WORKING ON U.R.P.T.:

Obama's Gitmo Task Force Blows Its Deadline (Michael Isikoff, 7/20/09, Newsweek)

An Obama administration task force set up to develop a plan for the closure of the U.S. detention facility at Guantánamo Bay will miss its first deadline this week—and put off a key report until the fall—amid continued divisions over how to resolve one of the president's thorniest policy dilemmas.

The task force, set up on Obama's second day in office, was charged with preparing a report to the president by Tuesday, July 21, outlining a long-term detention plan for detainees captured in counterterrorism operations after Sept. 11. But continued debate within the task force over the legal basis for holding detainees who are not charged with any crimes—and where to house them once they are moved from Guantánamo—has forced the task force to postpone its report by a "few months," a senior administration official told NEWSWEEK.

A separate task-force report on interrogations—also due this week—is being put off as well, said the official, who, like others quoted in this article, asked not to be named talking about private deliberations.

Remember Obama’s Promise to Cut $100 Million in 90 Days? (Jonathan Weisman, 7/20/09, WSJ: Washington Wire)

Three months ago, when President Barack Obama announced he was extracting $100 million in spending cuts from his cabinet secretaries, the reviews were not terribly kind, not with a budget well in excess of $3 trillion and a budget deficit shooting toward $1.8 trillion. [...]

Well, on this, the 91st day, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki and White House budget office spokesman Ken Baer released identical statements when queried about the results. “The recommendations have been gathered by the Cabinet Secretaries who will be reporting them to the President shortly,” they said in separate responses. When pressed, Psaki said we should see the exact cuts “in the coming days.”

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 20, 2009 5:35 PM