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White House Doubles Down on Trump Transgender Military Ban: We Will ‘Make Sure We Fully Implement This Policy’

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‘Will Do So in a Lawful Manner’ White House Press Secretary Claims

In the face of apparent push back from the top brass in the armed forces the White House is doubling down. Just one day after President Donald Trump announced he is banning all transgender service members from the U.S. military, his top chiefs have made clear they know nothing about his plans and were not consulted. They also have said they will not implement it without specific direction from the Commander-in-Chief. 

Sarah Huckabee Sanders made clear the President will implement his ban, discharging approximately 15,000 active duty service members, simply because they are transgender. 

“The White House will work with the Dept. of Defense and all of the relevant parties” the Press Secretary said Thursday afternoon, “to make sure we fully implement this policy moving forward and will do so in a lawful manner.”

The addition of the reference to the law indicated the White House is learning the President cannot make policy on the fly and may not be able to discharge 15,000 service members via a tweet.

Huckabee Sanders did not respond to a question from a reporter about how President Trump’s ban will affect currently-serving troops who are transgender. 

After referring to Trump’s ban as “policy,” Huckabee Sanders was asked if the President realized “he can’t make policy via statements on Twitter.”

“I think he was making the announcement of the policy change,” she responded. 

Asked if the policy has yet to be formulated, Huckabee Sanders said “they will have to work out the details as to how that all moves forward to lawfully implement that policy change.”

On Wednesday morning, President Trump tweeted:

After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.”

It appears clear Trump did not consult with his generals.

Huckabee Sanders did not refer to the purported medical costs of transgender service members who choose to transition, which has been exponentially exaggerated by anti-LGBT activists. Nor did she repeat the debunked claims she made Wednesday, that transgender service members interfere with “military readiness and cohesion.”

A White House official Wednesday told Axios’ Jonathan Swan the decision was purely political, saying itforces Democrats in rust belt states like Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin, to take complete ownership of this issue.”

RELATED:

REPORT: Heads of US Military ‘Had No Idea’ About Trump’s Transgender Ban, One Was Told by Staffer

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Says No Change to Transgender Service Members Policy Until Direction From Trump

One Day Before Trump Banned Trans Soldiers Log Cabin Republicans Called President a ‘Quiet Ally’ and a ‘Do No Harm Guy’

Sarah Huckabee Sanders Uses Debunked DADT Claims of ‘Military Readiness and Cohesion’ to Justify Trump Trans Military Ban

Chairman of Senate Armed Services Committee on Trump’s Total Transgender Ban: Not So Fast

UPDATING: Pentagon Policy on Trump Total Ban of All Transgender Service Members: ‘Call the White House’

Trump Administration Official Admits Decision Banning All Transgender Service Members Is Purely Political

BREAKING: Trump Announces Total Ban on Transgender Service Members

 

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News

‘Start the Kevin McCarthy Death-Clock’ After Biden Wins Debt Ceiling Battle: Rick Wilson

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Appearing late Saturday night on MSNBC after it was announced that President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) had reached an agreement “in principle’ on a budget deal, former GOP strategist Rick Wilson claimed this could be the beginning of the end for McCathy’s speakership.

Sitting in on a panel with guest host Michael Steele, Wilson suggested that McCarthy’s decision to compromise with the president to avoid a default that would spin the economy into chaos will not go over well with far-right members of his House caucus who could make a motion to “vacate the chair” to express their displeasure.

Asked by host Steel about what comes next, Wilson stated it was a win for the White House which will not make conservatives happy.

RELATED: ‘Crazy cuckoo MAGA people’ could sink debt ceiling deal: Dem strategist

“Great night for Joe Biden, great night for the White House even though I think their messaging has been kind of tentative the past few weeks” the Lincoln Project founder began. “I think though we are now going to start the Kevin McCarthy death-clock. He has certainly got a very angry part of his caucus tonight who probably burning up his phone no matter how good it is for the country not to default.”

“It’s not going to please the chaos caucus in the GOP,” he added.

Watch below or at the link:

 

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News

Debt Ceiling: McCarthy Faces ‘Lingering Anger’ and a Possible Revolt as Far-Right House Members Start Issuing Threats

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As House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) continues to negotiate a deal to avoid a debt crisis, members of the far-right Freedom Caucus are growing furious with him over broken promises he made to them.

According to MSNBC political analyst Steve Benen, with a slim GOP majority in the House, McCarthy is walking a tightrope to get a budget deal passed and may need help from House Democrats if members of his caucus refuse to go along with him.

As Benen points out, in order to win the speakership McCarthy agreed to an easier path for a motion to “vacate the chair” which could end his tenure as Speaker. That could come into play if the Freedom Caucus stages a revolt.

“… as the negotiations approach an apparent finish line, the House Republicans’ most radical faction is learning that it isn’t likely to get everything its members demanded — and for the Freedom Caucus, that’s not going to work,” he wrote in his MSNBC column.

ALSO IN THE NEWS: Trump in danger of heightened espionage charges after bombshell report: legal expert

Citing a Washington Times report that stated, “[Freedom Caucus members] want everything from the debt limit bill passed by the House last month plus several new concessions from the White House,” Benen suggested far-right House Republicans are now issuing veiled threats.

In an interview, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) stated, “I am going to have to go have some blunt conversations with my colleagues and the leadership team. I don’t like the direction they are headed.”

With Politico reporting, “The [House Freedom Caucus] was already unlikely to support a final bipartisan deal, but lingering anger with Kevin McCarthy could have lasting implications on his speakership,” Benen added, “If this is simply a matter of lingering ill-will from members who come to believe that GOP leaders ‘caved,’ the practical consequences might be limited. But let’s also not forget that McCarthy, while begging his own members for their support during his protracted fight for the speaker’s gavel, agreed to tweak the motion-to-vacate-the-chair rules, which at least in theory, would make it easier for angry House Republicans to try to oust McCarthy from his leadership position.”

Adding the caveat that he is not predicting an imminent McCarthy ouster he added, “But if the scope of the Freedom Caucus’ discontent reaches a fever pitch, a hypothetical deal clears thanks to significant Democratic support, don’t be surprised if we all start hearing the phrase ‘vacate the chair” a lot more frequently.”

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BREAKING NEWS

Prosecutors Tell Trump They Have a Recording of Him and a Witness: Report

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Prosecutors in Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial have notified the ex-president’s attorneys they have a recording of him and a witness. The notification comes in the form of an automatic discovery form, CBS News reports, which “describes the nature of the charges against a defendant and a broad overview of the evidence that prosecutors will present at Trump’s preliminary hearing or at trial.”

CBS reports prosecutors have handed the recording over to Trump’s legal team.

It’s not known who the witness is, nor are any details known publicly about what the conversation entails, or even if it is just audio or if it includes video.

READ MORE: ‘Likely to Be Indicted Soon’: Trump Might Face Seven Different Felonies, Government Watchdog Says

According to the article’s author, CBS News’ Graham Kates, via Twitter, prosecutors say they also have recordings between two witnesses, a recording between a witness and a third party, and various recordings saved on a witness’s cell phones.

Trump is facing 34 felony counts in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case related to his allegedly unlawful attempt to hide hush money payoffs to a well-known porn star by falsifying business records to protect his 2016 presidential campaign.

See the discovery form above or at this link.

Image via Shutterstock

 

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