As part of the ongoing project to catalog every awful thing the Trump Administration has done as a reference for future political arguments and whatever few posterity survives to see 2020, here’s everything awful the Trump Administration has done this week.
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858. Responded to calls to abolish ICE by falsely claiming the US is being overrun by MS-13
859. Forced immigrant toddlers to appear in court alone
860. In response to a federal court order demanding the administration reunite detained immigrant children with their families, the administration announced it would hold immigrant families for longer than 20 days
861. Drafted a bill to unilaterally pull out of the World Trade Organization
862. Initially declined to fly flags at half mast for the victims of the Capital Gazette
863. Reversed Obama era guidelines aimed at improving racial diversity in college admissions
864. The Supreme Court gutted antitrust laws in the case of Ohio vs. American Express
865. Created a humanitarian crisis at the Victoriaville prison, where the 1000 detainees crowded into the badly understaffed facility have fallen victim to infectious diseases, leading staff to fear a riot
866. Forwent standard procedures and used DNA testing to reunite migrant children with their parents, an invasive process that sparked fears that the information will be used to track the children after they are released
867. Scott Pruitt resigned, completing his tenure as one of the most scandal ridden cabinet members in modern American history
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Perhaps the biggest news this week was the resignation of Scott Pruitt, presumably brought down under pressure from one of the 18 ongoing ethics investigations currently being conducted against him. Looking over the list of scandals from his tenure, the surprise isn’t that he was brought down, but that it took so long for it to happen. Now the only question is which captain planet villain the administration picks to replace him.
As always, I don’t expect to catch everything, so let me know if there’s anything you think I’ve missed. The full omnibus is being maintained here.