Obama administration

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Stimulus Slashes Bank Bonuses

Package bans cash bonuses for bailed-out firms' high earners

(Newser) - A late addition to the stimulus package puts tougher restrictions on executive pay at bailed-out financial institutions, reports the Wall Street Journal. The rules go further than the Obama administration proposed, affect more employees, and could seriously crimp the culture of gargantuan bonuses. The big one: Bonuses can't exceed one-third...

Banks Halt Foreclosures Ahead of Obama Plan

Citigroup, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase suspend proceedings until next month

(Newser) - Major US banks agreed today to halt foreclosure proceedings against homeowners until the White House foreclosure prevention plan is in place, the Washington Post reports. Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America will suspend foreclosures until early March, when the foreclosure plan is expected to be operational. President Obama is...

House Passes Stimulus Bill
 House Passes Stimulus Bill 
Feb 13, 2009 1:53 PM CST

House Passes Stimulus Bill

(Newser) - The House today passed the $787 billion stimulus bill, once again without a single Republican vote, the AP reports. Eight Democrats also opposed the bill, which will make its way to the Senate later today. The victory belongs to President Obama, who says the package will save or create 3....

Axelrod to Rove: Be Quiet
 Axelrod to Rove: Be Quiet 
Feb 13, 2009 1:22 PM CST

Axelrod to Rove: Be Quiet

Obama adviser dismisses criticisms from Bush's brain

(Newser) - If Karl Rove’s so smart, how come his party’s the one locked out of power? That’s what top White House adviser David Axelrod seemed to ask in an interview with the Washington Post. Dismissing Rove’s criticisms of Obama’s stimulus plan as “intramural stuff,”...

Stimulus in the Bag, Obama Rethinks Strategy
Stimulus in the Bag, Obama Rethinks Strategy
analysis
Feb 13, 2009 11:15 AM CST

Stimulus in the Bag, Obama Rethinks Strategy

President will push hard for the agenda he wants

(Newser) - President Obama got his way, more or less, on the stimulus, but the process demonstrated Congress' abiding disinterest in bipartisanship. For future big-ticket items—and there are a lot of them—the president will take a tougher approach, Mike Allen and Jonathan Martin write for Politico. Chief of staff Rahm...

Clinton Heads to China in Sign of New Direction

Secretary of state breaks tradition by visiting Asia first

(Newser) - As a presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton asserted that America's relationship with China was the country's most critical. Now as secretary of state, Clinton is moving to make China a priority—on Sunday, she is scuppering tradition by visiting Asia, not Europe, on her first trip abroad. As the Wall Street ...

GOP Hardliners Change Tune on Gregg

Senator's decision to quit is rallying cry for Republicans

(Newser) - Judd Gregg said the right bipartisan things, but to a Republican Party in need of a boost, his withdrawal as nominee for commerce secretary feels like an act of defiance against the administration, reports Politico. When his decision was announced in a party meeting, attendees broke into applause. "Sen....

DC Shrugs Off 'Miracle' in Iraq
 DC Shrugs Off 'Miracle' in Iraq 
OPINION
Feb 13, 2009 8:41 AM CST

DC Shrugs Off 'Miracle' in Iraq

Obama must support healthy Iraq, even if he opposed war

(Newser) - The US barely noticed the recent "small miracle" in the Middle East, writes Charles Krauthammer in the Washington Post: Iraq's peaceful elections. The nation "moved away from religious sectarianism toward more secular nationalism”—good news for the US, bad for Iran. Even though our policies made it...

Final Stimulus Votes Set Today

With haggling completed, final version of $789B bill will head to House and Senate

(Newser) - Lawmakers have hammered out the final details of the economic stimulus bill and cleared the way for final votes in the House and Senate today, reports Reuters. Both chambers are expected to approve the bill's final version, meeting Barack Obama's deadline of passing the $789 billion package of spending and...

Caterpillar Boss Contradicts Obama on Jobs

Even more layoffs will be needed before stimulus works: CEO

(Newser) - Caterpillar's CEO said the stimulus package would let the company start rehiring laid-off workers, according to President Obama—but he was swiftly contradicted by the boss himself, ABC News reports. CEO James Owens said that even with the stimulus package, the massive scale of the downturn would require the firm...

Senate Confirms Panetta as CIA Chief

(Newser) - The Senate confirmed Leon Panetta as director of the CIA tonight, placing the nation's top spy agency in the hands of a government veteran valued for his skills as a lawmaker and policy manager rather than an expert at intelligence-gathering and analysis. The Senate approved President Obama's choice on a...

US May Subsidize Lenders Who Cut Mortgage Rates

(Newser) - Details are emerging on the Obama administration's plan to help homeowners: One idea is to give strapped borrowers a lower interest rate, then have the federal government chip in to defray the lenders' loss, the Washington Post reports. The Treasury Department is expected to outline its overall plan in the...

Obama: Gregg's Withdrawal 'Something of a Surprise'

(Newser) - President Obama—now 0 for 2 on commerce nominations—said Judd Gregg's decision to back out today came as a "something of a surprise," the State Journal-Register of Springfield reports. "The truth, you know, Mr. Gregg approached us with interest and seemed enthusiastic," said Obama. The...

Gregg Drops Out as Commerce Pick

(Newser) - More bad Cabinet news for President Obama: Republican Sen. Judd Gregg is withdrawing from consideration to be commerce secretary, the Washington Post reports. Gregg, who represents New Hampshire, cited "irresolvable conflicts" with Obama on issues including the stimulus package. He's the second commerce nominee to withdraw, following Bill Richardson....

Obama Needs Maine Senators
 Obama Needs Maine Senators 
analysis
Feb 12, 2009 3:05 PM CST

Obama Needs Maine Senators

Snowe, Collins are backbone of administration's bipartisan coalition

(Newser) - Maine’s moderate Republican senators find themselves unexpectedly empowered in the Obama era. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, along with Pennsylvania’s Arlen Specter, form the bipartisan wedge President Obama can use to get bills—like the stimulus package—past a Senate filibuster. After years of being taken for granted...

Americans Want Torture Investigation: Poll

(Newser) - Two-thirds of Americans want an investigation into alleged Bush administration misdeeds, including torture and warrantless wiretapping, a USA Today/Gallup poll shows. Forty percent of respondents would like to see criminal probes; one-quarter would prefer investigations without the possibility of criminal charges. And even more—70% of those surveyed—said the...

US Envoy Visits Pakistan, Afghanistan Amid Violence

(Newser) - Richard Holbrooke, the Obama administration’s special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, arrived in the region yesterday as waves of killings were washing over both countries, the BBC reports. While touring Pakistan’s volatile frontier region, a local official was killed by a roadside bomb. At the same time in...

Stimulus May Pick Up More GOP Votes
Stimulus May Pick Up More GOP Votes
Analysis
Feb 12, 2009 12:13 PM CST

Stimulus May Pick Up More GOP Votes

But not enough to be anything like bipartisan

(Newser) - The passage of the stimulus is a done deal, but that doesn’t mean the votes on the compromise measure won’t be interesting. Democrats are hoping to bring more Republicans on board, reports Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post. All three GOP senators who backed the original Senate bill...

Rove: Thanks, Obama, for Boosting the GOP
Rove: Thanks, Obama,
for Boosting the GOP
OPINION
Feb 12, 2009 8:15 AM CST

Rove: Thanks, Obama, for Boosting the GOP

Republican opposition to bill 'redefined' the party

(Newser) - The Dems may ultimately have gotten their way with the stimulus bill, but the GOP has gotten a lift from the debate process, Karl Rove writes in the Wall Street Journal. Republicans pointed out specific flaws in the bill while introducing ideas of their own, thereby reducing popular support for...

Compromise Stimulus Means Short-Term Pain
Compromise Stimulus Means Short-Term Pain
ANALYSIS
Feb 12, 2009 5:30 AM CST

Compromise Stimulus Means Short-Term Pain

Unemployment will climb, recession will last until end of 2009

(Newser) - The final version of the economic stimulus package will provide less immediate support for the economy than Barack Obama had hoped, reports the Wall Street Journal, and makes it likely that the US will remain in recession through 2009. The $790 billion deal cuts aid to state and local government...

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