C12-4 Tillerson's trip to Mexico

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson went to Mexico on Wednesday to visit the president of Mexico. For past presidents, this trip is easy and civil but not for Trump. Tillerson wants to smooth tension that the president may have about the possible building of a wall on the border and the new immigration guidelines. Mexico was not impressed with his efforts to ease their minds. They do not want to accept the rules that the Trump administration is making.
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/rex-tillerson-tasked-helping-soothe-tensions-mexico-n724366

C12-3 Deportation in the U.S.

Because of the new Trump rule, millions of people are being targeted for deportation in the U.S. If any illegal immigrant living in the U.S. gets gets charged or suspected of any crime or even minor offenses will now be an enforcement priority.  Trumps administration considers illegal immigrants who are committing crimes in our country (including illegally crossing the border) a danger to our national security. Also people who are overstaying a visa which is a civil offense rather than a criminal one. I think Trump needs to chill. It's going to take time to get immigrants out and he is trying to rush it.
http://wtop.com/government/2017/02/us-to-increase-number-of-immigrants-targeted-for-deportation/

C12-2 Andrew Puzder withdraws as President Trump's nominee for Labor secretary

Trumps pick for Labor Secretary Andrew Puzder withdrew his nomination today due to people concerns that he didn't have the votes to win confirmation. He did it shortly after the Senate Republican leaders told the Whit House that he actually didn't have the votes. Puzder, who is the head of Hardee's had planned on his confirmation hearing to be Thursday of this week but now he has learned that he doesn't have the votes.  Democrats have accused him of domestic violence against his wife. I think that it sounds like he didnt want the embarrassment of not having enough votes so he wanted to make it look like he didn't want to be Labor Secretary.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/02/15/reports-andrew-puzders-nomination-labor-secretary-peril/97953932/

C12-1 Pence's trip to Europe

VP Mike Pence will be taking a trip to Europe this week to give a better understanding of the Trump administration's foreign policy strategy to allies looking for clarity on the subject. However, Pence might not be able to tell much about Trump's policies due to the turbulence on the foreign policy team but his can give insight on the White House's views. "I think from the administration's point of view, this is an opportunity to make a very major pronouncement on its foreign policy and its European policy," said Alexander Vershbow, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia and a former deputy secretary general of NATO. I think that other countries have a right to ask questions about the policies.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-europe-idUSKBN15U2LN

C11-3 Revenge of the Bureaucrats

Trump has plans to cut the size of the government workforce. He is setting up a mess for the country's 2.1 million federal employees. He is expected to freeze federal hiring this week as well as shrinking agencies. He is about to find out how much power these workers have. The employees can leak information to the press and Capitol Hill. I think that Trump needs to slow down. He is making a lot of people angry by making all these fast changes to our country. It seems like this change will leave a lot of people with out jobs. I hope Trump will find a way to help people get jobs rather than take them away.

C11-2 lawsuits

Trump administration was accused by the American Civil Liberties Union in a lawsuit on Thursday of violating the religious freedom of some nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries who have been barred from entering the United States. They think that the travel ban is racist against the muslim people. I think that this needs to happen. The travel ban does come off as racist especially to muslim people. I understand that he is trying to make our country safer but the way he is doing it is unconstitutional.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-lawsuit-idUSKBN15I0B2

C11-1 immigrants leaving U.S.

The travel ban that was set this weekend is scaring immigrants in Silicon Valley. Some of them are thinking about leaving the U.S. '"I had literally at least two or three dozen people contact me over the weekend asking me if they should just go back home — give it up," said Vivek Wadhwa, engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Silicon Valley campus.' Donald Trump's travel ban doesn't let travelers from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen come into the country. Because of this there have been 109 people detained in airports. Current immigrants in the U.S. are just nervous the "they're next." Or that they will be kicked out because most do not have their green card yet.
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/30/skilled-tech-immigrants-are-now-considering-leaving-the-us-expert-says.html

C10-1 Supreme Court nominee

Trump promises to announce the Supreme Court nominee within 2 weeks of the inauguration. He said this at a press conference on Wednesday.  He says that he has met a lot of candidates for the seat of Chief Justice and all have been "outstanding."
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/when-will-trump-name-supreme-court-pick-233478

C9-3 VP awarded Medal of Freedom

On Thursday, President Obama surprised Joe Biden by awarding him the Medal of Freedom. Obama said a lot of nice things about Biden like that he was the best vice president that America has ever had. He was very emotional and thanked Obama for everything he had done for him and for their friendship. I really appreciate how close they were. It just showed how well they worked together.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/joe-biden-medal-of-freedom-awarded-by-president-obama/

C9-4 Trump's elect for Education secretary

Donald Trump's pick to lead the the Department of Education was asked a lot of questions by the democratic party. DeVos refused to promise that she would not take funding from the public schools. When she was asked if she would keep the current funding for schools in the future she ignored the question and said "I look forward, if confirmed, to working with you to talk about how we address the needs of all parents and all students." I hope that she will make the right decision to make a good plan for the public school funding. It sounds like she is unsure about what she wants to do.
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/betsy-devos-trump-s-pick-education-secretary-won-t-rule-n708171

C9-2 democratic party blog

I recently read a blog written by someone in the democratic political party. He was giving advice to other democrats and telling them what they should do now that Trump is about to be in office. He talked about the election in 1980 between Reagan and Carter and how 12 democratic senators were unseated after Reagans win. He said that some people lost their jobs in Washington but that he was lucky to stay there and direct the PAC. He worked to try and rebuild the democratic party and went around the country to elect democrats. He did many things for the Democratic party. I got a better understanding of what people in political parties actually do. Reading it from someone who worked for one was really cool and i understood better what they do.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/thomas-jefferson-street/articles/2017-01-13/8-steps-for-democrats-in-the-donald-trump-era

C9-1 Obama Care Repeal

One of Donald Trump's promises as he goes into office was to repeal Obama Care. However the repeal threatens many state public health and prevention programs nation-wide. It also threatens the health insurance for 20 million people. People are worried that the repeal will reduce 3.2 trillion that is used to treat illnesses and and diseases.  More than 300 public health groups signed a letter to the congressional leaders last week warning them of the consequences of this repeal. 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/16/obamacare-repeal-threatens-public-health-funding-states/96535262/