May 18, 2018

Trump taps acting secretary Robert Wilkie to lead Veterans Affairs

Axios

Photo: Saul Loeb/Getty Images

President Trump announced Friday that he will be nominating Acting Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie to officially lead the agency.

Timing: The announcement comes nearly one month after Dr. Ronny Jackson announced he was withdrawing his nomination following allegations of alcohol abuse and overprescription of medication.

The curveball: Trump said Acting VA Sec. Wilkie did not know about his announcement and that he was sorry to ruin the surprise.

The VA's latest: The VA just awarded a $10 billion contract to Cerner to upgrade the VA's electronic health records system, Axios' Bob Herman reports.

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Jacob Knutson

Pelosi warns U.S. allies against working with China's Huawei

Nancy Pelosi on Feb. 16. Photo: Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday cautioned U.S. allies against allowing Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei to develop their 5G networks, arguing at the Munich Security Conference that doing so is akin to “choosing autocracy over democracy," CNBC reports.

Why it matters: Pelosi's hawkish stance marks a rare area of agreement with the Trump administration, which believes Huawei is a national security threat because the Chinese government may be capable of accessing its equipment for espionage.

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Zachary Basu

Judge sets "scheduling" conference call ahead of Roger Stone sentencing

Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson has requested a Feb. 18 "scheduling" conference call in the Roger Stone case, two days before the former Trump associate is set to be sentenced.

Why it matters: Stone's defense team on Friday filed a sealed motion for a new trial — the second time they've done so — amid allegations of juror bias and a growing controversy over Attorney General Bill Barr's intervention in the case.

Go deeperArrow3 hours ago - Politics & Policy
Ursula Perano

Biden says Bloomberg's money can't "erase" his record

Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images.

Former Vice President Joe Biden said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that Michael Bloomberg's vast fortune cannot "erase" his record, and that scrutiny of Bloomberg's positions on things like race and policing will ramp up now that he's in the national spotlight.

Why it matters: Biden's polling free fall in the wake of poor performances in Iowa and New Hampshire has coincided with a surge for Bloomberg, who appeals to a similar moderate bloc of the Democratic Party. The billionaire's limitless spending capacity poses an especially stark threat to Biden, who has struggled with fundraising.

Go deeperArrow4 hours ago - Politics & Policy