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January Jobs Report Shatters Expectations, 304,000 Jobs Created

Despite a 35-day partial government shutdown that affected over 800,000 federal employees, the January jobs report absolutely shattered expectations. The U.S. Labor Department reports that non-farm payrolls surged by 304,000 last month.

Private sector payrolls were up by 296,000, with big increases seen in the construction and leisure and hospitality industries.

The unemployment rate, however, did tick up 0.1 percentage point to four percent, largely as a result of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Regardless, January was the 11th consecutive month that the unemployment rate has been at or below four percent.

According to a report from CNBC, economists had expected payrolls to rise by 170,000 and the unemployment rate to hold steady at 3.9 percent.

Although the economy is said by many market analysts to be slowing down, the month of January marked 100 months in a row of positive job creation, the longest streak on record.

There were two big corrections that were made for previous month’s numbers. December’s gain of 312,000 jobs was knocked down to 222,000, the largest revision since November 2014. Meanwhile, November’s job gains were hiked from 176,000 to 196,000. The corrections brought the three-month average to 241,000, still trending well in U.S. economic expansion.

For the full year of 2018, the average monthly jobs gain was 223,000.

Even though the number of Americans employed slid down to 156,694,000 from 156,945,000, the U.S. labor force participation rate is now at 63.2 percent, the highest under President Donald Trump.

The U-6 metric, a figure used to measure unemployment that takes into account discouraged workers and those holding part-time positions for economic reasons did rise to 8.1 percent from 7.6 percent, on track with January 2018.

The Labor Department also reported that average hourly earnings rose by 3.2 percent year-over-year in January – the sixth month in a row above three percent. Average weekly earnings fared better, rising 3.5 percent year-over-year.

“As the jobs and employment data normalizes over the coming months, we are confident the nation’s economy will continue to build on the strength seen in 2018 and the first report of 2019,” said Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta.

Following increased market volatility and the slowing of global growth at the end of last year, the Federal Reserve is set to take a less aggressive approach to interest rate hikes in 2019 after the U.S. central bank instituted four rate increases in 2018.

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Northam Gaslights America as Democrats Pledge To Bring Infanticide Bill Back in 2020

“Misinformation has been circulating on where Virginia Democrats stand on issues related to women’s reproductive health,” said Governor Ralph Northam (D) at a Thursday afternoon press conference. The situation began Tuesday morning after shocking video was released from a House subcommittee meeting detailing a Democratic lawmaker speaking about her late-term abortion bill.

H.B. 2491, introduced by Delegate Kathy Tran (D-Springfield), would repeal restrictions on third trimester abortions, allowing abortion doctors to self-certify the necessity of late-term procedures, eliminate informed consent requirements, repeal abortion clinic health and safety standards, permit late-term abortions to be performed in outpatient clinics, remove ultrasound requirements, and eliminate Virginia’s 24-hour waiting period.

In the days since the development, pro-life advocates from across the country have spoken out against the legislation, including President Donald Trump.

“I’m surprised that he did that, I’ve met him a number of times,” Trump said of the governor. The commander in chief also said that Delegate Tran’s remarks were “terrible,” after having seen the video.

At the press conference this afternoon, beside members of the Virginia Democratic leadership, Governor Northam said that he was there “to set the record straight.”

“There’s a fundamental difference between us and Republicans in what we believe on a woman’s right to choose. We believe legislators, most of whom are men, should not be making decisions about women’s choices for their reproductive health.”

Northam added that the Virginia GOP is trying to “score points any way they can.”

“Virginia Democrats know we are better than that,” he added.

Attorney General Mark Herring (D) spoke next. He started off by saying that “desperation can be ugly. And what we saw yesterday from Republicans was desperate and ugly.” He stated that claims from GOP lawmakers that Governor Northam supports infanticide “would be laughable if it wasn’t such a grotesque idea.”

During a Wednesday morning address on WTOP’s “Ask The Governor” segment, Northam commented on the situation surrounding the response to Delegate Tran’s bill by saying the widespread reaction was “blown out of proportion.”

Explaining it himself, he said the following:

“If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.”

Conservatives across the Commonwealth and the U.S. quickly condemned Northam’s rhetoric, charging that he “supports infanticide.”

During the press conference, when asked about what he said and if it had been taken out of context, he responded with, “I don’t have any regrets….I regret that those comments have been mischaracterized.”

Regardless, it spurred Republican lawmakers to give emotional speeches on the floor of the House the following day.

Speaker of the House Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights) made a rare and powerful speech after he stepped of the dais.

“I will never stop fighting for the promise of life as long as I hold a gavel, as long as I can speak into this microphone, as long as I have the privilege of this floor. I promise to fight for the promise of life,” he said.

Delegate Scott Garrett (R-Lynchburg) also gave a personal story.

“Mr. Speaker, I’m not going to let anyone take the life of my son, and I’m not going to vote to allow other people to take the lives of other people’s sons,” he proclaimed.

As Virginians continue to reel from this week’s developments, one comment from House Majority Leader Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) rings very true.

“I think what my Democratic colleagues are most concerned about is what this moment actually revealed. It was a moment of unbridled honesty about their agenda, and their legislation, and what it actually does.”

Meanwhile, the RTD’s Graham Moomaw asked Democratic minority leader Del. Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax) whether they had any intentions of bringing the infanticide bill back should they capture the majority in the November 2019 elections:

When asked if Democrats would pursue legislation similar to Tran’s if they take control of the House next year, Filler-Corn said that “there’s a lot of support for this type of legislation.”

Short answer?  Yes they will… and if Governor Northam’s comments this afternoon are any indicator as to where Virginia Democrats intend campaign this year, it will be championing — not walking back — from this week’s exposition of how wrapped into the abortion industry the progressive left has become.

Featured News

Terry McAuliffe ‘Obviously Looking at’ 2020 Presidential Run

Former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe said he was “obviously looking at” a 2020 presidential run during a Sunday morning appearance on CNN’s State of the Union.

“I’m not going to announce right now. I’m obviously looking at it,” said McAuliffe to host Dana Bash, who remarked he sounded like a candidate during an earlier part of the segment criticizing President Trump.

“I’ve got time. I’ve got a lot of great relationships. I have 40 years of working for this party. I have plenty of friends in many states, so I don’t have to rush into this.”

As a close ally of Bill and Hillary Clinton, McAuliffe was considered a top contender to become Hillary’s running mate for Vice President, before she ultimately selected Virginia Senator Tim Kaine.

Following Clinton’s defeat in 2016, McAuliffe became the subject of widespread speculation that he might inherit much of Clinton’s donor network, national allies and campaign infrastructure. As a close Clinton confidant, observers noted that McAuliffe was well-positioned to win the support of a network he helped create.

McAuliffe served as co-chairman of Bill Clinton’s 1996 campaign and chairman of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign. During that time, he raised hundreds of millions of dollars for the Clintons, and ultimately faced an ethical controversy when he personally guaranteed the couple’s $1.35 million mortgage for the home they bought in Chappaqua, New York, following Bill’s departure from the White House.

In 2004, McAuliffe became one of five board members of the Clinton foundation.

McAuliffe also used the interview to criticize President Trump, calling him an “angry, emotional, unstable man” and remarking that the president’s criticism of Democratic leaders for the deaths of two children at the southern border was “the lowest act I’ve ever seen any president [sic] in the history of our country.”

If McAuliffe announces his candidacy, he would join a crowded field of more than a dozen declared or potential candidates.

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UN Ambassador Nikki Haley To Resign At Year’s End, Says She Will Not Run For President In 2020

On Tuesday morning, Ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.) Nikki Haley is reported to be planning on leaving her position next year as top U.S. diplomat following an announcement by President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office. The former South Carolina governor did not give an exact reason as to why she is leaving the Trump Administration, but rumors of a 2020 run for the presidency were quashed.

Although she is speculated to have ambitions to hold higher office, Haley said at the White House, “No I’m not running in 2020.”

In front of reporters, President Trump said that Haley told him “six months ago” that she wanted to “take a little time off.”

“She’s been very successful,” Trump said. “She’s done a fantastic job and we’ve done a fantastic job.” The President reiterated the efforts to solve the issues with North Korea as well as leading strong on the international stage.

Speaking to Haley’s strengths as a solid leader, Trump said, “That was really the thing I think she did best at the United Nations – she got to know the players. She got to know China, Russia, India, she knows everybody on a very first-name basis. They like her.”

President Trump added that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo “thinks the world” of Haley.

“Hopefully you’ll be coming back at some point,” Trump said to her. “You can have your pick.”

“It has been an honor of a lifetime,” Haley said, addressing a packed room in the Oval Office. She added that she felt “lucky” to have been able to “lead a state that raised me and serve a country I love so very much.”

Looking back on her career, Haley said:

“Look at two years, look at what has happened in two years with the United States on foreign policy. Now the United States is respected. Countries may not like what we do, but they respect what we do. They know that if we’re going to do something, we follow it through, and the President proved that. Whether it was with the chemical weapons in Syria, whether its with NATO…whether it’s the trade deals…they get that the President means business.”  

Haley also remarked on cutting $1.3 billion out of the U.N. budget. “We’ve made it stronger, we’ve made it more efficient,” she said.

Explaining actions taken on behalf of the U.S. on sanctioning North Korea for their testing and of building nuclear weapons, rescinding the Iran Nuclear Deal, and getting an embargo on South Sudan, Haley said, “you can’t overlook the bad things their doing, you have to see them for the threat they are.”

During her time at the U.N., she also spearheaded the Trump Administration’s effort to push back against anti-Israel bias within the international governmental body. Speaking to the controversial embassy relocation in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Haley said, “we will put our embassy where we want to put our embassy.”

She explained that her decision to resign at the end of the year was not based on personal developments, but rather that, “It’s very important for government officials to understand when it’s time to step aside.” Haley added, “It was a blessing to go into the U.N. with body armor everyday and defend America…I will never step aside from fighting for our country.”

A successor to U.N. Ambassador Haley is said to be announced in two to three weeks, whom will begin their tenure at the international body in 2019.

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BREAKING: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Expected To Resign

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is reportedly expected to resign today, even going to so far as to verbally resign to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly in anticipation of being fired by President Trump, according to some reports.

The development follows last week’s New York Times (NYT) article detailing how Rosenstein has talked about working to invoke the 25th Amendment to have President Donald Trump removed from office, as well as and wearing a wire during meetings with the President to expose alleged chaos within the administration. Rosenstein has denied both allegations.

Justice Department officials said on Monday morning that the deputy attorney general was on his way to the White House and expecting to be fired. Over the weekend, Rosenstein is said to have called a White House official and said he was considering quitting, and a person close to the White House said he was resigning, according to the NYT.

As the top Justice Department official overseeing the investigation into Russia collusion on part of the 2016 Trump campaign, Rosenstein has been a fierce defender of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, repeatedly refusing to consider firing him despite accusations by President Trump and his allies that the investigation is part of a “deep state” Democratic conspiracy to undermine his term in office.

If President Trump accepts the resignation from Rosenstein, Solicitor General Noel Francisco would assume oversight of the Russia investigation. The acting deputy attorney general would be Matthew Whitaker, the chief of staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, until a permanent replacement is named.

Furthermore, Rosenstein’s presumed departure has prompted questions of whether President Trump has other people lined up on the chopping block. For example, Sessions has been repeatedly bashed by the President on Twitter as well as in the news. Last week, Trump was quoted as saying, “I have no attorney general.”

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Mark Warner Will Vote Against Confirming Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Despite Answers To Rectify Concerns

Even though Judge Brett Kavanaugh has provided the Senate Judiciary Committee with clear answers to their concerns surrounding his past rulings, even how he may rule in some cases, issues surrounding abortion rights and executive powers, it is not enough for Virginia Senator Mark Warner, who will vote “no” to confirm the D.C. Circuit Court judge to the U.S. Supreme Court.