It’s no hoax. Donald Trump signs an executive order, as promised, that takes the United States out of the lead role in combatting the effects of climate change. The order turns back restrictions on coal-fueled power plants, which pretty much guarantees that America can’t reach its goals for cutting emissions. The question now is how this affects the Paris accords. Via The New York Times.
Trump’s executive order won’t do anything for coal miners. But it’s a huge gift for coal-mine owners. Via Vox.
For those who wonder whether there’s a difference when Republicans and Democrats are in charge, the Republican House, in a party-line vote, just voted to do away with Obama-era Internet privacy laws. Via The Washington Post.
Ryan Lizza: It’s now clear that the White House and Devin Nunes worked together to scuttle what was supposed to be a sweeping investigation of possible Russian interference in the 2016 election — and not just because the White House had tried to block Sally Yates’s scheduled testimony before the House Intelligence Committee. Nunes then cancelled the hearing. Via The New Yorker.
Devin Nunes’s hometown paper, the Fresno Bee, writes in an editorial that Nunes is to blame for all the chaos in the Russia-Trump probe and calls for an independent select committee to do the investigation. Meanwhile, The National Review’s David French says Nunes should step down.
Byron York: Whatever Trump does next, whether it’s tax reform or infrastructure spending or both, it had better be focused on jobs and wages. Via The Washington Examiner.
In the next looming showdown in Congress, Trump might well get stiffed on his border wall. Democrats are threatening to shut down the government rather than vote for any bill that includes money for Trump’s wall. Via Politico.
New York Times columnist Roger Cohen gets the story behind the story of Angela Merkel’s visit with Donald Trump. Let’s just say it was worse than you thought.
Has the Trump administration included USA Today in the fake-news category? If not, it may have to start now. The newspaper has a report that Trump’s business interests reached alleged Russian mobsters.
Writers love writers, but this writer asks for your indulgence on this wonderful obit of Robert McPherson, a wonderful writer who chronicled his battle with poverty. Via The Washington Post.
Via Janet Landenmuth, Flickr: Creative Commons
