The scientist nominated by President Trump to head the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Kelvin Droegemeier, was approved yesterday by the Senate Commerce Committee. Droegemeier, currently Vice President for Research at the University of Oklahoma, was tapped to head the office in August. A severe weather scientist, he was a member of the National Science Board under both the Bush and Obama administrations.
Read more about him and the nomination here and here.
In a televised address this evening, President Trump is expected to announce his nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is retiring from the bench at the end of July. The upcoming nomination fight could overshadow almost everything in Congress this summer.
Congress returns this week after its July Fourth recess last week.
President Donald Trump tweeted today that he has accepted the resignation of EPA chief Scott Pruitt. Pruitt had been the subject of numerous ethics investigations involving his travel, spending, use of staff, and favors by industry lobbyists.
The agency’s Deputy Administrator, Andrew Wheeler, will act as the agency’s leader until a new administrator is nominated by Mr. Trump and confirmed by the Senate.
Earlier today, the Trump Administration released a plan that it had been developing to reorganize federal agencies.
Called “Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century,” the plan calls for a number of sweeping changes to a number of different federal agencies, including combining the Departments of Education and Labor into a single agency. Among the other changes being proposed is a call to move all federal Graduate Fellowships to the National Science Foundation.
This plan is the culmination of a directive issued by the White House Office of Management and Budget after Mick Mulvaney was sworn in as its director at the beginning of the Trump Administration in 2017.
Many, if not most, of the proposals called for in the plan will require Congressional approval.
We will continue to monitor developments and provide updates.
The Senate is currently working on its version of the first “minibus” spending package that was cleared earlier in the spring by the House, a measure that contains three of the 12 spending bills for FY2019: Energy and Water Development; Legislative Branch, and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs. In anticipation of its passage, the White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) on the legislation, which often highlights provisions and/or policies of particular interest to the Administration in office. A copy of SAP is the here.