Immigration, Trade and J-O-B-S – Real Issues on the President’s Plate

Good morning! This much is certain: President Trump either does or doesn’t support a compromise immigration bill that has taken weeks for members of Congress to negotiate. After several confusing tweets last week, the White House said Friday night that the president would sign a bill if it came to his desk. He is scheduled to travel to the Hill on Tuesday evening to talk with House Republicans and with Sen. Shelly Moore Capito about the bill and the border wall. Meanwhile, members of both parties, including First Lady Melania Trump and  former First Lady Laura Bush, are pushing Trump to stop the policy of separating families at the border. The House of Representatives could hold the Trump Administration in contempt of Congress if the FBI and the Justice Department don’t hand over documents ...

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Summits Galore, Including One Really Important One (To Which The U.S. Wasn’t Invited)

Good morning, Singapore! Well, actually, it’s nighttime there, but in just a few hours, President Trump will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in what could be one of the most significant summits ever between an American president and a foreign leader. The key will be what is accomplished, and whether President Trump can achieve a result that will keep South Korea safe while allowing the North to save face. Things can change quickly, however: Two weeks ago, the summit was off, and a few months ago, both countries were disconcertingly rattling their sabers. A timely discussion of North Korea’s willingness to give up its nuclear arsenal will take place on Tuesday at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which hosts “Denuclearization or Deterrence? Evaluating Next Steps on ...

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TenCount for June 4th, 2018

The summit before the summit(s): President Trump is scheduled to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the White House on Wednesday, and Topic A on the agenda is likely to be the president’s (for now) on-again June 12 meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Though the White House said Japan and the U.S. have a “shared imperative” to rid North Korea of its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, Trump said Friday, “I never said it goes in one meeting. I think it’s going to be a process.” The whipsaw of cancellation and reinstatement of the US-DPRK summit has think tanks thoroughly confused. On Monday, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies hosts “North Korea’s Smile Diplomacy: Breakthrough or Deja Vu?” On Tuesday, the Heritage Foundation asks “U.S.-North Korea Summit: Cancell ...

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An Investigation of the Investigation, Plus a Trade War Cease-Fire

Good morning! The big news today is that the Justice Department asked its Inspector General to probe whether the FBI investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia was politically motivated. That followed by a few hours a tweetstorm from President Trump in which he vowed to demand that the Justice Department take such a step. Also, Rudy Giuliani said Robert Mueller has signaled that he intends to end his obstruction inquiry by Sept. 1. The investigation of the investigation, however, might go one much longer… Hold your fire! The trade war has been put on hold – for a while at least. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said yesterday that the Trump Administration won’t implement trade sanctions on China after that nation agreed to increase its purchases of American products, in ...

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Saving Jobs in China, and Raising Wages in Mexico

Good morning! It’s rarely a surprise when President Trump brags about how many jobs he has brought back. But he nevertheless puzzled many observers on Sunday, when he tweeted that he was working to bring jobs back to a big phone maker that announced last week it was shutting down. What’s so unusual about that? The phone manufacturer, ZTE, is a Chinese company, and Trump said he was working with Chinese President Xi to prevent the collapse of the firm. “Too many jobs in China lost,” Trump tweeted. “Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!” Oddly enough, ZTE’s troubles began with the imposition of sanctions against the company by the Commerce Department last month. Trade with China will also be the topic of three days of hearings at the U.S. Trade Representative’s office begin ...

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