The Conversation -- May 2, 2025
Jeff Stein & Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "The White House released a partial budget proposal Friday calling for $163 billion in cuts to federal spending in the next fiscal year, pushing reductions to health care, education and many other government programs while boosting spending on defense and homeland security. The White House's 2026 fiscal budget plan would codify for next year many of the spending cuts already unilaterally implemented this year by ... Donald Trump or billionaire Elon Musk's U.S. DOGE Service. The administration has struggled to convince Republicans in Congress to enshrine even a small portion of those cuts into law, and the courts have also ordered the White House to resume much of the spending, leaving the fate of the changes unclear for now. ~~~
~~~ Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: Donald "Trump's budget drew harsh criticism on Friday from a trio of powerful Republican senators, who rejected what they said were woefully inadequate resources for the military, and suggested they would ignore his plan and ensure that Congress provided far more money for their priorities. In separate statements, the senior Republicans -- Senators Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee; Susan Collins of Maine, the chairwoman of the appropriations committee; and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the chairman of the appropriations subcommittee on defense -- expressed their disdain for Mr. Trump's proposal." ~~~
~~~ Eric Lipton of the New York Times: "Elon Musk and SpaceX are big winners in Donald J. Trump's 2026 spending plan. [Mr.] Trump is delivering on Mr. Musk's wish list at both NASA and the Pentagon to reorient federal spending on space in a way likely to drive billions of dollars in new business to Mr. Musk's calling for a massive jump in spending, an extraordinary 13 percent increase, almost entirely through allocations in a Congressional budget reconciliation plan under consideration. The jump would happen while many other federal agencies would be slashed, in part to supercharge federal spending in two areas where SpaceX is positioned to profit: a vast missile defense system and space missions to Mars and the moon." MB: Oh, please, couldn't we get a huge fleet of Cybertrucks, too? ~~~
~~~ Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "Two of ... [Donald] Trump's favorite targets -- the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- will have their funding cut nearly in half under Mr. Trump's proposed budget, which also wipes out a $4.1 billion program that helps low-income Americans pay their heating and cooling bills. The budget blueprint, released Friday, advances, in hard numbers and biting words, Mr. Trump's assault on the nation's universities and scientific research enterprise. It calls the N.I.H., the world's premier biomedical research agency, 'too big and unfocused,' and proposes to cut its funding to $27 billion from roughly $48 billion.... 'NIH has broken the trust of the American people with wasteful spending, misleading information, risky research, and the promotion of dangerous ideologies that undermine public health,' the budget document declares. It goes on to effectively accuse the institutes of funding research that led to the coronavirus pandemic, and says the N.I.H. has 'also promoted radical gender ideology to the detriment of America's youth.'"
Andrew Duehren, et al., of the New York Times: Donald "Trump said on Friday that Harvard would lose its tax-exempt status, repeating his intent to enlist the Internal Revenue Service in his feud with the wealthy research university and upend the school's finances. 'We are going to be taking away Harvard's Tax Exempt Status. It's what they deserve!' Mr. Trump wrote on social media. It was not immediately clear if the I.R.S. was in fact moving forward with revoking Harvard's tax-exempt status, a change that could typically occur only after a lengthy process."
Jessica Glenza of the Guardian: "The US supreme court justice Ketanji Brown Jackson condemned the Trump administration's attacks on the judiciary in a cutting speech at a judicial conference on Thursday evening. Without mentioning Donald Trump by name, Jackson spoke of 'the elephant in the room' and rhetoric from the White House 'designed to intimidate the judiciary'. ' Across the nation, judges are facing increased threats of not only physical violence, but also professional retaliation just for doing our jobs,' said Jackson, according to the New York Times. 'And the attacks are not random. They seem designed to intimidate those of us who serve in this critical capacity.'" ~~~
~~~ Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Jackson's unusually pointed comments received a standing ovation from the judges and lawyers in attendance. Her 18-minute fulmination is the strongest public statement by any member of the Supreme Court since the Trump administration began denouncing judges who have blocked Trump's policies...."
Chutzpah is lying to dodge the draft and then asking the Army to celebrate your damn birthday. -- Mrs. Betty Bowers on Bluesky (thanks to laura h. for the link)
Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "As the grave consequences of the administration's policies become apparent, Trump and his lieutenants have retreated to a fantasyland.... As the situation worsens around him, [Trump's] lies seem all the more absurd. He maintained this week that 'gasoline's down' in price (it's flat) and that 'tourism is way up' (it's way down) that 'eggs are down 87 percent' (he seems to make up a new percentage with each telling) and 'groceries are down' (they're up) and that DOGE has 'found hundreds of billions of dollars of waste, fraud, and abuse' (even Musk's own dubious and double-counted figures don't say that)."
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Orlando Mayorquin, et al., of the New York Times: "... this year, [May Day] demonstrations in the United States were supercharged with the breadth of the anti-Trump movement, as outcry continued to grow over the president's agenda and expansion of executive power. Protesters denounced the administration's effort to roll back workers' rights -- a particular sore spot on a day dedicated to celebrating organized labor -- as well as plans to cut education funding and carry out mass deportations.... A rally in Los Angeles began early on Thursday and focused largely on rights of migrants, who in California also make up the ranks of workers.... The police closed streets for the crowds in major cities including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington. But protesters also rallied in small communities that voted overwhelmingly for ... [Donald] Trump, including Norman, Okla.; Sauk City, Wis.; and Hendersonville, N.C." ~~~
Teo Armus of the Washington Post: "For the crowd of hundreds assembled outside the White House on Thursday afternoon, the message displayed on a large banner onstage seemed to sum it all up: 'Worker Rights, Immigrant Rights.' 'May Day is our day,' Jaime Contreras, executive vice president of the union 32BJ SEIU, said while standing in front of the banner. 'This day was born out of blood, sweat, tears and sacrifice, where workers refuse to be treated like machines.' That connection between immigrants and labor unions was highlighted again and again by a mix of labor leaders and left-leaning Democrats in Congress at the rally. Immigrant labor, they said, was what made the country run and operate -- and what was increasingly under attack as ... Donald Trump has tried to deliver on his campaign promise of mass deportations." ~~~
~~~ The Well-dressed Protester. Santul Nerkar of the New York Times: "About 1,500 demonstrators, many of them lawyers sporting business attire, jammed the plaza outside Manhattan's federal courthouse as part of the National Law Day of Action, chanting in favor of the rule of law and hoisting pocket Constitutions to the sky. It was one of around 50 similar actions around the nation on Thursday, led by lawyers who said ... [Donald] Trump was threatening the foundation of America's legal system.... In his second term, Mr. Trump has aimed to hobble elite law firms, threatened to impeach judges and ignored their orders. For many in the profession, his actions have presented an unpalatable choice between compromising their values by staying silent and facing professional risk by speaking out."
New York Times Editors: "The first 100 days of President Trump's second term have done more damage to American democracy than anything else since the demise of Reconstruction. Mr. Trump is attempting to create a presidency unconstrained by Congress or the courts, in which he and his appointees can override written law when they want to. It is precisely the autocratic approach that this nation's founders sought to prevent when writing the Constitution. Mr. Trump has the potential to do far more harm in the remainder of his term.... The patriotic response to today's threat is to oppose Mr. Trump.... Mr. Trump has attacked at least five pillars of American democracy in his first 100 days: Separation of powers.... Due process.... Equal justice under law.... Free speech and freedom of the press.... Government for the people." It appears the Times is publishing its own editorial with a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Somebody on JayDee's staff wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post which a Jeff Bezos employee titled, "What President Trump achieved in his first 100 days." MB: I didn't read a word of the op-ed but here's a link to it. Firewalled. Wouldn't you think one of the richest people in the world could afford to let you read his little vanity publication for free? An astute observer of Orban's Hungary told MSNBC's Alex Wagner she wouldn't be surprised if Jeff deep-sixed the Post altogether, the better to please Dictator Don, in the same way he dropped consideration of the "tariff" line from Amazon's itemized statements the moment Don complained about the proposal.
Erica Green of the New York Times: "On Thursday night..., [Donald] Trump addressed the 2025 graduates of the University of Alabama, vacillating between campaign rally material and a commencement speech as he used his past political grievances to encourage students to fight for their futures.... Even in a college town, Mr. Trump was in relatively friendly territory in the heavily Republican state, which he carried easily in all three of his presidential bids. But there were protests, and a petition from the University of Alabama Democrats and the local chapter of the N.A.A.C.P. against Mr. Trump's appearance drew more than 26,000 signatures.... About two miles from Coleman Coliseum, the university's Democrats held a protest joined by former Representative Beto O'Rourke of Texas and former Senator Doug Jones of Alabama.... But Mr. Trump was enthusiastically received by the thousands of attendees at Coleman Coliseum. Mr. Trump's address was part of a 'special ceremony' before 6,000 students begin attending formal graduation ceremonies on Friday. The pre-commencement ceremony was optional for students, and tickets were opened to guests." The AP report is here.
Qasim Nauman of the New York Times: Donald "Trump on Thursday signed an executive order aiming to cut federal funding for NPR and PBS, accusing the outlets of producing biased coverage and 'left-wing propaganda.' Mr. Trump instructed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds public broadcasters in the United States, to end federal funding for NPR and PBS, to the extent allowed by law. The news outlets only receive a small portion of its funding from Congress, with the rest coming from donors and sponsors. The immediate impact of the order was unclear. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a taxpayer-backed, private entity created by an act of Congress, is funded two years in advance to protect it from political maneuvering. The executive order was the latest move by the Trump administration against what it described as biased public media. The White House released a document accompanying the order on its website, criticizing the two broadcasters' coverage of, among other topics, the Covid-19 pandemic and Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joseph R. Biden Jr." The AP's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Why the father of Dumb & Dumber keeps flogging Joe Biden's son is beyond me. I can't recall that President Biden ever said a word against Junior & Eric, who have been actively aiding and abetting Trump's Operation Corruption, Inc. since Trump began running for office in 2015. AND here's Jimmy Kimmel talking about Don Jr.'s new club -- which costs $500K to join -- that promises access to top White House officials. That, Kimmel reminds us, is exactly what Trump and Republicans accused Hunter Biden of doing: charging for access to a top White House official:
Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "The audience ... -- comprised of Republicans, Democrats, and independents -- ... at NewsNation's town hall with ... Donald Trump burst into laughter on Wednesday after Trump said he did not believe he had made any mistakes during his first 100 days in the White House. (Also linked yesterday.)
digby has more barfables from Trump's Cabinet meeting worship service Wednesday. Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Ana Swanson of the New York Times: "The Trump administration on Friday officially eliminated a loophole that had allowed American shoppers to buy cheap goods from China without paying tariffs. The move will help U.S. manufacturers that have struggled to compete with a wave of low-cost Chinese products, but it has already resulted in higher prices for Americans who shop online. The loophole, called the de minimis rule, allowed products up to $800 to avoid tariffs and other red tape as long as they were shipped directly to U.S. consumers or small businesses. It resulted in a surge of individually addressed packages to the United States, many shipped by air and ordered from rapidly growing e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu."~~~
~~~ Marie: Huh. For the first time yesterday, I purchases something via Temu. At checkout, where the costs are itemized (product, shipping, sales tax), this notice appeared, "No import charges for all local warehouse items and no extra charges upon delivery." We'll see what happens next. ~~~
~~~ Agnes Chang & Pablo Robles of the New York Times: "The result could be immediate and costly: T-shirts, stationery and other low-price products on popular e-commerce sites and elsewhere could shoot up in price as shipping carriers and sellers factor in new import taxes. Packages could be delayed, too, as processing goods becomes much more intensive for customs officials." The price of a $10 T-shirt could go to $28.54 to include added tariffs of 145% & 39.5%. OR it could go to $110, if retailers add a $100 per-package shipping fee. ~~~
~~~ Chris Velazco of the Washington Post: "Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly addressed the impact of tariffs on the iPhone maker's business for the first time on an earnings call Thursday, saying they could add $900 million to the company's overall costs. The company faced limited impact from shifting trade policies earlier this year, Cook said, in part because the company was able to 'optimize' its supply chain. The figure is assuming 'current global tariff rates, policies and applications do not change' throughout Apple's April-to-June quarter, Cook said on a conference call with analysts Thursday. He also said Apple expects that the majority of iPhones sold in the United States will have India as their country of origin, and that Vietnam will be the country of origin for almost all iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and AirPods products sold domestically in the current quarter."
Paul Krugman: "... it's important to be clear that the bad [economic] news is all on Trump's head, and we mustn't let him get away with claiming otherwise.... Most of the time presidents have much less impact on the economy than many people believe.... A president's policies usually don't have large economic effects in the first few months of their administration. But Trump's policies have been so extreme that they are already making the economy visibly worse. In particular, expectations of high tariffs began distorting business decisions even before the tariffs went into effect. If you look at the GDP numbers released yesterday, you see a huge surge in imports coupled with a large surge in inventories. Both of these clearly reflected businesses 'front-running' expected tariffs, racing to buy as much from China in particular as they could before the tariffs went into effect.... We're ... already seeing signs of Trump's policies causing broad economic weakness[.]" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Bonus Krugman: In this short post Krugman also (a) knocks the NYT headline writers, (b) insists that "data: is plural, and (c) mocks Trump for "com[ing] out as a critic of consumerism and proponent of the higher, spiritual side of life."
Trump Corruption, International Edition, Ctd. David Yaffe-Bellany of the New York Times: "Sitting in front of a packed auditorium in Dubai, a founder of the Trump family cryptocurrency business [Zach Witkoff] made a brief but monumental announcement on Thursday. A fund backed by Abu Dhabi, he said, would be making a $2 billion business deal using the Trump firm's digital coins. That transaction would be a major contribution by a foreign government to ... [Donald] Trump's private venture -- one that stands to generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the Trump family. And it is a public and vivid illustration of the ethical conflicts swirling around Mr. Trump's crypto firm, which has blurred the boundary between business and government.... Witkoff ... revealed that a so-called stablecoin developed by the [Trump family cryptofirm World Liberty Financial], would be used to complete the transaction between the state-backed Emirati investment firm MGX and Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world. Virtually every detail of Mr. Witkoff's announcement, made during a conference panel with Mr. Trump's ... son [Eric], contained a conflict of interest.
"MGX's use of the World Liberty stablecoin, USD1, brings a Trump family company into business with a venture firm backed by a foreign government. The deal creates a formal link between World Liberty and Binance -- a company that has been under U.S. government oversight since 2023, when it admitted to violating federal money-laundering laws. And the splashy announcement served as an advertisement to crypto investors worldwide about the potential for forming a partnership with a company tied to [Donald] Trump, who is listed as World Liberty's chief crypto advocate." MB: Speaking of all-in-the-family, Zach is the son of Steve Witkoff, Trump's favorite (but inexperienced) international negotiator. (Also linked yesterday.)
This Was the Story Late Yesterday Morning. Adios, Muchachos! Jennifer Jacobs & Kathryn Watson of CBS News: "National security adviser Mike Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, will be leaving their posts in the Trump White House, according to multiple sources familiar with their departure. They are expected to leave Thursday, sources say. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.... The president's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, is having conversations with some of the National Security Council staff today, sources said. In March, Waltz came under scrutiny after he put together a Signal chat and mistakenly included The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, disclosing discussions with top national security officials about plans for a military strike on Houthi targets in Yemen. Goldberg published his account, and he initially omitted operational details, but after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe denied any classified information had been shared on the chat, Goldberg published that information, too, which included the timing of the strikes and the weapons packages used." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: Donald "Trump is ousting his national security adviser, Michael Waltz, and another senior member of the White House's foreign policy team, the first significant personnel overhaul of top aides in his second term, according to people familiar with the situation." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ But Later That Same Morning: Dylan Stableford of Yahoo! News: Donald "Trump said Thursday he is removing Mike Waltz from his role as national security adviser and in the interim replacing him with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump said he's nominating Waltz to instead serve as the United States ambassador to the United Nations. 'From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation's Interests first,' Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. 'I know he will do the same in his new role.' Multiple news outlets reported earlier Thursday that Trump was planning on ousting Waltz as national security adviser, just over a month after the Signal group chat security breach." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Edward Wong of the New York Times: "... Marco Rubio, 53, has accumulated four titles starting with his confirmation as secretary of state on Jan. 20, the same day that Mr. Trump took his oath of office.... Acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Acting archivist for the National Archives and Records Administration. And now interim national security adviser to ... [Donald] Trump.... Mr. Rubio's appointment to yet another job -- as if he were cloned in a B-grade sci-fi movie -- was so sudden that Tammy Bruce, the State Department spokeswoman, learned about it when a reporter read Mr. Trump's social media post to her during a regular televised news conference." MB: IOW, as it will come as no surprise to you, there is no planning, no coordination, no thought put into even these critical, high-level personnel matters. We're looking at Government by Fleeting Whim. ~~~
~~~ Abigail Hauslohner of the Washington Post: "Senate Democrats who have complained of a Trump administration impervious to their pleas for oversight and accountability, following recent national security blunders, will soon have the opportunity to interrogate the man at the heart of it all. Michael Waltz, who did not require congressional approval to serve as ... Donald Trump's national security adviser, will need the Senate's approval if he is to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.... The Signal scandal, followed by Waltz's spectacular ouster after three months as national security adviser, sets up a potentially explosive confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee." MB: While he was punting on what to do with Waltz, maybe Trump didn't think about the Senate confirmation thingee. Don't be surprised if Waltz becomes the acting ambassador to the U.N. ~~~
~~~ Caught on Camera. Michael Birnbaum & Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Newly ousted national security adviser Michael Waltz, who came under scrutiny for his usage of the messaging app Signal to discuss sensitive military operations, was photographed at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday appearing to use a modified Signal app to conduct official business with Cabinet members and other top ... officials. Parts of several conversations on Waltz's phone were visible in Reuters photographs from the meeting. A message from someone named Rubio ... read '... there is time.' A Tuesday message from someone with the same name as Vice President JD Vance read, 'I have confirmation from my counterpart it's turned off. He is going to be here in ...' It also appeared that Waltz had used Signal's phone functionality to call Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.... The app Waltz was using appeared to be 'TM SGNL,' a modified version of Signal that retains and archives messages so that it is compliant with presidential records preservation requirements.... 'As we have said many times, Signal is an approved app for government use and is loaded on government phones,' White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said."
Marie: If government waste, fraud and abuse trouble you, then the person to look at first is not a NOAA employee launching weather balloons in Maine of a ranger sweeping the forest floor in Wyoming. While it's true that Elon, so far, has wasted more money than has Trump (albeit with Trump's approval), Trump himself has done his share of wasting taxpayer dollars -- and not just in the multi-millions already accrued in expenses associated with his golf outings and other frivolous activities. Here's one example: ~~~
~~~⭐Perry Stein & Beth Reinhard of the Washington Post: "Liz Oyer, the Justice Department's recently fired pardon attorney, made a staggering claim on social media this week: ... Donald Trump's pardons of people convicted of white-collar crimes have cost Americans $1 billion. She arrived at the number by adding up all the money that people who were pardoned allegedly owed in restitution, based on how much they were convicted of stealing. Some pardon recipients had not been sentenced, which means that a judge had not yet ruled on prosecutors' calculations of what they owed back to their victims. At least one pardon recipient had already started paying restitution and could attempt to get that money back. Oyer, who has been outspoken against the Trump administration since her ouster, told The Washington Post that the $1 billion figure highlights the unusually high number of Republican allies convicted of fraud and pardoned by Trump before they served their sentences -- a significant break from the traditional and often protracted pardon application process." ~~~
~~~ Oh, And This. Lolita Baldor of the AP: "Detailed Army plans for a potential military parade on ... Donald Trump's birthday in June call for more than 6,600 soldiers, at least 150 vehicles, 50 helicopters, seven bands and possibly a couple thousand civilians, The Associated Press has learned. The planning documents, obtained by the AP, are dated April 29 and 30 and have not been publicly released. They represent the Army's most recent blueprint for its long-planned 250th anniversary festival on the National Mall and the newly added element -- a large military parade that Trump has long wanted but is still being discussed. The Army anniversary just happens to coincide with Trump's 79th birthday on June 14."
Gosh, it turns out Elon Musk really is proud of being the "DOGEfather." Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "The Pentagon is creating a second expanded military zone at the southwestern border, to be patrolled by U.S. soldiers, in the Trump administration's latest step to militarize the boundary with Mexico to help stem the flow of migrants. The military's Northern Command said in a statement on Thursday evening that it was establishing a narrow strip of land along the southern border of Texas that will become part of Fort Bliss, near El Paso. The strip will be about 63 miles long. Last month, the Pentagon created a 60-foot-wide strip of land along 200 miles of the border between New Mexico and Mexico, effectively turning it into part of a U.S. military base there. Migrants entering the newly designated military installations, or national defense areas, will be considered to be trespassing and can be temporarily detained by U.S. troops until Border Patrol agents arrive, military officials said. A small group of migrants was charged on Monday with crossing into the military zone in New Mexico after an Army helicopter spotted them approaching the border and alerted the Border Patrol."
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to let it remove protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants who had been allowed to remain in the United States without risk of deportation under a program known as Temporary Protected Status. In February, Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, terminated an 18-month extension of T.P.S. protection that had been granted to Venezuelans by the Biden administration. People affected by the change sued.... In March, Judge Edward M. Chen of the Federal District Court in San Francisco blocked the administration's efforts to remove the protections for Venezuelans while the case moved forward. He said that the plaintiffs had demonstrated they were likely to succeed in showing that Ms. Noem's actions were 'unauthorized by law, arbitrary and capricious, and motivated by unconstitutional animus.' Judge Chen found that terminating the initiative would inflict irreparable harm 'on hundreds of thousands of persons whose lives, families and livelihoods will be severely disrupted, cost the United States billions in economic activity and injure public health and safety in communities throughout the United States.' The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected the administration's request that it pause Judge Chen's ruling."
⭐Kyle Cheney of Politico: <"... Donald Trump's invocation of a wartime power to summarily deport Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador was 'unlawful,' a federal judge ruled Thursday, blocking the administration from further deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The decision from U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez, Jr., a Trump appointee, is the latest sharp rebuke to one of Trump's most aggressive and high-profile efforts to quickly carry out deportations with little or no due process.... The Alien Enemies Act applies only when the country is facing an armed organized attack, Rodriguez ruled. Trump's claims about Tren de Aragua's activities in the United States fall short of that bar, the judge added." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times report is here.
Marcie Jones of Wonkette on some of the Homeland Security atrocities: "There've been deaths in custody, at least five that we know of since January 20.... We've got children as young as three being forced to somehow defend themselves in court, because the administration has cut funding for their legal aid. A judge ordered it be restored, but CNN reports that hasn't happened.... More things that are simply outrageous and unacceptable: the family of American citizens who had their house raided in Oklahoma.... And then there's the students, tourists, and more than 200 people who accidentally made a wrong turn in Detroit and found themselves at the Canadian border, and then detained.... In mid-February ICE stopped using body cameras.... The Justice Department has told immigration agents in a secret memo that they can bust into houses and arrest people under the Alien Enemies Act with no warrant.... 'According to sworn declarations filed in court by those detained, Border Patrol agents slashed tires, yanked people out of trucks, threw people to the ground, and called farmworkers 'Mexican bitches'" [because they looked Hispanic].... It's all part of the plan for as much cruelty as possible." Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Steve Thomason & Maria Paúl of the Washington Post: "Tennessee state law enforcement officials on Thursday released video footage of a 2022 traffic stop of Kilmar Abrego García, the Maryland resident who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March and is still being held in prison there. Abrego García was stopped for speeding by Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers near Cookeville, Tennessee. Police said he was going 75 mph in a 65 mph zone along Interstate 40, according to the video released by the state's Department of Safety & Homeland Security. There were about eight other people inside the SUV, and before the encounter was over police said they suspected Abrego García of carrying undocumented immigrants from Texas to the Maryland area for money. Despite those suspicions, both the officers and Abrego García struck a friendly tone during most of the 1-hour, 22-minute stop.... The stop ... has been highlighted by Trump administration officials as evidence that Abrego García is a dangerous criminal. But he was not arrested or charged with any crime during the encounter."
Minho Kim of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court in Washington ruled on Thursday night that, for now, the Trump administration could continue to withhold money from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks, federally funded organizations that provide news coverage to countries with limited press freedoms. In doing so, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit temporarily reversed parts of two lower-court rulings from last month that stopped the administration from cutting off funds to the news outlets. The appeals court kept in effect parts of one lower court ruling, which required that Trump officials bring back journalists at Voice of America, another federally funded newsroom, from paid leave and resume its news programming. Unlike Voice of America, which is a government entity, the other three news outlets are private nonprofits that have independent hiring authorities but receive nearly all of their funding from Congress."
Devlin Barrett of the New York Times: "A federal judge [-- U.S. District Court judge, Otis D. Wright II --] on Wednesday rejected a bid by the Justice Department to free a former F.B.I. informant who had pleaded guilty to lying about Hunter Biden and evading his taxes, saying that nothing about the facts of the case had changed and the man might still flee if released. The longtime informant, Alexander Smirnov, pleaded guilty in December in exchange for a six-year prison sentence, admitting that he had lied to the government when he claimed to have information about a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son Hunter. Before Mr. Smirnov was charged and eventually admitted his guilt, Republican lawmakers had promoted his false claims about the Bidens in their push to try to impeach President Biden. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Mr. Smirnov's allegations were also amplified by the Trump supporter Kash Patel, who is now the director of the F.B.I. Then, in an abrupt reversal this month, the Justice Department that had sent Mr. Smirnov to prison filed court papers seeking to have him released early.... That request was filed under instructions from senior Justice Department officials in Washington, according to people familiar with the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions." (Also linked yesterday.)
Noam Scheiber of the New York Times: "When big law firms attacked by ... [Donald] Trump decided to make a deal with him rather than fight, many did so because their leaders feared that clients would abandon a firm caught on the administration's bad side. Now that logic may be getting less compelling. A major company, Microsoft, has dropped a law firm that settled with the administration [-- Simpson Thacher --] in favor of one that is fighting it [-- Jenner & Block].... Microsoft declined to comment on why it changed law firms in a significant case last week, but the switch suggests that a firm that chose to fight the Trump administration could still attract an important client." (Also linked yesterday.)
Trump wants nice White Americans to have more babies, but he doesn't care if those babies die in their cribs: ~~~
~~~ Ismael Belkoura of Medill News Service, published by STAT: "The Trump administration has cancelled federal participation in Safe to Sleep, a 30-year campaign to prevent babies from dying in their sleep, STAT and the Medill News Service have learned. The elimination of the National Institutes of Health's role in the program, which helped slash infant deaths in the 2000s, comes at a time when sleep-related deaths among infants have increased. Sudden infant death rates were up nearly 12% between 2020 and 2022, according to the most recent data in a
Somebody Save Us from This Guy! Alexander Tin of CBS News: "Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will ask the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop new guidance for treating measles with drugs and vitamins, an HHS spokesperson said.... Vaccination is the only way to prevent the highly infectious disease that can cause serious health complications or death in some cases. 'Secretary Kennedy will be enlisting the entire agency to activate a scientific process to treat a host of diseases, including measles, with single or multiple existing drugs in combination with vitamins and other modalities,' the HHS spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News. The statement said the CDC effort would involve working with universities 'to develop protocols, conduct testing, and pursue approval for new uses of safe and effective therapeutics that meet the highest scientific standards.' While the CDC is continuing to recommend vaccination 'as the most effective way to prevent the disease,' the statement says they recognize some Americans 'may choose not to vaccinate.'" ~~~
~~~ Alexander Tin of CBS News: "The Department of Health and Human Services has transferred $500 million from research into next-generation COVID-19 vaccines, redirecting the money to a single vaccine project linked to the Trump administration's former acting head of the National Institutes of Health. Multiple federal health officials said they were surprised by the announcement, which bypassed the usual procedures overseen by career scientists at the NIH and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, known as BARDA. Those reviews are intended to ensure that federal research money goes to the projects with the greatest scientific merit.... All of the money is being transferred to an influenza vaccine project called beta-propiolactone or BPL, according to emails seen by CBS News. Two officials said the decision to pour $500 million into a single vaccine platform is unusual, given the limited data on it.... BARDA and NIH officials were ordered to redirect the money to Memoli's research by Noah Miller, a special assistant hired by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to emails seen by CBS News. Two officials said it was unusual for a political appointee to handpick a project or researcher to be funded without vetting from career scientists or outside review." ~~~
~~~ The RFKJ Anti-Vax Story Just Got Worse. Christina Jewett& Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday announced plans to require all new vaccines to be tested against placebos and to develop new vaccines without using mRNA technology, moves that extend his reach deep into vaccine development and raise questions about whether Covid boosters will be available in the fall. A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services called the requirement for placebo testing 'a radical departure' from existing standards. But that will depend on how the department defines 'new,' because most new vaccines are already tested either against placebos -- inert substances -- or, in some cases, against vaccines for other diseases. Mr. Kennedy is one of the nation's leading vaccine skeptics[*], and he has been vocal about his disdain for mRNA technology, which was used to develop coronavirus vaccines during the first Trump administration. He once wrote on social media that 'mRNA jabs don't stop infection, don't block transmission, don't block mutants, don't last, don't work at all.'... Mr. Kennedy's announcements on Thursday represent an extraordinary use of his power as secretary to make decisions ordinarily left to career scientists at the F.D.A." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ * Marie: Kennedy is not a vaccine "skeptic"; he's a vaccine denier or anti-vaxxer. And he's something I didn't know: he's also a germ denier. ~~~
~~~ He Thinks He's Got the Vapors. Beth Mole of Ars Technica: "Kennedy's thoughts and actions make a lot more sense when you realize he doesn't believe in a foundational scientific principle: germ theory.... Germ theory is, of course, the 19th-century proven idea that microscopic germs -- pathogenic viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi -- cause disease. It supplanted the leading explanation of disease at the time, the miasma theory, which suggests that diseases are caused by miasma, that is, noxious mists and vapors, or simply bad air arising from decaying matter...." In a book vilifying Dr. Anthony Fauci, Kennedy wrote a chapter touting what he thought was the miasma theory but was more like something called the "terrain" theory which hypothesizes that imbalances in the body's "terrain" (milieu intérieur) cause diseases. In the chapter, Kennedy derides germ theory "as a tool ... the pharmaceutical industry and pushy scientists use to justify selling modern medicines.... In all, the chapter provides a clear explanation of why Kennedy relentlessly attacks evidence-based medicines; vilifies the pharmaceutical industry; suggests HIV doesn't cause AIDS and antidepressants are behind mass shootings; believes that vaccines are harmful, not protective; claims 5G wireless networks cause cancer; suggests chemicals in water are changing children's gender identities; and is quick to promote supplements to prevent and treat diseases." Thanks to laura h. for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Trump would like to take us back to the days before the Civil War when we didn't have those pesky Constitutional Amendments that made Black Americans whole and granted all Americans equal rights. Trump's HHS secretary would like to take us back to the days before the Civil War, because it was in the 1860s that Louis Pasteur and others began proving that diseases are caused by microscopic beasties. That said, I think the real inspiration for Trump, Kennedy, et al., is the Middle Ages; they oppose the Age of Reason or the Enlightenment, from which they may believe (perhaps accurately) that the "radical left" has sprung. They prefer to go back to the days when their "feelings" are determinative, and rational, scientific thought is anathema. If you yell at them, "You can't handle the truth!" it's not a slur. It's a fact.
Four-hundred Pages of Trumpy Prejudice. Azeen Ghorayshi & Amy Harmon of the New York Times: "Federal health officials published a report on Thursday declaring that the use of hormonal and surgical treatments in young people with gender dysphoria lacked scientific evidence and expressing concern about long-term harms, a stark reversal from previous agency recommendations and the advice of top U.S. medical groups. The report instead prioritized the role of psychotherapy, a divisive intervention to treat gender dysphoria that many advocates and physicians have equated with so-called conversion therapy. Other parts of the review seemed to call into question the very notion that some people have a gender identity that does not align with their sex at birth.... In a remarkable departure from the standard for medical evidence reviews, the authors were not identified pending a post-publication review process that would begin in 'the coming days.'...
"In January..., [Donald] Trump signed an executive order titled 'Protecting Children From Chemical and Surgical Mutilation' giving the Department of Health and Human Services 90 days to produce a report on the best practices for treating young people who say their gender does not align with their birth sex.... 'This report misrepresents the current medical consensus and fails to reflect the realities of pediatric care,' said Dr. Susan Kressly, president of the [American Academy of Pediatrics]. 'The report prioritizes opinions over dispassionate reviews of evidence.'"
Charlie Savage & Devlin Barrett of the New York Times: "The Justice Department unveiled a revised regulation for leak investigations on Thursday, restoring the ability of federal investigators to use court orders, warrants and subpoenas to go after reporters' phone records, notes or testimony under certain circumstances. The move by Attorney General Pam Bondi rolls back a policy from her predecessor, Merrick B. Garland ... that flatly banned going after reporters' information in leak investigations. Mr. Garland's policy was a major shift after two decades in which the Justice Department had become increasingly aggressive in prosecuting leaks as crimes, a tactic that was vanishingly rare in the 20th century but became routine in the 21st under administrations of both parties. Mr. Garland changed the policy after the revelation in 2021 that the Justice Department, under Attorney General William P. Barr, had secretly pursued email records of reporters at The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN during President Trump's first term. At the time, Mr. Garland said that a flat ban on such tactics was necessary to 'allow journalists to perform the crucial work of informing the public without fear of legal consequences.'"
Devlin Barrett of the New York Times: "A top Trump appointee in the Justice Department ordered an aggressive investigation in the last several months of student protesters at Columbia University, raising anger and alarm among career prosecutors and investigators who saw the demand as politically motivated and lacking legal merit, people familiar with the episode said. The demand for the inquiry into students who protested Israel's conduct of the conflict in Gaza also prompted pushback from a federal magistrate judge, who believed some of the steps being sought by the official, Emil Bove III, were unjustified and might violate the First Amendment, the people said.... Those types of demands from political appointees at the Justice Department are part of the reason there has been an exodus of lawyers from the [civil rights] division in recent weeks, according to current and former officials."
There are quite a few ways -- some profound and some petty -- the Trump administration can harass a person whom Trump doesn't like. Here's a petty one: ~~~
~~~ Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Chris Krebs, the former cybersecurity official in ... [Donald] Trump's first term whom the president recently targeted for investigation because he had said that the 2020 election had been conducted securely, learned this week that his membership in a program giving travelers expedited status had been revoked. Mr. Krebs received an email on Wednesday alerting him that his status in the Global Entry program had changed, prompting him to log into his account. The program, run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, lets people deemed low-risk re-enter the country faster than normal travelers." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Eileen Sullivan, et al., of the New York Times: "Trump administration officials said on Thursday that Chris Krebs, who debunked ... [Donald] Trump's lies about the 2020 election as head of the federal cybersecurity agency, lost his membership in an expedited customs program for travelers because he is facing a federal investigation. The officials declined to specify why Mr. Krebs was under investigation, nor did they indicate which agencies were conducting the inquiry. The disclosure came three weeks after Mr. Trump, in an act of score settling and intimidation, directed the Justice Department to investigate Mr. Krebs." MB: Congrats to the reporters here for stating flat-out that Trump ordered the Krebs investigation as "an act of score settling and intimidation." Only a short time ago, the very best readers could have expected was "an apparent act...." Or, more likely, "in what some say was an act...."
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Florida. Lori Rozsa of the Washington Post: "More than 1,100 people have been arrested in Florida over the past week as part of a sweeping immigration operation involving state and federal law enforcement agents, Department of Homeland Security officials and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said on Thursday. Federal agents worked with local sheriffs and members of Florida's highway patrol, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and National Guard to apprehend people across the state.... Larry Keefe, who heads Florida's new board of immigration enforcement, said the joint mission ... could be replicated in other states. He said it is the largest immigration operation in Florida history." ~~~
~~~ Marie: When I lived in Florida, I wanted the highway patrol patrolling the highways (what a concept!), the fish & game people catching the giant alligators that swam past my house on the Caloosahatchee, and the National Guard helping out after hurricanes. I did not want them chasing after my neighbors who were going about their daily lives without incident.
You Might Be an Okie ... if you expect crazy conspiracy theories to be part of your child's high-school social studies curriculum. ~~~
~~~ Oklahoma. Education, Big-Lie Style. Judd Legum, et al., of Popular Information: "Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, thousands of high school students in Oklahoma will be required to learn about ... [Donald] Trump's debunked claims that the 2020 election was tainted by fraud. The lesson will not be part of a course on conspiracy theories, but an official component of the new social studies curriculum created by Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters (R).... In March, Walters said the purpose of this section was to teach 'students to think for themselves' and 'not be spoon-fed left-wing propaganda.' According to Walters, there are 'legitimate concerns' about the integrity of the 2020 election that were 'raised by millions of Americans in 2020.'" (Also linked yesterday.) -100-
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