Obama administration

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States Want OK to Cut Medicaid—Without Penalty

Governors battle Washington over measure in health reform law

(Newser) - America's 29 states led by Republican governors are asking Washington to give them the green light to cut thousands from Medicaid—without being penalized. The health care reform law says that states that reduce eligibility for the program will lose federal funding, and these cash-strapped states (along with, quietly, some...

Clinton: We're Ready to Help Libya

Offers 'any type of assistance,' wants Gadhafi to leave

(Newser) - The Obama administration stands ready to offer "any type of assistance" to Libyans seeking to oust Moammar Gadhafi, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said today, adding a warning to other African nations not to let mercenaries aid the longtime dictator. Clinton made no mention of any US military assistance....

Obama Aides Take Lobbyist Meetings Across Street

That way, they're not seen in visitor logs

(Newser) - Apparently Barack Obama’s opposition to lobbyist influence isn’t as strident as advertised. Obama’s aides still consult with lobbyists, Politico reports—they just do it across the street from the White House. These chats, held in meeting rooms just off the White House campus, aren’t recorded in...

Democrats Push to Repeal Law Against Gay Marriage

President's stance against DOMA gives them a nudge

(Newser) - With the Obama administration having declared the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional , Democratic lawmakers are launching new challenges of their own to the law, the Huffington Post reports. In the House, the "Respect for Marriage Act," which would explicitly repeal DOMA, is set to be introduced by Jerry...

Obama: Law Against Gay Marriage Unconstitutional

In big shift, feds will no longer defend DOMA in court

(Newser) - Big win for gay rights advocates: The Obama administration has concluded that the Defense of Marriage Act—the law that bars federal recognition of same-sex marriage—is unconstitutional and won't defend it in court anymore, reports NPR . The president gave the Justice Department its new marching orders today, and Eric...

Congratulations: You're Worth Millions

... at least according to federal safety regulators

(Newser) - What's a human life worth? Quite a bit, according to the Obama administration. The New York Times rounds up some examples:
  • The EPA values the cost of a life at $9.1 million, up from $6.8 million under Bush.
  • The FDA comes in at $7.9 million, up from
...

Obama Ordered Secret Study on Arab Unrest—in August

Report discussed Egypt in detail

(Newser) - It turns out the uprisings shaking the Arab world didn’t take Barack Obama by surprise. Last August, Obama ordered a secret study into the possibility of such unrest, the New York Times reports. His advisers concluded that countries from Bahrain to Yemen to, yes, Egypt, were ripe for popular...

Obama to GOP: Don't Make Me Veto Spending Bill

Says GOP proposal goes too far

(Newser) - President Obama issued a formal statement yesterday threatening to veto any spending bill the House GOP devises that doesn’t meet his specifications. “If the president is presented with a bill that undermines critical priorities or national security … the president will veto the bill,” the statement read,...

Obama: Deficit to Hit $1.6T
 Obama: Deficit to Hit $1.6T 
Feb 14, 2011 7:53 AM CST

Obama: Deficit to Hit $1.6T

White House unveils $3.7T budget, plans to cut spending

(Newser) - The White House expects the national budget deficit to peak at $1.65 trillion this year, or roughly 10.9% of GDP—its highest level since World War II, the Wall Street Journal reports. That figure—which is significantly more pessimistic than the Congressional Budget Office’s $1.48 trillion...

Robert Gibbs Gives Final Press Briefing

... and gets his tie back from the president

(Newser) - Robert Gibbs officially checks out as press secretary over the weekend, but he gave his final briefing today, notes the Hill . “It is a tremendous honor and privilege to do this every single day,” said Gibbs. He got a parting gift from President Obama: a framed tie that...

Egypt's Military Promises Civilian Rule

Elsewhere: US preps aid, Hamas celebrates

(Newser) - The commander of Egypt’s air force appeared on Egyptian TV today to assure the people that the Supreme Military Council was taking over the country, but only during the transition to another civilian government, CNN reports. He also praised both the “martyrs” among the protesters, and Mubarak himself...

Obama's Next Budget Cut: Heating Aid for Poor

Move likely to draw sharp opposition from Democrats

(Newser) - President Obama’s 2012 budget proposal will include a drastic cut in a program that gives heating assistance to poor people, officials tell the National Journal . The move is likely to draw sharp opposition from Obama’s own party; earlier today, Chuck Schumer called a similar Republican proposal “extreme,...

White House: Let's Kill Fannie, Freddie

Obama administration wants to get out of the mortgage market

(Newser) - The Obama administration will propose dissolving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and reducing the federal government’s role in the mortgage market, sources tell the Wall Street Journal . The White House is set to release three plans for moving forward without the government-owned mortgage giants, which originated nine out of...

Mubarak Creates Committees to Suggest Reforms

He also orders investigation into clashes

(Newser) - Hosni Mubarak took another stab at appeasing protesters today, setting up one committee to recommend the kind of constitutional amendments pro-Democracy advocates are clamoring for, and another to monitor the implementation of such reforms, the AP reports. He also promised an investigation into last week’s violent clashes between his...

Vacancies Leave Federal Courts in Crisis

Republican holds on judicial nominees taking a toll

(Newser) - Republicans’ refusal to allow votes on President Obama’s judicial nominees has pushed courts to the breaking point, particularly in southwestern courts struggling with drug and illegal immigration trials, the Washington Post reports. In Arizona, for example, some judges are handling about 1200 criminal cases simultaneously. The state recently declared...

Obama Donor Was Abysmal Ambassador: Report

Cynthia Stroum quit Luxembourg post days before release of scathing report

(Newser) - Believe it or not, it turns out being a mega-campaign donor does not necessarily make you an awesome ambassador! A State Department report released yesterday absolutely savages Cynthia Stroum, a wealthy Seattle businesswoman whose prodigious campaign contributions landed her the post of ambassador to Luxembourg. She resigned less than a...

US Working On Quick Exit for Mubarak

One possibility is to have the new VP take over immediately

(Newser) - Hosni Mubarak continues to insist that he can't resign immediately, but the Obama administration is in negotiations with other Egyptian officials to have him to do just that, reports the New York Times . The leading possibility would be to have new VP Omar Suleiman, previously the head of intelligence, take...

Jay Carney Pick Is 'Radical Departure' for White House

Analysis: New press secretary is a relative outsider in West Wing

(Newser) - Jay Carney may have been working for Joe Biden the last two years, but his selection as White House press secretary is actually a "radical departure" from business as usual for the White House, writes Josh Gerstein at Politico . Unlike most in the Robert Gibbs operation—including the man...

Cables Show Complex Bond Between US, Egypt

Public relations have improved under Obama

(Newser) - Newly released WikiLeaks cables illustrate the complex relationship between Washington and longtime ally President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, the New York Times reports. The diplomatic cables reveal that the US has privately pressured Egypt on imprisoned dissidents and other issues, though the two governments’ public relationship has improved under President...

Jay Carney Will Replace Robert Gibbs

Biden aide and former Time reporter will be press secretary

(Newser) - The new White House press secretary will be Jay Carney, reports Politico . Carney, 45, currently serves as Joe Biden's communications director and previously worked for years as a journalist for Time magazine, including a stint as Washington bureau chief. Carney, who is married to ABC correspondent Claire Shipman, had apparently...

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