In tapping Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt to be the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, President-elect Donald Trump has selected the most conservative nominee for this post in a generation. Pruitt is an outspoken critic of the EPA who led legal challenges against some of the agency’s recent initiatives, including efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and to define which streams and wetlands are subject to federal regulation, writes Megan Mullin, associate professor of environmental politics, with a colleague.
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Commentary: When Will Trump Get Out From Under Putin’s Heel?
The CIA believes Russia hacked the computer systems of the Democratic Party National Committee, key Democratic operatives and the Republican National Committee. President-elect Trump should endorse the launch of congressional investigations into Russian operations against the election and other U.S. targets, writes political scientist Joseph Grieco.
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CFO Survey: Trump Win Boosts Business Optimism
U.S. CFOs are much more optimistic about the U.S. economy following the election of Donald Trump, particularly with respect to regulatory and tax reform, a new survey finds. But many companies are still waiting to see the details before taking specific actions.
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A Principled Federal Role in Education
Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election is widely viewed as a signal of change for the federal government’s role in society, including preschool through 12th-grade education. In a new paper, Helen F. Ladd, a professor of public policy and economics, and colleagues offer a set of principles to guide the federal role in education policy.
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Roy Cooper is Next NC Governor. Now What?
“We’re moving into uncharted territory here,” says Mac McCorkle, a professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy and veteran Democratic strategist. “I can’t think of a situation in North Carolina where you’ve had a governor of one party having the other party with super-majorities in the legislature.”
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Trump’s Cabinet of Ex-Generals Will Help Keep Him Out of Wars
“Retired generals tapped for high-ranking positions in the Trump administration ought to be subject to the same kind of scrutiny as civilian nominees, but we should not yield to vaguely defined fears that the generals would push Trump into war or wield too much influence simply because they served their country,” writes law professor Charles Dunlap, a retired Air Force major general.
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Former Amb. to Soviet Union on How Trump Should Deal With Russia
The Trump administration should convince Vladimir Putin that NATO won’t add more members near Russia, Rubenstein Fellow Jack Matlock, a former U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union during the Cold War, said during a talk at Duke. He added that improving relations would help both countries.
Read More in The ChronicleCommentary: Engaging the Trump Presidency
“The spirit of risk-taking has seldom been abandoned in electing leaders that commit to pushing new boundaries. Trump is risk, and progress requires taking risks that deliberately unsettle the usual and the mundane. In electing Trump to the highest office of the land, we have pushed the boundaries of risk-taking to a new high that challenges the democratic system, prevailing moral values and global politics,” writes Mbaye Lo.
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Crazy Districts, Lopsided Elections
In the 2012 election, Democratic candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives nationally got 1.5 million more votes than Republican candidates but the Republicans emerged with a 33-seat majority in the House. Why? Because of gerrymandering. That’s when politicians draw voting districts to favor one political party or another.
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Stop Unfollowing Trump Supporters
In this time of post-election hand-wringing and soul-searching, a considerable amount of condemnation has landed at Facebook’s feet. The blame is both fair and multifaceted, says Rosa Li.
Read More in SlateCrazy Districts, Lopsided Elections
Gerrymandering (drawing voting districts to favor one political party) has reached a whole new level in recent decades.
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Seven Thoughts on Waking Up in Our America
If we love each other, we tell each other the truth. And the truth of the matter is that many of us are in incredible pain right now, writes Omid Safi.
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