President Trump today proposed a major change to corporate transparency, in a tweet calling for the Securities and Exchange Commission to change quarterly reporting for publicly-traded corporations.
The bottom line: This was just a request to study the idea, but it gives Trump another talking point in addition to deregulation and the tax cuts when he hears CEO concerns over social issues and immigration.
President Trump tweeted today that he wants securities regulators to study the idea of having public companies report earnings twice per year instead of quarterly as a way to promote job growth. Later, he noted that the idea came from outgoing Pepsi chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi.
The bottom line: Nooyi did make the suggestion, according to a statement provided to Axios, but there was a bit more to it than what Trump tweeted.
Dr. Robert Gates has added his name to a stunning list of former intelligence officials who signed a letter criticizing President Trump's decision to revoke former CIA director John Brennan's security clearance.
Why it matters: Gates has served eight presidents, including stints as CIA director, and later as Defense Secretary for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. In the the letter, the former officials state that "decisions on security clearances should be based on national security concerns and not political views." They also call the decision "ill-considered and unprecedented."
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo walked back his earlier statement this week that America "was never that great," during a phone call with reporters Friday, per the New York Post.
"The expression I used the other day was inartful, so I want to be very clear: Of course America is great and of course America has always been great... His philosophy is not just repugnant to New York, his philosophy is anti-American."
The Trump administration is ending up to $230 million in funding intended to help stabilize Syria, David Satterfield, the State Department's Acting Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs, told reporters on a call Friday.
Why it matters: This is the latest in a string of cuts to Syrian stabilization funds the administration has been making following repeated complaints from President Trump about the cost of U.S. involvement. Axios reported in May that the State Department was ending funding to projects in northwest Syria after Trump requested they be reviewed.
President Trump defended on Friday his decision to revoke former CIA Director John Brennan's security clearance and said he'll be taking away Bruce Ohr's security clearance "very quickly... I think Bruce Ohr is a disgrace."
The backdrop: Ohr worked at the Department of Justice as associate deputy attorney general until late 2017, the Washington Post reports. His wife Nellie, who Trump also went after on Friday, is a "Russia specialist who has done some work for Fusion GPS."
President Trump railed against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo twice on Friday for claiming that America "was never that great" — which Cuomo later walked back — saying that he "already MADE America Great Again."
"Wow! Big pushback on Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York for his really dumb statement about America’s lack of greatness. I have already MADE America Great Again, just look at the markets, jobs, military- setting records, and we will do even better. Andrew 'choked' badly, mistake! ... When a politician admits that 'We’re not going to make America great again,' there doesn’t seem to be much reason to ever vote for him. This could be a career threatening statement by Andrew Cuomo, with many wanting him to resign-he will get higher ratings than his brother Chris!"
President Trump tweeted on Friday that he has "cancelled" the planned military parade because of high cost estimates, but adds, "Now we can buy some more jet fighters!"
"The local politicians who run Washington, D.C. (poorly) know a windfall when they see it. When asked to give us a price for holding a great celebratory military parade, they wanted a number so ridiculously high that I cancelled it. Never let someone hold you up! I will instead ... attend the big parade already scheduled at Andrews Air Force Base on a different date, & go to the Paris parade, celebrating the end of the War, on November 11th. Maybe we will do something next year in D.C. when the cost comes WAY DOWN. Now we can buy some more jet fighters!"
The backdrop: The parade was originally expected to cost around $12 million, but reports on Thursday said the estimated expense was much higher (CNBC reported it would be closer to $92 million). The Pentagon announced Thursday night that the parade could be delayed until 2019.
As President Trump has settled into Year 2 of his presidency, he has become especially enamored with powers he can exercise — just like back at the Trump Organization — without the approval or even consultation of anyone else.
Four sources close to Trump tell Axios that the revocation of former CIA Director John Brennan's clearance belongs in the same category as the president's love of the pardon power and the signing of executive orders.
