Gettysburg, PA, where the Hall of Presidents wax museum closed in November after nearly 60 years. Yesterday, all the wax figures of former Presidents and First Ladies were auctioned off, so if you were looking for a life-sized William Henry Harrison, or a three-quarter sized Mamie Eisenhower for your foyer, I'm afraid you're out of luck. Please enjoy these creepy af photos from Lancaster Online.
(Apparently this was featured on the Rachel Maddow Show last night, and she, for some reason, purchased Dwight D. Eisenhower. h/t to her show for solving the mystery of why I came across a photo of decapitated Truman around midday yesterday.)