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Biggest vets groups step up pressure on Trump to fire Wilkie
The nationâs six largest veterans groups are calling on President Donald Trump to immediately fire Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie over the mishandling of a congressional aideâs allegation of a sexual assault at a VA hospital
By HOPE YEN Associated Press
December 16, 2020, 7:31 PM
⢠3 min read
The Associated Press
FILE - In this July 7, 2020 file photo, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Richard Wilkie speaks at the National Press Club in Washington. Confronted with a sexual assault allegation at a veterans hospital, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie repeatedly sought to discredit the female congressional staffer who made the complaint. His staff also worked to spread negative information about her while ignoring known problems of harassment at the facility. That s according to a blistering investigation rel
Can earmarks fix Washington dysfunction? A former symbol of corruption is now a sign of hope Salon 12/19/2020 House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Both parties spent years decrying congressional earmarks and pork-barrel spending as organized bribery. But a growing number of lawmakers think that bringing back these controversial legislative tactics could be an answer to Washington s hyper-partisan gridlock.
Earmarks are approximately the least sexy aspect of Washington dealmaking, but it s important to grasp their significance. The term means provisions added to spending bills that typically direct funding to lawmakers pet projects to gain their support. They were widely criticized during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama presidencies as wasteful, sometimes illegal and frequently corrupt. The infamous Alaska bridge to nowhere, a $223 million project to connect a remote town of 8,000 people to an air