1. MOVING TO LIFT THE BAN ON CIA BLACK SITES “The Trump administration is preparing a sweeping executive order that would clear the way for the Central Intelligence Agency to reopen overseas ‘black site’ prisons, like those where it detained and tortured terrorism suspects before former President Obama shut them down,” the New York Times’s Charlie Savage reports.
2. MUZZLING AGENCIES: “Trump administration officials instructed employees at multiple agencies in recent days to cease communicating with the public through news releases, official social media accounts and correspondence, raising concerns that federal employees will be able to convey only information that supports the new president’s agenda,” Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis report.
3. AN ASSAULT ON CLIMATE SCIENCE: It’s not surprising that Trump followed through on promises to issue executive orders to revive the Dakota Access and Keystone XL oil pipelines, but the administration is making a much harder play below the radar to eviscerate Obama’s environmental legacy.
It has instructed EPA officials to freeze all grants and contracts, a move that could affect everything from state-led climate research to localized efforts to improve air and water quality to environmental justice projects aimed at helping poor communities.
4. BLOCKING REGULATIONS, INCLUDING ONE TO PREVENT PLANE CRASHES: White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus issued an order Friday night to freeze all regulations that haven’t yet been formally published in the Federal Register.
5. KEEPING THE DOOR OPEN TO ENTITLEMENT CUTS: Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), defended his support for cuts to popular entitlement programs that Trump vowed to keep intact during the campaign.
6. DECLINING TO COMMIT THAT CONSUMERS WILL BE BETTER OFF UNDER OBAMACARE REPLACEMENT: Trump’s choice for health secretary repeatedly refused during his own testy confirmation hearing to promise that no Americans will be worse off under Trump’s executive order to ease provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
7. RETAINING COMEY: Hillary Clinton believes very strongly that FBI director James Comey cost her the election with his two announcements during the run-up to Nov. 8, and she’s angry that he did not publicly discuss evidence of Russian interference on behalf of Trump.
8. SESSIONS REFUSING TO RECUSE HIMSELF: “Attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions won’t commit to recusing himself from potential Justice Department investigations into controversies involving Trump — from Russia to business conflicts of interest — despite his vigorous campaigning on behalf of Trump during the 2016 election season,” Politico’s Seung Min Kim reports.
9. CURTAILING ABORTION: Flanked by a group in the Oval Office that consisted entirely of men, Trump reinstated the so-called Mexico City policy. The Reagan-era policy bans American assistance to organizations that offer abortion services, including counseling and referrals.
10. RENEGING ON PROMISES OF TRANSPARENCY During the presidential campaign, Trump said repeatedly that he could not release his returns because he is undergoing an audit and that he would do so once that process is complete. The audit has always been a flimsy excuse. Nothing is stopping him from releasing the returns any way, and he could release previous years not under audit.
11. TAKING THE OIL Speaking crassly in front of the honor wall at CIA headquarters in Langley, Trump said Saturday that the United States should have kept the oil after the liberation of Iraq. “To the victor belong the spoils,” he said. “So we should have kept the oil. But, okay, maybe you’ll have another chance.”
