Members phkrause Posted October 26, 2025 Author Members Posted October 26, 2025 Trump Sets a Damning Record for Failed Nominees Paul Ingrassia is the most recent nominee to withdraw following damaging leaked text messages. President Donald Trump has set a troubling record in his first year back in office for failed presidential nominations. Trump has withdrawn more nominees in 2025 than any U.S. president in the past four decades, according to an analysis from Wake Up to Politics writer Gabe Fleisher, who examined every presidential appointment process since 1981, when Ronald Reagan was in office. Fleisher found that Trump—despite two months still left in the year—has already outpaced every other modern president, surpassing Barack Obama, who withdrew 35 nominees in 2009. The report follows the collapse of Paul Ingrassia’s nomination—Trump’s 49th failed pick—after leaked text messages revealed the White House liaison had admitted to having a “Nazi streak.” Ingrassia, 30, serves as the White House’s liaison to the Department of Homeland Security, and was nominated by Trump to lead the Office of Special Counsel. He withdrew his nomination Tuesday after several key Republicans indicated that they would no longer vote to confirm him over text messages exposed in Politico, which reported that he used racial slurs and raged that Martin Luther King Jr. Day should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell.” Ingrassia’s lawyer, Edward Andrew Paltzik, however, has questioned the authenticity of the text messages. Trump’s first pick for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his nomination in November after a series of seedy allegations against him, including a White House Ethics probe that explored if he paid as much as $10,000 to have sex with women and a 17-year-old girl while in his mid-30s. He has denied any wrongdoing. Another failed pick, Ed Martin, was tapped by the president in February to become the U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C. Martin drew backlash after praising a Nazi sympathizer during a Trump fundraising event last summer. But his nomination was ultimately tanked in May amid scrutiny over his involvement in the “Stop the Steal” movement, which sought to overturn the 2020 election. Another pick who didn’t make it over the finish line was Dave Weldon, who lost out on leading the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in March after failing to secure key support in the Senate due to his controversial comments about vaccines. Weldon had previously linked vaccines to autism—a claim that has been debunked numerous times. He also questioned the safety of the measles vaccine, echoing the views of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has spread misinformation about the MMR vaccination several times. MAGA infighting led another pick, Jared Isaacman, to lose out on his chance of leading NASA in May. The president blamed Isaacman’s “prior associations”—a not-so-subtle jab at his relationship with Elon Musk, who was locked in a public feud with Trump at the time. The White House withdrew Bureau of Labor Statistics nominee E.J. Antoni, an economist for conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, from consideration after his controversial social media posts were unearthed. The since-deleted profile, which had misogynistic attacks on Kamala Harris and homophobic remarks, was exposed in August —roughly a month before his nomination was pulled. Not every withdrawal stemmed from controversy. Rep. Elise Stefanik, for instance, withdrew her bid as a U.N. ambassador to ensure Republicans keep hold of their razor-thin majority in the House. And Alina Habba, the president’s former personal attorney, was set to become a federal prosecutor until she failed to earn the support of two Democratic senators in her native New Jersey. The Senate typically demands that home-state senators vouch for prosecutorial nominees. The White House did not immediately respond to request for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-sets-a-damning-record-for-failed-nominees/? 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 October 26, 2025 Author Members Posted October 26, 2025 One family fled Afghanistan. Then U.S. deportations scattered them across the world Families are suffering the cascading consequences of larger worldwide political shifts as countries tighten asylum policies and turn away refugees. In Afghanistan, whose tumultuous history is intertwined with American military and foreign policy, expulsions carry an added sting as families believed they would find safe harbor in the U.S. Read more. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump backs off planned surge of federal agents into San Francisco after talking to the mayor Pump prices could rise after US, EU hit Russian oil companies with new sanctions and oil spikes DC police detained man for protesting National Guard patrol with Darth Vader song, lawsuit says Black student enrollment is waning at many elite colleges after affirmative action ban, AP analysis finds After decades of gradual growth, the number of Black students enrolling at many elite colleges has dropped in the two years since the Supreme Court banned affirmative action in admissions, leaving some campuses with Black populations as small as 2% of their freshman class, according to an Associated Press analysis. Read more. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Scholarship for Black students at UC San Diego rebranded after lawsuit argued it was discriminatory White House East Wing demolished as Trump moves forward with ballroom construction, AP photos show WASHINGTON (AP) — The entire White House East Wing has been demolished as President Donald Trump moves forward with construction of a ballroom, according to photos taken Thursday by The Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/trump-white-house-ballroom-57512e0d91432f75529946fddfbfe2c5? 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 October 26, 2025 Author Members Posted October 26, 2025 This Is Exactly What Trump Is Bulldozing at the White House Here’s what goes as the president tears down every brick of the East Wing. President Donald Trump is hell bent on remaking the White House in his image—even if that comes at the expense of over a century of history in the building’s East Wing, which is set to be razed entirely in the coming days. Trump started demolishing historic spaces on Monday to make room for his massive new ballroom, breaking a vow he made this summer to leave the White House as it is during construction of his pet project. Flattened: Office of the First Lady Among the offices flattened was the Office of the First Lady, where the likes of Jill Biden, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton, and their predecessors spent hundreds, if not thousands, of days working inside the East Wing. The office’s destruction came without warning from the Trump administration, as the president had said in July that the construction of his mega ballroom would not “interfere with the current building.” That turned out to be untrue, and he celebrated its destruction on Monday, saying the sound of the East Wing’s demolition was “music to my ears.”Former President Jimmy Carter’s wife, Rosalynn, was the first presidential spouse to have a paid staff and work out of the now-historic Office of the First Lady in 1978. The office’s final tenant, Melania Trump, was frequently absent from the East Wing during much of her husband’s first term. She has not been a frequent face in MAGA 2.0 either, spending just 14 days at the White House during Trump’s first 108 days back in office. Along with her staff, whose offices were also demolished, Melania will now work out of the White House residence and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Erased: Historic Hallway The East Colonnade remains standing as of Wednesday, but not for long. The historic walkway—which connects the East Wing to the Executive Residence—is expected to be razed by the week’s end, as White House officials say that the “entirety” of the East Wing will be “modernized and rebuilt,” including the hallway.That means the East Colonnade—if it is rebuilt at all—is getting a MAGA facelift. The corridor, which American presidents have traversed since the East Wing was built in 1902, was also where Melania Trump infamously displayed her spooky red Christmas trees in 2018, during the first Trump administration. The corridor has a simple, timeless style—large windows facing the south lawn that welcome natural light to illuminate a white wall that is typically filled with photos hanging in frames. While Trump has not revealed a specific plan for the space, his gaudy makeover of the Oval Office, complete with golden trinkets and trophies, suggests a significant change is coming. Lights Out: The Family Theater Like the East Colonnade, the famed Family Theater of the East Wing remains standing for now—but it, too, will be subjected to demolition in the coming days or weeks. The iconic space has hosted presidential families since the 1940s, as well as celebrity guests like Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, who both attended a screening of The Pacific miniseries in the theater with President Barack Obama in 2010.The theater was constructed during a renovation in 1942 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II. It has been used by each president since. That includes Trump, who wasted no time logging his first screening—to watch Finding Dory—just a week into his first term in 2017.The East Wing’s iconic facade, as well as the eastern entrance to the White House, was turned to rubble. Photographers camped out at the adjacent Treasury Department captured an excavator tearing walls clean off the building—a historic fixture of the White House, where celebrities, dignitaries, and foreign leaders once entered the building—now gone forever.The “Booksellers Hall” in the East Wing has remained untouched so far, but is also set to be razed. It has long played host to arriving attendees of state dinners and formal receptions, including Jeff Bezos and his then-fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, last spring. Socialites, politicians, and billionaires will not be the only ones likely to miss the space. The East Wing’s entrance was home to the White House Visitor’s Office, making it the starting point for the hundreds of thousands of D.C. tourists who tour the White House each year. Lawmakers, who facilitate the distribution of tickets to their constituents, have said that the White House is closed for tours “indefinitely.” Closed: Farewell to The Gift Shop With the White House officially closed to tours, the adjoining gift shop—while not yet bulldozed—has been shuttered indefinitely, too. Trump visited the gift shop in August, and photos show that a digitally altered image of his face—showing an American flag imposed over his stoic headshot—now hangs from the wall.The gift shop was established in 1946, originally as the “White House Flower Fund” created by Roosevelt’s administration to support bereaved Secret Service families. It has evolved to sell a wide range of presidential memorabilia, souvenirs, and collectibles, and is now—surprisingly, to many—privately owned and operated. Shuttered: Iconic Photo Spots At the very edge of the East Wing, between the residence and the East Colonnade, is the oft-photographed East Garden Room—another historic White House room that will soon cease to exist. It is where visitors to the White House typically pose for pictures before entering the residence through the East Wing. And There’s More... Other offices in the East Wing due to be destroyed are the Office of Legislative Affairs, the White House Military Office, White House Calligrapher’s Office, and a conference room. The East Wing’s destruction—and the building of Trump’s ballroom, which is not expected to finish construction until 2029—is the most significant change to the White House in its modern history. On Wednesday, Trump told reporters that the cost of the project was now expected to hit $300 million, up from the initial $200 million figure. “In order to do it properly, we had to take down the existing structure,” he said. “You know, the East Wing was not much. It was not much left from the original. It was, over the course of 100 years, it was changed, the columns were removed, it was a much different building. Then a story was added on in 1948, 1949. There was a story added on which was not particularly nice.” He continued, “The building was very, very much changed from what it was originally. It was never thought of as being much. It was a very small building.” Trump said the final bill for what he said would be “one of the great ballrooms anywhere in the world” would be paid “100 percent by me and some friends of mine.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/all-the-east-wing-rooms-trump-is-bulldozing/? 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 October 26, 2025 Author Members Posted October 26, 2025 Trump Launches Unhinged Late-Night Truth Social Rampage The president spent hours alternating between humble brags and revenge posts. Donald Trump spent hours on social media Wednesday night attacking Democrats, offering up disaster aid to states where majorities of citizens voted for him, and pretending he won the 2020 election. The aging president began posting at about 4 p.m. Washington time and didn’t stop until after midnight. In the posts, Trump, 79, said he had called the governors of Missouri, Alaska, and North Dakota and told them he had personally approved between $2.5 million and $25 million in disaster aid for their respective states. He also bragged about winning those states in the last three presidential elections and suggested that they deserved the recovery funds as a result. “It is my Honor to deliver for the Great State of Alaska, which I won BIG in 2016, 2020, and 2024 — ALASKA, I WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” he wrote in one post. “I won ‘The Show Me State’ three times in 2016, 2020, and 2024, and it is my Honor to deliver for these incredible Patriots!” he wrote. The posts were just the latest example of the president forgetting that he represents all Americans, not just the people who voted for him. The White House has also been attempting to cancel congressional funding that was granted to Democrat-led cities and states. Not all of Wednesday’s posts were dedicated to gloating about winning traditional Republican strongholds, though. Some aimed at the president’s political rivals. One featured a rambling AI-generated video about former vice president and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, while another tried to blame Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker for a shooting in Chicago over the weekend. He managed not to share any more AI-generated videos of himself taking a literal s--- on his own constituents, but the posting spree did include one that featured a wild concoction of racial stereotyping, election denying, and statistical ignorance. “Ask former President Barack Hussein Obama whether or not he really believes that in 2020 Joe Biden got 15 Million more Votes than he did in 2012 (65.9 vs. 81 Million),” Trump wrote. “Additionally, ask him why it is that Joe Biden ‘beat’ Obama in every single Swing State with the Black Vote in 2020, even though Black Voters hate him, but in no other State? THE 2020 ELECTION WAS AN ILLEGAL SCAM/HOAX THAT THE PEOPLE OF OUR GREAT COUNTRY WILL NEVER FORGET!” The post ignored some obvious and non-fraudulent reasons why Biden received the most votes in history—even more than Trump in 2024. The 2020 election had the highest voter turnout in decades at 66.8 percent, compared to 61.8 percent of eligible voters in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Census data also show that between 2012 and 2020, the eligible voting-age population also grew from about 240.2 million to 256.7 million. Trump received 74.2 million votes in 2020 and 77.3 million votes in 2024, even as the U.S. adult population continued to grow. That might explain why he’s so desperate for “proof” that Biden didn’t really receive nearly 81.3 million votes. As for voters’ racial demographics, it wasn’t immediately clear what Trump meant about Biden “beating” Obama among Black voters in swing states. The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment on whether he was referring to the voter turnout rate among Black voters, the percentage of Black voters who cast ballots for the respective candidates, or the percentage of Democratic voters in each swing state who were Black. In any case, it’s pretty clear that Black voters don’t hate Biden, or at least they didn’t in 2020. Exit polls showed that Obama carried a whopping 93 percent of the Black vote in 2012, but that Biden still won a significant 87 percent in 2020. For months, the president has faced questions about his physical and mental health. He’s been nursing swollen ankles and heavy bruising on his hands, and experts have warned that his nonsensical speeches and mental lapses are “clinical signs of dementia.” To make things worse, nobody really knows when the president sleeps. Earlier this month, the White House released a statement from Trump’s physician saying the president “continues to demonstrate excellent overall health,” and that “his cardiac age” was found to be “approximately 14 years younger than his chronological age.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-launches-unhinged-late-night-truth-social-rampage/? 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 October 26, 2025 Author Members Posted October 26, 2025 Trump backs off planned surge of federal agents into San Francisco after talking to the mayor ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he’s backing off a planned surge of federal agents into San Francisco to quell crime after speaking to the mayor and several prominent business leaders who said they’re working hard to clean up the city. https://apnews.com/article/federal-immigration-enforcement-san-francisco-e6729ae2d696cdc881003efa1966a3d2? Trump ends trade talks with Canada over tariffs ad that Ontario premier now says he’ll phase out WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced he’s ending “all trade negotiations” with Canada because of a television ad sponsored by one of its provinces that used the words of former President Ronald Reagan to criticize U.S. tariffs — prompting the province’s leader to later pull the ad. https://apnews.com/article/trump-canada-trade-tariffs-a0cfd202ef6f22052827b784be708fd6? US is sending an aircraft carrier to Latin America in major escalation of military firepower WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military is sending an aircraft carrier to the waters off South America, the Pentagon announced Friday, in the latest escalation of military firepower in a region where the Trump administration has unleashed more rapid strikes in recent days against boats it accuses of carrying drugs. https://apnews.com/article/trump-cartels-hegseth-drugs-boat-strikes-6c3316b2852723e26c39dc701bba9d52? Trump ends trade talks with Canada over tariffs ad that Ontario premier now says he’ll phase out WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced he’s ending “all trade negotiations” with Canada because of a television ad sponsored by one of its provinces that used the words of former President Ronald Reagan to criticize U.S. tariffs — prompting the province’s leader to later pull the ad. https://apnews.com/article/trump-canada-trade-tariffs-a0cfd202ef6f22052827b784be708fd6? 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 October 26, 2025 Author Members Posted October 26, 2025 No One Is Blinking (Anna Moneymaker / Getty) View in browser Gather round and let me tell you a fantastical tale of the past, when government shutdowns were highly unusual. They didn’t even occur until the 1980s, and none lasted for more than three days until 1995. We’re now in the sixth shutdown since the start of the Clinton administration. Today is the 23rd day since the government ran out of funding, still short of the 35-day record set during the first Trump presidency, and although there are sporadic signs of movement in Washington, this shutdown looks like it could go on for a very long time. A closed government seems to suit Donald Trump just fine, and he shows no concern for whether Congress authorizes him to do what he wants. The Republicans who control Congress take their cues from him, and Democrats see little incentive to reopen the government, which they argue would legitimize the president’s actions. Typically, this is where I’d deploy a journalistic cliché and call it a “gridlock,” but that implies that anyone is really trying to get free of it. Past shutdowns have been dominant news stories, but this one feels secondary at best. It is nowhere on the front page of The New York Times today, appears in a single sentence on page 1 of The Wall Street Journal, and is addressed tangentially in a story about Obamacare on A1 of The Washington Post. As the former Democratic-messaging maven Dan Pfeiffer notes, this trend mirrors reader interest more broadly. One reason is the glut of other big stories: the tenuous Gaza peace deal, ICE raids in major American cities, “No Kings” marches, extrajudicial attacks on purported drug boats, Trump’s shocking demolition of the White House’s entire East Wing. A second reason is jaundice. At some point, shutdowns start to become routine. But an important third reason is that it feels like the government has largely been functioning—or not functioning—this way for a good chunk of Trump’s second term. Trump has asserted the authority to make war without Congress’s say-so, to impound funds appropriated by Congress, and to move money around as he sees fit. Meanwhile, the frequency of shutdowns has given administrations lots of experience in keeping just enough of the government running that average citizens don’t feel too much discomfort. Trump is selectively determining who feels the damage of the shutdown and who doesn’t, repurposing funds to cover the salaries of troops, FBI agents, immigration agents, and other federal law-enforcement officers. The real pain has so far been felt by government workers, whom the top Trump aide Russell Vought has said he wants to put “in trauma” anyway. In the past, Republicans have shut down the government, and Democrats have been eager to reopen it. The record-setting 2018–19 shutdown pitted Republicans in Congress against the White House and ended once Democrats took control of the House in January 2019. But this time around, the Democratic Party incited the closure. The reasons were much the same as those that led the GOP to block funding in the past: Its base was demanding gestures of resistance. But congressional Democrats have also made the valid point that they don’t trust any deal they might cut with Trump unless it has strong guardrails—especially when he can easily accept a funding agreement that requires 60 Senate votes, then turn around and ask Republicans to rescind funding with a simple majority. Democrats have also rallied around popular health-insurance subsidies that are set to expire, and that Republican leaders are not acting to extend. Democrats have also calculated that Trump and Republicans will take more of the political blowback, which public-opinion polling confirms. Even though Democrats started this, the GOP hasn’t had much luck shifting blame onto them: Trump, usually so eager to trumpet his dealmaking, can’t be bothered to show much interest in ending the shutdown. (During a lunch with Republican senators this week, Trump reportedly barely mentioned the closure.) And when the White House does intervene, it is to claim that major federally funded projects in blue states have been “terminated,” or to post a weird AI video of Vought as the Grim Reaper. Trump’s obvious relish makes it hard for him to pretend that he wants to reopen the government, and it lends credence to Democrats’ talking points. Trump has attempted to get out of this political bind by trying to ensure that heavily Democratic jurisdictions bear the most pain, but as my colleague Annie Lowrey reports today, some of the worst damage of the shutdown is happening in red states. If the Trump administration stopped using workarounds and loopholes to mitigate the shutdown’s effects across the whole country, that would put more pressure on Democrats—but it might also court voter backlash against Trump, or harm the economy in a way that hurts his agenda. The pain to the American economy, to American citizens seeking services, and to federal workers is real—and growing worse by the day—but also diffuse enough that no one in power is willing to blink. The result is a perverse circumstance, different from previous shutdowns, where both parties see political upside in extending the closure. The Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett predicted that a deal might be struck this week, which, given his track record with forecasts, is grounds for deep pessimism. Even the optimistic scenarios would see the shutdown extending until November 1. In the meantime, the country is left with a government that can’t fully staff national parks or Social Security offices but has no problem tearing down public property with impunity. Related: Trump’s partisan redistribution of wealth Trump is trying–and failing—to shield MAGA from the shutdown. 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 October 28, 2025 Author Members Posted October 28, 2025 Trump Gives Bonkers Reason to End Trade Talks With Canada The 79-year-old blasted his neighbors over an advertisement featuring a former president. Donald Trump has ceased all trade negotiations with Canada after a late-night presidential hissy fit over a TV ad. Trump, 79, fired off a Truth Social post on Thursday evening criticizing the ad, which uses a vintage Ronald Reagan anti-tariff speech. “TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A,” Trump wrote. “Based on their egregious behavior,” he added, “ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.” Commissioned by the government of Ontario, the ad uses audio from one of Reagan’s presidential radio addresses from April 1987. It was launched on Newsmax and Bloomberg this week, with other networks, including Fox News, Fox Sports, and NBC, to follow over the next weeks. Trump labeled the ad “fake” and claimed it was intended “to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts.” Trump shared a post from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation who claimed the video “misrepresents” the radio address and that the government of Ontario did not seek permission to use or “edit” the audio. The foundation did not detail how Reagan’s words were misrepresented, but shared the full five-minute original video on YouTube. The group also noted it would review its legal options. Reagan’s original speech discussed a “message of free trade” he had with the Canadian government at the time. The 2025 ad selects one minute of audio from the full five-minute speech. The ad includes Reagan stating, “When someone says, ‘Let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports,’ it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes for a short while it works—but only for a short time.” “High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars,” it continues. “Then the worst happens: Markets shrink and collapse; businesses and industries shut down; and millions of people lose their jobs... America’s jobs and growth are at stake.” Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the $75 million ad spend on Oct. 14, saying, “We’re going to repeat that message to every Republican district there is, right across the entire country.” Ford said the ad was not “nasty” but “very factual” in regards to tariffs. Trump has imposed a 35 percent levy on Canadian imports, with an exemption on goods that fall under the free trade agreement negotiated with Canada and Mexico during his first term. The president has already terminated all trade discussions with Canada this year, also citing “egregious” reasons in a June Truth Social post. At that time, Trump was incensed over Ottawa’s plans to impose a digital services tax on American tech companies. Within two days, Canada had rescinded the tax. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-gives-bonkers-reason-to-end-trade-talks-with-canada/? ps:An absolute clown show!!!!! He has no idea of the kind of person Ronald Reagan was!!!!! Or what a true Republican is!!!!! 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 October 28, 2025 Author Members Posted October 28, 2025 Keystone Kash Has Live TV Meltdown Over Stephen A. Smith Smith warned that the arrests could be the first step in a payback campaign against Trump’s critics in sports. FBI Director Kash Patel lashed out at Stephen A. Smith after the ESPN pundit suggested Donald Trump had extended his retribution campaign into the sports world. The FBI arrested Miami Heat player Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups on separate gambling-related charges Thursday, just hours after the second day of the NBA season. On ESPN’s First Take later that day, Smith argued this was evidence of the president using political retribution in the world of sports. “He’s coming,” warned the veteran broadcaster, who has himself teased a long-shot 2028 presidential run. But Patel, speaking on Thursday’s Ingraham Angle on Fox News, dismissed Smith’s theory as “dumb.” Ingraham brought up Smith’s comments, in which the broadcaster warned that Trump would also set his sights on the WNBA. “By the way, this was so wild—Stephen A. Smith, the sports commentator, suggested that this was revenge from the president for all the left-wing activism of the NBA,” she noted. “Your response to that?” “I’m the FBI director,” Patel responded. “I decide which arrests to conduct and which not to conduct. That may be the single dumbest thing I’ve ever heard out of anyone in modern history, and I live most of my time in Washington, D.C. It’s right up there with Adam Schiff—we arrest people for crimes.” It comes after Smith said the arrests represent a “nugget of evidence” showing the president’s desire to punish sports leagues that defy him. He warned that the WNBA could be on the president’s hit list. “Don’t be surprised if the WNBA is next on his list,” he warned. “Because when you have all of these protests that have been going on out there, and people have been protesting against him... this man is coming.” The WNBA has been one of the most openly anti-Trump professional leagues, with players frequently taking part in Black Lives Matter demonstrations and publicly endorsing Democratic candidates. Smith also brought up the Trump administration threatening ICE raids at the Super Bowl because pop star and noted ICE critic Bad Bunny was selected to headline the halftime show. Trump has used his Truth Social account to fire off about NFL kicking rules and MLB. He called the new rules evidence that the game is becoming “sissy football.” Earlier this year, the MLB ended its permanent ban on the late Pete Rose—which had been one of Trump’s favorite sporting gripes—allowing Rose to be posthumously considered for inclusion in the Hall of Fame. https://www.thedailybeast.com/keystone-kash-patel-of-fbi-lashes-out-at-stephen-a-smith-after-nba-arrests/? 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 October 28, 2025 Author Members Posted October 28, 2025 MTG Runs Back to Donald Trump to Butter Him Up Over $300M Ballroom Greene heaped praise on the president after weeks of lobbing grenades at her fellow Republicans. MAGA loyalist Marjorie Taylor Greene sucked up to President Trump by defending his destruction of the White House in a break from her scathing attacks on fellow Republicans over the Epstein files. Trump’s $300 million ballroom is being funded by private donations from tech giants, defense contractors, conservative megadonors, crypto investors, and media conglomerates, CNN has reported. In a post made to X, Rep. Greene, 50, wrote, “I fully trust and support President Trump’s expertise to build a stunning edition to the White House that every administration going forward will enjoy. And it cost the American people $0!!” Georgia Rep. Greene also linked to the updated White House website that contains a bizarre timeline that highlights controversial events that have taken place on the White House grounds, trying to cast Trump’s East Wing destruction in a better light. Typically a reliable Trump ally, Greene has repeatedly broken ranks in the last few weeks, prompting the president himself to ask senior Republicans what was going on. Last month, MTG repeatedly attempted to pressure the Trump administration to release the Epstein files, going so far as to appear at a press conference with survivors of Epstein’s abuse and try to arrange a meeting between them and Trump. This month, Greene has responded to the ongoing government shutdown by criticizing how her own party is handling the crisis, singling out House Speaker Mike Johnson for failing to address concerns over healthcare affordability and for failing to pass Rep. Thomas Massie’s discharge petition to release the Epstein files. Greene also praised Trump when he commuted George Santos’ 87-month prison sentence. She had previously publicly pleaded with the president to commute his sentence, arguing that his sentencing was an “abusive overreach by the judicial system.” Following Trump’s announcement that he had pardoned Santos, Greene wrote on X, “THANK YOU President Trump for releasing George Santos!! He was unfairly treated and put in solitary confinement, which is torture!!” One Republican strategist has suggested that Greene’s decision to speak out about issues like the Epstein files and healthcare affordability “can be attributed more to a woman scorned than the evolution of human goodness in Marjorie Taylor Greene”. Executive director of conservative anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project, Jeff Timmer, told The Guardian, “They didn’t want her to run; she’s getting a pound of flesh. ‘You wanted to put your thumb on me and thought I’d just play the loyal soldier? Well, I’m going to defy you on some key things like the Epstein files or healthcare and Medicaid.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/mtg-runs-back-to-donald-trump-to-butter-him-up-over-300m-ballroom/? 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 October 28, 2025 Author Members Posted October 28, 2025 Bondi Vows to Investigate Another Trump Nemesis The attorney general had a stern warning for a number of top Democrats on Thursday. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday vowed to investigate a number of Donald Trump’s political enemies, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, for allegedly impeding federal agents. Speaking with Fox News host Jesse Watters, Bondi accused top Democrats of trying to obstruct federal agents carrying out Trump’s immigration enforcement orders. On Jesse Watters Primetime, Bondi responded to a video of former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announcing a nonprofit called the “ICE Accountability Project” to “unmask” ICE officers and document “purported criminal actions of ICE and CBP agents.” The attorney general warned that efforts to track ICE agents could result in legal action. “[Lightfoot] will be getting a letter from us tomorrow to preserve anything she has done as well, to make sure that she’s not violating the law. It appears she is. You cannot disclose the identity of a federal agent—where they live, anything that could harm them,” Bondi said. Bondi then expanded the list of officials she said could face scrutiny: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, and Pelosi. “Pritzker, same ball game. Nancy Pelosi got a letter today from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, so did Brooke Jenkins—that D.A. in San Francisco,” Bondi continued. “We told them: ‘Preserve your emails, preserve everything you have on this topic.’ Because if you are telling people to arrest our ICE officers, our federal agents, you cannot do that. You are impeding an investigation, and we will charge them.” On Oct. 16, Jenkins told Politico Playbook that she “won’t hesitate” to charge federal agents deployed by Trump to the city. Trump has since backed down on plans for deploying federal troops to the region. Pelosi on Wednesday described mass immigration raids expected this week in the San Francisco Bay Area as “an appalling abuse of law enforcement power.” “While the President may enjoy absolute immunity courtesy of his rogue Supreme Court, those who operate under his orders do not,” the former speaker said in a joint statement with California congressman Kevin Mullin. “Our state and local authorities may arrest federal agents if they break California law—and if they are convicted, the President cannot pardon them.” Bondi made clear she was prepared to follow through on her threats against Democratic leaders. “If they think I won’t, they have not met me, because we will charge them if they are violating the law. We will protect our federal agents. They’re out there working nonstop… These people are out there working to keep Californians safe. Yet you’ve got Pelosi out there saying to obstruct their investigation. You can’t do it. And we’re going to investigate her now, as well as that D.A., and Pritzker’s on the list too now,” the attorney general added. Trump federalized National Guard troops in Illinois following weeks of protests in Chicago over raids carried out by ICE agents. Trump has vowed during his presidency to deport “millions” of immigrants in what he claims will be the largest mass deportation in American history. San Francisco had been bracing to become the next Democratic city to feel Trump’s wrath before his administration’s reversal on Thursday. The Daily Beast has contacted the Justice Department and the offices of Pelosi, Pritzker, and Jenkins for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/pam-bondi-vows-to-investigate-another-trump-nemesis-nancy-pelosi/? 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 October 28, 2025 Author Members Posted October 28, 2025 The Price of Mercy View in browser In “Federalist No. 74,” Alexander Hamilton envisioned the presidential pardon as a “benign prerogative,” an act of mercy important enough to supersede all other laws. But clemency hasn’t always been used that way; sometimes, presidents like to get something out of it too (Bill Clinton, for example, was widely criticized for pardoning a fugitive whose ex-wife had donated to the Clinton Presidential Center). During both of his terms, President Donald Trump has marshaled that power for extreme ends, reserving pardons mostly for those in his political orbit, and rewarding loyalty and personal remuneration on an unprecedented scale. This week’s pardon of Changpeng Zhao, perhaps the single richest person in the cryptocurrency industry, marks an escalation of that strategy. In 2023, Zhao pled guilty to violating anti-money-laundering laws during his tenure as CEO of Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world. In a settlement with the Treasury Department, Binance agreed to completely exit the U.S. market. The company was also slapped with a $4.3 billion penalty, and Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison. Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen described Binance’s oversights as “willful failures” that allowed transactions involving cybercriminals, child abusers, and terrorist groups (among them al-Qaeda and the Islamic State) on the platform. Although Zhao has been out of prison for more than a year, he has been restricted from running the company. Zhao’s newfound freedom is likely more than a happy coincidence. Binance reportedly helped create the code behind the stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial, the crypto start-up that counts Trump’s three sons as co-founders. And in May, an Emirati-backed firm invested $2 billion into Binance using that stablecoin—a deal that exponentially increased the coin’s value. Although the White House has described the transaction as “totally unrelated to any government business,” the new relationship between Binance and World Liberty Financial could generate tens of millions of dollars a year for the Trump family and their business partners. Zhao was not shy about his wish for clemency. This year, he embarked on a monthslong effort to lobby the White House for a pardon, working hard to ingratiate himself with Trump’s circle. In February, he hired Teresa Goody Guillén, a lawyer at BakerHostetler, who also represents World Liberty Financial and its CEO, Zach Witkoff. The New York Times reported that BakerHostetler works with a firm owned by the lobbyist Ches McDowell, a hunting buddy of Donald Trump Jr.’s; McDowell also reportedly lobbied for Zhao’s pardon. Cultivating the right friends seems to have paid off, even if the president seemed unable to recall Zhao’s name in a press briefing yesterday. (Trump called him “the crypto person,” and added that he was “recommended by a lot of people.”) Zhao’s path to clemency is yet another instance of Trump reshaping the function of the pardon. Lee Kovarsky, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law, told me that Trump’s recent pardons tend to fall into one of two buckets. The first one encompasses overtures to Trump-affiliated groups, including political factions or particular industries that the president wants to keep happy. Trump’s pardon of Ross Ulbricht, who founded the Silk Road and was serving life in prison for overseeing a criminal enterprise, was the fulfillment of a promise he’d made to the crypto community before his second election. The second bucket, Kovarsky explained, is based on “venality”—the willingness “to pardon people that make large financial donations either to him directly or to aligned entities.” One possible example is Paul Walczak, the convicted tax cheat who was pardoned in April, three weeks after his mother attended a $1 million–per–head Trump fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago. Zhao’s pardon is seemingly both a gesture toward a Trump-inclined industry and a response to the Trumps’ substantial profit from the May deal. Although Zhao’s future involvement with Binance’s business operations is at this point unclear, he has promised to “help make America the Capital of Crypto,” a clear echo of Trump’s own goal. And the president has little reason to slow Binance’s growth through regulation. Already, pundits are suggesting that his administration could unwind the penalties on the company and clear the way for its reentry into the U.S. market. “Trump wants everybody to see what the returns on loyalty are,” Kovarsky said. This year, Trump has already granted clemency to former Representative George Santos (whose convictions include fraud and identity theft) and to the January 6 rioters, some of whom ended up breaking the law again after their release. “He is not the first president to issue clemency for personal reasons, but presidential administrations usually carefully administer commutations and pardons, in part to avoid recidivism,” my colleague David A. Graham noted in April. “The Trump White House, however, has shown little regard for the process.” If history is any indication, Trump will keep using the presidential pardon to serve his own interests. By making clear that clemency has a price, he is charting a possible path to mercy for those who can afford it. Forget benign prerogatives—how about a check instead? Related: The pardon-to-prison pipeline Trump’s pardons are sending a crystal-clear message. 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 October 28, 2025 Author Members Posted October 28, 2025 ? Explained: Trump's unlimited power theory Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch. Photos: Getty Images This is one of the most important articles about the administration in a long while. The N.Y. Times' Charlie Savage — who has written on presidential power, national security and legal policy for 20+ years — explains the thinking behind President Trump's claim that he has wartime power to summarily kill suspected drug smugglers off the coast of South America. Why it matters: "The irreversible gravity of killing, coupled with the lack of a substantive legal justification, is bringing into sharper view a structural weakness of law as a check on the American presidency," Charlie reports. ? "Hack to the system": "The administration has found a two-part hack to the system in which executive branch lawyers are supposed to independently determine the legal boundaries within which policymakers may act," Charlie writes. "The first is that Mr. Trump has told executive branch lawyers that they may not question any legal judgment that he — or Attorney General Pam Bondi, subject to his 'supervision and control' — already decided." Trump declared in a February executive order: "The President and the Attorney General's opinions on questions of law are controlling on all employees in the conduct of their official duties." "The second is that Mr. Trump has been declaring that as president, he has determined that the factual and legal scenarios exist that are necessary for him to exercise various extraordinary powers." Between the lines: "The two tactics combined create a gigantic loophole. Mr. Trump is able to dictate his own factual and legal realities, and executive branch lawyers who want to keep their jobs must treat them as settled. The result is that Mr. Trump can order agencies to take actions to which independent-minded lawyers might have raised legal objections." Context: "Every modern president has occasionally taken some aggressive policy step based on a stretched or disputed legal interpretation," Charlie notes. "But in the past, they and their aides made a point to develop substantive legal theories and to meet public and congressional expectations to explain why they thought their actions were lawful." The bottom line: "By asserting that he can have the military kill people suspected of drug trafficking as if they are enemy soldiers on a battlefield, Mr. Trump is blurring a line between enforcing the law and waging a war." Read the story, "The Peril of a White House That Flaunts Its Indifference to the Law" (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 October 28, 2025 Author Members Posted October 28, 2025 ? Trump's shutdown workarounds Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios The ways President Trump is moving money around to pay certain federal workers during the government shutdown may be illegal, lawyers and former government officials tell Axios. Why it matters: They warn that Trump's moves set a dangerous precedent and eat away at core congressional power. He's eliminated a major pressure point to negotiate an end to the shutdown, Axios' Emily Peck writes. 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 October 28, 2025 Author Members Posted October 28, 2025 Trump threatens Canada with 10% extra import tax for not pulling down anti-tariffs ad sooner ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he plans to hike tariffs on imports of Canadian goods by an extra 10% because of an anti-tariff television ad aired by the province of Ontario. https://apnews.com/article/trump-canada-tariffs-3cbc1cbf9ed53a10b442fd55dae1e0a3? 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 October 28, 2025 Author Members Posted October 28, 2025 ?? China trade tensions cool President Trump landed in Malaysia to kick off a nearly weeklong Asia tour. Representatives of the U.S. and China have been meeting separately to hash out trade ahead of Trump's first second-term meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, scheduled to take place in South Korea on Thursday. ? "President Trump gave me a great deal of negotiating leverage with the threat of the 100% tariffs on November 1. And I believe we've reached a very substantial framework that will avoid that and allow us to discuss many other things with the Chinese." Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told NBC's Kristin Welker in an interview taped early this morning for "Meet the Press." The news will come as a huge relief to financial markets, which feared an escalation of the trade war, and to businesses, which worried about an unimaginable surge in their costs, Axios' Ben Berkowitz reports. ✈️ Trump also said he plans to increase tariffs on Canadian imports because of a television ad sponsored by the Ontario government, which used excerpts from a Ronald Reagan speech to slam tariffs. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post in-flight to Malaysia: "Their Advertisement was to be taken down, IMMEDIATELY, but they let it run last night during the World Series, knowing that it was a FRAUD. Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now." Read on. ? Raids paralyze Coachella Valley Immigration raids in California's Coachella Valley — a key source of the nation's produce — have upended daily life, keeping parents from fields, children from school and multiple families crowded into shared homes. Why it matters: Fear in one of the country's poorest regions spotlights how the Trump administration's immigration crackdown is shaking a vulnerable labor force, mostly undocumented, overwhelming churches and food banks, Axios' Russell Contreras reports. The big picture: The Coachella Valley — a desert area in southern California, 2.5 hours east of LA and home to Palm Springs — supports year-round farming because of its sunny climate, and access to irrigation fed by the Colorado River. The region employs tens of thousands of farmworkers and produces crops during the winter months when other areas can't, helping stabilize the national food supply. Axios interviewed more than a dozen farmworkers, volunteers, advocates and religious leaders in the valley, who said the panic is pushing families to the brink of starvation. They said three-bedroom trailers have become homes to three families, sometimes accommodating as many as 15 people. Read on. 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 October 28, 2025 Author Members Posted October 28, 2025 Shutdowns began as a way to enforce federal law. Now Trump is using it to take more power WASHINGTON (AP) — The government shutdown, already the second-longest in history, with no end in sight, is quickly becoming a way for President Donald Trump to exercise new command over the government. https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-trump-congress-presidential-power-157d0d2d6d00d273dca722232ff252ad? Trump's Asia Trip President Donald Trump landed in Malaysia yesterday for a nearly weeklong Asia trip that will culminate in a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Trump kicked off the week by attending a peace deal signing between Cambodia and Thailand, a deal Cambodia credits Trump with helping to broker. Trump then announced separate trade deals with Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam that will see them purchase dozens of US-made planes (for over $25B) as well as invest in the US agricultural and energy sectors. Malaysia and Thailand also agreed to supply the US with access to critical minerals and rare earth materials. Trump next heads to Japan to meet with the country’s first female prime minister (see previous write-up). He will then attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in South Korea, where he will meet with Xi to discuss a framework trade agreement to avert 100% tariffs set to go into effect Nov. 1. 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 October 29, 2025 Author Members Posted October 29, 2025 Trump Finally Comes Clean on His Naked Lust for a Third Term The president boasted that his poll numbers are so good he’d have a great chance in 2028 despite the law. President Donald Trump has not only refused to rule out running for the presidency again in 2028 but is now actively bragging about just how well he’d do. “I would love to do it,” the MAGA leader told reporters Monday aboard Air Force One, en route to Japan. “I have my best numbers ever.” “Am I not ruling it out? You’ll have to tell me,” he went on. “All I can tell you is that we have a great, a great group of people, which they don’t.”The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is fairly unambiguous on the matter. “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,” it reads, which would clearly apply to Trump given his current and previous tenure at the Oval Office. Reporters aboard AF1 on a diplomatic tour of Asia were quick to bring the president up on this particular issue of American jurisprudence, ABC News reports, asking Trump if he’d be willing to fight the matter out in the courts. “I haven’t really thought about it,” he responded. “We have some very good people, as you know, but I’ve had, I have the best poll numbers I’ve ever had.” Latest polls put the MAGA president’s overall ratings hovering at a miserly 45 percent approval. That’s well below his all-time high of 49 percent at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, though it is significantly above the 34 percent he pulled in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, which he was later impeached for allegedly instigating. Trump might claim not to have given a lot of thought to what would be his fourth run at the White House, having failed, despite his debunked claims of election rigging, to secure the nation’s highest office in 2020. But his allies have. Only last week, his former chief adviser, convicted fraudster Steve Bannon, said there was “a plan” in place to sidestep the 22nd Amendment. “Trump is going to be president in ‘28, and people ought to just get accommodated with that,” he told The Economist. “At the appropriate time, we’ll lay out what the plan is,” he went on, offering few details beyond his assertion that the MAGA president is an “instrument of divine will.” Bannon’s not alone. Among other GOP figures to have backed a prospective third MAGA presidency is Florida State Representative Randy Fine, who’s urged Congress to consider outright repealing the relevant statutes barring anyone from being elected president more than twice. Tennessee congressman Andy Ogles has gone even further, introducing a proposal for a constitutional amendment that would explicitly permit Trump—and only Trump—to run again. Bannon’s comments about Trump’s leadership being divinely ordained would also appear to be of a tenor with the president’s own view of his public service. After surviving not one but two attempts on his life during last year’s campaign, he’s declared in Truth Social posts he is “on a mission from God & nothing can stop what is coming, as well as assuring the nation during his inauguration in January “that my life was saved by God to make America great again.” In his remarks to reporters Monday, Trump made it clear he thought his top colleagues at the White House would potentially stand a solid chance in any prospective bid for the Oval Office in a few years time. “We have great people. I don’t have to get into that, but we have one of them standing right here. We have, JD, obviously the vice president is great. Marco’s great,” he said. But he also made it clear that if he did run again himself, there’s no chance he’d consider playing second fiddle. “Yeah, I’d be allowed to do that,” he said of a prospective vice presidential run. “I guess I think it’s too cute. Yeah, I would rule that out because it’s too cute. I think the people wouldn’t like that. It’s too cute. It’s not—it wouldn’t be right.” The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment on this story. https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-brags-hed-love-to-do-a-third-term-as-president-of-the-united-states/? ps:Of course he does! He knows what will happen after his term is up!! 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 October 29, 2025 Author Members Posted October 29, 2025 MTG’s Constituents Pick Sides in Her Break-Up With Trump Marjorie Taylor Greene finds support as she ruffles feathers in the White House. Firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s constituents are taking her side in her split with President Donald Trump. Voters in solidly red North Georgia tell Bloomberg they are grateful that MAGA hardliner Greene has called out the president—even if it has made her a pariah in the eyes of the White House. Doug Bowling, the owner of a deli in downtown Rome, where Greene lives, told the site that Trump’s inability to bring down costs—a result partly stemming from his tariff crusade—is hurting his business. “We’re making no money,” he told Bloomberg, adding that his labor costs are soaring and “will never come down.” Greene, 51, has pushed her party to focus on the economy and make it work for everyday Americans, not just “crypto donors.” Her pleas come as Trump, 79, has torn down the East Wing of the White House to build a massive ballroom to host swanky dinners, even as the government remains shut down. “I love her because she’s a voice for the people,” said Elizabeth Fielden, a Republican from tiny Ringgold, Georgia, in an interview with Bloomberg. Greene has criticized her Senate colleagues for not using a “nuclear” method to end the shutdown and reopen the government. Republican lawmakers and Trump have instead opted to play the blame game with Democrats while over a million federal workers go without pay, some resorting to gig jobs like Uber to cover their bills. Greene has also broken with Trump on combating rising healthcare costs. Bowling said he hopes Congress listens to Greene and extends Affordable Care Act tax credits, as he is concerned about what will happen to his business if rates rise by 80 to 200 percent, as projected. Bloomberg reports that 74,000 people in Greene’s district receive tax credits to help lower their monthly premium payments. The Trump administration has modified the method for calculating tax credits, meaning enrollees will be required to contribute a larger percentage of their income towards a standard ACA plan in 2026. Greene has said she is “absolutuely disgusted” with the planned price hike. Dan Morgan, a Republican lawyer in Greene’s district, said, “She can admit when she’s wrong and she can change a position upon thought.” It was in March that Greene wore a red MAGA cap that read “TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING” to the president’s address to Congress. A year prior, at former President Joe Biden’s final State of the Union address, she wore a signed “Make America Great Again” hat and political buttons. Biden laughed at her when he saw the extravagant get-up. Now, Greene has gone rogue. “I’m carving my own lane,” she posted to X this month. “I’m absolutely disgusted that health insurance premiums will DOUBLE if the tax credits expire this year.” She continued, “Not a single Republican in leadership talked to us about this or has given us a plan to help Americans deal with their health insurance premiums DOUBLING.” Greene’s office did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast. Taking a hardline position against rising healthcare costs—and on declassifying the so-called Epstein Files—may not be popular at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but Bloomberg reports Greene’s growing independence from Trump is welcomed in Georgia. Kasey Carpenter, a Republican state representative who lives in Greene’s district, noted that their shared constituents are feeling it in their pocketbooks. “There’s some real cracks in the economy,” he told Bloomberg. “The ‘haves’ are fine, but the ‘have nots’ are not. The tariffs are really affecting more lower-class folks. For the upper class, it’s just a rounding issue.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/rep-marjorie-taylor-greenes-constituents-pick-sides-in-her-break-up-with-trump/? 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 October 29, 2025 Author Members Posted October 29, 2025 Trump Is Back Sucking Up to Elon Musk Despite Ballroom Snub In a positive sign for Republicans ahead of next year’s midterms, the president revealed he is back in touch with Musk. Elon Musk is back in Donald Trump’s good graces despite the world’s richest man so far snubbing his $300 million White House ballroom project. In a sign that their bromance could end up being reignited ahead of next year’s crucial midterm elections, the president revealed on Monday that he’s been in touch with Musk, and has spoken “on and off” to the Tesla chief since they sat together at conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s memorial last month. The revelation comes despite the tech titan being a notable omission on the list of billionaire donors to Trump’s controversial ballroom construction, whose financial backers include Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Palantir. “Look, he’s a nice guy, and he’s a very capable guy. I’ve always liked him,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “He had a bad spell—he had a bad moment. It was a stupid moment in his life, I’m sure he’d tell you that, but I like Elon and I suspect I’ll always like him.” The “bad moment” Trump noted was a reference to the pair’s spectacular falling out in June, when the former DOGE chief, who had been brought in to cut government waste, branded the so-called “big, beautiful bill” as a “disgusting abomination” that would blow out the national debt even further. Musk then went nuclear by declaring that Trump was in the Epstein Files and later calling for the president to be impeached and replaced by Vice President JD Vance. “This is so outrageous. It has crossed the line,” Trump ally Steve Bannon said in response to the attacks at the time. “He’s crossed the Rubicon and there’s no going back.” Now, it seems there may be a path for Musk to get back into the fold after all. This will likely give some Republicans a sigh of relief ahead of next year’s midterms, given Musk’s money and the megaphone he has on his social media platform X, can make or break political campaigns. At the height of his epic break-up with the president, the Tesla boss threatened to set up his own third party. However, he has said little about this since, and last month, in a significant breakthrough, sat briefly with Trump during Kirk’s memorial in Arizona after the conservative activist was assassinated. “I’m so glad Charlie brought these two patriots back together,” conservative influencer Nick Sortor wrote on X with a clip of Trump’s latest comments. Whether Musk ends up supporting GOP candidates or Trump’s controversial ballroom project is another question. As the East Wing was demolished last week to make way for the $300 million ballroom, the president revealed that he had already raised about $350 million to fund it through private donors and his own money. Other donors include cryptocurrency kings Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss; Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and his family; and Republican megadonor Miriam Adelson and her family foundation and US Defense contractor Lockheed Martin. But the donations have sparked concerns about ethics violations and the risk of “pay for play”—money paid to secure influence within the administration. “There is a reason that we have Congress fund things, and you do not have private companies coming in to this extent and paying for whatever vanity project a president wants,” Minnesota Democrat Senator Amy Klobuchar told MSNBC. “In this case, he has literally taken a wrecking ball to our democracy, and then, of course, engage in what many of us are concerned about here, which is pay for play.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-makes-peace-with-elon-musk-despite-ballroom-snub/? ps:Right!! Like they really ever broke up!! Just a little show for all to see!!! 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 October 29, 2025 Author Members Posted October 29, 2025 Pence’s Shocking Notes on Trump Jan. 6 Phone Call Revealed A new book has detailed Donald Trump’s purportedly brazen attempt to shame his vice president into overturning the 2020 election results. Donald Trump warned Mike Pence that he’d be remembered as a “wimp” after the then-vice president refused to block Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, according to a new book. Pence’s previously unseen notes from Jan. 6, 2021, have been published in Retribution, a new book by ABC News’ Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl. Just before Trump took the stage at the infamous “Save America” rally that preceded the Capitol attack, he reportedly made one last call to pressure Pence into overturning his loss to Biden. But Pence informed Trump that he would let the election results be certified. “You’ll go down as a wimp,” Trump told Pence in response, according to handwritten notes about the call on the morning of Jan. 6. “If you do that, I made a big mistake five years ago.” The president is also said to have told his vice president, “You listen to the wrong people,” according to Retribution. In Pence’s notes, a rough sketch of an angry emoji reportedly appears beside the comment. “You’re not protecting our country, you’re supposed to support + defend our country,” Trump apparently said to Pence, according to the notes. Pence reportedly replied, “I said we both [took] an oath to support + defend the Constitution. It doesn’t take courage to break the law. It takes courage to uphold the law.” The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House and a contact for Pence for comment. Special Counsel Jack Smith planned to use the notes—written in Pence’s day planner—as evidence to support the allegation that Trump knowingly deceived his supporters to try to reverse his defeat in the election. But Smith’s case was dismissed after Trump won the 2024 presidential race and the materials remained unreleased. Witnesses previously testified to the House Jan. 6 committee that the conversation between Trump and Pence quickly turned tense, with Trump’s former assistant, Nicholas Luna, appearing to corroborate Pence’s account. “I remember hearing the word ‘wimp,’” Luna said in a taped deposition. “Either he called him a wimp, I don’t remember if he said, ‘You are a wimp, you’ll be a wimp.’ Wimp is the word I remember.” Roughly an hour after making his call to Pence, Trump urged his supporters at the Ellipse to march toward the Capitol, where certification was set to take place. Trump, 79, still refuses to acknowledge his defeat in the 2020 election and he has launched a retribution campaign against those involved in the investigation into Jan. 6. On Friday, he called on Smith, former Attorney General Merrick Garland, and “other crooked lowlifes from the failed Biden Administration” to be prosecuted, declaring, “They cheated and rigged the 2020 Presidential Election.” There are growing fears over the 2028 election and transfer of power as Trump has frequently alluded to the possibility of a third term despite the 22nd Amendment limiting presidents to a maximum of two. Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon said Thursday that “there’s a plan” to help Trump secure a third term, saying, “Trump is gonna be president ’28 so people just ought to get accommodated with that.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/mike-pences-shocking-notes-on-donald-trump-jan-6-phone-call-revealed/? 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 October 29, 2025 Author Members Posted October 29, 2025 Republicans grapple with voter frustration over rising health care premiums Notices of rising health insurance premiums are landing in voters’ mailboxes and sending some to town halls to vent their frustration. Republicans have offered few answers, saying they won’t negotiate until Democrats end the government shutdown. The moment revives a familiar dynamic in a Republican Party that is united in opposing the Affordable Care Act but still without a clear plan to replace it. Read more. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump wants to cancel more funding during the shutdown. Courts have hampered his earlier efforts Private donors gave more than $125M to keep foreign aid programs going after US cuts Indiana Gov. Mike Braun calls a special session to redraw the state’s congressional boundaries 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 October 29, 2025 Author Members Posted October 29, 2025 Pickup diplomacy The Ford F-150 has been America's bestselling vehicle for decades — and may also be the key to a trade deal with Japan. Japan's new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, plans to buy a fleet of F-150s as a gesture to Trump during trade talks. The vehicles are 100% assembled in the U.S. — in Michigan and Missouri. "They're great trucks," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Tokyo. "She has good taste. That's a hot truck." 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 October 29, 2025 Author Members Posted October 29, 2025 Soldiers of Fortune (Scott Olson / Getty) View in browser President Donald Trump dropped the news casually at the very end of a White House roundtable this past Thursday. “A friend of mine”—he said the man preferred not to use his name—“he called us the other day, and he said, I’d like to contribute any shortfall you have because of the Democrat shutdown,” Trump said. The money would go to pay the armed forces while the government is closed. “Today, he sent us a check for $130 million.” I am running out of words for astonishing, but I hope Americans are not running out of astonishment. This announcement is troubling in many ways, including the idea of a private individual funding the U.S. military—much less doing so anonymously. If allowed to stand, it will be the latest step on the road toward Congress’s irrelevance and the elevation of a near-monarchical presidency, whose holder can be swayed by influence and bribery but can’t be meaningfully checked by public oversight. By the weekend, The New York Times had reported on the donor’s identity: Timothy Mellon, a reclusive heir to a huge fortune. He’s given millions to support Trump’s campaigns, as well as to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and his Children’s Health Defense. Mellon’s cousin Richard Mellon Scaife poured millions into seeking dirt on President Bill Clinton in the 1990s. Timothy’s grandfather, Andrew W. Mellon, was a businessman who became Treasury secretary during the administrations of Presidents Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover—accruing such power that a joke went that three presidents served under him. Even without knowing that context, you don’t need a political-science degree to understand why having wealthy individuals cutting secret checks to the president to pay the military is a bad idea. First, it makes the administration dependent on a wealthy person to function—which hands that person influence over the president. Second, despite the fact that Trump acts as though, and seems to believe that, the armed forces (along with the White House and the rest of the federal government) belong to and answer to him personally, they do not. Funding the military via a private donor not accountable to Congress, voters, or anyone (especially if they are unnamed) raises the specter that the military might really become beholden to the president. If Americans aren’t paying the armed forces, then why should the armed forces answer to or protect them? And what’s to stop their might from being trained on the people? In this case, the donation won’t really fund much. CNN notes that $130 million “is unlikely to make any meaningful impact toward covering salaries of the roughly 1.3 million active duty military troops, netting out to about $100 per service member.” But the price tag could be enough to influence Trump, who has openly solicited and received sums of money that look a great deal like bribes. That’s one reason a law exists preventing this kind of thing. The Antideficiency Act, a long-standing statute, “prohibits federal agencies from obligating or expending federal funds in advance or in excess of an appropriation, and from accepting voluntary services.” I am not a lawyer, but that seems to pretty clearly describe the gift that Trump announced. The Pentagon confirmed the donation, saying it was permissible under the department’s “general gift acceptance authority,” and the White House has not provided further details. Assessing how much that matters is difficult when the purportedly textualist Supreme Court majority has been so willing to discard both plain meaning and reams of precedent. The Antideficiency Act isn’t just designed to prevent corruption—it’s designed to avoid giving excessive power to the executive branch. The act was created to prevent the president from grabbing the constitutional spending power from Congress, for example by overspending through “coercive deficiency”: intentionally running out the budget at some agencies. Shutdowns have become more common in recent years, but they have also become somewhat fake. Most shutdowns are only partial: So-called essential workers (a subjective determination) are required to keep working on the promise of back pay later, but administrations of both parties have also become adept at juggling money around to keep certain popular services going. That’s why Republicans had the appetite to force a record-length shutdown in 2018–19, and why Democrats were willing to start this one, which might break that record. When the executive branch can start messing around with the money in the way Trump is, it has started to control the purse. The results are bound to be aimed at punishing political opponents and rewarding allies, and the people with the least political influence are the ones most likely to get shafted. In this case, Trump is looking for ways to keep the military funded via public donations, but the administration is also conspicuously announcing that it won’t use emergency funds to pay for food stamps starting on November 1, as it had previously planned to do. That’s a way to try to force Democrats into compromise, but it comes on the backs of the poor. Ignoring the Antideficiency Act is of a piece with the Trump administration’s systematic effort—led by Russ Vought, the head of the Office of Management and Budget and the architect of Project 2025—to take power away from Congress. Vought has endorsed impoundment, in which the White House simply refuses to spend money that legislators appropriated. This is flatly illegal under a 1974 law, as even Vought acknowledges—but he believes that the law is unconstitutional and hopes to get the Supreme Court to overturn it. Trump also avoided notifying the public or seeking funding from Congress before razing the White House’s East Wing last week, and he has collected corporate funds for the enormous ballroom he wants to build on the site. The administration is also trying to overturn a 90-year-old Supreme Court precedent that insulates many regulatory agencies from presidential interference. The best way to restrain the president—not just this one, but any future president of any party—from unchecked power is for Congress to actually assert the powers that it has. Republicans show no interest in corralling Trump, as he well knows. “I’m the speaker and the president,” he has joked recently, according to The New York Times. Democrats have little control in Congress, but they hoped a shutdown would place attention on Trump’s power grabs and perhaps lead to limits on them. As coverage of the Mellon donation and outrage over the East Wing demolition show, Trump’s actions are getting attention—but at the moment, he seems only encouraged to go further. Related: The civil-military crisis is here. What won’t Congress let Trump get away with? 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 October 29, 2025 Author Members Posted October 29, 2025 The power to do almost anything Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios President Trump is asserting the right to unilaterally use the military wherever, whenever and be the sole judge and jury of his own actions, Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen write in a "Behind the Curtain" column. Why it matters: Of all the unprecedented actions, these might carry the most sweeping consequences — not just now, but for future presidents. The new precedent is being set in real time: The only real limit on Trump appears to be Trump himself. Neither the conservative Supreme Court nor the GOP-led Congress has shown much interest in limiting this executive. This dynamic frees Trump to use federal troops in U.S. cities over the objection of a state's governor, or kill people overseas without war authorization or scrutiny, or prosecute his critics in U.S. courts, or seize congressional powers over tariffs and spending. It's important to reckon with the logic behind this, which will ultimately be validated or invalidated by the Supreme Court. Future presidents will be able to claim the same power Trump does. Eye on what matters most: Under this theory, there's little to stop or slow ever-expanding presidential power. This pushes power away from ordinary voters, through their congressional representatives, and into the hands of one person. This theory of virtually unlimited presidential power isn't new. But it's never been stretched this far, this fast. ? Behind the scenes: Some Trump appointees want more federal control of locally administered elections. Axios' Marc Caputo recently asked a senior administration official if there'd been any discussion in the White House about seizing voting machines, sending troops to polling stations, or trying to take over state election systems. "Absolutely not," the official replied. "But there are people around here who would probably like that." There's basically a three-step process now established for presidents to do as they please: Unilaterally declare an emergency. Trump does this a lot, most notably by arguing that fentanyl trafficking is a clear and present national emergency worthy of using the military to kill people without war authorization in the Caribbean. The power to kill, without meaningful oversight or explanation, is about as absolute as you can get. He has also usurped congressional power to levy tariffs. Trump is hardly the first president to stretch the bounds of emergency authority: President George W. Bush's administration relied on post-9/11 powers to wiretap Americans without a warrant. President Obama invoked 9/11-era powers to set new precedents for drone strikes. President Biden tried to rely on emergency powers to forgive student debt, but the Supreme Court stopped him. Claim full power to determine the legality of their own actions. This is a new and dramatic twist. Trump says this often, though he insists he would comply with any court rulings challenging his power. So far, he has. But Trump doesn't hide his belief in limitless power. He has "told executive branch lawyers that they may not question any legal judgment that he — or Attorney General Pam Bondi, subject to his 'supervision and control' — already decided," the N.Y. Times' Charlie Savage reports. Trump declared in an executive order in February: "The President and the Attorney General's opinions on questions of law are controlling on all employees in the conduct of their official duties." Simply put, he alone judges legality. Assert full, unilateral power to unleash the military, overseas and domestically, to enforce his will. Trump is pushing this piece by piece at home, in cities he deems overrun by crime, and abroad in the Caribbean, where the U.S. military has killed dozens of alleged drug smugglers without any proof of imminent threat. Domestically, Trump hasn't taken the step of using troops for law enforcement or direct crowd control. But taken in total, the precedent is clear: The commander-in-chief has sole discretion on what constitutes threats and appropriate military responses, at home and abroad. There are only two big possible brakes: The only way for Congress to truly intervene would be to impeach and remove the president. But the latter requires a supermajority vote — nearly impossible in a 50-50 country. It's a long process and only practical when the opposing party holds large majorities, especially in the Senate, where it takes two-thirds to convict. The Supreme Court, in theory, holds more immediate power: It can rule presidential actions illegal and hope the president abides by the ruling. But the court really has no way to actually force the president to comply because the president alone controls the military — an uncomfortable, if never wholly tested, design quirk of our Constitution. The 6-3 court has signed off on almost all of Trump's most sweeping claims of executive power: The justices have allowed him to fire just about every government worker he has tried to fire, deport people to countries they've never set foot in, and unilaterally slash billions in federal spending. They even ruled that presidents can commit certain crimes without fear of prosecution. The bottom line: Trump, building on 25+ years of ever-expanding presidential power, has set the precedent for once-unthinkable scenarios. This applies not just to him but to all presidents going forward. That's why precedents matter. 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 October 29, 2025 Author Members Posted October 29, 2025 ? Jotting down history: Pence notes revealed Images courtesy of Jonathan Karl ABC News' Jonathan Karl breaks news in the photo section of "Retribution," out today — the latest of his four books on President Trump. Karl reprints the calendar page (above left) where Vice President Mike Pence kept notes from both sides of the heated conversation he had with President Trump on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, hours before the Capitol riot. Trump to Pence: "You'll go down as a wimp ... I made a big mistake 5 years ago." Pence to Trump: "It doesn't take courage to break the law. It takes courage to uphold the law." More on the book. 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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