Donald Trump has sweeping plans for a second administration. Here’s what he’s proposed

Thursday at 11:49 PM

MAGA Senator Scurries Into Elevator to Dodge Slush Fund Question

The Republican could not give a straight answer when pressed on Trump’s Jan. 6 compensation grift.

Sen. Ted Cruz managed to avoid directly answering whether violent Jan. 6 rioters should get taxpayer money as part of Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund by hiding in an elevator.

The Texas Republican was grilled by a TMZ reporter about whether those who committed some of the most heinous acts during the 2021 Capitol riot, including attacking police officers, should be allowed to apply for the president’s “weaponization” compensation scheme.

Cruz avoided answering the question, even when asked several times, until he and his team managed to get into an elevator and ride away. Cruz even gave a self-satisfied smile as the doors were closing as he refused to respond again when he was asked whether Jan. 6 rioters are eligible for the slush fund.

When the TMZ reporter first approached Cruz to ask whether violent Jan. 6 rioters should apply for the fund, the MAGA senator deflected and said: “I’m not surprised you’re worried about that, but I’m curious. Were you worried at all when Joe Biden was weaponizing the Department of Justice?”

When the reporter interrupted to say he did not want to talk about the former president but rather how he does not want to “pay Jan. 6 rioters,” Cruz continued to deflect the question.

“You were not remotely concerned when Joe Biden weaponized the Department of Justice to go after his political opponents, to prosecute them, to go after Donald Trump,” Cruz said. “Trump was indicted not once, but four separate times, the greatest abuse of the rule of law.”

When asked for a simple “yes or no” response to whether Jan. 6 rioters should be eligible for the slush fund, Cruz replied: “I think what the Biden Justice Department did is they prosecuted people who engaged in peaceful protests.“I believe people who engage in active violence should be prosecuted and face consequences. I believe people who engage in peaceful protests are protected under the First Amendment, and I think the Biden Department of Justice deliberately targeted people who engage in peaceful protests.”

The TMZ reporter tried once more to get Cruz to answer his question before the Republican got into an elevator and was saved by the closing doors.

The Daily Beast has contacted Cruz’s office for comment.

Trump has been widely criticized for the creation of the $1.776 billion compensation scheme for those who claim they were victims of the alleged “weaponization” of the Department of Justice during the Biden years.

The slush fund was created as part of an agreement for the president to drop a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over complaints that the agency failed to prevent the leaking of his tax returns to the press in 2020.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal lawyer, later expanded the deal so that the IRS is “forever barred” from pursuing any audits into past tax claims involving Trump, his family, or his companies.

“This is corruption that has never been more blatant or more widespread,” Sen. Patty Murray said while grilling Blanche during a Senate appropriations hearing on Tuesday.

“But what is happening is that you write the check, Trump and his cronies cash it,” the Washington Democrat said. “American taxpayers—who are already being whacked with high prices—are going to foot the bill. That is what we are seeing today and that is what many of us are really, really angry about.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-senator-ted-cruz-scurries-into-elevator-to-dodge-slush-fund-question/?

ps:Of course they can't answer anyone on the Jan 6 invasion of the Capital!! Because they know what happened, they were all hiding inside and fearing for there lives!!!!! What a pathetic bunch of republicans!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday at 11:54 PM

Trump’s Greenland Goon Embarks on Tour of Humiliation

The president’s special envoy, Jeff Landry, “is making a fool out of himself,” an insider said.

Donald Trump’s special envoy to Greenland, Jeff Landry, embarrassed himself on his first visit to the Arctic island that the president has threatened to seize, according to insiders.

Louisiana Gov. Landry, 55, set off to Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, on Sunday, saying he wanted to make “a bunch of friends” and “build relationships” on Trump’s orders.

But his reception has been frosty. One local is reported to have greeted him with a middle finger, according to The New York Times. Others rejected his offers of MAGA hats, while children didn’t warm to his promise of unlimited chocolate chip cookies should they come to his mansion in Louisiana.

Senior European diplomats told London’s The Telegraph that Landry, who was appointed to the special envoy role in December, was “making a fool out of himself” in his attempt to woo the people of Greenland this week.

The semiautonomous island of Greenland is part of Denmark and houses a U.S. Space Force base. Trump, 79, has repeatedly argued that acquiring mineral-rich Greenland is necessary for national security, citing its strategic location in the Arctic, and he is seeking a greater military presence in the region.

The president previously declared that the U.S. would “get” Greenland “one way or the other,” sparking outrage from Greenlandic and Danish officials.

The diplomatic source told The Telegraph that Landry was “embarrassing” himself.

The same source claimed Landry “invited himself” to meetings, while Reuters reported that when Landry arrived Sunday in Nuuk, he had no official meetings scheduled.

Even a White House official appeared baffled by the trip, telling The Telegraph: “What the f---?”

After meeting Landry on Monday, Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, 34, reiterated that Greenland is not for sale.

“The Greenlandic people are not for sale. Greenlandic self-determination is not something that can be negotiated,” Nielsen told Danish broadcaster TV 2.

He doubled down in comments to DR, Denmark’s public broadcaster.

“We have our red lines,” Nielsen said. “And no matter how many chocolate cookies we get, we are not going to change them.”

Residents of Nuuk also blasted the visit as “tone deaf,” according to the Times.

“They should fix their own country first,” one local said, while another added: “They need to get out.”

In a statement to the Daily Beast, White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said Landry “is attending the Future Greenland Conference to further strengthen U.S.–Greenlandic ties and engage with local leaders.“

Wales described Landry’s meeting with Nielsen as “productive” with “both sides affirming the importance of the high-level working group.”

“The United States is optimistic that we are on a good trajectory to address U.S. national security interests in Greenland,” Wales added. “Governor Landry is doing a great job and is a strong asset to the world-class team that President Trump has put together to pursue long-term peace both at home and abroad.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-greenland-goon-embarks-on-tour-of-humiliation/?

ps:Just pathetic!!

Friday at 06:47 PM

🎯 Trump's 2028 revenge targets

Fresh off his takedowns of GOP dissenters in this month's primaries, President Trump is already making a list of Republicans who could be on his 2028 chopping block, Axios' Alex Isenstadt writes.

Why it matters: Trump's string of primary wins has reaffirmed his dominance over the party — and now he's looking to extend that influence after he leaves office in January 2029.

🔭 Zoom in: Trump hasn't been shy about identifying future GOP targets after unseating Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) over the past two weeks:

Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert: Trump took to Truth Social over the weekend to solicit a primary challenger to Boebert, calling her "weak-minded" and "very difficult." He was infuriated she'd campaigned for Massie.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul: Trump repeatedly attacked Paul for supporting Massie, who shares the senator's libertarian instincts. The president also has criticized Paul for voting against Trump's "big, beautiful bill" and opposing his decision to attack Iran.
Ohio Rep. Warren Davidson: The White House has signaled Davidson could be targeted for initially opposing the "big, beautiful bill." He backed Massie's reelection.
Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick: Trump yesterday tore into Fitzpatrick — who represents a swing suburban Philadelphia district that Kamala Harris won in 2024 — for voting "against me all the time."

🌴 What's next: Trump must decide whether to oppose Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) — who co-led a push with Massie and Boebert to force the release of the Epstein files — in the June 9 primary for South Carolina governor.

Keep reading.

ps:Revenge!! Only criminals what revenge!!

Friday at 06:49 PM

😱 Each party's nightmare map

Reproduced from The Economist. Map: Axios Visuals

Axios CEO Jim VandeHei writes in his weekly C-Suite newsletter:

For the next two election cycles, this map lays bare why Republicans have heartburn: President Trump is underwater, almost everywhere.

Blame his five-alarm economy.

Two bar chart showing potential Electoral College apportionment changes from 2022 to 2030. Eight states are expected to lose Electoral College votes, led by California, which is projected to lose five. Nine states are expected to gain votes, led by Texas and Florida, which are projected to gain four each. In general, mostly Democratic-leaning states are projected to lose votes and Republican-leaning states are projected to gain votes.

Data: Chris Krueger of TD Cowen's Washington Research Group. Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals

Look four years ahead, and you can see why some top Democrats worry they're screwed.

Thanks to population shifts, red states are set to gain big from the once-a-decade redistribution of House seats in 2030.

Friday at 07:02 PM

Trump has long kept his tax returns secret. He says that might change now, after IRS deal

After President Donald Trump’s legal team forged a deal with the Justice Department this week — which includes permanently dropping tax claims against the president, his family and associates — the president told reporters Wednesday he may release his tax returns. Read more.

Why this matters:

If Trump makes good on that suggestion, it would end years-long speculation over how much the Republican president owes the federal government. But Trump has made dozens of promises in years past to release his returns, as other presidents routinely have done, only to renege on that commitment.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

Friday at 09:58 PM

Compensation fund

The Trump administration has created a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate people who claim they faced political persecution. But the effort is already facing legal challenges: Two police officers who defended the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters rioted, are now suing to stop any payout to violent protesters who could benefit. Read more.

INTERACTIVE: The Trump "Anti-Weaponization Fund" documents, annotated

Friday at 10:16 PM

First Bonkers Application to Join $1.8B Grift Board Exposed

The first candidate to oversee the slush fund has raised his hand.

An eager Republican lawyer swiftly raised his hand to join the exclusive board dispensing taxpayer money as part of President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund.

On Monday, Trump’s Justice Department announced the establishment of the “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” to compensate MAGA allies he claims were wrongfully targeted by the Biden administration.

The Justice Department said the fund would provide a “systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare.”

On Wednesday evening, right-wing lawyer Mike Howell contacted acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to declare his candidacy for one of the five vacant and unpaid positions on the board to distribute taxpayer funds.

Howell runs the Oversight Project, a conservative group that investigates claims of weaponized lawfare, and is a visiting fellow at the far-right Heritage Foundation. He is also a close ally of U.S Pardon Attorney Ed Martin, who was stripped of his role leading the Justice Department’s “weaponization” working group in February.

Martin advocated for Trump’s pardons of over 1,500 people charged or convicted for their roles in the violent Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Martin initially told sources earlier this year he predicted the Justice Department would dole out around $40 million to people charged, then pardoned, after the riots. The fund announced this week is $1.776 billion.

Howell’s lengthy, fawning letter to Blanche, obtained by CBS, claimed that the “Radical Left used the events of January 6, 2021 and their hatred of President Trump as an immoral justification to enact a sustained campaign of vengeance to trample on the civil rights of their political, ideological, and religious (namely Christian) opponents.”Howell said it was “deeply wrong” and claimed the “evil effects” still linger today. “Families have been torn apart, lives lost, careers ruined, and finances destroyed. These victims are my friends, colleagues and fellow patriots.”

The lawyer claimed the Jan. 6 rioters were “left to largely fend for themselves, ignored by prestige lawyers and institutions, only to be picked apart by the government, left-wing destruction operations, and a captured media.

He signs off his letter by claiming the fund is “already under attack and will remain under attack. My colleagues and I are steeled for this fight. We have already chosen to run into the fire time and time again.”

Howell states that he has “written, sued, defended, and advocated every single day to this end” and is “not planning on stopping any time soon.”

Trump will be able to fire any member of the board at any time, and payments from the fund will operate until the end of 2028.

The Daily Beast has contacted the DOJ for comment.

Blanche told CNN on Wednesday he was “not sure” about whether political affiliation will play a part in choosing applicants for the five positions.

“I would be open, to a point,” Blanche said after being asked if a Democrat would be considered for the board.

“They’re going to be smart people. They’re going to be people that understand the political sensitivities that you’re raising,” he said.

“We’ve had a bunch of people apply since we announced this, but that’s something that when we’re ready to announce who the commissioners are, we will let you know,” he added.

In his letter, Howell says that if he is selected for the panel he will organize a “national gathering of the thousands of victims of weaponization” in Washington, D.C.

“These victims will include those who had to pay legal fees because of their support for President Trump, those who were sent to prison, including those involved with January 6th, 2021,” he wrote. “At this gathering, victims will be offered the time and space to share their stories.”

Speaking on CNN on Wednesday, Blanche defended the fund, insisting it was legal and claiming of Americans, “I think they want their tax dollars spent on things like that.”

The first request for compensation from the fund was former Trump adviser and administration official Michael Caputo. CNN reported on Tuesday he asked for $2.7 million in “restitution and reimbursement,” arguing he was targeted by the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

A number of Jan. 6 rioters told CNN on Wednesday they would be attempting to access the fund.

Brandon Fellows, a convicted Capitol rioter pardoned by Trump, said he wanted $30 million. “$21.5 million is for the wrongful imprisonment,” Fellows said.

Another pardoned rioter, Rachel Powell, claimed, “We endured a lot. Our lives are still not the same. I don’t know what kind of price you can put on that.”

Powell was seen repeatedly ramming a window of the Capitol building with a cylindrical object. She was “one of the first rioters to break through onto Capitol grounds near the Peace Circle,” a 2023 DOJ statement claimed.

Blanche insisted the behavior of Jan. 6 rioters attempting to access the fund will be taken into account by commissioners who have yet to be installed to assess payouts.

“One of the factors the commissioners have to consider is what the claimant did—the claimant’s conduct,” Blanche told CNN’s Paula Reid on Wednesday. “The claimant would have to say, ‘I assaulted a cop and I want money.’”

“Whether the commissioners will give that person money—that claimant—it’s up to them. But that’s one of the factors they have to consider,” he continued, adding that Trump “does not stand for assaulting law enforcement.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/first-bonkers-application-to-join-18b-grift-board-exposed/?

Friday at 10:24 PM

Trump’s Greenland Goon Flees With Tail Between His Legs

Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana received an icy reception in the Arctic territory.

Donald Trump’s latest Greenland mission appeared to end in humiliation after his controversial envoy abruptly ended his trip after a failed charm offensive in the Danish territory.

Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana, who bizarrely also served as Trump’s special envoy to Greenland, made an unofficial visit to the Arctic island’s capital, Nuuk, this week.

Landry turned up for the “Future Greenland” conference on May 19–20 after arriving in Nuuk on Sunday with no meetings locked in with any politicians, according to Reuters.

The conference’s organizer told Reuters they did not invite Landry, but noted anyone could sign up for the event.

Landry told Danish broadcaster DR that Trump had told him to “`Go over there and make a bunch of friends, as many friends as we can,’” according to London’s The Telegraph.

The governor wrapped up his trip on Wednesday. In a farewell message, he thanked Greenlanders for their hospitality, said he hoped to strengthen ties, and expressed regret that he only had time to visit Nuuk during the trip.

“Farewell to the people of Greenland – I enjoyed the many introductions and conversations. Thank you for the warm welcome and I will continue to work to deepen ties between our people," he wrote on X.

“As I leave this great island, I am incredibly grateful for the warm welcome and eye-opening conversations. I regret that I only had time to visit the people of Nuuk, and look forward to experiencing everything else that Greenland has to offer on future trips.”

But Landry received anything but a warm welcome on the island, which is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Videos circulating online showed Greenlanders giving him the middle finger, children refusing MAGA hats, and one boy bluntly rejecting a photo request after Landry asked, “Do you want a picture?” and received a simple reply: “No.”

Another clip showed the Louisiana governor walking through Nuuk as a woman followed behind him shouting, “Don’t come here—go home!”

Landry’s trip also saw him have a meltdown in front of local reporters when he was asked why he was in Greenland.

“This is all about building a relationship, let me tell you what I’ve found,” Landry told reporters, according to DR. “Greenland was not on the map until Donald Trump put it on the map,” Landry said. “In other words, the United States... before Donald Trump has basically ignored this place.”

His remarks sparked backlash from members of his party. GOP Rep. Don Bacon wrote on X: “Greenland has been on the map for centuries. And… it is our ally. Stop treating our friends like dirt."

Asked why he arrived in Greenland “without an invitation,” Landry shrugged off the criticism, saying: “If you showed up in Louisiana, I’m not gonna throw you out because you weren’t invited?”

When pressed on whether Trump still wanted Greenland to become part of the U.S., he replied: “You’ll have to talk to the president yourself,” while insisting Trump wanted to create “opportunities” for Greenlanders.

Landry later met Greenland Premier Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who said there had been “progress” in talks with the Americans but stressed: “The Greenlandic people are not for sale. Greenlandic self-determination is not something that can be negotiated.”

After Landry joked local children could visit Louisiana and “have all the chocolate chip cookies you can eat,” Nielsen shot back: “We have our red lines. And no matter how many chocolate cookies we get, we are not going to change them.”

Landry fired back with a patriotic jab of his own, saying: “There’s only one line and it’s red, white and blue.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-greenland-goon-flees-with-tail-between-his-legs/?

ps:What a pathetic administration!!

Friday at 10:30 PM

Trump Henchmen in Bitter Civil War Over His Signature Policy

Fights inside MAGA threaten to derail the president’s second term.

Donald Trump’s disgraced former Border Patrol commander has accused the president’s current top immigration official of “political theater” over the president’s mass deportation policy.

Gregory Bovino, 56, was the public face of Trump’s first-year immigration crackdown. He was pulled out of Minneapolis in late January and retired in March after the fatal shooting of two Americans by federal agents. Since then, the former Customs and Border Protection official has waged an escalating public campaign against his old colleagues for going soft on deportations, as the Beast’s sister Substack PunchUp reported earlier this month.

Bovino’s latest attack came in a Wednesday X post. It followed a vow made by Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, on the Scott Jennings Show to send “a hell of a lot more agents to New York” to counter Gov. Kathy Hochul’s curbs on ICE. Bovino was unimpressed.

“He sounds super tough,” he wrote of Homan, 64. “But zoom in. All he’s actually promising is rounding up the ones who already have known criminal records.” Homan, he said, “is denying reality.”

The rest, Bovino claimed, are “staying right where they are… until they rob or kill you.” He again put the number of undocumented immigrants “laughing at us” at “100 million” and declared the only fix was “mass deportations.” “Anything less is just political theater,” he said.

That math, though, PunchUp reported, is fiction. Pew Research Center put the entire undocumented population at about 14 million in 2023. DHS’s own statisticians counted 11.6 million in 2022. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, has dismissed Bovino’s figures as “fantasy” numbers “pulled out of the thin air.”

This is not the first time Bovino has gone rogue in naming Trump officials he believes are going soft on immigration.

On a right-wing podcast in late April, he warned that “some of the team may not have the fortitude that President Trump does,” singling out White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Homan. He has also stated his view that Homan and CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott “do nothing.”

The feud cuts to a central criticism of Trump—that his deportation drive has stalled far short of its promises. The president’s stated target is one million removals a year. The actual pace has held at roughly 1,286 a day—about 460,000 annually—according to UC Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project, as analyzed by researcher Austin Kocher.

Bovino was pulled from Minneapolis after agents from his self-styled “Green Machine” shot dead VA ICU nurse Alex Pretti, 37, 17 days after unarmed mother Renee Nicole Good, also 37, was killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross.

Ross, as PunchUp exclusively reported last month, has been quietly moved to another state and is still on duty.

That news led Hochul to write to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, 48, demanding to know if Ross was working in her state. Hill Democrats, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also expressed their anger to PunchUp over the Trump administration’s failure to investigate and discipline Ross.

The White House has tried to crush Bovino’s rebellion. Spokeswoman Abigail Jackson previously told PunchUp, “nobody is changing the administration’s immigration enforcement agenda,” and DHS insisted, “ICE is NOT slowing down.” Mullin has repeated the line during media interviews.

However, their stance is undermined by the news that ICE arrests still fell nearly 12 percent in the weeks after Bovino was removed and then-Secretary Kristi Noem, 54, was fired in March.

In a New York Times exit interview, Bovino said his only regret was that he had not “caught even more illegal aliens.”

The Daily Beast contacted the White House and the Department of Homeland Security for comment. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, “Tom Homan is an American patriot and career law enforcement officer with decades of experience effectively protecting American communities and deporting illegal aliens. The American people are deeply appreciative for his work and can rest easy knowing someone with a proven track record is help delivering on the President’s key promise to deport illegal aliens.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-henchmen-tom-homan-and-gregory-bovino-in-bitter-civil-war-over-his-signature-policy/?

Friday at 10:34 PM

Tucker Carlson Exposes Big Problem With Trump’s Wild Boast

The MAGA rebel zeroed in on a specific comment the president made at a graduation ceremony.

Tucker Carlson has ripped into President Donald Trump over his weird comments about ruling a new country.

Trump flew to Connecticut on Wednesday to attend the Coast Guard Academy graduation ceremony, and before he took off from Joint Base Andrews he told the press that he was so popular in Israel that he liked the idea of being its prime minister.

“I’m right now at 99 percent in Israel,” he said. “I could run for prime minister, so maybe after I do this, I’ll go to Israel, run for prime minister. I had a poll this morning. I’m 99 percent, so that’s good.”The comments infuriated Carlson, who lobbied against the war with Iran, advocates for close ties in the Middle East, and questions the U.S. alliance with Israel.

“The president of the United States bragging about his popularity in a foreign country: ‘I’m 99 percent in Israel,’” the former Fox News host said on The Tucker Carlson Show on Wednesday night. “Unmentioned is the fact that he’s 35 percent in the United States. Thirty-five percent support from Americans, the people he pledged to represent, to fight for, whose side he promised to take in every conflict, foreign and domestic.

“And yet, there he is, bragging about how popular he is in a foreign country, the same country that got us into the war that is causing, to some extent, his unpopularity in this country, speaking of cold-hearted globalist betrayals.”

Carlson’s acrimonious break with Trump was precipitated by the joint war with Israel on Iran, which began in February. Carlson says it deeply offends his and many Trump voters’ America First sensibilities.

“Now, you could say, ‘That’s just Trump searching for affirmation where he can. Unpopular at home, he retreats into the fantasy of his popularity in another country.’ Well yes, true,” Carlson said. “But it’s not a one-time exhibition of this. That president has spent the last year looking outward toward the approval of other nations. That president has spent the last year fighting for people who are not his voters and in many cases, not even American, and allowing his own country to languish.”

Carlson, along with other MAGA politicians and commentators such as former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Infowars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, former Fox News host Megyn Kelly, and podcast bros like Theo Von and Joe Rogan, backed Trump on his promises to avoid foreign wars and solve problems at home.

Trump ran on a ticket full of pledges to restore manufacturing, raise wages, and lower prices.

Instead, his loyalists have been met with a globalist presidency, with a heavy bent toward foreign policy.

They’ve also encountered soaring prices, epitomized by gas at the pump nudging toward $5 a gallon, thanks to the war.

Iran has closed the vital Strait of Hormuz, cutting off around a fifth of the world’s oil supply and sparking a global energy crisis.

“The last year has not made America great again,” Carlson said. “The last year has diminished American power at a rate some of us thought was unimaginable.

“We couldn’t have foreseen, less than a year and a half ago… the damage that this administration—led by that president, for whom we campaigned and liked personally—could do to this country.”

Trump has not taken kindly to Carlson’s turn against him, calling the former Fox News host a “Hand Flailing” fool in an April Truth Social post. Carlson, Trump wrote, “couldn’t even finish College, he was a broken man when he got fired from Fox, and he’s never been the same — Perhaps he should see a good psychiatrist!”

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/tucker-carlson-exposes-big-problem-with-trumps-wild-boast/?

Friday at 10:58 PM

Holding Trump Accountable Is the First Step to Unrigging the System

Restoring the American dream for young voters requires smashing the culture of elite impunity once and for all.

This column is being republished with permission from its original home on Substack. For more from David Rothkopf, subscribe here.

Let us start with the plain facts, please.

The president of the United States has not reached a settlement with the United States government regarding the IRS release of his files. There was no case to be settled. A judge was about to throw it out. The case they asserted existed was meritless. The president was effectively on both sides of the issue, seeking to use a fabricated claim of harm as leverage in a negotiation with himself.

Nor is an element of that settlement an agreement between the president and the Department of Justice to refrain from every prosecuting the president for any issue pertaining to his taxes, those of his family and those of their businesses.

They assert there is such an agreement. But that “agreement” is wholly illegal. Asserting that there is such an agreement, that it is enforceable, and then enforcing it is an act of self-dealing and of violating the oaths of office of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Trump himself.

The elements reported by news outlets as “terms” of a “deal” are not either. They are crimes being committed in service of still greater crimes.

Trump and Blanche are colluding to steal taxpayer dollars, misappropriate funds in contravention of the Constitution, lie that they are seeking to address wrongs of “weaponization” of legal processes against Trump allies that did not exist, even as they are conspiring to cover up possible tax crimes and to relieve the president of his legal obligations to pay his fair share of taxes as dictated by the tax code.

With every discussion that misrepresents what is happening as even something remotely resembling normal or legitimate government activity, their crimes move closer to being a success.

With every use of terms to describe these actions as “unusual,” “unorthodox,” or “unprecedented,” the acts, the public larceny and the abuse of power involved is minimized, normalized, and blurred, making it more likely that Trump and Blanche will succeed… and should they do so, that they will seek to commit more and greater such crimes.

How do we know? Department of Justice and other agencies of the U.S. government.

Just because Trump has the audacity to commit crimes in plain sight does not mean we should minimize them or shrug them off.

Just because Trump thinks he has immunity or the power of the pardon does not mean he does. Those powers can and must be challenged. State courts can and must pursue their own rights, which exist beyond the scope of presidential powers. But those who would seek to defend the rule of law in the United States must not stop there.

The Supreme Court has noted limitations on the president’s “immunity.” While their decision was wrong and must be overturned by a new court, by congressional action or by Constitutional amendment at some point, all that will take many years—if it happens at all.

In the meantime, prosecutors and lawyers representing the public should pursue cases consistent with the Supreme Court’s assertion that presidential immunity extends only to “official” acts. Corruption of a type prohibited by the Constitution cannot, by definition, be an official act.

Furthermore, of course, the Constitution is quite explicit about what to do about presidents and high officials who abuse their powers. They must be impeached. I understand that many feel that if a conviction in the Senate is not likely, impeachments are not worth the effort.

Nonsense. The investigative phase conducted by the House can play a vital role in bringing facts to light and shaping public opinion. Remember, Trump’s first impeachment preceded his 2020 election defeat. It is impossible and, indeed, irresponsible to suggest it did not influence the election outcome.

If the damage such a process could do were not so great, why would Trump so clearly fear it and use the threat of future impeachments as a reason within the GOP caucus to pull out all the stops to ensure a win in the midterm election?

Indeed, at every juncture at which these public crimes can be challenged in courts, they should be. Because it is the right thing to do. Because bringing such cases is in itself a deterrent for future wrongdoing. Because such cases bring key facts to light.

We must stop minimizing the rampant corruption that is occurring within this administration daily.

From insider trading to the deals Trump’s sons are cutting with the U.S. and foreign governments to the sale of pardons or regulatory relief, wherever crimes are being committed, it is essential that we describe them accurately. Lumping them in with scams like Trump phones or Trump coins or Trump swag at West Palm Beach airport is not helpful, because it makes it seem as though our president is just a rogue-ish guy doing what billionaires do (as many of his supporters no doubt view all this).

The gravity of the transgressions needs to be made clearer, and words alone are not enough. That will require action. In courts nationwide. By Congress. Similarly, the serial violations by this administration of court injunctions or of laws that prohibit the president from misallocating or misappropriating funds for his pet projects—all of the wrongdoing at every level, from his ballroom to his abrogation of our treaty obligations—need to be identified, called what they are, and challenged.

I had a conversation over the weekend with several friends who are or were senior U.S. government officials. They were very loath to make Trump’s corruption a campaign issue. They felt it was a distraction from the kitchen table issues most Americans really care about.

I argued several points:

First and foremost, they are the same issue. Trump’s corruption is tied to the behavior and sense of impunity of our billionaire and other superempowered elites who behave above the law in their efforts to gain an ever-growing, ever more inequitable piece of the pie for themselves. The root issue for average Americans is that our system is rigged. It benefits the rich and screws everyone else. It is unfair. The high price of food or gas, the fact that our nation is willing to push up those prices and spend billions to support industries and cronies close to the president, the fact that they don’t pay their fair share in taxes while crucial benefits for the most vulnerable are stripped away, the fact that they are gutting democracy to further enhance the disproportionate power of the few at the expense of the many…all these are the same issue.
Further, this is not 2020 or 2024. Trump’s behavior has been outrageous and is getting more out of control daily. He is profoundly unpopular. He has hurt many of his core supporters with his agenda of greed, self-dealing, and helping out only his donors and Mar-a-Lago buddies. People are angry. Indeed, they are much angrier than many old-school D.C. institutionalists. They will see Biden-Garland-like “the system will take care of itself” rationales as a failure of leadership, as the repetition of a terrible series of mistakes that helped lead to where we are today.

This is especially true of the rising generation of voters born since 1990, the new majority in American politics, who do not remember an American system that worked; who feel the American dream is a faded idea from an old Hollywood movie. A supermajority of them do not believe they will own a house. Many wonder how they will pay for healthcare or education for their kids, or how they will ever get out from underneath crushing debt. Few believe they will ever be able to retire. They do not believe all this has happened out of the blue, because of a change in the weather or because of some self-inflicted wound of their own. They believe it is because our system of vulture capitalism has been so skewed—by changing tax and campaign finance laws, by the accumulation of power by oligarchs and big corporations—that this is no longer a land of opportunity. They see private equity firms buying up housing and making it unaffordable. They see health insurers and big pharma squeezing them and fighting systems that guarantee healthcare for all, as exists in every other country. They know that a huge portion of our tax dollars go to fund a military-industrial complex that was first seen as a threat by Dwight Eisenhower sixty-five years ago. They know the “big beautiful bill” was a tax cut for the richest and a dangerous reduction in benefits for them.
They see the Epstein class, the proponents of a Gordon Gekko theology of greed being good, and of those with the most enjoying impunity for their serial crimes and abuses, as being all one problem. Trump’s crimes, Epstein’s crimes, the rapine paths carved through our society by those embracing amoral, extra-legal, late-stage American capitalism, are all the same.

It is impossible, therefore, for candidates to say “I will address affordability” if their first act is to look away from those who are the sources of the problem, to minimize the twisted ethos of those who pushed up prices, made real estate unaffordable, denied healthcare to all, and promoted dangerous industries from guns to fossil fuels. People rightly see Trump not just as a president but as a symbol of what has brought this country to its knees and left our rising generations wondering why their futures are less bright than those their parents or grandparents once enjoyed.
Further, holding Trump accountable, and holding his enablers accountable, is an essential element of the structural reforms that must be the first priority in any effort to fix this country’s social and economic problems…and the political dysfunction that has fed and exacerbated them. They are not the only steps. But unless visible crimes, apparent to all, lead to fair trials and real punishments where appropriate, no one will believe we can fix the other big issues we face. Should such steps also include Supreme Court reform— increasing the size of the court, term limits, and ethics rules for the court? Yes. Should they include fixing the elements and our system that give disproportionate power to less populous states, which also happen to be mostly red states? Of course. Perhaps we should consider splitting super-populous states into smaller ones and merging less populous states together. We need to make Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia states. We need to get rid of the electoral college. We need to have major campaign finance reform that effectively repeals the insanity of Citizens United. (Personally, I believe we should hold much shorter, publicly financed campaigns for federal office.) The list goes on. There is much work to be done.

The point, however, is that it is a mistake to view Trump’s current crimes through lenses that seemed appropriate in the past. It is a mistake to think we can just turn the page without him and his cronies being held to account…because we know that doing so will just lead them to have a greater sense of impunity. It is an error to believe that we will end the era of elite impunity unless and until we end the idea that anyone, including the president, is above the law. And it is a gross misreading of the moment to believe that American voters do not recognize that Trump’s corruption, billionaire corruption, out-of-control new technologies, rape of the environment, skyrocketing healthcare costs, and the soaring cost of living are all part of the same problem.

It is not a problem that can be fixed piecemeal.

We must have the vision to address all these elements. Saving democracy and restoring a future for our children and their children requires the boldness to grapple with each of the obvious challenges we face, no matter how massive they may be, no matter that we have failed to do so in the past.

We should see Trump’s grotesque public acts of criminality not just as shocking, therefore, but as a call to action, as an opening to a new era of reform and rebirth in this country, of a recommitment to promoting and believing in the ideal of opportunity and equal protection under the law for each and every one of us.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/holding-trump-accountable-is-the-first-step-to-unrigging-the-system/?

Friday at 11:06 PM

Violent MAGA Goons and Election Nuts Launch Grab for $1.8B Grift

They’re spouting sob stories about how their actions had consequences.

Jan. 6 rioters and election deniers are lining up for their piece of the Justice Department’s nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate so-called “victims” of government weaponization.

Various individuals associated with the Capitol riots and attempts to overturn the 2020 election, like pillow pitchman Mike Lindell and Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, have said they intend to cash in, as have non-public figures who served time in prison. They are now sharing their sob stories while expressing their appreciation for what critics say is a brazen “slush fund” by Donald Trump to reward allies.

Lindell, whose false claims about the election spurred costly defamation suits, company boycotts, and attention from the FBI, told CNN he believes MyPillow lost $400 million.

“I would say we were the number-one company in the world hurt by our own government,” said Lindell, 64, who is running for governor of Minnesota.

Lindell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tarrio was convicted in 2023 of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 22 years in prison—the longest sentence for anyone involved in Jan. 6. His attorneys told CNN that he, too, was planning on sending a request for money from the fund.

“I’m not greedy,” Tarrio told Reuters. “But my life was all f---ed up because of this.” He said he figured he could get between $2 million and $5 million: “The Justice Department overprosecuted for political gain. So everyone deserves to get money.”

Brandon Fellows, who in February 2024 was sentenced to 42 months for a host of charges related to the insurrection, is also seeking reparations. Fellows, who told CNN he believes Jan. 6 was a “set up” and the 2020 election was “stolen,” said he had put in for $30 million—$21.5 million of which was for what he called “wrongful imprisonment.”

Rachel Powell, another pardoned rioter, was sentenced in October 2023 to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release over nine total felony and misdemeanor charges, including “engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon.” Powell was seen repeatedly ramming a window of the Capitol building with a cylindrical object.

Powell, a mother of eight and a grandmother to eight, complained to CNN about how she was treated.

“I had three years of house arrest, then, having to endure everything I did through prison, and getting a five-year sentence on top of that—that’s clearly weaponization," she said.

Dominic Box spent 18 months in jail awaiting trial for nonviolent offenses. He was later convicted on two felony counts of civil disorder, as well as four misdemeanors. Before his sentencing, his case was dismissed last year in the wake of Trump’s mass pardons.

“I can’t find a way to support myself right now. I lost my career. I look forward to financial compensation. I need it. This will be a welcome relief,” Box told CNN.

“This is long overdue,” he added. “It’s not okay for hardworking, average Americans to be chewed up and destroyed as a collective boogeyman.”

Attorney Pete Ticktin told Reuters he intends on filing hundreds of claims. Trump pardoned nearly 1,600 people charged over the insurrection.

Additionally, some fake electors may be reaching out to the commission.

“This commission is a good idea,” Kevin Kijewski, a lawyer for Michigan fake elector Clifford Frost, told CNN. “Cliff paid a price personally, professionally and financially. His realtor business still hasn’t recovered since all this happened. Personal relationships were destroyed. The dismissal of criminal charges doesn’t pay back the legal fees and undo the damage.”

Meanwhile, at least one right-wing network has signaled an interest in the fund.

Chris Babcock, a lawyer for One America News, told CNN that the company was “seriously considering pursuing rights under this fund and will make a decision shortly about whether to file a claim.”

OAN settled defamation lawsuits with Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems.

OAN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the fund in a separate CNN interview on Wednesday, claiming the fund was not an abuse of taxpayer money.

“I very much disagree with the idea that the American taxpayer is indignant that a victim of weaponization [gets compensation],” he told CNN. “I think they do want their tax dollars spent on things like that.”

Also on Monday, lawyer Mike Howell, an ally of U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin, wrote to Blanche making himself a candidate for the commission’s five-member panel, CBS News reported.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/violent-maga-goons-and-election-nuts-launch-grab-for-18b-grift/?

ps:What a joke!

2026-05-24T14:19:34Z

True Scale of Trump’s Secret Military Disaster Is Revealed

What goes up has a tendency to go down.

President Donald Trump’s war with Iran has left dozens of U.S. airplanes damaged and destroyed, a new congressional report has revealed.

Casualties and equipment loss reports have been few and far between for a war that has cost the U.S. billions, with the Defense Department failing to publish its own comprehensive summary of the damage suffered during the fighting.

Several major incidents, such as the downing of two F-15E Strike Eagle pilots over Iran, have garnered significant attention, while other incidents have flown more under the radar. Now the Congressional Research Service says the total number of lost or damaged aerial vehicles could be as high as 42.

The group serves as a nonpartisan think tank that provides information to Congress. It used DoD and CENTCOM statements, as well as news reports, to build a picture of the actual losses of military fixed- and rotary-wing, manned and unmanned aircraft.

It covered key incidents such as the downed Strike Eagle, which led to a high-stakes search and rescue mission in early April, as well as three more F-15E Strike Eagles that were shot down in a friendly fire incident over Kuwait.

In 1998, each one cost around $30 million, equivalent to around $65 million now.

The U.S. also destroyed a pair of its own $114 million MC-130J Commando II special operations support aircraft while rescuing the pilots.

The search also saw an HH-60W Jolly Green II search and rescue helicopter damaged by ground fire as it flew over Iran. They cost north of $40 million each.

A general-purpose F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter, thought to cost around $100 million, has also been damaged, and a $20 million A-10 Thunderbolt II used for close air support was destroyed.

The report also includes the loss or damage of seven $70 million KC-135 Stratotankers, used as flying gas stations, and an E-3 Sentry AWACS airborne radar, the replacement of which the Wall Street Journal says will cost $700 million, and of which the U.S. has little more than a dozen.

There have also been losses of 24 $30 million hunter-killer MQ-9 Reaper drones, and one $240 million reconnaissance and surveillance MQ-4C Triton drone. The Triton drones are so expensive that only 20 have been produced for service.

In April, Pentagon officials told Congress that $25 billion had already been spent on the fighting, although Democratic leaders think the real number could be far higher.

On May 12, Acting Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst said that the number had now gone up to $29 billion, saying, “A lot of that increase comes from having a refined estimate on repair or replacement costs for equipment.”

U.S. officials familiar with internal assessments told CBS News that the offensive’s true price tag to date is closer to $50 billion.

During his testimony before lawmakers in April, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth adopted a combative tone.

“The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans,” he said.

As well as losses to aircraft, 13 service members have been killed in the fighting, six of whom were on board one of the Stratotankers which went down over friendly territory.

More than 350 Americans are also thought to have been injured, amid a furor about not enough being done to protect troops in combat zones.

A strike on Port Shuaiba in Kuwait on March 1 killed six American troops, including Master Sgt. Nicole Amor.

Survivors have questioned whether defenses against drones were sufficient to mitigate the danger, while a new interview with CBS News has also revealed that more medical supplies were requested in the weeks running up to the strike.

“This was a failure,” Maj. Stephen Ramsbottom told the network about Amor’s death. “She could have been saved. She fought the whole way and was trying to stay alive.”

“No plan is ever perfect, but accusations suggesting blatant disregard for the safety of our forces are unfounded and inaccurate,” Capt. Tim Hawkins of U.S. Central Command told the network.

Meanwhile, 3,468 people are thought to have been killed in Iran, their ages ranging from eight months to 88 years, Iran’s Ministry of Health has said.

The Daily Beast has contacted the Defense Department and CENTCOM for comment.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/true-scale-of-trumps-military-disaster-in-iran-war-is-revealed/?

2026-05-24T14:32:25Z

ICE Barbie’s Successor Scrambles to Tackle Deadly Virus Crisis

There have been about 600 reported cases of Ebola so far.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has been thrust into chaos after a deadly Ebola outbreak hit Congo.

The Department of Homeland Security implemented new restrictions for foreign travelers coming to the U.S. on Thursday after six Americans were exposed to the deadly virus.

That includes a U.S. physician, Dr. Peter Stafford, working in Congo, who has been flown to Germany for treatment after the United States delayed his evacuation amid a dispute over where he would receive treatment, according to The Washington Post.

According to World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus, there have been about 600 reported cases of the virus in Congo so far, resulting in 139 deaths.

He also noted that the virus appears to have been spreading for some time before health officials identified it.

Beginning Thursday, the United States will require all passenger flights bound for the country that include foreign travelers who have been in Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan at any point during the previous 21 days to arrive exclusively at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia, CBS News reported.

The Department of Homeland Security said the measure is intended to concentrate public health screening and response resources at a single entry point to strengthen monitoring and containment efforts.Officials clarified that the restriction applies only to passenger aircraft, not cargo flights.

It comes after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Monday that individuals who are not U.S. passport holders and who have been in Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan at any point within the previous three weeks would not be allowed into the United States.

It remains uncertain how the newly issued DHS rule aligns with or affects the CDC directive.

Just a few days after the CDC issued its directive, U.S. authorities encountered a near-incident this week when a Detroit-bound flight was diverted to Canada after a traveler from Congo was mistakenly allowed to board “in error.”

A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said officials responded by taking “decisive action,” preventing the aircraft from landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.

“Due to entry restrictions put in place to reduce the risk of the Ebola virus, the passenger should not have boarded the plane,” the CBP spokesperson said in a written statement.

Health experts said that the outbreak is associated with the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which currently has no approved vaccines or specific treatments, according to CBS News. The strain has a 25 to 50 percent fatality rate.

The World Health Organization has classified the situation as a public health emergency of international concern, though it has not yet escalated it to the level of a global pandemic emergency.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-barbies-successor-markwayne-mullin-scrambles-to-tackle-deadly-virus-crisis/?

2026-05-24T14:38:29Z

Trump Humiliated by Damning Fox News Poll

Even core Republican support is showing clear signs of erosion.

A new Fox News poll points to a steep slide in public approval for President Donald Trump, with even core Republican support showing clear signs of erosion.

The latest poll, conducted between May 15-18 among 1,002 registered voters, puts Trump’s approval rating at a new low across both his terms in the White House, with 39 percent approving and 61 percent disapproving.

The survey is just one of many that have put Trump’s approval at a record low in recent weeks.

It comes as the economy is at the top of voters’ minds ahead of November’s midterms. The poll showed that a majority of respondents—58 percent, up from 50 percent in February—say the cost of living is their top economic concern, far ahead of other issues like government spending, jobs, and tariffs.

That’s bad news for Trump, with the poll showing widespread disapproval of his handling of the economy, including significant dissatisfaction even among Republicans.

Disapproval of Trump’s handling of the economy has risen from 56 percent a year ago to 66 percent last month and now 71 percent, a new low driven in part by a 7 percent increase in Republican disapproval.

On inflation, where Trump’s net approval sits at a historic low of -52 points, 51 percent of Republicans now disapprove of his performance.

Meanwhile, more than three-quarters of Americans (77 percent) say the economy is in bad shape, up from 73 percent last month and 71 percent a year ago, while just 23 percent rate it positively.

Personal financial outlooks are also negative, with 51 percent saying their family’s finances are worse than two years ago, compared with 44 percent before the 2022 midterms.

Rising gas prices are widely seen as a problem, with 86 percent calling them an issue and 51 percent saying they are a “major” problem; overall, 96 percent say gas prices are a problem and 75 percent call it a major issue. Most voters (91 percent) link higher gas prices to the Iran war.

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.

White House spokesman Kush Desai told the Daily Beast: “The American economy has been resilient under President Trump because his economic agenda has a proven track record – this same agenda of tax cuts, deregulation, and tariffs unleashed historic job, wage, and economic growth during the first Trump term.

“Americans can rest assured that as this agenda continues taking effect, and as Congress passes more of the President’s healthcare and housing affordability agenda, the best is yet to come in the second Trump term.”

Energy prices have spiked since Trump launched his war with Iran in February, with Iran blockading the Strait of Hormuz.

According to AAA, the national average for regular gasoline has risen above $4.50 a gallon, with prices topping $5 in seven states. Inflation also climbed to 3.8 percent in April—the highest in nearly three years.

While the 79-year-old president himself has downplayed concerns over soaring gas prices and inflation as a “small price to pay” for confronting Iran, others in his party have expressed concern that rising gas prices could be an “Achilles’ heel” for Republicans in November.

“The toughest thing, too, is that we made gas prices the Achilles’ heel for (former President Joe) Biden and now it’s our own,” an unnamed adviser told Reuters last week.

And polls show that could be true. According to pollster G. Elliott Morris, Republicans are now deep underwater, at -20 points among voters who make decisions based on gas prices and overall economic conditions.

Morris pointed out in a post on X that this is “the group that put Trump in the White House in the first place,” with the economy being one of Trump’s strongest issues in 2024.

They are not the only key constituency that is deserting Trump and his party.

The Fox News poll shows Trump’s net approval slipping across several key groups, including rural white voters (-6 points) and white men without a college degree (-5 points).

Overall approval is at or near historic lows across core constituencies, registering 80 percent among Republicans, 54 percent among non-MAGA Republicans, and just 43 percent among both White voters and rural voters.

Other polls have also shown that Latino voters, who shifted sharply toward Republicans by 22 points in 202, are now showing signs of drifting away from the president.

According to a May Pew Research Center poll, Trump’s approval rating among Latino voters who supported him has dropped to 66 percent, a steep decline from 93 percent at the start of his second term.

A TelevisaUnivision/Harris poll from this month showed that 73 percent of Latino voters say they are merely “surviving” financially.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-humiliated-by-damning-fox-news-poll/?

2026-05-24T15:44:58Z

Trump calls off AI executive order over concern it could weaken US tech edge

President Donald Trump called off plans to sign a new executive order on artificial intelligence hours before an expected White House ceremony Thursday because he said he was worried the measure could dull America’s edge on AI technology. The order would have established a framework for the government to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems before their public release, according to a person who is familiar with the White House’s deliberations with the tech industry but was not authorized to speak about it publicly. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

2026-05-24T16:35:13Z

What’s in a Name?

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Earlier this year, Nicki Minaj asked her fans to “go out there and make some babies.” Sitting onstage at a D.C. auditorium, the rapper and recent MAGA convert wasn’t just talking about the wonders of parenthood—she was plugging President Trump’s new child-savings accounts.

The 530A accounts, better known by their other official name, Trump Accounts, are set to launch on July 4. Much like existing child-savings accounts, these are essentially tax-advantaged investment vehicles. During tax season, any parents of kids up to 18 years old can open a Trump Account on behalf of their child, regardless of their income level; if the child was born in the years 2025 to 2028, they can also receive $1,000 in their account automatically, straight from the federal government. The money can be invested only in American companies, and parents are the account’s custodians until their child turns 18. According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, more than 5 million children have already been enrolled in the program this year.

Trump Accounts have attracted wealthy backers from the private sector, who have agreed to supplement the accounts by offering additional money to qualifying kids. The tech billionaires Michael and Susan Dell are donating $6.25 billion to the program, which will put $250 into the accounts of certain children across the country who are too old to get the $1,000. Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, is donating $75 million for a similar initiative in Connecticut, which can go to kids who do qualify for the $1,000, and Altimeter Capital CEO Brad Gerstner has said he’s planning on doing something comparable in Indiana. (Minaj also pledged to donate between up to $300,000 exclusively for her fans, but she hasn’t clarified how that might work.) Whatever amount your child qualifies for, you can add an additional $5,000 of your own money to the pot each year. All of it is meant to appreciate as the American economy does, snowballing into something that can give kids a head start when they come of age.

From a financial-planning perspective, taking free money from the government is a no-brainer. And the policy has the potential for bipartisan appeal—although, as Michael Sherraden, a social-development professor at Washington University in St. Louis, told me, the concept of giving children a certain amount of seed money has been “more a Democratic idea than a Republican idea” in recent years. Because of that, Trump Accounts could be “on better footing than most other policy discussions” in terms of their ability to outlast the current administration, he said.

But the way the account is set up could hinder its success. One challenge is that not every child eligible for a Trump Account will get one, because parents have to opt into it on their tax forms. Research has shown that it’s much harder to get people to opt into a policy than to opt out: When Maine launched a similar opt-in program for children born in-state, less than half of parents signed up after five years. Once the program was modified to become opt-out, participation shot up to 100 percent. Families that don’t file taxes—typically those with the lowest incomes—won’t have a chance to check the box. And because eligibility for the private donors’ money is decided according to zip code, per Treasury Department rules, lower-income kids in higher-income areas could miss out, as Time notes.

Trump Accounts draw heavily from decades of existing child-savings-account policies (see: UGMAs, UTMAs, 529 accounts, and “baby bonds” programs), which means that parents have plenty of additional options for their kids. The distinction with Trump Accounts is the MAGA packaging (you’ll need to fill out “Form 4547” in order to sign up), and the specific investment strategy. As research from Vanguard notes, this money is parked exclusively in U.S. companies, meaning that it’s mapped to the ebbs and flows of one country’s economy. If some kind of black-swan event tanks those stocks, these accounts could be vulnerable; other child-savings-account policies give parents the option to invest in both U.S. and international stocks. Donors may also end up shaping the portfolio: According to The New York Times, U.S. officials are considering letting wealthy donors load up these accounts with stock in their own companies, which could exacerbate that portfolio-diversity problem (investments in individual stocks are usually riskier than broad index funds).

The program also happens to be in line with one of the president’s convenient rhetorical fictions. Despite being, fundamentally, a figure of the establishment—a real-estate billionaire in the ranks of Manhattan’s ultra-wealthy and ultra-powerful—Trump came to power in 2016 by selling Americans a faux-populist economic platform. The broad coalition of voters that spurred both of his elections included portions of the working class and some of his fancy friends. Few of the policies Trump has pursued while in office can really be labeled populist (the legislation he’s pushed tends to benefit the wealthy), but he has occasionally made overtures to his working-class base, including in the “big, beautiful bill” and his executive orders.

Trump has always purported to support American families; he once labeled himself, somewhat disturbingly, the “fertilization president.” Trump Accounts theoretically represent the kind of pro-child policy that both parties could unite around, but the branding may be a liability. At a time when a majority of the country disapproves of—or actively reviles—the president, his name alone could end up limiting the program’s success.

Related:

2026-05-24T16:40:37Z

😬 What Trump shares with Biden

President Trump finds himself in a predicament that would be painfully familiar to the man he succeeded in the Oval Office.

🪓 Why it matters: President Biden had Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who casually chopped his $3.5 trillion Build Back Better plan down to roughly $1 trillion. Now, Trump faces a blocking coalition of his own creation.

Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) are barreling toward retirement, while their colleague John Cornyn (R-Texas) could soon be (involuntarily) joining them.
Trump's loyalty litmus tests led him to threaten to primary Tillis, actively campaign against Cassidy and endorse Cornyn's GOP opponent. All three are poised to take revenge.
Complicating Trump's path to 50 votes are Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)— a Republican he unsuccessfully tried to defeat in 2022 — and Sen. Susan Collins, who is fighting for her political life in Maine. Both voted to convict Trump after Jan. 6.

😩 Zoom in: Senate GOP leader John Thune is technically still the majority leader, but in practical terms, the Republican majority is shrinking — at least when it comes to Trump's reconciliation package.

That became abundantly clear today when GOP leaders scrapped plans to vote on a more than $70 billion package for ICE and Border Patrol after failure, embarrassment — or both — became foregone conclusions.
The White House ballroom security funding had been one of Trump's top demands as part of the broader package, but leaders were far short of the 50 votes needed to preserve the provision.

😵‍💫 A bigger problem for Trump: the dozens of lawmakers who were confused and concerned about Trump's new $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund.

The nature of a Senate vote-a-rama would have allowed Democrats to offer amendments to restrict the payouts, and those would have passed.
"We made clear that we felt that this corruption was so vile that we were going to do everything we can in reconciliation to try to get it undone," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.

📚 Zoom out: Trump's presidency has largely been defined by Republican loyalty to him — not defections from him. But every modern president has eventually been constrained by members of his own party.

President George W. Bush saw his signature tax cut plans pared back, then lost his Senate majority after Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont defected from the Republican Party.
President Obama watched Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut (then an independent) kill the public option during the health care debate in his first year in office. The following year, Obama's cap-and-trade climate proposal failed to advance in a Senate that Democrats controlled 59-41.
And Trump himself saw his effort to repeal Obamacare collapse after Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) dramatic thumbs-down vote.

The bottom line: Trump's reconciliation problems are not irreconcilable — but resolving them will take patience, creativity and compromise.

"Different members have different issues," Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) said. "We just need more time to resolve them."

— Hans Nichols

2026-05-24T23:46:27Z

Trump's personal profits

Photo illustration of Donald Trump opening his jacket with hundred dollar bills falling out.

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Never in 250 years has America witnessed a sitting president shield himself and his family from tax scrutiny, after leveraging policies that benefit his own businesses and personal portfolios, as Donald J. Trump has done, Axios' Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen write in a "Behind the Curtain" column.

Why it matters: This isn't a hidden scandal. Trump has done this publicly and proudly. Last year, we called it the "most unprecedented presidency in 250 years."

In doing so, he has set a precedent — once so unfathomable as to be laughable — that it's OK for presidents and family members to make billions off deals affected by government decisions, then use the Justice Department to secure lifetime protection from scrutiny of their past tax returns.

Trump's crypto venture alone has been a windfall unlike anything in the history of presidential business, generating more cash for the Trump family in 16 months than the entire Trump real estate empire produced from 2010 through 2017, according to The Wall Street Journal.
"I let my kids ... do business," Trump said in a January interview with The New York Times. "I prohibited them from doing business in my first term, and I got absolutely no credit for it."

We were debating how to capture just how unprecedented Trump's actions are, when every week of every year seems filled with unprecedented words and actions. Let's try this. Imagine America put these questions to a public referendum:

Presidents and their family members, unlike other U.S. citizens, shall be granted lifetime immunity from federal audits and criminal investigations of their past tax returns.
Presidents and their family members can maintain active ownership of global business empires, profiting when government decisions directly benefit those specific businesses.
Presidents, while in office, can maintain massive personal crypto and stock portfolios that buy and sell hundreds of millions of dollars in industries directly regulated by their own administration.

🗳️ How would you vote?

It's hard to imagine more than single-digit support for any of these. Yet Trump is doing all three and paving the way for future presidents to do the same. That's why precedents by presidents often matter as much as laws themselves.

Between the lines: This is more than just a Trump problem. Look at the astonishing number of lawmakers trading and making money off stocks, often with insider knowledge of looming congressional action.

Pollsters have asked how Americans feel about officials trading stocks while in office, and it's one of the rare genuinely bipartisan issues in politics today.

Flashback: After Watergate, modern presidents from both parties built elaborate legal and ethical structures designed to separate public office from private enrichment.

Jimmy Carter placed his peanut farm into a blind trust. Ronald Reagan, both Bushes and Bill Clinton followed suit. Barack Obama held only diversified assets like Treasury bonds and index funds. Even wealthy businessmen entering politics generally treated direct entanglements as toxic.

Over the same decades, congressional stock trading and post-Citizens United money normalized self-enrichment around political power. Trump pushed that trajectory into terrain previous presidents viewed as untouchable.

Vice President Vance said during a White House briefing this week: "The president doesn't sit at the Oval Office on his computer on his, like, Robinhood account, buying and selling stocks — that's absurd. He has independent wealth advisers who manage his money. ... He's not making these stock trades himself."

The bottom line: Trump's net worth today is $6.1 billion, Forbes estimates, up from $5.1 billion last year, $4.3 billion in 2024 and $2.4 billion in 2021.

Axios' Zachary Basu and Shane Savitsky contributed reporting.

Go deeper on Trump's moves while in office ...

2026-05-24T23:47:30Z

Trump punts AI order amid infighting

Photo illustration of a hand holding a marker, drawing American flag with a sparkle emoji instead of stars.

Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photo: Tom Pennington/Getty Images

At the last minute, the White House postponed a ceremony yesterday where iconic tech CEOs were to surround President Trump as he signed a much-anticipated executive order on AI and cybersecurity, Axios' Ashley Gold, Maria Curi and Sam Sabin report.

The order was to outline a framework for AI developers to voluntarily give the government early access to advanced AI models.

Behind the scenes: White House AI adviser David Sacks, Elon Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg all spoke with Trump between Wednesday night and yesterday morning. Musk wrote on X early today: "I still don't know what was in that EO and the President only spoke to me after declining to sign."

A source familiar with Trump's thinking said the order was delayed because he "just hates regulation" and the order was "just something doomers wanted." The source said Sacks also "hated it."

Trump told reporters: "I didn't like certain aspects of it. I postponed it. I think it gets in the way of — you know, we're leading China. We're leading everybody, and I don't want to do anything that's going to get in the way of that lead. ... I really thought that could've been a blocker, and I want to make sure that it's not."

2026-05-24T23:48:49Z

Citizenship crackdown

Photo illustration of President Donald Trump carrying a large gavel on his shoulder.

Photo illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The Trump administration is temporarily moving immigration lawyers to the Justice Department to speed up efforts to strip citizenship from naturalized Americans, Axios' Brittany Gibson reports.

Why it matters: Denaturalization cases have a very high burden of proof. But they're a priority for Trump officials who are searching for fraud in the legal immigration system.

Zoom in: Lawyers at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are being temporarily transferred to U.S. attorney's offices to work on denaturalization cases, four former agency officials tell Axios.

One source said staffers were being "volun-told" to move offices.
It's not necessary that they have prior trial or denaturalization experience — just that they have an active law license, another source said.

Keep reading.

2026-05-25T00:35:15Z

Republicans call off vote on Iran war resolution that was on the verge of passing

The House had scheduled a vote on a war powers resolution, brought by Democrats, that would rein in President Donald Trump’s military campaign. But as it became clear that Republicans would not have the numbers to defeat the bill, GOP leaders delayed planned votes into June. Read more.

Why this matters:

It was the latest sign of the slipping support in Congress for a war that Trump launched more than two months ago without congressional approval. Republicans in the Senate are also working to ensure they have the votes to dismiss another war powers resolution that advanced to a final vote earlier this week, when four GOP senators supported the resolution and three others were absent from the vote.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

2026-05-25T01:03:33Z

Top Republican Leads Mutiny Against Trump’s $1.8B Grift Fund

Some GOP senators are taking their private outrage public.

A top Republican senator blasted President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion vengeance fund as “stupid on stilts”—and called on his GOP Senate colleagues to publicly condemn it. The Department of Justice this week announced a $1.776 billion fund that will make secret payments to Jan. 6 rioters and other Trump allies who say they were wrongly prosecuted by the Biden administration, without any legal or congressional oversight.The fund has sparked fury on both sides of the aisle, with Republican senators refusing to vote on an immigration funding bill in protest, and “erupting” at acting attorney general Todd Blanche during a closed-door meeting on Thursday.

Some Republican senators, including Thom Tillis of North Carolina, are also publicly sharing their unfiltered thoughts on the taxpayer-funded plan.

“These people don’t deserve restitution,” he told reporters on Thursday. “Many of them deserve to be in prison. This is just stupid on stilts.”

Tillis, who serves on five Senate committees but announced last year that he wasn’t seeking re-election this fall, also said he had colleagues who shared his concerns—and that they “needed to speak up.”

“This is beyond the pale,” he added. “This is not good for my colleagues. There’s not one positive thing that could be spun out of this between now and November. This is bad policy. It’s bad timing, and it’s bad politics.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who is also retiring this fall, had a similarly scathing assessment of the fund, which would be overseen by five commissioners handpicked by Blanche—who was previously Trump’s personal attorney—and could be removed by the president at will.

The recipients will remain anonymous, along with the amounts they receive, and Blanche has refused to rule out the possibility that Jan. 6 rioters pardoned by Trump after being convicted of violent crimes could apply for payouts from the fund.

“So, the nation’s top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong—Take your pick,” McConnell told reporters Thursday.

Republican Sens. Katie Britt of Alabama and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana have also spoken out against the fund.

The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.

Trump and the DOJ have tried to claim the fund was created as part of a “settlement agreement” in exchange for the president dropping a lawsuit against his own Internal Revenue Service over tax returns that were leaked by an independent contractor during his first term in office.

The judge in the case, however, had expressed doubts that the suit addressed a genuine case or controversy involving actual adversaries, since Trump himself oversees the IRS.

Rather than respond to the judge’s inquiries and face the very real prospect of the case being thrown out, Trump withdrew the suit without referencing or submitting a settlement to the court, Judge Kathleen Williams wrote in her order dismissing the case.

During Thursday’s closed-door meeting with Blanche, which lasted nearly two hours, up to 25 Republican senators spoke out against the fund.

Their reactions were “incredibly hostile,” multiple senators told Punchbowl’s Andrew Desiderio, as they demanded certain guardrails be put in place.

Thanks to the controversy, Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota sent lawmakers home for the Memorial Day recess without voting on a reconciliation package that would allocate an additional $70 million to immigration enforcement through 2029.

The move reportedly infuriated Trump, who has demanded that Congress pass the reconciliation bill by June 1.

The funding bill was already facing some Republican opposition in the Senate after Trump’s allies attempted to include $1 billion in funding for the president’s White House ballroom.

Trump originally said the project would cost $100 million and be paid for entirely with private donations.

Now, the White House is demanding ten times that amount in public funds to build a six-story underground military bunker beneath the event space, would serve as a “shield” for the complex below, Trump told reporters this week.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/top-republican-thom-tillis-leads-mutiny-against-donald-trumps-18b-grift-fund/?

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