Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 3-6-18

White House And Political News
Portrait Of Michelle Obama Leaves Toddler Awestruck
Trump Says Rep. Maxine Waters
Needs To Take IQ Test
Sometimes a picture is worth way more than a thou- sand words.
Like this photograph of a 2-year-old girl called Parker gazing awestruck at artist Amy Sherald’s por- trait of former first lady Michelle Obama.
Ben Hines, 37, from North Carolina, captured the inspiring moment while vis- iting the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. He shared the image of the girl, who he did-
n’t know, to Facebook. It’s now going viral.
“It was so touching and uplifting for me to see this beautiful child looking at a beautiful portrait of a pow- erful woman,” Hines told BuzzFeed. “I was so de- lighted to have been in the right place at the right time.”
Parker’s mother, Jes- sica Curry, said her daughter “just wanted to stare at” the painting. “She was fascinated.”
President Trump made the comment at the Gridiron Club Din- ner.
Little Parker, 2, is awe- struck at portrait of former first lady Michelle Obama.
President Trump was at the annual Gridiron Club Dinner on Saturday when he said that Rep. Maxine Wa- ters “has to immediately take an IQ test.”
The dinner is known for presidential humor and while Trump poked fun at his ad- ministration too, he saved some of his sharpest com- ments for Democrats. How- ever, the joke, coming from Trump was inappropriate, due to his history of racist ac- tions.”
Trump also made a off- comment about his wife, say- ing, “so many people have
been leaving the White House,” Trump contin- ued, according to CNN. “It’s actually been really exciting and invigorating ’cause you want new thought. So I like turnover. I like chaos. It really is good.”
“Now the question every- one keeps asking is, ‘Who is going to be the next to leave? Steve Miller or Melania?” he added, reported the outlet.
But the president then seemed to backtrack on this remark by sincerely adding that his wife is “actually hav- ing a great time” in Washing- ton, D. C.
HUD Official Says She Was Demoted Over Ben Carson’s $31K Office Furniture
Congresswomen Call For Statue Honor For Shirley Chisholm
Rep. Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to Congress.
In response to a request for comment last Tuesday, HUD said only blinds were pur- chased for Carson’s office and were within the $5,000 limit. The agency said the dining set was considered “a building expense” rather than a deco- ration and was not ordered by Carson. The set is in a room adjoining the secretary’s of- fice.
Foster alleges she was de- moted after she refused to go along with the pricey remod- eling, which Foster says had been requested by Carson’s wife.
Her complaint, filed in No- vember, also describes an en- vironment in which high-level officials at the agency told Foster to skirt the rules or break them en-
tirely.
Foster wrote that she dis-
covered a $10.8 million budget shortfall last year from “accounting irregularities” in 2016 and raised concerns with senior agency officials.
She said she was “informed that agency leadership was unwilling to report the $10.8 million funding deficit” to the appropriation’s staff tasked with handling congressional approval for the department’s funding.
The allegations of financial mismanagement in Foster’s complaint come on the heels of a Trump administration budget proposal that would slash funding for affordable housing and impose work re- strictions for those who re- ceive rental assistance.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D- Calif.) and Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) are sponsor- ing legislation to put a statue of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress, in the U. S. Capi- tol.
“Shirley Chisholm de- serves a permanent place among other defining figures in the Capitol,” Clarke tweeted on Tuesday. “Repre- sentation matters.”
Multiple Democratic sena- tors are already co-sponsor- ing the measure, including Cory Booker (N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Tim Kaine (Va.) and Eliza-
beth Warren (Mass.). Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is also on board. The bill would direct the Joint Committee on the Library to enter into an agreement to obtain a statue within five years of the bill’s passage.
Rep. Chisholm is per- haps the perfect candidate for the honor. Over her ground- breaking political career, she became the first Black candi- date for a major party’s pres- idential nomination and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party’s nomina- tion. She served seven terms in the House from 1969 to 1983.
Republicans Worry About Backlash Behind President’s Newest Proposal
Department of Housing and Urban Development offi- cials spent $31,000+ on a new dining room set for Sec- retary Ben Carson’s office in late 2017, and the woman who reported the expense says she was demoted for blowing the whistle.
Around the time White House officials were an- nouncing plans to slash HUD’s programs for the homeless, elderly and poor, the acting head of HUD asked an agency official to “find money” to pay for an office makeover for incoming Secre- tary Ben Carson’s office.
Helen Foster, HUD’s former chief administrative officer, said she mentioned the $5,000 cap in place on such expenses, according to her complaint alleging retali- ation filed with a federal whistleblower agency.
Foster wrote in the com- plaint that she was told the administration “has always found money for this in the past” and that “$5,000 will not even buy a decent chair.”
HUD would later spend $31,561 on a custom hard- wood table and hutch, accord- ing to an agency document.
Ben Carson has a table and hutch in his office that cost $31,000. Helen Foster was demoted for questioning it, and also reporting accounting shortfalls.
President Donald Trump’s threatened trade war has opened a rift within the Republican Party that some lawmakers and strate- gists believe could under- mine their effort to keep their majorities in Congress.
Republicans plan to brag about the economy in midterm campaigns in hopes of countering Trump’s unpopularity,
touting a strong stock mar- ket, low unemployment rate and — most importantly — their increasingly popular tax legislation.
But Trump’s suggestion Saturday that he might slap penalties on European cars, in addition to the tariffs on aluminum and steel he al- ready promised, could upend that strategy com- pletely, Republicans say.
The clash suggests that what might be good politics for Trump personally might not work for the entire party. While narrow action directed at China alone might be well received, two top Republican congres- sional campaign sources said any broader trade ac- tions — such as what Trump is floating now — could be devastating.
PAGE 6 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018