Congress Flooded With Constituent Feedback and More In Politics Today
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It’s difficult to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in this country and to break through the clutter, so we’re here to make it easier. Here’s what we at Countable are reading today:
1. "Complaint calls, emails flood congressional offices"
"The fast-paced start of the Trump administration has led to a massive flood of calls, emails and even faxes to members of Congress as Republicans adjust to the new attention and opposition that comes with a GOP administration and Democrats respond to the anger of their liberal base."
"In the Senate, the increase in calls has come mainly in opposition to President Trump’s Cabinet picks, and peaked this week as senators considered the nomination of Betsy DeVos as education secretary. The pressure has been applied to both Republicans and Democrats alike. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, one of two Republicans who will oppose DeVos, cited the “thousands, truly thousands" of calls she received opposing the nomination when she announced her position on the Senate floor.”
Read more at RealClearPolitics.
2. "U.S. starts year with job surge, but pay gains are weak"
"Job growth was quick out of the gate in the new year, the government reported on Friday, as employers added a healthy 227,000 workers to their payrolls in January. But despite a surge of local minimum wage increases in states across the country, wage growth was meager."
"The official jobless rate rose slightly, to 4.8 percent, but for good cause: More people were lured back into the work force."
Read more at The New York Times.
3. "Justice Dept. lawyer says 100,000 visas revoked under travel ban; State Dept. says about 60,000"
"More than 100,000 visas have been revoked as a result of President Trump’s ban on travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries, an attorney for the government asserted Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Va."
"The number came out during a hearing in a lawsuit by two Yemeni brothers who arrived at Dulles International Airport last Saturday and were quickly put on a return flight to Ethiopia because of the new restrictions. While the government is working to resolve that case and return the brothers to the United States, lawyers at the hearing addressed the broader impact of the ban."
Read more at The Washington Post.
4. "Trump administration tightens Iran sanctions, Tehran hits back"
"The Trump administration on Friday imposed sanctions on Iran, which it said were just "initial steps" and said Washington would no longer turn a "blind eye" to Iran's hostile actions."
"The sanctions on 25 individuals and entities were the opening salvo by President Donald Trump who has vowed a more aggressive policy against Tehran and came two days after the administration had put Iran 'on notice' following a ballistic missile test."
Read more at Reuters.
5. "Police probing IT contractors for House Dems over ‘unauthorized’ computer access"
"U.S. Capitol Police are probing the activities of several IT contractors who worked for dozens of House Democrats after they allegedly inappropriately accessed House computers, took congressional computer hardware and made questionable IT-related purchases on behalf of lawmakers."
"House officials already have revoked the IT and access privileges for the five congressional IT contractors, as police investigate. No arrests have yet been made."
Read more at Fox News.
— Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Public Domain)
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