The Conversation -- April 11, 2025
Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: “An immigration judge in Louisiana found on Friday that the Trump administration could deport Mahmoud Khalil, granting the government an early victory in its efforts to crack down on pro-Palestinian demonstrations on U.S. college campuses. The ruling is far from the final word on whether Mr. Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and legal permanent resident, will be deported. His lawyers will continue their fight in Louisiana and New Jersey, arguing that he has been targeted for constitutionally protected speech. The constitutional issues at the heart of the case will most likely get a fuller hearing in federal court in New Jersey than they did in Louisiana on Friday. For the time being, the decision by the judge there, Jamee E. Comans, affirmed the extraordinary power that the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has asserted to target any noncitizen for deportation.... Judge Comans found that the government had met the burden of evidence that the law requires, which effectively amounted to a letter from Mr. Rubio declaring that Mr. Khalil’s presence in the country enabled antisemitism. The Homeland Security Department appears not to have submitted any other concrete evidence substantiating the claim, although it has not publicly released the documents it has filed in his case....
“Immigration judges are employees of the executive branch, not the judiciary, and often approve the Homeland Security Department’s deportation efforts. It would be unusual for such a judge, serving the U.S. Attorney General, to grapple with the constitutional questions raised by Mr. Khalil’s case. She would also run the risk of being fired by an administration that has targeted dissenters.” MB: IOW, this dippy judge found it more important to keep her job than to protect Mr. Khalil's First Amendment rights. That, apparently, is not her problem.
Constitutinal Crisis: ✓. Kyle Cheney of Politico: “An exasperated federal judge commanded the Trump administration Friday to begin providing 'daily updates' on whether it is doing anything to comply with her order to return a Maryland man — illegally deported to El Salvador last month — back to the United States. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis scolded the administration for refusing to provide even 'basic' details about Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s location, despite her demand for an update by Friday morning.... The administration’s stonewalling, which Xinis described as 'extremely troubling,' raised the specter that it is defying the order that the judge issued last week and that the Supreme Court largely upheld Thursday. Xinis, an Obama appointee, said that without any information — or even an acknowledgment that the administration had done anything at all — she could only conclude that the administration had 'done nothing to facilitate the return of Mr. Abrego Garcia.'... Xinis’ new directive requires the daily updates to come from an administration official with 'personal knowledge' of efforts to return Abrego Garcia to the United States. But Justice Department officials said they may not be prepared to comply with her demands until at least Monday.”
Robbie Gramer & Nahal Toosi of Politico: “The Trump administration has ordered State Department employees to report on any instances of coworkers displaying 'anti-Christian bias' as part of its effort to implement a sweeping new executive order on supporting employees of Christian faith working in the federal government. The department, according to a copy of an internal cable obtained by Politico, will work with an administration-wide task force to collect information 'involving anti-religious bias during the last presidential administration' and will collect examples of anti-Christian bias through anonymous employee report forms.... The cable encourages State Department employees to report on one another.... The cable was sent out to embassies around the world under Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s name. The instructions also were released in a department-wide notice.... 'It’s very ‘Handmaid’s Tale'-esque,' said one State Department official....” MB: Little Marco is so much creepier than I realized.
Jason Douglas, et al., of the Wall Street Journal: “In jacking up his tariffs on China — and pausing steep duties on dozens of other nations — ... [Donald] Trump is pushing the world’s two biggest economic powers into a battle that will leave neither unscathed and risks tanking the global economy. The total tariffs imposed on China in Trump’s second term now add up to 145%, the White House said Thursday, while China’s blanket tariff on American goods will rise to 125% on Saturday after the latest round of retaliation. The tariffs could eventually be walked back, but already, there are signs that a portion of the $582 billion in goods trading between the two countries is grinding to a halt.... While Trump says any pain in the U.S. from tariffs will be offset by long-term gains in jobs and investment, in the near term, investment bank JPMorgan said Wednesday it is 'more likely than not' that the U.S. economy will shrink later this year.” The link appears to be a gift link, from Scott Lemieux in LG&$.
Linda Qiu of the New York Times: “... across Mr. Trump’s political career, his case for tariffs has remained consistent, relying on a number of false and misleading claims to describe a global trade system that is “unfair” to the United States. Although Mr. Trump abruptly announced on Wednesday that he would pause steep reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, a 10 percent 'base line tariff remains in place for most imports. Here’s a guide to some of his most cited claims[.]” A useful guide to Trump Tariff Porkies.
He Has an Article II. Charlie Savage of the New York Times: “The Trump administration has taken steps and made claims that clash with legal opinions issued by a traditionally powerful agency that is part of the Justice Department, the Office of Legal Counsel. The office has typically had an influential role in shaping internal government legal deliberations, and its court-like opinions are supposed to bind the executive branch unless the attorney general or the president overrides them or the office itself revokes them. The disregard for its precedents is part of a broader pattern in which the clout and influence of the agency have eroded in the opening months of the administration. Here are some examples that show that disconnect.” Thanks to Ken W. for the link.
I have spent the better part of my career listening to loud men talk tough to disguise their weakness. -- Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine), in response to an insult from Donald Trump, 2020 ~~~
~~~ No Curtsies to the Would-be King. Jenna Russell of the New York Times: “While [Maine Gov. Janet Mills] has stood firm [re: a Maine anti-discrimination law on transgender youth which Donald Trump has criticized], the federal government has barraged the state with investigations, declared its education system to be in violation of federal law and frozen some of its funding. The Department of Education has set Friday as a final deadline for Maine to comply with the president’s order. If it does not, the agency plans to hand the matter over to the Department of Justice for enforcement.... Maine sued the Trump administration on Monday, doubling down on its defiance as it began the legal fight that Ms. Mills promised at the White House.”
Ellen Barry of the New York Times profiles “Kseniia Petrova, a [30-year-old Harvard] scientist who [is ensnared in Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, and who had] fled Russia after protesting its invasion of Ukraine []. She fears arrest if she is deported there. On Feb. 16, customs officials detained her at Logan International Airport in Boston for failing to declare samples of frog embryos she had carried from France at the request of her boss at Harvard.” The federal government has incarcerated her in a Louisiana detention center. ~~~
~~~ Marie: I once carried in a small bag of peanuts from France at the request of my husband at New York University. An adorable customs beagle sniffed them out, and a Customs official pleasantly told me he would have to confiscate them. He was very pleasant & didn't even ask my name or require I provide any ID. That was then.
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Abha Bhattarai, et al., of the Washington Post: “An escalating trade war with China sent stocks tumbling Thursday, even as ... Donald Trump downplayed the sell-off, saying he’s 'very, very happy with the way the country is running.' Whipsawing tariff policies — including temporarily lowering dozens of countries’ rates, but dramatically raising levies on Chinese imports — have sent markets seesawing in the past 48 hours. The S&P 500 on Wednesday posted its biggest one-day jump since 2008, but by Thursday afternoon about a third of those gains had been reversed. The S&P 500 fell more than 3.44 percent and tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index lost 4.26 percent, while the more narrow Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.54 percent. The slide picked up momentum shortly after 11 a.m., when the White House said Chinese imports would face tariffs of 145 percent, not 125 percent as Trump previously touted. All three major indexes are down significantly from the beginning of the year, and both the S&P and the Nasdaq have fallen by double digits.” (Also linked yesterday.)
From CNBC's live updates yesterday: "The U.S. tariff rate on Chinese imports now effectively totals 145%, a White House official confirmed to CNBC. Trump’s latest executive order hikes tariffs on Beijing to 125% from 84%. But that comes on top of a 20% fentanyl-related tariff that Trump previously imposed on China." (Also linked yesterday.) So .... ~~~
~~~ The pinned item (at 5:30 am ET) of a New York Times liveblog: “China responded to ... [Donald] Trump’s tariffs on Friday, raising its own tariffs on American goods to 125 percent, as the world’s two biggest economies extended a fast-moving tit-for-tat that has seen the cost of trade soar and fueled concerns over a global recession. The announcement came after Trump administration officials clarified that China was now facing a minimum tariff rate of 145 percent on all exports to the United States. China said its new tariffs, which raise the tax on American imports from 84 percent, would take effect on Saturday. Stock markets shuddered in response to the latest salvo in the trade war, which came after markets in Asia closed. Stocks in Germany, whose export-driven economy is exposed to global tensions, dropped more than 1 percent. U.S. stocks were set to open about half a percent lower.”
Chris Cameron & Emiliano Mega of the New York Times: Donald “Trump on Thursday threatened additional tariffs and other sanctions against Mexico over a long-running water dispute in a potential escalation of tensions with one of America’s biggest trading partners. In a social media post, Mr. Trump accused Mexico of failing to provide 1.3 million acre-feet of water — or more than 420 billion gallons — under a 1944 treaty mediating the distribution of water from three rivers, the Rio Grande, the Colorado and the Tijuana. 'Mexico has been stealing the water from Texas farmers,' Mr. Trump said, adding that 'we will keep escalating consequences, including TARIFFS and, maybe even SANCTIONS, until Mexico honors the Treaty, and GIVES TEXAS THE WATER THEY ARE OWED!' Responding to Mr. Trump’s post, Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, acknowledged that her country had fallen short of its treaty commitments, saying that a yearslong drought had significantly hindered its ability to provide the full amount of water the agreement called for. She said that her government had sent 'a comprehensive proposal' to U.S. diplomats to deliver water to Texas and find a solution satisfactory to both countries.”
Daisuke Wakabayashi, et al., of the New York Times: “A dizzying escalation of tariffs has unraveled a trade relationship between the United States and China forged over decades, jeopardizing the fate of two superpowers and threatening to drag down the world economy.... As hard as Mr. Trump has pushed [raising tariff rates on China to 125 145 percent], China has refused to back down. China has elevated its tariffs on goods imported from America to 84 percent.... At risk is a relationship that shaped the global economy in the 21st century. For years, both sides benefited. American companies’ extensive use of China’s factories kept prices in check for American consumers and padded the profits of the country’s biggest companies. China got jobs and investment that lifted millions of Chinese families out of poverty. And as China’s spending power grew, it opened up a giant and lucrative market for American brands.... The looming disruption to the flow of billions of dollars worth of goods between China and the United States, as well as the trade that often passes through other countries, will have a devastating impact on both economies and their trading partners.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: The underlying problem is, as Krugman writes (also linked yesterday), "Trump Is Stupid, Erratic and Weak." And the "stupid" part includes Trump's inability to understand that -- with careful trade planning, policy & negotiation -- U.S.-China trade can be largely "win-win." Being an ignorant bully, Trump understands only a "zero sum game": I win only if you lose.
One More Way Trump Has Made the U.S. a Banana Republic. Paul Krugman: "The combination of interest rates soaring amid a slump and the currency plunging despite rising interest rates isn’t what we normally expect for advanced countries, let alone the owner of the world’s leading reserve currency. It is, however, what we often see in emerging-market economies. That is, investors have started treating the United States like a third-world economy. Did I see this coming? No, not really. Unlike the sanewashers, I knew that Trump’s policies would be irresponsible and destructive. However, even I didn’t expect him to destroy credibility accumulated over 80 years in less than three months. But he has. And even if Trump were to backtrack on everything he’s done, we wouldn’t get the lost credibility back. The whole world, sanewashers aside, now knows that America is run by a mad king, surrounded by enablers, who can’t be trusted to behave rationally."
In a New York Times column titled "Who Needs Free Trade When You Can Raise Your Own Chickens?" David French contrasts the left's and right's versions of back-to-the-land. He writes, “I feel a degree of moral kinship with critics of free markets on the left and the right. I share many of their cultural values and cultural concerns. I do not, however, share their belief that the government should limit my economic opportunities for my own good.” MB: That, I think is the crux of it. It's great if I want to grow my own Romaine & watch my kids plant pumpkin seeds in our homemade compost-rich soil. But I should not encourage the government to make avocados too costly for you to buy at the supermarket. (Also linked yesterday.)
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Thursday instructed the government to take steps to return a Salvadoran migrant it had wrongly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador. In an unsigned order, the court stopped short of ordering the return of the migrant, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, indicating that courts may not have the power to require the executive branch to do so. But the court endorsed part of a trial judge’s order that had required the government to 'facilitate and effectuate the return' of Mr. Abrego Garcia. 'The order properly requires the government to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador,' the Supreme Court’s ruling said. 'The intended scope of the term “effectuate” in the district court’s order is, however, unclear, and may exceed the district court’s authority.' The case will now return to the trial court, and it is not clear whether and when Mr. Abrego Garcia will be returned to the United States.” (Also linked yesterday.) The AP report is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Bear in mind that any other court would be more definitive in their order. Rachel Maddow called reminiscent of "Kafka mixed with Bozo the Clown." And any other administration would forthwith call up El Savadoran President Bukele and tell him, "We're coming to get Mr. Abrego & take him back to his family." Expect the Trumpies to continue to pretend there's no way they can get Mr. Abrego out of jail. The moral bankruptcy of this lot is breathtaking. ~~~
~~~ You think it can't happen to you? Lawrence O'Donnell last night pointed to Justice Sonia Sotomayor's statement attached to the Court's order (linked in the body of the NYT story & not firewalled). Justices Kagan & Jackson joined Sotomayor's addendum. Here's the money quote: "The Government’s argument, moreover, implies that it could deport and incarcerate any person, including U. S. citizens, without legal consequence, so long as it does so before a court can intervene." That's right. According to the Trump administration, it's A-okay to pull you out of your vehicle with your child watching & scurry you off to a dangerous prison in El Savador -- for the rest of your life -- without any form of due process, just as they did to Mr. Abrego. And that empty apology he received? Fageddaboudit. Our illustrious attorney general and her deputy Todd Blanche fired the lawyer who apologized to the court. She fired his supervisor, too.
They Got Nuthin'. Jake Offenhartz of the AP: “Facing a deadline from an immigration judge to turn over evidence for its attempted deportation of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, the federal government has instead submitted a brief memo, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, citing the Trump administration’s authority to expel noncitizens whose presence in the country damages U.S. foreign policy interests. The two-page memo, which was obtained by The Associated Press, does not allege any criminal conduct by Khalil, a legal permanent U.S. resident and graduate student who served as spokesperson for campus activists last year during large demonstrations against Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and the war in Gaza. Rather, Rubio wrote Khalil could be expelled for his beliefs. He said that while Khalil’s activities were 'otherwise lawful,' letting him remain in the country would undermine 'U.S. policy to combat anti-Semitism around the world and in the United States, in addition to efforts to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence in the United States.'...
“Attorneys for Khalil said the memo proved the Trump administration was 'targeting Mahmoud’s free speech rights about Palestine.... After a month of hiding the ball since Mahmoud’s late-night unjust arrest in New York and taking him away to a remote detention center in Louisiana, immigration authorities have finally admitted that they have no case whatsoever against him, the attorneys, Marc Van Der Hout and Johnny Sinodis, said in a joint statement.” Immigration Judge Jamee Comans will hold a hearing on the matter today.
Alexandra Berzon, et al., of the New York Times: “... the [Trump] administration is taking drastic steps to pressure some ... immigrants and others who had legal status to 'self-deport' by effectively canceling the Social Security numbers they had lawfully obtained.... The goal is to cut those people off from using crucial financial services like bank accounts and credit cards, along with their access to government benefits. The effort hinges on a surprising new tactic: repurposing Social Security’s 'death master file,' which for years has been used to track dead people who should no longer receive benefits, to include the names of living people who the government believes should be treated as if they are dead. As a result of being added to the death database, they would be blacklisted from a coveted form of identity that allows them to make and spend money. The initial names are limited to people the administration says are convicted criminals and 'suspected terrorists,' the documents show. But officials said the effort could broaden to include others in the country without authorization.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Lisa Rein, et al., of the Washington Post: “Among the people being targeted are immigrants who have bona fide Social Security numbers but have lost their legal status in the U.S., such as those who entered under one of the Biden administration’s temporary work programs that have since ended.... The immigrants’ names were placed in the database following two memorandums of agreement signed Monday by [Homeland Security Secretary Kristi] Noem and Leland Dudek, the acting Social Security commissioner.... Some current and former Social Security officials questioned the legality of the practice, saying that adding names of people that the agency knows have not died to the death database violates privacy laws that no longer apply when someone has actually died.... 'If you want to know what DOGE is doing at Social Security, this is it,' [a] White House official said....” The AP report os here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: I see the sinister visage of Stephen Miller looming over the "death master file." But let us not hold him wholly accountable. The cruelty of the entire Trump mob is a reproof of humanity. Decent people would resign. These are not decent people. ~~~
~~~ Marianne LeVine, et al., of the Washington Post: “The Department of Homeland Security has enlisted the FBI and other law enforcement agencies in recent weeks to conduct welfare checks on children and young people who came to the United States without their parents, alarming advocates who worry it’s an effort to target them for deportation or scare them.... Donald Trump has long accused his predecessor of losing more than 300,000 migrant children, claiming that they are now 'slaves, sex slaves or dead,' though many also arrived during the president’s first term. Immigration experts have said that most of those children have been safely reunited with their parents or relatives in the United States. Trump administration officials confirmed they are doing the welfare checks....”
Philip Bump of the Washington Post: “During the weeks after the [2020] election, [Donald Trump] embraced a wide variety of false and debunked assertions about how he’d been the victim of a left-wing plot to deny him a second term.... Among the claims he and his allies elevated was that electronic voting machines had been tampered with. [Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) chief Chris] Krebs, tasked with ensuring that this wouldn’t happen, put out a statement assuring Americans that election systems had not been manipulated.... Within hours, [Trump] announced Krebs’s firing on Twitter.... Wednesday ... Trump announced that he was removing Krebs’s security clearance and calling for the Justice Department to launch a fishing expedition [of Krebs' actions].... There remains no evidence at all that CISA or Krebs engaged in any systematic effort to violate the law.... Targeting Krebs is in part about punishing perceived disloyalty and in part about overhauling reality. It is unquestionably also about leveraging the power of the state against a someone who had the temerity to insist that the truth was true. Calling for an investigation of Krebs is flatly authoritarian, perhaps more so than any other example of Trump going after his enemies. It is a statement from the most powerful person in the country that the federal government will be deployed to monitor compliance with his worldview.”
More Cynical, Greedy, Chickenpoopy Lawyers. Or So Says King Donald. Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: Donald “Trump is planning to announce new deals with several of the nation’s top law firms requiring them to offer legal support for some of his favored causes, according to people with knowledge of the matter. In a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Mr. Trump said four or five firms, which he did not name, would reach deals with the administration, each committing to do $125 million worth of legal work on issues he supports. That amount would eclipse the amount of pro bono work other firms agreed to provide under earlier agreements.” A derivative Raw Story report is here.
Ishaan Tharoor of the Washington Post: Donald Trump is trying "to fix the Iran nuclear deal he broke" in his first term. He sent his real estate pal Steve Witkoff off to meet with Iranian officials in Oman. Meanwhile, Iran "is now theoretically far closer to building a nuclear weapon than it was before the collapse of the" deal.
Hassan Kanu of Politico: “... Donald Trump has instructed federal agencies and their assigned DOGE teams to repeal any existing regulations that are inconsistent with his priorities without providing advance notice or going through the traditional public input process. The move accelerates the White House’s sprawling efforts to dismantle the federal regulatory machine, although Trump’s directive to skip the notice-and-comment process will likely face legal challenges.... Trump’s Wednesday presidential memo ... [cites] 10 recent Supreme Court rulings to assert that ... The normal 'notice-and-comment proceedings are “unnecessary”...' Trump wrote. The White House directive appears to claim that the high court’s 2024 ruling known as Loper Bright applies retroactively, although the court’s conservative justices held explicitly that the decision is forward-looking.... The legal advocacy group Democracy Forward said in a statement that Trump’s actions are unlawful and harmful to the public.”
Low Expectations. David Fahrenthold & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: “While stumping for Donald J. Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign, Elon Musk said he could cut $2 trillion from the federal budget. After Mr. Trump took office and placed Mr. Musk in charge of the budget-slashing so-called Department of Government Efficiency, Mr. Musk lowered that projection by half, to $1 trillion in the upcoming fiscal year. In a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Mr. Musk appeared to set his group’s goal lower still. 'I’m excited to announce that we anticipate savings in ’26 from reduction of waste and fraud by $150 billion,' Mr. Musk told Mr. Trump, referring to the fiscal year, which runs from the beginning of October 2025 to the end of September 2026. Mr. Musk’s group has slashed budgets and fired thousands of workers around Washington, but so far the DOGE website indicates that it remains far from reaching his goal of $1 trillion in savings next year. As of Thursday, the site claimed $150 billion in savings, with an itemized list of some of the purported cuts. It was unclear if Mr. Musk meant to say that the $150 billion was merely what his team had found so far — meaning that $1 trillion in savings was still possible — or if that $150 billion was all it expected to find.” MB: On the other hand, though DOGE did not meet Elon's great expectations, it did wreak great havoc.
Perry Stein & Jeremy Roebuck of the Washington Post: “The Justice Department is building a roster of lawyers willing to defend in court the most controversial parts of ... Donald Trump’s agenda, firing career attorneys whom leaders view as standing in their way and hiring dozens of political appointees to carry out the president’s agenda.... Meanwhile, many longtime attorneys are fleeing in frustration with Trump’s policies and a new culture within the department that does not permit dissent, some of the current and former agency officials said. Trump has issued an executive order calling for many longtime senior career staff positions that are considered 'policy-influencing' to be flipped to political appointments. That could allow him and his allies to install loyalists in key positions without going through the hiring process required for staffers in the civil service.” ~~~
~~~ Ann Marimow of the Washington Post (April 9): “At least half of the front-line lawyers in the elite Justice Department office that represents the Trump administration at the Supreme Court are preparing to leave or have already announced their departures — an unusually high amount of turnover at a time of intense litigation involving the president’s initiatives.... Many are uncomfortable or turned off by directives from Justice Department leaders, including Attorney General Pam Bondi’s demand for 'zealous advocacy' of ... Donald Trump’s agenda, these people said.... Attrition from the office also coincides with an abrupt restructuring in leadership following the arrival of Solicitor General D. John Sauer, who was confirmed by the Senate last week along party lines. Sauer successfully represented Trump at the Supreme Court last year in his case seeking broad presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts while in office.”
Qasim Nauman of the New York Times: “The U.S. military announced on Thursday that it had removed the commander of its Pituffik base in Greenland, adding that it would not tolerate any actions that go against ... [Donald] Trump’s agenda. The decision to remove Col. Susannah Meyers was announced in a statement by the U.S. Space Force that was posted on social media by Sean Parnell, the chief spokesman for the Pentagon. While the statement didn’t cite a specific reason for her removal, Mr. Parnell said that 'actions to undermine the chain of command or to subvert ... [Donald] Trump’s agenda will not be tolerated.' Mr. Parnell’s post contained a link to an article by Military.com, an independent news organization, that said Colonel Meyers had sent an email to base staff distancing herself from Vice President JD Vance’s visit on March 28.... On March 31, Colonel Meyers emailed the staff at Pituffik saying that the concerns of the Trump administration as expressed by Mr. Vance did not reflect the views of the base leadership....” Politico's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Maxine Joselow of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management abruptly withdrew her nomination Thursday morning, just as her confirmation hearing was about to begin. Kathleen Sgamma, who heads a Denver-based oil and gas industry trade group called the Western Energy Alliance, has 'withdrawn from consideration,' Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Mike Lee (R-Utah) said at the outset of the hearing. The reason for Sgamma’s decision was unclear. But it comes after the investigative group Documented on Tuesday released a 2021 letter in which Sgamma wrote that she was 'disgusted' by Trump 'spreading misinformation' about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.”
You May Not Want to Take a Cruise Any Time Soon. Alexander Tin of CBS News: "All of the full-time employees in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vessel Sanitation Program are now off the job, multiple officials tell CBS News, gutting the agency's ability to investigate outbreaks and conduct health inspections on cruise ships. A smaller group of 12 U.S. Public Health Service officers will remain. The steep cuts to the program's inspectors baffled CDC officials since the small team's staff is not paid for by taxpayer dollars. Fees from cruise ships companies pay for the program, which is supposed to inspect large vessels at least twice a year.”
Rebecca Schoenkopf of Wonkette has some thoughts on Today in Trumpsylvania, and bless her heart, she is not overly polite about it. An excellent roundup with just the right 'tude.
Bad News. But It Ain't Over Till the Fat Man Sings. Marianna Sotomayor & Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: “Republicans in Congress approved an agreement Thursday to begin implementing ... Donald Trump’s legislative agenda on taxes and immigration — a deal that could add trillions of dollars to the national debt. The House in a 216 to 214 vote adopted a budget that allows Congress’s GOP majorities to use the reconciliation process, which permits conservatives to bypass a Democratic Senate filibuster so long as the two chambers work in lockstep drafting the policies. Major portions of Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expire at the end of the year, and Republicans aim to pair renewing them — at a cost of $5.5 trillion — with new business tax breaks and major new spending to power the White House’s mass deportation campaign. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) signaled an agreement shortly before the vote to cut at least $1.5 trillion in spending. But the chambers remain sharply divided over how to arrive at that figure — and if it will truly reduce the federal deficit, as House hard-liners have demanded.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Rachel Leingang of the Guardian: “The US House approved a bill on Thursday that would require people to prove they are citizens when they register to vote, which opponents claim could disenfranchise millions of Americans. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or the Save Act, which was approved on a 220-208 vote, is aimed at eliminating rare instances of noncitizens voting in US elections based on the false belief that large numbers of noncitizens are voting. The bill, sponsored by the Texas Republican Chip Roy, calls for people who register to vote or update their registration to show documentary proof of citizenship, which could be a passport or birth certificate.... The Save Act comes after the US president signed an executive order on 25 March calling for a documentary proof of citizenship requirement to be added to federal voter registration forms.... Some potential voters no longer have their birth certificates, or their birth certificates do not match their current names if they changed their names in marriage or for other reasons, Democrats have pointed out.”
Helene Cooper of the New York Times: “The Senate confirmed early Friday Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, the former National Guardsman and fighter pilot, to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Caine is replacing another Air Force fighter pilot, Gen. Charles Brown, known as C.Q., whom ... [Donald] Trump abruptly fired in February. The Senate’s lopsided 60-25 vote approving General Caine, who is retired, was expected. While Democrats had expressed concerns about the rash of firings at the Pentagon in Mr. Trump’s second term, General Caine garnered little opposition because the majority of them appeared to view him as perhaps the best possible option, given the circumstances.”
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Reader Comments (16)
Amateur Hour
The level of corruption and incompetence of the Fat Hitler Reich filters down through all the administrative functions of this astonishing excuse for a government and spills out like turd water from an overflowing toilet.
Here is Steven Horsford, (D-Nevada) trying to get a straight answer from the Orange Monster’s Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, who is either lying or has no idea what the fuck is going on.
Just one thousands of examples of the sneaky, snaky, shithole way vital government business is carried out by the lying, corrupt, greedy, weak-ass piece of shit in charge.
I just can't wait for 'infrastructure week' to actually happen.
This week West Michigan is without natural gas service, and it was
30 degrees last night with no heat.
A few weeks ago, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ontario were without
electricity for days.
After that there was an internet failure. No phone, no TV, no computer.
Yesterday the city notified us that the old water pipes from the
water mains to each house will be replaced, so no water for a while
when that happens.
At least the Midwest dust storm is over after all the tornadoes have
subsided.
Low Bar, Still Too High
"Usha Vance is opening up in her first wide-ranging interview since becoming second lady, saying she’s striving for normalcy in her new role. “To me, the highest priority right now is to be actually a normal person,” Vance, a trial lawyer, told The Free Press in a profile published Monday."
Normal, like agreeing to take your son to a foreign country in a public attempt to intimidate a US ally while supporting an aspiring dictator's dreams of international conquests.
Wonkette
"Former Canadian radio person and now-Substack blooger Dean Blundell wrote that the Chairman Trump pins have been spotted on the lapels of “Loyalists in the regime—congressmen, senators, the whole parade of sycophants,” adding that the pins have quickly replaced those staid ol’ flag pins."
RAS,
And those pins are indeed significant.
At least the old flag pins made a presence of loyalty to the country, however their wearers defined it. But that was then. The new pins clearly state there's no consideration whatsoever remaining for the good of anything the country as a whole might have had in common.
The confusion the Pretender has always expressed between himself and the country is now imprinted on entire Republican party: It's fealty to him alone, to a woefully inadequate man and not to any ideals.
At the OfficialTrumpOnlineStore.com lots of those $60.00 pins
are marked down to $20.00.
What a deal!
Seth Meyers covered some of the FH Praise Me cabinet meeting round table they had yesterday. Like the pins it is all about FH and making him the center of the universe along with making all of their sycophancy public. Because what is the point of their undying loyalty if not everyone knows about it.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/trump-farmworkers-hotel-workers-undocumented-legal-rcna200722
Three thoughts:
Musings are not a plan.
Is the rubber hitting the road?
Gee, know anyone whose hotels rely on undocumented workers?
Ingraham says Trump is playing three dimensional chess with his tariffs. Mike Luckovich made a much better analogy in his graphic editorial today likening Trump to a toddler who has gotten hold of the household media remote. While he causes great damage randomly punching buttons the danger is when he tires of the game. Does he just drop the remote and walk away or does he smash it in a fit of anger?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/04/11/kilmar-abrego-garcia-el-salvador-deported-case/?
And an Injustice Department fat middle finger to the not-so-supreme Supremes.
Oh, what to do with the pesky Office of Legal Counsel?
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/us/politics/trump-orders-office-of-legal-counsel.html
Ignore it.
NPR
"A Louisiana immigration judge has ruled that Mahmoud Khalil can be deported.
Khalil, who as a Columbia University graduate student led pro-Palestinian protests there last year, was detained last month after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had determined that Khalil’s activism was antisemitic and that allowing him to remain in the country would undermine a U.S. foreign policy goal of combatting antisemitism around the world.
In a hearing Friday at the remote Louisiana detention center where Khalil is being held, Judge Jamee Comans said she had no authority to question Rubio’s determination."
Judge says that she has no authority to question the bullshit after the fact made up reasons for trampling on the Constitution. Pass the buck. Just another federal court judge who is powerless to question lies right in front of her face.
Buying the Dip
"MTG Caught “Buying The Dip” as AOC Renews Call to Ban Members’ Trades
As the economy tanked, some members of Congress focused on making themselves rich."
Amanda Marcotte, in Salon, on MAGA's war on empathy
"The political impetus behind this overt assault on what was once considered a baseline virtue is obvious enough. All these people follow Trump, a man who is incapable of empathy, so much so that many high-profile psychologists have argued that he should be considered a sociopath, despite not consenting to a formal diagnosis. Trump has eclipsed Jesus himself as the object of worship on the Christian right, as evidenced by the hosts of 'Girls Gone Bible' invoking Trump's name as if he were God in their rewrite of the Lord's Prayer. At his inauguration ball, a 'worship painter' even replicated Trump's image while the crowd sang 'amen' over and over, underscoring this shift in the de facto theology of these 'Christians.' "
wish i understood how this happened...
Schooled
"On a panel this week, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, the former WWE CEO who is now charged with making sweeping decisions for 100 million American school children, repeatedly referred to AI technology as “A1.”
The brand jumped on Instagram yesterday with a spoofed ad for a McMahon-inspired A.1. bottle, complete with a photoshopped version of the sauce with the label “For educational purposes only” accompanied by the slogan, “Agree, best to start them early.” The post was captioned, “You heard her. Every school should have access to A.1.”"
Always be Winning
"Chinese social media users—and even some Chinese government officials—are using AI-generated memes to troll President Donald Trump, as his steep tariff hike against Chinese imports prompted retaliatory levies and stoked fears of an all-out trade war.
Mao Ning, spokesperson for China’s ministry of foreign affairs, posted a meme on X Thursday morning depicting the cost of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” hats spiking by more than 50%, presumably because of Trump’s tariffs."