Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines
Records: EPA chief jets away for weekends on taxpayer's dime
WASHINGTON (AP) — Records show the head of the Environmental Protection Agency spent weekends in his home state during his first three months in office, frequently flying to and from Oklahoma at taxpayer's expense.
GOP congressman isn't sure how to fix health care fiasco but knows it involves sexism and a duel
With the GOP health care bill on life support in the senate, lawmakers are eager to find someone to blame. One Texas lawmaker focused his frustrations with “some female senators from the Northeast" and tacked on some beyond out-dated and sexist thoughts in a radio interview. In an interview on "1440 Keys" Friday, Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold spoke about how he wanted to handle the fallout from failing to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. SEE ALSO: Jimmy Kimmel tweets update on 3-month-old son, calls for action on healthcare "If it was a guy from south Texas, I might ask him to step outside and settle this Aaron Burr-style,” he said to talk show host Bob Jones. Listen to his comments below around the 27-minute mark. Sure sounds like he really wants to duel the GOP health care bill's opponents, but only the female ones. He can't, though, because they are women. I can't see Lisa Murkowski losing a duel with Blake Farenthold tbh, even if her weapon jammed — southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) July 24, 2017 He won't duel women because he knows he'd get shot. https://t.co/RHnSd3tKpR — Stephanie Renee (@Steph56Renee) July 24, 2017 Cool, that's a normal response in 2017 to a political fail. And no reason to include male senators. That'd be silly. He could have challenged Rand Paul to a duel. Didn’t. https://t.co/J1Z2N9xIqK — Sam Stein (@samstein) July 24, 2017 Sens. Susan Collins, Shelley Moore Capito and Lisa Murkowski came out against Mitch McConnell's bid to straight repeal the ACA, but Sens. Mike Lee and Jerry Moran, both men, effectively sank the proposed replacement bill. So color Farenthold confused about a number of things. Farenthold is blaming the female senators for stalling the bill, but he's not OK with taking this outside. That would not be appropriate or ladylike. If they were men they might be idiots like Rep Farenthold apparently is https://t.co/ekd4KbPNfH — Howard Dean (@GovHowardDean) July 24, 2017 Farenthold, for the record, was once photographed wearing ducky pajamas with scantily-clad women. He at one time owned the domain name blow-me.org. And he was sued by a former staffer for alleged gender discrimination and for making an uncomfortable work environment. To recap: Farenthold thinks a man-to-man duel would be the best way to settle health care policy and 2017 gets more ridiculous by the day. WATCH: Bizarre moments from Sean Spicer's short stint at the White House
Rexit? Rex Tillerson 'to quit as Donald Trump's secretary of state before the end of the year'
Rex Tillerson is growing increasingly disillusioned with President Donald Trump and could leave his administration before the end of the year, according to two sources who spoke to CNN. The secretary of state has found himself undermined by the president, who openly contradicts him and appears disinterested in the work of Mr Tillerson's team of career diplomats at the state department. Friends of Mr Tillerson's had previously believed he would ride out the rollercoaster at Foggy Bottom - home of the state department. But CNN on Monday reported that the friends had noticed "a change in tone," and thought that he could well be planning on leaving Washington. Profile | Rex Tillerson "His frustration is hardly a secret and it has spilled out publicly at times," CNN reported. "But friends sense a change of late. "Two sources who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity over the weekend said they would not be surprised if there was a 'Rexit' from Foggy Bottom sooner that that." The 65-year-old Texan has made no secret of his struggle with the role. Reluctant in front of the camera, in his first interview he said he had only taken the job because his wife thought it was a good idea. Rex Tillerson at the state department on June 9 The president has made his life harder by blocking a number of people Mr Tillerson wished to appoint, including stopping the hiring of Elliott Abrams as Mr Tillerson's second in command, because Mr Abrams was critical of Mr Trump and his policy positions during the 2016 campaign. The state department is described as a hollowed-out and demoralised institution under Mr Tillerson, who has failed to convince his boss that diplomacy is something to be prized. Mr Tillerson reportedly got involved in a heated argument about staffing, in which Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, reportedly called Mr Tillerson "unprofessional". During his tirade, inside the office of chief of staff Reince Priebus, Mr Tillerson reportedly quarreled with the director of presidential personnel, Johnny DeStefano, and made clear he didn’t want the White House to “have any role in staffing.” Mr Tillerson has also been undermined on policy. Rex Tillerson with his Saudi counterpart He advocated remaining neutral during the Gulf dispute with Qatar, saying: “We call on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt to ease the blockade against Qatar. There are humanitarian consequences to this blockade." Hours later, Mr Trump went against his position and openly backed Saudi Arabia. “The nation of Qatar, unfortunately has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level,” said Mr Trump. “And in the wake of that conference, nations came together and spoke to me about confronting Qatar over its behaviour." Mr Tillerson unsuccessfully argued against Mr Trump pulling the US out of the Paris climate change agreement, and when asked whether he still wishes the US was part of the deal, he replied: "My views haven't changed." In June The New York Times spoke to three ambassadors – two in Europe, one in Asia – who said they were so muddled by the lack of leadership from the state department that they had taken to referring their inquiries to the national security council instead. Were Mr Tillerson to resign, he would be far from the shortest-tenured secretary of state. Elihu Washburne only served 11 days under Ulysees Grant, before being made ambassador to France.
No comments:
Post a Comment