Tom Price Resets Trump Administration Dead Pool
With a heavy heart I regret to inform you that I, Stephen, of Whiskey Congress did not snatch another victory away from my partner Jim in the Trump Administration Dead Pool. Neither Jim, nor myself had Tom Price as next on our list, so we both lose, which technically i think means we both have to chug a Smirnoff Ice, but I’ll check the bylaws and get back to you on that.
Tom Price the Administrations, Health and Human Services Secretary, indeed did resign over his use of private jets paid for with taxpayer money. Price had stated he would fight against the allegations and do his job, but ultimately was buried under the incredibly bad optics of the situation and substantiated allegations.
While Tom Price resets his life, Jim and I will reset the Dead Pool on this week’s show, and maybe formalize this a bit more as we’re running out of names that people know, which mean stakes go up, and things get harder to predict.
Tom Price, President Trump’s embattled health and human services secretary, resigned Friday amid sharp criticism of his extensive use of taxpayer-funded charter flights, the White House said.
The announcement came shortly after Trump told reporters he considered Price a “fine man” but that he “didn’t like the optics” and planned to make a decision by the end of the day.
By that point, the president had already received Price’s resignation letter. In a statement shortly afterward, the White House said Trump would designate Don J. Wright as acting secretary. Wright has been the acting assistant secretary for health and director of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
Price submitted a four-paragraph resignation letter in which he said he regretted “that the recent events have created a distraction” from the administration’s objectives. “Success on these issues is more important than any one person,” he continued.
Not long after, HHS staff received a message from Price praising employees as “dedicated, committed” and saying it had been “a great joy” to serve with them.
Price had given every indication this week that he intended to fight to keep his job. During an interview Thursday night on Fox News, he said he planned “to not only regain the trust of the American people, but gain the trust of the administration and the president.”
And in an email on Friday with a time stamp of 4:43 p.m. — just minutes before the White House announced his departure — Price detailed personnel changes and a “strategic shift” initiative that gave no hint of his own move.
Trump’s advisers said the president was particularly discomfited by Price’s behavior because he’d run as a champion for “forgotten” Americans for whom costly charter-plane travel seemed particularly egregious.
“It speaks to people who think Washington is already beyond hope and out of touch,” said Barry Bennett, a campaign adviser last year.
The similar accusations swirling around four other Cabinet members — over similarly expensive or unusual travel — have only heightened the cynicism. Details emerged Friday on a trip that Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin took to Europe in July; in between meetings with Danish and British officials, he and his wife went to the Wimbledon tennis match and took a cruise on the Thames. The government paid for their flights and some expenses.
In a sharply worded memo on Friday, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney informed the heads of all executive departments and agencies that they should severely restrict the use of non-commercial travel and will now need advance approval from the White House chief of staff in most instances.
Steve
Steve is an affordable multifamily housing professional that is also the co-founder of Whiskey Congress. Steve has written for national publications such as The National Marijuana News and other outlets as a guest blogger on topics covering sports, politics, and cannabis. Steve loves whiskey, cigars, and uses powerlifting as an outlet to deal with the fact that no one listens to his brilliant ideas.
