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Washington Examiner

CIA offers incentives to resign to whole workforce as part of Trump plan
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CIA offers incentives to resign to whole workforce as part of Trump plan

By Ross O'Keefe | Washington Examiner The CIA has reportedly offered the same eight-month incentives to resign that most federal employees have been extended as part of the Trump administration’s attempt to shrink the government. The original order excluded the CIA and other federal agencies. A CIA spokeswoman said the move was part of an effort to “infuse the agency with renewed energy,” the Wall Street Journal reported. The CIA is also freezing hiring for job seekers who have already been given a conditional offer. Some offers could even be rescinded, the outlet said. The Trump administration is purging federal agencies that don’t align with its ideology or aren’t motivated to work under them. Elon Musk’s Department of Government Eff...
Rubio’s good start blunting Chinese influence in Panama
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Rubio’s good start blunting Chinese influence in Panama

By Washington Examiner The selection of former Sen. Marco Rubio to become the nation’s secretary of state sent the message that shoring up Latin America will be a top priority for the new administration. Early returns suggest the selection is paying off. Rubio’s trip to Panama, his first stop as the nation’s most senior Cabinet member, delivered a significant concession from the Panamanian government. Following his meeting with Rubio, President Jose Raul Mulino, after months of denying President Donald Trump’s claims that China controlled the Panama Canal, announced that his country will not renew a 2017 infrastructure funding agreement with China.  As a result, Panama will cease participating in China’s Belt and Road Initiative once th...
Tom Homan to ‘seek prosecution’ against Phil Murphy if he is harboring illegal immigrant
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Tom Homan to ‘seek prosecution’ against Phil Murphy if he is harboring illegal immigrant

By Jenny Goldsberry | Washington Examiner Border czar Tom Homan will “look into” whether Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) is harboring an illegal immigrant as he claimed. This threat comes after Murphy said at an event that someone in his “broader universe, whose immigration status is not yet at the point that they are trying to get it to,” is living “at our house above our garage.” “Good luck to the feds coming in to try to get her,” Murphy said in the clip. READ THE FULL STORY ON THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Senate confirms Doug Burgum as interior secretary to pursue Trump pro-drilling agenda
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Senate confirms Doug Burgum as interior secretary to pursue Trump pro-drilling agenda

By Callie Patteson | Washington Examiner The Senate has confirmed former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as the next secretary of the interior in a bipartisan vote, further cementing an energy dominance focus in the president’s Cabinet.  Burgum, 68, was confirmed late Thursday night in a 79-18 vote with the majority of Senate Democrats voting in favor. The vote came one day after Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin was confirmed, making Burgum the eighth member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet to be confirmed.  Burgum sailed smoothly through his confirmation hearings in committee earlier this month. Last week, the Senate Committee of Energy and Natural Resources met to discuss advancing Burgum’s nomination to ...
Trump nominees to testify in high-stakes trio of Senate hearings
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Trump nominees to testify in high-stakes trio of Senate hearings

By Samantha-Jo Roth | Washington Examiner Three of President Donald Trump’s most controversial nominees will testify before the Senate on Thursday in what could be a make-or-break moment for the trio of administration picks. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., tapped to be Trump’s health and human services secretary, will appear for his second day of testimony, while Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel, nominated for intelligence chief and FBI director, respectively, will face senators for the first time in a committee setting. Each has made controversial statements that could imperil their nomination with the handful of centrist Republicans who will decide their fate. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Health officials told to stop working with WHO immediately after Trump withdrawal
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Health officials told to stop working with WHO immediately after Trump withdrawal

By Annabella Rosciglione | Washington Examiner Health officials working at agencies housed within the Department of Health and Human Services have been told to suspend their work with the World Health Organization immediately after President Donald Trump signed an executive order pulling the country out of the organization. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official John Nkengasong sent a memo to senior agency leaders Sunday night in which he said that all agency staff who work with the WHO must stop their collaborations effective immediately and “await further guidance.”  “All CDC staff engaging with WHO through technical working groups, coordinating centers, advisory boards, cooperative agreements or other means — in person or virtual,...
York: Trump’s first 100 hours was a shock to the system
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York: Trump’s first 100 hours was a shock to the system

By Byron York | Commentary, Washington Examiner  It’s a long tradition in American politics to evaluate a president by what he has accomplished in his first 100 days in office. Like so many other traditions of the presidency, Donald Trump has changed that. In his second term, he has been moving so fast on so many policy fronts that it will take a while to digest what he has done in the first 100 hours. Trump’s arrival has been a shock to the system in Washington. With his barrage of executive actions, he has simply overwhelmed the ability of the media and the political opposition to keep up with him. Trump’s opponents have been forced to choose which actions to resist and which to let slide, or at least just nominally resist. They simply don’t have ...
Senate gears up for what could be ‘explosive’ confirmation hearing for Kash Patel
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Senate gears up for what could be ‘explosive’ confirmation hearing for Kash Patel

By Samantha-Jo Roth | Washington Examiner Senators on both sides of the aisle are preparing for the confirmation hearing for Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, a critical test for the 44-year-old lawyer who is seen as one of the most controversial Cabinet nominees. Patel will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Jan. 30. The MAGA loyalist will be in the hot seat and will be pressed on the more controversial elements of his background, such as his deeply polarizing views about gutting the agency he wants to lead and what critics call an “enemies list” of Patel’s opponents.  Prior to his nomination, Patel flirted with unproven conspiracy theories, including QAnon, made calls to shut down the FBI headq...
Dr. Phil films as ICE targets migrants in Chicago
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Dr. Phil films as ICE targets migrants in Chicago

By Richard Pollina | Washington Examiner Dr. Phil McGraw embedded with US immigration enforcement officers during deportation raids on Sunday — quizzing a convicted child sex offender who smugly tried to brush off being in the country illegally. The TV host joined border czar Tom Homan in Chicago Sunday night when they took into custody Sam Seda, a Thai national who openly admitted he was not a citizen. “This is an example of sanctuary cities, right,” Homan told the host as they quizzed the cuffed migrant, one of 270 “high-value targets” they were seeking in the Windy City under President Trump’s new policy. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Score one for Trump’s tariff threat tactic, as Colombia caves on deportation flights
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Score one for Trump’s tariff threat tactic, as Colombia caves on deportation flights

By Jamie McIntyre | Washington Examiner A short-lived standoff with the government of Colombia over the acceptance of U.S. military flights carrying deported immigrants ended last night after President Donald Trump threatened the South American country with visa restrictions and initial 25% tariffs before Colombian President Gustavo Petro caved. “The government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump’s terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay,” the White House said in a statement from press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who noted the tariff will be held “in reserve” while the visa restrictions would remain “until the...