Environment | Michigan
Trump Administration Blocked a Study on the Dangers of PFAS as Their Levels Rise in Battle Creek, Michigan’s Drinking Water
In an emotional congressional hearing in September 2018, members of Congress pressed a Department of Defense official as to why test results showing high levels of PFAS in the groundwater at the Battle Creek Air National Guard Base in Calhoun County, Michigan, were held up in bureaucracy for months.
On the EPA’s website, PFAS are described as “a group of man-made chemicals that includes PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and many other chemicals” that have been “manufactured and used in a variety of industries around the globe, including in the United States since the 1940s.”
Accountability
Secret Service Spends Another $95K on Carts So Trump Can Golf at Course He Owns
The Secret Service spent more than $95,000 this month to rent golf carts for President Donald Trump’s trips to his New Jersey course this summer, raising the total the agency has spent on equipment — from golf carts to generators — for Trump’s trips to his properties to more than $1 million.
Accountability
Trump Named 356 Lobbyists to His Administration As His Promise to Ban Them Goes Down the Drain
President Donald Trump has named more than 350 federal lobbyists to posts in his administration, a figure much larger than previously reported and an indication of how far afield Trump is from his vow to “drain the swamp.”
Immigration
Trump’s Companies Hired 192 Foreign Workers Last Year As He Railed Against Immigrants
President Donald Trump’s companies in 2018 hired more foreign workers than they have in years -- perhaps decades -- marking a stark contrast between Trump’s dual roles: the nativist politician demanding a 30-foot border wall and calling for U.S. companies to “hire American” and the businessman seeking cheap, seasonal labor. Even as the Trump administration sought to crack down on work visas, his companies hired 192 foreign workers in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.
Accountability
Trump’s Multimillion-Dollar Border Publicity Stunt Could Pay for Dozens of Agents
President Donald Trump will travel to the southern border this week to highlight the urgent need for enhanced security there — a trip whose cost would cover enough funding to hire dozens of border patrol agents for a year.
Corruption & Secrecy
Secret Service Paid for Mar-a-Lago Party Rentals Days Before Agents Forced to Work Without Pay
Days before Secret Service agents were forced to work without pay during the partial government shutdown, the agency paid more than $95,000 to rent generators, light towers and tents for a $1,000-per-ticket party at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
Accountability
Trump Says 11,000 GM Layoffs Don’t ‘Really Matter’
President Donald Trump today dismissed thousands of layoffs at General Motors, saying in an interview with Fox News that they don’t “really matter” even as American workers from Michigan to Maryland prepare to lose their jobs.