So what has newly elected Speaker of the House Mike Johnson been up to? Well, in a shout out to The Don’s “Muslim Ban” back in 2016, he supported Ryan Zinke’s (R-MT)* bill to ban Palestinians from the United States and to revoke any visas issued to Palestinians since October 1 of this year.
Under Johnson’s leadership, The House also voted to slash 39% of the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and 13% of the budget of National Park Service. In a cynical maneuver, It voted on reducing the salary of the EPA administrator, the director of the Bureau of Land Management, and the Secretary of the Interior to $1 each. Anybody want that job?
He also rejected Biden’s request for military aid to Ukraine, and humanitarian aid for Gaza. He tied aid for Israel to slashing the budget of the I.R.S. Here’s Johnson: “All of this (money for Israel) while we also work to ensure responsible spending and reduce the size of the federal government to pay for that commitment to our friend and ally.” Johnson added that he did not attach the spending cuts “for political purposes,” but because House Republicans were “trying to get back to the principle of fiscal responsibility.”
As they say: gag me with a spoon!
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that the spending cuts laid out in the bill would actually increase the deficit by $12.5 billion over the next decade, because cutting back on I.R.S. enforcement would reduce revenue collections. In total, the funding and cuts in the bill would add $26.8 billion to the deficit.
Adding to the deficit, while pretending to be the beacons of fiscal responsibility is nothing new for Republicans.
The Don, a.k.a, “The King of Debt,” promised to bring our debt down. (After all, if you know how to create debt you are a genius at lowering it, right?) Well, not only didn’t he bring it down, but his administration raised the debt more than any other except for George W. Bush and Lincoln. (Lincoln had to fund the civil war and Bush had two different wars, Iraq and Afghanistan to fund.)
Cutting the I.R.S., and defunding the E.P.A. are tools to put more money in rich people’s pockets. Who cares about regulating and protecting the environment when you can make more money; who cares about de-fanging the I.R.S. so they are handicapped and are can’t collect more money from rich tax cheats and corporations.
Speaking of rich tax cheats, The Don and his family were in court testifying in a civil suit brought by the Attorney General Letitia James. The judge in this case, based on the evidence already reviewed, has found the Trump organization guilty of defrauding banks by misrepresenting the values of his properties. The only thing at issue is how much money The Don and his family will have to cough up because of their shenanigans and transgressions.
Despite his preoccupation with the trial (he is being sued by New York State for $250 million), Trump managed to produce a campaign video where he vowed to take over higher education and fund a new institution called the “American Academy.” The school, which would be online only, would award free degrees and funnel students into jobs with the U.S. government and federal contractors. Rumor has it that The Don is still miffed about the demise of his scam Trump University and sees this as his redemption. Trump University was disbanded for defrauding students and The Don ultimately had to pay millions in a civil suit to these students.)
Here’s The Don: “We spend more money on higher education than any other country (true), and yet they’re turning our students into communists and terrorists and sympathizers of many, many different dimensions. We can’t let this happen.” In his university, “wokeness or jihadism” would not be allowed.”
Rumor has it that the syllabus will include courses like:
Taxes are for stupid people.
How to defraud banks
How to make people believe anything.
How to make people disbelieve anything
Roy Cohn; An American Icon
Whiteness is Brightness
Why Autocracy is good for America, or Why Democracy is overrated
As to the trial, Ivanka tried to get out of testifying. She actually had the nerve to argue it was a “hardship” to testify during the school week when she had young children. Really? Hardship? Please, gag me with the silver spoon she was raised with.
And here’s Eric responding to questions about his involvement in the company: “I don’t recall this. I pour concrete. I manage properties. I don’t focus on appraisals. It’s just not what I do in my day-to-day responsibilities.”
To that I say, the last time you poured concrete was an imaginary act when you were 6 and were playing with your toy truck. I take that back. If The Don thought you were pretending you were doing something so crude he might have disowned you. So no, you don’t pour concrete or oversee the pouring of concrete, you just make sure that those who pour it get shafted while you and your family cheat and commit fraud. And for once it’s going to cost you!
*(When Zinke was head of the Department of Interior in The Don’s administration, he and his chief of staff knowingly blocked a request by two Native American tribes to open a casino in Connecticut. When investigated by the department’s Inspector General, Zinke and his chief of staff “knowingly provided incorrect, incomplete, and misleading answers.” Ultimately, Zinke had to resign his post.
The Grand Offal Party 