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Politics

President Donald J. Trump, left, hands Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, right, an executive order in the Oval Office in Washington, Friday. (Photo: Reuters)

President Donald J. Trump, left, hands Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, right, an executive order in the Oval Office in Washington, Friday. (Photo: Reuters)

President Donald J. Trump will sign executive orders stating his intention to renegotiate NAFTA and withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The actions would represent a fulfillment of oft-repeated campaign promises, which won him Rust Belt states no Republican has carried since the 1980s.

NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, was pushed by former President Bill Clinton and enacted in 1994. It is a free trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and has largely been blamed for the destruction of much of the American manufacturing base.

The deal was intended to eliminate most trade tariffs between the three nations, increase investment and tighten protection and enforcement of intellectual property. There are numerous reports claiming the number of jobs increased since it was enacted, but much of that analysis uses dating gimmicks to pad the data.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a division within the U.S. Labor Department, the state of Indiana alone lost roughly 18% of the manufacturing industry during the period 1994 to 2015, years impacted by NAFTA and the World Trade Organization. The cutoff for the figure is the second quarter of 2015, when the latest available employment data was released by the Labor Department.

“We will be starting negotiations having to do with NAFTA,” Presidnet Trump said Sunday at a swearing-in ceremony for his top White House advisers. “We are going to start renegotiating on NAFTA, on immigration and on security at the border.”

From the third quarter of 1993 to the aforementioned period, The Hoosier State has lost at least 113,000 manufacturing jobs, a conservative number that factors both jobs created by exports and jobs displaced by imports. Meanwhile, the percentage of all private sector jobs that are manufacturing jobs in the state of Indiana fell from 28% to 20.2% during the NAFTA-WTO period.

TPP, the trade agreement negotiated by the Obama administration including 11 Pacific Rim countries, has yet to be ratified by Congress. Now, the new administration will also move to begin individual trade negotiations with the countries involved in TPP.

Wilbur Ross, who was nominated for secretary of the Commerce Department, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Peter Navarro, the head of the newly-formed White House Trade Council, will be put in charge of negotiating the new deals.

In the lead up to the announcement, the president held a round table with business leaders at the White House focused on incentivizing companies to stay in the U.S. and build their products in the U.S.

“We think we can cut regulations by 75%, maybe more,” President Trump said. “We want to make our products here. There will be benefits for companies who make their products here. It’s going to be a wave.”

Following the business round table, he will meet with labor union leadership and said he will soon meet Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto to begin work on overhauling NAFTA.

President Donald J. Trump will sign executive

Politics

President Donald J. Trump, left, shakes hands with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., during Inauguration Day on January 20, 2017.

President Donald J. Trump, left, shakes hands with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., during Inauguration Day on January 20, 2017.

On Monday, Republicans in Congress with unveil a plan to replace ObamaCare, the former president’s still-unpopular signature healthcare law. While details are still murky, the Patient Freedom Act will eliminate harsh penalties for not having insurance and focus more on choice, rather than government-run marketplaces.

The plan was crafted by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Me., and will include health savings accounts and long-debated measures to increase competition. While ObamaCare is unpopular taken as a whole, certain aspects to the bill are popular at least in theory.

The Republican plan will aim to keep popular provisions, including the one allowing individuals to stay on their parents’ policies until they are 26 years-old.

The money meant for states to pay for Medicaid expansion with be paid on a pro-beneficiary basis and capped.

“It’s what the federal government does with insurance companies,” Rep. Cassidy said. “Now the taxpayer does it with the state.”

On Monday, Republicans in Congress with unveil

Policy

NOVEMBER 8, 2016: Then-President-Elect Donald J. Trump speaks to supporters on Election Night in New York York City. (Photo: Associated Press)

NOVEMBER 8, 2016: Then-President-Elect Donald J. Trump speaks to supporters on Election Night in New York York City. (Photo: Associated Press)

Because of what he’s said on entitlements, infrastructure, child care, and other issues, I’ve been skeptical about Donald Trump.

But if recent headlines are true, I may develop a man crush.

Here’s a story from The Hill.

Donald Trump is ready to take an ax to government spending. Staffers for the Trump transition team have been meeting with career staff at the White House ahead of Friday’s presidential inauguration to outline their plans for shrinking the federal bureaucracy, The Hill has learned. The changes they propose are dramatic. The departments of Commerce and Energy would see major reductions in funding, with programs under their jurisdiction either being eliminated or transferred to other agencies. The departments of Transportation, Justice and State would see significant cuts and program eliminations. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting would be privatized, while the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities would be eliminated entirely. Overall, the blueprint being used by Trump’s team would reduce federal spending by $10.5 trillion over 10 years. …At the Department of Justice, the blueprint calls for eliminating the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Violence Against Women Grants and the Legal Services Corporation and for reducing funding for its Civil Rights and its Environment and Natural Resources divisions. At the Department of Energy, it would…eliminate the Office of Electricity, eliminate the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and scrap the Office of Fossil Energy, which focuses on technologies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Under the State Department’s jurisdiction, funding for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are candidates for elimination.

This warms my heart. It might even send a thrill up my leg, to borrow a phrase from Chris Matthews.

But that’s not all.

The Washington Examiner also has a report that has me salivating.

Making good on a promise to slash government, President-elect Trump has asked his incoming team to pursue spending and staffing cuts. Insiders said that the spending reductions in some departments could go as high as 10 percent and staff cuts to 20 percent, numbers that would rock Washington if he follows through. At least two so-called “landing teams” in Cabinet agencies have relayed the call for cuts as part of their marching orders to shrink the flab in government. …The teams also are looking at staffing cuts over four years through attrition, a hiring freeze and reorganization. The plan is winning cheers in conservative, anti-tax and anti-spending corners in Washington that have long sought massive cuts in the bureaucracy. …Trump is likely to face a wall of opposition from Democrats and federal unions who consider much of the federal workforce on their side.

Sounds great, right?

But before getting too excited, keep in mind that these articles simply refer to options that Trump’s team is preparing. It’s still an open question whether Trump actually embraces these policies.

So my man crush is on hold until I see whether Trump actually decides to do what’s right for the nation.

But if he does, I have some very helpful three-part advice for successful fiscal policy.

  1. The budget is a garden.
  2. Counterproductive agencies, programs, and departments are like weeds in the garden.
  3. Don’t trim weeds, pull them out by the roots.

In other words, don’t cut programs by 10 percent, 20 percent, or even 50 percent. If you do that, it’s like cutting off a weed at ground level. If the root system is still there, it’s just a matter of time before it regrows and begins to suffocate the good plants (i.e., the private sector).

Instead, shut them down. Eliminate them. Raze the buildings. And pour a foot of salt on the ground so nothing can regrow.

Simply stated, it’s very easy to restore a budget cut at some point in the future. But if a part of government is totally wiped out, then special interests have to go through all the effort of recreating that function. And that’s not overly easy given the separation-of-powers system that the Founding Fathers wisely created.

Another advantage of killing off programs and agencies is that voters will see that they were never needed in the first place.

Get rid of the National Endowment for the Arts and people will quickly see that the hysterical claims of its supporters were nonsense.

Shut down the Department of Commerce and, other than cronyists, folks won’t even notice that it’s gone.

Cut off all funding for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the only losers will be the bureaucrats who no longer get to enjoy business-class junkets to Paris.

I’ve already identified several cabinet departments that should be terminated.

  • Get rid of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
  • Shut down the Department of Agriculture.
  • Eliminate the Department of Transportation.
  • Abolish the Department of Education.
  • Pull the plug on the Department of Energy.
  • Phase out the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  • Dump the Small Business Administration.

John Stossel also has a bunch of suggestions for Trump’s first week.

…there’s a lot of good Trump and Pence could do their first day, or, let’s be generous, their first week. …Monday: Abolish the Department of Commerce. …Commerce just happens; it doesn’t need a department. Today the Department of Commerce spends $9 billion a year subsidizing companies with political connections, gathering economic data, setting industry standards and doing a bunch of things companies ought to do for themselves. Get rid of it. Tuesday: Abolish the Department of Labor. The Department inserts itself into almost every protracted argument between workers and management. Why should we let government referee every argument? Let workers, bosses, unions and their lawyers fight it out. …The Labor Department also spends about $9 billion gathering information on workers. Top labor-union bosses make six-figure salaries. I’m sure their organizations could spend a little on statistics and workplace studies. Leave the poor, oppressed taxpayer out of it.

For the rest of the week, he suggests wiping out the Small Business Administration, the Department of Education, and the Department of Energy, so you can see we’re on the same wavelength.

The bottom line is that President Trump (I didn’t think I’d ever write those words) is in a position to…um, well…make America great again.

But that means pursuing a fiscal policy consistent with America’s founding principles.

I’m not expecting miracles, but it would be nice to see some semi-serious spending restraint when the dust settles. And any good results will be much more durable if they’re based on program terminations instead of haircuts.

If recent reports about Donald Trump gearing

Politics

U.S. President Donald Trump, signs his first executive orders at the White House on Friday. Behind him, from left, are senior adviser Jared Kushner, Vice President Mike Pence and staff secretary Rob Porter. (Photo: Reuters)

U.S. President Donald Trump, signs his first executive orders at the White House on Friday. Behind him, from left, are senior adviser Jared Kushner, Vice President Mike Pence and staff secretary Rob Porter. (Photo: Reuters)

On Monday, President Donald J. Trump aims to take further executive action on trade, immigration and the economy. With respect to trade, the president is expected to sign executive orders as early as Monday stating his intention to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The actions would represent a fulfillment of oft-repeated campaign promises, which won him Rust Belt states no Republican has carried since the 1980s.

While the details of the order are unclear, there are a number of actions related to immigration that the new president vowed to take on the campaign trail, which could be considered low hanging fruit.

On immigration, polling shows voters want the Justice Department (DOJ) to get tough on sanctuary cities that refuse to enforce immigration laws. A recent Rasmussen Reports survey found 62% of likely voters say the DOJ should take legal action against cities that provide sanctuary for illegal immigrants.

A review by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) of new data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that 1.5 million new immigrants are settling in the country each year. The American Community Survey (ACS) is the largest survey conducted by the Bureau and it showed newly arrived immigrants are both legally and illegally migrating to the U.S.

When asked, as they did in another recent Rasmussen survey, if they “support the president’s [Obama] plan to protect up to five million illegal immigrants from deportation and give many of them legal work permits,” a large majority of Americans said no.

A whopping 62% were absolutely opposed to the plan and 56% continue to believe the federal government already isn’t doing enough to send illegal immigrants back home. You would never know this if you — say, I don’t know — lived in D.C. or only read the Huffington Post.

While someone between three-fourths and two-thirds of the 1.5 million are legal immigrants, including permanent residents as well as long-term visitors such as guest workers and foreign students, the remainder are new illegal immigrants.

People’s Pundit Daily reported less than a week before the 2016 presidential election illegal immigrants from around the world were pouring across the U.S.-Mexican border. The review of the data backs up the U.S. Border Patrol agents testimony and apprehension figures.

“We are overwhelmed,” said a veteran agent in McAllen, Texas. “We are seeing 800 to 1,000 apprehensions every night.”

That type of unfettered immigration policy is one of the main reasons–along with trade–President Trump was the first Republican since the 1980s to carry several states in the Rust Belt, including Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

“In fact, more Americans think immigration should be decreased than increased, and by a nearly two-to-one margin, 41 percent vs. 22 percent,” Lydia Saad said regarding another recent Gallup survey.

In fiscal 2016, the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended 117,200 immigrants from Central America, representing almost one-third of all apprehensions. This year, the agency said the number of apprehensions is 5,000 more than during the surge of 2014, the year that was considered an all out border crisis.

Following the Supreme Court’s split 4-4 decision blocking the president’s executive order on immigration, a SurveyUSA Poll found voters in leftwing San Diego County not only support deportation but are willing to pay for illegal immigrants to be deported. The split was an overwhelming 5:3, with just 34% of San Diego County adults saying those in the U.S. illegally should be allowed to stay and 54% saying illegal immigrants should be deported.

On Monday, President Donald J. Trump aims

Politics

President Donald J. Trump imposed over the lobby of the CIA Headquarters Building in McLean, Virginia, August 14, 2008. (Photo: Reuters)

President Donald J. Trump imposed over the lobby of the CIA Headquarters Building in McLean, Virginia, August 14, 2008. (Photo: Reuters)

President Donald J. Trump visited the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on Saturday in an effort to ease tensions and ensure rank-and-file he had their back. The new president also made clear one of his top priorities is to destroy the Islamic State (ISIS), which many in the agency believe President Barack Obama didn’t do enough to do.

“We have to get rid of ISIS. We have no choice. Radical Islamic terrorism, it has to be eradicated,” said Trump, on his first full day in the White House and his first official agency stop of his presidency.

Following his private meeting with top CIA leaders, Trump said the U.S. had been “restrained” in its efforts to combat terrorism, calling the threat “a level of evil we haven’t seen.”

Trump had hoped to have his new nominee for CIA director confirmed when he made the decision to travel to CIA headquarters, but Democrats are slow walking Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo and other Trump Cabinet picks. But his trip comes after a very public feud with outgoing CIA Director John Brennan over Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 campaign, which he claimed was overblown by the media.

President Donald J. Trump visits the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on Saturday, January 21, 2017. (Photo: Screenshot)

President Donald J. Trump visits the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on Saturday, January 21, 2017. (Photo: Screenshot)

Last week, he asked whether Mr. Brennan leaked an unofficial, unsubstantiated dossier on him containing embarrassing and highly suspect allegations. The accusation, which actually came after Mr. Brennan made unprecedented public criticisms against the new president, also compared the director to living in “Nazi Germany.”

“Nobody feels stronger about the intelligence community than Donald Trump,” the president said on Saturday. “I love you. I respect you. There’s nobody whom I respect more. We are going to start winning again.”

But Democrats and the politically appointed Mr. Brennan slammed President Trump for using his CIA visit to criticize Big Media coverage.

“Brennan is deeply saddened and angered at Donald Trump’s despicable display of self-aggrandizement in front of CIA’s Memorial Wall of Agency heroes,” his former aide Nick Shapiro said in a statement. “Brennan says that Trump should be ashamed of himself.”

Trump also used the visit to tear into Democrats who are playing politics with national security by holding up the confirmation of Rep. Mike Pompeo, his CIA director nominee. Truth be told, most of the rank-in-file in attendance cheered the new president on as he trashed the media and effort to hold up Mr. Pompeo. When he said “they are among the most dishonest human-beings on the planet,” he received a standing ovation and applause.

“We are going to do great things,” said Trump,adding Rep. Pompeo would back the CIA and its mission as the country’s top spy agency all the way. “Everything he’s done is a home run. People like him. People respect him. You are going to be getting a total star.”

President Donald J. Trump visited the Central

World

FILE - In this Oct. 20, 2015 file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, shakes hand with Syrian President Bashar Assad as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, right, looks on, at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia. For five years fighting has raged in Syria -- a globally resonant nightmare kept going in part by the insistence of Bashar Assad’s opponents that he must go even though they were failing to dislodge him from power. Now an inflection point may finally be at hand, with increasingly important Turkey suggesting Assad could play a role in an unspecified transition period. (Photo: Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE – In this Oct. 20, 2015 file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, shakes hand with Syrian President Bashar Assad as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, right, looks on, at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia. For five years fighting has raged in Syria — a globally resonant nightmare kept going in part by the insistence of Bashar Assad’s opponents that he must go even though they were failing to dislodge him from power. Now an inflection point may finally be at hand, with increasingly important Turkey suggesting Assad could play a role in an unspecified transition period. (Photo: Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

The Russian armed forces have signed a 49-year lease with Syria giving the navy use of the port of Tartus the air force use of the base at Hmeymim. The lease will have a 25 year automatic renewal feature if neither side objects. The agreements will ensure a permanent Russian presence in the Middle East for decades to come.

“The current agreement will stay effective for 49 years and be automatically prolonged for 25-year periods, if neither party makes a twelve months’ notice in writing through diplomatic channels of its intention to terminate the agreement’s operation,” read the documents on the Russian legal portal

“Russia will use the facilities subject to joint use on the disinterested basis,” the agreement says.

“The logistic facility shall enjoy full immunity from the civil and administrative jurisdiction of Syria. Its movable and immovable property enjoys immunity from search, requisition, arrest or executory measures,” the document states, reported Russian State News Agency TASS.

This article first appeared on Tsarizm.com — “News you need to know RIGHT NOW about Russia, the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe”

The Russian armed forces have signed a

Policy

President Donald Trump delivers his speech at the inauguration ceremonies as the 45th president of the United States on the West front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2017. (Photo: Reuters)

President Donald Trump delivers his speech at the inauguration ceremonies as the 45th president of the United States on the West front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2017. (Photo: Reuters)

I was sitting directly under a television in a Caribbean airport yesterday when Trump got inaugurated, so I inadvertently heard his speech.

The bad news is that Trump didn’t say much about liberty or the Constitution. And, unlike Reagan, he certainly didn’t have much to say about shrinking the size and scope of Washington.

On the other hand, he excoriated Washington insiders for lining their pockets at the expense of the overall nation. And if he’s serious about curtailing sleaze in DC, the only solution is smaller government.

But is that what Trump really believes? Does he intend to move policy in the right direction?

Well, as I’ve already confessed, I don’t know what to expect. The biggest wild card, at least for fiscal policy, is whether he’ll be serious about the problem of government spending. Especially entitlements.

I’ve been advising the Trump people that he needs some genuine spending restraint (or even some semi-serious spending restraint) if he actually wants to enact his big tax cut and have it be durable. And I’ve also been reminding them that Reagan’s 1984 landslide was in part a reward for having implemented policies that triggered strong growth.

However, I gave that same advice to Bush’s people last decade and they didn’t listen, so I’m not overflowing with optimism that I’ll have more luck this time around.

But hope springs eternal, so I’m starting the Trump era with my fingers crossed that we’ll get some good reform and good results. I talk about these issues in this interview with Dana Loesch.

[brid video=”107896″ player=”2077″ title=”Dan Mitchell Speculating on Whether Trump Will Move Policy in the Right Direction”]

If I can elaborate on a couple of points from the interview, I am especially interested to see whether Republicans can actually deliver a big reduction in the corporate tax rate. Trump wants 15 percent, which would be great. House Republicans have proposed 20 percent, which also would be a big shift in the right direction.

But there are a lot of details to be addressed before a big fiscal package can be approved, including whether Trump will do something to control spending and also how he will deal with the controversial provision on border adjustability in the House plan.

Regarding employment, I mentioned that we have the good news of a lower unemployment rate combined with the bad news of too many people out of the labor force.

I shared my views on this issue for a story in USA Today.

The share of Americans working or looking for jobs is near historic lows. About 10 million prime-age men aren’t in the labor force — a lingering casualty of the Great Recession. Wage increases were stagnant at about 2% for most of the 7 ½-year-old recovery. “Several million people are not earning income, not producing,” says Dan Mitchell, senior fellow at the conservative Cato Institute. “I don’t think it’s good for the economy and it’s not good for those people.” Mitchell at least partly blames the substantial increase in the disability and food stamp rolls during and after the recession, which he says encouraged some Americans to remain idle. “We’ve expanded the welfare state,” he says.

At the risk of stating the obvious, fewer people work when you increase the benefits of not working.

Last but not least, I will confess a sin of omission. Dana mentioned the uptick in consumer spending over the holidays. That’s an important economic indicator, to be sure, but I should have taken the opportunity to explain that consumer spending and consumer sentiments are symptoms of an improving economy rather than causes of an improving economy. The focus of policy should be on how to produce higher incomes, not on how existing income is allocated.

P.S. Speaking of sins of omission, I missed an important point earlier this month in my column on Obama’s legacy. Fortunately, Ramesh Ponnuru of National Review picked up the ball with the very important point that Obama utterly failed in his desire to be a Reagan-type transformational President.

Obama…wanted to be the liberal Reagan, or rather the liberal anti-Reagan: the person who pulled American politics back to the left a generation after Reagan pulled it to the right. …the Obama project has failed. He did manage to pull his own party to the left. …On criminal justice, on entitlements, on immigration, on abortion, on religious liberty, Democrats staked out positions and adopted rhetoric that were much less moderate than they had previously been. …The Democratic strategy of the Obama years has left the party locked out of power in the White House, the Senate, and the House… At no point in Obama’s presidency did his political success make Republicans consider assimilating some of his views into their philosophy, as Bill Clinton had done with Reaganism. Republicans are even less likely to make such an adjustment now. …it is clear enough already that Obama is no Reagan.

Which gives me another opportunity to call attention to the best poll of the past eight years.

President Donald J. Trump excoriated Washington insiders

Politics

President Donald J. Trump In his first hours as commander-in-chief signed executive orders imposing a regulatory freeze and directing federal agencies to “ease the burden” of ObamaCare.

While the first official work day for the new administration isn’t until Monday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer promised swift action on a number of issues.

“The president-elect is continuing to get briefed on some of the orders that he wants to do and the sequencing thereof,” Mr. Spicer told reporters at his first press conference, adding that President-elect Trump “is committed to not just day one, but day two, day three, of enacting an agenda of real change. And I think that you’re going to see that in the days and weeks to come.”

Mr. Spicer said the incoming administration is working to ensure executive orders are issued or revoked in the correct order. White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus will be sending a letter to the agencies involved detailing the executive action.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm General James Mattis as Secretary of Defense and General John Kelly as Secretary of Homeland Security. Vice President Mike R. Pence swore the two first cabinet members into office shortly after.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kty., also announced his intention to begin debate on Rep. Mike Pompeo, who was nominated to be the new Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Rep. Pompeo received widespread praise for his performance at the Senate confirmation hearing, but Democrats have been trying to slow walk and stall President Trump’s Cabinet nominees. Republicans helped to confirm 7 nominations for Barack Obama on his first Inauguration Day and Sen. John McCain, R-Az., slammed the opposition while stressing the need to deal with one crisis after another, including Syrian refugees and Russia.

“We need a new Director of the CIA more than ever,” Sen. McCain said, adding the only difference between 2009 and 2017 is that now “we’ve got a world on fire.”

President Donald J. Trump signed executive orders

Politics

General James Mattis was overwhelmingly confirmed as Secretary of Defense on Friday in a 91 to 1 vote, making him the first confirmed Trump Cabinet member.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., was the sole “No” vote.

Gen. Mattis, born in Washington State, served in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan before he left the Marines in 2013 after a 41-year career in uniform. He was the highest-ranking officer to lose a child in combat in Iraq or Afghanistan. Marine 1st Lt. Robert Kelly was killed in Afghanistan in November 2010.

He has since been a think-tank scholar at Stanford’s prestigious Hoover Institution and serves on the board of several private companies. He was and still remains a critic of President Barack Obama on Iran, which undoubtedly cost him his position as commander of U.S. Central Command.

Despite Republicans helping to confirm 7 nominations for Barack Obama on his Inauguration Day, Democrats have been trying to slow walk and stall President Donald J. Trump’s Cabinet nominees. Sen. John McCain, R-Az., slammed Democrats and noted the need to deal with one crisis after another, including Syrian refugees and Russia.

“We need a new Director of the CIA more than ever,” Sen. McCain said, adding the only difference between 2009 and 2017 is that now “we’ve got a world on fire.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kty., also announced his intention to begin debate on Rep. Mike Pompeo, who was nominated to be the new Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Rep. Pompeo received widespread praise for his performance at the Senate confirmation hearing.

Sen. McConnell said he hoped they would finish the debate “at some point tonight.”

Meanwhile, the Senate also voted 88-11 to confirm retired General John Kelly as Secretary of Homeland Security, the second of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees to be confirmed Friday.

#Mattisisms for Your Reading Pleasure

“Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.” — Iraq, 2003

“No war is over until the enemy says it’s over. We may think it over, we may declare it over, but in fact, the enemy gets a vote.” — Defense News

“I’m going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years.” — San Diego Union-Tribune

Gen. James Mattis was overwhelmingly confirmed as

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