Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Before even getting to the hard part, 20 Republicans voted no on this: “The House on Thursday gave a significant boost to President Donald Trump’s promise to cut taxes, narrowly passing a GOP budget that shelves longstanding concerns over federal deficits in favor of a rewrite of the tax code that Republicans promise will jump-start the economy.” (Here’s the roll call.)
* Rosa Maria Hernandez’s case: “A 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy who entered the United States from Mexico without permission a decade ago is potentially facing deportation after having to go through a Border Patrol checkpoint in South Texas for emergency gallbladder surgery, a family lawyer said Thursday.”
* Get to know Scott Lloyd, the director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement: “A Trump administration appointee who blocked an undocumented, pregnant teenager from obtaining an abortion before the courts weighed in in her favor, has a history of controversial statements about contraception and abortion.”
* The goal, apparently, is eventual privatization: “U.S. officials supervising Puerto Rico’s finances are installing an emergency manager at the island’s public electricity utility, in an attempt to course-correct a disaster response that has come under congressional scrutiny.”
* Why Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) hasn’t been on Capitol Hill: “A source close to Wilson confirmed that the Miami Democrat was not in Washington this week due to ongoing threats against her.”
* Wasteful: “Just one week into office, the Trump administration cost taxpayers more than $1 million in a botched attempt to curtail advertising efforts for Obamacare, a government watchdog has found.”
* The fact that Donald Trump inquired about reversing the Mount McKinley/Denali name change in Alaska isn’t necessarily surprising, but it is amazing. * Sign of the times: “In recent years, the private prison company GEO Group has held its annual leadership conference at venues near its Boca Raton headquarters. But this year, the company moved its gathering to a Miami-area golf resort owned by President Trump.” * Does this mean he can resign? “President Donald Trump does not intend to appoint National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn to lead the Federal Reserve, three people familiar with the matter said.” Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
