Poor Nikki Haley has become another victim of out-of-control government spending. First there was Tom Price, whose private jet habit, among other things, cost him his job as H.H.S. secretary. Scott Pruitt was ousted as E.P.A. administrator over luxe, non-government-approved hotels stays, and four-figure fountain pens, and that $43,000 phone booth he had built in his office. Ben Carson survived the uproar over his $31,000 dining set at Housing and Urban Development, but only because everyone quickly forgot that Ben Carson exists.
Today, it’s Haley’s turn in the barrel. The New York Times reports that the State Department spent more than $50,000 last year buying “customized and mechanized curtains” for the windows in her official residence on First Avenue—a 6,000-square-foot penthouse that costs $58,000 a month—across from the U.N. That the purchase happened as former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was freezing hiring, pushing out senior diplomats, eliminating projects, and proposing budget cuts of up to 31 percent isn’t the best look! “How can you, on the one hand, tell diplomats that basic needs cannot be met and, on the other hand, spend more than $50,000 on a customized curtain system for the ambassador to the U.N.?” Brett Bruen, a White House official in the Obama administration, wondered aloud to the Times.
To be fair, plans for the fancy new curtain system were apparently made during the Obama administration in 2016. Haley “had no say in the purchase,” her spokesperson told the Times. Also, she’s working with a skeletal staff that would barely have time to set out drinks and appetizers while Haley is entertaining, let alone draw the blinds. “All she’s got is a part-time maid,” said Patrick Kennedy, the top management official at the State Department during the Obama years, “and the ability to open and close the curtains quickly is important.”
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U.S. trade talks with China are off to a productive start
And by productive we mean potentially derailed by President Tariffs, who apparently told aides on Thursday to move forward with another $200 billion in levies on Chinese goods, in addition to threatening a third round of tariffs on another $267 billion worth of imports. And while Trump appears under the impression that he has Chinese officials right where he wants them, others aren’t so sure!
And given that Beijing has vowed to respond to every round of tariffs in kind, President Trade Wars Are Good and Easy to Win’s strategy looks like an increasingly terrible idea. “The U.S. administration runs the risk of a downward spiral of attack and counterattack, benefiting no one,” William Zarit, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, told The Washington Post.
Area mom tells sons to knock it off
In this case, “it” is a lawsuit over control of their family business. Per Bloomberg:
Shivinder did however, make it clear that his “decision to disassociate himself” still stands, and if mediation fails he reserves the right to sue again, no matter what his mom says.
Steve Mnuchin: stealth resistance fighter?
Not exactly, but there is this:
How Gary Cohn of him! In a statement, a Treasury spokesman told the Post, “Secretary Mnuchin has led an intense economic pressure campaign against Iran as part of this administration’s comprehensive strategy to address the totality of Iran’s malign and destabilizing activity.”
Elsewhere!
The Wall Street Power Lunch Is Back, with Martinis and Impunity (DealBook)
Wealthy in the Hamptons Set Their Sights on Do-It-Yourself Deals (Bloomberg)
Take my Trump Tower apartment instead of my money, Manafort tells Mueller (CNBC)
Fannie Regulator Refused to Cooperate with Harassment Probe, Report Says (Bloomberg)
Elon Musk’s SpaceX Says It Signed Up Its First Round-the-Moon Tourist (W.S.J.)
U.S. Probes Alleged Russian Money Laundering at Danish Bank (W.S.J.)
How JPMorgan’s C.F.O. became the top prospect to succeed Dimon (Reuters)
Pot Shop Employee Fights Off Attackers with Trusty Glass Bong (HuffPo)