Be Smart. Stay Informed. Actively Dissent.
Last week, I started to read a tweet that said Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, a former defense contractor lobbyist with no qualifications to lead the strongest military in history, was reallocating defense funds. I immediately thought it would have something to do with mitigating the impact of COVID-19. Silly me.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper is directing Pentagon budget planners to defer $545 million worth of construction projects... in Europe meant to counter Russian aggression - to pay for Trump’s border wall with Mexico.
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Millions of families need federal help right now for the food, shelter, income, and health care they need. The absolute last thing Congress should be doing is shoveling money to boost the profits of defense contractors. No. Just no. But....
The Pentagon will ask for billions of dollars in the next version of a stimulus package to help defense contractors hit by closures or other effects of the coronavirus pandemic...
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Even in a time of unprecedented crisis, Trump and his top aides are playing favorites when awarding contracts and allocating resources. Powerful detail on Trump intervention to control supplies and contracts and hand out rewards— circumnavigating traditional contract rules.
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The White House is proposing deep budget cuts for the Interior and Energy departments, according to the fiscal 2021 budget request.
The White House budget request would reduce spending at the Energy Department by 8 percent and cut 16 percent from the Department of the Interior's budget.
The proposed spending reductions mark the latest effort by the administration to chip away at government agencies focused on science, the environment and public lands.
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Trump is attempting to reshape the federal workforce into one in which loyalty to the president is the most important qualification.
Loyalty over qualification is a hallmark of authoritarianism.
In a moment when the White House might need to quickly vet and appoint critically needed personnel, the Presidential Personnel Office, the department designed to perform exactly that function...has been gutted and turned into a vehicle for enforcing loyalty and carrying out vendettas.