When the current resident of the White House finally releases his tax returns, we are likely to find that he holds a majority stake in Twitter. He and his staff are setting it afire today. From the Associated Press:
On the other hand, the president himself this morning cited, with some accuracy, an event that indeed happened -- though the incident happened near the Louvre, not in it:
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Georgia's premier business magazine is changing hands. From the Georgia Trend website:
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Former Gov. Sonny Perdue has already earned the endorsement of his Democratic predecessor, Tom Vilsack. He picked up another high-profile Democrat this week as well.
After Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed's State of the City address, he was asked in the media scrum if there were any Trump administration policies he so far liked. Our AJC colleague Scott Trubey was there to listen in.
"Not yet," came the mayor's response. Then a pause.
“I like his appointment of Governor Perdue as agriculture secretary,” the mayor added.
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Speaking of Sonny Perdue endorsements, the former Georgia governor also won the backing of hundreds of agriculture-related organizations on Thursday.
In a letter to the leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee, 669 ag stakeholder groups including farmers, hunters and nutrition organizations called for the "expeditious confirmation" of Perdue, whose selection was announced shortly before Trump's inauguration. From the letter:
" As the former governor of a state that produces billions of dollars in food, fiber, specialty crops, nursery crops, dairy products, poultry, and livestock each year, Gov. Perdue understands the critical role of feeding our country and the world. He is also keenly aware of the importance of agriculture in powering our nation's economy, providing jobs from farm to table."
Perdue recently began making the rounds with key senators on Capitol Hill, but the Agriculture Committee is waiting to receive his paperwork before scheduling a confirmation hearing. Allies are hoping that will occur prior to President's Day.
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The Senate voted yesterday to advance the nomination of Georgia U.S. Rep. Tom Price to be secretary of health and human services.
The chamber’s party line 51-48 vote was to break through a procedural roadblock thrown up by Democrats unhappy with the Roswell Republican's answers on the timing of his stock purchases.
Republicans temporarily lifted the rules of a key Senate committee Wednesday in order to push through his nomination in the face of a Democratic boycott.
In the days ahead, the Senate will first cast final votes on two other Cabinet nominees, education and attorney general picks Betsy DeVos and Jeff Sessions, before turning to confirm Price. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hasn’t announced when exactly Price’s vote would be held, but if we were betting folk, we’d say it wouldn’t likely occur until late next week or, more likely, the week of Feb. 13.
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