Payne, Cordova Confirmed As Administration Gears Up For Bartlet, Frost Hearings
Washington, D.C. — The United States Senate approved two new members of President Sam Seaborn's cabinet Wednesday afternoon, approving of the nomination of Representative Meredith Payne (D-MI) to the position of Secretary of the Treasury, and San Jose mayor Gael Cordova to the position of Secretary of Labor ahead of what are assumed to be the most contentious hearings for the president's nominees to date, namely the nominations of former First Lady Abby Bartlet to the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services and businesswoman Sharon Frost to the position of Secretary of Commerce. Payne, who will make history as the first African-American Treasury secretary and only the second woman to hold the position, was approved of in a 80-20 vote, while Cordova, who will be the first Hispanic Labor secretary, won a slim 52-48 vote with four Republicans (Carlos Cabrera of Colorado, Dylan Garrison of Ohio, Jasper Irving of Illinois and Ellie Wilkins of New Hampshire) breaking ranks to vote with Democrats after a full-court press by the administration.
Behind the scenes, the administration is preparing for the hearings of and Frost, both scheduled for Friday afternoon. The two hearings are expected to be contentious for different reasons. In Bartlet's case, Senate Republicans have already voiced plenty of hostility to the former First Lady taking a Cabinet position, pointing to her involvement in covering up her late husband's multiple sclerosis during both his first election and for two years into his presidency. "While we do not want to re-litigate scandals of the Bartlet administration, Dr. Bartlet's conduct and violations of AMA [American Medical Association] rules during her husband's presidency are cause for serious concern for someone that could potentially be in charge of very important government agency," Senate Majority Leader Cody Riley (R-AL) said in an interview, saying he did not expect that the HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) Committee that the former First Lady will appear in front of would give her a "free pass".
For Frost, the sparks from a fierce confirmation fight come from two places. First, her selection has widely been seen as having been pushed for by Seaborn's running mate, Franklin Hollis, whose rejection by a large contingent of Democratic electors and then the Senate has led many to list him as one of the worst vice presidential nominees in American history. Second, paperwork detailing her vast financial portfolio took much longer than both administration and Senate officials had expected. This latter aspect has led to annoyance and concern from Commerce, Science and Transportation (CST) Chair Jeff Heston (R-UT). "We need to make sure the person in charge of the department that will be undertaking the Census in less than one year has his or her ducks in a row," Heston said. "That's not the impression I've gathered from Ms. Frost's delays in getting her financial disclosure work to us, but I'm open to hearing her explanations for the delay."
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Pope Victor touches down in Rwanda in final trip as Pope
Pope Victor IV has landed in the Rwandan capital of Kigali for his final trip as head of the Roman Catholic Church. The 93 year-old pontiff was greeted by Rwandan President James Banyingana, who feted him as "our nation's spiritual father" and "the greatest gift of Rwanda to the people of the world". Victor, who was born Jean-Luc Kabuga, was born and raised in Rwanda and visited the country several times after his elevation to the papacy in 1995. The pontiff, who did not take questions in a brief appearance with Banyingama, said that he had been blessed to be able to return to his homeland one last time. "It's by God's grace that he has allowed me to make a final visit to my birthplace and its people," the pontiff said. "Many of God's children, much less those of my age, do not have such an opportunity and it is for this that I give him thanks."
The pope will reportedly spend two weeks in Rwanda, with plans to visit his family's old home and the city of Kabgayi, where he was bishop from 1967 to 1976. His papacy will end on February 28, having announced his resignation in early January as a result of his increasing infirmity. Vatican spokesmen said that after he returns to the Vatican, the pope will finalize changes to the Apostolic Constitution that will allow the College of Cardinals to convene the day after his papacy ends to begin electing his successor. Currently, Vatican Secretary of State Francisco Petrucci is considered to be the strongest contender to succeed him, but sources in the Vatican say a whisper campaign for Cardinal Joseph Wambui, the Prefect for the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, has been initiated by the pope's strongest supporters who see Wambui as the candidate most likely to continue Victor's legacy.
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President Seaborn's Call to Patriots Goes Off-Script
WASHINGTON
— President Sam Seaborn's call to the Super Bowl LII champion New England Patriots went a bit off script in a way that left some New England fans fuming and the White House quickly spinning the president's words as a "failed attempt at a joke". The traditional invitation to the White House to the Super Bowl champs went to the Patriots front office Wednesday, with the president congratulating Patriots coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady on their sixth Super Bowl victory, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers for the all-time record, and inviting them to appear at the White House. Seaborn, who was the senator from California when he was elected to the presidency, reportedly said that he "wished it was the other guys [the Los Angeles Rams]" who he would be inviting, intending the remark to be a joke, but both Brady and Belichick seemed offended by the comment and took the president's observation that the game, which set the record for the lowest-scoring Super Bowl with both teams combining for only 16 points, "was a little less entertaining" than previous Super Bowls as an insult. The news leaked quickly to social media, which accused Seaborn of disrespect to the team and both men, with Brady saying that he felt "unnecessary hostility" from the new president in his call and was "a little insulted".
White House Press Secretary Cassie Tatum responded to the events saying it was a miscommunication. "The President did not intend to offend anyone in the Patriots organization, nor imply that they did not deserve to visit the White House as Super Bowl champions." Tatum said in a statement. New England fans, however, did not initially buy it and a video of an angry Patriots fan throwing his Seaborn/Hollis lawn sign in the garbage went viral. The Secret Service reportedly opened an investigation into a man in Massachusetts who posted that the president "shouldn't come [to Boston] after the shit he said about Brady if he wants to finish his term" on his Facebook page.
Finally, late Wednesday night, the commander-in-chief cleared the air by making a second call to both Brady and Belichick and apologizing. "I think I came off a bit harsher than I meant to in my last call," Seaborn says in a video the White House posted on its website. "As a proud Californian, I'm still a little sore about the results. But as a football fan, I'm thrilled to welcome you two and your team to the White House for a historic sixth time." For their part, Brady and Belichick accepted the president's apology, saying that they were thrilled to go to the White House again.
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President Seaborn to sign first major executive orders on LGBT rights, infrastructure
Washington, D.C. — President Sam Seaborn will sign the first major executive orders of his presidency on Thursday afternoon. The White House released a statement that the president will sign Executive Orders 13858 and 13859 at 11 AM Eastern Standard Time in the Oval Office. Order 13858 will extend anti-discrimination protection for both civilian employees and contractors of the federal government to include both gender identity and sexual orientation, while Order 13859 will outline a process for the Department of Transportation to fast-track the construction of infrastructure projects.
Order 13858 signals a clear break with the Walken administration's controversial policies on LGBT rights, most famously defying the Supreme Court's ruling of the unconstitutionality of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy for a few years until quietly giving in in 2015. Order 13859, on the other hand, is expected to be the first piece of groundwork in an ambitious infrastructure policy that Seaborn articulated during the presidential campaign. The order's provisions reveal the prioritization of repairing damaged or aged infrastructure, with policy experts saying that an infrastructure bill that will outline the policy specifics for the project and scope of funding new infrastructure projects will be introduced in Congress within the next few months.
