Monday, May 1
á Trump claimed that if his hero Andrew Jackson
had been president, we might have avoided the Civil War. Jackson, however, was
a prosperous, slave-owning planter, among his other careers.
á Treasury
Secretary Mnuchin said, ÒYou should all thank me for
your bank stocks doing better,Ó referring to his efforts to deregulate the
financial industry. Yet TrumpÕs campaign pledge was just the opposite -- to
increase regulation of banks.
á House bill HR2276 introduced to provide audiology services under the Medicare program.
á Senate bill S991 introduced to prohibit drilling in the Arctic Ocean.
á The
U.S. Supreme Court let stand a California law barring gay Òconversion therapyÓ
to prevent licensed health professionals from counseling
patients under 18 to change their sexual orientation.
Tuesday, May 2
á Trump
lamented how his budget proposals were blocked in the budget deal passed by
Congress on May 1 and tweeted, ÒOur
country needs a good shutdown in September to fix [this] mess!Ó
á Trump began removing aides used as his
Ôeyes and earsÕ to monitor federal agencies because they were clashing with
Cabinet secretaries and staff.
á The House Intelligence Committee resumed its
Trump-Russia probe.
á The
nonprofit United to Protect Democracy is suing the Department of Education and
the Department of Health and Human Services over alleged intimidation of civil
servants.
á The House passed a bill that allows
private-sector employees to exchange overtime pay for compensatory time-off.
á CNN refused to air an ad produced by
TrumpÕs 2020 campaign committee for commercial TV that labels major TV networks
Òfake news.Ó CNN claimed the ad is false.
á House bill HR2284 introduced to
replace the PresidentÕs power to create national monuments with Congressional
and state approval.
Wednesday, May 3
á FBI Director Comey
testified before a Senate panel that he has no regrets but feels Òmildly
nauseousÓ at the thought that his decisions to reveal the Clinton email probe
might have affected the outcome of the election.
á A
bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation that imposes new sanctions
on Venezuela, provides $10 million as humanitarian aid, and promotes regime
change.
á A coalition of environmental
groups sued the Trump administration over its efforts to expand offshore
drilling.
á Although Trump promised to bar people
who worked on his presidential transition from lobbying for six months
afterward, at least nine of those workers have registered as lobbyists.
á House bill HR2344 introduced to make funds available for fisheries resource disaster
assistance for the 2015-16 Dungeness crab and rock crab fisheries disaster.
Thursday, May 4
á FBI Director Comey
testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that MoscowÕs danger to
democracy is Òthe greatest threat of any nation on earth,Ó and that he expected
to see them back in 2018 and 2020.
á Trump signed an order to make it easier
for churches to participate in politics by removing the financial threat
imposed by the IRS on tax-exempt churches.
á EPA head Scott Pruitt was accused of
violating his own ethics agreement by asking the courts to delay consideration
of lawsuits that he represented for the state of Oklahoma.
á Trump
praised AustraliaÕs universal health care system, telling Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull: ÒYou have better healthcare than we do.Ó
á House bill HR1628 passed to repeal the
Affordable Care Act.
Friday, May 5
á A bipartisan group of U.S.
lawmakers urged Defense Secretary James Mattis to
reconsider his support of Saudi ArabiaÕs war on Yemen, a country on the brink
of famine.
á The recently passed budget earmarks $3
million for an FDA campaign, supported by agriculture and food industry
groups, to promote the safety of GMOs.
á The Senate GOP rejected the HouseÕs Obamacare repeal bill. Sen. Lamar Alexander said, ÒWeÕre
writing a Senate bill and not passing the House bill.Ó
á Because
of criticism over anti-LGBTQ comments, Sen. Mark Green withdrew his name from
consideration to become the next Secretary of the Army.
Saturday, May 6
á A
U.S. Central Command investigation uncovered that a March U.S. airstrike in
northern Syria did in fact strike a building that was part of a mosque complex.
á Jared
KushnerÕs family, in a possible conflict of interest with his White House role,
urged Chinese citizens at a presentation in China to invest $500,000 dollars in
New Jersey real estate for a permanent US visa.
á In the midst of an opioid addiction
epidemic, the Trump administration is considering a plan to cut by 95 perecent the budget of a White House agency that directs
the countryÕs drug prevention efforts.
Sunday, May 7
á
The
Senate Intelligence Committee announced it is prepared to subpoena high-profile
Trump campaign associates who refuse to hand over emails and other records of
dealings with Russia.