Native Sanders 1st as helpful to media
WASHINGTON -- Arkansas native Sarah Huckabee Sanders is getting high marks from the White House press corps, according to a survey of 63 reporters conducted by Politico Magazine.
When asked to name the presidential aide who is "most helpful to journalists," Sanders finished first with 13 votes, just ahead of Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters, who tied for second with 12 votes each.
Politico also asked White House reporters to name the person who is least helpful to journalists. Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump, finished first with 12 votes, followed by chief strategist Steve Bannon and senior adviser Jared Kushner.
The survey was conducted before the firing of FBI Director James Comey. With Spicer absent because of Navy Reserve duties for much of the past week, Sanders was the one answering questions at the televised daily White House briefings.
Sanders, who serves as principal deputy press secretary, managed the 2016 presidential campaign of her father, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, but switched to the Trump campaign shortly after her father dropped out of the race.
Arkansas hospital
envoys lobby in D.C.
Members of the Arkansas Hospital Association traveled to Washington, D.C., last week to attend the annual meeting of the American Hospital Association and to lobby against steep cuts in health care coverage.
One of the Arkansans, White River Health System CEO Gary L. Bebow, received the national group's 2017 Grassroots Champion Award.
The organization said it gives the honor to hospital leaders "who most effectively educate elected officials on how major issues affect the hospital's vital role in the community, who have done an exemplary job in broadening the base of community support for the hospital, and who are tireless advocates for hospitals and their patients."
With Congress working to repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, there was plenty for conferencegoers to talk about, the Batesville hospital administrator said.
"This is a dynamic time ... to come and learn about what's going on and give our representatives our feedback from the grass-roots level," he said.
Medical industry officials are concerned that millions of Americans will lose their health coverage and that rural hospitals will have their funding slashed, Bebow said.
U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., met with the Arkansas Hospital Association members while they were in the capital and spoke at an American Hospital Association luncheon.
Cotton speaks at
cadets' ceremony
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Dardanelle, on Friday delivered the keynote address at the commissioning ceremony for nine cadets graduating as second lieutenants into active-duty Air Force at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
Cotton, who rose to the rank of Army captain, served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He talked about military service and specifically about the jobs that each of the nine would be performing.
Crawford abroad
on trip with panel
U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford spent last week traveling with members of the House Intelligence Committee. He was scheduled to return this weekend.
James Arnold, the congressman's spokesman, said this was Crawford's first such trip since joining the committee in January.
The locations of the trip were not immediately disclosed.
Crawford was out of the country when news broke that President Donald Trump had fired FBI Director James Comey.
The House Intelligence Committee is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign and leaks of classified information.
The Republican from Jonesboro got to question Comey when the latter appeared before the committee March 20.
Westerman visits
youths across state
U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman visited school facilities in Alma on Monday, spoke at a Future Farmers of America banquet in Hermitage on Tuesday and visited with students in El Dorado on Wednesday, his office said.
The House of Representatives was out of session all week, so lawmakers had extra time to meet with constituents.
In Alma, the Republican from Hot Springs spent roughly an hour on campus.
"He just toured the high school with me, met some of my teachers, spoke to two or three classes informally," Superintendent David Woolly said. "We pretty much made the rounds."
The lawmaker spoke with chemistry and psychology students, and walked throughout the facility, Woolly said.
Planning to visit the nation's capital? Know something happening in Washington, D.C.? Please contact Frank Lockwood at (202) 662-7690 or flockwood@arkansasonline.com. Want the latest from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Washington bureau? It's available on Twitter, @LockwoodFrank.
SundayMonday on 05/14/2017