Drain the swamp!

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There is a drain the swamp thread under campaign funding, but of course there is a swamp to be drained (or, as is invariably the case under Trump, to be filled) in other fields than campaign finance.

After accusing his opponent Hillary for being a stooge for Goldman Sachs, Trump filled the White House with so many Goldman people they could start a branch office there. And everywhere, regulations and regulators are replaced by industry stooges, like the new FCC guy..

Talking about the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) actions to kill off the 2015 open internet rule tends to cause eyes to glaze over. For most people, this is a debate between a federal agency they barely care about and the internet service providers (ISPs) they tolerate because they want to go online. In reality, however, this issue involves more than just a technical battle between industry and government.

It's actually a fight where cable giants are using a newly friendly FCC to subtly shift rules that protect consumers to ones that solely benefit the ISPs. The details may be boring, but the reality is that an industry that has never put consumer interests over its own profits is now regulated by an FCC that supports commerce over the general public.

In 2015, the FCC, led by then-chairman Tom Wheeler passed a rule that classified broadband Internet providers as utilities or common carriers under Title II of the Telecommunications Act of 1934. That ruling, which was opposed by current FCC Chairman Ajit Pai -- who was a commissioner in 2015 -- prevented blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization of content on the internet.

The current, Republican-controlled FCC has begun the process of ending net neutrality regulation. Under the new rules, the FCC would no longer regulate ISPs as utilities. Instead, authority over internet providers would revert to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), an agency with very limited regulatory power.

Cable companies have friendly FCC Chairman and consumers should worry - Business Insider
And they're using Orwellian doublespeak to hide the policies (see the rest of the story)..

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And, of course, the swamp has to be filled in secret, that is, no meddling by any pesky ethics office..

The chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush was baffled at the latest kerfuffle between the White House and the Office of Government Ethics. On Monday, The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump's White House refused to disclose to the OGE any ethics waivers granted to former lobbyists who now work in the administration. Through a Freedom of Information Act request, the publication obtained a letter from Mick Mulvaney, the head of the Office of Management and Budget, to Walter Schaub, head of the OGE. The letter asked Schaub to withdraw a request he sent to federal agencies to obtain copies of all the waivers the administration has given.

The Trump administration claimed in the letter that Schaub did not have the legal authority to demand the waivers. Painter said that wasn't good enough. "Is there any rationale that wasn't purely a legal argument?" Richard Painter, Bush's chief ethics lawyer from 2005 to 2007 and currently a University of Minnesota law professor, told Business Insider. "What's a rationale that is not a legal argument? I haven't heard it." "So was there any good policy reason not to share waivers with the Office of Government Ethics?" he said.

Several former lobbyists and industry lawyers now hold administration jobs. The Times reported that Trump has hired ex-lobbyists at a rate that far surpassed his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, despite pledges to the contrary. Schaub, who was appointed to his role by Obama and is in the last year of his five-year term, told the Times the White House request was "extraordinary" and he has "never seen anything like it."

Trump admin battle with ethics office over lobbyists baffles experts - Business Insider

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After relinquishing the House Oversight Committee gavel this month, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said he thinks the Trump administration isn’t any better about government transparency than the Obama administration. In an interview with Sinclair Broadcast Group that aired over the weekend, Chaffetz said he’s been disappointed that federal agencies under Trump haven’t been more forthcoming with congressional oversight requests. “The reality is, sadly, I don't see much difference between the Trump administration and the Obama administration. I thought there would be this, these floodgates would open up with all the documents we wanted from the Department of State, the Department of Justice, the Pentagon,” Chaffetz said.

Chaffetz: Trump administration 'almost worse' than Obama's on transparency | TheHill

[Admin]

U.S. environmental chief Scott Pruitt met in March with oil executives over dinner in Trump International Hotel, just as he was moving to relieve the industry of one of its biggest Obama-era regulatory burdens: a requirement to curtail methane leaks.  The session inside the hotel just blocks from the White House was just one of a series of meetings the Environmental Protection Agency administrator had with oil, coal and chemical leaders during his first six weeks on the job, according to newly released details of his schedule. 

The meetings include sessions with coal magnate Robert E. Murray and Dow Chemical Co. Chief Executive Andrew Liveris, but none with officials from environmental or health groups, the 35-page list shows. The schedule, spanning Feb. 21 to March 31, shows Pruitt visiting with many of the corporate stakeholders set to benefit from his moves to reverse or revise regulations governing water pollution, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Trump EPA chief met energy CEOs at Trump Hotel amid rollback

Methane, by the way, is a MUCH more powerful (18x or so) greenhouse gas compared to CO2..

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"So somebody said, 'Why did you appoint a rich person to be in charge of the economy," Trump said to a group of his supporters at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids. "I said, 'Because that's the kind of thinking we want ... because they're representing the country. They don't want the money." "And I love all people — rich or poor — but in those particular positions, I just don't want a poor person," Trump continued. "Does that make sense? If you insist, I'll do it — but I like it better this way." 

Trump's reasoning appeared to contradict previous rhetoric on which he ran his presidential campaign. "I know the guys at Goldman Sachs. They have total, total control over [Ted Cruz]," Trump said in South Carolina during the 2016 primary election. "Just like they have total control over Hillary Clinton."

"I know the people on Wall Street ... I'm not going to let Wall Street get away with murder," Trump also said at a 2016 campaign rally in Iowa. "Wall Street has caused tremendous problems for us." Trump received criticism after he appointed many former executives with ties to Wall Street, including Goldman Sachs executive Steven Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary, Goldman chief operating officer Gary Cohn as chief economic advisor, and Goldman managing director James Donovan as deputy Treasury Secretary.

Why Trump added billionaire Wall Street execs to his cabinet - Business Insider

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Apart from the obvious Russian ties, Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort "was associated with at least 15 bank accounts and 10 companies on Cyprus"

How about that for "draining the swamp." These are really not people who have the interests of left behind Americans at heart and if you still believe that, simply watch what they do, instead of what they say.

The Washington Post reported that investigators are “looking for any evidence of possible financial crimes among Trump associates,” while the New York Times wrote: “A former senior official said Mr. Mueller’s investigation was looking at money laundering by Trump associates. The suspicion is that any cooperation with Russian officials would most likely have been in exchange for some kind of financial payoff, and that there would have been an effort to hide the payments, probably by routing them through offshore banking centers.”

Did someone say money laundering? For some strange reason that reminded me of this NBC News report that Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager, “was associated with at least 15 bank accounts and 10 companies on Cyprus, dating back to 2007,” and that “At least one of those companies was used to receive millions of dollars from a billionaire Putin ally.”

You’d Be Scared if You Were Donald Trump, Too - Business Insider

[Admin]

Can you feel the draining? 

An outside adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump called on Sunday for the firing of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray. Corey Lewandowski, Trump's former campaign manager who still speaks regularly to the president, criticized a CFPB rule that would make it easier for consumers to sue financial companies. Currently, many consumers are required to settle disputes related to credit cards and other banking products through mandatory arbitration. “It’s my recommendation to the president of the United States to fire Richard Cordray,” Lewandowski told NBC's "Meet the Press."

Outside Adviser to Trump Calls for Firing of CFPB Head Cordray

But of course, the CFPB actually protects consumers against the financial industry, so this is draining in reverse..

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And what about the drain here?

The regulatory agenda released by the Trump administration on Thursday contained a signal that the U.S. government has halted its work on restricting Wall Street executives' bonuses and other pay incentives. The 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law called for federal banking and securities regulators to create limits on incentive-based compensation at big financial companies and prevent executives from receiving outsized rewards for overly risky gambles.

U.S. attempt to limit Wall Street bonuses fizzles out quietly

Remember, there are enough Goldman Sachs people working in the White House to start an office there, so one should not be surprised by this piece of reverse swamping..

[Admin]

Drain the swamp! Or fill it up, what was it?

When President Trump ordered federal agencies to form teams to dismantle government regulations, the Transportation Department turned to people with deep industry ties. One appointee had previously lobbied the department on behalf of American Airlines. Another held executive roles for several electric and hybrid car companies regulated by the department. A third was a lawyer who represented United Airlines in regulatory matters. The three appointees have been identified by ProPublica and The New York Times in a continuing effort to track members of the deregulation teams. The appointments, previously unreported, follow a pattern identified by the two news organizations: By and large, the Trump administration has stacked the teams with political appointees, some of whom may be reviewing rules their former employers sought to weaken or kill. A full vetting of industry connections has been difficult because some agencies have declined to provide information about the appointees — not even their names.

Secrecy and Suspicion Surround Trump’s Deregulation Teams - ProPublica

This is all a sick joke, the exact opposite what was promised during the campaign, but pointing that out makes you fake media..

[Admin]

No swamp draining here, and what on earth can this guy say that's worth $100K?

President Trump's eldest son will receive $100,000 later this year to speak at the University of North Texas for their Kuehne Speaker Series, the university's student newspaper reports. The North Texas Daily reported on Thursday that Donald Trump Jr. will receive $100,000 for a 30-minute lecture followed by a Q&A section and a VIP photo opportunity. Trump Jr. will be given the questions to the session ahead of time, according to the paper. The contract signed by Trump Jr. also provides for up to $5,000 in lodging and transportation costs. According to the newspaper, Trump Jr. is scheduled to speak at Oct. 24 at the school's A&T stadium. The report comes as Texas continues to recover from the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey.

Trump Jr. getting $100k to speak at UNT | TheHill