There are a lot of problems plaguing the Trump administration and hampering the White House from completing its agenda. President Trump’s poll numbers remain low. The Republican House is fractured and in the Senate, the GOP majority is razor-thin. Democrats are unified and fervent in their opposition to any policy remotely connected to Trump. The president and his team are given no quarter by the Washington press corps, who interpret (and often misinterpret) every news development as disastrous and terrible, which is reflected in mainstream media coverage. To top it off, the growing special counsel investigation dogs Trump and has made life more difficult for the president.
But one underappreciated disadvantage for Trump is that with 150 days after his inauguration, his administration remains severely understaffed, particularly in top spots at departments and agencies as well as in key offices in the White House. The Washington Post reports on the slow progress of getting political appointees:
White House press secretary Sean Spicer denies the premise of the article, telling the Post that he has “people knocking down my door to talk to the presidential personnel office.”
Perhaps, but a constant complaint I hear from my White House sources is empty positions throughout the West Wing that make the day-to-day operations of governing difficult. Compound that with the vacancies among senior-level positions at places like the State Department, and it means Trump’s administration wouldn’t be able to operate on full power even if it weren’t held back by the other problems mentioned above.
A Confusing Argument from Trump’s Lawyer
That said, the Mueller investigation continues to be a big pain for Trump. One outside attorney for the president is insisting that Trump is still not under investigation for obstruction of justice, contradicting the President’s apparent admission to the contrary in a Friday morning tweet.
“The president is not under investigation by the special counsel,” attorney Jay Sekulow told Chuck Todd Sunday morning on NBC’s Meet the Press. “That tweet from the president was in response to the five anonymous sources that were purportedly leaking information to the Washington Post about a potential investigation of the president.”
Last Wednesday, the Washington Post ran a story alleging that Mueller had broadened his Russia probe to also consider whether the president had attempted to influence that investigation. Trump responded with a tweet Friday that appeared to confirm the allegations.
“I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt,” the president tweeted.
When pressed by Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, Sekulow at first seemed to confirm that Trump is “under investigation” in a confusing answer.
“Now he’s being investigated by the Department of Justice,” Sekulow said. “So he’s being investigated for taking the action that the attorney general and the DAG recommended him to take by the agency who recommended the termination.”
Wallace asked what was at issue, since Sekulow had just conceded Trump was under investigation, the lawyer claimed he had never stated that.
“The president has not been notified by anyone that he’s under investigation. I can’t read people’s minds, but I can tell you this, we have not been notified that there’s an investigation to the president of the United States,” Sekulow said.
Kushner to Middle East This Week
The Wall Street Journal reports that Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, will be traveling to Israel this week with Jason Greenblatt for “Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.” Greenblatt was one of Trump’s most trusted advisers on Israel during the campaign and has since joined the administration as a top negotiator on Middle East issues.
Kushner has frequently taken a large role in international affairs and negotiations with leaders from foreign nations. An observant Jew, Kushner has been involved in crafting Trump’s Israel policy since the campaign as well, including drafting the speech Trump delivered to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in March 2016.
“Mr. Kushner plans to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and travel to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to discuss ‘their priorities and potential next steps’ in the peace process, the White House official said,” reports the Journal.
