Officials: Trump Revealed Intelligence Secrets To Russians In Oval Office
President Trump disclosed highly classified information to Russia’s foreign minister and ambassador about a planned Islamic State operation, two U.S. officials said on Monday, plunging the White House into another controversy just months into Trump’s short tenure in office.
Media Watch From Sidelines As Trump Administration Retreats Into Secrecy
Perhaps nowhere outside the West Wing is that retreat more apparent than at the State Department, which for the first six weeks of the Trump administration essentially shut off all communication with the public and the press.
‘CEO’ Tillerson Faces Internal Skeptics
One of Rex Tillerson’s first directives as U.S. secretary of state was an order to senior staff that his briefing materials not exceed two pages. It was a reflection of Tillerson’s management style honed at the helm of Exxon Mobil, and one reason his closest aides at the State Department refer to him as “the CEO” rather than “the Secretary.”
Senate Confirms Tillerson As Secretary Of State In Contentious Vote
In the vote, 56 senators backed Tillerson, and 43 voted no. Senate Democrats had tried, but failed, to delay the vote because of Trump’s executive order banning immigration from seven mostly Muslim countries and temporarily halting the entry of refugees. They said they wanted to ask Tillerson more questions about the issue after Trump signed the order.
Trumped Up: The First Seven Days In Trumplandia
Authoritarians love walls. That will be his scrawl across America. It will make an enemy of our neighbor, Mexico, but who cares? That may be his foreign policy in a nutshell. We’re living in Donald Trump’s reality now, and the “truth” is what Trump says it is.
Report: Several Senior State Department Officials Suddenly Resign
“It’s the single biggest simultaneous departure of institutional memory that anyone can remember, and that’s incredibly difficult to replicate,” said David Wade, the State Department chief of staff under John Kerry. “Department expertise in security, management, administrative, and consular positions in particular are very difficult to replicate and particularly difficult to find in the private sector.”
By A Narrow Margin, Senate Panel Clears Tillerson’s Path To Be Secretary Of State
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 11-10 to approve Tillerson, with every Republican backing the former oil executive and every Democrat opposing him. Democrats said they voted against Tillerson over fears he might lift sanctions on Russia.
When Fear Rules, Constitutional Rights Get Trampled
Erring on the side of recklessness comes at a high price. It undermines the constitutional rights America values most. It harms our international image. It hands a recruitment tool to terrorists. We know this now. Time to apply the lesson.
U.S. State Department Nominee Tillerson Fights Climate Deposition
Rex Tillerson, the former oil executive under consideration for U.S. secretary of state, is trying to avoid giving testimony in a federal lawsuit over climate change, according to a lawyer for a group of teenagers who filed the suit. Tillerson’s deposition is set for Jan. 19, a day before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Trump Team Struggles For Cohesion On Tougher China Policy
The incoming U.S. administration’s tough talk against China has set the stage for showdowns on everything from security to trade and cyberspace, but contradictory signals are sowing uncertainty over how far President-elect Donald Trump is prepared to go in confronting Beijing.
‘Unpresidented’: A Sign Of The Times
Are we living history backward? A swaggering new president who lost the people’s vote may mimic Julius Caesar’s Rome, changing from a republic to an empire. Caesar conquered Gaul. Trump conquered Rockefeller Center, where NBC made the mogul’s reality show, “The Apprentice.” It feels “unpresidented.”
5 Key Climate Takeaways From The Rex Tillerson Confirmation Hearing
Tillerson is already under fire for making the seemingly false claim that Exxon has not lobbied against sanctions on Russia and other nations that would affect Exxon’s business dealings, but here are five other climate change-related takeaways that reporters should keep in mind in their coverage of the hearing and Tillerson nomination going forward.
Tillerson Ducks Queries On Exxon’s Climate Record, Lobbying In Senate Hearing
During the hearings, Tillerson repeatedly said that he and Exxon did not lobby Congress about sanctions against Russia implemented in 2014. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Bob Menendez then confronted Tillerson with lobbying documents that showed Exxon opposed the sanctions and paid Washington-based lobbyists to oppose the legislation.
Tillerson Says He Supports Keeping Russia Sanctions — For Now
Tillerson’s support for a more assertive policy toward Russia than Trump has espoused was tempered by his refusal to commit to support maintaining President Barack Obama’s executive order authorizing additional sanctions against Moscow because of its interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Exxon’s Rex Tillerson And The Rise Of Big Oil In American Politics
With Tillerson as the country’s top diplomat, the opportunity to redefine the rationale and methods for the entirety of our interactions with other nations is unparalleled. While this has been true to some extent since World War II, this appointment institutionalizes the view that our national diplomacy will be guided by resource acquisition.
Tillerson Faces Tough Questions On Russian Ties At Confirmation Hearing
The central question facing Tillerson, 64, the former chairman of Exxon Mobil, is how effectively he can transform himself from a Big Oil “dealmaker” to being America’s top diplomat with little government experience.
Kerry Warns Of ‘Authoritarian Populism,’ Takes Jab At Trump Tweets
In his most pointed public comments about Trump since the Nov. 8 presidential election, Kerry also suggested that the president-elect’s Cabinet nominees were getting a free pass from Congress for failing to submit tax returns and other documentation before their Senate confirmation hearings.
Top Senate Democrat Says Trump’s Nominees Need ‘Thorough’ Vetting
Schumer said Trump’s nominees, many of whom have extensive business backgrounds at companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp and Goldman Sachs, should be carefully scrutinized to be sure they avoid conflicts of interest. He also confirmed that some of Trump’s nominees have not completed a review process conducted by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
Despite Ethics Concerns, Senate Holds Confirmation Hearings For Trump’s Cabinet Posts
A total of seven confirmation hearings are expected this week, starting on Tuesday with hearings for U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions on his bid to become attorney general and a session for retired Gen. John Kelly, Trump’s pick for secretary of homeland security.
How Trump And McConnell Are Manipulating The Media
With six different confirmation hearings stacked on the same day, on top of Trump’s press conference, it’s impossible for the media to provide the information people need. And that’s the point — it appears to be a deliberate effort to manipulate both the press and the public.
The New Republican Majority In Congress Lays Groundwork For Trump Era
As the Republican-led U.S. Congress begins a new session, it will start laying plans for enacting President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda of tax cuts, repeal of Obamacare, and the rollback of financial and environmental regulations.
New U.S. Congress Prepares To Undo Obamacare, Weigh Trump Picks
Despite his promise to unite a deeply divided country, Trump will be sworn in on Jan. 20 leading a Republican Party that early on will push legislation through Congress without significant – or any – Democratic support.
Senator McCain Has Major ‘Concerns’ About Tillerson Nomination
“I and several of my colleagues have concerns about Mr Tillerson, and some of his past activities, specifically his relationship with Vladimir Putin,” McCain told reporters. Fellow Republican senator Lindsey Graham, who is traveling with McCain, called for sanctions against Russia to be widened to target areas like energy and to be directly aimed at Putin.
How Tillerson Created The (False) Impression He Supports Climate Action
Despite company denials, ExxonMobil has continued to spend millions of dollars on denier groups since Rex Tillerson took over as its CEO in 2006.
Trump’s Billionaire-Loaded Cabinet Will Face Ethics Test
While the president and vice president are largely exempt from government ethics rules, President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed Cabinet isn’t.