Oversight

Wilbur Ross and the Trump War on Truth BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD - 09/10/2019 After a quiet couple of months, Wilbur Ross, the secretary of commerce, appears set on distinguishing himself again as the most compromised member of an administration that at times seems defined by ethical and moral flexibility. On Monday, The Times reported that Mr. Ross… Read more »

Proposed ban on Pentagon spending at Trump properties gets new push BY CONNOR O'BRIEN - 09/09/2019 Democrats in the House are doubling down on proposed legislation to block military funds from being spent at properties owned by President Donald Trump, following reports that Air Force personnel stayed at the president's Turnberry resort in Scotland. The House voted in July to bar… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) issued the following statement after the New York Times reported Monday that Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross threatened to fire NOAA officials in retaliation for weather reports which corrected false tweets sent by the President: “Wilbur Ross must resign. “His direct attacks on the scientists and federal employees, whom he threatened to fire for doing… Read more »

‘Stupidest act of narcissism to date’: Congressman nails Trump for desperate Hurricane Dorian map BY SARAH K. BURRIS - 09/04/2019 Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) nailed President Donald Trump for his desperate attempt to avoid the humiliation of not knowing which state was Alabama. Trump was ridiculed after saying that Hurricane Dorian was going to hit Alabama. The national weather… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) issued the following statement today on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) forthcoming methane rule: “The Trump Administration’s decision to deregulate methane will endanger American lives,” said Rep. Beyer. “Last month the planet experienced its hottest month in recorded history. The threat of climate change to human life and livelihoods has never been… Read more »

Democrats eye action on threat of white nationalism BY MIKE LILLIS - 08/28/19 Democrats on Capitol Hill are pressing hard to adopt tougher gun laws following a pair of mass shootings this month that horrified the country and rekindled the on-again, off-again push to install higher barriers to owning firearms. But as Congress prepares to return to Washington next… Read more »

Federal News Network |  A group of Washington, D.C.-area Democrats are urging the Agriculture Department to reconsider its decision to offer $10,000 buyouts instead of the max $25,000, to USDA employees who opted out of the Kansas City relocation. The lawmakers said those employees were counting on the larger Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments, and that the switch is quote… Read more »

65 House Democrats, led by Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), sent letters today to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan seeking an explanation of the Trump Administration’s hampering of an effective, coordinated response to the growing threat of white supremacist extremist violence. Their oversight letter followed revelations that,… Read more »

The Hill |  House Democrats on Thursday pressed the FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to beef up their strategies to combat the threat of violence motivated by white supremacist extremism after the shooting in El Paso, Texas, this month. In letters to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, 65 House Democrats accused… Read more »

Washington Post |  Annie Polland had an immediate thought after she heard Ken Cuccinelli’s revision of the famous poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty on Tuesday: Her sixth-grade students seemed to understand Emma Lazarus’s “The New Colossus” better than the head of the nation’s legal immigration system did. “Clearly, he did not take part in our curriculum,” said Polland, the… Read more »