InsideSources

Progressive scholars argued during a policy discussion Monday that president-elect Donald Trump tricked workers into supporting him.

The Center for American Progress (CAP) hosted the forum to discuss the upcoming Trump administration. Progressive scholars took the time to argue the president-elect is already failing his working class supporters. They pointed to his cabinet picks and policy proposals as examples of why he’ll be bad for workers.

“President-elect Trump campaigned on a pledge to make America great again and promised working families that he was on their side,” CAP poverty expert Melissa Boteach said. “Unfortunately, he hasn’t even taken the oath of office yet, and it’s becoming more and more apparent that his entire campaign was a bait-and-switch.”

President Barack Obama oversaw an abnormally long economic recovery throughout his time in office. The economy has improved significantly since the last recession, but many Americans are still struggling. Trump made helping workers, particularly those displaced by globalization, a cornerstone of his campaign.

“Now I think we have to hold Donald Trump accountable for the promises he has made to working class families,” CAP President Neera Tanden said. “He’s made a lot of promises to be the spokesperson and the advocate for the families that were struggling in this economy and at least so far it seems those promises have been false.”

Neera adds the policies the president-elect and his party are backing will hurt workers. She pointed to block granting Medicaid, tax giveaways to the wealthy and replacing the Affordable Care Act as a few examples. She argues many of his supporters were likely more interested in his change message than his actual policies.

“This was not a policy-rich debate in the election,” Tanden said. “You have a mixture of voters. People who really supported his agenda and people who didn’t think he was serious about a lot of the things he said. I think a lot of those chickens are coming home to roost.”

Trump promised during the campaign he would fight the political establishment and corruption. His slogan to drain the swamp became symbolic of ridding Washington D.C. of its embedded establishment. Tanden notes his appointments indicate an opposing approach.

“We had a candidate who has an incoming administration in which he promised to drain the swamp,” Tanden said. “[He] seems to be filling the swamp with people who are his donors, who have a record of opposing and actually a record of making working people’s lives harder.”

Trump has been met with fierce opposition over his cabinet picks thus far. CKE Restaurants President Andy Puzder was called a sexist and bashed for not paying his workers properly when he was nominated for labor secretary. Steven Mnuchin was denounced for his time working on Wall Street when picked for treasury secretary.

“He campaigned on creating good jobs but rather than propose real policies to crack down on unfair trade practice and level the playing field upwards, he’s picking his own winners and losers,” Boteach said. “He campaigned on raising wages but his cabinet picks are a who’s who of Wall Street tycoons who are hostile to working families.”

Puzder would have a lot of influence over the working class if his nomination is approved by the Senate. The Department of Labor is the primary federal agency for enforcing and issuing workplace policies. Others have argued he could bring balance to an agency which was highly politicized during the current administration.

Trump was able to secure many traditionally Democratic working-class districts during the election. He will have the chance to prove whether his platform will actually help workers when he is sworn in as president on Jan. 20.

The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment by InsideSources.

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Donald Trump will soon be sworn in as president and his Thursday pick for labor secretary signals a radical shift from the current administration.

CKE Restaurants chief executive Andy Puzder has a long career in law and business. He has overseen several popular franchise restaurants and has been a vocal opponent of current labor policies. He has been particularly critical of the Department of Labor (DOL) and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Trump has nominated him to become his secretary of labor. Ironically, he might soon oversee the very Labor Department he has been so critical of. Here are eight facts you should know about the man who might soon influence how Americans work.

 

His Start Practicing Law

Puzder is best known as being the president of a fast-food company, but his start came in the world of law. He received a law degree in 1978 from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Puzder then worked as a commercial trial lawyer in St. Louis until 1991.

 

Hardee’s, Carl’s Jr. and Beyond

Puzder entered the fast-food world because of his career in law. Carl’s Jr. founder Carl Karcher requested his legal help prompting him to move to California in 1991. Karcher at the time was embroiled in serious financial difficulties.

Puzder helped resolve the issues in a way that allowed Karcher to retain a significant ownership interest in the parent company CKE Restaurants. Fidelity National Financial Chairman William P. Foley acquired part of the company as part of the resolution.

Puzder became the executive vice president and general counsel for Fidelity in 1995. He then went on to also become the executive vice president and general counsel for CKE. He oversaw the purchase of Hardee’s Food Systems in 1997 while serving as the executive vice president.

Puzder was named president of CKE by the company board of directors in 2000. He has held the position ever since.

 

Impact on Abortion Rights

Puzder had a significant impact when it came to abortion rights during his legal career. He authored a Missouri law that restricted the use of state funds, facilities and employees for assisting in abortions. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law in the 1989 case Webster v. Reproductive Health Services.

The case granted states increased authority for restricting abortion rights that were previously barred under Roe v. Wade.

But Puzder has also advocated for both sides of the issue to find common ground, particularly on the issue of promoting adoption as an alternative to abortion.

 

 

New To The Washington Establishment

Trump based much of his presidential campaign on the idea of he was a businessman and not part of the political establishment. His promise to drain the swamp symbolized a plan to rid Washington D.C. of corruption and the embedded establishment.

Puzder found his success in the private-sector much like the president-elect. His career was defined by practicing law and running a major international fast-food company. His first political position will be labor secretary if his nomination is approved.

 

Not New to Political Advocacy

Puzder isn’t new to politics despite his lack of government positions. He has been an outspoken critic of policies pushed during the current administration. President Barack Obama and his administration have worked to drastically change labor law to help make the system fairer for workers.

Puzder and other critics have argued the labor policy changes have actually hurt businesses and workers alike. He has testified before Congress on numerous occasions in recent years. He has also spoken on behalf of various business coalitions.

“Perhaps the most important thing is he understands the value of the bully pulpit,” Employment Policies Institute Research Director Michael Saltsman told InsideSources. “Puzder is unique among CEOs in that he has been very public with his views on things like the minimum wage and overtime.”

Saltsman added an outspoken secretary is needed in order to bring balance back to labor policies. Puzder has been vocal on policy issues unlike many other business executives who may be reluctant to express ideas that could alienate their customers.

Puzder may have slightly different views than the president-elect when it comes to immigration. He wrote in the Wall Street Journal last year that a more open immigration system could promote economic growth. Trump does support legal immigration but has expressed concern about Americans losing their jobs to foreigners. They both agree the border should be secured.

 

His Many Passionate Critics

Puzder is not without critics who have denounced his nomination for a range of reasons. The Huffington Post declared in a recent piece that the president-elect has already betrayed his working class supporters with the pick. The article points to his opposition to raising the minimum wage, among other policies.

Vox Media and other outlets have denounced Puzder for sexism and objectifying women. Carl’s Jr. has run television commercials featuring models eating hamburgers in sexually suggestive ways. Salon has suggested the pick adds to an already misogynistic administration.

“Puzder, who makes millions as a low-wage employer, fails every test for a Labor Secretary,” the Economic Policy Institute said on its blog. “Nothing in Puzder’s history of anti-worker and anti-government rhetoric indicates that he cares about or believes in the Labor Department’s mission.”

Labor unions have also been highly critical of the nomination. They have denounced his opposition to increasing the minimum wage, recent labor regulations and the Affordable Care Act. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) argued the pick shows Trump is out of touch with the working class.

“President-elect Trump has once again shown how out-of-touch he is with what working Americans need,” SEIU President Mary Kay Henry said in a statement. “Throughout his career, Andrew Puzder has shown he does not believe in the dignity of all work and has used his position to line his own pockets at the expense of workers.”

Obama has praised the labor movement numerous times throughout his administration with critics arguing his policies unfairly benefit unions. Puzder has been highly critical of unions and policies they support and will likely challenge them as secretary.

 

But He Also Has Supporters

Puzder does have plenty of supporters who see his nomination as a way to bring balance back to labor policies. Current Labor Secretary Thomas Perez has been accused by critics of benefiting unions at the expense of employers and workers. Puzder would be in a position to reform and scrap many of those policy changes.

“We’re excited about the pick for a couple of reasons,” Saltsman said. “[Perez] has very little understanding of how labor markets work. His focus seems to be on labor unions instead of labor markets.”

Congressional Republicans have praised the nomination as a step in the right direction.  Sen. Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate committee overseeing labor policy, stated Puzder is a smart businessman who understands the dangers of excessive regulations.

The International Franchise Association (IFA) and other business coalitions have also voiced their support.

“Andy would be an exceptional choice to lead the Labor Department,” IFA President Robert Cresanti said. “Voters elected a job creator as President, it is only fitting that the Labor Department, the agency responsible for ensuring the nation’s labor policy is properly balanced, should be led by someone with a proven track record for creating jobs.”

The DOL has been a primary source of new workplace regulations during the current administration. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) found in a report Sept. 22 the new regulations could cost $81.6 billion in compliance alone and 155,700 lost jobs over the next ten years.

“Andy Puzder understands that the key to economic growth and rising wages is empowering business to increase productivity, not artificial, government-imposed wage and hour mandates,” said Trey Kovacs of the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “It’s encouraging that Mr. Puzder has been critical of the Obama administration Labor Department for imposing burdensome regulations.”

 

Puzder Will Need Senate Approval

When Trump is sworn in as president it will be his responsibility to fill numerous federal positions. The labor secretary is among those positions that will require approval by the U.S. Senate. Republicans were able to maintain their congressional majority during the election, meaning the approval process is unlikely to hit too many obstacles.

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Democrats handed over one million signatures to Republican leadership Wednesday demanding that they and president-elect Donald Trump leave Medicare alone.

Medicare is a federal program providing insurance to seniors and people with disabilities. Republicans have argued the program is in desperate need of reform. Democrats defended the program during a rally before advocates delivered the signatures to Republican leaders Sen. Mitch McConnell and Speaker Paul Ryan.

“Destroying Medicare and making seniors pay more is not what Americans voted for in the November election,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said during the event. “Today we will give a stern message to Republicans in the Congress. We will not stand by while Republicans dismantle the promise of a healthy and dignified retirement.”

Republicans have long argued Medicare is structurally and financially unstable. Ryan and others have suggested reforming Medicare to preserve the program for future generations. Medicare beneficiaries under the plan would buy insurance from multiple competing plans. Critics have contested the idea will upend the program and hurt those that rely on it.

“We’re going to need everyone, everyone, to stand together next year and fight any attempts to privatize or weaken Medicare,” Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer said during the event. “My friends, all sides suggests a fight is coming.”

Trump said during the campaign that he wasn’t like most in his party when it comes to Medicare. He promised he wasn’t going to cut the program and other social safety nets like Social Security. Democrats and other critics warn he might go back on that promise.

“Mr. Trump, we are going to hold you accountable,” Sen. Bernie Sanders said during the rally. “You said you would not cut Social Security, you would not cut Medicare, you would not cut Medicaid. You know what, millions of us are going to demand that you keep your promise.”

The petition signatures were collected by Social Security Works, Our Revolution, Alliance for Retired Americans, National Nurses United and JustCare, among other advocacy groups. Members of the organizations marched from the event to personally deliver the signatures to McConnell and Ryan.

“Forget about all your plans to voucherize Medicare, to raise the retirement age of social security, to slash Medicaid,” Sanders also said. “It ain’t gonna happen. And what we’re going to do is rally millions and millions of people for who Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is life and death.”

Republicans will soon be in a position to significantly change Medicare. They were able to secure the presidency during the Nov. 8 election while also maintaining congressional control. Nevertheless, Democrats have vowed to do all they can to fight the reforms.

“I know, during the campaign president-elect Trump promised to save Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security,” Schumer said. “He even made it explicit that he disagreed with most Republicans in his party on these social security safety net programs. He even criticized them for their position. That was then. This is now.”

Trump last month nominated Republican Rep. Tom Price to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Democrats warn the pick is a sign the president-elect is looking to go back on his promise to not touch Medicare. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is an agency within the department.

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Republicans and Democrats are showing roughly the same level of economic confidence as their views have shifted in opposite directions since Election Day, according to a poll out Tuesday.

Gallup found economic confidence has steadily climbed since the election. The weekly average reached its highest point last week since the poll was first conducted in 2008. Republican and Democratic perceptions on the economy have shifted in opposite directions since the election and now both sit at about the same level.

“Before the election, Democrats were much more optimistic than Republicans were about both current economic conditions and the outlook for the economy,” explains Jeffrey M. Jones of Gallup. “Democrats still rate current economic conditions better than Republicans do, while Republicans are more positive than Democrats are about the economy’s direction.”

Republican president-elect Donald Trump won the election Nov. 8 over his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Republican economic confidence since the election has soared from negative 42 points to a positive 10.

The index runs from negative 100 points to positive 100 points. If all those surveyed said they believe the economy was good and was getting better, the index would be at positive 100 points. If all those surveyed said the economy was bad and was getting worse, the index would be at negative 100.

“Americans’ evaluations of the economy have changed considerably since Election Day,” the Gallup analysis stated. “Republicans are much more likely to say the economy is ‘getting better’ and even see current economic conditions in a more positive light. Democrats’ confidence has declined, but they still rate the economy more positively than negatively.”

Democrats lost confidence in the economy but not to the extent Republicans gained confidence. Democrats rated their economic confidence at a positive 30 points before the election but that has since fallen to a positive 11. Independents lost some confidence last week but its still remains higher than before the election.

“Given the strong influence of partisanship on how Americans view the state of the nation, including the economy, Democrats’ confidence may sharply decline once Trump is in office,” Jones stated. “The degree to which Republicans’ views improve beyond what their current levels may determine whether confidence nationally remains high or retreats.”

There is still significant room for improvement with average economic confidence at only positive eight points. The low level of confidence over the years is likely the result of the last recession which was followed by a prolonged recovery in the decade since.

“Since 2008, the index has mostly been in negative territory,” the analysis stated. “The major exception came during an eight-week period from late December 2014 through mid-February 2015 when U.S. consumers reacted to a sustained drop in gasoline prices and the weekly average for Gallup’s index reached as high as +5.”

The economy has shown many positive trends in recent years but there have still been major issues. The labor market, for instance, has been steadily growing and is even close to full employment. The labor force participation rate, however, has failed to reach the level it was at before the recession.

“Confidence may stay higher as long as both Democrats and Republicans have reasons to be positive about the economy, given the current and future political situations,” the poll stated. “Outside the political sphere, the economy has also seen record-high stock prices in recent weeks, reports of greater economic growth in the third quarter than in past years and a positive unemployment report released late last week.”

The recession was sparked by the subprime mortgage crisis and the financial crisis of 2007. The poll found economic confidence started at negative 24 points when it was first conducted in 2008. It dropped to a record low of negative 65 points in the following year. Last week was the highest it had ever been at a positive eight points.

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President-elect Donald Trump’s minuscule support from Silicon Valley compared to his general election opponent hasn’t dissuaded him from throwing a booming part of the tech sector some love, his choice for transportation secretary shows.

This week Trump named as his pick to head the Department of Transportation Elaine Chao, who brings eight years of cabinet experience to the Trump White House from her time as labor secretary throughout the entire George W. Bush administration. Chao also has experience in the Transportation Department, where she acted as deputy secretary for the George H.W. Bush administration. The nominee is married to Republican Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the majority leader of the Senate, where she’ll face a confirmation hearing.

Chao will be charged with heading up a crucial revamp of decaying and failing transportation infrastructure across the country. Her selection also sends a friendly sign to a booming sharing economy sector of the transportation market centered in Silicon Valley, where Trump saw little traction during election season as a result of his contentious views on certain tech issues.

“Literally millions of people today participate in the digitally-enabled, peer-to-peer economy,” Chao said at an American Action Forum event last November in a speech discussing the sharing and gig economies. “So it is legitimate to ask if the regulatory solutions of the past– crafted by big government for big business– are appropriate for a peer-to-peer economy that is fluid, flexible and filled with workers who prefer independent arrangements.”

Chao said American workers no longer spend “the majority of their lives in one establishment or one profession,” and advocated loosening decades-old regulations governing how companies treat workers.

“Most of the major laws creating these programs were enacted during the depression era, the 1950’s or the 1970’s,” Chao told attendees. “At the time, they addressed important social issues such as child labor, industrial accidents, and the need to strengthen union democracy. But the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which created the 40 hour workweek among other key reforms, is 77 years old. The Landrum Griffin Act mandating union financial transparency is 56 years old. The Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 is 45 years old. And the pension protection law commonly known as ERISA is 41 years old.”

Highlighting statistics from some of the biggest names in the peer-to-peer economy including Uber, Etsy and Airbnb, Chao said more than half of those in the former two are college educated and use the platforms for supplementary income, while the latter helped hundreds avoid foreclosure.

“Nearly half of the Uber drivers surveyed had a college degree or higher. 62 percent had another full-time or part-time job. Nearly half had health insurance coverage through another job, spouse or family member,” Chao said. “A 2012 company survey found that– much like Uber– more than half of Etsy’s sellers are college educated.”

“Ninety percent of Airbnb participants rent rooms in their primary residence. In July 2010, the company received 300 letters from homeowners who said they were able to avoid foreclosure because of the extra income derived from Airbnb rentals,” she added.

The speech highlights the ongoing debate between gig economy companies and workers, who are fighting for employee benefits like healthcare from companies like Uber, who consider them private contractors and ineligible for benefits. Chao’s argument for a reevaluation of many of the laws mandating those protections suggest her policies may be more sympathetic to companies than legal challeneges brought against them.

“The digitally-enabled, peer-to-peer economy has provided an important safety net for many families during difficult times,” she concluded. “At a minimum, government policies must not stifle the innovation that has made this sector such an explosive driver of job growth and opportunity.”

Following Trump’s announcement, representatives from the sector including Uber and Lyft publicly endorsed Chao.

“Ms. Chao’s knowledge of transportation issues is extensive, and we look forward to working closely with her,” Niki Christoff, Uber’s head of federal affairs, told InsideSources in an email.

“We have the utmost respect for Elaine Chao, an accomplished public servant and highly capable leader,” Lyft spokesman Adrian Durbin said according to Bloomberg. “We congratulate her on the nomination and look forward to working with her on an array of transportation issues.”

Those issues will also include the regulatory green-lighting of artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles, where technology is expected to progress rapidly in the next five years.

“In many ways, she may be the cabinet member with the most interesting and important tech policy issues out there,” Uber adviser Bradley Tusk said.

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The Obama administration’s revolving door with Google has been anything but subtle over the last eight years, and a new report from a government watchdog out this week shows the Silicon Valley giant hoped to extend that relationship to what many expected would be a Hillary Clinton presidency.

According to Campaign for Accountability, a non-profit government watchdog, that door was already growing in scope while Clinton headed the State Department under Obama. At least 57 people shared affiliations with Clinton and Google or related entities at the State Department, the Clinton Foundation and her presidential campaign.

Those include Clinton campaign Chief Technology Officer Stephanie Hannon, Chief Product Officer Osi Imeokparia, Deputy CTO Derek Parham and Director of Digital Advertising Jason Rosenbaum, all of whom hailed from Google before joining the campaign.

Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Alphabet (the redubbed parent company of Google) who developed custom election monitoring software for the 2012 Obama campaign helped Clinton in a similar fashion. Schmidt funded Civis Analytics and The Groundwork, two data analytics and poll tracking firms that worked on her campaign.

Clinton and her super PAC Priorities USA spent almost $1.5 million on services from those companies.

“Had she won the election, Clinton would have been significantly indebted to Google and Schmidt, whom she has referred to as her ‘longtime friend,'” the report reads. “For comparison, Schmidt’s future team at Civis Analytics was credited with helping produce his five million vote margin of victory during Obama’s 2012 election, and Schmidt subsequently enjoyed extensive access at the Obama White House.”

Personal emails hacked from campaign manager John Podesta show Schmidt personally met with Podesta and Clinton State Department aide Cheryl Mills in 2014, before the campaign was officially announced, and three months later Groundwork set up shop near Clinton headquarters in New York.

“[H]e’s ready to fund, advise, recruit talent, etc,” Podesta wrote after meeting with Schmidt in Washington, D.C. in 2014. Schmidt would continue to meet consistently with Clinton advisers to advise its voter targeting effort and data management.

“Clearly wants to be head outside advisor,” Podesta added before suggesting a meeting between Schmidt and Clinton campaign strategist Robby Mook.

As with most of the tech industry, Google donated heavily to Clinton over Trump, but Google notably became Clinton’s largest corporate contributor, according to the report, with at least six high-ranking executives and other employees contributing more than $1.3 million to her campaign coffers. The next highest corporate contributor was Microsoft with over $700,000 and Apple, which had its own close relationship with Clinton advisers per more Podesta emails, putting up more than $500,000, according to OpenSecrets.org.

“Had Clinton won the election, Google would have been able to capitalize on a close working relationship stretching back to her tenure as U.S. Secretary of State,” report authors wrote. “State Department officials traveled to Silicon Valley for meetings at Google’s headquarters attended by Schmidt, where they brainstormed how new technologies could be used to address diplomatic, development, and security concerns.”

Those efforts include the former secretary of state’s Internet Freedom agenda announced amid Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East in 2010. Clinton advocated international open internet norms and encouraged the adoption of technologies like encryption and social media to protect privacy and advocate for change in repressed regimes like Egypt and Syria.

The door between the two has spun in both directions since Clinton’s tenure heading the State Department, where at least 19 officials have joined Google in recent years including Jared Cohen, a member of Clinton’s policy planning staff. Cohen and Schmidt built their own “foreign policy think-tank,” later dubbed Jigsaw, “that has carried out a wide range of missions, some in coordination with the State Department.” Cohen himself traveled to areas of conflict while working for Google “raising suspicions that he was acting as an unofficial backchannel for the State Department.”

“Had Clinton won the election, Google would have benefitted in current and new ventures from its extensive ties to her presidential campaign, her foundation, and the Clinton State Department,” the report reads. “Several of those ventures rely on government funding or would be subject to regulatory scrutiny.”

Clinton appointees at the Federal Communications Commission (charged with defending net neutrality and currently weighing rules that would let Google enter the set-top box market), at the Federal Trade Commission (looking at rules for internet of things devices, artificial intelligence and where the company has run into data privacy and anti-trust issues), and at the Department of Transportation (where standards will be set for the company’s self-driving cars), would all have likely benefitted Alphabet’s various business ventures.

“Beyond leaving its mark with Hillary Clinton, Google has proved highly adept during the past eight years at securing favorable decisions from federal agencies like the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,” Campaign for Accountability said.

Though Alphabet bet heavily on Clinton, as did most in the valley, the incoming Trump administration is showing early signs the search giant may not be shut out in the cold. The Trump transition team has welcomed some Google allies to advise its efforts.

“Having failed to back the winning presidential candidate,” Campaign for Accountability explains, “Google is now seeking to soften its opposition to Trump. Schmidt congratulated Trump following his win, calling it an ‘amazing story.’ He also praised Trump-backer Peter Thiel, calling himself a fan of the Silicon Valley investor and entrepreneur.”

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On Wednesday, AT&T is launching the latest over-the-top video service aimed at cord-cutters and “cord-nevers” Monday with DirecTV Now — the cheapest service with the most channels yet from a traditional pay-TV provider.

“This is the foundation for how we’re going to do things in the future,” AT&T Entertainment Group CEO John Stakey said during the DirecTV Now launch event Monday, referring to the company’s vertically-integrated business model with content providers DirecTV and, should its proposed $85 billion merger be approved, Time Warner.

“For the first time we have control of the full stack.”

The service is aimed at keeping traditional satellite and cable pay-TV providers competitive in the growing market of young cord cutters that subscribe to streaming services Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime as their source of video entertainment. The rapid growth and popularity of such services contribute largely to what many have dubbed the next golden age of television.

DirecTV Now starts at a millennial-friendly price of $35 a month for more than 100 live-streamed channels including programming from 21st Century Fox, AMC, Disney, Starz, ESPN, NBCUniversal, Viacom and proposed merger partner Time Warner, which owns CNN and HBO. The $35 for 100 channels will be a limited time offer, after which the price structure starts at $35 for the first 60 channels, $50 for 80 channels and $70 for more than 120 channels.

Those who get in on the ground floor will be grandfathered into the $35 for 100 channels even after the startup period ends. Subscribers can add select premium channels like HBO or Cinemax to their plan of choice for another $5.

Missing from the service is Showtime and broadcast heavyweight CBS and its lineup of popular shows including “The Big Bang Theory” and NFL coverage (the network offers its own streaming service for $5.99 a month).

The service is hardware-free, provided users have an existing internet connection and streaming platform. Those who don’t can get a free Amazon Fire TV Stick for signing up for one month of service or an Apple TV for three months. Subscribers will have a 72-hour window to watch shows they missed with a DVR-like function in addition to video-on-demand with some 14,000 titles available to stream at launch.

Subscribers will have limited access to local programming via DirecTV’s inclusion of NBC in some markets but only on certain devices like computers and mobile. In a possible deal-breaker for households with multiple TVs, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson told investors in October customers will be limited to only one or two simultaneous streams.

DirecTV is entering the over-the-top video market behind Dish Network’s more-affordably priced $20 Sling TV service for 31 channels and Sony PlayStation Vue’s 100 channels for $65 — a price that includes premium channels Showtime and HBO. But the AT&T-owned TV provider is still inching in ahead of likely Silicon Valley competition from tech firms like Apple and Alphabet — the parent company of Google and YouTube — both of whom are rumored to be working on their own services, and came close to breaking pay-TV providers’ set-top box monopoly with an FCC-abandoned rulemaking this fall.

The same agency has already put AT&T on notice for a DirecTV Now bonus to the carrier’s wireless subscribers — the ability to stream unlimited video from AT&T-owned video content like that it’s looking to acquire via the company’s $85-plus billion bid to buy Time Warner. Known as zero-rating, net neutrality advocates claim the practice disadvantages competitors who would have to pay AT&T to keep their apps from counting against subscriber data caps. But others believe zero-rating is a boon for consumers who will save money.

Though AT&T is now the largest pay-TV provider in the U.S. with more than 25 million DirecTV subscribers, profits from DirecTV Now will be slim according to analyst Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson, who said the provider is playing a “dangerous game” with a base price that could cannibalize its own subscribership, which has around a $60 gross margin.

Moffett estimated the monthly programming expense DirecTV will incur for the service will be $34, leaving AT&T in the red after subscriber acquisition cost, customer service, transport, computing and storage costs.

“That would leave DirecTV’s gross margin per subscriber at around $1,” he said in October.

During Monday’s launch event the company revealed the platform would be largely supported by a new data monetization and targeted advertising model, which will harness subscriber data for advertisers to keep the service affordable, though prices are expected to change.

The service could face some headwinds from the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who along with transition advisers threatened to block the Time Warner deal.

“As an example of the power structure I’m fighting,” Trump said at a campaign stop in Pennsylvania in October, “AT&T is buying Time Warner and thus CNN, a deal we will not approve in my administration because it’s too much concentration of power in the hands of too few.”

Despite the incoming administration’s anti-establishment opposition, MKM Partners’ Eric Handler said Trump’s regulatory appointments thus far make it more likely than not the merger will be approved.

“AT&T’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner likely has a higher probability of getting approved given the impending power shift in Washington, D.C.,” Handler wrote to clients last week. “We now view the likelihood of AT&T/Time Warner getting approved as a 70/30 proposition based on a recent expert discussion we held.”

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Over a hundred left-leaning groups sent an open letter Friday calling on President-elect Donald Trump to denounce hate acts being committed in his name.

Trump was able to win the presidency Nov. 8 following a vicious election. He was accused by many during his campaign of racism or for being associated with hate groups. Labor unions, civil rights groups and several other left-leaning associations signed onto a letter calling on the president-elect to denounce his violent supporters.

“Throughout the campaign, you and your supporters directed hateful language at people based on what we look like, where our families come from, who we love, how we worship, our abilities, our gender, and other factors,” the letter stated. “In the days since your election, we have seen people—seemingly emboldened by your victory—committing harassment, vandalism, property destruction and even assault based on those differences.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the American Federation of Teachers were the main groups to sign onto the letter. SPLC reported that harassment and intimidation have been on the rise since the election. It notes many of the incidents involved direct references to the Trump campaign and its slogans.

“Though you may not condone this behavior, your silence gives tacit permission to those who perform these acts,” the letter said. “Millions of your supporters would never participate in these actions, but your campaign rhetoric has created an environment that enables and encourages those who want to harm others.”

The letter praises the president-elect for speaking out against bullying, intimidation and hate crimes but questioned the decision to make Steve Bannon his chief strategist. Bannon has been accused of being associated with alt-right hate groups. The letter adds the president-elect has been sending mixed messages when it comes to hate.

“We ask that you keep your promise by loudly, forcefully, unequivocally and consistently denouncing these acts and the ideology that drives them,” the letter said. “We ask you to use your position, your considerable platform and even your tweets to send a clear message that hate has no place in our public discourse, in our public policy or in our society.”

There have been several reported incidences of ethnically motivated attacks by his supporters, reported Heavy. The letter doesn’t mention that demonstrations against the president-elect have also reportedly been violent at times too. Trump denounced his violent supporters Nov. 13 during an interview on CBS News.

“I would say don’t do it, that’s terrible, ‘cause I’m gonna bring this country together,” Trump said during the interview. “I am so saddened to hear that. And I say, ‘Stop it.’ If it– if it helps. I will say this, and I will say right to the cameras: Stop it.”

Labor unions were among those groups that accused Trump of inciting hate during the election. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka even called him the most racist presidential candidate ever. Other unions released similar remarks. Some of those same unions have reached out to work with the president-elect since the election.

“The President-elect made promises in this campaign—on trade, on restoring manufacturing, on reviving our communities,” Trumka said in a statement Nov. 9. “We will work to make many of those promises a reality. If he is willing to work with us, consistent with our values, we are ready to work with him.”

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Divisive rules to open up the cable set-top box market and establish price caps for high-capacity business internet service won’t come up for a vote at the Federal Communications Commission until a Republican succeeds Democratic Chairman Tom Wheeler next year.

The announcement came after the FCC’s November open meeting, when commissioners were scheduled to vote on the price caps for high-capacity internet service to mobile carrier cell towers, ATMs, small businesses and public services like schools and libraries that major internet providers largely opposed. That was until congressional Republicans called on Wheeler this week to halt advancing any “controversial” proposals until the transition between the Obama-Trump administrations is complete.

Reforming the business data services (BDS) market is the second of two high-profile agenda items Wheeler has been forced to retreat from at the tail end of his tenure. The chairman dropped what would have been landmark rules to compel pay-TV providers to offer their content on free apps instead of requiring subscribers to rent set-top boxes monthly just before its September open meeting.

“I hope that this doesn’t mean that these issues won’t be quickly addressed after the transfer of leadership of this agency,” Wheeler said, adding any repeal of net neutrality or internet provider privacy rules that will go down as his crowning achievements “would be a real mistake.”

The chairman said the items will remain on circulation, a designation that allows him to pass them via votes outside an open meeting, but that’s unlikely to happen.

Though lawmakers pressed the chairman to halt Thursday’s BDS vote, it was one of his two fellow Democrats — Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel — that refused to give Wheeler the set-top box vote he needed to overcome opposition from the FCC’s two Republicans. Rosenworcel said she didn’t think the agency had the authority to establish a body to review licensing agreements between pay-TV providers and the third-party device manufacturers they would have to offer their apps on.

Rosenworcel is currently waiting on Congress to approve her re-nomination to the FCC, without which she’ll have to step down at the end of the year. Republicans eager to get a commitment from Chairman Tom Wheeler to step down when President Obama leaves office in January have held up a floor vote on Rosenworcel’s second term.

While Wheeler previously promised the Senate committee charged with overseeing the FCC a smooth transition, he declined again Thursday to give a definitive departure date.

“I serve at the pleasure of the president,” he said. “I am committed to a smooth transition. I have not decided on a departure date, but I will keep you posted.”

Though Wheeler will have to step down as chairman, his term as a commissioner at the agency doesn’t end until November 2018, meaning he could replace Rosenworcel if she isn’t re-nominated (though he’s repeatedly gone to bat for her re-nomination while testifying before the committee).

Congressional Democrats upset over the stalled items took out their frustration on Rosenworcel this week, with Democrat Sens. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon placing their own holds on Rosenworcel, who they blamed for stalling the set-top box vote and another item dropped from Thursday’s agenda to use more Universal Service dollars to expand rural mobile broadband networks as part of the FCC’s Mobility Fund.

A spokesman for Markey’s office told Multichannel News the senator “wants a commissioner who is unequivocally committed to pro-consumer and pro-competition policies. Recent actions from Commissioner Rosenworcel on the proposed set-top box rule and other items have called that commitment into question.”

Wyden’s hold appears to have stemmed from the stalled Mobility Fund vote, which he said in statement reported by Morning Consult was “due to the inaction of one acting commissioner.”

“I regularly hear from Oregonians in rural counties that it is clear high costs are preventing private sector broadband investment in parts of rural Oregon,” the senator said in a separate statement Thursday. “The FCC must fulfill its responsibility to provide a lifeline to rural communities and a connection to the global economy. Wireless cell service and broadband internet spur economic opportunity, improve public safety and increase educational outcomes for rural Americans. Any delay causes these rural communities to wait even longer for help.”

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