Niels Lesniewski, Steve Burns, Ken Cuccinelli, Larry Kudlow and guest host Mary Walter joined WMAL on Tuesday!

Mornings on the Mall

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Mary Walter

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C McConnell refuses to say whether ‘nuclear option’ in Supreme Court nomination is on table. (Fox News) – The top GOP senator refused Friday to say whether Republicans would use the so-called “nuclear option” during the confirmation process for President Trump’s Supreme Court pick but promised that his nominee will be “confirmed.” “My answer’s going to be … [Democrats] have set the standard,” Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told Politico. If Republicans are unable to secure enough Democratic votes for Trump’s pick, they can change the rules and curb the filibuster. Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., did that for lower court nominees and other nominations in 2013. Trump has called on McConnell to kill the filibuster if Democrats resist his pick, but McConnell said the decision is not up to Trump. “That’s not a presidential decision. That’s a Senate decision,” McConnell told Politico.

5am – D         Critter News:

• Bobcat escapes National Zoo enclosure. WASHINGTON — A bobcat has escaped from her exhibit at the National Zoo, zoo officials said Monday. The 25-pound female bobcat named Ollie is believed to have escaped through an opening in the mesh around her enclosure Monday morning. The bobcat was last counted by zookeepers at 7:30 a.m. Monday, but around 10:40 a.m., Ollie couldn’t be found when keepers returned for the morning feeding. After an initial search of the habitat and surrounding area, zoo staffers have not located the almost 7-year-old bobcat. D.C. police, U.S. Park Police and local animal control officers were all notified of her escape, zoo officials said. A small portion of the great cats area was closed to the public while the search for Ollie continues. Zoo staff want to keep her exhibit quiet as they try to lure her back to more familiar surroundings where she knows she can find food, shelter and her two male bobcat exhibit-mates. Rock Creek Park, which butts up against the zoo, is the perfect habitat for bobcats, making the search for Ollie more difficult, said Craig Saffoe, curator of the zoo’s great cats.
• Missing red panda may have left Virginia Zoo. NORFOLK, Va. (AP) – Officials at the Virginia Zoo now believe there is a strong chance that Sunny, the missing red panda, has left the zoo’s campus. Zoo Executive Director Greg Bockheim tells The Virginian-Pilot that there were no sightings Sunday, the sixth day that officials and volunteers have searched for the red panda. Officials have employed everything from dogs to a geothermal camera, but none has yielded Sunny. The 19-month-old red panda was last seen on the night of Jan. 23 and was reported missing the next morning. Last week, officials had thought the tree-dwelling animal probably hadn’t left zoo property.

5am – E         Barack Obama Praises Protests Against President Trump’s Immigration Ban: ‘American Values Are at Stake.’ Former President Barack Obama released a statement on Monday commending Americans for the widespread protests in response to President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration order. Obama, in his first public statement since leaving the White House, said he was “heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country.” “Citizens exercising their Constitutional right to assemble, organize and have their voices heard by the elected officials is exactly what we expect to see when American values are at stake,” he said.

6am – A/B/C Trump fires acting attorney general in rift over immigration order. After Yates ouster, new acting AG Dana Boente says he will ‘defend and enforce’ laws. (USA Today) — WASHINGTON — President Trump fired Acting Attorney General Sally Yates Monday night after the Obama holdover refused to defend his controversial refugee ban in court. The ouster came just hours after Yates said she would not defend in court the president’s executive order suspending immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries. “Ms. Yates is an Obama administration appointee who is weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration,” said a statement from the White House that appeared to be in Trump’s own voice. Trump appointed Dana Boente, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to serve as acting attorney general until his nominee, Sen. Jeff Sessions, can be confirmed by the Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a Tuesday vote on Sessions, who has closely advised Trump on immigration matters. Boente was immediately sworn in at 9 p.m. Monday. “I will defend and enforce the laws of our country to ensure that our people and our nation are protected,” Boente said in a statement issued through the White House.

6am – D/E     Boy Scouts open membership to transgender boys. (CNN)The Boy Scouts of America says it will begin accepting members based on their gender identity, opening the door for transgender boys to join. Under the new policy, which takes effect immediately, membership in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts will be based on the gender indicated on an application. Previously, the organization relied on an individual’s birth certificate to determine eligibility for its single-gender programs.

6am – F         Student Launches Effort To Rename Winston Churchill High After Malcolm X. (Bethesda magazine) — Local teen argues famed prime minister doesn’t deserve hero’s treatment. A local teenager is petitioning to rename Winston Churchill High School because of bigoted statements attributed to the famed British prime minister. Hari Iyer wrote in an email to Bethesda Magazine that he’s trying to rename the Potomac school in honor of African-American leader Malcolm X.  Iyer, a freshman at Albert Einstein High School in Kensington, pointed out that Churchill once called Indians “a beastly people with a beastly religion.” Another time, Churchill suggested using the campaign slogan, “Keep England white,” Iyer noted. On the other hand, Malcolm X does not get the recognition he deserves and was a fearless and staunch advocate for education, Iyer argued.

7am – A         INTERVIEW – NIELS LESNIEWSKI – (NEELS LES-NEW-SKEE) – Senior Senate reporter for Roll Call

• TOPIC: Nomination Wars: Senate Democrats vs Trump Nom picks – Sessions, SCOTUS, etc
• Trump’s Immigration Order to Test Sessions, Supreme Court Pick. (Roll Call) — The Senate should buckle up for a rough week. The bipartisan concern and outrage over President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting access of immigrants from seven countries has likely ended any chance there will be smooth confirmation of additional members of the president’s national security team.
• U.S. Senate advances nomination of Tillerson as Secretary of State
• Senate committee vote on Jeff Sessions AG nomination is Tuesday. The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote Tuesday on the nomination of Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions to lead the U.S. Justice Department. The committee is set to meet Jan. 31 at 9:30 a.m. ET (8:30 a.m. CT). Sessions’ Attorney General nomination is the first item on the agenda. Video of the meeting will be available here once it gets under way. Tomorrow’s meeting comes a week after Democrats on the committee pushed for delay saying they needed more time to review more 200 pages of written responses to questions posed to President Donald Trump’s AG pick.
• Senate Dems will filibuster Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. Senate Democrats are going to try to bring down President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick no matter who the president chooses to fill the current vacancy.

7am – B         TRUMP ADMIN SHAKEUP:

• ICE HEAD REPLACED: Trump replaces acting Immigration Enforcement head (The Hill) — President Trump on Monday night replaced Daniel Ragsdale in his role as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Washington Post said he would become ICE’s deputy director moving forward. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly announced late Monday that Thomas D. Homan would serve as ICE’s acting director. There was no reason immediately given for the change.
• ACTING AG FIRED: Trump fires acting attorney general in rift over immigration order. After Yates ouster, new acting AG Dana Boente says he will ‘defend and enforce’ laws. WASHINGTON — President Trump fired Acting Attorney General Sally Yates Monday night after the Obama holdover refused to defend his controversial refugee ban in court. The ouster came just hours after Yates said she would not defend in court the president’s executive order suspending immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries. Trump appointed Dana Boente, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to serve as acting attorney general until his nominee, Sen. Jeff Sessions, can be confirmed by the Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a Tuesday vote on Sessions, who has closely advised Trump on immigration matters.

7am – C         Amazon’s Jeff Bezos promises to fight Trump’s immigration ban. The tech chief tells Amazon employees affected by the ban “the full extent of Amazon’s resources are behind you.” Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO and founder, said his company is going into action to counter President Trump’s controversial immigration order, which temporarily blocked refugees and citizens of seven countries from entering the US. In an email to employees Monday, Bezos said Amazon is working on a number of efforts, including exploring legislative measures and drafting a declaration of support for Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s lawsuit against the immigration order. Amazon is based in Seattle. Bezos told employees affected by the ban “the full extent of Amazon’s resources are behind you.” His comments were among a flurry of statements from tech leaders speaking out against the new ban.

7am – D         INTERVIEW — STEVE BURNS – WMAL’S INTREPID REPORTER (IN STUDIO)

• He was at the National Zoo covering the missing bobcat
• Ollie the bobcat is on the loose after she escaped from the National Zoo in Washington.
• National Zoo searching for missing bobcat Ollie, who escaped her enclosure Monday

7am – E         Colorado lawmaker wants to let victims of crimes committed by immigrants sue politicians in ‘sanctuary cities.’ The proposal targets cities that have declared they will not enforce federal immigration laws. (Denver Post) — A Republican state lawmaker on Monday announced a bill that would allow victims of certain crimes committed by immigrants in the country illegally to sue politicians who refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. The proposal, which has not yet been introduced, targets so-called “sanctuary cities” like Denver, Boulder and Aurora, where police and other officials have said they won’t enforce federal immigration laws. “It’s beyond any reasonable thought as to why the Democrats, along with (Denver Mayor Michael Hancock), would continue to not only act outside the law, which they swore to uphold, but also enjoy immunity from their reckless decision to place Coloradans in danger because of the sanctuary city policies that they created and continue to implement,” Rep. Dave Williams, R-Colorado Springs, said in a news release announcing the bill.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – KEN CUCCINELLI – president of Senate Conservatives Fund and the former Attorney General of Virginia

• PREVIEW: Trump’s Supreme Court pick coming at 8 p.m. Tuesday: President Donald Trump plans to announce his Supreme Court pick from the White House at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday. It will be someone from the list of candidates he made public during the campaign, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said today.
• Trump fires acting attorney general in rift over immigration order. After Yates ouster, new acting AG Dana Boente says he will ‘defend and enforce’ laws. WASHINGTON — President Trump fired Acting Attorney General Sally Yates Monday night after the Obama holdover refused to defend his controversial refugee ban in court. The ouster came just hours after Yates said she would not defend in court the president’s executive order suspending immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries.

8am – B/C  Dem Outrage:

• Trump Mocks Schumer For Crying: ‘I Think They Were Fake Tears.’ President Donald Trump defended his executive actions on immigration on Twitter Monday morning and mocked New York Sen. Chuck Schumer for crying at a press conference Sunday. Reacting to Trump’s executive actions pausing immigration from certain countries, Schumer began to cry while quoting the poem on the Statue of Liberty, “The New Colossus.” “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” Schumer said as his voice started to crack. “I won’t read the rest.” Trump tweeted Monday, “Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning.”
• Barack Obama Praises Protests Against President Trump’s Immigration Ban: ‘American Values Are at Stake.’ Former President Barack Obama released a statement on Monday commending Americans for the widespread protests in response to President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration order. Obama, in his first public statement since leaving the White House, said he was “heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country.” “Citizens exercising their Constitutional right to assemble, organize and have their voices heard by the elected officials is exactly what we expect to see when American values are at stake,” he said.
• Tim Kaine on Pres. Trump’s immigration order: “This is a religious test, pure and simple…”

8am – D         INTERVIEW — LARRY KUDLOW – CNBC Senior Contributor and host of The Larry Kudlow Show on WMAL Saturdays at 7 pm and author of “JFK and the Reagan Revolution: A Secret History of American Prosperity”

• Trump order targeting business rules leaves key regulations untouched. President Donald Trump signed an order on Monday that will seek to dramatically reduce federal regulations, but the policy will not apply to most of the financial reform rules intrduced by the Obama administration. Trump’s latest executive action will require that agencies cut two existing regulations for every new rule introduced and it will set an annual cap on the cost of new regulations. For the rest of fiscal 2017, the cap will require that the cost of any additional regulations be completely offset by undoing existing rules. But, the move does not cover independent agencies that crafted many of the rules required by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the White House said. It also would not apply to rules mandated by statutes.
• Trump fires acting attorney general in rift over immigration order. After Yates ouster, new acting AG Dana Boente says he will ‘defend and enforce’ laws. WASHINGTON — President Trump fired Acting Attorney General Sally Yates Monday night after the Obama holdover refused to defend his controversial refugee ban in court. The ouster came just hours after Yates said she would not defend in court the president’s executive order suspending immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries. Trump appointed Dana Boente, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to serve as acting attorney general until his nominee, Sen. Jeff Sessions, can be confirmed by the Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a Tuesday vote on Sessions, who has closely advised Trump on immigration matters.
• Dems hold up voting on some of Trump’s Cabinet nominees. Washington (CNN)A handful of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees’ confirmation votes were postponed Monday, including Treasury Department nominee Steven Mnuchin, Health and Human Services nominee Tom Price and Small Business Administration nominee Linda McMahon. The Senate Finance Committee will now vote on Mnuchin and Price for their Cabinet nominations at 10 a.m. ET Tuesday. Mnuchin’s vote was supposed to take place Monday night, but Democrats delayed the action. McMahon’s hearing was postponed until “further notice,” according to a Monday night press release. Senate Democrats, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have publicized their opposition to several of Trump’s Cabinet picks

8am – E         ‘Father of Pac-Man’ dead at 91. The arcade trailblazer known as the Father of Pac-Man has died at 91. Masaya Nakamura founded Namco, the Japanese company behind the wildly popular dot-munching video game, in 1955. It began with two electric horses on the roof of a department store. The company became Bandai Namco after its merger with a gaming company in 2005. Nakamura died Jan. 22. The company announced his death on Monday. Pac-Man was designed by video game engineer Toru Iwatani and released in 1980 to adoring audiences. The game sold more than 100,000 units in its first year in the United States and was named the world’s most successful coin-operated video game by Guinness World Records in 1981.