Trump’s pick for Army Secretary drops out
President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Army abruptly withdrew his name from consideration late Friday night, citing his inability to get around strict Defense Department rules concerning his family businesses.
Vincent Viola, founder of digital stock trading firm Virtu Financial and owner of the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers, had been working through the confirmation process to become Army Secretary since mid-December.
He had planned to transfer ownership to other family members but turn over operations responsibilities to the team’s vice chairman, but that arrangement did not meet Pentagon requirements, according to sources
Utah’s Governor, Gary Herbert (R), posted this photo of a refugee family and welcomed them to the US
Utah Republican Gov. Gary Herbert posted a photo of a refugee family arriving at the Salt Lake City International Airport Thursday, the last to arrive in the state before President Donald Trump's 120-day suspension of refugees entering the US went into effect
The Afghanistan family fled to Pakistan when the Taliban came to their village, Danielle Stamos, a spokeswoman for the Catholic Community Services of Utah, told CNN.
Catholic Community Services of Utah staff planned to welcome the family, but after staff members began inviting others to join, "it exploded," Stamos said, and about 400 people were on hand at the airport to greet them. Pamela Atkinson, an adviser to Herbert, was among those at the airport, and she snapped the photo and sent it to his office.
The governor saw the photo and wanted to post it. His caption: "A great Utah moment as we welcome Utah's newest pioneers."
This pisses me off. Eric Trump’s business trip to Uruguay cost taxpayers $97,830 in hotel bills
When the president-elect’s son Eric Trump jetted to Uruguay in early January for a Trump Organization promotional trip, U.S. taxpayers were left footing a bill of nearly $100,000 in hotel rooms for Secret Service and embassy staff.
The Uruguayan trip shows how the government is unavoidably entangled with the Trump company as a result of the president’s refusal to divest his ownership stake. In this case, government agencies are forced to pay to support business operations that ultimately help to enrich the president himself. Though the Trumps have pledged a division of business and government, they will nevertheless depend on the publicly funded protection granted to the first family as they travel the globe promoting their brand
3 words: Iran Contra Conspirator
Good morning. Grab some coffee (or tea), and settle in. This is your morning open thread. Happy chatting.