Drugmakers sink after key #FDA official ousted as #Trump plans *#health* overhaul

Shares of US drugmakers fell on Monday after reports that the FDA's top #vaccine official, Peter Marks, had been forced to resign, the most high-profile exit at the regulator as the Trump admin undertakes an overhaul of federal health agencies.

#law #science #medicine #RFKJr #HHS #PublicHealth #economy #Trumpcession
reuters.com/business/healthcar…

Not good

The United States Court of Appeals for DC has cleared the way for #Trump to fire members of the National #Labor Relations Board #NLRB & the Merit Systems Protection Board #MSPB, essentially granting Trump authority over formerly "independent" parts of the executive branch.

Judge Millet dissented saying the decision overturned #SCOTUS precedent & disabled the boards from functioning while the case proceeds.

#law #watchdog #whistleblower #USpol
storage.courtlistener.com/reca…

#Republicans in the #House hearing are mostly ignoring the #Signal chat. Rep #DanCrenshaw, Republican of Texas, was one of the few to even bring it up.

“I will note I always use fire emojis when I see terrorists getting killed,” he said.

🙄
#law #NationalSecurity #SignalGate #Trump #idiocracy #kakistocracy #intelligence #InfoSec

#TulsiGabbard said the release of the additional screenshots by #TheAtlantic today “were a refresher on what happened.” But she said she stood by her responses to the #Senate yesterday, when she said she did not recall that the #Signal chat included the timing or order of the strikes on the #Houthis.

Earlier, Rep #JimmyGonez reminded them they’d been in office for less than 2 months & this all took place just 10 days ago.

#law #NationalSecurity #SignalGate #Trump #idiocracy #kakistocracy

#TulsiGabbard said she didn’t play a “specific role” in the #Signal chat because she was traveling. But she also pushed a new defense. The material presented in the chat, she said, was being shared w/regional allies at the same time as it was being shared w/cabinet members. “The decision to conduct this operation had been made long before that conversation took place,” she said.

#law #NationalSecurity #SignalGate #Trump #idiocracy #kakistocracy

“I do take my responsibility very seriously, & played an integral role in providing the #intelligence communities assessments that led to the ultimate decision by the president to conduct an operation which, by the way, was very successful & continues to be very successful,” #Gabbard said.

#law #NationalSecurity #SignalGate #Trump #idiocracy #kakistocracy

Sen #RogerWicker, #Republican of MS & the chair of the #Senate panel which has #oversight of the #Pentagon, says that he & his Democratic counterpart will request an expedited investigation by the Dept of #Defense Office of Inspector General into the #Signal group chat. Wicker & Sen #JackReed, Democrat of RI & the top Dem on the cmte, are also seeking to hold classified briefings on the matter.

It’s unclear who will oversee the investigation because #Trump fired the IG at the Pentagon.

#law

#Trump will hold a news conference at 4PM, the White House press secretary announced.

The only thing I can predict is that it will be painful to watch.

#law #NationalSecurity #SignalGate #Signal #idiocracy #kakistocracy

Sen #AdamSchiff, D-CA, is requesting information from Dir of Natl #Intelligence #TulsiGabbard & US Special Envoy #SteveWitkoff about whether they used #Signal on personal devices as part of their jobs & is questioning whether the 2 were abroad during the chat involving #TheAtlantic's #JeffreyGoldberg.

#law #NationalSecurity #SignalGate #Signal #Trump #idiocracy #kakistocracy

#Witkoff denied having a personal device w/him during his trip to #Russia, saying in a social media post that he had only a govt-issued secure phone during his travels & suggesting that was why he did not comment in the group chat for a period of time.

Witkoff's post was responding to an op-ed in The WSJ, which referenced media reports about Witkoff "receiving these messages on the commercial app while in Moscow."

#law #SignalGate #Signal #Trump #idiocracy #kakistocracy
wsj.com/opinion/signal-leak-ho…

#Witkoff did not confirm in the post whether he had been using #Signal on a govt device or personal device. But when recounting why he was silent for portions of the group chat discussion, Witkoff said it was "because I had no access to my personal devices until I returned from my trip."

Witkoff's post also comes after Sen #AdamSchiff sent a letter to #Gabbard & him requesting info about their use of Signal & travel by March 31.

#law #SignalGate #Signal #Trump #idiocracy #kakistocracy

Secy of #State #MarcoRubio said in remarks today in Jamaica that someone made a “big mistake” adding #TheAtlantic's editor-in-chief to the #Signal chat that contained info about a #military attack on the #Houthis in #Yemen.

Unlike everyone else in the #Trump admin, he didn’t defame #JeffreyGoldberg.

"Obviously, someone made a mistake. Someone made a big mistake & added a journalist. Nothing against journalists, but you ain’t supposed to be on that thing," Rubio said.

#law #SignalGate #Trump

#Rubio said he contributed 2X — 1st when he identified his chief of staff as his point of contact & 2nd when he congratulated the team after the attack on the #Houthis.

"I’ve been assured by the #Pentagon & everyone involved that none of the information that was on there — though not intended to be divulged. Obviously, that was a mistake & that shouldn’t have happened. But that none of the information on there at any point threatened the operation or the lives of our servicemen.“

#law #Signal

Asked if the info shared in the #Signal chat was classified, #Rubio said, "Well, the #Pentagon says it was not. And not only did they said it was not, they made very clear that it didn’t put in danger anyone’s life or the mission. There was no intelligence information. And understand, when this story first broke, they were sort of alluding to, were there war maps? ... There were no war plans on there."

#law #NationalSecurity #SignalGate #Trump #idiocracy #kakistocracy

[Parnell stmnt cont]

“The American people see through the Atlantic’s pathetic attempts to distract from President #Trump’s #NationalSecurity agenda.”

Several retired military commanders have pushed back on the claims that the details in #PeteHegseth’s messages were not classified.

#law #SignalGate #Signal #idiocracy #kakistocracy #intelligence #InfoSec

#JasonCrow showed the advanced air defense systems the #Houthis have, & then said it was outrageous that the #Trump admin was not accepting responsibility for the leak. “It is a leadership failure, & that’s why Secretary #Hegseth, who undoubtedly transmitted #classified sensitive operational information via this chain, must #resign immediately,” he said.

#law #NationalSecurity #SignalGate #Signal #idiocracy #kakistocracy #intelligence #InfoSec

Rep #JasonCrow, #Democrat of Colorado, asked #TulsiGabbard if she was traveling during the time of the attack & the #Signal discussion. She said she was traveling in Asia, but did not recall what country.

Crow made the point that the #Houthis have been able to shoot down U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones, one of the weapons used in the strike on #Yemen & got #Gabbard to say she knew Houthis had that capability.

#law #NationalSecurity #SignalGate #Trump #idiocracy #kakistocracy #intelligence #InfoSec

In the #intelligence hearing, Rep #JoaquinCastro, #Democrat of Texas, took issue with the intelligence officials saying the information in the #Signal chat on the #Houthi strikes was not #classified. “You all know that’s a lie,” he said. “It’s a lie to the country.”

#law #NationalSecurity #SignalGate #Trump #idiocracy #kakistocracy #intelligence #InfoSec

#Ratcliffe said the #CIA officer he had added to the #Signal chat was his chief of staff, who is not serving under cover. While he chastised #TheAtlantic for making it look as if he had revealed #classified information by including the name, the magazine said it had withheld the name at the urging of the agency. The CIA typically asks that the names of most of its officers be kept secret to preserve their ability to serve overseas in undercover roles in the future.

#law #NationalSecurity #Trump

John #Ratcliffe, the #CIA director, said the newly released portions of the chat show that he did not share #classified information there. “My answers haven’t changed,” he said. “I used an appropriate channel to communicate sensitive information. It was permissible to do so. I didn’t transfer any classified information.”

#law #NationalSecurity #SignalGate #Signal #Trump #idiocracy #kakistocracy #intelligence #InfoSec

Himes hammered away on the idea that the timing of the attacks was #classified as “#TopSecret” under #intelligence community rules. #Gabbard said she didn’t disagree but reiterated that material was posted to the chat by Secy of #Defense #PeteHegseth, & that he is in charge of declassifying material from the #Pentagon.

#law #NationalSecurity #SignalGate #Signal #Trump #idiocracy #kakistocracy