WTF Just Happened Today

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Subscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free

1/ The economy added 501,000 fewer jobs since 2018 than previously reported, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics revision. Trump's tax cuts resulted in fewer restaurants, hotels, retailers and professional business services jobs than it initially reported. Trump, meanwhile, recently exaggerated that "We've created over 6 million new jobs since the election." Since Trump took office, however, the country has added about 5.7 million jobs. (MarketWatch / New York Times / Washington Post)

• The U.S. manufacturing contracted for the first time since September 2009. The purchasing managers' index was 49.9 in August. Any reading below 50 signals a contraction. (CNBC)

2/ Trump dropped his plan to eliminate more than $4 billion in foreign aid funding without congressional approval. The Trump administration wanted to decrease what it called wasteful spending by making foreign aid conditional on support of U.S. policies. Trump's decision to forgo a "rescission" comes after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and several Republican lawmakers warned that the move would be detrimental to national security. Acting budget director, Russ Vought, and acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, however, both pushed Trump to pursue the plan. (Politico / CNN)

• ???? Day 575: The White House budget office is attempting to cancel about $3 billion in foreign aid using an obscure budget rule to freeze the State Department's international assistance budget. (Politico)

• ???? Day 937: The Trump administration will shield funding for Ivanka Trump and Pence's programs as the White House looks to cancel billions of dollars in unspent funding already approved by Congress. The White House is expected to propose returning billions of dollars of unspent foreign aid funds to the Treasury in a process known as rescission. The Office of Management and Budget, however, has already ruled out canceling funds for Ivanka's Women's Global Development and Prosperity Initiative, Pence's programs for Christians, Yazidis and other religious minorities in the Middle East, and some global health programs. Republicans and Democrats say the review undermines Congress's authority to appropriate funds. (Washington Post)

3/ Trump said he's considering ending birthright citizenship in the U.S. for children of non-citizens and people who came to the U.S. illegally. Trump called it "frankly ridiculous" that someone can "have a baby on our land, you walk over the border, have a baby — congratulations, the baby is now a U.S. citizen." The Constitution's 14th Amendment, however, guarantees ci...

Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.