Justice OKs son-in-law of Trump
WASHINGTON ––The Justice Department said President Donald Trump isn’t prohibited by a federal anti-nepotism statute from appointing his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to a job as a senior White House adviser.
Daniel L. Koffsky, a deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel, wrote in a memorandum that the White House is exempt from a 1967 law that prevents public officials from appointing relatives to federal agencies they can control, and therefore the law “would not prohibit the contemplated appointment.”
The opinion appears to clear the way for Mr. Trump’s decision to name Mr. Kushner to a role that will have him working with White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist Stephen Bannon. In a statement this month Mr. Trump called Mr. Kushner a “tremendous asset and trusted adviser.”
Mr. Kushner will take the role without pay and, according to his lawyer, Jamie Gorelick, has agreed to divest from Thrive Capital, an investment firm. He’ll also divest his ownership interest in the New York Observer, one of only a few major newspapers to endorse Mr. Trump’s candidacy, and will resign as chief executive officer of Kushner Cos., his family’s real estate company, to comply with government ethics standards.
Dept. reactivates Twitter
WASHINGTON — The Interior Department reactivated its official Twitter accounts early Saturday after an abrupt shutdown following shares of two tweets during the inauguration the agency considered unsympathetic to President Donald Trump.
National Park Service spokesman Thomas Crosson, whose agency retweeted the offending tweets, apologized on Twitter for the “mistaken RT’s from our account,” referring to retweets.
The reinstatement capped a frantic day of tweets, retweets and internal memos to contain the damage after an employee in the social media division apparently risked embarrassing the new administration.
Pa., N.J. bridge closing
BRISTOL, Pa. — Transportation officials say an interstate bridge linking Pennsylvania and New Jersey that was closed due to a fracture will remain closed until engineers can come up with a repair plan.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission said Saturday that work is being done over the weekend to stabilize the Interstate 276 bridge, which links Bristol in Bucks County to Burlington Township in New Jersey.
The work involves adding new plates to reconnect the fractured truss piece to prevent further movement. The fracture below the westbound right lane’s riding surface on the Pennsylvania side was spotted Friday.
The commission said a comprehensive analysis is needed to understand how the fracture has affected the entire bridge. There’s no estimate when the bridge may be reopened.
N.Y. pushes coverage
NEW YORK –– New York state ordered health insurers to cover birth control and abortions even if President Donald Trump signs a repeal of the federal health care law that would lift federal mandates on the industry.
The state will require commercial insurers to provide broad coverage of contraceptive drugs and devices, and cover medically necessary abortions at no cost to patients, said a statement Saturday from the New York Department of Financial Services.