The New York Times
In the midst of the Michael Flynn debacle, pressure is mounting on Congress to deliver on the proposed inquiry into Russian involvement in the 2016 elections. While House Republicans don’t seem too keen on moving forward with the inquiry, it now seems likely that due to public outcry they may be forced to do so.
The New York Times
So much for draining the swamp. Former Goldman Sachs banker and Hollywood financier Steven Mnuchin has been sworn in as Treasury Secretary. Only one Democrat switched sides to support the nominee, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin. Mnuchin faced a tough confirmation process, having been berated by Democratic Senators and having failed to disclose almost $100 million in assets.
Vox
Back at the end of January, acting Attorney General Sally Yates told the Trump administration that national security adviser Michael Flynn had lied to top White House officials, including Vice President Mike Pence and potentially the FBI. Amid growing questions about the potential for Russian blackmail, Flynn has resigned from his White House post. In his resignation letter he wrote that he had “inadvertently briefed the Vice President Elect and others with incomplete information regarding [his] phone calls with the Russian Ambassador.”
Yahoo
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) told CNN’s “State of the Union” he has heard from Republicans who “all have this suspicion” that President Trump “lies a lot. He says things that aren’t true. That’s the same as lying, I guess. That is not the norm for a president of the United States,” continued Franken, “or, actually, for a human being.”Franken also objected to Trump reportedly telling Democratic senators: "Pocahontas is now the face of your party." The president's …
The Washington Post
A few days after Betsy DeVos took over the Department of Education, the department’s Twitter account had a run-in with various spelling mistakes. The staffer(s) in charge of the account first misspelled the name of NAACP cofounder W.E.B. Du Bois, instead tweeting “W.E.B. DeBois.” In their apology tweet, they made the unfortunate error of saying “our deepest apologizes for the earlier type,” which was quickly corrected.
The Huffington Post
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), who once sought to abolish the Office of Congressional Ethics, is now hoping to spearhead an effort to refer Kellyanne Conway to the ethics office after her blatant “free advertising” stunt on Fox promoting Ivanka Trump’s products. Chaffetz told NBC: “It should have never happened, and they better learn this lesson very quick.”
CNN.com
Tom Price has been confirmed as Secretary of the Health and Human Services Department. The Senate vote was 52-47, again along party lines, a tally we have seen often in the confirmation processes. Price will enter HHS in the midst of a serious health-care debate, which is expected to take months if not years to complete.
CBS News
Reports that ICE, the immigration arm of the Department of Homeland Security, has increased the number of raids on communities have sparked spontaneous and planned protests across the country. “There are reports that ICE today executed raids across Southern California,” a California legislator said. Reports also arose that a mother who arrived in the United States when she was 14 has been separated from her children.
Time
After a hard-fought battle, in which Sen. Jeff Sessions’ (R-AL) dubious history with racial issues was front and center, he was confirmed. Sen. Sessions was sworn in as U.S. Attorney General this morning. He enters office amid a major fight over President Trump’s Executive Order travel moratorium.
The Washington Post
President Trump has responded to claims that his nominee for the Supreme Court Judge Neil Gorsuch found this comments about the judiciary “disheartening” and “demoralizing,” by questioning the credibility of the Democratic senator who made the claims. President Trump tweeted: “Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who never fought in Vietnam when he said for years he had (major lie), now misrepresents what Judge Gorsuch told him?”Blumenthal served in the Marine Reserve during the Vietnam era; he apologized for his comments in 2010. Trump, also eligible to fight in Vietnam, got numerous exemptions to avoid military service.