Politics in Washington D.C. and North Dakota
Governor Burgum sides with Trump
North Dakota’s Governor Doug Burgum has recently sided with President Trump’s executive orders that let states and cities choose whether to refuse or accept refugees. According to the SunHerald, Burgum said in a statement that North Dakota will continue to accept refugees if local jurisdictions agree. Shirley Dykshroon, a Lutheran Social Service vice president, told sources that there are plenty of employers that need employees while Fargo’s mayor, Tim Mahoney, stated refugees will help grow the cities economy.
North Dakota excels in financial transparency reports
The Jamestown Sun reported that North Dakota’s state government has received top marks for financial reporting transparency from a nonpartisan watchdog organization, Truth in Accounting. It is reported that North Dakota scored 88 out of 100 on the Truth in Accounting survey, ultimately tying with Idaho and Nevada. Along with the top ranking, the state-owned Bank of North Dakota, the countries only state-owned bank, also received strong credit from Standard and Poor’s financial services company.
Bill passed to fund the government through December
The House passed a stopgap spending bill on Nov. 19 that will fund the government through Dec. 20. According to CBS News, lawmakers passed the bill to try to avoid another government shutdown, as last year a government shutdown spanned 35 days after Democrats refused to fund President Trump’s wall along the southern border. The legislation approved the bill 231-192, though Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader, suggested that Trump might not sign the temporary spending bill to cause a distraction from the ongoing impeachment inquiry.
National security officials testified
Lieutenant Colonel Alexander S. Vindman and Jennifer Williams, both top national security officials, testified during the ongoing impeachment inquiry public hearings on Nov. 19. Both Vindman, a Ukraine expert at the National Security Council, and Williams, an advisor to Vice President Mike Pence, testified that they didn’t know anyone at the National Security Council who supported holding $391 million in security aid to Ukraine for 55 days. According to the New York Times, Vindman and Williams were the first two witnesses to have listened to Trump’s phone call to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in July.
Democratic candidates call out NBC News
The day before the Democratic debate was set to take place in Atlanta on Nov. 20, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders wanted Comcast, NBC’s parent company, to conduct an independent review over recent criticism of NBC’s handling of sexual harassment and misconduct issues. According to the New York Times, the four candidates wrote a letter calling for an outside review on the workplace culture at NBC News. As MSNBC is a lead sponsor for the debate, Rachel Maddow, the MSNBC news anchor, recently scolded NBC News on-air for how the network handled the issues though NBC News has denied any mishandlings.