Talk in Washington this week was dominated by several news reports concerning the Trump Administration. Multiple news outlets reported early in the week that then-FBI Director James Comey had written a memo describing a conversation with President Trump in which Trump appeared to ask Comey to stop the investigation of former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn.
By mid-week, in response to this and other developments in the investigation, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced the appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel. Mueller will now head the investigation of possible interactions between the Trump campaign and Russian officials in last year's election.
Although these developments consumed much of lawmakers' attention this week, other issues continue to develop. This week the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee questioned David Bernhard, nominee for Deputy Secretary of the Interior. Democrats criticized Bernhardt, a former Interior official in the George W. Bush administration, for lobbying for energy and mining companies after his previous stint in the Department. Republicans countered that Bernhardt's Interior experience and his knowledge of energy and environmental issues make him a good fit for the position.
On Wednesday, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that the "principles" of President Trump's trillion-dollar infrastructure plan would be available by the end of May. "The proposal will likely include $200 billion in direct federal funds which will be used to leverage $1 trillion in infrastructure investment over the next 10 years," Chao said.
