Tag: Japan

Commentary: Free Traders Are Wrong – It’s Time to Try Trade a New Way

Admin

A recent Daily Mail poll showed 54 percent of voters support Trump’s proposal to put 10 percent tariffs on most imports, from China or not. This is sacrilege to American free traders.

The free-trade globalization crowd – who saw the 80s up to early 2000s as their heyday– believe in a world that does not exist the way they say it does on paper. Do you think Germany allows Ford Mustang’s into their country tariff free? EU charges Ford a 10 percent tariff, four times what we charge their automakers.

Read the full story

U.S. to Announce Major Shakeup in Military Ties with Japan as China Threat Looms

Admin
Navy Ships

The U.S. and Japan will announce a historic upgrade to security ties, including a collaborative military command, next month as the two former adversaries move closer together in determination to counter China, according to media reports published Monday.

Chief among the changes under consideration involves sending a four-star general, the highest peacetime rank, to head U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ) and jointly oversee a military command with Japan for planning and exercises, Reuters reported, citing two sources familiar with the discussions. Tokyo also hopes to establish a new Japanese Self Defense Forces (SDF) headquarters, whose head will serve as the Japanese counterpart to the American four-star, by March of 2025, the sources said.

Read the full story

Semiconductor Giant Faces U.S. Delays While Racing Ahead in Japan amid Biden Chips Funding Uncertainty

Admin

A major Taiwanese chip manufacturer’s plan to build a key factory in the U.S. has been plagued with significant delays. Meanwhile, the chipmaker is on schedule to open a separate facility in Japan.

One of the plants Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is building in Arizona has delayed manufacturing until 2027 or 2028 instead of 2026 because of uncertainty regarding funding it will receive from President Joe Biden’s administration, according to The New York Times. TSMC’s factory in Japan is on track to operate on schedule as the country’s government has helped the factory by committing billions in funding and assisting with assembling thousands of employees to build it, the WSJ reported.

Read the full story

Commentary: War Is Not Just a Western Notion

Admin
Sino-Japanese War

“It is well that war is so terrible; otherwise, we should grow too fond of it.”
– Robert E. Lee

“Wars and rumors of wars,” to borrow a well-known Biblical phrase from Matthew 24, seem all too commonplace these days. Is that because more wars are going on now than in the past, or because mass media brings us word of them ‘round the clock? It’s a debatable point.

This much is eminently clear: War dates back as far as the day when Cain slew Abel. It’s doubtful that there ever was a time on Earth when nobody was at war with anybody. It’s a depressingly familiar curse.

Read the full story

Commentary: An Amazing Story of Redemption Out of Pearl Harbor

RealClearWire

December 7th, 1941 is “a date which will live in infamy,” declared President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Japanese pilot that led the infamous raid on Pearl Harbor is the subject of a new fascinating book, Wounded Tiger by T. Martin Bennett. Christian apologist Josh McDowell calls Bennett’s book, “mesmerizing.”

I spoke with Bennett on my radio show about this amazing story of violence, repentance, redemption, and forgiveness. I have been aware of Fuchida’s incredible story before, having produced a TV segment on his conversion for D. James Kennedy Ministries-TV about 30 years ago.

Read the full story

Commentary: America’s Fertility Crisis Will Only Worsen with the College Gender Gap as U.S. Follows Japan

Admin

Declining fertility in advanced economies is nothing new. Since birth control was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1960, at the same time more women were entering the labor force and attending higher education, amid higher inflation, greater unemployment and a weaker economy, birth rates have plummeted significantly, from 3.65 babies per woman in 1959 to 1.73 by 1976, according to World Bank and Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Read the full story

McCabe on the ‘Misalignment’ Between America’s Leaders and Her People, and What It Means

Tennessee Star Staff

Political analyst, One America News journalist, and historian Neil W. McCabe joins The Tennessee Star Report Wednesday to expose the stunning misalignment between the nation’s elites and the people, and illustrates recent examples of the failures of “engineered” societies over that last century. TRANSCRIPT Michael Patrick Leahy: 7:18 a.m. broadcasting live from our studios on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. In-studio, the original all-star panelist, Crom Carmichael; on our newsmaker line, our very good friend, the great Neil W. McCabe – top political strategist and reporter for One America News Network. Good morning, Neil W. McCabe. Neil W. McCabe: Good morning, Michael. Good morning, Crom. Good to be with you. Michael Patrick Leahy: I forgot to mention, Bronze Star winner for your service in Iraq. Congratulations on that, First Sergeant. Neil W. McCabe: Thank you. Michael Patrick Leahy: Neil W. McCabe, still in the reserve, still serving our country. Can I ask you a big question, Neil? Neil W. McCabe: Absolutely. Sure. Michael Patrick Leahy: I’ve been thinking about this – I’m beginning to think that perhaps one of the most important issues in the 2024 general election is how the Democrats are trying to ruin our children and is…

Read the full story

Youngkin Signs Executive Order Establishing Virginia Trade Office in Taiwan

The Center Square

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin took historic steps by signing an executive order establishing a foreign trade office while meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan in Taipei earlier today, kicking off his Asian tour. 

This will be the commonwealth’s fourth international office; others are in Japan, South Korea and Germany. Youngkin is scheduled to visit Japan and South Korea during his Asian trip.

Read the full story

Virginia Gov. Youngkin to Visit Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea

The Center Square

Amid speculation that he could be weighing a potential presidential run in 2024, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin will travel to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea as part of his first intentional trade mission as governor later this month, his office announced Tuesday. 

While overseas, the governor is slated to meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, as well as other government officials, business associations, company executives and global industry leaders, according to Youngkin’s office. The trip is scheduled for April 24 through April 29. 

Read the full story

Tennessee Senator Hagerty and Florida Senator Rubio Raise Alarm over Jet Fleet’s Removal from Japan

Bradley Vasoli

Tennessee Republican Senator Bill Hagerty announced on Thursday that he and his Florida Republican colleague Marco Rubio wrote to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin this week expressing alarm at the removal of America’s F-15-jet fleet from Okinawa, Japan. 

The United States Air Force last week publicized its intention to phase out the fleet’s presence at Kadena Air Base on the southeastern Japanese island starting on November 1. The two squadrons now being withdrawn comprise half of the roughly 100 fighter aircraft the United States currently maintains in Japan. Instead of replacing the jets, the Biden administration anticipates periodically sending F-22 planes from Alaska to the base. 

Read the full story

Shock: Trump, Hagerty Salute, Mourn Shinzo Abe After Gunman Strikes Down Former Japanese Premier

Admin

President Donald J. Trump and his ambassador to Japan, and now GOP senator for Tennessee, expressed shock and sadness today at the death of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, killed by a gunman while campaigning Friday in Nara, Japan.

“The world today tragically lost a leading statesman, a tireless champion of democratic values, and the greatest Prime Minister in modern Japanese history, my friend Shinzo Abe,” said Sen. William F. Hagerty IV, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Read the full story

Shock: Trump, Hagerty Salute, Mourn Shinzo Abe After Gunman Strikes Down Former Japanese Premier

Neil W. McCabe

President Donald J. Trump and his ambassador to Japan, and now GOP senator for Tennessee, expressed shock and sadness today at the death of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, killed by a gunman while campaigning Friday in Nara, Japan.

“The world today tragically lost a leading statesman, a tireless champion of democratic values, and the greatest Prime Minister in modern Japanese history, my friend Shinzo Abe,” said Sen. William F. Hagerty IV, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Read the full story

Senator Hagerty to Tennessee Star: ‘I Am Very Rightly Concerned About the Biden Administration’s Competence to Execute Anything’

Aaron Gulbransen

U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty criticized the Biden administration’s competence, handling of Afghanistan, the energy crisis and how it affects the situation in Ukraine, and discussed a recent trip he took to Japan during an exclusive interview with The Tennessee Star that occurred after a Wednesday afternoon joint press event held on border security with Governor Bill Lee outside his Nashville district office.

Read the full story

Department of Energy to Release Millions of Barrels of Oil From Reserve to Combat Surging Gas Prices

Admin

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced Tuesday the release of millions of barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to combat soaring gas prices.

The DOE approved the release of 13.4 million barrels from its SPR, marking the second-largest exchange from the reserve and bringing the total amount of oil released from the cache to almost 40 million barrels.

Exchange contracts for the released oil have were awarded to seven companies. President Joe Biden authorized a plan in November 2021 to release 50 million barrels of crude oil from the SPR in a coordinated effort with China, India, Japan, South Korea and the U.K. to combat surging gas prices and assist in the COVID-19 pandemic recovery.

Read the full story

Commentary: Remembering Pearl Harbor … Accurately

Admin

Most Americans once were mostly in agreement about what happened on December 7, 1941, 80 years ago this year. But not so much now, given either the neglect of America’s past in the schools or woke revisionism at odds with the truth. 

The Pacific war that followed Pearl Harbor was not a result of America egging on the Japanese, not about starting a race war, and not about much other than a confident and cruel Japanese empire falsely assuming that its stronger American rival either would not or could not stop its transoceanic ambitions. 

Read the full story

Biden Asks Asian Countries to Release Oil Reserves as Administration Scrambles to Combat High Gas Prices: Report

Admin
Joe Biden

The Biden administration asked China, Japan, South Korea and India to tap into their emergency oil reserves as the president continues to grapple with rising gasoline prices, Reuters reported.

The effort to simultaneously release oil reserves represents a rebuke of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the cartel that controls oil production throughout the Middle East, several anonymous sources familiar with the request told Reuters on Wednesday. OPEC has repeatedly rejected requests from President Joe Biden and other top administration officials to increase oil production amid rising gasoline prices.

The four Asian nations the president appealed to represent some of the largest energy consumers and greenhouse gas emitters, according to a University of Oxford database.

Read the full story

Texas Education Agency Opens Backdoor to ChiCom Surveillance of Students Through Virtual Tutorial Firm

Neil W. McCabe

  The Texas Education Agency contracted with a virtual-tutorial marketing company through the end of the 2022-2023 school year that relies on tutorial services from VIPKids, the Beijing-based company backed by the Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent tied to surveillance and censorship. “We believe all students deserve equal access to rigorous and engaging instruction,” said Michael Lombardo, the founder and CEO of BookNook. “We are confident that our efforts in Texas, in partnership with the Texas Education Agency, will have a meaningful impact on student performance.” BookNook is the exclusive provider of K-8 literacy in the state. Lombardo, a founding Advisory Council member of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, President Barack H. Obama’s signature initiative focused on supporting boys and young men of color, said BookNook is about collaborative learning. “At the heart of BookNook is our commitment to collaborative learning. We believe that using synchronous learning technology can better support the important person-to-person interactions at the center of great instruction,” said the one-time fellow at the Honolulu-based East-West Center. BookNook is now part of TEA’s Vetted Texas Tutor Corps, which is the program the education agency uses to address the new Texas law requirements that require accelerated tutoring for students…

Read the full story

Shinzo Abe, Japan’s Longest-Serving Prime Minister, Announces His Resignation

Admin

Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe announced his decision to step down from the post Friday, citing the return of a health problem, the Associated Press reported.

“It is gut-wrenching to have to leave my job before accomplishing my goals,” Abe said during a news conference announcing his decision, mentioning ongoing tensions with North Korea and a border dispute with Russia.

Read the full story

CORONAVIRUS: TN Senate Candidate Bill Hagerty says, ‘There’s a Real Timing Factor in All of This. Taking a One Size Fits All Approach Will Not Work for the United States’

Julie Carr

Former Ambassador to Japan and TN Senate Candidate Bill Hagerty joined The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Thursday morning on the newsmakers line.

Read the full story

Hagerty Blasts Romney for Not Opposing Impeachment of President Trump: ‘Mitt Is Flat Wrong’

Julie Carr

  Bill Hagerty, the former Ambassador to Japan under President Trump and candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in Tennessee, blasted Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) for failing to defend President Trump on Friday’s edition of  The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am. “Mitt is flat wrong” in his statements on the issue of impeachment, Hagerty told Leahy. “Mitt Romney hasn’t yet decided whether President Donald Trump should be impeached, but the Republican senator from Utah on Thursday stuck by criticism that has earned him a stream of insults from Trump on Twitter,” the Associated Press reported early Friday morning. In his in-studio interview with Leahy on Friday, Hagerty made it clear that Romney’s failure to oppose the impeachment of President Trump is a big mistake for Romney, for Republicans, and for the country as a whole. “I think the Democrats have been hell bent on impeaching this president from day one,” Hagerty told Leahy. “The Democrats can not stand the fact that they lost 2016. This is just another iteration of that,” he continued. “That has been extremely troubling. It should be…

Read the full story

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty Leaves Position, Is Expected to Run for Lamar Alexander’s Senate Seat

Jason M. Reynolds

  U.S. Ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty has left the Land of the Rising Sun to return to the Volunteer State in a likely run for Lamar Alexander’s Senate seat. Hagerty tweeted, “Farewell Japan, and thank you for the incredible hospitality you have shown me and my family.  These past two years have been the greatest of our lives.” Farewell Japan, and thank you for the incredible hospitality you have shown me and my family. These past two years have been the greatest of our lives. 🇺🇸🤝🇯🇵 またお会いしましょう ! 👋🏼✨ https://t.co/j53xf4zODO — ビル・ハガティ米国大使 (@USAmbJapan) July 22, 2019 Alexander (R-TN) announced in December that he would not run again for the Senate, The Tennessee Star reported. President Donald Trump earlier this month endorsed Hagerty’s potential Senate bid, which likely would be announced after he leaves federal government service, The Star said. Just a week ago, speculation was still running rampant on whether Hagerty actually would run for the Senate, the Nashville Post said, calling him the “hypothetical frontrunner.” Ward Baker, who ran Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s 2018 campaign, is expected to run Hagerty’s campaign, Politico said. Baker is the former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. On a recent Tennessee…

Read the full story

Smyrna Officials Flew to Japan at a Cost of $16,000 to Taxpayers

Chris Butler

  Three Smyrna town council members as well as the town’s mayor, vice-mayor, and town manager flew to Japan in May for an economic development trip that possibly cost taxpayers as much as $16,000. This, according to Town Manager Brian Hercules, who told The Tennessee Star the six officials were away for a week. Hercules said he had no exact figures for the cost of the trip, but he estimated a sum of at least $15,000 to $16,000. Hercules told The Tennessee Star this week he could not yet announce any new jobs or industries for Smyrna as a result of the trip. Specifically, this delegation flew to Zama, Japan, on the island nation’s east coast. Mayor Mary Esther Reed (pictured above), Vice Mayor Marc Adkins, Hercules, and three council members Hercules did not identify went to Japan to, among other things, meet with officials at Nissan and Nissan supplier Topre America. Smyrna has had a Nissan assembly plant since the early 1980s. Only three of the five town council members could make the trip, Hercules said. “We felt strong enough about our economic development and the investment these companies had made. We opened it up to the council, and…

Read the full story

Ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty Endorsed by President Trump for U.S. Senate Seat

Anthony Gockowski

  President Donald Trump has endorsed Bill Hagerty, the current ambassador to Japan, in the U.S. Senate race in Tennessee. “Tennessee loving Bill Hagerty, who was my Tennessee Victory Chair and is now the very outstanding Ambassador to Japan, will be running for the U.S. Senate. He is strong on crime, borders and our Second Amendment. Loves our military and our vets. Has my complete and total endorsement,” Trump wrote on Twitter Friday afternoon. Tennessee loving Bill Hagerty, who was my Tennessee Victoy Chair and is now the very outstanding Ambassador to Japan, will be running for the U.S. Senate. He is strong on crime, borders & our 2nd A. Loves our Military & our Vets. Has my Complete & Total Endorsement! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2019 The announcement comes a day after both former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Rep. Mark Green (R-TN-07) announced that they would not be entering the race. Hagerty will run for the seat currently held by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), who announced in December that he would not seek reelection in 2020. On Thursday’s Tennessee Star Report, Club for Growth Chairman David McIntosh discussed a potential Hagerty candidacy with the hosts.…

Read the full story

President Trump Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Admin

Reuters   Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is not saying whether or not he nominated Donald Trump for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, but the question may be moot: the U.S. president has been put forward by others for the prestigious award. During a White House news conference on Friday, Trump said the Japanese premier had given him “the most beautiful copy” of a five-page nomination letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Since then Abe has declined to say whether he had done so. Regardless, Trump has already been nominated by two Norwegian lawmakers. “We have nominated him of course for the positive developments on the Korean Peninsula,” Per-Willy Amundsen, who was Justice Minister in Prime Minister Erna Solberg’s Cabinet in 2016-2018, told Reuters. “It has been a very difficult situation and the tensions have since lowered and a lot of it is due to Trump’s unconventional diplomatic style,” he added. Amundsen, who is a member of the rightwing Progress Party, wrote a letter to the award committee together with his parliamentary colleague Christian Tybring-Gjedde, he said. The letter was submitted in June, immediately after a summit Trump held in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un aimed at…

Read the full story

Five Marines Still Missing After War Planes Crash Off Japan

Admin

by Grace Carr   Five U.S. Marines are still missing after two military aircraft crashed roughly 200 miles off the coast of Japan early Thursday. Rescuers are searching for the missing Marines but have still not been able to locate them, according to U.S and Japanese authorities, NBC News reported. Seven Marines were involved in the crash and two of the men have been found, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry. A Japanese military ship found one of the Marines who was killed in the crash, according to CNN. His body was taken to a hospital to be evaluated. The other Marine is in “fair condition,” according to NBC. The incident occurred after two military planes collided and crashed into the Sea of Japan early Thursday morning. An F/A-18 fighter jet carrying two passengers struck a KC-130 aircraft during refueling. “We are thankful for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s, the Japanese Coast Guard’s, and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s efforts as they continue to respond to the search and rescue operation,” the Marines tweeted from its official Twitter account. Three ships and 10 Japanese aircraft are helping search for the remaining Marines, CNN reported. The accident took place during a regular training exercise at Marine Corps Air…

Read the full story

While Know-It-Alls Lecture on Tariffs Against China, Trump Dials Up New Trade Deals with UK, Europe and Japan

Admin

by Robert Romano   While President Donald Trump continues to bring the pressure to China, so far with 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods shipped to the U.S., rising to 25 percent in Jan. 2019, which comes atop another 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods from China, he is dialing up new trade deals with traditional U.S. allies. Trade agreements with South Korea, Mexico and Canada are already going to Congress, accounting for a combined $1.4 trillion in trade with the U.S. And now, Trump has notified Congress of his intent to negotiate deals with the UK, Europe and Japan, with whom the U.S. carried on a combined $1.7 trillion in trade. These were supposed to be mutually exclusive things, according to all the experts. Trump could either put up more trade barriers or lower them, but he could not do both. Instead, Trump is proving that the U.S. can walk and chew gum at the same time as it pursues the Trump trade agenda. If nations act fairly and reciprocally with the U.S. to lower trade barriers, they can get a good deal. If not, like China, then they face tariffs. “Under President Trump’s…

Read the full story

Commentary: Time for China, Japan to Join ‘Developed’ Nations at WTO

Admin
Donald Trump, Xi Jinping

By Robert Romano   China ($11.2 trillion) and Japan ($4.9 trillion) combined make up 21 percent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product, according to the World Bank, having benefited from preferential treatment in global trade deals, and are still being treated as “developing” nations under world trade rules. At institutions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), developing economies do not have to play by the same rules on tariffs, subsidies and other trade barriers as developed economies like the U.S. The policy, called “special and differential” treatment, has been a mainstay of world trade rules since at least the Tokyo Round of GATT that began in 1973, when developing economies in the Asia-Pacific region argued for special protections. Back then, the concept was called “non-reciprocity.” It states, “The developed contracting parties do not expect reciprocity for commitments made by them in trade negotiations to reduce or remove tariffs and other barriers to the trade of less-developed contracting parties.” And specifically, that “the less-developed contracting parties should not be   expected, in the course of trade negotiations, to make contributions which are inconsistent with their individual development, financial and trade needs, taking into consideration past trade developments.” Now, more than 40 years…

Read the full story

Trump Says Japan Will Shoot Down North Korean Missiles with Purchase of More U.S. Military Equipment

Admin

President Trump said Monday the U.S. and Japan “will not stand” for North Korea’s threatening missile tests, and predicted that Japan will shoot down Pyongyang’s missiles with help of American military hardware. “The regime continues development of its unlawful weapons programs, including its illegal nuclear tests and outrageous launches of ballistic missiles directly overly Japanese territory,”…

Read the full story

North Korea’s Kim Calls Nuclear Weapons Program a ‘Treasured Sword’

Admin

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is defiantly calling his country’s nuclear weapons program a “treasured sword” to protect it against aggression, even as U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe continue to pressure his regime. Pyongyang’s state media reported that Kim on Saturday told the powerful Central Committee of the ruling Workers’…

Read the full story

Trump: All Options on the Table After North Korea Missile Launch

Admin
Trump and Abe

President Donald Trump says that “all options are on the table” following another missile launch by North Korea Tuesday. North Korea “has signaled its contempt for its neighbors, for all members of the United Nations, and for minimum standards of acceptable international behavior,” Trump said in a statement released by the White House. “Threatening and destabilizing…

Read the full story

Tennessee Businessman William F. Hagerty Confirmed As Ambassador To Japan

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  William F. Hagerty was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Thursday to be President Trump’s ambassador to Japan. Senators voted 86-12 to to approve Hagerty’s nomination, the Associated Press reports. Hagerty is a founder and the managing director of the private-equity firm Hagerty Peterson and Company, which has corporate offices in Nashville and the Chicago area. From 2011-2014, the Tennessee native served as Gov. Bill Haslam’s economic development commissioner. He served as Mitt Romney’s national finance chair in 2008, and earlier in his career, served under former President George H.W. Bush as a White House fellow, reporting to the vice president on matters related to international trade, commerce, treasury, defense and telecommunications. A supporter of Jeb Bush early in the 2016 presidential election cycle, he switched to Trump after he secured the nomination. Hagerty was then instrumental in Trump’s campaign and later became director of presidential appointments for Trump’s transition team. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Hagerty’s nomination last month after he assured Democrats that he had no role in the screening of Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser. Flynn is a key figure in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia.…

Read the full story

Former Tennessee Trade Secretary Tapped for Ambassador to Japan

Christina Botteri
Tennessee Star

  The Associated Press reports President Trump has nominated William Francis Hagerty IV as Ambassador to Japan. Bill Hagerty, the co-founder of private-equity firm Hagerty Peterson and Company, is not a newcomer to politics. Earlier in his career, he served in the HW Bush Administration as a White House Fellow, reporting directly to the Vice President on matters of international trade, commerce, treasury, defense and telecommunications. After serving as Mitt Romney’s national finance chair in 2008, the Tennessee native was tapped by the newly-elected Governor Bill Haslam to serve as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. His three-year tenure from 2011 – 2014 was hailed for its successes of significant investments by companies like Bridgestone, Calsonic Kansei and Nissan into the Volunteer State. In total, Hagerty’s term oversaw the addition of more than $15 billion in capital and 90,000 jobs. Hagerty was a Jeb Bush supporter early in the 2016 presidential election cycle, but switched to Donald Trump after he cinched the nomination. Soon after, Hagerty became instrumental in the Trump campaign and was eventually named as the transition team’s Director of Appointments in August of 2016. News of his official nomination is not a surprise to political watchers. President Trump first mentioned…

Read the full story