his (acting) Secretary of State Steve Edward to immediately notify the Mexican Ambassador to the United States of Executive Order #14103 change in wire transfers. Before 9 pm, the Mexican government had called the Deputy Chief of Mission of the American Embassy in Mexico City (the Trump ambassador had already returned back to the United States) to receive a protest. Edward responded immediately, stating the Executive Order #14103 would not go into effect in 30 days if the Mexican government paid $15 billion by February 26, 2033. He also included an invoice he created through Advanced QuickBooks.
On Sunday, January 24th, President Powers spent the day visiting disaster areas. Vice President Mitchell met with all Cabinet-level officers plus the policy implementation heads. Mitchell provided each with the unclassified Executive Orders, and for those with temporary security clearances (about 15 in the room), the classified Executive Orders. His assistant provided a calendar of deadlines based upon the President’s orders. Mitchell also reminded all that they were officially not confirmed and sworn in yet; an event he hoped would occur Monday or Tuesday this week - so any official things they could not sign - that he would sign for them until they were official. The remainder of the meeting discussed the lack of progress in naming and vetting deputies and other Presidential appointees requiring Senate confirmation.
On Monday through most of Wednesday, President Powers met with TAP Infrastructure Corporation construction managers and Corps of Engineers leaders on the Powers Border Wall. The electronic Federal Register published the unclassified Executive Orders on Wednesday. By Wednesday afternoon, the media began to notice the Executive Orders in the electronic Federal Register and began asking the White House staff questions. The Press Secretary and her staff were given limited information on these orders by the Vice President’s assistants. The staff gathered up and consolidated these questions, and provided them to the Press Secretary. She worked with the Vice President’s staff on proposed answers through the evening. She announced that she would have a Press Conference at 9 am on Thursday morning to address the new Executive Orders, but this was overcome and cancelled by events.
Also on Wednesday, Senate Progressives tried to filibuster the confirmation of the Powers Cabinet, asking for individual votes, but discovered the Senate Rules had been changed. The Senate was able to vote on about 25 conferees Wednesday evening, and the Vice President had the Chief Justice swear them all in about 9 pm in the East Room.
The Senate Majority Leader, Senator Thomas, had decided to change the Senate Rules regarding cloture (the requirement to have sixty votes to close off debate on a specific bill) to one of majority vote. Senate Rules can be changed after a cloture vote of two-thirds of the Senators present, which occurred on the evening of January 20th. The Senate was technically in session on Monday and Tuesday, but few Progressives noticed it, and the Conservatives voted to change the rules on Tuesday morning. Now cloture would be implemented with only 51 votes, and these would end filibusters. This decision by Thomas would come back to haunt him.
Even with the reduced number of Senators needed to close off debate, Thomas was unable to pass a cloture vote to bring the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (Trumpcare) to a vote. Three Conservative Senators broke ranks to question what would happen if the act was immediately repealed and the sixty million who might lose health care insurance coverage. This debate continued for several weeks.
About 5 am on Thursday, January 28th, the Director of National Intelligence woke President Powers and the Vice President and briefed both in the Situation Room that three divisions of Russian troops had crossed the Ukrainian border. In his memoirs, Edward reported that Powers asked everyone if he should ask for the nuclear football and send some cruise missiles down on the Soviet divisions. There was a lively discussion of possible responses, and Secretary of State Edward was ordered to provide the Russian Ambassador in Washington with a “strong” protest about invading a neighboring country. Edward completed this before noon, by then, the invasion of Ukraine was all over the news networks, as then ABC News reporter Kate Hudson was in the Ukraine and briefly reported that Ukraine and American forces were moving out to defend against the Russian attack. The nation would not hear anything from her for over a day.
Not brought up in the Situation Room discussion and overlooked by the civilian senior leadership (there were no members of the Joint Chief of Staff invited), was that an American brigade combat team (the 3rd Cavalry Regiment) was in the field training with three Ukrainian divisions, and the combined corps defended against the Russian divisions with American, Ukrainian, and Baltic Nations air support. This caused the Russians to stop, and the remaining forces retreated back into Russia, with the counter-attacking forces in hot pursuit. A cease fire ended 18 hours after the Russians attacked.
After the cease fire, Hudson provided a more complete picture to the American public and the world. Ukraine forces had received intelligence on Wednesday of Russian troops moving combat formations towards the border, and the training force was combat loaded from secret stores that the United States had established over the last few years - taking on live ammunition, fuel, and rations and issuing anti-tank and other weapons to Ukrainian forces. These forces established a blocking defensive position with the three Ukrainian divisions forward with the American brigade combat team as its reserve. After two Russian divisions tried to break through a Ukraine infantry battalion, the American ground forces were committed with air power to stop this and counter-attacked. They were successful, and the defenders than went on the offensive.
The Russian forces then tried to execute an orderly retreat, but whole companies were captured by the combined corps. Hudson claimed that some Ukrainian commanders wanted to pursue across the border, but the combined corps said that it never considered this, though supporting air forces certainly crossed the border to pursue Russian aircraft and provide air cover to the ground forces. The Russian Federation liaison officer at NATO headquarters in Belgium asked for an immediate ceasefire, but the NATO command said they were not in hostile operations against Russia. This request was finally issued by the Russian troops who found they were blocked from returning to Russia, and a cease fire went into effect 18 hours after the Russians crossed the Ukrainian border. The captured Russian general was flown to Kiev to appear before a press conference with the Ukrainian President.
American and Ukrainian forces reported three months later that the three Russian divisions (about 15,000 combat troops) suffered 40% casualties or were captured. Sixteen Americans were killed in action, with twenty one wounded. Ukraine had almost 500 soldiers killed and lost three aircraft.
The Russian Federation claimed that they were invited by certain Ukrainian leaders to assist them in re-joining Russia, plus the Powers Administration had issued policy statements that they would not defend Ukraine. The Powers Press Secretary vigorously denied this on a belated Friday press conference at the White House, and the post-conflict situation discussions continued for several weeks, until Powers had Edward send a bill to the Russians for damages to America ($652 million) and another invoice to the Ukraine for defending their country ($32.6 million). There is no record if Russia ever paid this, but Ukraine made a progress payment in April 2033.
During the Invasion of Ukraine crisis, President Powers was very upset at his staff for not knowing that an American ground force was in that country - and had several hard questions to his Secretary of Defense of who was in charge of the military. Edward tried to calmly explain to his boss (technically it was the Vice President) that American forces always have the right to defend themselves if attacked, and that the situation was so fluid and quick, that you saw the power of America in action. Edward also identified that the brigade combat team mission in Ukraine had been briefed in the daily Presidential briefings a few times during the first week, and the details were in the daily security briefing books - and mentioned in his memoirs that he doubted if the President ever really understood much of the daily bri
efings or read the books provided each day. Powers was still mad, and directed Edward to conduct an extreme vetting of every American General and Admiral, as they should have asked permission first before attacking Russians. Edward would conduct a review of all 634 admirals and generals over the next six months, and would recommend that about 75% should be retired to the President.
At the same Friday Press Conference, after briefing on the Invasion, the Press Secretary opened up for questions about it. After about ten questions about the military operations, the questions shifted to ones about the Affordable Care Act repeal and Executive Orders. She referred questions on building the wall to the Corps of Engineers. She reported that ICE was starting to staff up and was working on identifying the illegal immigrants who had been convicted of crimes or were in jail. Yes, the Powers Administration might end foreign aid if a country bulked at receiving back their citizens. The administration was in negotiations with Mexico on paying for the wall. Treasury was determining what actions to take on China for being a currency