In a touch of good news, there is another chance for the Dreamers not to be deported. Congress has an omnibus spending bill that must pass by March 23. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Democrats and pro-immigration-reform Republicans will attach relief for Dreamers to the bill. It’s too early for a good read on how likely this is to pass. The proponents have some leverage as Trump wants funding for his border wall included in the legislation.
Turning to the usual Trumpian twisted news, an unnamed White House official said that the Florida shootings offered a “reprieve” from a variety of scandals afflicting the administration. The situation at the White House is not good when a massacre is seen as a welcome distraction.
Trump met with some of the student survivors; he had to carry a cheat sheet reminding himself to say “I hear you;” apparently otherwise he would not remember to show empathy.
Trump wants to prevent future shootings by having teachers carry guns. We learned that the armed Sheriff’s Deputy assigned to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida took a defensive position outside and did not enter the school while the shooter was killing 17 people there. Teachers hardly are going to be more effective than a Sheriff’s Deputy. Meanwhile, a third grader in Minnesota managed to fire a police officer’s holstered gun at a school event while the officer was sitting on a bench. That would never happen to a teacher, of course.
Perhaps not surprisingly, a Quinnipiac poll meanwhile showed that twice as many American voters favor gun control as don’t, the highest level of support ever measured by the poll.
Turning back to the White House, last week Chief of Staff John Kelly said employees with interim security clearances would no longer be given access to top-secret information. Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, is one who has not been able to obtain permanent clearance. He is fighting the new rule.
This week we learned that one reason Kushner cannot get clearance is because of Robert Mueller’s investigation. Apparently, Kushner has enough involvement to make him a security risk. In response, Trump said that Kushner was doing “outstanding” work but that Kelly will “make that call” as to Jared’s security clearance. Will Kelly get the hint and let Jared have continued access?
On Tuesday, Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted an attorney connected with former Trump campaign advisors Rick Gates and Paul Manafort. The attorney pled guilty.
Perhaps in response – and after waffling -- Rick Gates, a business associate of Paul Manafort, on Friday pled guilty to two indictments brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. This means that Gates has decided to cooperate fully with Mueller against Manafort and others in the Trump White House.