Andrew Bremberg

Bremberg Has Managed To Keep A Low Profile In The Media But Has Been Behind Some Of The Trump Administration’s Most Egregious Policies 

Bremberg Has Been Compared To Another Low-Profile, Trump-Appointed Extremist, Robert Destro. “Trump named a similarly oriented conservative, Robert Destro, to be assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor. His nomination, still pending, was first sent to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee one year ago. (Bremberg’s was sent in the fall.) Destro testified before the committee in March. ‘They all come from the same world of conservative Catholics — people whose primary entrée into human rights relates to religious freedom,’ said Rob Berschinski, a senior vice president with the advocacy group Human Rights First and former director of the Washington office of the US mission to the UN, led by Samantha Power, the US ambassador under Obama at the time.” [Pass Blue, 6/26/19]

The Hill Profiled Bremberg As President Trump’s “Details Guy”… “In a White House not known for specifics, Andrew Bremberg is President Trump’s details guy. Bremberg, an assistant to the president and director of the Domestic Policy Council, has kept a relatively low profile compared with other Trump senior advisers who have dominated headlines.” [The Hill, 2/8/17]

…Bringing Attention To Bremberg’s Powerful Influence In An Unconventional, Media Circus Of An Administration. “While White House adviser Stephen Bannon is on the cover of Time, spokesman Sean Spicer is parodied on “Saturday Night Live” by movie star Melissa McCarthy and counselor Kellyanne Conway is a ubiquitous presence on cable news, some White House aides know little about Bremberg. This belies the influence of the 38-year-old former senior aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who already has penned an important memorandum for Trump on the subject of immigration.” [The Hill, 2/8/17]

Bremberg Was Instrumental In Expanding The Global Gag Rule, The Horrific Impact Of Which He Downplayed During His Confirmation Hearing 

Bremberg Drafted The Mexico City Policy Expansions That Were Implemented By The Trump Administration. “Mr Bremberg drafted the expanded Mexico City Policy that imposes anti-abortion rules on billions in US health aid. Mr Trump reinstated the policy – also known as the global gag rule and which dates back to the Reagan administration – on his fourth day in office. It requires foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that receive US family planning funds to certify they do not provide abortions or give abortion advice. A damning report by the International Women’s Health Coalition found the controversial measure is having a ‘devastating impact‘ in Kenya, Nigeria, Nepal and South Africa – depriving women of their right to make choices about their bodies, and effectively killing them.” [Independent, 7/30/19]

Bremberg Was Characterized As “Chief Architect” Of The Trump Administration’s Global Gag Rule. “Nominated by President Trump to be the United States ambassador to the United Nations office in Geneva,Bremberg is a policy adviser at the White House with no experience in international affairs. He seems poised, however, to further Trump’s campaign against sexual and reproductive rights, which includes a global gag rule that slashed funding for overseas nongovernmental organizations that perform abortions or even offer counseling on the matter; cut funding for other international women’s sexual and reproductive health programs; and end funding to the UN Population Fund, citing concerns over ‘coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization‘ practices in China. Those ‘coercive‘ practices have been proven repeatedly to be false, yet the Republican Party still uses them as a reason to walk away from the UN agency. Bremberg, whose Senate confirmation hearing was held as part of a panel of other nominees on June 20, was a chief architect of Trump’s extreme version of the global gag rule, also called the Mexico City policy.” [Pass Blue, 6/26/19]

The Global Gag Rule Has Resulted In Deadly Consequences. “The study, published in June, found the Trump administration’s global gag rule is depriving women of vital information about healthcare and medical treatment. ‘This deadly policy violates the rights of patients and ties the hands of providers,’ Francoise Girard, president of the women and girls’ human rights organisation, said. ‘After two years of implementation, the impact is clear: the global gag rule reduces access to contraceptives and abortion care, leading to unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and preventable deaths.’ Research has demonstrated the global gag rule is associated with an increase in abortions and unintended pregnancies and is damaging HIV prevention efforts.” [Independent, 7/30/19]

Bremberg Severely Minimized The Global Gag Rule’s Impact On Grantees And Contractors During His Confirmation Hearing. “SHAHEEN: And in your capacity as the Director of the Domestic Policy Council, were you ever involved in discussions to expand the global gag rule that restricts foreign assistance to groups that provide a full range of family planning services? BREMBERG: Senator, yes, I participated in the development implementation of the president’s expanded Mexico City policy, which you’re referring to. SHAHEEN: And have you seen any of the reports about the impact of that expanded policy on women and families in countries that are affected and have you made any attempt to get information about what the real impact of those policies have been? BREMBERG: Yes, Senator. And I look forward to learning more. In my time during the White House, I was briefed on its implementation, I believe, approximately a year into its implementation. One particular question that I, and others, were asking was, was this actually a difficult policy for our grantees and contractors to implement or adopt or was it relatively easy. I’m happy to get the number for you. But I recall at the time of hundreds, I believe, upwards of 500 entities. I think they’d only had concerns raised or problem with, I believe three to five, I don’t have the precise number.” [CQ Transcripts, 6/20/19]

Bremberg Falsely Believes The Global Gag Rule Protects Women And Girls. “In written testimony to questions from Senator Bob Menendez, the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate committee, posed before the hearing, Bremberg wrote, ‘The Mexico City Policy is a critical protection for taxpayers and for the women and girls that we support around the world against collusion with the global abortion industry in the guise of foreign assistance.’” [Pass Blue, 6/26/19]

Bremberg Has Written Xenophobic Policy And Hired One Of The Worst Human-Rights Violators Of The Trump Administration 

Bremberg Played An Instrumental Role In The Trump Administration’s “Muslim Ban” and Unconstitutional Census Citizenship Question. “Moreover, in his positions at the White House, Mr. Bremberg led and advanced divisive and incendiary policy proposals, such as the infamous Muslim ban Executive order and the addition of a citizenship question on the census. When questioned on these subjects, Mr. Bremberg frequently cited confidentiality interests and declined to elaborate further. When pressed by Senators on whether he was exerting any form of privilege or executive privilege, he insisted he was not; yet he continued to refuse to answer questions. Clearly, we cannot rely on this nominee to be honest and forthright with this body.” [Congress.gov, 10/22/19]

Bremberg Was Tied To A Leaked Executive Order That Called For a Severe Cap On Immigrants’ Access To Public Assistance. “Sponsors now sign an affidavit of support, but it is rarely enforced. If Trump signs the executive order, only U.S. citizens wealthy enough to support relatives – through good times and bad – would be entitled to family reunification. Who else can foot a hospital bill that in this country runs into the thousands of dollars the moment you walk in? What if the immigrant loses a job and needs to ask for cash assistance? The sponsor would have to provide the help, not the government. As for immigrants already here, a history of using welfare would be grounds to deny residency or citizenship. Deportation costs would fall on the shoulders of the immigrant or the sponsor. As Vox.com summed up the executive order: ‘Build a wall around public benefits, and make immigrants’ relatives pay for it.’ The White House won’t confirm or deny the existence of the executive order, but the draft is in circulation among administration officials, according to the Post. Written in memorandum form by Andrew Bremberg, assistant to the president and the director of the Domestic Policy Council, it clearly spells out that only the wealthy need apply. Only people well-heeled enough to support themselves – or with the connections and ability to quickly become established and instantly join the American middle class – would be able to obtain visas to come into this country legally.” [The Miami Herald, 2/2/17]

Bremberg Hired Scott Lloyd, Who Was Responsible For The Separation of Migrant Children From Their Parents And Multiple Violations Against Immigrants’ Reproductive Rights, To Direct The HHS ORR. “Lloyd also had helped the White House achieve its broader goals of deterring undocumented immigrants, the administration officials noted. For instance, Lloyd signed off on an April 2018 policy to collect fingerprints from people who took custody of unaccompanied minors and share that information with immigration enforcement. However, former Domestic Policy Council head Andrew Bremberg, who hired Lloyd and helped protect him, left the White House for another role in the administration. HHS has hired a new refugee director, and the agency overseeing that office, the division for children and families services, also has a new leader.” [Politico, 2/26/19]

Bremberg Has Helped Steer The GOP’s Crusade To Repeal The Affordable Care Act 

Bremberg Was Tapped To Lead The Trump Administration’s HHS Transition Team. “Sources say President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team for HHS will be led by Andrew Bremberg, who worked at the agency under President George W. Bush and was an adviser to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and during Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s presidential bid. Bremberg was on Walker’s team when the candidate unveiled a healthcare proposal that included repealing the Affordable Care Act and splitting Medicaid into smaller programs with separate funding.” [Modern Healthcare, 11/11/16]

Bremberg Is Responsible For Anti-Abortion and Anti-LGBTQ Extremists’ Domination Of HHS. “With Donald Trump’s election in 2016, Vice President Mike Pence emerged as a force in reshaping American health policy. Aligning the policy with Pence’s evangelical Christian principles, the administration stocked the Department of Health and Human Services and other federal agencies with a cadre of pro-life staff members … Bremberg, a health policy expert, served as co-chair of the HHS transition team that stocked the agency with religious conservatives before serving as chief of the White House policy operation.” [Reuters, 5/30/19]

Bremberg’s Health Policy Experience Was Gained During Roles Held In Several Republican Offices And Campaigns. “Bremberg’s thick resume is actually in healthcare policy. His past roles include serving as an assistant secretary for public health during the George W. Bush administration — and those who know him believe that will be his main focus in a Trump White House wrestling with how to repeal and replace ObamaCare. While serving on Scott Walker’s presidential campaign, Bremberg was responsible for helping to shape the Wisconsin governor’s healthcare plan. ‘This is his issue,’ said one of Bremberg’s former colleagues on the Walker campaign. ‘He’s going to be one of the most interesting people to watch when it comes to what they’re going to do with ObamaCare, because he’s so familiar with the policy and because he knows all these key players.’” [The Hill, 2/8/17]

Bremberg Has Helped Several GOP Policymakers’ Efforts To Stop The Affordable Care Act. “Shaw and Gottlieb have followed Policy Director Andrew Bremberg in joining Walker’s team. Bremberg, who had been a leadership aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, signed on to Walker’s Our American Revival (the predecessor to his formal presidential campaign shop) in May, as Politico had reported. Bremberg’s expertise is also in health care policy. He spent eight years in the George W. Bush administration and also worked to draft 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney’s proposal to stop implementation of Obamacare.”[Congressional Quarterly News, 8/18/15]

Bremberg Was A Key Player In The Trump Administration’s Plans To Repeal The Affordable Care Act. “The concerns of rank-and-file lawmakers appeared to be at odds with key congressional leaders and Andrew Bremberg, a top domestic policy adviser to Trump, who have laid out plans to repeal the ACA using a fast-track legislative process and executive actions from the administration. However, these leaders acknowledged in Thursday’s meeting, as they have before, that Obamacare cannot be fully undone — or replaced — without Democratic cooperation.” [Washington Post, 1/27/17] 

During A 2017 GOP Retreat Panel Event, Bremberg Represented The Trump Administration’s Regressive Plan To Repeal The Affordable Care Act. “Late last month, during a GOP retreat in Philadelphia, Bremberg was the Trump representative on a panel with lawmakers including Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas). The interaction with two of the lawmakers who will be at the forefront of congressional efforts to take action on healthcare suggests the large role Bremberg will play. In the closed-door meeting, Bremberg stopped shy of detailing Trump’s plans, though he emphasized that the executive order signed by Trump the day he took office allows his political appointees to begin taking apart the Affordable Care Act through executive authority.” [The Hill, 2/8/17]

Bremberg Worked Alongside Top White House Officials To Strip Away Healthcare Access Offered By The Affordable Care Act During The Trump Administration. “On Monday morning, Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, a former congressman with ties to House Conservatives, warned members of the Freedom Caucus about bucking their party on something as key as Obamacare repeal. The White House hosted a ‘large staff meeting‘ Friday with administration and congressional staff to resolve outstanding issues, a senior GOP aide said. The House committees ‘worked over the weekend with the White House to tie up loose ends and incorporate technical guidance from the administration.’ House Speaker Paul Ryan, Energy and Commerce Chairman Greg Walden, Mulvaney, HHS Secretary Tom Price, Domestic Policy Council Director Andrew Bremberg and House, among others, held a conference call Saturday to discuss the bill. [CNN, 3/5/2017]

Bremberg Celebrated Attacks On The Affordable Care Act’s Individual Mandate. “While the White House official said Obamacare signups won’t change much, President Trump celebrated the passage of the tax bill with lawmakers at the White House on Wednesday and said the bill is a grave blow to the law. ‘I hate to say this but we essentially repealed Obamacare ... the individual mandate which was terrible,’ Trump said at the White House event. Andrew Bremberg, director of the Domestic Policy Council for President Trump, called the repeal of the mandate penalties an ‘important legislative accomplishment.’ ‘I think this makes clear that the Democrats are finally admitting to the American people that they want to tax Americans, even those who cannot afford health insurance that has been made more expensive by Obamacare,‘ he said in a phone interview. Bremberg added that the tax ‘disproportionately hits lower- and middle-income families,’ noting that nearly 80 percent of people who paid the penalty made less than $50,000 a year, a figure that comes from 2015 Internal Revenue Service data.” [Washington Examiner, 12/20/17]