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

August 28, 2025

Some FEMA staff are put on leave after signing dissent letter

Some employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency who signed a public letter of dissent earlier this week were put on administrative leave Tuesday evening, according to documents reviewed by The Associated Press. More than 180 current and former employees signed the letter; 35 signed their names while 141 signed anonymously. Read more.

Why this matters:

The dissent letter criticized an expenditure approval policy by which the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem must approve contracts exceeding $100,000; the DHS decision to reassign some FEMA employees to Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the failure to appoint a qualified FEMA administrator as stipulated by law; and cuts to mitigation programs, preparedness training and the FEMA workforce.
FEMA did not respond immediately to questions about how many staff received the notice and whether it was related to the opposition letter. The notice said the decision “is not a disciplinary action and is not intended to be punitive.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

August 28, 2025

Trump saying 600,000 Chinese students could come to the US draws MAGA backlash

President Donald Trump seemingly caught his loyal conservative base off-guard and sparked backlash by saying he would allow 600,000 Chinese students into American universities. Read more.

Why this matters:

Some of Trump’s most ardent supporters — from U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to former adviser Steve Bannon and far-right activist Laura Loomer — rejected the idea of welcoming more Chinese students.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has previously singled out China, saying in May that the State Department would revoke visas for students tied to the Chinese Communist Party and boost vetting of new applicants.
It’s not immediately clear why the figure Trump cited was so high — more than twice the number of Chinese students enrolled in the 2023-2024 school year. The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

August 28, 2025

The Leader of Trump’s Assault on Higher Education Has a Troubled Legal and Financial History

When Los Angeles attorney Leo Terrell, a legal commentator, lifelong Democrat and fiery fixture on Fox News, announced on the network’s “Hannity” show that he was voting for Donald Trump in 2020, the MAGA universe went wild. Oliver North hailed him on his “Real American Heroes” podcast. Fox News signed him on as a paid contributor, at a six-figure salary.

https://www.propublica.org/article/leo-terrell-universities-lawsuits-antisemitism?

Trump’s Pick to Help Run the FBI Has a History of Prosecuting Influential Democrats

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s targeting of Democrats is legally questionable, experts say, but it’s helped to further his career nationally: “The more outrageous you are, the more you are going to attract the attention of Donald Trump.”

https://www.propublica.org/article/missouri-ag-andrew-bailey-trump-fbi-sam-page?

ps:That's obvious and should be pretty obvious!!

She Pushed to Overturn Trump’s Loss in the 2020 Election. Now She’ll Help Oversee U.S. Election Security.

Heather Honey, a high-profile denier of Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election, has been appointed to a senior position in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in which she’ll help oversee the nation’s election infrastructure.

https://www.propublica.org/article/heather-honey-dhs-election-security?

ps:Again pretty obvious why she got this job, as so many of the others! There loyalty to trump, not to the country!!!!!

The Texas Redistricting Fight Has Been the Testing Ground for the Trump Administration’s Latest Legal Strategy

On July 7, the Justice Department sent a harshly written letter threatening to sue the staunchly Republican state of Texas, notwithstanding its efforts to help elect Donald Trump and the fact that the president had singled out its leaders as key allies in his immigration crackdown.

https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-redistricting-trump-lawsuits-courts?

Trump extends control over Washington by taking management of Union Station away from Amtrak

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration is taking management of Union Station away from Amtrak in the latest example of the federal government exerting its power over the nation’s capital.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-duffy-union-station-amtrak-management-8c1f5d00ab7591f3f021cf4a9ee8d8e2?

August 29, 2025

Trump Seizes Control of Train Station After Vance and Miller’s PR Stunt Humiliation

The Department of Transportation moves to retake ownership of D.C.’s Union Station.

President Donald Trump’s administration is taking control of Washington D.C.’s Union Station after three of his top officials were loudly heckled during a botched PR stunt at the transit hub.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy—a former contestant in Road Rules—announced Wednesday that his department would reclaim management of the nation’s second-busiest rail terminal as part of the administration’s sweeping efforts to tighten control over the capital.

Duffy was at Union Station to launch a new fleet of high-speed Acela trains for Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor route between D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston—trains which were first ordered under President Barack Obama in 2016, and which will benefit from infrastructure investments made as part of President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.

The controversial federal takeover of D.C. has included deploying National Guard soldiers to patrol the streets, assisting police in tackling crime, and picking up trash.

“Instead of being a point of pride, Washington’s Union Station has fallen into disrepair,” Duffy said in a statement reported by The Washington Post. “By reclaiming station management, we will help make this city safe and beautiful at a fraction of the cost.”

The move came a week after Vice President JD Vance, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were booed and jeered with chants of “Free D.C.” as they attempted a photo op with National Guard troops stationed at Union Station, complete with boxes of cheeseburgers.

The officials were also greeted with shouts of “f---ing Nazi” and “get the f--- out of my city.” One heckler even called Vance a “couch f---er,” a reference to a baseless meme claiming the vice president wrote about having sex with a couch in his Hillbilly Elegy memoir, which became a meme during the 2024 election.

During the chaotic visit, Vance was asked by the press why troops were being stationed in the rail station instead of areas of the city with higher crime rates.

In response, Vance suggested Union Square, one of the country’s biggest rail hubs, was full of “vagrants, drug addicts, the chronically homeless and the mentally ill,” which makes visitors to the capital feel unsafe.

He said he had brought his children there “a couple of years ago” and claimed, “they were being screamed at by violent vagrants.”

The station had been badly hit in 2020 by the collapse of travel but has been recovering since. It is second only to New York Penn Station for passenger use although with 70,000 a day using it, it is small by international standards.

The nonprofit Union Station Redevelopment Corp manages Union Station. The Trump administration’s plans for a full takeover of Union Station are expected to be completed in September, according to Reuters.

The Department of Transportation now plans upgrades to lighting, elevators, and the roof as part of its takeover. However the nonprofit was already working on an expansion and upgrade using money from the Biden administration’s spending plans.

The ownership and management of the station was handed to the nonprofit in 1983 after the building underwent a major restoration. Since then it has been responsible for its upkeep while it is now policed solely by Amtrak Police, already under the command of Duffy.

A year ago, while Joe Biden was still president, the DOJ published an article on declining crime and homelessness at the station.

But this year MAGA supporter Scott Jennings witnessed a fatal shooting inside the terminal and posted about it to X, while the Washington Post reported that Duffy’s wife—Fox News weekend anchor Rachel Campus Duffy—passed through the station not long after the killing.

The White House and Department of Transportation have been contacted for comment by the Daily Beast.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-seizes-control-of-train-station-after-vance-and-millers-humiliating-pr-stunt/?

August 29, 2025

Hot Mic Catches Republican Saying Trump Is in the Epstein Files

Collins made a bombshell admission that he believes Trump’s name will be in the files.

MAGA lawmaker Mike Collins lobbed a political grenade into efforts from Team Trump to limit his exposure to fallout from the Epstein files.

Georgia Rep. Collins made a bombshell admission, that he believes Donald Trump’s name will be in the files, at a county GOP meeting, the Washington Examiner reported.

A constituent asked the MAGA lawmaker whether he believed Trump was in the files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender who died by suicide while in federal custody in New York City in August 2019 as he awaited trial on new sex trafficking charges.

“Yeah, I’m sure he’s in there,” Collins said, without providing evidence, according to an audio clip of the exchange uploaded to YouTube, titled, “HOT MIC: Republican caught saying Trump IS IN THE EPSTEIN FILES!”

The White House has repeatedly pushed back after reports emerged that Trump was told in May that he was in files related to Epstein. Trump and Epstein were once friendly, but the president said they fell out in 2004.

The Daily Beast contacted the White House and Collins for comment.

Collins said he believed Trump was in the documents because the president “was the one that was telling the FBI about it.”

“He’s the one that kicked [Epstein] out of Mar-a-Lago and then called the FBI,” the lawmaker continued, repeating his claim: “Yeah, yeah he’s in there.”

“So, what’s going to happen? Are you going to vote to release them?” the constituent asked.

“Oh, we need to release them. I have no problem releasing it, but you’ve got to go through the judicial,” Collins responded.

The MAGA lawmaker added, “I’m not a lawyer and I’m not a judge, but it is more complicated than just saying, ‘boom, here’s the files.’”

In a statement to the Washington Examiner, a Collins campaign spokesman said, “Mike’s words speak for themselves: President Trump was right about everything, kicked Epstein to the curb, and did nothing wrong. This ‘story’ is a massive nothingburger from never-Trump consultants using DNC talking points. They won’t stop Mike’s momentum delivering results for the America First agenda. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

In July, The Wall Street Journal reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi told Trump during a routine briefing that his name appeared in the files. The newspaper said that this did not indicate any wrongdoing on his part.”

The White House in response called it a “fake news story”.

In June, billionaire SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk also claimed, then appeared to backtrack, that Trump was named in the Epstein files.

Trump “is in the Epstein files,” he wrote in a post on X as he and the president engaged in a bitter online feud. He alleged that “that is the real reason they have not been made public.” Musk signed the post off by writing: “Have a nice day, DJT!”

Musk added in a follow-up post: “Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.”

At the time, Trump brushed off the claims in an interview with NBC News.

“That’s called ‘old news.’ That’s been old news. That has been talked about for years. Even Epstein’s lawyer said I had nothing to do with it. It’s old news,” the president said.

Officials in the first Trump administration determined that Epstein’s death was a suicide, but conspiracy theories that he was killed to shield high-profile individuals have proliferated nonetheless.

The Trump administration, in February, declassified and released files related to Epstein, but they were highly redacted and did not offer major revelations. The FBI said in a July memo that a “systematic review revealed no incriminating ‘client list.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/hot-mic-catches-republican-saying-trump-is-in-the-epstein-files/?

August 29, 2025

Trump Wants Dems Donor George Soros Charged Like a Mobster

The president called for RICO charges against the philanthropist and major Democratic supporter.

President Donald Trump called for charges to be brought against billionaire George Soros and his son as the president moves to weaponize his administration to go after his foes.

The president wrote that the pair should be charged with racketeering for their support of protests across the country.

“George Soros, and his wonderful Radical Left son, should be charged with RICO because of their support of Violent Protests, and much more, all throughout the United States of America,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Trump did not provide any evidence to support his push for charges as he issued his threat, but the Jewish investor has long been seen as a boogeyman by the right, and Trump’s post is being celebrated by MAGA.

“We’re not going to allow these lunatics to rip apart America any more, never giving it so much as a chance to “BREATHE,” and be FREE,” Trump wrote. “Soros, and his group of psychopaths, have caused great damage to our Country! That includes his Crazy, West Coast friends.”

“Be careful, we’re watching you!” the 79-year-old, who indicated he spent the morning watching TV based on another post, added.

Trump did not name Soros’s son, but the 95-year-old philanthropist turned over the leadership of the Open Society Foundations, which supports liberal causes, to Alex Soros in 2023.

“These accusations are outrageous and false. The Open Society Foundations do not support or fund violent protests,” said a spokesperson for the network. “Our mission is to advance human rights, justice, and democratic principles at home and around the world.”

“We stand for fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, including the rights to free speech and peaceful protest that are hallmarks of any vibrant democracy,” he added.

RICO was one of the original charges that Trump himself faced during the Georgia election interference case following the 2020 election.

Trump’s minions jumped on his criticism on Wednesday morning. Conservative podcaster Benny Johnson called it good news.

GOP megadonor billionaire and former Trump “First Buddy” Elon Musk responded: “High time action was taken against Soros directly.”

Trump has attacked a series of critics in recent days, including former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and his former national security adviser John Bolton, whose home and office were raided by the FBI last week.

While the president has publicly demurred on whether he was directly involved with siccing the Justice Department on his perceived enemies, his posts and comments have sent a clear message of his wishes to department leadership.

Attorney General Pam Bondi and her team have jumped at every opportunity to defend the president rather than maintain the independence of the department while upholding the rule of law.

Last week, Trump insisted that he did not have anything to do with the raid on Bolton’s home, but he also said he could have ordered it and declared himself the chief law enforcement officer of the U.S.

On Sunday, the president called for an investigation into Christie, another former Trump supporter turned foe, over the so-called “Bridgegate” scandal more than ten years ago.

“For the sake of JUSTICE, perhaps we should start looking at that very serious situation again? NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!” Trump wrote about Christie on Sunday.

When asked about his push for an investigation on Monday, Trump told reporters it was not for him to decide and suggested they “ask Pam.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-wants-dems-donor-george-soros-charged-like-a-mobster/?

ps:LOLOLOLOLOL Look who's talking! What a joke these guys are!!!!!

August 29, 2025

National Guard Given Trash Duty Because of Trump’s Own Cuts

The president ordered the National Guard into the capital to address a “crime emergency.”

National Guard troops that President Donald Trump ordered into Washington, D.C., have been spotted picking up trash after Trump slashed the federal workforce.

The troops, whom Trump deployed after declaring a “crime emergency” in the capital, were seen wearing yellow gloves and orange vests over their camouflage uniforms in Lafayette Park across from the White House on Tuesday, according to WTTG-TV.

Joint Task Force-D.C., which has been overseeing the Guard’s operations since Trump deployed the troops, said the service members have been tasked with helping on more than 40 “beautification projects” around the city, according to The Washington Post. Officials say the troops were also collecting trash in Lafayette Square, the Tidal Basin, and the National Mall.

Much of the work being carried out by the Guards would normally fall under the remit of the National Park Service, which, despite struggling for staff before the Trump administration, has suffered at the hands of Trump’s sweeping cuts to the federal workforce.

One official with the Park Service said it once had 200 people working in the gardens in D.C.; now it has 20. “It’s everybody—the masons, the maintenance workers, the groundskeepers, the plumbers. Every shop is short,” they told the Post, which reported that the Guards are being used to pick up the slack.

The Park Service lost almost a quarter of its permanent staff during Trump’s second term, according to the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association.

While it’s not unusual for troops to be involved in the cleanup of major emergencies, such as civil unrest and natural disasters, their use as gardeners in the wake of a presidential directive has raised questions about whether it is an effective use of resources.

“I think it’s nice, as a D.C. resident,” one Guard member told the Post. “But there are different things we could be doing.” An official with the task force told the outlet that troops involved in the trash collecting won’t be armed, unlike those on other duties in D.C.—including traffic control.

Joint Task Force-D.C. said in a statement to the Daily Beast that the National Guard was playing “a variety of roles” as part of a plan to “Make D.C. safe and beautiful again,” which included providing law enforcement with a safe area in which to make arrests, as well as being visible with the aim of acting as a deterrent and take part in the “beautification process.”

The Daily Beast has contacted both the White House and the National Park Service for further comment.

The White House claims that more than 1,000 arrests have been made during the crackdown in D.C., which has also involved federal law enforcement being sent out onto the streets. Local officials have protested the move, citing data showing that crime is at a 30-year low in the city.

Trump’s plans are also facing pushback in the D.C. federal courthouse. Grand jurors on three occasions this month have refused prosecutors’ push to indict one woman accused of assaulting an FBI agent, while a federal magistrate judge said another arrest in D.C. stemmed from the “most illegal search I’ve seen in my life,” according to the Post. The judge also said another arrest had lacked “basic human dignity.”

Sean Parnell, spokesperson for the Pentagon, told the newspaper that the Defense Department “is incredibly proud of our D.C. National Guardsmen and their work to make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Again.”

In a Truth Social post earlier this month, Trump vowed to make D.C. “more beautiful than it ever was before” while also ordering homeless people in the city to immediately “move out.” His post included pictures of tents that appear to have been taken from his motorcade while driving from the White House to his golf club in Virginia.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-crimefighting-shock-troops-ordered-to-clean-up-trash-near-the-white-house/?

ps:Who's paying for this?? He should have the administration out there also!!!!!

August 29, 2025

World Leader Refuses to Take Trump’s Calls After Vicious Spat With Ally

Experts called the souring of the relationship between India and the U.S. “head-spinning.”

India’s Prime Minister has been ignoring President Donald Trump’s calls after the U.S. announced it was moving forward with devastating tariffs on Indian products.

The president has tried repeatedly to get Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the phone in the run-up to a 50 percent import tax going into effect Wednesday on products from the world’s fastest-growing major economy, The Telegraph reported, citing Japanese and German news sources.

The Financial Times confirmed that Modi did not communicate with Trump ahead of the tariff deadline because he was worried the U.S. president would demand last-minute concessions.

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

Already, Trump had imposed a 25 percent duty on products from India. The tax is paid by American companies, with the costs typically passed along to consumers.

After the two countries failed to reach an agreement to lower the levy, Trump announced earlier this month that he was doubling the rate to 50 percent to punish India for buying Russian oil.

“India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday.

“They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!” he added

Afterward he told CNBC, “They’re fueling the war machine, and if they’re going to do that, then I’m not happy.”

Just weeks later, Trump invited Vladimir Putin to a peace summit in Alaska, where he fawned over the Russian president and dropped his demands for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

He has nevertheless remained tough on India, which has continued to buy Russian crude—albeit at lower levels—despite the tariffs, according to the Financial Times. U.S. trade negotiators had planned to visit New Delhi this week, but the trip was called off.

The deterioration in the two countries’ relationship is “head-spinning,” Alyssa Ayres, a former state department official who teaches at George Washington University, told the newspaper.

Trump and Modi had previously enjoyed a warm relationship, with Modi announcing the dawn of MIGA—for Make India Great Again—during a White House visit in February.

“When America and India work together, that is when it’s MAGA plus MIGA, it becomes MEGA, a mega partnership for prosperity,” he said.

But since then, Trump has threatened Apple over its plans to shift some manufacturing to India, mocked the country’s “dead economy,” and made overtures to neighboring Pakistan, with whom India has a complex and at times hostile relationship.

Modi called out Trump in June for taking credit for a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, clarifying that peace talks took place directly between the two rivals, and not through American mediation as Trump had claimed.

India has in turn emerged as one of the hardest-hit countries in Trump’s trade war. Talks stalled in part because New Delhi has refused to pen up the country’s vast agricultural and dairy sectors, according to the Financial Times.

In the meantime, Modi’s government has moved to strengthen ties with Russia and China, with the premier traveling to China this weekend for the first time in seven years.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/narendra-modi-refuses-to-take-donald-trumps-calls-after-vicious-spat-with-ally/?

ps:So is he going to fire him to?????

August 29, 2025

ICE Slashes Training Days to MAGA’s Favorite Number to Suck Up to Trump

Training courses have reportedly been slashed from five months to just eight weeks.

New ICE officers leading the Trump charge to deport a record number of migrants are to get cut-back training in a not-so-subtle suck up to President Trump.

Training at Immigration and Customs Enforcement is cutting corners in the most MAGA way possible, and turning deportation training into a presidential tribute.

According to officials who spoke with The Atlantic, the ICE academy, where future guards learn their skills, has been gutted from five months to just 47 days, because Donald Trump is the 47th president.

The Department of Homeland Security, led by ICE Barbie Kristi Noem, is being watched closely by fervent supporters of the anti-immigrant drive.

Spanish-language instruction has reportedly been eliminated in an effort to reach the new streamlined program length. According to the Department of Homeland Security, training will run six days a week for eight weeks, so potentially 48 days if all days are used.

The move is part of a recruitment drive to staff up for Trump’s planned mass deportations, with a focus on major U.S. cities that have “sanctuary” policies, including Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

Despite Trump’s repeated pushes, ICE does not yet have the manpower to launch the citywide operations envisioned by longtime adviser Stephen Miller. He has demanded 3,000 arrests a day, a target which the task force has repeatedly fallen short of.

Last month, Trump signed what he called his “Big Beautiful Bill,” giving ICE an unprecedented $75 billion in new funding to be spent over several years. The agency’s annual budget currently stands at about $8 billion.

DHS officials say the hiring push has already drawn more than 115,000 applications for about 11,000 open positions. ICE currently has about 5,700 deportation officers, and the administration wants to add 8,000 more by year’s end. To achieve this, the agency is relying on a shortened training pipeline, signing bonuses of up to $50,000, the removal of age limits, and a lowered minimum age requirement of 18.

“We’re taking father/son bonding to a whole new level,” DHS declared on social media earlier this month, posting an image of two generations in tactical gear, in a bid to plug its new push.

ICE is also attempting to lure at least 300 retirees back into service. They would be allowed to keep their retirement benefits while earning additional pay, The Atlantic reported.

Pressure from the White House has been constant. Officials told The Atlantic that Miller participates in daily conference calls with ICE leadership as the agency races to expand. ICE’s goal is to more than double the number of deportation officers in the field by the end of 2025.

So far, arrests under Trump have surged. ICE detentions in U.S. communities have quadrupled, and the agency is on pace to complete roughly 300,000 deportations in fiscal year 2025—the highest total in at least a decade.

Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokesperson, told The Atlantic that trainees “still learn the same elements and meet the same high standards ICE has always required.”

But one veteran official warned, “They’re opening it up to everyone who wants to get a badge and a gun. You’re gonna get a lot of people who are just power hungry and want authority.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-slashes-training-days-to-magas-favorite-number-to-suck-up-to-trump/?

ps:Unbelievable!!!!!

August 29, 2025

The last two recessions have hit low-income families of color hard

Trump’s economic agenda will expose millions to even more pain when the next recession strikes

https://www.epi.org/publication/the-last-two-recessions-have-hit-low-income-families-of-color-hard-trumps-economic-agenda-will-expose-millions-to-even-more-pain-when-the-next-recession-strikes/?

U.S. investment in public education is at risk

Vouchers, state budget austerity, and federal attacks on the Department of Education threaten children’s futures

https://www.epi.org/publication/u-s-investment-in-public-education-is-at-risk-vouchers-state-budget-austerity-and-federal-attacks-on-the-department-of-education-threaten-childrens-futures/?

? Amtrak unveiled its new high-speed train, the NextGen Acela, at Union Station in Washington. Separately, the Trump administration said it's taking over management of Union Station. Go deeper.
? President Trump called for RICO charges against billionaire philanthropist George Soros and his son Alex, continuing his push to punish political opponents. The Truth Social post also criticized the elder Soros' "Crazy, West Coast friends. Be careful, we're watching you!" Go deeper.
✈️ Not only is there a shortage of air-traffic controllers, now there's a shortage of instructors who can teach new recruits. Bloomberg (gift link).
? Dan Scavino, Trump's longest-serving aide, will take over as director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office — an influential role charged with staffing the administration, Axios' Alex Isenstadt reports.

August 29, 2025

D.C. mayor backs Trump crackdown

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Armed West Virginia National Guardsmen patrol at the Korean War Veterans Memorial on Tuesday. Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Twenty days after President Trump stepped up federal law enforcement in D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser applauded much of the crackdown, Axios D.C.'s Anna Spiegel writes.

Why it matters: It's a striking shift for a mayor who once called federalizing D.C.'s police force an "authoritarian push."

During a press conference yesterday, Bowser pledged support for Trump's $2 billion request to Congress to "beautify" D.C. parks, fountains, roadways and more.

Bowser expressed appreciation for "the surge of officers," saying they've helped tamp down on illegal guns, carjackings and homicides.

? By the numbers: Carjackings fell 87% in the 20 days since Trump's takeover vs. the same time last year, the mayor said.

City data shows a 15% drop in overall crime from the same period last year.

Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Above: In Washington, a Banksy-style poster of "sandwich guy," the protester who launched a Subway hoagie at a federal officer.

Federal prosecutors were unable to persuade a grand jury to approve a felony indictment against the man — identified as Sean Dunn, a former Justice Department employee, the N.Y. Times reports (gift link).

August 29, 2025

? Poll: Trump's crime strength

A bar chart that shows the share of Americans who view crime as a major problem in various locations. 81% of U.S. adults see it as a major issue in large cities, compared to 66% who think it

Data: AP-NORC Poll. Chart: Axios Visuals

As armed National Guard troops patrol the nation's capital, handling crime is now a relative strength for President Trump, according to a new AP-NORC poll.

Why it matters: Americans aren't generally happy about the president's handling of immigration and the economy, but are more positive about his tough-on-crime approach, AP reports.

The vast majority of Americans, 81%, see crime as a "major problem" in large cities.

Go deeper.

Sex education

The Trump administration is threatening to pull millions in federal funding from sex education programs for merely mentioning gender identity or transgender people. A division of the Department of Health and Human Services told 40 states, five territories and the District of Columbia that they “are now on notice.” “Federal funds will not be used to poison the minds of the next generation or advance dangerous ideological agendas,” Acting Assistant HHS Secretary Andrew Gradison said. Although the federal government had already approved the curriculum before the funds were granted to the states or territories, the Administration for Children and Families later identified program materials that it said fell “outside of the scope” of the State Personal Responsibility Education Program. The affected states and territories have 60 days to remove the inclusive language.

August 29, 2025

Trump’s Crackdown Spreads to Arresting Firefighters as They Tackle Wildfires

Two contract firemen battling Washington’s Bear Gulch blaze appear to have been targeted.

Donald Trump’s immigration blitz has reportedly extended to firefighters going about their jobs tackling a wildfire blaze.

Immigration officials sparked outrage after swooping in on the site of Washington State’s largest wildfire and arresting two people identified as firefighters battling the blaze, according to reports.

Fire bosses overseeing the Bear Gulch inferno in the Olympic National Forest, just west of Seattle, confirmed in a terse evening statement that they were “aware of a Border Patrol operation” at the scene.

Two people on private hand crews were held on Wednesday after U.S. Border Patrol agents arrived mid-morning and ordered workers trying to quell Washington’s Bear Gulch blaze to line up for ID checks, according to The Seattle Times.

The paper said firefighters in gear could be seen sitting on logs in front of federal officers and a marked U.S. Customs and Border Protection vehicle, and that at least one firefighter was being handcuffed.

One crew member told The Seattle Times that a federal officer had barked at them, “You need to get the (expletive) out of here. I’m gonna make you leave.”

Another said they had been warned not to film. “You risked your life out here to save the community,” the firefighter said. “This is how they treat us.”

The arrests were made at a site where two crews were ready to cut wood for nearby residents while awaiting a supervisor.

The fire’s Incident Management Team (IMT) told the Daily Beast the enforcement action did not interfere with suppression work.

The IMT did, though, confirm that it was “aware of a Border Patrol operation on the fire,” and referred inquiries to the Port Angeles Border Patrol station.

The Beast also contacted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to ask whether ICE had conducted the raid on firefighters during a wildfire, and how the department felt such arrests served the U.S. people and nation. At the time of publication, there had been no response.

The Seattle Times reported that Biden-era guidance agents must not carry out operations at disaster sites without “exigent circumstances,” though it is unclear whether that protection remains, while federal officials have pressed more aggressive immigration enforcement under President Trump.

The incident is the latest in a string of aggressive ICE actions that have alarmed communities and disrupted essential institutions, after the Trump team ordered ICE to “turbocharge” arrests days after he came to power in January, and even scrapped a rule shielding churches, hospitals, and schools from enforcement.

The move has outraged even some of Trump’s biggest supporters, including podcaster Joe Rogan. “It’s insane,” Rogan said on his podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience, in early July.

“The targeting of migrant workers—not cartel members, not gang members, not drug dealers. Just construction workers. Showing up in construction sites, raiding them. Gardeners. I don’t think anybody would have signed up for that.”

Wednesday’s confrontation unfolded as more than 400 personnel fought Washington’s largest active wildfire, which has been burning since early July. By Wednesday morning, Bear Gulch had scorched nearly 9,000 acres and was 13 percent contained, with six 20-person hand crews—five of them private contractors—on the line.

The Beast has approached DHS, the Border Patrol station in Port Angeles, and the Bear Gulch IMT for comment.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-crackdown-spreads-to-arresting-firefighters-as-they-tackle-wildires/?

August 29, 2025

Intelligence Chief Gabbard Slammed for Identifying Undercover CIA Officer

The covert official was included in a list of names shared by Gabbard online.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has been condemned for sharing the name of an undercover CIA officer on social media.

On Aug. 19, Gabbard posted a memo on X that included a list of 37 current and former officials who had been stripped of their security clearances, including those who had supported Trump’s first impeachment trial or concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.

Also included on the list was a senior CIA officer who had been working undercover, though Gabbard was unaware of this at the time, The Wall Street Journal reported. However, sources told the newspaper that Gabbard did not consult with the intelligence agency before posting the list of names to her 762,000 online followers.

The CIA also had no advance warning that Gabbard planned to publish the list, which her office had sent it to the agency the night before.

Larry Pfeiffer, a former chief of staff at the CIA, told the WSJ that a “smart” director of national intelligence would have consulted with the agency before making any such list public, in order to avoid exposing a covert officer.

“It could potentially put CIA cover procedures at risk. It could put relations with foreign governments at risk,” Pfeiffer said.

Brian Fiarchil, a retired career CIA operations officer, added on X: “Gabbard doesn’t know squat about intelligence. She’s simply a Trump lapdog who will do anything to stay in his good graces, and Trump hates the intelligence agencies.”

In her Aug. 19 post, Gabbard said she was acting under Trump’s direction to revoke the security clearances of the 37 individuals, many of whom have been longtime critics of the president.

“Director of National Intelligence Gabbard directed the revocations to ensure individuals who have violated the trust placed in them by weaponizing, politicizing, manipulating, or leaking classified intelligence are no longer allowed to do so,” a spokesperson for Gabbard’s office told the WSJ.

The undercover CIA officer had worked in intelligence posts for more than 20 years and served as an expert on Russia and Eurasia on the National Intelligence Council between 2014 and 2017, according to the WSJ.

On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that the CIA had fired its top Russian expert days after Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The officer, who had nearly 30 years of experience, was also included on Gabbard’s list of people whose security clearances were revoked.

Knowingly revealing the identity of a covert U.S. intelligence officer or agent is a felony, though it is unclear whether the law applies to disclosures made by government officials.

Mark Zaid, an attorney who represents intelligence officers and whose own security clearance was revoked by Trump, suggested that Gabbard may have broken the law simply by making the memo public.

“Can you say ‘Privacy Act violation’? I certainly can,” Zaid posted on X. “Further proof of weaponization and politicization. The vast majority of these individuals are not household names & are dedicated public servants who have worked across multiple presidential administrations.”

The DNI’s office, the CIA, and the White House have been contacted for comment by the Daily Beast.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/intelligence-chief-tulsi-gabbard-slammed-for-identifying-undercover-cia-officer/?

August 29, 2025

Why Trump Is The Real Danger to the Economy: MSNBC Host

MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle joins The Daily Beast Podcast to unpack the president’s fixation with the Federal Reserve’s board of governors.

Donald Trump’s jabs at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his push to fire board member Lisa Cook are born out of his quest for power, MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle says.

Ruhle, who is also a senior business correspondent for NBC News, said on Thursday’s episode of The Daily Beast Podcast that the president has become “incensed” by Powell’s independence in particular.

“It’s all about power,” Ruhle told host Joanna Coles when asked why Powell, a Republican who has resisted the president’s demand to lower interest rates, gets under the president’s skin.

“Since Donald Trump has taken office this second time, his No. 1 goal is to exert power and influence. His biggest frustration during the first term were all those people in his first administration who said, ‘No, sir, you’re not allowed to do this. You know, this is for the American people. This is the rule of law.’ He hated that,” Ruhle said.

As an example of the no-holds-barred attitude in the White House this time around, Ruhle pointed to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick saying last October that any Trump appointees must exhibit “fidelity and loyalty.”

“And minute by minute, day by day, that’s what Donald Trump has been focused on,” she said.

“And Jay Powell has truly been a standout, standalone—not thumbing his nose at Trump, but saying, ‘This is my job, this is what I’m going to do, and I don’t have to answer to you,’” the anchor of The 11th Hour added of the man whom Trump appointed chair during his first term. “And that absolutely incenses Trump.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.

Ruhle then mentioned how Trump announced he was firing Lisa Cook, a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors. Cook’s attorney said on Tuesday he would file a lawsuit challenging the move, claiming it was illegal since the law states that members can only be fired “for cause.” Trump has alleged that Cook may have committed mortgage fraud. She hasn’t been charged with any offense.

Cook’s firing is less about her specifically and more to do with what Trump can get away with, Ruhle claimed.

“That’s what this whole thing is about, right? This is not about Lisa Cook. This is not about mortgage fraud. Let’s think about everything Donald Trump has done,” she explained.

“When he went after the law firms, was he really going after DEI? No. He was going after law firms that worked with people who didn’t like Trump,” she said.

“Is he really fighting campuses to root out antisemitism? No. He’s getting big settlements because that’s what he wants to get. When Walmart comes to him and says, ‘We’re going to have to raise our prices because of tariffs,’ he says, ‘I dare you, do not do that.’ All of this is about exerting power.”

Coles and Ruhle spoke about how Trump is now viewing the seven-member Board of Governors like the Supreme Court, where some are on his “team” and others aren’t.

But the Federal Reserve’s independence “is part of what makes America exceptional,” Ruhle said.

“It is why countries from around the world want to invest here. It’s why people from around the world want to start their businesses here. It is because we have three separate but equal branches of government and we have an independent central bank that doesn’t get influenced by a president who says, ‘Hey, let’s lower rates so we can juice the equity market because I want to get re-elected’.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-trump-is-the-real-danger-to-the-economy-msnbc-host/?

ps:She makes many great points!!

August 29, 2025

Trump Rages at Nemesis Being ‘Disrespectful’ About His Memory in Late-Night Meltdown

The president is trading insults with another Democratic governor.

President Donald Trump spent the early-morning hours digging up years-old dirt on his newest political enemy and bashing him on social media.

Wes Moore of Maryland has become the latest Democratic governor to take on Trump over his partisan gerrymandering and threats to deploy National Guard troops to blue states, inviting the president last week to walk the streets of Baltimore with him.

Trump responded over the weekend with a social media rant in which he threatened to pull federal funding from Baltimore, leading the governor to mock the president’s physical ability and lack of military service. In response, Trump made the bizarre claim on Monday that the governor had called him the “greatest president of my lifetime” when they met in 2024.

On Wednesday, Moore slammed Trump’s “absolutely comical memory”—a comment that apparently left the 79-year-old president still smarting hours later.

Just after 2 a.m. Washington time on Thursday, Trump reposted a year-old article from The Hill about Moore apologizing for mistakenly claiming on a 2006 White House Fellowship application that he had received a Bronze Star.

“But is that the end of his political career. He was very disrespectful to the Office of the President!” Trump complained in a Truth Social post.

The New York Times reported in August 2024 that Moore, a U.S. Army veteran who deployed to Afghanistan from August 2005 to March 2006, had listed the Bronze Star on his application, despite never having received the award.

Moore—who received several other honors, including the National Defense Service Medal—said it was an “honest mistake” and claimed he had included the honor at the encouragement of a senior officer who recommended him for the Bronze Star.

“My deputy brigade commander felt comfortable with instructing me to include the award on my application for the Fellowship because he received confirmation with the approval authority that the Bronze Star was signed and approved by his senior leadership,” Moore wrote in a statement posted to social media. “In the military, there is an understanding that if a senior officer tells you that an action is approved, you can trust that as a fact.”

Later he was “saddened” to learn that he had not received the Bronze Star, he wrote. The commander in question confirmed that version of events to the Times.

But for years, Moore failed to correct journalists and interviewers who incorrectly stated he had received the Bronze Star, including during a 2006 Newshour interview with Gwen Ifill and a 2010 appearance on The Colbert Report.

“I should have corrected the interviewers,” Moore told the Times.

Trump has already been swapping insults over the past few weeks with two other Democratic governors, Gavin Newsom of California and JB Pritzker of Illinois.

During his war of words with Trump this week, Moore called out the president for avoiding military service during the Vietnam War. A Queens doctor who was a Trump family friend diagnosed him with bone spurs to help him get a medical exemption.

“President Bone Spurs will do anything to get out of walking—even if that means spouting off more lies about the progress we’re making on public safety in Maryland,” he wrote on social media. “Hey Donald, we can get you a golf cart if that makes things easier. Just let my team know.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-rages-at-nemesis-wes-moore-for-being-disrespectful-about-his-memory-in-late-night-meltdown/?

August 29, 2025

Stalin’s 11-Minute Ovation and Why Trump’s Suck-Up Cabinet Won’t Stop Clapping

The disturbing parallels between the president’s marathon meeting and the pre-war Soviet Union.

An explosion of enthusiastic applause for Joseph Stalin followed a Communist Party conference in 1937.

The ovation went on for three minutes, four, five…

Palms were getting sore, arms were aching, and the older members of the audience were panting with exhaustion.

According to dissident author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the clapping continued for 11 minutes. “It was becoming insufferably silly even to those who really adored Stalin. However, who would dare be the first to stop?” he wrote in The Gulag Archipelago.

“With make-believe enthusiasm on their faces, looking at each other with faint hope, the district leaders were just going to go on and on applauding till they fell where they stood, till they were carried out of the hall on stretchers!”

It was only after the director of a local paper factory, “an independent and strong-minded man”, sat down that the hall finally fell quiet. “They had been saved,” wrote Solzhenitsyn. “The squirrel had been smart enough to jump off his revolving wheel.”During Tuesday’s marathon 3-hour and 16-minute Cabinet meeting at the White House, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff offered a masterclass in sycophancy. One real estate developer sucking up to another.

“Mr. President, working for this government, for you, is the greatest honor of my life,” he told his golfing buddy. “I tell it to everybody, and I really do feel that way, and I thank you because it’s a privilege to go out there and represent you in your humanitarian effort, in your goals of solving conflicts all over the world.”

Israel had just killed 20 people, including journalists, at a Gaza hospital, and Trump was deploying U.S. troops to crack down on Americans in their own capital. But the irony of casting the president as a peacemaker was entirely lost on Witkoff.

Everyone in the room was undoubtedly aware that Vladimir Putin was outmaneuvering both men, but they were still open to celebrating Trump’s successes in foreign wars few could even name.

“I think there were actually more than seven conflicts that you put to bed in the last eight months,” Witkoff groveled on. “And I hear these—I travel all over the world. In hostage square, they talk about you reverentially. It’s really quite amazing. I sometimes wish that I had a cam recorder with me and I could I could put you right there as I listened to it.”

Then there was the kicker. You could sense his colleagues kicking themselves for not thinking of it.

“Your team is nothing short of incredible,” Witkoff continued, “and there’s only one thing I wish for—that the Nobel Committee finally gets its act together and realizes that you are the single finest candidate since the Nobel Peace (sic), this Nobel award was ever talked about to receive that reward.

“Beyond your success is game-changing out in the world today. And I hope everybody one day wakes up and realizes that.”

His nodding colleagues burst into applause. Some even said, “Amen.” I kid you not.

Perhaps they were wondering how long they should clap?

Trump made it easy for them. He just kept talking.

The president informed his Cabinet—and the world—that he was retiring the term “great, big, beautiful” bill because it was better explained as a “massive tax cut for the middle class.”

His underlings duly noted the change. No matter if it was untrue and a cut for the rich. If Stalin mispronounced a word (the Soviet leader was born in Georgia and Russian was his second language), his minions speaking after him would garble the word the same way.

Everyone who spoke on Tuesday had taken the Kool-Aid and recited Trump’s talking points rather than offering any real insight into how their respective departments were performing.

Windmills are bad, and so are dirty doors in restaurants, mucky traffic medians, and transgender people in sports. Taylor Swift getting married is a good thing. Or, at least, it was on Tuesday.

For RFK Jr. to have veered so far from the values of his family is hard to watch. He praised Trump, the climate change denier, for saving the whales. And this from the man accused by his daughter of sawing the head off a whale and driving it home.

One couldn’t help but wonder what his father and uncle would have made of such toady behavior.

Presumably, Trump finds it funny to sit the biggest misfit in his administration right next to him. Still, Pete Hegseth took full advantage, telling him: “Thank you for your leadership, for your boldness, for your clarity… for common sense.”

Hegseth got the memo. Trump was not a dictator. He was the President of Common Sense.

On Trump’s other side, Marco Rubio trotted out his usual spiel about stopping illegal immigration. He may be the one man in the Cabinet who actually knows what he is doing. But he sold his soul when he kissed Dear Leader’s ring.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick clearly has his own take on American history. He thinks he is working in “the greatest Cabinet working for the greatest president.”

The most blatant example of obsequiousness was from the Labor Secretary, Lori Chavez-DeRemer. She couldn’t be picked out from a line-up by her Cabinet colleagues and clearly wanted to make sure Trump remembered who she was.

Chavez-DeRemer spent thousands of taxpayer dollars hanging a giant picture of his face on the wall of her department, and she wanted to ensure he hadn’t missed it.

“Mr. President, I invite you to see your big, beautiful face on a banner in front of the Department of Labor, because you are really the transformational president of the American worker,” she told him. “I was so honored to unveil that yesterday.”

She obviously missed her boss’s point that big and beautiful was yesterday’s fake news. If she doesn’t ensure the next quarter’s jobs figures are in the black, she could soon be left looking at the banner of Trump’s massive mug with the tourists outside in the street.

Always the TV producer, the former ‘The Apprentice’ boss never lets his team forget that he has the power at any time to tell them, “You’re fired.”

“Each one of these people spoke,” Trump said as the extended session drew to a close. “If I thought one of them did badly, I would call that person out.”

The cardboard characters around the table stiffened. Had they groveled enough?

Trump even reminded Witkoff that there are no mulligans in politics and he needed to see results. “You’ve told me that a few times,” he said of his envoy’s insistence that he was the right man to end Russia’s war with Ukraine.

“Unless he was saying it just to build up my ego,” added Trump. “But it’s not really. I have no ego when it comes to this stuff.”

If any of his Cabinet members were hungry, thirsty, or needed the bathroom, nobody was saying. They listened intently as their leader droned on, repeating his theories on crime and punishment and how lucky we all were to have him in charge.

Perhaps some of them have read the postscript to Solzhenitsyn’s story.

Later, on the night of the 11-minute applause in Stalin’s Soviet Union, the factory director was arrested. The secret police had been monitoring the audience to identify any independent individuals. He was imprisoned for 10 years.

And as he was being led away, he was told: “Don’t ever be the first to stop applauding!”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/stalins-11-minute-ovation-and-why-trumps-suck-up-cabinet-wont-stop-clapping/?

August 29, 2025

U.S. Navy Wants to Hold a Massive Boat Parade to Cheer Up Trump

The president wants all the ships.

The U.S. Navy is reportedly planning a lavish parade of its own after a multimillion-dollar military parade earlier this year left President Donald Trump feeling flat.

Trump hosted the military’s largest parade in decades in Washington, D.C., on June 14 to mark 250 years of the U.S. Army—and also, conveniently, his own 79th birthday.

As well as “No Kings” protests against Trump across the country to coincide with the military anniversary event that cost taxpayers $30 million, footage of “lackluster” soldiers marching out of step went viral. Photos suggested that the president rested his eyes at one point during his birthday party. Crowd figures were also less than impressive.

A new report in The Wall Street Journal has intel from the president’s administration that a do-over parade could be in the works—this time taking place at sea.

Trump told his aides that he was disappointed with the marching in the June event, according to the Journal, and was hoping the Navy could deliver a grander celebration.

The president is reportedly “hoping for a shimmering spectacle with seacraft,” The Journal noted.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement to the Daily Beast, “Through the America 250 celebrations and beyond, President Trump is rightfully restoring patriotism across the administration and giving our brave men and women in uniform the honor they deserve.”

Kelly added, “Only the anti-American activists at the Daily Beast could possibly take issue with celebrating our U.S. Navy’s 250th Anniversary – sad!”

An array of events for the anniversary will take place over October and November, mainly in Philadelphia, including a gala ball and ship parades.

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House in regards to President Trump’s possible appearance at the events.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung claimed “over 250,000″ patriots turned up for the June 14 parade, but significant gaps in the crowd suggested attendance fell far short of predictions.

Meanwhile, ‘No Kings’ protests around the country on Trump’s birthday became one of the biggest-ever single-day protests in America, drawing over 4 million people in 820 locations.

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel aired footage of what looked like the president nodding off during his parade. “There’s Sleepy Don taking it all in,” he said. “And in fairness, that’s as close as he gets to be able to sleep with his wife, so he took the opportunity.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/us-navy-wants-to-hold-a-massive-boat-parade-to-cheer-up-trump/?

August 29, 2025

Trump Cabinet Sycophant Makes Staff Watch Weekly ‘Dear Leader’ Videos

Trump’s Interior Secretary faces internal dissent over his department’s propaganda ... our must-read newsletter The Swamp reveals.

Interior Secretary and Vice Presidential runner-up Doug Burgum earned the nickname Diva Doug earlier this year due to his bizarre requests, which included asking political appointees to bake him chocolate chip cookies and dispatching a U.S. Park Police helicopter for his personal transport.

Now, the former North Dakota governor is facing a fresh wave of internal dissent for turning his workplace into what employees have dubbed “The Department of Propaganda.”

The subject of their rage is a poorly produced, Dear Leader-style video that is churned out every week called “Inside Interior.”

The short clips regularly feature images of Burgum—in a suit, in a hard-hat, in the wild —as a doe-eyed woman touts the administration’s achievements.

The latest video, for example, outlined how “Interior made major moves to strengthen America’s energy future, protect taxpayer interests, and keep our nation’s capital city safe.”But it wasn’t as cringey as the July 4 special when staffers were treated to a ridiculous two-minute clip that opened with scenes of Trump dancing to the Village People’s YMCA, followed by Trump getting off Air Force One, followed by Trump being cheered on by construction workers, followed by Trump…. You get the gist.

“Happy Birthday America!” the North Korea-worthy narrator beamed.

“Today we celebrate 249 years of American liberty, freedom and strength and we’re doing it under the fearless leadership of President Donald J. Trump, who reminds us every day what true patriotism looks like as he works tirelessly to make America great again.”

Needless to say, it’s a tough pill to swallow for Interior staff, who are still reeling from Elon Musk’s DOGE’s cutbacks and the administration’s prioritizing of fossil fuel development over the department’s traditional conservation remit.

“I have never seen a more blatant and deplorable display of propaganda on behalf of the Trump administration,” one National Parks Service employee fumed.

“They even called for the USA to celebrate the 4th ‘the MAGA way!”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-cabinet-sycophant-makes-staff-watch-weekly-dear-leader-videos/?

August 29, 2025

Trump Administration Wants to Banish Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda

The Trump administration announced Monday it was processing Kilmar Abrego Garcia for expulsion to Uganda, threatening to banish him to the United States’ growing network of deportee dumping grounds for the second time.

https://theintercept.com/2025/08/25/trump-kilmar-abrego-garcia-deport/?

Fed official sues Trump over attempt to fire her, challenging his power over the independent agency

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has sued the Trump administration in an effort to overturn the president’s attempt to fire her, launching an unprecedented legal battle that could significantly reshape the Fed’s longstanding political independence.

https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-cook-trump-308f2e6ac04f62643d96b8347d5b2417?

Trump administration asks military base near Chicago for support on immigration operations

CHICAGO (AP) — The Trump administration asked a military base outside of Chicago for support on immigration operations this week, offering a clue of what an expanded law enforcement crackdown might look like in the nation’s third-largest city.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-immigration-military-base-4be8ec065a8749bafd326333a1f1c767?

August 29, 2025

Suck-Up Sean Duffy Says Obama’s Trains Are Really Trump’s

Duffy is all aboard the Trump Train—even when it turns out they’re actually a Democrat’s.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy touted a new generation of trains as part of Donald Trump’s “vision” Wednesday—leaving out a key fact: They weren’t.

The former reality star was at Washington D.C.’s Union Station to take an inaugural journey on one of public railroad Amtrak’s new high-speed trains, to New York’s Penn Station.

He touted the new NextGen Acela 160mph high-speed trains on X, as “part of @POTUS’ vision to Make Travel Great again.”

In fact, the trains were first ordered by none other than President Donald Trump’s nemesis: former President Barack Obama. And Duffy had voted against the bill which set their production in motion.

“[The trains are] a better experience for the American public,” Duffy said Wednesday. “And again, that’s what we do — we serve the American people with great experiences and that’s what this is about today."

Duffy’s deputy, Steve Bradbury, also praised the president and secretary for doing “what they do best — making big, beautiful projects come to life.”

In reality, the $2.4 billion investment into next-generation trains and related infrastructure was initiated by Obama in August 2016, according to a press release from the company at the time.The 28 trains were ordered with money allocated by Obama’s 2015 $305 billion FAST Act—which congressional records show Duffy, then a Republican congressman for Wisconsin, had voted against. The act allowed for Amtrak, the publicly owned long-distance train operator, to order new Acela trains. Their design, building, production and testing has taken almost a decade.

A new joint press release from the Department of Transportation and Amtrak, published Wednesday, quietly acknowledges at the very bottom that the program to replace the original Acela Express trains began “over a decade ago.”

Even Amtrak itself skirted giving the Trump administration full credit.

“We are grateful for Secretary Duffy and Deputy Secretary Bradbury’s support on the project, and for helping it get over the finish line so Northeast Corridor residents and visitors can enjoy a whole new way to travel,” said Amtrak board chair Tony Coscia.

The train’s route, from D.C. to Boston via Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York, is also benefiting from legislation Trump opposed. Biden’s 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act allocated $66 billion to rail — the largest investment in Amtrak since it began receiving federal funding over 50 years ago.

Of that, $22 billion went directly to Amtrak to repair crumbling infrastructure, replace aging assets, and fund capital projects like the new Acela trainsets.

At the time, Trump tried to derail the legislation after repeatedly failing to pass an infrastructure bill of his own during his first term.

He even publicly threatened Republican lawmakers for supporting Biden’s deal, warning in a statement: “Republican voters will never forget their name, nor will the people of our Country,” Politico reported.

However the legislation passed and Duffy has now joined the wave of Republicans taking credit for the fruits of the infrastructure bill they opposed.

Just last week, MAGA Rep. Nancy Mace bragged about helping secure the largest infrastructure grant in South Carolina’s history, despite voting against the very legislation that made those funds available.

Duffy’s ride on Obama’s coattails came with another announcement: that his department would reclaim management of D.C.’s Union Station as part of the administration’s broader efforts to tighten federal control over the capital.

The controversial federal takeover of D.C. has included deploying National Guard soldiers to patrol the streets, assisting police in tackling crime, and picking up trash.

“Instead of being a point of pride, Washington’s Union Station has fallen into disrepair,” Duffy said. “By reclaiming station management, we will help make this city safe and beautiful at a fraction of the cost.”

Since Trump returned to office, Amtrak has been subject to funding cuts and the abrupt resignation of Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner, reportedly at the request of the White House.

The Daily Beast has reached out to Amtrak and the Department of Transportation for comment.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/suck-up-sean-duffy-says-obamas-trains-are-really-trumps/?

August 29, 2025

Trump’s Latest Pritzker Threat Smells a Bit Fishy

Trump makes waves by threatening to cut $1.15 billion of funding for a carp barrier.

Donald Trump’s newest line of attack in his war with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker smells a bit fishy.

The president dangled the possibility that he might remove financing for a project to tackle “invasive” carp unless Pritzker “asks” him for it.

The move would leave Illinois voters and the Democratic leader on the hook for $1.15 billion in federal funding.

However, Congress has already set aside the money, and if the project does not net the promised cash, then Trump could be breaking the law, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Tensions have been rising in Illinois over Trump’s threats to deploy the National Guard to Chicago, as part of his widening crackdowns on migration and crime.

Speaking about the nationwide carp issue from the Oval Office on Monday, Trump tossed out the line, “I didn’t get a request from the governor of Illinois. Until I get that request from that guy (Pritzker), I’m not going to do anything about it.”

Trump was angling at the $1.15 billion Brandon Road Lock and Dam fix in Joliet—a project meant to keep silver and bighead carp from swimming upstream into Lake Michigan. Phase One started in May, with the feds covering about 90 percent of the construction, and Michigan and Illinois chipping in bait-sized state shares of $64 million and $50 million.And while Trump has been freezing pots of cash across agencies like a cold snap, the Government Accountability Office and Democrats on Senate appropriations say that kind of “keep it on the dock” routine runs afoul of the Impoundment Control Act.

The president calls that law unconstitutional and vows to have it struck down in court—but he hasn’t filed the test case.

Pritzker’s press man Matt Hill also waded in, telling the Tribune not to swallow the president’s story “at face value” because “many are lies.”

Trump’s fishy claim comes amid a personal slugfest between Trump and Pritzker, as the president threatens to send the National Guard to Chicago and snipes about the governor’s weight.

“He ought to spend more time at the gym. The guy is a disaster,” the 79-year-old president said after Pritzker slammed Trump’s D.C. crime crackdown, which Trump says he could broaden to Chicago.

Pritzker clapped back, saying that Trump is “not in good shape,” adding: “It takes one to know one on the weight question.”

This feud has already scuppered timelines, reports the Tribune. In February, a groundbreaking was canceled when the state held off a land closing, spooked that the administration’s wider freeze on Illinois Department of Natural Resources grants would leave taxpayers “on the hook” for later phases.

After Team Trump issued an order casting Pritzker as the one who “decided to delay the State’s acquisition of property,” the governor fired back that Washington had finally agreed to shoulder its load and that Illinois would only proceed with proper assurances.

Phase One will see site prep and rock work, plus the first layers of deterrent tech—a bubble curtain to blow hitchhikers out from under barges and an acoustic system that hits carp with painful sound. Later phases add an electric barrier and more acoustics, while a flushing lock will send any stragglers back downstream.

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and Gov. Pritzker’s office for comment.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trumps-latest-illinois-governor-jb-pritzker-carp-threat-smells-a-bit-fishy/?

August 29, 2025

❤️‍? Chaos at the CDC. The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was fired by the Trump administration last night, prompting a leadership exodus that saw four of the agency’s top disease experts subsequently resign in protest. Susan Monarez was ousted at Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s behest after the two clashed over Kennedy’s deregulatory assault on the federal public health apparatus. Monarez says she “refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts”; the administration claims Monarez is “not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again.”

Now, just weeks out from flu season, top positions at the CDC stand vacant, including director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases and the director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases.

? Trouble in Aisle 4. Food prices are rising faster than inflation, and Americans are feeling the burn: New survey data reveals that nearly 90 percent of Americans are worried about affording groceries. Meanwhile, according to Accountable.US, under President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the nation’s biggest grocery retailers have not been shy about passing on their duties costs to consumers. For example, Walmart’s leadership has “made it clear that [the company] wasn’t freezing prices” in response to Trump’s tariffs while bragging about groceries serving as a “financial driver.”

Albertsons’ CEO admitted the firm was planning to “pass the higher cost of goods to customers” and “[wield] its market power like a cudgel” to force suppliers into preferential deals.

? But I just memorized my SSN... A Social Security Administration whistleblower is alleging catastrophic data breaches at the agency that could upend Social Security as we know it. According to a new complaint, this spring DOGE acolytes acted illegally when they asked employees to transfer the SSA database — which contains beneficiaries’ names, social security numbers, places and dates of birth, citizenship, race and ethnicity, parents’ names and Social Security numbers, phone number, address information, and more — to an unauthorized cloud environment allegedly without any security oversight.

Per the whistleblower, if criminal actors were to gain access to this cloud, the government may need to issue a new Social Security number to every American.

Porked out. The Trump administration is seeking to roll back swine slaughter inspection standards, new regulatory filings reveal, ending mandatory biopsy exams in favor of visual disease inspections only. The move comes just as officials confirmed the first human case of screwworm in the U.S. this week, 50 years after officials first eradicated the flesh-eating parasite from the country’s livestock supply. Meanwhile, Trump-backed deregulation and privatization are pushing federal inspectors out of meat processing plants in service of faster production times, endangering workers and consumers.

This is another escalation in MAGA’s war against food safety regulations: In March, the Food and Drug Administration reportedly suspended its routine food inspection program, and in April, the Department of Agriculture withdrew a Biden-era rule limiting allowable salmonella levels in raw poultry.

Quantity over quality. The USDA anticipates that nixing post-mortem biopsy requirements for swine slaughterhouses will save the multibillion-dollar meat processing industry $141 million over the next 10 years. Trump has a history of working on behalf of corporate slaughterhouses: In 2019, he expanded Obama-era poultry policy and introduced a waivers process allowing selected swine slaughterhouses to conduct their own inspections — increasing line speeds at workers’ and consumers’ expense. The USDA has since extended the "modernized" swine inspection program since Trump returned to office, to the pork industry’s delight.

In-house inspectors are not required to go through federal training, and while the USDA claims that its own regulators retain ultimate oversight in the new Swine Inspection System, reporting says otherwise.

Not your neighborhood butcher. The proposed inspection rule mainly affects three meat processors who together control roughly 60 percent of all U.S. pork sales. That includes JBS, the scandal-ridden Brazilian meatpacking giant whose New York Stock Exchange debut was just greenlit by the Trump administration (after a $5 million inauguration donation). JBS has also spent $1.5 million this year lobbying Congress and the federal government, including the Department of Agriculture, as its slaughterhouse workers push back on allegedly dangerously high production demands.

I’ll have turkey bacon. The gutting of inspection standards comes as pork and veterinary industry groups sound the alarm on recent screwworm outbreaks — which, while commonly found in cattle, also infect swine. The USDA this month announced a $750 million plan to fight screwworms, currently spreading through Central American and Mexican livestock, even though the insect was effectively eradicated from North America decades ago. Screwworm, which commonly infests animals and sometimes humans, is not usually fatal — but you don’t want it: The parasitic fly eats live tissue from open wounds.

August 30, 2025

Mystery surrounds $1.2 billion Army contract to build huge detention tent camp in Texas desert

When President Donald Trump’s administration last month awarded a contract worth up to $1.2 billion to build and operate what it says will become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex, it didn’t turn to a large government contractor or even a firm that specializes in private prisons. Instead, it handed the project on a military base to Acquisition Logistics LLC, a small business that has no listed experience running a correction facility and had never won a federal contract worth more than $16 million. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

August 30, 2025

Considerable, but Not Boundless

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A man with the power to destroy the entire world announces that no one and nothing can restrain him. “I can do whatever I want,” he says. Raised without love, he has become both omnipotent and neurotic. Unfortunately, his inner circle is a group of hapless subordinates who are scared to death of him. The corporations and public-relations spinmeisters who created and sold him to the public now realize that they are powerless to stop him.

I am speaking, of course, of Homelander, the evil version of Superman who is the main antagonist in The Boys, the Amazon series based on a series of graphic novels. Homelander (played to menacing, narcissistic perfection by the actor Antony Starr) is both ludicrous and terrifying. Like Superman, he can fly and shoot lasers from his eyes, but his brain is definitely not superpowered: Immature and somewhat dim, he is ruled by impulse, rage, and ego.

Watching Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting—a three-hour-plus public ritual of sycophantic praise for Donald Trump from his lieutenants—I couldn’t help but think of Homelander. President Trump, like the sadistic superhero, is surrounded by grown men and women who are reduced to simpering flunkies in his presence. (“There’s only one thing I wish for,” the presidential envoy Steve Witkoff said during the meeting, that the “Nobel Committee finally gets its act together and realizes that you are the single finest candidate since the Nobel Peace, this Nobel award was ever talked about.” Yikes.)

Little wonder that Trump sees no limits to his power: When asked about his authority to deploy the National Guard, Trump said: “I have the right to do anything I want to do. I’m the president of the United States. If I think our country’s in danger—and it is in danger in these cities—I can do it.”

If you’d like to see Starr as Homelander saying much the same thing, you can watch that here. (But be warned: The language and some of the images are definitely NSFW.)

The parallel isn’t perfect, but both the fictional villain and the real president seem to share a childlike need for adoration and are quick to anger when contradicted. And both could destroy most of the planet. Homelander could do it with his eyes and his muscles. Trump could do it with a small card he carries that would allow him to order the launching of almost 2,000 nuclear weapons anywhere he dictates.

The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke is no fan of the president and intentionally made the television version of Homelander a parody of Trumpism. But the president’s more cultish followers have embraced the satire, and during the “Million MAGA March” in the nation’s capital, back in 2020, at least one Trump admirer showed up dressed as Homelander—apparently unaware that the character is a stupid, vain psychopath. (“Um … are they actually watching the show?” Kripke asked on social media.) Trump, for his part, makes the comparison with a super-bully too easy: In only a matter of months, he has put soldiers on American streets, unleashed the Justice Department on his critics, strong-armed corporations into neo-socialist arrangements with the government, and functionally allied the United States with the dictator in the Kremlin, among other depredations.

In the end, Trump’s critics and Homelander’s enemies face the same question: However they got here, both of these men now seem unstoppable. As the former Trump aide Marc Short told The Wall Street Journal yesterday, “I think he’s learned there is not much that can really stop him from what he wants.”

I don’t know how The Boys will end Homelander’s story. But Donald Trump is not a superhero: He’s a politician whose powers and abilities are only those of mortal men. He is limited by the Constitution, by American law, by Congress (despite its current fecklessness), and especially by the courts, which seem so far to be Trump’s kryptonite. Other actions could constrain Trump further—if voters in the pro-democracy coalition have the courage and the endurance to take them.

First, everyone, including ordinary citizens, media leaders, and elected officials—especially Republicans—should speak plain truth every time Trump says something as bonkers as “I have the right to do anything I want to do.” No, Mr. President, you do not: The powers of the presidency, especially in matters of national security, are indeed considerable, but they are not boundless, and Americans should all say so, every day, to their neighbors, to the reporters and commentators they watch and read, and especially to their elected officials.

Saying things out loud is important. (Consider the courage shown this week by former CDC Director Susan Monarez, who refused to meekly go along with the Trump administration’s attempts to force her out of her position.) I am among many who are frustrated by the continual sane-washing of Trump’s statements by reporters who must contend with his gibberish, but no one should be pressed harder to speak up than elected Republicans. Unlike Homelander, Trump cannot reduce them to a pile of smoking ashes with his eyes if they anger him. He can make their lives miserable, and perhaps even cost them their jobs. But Trump turns on almost everyone at some point, so why not start pushing back now?

Everyday citizens have options as well. The president’s strength rests on obedient majorities in Congress, and that power can be stripped from him at the ballot box. Elected Republicans’ jobs are in danger at all levels of government, as the Democratic capture of an Iowa state-Senate seat this week showed. Trump is worried, which is why he’s so eager to have red states conjure up extra House seats as soon as possible.

And finally, it’s important to remember—and, again, to say out loud—how ridiculous Trump is when he launches into his woozy, narcissistic harangues. Authoritarians build their regimes by creating an aura of strength and inevitability around themselves, daring anyone to oppose them or focus on their weaknesses. Laughing in their face when they say I can do anything I want is a powerful antidote to their bullying. So far, California Governor Gavin Newsom seems to have perfected this kind of satire, and it’s clearly getting under Trump’s nanometer-thin skin.

Homelander, according to Kripke, is not invulnerable. Neither is Trump, and citizens of the United States need not treat him as if he is an eternal being in a cape. He is doing real damage to the nation, and no one should underestimate the dangers he poses to the constitutional order. But at these odd moments when Trump tries to posture like a superhero, perhaps the most effective response for Americans who care about fighting for constitutional democracy is to put aside their partisan differences—and then laugh, sue if necessary, and, always, vote.

Even Trump can’t fly away from all of that.

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