![]() The Environmental Protection Agency is also close to finalizing a rule that would make it easier to pollute, according to ProPublica as well as a policy that would prevent stricter limits on particulate matter, which new research from Harvard’s School of Public Health has tied to coronavirus deaths. While the rule could be finalized any day - it cleared White House review on November 6 - its deadly consequences will likely never be put into practice: five lethal injections are scheduled before Inauguration Day - a record number of people to be executed by the federal government during a presidential transition period - and Biden has vowed to end the federal death penalty. The Justice Department is proposing a rule that could bring back firing squads and electrocutions for capital punishment on the federal level, ProPublica reports. Trump campaigned on bringing troops home from Afghanistan in 2016 and has continued to both publicly and privately pursue the matter while in office. military will halve troop levels in Afghanistan, and make smaller drawdowns in Iraq, by January 15. Pentagon officials said Tuesday that the U.S. strategy in the Middle East before Biden takes office. Trump is also expected to accelerate the current pace of troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq, which could upend U.S. strike against Iran, which could cause Iranian retaliation against Israel either directly or through Iranian proxies in neighboring countries. The Israeli government, Axios reports, recently instructed the Israel Defense Forces to take preparatory steps for a U.S. Senior advisers “dissuaded” Trump from ordering such a strike, according to the Times. The president raised the possibility of attacking Iran’s uranium enrichment site in Natanz, where international inspectors reported the nuclear material stockpile was now 12 times larger than allowed under the Iran nuclear deal (which Trump withdrew from in 2018). Trump reportedly asked his top national security aides about options to strike Iran’s nuclear-weapons program after the International Atomic Energy Agency revealed on November 11 that the country’s uranium stockpile had grown considerably. Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and adviser, is leading a makeshift White House team “with a goal of announcing as many as hundreds of commutations for offenders now in jail for crimes ranging from nonviolent drug convictions to mail fraud and money laundering,” the Times reported. Trump’s efforts may extend beyond his inner circle. ![]() Rick Gates and George Papadopoulous, former Trump campaign advisers who were also charged for crimes linked to Mueller’s investigation, are both hoping for clemency, according to the Times. Earlier this year, Trump commuted the sentence of Roger Stone, another associate charged in the Russia inquiry. On Wednesday, Trump pardoned Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser, who pleaded guilty to lying to FBI investigators about his Russian contacts. Trump reportedly plans to issue a series of pardons and commutations before leaving office, including to allies who were convicted in cases stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Here’s what Trump is reportedly considering doing with his remaining time as president. While President-elect Joe Biden can reverse changes made by executive order relatively easily, it will be more difficult for his administration to do so on other issues, such as matters involving national security, foreign policy, and criminal justice. Some of the reported moves Trump is considering will be harder to undo than others. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/POOL/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockĪs is typical of a lame-duck president, Donald Trump is rushing to issue a final blitz of policy changes on his way out of office. ![]()
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