Day 55: Blocked!

Holy smokes, so much to unpack today.

• The really bad sections of Trump's travel ban have been struck down nationwide by a judge in Hawaii. (Those sections are 2 and 6, if you're curious - the country ban and the refugee ban.) (Full text of the opinion) It's another pretty scathing opinion.
• Tillerson, acting as Secretary of State, threatens to withdraw the US from the UN Rights Council. Not particularly diplomatic, in my humble opinion.
• The head of the Defense Department believes that climate change is real and poses a national security risk. Are Republicans going to listen? I doubt it.
• Hidden in this article is details of Kushner getting a $400 million bonus in a "Sweetheart deal" from a company linked to the Communist party of China (another article). Holy shit. If that's not a conflict of interest, I'm a donkey who's just eaten an elephant and is about to undergo metamorphosis into a blue whale.
• Republicans have watered down regulations on drug-testing people on public benefits. This has repeatedly been shown to cost more money than it saves, and is just plain dehumanizing.
• Another article detailing how Obamacare is not in a death spiral.
• Trump wants to undo emissions regulations on the automotive industry, directing the EPA to review their standards. So long as his pals make money, the environment doesn't matter, right? However, California may be a thorn in his side on this one. (Yay!) Get ready for a showdown over their waiver to have stricter emissions standards, though.
• Trump is meeting with the President of China. Where? Mar-a-Lago, of course. Emoluments, anybody? WHY IS NOBODY PAYING ATTENTION TO THEIR BELOVED CONSTITUTION???
• Trump, who campaigned on the claim that Wall St executives do not have the good of the people in mind, has nominated a 5th Goldman Sachs banker to a senior position. Welp, so much for the little people.
• How much is hinging on this crappy health care bill? Well, given that Republicans refuse to raise taxes, they need as much savings as they can get from health care, so they can spend it on their other promises.
• ICE agents are making arrests inside courthouses. Wow. Can you get any more brazen?
• The CBO points out that the Republican health care bill, which doesn't mention Planned Parenthood by name, singles only Planned Parenthood out for partisan attack and defunding. Meanwhile, we have research strongly suggesting that defunding Planned Parenthood would actually be VERY expensive due to the lack of health care that it provides and the number of unwanted births. Huh, fancy that.
• John Kerry's speechwriters point out how Tillerson's silence on so many issues is damaging the US internationally.
• The Supreme Court nominee has a bunch of very shady ties to a billionaire who got him where he is today.

Tomorrow, we get to see the Trump budget that's been hinted at so strongly for so long. We're expecting a big boost to military, at the expense of foreign aid, the State department, the EPA, and programs for the Arts. Tune in tomorrow to hear the good news!