shareblue--2020-12-23--Republicans flout safety guidelines at holiday parties as COVID cases soar

A video featuring members of a Republican club in New York dancing in a congo line at a holiday party went viral on Monday , following a trend of Republicans across the nation flouting COVID-19 safety guidelines to hold events in December as the pandemic continues to worsen .
The video showed members of the Whitestone Republican Club dancing maskless to the song `` You Should be Dancing '' by the Bee Gees at an indoor gathering held on Dec. 9 in Queens , New York .
New York Gov .
Cuomo was quick to slam the `` Covid conga @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` I saw the video .
Covid conga lines are not smart , that 's my official position .
Why you would do an unmasked conga line in the middle of a Covid pandemic , whatever your political persuasion , defies a logical explanation , '' he said on Tuesday .
The conga-line reveling was not the only instance of Republican groups ignoring coronavirus precautions to hold holiday celebrations .
In Texas , for instance , the Williamson County Republican Party defied the county 's safety warnings by planning a potluck event @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mention any coronavirus safety guidelines .
That party followed the fining of a county judge , Bill Gravell , after he violated his own stay-at-home order .
The Republican judge pleaded guilty in November for attending a birthday party in the spring .
In North Carolina , Haywood County Republicans and the Smoky Mountain Republican Women protested Democratic Gov .
Roy Cooper 's mandatory COVID-19 lockdown with a `` Ca n't Coop up Christmas '' party in December .
In the same month , the North Carolina Republican Party hosted five events , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' further flouting safety guidelines .
Photos of the indoor event showed maskless guests who did not social distance , a local affiliate noted , adding that North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis was seen at the party ignoring basic safety measures .
North Carolina Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger also hosted a Christmas party , after which several people had to quarantine .
Meanwhile , a recent YouGov poll found that Democrats intend to hold smaller holiday gatherings when compared to Republicans , with nearly half of Democrats saying they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their own households .
Sixty percent of Republicans and only 40 % of Democrats plan on celebrating with others , in general , this year , the poll showed .
In spite of safety warnings and COVID-19 spikes across the country , Donald Trump has hosted a number of holiday parties at the White House .
A video of one of the events showed crowded guests with no masks .
After one White House party , Trump 's campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis contracted the coronavirus .
Joining the White House , Secretary of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ holiday parties , ignoring his own department 's public health guidelines .
On Dec. 16 , Pompeo was forced to quarantine just a day after his holiday party .
He tested negative but had been exposed to someone with the virus .
The State Department would not reveal where his exposure was from .
The secretary of state was also forced to cancel his final December holiday party following his coronavirus contact .
At the time of publication , the United States has surpassed 18 million coronavirus cases and 323,000 deaths .
Published @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

A video featuring members of a Republican club in New York dancing in a congo line at a holiday party went viral on Monday, following a trend of Republicans across the nation flouting COVID-19 safety guidelines to hold events in December as the pandemic continues to worsen.
The video showed members of the Whitestone Republican Club dancing maskless to the song “You Should be Dancing” by the Bee Gees at an indoor gathering held on Dec. 9 in Queens, New York.
New York Gov. Cuomo was quick to slam the “Covid conga lines” during a Tuesday press briefing.
“I saw the video. Covid conga lines are not smart, that’s my official position. Why you would do an unmasked conga line in the middle of a Covid pandemic, whatever your political persuasion, defies a logical explanation,” he said on Tuesday.
The conga-line reveling was not the only instance of Republican groups ignoring coronavirus precautions to hold holiday celebrations.
In Texas, for instance, the Williamson County Republican Party defied the county’s safety warnings by planning a potluck event for Christmas. The invites didn’t mention any coronavirus safety guidelines.
That party followed the fining of a county judge, Bill Gravell, after he violated his own stay-at-home order. The Republican judge pleaded guilty in November for attending a birthday party in the spring.
In North Carolina, Haywood County Republicans and the Smoky Mountain Republican Women protested Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s mandatory COVID-19 lockdown with a “Can’t Coop up Christmas” party in December.
In the same month, the North Carolina Republican Party hosted five events, with one called the “Victory Party,” further flouting safety guidelines. Photos of the indoor event showed maskless guests who did not social distance, a local affiliate noted, adding that North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis was seen at the party ignoring basic safety measures.
North Carolina Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger also hosted a Christmas party, after which several people had to quarantine.
Meanwhile, a recent YouGov poll found that Democrats intend to hold smaller holiday gatherings when compared to Republicans, with nearly half of Democrats saying they plan to celebrate the holidays with only their own households.
Sixty percent of Republicans and only 40% of Democrats plan on celebrating with others, in general, this year, the poll showed.
In spite of safety warnings and COVID-19 spikes across the country, Donald Trump has hosted a number of holiday parties at the White House. A video of one of the events showed crowded guests with no masks.
After one White House party, Trump’s campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis contracted the coronavirus.
Joining the White House, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had also planned indoor holiday parties, ignoring his own department’s public health guidelines.
On Dec. 16, Pompeo was forced to quarantine just a day after his holiday party. He tested negative but had been exposed to someone with the virus. The State Department would not reveal where his exposure was from. The secretary of state was also forced to cancel his final December holiday party following his coronavirus contact.
At the time of publication, the United States has surpassed 18 million coronavirus cases and 323,000 deaths.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.


shareblue--2020-12-23--Judge blocks Arkansas' drastic attacks on women's health — for now

On Tuesday , a federal judge in Arkansas blocked four anti-abortion laws only a few hours after they had taken effect .
It 's the latest ruling in a case that has stretched on for three years , as the state seeks to impose drastic restrictions on the constitutional right to obtain an abortion .
The ruling is likely only a temporary respite .
Ultimately , this case could end up with the United States Supreme Court , where there 's a strong chance the 6-3 anti-abortion supermajority would approve of the state 's efforts .
In 2017 , Arkansas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most notable are a ban on the most common second-trimester abortion procedure .
Another was a ban that forces doctors to interrogate patients about their health care decision , ultimately restricting abortions for reasons the state has deemed impermissible .
The measures pushed by Arkansas are similar to those in states such as Mississippi and Tennessee , which recently passed laws forcing doctors to interrogate patients about why they are seeking an abortion .
Bans on the common abortion procedure are also in effect in three other states .
A federal judge of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ District of Arkansas blocked the Arkansas laws three years ago , but then Chief Justice John Roberts gave anti-abortion advocates a gift — his concurrence in last term 's abortion case , June Medical v. Russo .
Roberts joined the majority in striking down Louisiana 's law requiring that abortion providers have active admitting privileges at local hospitals because the Supreme Court had struck down a Texas law with the same provisions only four years previously .
In doing so , however , he provided a laundry list of abortion restrictions he would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only joined the majority opinion 's holding — not the reasoning behind it .
This led conservative courts such as the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals , which covers Arkansas , to immediately decide that Roberts ' more restrictive separate holding is the controlling holding from June Medical .
With that , the 8th Circuit overruled the lower court and said Arkansas ' restrictions could take effect .
The case ended up back at the lower court after the ACLU filed an emergency motion asking the district court to issue a temporary restraining @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was partly because there were already patients set to receive the now-banned dilation and evacuation procedure this week .
U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker agreed and reiterated her findings from three years ago — that the second-term abortion procedure was an unconstitutional , substantial , and undue burden .
Further , she found that enforcing Arkansas ' restrictions would also irreparably harm people seeking an abortion .
The laws will remain on hold until Jan. 5 , when they will go into effect if the order is not extended .
The entire process @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in states like Arkansas .
The restrictions were passed by the state , then blocked by the district court , then put into effect by the Supreme Court , then blocked by the district court again .
Now people can obtain a dilation and extraction abortion , and doctors do not have to question them about their motives in seeking an abortion , but only for about two weeks .
After that , no one knows what will happen next , and people are left uncertain as to the status of abortion availability @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clear its intention to push abortion cases to the Supreme Court in the hope that Roe v. Wade will be overturned .
It 's a strategy other states have pursued as well .
With Amy Coney Barrett on the bench , they have just the court to grant their wish .
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation .

On Tuesday, a federal judge in Arkansas blocked four anti-abortion laws only a few hours after they had taken effect. It’s the latest ruling in a case that has stretched on for three years, as the state seeks to impose drastic restrictions on the constitutional right to obtain an abortion.
The ruling is likely only a temporary respite. Ultimately, this case could end up with the United States Supreme Court, where there’s a strong chance the 6-3 anti-abortion supermajority would approve of the state’s efforts.
In 2017, Arkansas passed several abortion restrictions. The two most notable are a ban on the most common second-trimester abortion procedure. Another was a ban that forces doctors to interrogate patients about their health care decision, ultimately restricting abortions for reasons the state has deemed impermissible.
The measures pushed by Arkansas are similar to those in states such as Mississippi and Tennessee, which recently passed laws forcing doctors to interrogate patients about why they are seeking an abortion. Bans on the common abortion procedure are also in effect in three other states.
A federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas blocked the Arkansas laws three years ago, but then Chief Justice John Roberts gave anti-abortion advocates a gift — his concurrence in last term’s abortion case, June Medical v. Russo.
Roberts joined the majority in striking down Louisiana’s law requiring that abortion providers have active admitting privileges at local hospitals because the Supreme Court had struck down a Texas law with the same provisions only four years previously. In doing so, however, he provided a laundry list of abortion restrictions he would still approve of.
Further, Roberts only joined the majority opinion’s holding — not the reasoning behind it. This led conservative courts such as the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Arkansas, to immediately decide that Roberts’ more restrictive separate holding is the controlling holding from June Medical. With that, the 8th Circuit overruled the lower court and said Arkansas’ restrictions could take effect.
The case ended up back at the lower court after the ACLU filed an emergency motion asking the district court to issue a temporary restraining order stopping the restrictions. That request was partly because there were already patients set to receive the now-banned dilation and evacuation procedure this week.
U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker agreed and reiterated her findings from three years ago — that the second-term abortion procedure was an unconstitutional, substantial, and undue burden. Further, she found that enforcing Arkansas’ restrictions would also irreparably harm people seeking an abortion.
The laws will remain on hold until Jan. 5, when they will go into effect if the order is not extended.
The entire process highlights just how tenuous abortion access is in states like Arkansas. The restrictions were passed by the state, then blocked by the district court, then put into effect by the Supreme Court, then blocked by the district court again.
Now people can obtain a dilation and extraction abortion, and doctors do not have to question them about their motives in seeking an abortion, but only for about two weeks. After that, no one knows what will happen next, and people are left uncertain as to the status of abortion availability in the state.
Arkansas has made clear its intention to push abortion cases to the Supreme Court in the hope that Roe v. Wade will be overturned. It’s a strategy other states have pursued as well. With Amy Coney Barrett on the bench, they have just the court to grant their wish.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.


shareblue--2020-12-23--Trump vetoes defense bill while threatening COVID relief

Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed the annual defense policy bill , following through on threats to veto a measure that has broad bipartisan support in Congress and potentially setting up the first override vote of his term in office .
The bill affirms 3 % pay raises for U.S. troops and authorizes more than $ 740 billion in military programs and construction .
Long before issuing the veto , Trump offered a series of rationales for rejecting it .
He has called for lawmakers to include limits on social media companies he claimed are biased against him — and to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ renaming of military bases such as Fort Benning and Fort Hood that honor Confederate leaders .
Without going into detail , he has claimed the biggest winner from the defense bill would be China .
In his veto message to the House , Trump cited those objections and stated that the measure “ fails to include critical national security measures , includes provisions that fail to respect our veterans and our military ’ s history , and contradicts efforts by my Administration to put America first in our national security and foreign policy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ to China and Russia.
” Both the House and Senate passed the measure by margins large enough to override a veto from Trump .
Trump had vetoed eight bills previously , but those vetoes were sustained because supporters did not gain the two-thirds vote needed in each chamber for the bill to become law without Trump ’ s signature .
In advance of the veto , Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said the bill would help deter Chinese aggression .
Other GOP backers of the measure , including Sen. John Thune @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leader , and Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin , a member of the House Armed Services Committee , have tweeted that the bill would counter threats from countries such as China .
Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island , the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee , said Trump ’ s declaration that China was the biggest winner in the defense bill was false .
Reed also noted the shifting explanations Trump had given for the veto .
“ President Trump clearly hasn ’ t read the bill , nor does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Reed said .
“ There are several bipartisan provisions in here that get tougher on China than the Trump Administration has ever been.
” The measure guides Pentagon policy and cements decisions about troop levels , new weapons systems and military readiness , military personnel policy and other military goals .
Many programs can only go into effect if the bill is approved , including military construction .
McConnell ( R-KY ) , in a rare break with Trump , had urged passage despite Trump ’ s threat to veto it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Congress to continue its nearly six-decade-long streak of passing the defense policy bill .

Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed the annual defense policy bill, following through on threats to veto a measure that has broad bipartisan support in Congress and potentially setting up the first override vote of his term in office.
The bill affirms 3% pay raises for U.S. troops and authorizes more than $740 billion in military programs and construction.
Long before issuing the veto, Trump offered a series of rationales for rejecting it. He has called for lawmakers to include limits on social media companies he claimed are biased against him — and to strip out language that allows for the renaming of military bases such as Fort Benning and Fort Hood that honor Confederate leaders. Without going into detail, he has claimed the biggest winner from the defense bill would be China.
In his veto message to the House, Trump cited those objections and stated that the measure “fails to include critical national security measures, includes provisions that fail to respect our veterans and our military’s history, and contradicts efforts by my Administration to put America first in our national security and foreign policy actions. It is a ‘gift’ to China and Russia.”
Both the House and Senate passed the measure by margins large enough to override a veto from Trump. Trump had vetoed eight bills previously, but those vetoes were sustained because supporters did not gain the two-thirds vote needed in each chamber for the bill to become law without Trump’s signature.
In advance of the veto, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said the bill would help deter Chinese aggression. Other GOP backers of the measure, including Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the second-ranking Senate leader, and Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, have tweeted that the bill would counter threats from countries such as China.
Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Trump’s declaration that China was the biggest winner in the defense bill was false. Reed also noted the shifting explanations Trump had given for the veto.
“President Trump clearly hasn’t read the bill, nor does he understand what’s in it,” Reed said. “There are several bipartisan provisions in here that get tougher on China than the Trump Administration has ever been.”
The measure guides Pentagon policy and cements decisions about troop levels, new weapons systems and military readiness, military personnel policy and other military goals. Many programs can only go into effect if the bill is approved, including military construction.
McConnell (R-KY), in a rare break with Trump, had urged passage despite Trump’s threat to veto it. McConnell said it was important for Congress to continue its nearly six-decade-long streak of passing the defense policy bill.


shareblue--2020-12-23--Trump uses last days to appoint anti-LGBTQ radical to 'key position'

On Tuesday , the White House released a list of people to be appointed by Donald Trump to `` key posts '' in the administration .
Among them is Marcus Bachmann , who runs a Christian counseling clinic in Minnesota that carries out so-called conversion therapy , an unproven and widely rejected practice through which LGBTQ people are told that their orientation or gender is wrong and is something they can and should change .
The American Psychiatric Association has long opposed `` conversion therapy '' and says it is harmful to LGBTQ people and has `` not been scientifically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 20 states have bans on `` conversion therapy '' for minors .
Trump chose Bachmann to be a member of the President 's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities , an advisory body to the president and the Department of Health and Human Services originally instituted in 1961 by John F. Kennedy .
Bachmann is the husband of Michele Bachmann , the far-right former member of Congress and 2012 presidential candidate .
News investigations over the past decade have revealed information about the therapists and `` treatment '' at Bachmann 's clinic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Associates to Counseling Care in 2013 .
The therapists vocally disapprove of queer people and tell them they can learn to be straight if they try hard enough and pray on it .
For example , in 2011 , the Nation reported that a number of years earlier , Andrew Ramirez , a gay teenager , went to see a therapist at the clinic at the behest of his conservative family .
Ramirez told the magazine that his therapist instructed him to read the Bible and said they could connect him with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an `` ex-lesbian mentor . ''
The same year , ABC 's `` Nightline '' aired a video showing a therapist at the clinic telling a gay man he could `` be totally free '' of his attraction to men .
Bachmann has denied that his clinic engages in anything normally involved in conversion therapy .
He told the Star-Tribune in 2017 , `` It 's not who we are .
It 's not something we would ever do . ''
In his last few weeks in the White House , Trump has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ His administration has finalized rules that would harm LGBTQ asylum-seekers , people who seek social services , and workers .
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation .

On Tuesday, the White House released a list of people to be appointed by Donald Trump to “key posts” in the administration. Among them is Marcus Bachmann, who runs a Christian counseling clinic in Minnesota that carries out so-called conversion therapy, an unproven and widely rejected practice through which LGBTQ people are told that their orientation or gender is wrong and is something they can and should change.
The American Psychiatric Association has long opposed “conversion therapy” and says it is harmful to LGBTQ people and has “not been scientifically validated.” In the United States, 20 states have bans on “conversion therapy” for minors.
Trump chose Bachmann to be a member of the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, an advisory body to the president and the Department of Health and Human Services originally instituted in 1961 by John F. Kennedy.
Bachmann is the husband of Michele Bachmann, the far-right former member of Congress and 2012 presidential candidate.
News investigations over the past decade have revealed information about the therapists and “treatment” at Bachmann’s clinic, which rebranded itself from Bachmann & Associates to Counseling Care in 2013. The therapists vocally disapprove of queer people and tell them they can learn to be straight if they try hard enough and pray on it.
For example, in 2011, the Nation reported that a number of years earlier, Andrew Ramirez, a gay teenager, went to see a therapist at the clinic at the behest of his conservative family. Ramirez told the magazine that his therapist instructed him to read the Bible and said they could connect him with a church for so-called former queer people and an “ex-lesbian mentor.” The same year, ABC’s “Nightline” aired a video showing a therapist at the clinic telling a gay man he could “be totally free” of his attraction to men.
Bachmann himself said in 2010 , when asked about advice he’d give to families with queer children, “We have to understand: barbarians need to be educated. They need to be disciplined. Just because someone feels it or thinks it doesn’t mean that we are supposed to go down that road. That’s what is called the sinful nature. We have a responsibility as parents and as authority figures not to encourage such thoughts and feelings from moving into the action steps.”
Bachmann has denied that his clinic engages in anything normally involved in conversion therapy. He told the Star-Tribune in 2017, “It’s not who we are. It’s not something we would ever do.”
In his last few weeks in the White House, Trump has continued his assault on LGBTQ rights. His administration has finalized rules that would harm LGBTQ asylum-seekers, people who seek social services, and workers.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.


shareblue--2020-12-23--America's richest senator fights against bigger COVID relief checks

Sen. Kelly Loeffler ( R-GA ) is America 's wealthiest senator .
But on Wednesday , she rejected the idea of providing $ 2,000 payments to struggling constituents , indicating she 'd only consider it if it were offset by other spending cuts .
Asked if she would support increasing the $ 600 direct payments included in this week 's compromise pandemic relief legislation to $ 2,000 — as demanded by Donald Trump on Tuesday night — Loeffler reportedly said , `` I 'll certainly look at supporting it if it repurposes wasteful spending toward that , yes . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ vacant Senate seat last December , is currently locked in a tight special election race against Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock .
The winner in their Jan. 5 runoff will serve the final two years of former Sen. Johnny Isakson 's term .
Warnock responded on Wednesday by tweeting , `` This sounds like a no from billionaire Senator Loeffler .
Georgia families ca n't wait .
$ 2,000 checks should be passed now . ''
Loeffler , a former financial services executive , has attempted to make her vast fortune a selling point @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she ran an ad bragging about owning a private jet and her large charitable donations .
Three months earlier , when the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote about her use of her own plane to travel to and from Washington , D.C. , a Loeffler spokesperson claimed that she did so `` to best serve Georgians and save taxpayer money . ''
While Loeffler sold millions of dollars ' worth of stock early just as the pandemic hit , many of her constituents do not have it so lucky .
Millions of Americans are out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of business closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic .
Nearly 300,000 Georgians were unemployed as of November .
The nation has also seen record spikes in the number of people living on poverty — an increase of roughly 7.8 million Americans over just the past five months .
A campaign spokesperson did not immediately respond to an inquiry for this story .
In a Tuesday night video , Donald Trump blasted the $ 900 billion relief bill passed by Congress — with Loeffler 's support — a day earlier , for not including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $ 600 to $ 2,000 or $ 4,000 for a couple , '' he said .
Congressional Democrats had repeatedly backed larger checks , but Senate Republicans refused to go beyond the $ 600 per person that ended up in the compromise .
Loeffler 's refusal to fall in line with Trump on this represents an unexpected departure from her usual approach .
She has run ads boasting of a 100 % Trump voting record and said in an October debate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump said or did .
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation .

Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) is America’s wealthiest senator. But on Wednesday, she rejected the idea of providing $2,000 payments to struggling constituents, indicating she’d only consider it if it were offset by other spending cuts.
Asked if she would support increasing the $600 direct payments included in this week’s compromise pandemic relief legislation to $2,000 — as demanded by Donald Trump on Tuesday night — Loeffler reportedly said, “I’ll certainly look at supporting it if it repurposes wasteful spending toward that, yes.”
Loeffler, who was appointed to a vacant Senate seat last December, is currently locked in a tight special election race against Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock. The winner in their Jan. 5 runoff will serve the final two years of former Sen. Johnny Isakson’s term.
Warnock responded on Wednesday by tweeting, “This sounds like a no from billionaire Senator Loeffler. Georgia families can’t wait. $2,000 checks should be passed now.”
Loeffler, a former financial services executive, has attempted to make her vast fortune a selling point in her campaign.
In May, she ran an ad bragging about owning a private jet and her large charitable donations. Three months earlier, when the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote about her use of her own plane to travel to and from Washington, D.C., a Loeffler spokesperson claimed that she did so “to best serve Georgians and save taxpayer money.”
While Loeffler sold millions of dollars’ worth of stock early just as the pandemic hit, many of her constituents do not have it so lucky. Millions of Americans are out of work, largely as the result of business closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly 300,000 Georgians were unemployed as of November.
The nation has also seen record spikes in the number of people living on poverty — an increase of roughly 7.8 million Americans over just the past five months.
A campaign spokesperson did not immediately respond to an inquiry for this story.
In a Tuesday night video, Donald Trump blasted the $900 billion relief bill passed by Congress — with Loeffler’s support — a day earlier, for not including more generous direct payments.
“I am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000 or $4,000 for a couple,” he said. Congressional Democrats had repeatedly backed larger checks, but Senate Republicans refused to go beyond the $600 per person that ended up in the compromise.
Loeffler’s refusal to fall in line with Trump on this represents an unexpected departure from her usual approach.
She has run ads boasting of a 100% Trump voting record and said in an October debate that she has never disagreed with anything Trump said or did.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.


shareblue--2020-12-23--With hate crimes on the rise, GOP senators go all-in for racist statues

The final version of the omnibus government spending bill for fiscal year 2021 passed by the Senate this week is missing a provision on the removal of monuments to people `` with unambiguous records of racial intolerance '' from National Park Service sites , including the U.S. Capitol , that had been passed by the House — even as the number of racist attacks carried out in the United States continues to rise .
Roll Call reported that House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Betty McCollum ( D-MN ) issued a statement on the removal of the provision from the final @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disappointed that Senate Republicans and President Trump refused to include House-passed provisions to remove hateful Confederate symbols from our national parks as a step toward confronting our nation 's legacy of racial injustice .
I look forward to working with the Biden administration to pursue these critical provisions in the next Congress . ''
The removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee statue from the Capitol building on Monday at the request of Virginia Gov .
Ralph Northam drew the ire of conservatives .
The statue was relocated to the Virginia Museum @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and museum officials say it 's unlikely to be on display for a number of years .
Donald Trump has led the push against removing Confederate monuments and changing the names of federal facilities that memorialize Confederate figures , saying he plans to veto the National Defense Authorization Act , the first time it will have been vetoed in 60 years , because it mandates the renaming of military bases currently named for Confederate figures .
In late June , he launched an attack on the NDAA , threatening to veto it if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ named after Confederates — Despite broad bipartisan support in Congress for renaming the facilities , Trump has been attacking it since June , when he tweeted , `` I will Veto the Defense Authorization Bill if the Elizabeth 'Pocahontas ' Warren ( of all people ! )
Amendment , which will lead to the renaming ( plus other bad things ! )
of Fort Bragg , Fort Robert E. Lee , and many other Military Bases from which we won Two World Wars , is in the Bill ! ''
Two-thirds of Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supporting the renaming of the bases .
Meanwhile , racist and xenophobic attacks are on the rise in the United States even as the GOP Senate majority blocks the removal of monuments to the country 's history of slave ownership and racism .
The number of hate crimes and racist incidents is soaring higher than it has in a decade , with studies showing 60 % of them were motivated by race or ethnicity .
Some of those incidents involve people in positions of authority .
Jenna Amacher , a freshman city alderman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under fire in recent days for posing with a Confederate flag at a party at which signs containing offensive language were displayed .
Amacher has also been slammed on social media in recent days for allegedly using a racial slur in a Facebook Live video ; she 's also alleged to have written a Facebook post calling murder victim George Floyd a `` burglar '' and `` rapist , '' denying the existence of white privilege , and announcing that Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is `` NOT Black . ''
Meanwhile , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ approved a permit this week for the Asatru Folk Assembly , which the Southern Poverty Law Center calls a white supremacist `` neo-Volkisch hate group , to establish a church for white people only .
Over 50,000 local residents had signed a petition protesting the decision .
The city said it feared it would face expensive legal challenges if it denied the permit .
And International Paper Company , headquartered in Memphis , Tennessee , said Monday it would be reporting a racist incident to the FBI after a security guard at its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ threatening note that included a racial slur three times and was signed `` KKK '' .
Sen. Ted Cruz has appointed himself the gatekeeper of Latinx identity , tweeting Tuesday that `` nobody who 's actually Latino uses the made-up word 'Latinx ' . ''
Sen. Marsha Blackburn has repeatedly made offensive remarks about China and Chinese individuals in recent days , tweeting , `` China has a 5,000 year history of cheating and stealing .
Some things will never change . ''
And Sen. Kelly Loeffler has recently been blasted for racist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and on her Democratic opponent in the upcoming Georgia Senate runoff race , the Rev .
Raphael Warnock , condemned by religious leaders as `` a broader attack against the Black Church and faith traditions for which we stand . ''
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation .

The final version of the omnibus government spending bill for fiscal year 2021 passed by the Senate this week is missing a provision on the removal of monuments to people “with unambiguous records of racial intolerance” from National Park Service sites, including the U.S. Capitol, that had been passed by the House — even as the number of racist attacks carried out in the United States continues to rise.
Roll Call reported that House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Betty McCollum (D-MN) issued a statement on the removal of the provision from the final version, saying, “I am disappointed that Senate Republicans and President Trump refused to include House-passed provisions to remove hateful Confederate symbols from our national parks as a step toward confronting our nation’s legacy of racial injustice. I look forward to working with the Biden administration to pursue these critical provisions in the next Congress.”
The removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee statue from the Capitol building on Monday at the request of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam drew the ire of conservatives. The statue was relocated to the Virginia Museum of History and Culture in Richmond, and museum officials say it’s unlikely to be on display for a number of years.
Donald Trump has led the push against removing Confederate monuments and changing the names of federal facilities that memorialize Confederate figures, saying he plans to veto the National Defense Authorization Act, the first time it will have been vetoed in 60 years, because it mandates the renaming of military bases currently named for Confederate figures.
In late June, he launched an attack on the NDAA, threatening to veto it if it included provisions about renaming military bases named after Confederates — Despite broad bipartisan support in Congress for renaming the facilities, Trump has been attacking it since June, when he tweeted, “I will Veto the Defense Authorization Bill if the Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ Warren (of all people!) Amendment, which will lead to the renaming (plus other bad things!) of Fort Bragg, Fort Robert E. Lee, and many other Military Bases from which we won Two World Wars, is in the Bill!”
Two-thirds of Black Americans and almost half of American troops supporting the renaming of the bases.
Meanwhile, racist and xenophobic attacks are on the rise in the United States even as the GOP Senate majority blocks the removal of monuments to the country’s history of slave ownership and racism.
The number of hate crimes and racist incidents is soaring higher than it has in a decade, with studies showing 60% of them were motivated by race or ethnicity.
Some of those incidents involve people in positions of authority.
Jenna Amacher, a freshman city alderman in Tullahoma, Tennessee, has come under fire in recent days for posing with a Confederate flag at a party at which signs containing offensive language were displayed.
Amacher has also been slammed on social media in recent days for allegedly using a racial slur in a Facebook Live video; she’s also alleged to have written a Facebook post calling murder victim George Floyd a “burglar” and “rapist,” denying the existence of white privilege, and announcing that Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is “NOT Black.”
Meanwhile, the city council in Murdock, Minnesota, approved a permit this week for the Asatru Folk Assembly, which the Southern Poverty Law Center calls a white supremacist “neo-Volkisch hate group, to establish a church for white people only.
Over 50,000 local residents had signed a petition protesting the decision. The city said it feared it would face expensive legal challenges if it denied the permit.
And International Paper Company, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, said Monday it would be reporting a racist incident to the FBI after a security guard at its Prattville, Alabama, facility received a threatening note that included a racial slur three times and was signed “KKK”.
Republican lawmakers continue to make racist remarks on social media.
Sen. Ted Cruz has appointed himself the gatekeeper of Latinx identity, tweeting Tuesday that “nobody who’s actually Latino uses the made-up word ‘Latinx’.”
Sen. Marsha Blackburn has repeatedly made offensive remarks about China and Chinese individuals in recent days, tweeting, “China has a 5,000 year history of cheating and stealing. Some things will never change.”
And Sen. Kelly Loeffler has recently been blasted for racist attacks on the Black Lives Matter movement and on her Democratic opponent in the upcoming Georgia Senate runoff race, the Rev. Raphael Warnock, condemned by religious leaders as “a broader attack against the Black Church and faith traditions for which we stand.”
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.


shareblue--2020-12-23--Trump now threatening to block COVID relief over funds he asked for himself

In his Tuesday night video announcing he is thinking of vetoing the government funding bill that included more than $ 900 billion in coronavirus relief , Donald Trump cited the bill 's inclusion of foreign aid to countries like Cambodia , Burma , and Egypt , among other countries as one of the reasons he opposes the legislation .
`` It is called the Covid relief bill , but it has almost nothing to do with Covid , '' Trump said in the video .
Of course , the reason the bill had funding for things other than coronavirus relief @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bill for the entire 2021 fiscal year .
Lawmakers just tacked the coronavirus relief onto the bill .
If Trump vetoes the legislation , the entire federal government would shut down when the current funding bill expires on Mondaay .
But even more absurd is that the foreign aid dollar figures Trump railed against were the exact same dollar figures Trump himself requested the countries receive in his 2021 budget request .
CNN 's Kevin Liptak compiled the list of complaints Trump laid out and matched them up with the dollar figures Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They are identical .
`` Last night , Trump cited $ 154 [ million ] for the National Gallery of Art as a reason why the coronavirus bill is *wasteful , * although the $ $ was included as annual gov't funding .
His [ fiscal year 2021 ] budget literally requested $ 147 [ million ] for the National Gallery of Art , and millions more for its repair , '' Politico 's Caitlin Emma reported .
In fact , some of the dollar figures he objected to were actually less than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump vetoes the bill , it could delay direct payments to Americans and cut off unemployment assistance to millions of people who have lost their jobs amid the COVID-19 pandemic .
Roughly 12 million people currently receiving unemployment benefits could lose them at the end of this week if this bill is not signed into law .
Of course , it 's unclear whether Trump will veto the bill .
He 's made these sort of veto threats at least twice over his four-year tenure , only to back off at the last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legislation at the last minute is part of Trump 's quest to cause chaos in his final month in office .
As his tenure draws to a close , he 's spent more time trying to find ways to overturn his landslide loss to President-elect Joe Biden then he is trying to fix the problems that have arisen due to his failed leadership .
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation .

In his Tuesday night video announcing he is thinking of vetoing the government funding bill that included more than $900 billion in coronavirus relief, Donald Trump cited the bill’s inclusion of foreign aid to countries like Cambodia, Burma, and Egypt, among other countries as one of the reasons he opposes the legislation.
“It is called the Covid relief bill, but it has almost nothing to do with Covid,” Trump said in the video.
Of course, the reason the bill had funding for things other than coronavirus relief was because this was the government funding bill for the entire 2021 fiscal year. Lawmakers just tacked the coronavirus relief onto the bill. If Trump vetoes the legislation, the entire federal government would shut down when the current funding bill expires on Mondaay.
But even more absurd is that the foreign aid dollar figures Trump railed against were the exact same dollar figures Trump himself requested the countries receive in his 2021 budget request.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak compiled the list of complaints Trump laid out and matched them up with the dollar figures Trump asked for in his budget request. They are identical.
“Last night, Trump cited $154 [million] for the National Gallery of Art as a reason why the coronavirus bill is *wasteful,* although the $$ was included as annual gov’t funding. His [fiscal year 2021] budget literally requested $147 [million] for the National Gallery of Art, and millions more for its repair,” Politico’s Caitlin Emma reported.
In fact, some of the dollar figures he objected to were actually less than Trump requested in his budget.
Trump’s veto threat ultimately jeopardizes critical virus relief to families.
If Trump vetoes the bill, it could delay direct payments to Americans and cut off unemployment assistance to millions of people who have lost their jobs amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Roughly 12 million people currently receiving unemployment benefits could lose them at the end of this week if this bill is not signed into law.
Of course, it’s unclear whether Trump will veto the bill.
He’s made these sort of veto threats at least twice over his four-year tenure, only to back off at the last minute.
Yet threatening to veto critical legislation at the last minute is part of Trump’s quest to cause chaos in his final month in office. As his tenure draws to a close, he’s spent more time trying to find ways to overturn his landslide loss to President-elect Joe Biden then he is trying to fix the problems that have arisen due to his failed leadership.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.


shareblue--2020-12-23--Trump is now attacking Republicans in Congress who worked hard to enable him

The loser of the 2020 presidential election , Donald Trump , is now pushing for primary challenges to those who are acknowledging his defeat .
This even includes those who have enabled him for four years .
On Tuesday , Trump trained his ire on Senate Republican Whip John Thune , who publicly accepted Joe Biden as the president-elect last week and made comments on Monday pouring cold water on a scheme to overturn the results through a congressional challenge to the Electoral College results .
`` Republicans in the Senate so quickly forget .
Right now they would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the last Election .
RINO John Thune , 'Mitch ’ s boy ' , should just let it play out , '' he tweeted .
`` South Dakota doesn ’ t like weakness .
He will be primaried in 2022 , political career over !
!
! ''
The `` Mitch 's Boy '' slur refers to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , who also recently acknowledged Biden 's win — much to Trump 's dismay .
Trump blasted McConnell in an email on Monday as the `` first one off the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time Trump has pushed for primary challenges to Republicans who he believes have wronged him .
In June , he vowed to travel to Alaska in 2022 to help defeat Sen. Lisa Murkowski after she demurred on whether she 'd back his reelection .
`` Few people know where they ’ ll be in two years from now , but I do , in the Great State of Alaska ( which I love ) campaigning against Senator Lisa Murkowski .
She voted against HealthCare , Justice Kavanaugh , and much else , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gave Alaska ANWR , major highways , and more .
Get any candidate ready , good or bad , I don ’ t care , I ’ m endorsing .
If you have a pulse , I ’ m with you ! ''
In October , he urged Nebraska Republicans to `` find a new and more viable candidate '' to replace Sen. Ben Sasse , who had criticized Trump at a telephone town hall for cozying up to dictators and flirting with white supremacists .
( Sasse won reelection by a landslide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he effectively called for a primary challenge for Ohio Gov .
Mike DeWine days after he stated , `` Joe Biden is the president-elect . ''
`` Who will be running for Governor of the Great State of Ohio ? ''
Trump asked on Twitter .
`` Will be hotly contested ! ''
And earlier this month , Trump urged outgoing Rep. Doug Collins ( R-GA ) , a prominent backer , to run against Georgia Gov .
Brian Kemp in 2022 .
`` Doug , you want to run for governor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , after excoriating Kemp for not doing enough to overturn his defeat in what was once a solidly red state .
But while Trump is mad that these Republicans were not 100 % loyal to him — even in the face of his overwhelming 2020 loss — he owes a strong debt of gratitude to each .
As the number two Republican in the Senate , Thune helped pushed through much of Trump 's legislation and hundreds of his right-wing judicial appointees .
According to FiveThirtyEight , he voted with Trump more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ past four years .
This included votes for Trump 's tax cuts that mostly benefited corporations and the very wealthy , his failed Obamacare repeal proposal , his impeachment acquittal , and his Supreme Court appointees .
Sasse also backed Trump on each of those votes , supporting Trump 's positions more than 86 % of the time .
Even Murkowski , who opposed the Obamacare legislation and one of Trump 's three Supreme Court picks , voted with Trump more than 74 % of the time .
And both DeWine and Kemp @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` I 'm very happy to be voting for Donald Trump , '' DeWine proclaimed in October .
That same month , Kemp lauded Trump as `` a President who believes that our country is exceptional , that life should be protected , and that our men and women in uniform should be RESPECTED ! ''
and `` an unapologetic leader who will do whatever it takes to Keep America Great . ''
Despite Trump 's bluster , it is hard to predict how much impact Trump 's opinion will have in two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republican Reps. Denver Riggleman of Virginia and Scott Tipton of Colorado in their primary races — only to see both fail .
He also urged the defeat of Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie , who was easily reelected .
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation .

The loser of the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump, is now pushing for primary challenges to those who are acknowledging his defeat. This even includes those who have enabled him for four years.
On Tuesday, Trump trained his ire on Senate Republican Whip John Thune, who publicly accepted Joe Biden as the president-elect last week and made comments on Monday pouring cold water on a scheme to overturn the results through a congressional challenge to the Electoral College results.
“Republicans in the Senate so quickly forget. Right now they would be down 8 seats without my backing them in the last Election. RINO John Thune, ‘Mitch’s boy’, should just let it play out,” he tweeted. “South Dakota doesn’t like weakness. He will be primaried in 2022, political career over!!!”
The “Mitch’s Boy” slur refers to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who also recently acknowledged Biden’s win — much to Trump’s dismay. Trump blasted McConnell in an email on Monday as the “first one off the ship.”
This is not first time Trump has pushed for primary challenges to Republicans who he believes have wronged him.
In June, he vowed to travel to Alaska in 2022 to help defeat Sen. Lisa Murkowski after she demurred on whether she’d back his reelection.
“Few people know where they’ll be in two years from now, but I do, in the Great State of Alaska (which I love) campaigning against Senator Lisa Murkowski. She voted against HealthCare, Justice Kavanaugh, and much else,” he wrote. “Unrelated, I gave Alaska ANWR, major highways, and more. Get any candidate ready, good or bad, I don’t care, I’m endorsing. If you have a pulse, I’m with you!”
In October, he urged Nebraska Republicans to “find a new and more viable candidate” to replace Sen. Ben Sasse, who had criticized Trump at a telephone town hall for cozying up to dictators and flirting with white supremacists. (Sasse won reelection by a landslide the following month.)
Last month, he effectively called for a primary challenge for Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine days after he stated, “Joe Biden is the president-elect.”
“Who will be running for Governor of the Great State of Ohio?” Trump asked on Twitter. “Will be hotly contested!”
And earlier this month, Trump urged outgoing Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), a prominent backer, to run against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022. “Doug, you want to run for governor in two years?” Trump asked, after excoriating Kemp for not doing enough to overturn his defeat in what was once a solidly red state.
But while Trump is mad that these Republicans were not 100% loyal to him — even in the face of his overwhelming 2020 loss — he owes a strong debt of gratitude to each.
As the number two Republican in the Senate, Thune helped pushed through much of Trump’s legislation and hundreds of his right-wing judicial appointees. According to FiveThirtyEight, he voted with Trump more than 93% of the time over the past four years. This included votes for Trump’s tax cuts that mostly benefited corporations and the very wealthy, his failed Obamacare repeal proposal, his impeachment acquittal, and his Supreme Court appointees.
Sasse also backed Trump on each of those votes, supporting Trump’s positions more than 86% of the time.
Even Murkowski, who opposed the Obamacare legislation and one of Trump’s three Supreme Court picks, voted with Trump more than 74% of the time.
And both DeWine and Kemp vocally supported Trump’s reelection campaign.
“I’m very happy to be voting for Donald Trump,” DeWine proclaimed in October.
That same month, Kemp lauded Trump as “a President who believes that our country is exceptional, that life should be protected, and that our men and women in uniform should be RESPECTED!” and “an unapologetic leader who will do whatever it takes to Keep America Great.”
Despite Trump’s bluster, it is hard to predict how much impact Trump’s opinion will have in two years.
This year, he backed Republican Reps. Denver Riggleman of Virginia and Scott Tipton of Colorado in their primary races — only to see both fail. He also urged the defeat of Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, who was easily reelected.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.


shareblue--2020-12-24--16 numbers that perfectly sum up Trump's 1 term in office

Donald Trump 's four years in office have been a chaotic sprint , marred by staff turnover , lies , and law breaking .
As both the year , and Trump 's single term in office come to an end , the American Independent Foundation has compiled a list of numbers that best define the last four years of the Trump administration .
Here are 16 figures that sum up the Trump era .
Trump once famously said that he only hired the `` best '' people .
However , seven of the people who worked for his administration or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for or convicted of federal crimes .
• Former campaign CEO turned White House strategist Steve Bannon , who was charged with allegedly defrauding donors to a private effort to build Trump 's long-promised border wall between the United States and Mexico .
• Former campaign chair Paul Manafort , who is currently serving a 47-month prison sentence for eight counts of tax fraud , bank fraud , and failing to file a foreign bank account .
( He was convicted in 2018 . )
• Longtime ally Roger Stone , who was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Congress , witness tampering , and obstruction of justice .
Trump commuted Stone 's 40-month sentence back in July .
Four other Trump associates were also charged with various crimes , including Trump 's former national security adviser Michael Flynn , former campaign staffer George Papadopoulos , former deputy campaign manager Rick Gates , and Trump 's longtime personal lawyer , Michael Cohen .
( More on their guilty pleas below . )
Four of the aforementioned associates pleaded guilty to their crimes .
• Flynn , who first pleaded guilty to lying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Russian ambassador in December 2017 .
Flynn later tried to recant that guilty plea , before Trump 's Justice Department stepped in to announce it was dropping the charges altogether .
After that , Trump announced he was pardoning the former aide .
Flynn 's case was later formally dismissed on Dec. 8 , following Trump 's pardon .
• Papadopoulos , who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his communications with purposed Russian agents as he sought `` dirt '' on then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton .
He served just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and lying to the FBI and in return agreed to cooperate with federal investigators against Manafort .
He served 45 days in prison and was sentenced to an additional three years probation for his cooperation .
• Cohen , Trump 's former personal attorney and `` fixer , '' who pleaded guilty to eight counts of tax evasion , making false statements to a financial institution , unlawful corporate contributions , and excessive campaign contributions .
He was sentenced to three years in prison and has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ May , due to the COVID-19 pandemic .
Dozens of Trump administration officials have flagrantly violated the Hatch Act over the last four years , the federal law that `` limits certain political activities of federal employees '' in order to `` ensure that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion , to protect federal employees from political coercion in the workplace , and to ensure that federal employees are advanced based on merit and not based on political affiliation , '' according to the Office of Special Counsel .
In layman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ barred from a host of certain actions , such as engaging in campaign activity on the job , hosting political fundraisers , or carrying out any sort of partisan political activity inside a federal building .
A report from Sen. Elizabeth Warren ( D-MA ) found that at least 36 Trump administration officials violated the Hatch Act , some of them multiple times over .
Former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway is one of the biggest Hatch Act offenders , and violated the law so many times that the Office of Special Counsel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The office also said on Monday that Peter Navarro , the director of the White House Office for Trade and Manufacturing Policy , violated the Hatch Act for repeatedly criticizing President-elect Joe Biden during the campaign .
The rest of the list includes : • Helen Aguirre Ferré , special assistant to the president and director of media affairs • Stephanie Grisham , first lady Melania Trump 's communications director and former White House communications director • Nikki Haley , former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations • Jacob Wood , deputy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Budget • Former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke • Mark Morgan , acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Staff turnover was also a major storyline of the Trump era .
Over the course of four years , Trump had four press secretaries whom he used to spread countless lies .
It started with Sean Spicer , who immediately got off on the wrong foot when he lied about the size of Trump 's inauguration crowd .
Sarah Huckabee Sanders — who admitted under oath that she lied from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ took over upon Sanders ' departure .
She was the most forgettable of the bunch , as was most notable for not holding a single press briefing during her tenure .
Grisham was ultimately replaced by former Fox News talking head Kayleigh McEnany , who broke her vow never to lie to the public the first day she took over , and has since been blurring ethical lines by working for Trump 's reelection campaign while still holding her role as press secretary .
Like his press secretaries , Trump also tore through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his first chief of staff , Reince Priebus , by tweet , just a few months into his term .
Priebus was replaced by John Kelly , who left after his relationship with Trump grew tense .
Mick Mulvaney replaced Kelly , whose tenure lasted a little more than a year before Trump fired him and replaced him with Meadows .
Another position that saw massive job turnover was the top job at the Pentagon .
Since Trump took office , six men have held the position of Defense secretary .
It started @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who resigned in protest over Trump 's treatment of American allies .
Mattis was replaced by Patrick Shanahan , the defense contractor who withdrew from consideration after a number of domestic violence incidents within his family came to light .
Mark Esper replaced Shanahan , first as acting secretary before he was confirmed .
In between , Trump had to have another acting secretary , Richard V. Spencer , serve in the role due to a federal law which says that a nominee to a position can not also lead the department for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ process .
Esper was ultimately confirmed , but Trump fired him after the election , as he was angry that Esper opposed Trump 's desire to use military troops against anti-racism protesters .
Trump installed Christopher Miller as acting Defense secretary for the final days of his tenure .
Way back in 2016 , when he was first running for president , Trump declared that he would not play golf while in office .
`` I 'm going to be working for you , I 'm not going to have time to go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ August 2016 .
However , since his inauguration on Jan. 20 , 2017 , Trump has visited a golf club 292 times , according to TrumpGolfCount.com .
The White House does n't always admit that Trump is playing golf when he 's at his properties , but of the times he was at a golf property , there is evidence that Trump actually played the game 146 times , per the website that tracks Trump 's golf visits .
3 coronavirus outbreaks at the White House ( so far ) Trump and his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the entirety of the pandemic , holding numerous indoor events with maskless guests — situations that cause the deadly coronavirus to spread .
And their reckless behavior has led to three outbreaks within the White House itself , with numerous members of the administration testing positive , including Trump himself .
The first outbreak occurred when Trump announced Justice Amy Coney Barrett as third Supreme Court nominee .
Another outbreak later hit Mike Pence 's staff .
And a third outbreak occurred after Trump held an election night party at the White @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outbreak could be imminent , after Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis attended a White House Christmas party just before testing positive for the coronavirus .
Trump held those holiday parties , despite dire warnings from his own task force members about the virus .
Trump 's campaign lawyer , Rudy Giuliani , also tested positive for the virus around the same time .
Trump 's mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in the United States .
In fact , the nation has the highest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earth , according to data from Johns Hopkins University .
Brazil , which has roughly 120 million fewer people residing there , is a distant second .
Trump will leave office with the embarrassing distinction of being the only president since World War II to leave office with a negative job creation rate .
As of October , 4.901 million jobs have been lost since Trump took office , according to the Washington Post .
Even George W. Bush , who left office amid what was then the worst economic downturn since the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jobs having been created than when he was first sworn in .
Ultimately , Trump did not create `` the greatest economy in the history of our country , '' as he 's said multiple times .
Trump 's use of Twitter was unprecedented for a commander in chief .
Trump used the social media outlet to fire his aides , announce policy positions even his own staff did n't know about , attack anyone he perceived to be a critic , as well as spread lies and disinformation .
Republicans feared being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ missives on the site , worrying it could damage their standing with the GOP base .
GOP lawmakers allowed that fear to dictate how they voted and reacted to Trump 's worst impulses — including standing by Trump 's baseless accusations of voter fraud to demand the results of the November election be overturned .
The constant barrage of lies has also been a major storyline in the Trump era .
Trump 's lies come so fast and furious that they 're hard to keep up with .
The Washington Post attempted to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ throughout the last four years .
The Post fact checkers have not kept up since Trump 's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on Aug. 27 .
But as of that date , Trump had made a total of 22,247 lies .
Trump holds the distinction of being just the third president in history to be impeached , after the House smacked him with two articles of impeachment in December 2019 : one for abuse of power and a second for obstruction of Congress .
( The Senate ultimately decided not to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that outcome after he pressured Ukrainian officials , including President Volodymyr Zelensky , to dig up dirt on Biden , then his campaign rival by withholding critical military aid to the country and later lying about it repeatedly .
Trump 's own staffers admitted to the offenses publicly , though Trump himself continues to deny any wrongdoing , suggesting he acted `` perfect [ ly ] . ''
Just five presidents in all of history lost the popular vote but won the White House thanks to the Electoral College .
But Trump now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president to lose the popular vote twice .
59 lawsuits to overturn the election ( and counting ) Trump has refused to accept his 2020 election loss to Biden , with his campaign and GOP allies filing dozens of lawsuits seeking to overturn the outcome and hand the election to Trump .
The effort failed spectacularly , with the campaign notching just one court victory — a procedural one that did not actually have an impact on the outcome of the election .
Every other lawsuit was tossed out , with judges reprimanding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evidence and unprecedented demand to overturn the results of a free and fair election .
At the end of the day , Trump will be leaving the White House at noon on Jan. 20 , 2021 , when Biden is sworn in .
Though Trump will never admit that he lost , the fact is , he did — by a landslide .
He now joins the club of former presidents who were denied a second term in office .
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation .

Donald Trump’s four years in office have been a chaotic sprint, marred by staff turnover, lies, and law breaking.
As both the year, and Trump’s single term in office come to an end, the American Independent Foundation has compiled a list of numbers that best define the last four years of the Trump administration.
Here are 16 figures that sum up the Trump era.
7 associates indicted
Trump once famously said that he only hired the “best” people. However, seven of the people who worked for his administration or for his 2016 campaign were later indicted for or convicted of federal crimes.
They include:
Former campaign CEO turned White House strategist Steve Bannon, who was charged with allegedly defrauding donors to a private effort to build Trump’s long-promised border wall between the United States and Mexico.
Former campaign chair Paul Manafort, who is currently serving a 47-month prison sentence for eight counts of tax fraud, bank fraud, and failing to file a foreign bank account. (He was convicted in 2018.)
Longtime ally Roger Stone, who was convicted of seven counts of lying to Congress, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice. Trump commuted Stone’s 40-month sentence back in July.
Four other Trump associates were also charged with various crimes, including Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former campaign staffer George Papadopoulos, former deputy campaign manager Rick Gates, and Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. (More on their guilty pleas below.)
4 guilty pleas from former associates
Four of the aforementioned associates pleaded guilty to their crimes.
They are:
Flynn, who first pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his communications with a Russian ambassador in December 2017. Flynn later tried to recant that guilty plea, before Trump’s Justice Department stepped in to announce it was dropping the charges altogether. After that, Trump announced he was pardoning the former aide. Flynn’s case was later formally dismissed on Dec. 8, following Trump’s pardon.
Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his communications with purposed Russian agents as he sought “dirt” on then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. He served just 12 days in prison.
Gates, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and lying to the FBI and in return agreed to cooperate with federal investigators against Manafort. He served 45 days in prison and was sentenced to an additional three years probation for his cooperation.
Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney and “fixer,” who pleaded guilty to eight counts of tax evasion, making false statements to a financial institution, unlawful corporate contributions, and excessive campaign contributions. He was sentenced to three years in prison and has been serving his time in house arrest since May, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
36 administration officials accused of violating the Hatch Act
Dozens of Trump administration officials have flagrantly violated the Hatch Act over the last four years, the federal law that “limits certain political activities of federal employees” in order to “ensure that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion, to protect federal employees from political coercion in the workplace, and to ensure that federal employees are advanced based on merit and not based on political affiliation,” according to the Office of Special Counsel.
In layman’s terms, federal employees are essentially barred from a host of certain actions, such as engaging in campaign activity on the job, hosting political fundraisers, or carrying out any sort of partisan political activity inside a federal building.
A report from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) found that at least 36 Trump administration officials violated the Hatch Act, some of them multiple times over.
Former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway is one of the biggest Hatch Act offenders, and violated the law so many times that the Office of Special Counsel recommended she be fired from her role.
The office also said on Monday that Peter Navarro, the director of the White House Office for Trade and Manufacturing Policy, violated the Hatch Act for repeatedly criticizing President-elect Joe Biden during the campaign.
The rest of the list includes:
Trump’s daughter and senior adviser Ivanka Trump
Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue
Attorney General Bill Barr
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows
Department of Housing and Urban Development Regional Administrator Lynne Patton
White House deputy communications director Jessica Ditto
Alyssa Farah, press secretary to Vice President Mike Pence
Helen Aguirre Ferré, special assistant to the president and director of media affairs
Stephanie Grisham, first lady Melania Trump’s communications director and former White House communications director
Nikki Haley, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
Federal Communications Commission commissioner Michael O’Reilly
White House social media director Dan Scavino
Former White House principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah
Trump’s executive assistant Madeline Westerhout
Jacob Wood, deputy communications director for the Office of Management and Budget
Former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke
Chad Wolf, Trump’s unlawfully appointed acting secretary of Homeland Security
Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler
Pence’s chief of staff Marc Short
Director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe
Former Energy Secretary Rick Perry
Trump’s national security adviser Robert C. O’Brien
Mark Morgan, acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Stephen Miller, Trump’s senior policy adviser
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany
Trump’s economic adviser Larry Kudlow
David M. Friedman, U.S. ambassador to Israel
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy
U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Todd Chapman
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson
4 press secretaries
Staff turnover was also a major storyline of the Trump era.
Over the course of four years, Trump had four press secretaries whom he used to spread countless lies.
It started with Sean Spicer, who immediately got off on the wrong foot when he lied about the size of Trump’s inauguration crowd.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders — who admitted under oath that she lied from the podium — succeeded him.
Grisham then took over upon Sanders’ departure. She was the most forgettable of the bunch, as was most notable for not holding a single press briefing during her tenure.
Grisham was ultimately replaced by former Fox News talking head Kayleigh McEnany, who broke her vow never to lie to the public the first day she took over, and has since been blurring ethical lines by working for Trump’s reelection campaign while still holding her role as press secretary.
4 chiefs of staff
Like his press secretaries, Trump also tore through chiefs of staff.
He unceremoniously fired his first chief of staff, Reince Priebus, by tweet, just a few months into his term.
Priebus was replaced by John Kelly, who left after his relationship with Trump grew tense.
Mick Mulvaney replaced Kelly, whose tenure lasted a little more than a year before Trump fired him and replaced him with Meadows.
6 secretaries of defense
Another position that saw massive job turnover was the top job at the Pentagon.
Since Trump took office, six men have held the position of Defense secretary. It started with Jim Mattis, the retired general who resigned in protest over Trump’s treatment of American allies.
Mattis was replaced by Patrick Shanahan, the defense contractor who withdrew from consideration after a number of domestic violence incidents within his family came to light.
Mark Esper replaced Shanahan, first as acting secretary before he was confirmed. In between, Trump had to have another acting secretary, Richard V. Spencer, serve in the role due to a federal law which says that a nominee to a position cannot also lead the department for which they are nominated during the confirmation process.
Esper was ultimately confirmed, but Trump fired him after the election, as he was angry that Esper opposed Trump’s desire to use military troops against anti-racism protesters.
Trump installed Christopher Miller as acting Defense secretary for the final days of his tenure.
292 times playing golf
Way back in 2016, when he was first running for president, Trump declared that he would not play golf while in office.
“I’m going to be working for you, I’m not going to have time to go play golf,” Trump said in August 2016.
However, since his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017, Trump has visited a golf club 292 times, according to TrumpGolfCount.com.
The White House doesn’t always admit that Trump is playing golf when he’s at his properties, but of the times he was at a golf property, there is evidence that Trump actually played the game 146 times, per the website that tracks Trump’s golf visits.
3 coronavirus outbreaks at the White House (so far)
Trump and his aides have willingly flouted coronavirus prevention measures for the entirety of the pandemic, holding numerous indoor events with maskless guests — situations that cause the deadly coronavirus to spread.
And their reckless behavior has led to three outbreaks within the White House itself, with numerous members of the administration testing positive, including Trump himself.
The first outbreak occurred when Trump announced Justice Amy Coney Barrett as third Supreme Court nominee. Another outbreak later hit Mike Pence’s staff. And a third outbreak occurred after Trump held an election night party at the White House.
It’s possible a fourth outbreak could be imminent, after Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis attended a White House Christmas party just before testing positive for the coronavirus. Trump held those holiday parties, despite dire warnings from his own task force members about the virus.
Trump’s campaign lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, also tested positive for the virus around the same time.
More than 300,000 coronavirus deaths
Trump’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in the United States.
In fact, the nation has the highest death toll of any other country on earth, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Brazil, which has roughly 120 million fewer people residing there, is a distant second.
4.9 million jobs lost
Trump will leave office with the embarrassing distinction of being the only president since World War II to leave office with a negative job creation rate.
As of October, 4.901 million jobs have been lost since Trump took office, according to the Washington Post.
Even George W. Bush, who left office amid what was then the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, left office with more jobs having been created than when he was first sworn in.
Ultimately, Trump did not create “the greatest economy in the history of our country,” as he’s said multiple times.
Over 25,653 tweets
Trump’s use of Twitter was unprecedented for a commander in chief.
Trump used the social media outlet to fire his aides, announce policy positions even his own staff didn’t know about, attack anyone he perceived to be a critic, as well as spread lies and disinformation.
Republicans feared being the target of one of Trump’s missives on the site, worrying it could damage their standing with the GOP base.
GOP lawmakers allowed that fear to dictate how they voted and reacted to Trump’s worst impulses — including standing by Trump’s baseless accusations of voter fraud to demand the results of the November election be overturned.
22,247 lies (and counting)
The constant barrage of lies has also been a major storyline in the Trump era.
Trump’s lies come so fast and furious that they’re hard to keep up with.
The Washington Post attempted to keep a running tally of his lies throughout the last four years. The Post fact checkers have not kept up since Trump’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on Aug. 27. But as of that date, Trump had made a total of 22,247 lies.
2 counts of impeachment
Trump holds the distinction of being just the third president in history to be impeached, after the House smacked him with two articles of impeachment in December 2019: one for abuse of power and a second for obstruction of Congress. (The Senate ultimately decided not to convict him.)
Trump was handed that outcome after he pressured Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, to dig up dirt on Biden, then his campaign rival by withholding critical military aid to the country and later lying about it repeatedly. Trump’s own staffers admitted to the offenses publicly, though Trump himself continues to deny any wrongdoing, suggesting he acted “perfect[ly].”
2 times losing the popular vote
Just five presidents in all of history lost the popular vote but won the White House thanks to the Electoral College.
But Trump now holds the distinction of being the only president to lose the popular vote twice.
In 2020, Trump lost by a whopping 7,062,213 popular votes, 4.5%.
59 lawsuits to overturn the election (and counting)
Trump has refused to accept his 2020 election loss to Biden, with his campaign and GOP allies filing dozens of lawsuits seeking to overturn the outcome and hand the election to Trump.
The effort failed spectacularly, with the campaign notching just one court victory — a procedural one that did not actually have an impact on the outcome of the election.
Every other lawsuit was tossed out, with judges reprimanding the Trump campaign for its lack of evidence and unprecedented demand to overturn the results of a free and fair election.
At the end of the day, Trump will be leaving the White House at noon on Jan. 20, 2021, when Biden is sworn in.
1 term
Though Trump will never admit that he lost, the fact is, he did — by a landslide.
He now joins the club of former presidents who were denied a second term in office.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.