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sabra's JournalTrump administration removes experts from Defense Policy Board
Source: CNN
(CNN)Several high profile members of the Defense Policy Board were removed on Wednesday by the Trump administration, in yet another purge of longstanding foreign policy experts and national security establishment figures in the final days of the Trump era, according to three defense officials.
Members who were suddenly removed include former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Henry Kissinger, former ranking member of the House Intelligence committee Jane Harman and former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, two of the officials said.
The Defense Policy Board is an outside advisory group of former high profile national security officials who "provide the Secretary of Defense and the Deputy Secretary of Defense, independent, informed advice and opinions concerning matters of defense policy in response to specific tasks from the Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Secretary of Defense," according to their website.
"As part of long-considered changes, we can confirm that several members of the Department's Defense Policy Board have been removed. We are extremely grateful for their dedicated service, commitment, and contributions to our national security. Future announcements for new members of the board will be made soon," the third official said.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/26/politics/trump-administration-defense-policy-board/index.html?utm_term=link&utm_source=twCNNp&utm_content=2020-11-26T18%3A38%3A02&utm_medium=social
Cobb County GOP chair, one of seven plaintiffs on Powell's lawsuit, never agreed to be a part of it
https://twitter.com/bluestein/status/1331974770225786885Trump encourages Americans to 'gather' in Thanksgiving proclamation despite coronavirus surge
Source: The Hill
President Trump issued a proclamation encouraging Americans to gather “in homes and places of worship” ahead of Thanksgiving, even as his successor and public health officials have urged people to practice social distancing and avoid large gatherings during the holidays to curb the spread of COVID-19.
“I encourage all Americans to gather, in homes and places of worship, to offer a prayer of thanks to God for our many blessings,” he said in the proclamation, which is custom for presidents to issue marking holidays, on Wednesday.
The comments from the White House come as public health experts have advised Americans to stay home amid a nationwide surge in coronavirus cases and warnings that the pandemic could get much worse during the holiday season.
Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised against attending crowded parades, large indoor gatherings and crowded stores in an effort to slow the outbreak. The agency also advised against traveling last week as cases rise nationwide.
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/527683-trump-encourages-americans-to-gather-in-thanksgiving-proclamation
Ex-Trump Lawyer Sidney Powell Files Election Suits in 'DISTRCOICT' Court
Source: Bloomberg
A lawyer who was dropped from President Donald Trump’s legal team filed typo-strewn lawsuits in Michigan and Georgia alleging massive election fraud.
Sidney Powell, who has pushed some of the most extreme conspiracy theories around the election of Joe Biden, filed the lawsuits late Wednesday, according to a post on Twitter. The two cases have similar themes of problems linked to voting machines, mail-in ballots and deceased Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez.
Powell was kicked off Trump’s legal team this week after her claims about a vast Democratic conspiracy against the president. Days earlier she had appeared at a press conference alongside Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, where she alleged a plot to swing the election to Biden that involved voting-machine tampering and Venezuela.
The pre-Thanksgiving lawsuits, which target elected officials in both states, also include other claims about forged ballots and observers being unable to watch the vote count.
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-26/ex-trump-lawyer-files-election-lawsuits-in-distrcoict-court
Joe Biden considers Roger Ferguson to lead National Economic Council, Gary Gensler for Deputy Treas
Source: CNBC
President-elect Joe Biden is considering TIAA CEO Roger Ferguson to be his National Economic Council director and former Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman Gary Gensler as Deputy Treasury secretary, according to people familiar with the matter.
Ferguson was being considered for Treasury secretary and Gensler is currently a team leader of Biden’s transition agency review team. Gensler is leading a team reviewing the Federal Reserve and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, among others. Biden is set to select former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary.
Ferguson recently announced he intends to retire from TIAA in March. He has experience as vice chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve.
Another name being floated for a top economic policy post is Kenneth Chenault, the former CEO of American Express, the sources added. They declined to be named as these deliberations have been made in private.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/25/joe-biden-considers-roger-ferguson-to-lead-nec-gary-gensler-deputy-treasury-secretary.html?__source=sharebar|twitter&par=sharebar
Giuliani thinks Trump 'may have won Virginia' despite Biden winning state by nearly half a million v
Source: Independent UK
Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump's lawyer leading his challenge to the 2020 election results, claimed that the president may have won the state of Virginia, despite losing it by nearly half a million votes.
Joe Biden won the 2020 election. Mr Trump has disputed those results.
Mr Giuliani has alleged on numerous occasions that there was massive voter frauds that led to Mr Trump's loss. He has not provided sufficient evidence to back up any of his claims.
"I think we may actually have won Virginia, but that's another battle," Mr Giuliani said.
Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election/giuliani-virginia-trump-election-result-b1761965.html?utm_content=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1606337498
WSJ: Trump musing about how he can stay relevant in the media, in the GOP, and make money
https://www.wsj.com/articles/after-setbacks-trump-looks-beyond-legal-fight-11606251575?st=ow150a3y67sf9bx&reflink=share_mobilewebshareAfter Setbacks, Trump Looks Beyond Legal Fight
Publicly, president says he will ‘never concede.’ Privately, he is focused on his political future as Biden transition moves forward.
....
More recently, administration officials say, the president’s focus appears to have broadened. In private conversations, he has polled advisers on what he should do next, musing about how he can stay relevant in the media and in the Republican Party and how he can earn money.
He has repeatedly expressed interest in running for president again in 2024, which some advisers have urged him to do as a way to save face, telling him he can decide whether to follow through later.
People close to the president don’t expect him to formally concede or acknowledge that he lost the election at any point. Mr. Trump’s lawyers, they say, will likely keep up the appearance of a fight until the Electoral College holds its formal vote on Dec. 14. The campaign has sent dozens of emails a day seeking to raise money by citing the legal fight, a portion of which is going to a leadership PAC the president controls.
Trump administration wants to cut food stamps to thousands of seniors, lawmakers say
Source: CBS News
More than 8,000 poor senior citizens in Illinois and other states face a "catastrophic" outcome under a Trump administration plan to cut food stamp benefits on January 1, according to lawmakers.
Senator Dick Durbin and other Illinois lawmakers are urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to extend the benefit, which is for poor seniors who live in one of 154 supportive living facilities across the state, according to a November 18 letter to USDA secretary Sonny Perdue.
The agency didn't immediately return a request for comment.
...
Durbin and the other lawmakers said it "remains unclear why USDA is deciding to decertify 8,000 individuals from SNAP, since they are clearly eligible themselves to qualify for SNAP participation," referring to the the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known better as food stamps.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-administration-cut-food-stamps-seniors/
There is always a tweet!
https://twitter.com/ChestersHome3/status/1331340508887707650Mnuchin to Put $455 Billion in Funds Out of Yellen's Easy Reach
Source: Bloomberg
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will put $455 billion in unspent Cares Act funding into an account that his presumed successor, former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, will need authorization from Congress to use.
Mnuchin plans to place the money into the agency’s General Fund, a Treasury Department spokesperson said Tuesday. That fund can only be tapped with “authority based on congressionally issued legislation,” according to the Treasury’s website.
The money includes $429 billion that Mnuchin is clawing back from the Federal Reserve -- which backed some of the central bank’s emergency lending facilities -- and $26 billion that Treasury received for direct loans to companies. Both initiatives were created under the sweeping Cares Act that was passed earlier this year as the coronavirus pandemic inflicted economic pain on the U.S.
The move will leave Yellen -- selected by president-elect Joe Biden as his nominee for Treasury secretary -- with just under $80 billion available in the Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund, a pot of money that can be used with some discretion by the Treasury chief.
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-24/mnuchin-to-put-455-billion-in-funds-out-of-yellen-s-easy-reach?sref=KhY5gfAd
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