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NEWS: Nov. 30, 2016
The Presidency | The Nation With Flurry of Choices, Cabinet Taking Shape President-elect Donald Trump is moving rapidly to fill out his administration's cabinet, announcing or signaling his choices to head the Treasury, Transportation and Commerce departments as well as the agency that oversees the Medicare and Medicaid programs: Wall Street Financier Expected to Get Treasury Post Steven Mnuchin, a financier with deep roots on Wall Street and in Hollywood but no government experience, is expected to be named Trump's treasury secretary as soon as today. Mnuchin was the national finance chairman for Trump's presidential campaign. >> New York Times Billionaire Financier Chosen as Commerce Secretary Trump has chosen financier Wilbur Ross, known as the king of bankruptcy for his investments in distressed properties, to serve as commerce secretary. Ross, who was a senior policy adviser to Trump's campaign, is reportedly worth $2.9 billion. >> Los Angeles Times Bush Labor Secretary Tapped for Transportation Post Trump announced that he will nominate Elaine Chao, who served as labor secretary under President George W. Bush and was a member of Trump's Asian Pacific American Advisory Council during his presidential campaign, to be his transportation secretary. >> The Hill Indiana Medicaid Architect to Lead Health Agency Seema Verma, architect of the alternative Medicaid program Vice President-elect Mike Pence created in Indiana, was tapped by Trump to head the agency that oversees Medicare and Medicaid programs. >> Indianapolis Star Oklahoma Governor Is Leading Choice for Interior Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, an advocate of oil and gas development, is emerging as Trump's leading contender for interior secretary, according to three people close to Trump's transition. >> Politico
State Threatens Disciplinary Action over Union's Plan for One-Day Strike California officials are pushing back on SEIU Local 1000's plans for a one-day strike next week, warning employees that they could be subject to disciplinary action if they participate in what the state regards as an unlawful walkout by its largest state-employee union. Such a strike by the 95,000-member union would be unprecedented. >> Sacramento Bee GAO: Merit Board Needs Better Whistleblower Data Strengthening the recording and reporting process for Merit Systems Protection Board appeals data could provide a more accurate view of reprisals toward and protections for federal whistleblowers, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office. >> Federal Times Florida to Pay 3 Prison Whistleblowers $800,000 Years after three prison investigators came forward with evidence of inmate abuse and cover-ups at the Florida Department of Corrections, the state has agreed to settle a retaliation lawsuit and pay the whistleblowers a total of about $800,000. >> Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald
Council Suspends City Manager City Manager Lehman Walker, under fire during his six-plus years in the post, was suspended indefinitely by the city council pending further council action and will continue to receive his a $130,000-per-year salary. Former Police Chief Charles Adams was appointed interim city manager. The council also authorized the hiring of a special counsel to represent four council members threatened by Walker with possible civil action. >> St. Louis Post-Dispatch The Military | The Nation Defense Bill Boosts Pay, Troop Numbers Military personnel would see a 2.1 percent pay raise starting in January and a significant manpower boost within the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps as part of Congress' annual defense spending bill unveiled Tuesday. The compromise measure also includes a massive overhaul of the military health-care system. >> Military Times Draft Registration for Women Dropped Lawmakers have officially dropped plans to make women register for the draft, instead opting in the defense authorization bill for a review of the ongoing need for the Selective Service System. >> Military Times Plan Would Forgive Improper National Guard Bonuses House and Senate negotiators announced a compromise to forgive improper bonuses paid to thousands of California National Guard soldiers at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. >> Los Angeles Times
Judge Rejects Recount by Hand A Dane County judge denied a request by Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton to require all votes in Wisconsin's presidential election to be recounted by hand. The ruling came as officials in each of the state's 72 counties were readying for the recount to begin Thursday. Stein's campaign, which requested the statewide recount, paid the state's $3.5 million filing fee. >> Wisconsin State Journal, Reuters >> Follow GovManagement on Twitter >> Share this edition:
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DATAPOINT $1.04 billion Los Angeles' general-fund payments for city-employee pensions and retiree health care last year, accounting for more than 20 percent of the city's operating revenue, costs that have increased despite changes made in 2011 and 2012--described by then-mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as "the most far-reaching effort in the nation"--that lowered pensions for new employees and increased city workers' retirement contributions >> Los Angeles Times | More data
Ethics | Steven L. Schooner and Daniel I. Gordon Trump's Intolerable Conflict of Interest As the clock ticks down toward President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, the window is rapidly closing on the General Services Administration's opportunity to extricate itself from the Trump Organization's 60-year, $180 million lease of Washington's historic Post Office Pavilion, now the Trump International Hotel. The lease--in which Trump would, in effect, be both landlord and tenant--presents unprecedented and intolerable conflicts of interest. The lease presents relatively straightforward government contracting issues. To protect the integrity of the federal procurement process, GSA must end it now. >> Government Executive | More commentaries QUOTABLE “The political landscape right now is not amenable to the sort of conversation we were trying to have.” Christian Trejbal, one of two Oregonians who two days after the Nov. 8 presidential election proposed a ballot measure asking whether the state should secede from the union but then submitted paperwork to withdraw the petition, saying the two have been the subject of death threats and other forms of intimidation and harassment and were persuaded by violent street protests that they needed to wait until "things settle down" >> The Oregonian | More quotes UPCOMING EVENTS American Enterprise Institute Discussion: "The Examined Life: Robert George and Cornel West on the Purpose of Liberal Arts Education" Today, 1-3 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C. Brookings Institution Address by House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price and discussion: "A Reform Agenda for the Federal Budget Process" Today, 3-4:30 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C. Heritage Foundation Documentary screening: "Jeremiah" Today, 5-7 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C. GovLoop Online training: "Leveraging Smart Communities Framework for Installations" Dec. 1, 2-3 p.m. ET, Washington, D.C. Governing California Leadership Forum Dec. 6, Sacramento, Calif. Urban Institute Discussion: "Community Colleges Since the Great Recession" Dec. 6, 9:30-11 a.m. ET, Washington, D.C. American Society for Public Administration Webinar: "Big Data and Smart Cities Development" Dec. 6, 1 p.m. ET Government Technology Webinar: "Protecting Your City Identity on Social: How Deerfield Beach, Fla., Defends Its Brand with Social Media Archiving" Dec. 6, 2 p.m. ET American Society for Public Administration BookTalk webinar: "Peak Performance" Dec. 7, 1 p.m. ET American Society for Public Administration Student and young professional webinar: "Navigating the Federal Job Search" Dec. 13, 1 p.m. ET Engaging Local Government Leaders Technology Efficiency Webinar Dec. 15, 1 p.m. ET >> Full events listings |
