Members phkrause Posted March 25, 2025 Author Members Posted March 25, 2025 Yemen group chat In one of the most shocking national security blunders, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared a war plan detailing weapons, targets and timing with a journalist just hours before the attack occurred. According to Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, President Donald Trump’s national security team was discussing possible military strikes on the Houthis in Yemen in an unclassified group chat — and national security adviser Michael Waltz apparently added him to the chain inadvertently. An after-action chat following the strikes was also made accessible. Goldberg discussed the “obvious security breach” Monday night on “The Source With Kaitlan Collins." Although the Trump administration acknowledged the messages — which were sent over the nongovernmental chat app Signal — appeared authentic, some Republicans tried to downplay the disclosure of national defense plans outside of approved classified government systems. Deportations A federal judge attempting to discern if the Trump administration violated a pair of temporary restraining orders he issued to halt the deportation of hundreds of migrants was told that the information was no longer accessible to him. Top Justice Department officials wrote in a filing that the administration is invoking the state secrets privilege, and claims any further disclosure about the deportation flights from the US to El Salvador would pose a danger to national security. “The Court has all of the facts it needs to address the compliance issues before it,” the officials wrote to US District Judge James Boasberg. The administration had previously invoked wartime power to justify deporting the migrants it accused of being members of a Venezuelan gang. FEMA As President Trump plans deep staff cuts at FEMA and works to eliminate the agency, new data shows that 2024 was one of the worst years for natural disasters. According to a new analysis from the International Institute for Environment and Development, there were 90 declarations of “major disasters” in the US last year — or one every four days. August was the worst month, with 10 major weather-related disasters active at the same time, including Hurricane Debby in Florida, severe storms in Kansas and flooding in Vermont. “We’re seeing hurricane season last longer, we’re seeing spring severe weather season get more significant and we’re seeing the fire season go year-round now,” former FEMA chief Deanne Criswell told CNN. USPS US Postmaster General Louis DeJoy resigned on Monday. During his nearly five-year tenure, the former businessman and Republican donor consolidated deliveries, raised the price of a First-Class domestic postage stamp from 55 cents to 73 cents and launched a reorganization plan that has cut 30,000 workers from the employee rolls and aims to eliminate another 10,000 through voluntary early retirement. President Trump said he wants to see even more changes and suggested giving Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick oversight of the independent government agency — a move that could be the first step toward privatization. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 25, 2025 Author Members Posted March 25, 2025 Trump’s Betrayal of Ukraine Should Make Another U.S. Ally Tremble SEOUL—The spectacle of several hundred thousand right-wing demonstrators flashing U.S. and South Korean flags near the main avenue from the American embassy here hides an inconvenient truth about U.S. policy toward North Korea. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-betrayal-of-ukraine-should-make-another-us-ally-tremble/? Trump officials texted war plans to a group chat in a secure app that included a journalist Top national security officials for President Donald Trump, including his defense secretary, texted war plans for upcoming military strikes in Yemen to a group chat in a secure messaging app that included the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, the magazine reported in a story posted online Monday. The National Security Council said the text chain “appears to be authentic.” Read more. Why this matters: The material in the text chain “contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Iran-backed Houthi-rebels in Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying and attack sequencing,” editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg reported. Just two hours after Goldberg received the details of the attack on March 15, the U.S. began launching a series of airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. It was not immediately clear if the specifics of the military operation were classified, but they often are and at the least are kept secure to protect service members and operational security. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in his first comments on the matter attacked Goldberg as “deceitful” and a “discredited so-called journalist” while alluding to previous critical reporting of Trump from the publication. The sharing of sensitive information comes as Hegseth’s office has just announced a crackdown on leaks of sensitive information, including the potential use of polygraphs on defense personnel to determine how reporters have received information. The administration’s handling of the highly sensitive information was swiftly condemned by Democratic lawmakers. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called for a full investigation. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Encrypted messaging apps promise privacy. Government transparency is often the price New York Times denounces Trump’s ‘intimidation tactics’ against reporters Supreme Court turns back casino mogul Steve Wynn’s appeal in defamation lawsuit Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 25, 2025 Author Members Posted March 25, 2025 Trump administration invokes state secrets privilege in case over deportations under wartime law The Trump administration on Monday invoked a “state secrets privilege” and refused to give a federal judge any additional information about the deportation of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under an 18th century wartime law — a case that has become a flashpoint amid escalating tension with the federal courts. Read more. Why this matters: The declaration comes as U.S. District Judge James Boasberg weighs whether the government defied his order to turn around planes carrying migrants after he blocked deportations of people alleged to be gang members without due process. Boasberg has asked for details about when the planes landed and who was on board, information that the Trump administration asserts would harm “diplomatic and national security concerns.” Circuit Court Judge Patricia Millett said Nazis detained in the U.S. during World World II received better legal treatment than Venezuelan immigrants who were deported to El Salvador this month under the same statute. Millett is one of three appellate judges who will decide whether to lift a March 15 order temporarily prohibiting deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. “We certainly dispute the Nazi analogy,” Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign responded. Trump and his allies have called for impeaching Boasberg. In a rare statement, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts last week said “impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.” Just after midnight Monday, Trump posted a social media message questioning Boasberg’s impartiality and calling for him to be disbarred. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Postmaster General Louis DeJoy resigns after 5 years in the position Trump will nominate acting CDC director Susan Monarez for the position, White House official says Trump taps his former defense attorney, Alina Habba, to be New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor Trump administration cancels at least 68 grants focused on LGBTQ health questions Another US judge issues temporary ban on Trump’s removal of transgender service members Supreme Court seems divided over Louisiana case of congressional map with 2 Black majority seats A Cornell student suing the Trump administration is asked to surrender to immigration authorities Schools, unions sue over Trump’s Education Department order Come back or move on? Fired federal workers face choices now that a judge wants them rehired DOGE cuts are testing some conservative voters’ faith in special election for Matt Gaetz’s old seat Judge allows drag show at Texas A&M despite the university’s ban South Africa president says persecution of whites a ‘false narrative’ as Musk repeats genocide claim Protesters in Serbia rally against real estate project with Trump son-in-law Kushner Putin gifted a portrait of Trump to the U.S. president Trump’s portrait to be taken down at Colorado Capitol after president claimed it was ‘distorted’ Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 25, 2025 Author Members Posted March 25, 2025 Federal Investigators Were Preparing Two Texas Housing Discrimination Cases — Until Trump Took Over The government spent years probing allegations that a Dallas HOA created rules to kick poor Black people out and that Texas discriminated against minority residents in Houston after Hurricane Harvey, only to suddenly reverse course under Trump. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-hud-texas-housing-discrimination-cases-dallas-houston? Under Pressure From Trump, ICE Is Pushing Legal Boundaries Confrontations with judges are grabbing attention, but more quietly a pattern of questionable arrests shows the extent to which the administration is willing to test norms and laws. https://www.propublica.org/article/ice-warrantless-arrests-chicago-law? Animal Farm: Eggflation’s Monopoly Problem Amid high egg prices and the spread of avian flu, Trump’s Agriculture Secretary is pushing an industry-friendly agenda to dismantle state-level animal welfare regulations designed to limit corporate eggflation and protect against livestock diseases. https://www.levernews.com/animal-farm-eggflations-monopoly-problem/? Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 26, 2025 Author Members Posted March 26, 2025 Trump downplays national security team texting military operation plan on Signal as a minor 'glitch' President Donald Trump on Tuesday downplayed the texting of sensitive plans for a military strike against Yemen’s Houthis this month to a group chat that included a journalist, saying it was “the only glitch in two months” of his administration as Democratic lawmakers heaped criticism on the administration for handling highly sensitive information carelessly. Read More. US says it brokered safe shipping in the Black Sea in talks with Ukraine and Russia The United States said an agreement has been reached to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea as it wrapped up three days of talks Tuesday with Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Saudi Arabia on prospective steps toward peace. Read More. GOP-led states push for unfettered school aid as Trump promises a smaller federal role in education Governors in several Republican-led states are pressing the Trump administration to cut strings attached to their federal education aid, a goal conservatives have long dreamed of that now appears within reach as President Donald Trump moves to dismantle the Education Department. Read More. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 26, 2025 Author Members Posted March 26, 2025 ?? New phone, Houthis? As further proof we’re living in a real-life idiot plot, top members of the Trump administration accidentally added The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief to a Signal group chat where they were discussing secret war plans. Officials — including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Vice President JD Vance — were apparently unaware they were leaking the administration’s plans to bomb Yemen to a journalist until he removed himself from the chat. ? Republicans want your medical debt to destroy you. Tomorrow, industry-bankrolled Republicans will likely vote to repeal a Biden-era rule banning credit scores from reflecting medical debt. According to research from Accountable.US, Republican members of the House Financial Services Committee have received nearly $900,000 in donations from health care trade groups and debt collectors supporting the move, which would add roughly $49 billion in medical debt back onto Americans’ credit reports. ? That time the government actually helped the working class. A new Federal Reserve report finds that when the government extended unemployment benefits during the pandemic, it particularly helped the working class. The pandemic aid “largely offset the adverse effect of the surge in unemployment, especially in the lower half of the distribution of household income.” President Biden and a Democratic Congress overcame GOP opposition and extended that aid, but then it expired, crushing the working class. Soon after, Democrats were destroyed at the polls. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 26, 2025 Author Members Posted March 26, 2025 Trump's Teflon The past 24 hours have been a vivid example of why scandal so rarely sticks to President Trump, Axios' Marc Caputo writes. "We can easily handle what would kill any other administration. This will blow over," a top adviser boasted to Axios shortly after The Atlantic's editor-in-chief revealed that he'd been added to a text thread of highly sensitive military planning. ? Between the lines: Trump himself made clear during an impromptu press conference today that there will be no consequences for what was, on the merits, a colossal operational security blunder. He answered every question. He stood by his team and gave no ground to critics. He refused to say anyone would be fired — and said National Security Adviser Mike Waltz doesn't even need to apologize. There was applause at the end of Trump's press availability, a sign of palpable relief from the secretaries and staff. ⌨️ MAGA media also quickly closed ranks, Axios' Tal Axelrod notes. That powerful cavalry is a big part of how the White House can put itself on the counterattack under almost any circumstances. "The Atlantic's 'War Plan' Leak Story 'Exposes' Team Trump as Thoughtful, Competent, and Ruthless," read one headline from The National Pulse. "They want an impeachment. They think that they can pick off a Cabinet member here, and they think that this scandal gives them the ability to be able to do this," Jack Posobiec, a prominent podcaster, said on Steve Bannon's "War Room." He also said, "You got to be more careful" and noted Republicans' furor over Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email server during her time as secretary of state. ? "In 48 hours, no one will care about any of this," one Trump adviser said. "It's a faux media event. Nothing really to nip in the bud. No one will lose their job over it. I'm willing to bet they don't use Signal in the future." Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 26, 2025 Author Members Posted March 26, 2025 Trump's loose-lip legacy Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios President Trump's downplaying of the #Signalgate scandal as a mere "glitch" is the latest entry in a long-running — and ever-expanding — legacy of indifference toward America's secrets, Axios' Zachary Basu writes. Why it matters: Even after facing criminal charges in 2023, Trump has never suffered enduring political consequences. That's given his allies confidence that the Atlantic bombshell will blow over. ? Zoom in: Look no further than the prosecution Trump faced — and ultimately survived — for allegedly retaining classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after he left office. The indictment was salacious: Special counsel Jack Smith accused Trump of stashing "national defense information" — i.e., nuclear secrets — in non-secure locations throughout his golf club, including a bathroom. Trump allegedly showed off "highly confidential" military documents to guests who didn't have security clearances, and then tried to obstruct the government from reclaiming the documents. Throughout the prosecution, which was dismissed in July 2024 by Judge Aileen Cannon, Trump maintained his innocence and falsely insisted that the Mar-a-Lago documents were his personal property. After Trump won the election and returned to the White House, the FBI returned some of the materials it had seized from Mar-a-Lago — a moment of triumph for a president who never admitted a scintilla of wrongdoing. ? The big picture: National security experts were appalled by Trump's alleged conduct in the Mar-a-Lago case, but the president has been consistent across his two terms in his disregard for intelligence protocols. In May 2017, the Washington Post reported that Trump revealed highly classified information to Russia's foreign minister and ambassador inside the Oval Office, sending U.S. officials scrambling to contain the damage. In July 2018, Trump publicly sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin over U.S. intelligence agencies in their assessment that Moscow had interfered in the 2016 election. In August 2019, Trump tweeted out a surveillance photo of an Iranian launch site that experts suspected was obtained from a classified satellite or drone. Today's New York Post cover The trend has continued into Trump's second administration, with the careless handling of classified information sometimes compounded by a lack of government experience. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's decision to share sensitive war plans in a Signal group — let alone one that accidentally included The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, who wrote about it — is a prime example. But it's not an isolated one: Counterintelligence experts were alarmed in February after the CIA sent an unclassified email to the White House containing personal information of all agents hired over the last two years. Explainer about Signal ... In their own words: The explanations. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 26, 2025 Author Members Posted March 26, 2025 ?? Vance vs. Europe Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios The text-message debacle over the U.S. attacks on the Houthis is the latest example that Vice President Vance is the Trump team's chief antagonist of Europe — both publicly and behind the scenes, Axios' Alex Thompson and Barak Ravid write. Why it matters: Vance's private argument against the attacks, included in the thread revealed by The Atlantic, matched his recent pattern of public hawkishness toward European allies. "I think we are making a mistake," Vance wrote in the Signal group with Cabinet secretaries and senior White House officials, arguing that the Houthis were more Europe's problem than America's. ?️ The big picture: Vance's combative remarks on issues such as defense spending and censorship have strained the alliance between Europe and the U.S. European diplomats, media and members of various parliaments have zeroed in on the vice president for criticism. Zoom in: It's unusual for a VP to become such a lightning rod on foreign policy, especially so early in a presidency. But the text discussion among U.S. officials before this week's strikes shows the depth of Vance's belief that America gives too much support to Europe — a continent Vance believes is lethargic and often run by corrupt elites. "3 percent of US trade runs through the suez," Vance texted in the chat. "40 percent of European trade does." ? The intrigue: Vance's hardline stance on Europe goes beyond even what President Trump advocates. Keep reading. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 26, 2025 Author Members Posted March 26, 2025 ?️ Trump's sweeping election order President Trump signed an executive order yesterday to make sweeping changes to federal elections that include a proof of citizenship requirement and a provision designed to prevent states from counting mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, Axios' Rebecca Falconer and Jeremy Duda write. Why it matters: Trump said on Truth Social that his administration believes this is "the farthest-reaching executive action taken in the history" of the U.S. to "Secure our Elections." The order threatens to cut federal funding from states that don't comply. It's likely to face legal challenges, with Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold's (D) among those already calling the order "unlawful." White House announcement ... Executive Order ... Election order President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday that directs the Election Assistance Commission to demand proof of citizenship for voter registration — and withhold funding from states that don’t enforce the requirement for voters who register with the federal form. Republicans have long sought these changes to election practices, but critics say demanding proof of citizenship could disenfranchise poor and older voters and suppress votes. The order also instructed the Department of Homeland Security to give Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency access to state voter rolls so its team can search the data for foreign nationals. ? World order: From chess to billiards Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios Sneak peek: "World affairs have moved from the analogy of a chessboard to that of a billiard table, with nations colliding unpredictably," Richard Stengel — former editor of TIME, and an under secretary of State in the Obama administration — writes for Vanity Fair. In "The New End of History: Donald Trump's New World Order Is the Old World Order," Stengel says President Trump's "erratic transactionalism ... favors dominance over stability — and loyalty over law. ... This new end of history is the return of humankind's essential, Hobbesian nature: nasty, brutish, competitive, insecure." Keep reading (live at 7 a.m. ET). ?️ N.Y. Times Quotation of the Day: "The international order is undergoing changes of a magnitude not seen since 1945," Kaja Kallas, the top EU diplomat, said last week, echoing a line from the bloc's defense preparedness plan, aimed at helping Europe become more militarily independent. (Gift link) Signal chat fallout Top national security officials faced questions from outraged Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday about a group chat on the messaging app Signal that revealed plans for a military strike in Yemen to a journalist. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe repeatedly denied that the chat contained classified information and then appeared to shift responsibility to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for determining such classification. Yet it was Hegseth’s texts that reportedly provided “operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the US would be deploying, and attack sequencing.” Current and former defense officials said that such discussions would always be classified due to the potential risk to US service members. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 26, 2025 Author Members Posted March 26, 2025 Signal chat fallout Top national security officials faced questions from outraged Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday about a group chat on the messaging app Signal that revealed plans for a military strike in Yemen to a journalist. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe repeatedly denied that the chat contained classified information and then appeared to shift responsibility to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for determining such classification. Yet it was Hegseth’s texts that reportedly provided “operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the US would be deploying, and attack sequencing.” Current and former defense officials said that such discussions would always be classified due to the potential risk to US service members. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 27, 2025 Author Members Posted March 27, 2025 Now Trump Is Talking About Handing Cash to Jan. 6 Rioters The MAGA supporters—some of whom attacked police officers—went to the Capitol “peacefully and patriotically,” Trump said. https://www.thedailybeast.com/now-trump-is-talking-about-paying-the-jan-6-rioters/? ps:Why don't we just give them the medal of honor?? Trump signs order seeking to overhaul US elections President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive action to overhaul elections in the United States, including requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and demanding that all ballots be received by Election Day. Read more. Why this matters: The order says the U.S. has failed “to enforce basic and necessary election protections” and calls on states to work with federal agencies to share voter lists and prosecute election crimes. It threatens to pull federal funding from states where election officials don’t comply. The move, which is likely to face challenges because states have broad authority to set their own election rules, is consistent with Trump’s history of criticizing election processes. Voting rights groups have expressed concerns that the requirement could disenfranchise people. An estimated 9% of U.S. citizens of voting age, or 21.3 million people, do not have proof of citizenship readily available, according to a 2023 report by the Brennan Center for Justice and other groups. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Democrats keep control of Pennsylvania House with election win; GOP Senate district sees close race Trump nominates Republican once accused of mishandling taxpayer funds as HHS watchdog Trump nominates conservative media critic for ambassador to South Africa Self-professed ‘DOGE person’ Frank Bisignano gets his confirmation hearing to lead Social Security Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Panama declines to commit to upholding the country’s sovereignty President Trump pardons former Hunter Biden business partner Devon Archer Trump administration says it will pull back billions in COVID funding from local health departments The US Postal Service has been struggling for years. Now Trump’s talking about privatizing it Consumer confidence is sliding as Americans’ view of their financial futures slumps to a 12-year low Biden administration lacked the authority to cancel oil and gas leases in Alaska refuge, judge rules Supreme Court takes up $8 billion phone and internet subsidy for rural and low-income areas Illinois returns stolen land to Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation LA district attorney allows prosecutors to seek death penalty again Kentucky governor vetoes GOP abortion bill, says it undermines doctors and endangers pregnant women Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett mocks Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair, as ‘Gov. Hot Wheels’ Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 27, 2025 Author Members Posted March 27, 2025 In their own words: Trump officials shrugging off Signal leak once decried Clinton’s server The attempts by President Donald Trump and top leaders of his administration to downplay a security breach that revealed military strike plans in a Signal group chat including a journalist stand in stark contrast to their reaction to Hillary Clinton’s use of a home server as secretary of state. Read more. Why this matters: This time, they’ve largely focused their ire not on sweeping potential security lapses but on the journalist who was mistakenly added to the group text and reported on it: the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg. Some of the chat’s participants who spoke out against Clinton haven’t commented publicly about the Signal leak. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ America’s allies alarmed by a leaked group chat about attack plans Trump intel officials testify on threat from drug cartels as Democrats press them on leak Republicans in Mike Waltz’s old district aren’t mad at him or Trump over Yemen Signal chat Appeals court allows Trump administration to suspend approval of new refugees amid lawsuit The Trump administration can stop approving new refugees for entry into the U.S. but has to allow in people who were conditionally accepted before the president suspended the nation’s refugee admissions system, an appeals court ruled Tuesday. The order narrowed a ruling from a federal judge in Seattle who found the program should be restarted. Read more. Why this matters: The three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the president has the power to restrict people from entering the country, pointing to a 2018 Supreme Court ruling upholding President Donald Trump’s ban on travel from several mostly Muslim countries during his first term. The panel ruled on an emergency appeal of a ruling by U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead, who found that the president’s authority to suspend refugee admissions is not limitless and that Trump cannot nullify the law passed by Congress establishing the program. Refugees who were conditionally approved by the government before Trump’s order halting the refugee program should still be allowed to resettle, the judges found. There are 600,000 people being processed to come to the U.S. as refugees around the world, according to the administration. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Homeland Security Secretary Noem visits the El Salvador prison where deported Venezuelans are held Some US embassies in Europe post warnings to would-be visa seekers: Watch your step Deportees from the US hop embassy to embassy in Panama in a desperate scramble to seek asylum Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 27, 2025 Author Members Posted March 27, 2025 Why Signal Leak Shambles Isn’t Even Trump’s !@#$wits’ Worst Foreign Policy Move So Far Don’t be distracted by the fact that some of those involved are clearly a few sandwiches shy of a picnic. https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-signal-leak-shambles-isnt-even-trumps-f-wits-worst-foreign-policy-move-so-far/? ps:Language Alert The Atlantic magazine releases additional messages about Yemen strike plan from group chat The Atlantic magazine on Wednesday morning published what it described as additional messages from the Signal group chat that featured top US military and intelligence officials surrounding strikes in Yemen. https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-presidency-news-03-26-25? How Elon Musk’s SpaceX Secretly Allows Investment From China As a U.S. military contractor, SpaceX sees allowing Chinese ownership as fraught. But it will allow the investment if it comes through secrecy hubs like the Cayman Islands, court records say. “It is certainly a policy of obfuscation,” an expert said. https://www.propublica.org/article/elon-musk-spacex-allows-china-investment-cayman-islands-secrecy? Trump administration asks Supreme Court to freeze dozens of teacher training grants President Donald Trump’s administration asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to allow it to freeze millions of dollars in grants to states for addressing teacher shortages over allegations that the money was being used on programs that take part in diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/26/politics/teacher-grants-supreme-court-trump-appeal/index.html? ps:Of course he would!! Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 27, 2025 Author Members Posted March 27, 2025 The Atlantic posts Signal chat with attack plans from Hegseth The Atlantic on Wednesday released the entire Signal chat among Trump senior national security officials. It shows that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided the exact times of warplane launches and when bombs would drop — before the men and women flying those attacks were airborne. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said no classified information was posted to the Signal chat. Read More. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 28, 2025 Author Members Posted March 28, 2025 Reckless Evasion (Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Annabelle Gordon / Getty; Mandel Ngan / Getty.) View in browser The defense of the United States is a serious business. Breaches of national security are especially dangerous. So perhaps I should not have laughed at the reactions of Donald Trump and his staff and Cabinet members to the revelations by The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, and staff writer Shane Harris about a group chat on Signal (one that accidentally included Jeff) dedicated to planning strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. I laughed because I am a former government employee and Senate staffer with a fair amount of experience in dealing with classified information, and the administration’s position that nothing in the chat was classified is ludicrous. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth added a bit of topspin to that position on Monday when he got off a plane in Honolulu and, seemingly in a panic, fulminated against Jeff and tried to deny that any “war plans” were shared in the chat. Over the next 24 hours, the excuses became even more laughable. National Security Adviser Michael Waltz went on Fox News, accepted “full responsibility,” and called Jeff “scum.” But then Waltz suggested that The Atlantic’s editor in chief had perhaps hacked or schemed his way into the chat, and that this possibility had to be investigated. What’s funny—again, in an awful way—is that Waltz is the person who invited Jeff into the Signal group. (If you’ve never seen the “hot-dog man” meme, it’s an image of a guy in a hot-dog costume pleading with a crowd to find the person responsible for crashing a nearby wrecked hot-dog car. It’s being used all over social media in relation to this story, and for good reason.) Also appallingly funny is that the president’s own national security adviser doesn’t seem to understand that discussing on an app the details of a U.S. military strike and then admitting that a random person could find himself in the middle of such a discussion—it’s not like he waltzed his way in, if you’ll pardon the expression—makes this whole story even worse. This morning, the full context of one of the most stunning security breaches in modern military affairs became even clearer when Jeff and Shane released the texts. The messages show that the entire conversation should have been classified and held either in a secure location or over secure communications. (I held a security clearance for most of my career, and I saw information far less specific than this marked as classified.) Hegseth, in particular, was a volcano of military details that are always considered highly classified, spewing red-hot information about the strikes, the equipment to be used, the intelligence collected in deciding on targets, and the sequencing of events. None of this is funny. If any of this had leaked at the moment Hegseth blathered it over Signal, American servicepeople could have died. (As my friend David French at The New York Times wrote on Monday, if Hegseth had any honor at all, he wouldn’t wait to be fired. He’d resign.) But I couldn’t help it: I laughed at the reaction of top Trump officials. As I read White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s grammatically challenged statement, in which she claimed that information included in the conversation was “sensitive” but not “classified,” I thought she was trying to engage in some sort of not particularly convincing parsing. But listening to her briefing later in the day, I realized that Leavitt doesn’t seem to know the first thing about classified information. Unfortunately, apparently neither does Hegseth, nor CIA Director John Ratcliffe, nor any of the other people involved in this mess. And I’m not the only one laughing. During a hearing today, Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois tried to get the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse, to admit that the messages Hegseth sent over Signal did in fact include classified details of weapons systems. Kruse hemmed and hawed, until Krishnamoorthi just chuckled. That didn’t stop Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesperson, from putting out yet another howler of a statement today, claiming that the “hoax-peddlers at the Atlantic have already abandoned their ‘war plans’ claim” and that the Signal messages “confirm there were no classified materials or war plans shared. The Secretary was merely updating the group on a plan that was underway and had already been briefed through official channels.” Either Parnell does not know that this is nonsense or he’s intentionally obfuscating. (The strikes were not, in fact, under way, and American forces would have been more vulnerable to enemy action without the element of surprise. The Atlantic has also not “abandoned” any of the claims in its reporting.) The administration is, in effect, banking on the reality that most people never encounter military terms or classified information, so I’ll explain what it’s like to deal with those kinds of materials under more responsible administrations. Ratcliffe continues to insist that no classified information was discussed in the chat—despite the fact that he revealed the name of a CIA intelligence officer. (Jeff and Shane, in accordance with a request from the CIA, did not release that one message in this morning’s revelations, another example of how The Atlantic has been more concerned and careful about such matters than Ratcliffe and the other participants in the chat.) The names of intelligence officers are carefully protected, and I’m pretty sure I know the difference here, because I was once married to a CIA analyst. She was an open employee, meaning she could say where she worked. But the agency has many people—and not just spies—who protect their identity, not only to allow them to move more freely in various assignments but also for their own safety. Indeed, while she and I were dating, the U.S. and its allies launched the first Gulf War in the winter of 1990–91. She worked at Langley with a CIA clearance, and I was on the personal staff of a senator with a top-secret Defense Department clearance. She knew a lot about what foreign countries were doing. I knew a lot about our military movements and the state of the enemy’s forces. We did not discuss classified information with each other even in the privacy of our own homes. We would laugh over dinner because we both had things we wanted to share but couldn’t. We had sworn not to discuss classified information outside a secure environment with people who did not have the appropriate institutional clearances—so, like the two adults we were, we just didn’t. That’s common across the classified world, then and now. Now, let’s get to those Hegseth texts. The administration apparently thinks that “war plans” and “attack plans” are different, and as a general observation, they are. But that’s because detailed attack plans are vastly more dangerous than almost any other plans if they’re released. “War plans,” a term that doesn’t really have a particular meaning in the world of military documents, presumably refers to some scenario for a hypothetical future conflict, but if Hegseth’s position is that he didn’t release “war plans” and instead released only the details of the imminent movements of U.S. military forces, then he is not only reckless, he also doesn’t understand some basic concepts about defense planning, operations, and national security. Some of Hegseth’s defenders now claim that he’d likely declassified all of these details by the time they appeared in the chat. Declassification is within his power; if he chose to declassify the details before the operation was launched, however, then he is more incompetent than even his critics realize. Think of it this way. Imagine your local police department is trying to deal with the threat from a local drug gang. “We have concerns about this gang” and “We will act to arrest these bad guys” would be unclassified. (Many police departments, by the way, do have intelligence units and produce restricted information.) “Our undercover officers have been watching this house” might be classified: You don’t want the bad guys knowing what you know or how you know it. (These are the “sources and methods” often referenced when talking about such information.) “We are going to execute a warrant at this hour, in this place, with this many people, armed with the following weapons” would be extremely classified. If that information is released early, the gang knows that the good guys are on the way—and might choose to ambush the cops. Hegseth spilled the equivalent of those details just hours before the strike. Perhaps he didn’t know what he was doing, and he was almost certainly just showing off. But he put lives at risk by transferring information that is always classified at a high level to an unclassified system—the Signal app—one of the basic sins every government employee is warned never to commit when handling such materials. He then splattered that information across a chat to more than a dozen other people who had no need to know any of it. (“Need to know” is a very restrictive condition: Did Hegseth think anyone in that chat was going to pipe up at the last minute and say, “Wait a moment, Pete, maybe we should rethink sending the Tomahawks in after the second strike”?) In any case, “need to know” definitely does not include a reporter added to the chat by accident. The president said yesterday that no classified information “as I understand it” was included in the chat, inviting some unsettling questions about what the president does and does not understand. (Trump today mentioned “a bad signal”; as CNN noted, he was “apparently conflating the name of the Signal app with an error in the communications.”) For anyone who has a bit more competence in dealing with classified material, especially during wartime, seeing top defense and intelligence officials be so sloppy, and do things for which lesser mortals would be fired or even prosecuted, is vertigo-inducing. Watching them flail, make excuses, and try to evade responsibility is both nauseating and amusing. But realizing the risks these senior officials took with the lives of American military personnel is enraging—and should be to every sensible American, no matter their party or cause. Related: Jeffrey Goldberg: “The Trump administration accidentally texted me its war plans.” Trump goes after the messenger. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 28, 2025 Author Members Posted March 28, 2025 "Attack plans" vs. "war plans" Nothing about the release of the actual text messages in which senior Trump officials discussed strikes in Yemen has changed the White House's belief that this will all blow over soon, Axios' Marc Caputo tells me. The Atlantic today released specific texts from the Signal chain on which its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was inadvertently included. White House communications officials quickly downplayed the release, noting that the new Atlantic headline used the phrase "attack plans" rather than "war plans." Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said, unequivocally, that "nobody was texting war plans." Screenshot: The Atlantic ? What they were saying: Screenshots released by The Atlantic show Hegseth providing the group with a timeline of the attack, "Just CONFIRMED w/CENTCOM we are a GO for mission launch," one update said. Another said, "THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP." Go deeper. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 28, 2025 Author Members Posted March 28, 2025 MAGA's Signal scramble An unstoppable force — President Trump's famed "never back down" mentality — has met an immovable object: the cold, hard Signalgate receipts published by The Atlantic, Axios' Zachary Basu and Tal Axelrod write. Why it matters: The MAGA movement's ability to bend reality through brute force is facing its stiffest test yet, courtesy of the most explosive and widely read story of Trump's second term. The result is a cocktail not seen since Trump's first term: a scandal that won't quit, and a base left scrambling to defend what many see as indefensible. ? Zoom in: The Trump administration's official response emerged yesterday within minutes after Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, published messages he had initially withheld, showing top officials discussing an attack on the Houthis in Yemen. The response centered on semantics: Trump officials pointed to The Atlantic's use of "attack plans" in its new headline to accuse the magazine of walking back its initial claims about leaked "war plans." There is a distinction in military parlance: "War plans" are typically more comprehensive, strategic frameworks that account for multiple scenarios. "Attack plans" usually pertain to a specific tactical operation. ? Hegseth told reporters on a tarmac in Honolulu: "There's no units. No locations. No routes. No flight paths. No sources. No methods." Zoom out: That argument fell flat with much of the national security community, which expressed horror at Hegseth's public sharing of detailed information about the sequencing of U.S. airstrikes in Yemen. Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) called for an independent investigation. Other Republicans suggested the Trump administration should own up to its mistake and stop deflecting. Conservative radio host Jesse Kelly. Via X ? Between the lines: The MAGA media ecosystem — the frontline of Trump's communication machine — has splintered into a series of competing theories to try to explain away the scandal. It's 5-D chess: Some pro-Trump influencers suggested the leak was intentional — that Goldberg was tricked into publishing a curated message that showed thoughtful deliberations about U.S. policy toward the Houthis. It's a "Deep State" setup: The timing of The Atlantic leak, one day before Trump national security officials were due to testify before Congress, has sabotage written all over it, according to influencer Rogan O'Handley, who goes by DC Draino. It's a mistake, but it's refreshing: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Charlie Kirk and other top Trump supporters praised the officials involved in the Signal group for acting in private how they do in public. Goldberg can't be trusted: Pro-Trump voices inside and outside of the White House have relentlessly attacked the credibility of The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, saying he overhyped the contents of the group chat. Take the L: Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who represents a significant segment of Trump voters who aren't hardcore loyalists, called for national security adviser Mike Waltz to be fired for mistakenly adding Goldberg to the Signal chat. Above: Today's N.Y. Times front page. Read the annotation (gift link). Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 28, 2025 Author Members Posted March 28, 2025 ? Scoop: White House eyes college visa purge Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios The Trump administration is discussing plans to try to block certain colleges from having any foreign students if it decides too many are "pro-Hamas," senior Justice and State Department officials tell Axios' Marc Caputo. Why it matters: The effort, which could include grand jury subpoenas, marks another escalation of President Trump's aggressive crackdown on immigration and antisemitism, which has drawn several lawsuits. Civil libertarians say he's stifling campus speech. The big picture: The idea of prohibiting colleges from enrolling any student visa-holders grew out of Secretary of State Marco Rubio's "Catch and Revoke" program, which now is focusing on students who protested against the war in Gaza. A senior State Department official called the demonstrators it's targeting "Hamasniks" — people the government claims have shown support for the terror group. More than 300 foreign students have had their student visas revoked in the three weeks "Catch and Revoke" has been in operation, the official said. There are 1.5 million student visa-holders nationwide. "Everyone is fair game," the official said. ? Zoom in: At the heart of the plan is the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which certifies schools to accept student visa-holders. Institutions have been decertified in the past if the government determines they have too many student-visa holders who are using the education system as a ruse to live and work in the U.S., officials say. Now, the Trump administration is threatening to apply that decertification framework to the post-Oct. 7 demonstrations on college campuses. Columbia University and UCLA — both of which had controversial, disruptive pro-Palestinian protests last year — are among the schools mentioned the most often by administration officials. "Every institution that has foreign students ... will go through some sort of review," the official said. "You can have so many bad apples in one place that it leads to decertification of the school ... I don't think we're at that point yet. But it is not an empty threat." Keep reading. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 28, 2025 Author Members Posted March 28, 2025 ? How it's supposed to work Senior Trump administration officials bypassed a range of secure government systems when they decided to discuss plans for an upcoming attack in Yemen on a commercially available app, Axios' Barak Ravid, Colin Demarest, Dave Lawler and Sam Sabin write. Axios spoke to one current senior U.S. official and five former senior U.S. officials about the secure channels through which these conversations are supposed to happen. ? Zoom in: Set aside the fact that a prominent journalist was privy to the group chat. Sending a minute-by-minute timeline of impending strikes over a network you can't be sure is fully secure endangers pilots and could compromise the success of an operation, a former senior Defense official contended. "It's shocking. It's shocking negligence," the former official said. "We've got the best secure communication systems in the world — of any country. So why are we using a rickety, commercially available system?" A current senior U.S. official told Axios that while many of the participants in the Signal chat have encrypted government-issued phones on which they can discuss classified information, poor reception and other technical problems can make using a personal device easier. "You can drop from the line in the middle of a call," the official said. A former State Department official noted that various government agencies use different brands of secure devices — State's is nicknamed a "Puma phone" — which can create problems when communicating across departments. A former senior Pentagon official said that rather than communicating via text, officials typically got a notification to switch to their classified devices in order to join a conference call. ? While a chat feature was added to the secure devices toward the end of the Biden administration, it was not widely used, the official said. Keep reading. Yemen group chat The Atlantic published additional text messages on Wednesday that top Trump officials inadvertently shared with a reporter in a Signal group chat about a US military attack on Houthis in Yemen. The release of such sensitive information, which several members of the administration have claimed was not classified, underscored the extent of the breach in operational security. President Donald Trump and his aides have responded to the national security scandal by downplaying its severity, insulting the magazine and its editor-in-chief and calling it a “witch hunt.” And the likelihood of accountability is slim. Trump has already fired inspectors general from more than a dozen federal agencies and installed loyalists in the Department of Justice and the FBI. Republicans in Congress have also been loathe to serve as a check on the actions of the executive branch. Health care funding The Trump administration has decided to pull back more than $11 billion in grants that were allocated to state and community health departments during the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the funds were originally used for Covid testing and vaccinations, states have since budgeted the money for projects that would help health care systems prepare for the next emergency, such as outbreaks of measles or bird flu. In a statement, the Department of Health and Human Services said it was taking the money back because the pandemic is over and now it wants to focus on President Trump’s mandate to "address our chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again." Brian Castrucci, president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, a nonprofit that studies and supports the US public health workforce, described the decision to pull the funding as “a devastating blow to public health.” Auto tariffs In a major trade war escalation, President Trump on Wednesday announced 25% tariffs on all cars shipped to the US and on foreign-made car parts. In response to the announcement, General Motors' stock price plunged more than 7% in after-hours trading. Shares of Ford and Stellantis also dropped by more than 4%. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the tariffs and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called them a “direct attack” and a violation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Even if other countries decide not to retaliate with their own tariffs on US goods, car companies are likely to pass on the added costs from the tariffs to American consumers. Tufts student detained An international student at Tufts University who co-wrote an op-ed in the school newspaper last year criticizing its response to the pro-Palestinian movement has been detained by immigration officers. Surveillance video captured the moment when six plainclothes officers surrounded Rumeysa Ozturk — a Turkish national — on the street near her apartment in Somerville, Massachusetts. They then took her phone, restrained her hands behind her back and placed her into a waiting SUV. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said Ozturk had “engaged in activities in support of Hamas.” But according to her attorney, no charges have been filed. Although a district judge ruled on Tuesday that Ozturk was not to be transferred out of the state without advance notice, Homeland Security moved her to an ICE processing center in Louisiana. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 28, 2025 Author Members Posted March 28, 2025 Trump Demands Congress Defund NPR and PBS ‘IMMEDIATELY’ in Late-Night Meltdown The president lashed out America’s public broadcasters, saying both were “arms of the Radical Left Democrat Party.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-demands-congress-defund-npr-and-pbs-immediately-in-latest-rant/? Trump’s Top Aides Suffer Another Series of Embarrassing Data Blunders Another pair of Trump administration digital snafus have been revealed. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-top-aides-suffer-another-series-of-embarrassing-data-breaches/? Trump places 25% tariff on imported autos, expecting to raise $100 billion in tax revenues President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was placing 25% tariffs on auto imports, a move the White House claims would foster domestic manufacturing but could also put a financial squeeze on automakers that depend on global supply chains. Read more. Why this matters: The tariffs, which the White House expects to raise $100 billion in revenue annually, could be complicated as U.S. automakers source their components from around the world. The tax hike starting April means automakers could face higher costs and lower sales, though Trump argues that the tariffs will lead to more factories opening in the United States and the end of what he judges to be a “ridiculous” supply chain in which auto parts and finished vehicles are manufactured across the United States, Canada and Mexico. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Canadian Prime Minister Carney calls Trump’s auto tariffs a ‘direct attack’ on his country Hyundai shows off its new $7.6B electric vehicle plant in Georgia as Trump announces tariffs Trump says he would consider reducing China tariffs if there’s a deal on TikTok Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 28, 2025 Author Members Posted March 28, 2025 Trump's commerce secretary said he sold 1K 'gold card' visas in a day. Here's what we know U.S. President Donald Trump previously posited that his "gold card" visas could make $50 trillion. https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/03/27/trump-commerce-secretary-gold-card-visas/? Food bank in ‘crisis mode’ after federal cuts cancel food deliveries Twenty-eight flatbed trucks filled with produce and other fresh food were scheduled to arrive this week at the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, but the Trump administration canceled the deliveries. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/03/27/food-bank-in-crisis-mode-after-federal-cuts-cancel-food-deliveries/? ps:Thank Mr Trump!!!!! ? Crypto buys a get-out-of-jail-for-almost-free card. The Trump administration has dropped an investigation into blockchain-based digital payment firm Ripple in exchange for a $50 million fine, 97.5 percent less than prosecutors’ original $2 billion penalty. As tracked by advocacy group Public Citizen’s Rick Claypool, the move comes after Ripple donated $49.5 million to super PACs supporting pro-crypto candidates last election cycle and $5 million worth of its coin XRP to Trump’s inauguration. Turkish student at Tufts University is latest Palestinian supporter swept up in US crackdown A Turkish student ambushed by federal police as she walked on the streets of a Boston suburb is the latest supporter of Palestinian causes to be swept up in the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants who have expressed their political views. Read More. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 28, 2025 Author Members Posted March 28, 2025 White House pulls Stefanik’s UN ambassador nomination amid concern over narrow Republican House majority The White House on Thursday pulled Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination to be US ambassador to the United Nations amid concerns over slim margins in the US House of Representatives, keeping one of Trump’s most vocal allies in Congress. https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/27/politics/stefanik-ambassador-nomination-white-house/index.html? 300 student visas revoked Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo. Photo: Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images The arrest of a Tufts University grad student has raised fresh questions about the Trump administration's overall immigration crackdown, Axios' Russell Contreras writes. Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national, was arrested on the street in a Boston suburb. A Homeland Security spokesperson said Ozturk was "engaged in activities in support of Hamas," but didn't explain what those activities were. It follows the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, an organizer of the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University. Civil libertarians say arresting students for their speech sets a worrying precedent. ? What they're saying: More than 300 foreign students have had their visas revoked in just three weeks, a State Department official said. The official described the students it's targeting as "Hamasniks." "We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas," Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters today. Go deeper. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 29, 2025 Author Members Posted March 29, 2025 ? Poll: Signal chat is a problem Data: YouGov; Chart: Axios Visuals 3 out of 4 Americans — including 60% of Republicans — say the Trump administration's use of a Signal group chat to discuss military strikes is a serious problem, Axios' Avery Lotz writes from a new YouGov poll. 74% of Americans say the group chat was a very (53%) or somewhat (21%) serious problem, according to the survey. Over a quarter (28%) of Republicans polled said it was a "very serious" problem. Go deeper. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted March 29, 2025 Author Members Posted March 29, 2025 Want Trump love? Bring gifts Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios If you're a foreign leader or a CEO about to meet with President Trump — or if you want to avoid his vengeance — come bearing gifts, Axios' Alex Thompson writes. Why it matters: Government officials and business leaders around the world have gotten the message. They're strategizing about how to give Trump real or perceived wins — to try to smooth out any relationship bumps with the new administration, and avoid economic or legal penalties. ? Zoom in: Many foreign and domestic corporations alike fear tariffs and potential changes to the tax code this year, and have tried to assuage Trump with offerings. Apple, Hyundai, Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, Nvidia, Softbank and more have announced big investments in the U.S. since Trump was elected in November. Some of those investments were already in the works. But splashy public announcements gave Trump the chance to boast that he was bringing business back to America. After Hyundai announced a $21 billion investment in the U.S. this week, Trump praised the company and made clear what the company would get in return: "Hyundai won't have to pay any tariffs." Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum pledged to send 10,000 troops to the U.S. border and has helped Trump bring down illegal border crossings — a key campaign promise of his. As a result, Mexico has had a much better relationship with Trump than Canada. ? The other side: Trump and his team contend they're just using the levers of power in ways that other presidents didn't, but should have. Trump has long said other countries were ripping off the U.S. in trade. He believes he was elected to change the status quo through tariffs and other measures. Between the lines: Some of the gifts are more personal than policy-oriented. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer came to the Oval Office in February with an embossed letter from King Charles III, personally inviting Trump for a state visit. Trump, who has a long fascination with the monarchy, beamed and called the king a "beautiful man, a wonderful man." In February, Jeff Bezos announced the overhaul of the liberal opinion section of The Washington Post to go in a more conservative direction. Bezos dined with Trump later that day. Trump later praised Bezos' changes. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
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