O Canada!
WHITE HOUSE
(Reconstructed after the Canadians burned it down)*
WHITE HOUSE HOSTS CIOS — The White House Office of American Innovation is convening
today the chief information officers of federal agencies, the first such
meeting of the CIO Council since Trump signed an executive order last month
giving them greater authority. "The purpose of the meeting is to hear from
agency CIOs about actions being taken to [modernize] government technology.
Several will be presenting information on transformation projects at agencies and
cross-government efforts being driven by the CIO Council," a White House
official told POLITICO. Federal CIO Suzette Kent is slated to talk about the
Technology Modernization Fund, which was created by Congress to bankroll IT
upgrades. Others expected to attend the meeting include Jared Kushner, senior
advisor to the president; Chris Liddell, White House deputy chief of staff for
policy coordination; Margaret Weichert, deputy director for management at OMB;
and Matt Lira, special assistance to the president for innovation policy.
[POLITICO's Morning Tech, June 11, 2018]
TRUMP AND CO. GO BALLISTIC ON TRUDEAU: A
mild breeze and brilliant blue skies greeted President Donald Trump as he
happily shook hands with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday at
the start of the G-7 summit in Charlevoix. By Saturday, though, Trump had
accused the Canadian leader of being two-faced, threatened to impose automobile
tariffs on Canada and reversed on a decision to sign a joint statement with the
six other leaders. The message was that Trump felt Trudeau had double-crossed
him, and a pair of Trump's advisers amped it up on the Sunday talk shows.
Trudeau "really kind of stabbed us in the back,"
National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow said Sunday. White House
adviser Peter Navarro went a step further by
saying "there's a special place in hell for any foreign leader that
engages in bad-faith diplomacy with President Donald J. Trump."
So what happened? The fury from Trump and
his advisers seemed to be linked to Trudeau's closing press conference on
Saturday where he reiterated his commitment to retaliate against U.S. steel and
aluminum tariffs. He also repeated his position that Canada would never accept
a sunset provision in NAFTA. After Trump took umbrage at that, a spokeswoman
for Trudeau said the prime minister "said nothing he hasn't said before —
both in public, and in private conversations with the president."
A NAFTA sunset connection? It
was unclear whether Trump really expected Canada to unilaterally back off its
move to retaliate over Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, but he did indicate
there was some back and forth on NAFTA, particularly the U.S. proposal for a
sunset provision — which has emerged as a key Trump demand. Trump, at his own
press conference on Saturday, said the U.S. and Canada were "pretty close"
to resolving the issue. He even floated the possibility of agreeing to a
"longer" period than the five-year juncture the U.S. has proposed
before the trade pact would automatically terminate unless the three parties
agreed to extend it.
Trudeau made clear on Saturday that Canada would in no way agree
to a sunset clause in NAFTA 2.0, which it believes is a back-door way for the
U.S. to encourage business investment in America instead of in Canada, but he
said Canada is "open to creativity" on the issue and cited
discussions on "various alternatives." Trudeau's position in
Charlevoix was consistent with what he said on May 31 when he revealed that he
had rescinded the offer of a one-on-one meeting with Trump in Washington to
bring NAFTA talks to a close after Trump, by way of Vice President Mike Pence,
attached the precondition that Canada agree to a sunset. [POLITICO's Morning Trade, June 11, 2018]
WHAT NOW FOR NAFTA? Kudlow said the tumult of the
weekend doesn't mean Trump
will withdraw from the deal. "We won't withdraw from NAFTA. We are heavy
into negotiations," Kudlow said in an interview on CBS' "Face the
Nation."
But the White House adviser also said it may not be possible to
reach a new deal. "I don't know [if negotiators will reach a deal],
because I think, again, Trudeau's very unfortunate statements, his betrayal. He
betrayed Trump," Kudlow said.
The talks will go on (sort of): Outside
observers said the rancor won't mean much for technical-level negotiators.
"As long as the president's blow up doesn't result in the
U.S. team being pulled from the talks, the working level negotiators will
continue to try to find common ground on a complex and extensive list of
issues," said Laura Dawson, director of the Wilson Center's Canada
Institute.
But one private-sector source closely following the NAFTA talks
told Morning Trade that whatever Trump put on the table in Canada was probably
not done in a good-faith effort to bring the talks to a close.
"This proposal was for show, not a serious attempt to
conclude negotiations," he said. "The odds of getting a deal this
year are rapidly approaching zero. Way too many areas of disagreement and too
late to get a vote this year. Moreover, I suspect that the administration does
not actually want a deal because then they would own it and be forced defend it
from criticism, likely from all sides." [POLITICO's
Morning Trade, June 11, 2018]
A Canada dairy security threat: If anything, Trump's latest blowup shows how he clearly
connects his decision to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada with
Ottawa's willingness to concede in NAFTA talks. Those tariffs were put in place
under a statute that allows the president to impose trade restrictions in order
to protect national security. "Very dishonest & weak," Trump said
in his attempted Twitter takedown of Trudeau. "Our Tariffs are
in response to his of 270% on dairy!" [POLITICO's Morning Trade, June 11, 2018]
 |
| TECHNOLOGY |
ENCRYPT ACT BACKING — A bipartisan group of
lawmakers brought back the Ensuring National Constitutional Rights for Your
Private Telecommunications, or ENCRYPT, Act on Thursday, as MT predicted. Tech
industry groups quickly lined up behind the proposed legislation, which, like
the last iteration, would prevent states from requiring companies to give law
enforcement special access to encrypted devices and information. Robyn Green,
policy counsel and government affairs lead at New America's Open Technology
Institute, called the bill "a step toward putting this endless debate over
encryption backdoors to bed once and for all."
— The tech industry contends that state-level encryption
policies put consumers at risk. "The level of
protection consumers experience should not be determined by the state in which
they live," Andy Halataei, ITI's senior vice president of government
affairs, said in a statement. "State mandates that either ban strong
encryption technology, or require the design of intentional vulnerabilities,
are untenable from both a security and policy standpoint." Internet
Association CEO Michael Beckerman echoed that sentiment: "Weakening
encryption by requiring companies to engineer vulnerabilities into their
devices and services makes us all less safe and less secure." [POLITICO's Morning Tech, June 8, 2018]
THINKING A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY: New Jersey lawmakers are contemplating seeking to raise $700 million a year in new taxes from
corporations — though only over two years, as our Ryan Hutchins and Katherine
Landergan report out of Trenton. Still, the proposal circulating in the
Democratic-controlled legislature would amount to a serious break from Gov.
Phil Murphy, also a Democrat, who's been pushing a new tax on millionaires.
"The business tax envisioned would impose a 3 percent surcharge on
companies with more than $1 million in gross annual earnings, a concept Senate
President Steve Sweeney first proposed in March. Sweeney did not say at the
time, however, that the higher tax rate should sunset after two years."
Democratic lawmakers are also considering a tax amnesty program that could chip
in an extra $150 million in revenue for the next fiscal year. [POLITICO's
Morning Tax, June 8, 2018]
• Yitu Technology, a Shanghai-based AI startup whose
focus includes machine vision, raised $200 million in new Series C funding from
ICBC International, SPDB International and Gaocheng Capital. http://axios.link/emvd [Axios Pro Rata, June 12, 2018]
• Metaboards, a British developer of wireless
charging technology, raised $5 million in VC funding. Oxford Sciences Innovation led,
and was joined by RT Capital Management and Woodford Investment
Management. http://axios.link/Fqvh [Axios Pro Rata, June 12, 2018]
🏠 Opendoor, a San Francisco startup
that buys and sells homes, has raised $325 million in new funding led by
General Atlantic, Access Technology Ventures and home-builder Lennar. http://axios.link/biS5 [Axios Pro Rata, June 13, 2018]
🚑 Broncus Medical, a San Jose, Calif.-based developer of diagnostic and
therapeutic technology for lung disease, raised $15 million in Series A funding
from Intuitive Surgical (Nasdaq:
ISRG). www.broncus.com [Axios Pro Rata, June 13, 2018]
 |
| FROM THE PORCH |
PHONE A FRIEND: Despite controversies surrounding mattresses and Chick-fil-A,
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt remains in the president's good graces, The New
York Times reports in a
story focusing on turnover within the White House. The Times writes that
President Donald Trump has taken to seeking counsel from outside voices,
including Pruitt, and "has dismissed the advice of several aides who have
tried to persuade him to fire Mr. Pruitt in light of the growing questions
about misuse of his authority." Trump and Pruitt "speak frequently,
and the president enjoys discussing his negative view of Jeff Sessions, the
attorney general, with the embattled EPA leader." Keep in mind,
Pruitt reportedly has
his eye on Sessions' job. [POLITICO's Morning Energy, June 11, 2018]
REMEMBERING BOURDAIN: Your host heard
from several MA readers over the weekend about the death of chef, writer and
television host Anthony Bourdain. Zero Point Zero Production, the company I
worked at for three years before joining POLITICO, had launched Bourdain's
first show and had produced his programs for the Travel Network and then CNN.
He was a regular presence in the office and always an inspiration. His
"Parts Unknown" on CNN was so beautifully filmed that the show helped
persuade me to leave The New York Times and launch a web series about crimes in
the food world, which eventually became a Netflix series called
"Rotten."
What Bourdain taught me: Arrive early for every
flight. Never stop digging away at food reporting because the perishability of
food makes it especially vulnerable to corruption. And when you're invited into
someone's home or restaurant and that person cooks for you, behave like you are
at "f---ing grandma's house." Politely eat everything served to you,
and always say "thank you." [Morning Agriculture, June 11, 2018]
Sanofi to meet with HHS to discuss lower insulin prices. However,
the French drugmaker told POLITICO's David Pittman that the Trump
administration only reached out last Friday — two days after the
president's comments that drug companies were "going to announce voluntary
massive drops in prices."
HHS
declined comment late Thursday -- citing future "market-sensitive
announcements" -- on whether its approach to Sanofi was an effort to fit
the president's off-the-cuff remark, which caught most in the drug world by
surprise.
Sanofi
says it has a way to lower insulin prices in Medicare
and Medicaid — change federal health programs' rules to extend its insulin
payment program for uninsured patients to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
Azar talks regulatory burdens with medical device
firms. Representatives from Abiomed, AdvaMed, Boston Scientific, CVRx,
IlluminOss, STERIS and Varian met with the secretary yesterday, according to an
HHS readout. Topics of discussion included ways that medical technology firms
can contribute to the move to value-based care and the regulatory issues that
make it more difficult, including anti-kickback rules.
CMS
Administrator Seema Verma also met with medical device leaders, according to a
person familiar with the agenda. [POLITICO
Pulse, June 8, 2018]
 |
| TRUMP |
 |
| READ |
 |
| HIDDEN IN THE ATTIC |
As his army marched toward
Pennsylvania, Confederate General Robert E. Lee hoped General Jeb Stuart's
cavalry would conceal his movements from the prying eyes of Union scouts.
Yankee cavalry desperately needed to pierce Stuart's screen to discover Lee's
whereabouts and, if possible, divine his intentions. On June 21, 1863, Union
General David McM. Gregg took a stab at two of Stuart's Confederate brigades
along the banks of Goose Creek, near Upperville, Virginia.
At first, Stuart's men were successful,
making a determined stand near an old stone bridge over Goose Creek. Gregg,
however, called for support and was soon reinforced by Colonel Strong Vincent's
infantry brigade — which, just two weeks later, would earn fame on Little Round
Top. Gregg's troopers and a portion of Vincent's men stormed the bridge,
keeping the Rebels' attention, while more of Vincent's men forded the creek —
and captured an artillery piece while setting the remainder of the Rebels to
flight. The Yankees, however, were no closer to discovering Lee's intentions or
the movement toward Gettysburg. [Goose Creek Bridge battlefield at Upperville, Civil
War Trust]
 |
| SCREEN |
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| CYBERSECURITY |
|
What
Microsoft's Github acquisition means in security-land
|
|
Much of the
conversation around Microsoft's purchase of computer code repository GitHub
revolves around the potential culture clash — a corporate giant buying the
keys to a scrappy open source community. But there are some potential
consequences in security worth taking a gander at, too.
Why it
matters: GitHub is so big in the coding world that
no nation with a software industry could ever block it. Some freedom fighters
have weaponized that indispensability.
Microsoft
wouldn't comment on
what happens to material hosted on GitHub if a government asked it to filter
certain content from its country. Microsoft is more powerful than Github on
the world stage, but an oppressive government also has a lot more levers it
can pull to influence a corporation of Microsoft's size. [Axios Codebook, June 5, 2018]
|
*false statement as satire of Trump's question about Canada's burning of the White House in 1812
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