Obama administration

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GOP to Obama: Step Up Immigration Raids

And they oppose any path to legal status for illegals

(Newser) - Republicans are pressing President Obama to resume the large-scale workplace immigration raids that were a hallmark of the George W. Bush administration. Though deportations have soared under Obama, his administration has focused its crackdown efforts on employers who knowingly employ illegal immigrants; arrests from worksite raids for immigration-related offenses have...

Obama 'Won the Center'
 Obama 'Won the Center' 
OPINION Roundup
Jan 26, 2011 7:51 AM CST

Obama 'Won the Center'

Focus on jobs hit the right note, pundits say

(Newser) - President Obama's second State of the Union address probably won't win over many critics from the left or right, but he did an impressive—at times even Reaganesque—job of pitching to the center, pundits say.
  • "The point wasn't soaring rhetoric or soothing the nation," notes Joshua Green
...

Top Energy Adviser Leaving White House

Carol Browner departing with goals unmet

(Newser) - Energy czar Carol Browner is on her way out of the Obama administration. White House officials have confirmed that Browner, who is Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, will be leaving within weeks, Politico reports. Her main mission, passage of a comprehensive climate change bill, now appears...

Feds to Put Screws to Employers of Illegals

New ICE branch will pour over I-9s looking for illegals

(Newser) - The Obama administration plans to intensify its crackdown on businesses that hire illegal immigrants, creating a new office within Immigration and Customs Enforcement dedicated to auditing company employment records. Dubbed the Employment Compliance Inspection Center, this new branch will “address a need to conduct audits even of the largest...

Obama Resurrects Gitmo Military Trials

Move an admission that detention center is here to stay

(Newser) - President Obama has given Robert Gates the go-ahead to initiate new military commissions against Guantanamo detainees—something Obama originally banned on the first day of his presidency. Within weeks one or more detainees may face new charges—the Justice Department has already designated some prisoners for military tribunal, including suspected...

US Loosens Travel Restrictions to Cuba

Students and church groups will be allowed to visit

(Newser) - The Obama administration is loosening the rules about travel to Cuba to make it easier for students, church groups, and cultural organizations to go there, reports the Miami Herald . The move means that more airports will be allowed to offer charter flights—up from the current three in Miami, Los...

US Reluctantly Defends Federal Ban on Gay Marriage

Justice Department appeals judge's ruling that it's unconstitutional

(Newser) - A Justice Department filing yesterday backed the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The move appeals a federal judge’s ruling calling DOMA unconstitutional, TPM reports. But the administration asserted that it doesn’t support the act; the filing merely adhered to...

So Just Who Is This Bill Daley?
So Just Who Is
This Bill Daley?
Jan 8, 2011 9:32 AM CST

So Just Who Is This Bill Daley?

Profiles: He's a 'bare-knuckles' whip-cracker—and a disappointment to liberals

(Newser) - William Daley has terms like "longtime Democratic operative," "former Clinton secretary of commerce" and "Chicago political scion" thrown about him, but the New York Times takes a closer look at President Obama's new right-hand guy. He's “a bare-knuckles administrator ... someone who not only makes the...

Obama Names Gene Sperling Top Economic Adviser
Obama Names Gene Sperling
Top Economic Adviser
UPDATED
Jan 7, 2011 11:15 AM CST

Obama Names Gene Sperling Top Economic Adviser

He's done the job before, under Clinton

(Newser) - President Obama named current Treasury adviser Gene Sperling as his next top economic aide today, taking over for Larry Summers as director of the National Economic Council, the AP reports. It’s familiar territory, the Los Angeles Times adds: Sperling had the same job under Bill Clinton, and he faced...

GOP Pushes to Outlaw Presidential 'Czars'

Republicans have slammed paid advisers' role in Washington

(Newser) - House Republicans hope a new bill will drive out President Obama’s “czars,” the 39 paid advisers he’s hired throughout his term. The GOP has pushed similar bills in the past, but with Republican control of the House, this one stands a better chance of advancing, the...

Obama Names William Daley Chief of Staff
Obama Names William Daley
Chief of Staff
UPDATED
Jan 6, 2011 2:04 PM CST

Obama Names William Daley Chief of Staff

President makes it official

(Newser) - President Obama named veteran political manager William Daley to be his new chief of staff today, selecting a centrist with Wall Street ties to help navigate a newly divided Congress and a looming re-election. "Few Americans can boast the breadth of experience that Bill brings to this job,"...

DC's Big Mystery: Who Wrote Anonymous Obama Novel?

Book is due out Jan. 25

(Newser) - A mystery is sweeping Washington: Who penned the forthcoming O: A Presidential Novel ? The 368-page, $25.99 book, out for release Jan. 25, is about the Obama administration—and is reportedly written by an anonymous author who has “vast personal experience” with the subject, the Washington Post reports....

Volcker to Join White House Exodus
Volcker to Join
White House Exodus
Jan 6, 2011 7:01 AM CST

Volcker to Join White House Exodus

Economic titan leaves mixed legacy, will continue to advise

(Newser) - Economic heavyweight Paul Volcker is adding his name to the list of advisers leaving the White House this month, reports Reuters. The 83-year-old architect of the Volcker Rule will no longer head up the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board , but has indicated that he'll continue to advise President Obama as...

Gibbs: I'm Stepping Down, Becoming Political Adviser

Press secretary will also hit the speech circuit

(Newser) - Robert Gibbs confirms that he's part of the long-rumored White House shakeup today, telling the New York Times that he'll leave the job in early February to become a political adviser. He's also looking to pick up a little loot on the speaking circuit. A successor is expected to be...

Gibbs Likely to Go In White House Shakeup

Sources say White House press secretary considering 2012 campaign role

(Newser) - White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs—who recently told reporters no major administration reshuffle was on the way—is likely to be headed for the exit himself as part of the overhaul, according to Politico. Gibbs is seriously considering stepping aside to work on President Obama's 2012 campaign, although no...

'No Child Left Behind' Needs a Bipartisan Facelift
'No Child Left Behind'
Needs a Bipartisan Facelift
ARNE DUNCAN
Jan 3, 2011 3:33 PM CST

'No Child Left Behind' Needs a Bipartisan Facelift

There's a lot that both parties agree on in education reform

(Newser) - The new Congress is set to update No Child Left Behind, and it’s a chance to get both sides of the aisle behind real change, writes Arne Duncan in the Washington Post . Both parties share similar concerns about NCLB—its way of labeling schools “failures,” its bubble...

Obama Begins Staff Overhaul with Eye to Reelection
White House Begins
Staff Overhaul
Dec 24, 2010 9:03 AM CST

White House Begins Staff Overhaul

New economic team, defense chief as Obama eyes reelection

(Newser) - President Obama is readying a reorganization of his staff, altering his economic team and choosing new defense and press secretaries, among other changes. The aims: an executive branch operating at its full potential, progress with a Republican Congress, and an eye on reelection, the New York Times reports. “This...

Whine All You Want: Obama Gets It Done
Whine All You Want:
Obama Gets It Done
andrew sullivan
Dec 20, 2010 1:50 PM CST

Whine All You Want: Obama Gets It Done

He's no Michael Moore—he's a pragmatist, and he keeps scoring

(Newser) - Frank Rich and Paul Krugman can rail all they want, fueled by their disappointment that President Obama is no “Michael Moore in chief.” These “brilliant men" are “profoundly resistant to the core rationale of the Obama presidency"—a strategy that’s working well as Obama...

Gillibrand, Schumer: We'll Pass New 9/11 Health Bill

Revamped version said to pay for itself

(Newser) - Smile, Jon Stewart : the fight for a 9/11 health care bill may not be over, despite Republicans having blocked it weeks ago. New York’s senators have edited their bill to provide care for first responders, and they hold that the new version will "pay for itself," Reuters...

Troops on Course to Leave Afghanistan in July: Report

White House cites 'fragile' gains in region

(Newser) - The US is “setting conditions” to begin an Afghanistan troop withdrawal in July as planned, says a White House report. While President Obama’s strategy in the region is “showing progress,” the document says, “the challenge remains to make our gains durable and sustainable,” the...

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