TOP STORIES
Wednesday, November 27
2 WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS RESIGNED OVER UKRAINE AID FREEZE CONCERNS Mark Sandy, a longtime employee of the White House Office of Management and Budget, told congressional impeachment investigators that two officials who’d worked in the OMB had resigned from the department over concerns about President Donald Trump’s withholding of military aid from Ukraine. [HuffPost] TRUMP WAS TOLD OF WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINT BEFORE HE RELEASED UKRAINE AID: REPORT Prior to his decision to unfreeze nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine, Trump was reportedly informed of the complaint filed by a whistleblower who’d expressed concerns about the reasons for the aid package freeze. The New York Times reported that White House lawyers had warned Trump of the whistleblower complaint in late August; the president released the aid in early September. [HuffPost] BUTTIGIEG’S PAC VOWED TO HELP ELECT OTHER DEMS, BUT IT MOSTLY JUST TOUTED HIM When Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and now presidential contender, launched a political action committee in 2017, the PAC promised to help other Democrats -- “at every level and in communities both red and blue” -- get elected. It appears, however, that the group, which was shuttered earlier this year, failed spectacularly at achieving its goal. The PAC spent just $37,000 out of $400,000 raised on boosting other Democratic candidates. Mostly, Buttigeg’s PAC helped tout just one Democrat: Buttigieg himself. [HuffPost] SANTA BARBARA BRUSH FIRE SPREADS TO 4,200 ACRES WITH 0% CONTAINED California officials said firefighters have been unable to contain the raging Cave Fire in Santa Barbara County. The brush fire, fueled by strong winds and dry conditions, had grown to over 4,200 acres, officials said, noting the blaze was “burning under some of the toughest firefighting conditions of anywhere in the world.” [HuffPost] FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP’S HEALTH INSURANCE RULE FOR IMMIGRANTS A U.S. judge in Oregon issued an order barring the enforcement of a Trump administration proclamation that would require immigrants to show proof of health insurance to get a U.S. visa. The judge said in his opinion that the measure cannot take effect until a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality is resolved. [AP] THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT HAS A SWAMP PROBLEM When Trump took office, he vowed to “drain the swamp.” But during his tenure as president, at least 11 former officials at the U.S. Department of the Interior -- including former Interior chief Ryan Zinke -- have landed jobs in industry or lobbying since leaving the agency. [HuffPost]
TRUMP PLANS TO DESIGNATE MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS AS TERRORIST GROUPS Trump told Bill O’Reilly in an interview that he intends to designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations -- a move that could subject the cartels and those who support them to special sanctions and punishments. Trump’s announcement comes weeks after the massacre of a group of Mormon women and children in northern Mexico. Concerned Mexican officials said they would quickly seek a meeting with U.S. State Department officials to discuss the planned change. [Reuters] | 
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