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Trump Forces Congress: while achieving multiple aims simultaneously, Obama-era executive actions have been reversed, placing the burden upon Congress to legislate. This now covers the Dreamers (underage immigrants originally but with an ambiguous legal status now), Obamacare (after key subsidy payments were terminated) and the Iran nuclear deal (after the president decertified it).
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Referendum Consequences 1: in Iraq the central government pushed ahead with its plan to limit the options for the Kurdistan Regional Government. Iraqi forces pushed Kurdish forces out of the disputed, but crucial, oil-rich Kirkuk region – undermining the economic viability of independence.
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Referendum Consequences 2: Spanish and Catalonian politicians are not talking to each other. The Catalonian leader refused to state plainly whether the rhetorical device of declaring independence but immediately suspending it changed the legal status of the region. Madrid, and Rajoy’s Popular Party in particular, has demanded an end to ambiguity by Thursday or direct rule will be enforced.
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