Staff Reports
Now it’s a crisis
This week is one like few others since the inauguration of President Donald Trump more than two years ago. On the menu is a House-imposed deadline to turn over the Muller report (see “Not if” below), a vote in the Senate making it easier to confirm Trump nominees (see “Nuclear option” below), and a likely monumental decision to deal with the deteriorating crisis at the southern border.
Late last week a potentially game-changing moment on immigration and border politics may have taken place with one interview. A growing consensus is emerging that a “crisis” at the southern border actually exists.
Trump, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and Republicans have repeatedly called the situation at the southern border a “crisis.” Democrats, including most of those within the Florida delegation, have responded by referring to the description as “a manufactured crisis.”
During a Friday appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe program, former Obama administration Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said, “We are truly in a crisis.” Johnson then rattled off statistics that included startling statistics about the current situation.
“On Tuesday there were 4,000 apprehensions,” Johnson said. “I know that 1,000 [apprehensions] overwhelms the system and I cannot begin to imagine what 4,000 a day looks like,” he said.
Within three hours of Johnson’s appearance, Trump took to Twitter threatening to close the southern border unless Mexico stopped the flow of illegal immigration and asylum-seekers.
“This would be so easy for Mexico to do, but they just take our money and ‘talk,’” Trump tweeted. “ … the Border closing would be a good thing.”
On the contrary, economists claim the U.S. will feel economic repercussions by closing the border. Republicans largely remained silent over the weekend, but Rep. Matt Gaetz backed Trump long-standing efforts to remake U.S. immigration policy.
“The crisis at our southern border continues to grow daily,” Gaetz tweeted. “While President Donald Trump pushes for solutions at the border, Dems refuse to budge. Border security should not be a partisan issue!” Gaetz tweeted.
The crisis at our southern border continues to grow daily. While President Trump pushes for solutions at the border, Dems refuse to budge. Border security should not be a partisan issue!https://t.co/hHKlTlTB5E
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) March 29, 2019
Democrats and immigration activists began to blame Nielsen and the Trump administration. While pointing the finger at Nielsen, the word “crisis” is now spreading.
“The Department of Homeland Security policies have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis at the border, and now Secretary Nielsen has put forth a list of proposals that will continue to hurt asylum-seekers and deepen the crisis,” said Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas, Chairman of the House Hispanic Caucus. Castro’s brother, Julian, is seeking the Democratic nomination for President.
Acting White House Chief of Staff Nick Mulvaney said only “something dramatic” will prevent Trump from closing the border.
Rubio, Trump salute McMahon
Trump has seen agency heads resign for multiple reasons, both good and bad, but he had nothing but nice things to say when Linda McMahon, Administrator for the Small Business Administration, announced she was leaving. He had kind words upon her announcement.
“I knew she was good, but I didn’t know she was that good,” Trump said at a joint news conference with McMahon held at Mar-a-Lago last week. “She has been one of our all-time favorites.”
She is set to join a Trump-affiliated political action committee.
Sen. Marco Rubio was also effusive in his praise for the co-founder, along with husband Vince McMahon, of World Wrestling Entertainment. The chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship credited her with making a difference for the country’s largest provider of jobs.
“Administrator McMahon has been a fierce advocate for America’s small businesses during her tenure as SBA Administrator,” Rubio said. “Under her stewardship, optimism among America’s small business has soared as a result of this administration’s pro-growth, pro-worker policies. I thank her for her exemplary service and wish her luck in her future endeavors.”
GOP health care push?
Last week Trump revealed his administration was supporting a federal-court decision that ruled “Obamacare” was unconstitutional. That gave Democrats the opportunity to resume bludgeoning Republicans as a party that wishes to take away protections for those with pre-existing conditions.
Trump has called on Sen. Rick Scott to help lead efforts to blunt that criticism. The President has asked Scott, Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso and Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy to take the lead in developing GOP health plans.
The former two-term Governor and health care executive is not wasting any time. Late last week, Scott added an amendment to the Senate budget that would protect health care for those with pre-existing conditions.
He later stopped in Ft. Myers to announce a bill designed to lower prescription drug costs while urging pharmacies and drug companies to be more transparent on drug pricing.
The Transparent Drug Pricing Act calls on U.S. drug companies to charge no more for their products in this country as they do in countries such as Canada, Great Britain and Germany.
“This is about the lives of real people that hang in the balance,” Scott said in a news release. “Every American should know exactly what their prescriptions cost and it’s unfair that consumers in other countries get a better deal than patients in America. That must change.”
Scott slams Sanders plan
Just days after Trump named Scott as one of three Senators to lead the development of health care policy, the former Governor found himself on CBS’ Face the Nation. Shortly into the interview, host Margaret Brennan asked when the public might see a new plan.
“I look forward to, you know, seeing what the President’s going to put out, but with Nancy Pelosi in the House, it’s going to be tough to get something done,” he responded.
While Scott’s answer seemed to toss the health care football back toward the White House, he then told Brennan what he thought about the “Medicare for all” idea championed by socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders and high-profile Democrats.
“But we do know that Medicare for all which Sen. Sanders is all in on, is going to just ruin our health care system,” Scott continued.
Brennan asked Scott to clarify both statements. Scott threw in another morsel saying Medicare for all is “also going to ruin private insurance.”
Still up in the air is from where any GOP health plan would emanate. Scott further told Brennan his focus is on lowering health care costs (see Scott above).
Not if, but when
There is no argument the public will see a great deal of the Mueller report, which was delivered by the special counsel to Attorney General William Barr March 24. The questions are “when” and “how much” of the report will be open to public inspection.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler demanded the full report by April 2. Barr has pledged to provide the document, with redactions by “mid-April or sooner.”
Not good enough, says Nadler, who is sticking to the demand for seeing the report this week or else it will be subpoenaed. The only permissible redactions, Nadler and Democrats say, is for “information that would compromise U.S. intelligence sources and methods.”
“Keep up the pressure, and don’t allow Attorney General Barr and President Donald Trump to hide the Mueller Report from the American people,” tweeted Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch of Boca Raton. “It’s time to release the report and get ALL of the facts!”
There is a problem with the Democrats’ demands, says Judiciary Committee ranking member Doug Collins of Georgia. If Barr acquiesced to Nadler and his colleagues, the Attorney General would be breaking the law by releasing grand jury proceedings.
“While I join Chairman Nadler in looking forward to reviewing the classified information in the report at a future date, he stands alone in setting arbitrary deadlines for that release and in calling the attorney general to break the law by releasing the report without redactions,” Collins said.
One day after Barr misses Nadler’s impending deadline, House Democrats will vote to authorize subpoenas for the full report, prompting yet another likely court battle.
Nuclear option, part 2
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is set to drop a political “nuclear device” for the second time in three years. Following more than two years of what he describes as “mindless, undiscriminating obstruction,” in the area of appointments to Trump administration posts, McConnell is on the verge of taking the 60-vote confirmation requirement to a simple majority of 51.
“We aren’t talking about limited opposition to a few high-profile nominees or unusual circumstances,” McConnell wrote in an Op-Ed published in POLITICO. “It’s mindless, undiscriminating obstruction for the sake of obstruction. Even uncontroversial lower-level nominees whom literally no senators oppose are not spared.”
Shortly after Trump took office, McConnell and majority Republicans changed the voting rules for Supreme Court justices to a simple majority. Without it, Justices Neal Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh would likely not have survived Democratic attempts to block them.
McConnell used the precedent of his predecessor, former Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, who arranged the removal of the 60-vote barrier in 2013 when it came to confirming federal judges.
“The status quo is unfair, unhealthy and unsustainable,” McConnell continued. “This president and all future presidents deserve a more functional process for building their administrations.”
He added several Democrats told him they would support his resolution if its effective date would be delayed until after the 2020 elections.
“Give me a break,” added McConnell, who promised the vote would come this week.
Trump visits Lake O
Trump makes regular trips to South Florida to visit his posh Palm Beach mansion, but his latest trip involved talk of polluted water and dike strengthening. The President visited Lake Okeechobee to discuss fortifying the Herbert Hoover Dike and issues that created the toxic algal blooms from last year.
Joining him were several Republican members from the delegation, local officials, and officers from the Army Corps of Engineers. The President took credit for the impending work on the dike.
“This project was dying until we got involved,” he told reporters along the dike, which protects surrounding communities from flooding. “This was really dying.”
While he is correct that the project languished for years, the President was reminded by Democrats that his funding proposal for South Florida projects was less than $70 million while the entire delegation sought $200 million.
“The cuts to Everglades restoration President Donald Trump is proposing are deeply concerning,” said U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell before Trump’s arrival.
Republicans were pleased to see Trump in the area. Joining him were both Florida Senators, Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, Brian Mast, Francis Rooney and Greg Steube.
“It was great to be with @realDonaldTrump at Lake Okeechobee this afternoon,” tweeted Steube. “Water is the lifeblood of Florida, and I’m thankful for the investments President Donald Trump has made in our community.”
Rutherford joining flood coalition
Rep. John Rutherford has announced that he will be joining the American Flood Coalition.
The coalition is a nonpartisan compilation of cities, elected officials, military leaders, businesses, and civic groups that have come together to raise awareness and act upon higher seas, stronger storms and more frequent flooding.
Rutherford represents Florida’s 4th Congressional District, which houses both Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport. Sea level rising is expected to increase the risk of flooding to the bases among other locations along the coast. These naval stations also contribute $11 billion in gross regional product and provide more than 100,000 jobs in the state.
“Sea level rise impacts our many coastal communities and military installations in Northeast Florida,” said the Jacksonville Republican. “The flooding we have experienced in recent years threatens individual property, national security and our local economy. I am proud to join the American Flood Coalition and work in a bipartisan way to find solutions to sea level rise.”
In addition to Rutherford, Democratic Rep. Al Lawson and Republican Rep. Michael Waltz will also be joining the coalition
Crist announces grants
Rep. Charlie Crist of has announced a $300,000 grant from the Department of Health and Human Services to the Community Health Centers of Pinellas, Inc. The award will go toward the organization’s Family Planning Program.
The Community Health Centers were founded in 1980 by Dr. Johnnie Ruth Clarke. Its purpose at the time was to serve the local African-American Community but has since grown to help all of its residents.
“Community Health Centers of Pinellas offers valuable services to Pinellas residents, regardless of income, age, religious background, or sexual orientation,” said the St. Petersburg Democrat. “They provide a helping hand to our Pinellas community, and I am honored to announce this well-deserved grant,” Crist said.
The Community Health Centers served 50,000 patients in 2017 and have facilities ranging from St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs.
New alliance formed
Members of Congress routinely join a caucus or group that aligns with a policy area in which they are pursuing. The Climate Change Caucus and the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, both with Florida leadership, are two examples.
A new alliance is forming through the combined efforts of Deutch and Palm Harbor Republican Gus Bilirakis. The Congressional Hellenic-Israeli Alliance seeks to highlight the relationships between Greece and Israel and the relationship with the United States as it relates to maintaining economic stability and national security.
In an Op-Ed published in the Washington Times, the two lawmakers cite the developing partnership between the two Mediterranean countries and what it means to the United States.
“The United States should support and recognize the region’s blossoming Hellenic-Israeli partnership, which could be transformative for the respective nations and the international community of democratic stakeholders,” they wrote.
“Together, Cyprus, Greece and Israel will help strengthen our shared democratic values in the region,” they added. “The countries’ strategic location, natural resources and intellectual capital bring issues, such as economic development, energy production and counterterrorism, to the forefront.”
Bilirakis and Deutch point to other factors beyond a strategic partnership. They noted the recent increase in the number of Israeli tourists visiting Greece as signs of greater economic cooperation.
VA fails again
As if previous reports of substandard care and treatment of veterans at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities were not bad enough, the statistics surrounding those reports are now public. Thanks to an investigation by USA Today and The Boston Globe, veterans at facilities in 25 states received substandard care, with some found to be moaning in pain.
Other examples included a dementia patient whose foot was stuck in his wheelchair for hours as the staff walked by without offering any assistance. Also, many facilities failed to prevent and control infections.
Rep. Vern Buchanan quickly fired off a letter to VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, calling for “prompt attention to the problems at the VA medical facilities, describing them as “falling short” of keeping the country’s commitment to veterans.
“We need accountability and transparency at the VA once and for all,” Buchanan wrote. “Every agency employee needs to fulfill their duty and uphold the VA mission “to care for him who shall have borne the battle.”
Buchanan called for “a detailed explanation” for the seemingly never-ending problems at the VA.
“The continued abuses of veterans at these nursing homes is disgraceful and unacceptable,” he added.
On this day
April 3, 2000 — Former independent counsel Kenneth Starr spent more than $52 million investigating President Bill Clinton, officially making his Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky inquiry the most costly independent counsel investigation ever, according to a Government Accountability Office report.
Robert Ray, who replaced Starr the previous October, is expected to conclude his inquiries within the next year. Five independent counsels investigating Clinton administration officials have spent $95.3 million during the past six years.
April 3, 2015 — Iran and six world powers reached a historic agreement on a broad framework for resolving their long-standing dispute on Iran’s nuclear program, which has left the Islamic nation economically isolated. Crippling sanctions by the U.S. and European Union will be lifted after inspectors verify Iran took the agreement’s required steps.
Secretary of State John Kerry said the political understanding reached in the framework talks “is a solid foundation for the deal that we are seeking.” Most Republicans and some Democrats are skeptical and await details of the agreement.
Vertical gridlock
Steube posted a photo of him trying to open elevator doors. Whether this was a real or staged event, the description captured the current state of Capitol Hill perfectly.
“Gridlock in Washington is at an all-time high, I can’t even get out of the elevator!”
