In other news, U.S. business debt is now greater than household debt for the first time since 1991.
Meanwhile, jobless claims climbed to a two-year high last week according to the Labor Department. That's curious considering the department's last jobs report was on fire.
Finally, the Pentagon's inspector general is probing the awarding of a border wall contract to an unqualified company promoted by the a member of Congress, members of the Trump regime, and Trump himself.
The review of the award to Fisher Sand & Gravel is an audit by the Pentagon's inspector general and comes in response to a request by Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the Democratic chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security. Thompson said the decision to award the contract should be reviewed because Fisher's "proposals reportedly did not meet the operational requirements of U.S. Customs and Border Protection" and because of "concerns about the possibility of inappropriate influence" on the Army Corps of Engineers. [...]
For years and in recent meetings, the president has pushed the Army Corps of Engineers to consider awarding a contract for border wall construction to Fisher Sand & Gravel, according to three sources familiar with the discussions. And in a trip to the border in November, Trump's new acting secretary of homeland security and the chief of the Border Patrol's El Paso Sector toured a privately funded wall built by Fisher.
The renewed push for Fisher by Trump and DHS officials caught many by surprise, given the controversy in which the company has been entangled. The Washington Post first reported Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., held up the confirmation of a White House official in his demands to see border wall contracts that had gone out to other companies.
Officials feared Cramer was attempting to share proprietary information with Fisher so that they could make their bid more competitive. Cramer was a proponent of Fisher, a company from his home state, and had repeatedly made outreach on their behalf to the White House.
There are times when it certainly seems like the only reason to become a Republican in Congress, or almost any office for that matter, is to use government for your own corrupt ends.
That's not to say there are no corrupt Democrats, but it seems almost invariable among Republicans.