Winning - January 2019

Keeping track of the GOP and Trump Administration:

• The new year starts with the #TrumpShutdown. About 800K federal employees not being paid.
• According to Fact Check, after a relatively "slow" start, Trump easily tops 8,000 lies in his first two years in office. A whopping 75% in the second year. A 5.9/day average overall but 16.5/day in the last year. He truly is the greatest at something. Trumpers should be proud.
• 01/01 - Mitt Romney writes a scathing Washington Post op-ed of Trump's leadership and morality.
• 01/03 - The new Democratic-controlled House is sworn in. Nancy Pelosi is elected Speaker. No more free ride for Trump in Congress.
• 01/03 - The Justice Department is investigating whether former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke lied to Interior Department inspector general investigators. More Trump administration swampiness. 
• 01/03 - The House passes the same temporary appropriations bill that the Senate passed last month and that Trump had originally agreed to sign. #TrumpShutdown.
• 01/04 - Kevin Sweeney, a retired Navy rear admiral, the Pentagon chief of staff has been forced to step down. His unflinching loyalty to Trump was in question. 
• What started out as Trump's slogan "America First" has devolved to now be "America Only". Unhealthy nationalism.
• 01/07 - It now appears that Trump is walking back his "immediate" troop withdrawal from Syria. Another example of his tweet first, ask questions later policy. 
• 01/08 - Court filings allege that Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign manager, shared 2016 presidential campaign polling data with Konstantin Kilimnik who has been tied to Russian intelligence. No collusion?
• 01/10 - Former Trump lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, agrees to testify publicly before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on February 7th. Not great news for Trump.
• 01/14 - Two federal judges rule that the Trump administration can not roll back the birth control mandate in the Affordable Care Act (ACA/Obamacare). 
• 01/15 - A federal judge has blocked the Commerce Department from asking a citizenship question on the 2020 census. 
• The No. 2 at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Deputy Secretary Pam Patenaude, has resigned over disagreements with Trump about disaster funding for Puerto Rico. She is widely regarded as HUD’s most capable political leader. Apparently, Secretary Ben Carson is not the most capable. Surprise.
• 01/17 - The House votes 362-53 to oppose the lifting of the Treasury sanctions against Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska controlled companies. A rebuke of the Trump Administration. Eleven GOP senators also voted against lifting the sanctions. 
• 01/19 - Trump proposes a government shutdown "compromise". Give me all I want and I'll temporarily give you a little of what you want. The Democrats did not bite.
• 01/21 - Trump's attorney, Rudy Giuliani, tries to walk back his statements that the Moscow Trump Tower deal negotiations continued well into 2016. Surprise, Giuliani put his foot in his mouth again. Why do they let this guy make public statements?
• 01/22 - The Supreme Court takes no action on Trump's request to take up the DACA issue now.
• Another scathing look at Trump's White House in a new book Team of Vipers. This time by Trump supporter and former staffer Cliff Sims. 
• 01/23 - Speaker Pelosi rescinds the invitation to Trump to give the SOTU in the House chambers. After threatening to give his speech at a different venue, he capitulates. The SOTU is officially postponed until after the #TrumpShutdown. 
• 01/25 - Trump's approval rating is at 37%, disapproval rating at 58%. That's a 21 point delta. 
• 01/25 - The government shutdown, a yoooouge win for Trump. His approval ratings tank, still no wall money. No SOTU, economic pain, travel interruptions, and much more. Overwhelming winning.  
• Trump loves to make history and his shutdown is the longest in US history. Congratulations!
• After a 35 day shutdown, Trump caves and agrees to the exact same deal that was on the table before the shutdown.
• The far right media criticizes Trump for caving. Ann Coulter calls him a wimp. 
• 01/31 - The Senate rebukes (68-23) Trump's Syria and Afghanistan troop withdrawal plans. Trump's buddy Mitch McConnell spearheaded the amendment.

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