Which Party Does Gerrymandering Favor More?
And other reader questions!
Happy Sunday, all! As is often the case in the Trump era, it hasn’t exactly been a quiet news weekend.
The president fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after a weak jobs report.
He moved two nuclear submarines in response to comments from Russia.
Former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro is now the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., while Andrew Puzder — who couldn’t be confirmed as Labor Secretary in Trump’s first term amid allegations of domestic abuse and sexual harassment — is now the U.S. ambassador to the European Union.
And former Special Counsel Jack Smith is under investigation.
Rest assured, I’ll have all the latest for you on those stories and more throughout the week. But now it’s time to answer your questions! Here are the topics we’re tackling this morning:
Who decides how the White House is renovated
Where does all the tariff revenue go
Which past presidents had as tight a grip on Congress as President Trump
Were Republicans in 2009 as worried about their party’s future as Democrats are now
Which party benefits more from gerrymandering
If you’ve ever wondered about any of those questions, you’re going to want to keep reading to find out the answers!
Let’s dive in…
Q: Is it possible that Trump can unilaterally build a new ballroom in place of the East Wing of the White House without congressional approval, just because he is raising money from donors and paying for some of it himself? The White House is federal property, after all.
Q: Who can say yes or no to major changes to the White House? Can just anybody just start tearing down historic walls and no one can stop them?