Progressive Breakfast: Trump's Family Leave: An Empty Envelope for American Workers

Angela Simaan

Trump's Family Leave: An Empty Envelope for American Workers

The White House budget dispels any hopes Trump might keep his promise to extend a helping hand to the nation’s millions of small business workers with a family and medical leave act that works for them. Instead, the Trump team hands American workers an empty envelope.

Collateral Damage

Russia investigation may reveal aides’ excesses. The Atlantic: “As the blast radius of the Russia investigation continues to expand, Donald Trump is facing an unnerving new reality: The fate of his presidency may now hinge on the motley, freewheeling crew of lieutenants and loyalists who have long populated his entourage… Sources close to the president say there is growing concern in the White House about what skeletons may emerge as investigators comb through a coterie of aides, past and present, who would have done virtually anything to win favor with Trump.”

Trump will live-tweet James Comey hearing. Crooks and Liars: “I was just talking to some White House officials this morning and their view is that the president himself wants to be the messenger, his own warrior, his own lawyer, his own spokesman… the president is expected to be tweeting on Thursday in response to Comey, not to stay quiet during the testimony because he himself wants to be the one driving the process.”

Educational Morass

Betsy DeVos won’t protect LBGTQ students from discrimination. ThinkProgress: “Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos told a congressional panel Tuesday that she will do nothing to prevent schools from discriminating against LGBTQ students…. (Sen. Jeff) Merkley continued to grill DeVos: ‘You’re refusing to answer the question,’ he said. ‘I think that’s very important for the public to know  – that today, the Secretary of Education, before this committee, refused to affirm that she would put forward a program that would ban discrimination based on the LGBTQ status of students or ban discrimination based on religion.'”

Trump tax loopholes enrich donors to private schools. AlterNet: “The proposed Education Opportunities Act would ‘put two new federal voucher tax shelters within reach for many more Americans and lead to an explosion in funding for private schools,’ a joint release from the School Superintendents Association (ASSA) and Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) said. ‘It would also keep in place an existing federal loophole that permits savvy taxpayers to benefit from certain ‘double-dipping’ practices, where they receive a federal deduction and state tax credit on the same donation to a private school.’

Frauds and Fake News

The $110 billion arms deal to Saudi Arabia is fake news. Brookings Institution: “President Trump visited Saudi Arabia and his administration announced that he had concluded a $110 billion arms deal with the kingdom. Only problem is that there is no deal. It’s fake news.I’ve spoken to contacts in the defense business and on the Hill, and all of them say the same thing: There is no $110 billion deal. Instead, there are a bunch of letters of interest or intent, but not contracts.”

Trump shifts kids-cancer charity money Into his business. Forbes:  “In reviewing filings from the Eric Trump Foundation and other charities, it’s clear that the course wasn’t free–that the Trump Organization received payments for its use, part of more than $1.2 million that has no documented recipients past the Trump Organization. Golf charity experts say the listed expenses defy any reasonable cost justification for a one-day golf tournament. Additionally, the Donald J. Trump Foundation, which has come under previous scrutiny for self-dealing and advancing the interests of its namesake rather than those of charity, apparently used the Eric Trump Foundation to funnel $100,000 in donations into revenue for the Trump Organization.”

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People's Action.more »

American Taliban, When do you STOP believing GOP Horse Manure?

a link.

On same weekend as record-breaking arms 

deal, Saudis announced $100 million donation 

to Ivanka fund

DAILYKOS.COM

Over the weekend, Jared Kushner was credited with negotiating a $110 billion arms deal to the Saudis, the largest arms deal in U.S. history:

The deal was finalized in part thanks to the direct involvement of Jared Kushner, the President's son-in-law and senior adviser. He shocked a high-level Saudi delegation earlier this month when he personally called Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson and asked if she would cut the price of a sophisticated missile detection system, according to a source with knowledge of the call.

Pressured to finalize a massive $100-plus billion arms deal in the two weeks leading up to Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia, Kushner hoped to maneuver a discount on Lockheed's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system during the Saudis' visit to the White House on May 1 -- a request that Hewson said she would look into at the time.

Coincidentally, the Saudis have also agreed to donate a whopping $100 million to the recently announced women's fund inspired by Jared Kushner’s wife, Ivanka Trump:

The World Bank plans to announce Sunday at an event with Ivanka Trump, the U.S. president’s daughter and senior White House adviser, that Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates have pledged $100 million collectively toward a fund for women who own or want to start businesses, according to people familiar with the announcement.

You know what would advance women in Saudi Arabia? Rights. Actual rights guaranteeing their protection and equality.

The Wall Street Journal is quick to note that Ivanka Trump doesn’t personally solicit these donations, but it can’t be helped when they magically follow her around:

Ms. Trump has made the promotion of women entrepreneurs a signature part of her focus since her father’s inauguration in January. She has advocated for issues such as paid family leave, though the issue has gained little traction in Congress. While she had proposed the idea of the World Bank fund, Ms. Trump doesn’t control it or raise money for it, one person familiar with the plans said.

A $100 million donation is quite the kick-starter for a vaguely defined fund, right? Vanity Fair questioned the fund's intent last month when it first came to light:

Others disputed that characterization. A White House official stressed to The Washington Post that while Ivanka helped inspire the idea, she will not be involved in soliciting funds. “This is not a White House fund. This is not something that she will have any authority over in any way,” the official said. The initiative was first mentioned publicly by German Chancellor Angela Merkel during the panel, though a Trump administration official credited Ivanka for raising the idea during a meeting with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim.

The donations and the White House are not tied. Definitely not. No way! It is a total coincidence the $100 million donation is being made the same weekend a $110 billion arms deal is announced. And never mind that Ivanka Trump is traveling to Saudi Arabia in her official capacity as an ‘assistant to the president of the United States.’ 

Let’s recall Donald Trump’s reaction when it came to the Saudis donating to the Clinton Foundation. From October 2016:

When Chris Wallace asked Clinton about reports of conflicts of interest at the foundation, she responded, "I'm thrilled to talk about the Clinton Foundation because it is a world renowned charity and I'm so proud of the work that it does."

Trump shot in that it's a "criminal enterprise."

"Saudi Arabia given $25 million, Qatar, all of these countries. You talk about women and women's rights? These are people that push gays off business, off buildings. These are people that kill women and treat women horribly and yet you take their money," Trump said. "So I'd like to ask you right now why don't you give back the money that you've taken from certain countries that treat certain groups of people so horribly?

When the fund was announced last month, the Washington Post spoke with experts who said this is dangerous territory for the Trumps:

If true, this is egregious and potentially illegal, according to multiple ethics and legal experts. “If the donation would be a quid pro quo bribe, then asking for it is certainly solicitation of a bribe, which is every bit as criminal as the bribe itself,” Harvard Law professor Laurence Tribe tells me via email. “But I started that sentence with ‘if’ because I don’t have enough facts about the donation request to opine on the ultimate bribe issue.” Nevertheless, he says:

At the very least, though, a donation is a “present,” which – if made by a foreign government or an agent of such a government or an entity controlled by it – is expressly banned by the text of the Foreign Emoluments Clause with respect to anyone holding “any Office of Profit or Trust” under the United States. Whether it counts as an “emolument” becomes irrelevant if it’s a “present,” which any donation would at least be.

Tribe explains, “Even if the First Daughter and Assistant to the President somehow manages to create formal distance between herself and that version of the Clinton Foundation, which of course her father denounced endlessly during the campaign, the hypocrisy of the move is jaw-dropping.” He adds, “Such contributions would surely constitute a financial benefit to … her brand, and her family’s brand even if she is unable to spend a penny of the contributions themselves. As such, soliciting such contributions violates at least the spirit of the Foreign Emoluments Clause.”

Even more explicitly, the Office of Government Ethics rules, former Republican ethics counsel Richard Painter tells me, “prohibit use of official position to solicit for ANY charity or other private entity.” The OGE guidelines specifically state: “Executive branch employees are subject to restrictions on the gifts that they may accept from sources outside the Government. Unless an exception applies, executive branch employees may not accept gifts that are given because of their official positions or that come from certain interested sources.” The rationale for this is obvious (except to Trump). “Even if a gift is from a person or organization that has no official dealings with the employee’s agency, accepting a gift offered because of the employee’s official position may create an appearance of using public office for private gain,” the OGE guidelines explain. “Moreover, if an employee receives a payment from an outside source in some circumstances, the public may believe that the employee is serving two masters or is distracted by outside activities.”

Sunday, May 21, 2017 · 9:57:07 AM EDT · Jen Hayden

White House spokesman Sean Spicer is touting the massive donation, which totally has nothing to do with the White House. Here’s the link to his tweet promoting the donation, but there’s a screenshot below because it seems likely the tweet will disappear in the near future. Note the preceding tweet touting the record arms deal.

Sunday, May 21, 2017 · 10:27:10 AM EDT · Jen Hayden

Meanwhile:

 Follow

Drew Harwell 

✔@drewharwell

Ivanka gives Saudi speech on female empowerment. Female reporters were kicked out, but were told later it was great!http://wapo.st/2q9iTBD 

10:21 AM - 21 May 2017

 
•  13,20213,202 Retweets
 
•  13,09113,091 likes

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http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/5/21/1664578/-On-same-weekend-as-record-breaking-arms-deal-Saudis-announced-100-million-donation-to-Ivanka-fund

a link.

41 Republican Senators Voted Against a 

Landmark Veterans Bill in February, Today 

They Blame the VA

Earlier this year, the GOP had a chance to prove that it could fund 

veterans' health…

HUFFINGTONPOST.COM

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/h-a-goodman/republicans-va-funding_b_5395698.html

Richard Neil Graham

 San Diego, CA · 

It's an ugly sight to see
An American Taliban's
hypocrisy

Ivanka Trump meets with Saudi women leaders as some activists remain critical

The president’s daughter brought her message of female…

WASHINGTONPOST.COM

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/ivanka-trump-meets-with-saudi-women-leaders-as-some-activists-remain-critical/2017/05/21/9406c4ee-3e08-11e7-adba-394ee67a7582_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_ivanka-9am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.8534ff3499ca