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A8 NATION/WORLD East Oregonian Friday, June 14, 2019 Sanders leaving White House; governor run ahead? NATION/WORLD IN BRIEF Trump administration reviewing foreign money to U.S. colleges WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — The U.S. Education Department has opened investigations into foreign funding at Georgetown University and Texas A&M University as part of a broader push to monitor inter- national money fl owing to American colleges. Both universities are being ordered to disclose years of fi nancial records amid concerns they have not fully reported their foreign gifts and contracts to the federal government, according to letters sent to the schools Thursday and obtained by The Associated Press. The inquiries are part of a broader campaign to scrutinize foreign funding going to universities and to improve reporting by schools, according to a Trump administration offi cial familiar with the effort. More schools probably will face questioning as fed- eral offi cials focus on an issue they see as crucial to transparency and national security, according to the offi cial, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the investigations and spoke on condition of anonymity. Federal law requires U.S. colleges to report con- tracts and donations from foreign sources totaling $250,000 or more, but past fi lings from Georgetown and Texas A&M “may not fully capture” that informa- tion, according to the letters. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin President Donald Trump welcomes White House press secretary Sarah Sanders to the stage to publicly thank the outgoing press secretary in the East Room of the White House on Thursday in Washington. By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, whose tenure was marked by a breakdown in regular press briefi ngs and questions about the adminis- tration’s credibility, as well as her own, will leave her post at the end of the month, President Donald Trump announced Thursday. Trump said he’s encour- aging her to run for gover- nor when she returns home to Arkansas, where her father once held the job. Sanders is one of Trump’s closest and most trusted White House aides and one of the few remaining who worked on his campaign, taking on the job of advocating for and defending a president who had his own unconventional ideas about how to conduct the peo- ple’s business. At an unrelated White House event, Trump described Sanders as a “warrior” as he called her to the stage. Sand- ers, appearing emotional, said serving Trump has been “the honor of a lifetime” and pledged to remain one of his “most outspoken and loyal supporters.” Sanders, who is married and has three young children, later told reporters she wanted to spend more time with her family, but did not rule out running for public offi ce. “I learned a long time ago never to rule anything out,” said Sanders, 36. She was the fi rst working mother and just the third woman to be named White House press secretary. Under her roughly two- year tenure as chief spokes- woman for the White House, daily televised briefi ngs led by the press secretary became a relic of the past after Sand- ers repeatedly sparred with reporters who aggressively questioned her about admin- istration policy, the investiga- tion into possible coordination between Trump’s campaign and Russia or any number of controversies involving the White House. Sanders has not held a for- mal briefi ng in more than three months — since March 11— and said she does not regret scaling them back. Instead, reporters were left to catch her and other adminis- tration offi cials on the White House driveway after their interviews with Fox News Channel and other networks. Trump also has made it a habit to regularly answer reporters’ questions in a vari- ety of settings, most notably on the South Lawn before board- ing the Marine One helicopter. Sanders often sought to justify the lack of formal briefi ngs by saying they were unnecessary when journalists could hear from Trump directly. Behind the scenes, Sanders worked to develop relation- ships with reporters, earning the respect and trust of many of those on the beat. Still, her credibility had come under question after she succeeded Sean Spicer, Trump’s fi rst press secretary, Come Check Out Our New in mid-2017 in the high-pro- fi le role. The Russia report released by special counsel Robert Mueller in April revealed that Sanders admitted to inves- tigators that she had made an unfounded claim about “countless” FBI agents reach- ing out to express support for Trump’s decision to fi re FBI Director James Comey in May 2017. Sanders characterized the comment as a “slip of the tongue” uttered in the “heat of the moment.” She faced similar questions last year after Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump’s personal attor- neys, surprised the White House by saying on national TV that Trump had reim- bursed his then-fi xer Michael Cohen for the $130,000 Cohen had paid porn actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet during the campaign about an alleged past sexual encounter with Trump. Trump has denied Daniels’ claim. The White House had failed to disclose the reim- bursement. Sanders said she didn’t know anything about the repayment until Giuliani disclosed it. Sanders told report- ers Thursday that she had informed Trump earlier in the day of her decision to step down. Her staff learned the Daily Specials! news shortly before Trump tweeted, “After 3 1/2 years, our wonderful Sarah Huck- abee Sanders will be leaving the White House at the end of the month and going home to the Great State of Arkansas.” Trump added that “she would be fantastic” as Arkan- sas governor. Sanders said she’s had people “begging” her to run for governor for more than a year. Her father is former Arkan- sas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a two-time GOP presidential candidate. She managed his second White House bid. Asa Hutchinson, the cur- rent Arkansas governor, was re-elected in 2018 and is lim- ited to two terms. The seat will become open in 2022. Sanders said she hasn’t dis- cussed possible replacements with Trump. She said she saw no reason to delay inform- ing the president once she had made her decision, saying her departure should give Trump time to put someone else in place before the 2020 presi- dential campaign heats up. Tankers struck near Strait of Hormuz; U.S. blames Iran DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. blamed Iran for suspected attacks on two oil tank- ers Thursday near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, denouncing what it called a campaign of “escalating tensions” in a region crucial to global energy supplies. The U.S. Navy rushed to assist the stricken vessels in the Gulf of Oman off the coast of Iran, including one that was set ablaze. The ships’ operators offered no immediate explanation on who or what caused the damage against the Norwegian-owned MT Front Altair and the Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous. Each was loaded with petroleum products, and the Front Altair burned for hours, sending up a column of thick, black smoke. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. assessment of Iran’s involvement was based in part on intelligence as well as the expertise needed for the operation. It was also based on recent incidents in the region that the U.S. also blamed on Iran, including the use of limpet mines — designed to be attached mag- netically to a ship’s hull — to attack four oil tankers off the nearby Emirati port of Fujairah and the bombing of an oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia by Iranian-backed fi ghters in May, he said. “Taken as a whole these unprovoked attacks pres- ent a clear threat to international peace and security, a blatant assault on the freedom of navigation and an unacceptable campaign of escalating tension by Iran,” Pompeo said. He provided no evidence, gave no specif- ics about any plans and took no questions. At the United Nations, the United States asked for closed Security Council consultations on the tanker incidents later Thursday. PROGRESS EDITION SUNDAY: PRIME RIB SUNDAY MONDAY: BABY BACK RIB NIGHT TUESDAY: SALMON TACOS WEDNESDAY: WEDNESDAY BURGERS THURSDAY: THIRSTY THURSDAY H amley S teakhouse, S aloon 8 S E C O U RT, P E N D L E T O N • 5 4 1 . 2 7 8 . 1 1 0 0 We’re taking the pulse of our community through “deep dive” stories in the areas of: Education • Healthcare Labor/Industry • Economics and more This special annual edition is a great opportunity to associate your business with positive news about the dynamic region where we live, work and play. Call or email your local rep for advertising info. Ask About FREE Color! DEADLINE: June 17, 2019 PUBLISHES: www.eastoregonian.com www.hermistonherald.com East Oregonian June 29, 2019 Hermiston Herald June 26, 2019 Call Jeanne Today! 541-564-4531 Call Angela Today! 541-966-0827 jjewett@hermistonherald.com atreadwell@eastoregonian.com Call Audra Today! 541-564-4538 Call Grace Today! 541-276-2214 aworkman@eastoregonian.com gbubar@eastoregonian.com
