Trump backer out at Energy Dept. after anti-Muslim tweets surface

Ben Geman

The Energy Department cut ties Friday with Sid Bowdidge, a political appointee and former Trump campaign worker who has made inflammatory anti-Muslim comments on Twitter, according to Buzzfeed and other outlets. Bowdidge had been working at DOE's Office of Technology Transitions, but as Greentech Media notes he appears to lack any related policy background.

In 2015 the massage therapist from New Hampshire responded on Twitter to a CNN tweet about the San Bernardino shooters with a tweet stating: "Scum suckling maggots of the world. Exterminate them all." He has also tweeted that "Obama won't use the term radical Islam because they're his relatives!!!!"

Why it matters: Trump's operation has already been under the microscope for installing temporary "beachhead" political appointees at agencies who have little or no relevant experience.

Dec 15, 2017 -

What's next

Axios

⚖️ Live updates: Opening arguments begin in Trump impeachment trial

The second day of the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump will see a full day of opening arguments from Democratic House impeachment managers.

What to watch for: Democrats now have 24 hours — spread out over three days — to take their time to lay out their case against the president's alleged abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. It'll also allow them to highlight gaps that could be filled out by additional witnesses and documents from the administration.

This post will be updated with new developments as the trial continues.

Go deeperArrowJan 21, 2020 - Politics
Axios

Axios Dashboard

Keep up with breaking news throughout the day — sign up for our alerts.

Keep ReadingArrowFeb 25, 2019 - U.S. News
Erica Pandey

America's homelessness crisis isn't going away

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

If the opioid epidemic was the top issue plaguing American cities in the last five years, the most urgent problem of the next five is homelessness, a group of American mayors told reporters in D.C. this week.

Why it matters: Homelessness in the U.S. was on the decline after 2010, but it started to increase again in 2016 — and without moves to address the affordable housing crisis driving the issue, we can expect it to keep getting worse, experts say.

Go deeperArrow2 hours ago - Cities