The Conversation -- June 4, 2025
David Nakamura, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump on Wednesday restricted the entry of travelers to the United States from more than a dozen countries, resurrecting and expanding sweeping restrictions from his first term that are expected to draw swift legal challenges. The presidential proclamation, slated to go into effect June 9, fully restricts the entry of individuals from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also partially restricts the entry of travelers from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. The Trump administration, in a document circulated Wednesday evening, cited national security concerns and said the president made his decision after reviewing a State Department report. Authorities said the ban was necessary to compel foreign governments to cooperate with their agenda and enforce the country’s immigration laws.... In a video released by the White House, the president referred to the attack Sunday that injured a dozen demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado.... Federal authorities said the attack was carried out by an immigrant from Egypt who arrived on a visa. Egypt is not on the list of countries whose citizens will be restricted or barred from entering the United States.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Evidently executive orders don't have to make sense.
Michael Bender of the New York Times: Donald “Trump said on Wednesday that he would prevent Harvard University’s international students from entering the country, announcing an aggressive move six days after a federal judge said she would halt the administration’s efforts to disqualify those students from receiving visas. Mr. Trump, in the same proclamation, also urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to consider revoking current visas for Harvard students.... On Thursday, Judge Allison D. Burroughs of the District of Massachusetts said she would block an effort by the Department of Homeland Security to prevent Harvard from enrolling international students.... But Judge Burroughs has not yet issued an injunction, and the administration has continued seeking options for keeping international students out of the country.” At 9:45 pm ET Wednesday, this is a breaking news story.
Sharon Otterman of the New York Times: “The Trump administration escalated its attack on Columbia University on Wednesday by taking a warning shot against its accreditation, a key credential that U.S. universities need to receive federal student aid. The federal Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, which two weeks ago found that Columbia violated civil rights laws by 'acting with deliberate indifference' toward the harassment of Jewish students, sent a letter on Wednesday to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the nongovernmental organization that accredits Columbia. The letter said that because Columbia was in violation of federal anti-discrimination laws, the Education Department believes it fails to meet the standards for accreditation.”
~~~ Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~
~~~ Alicia Parlapiano, et al., of the New York Times: “There’s no question that ... [Donald] Trump’s proposal to stop taxing tips has broad appeal. It’s popular in polling, lawmakers in both parties support it, and now a version of the idea is on its way to becoming law. But the effect of the policy would actually be quite narrow. About 3 percent of American workers receive tips, but about a third of those employees would not see a gain from the change. That’s because of the way Republicans structured the policy in the tax legislation they passed through the House recently. Here’s who would benefit under their plan — and who wouldn’t.”
Jeff Cox of CNBC: “Private sector job creation slowed to a near standstill in May, hitting its lowest level in more than two years as signs emerged of a weakening labor market, payrolls processing firm ADP reported Wednesday. Payrolls increased just 37,000 for the month, below the downwardly revised 60,000 in April and the Dow Jones forecast for 110,000. It was the lowest monthly job total from the ADP count since March 2023.” ~~~
~~~ Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: “... Donald Trump on Wednesday angrily urged Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cut interest rates, minutes after the payroll firm ADP reported its lowest private-sector jobs number in years. 'ADP NUMBER OUT!!! “Too Late” Powell must now LOWER THE RATE,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'He is unbelievable!!!' the president said of the central bank chairman, whom he has frequently pressured to shave borrowing rates in hopes of spurring economic growth.” MB: Gosh, I wonder if just maybe Trump's tariffs, not interest rates, account for the weak jobs market. It doesn't matter, of course, because nothing is Trump's fault. Ever. Not even this: ~~~
~~~ Zach Everson of Forbes: "Of the roughly 115 retail food establishments inspected in Somerset County in May, Trump’s [Bedminister] club received the lowest score — 32 out of 100. All but one other venue scored 60 or higher, according to a county records search.... Trump’s Bedminster club continues to serve alcohol nearly a year after New Jersey declined to renew its liquor license, citing questions over whether President Trump’s felony convictions disqualify him under state law. The club has a temporary permit, which is set to expire on June 30." Thanks to laura h. for the link. The page is firewalled, and I didn't get through it, but I copied the bit laura copied in today's Comments. If you haven't used up your Forbes freebies this month (might be only one), you're good.
Paul Campos in LG&$ follows U. Michigan president Santo Ono's sudden change-of-heart on defending academic freedom. How could it be that a prestigious state university president wouldn't stand up for academic freedom? Campos has it all figured out. Thanks to RAS for the link. Still, it didn't work out for Ono -- see WashPo report under "Florida" below. And, as we were saying, Campos' post conforms with our contention that university presidents' salaries have ballooned.
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History illustrates, in no uncertain terms, the dangers of state-dictated ‘scientific truths.’... State-sponsored programs in Nazi Germany based on the ‘science’ of eugenics led to the genocide of millions of Jews, people with disabilities, and people identifying as L.G.B.T.Q.+ who were deemed to have ‘life unworthy of life.’ -- Six Thousand-Plus Scientists, Open Letter ~~~
~~~ Somini Sengupta of the New York Times: Donald “Trump has ordered what he called a restoration of a 'gold standard science' across federal agencies and national laboratories. But the May 23 executive order puts his political appointees in charge of vetting scientific research and gives them the authority to 'correct scientific information,' control the way it is communicated to the public and the power to 'discipline' anyone who violates the way the administration views science. It has prompted an open letter, signed by more than 6,000 scientists, academics, physicians, researchers and others, saying the order would destroy scientific independence. Agency heads have 30 days to comply with the order.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ “The Suicide of a Superpower.” Max Boot of the Washington Post: “Even as ... [Donald Trump] wants to showcase U.S. military power, he is doing grave and possibly irreparable damage to the real sources of U.S. strength, including its long-term investment in scientific research. Trump is declaring war on science, and the casualty will be the U.S. economy. Since the 1940s, when the University of Chicago, Columbia University and the University of California played a central role in the Manhattan Project, the engine driving U.S. economic and military competitiveness has been federal support of research universities. That partnership has produced most of the key inventions of the information age, including the internet, GPS, smartphones and artificial intelligence. Federal support of university research has also made possible the success of the United States’ world-leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.... Now Trump is sabotaging a research and development pipeline that is the envy of the world.... Trump is undercutting long-term U.S. military and economic competitiveness with his anti-intellectual animus. The weapons systems that will be paraded in Washington on June 14 won’t be of much help to the United States in the future if it falls behind in the R&D race with China.” This is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ David Ignatius of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration’s assault on American higher education is a tragic mistake. Its destructive effects could last for a generation. And the worst aspect, perhaps, is that this destruction isn’t accidental. It’s a consequence of the anti-elitist crusade against government funding for research that was proclaimed in Project 2025 and other MAGA manifestos.... On the wall of Ulrich Mueller’s neurobiology lab at Johns Hopkins University is a map with pins that show all the different countries where his research fellows were born. It’s a visual representation of what makes American science so powerful — and why that primacy is threatened.... The freedom and diversity of American higher education have operated like a magnet, attracting the world’s most brilliant minds and spinning off trillions of dollars in wealth.... But ... as the Trump administration has slashed research funding for Johns Hopkins and other great universities, Mueller said that every prominent European scholar there has been recruited by foreign universities that see a chance to poach our talent.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: I know you don't need much convincing when it comes to Musk's Boot's [thanks to NiskyGuy for the catch] point, but he does sum up some of the ways in which Trump is bludgeoning scientific development. Trump's sustained attack on science is just one of the reasons I suspect that Trump is purposely trying to destroy the United States. I don't know if he's doing this because he's working as an agent of a foreign government or because he truly has no idea what "Makes American Great." My guess would be that the latter is more likely but that malign world leaders have at least influenced him and pointed him down the path to destruction.
Peter Baker of the New York Times: “In the Oval Office one day last week..., [Donald] Trump renewed his no-holds-barred attack on the nation’s oldest university. 'They’re totally antisemitic at Harvard,' he declared. Just 10 hours later, he posted an image of himself striding down a street with the caption, 'He’s on a mission from God and nothing can stop what is coming.' Shown in the shadows, watching with approval, was a cartoon figure commonly seen as an antisemitic symbol. The appearance of the figure, the alt-right mascot, Pepe the Frog, was the latest example of Mr. Trump’s extensive history of amplifying white supremacist figures and symbols, even as he now presents himself as a champion for Jewish students....
“As a younger man, Mr. Trump kept a book of Adolf Hitler’s speeches in a cabinet by his bed, according to his first wife. During his first term as president, he expressed admiration for some aspects of the Nazi Führer’s leadership, according to his chief White House aide at the time. In the past few years, he has dined at his Florida estate with a Holocaust denier while his New Jersey golf club has hosted events at which a Nazi sympathizer spoke. Since reclaiming the White House, Mr. Trump has brought into his orbit and his administration people with records of advancing antisemitic tropes, including a spokeswoman at the Pentagon. His vice president, secretary of state and top financial backer have offered support to a far-right German political party that has played down atrocities committed by the Nazis. And just last week, Mr. Trump picked a former right-wing podcaster who has defended a prominent white supremacist to head the Office of Special Counsel.”
Donald the Corrupt. Ailia Zehra of AlterNet: "Pilgrim’s Pride and Ripple, two of the largest donors to ... Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration, have both experienced favorable outcomes following their substantial contributions, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Critics have raised concerns about potential political influence, citing the timing of the donation and subsequent approval. Pilgrim’s Pride, a leading U.S. chicken processor, reportedly donated $5 million to the inauguration fund. Shortly thereafter, its Brazilian parent company, JBS, received approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a long-sought dual listing on the New York Stock Exchange. According to The Journal's report, this approval, despite JBS's controversial history, including bribery charges and a $110 million fine, marked a significant milestone for the company. Ripple, a leading cryptocurrency firm, made a significant contribution of approximately $4.9 million to Trump's second inauguration. In March, Ripple also reached a settlement with the SEC, resolving a protracted legal dispute that had begun in 2020.... Several donors have been appointed to prominent positions within the administration. Oil companies that contributed $1 million or more were able to avoid tariffs after meeting with Trump early in the administration, per the report." ~~~
~~~ This could be a gift link to the underlying Wall Street Journal article. It worked for me this morning. Pilgrim's Pride and Ripple were the top two donors, according to the report.
Catie Edmondson & Benjamin Mullin of the New York Times: “The White House formally asked Congress on Tuesday to claw back more than $9 billion in federal funds that lawmakers had already approved for foreign aid and public broadcasting, seeking to codify spending cuts put forward by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. In a package compiled by the Office of Management and Budget, officials outlined 22 programs targeted by ... [Donald] Trump in executive orders and by DOGE. The bulk of the rollbacks — $8.3 billion — are aimed at foreign aid spending. The rest — $1.1 billion — would rescind funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS. The proposal comes as the White House has aggressively challenged Congress’s power of the purse and made clear it is willing to steer around the legislative branch to unilaterally control federal spending. In this case, though, the administration is going through normal channels and asking Congress to go along with its efforts to redirect federal money. Lawmakers can approve such a measure by a simple majority vote in both chambers.” ~~~
~~~ An NPR story centers on Trump's ask to cut public broadcasting funds. The AP report is here. See also Nicole Lafond of TPM on this, linked below.
Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: Donald “Trump on Tuesday ratcheted up pressure on Senate Republicans to quickly embrace and pass legislation carrying his domestic agenda, intensifying a battle inside the G.O.P. about what should be in the measure and how much it should cost. The deepening divisions are threatening the fate of the sprawling bill, which includes large tax cuts; reductions to Medicaid, food assistance and clean energy programs; and additional money for border security and the military. They erupted online on Tuesday after Mr. Trump lashed out at an outspoken Republican opponent of the legislation and as Elon Musk ... castigated its supporters, denouncing the bill as 'a disgusting abomination.' Mr. Trump began the day lashing out on social media at Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, for refusing to back the bill, claiming that Mr. Paul had little understanding of the measure and adding: 'His ideas are actually crazy (losers!). The people of Kentucky can’t stand him.'... 'I call on all of my Republican friends in the Senate and House to work as fast as they can to get this Bill to MY DESK before the Fourth of JULY,' Mr. Trump wrote.” ~~~
~~~ Musk Calls Trump Bill a “Disgusting Abomination,” Bible Mike Is “Disappointed.” Giselle Ewing of Politico: “Elon Musk came out swinging against ... Donald Trump’s 'Big Beautiful Bill' on Tuesday, slamming the reconciliation package as a 'disgusting abomination' in a massive break from the president just days after stepping away from his role in the administration. 'I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,' Musk wrote on his social media platform X. 'This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.'... Musk ... went on to criticize the bill for setting up Congress to 'increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!)' and saddle Americans with 'crushingly unsustainable debt.'... Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), one of two Republican defections against the bill last month, was quick to boost Musk’s tirade, writing 'He’s right' in a post on X. And Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who Trump criticized repeatedly earlier Tuesday for his opposition to the bill, came out in support of Musk.... Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) also jumped on the post.... But the message came as a blow to House Speaker Mike Johnson.... Musk 'coming out and panning' the GOP megabill is 'very disappointing,' Johnson told reporters at the Capitol, 'and very surprising in light of the conversation I had with him.'” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Kate Conger, et al., of the New York Times: Elon Musk “did not target any specific members of Congress, but hinted that he might support efforts to unseat those who backed the bill in the 2026 midterm elections. 'In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,' he wrote.... His super PAC, America PAC, spent about $20 million in the last election cycle to boost Republicans running for the House. And a different PAC he backed spent $10 million to help Republicans in the Senate.” More on the Big Bad Bill linked below.
~~~ Nicole Lafond of TPM: “The world’s richest man is, of course, not bothered by the ways in which Republicans plan to gut the social safety net program outlined in the bill. Rather he believes it does too much to actually fund the government and it rubs up against his Department Of Government Efficiency work. Before officially exiting the Trump administration ... Musk told CBS News that he believed the size of the 'massive spending bill' 'undermines' the work that his DOGE cronies have been doing for the past five months. That work has, of course, been constitutionally backwards, if not illegal, as he’s used a sweeping mandate from Trump as an opening to freeze and rescind funds that were appropriated by Congress.”
Trump's Anti-U.S. Steel & Aluminum Tariffs Go into Effect. Ana Swanson & Ian Austen of the New York Times: “U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports doubled on Wednesday, as ... [Donald] Trump continued to ratchet up levies on foreign metals that he claims will help revitalize American steel mills and aluminum smelters. The White House called the increased tariffs, which rose to 50 percent from 25 percent just after midnight Eastern time, a matter of addressing 'trade practices that undermine national security.' They were announced during Mr. Trump’s visit to a U.S. Steel mill last week, and appear to be aimed at currying favor with steelworkers and the steel industry, including those in swing states like Pennsylvania, where U.S. Steel is based.... But companies that use steel and aluminum to make their products criticized the tariffs, saying they would add costs for American consumers. Robert Budway, the president of the Can Manufacturers Institute, said doubling the steel tariff would further increase the cost of canned goods at the grocery store.... An economic analysis published by the U.S. International Trade Commission, an independent, bipartisan government agency, suggested that while the steel and aluminum tariffs levied in Mr. Trump’s first term helped American steel and aluminum producers, they hurt the broader economy by raising prices for many other industries, including automaking....
“The higher levies have already rankled close allies that sell metal to the United States, including Canada and Europe.... Canada is the largest foreign supplier of both steel and aluminum to the United States. Mexico, Brazil, South Korea and Germany are also major suppliers of steel, while the United Arab Emirates, China and South Korea supply the United States with small amounts of aluminum.”
Karoun Demirjian & John Ismay of the New York Times: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Navy to review the names of vessels honoring prominent civil rights leaders, including Harvey Milk, who was one of the country’s first openly gay elected officials and a Navy veteran. News of Mr. Hegseth’s decision, reported earlier by Military.com, comes just days into Pride Month, which celebrates the contributions of luminaries in the L.G.B.T.Q. community. Instead, Mr. Hegseth’s order was intended as a rebuke of Pride Month, keeping with the Trump administration’s drive to expunge diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across the federal government, according to a senior defense official familiar with the decision. Mr. Milk is one of several trailblazers whose name has been identified for possible removal from naval vessels. According to a senior official familiar with a memo from John Phelan, the secretary of the Navy, they include Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court justice; Ruth Bader Ginsburg, another Supreme Court justice, who became a feminist icon; Harriet Tubman, who, after being born into slavery, became an abolitionist instrumental in the Underground Railroad; Lucy Stone, a prominent abolitionist and suffragist; Medgar Evers, a civil-rights leader who was assassinated by a member of the Ku Klux Klan; Cesar Chavez, a labor leader; and Dolores Huerta, another labor leader.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: The Navy should review the names of those ships, then publicly declare, "The United States Navy is proud to honor these great Americans." ~~~
~~~ The CBS News story, by Emily Watson, et al., is here. The lede differs from the NYT report: "The U.S. Navy plans to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, a fleet replenishment oiler named after the slain gay rights leader and Navy veteran, and is considering renaming multiple naval ships named after civil rights leaders and prominent American voices, CBS News has learned." Anne Flaherty of ABC News agrees with CBS News: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Navy to strike the name of pioneering gay rights activist Harvey Milk from one of its ships, orchestrating the change as Pride month celebrations take place, according to sources." IOW, Hegseth already has ordered the name change of the USNS Harvey Milk, rather than order a "review" of the name of the ship.
Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: “The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it had revoked a Biden administration requirement that hospitals provide emergency abortions to women whose health is in peril, including in states where abortion is restricted or banned. The move by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a branch of the department led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was not a surprise. But it added to growing confusion around emergency care and abortions since June 2022, when the Supreme Court rescinded the national right to abortion by overturning Roe v. Wade.... The administration did not explicitly tell hospitals that they were free to turn away women seeking abortions in medical emergencies. Its policy statement said hospitals would still be subject to a federal law requiring them to provide reproductive health care in emergency situations. But it did not explain exactly what that meant.” ~~~
~~~ The AP's report is here. The administration's published release is here. If you're wondering what the administration “guidance” means, read the Press release and both the NYT & AP stories. And good luck.
Alexander Tin of CBS News: "A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said Tuesday she was resigning from her role overseeing updates to the agency's COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, following an order by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to force an update to the agency's guidance. "My career in public health and vaccinology started with a deep-seated desire to help the most vulnerable members of our population, and that is not something I am able to continue doing in this role," Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos wrote in an email to some members of the agency's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).... The process to update the CDC's influential vaccine recommendations is closely watched by experts because they are tied to federal policies and programs, including liability protections, vaccines for uninsured children and requirements for insurance coverage. The committee had been set to vote on updated recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines at a meeting later this month, before Kennedy usurped the process to impose his own changes to the guidance."
All the Best People, Ctd. Hiroko Tabuchi of the New York Times: “Michael Boren, founder of a billion-dollar tech company, Idaho ranch owner and Trump donor, has clashed with the U.S. Forest Service for years. He was accused of flying a helicopter dangerously close to a crew building a Forest Service trail, prompting officials to seek a restraining order. He got a caution from the Forest Service, and criticism from his neighbors, when he built a private airstrip on his Hell Roaring Ranch in a national recreation area. And in the fall, the Forest Service sent a cease-and-desist letter accusing a company that Mr. Boren controlled of building an unauthorized cabin on National Forest land. Now, Mr. Boren is Mr. Trump’s nominee to oversee the very agency he has tussled with repeatedly. On Tuesday, the Senate Agriculture Committee is scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing on Mr. Boren’s nomination to be the under secretary of agriculture for natural resources and environment, a role that would put him in charge of the Forest Service.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: I can't find much of an update on how Boren's Senate hearing went. There's this ABC News story, which appears to have been written prior to the hearing, though it kinda pretends to have been completed afterwards. AND there's this this NPR one-liner that reads, "Michael Boren, an ally of President Trump, is expected to be confirmed by the Senate to run the U.S. Forest Service. It's an agency he's frequently fought with as a wealthy, private landowner." An audio that aired on NPR's "Morning Edition" and that accompanies the one-line story is more expansive.
Needless to say, Boren isn't the only under-secretary-level administration appointee who is unsuitable for any government job. For instance, there's this guy: ~~~
~~~ Haley Wilt of NOTUS: “Darren Beattie, the State Department’s acting undersecretary for public diplomacy ... once said 'competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work' and has frequently praised the Chinese government’s repressive tactics.... [Beattie] is ... leading the department’s 'free speech' priorities since his appointment earlier this year. Beattie has also repeatedly endorsed mass sterilization for some Americans, people he views as 'low-IQ trash.'... Beattie has long been a controversial figure: He was fired from his speechwriting job during the first Trump administration for appearing at a conference attended by known white nationalists. But his influence as an online MAGA ideologue has only grown in the years since. He has condemned NATO, American foreign policy and argued a partnership between Russia and China against western countries isn’t necessarily a bad thing.... [Although Beattie has previous criticized Secretary of State Marco Rubio,] Rubio has emphasized his support for Beattie’s work.... 'Darren Beattie persistently traffics in white nationalist ideology,' [44 Democratic lawmakers] wrote in the letter. 'For a senior American diplomat to espouse these reprehensible, fringe views in representing the United States on the world stage would be categorically destructive to U.S. global standing.'” ~~~
~~~ Via Heather Cox Richardson, who has more on Beattie. AND Marcie Jones of Wonkette adds more in a you-can't-make-this-stuff-up report.
Matt Krupnick for ProPublica: “The Trump administration has proposed cutting funding for tribal colleges and universities by nearly 90%, a move that would likely shut down most or all of the institutions created to serve students disadvantaged by the nation’s historic mistreatment of Indigenous communities. The proposal is included in the budget request from the Department of the Interior to Congress, which was released publicly on Monday. The document mentions only the two federally controlled tribal colleges — Haskell Indian Nations University and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute — but notes the request for postsecondary programs will drop from more than $182 million this year to just over $22 million for 2026. If Congress supports the administration’s proposal, it would devastate the nation’s 37 tribal colleges and universities, said Ahniwake Rose, president and CEO of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, which represents the colleges in Washington, D.C.”
Ag Department Pauses Aspect of Musk's Big Brother Project. Zach Montague of the New York Times: “The Trump administration has backed off a demand that states hand over personal information about food stamp recipients in the face of a lawsuit brought by a coalition of public interest groups. An Agriculture Department official said in a sworn statement filed in the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia over the weekend that the agency was pausing its plans, announced last month, to create a database of Americans who receive nutrition benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The move was a rare instance of the Trump administration proceeding cautiously amid litigation, relenting for now before potential intervention by a judge.... The data the department requested from state administrators includes identifying details on recipients including home addresses, federal tax returns and social security numbers. A group of individuals and nonprofits quickly filed a lawsuit challenging the policy on personal privacy grounds.... The lawsuit raised broader concerns about the data-collection efforts driven by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency team he has left in place.... At the same time the Agriculture Department was canvassing data from states, Mr. Musk’s team was also contacting third-party companies that process bank transactions tied to the benefits in an attempt to build out the database, according to emails first reported by NPR.”
Alan Feuer & Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: “In case after case, the Trump administration has taken a similar approach to the numerous legal challenges that have emerged in recent weeks to ... [Donald] Trump’s aggressive deportation plans. Over and over, officials have either violated orders or used an array of obfuscations and delays to prevent federal judges from deciding whether violations took place. So far, no one in the White House or any federal agency has had to pay a price for this obstructionist behavior, but penalties could still be in the offing. Three judges in three different courthouses who have been overseeing deportation cases have said they are considering whether to hold the administration in contempt.”
Amy Harmon of the New York Times: “The U.S. Bureau of Prisons must provide transgender inmates with hormone therapy and social accommodations such as gender-appropriate clothing while a lawsuit over the issue proceeds, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. The ruling, by Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, also certified a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of more than 1,000 inmates who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. The lawsuit claims the Trump administration’s policy denying gender-related treatment to prisoners violates their Eighth Amendment right to medical care and the Administrative Procedure Act, which prohibits “arbitrary and capricious” actions by federal agencies. In his order, Judge Lamberth said it was not necessary to address the constitutional issue at this stage of the case because the plaintiffs were likely to prevail on Administrative Procedure Act grounds. Under the act, he wrote, the Bureau of Prisons 'may not arbitrarily deprive inmates of medications or other lifestyle accommodations that its own medical staff have deemed to be medically appropriate without considering the implications of that decision.'”
Newark Mayor Sues Trump Lawyer for Malicious Prosecution. Tracey Tully of the New York Times: “Mayor Ras J. Baraka of Newark, a Democratic candidate for governor who was arrested last month outside an immigration detention center, filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday against Alina Habba, the interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, that argues that his arrest was motivated by political malice, not justice. The lawsuit also names Ricky Patel, a supervising agent with Homeland Security Investigations who led the arrest of Mr. Baraka on May 9 outside a 1,000-bed detention center near Newark Liberty International Airport that has become a flashpoint in ... [Donald] Trump’s immigration crackdown. Mr. Baraka’s lawsuit accuses the federal authorities of false arrest and malicious prosecution. It also accuses Ms. Habba of defamation. The suit comes as polling locations opened Tuesday for six days of early voting ahead of a June 10 primary that has pitted Mr. Baraka against five other Democrats.” Politico's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Joyce Vance covers the Baraka suit, and a few other matters: "There are so many different legal stories right now that it’s hard to know where to look. But there is a throughline: Donald Trump continues to try to accumulate power that belongs to other branches of government and exercise as much of it as possible, without any restrictions. In other words, he is trying to undo the checks and balances the Founding Fathers put in place. It’s the unitary executive theory on steroids. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the news, remember, that’s a feature, not a bug. He needs all of that noise to distract enough people for enough time because Trump is attempting to assume the role of dictator or autocrat, call it what you like." BTW, that photo of Trump & Habba-Hubba-Hubba "celebrating" is rather compromising, though I don't suppose Melanie minds.
PRO TIP: It’s helpful to read stuff before voting on it. -- Rep. Ted Lieu [D-Calif.], responding to a complaint by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene [R-Ga.] that the Big Bad Bill contained a provision she didn't know about ~~~
~~~ Regrets, They Have a Few. Michael Gold of the New York Times: “It turns out that the sprawling legislation to advance tax and spending cuts and to cement much of ... [Donald] Trump’s domestic agenda included a raft of provisions that drew little notice or debate on the House floor. And now, Republicans who rallied behind the bill are claiming buyer’s remorse about measures they swear they did not know were included.... Members of Congress, divided bitterly along partisan lines and often working against self-imposed political deadlines, have become accustomed to having their leaders throw together huge pieces of legislation at the very last moment — and often do not read the entirety of the bill they are voting on, if they read any of it at all. At the same time, the polarization of Congress means that few pieces of legislation make it to the floor or to enactment — and the few 'must pass' bills that do are almost always stuffed full of unrelated policy measures that would otherwise have little hope of passing on their own.”
Thune Says He's Doing a Great Job Appeasing Trump. Jordain Carney of Politico: “John Thune is wasting no time moving ... Donald Trump’s 'big, beautiful bill' through the Senate. The Senate majority leader laid out a rat-a-tat tempo for the coming weeks in an ... interview with Politico that he hopes will culminate in final passage of the party-line megabill by Republicans’ July 4 deadline. Senate committees will fully release revised text of the bill by the end of next week, Thune said. Panel markups where that text might be debated and potentially amended will be highly optional. And he is already in close consultation with Trump about targeting key senators who will need to be persuaded to back the sprawling legislation.”
Linda Qiu of the New York Times: “As the Senate considers a domestic policy bill to enact the White House’s agenda..., [Donald] Trump and his allies have sought to assuage some lawmakers’ concerns over its price tag and cuts to Medicaid with inaccurate claims. They have dismissed estimates of the effect of the 'one big, beautiful bill' on the deficit as incorrect and described cuts to the health insurance program for poor Americans as simply trimming 'waste, fraud and abuse.' Here’s a fact-check of some of their claims.... Most of the changes to Medicaid have little to do with waste, fraud or abuse as defined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Daniel Wu of the Washington Post: “Courts across the country are facing a deluge of filings from attorneys and litigants that back their arguments with nonexistent research hallucinated by generative artificial intelligence, prompting judges to fight back with fines and reprimands. The problem reflects well-known issues with AI tools, which are prone to fabricate facts, or in these cases, citations. Soon after AI tools such as ChatGPT began to circulate, attorneys made headlines for submitting error-ridden memos after failing to check AI-assisted work. But mistakes and embarrassed mea culpas have continued to pile up.”
~~~ Marie: I'm not sure why the “experts” are so flummoxed by this problem. AI tools are “prone to fabricate facts” because they are programmed to do so. (As in this “if-then” conditional construct: IF no response to query, THEN fabricate one.) The ABA should determine which AI apps are making up stuff and ban the use of those apps. You can bet the companies that sell or rent those apps will either reprogram them or get out of the AI lawyer business.
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Colorado. Marianne LeVine & Maria Paul of the Washington Post: “The family of the man accused of using molotov cocktails to attack people at a Colorado demonstration to support Israeli hostages in Gaza is being taken into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an official said Tuesday. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem announced on X that Mohamed Sabry Soliman’s family was being detained. 'We are investigating to what extent his family knew about this heinous attack, if they had knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it,' she stated. Soliman has been charged with a federal hate crime and state charges of attempted murder. He told investigators that he had planned the Sunday attack against the Jewish organization for a year....” (Also linked yesterday.)
Florida. Lori Rozsa of the Washington Post: “Florida’s university leaders on Tuesday blocked Santa Ono from becoming the University of Florida’s president after a weeks-long campaign against him by conservative commentators who opposed his past support of diversity initiatives. The 17-member Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the state’s public universities, rejected Ono’s candidacy 10-6, with one member absent. The vote came a week after the University of Florida’s board of trustees voted unanimously to make him the school’s next president. Ono, a longtime university administrator, was the only finalist in the selection process. But conservatives in the state, including some who led a social media campaign, criticized Ono’s past support of diversity, equity and inclusion — or DEI — programs. Some also objected to Ono’s handling of pro-Palestinian protests when he was president at the University of Michigan.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Yesterday, contributor Ken W. wrote, "American taxpayers have been shorting public university funding for decades. Some here can remember when a CA university education was nearly free and student debt de minimus." I agree with Ken (though I don't know what "CA" stands for). Rozsa's report provides but one of many reasons even state-school tuitions are so high today compared to the affordable tuitions back in the days Ken and I were in school: "Ono was being offered a contract at the state’s flagship university with a base salary of $1.5 million that could have grown to as much as $15 million over five years...." Most university administrators -- and faculty -- made "normal" salaries when we were kids.
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Ukraine/Russia. Peter Beaumont & Artem Mazhulin of the Guardian: “Ukraine has detonated a massive underwater blast targeting the key road and rail bridge connecting the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula to Russia, damaging its underwater pillars. The operation, claimed by Kyiv’s SBU security service, is the second high-profile operation by Ukraine in days striking significant Russian assets after a sophisticated drone raid on Moscow’s strategic bomber fleet on Sunday.... The latest strike on the 12-mile-long Kerch Bridge – a prestige project of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, which he opened in 2018 – comes amid what appear to be determined efforts by Ukraine to change the narrative promoted by the Trump administration that Kyiv holds few cards in the war.” Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ As President Zelensky himself pointed out in remarks made over the weekend, the attacks Ukraine has carried out are aimed at things, not people. This of course contrasts with Russian attacks, which aim at civilian populations. ~~~
~~~ Washington Post Editors: “Another inconclusive round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine on Monday was largely overshadowed by recent events on the ground: Russia’s pulverizing missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and a military training ground, followed by Ukraine’s brazen drone attack against five air bases deep inside Russia over the weekend and an apparent underwater bomb assault on the Crimean Bridge, a key Russian supply line, on Tuesday. The Russian attack was unsurprising, marked by the Kremlin’s usual cruelty toward Ukrainian civilians. The Ukrainian attack, by contrast, was as diplomatically pointed as it was unexpected, sending three messages with profound meaning for the war.... Ukraine is showing Trump that it can use its wits and scrappiness to keep fighting.... Kyiv also signaled to Trump and Ukraine’s European allies that, though Ukraine might be outmanned and outgunned, it still has the capacity to inflict considerable damage on Russia’s military and cannot be ignored in any negotiations.... Ukraine might or might not have intended to send a third message — but did so, regardless, in the contrast between its wartime conduct and Russia’s.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: As to that last point, there's no might-or-might-not about it. Zelensky said so.
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