The Conversation -- May 10, 2025
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: “Justice Sonia Sotomayor, speaking to hundreds of lawyers at an American Bar Association event on Thursday night, urged the legal profession to toughen up. 'If you’re not used to fighting, and losing battles, then don’t become a lawyer,' she said. 'Our job is to stand up for people who can’t do it themselves.... Right now..., we can’t lose the battles we are facing.' Justice Sotomayor spoke in general terms, but her remarks came against the backdrop of immense stress on lawyers and the legal system from the Trump administration.... Justice Sotomayor’s remarks came in a charged setting, at an awards ceremony at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution.... Accepting an award on Thursday [at the same event], Judge [J. Michelle] Childs appeared to address the Trump administration’s attacks on the courts. 'We’re not trying to be activist judges,' she said. 'We’re just trying to uphold the Constitution.'” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ So right away, Stephen Miller goes nuclear, as if to prove Sotomayor right. ~~~
~~~ Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: “Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff who orchestrated President Trump’s crackdown on immigration, said on Friday that the administration was considering suspending immigrants’ right to challenge their detention in court before being deported. 'The Constitution is clear,' he told reporters outside the White House, arguing that the right, known as a writ of habeas corpus, 'could be suspended in time of invasion.... That’s an option we’re actively looking at.... A lot of it depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not.' Such a move would represent a dramatic escalation in the Trump administration’s battles with the courts over his efforts to carry out mass deportations. And it would be yet another sweeping assertion of executive authority, one in tension with a right generally guaranteed in the Constitution.... Article I of the Constitution says writs of habeas corpus are a privilege that 'shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.' That direction 'is almost universally understood to authorize only Congress to suspend habeas corpus,' said Stephen I. Vladeck, a law professor at Georgetown University.” The Guardian's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Here is Stephen Vladeck's analysis of Miller's “remarkably scary" comments. Here's one point Vladeck makes: “Miller gives away the game when he says 'a lot of it depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not.' It’s not just the mafia-esque threat implicit in this statement...; it’s that he’s telling on himself: He’s suggesting that the administration would (unlawfully) suspend habeas corpus if (but apparently only if) it disagrees with how courts rule in these cases. In other words, it’s not the judicial review itself that’s imperiling national security; it’s the possibility that the government might lose. That’s not, and has never been, a viable argument for suspending habeas corpus.”
~~~ Marie: Miller's remarks may be shocking, but they are consistent with current policy. The Trump administration, IMO, already has suspended habeas corpus, even if it didn't spell out the words "suspension of habeas corpus." Habeas corpus requires that a person under arrest be brought before a judge to adjudicate whether the person must be released if the state cannot show that there are lawful grounds for his detention. The Trump administration has detained hundreds of people without allowing them access to a court of law. It sent some to a foreign prison from which it claims it cannot retrieve them. It sent others to U.S. facilities (in the South) to hide the people from their lawyers. It had plans to send others to Libya and was looking for other countries in which to deposit immigrants who would not be given a reasonable (or any) chance to defend themselves against deportation. Trump himself articulated the suspension of habeas corpus when he said, "You can't have a trial for all of these people.... The system wasn't meant -- and we don't think there is anything that says -- Look, we are getting some very bad people, killers, murderers, drug dealers, really bad people, the mentally ill, the mentally insane, they emptied out insane asylums into our country, we're getting them out.... And a judge can't say, 'No, you have to have a trial.'" Miller repeated Trump's remarks yesterday, in regard to the court-ordered release of Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk (see NBC News Boston story, linked below). ~~~
~~~ Stephen's Boss Piles On. Hamed Aleaziz of the New York Times: Donald “Trump ordered the Department of Homeland Security on Friday to increase the deportation force of the United States by 20,000 officers, a move that would lead to an enormous expansion of immigration enforcement if realized. In a provision tucked into a presidential proclamation focused on pushing undocumented immigrants to leave the country voluntarily, Mr. Trump called on the Department of Homeland Security to soon begin 'deputizing and contracting with state and local law enforcement officers, former federal officers, officers and personnel within other federal agencies, and other individuals.' It was unclear how such an effort would be funded, one of several major logistical hurdles to such a large operation. There are now around 6,000 officers focused on deportation efforts at Immigration and Custom Enforcement.... Earlier this week, department officials said they would pay migrants $1,000 and the cost of their travel if they left the country voluntarily and used a government app to do so. In his proclamation Friday, Mr. Trump repeated that call, labeling it 'project homecoming.'” ~~~
~~~ AND whose bright idea was this? ~~~
~~~ Tracey Tully, et al., of the New York Times: “Federal officials arrested the mayor of Newark on Friday while he and three members of Congress were protesting at a new immigration detention facility that is expected to play a central role in ... [Donald] Trump’s mass deportation effort. The mayor, Ras J. Baraka, was taken to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Newark, his aides said. Federal officials described the protest as a 'stunt,' and Alina Habba, a lawyer for Mr. Trump whom he had named as New Jersey’s interim U.S. attorney, announced Mr. Baraka’s arrest in a social media post.” MB: A lawful protest is not a stunt; it is protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution. In addition, the members of Congress were at the facility as part of their Congressional oversight function. (Also linked yesterday.) Politico's story is here. ~~~
~~~ The story has been updated: “Mr. Baraka, a Democrat who is running for governor of New Jersey, was taken to a separate federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Newark and charged with trespassing. He was released roughly five hours later and was greeted by a crowd that had grown throughout the afternoon to more than 200 supporters and included candidates for New York City mayor and prominent labor leaders.... Videos taken by protesters show Mr. Baraka being taken into custody in a public area outside the front entrance gates of the facility.... [Earlier] Mr. Baraka was allowed past the front gate but was not allowed to accompany the members of Congress inside, according to a video taken by Viri Martinez, an immigration activist who witnessed the arrest.... Mr. Baraka, 55, was taken into custody by a team of masked federal agents wearing military fatigues while outside the gates in a driveway swarming with protesters and reporters.” The AP's report is here.
Liz Crampton & Kyle Cheney of Politico: “A federal judge Friday ordered the immediate release of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish Tufts University Ph.D. student whose video-recorded detention by masked federal agents drew national scrutiny amid a crackdown by the Trump administration. U.S. District Judge William Sessions III ruled that Ozturk had been unlawfully detained in March for little more than authoring an op-ed critical of Israel in her school newspaper. '... There is no evidence here … absent consideration of the op-ed,' the Clinton-appointed judge said, describing it as an apparent violation of her free speech rights. He also said Ozturk had made significant claims of due process violations....Sessions said the Trump administration’s targeting of Ozturk could chill the speech of 'millions and millions' of noncitizens.... Sessions’ order, while expressing severe doubts about the constitutionality of Ozturk’s detention and deportation, only applies to her immediate confinement. Efforts by the Trump administration to deport Ozturk will continue in immigration court.” The New York Times report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Oscar Margain & Asher Klein of NBC News Boston: "Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk was released from ICE detention on Friday, offering brief words of thanks to supporters gathered outside the Louisiana facility.... The White House derided the decision. 'Lower level judges should not be dictating the foreign policy of the United States," said press secretary Karoline Leavitt, while top Trump advisor Stephen Miller called the ruling a 'judicial coup by a handful of Marxist judges' and added, 'We cannot individually litigate in court every single visa that we want to revoke.'"
Zach Montague & Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: “A federal judge on Friday called for a two-week pause in the Trump administration’s plans for mass layoffs and program closures, barring two dozen agencies from moving forward with the largest phase of the president’s downsizing efforts, which the judge said was illegal without congressional authorization. Of all the lawsuits challenging [...] Donald Trump’s vision to dramatically scale back the form and function of the federal government, this one is poised to have the broadest effect. Most of the agencies have yet to announce their downsizing plans, but employees across the government have been anxiously waiting for announcements that have been expected for weeks. Ruling just hours after an emergency hearing on Friday, Judge Susan Illston of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California said the government’s effort to lay off workers and shut down offices and programs created an urgent threat to scores of critical services. Congress set up a specific process for the federal government to reorganize itself. The unions and organizations behind the lawsuit have argued that the president does not have the authority to make those decisions without the legislative branch.”
Can He Do That? Maybe Not. Charlie Savage of the New York Times: Donald “Trump’s announcement that he was making the Fox News host Jeanine Pirro the interim U.S. attorney in Washington has raised questions about whether he had legitimate legal authority to do so.... The question is whether presidents are limited to one 120-day window for interim U.S. attorneys, or whether they can continue unilaterally installing such appointees in succession — indefinitely bypassing Senate confirmation as a check on their appointment power. Here is a closer look.... Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said ... [in a statement Friday,] 'Naming yet another interim U.S. attorney for D.C. is an untested and unprecedented use of the interim appointment authority that is contrary to congressional intent, undermines the Senate’s constitutional advice and consent role and could subject the interim appointee’s actions to legal challenge.'”
Can He Do That? Maybe Not. Todd Frankel & Maxine Joselow of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump moved late Thursday to fire the three Democratic commissioners on the five-person Consumer Product Safety Commission, his administration’s latest test of the limits of presidential power over independent agencies. The move comes as the Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on whether Trump has the authority to remove officials without cause at other independent federal agencies, such as the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board. Trump in March also fired two Democratic commissioners at the Federal Trade Commission, Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya, a decision facing a separate legal challenge. On Thursday, Trump also fired the librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, whose 10-year term was set to expire next year. Federal law states that a CPSC commissioner can be removed from the Senate-confirmed position only for neglect of duty or malfeasance. That view appeared to receive support from the Supreme Court in October, when it declined to hear a case arguing that the CPSC enjoyed unconstitutional protection from the president’s control. The Trump administration has repeatedly stated that the president controls executive agencies.... Four U.S. senators — Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), Edward J. Markey (D-Massachusetts) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) — wrote to Trump on Friday urging him to reverse his decision, calling it an 'illegal order.'” Politico's report is here.
Alan Rappeport, et al., of the New York Times: “Top economic officials from the United States and China are poised to meet in Geneva on Saturday for high-stakes negotiations that could determine the fate of a global economy that has been jolted by President Trump’s trade war. The meetings, scheduled to continue on Sunday, will be the first since Mr. Trump ratcheted up tariffs on Chinese imports to 145 percent and China retaliated with its own levies of 125 percent on U.S. goods. The tit-for-tat effectively cut off trade between the world’s largest economies while raising the possibility of a global economic downturn. While the stakes for the meetings are high, expectations for a breakthrough that results in a meaningful reduction in tariffs are low.”
Christian Shepherd, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump’s effective trade embargo on China has not dented exports from the world’s largest manufacturer, which offset plummeting shipments to the United States with a surge in sales to Southeast Asia, boosting Beijing’s defiant stance ahead of talks this weekend. The rise in exports to Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand — all countries identified by analysts as rerouting hubs — shows how China is increasingly shipping products through third countries to keep goods flowing.... The overall value of China’s outbound trade rose 8 percent year-over-year in April, according to China Customs data released Friday, following steady increases in the months since Trump took office.”
Ellie Houghtaling of the New Republic, republished by Yahoo! News: “Manufacturers say Trump has made opening U.S. factories impossible.... Businesses across the country are crunching the numbers and realizing that, despite Donald Trump’s insistence, they can’t balance out his tariff hikes across the supply chain. 'Some manufacturers who had plans to open factories in the country say the new duties are only adding to the significant obstacles they already faced,' Bloomberg reported Friday. That’s because the supply chain to produce those goods in the United States simply isn’t there, requiring companies to import raw materials and factory equipment — which Trump’s tariffs have made unaffordable — from abroad. And Trump’s unpredictable approach to announcing and enacting or even retracting his tariffs has added confusion and significant volatility to the market, making businesses less likely to invest in large, long-term projects such as factory development.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Paul Krugman: “Yesterday 'the president' announced a trade 'deal' with 'Britain.' IN CASE YOU’RE WONDERING, I’M TRYING TO EMULATE TRUMP’S STYLE, WITH RANDOM QUOTATION MARKS AND BLOCK CAPITALS, PLUS EXCLAMATION POINTS AT WEIRD PLACES! Anyway, as I predicted yesterday, it was indeed a 'deal' as opposed to an actual deal. There was very little substantive content. The 10 percent overall tariff on imports from Britain remained, although extra tariffs on British steel and cars were removed. Hey, children only need two dolls and five pencils, but the wealthy need their Rolls Royces, Jaguars and Bentleys. Britain, for its part, made vague promises to increase access for some U.S. agricultural products, and may be buying some Boeing jets. Claims of a major deal were, in short, fake news. This was all about creating the illusion that Trump’s tariffs are accomplishing something.
“Meanwhile, however..., a bill that would have helped expand the use of stablecoins — cryptocurrencies that, unlike Bitcoin and other early entrants, are supposed to have a fixed value in dollars — stalled in the Senate. To advance, the GENIUS Act (gag) needed 60 votes on a procedural measure. With every Democrat and 3 Republicans voting no, it only got 48 votes.... Republicans tried to ram through a bill that literally had no text.... The $Trump and $Melania memecoins have been used for what amounts to brazen bribery. So has USD1, the stablecoin recently introduced by World Liberty Financial, the Trump family crypto firm.... We’re talking billions of dollars in direct payments to the president and his relatives. If we were still a serious country, Trump’s crypto corruption would lead to his immediate impeachment and removal from office.” (Also linked yesterday.)
“DOGE's Zombie Contracts.” David Fahrenthold & Jeremy Singer-Vine of the New York Times: “At least 44 of the government contracts canceled on the orders of Elon Musk’s cost-cutting initiative have been resurrected by federal agencies, wiping out more than $220 million of his group’s purported savings, according to a New York Times analysis of federal spending data. But Mr. Musk’s group continues to list 43 of those contracts as 'terminations' on its website, which it calls the 'Wall of Receipts.' The group even added some of them days or weeks after they had been resurrected. The result was another in a series of data errors on the website that made the group seem more successful in reducing government costs than it had been.... [The cancellation] reversals raise broader questions about how many of the Musk group’s deep but hasty budget cuts will be rolled back over time, eroding its long-term effect on bureaucracy and governing in Washington.”
Book Burnings? Helene Cooper, et al., of the New York Times: “The Pentagon continued its purge of anything related to diversity, equity and inclusion on Friday, ordering all military leaders, commands and academies to review all of the books in their libraries that address racism and sexism. A memo issued Friday appeared to be Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s latest broadside against diversity and equity programs and materials. The memo was signed by Tim Dill, performing the duties of defense under secretary for personnel. The memo said books about diversity were 'promoting divisive concepts and gender ideology' that 'are incompatible with the Department’s core mission.' It requires all department leaders to identify books that fall into that category and remove them from military library shelves by May 21. At that point, the memo says, there will be further instructions on which books will be permanently removed.... In a separate memo Friday, Mr. Hegseth also said that there would be 'no consideration for race, ethnicity or sex' in admissions to U.S. military academies, which, he said, will focus admissions 'exclusively on merit.'”
He Seems Nice. Gabriela Ahgueira & Rebecca Santana of the AP: “The new head of ... [FEMA] warned staff in a meeting Friday not to try to impede upcoming changes, saying that 'I will run right over you' while also suggesting policy changes that would push more responsibilities to the states. David Richardson, a former Marine Corps officer who served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa, was named acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Thursday just after Cameron Hamilton, who’d been leading the agency, also in an acting role, was fired. Richardson ... does not appear to have any experience in managing natural disasters, but in an early morning call with the entire agency staff he said that the agency would stick to its mission and said he’d be the one interpreting any guidance from ... Donald Trump.”
Katherine Long of Politico: “David Steiner, a member of the FedEx board of directors, has been appointed as the next postmaster general and CEO of the United States Postal Service, the letter carrier’s board of governors announced Friday. Steiner is set to replace former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who resigned in March, and current acting Postmaster General Doug Tulino.... Steiner’s appointment has already faced pushback given his ties to FedEx, a leading private competitor of USPS. Union leaders were quick to denounce Steiner, The Washington Post first reported Tuesday, arguing that his appointment further encourages the privatization of postal services.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Josh Funk of the AP: “The air traffic controllers directing planes into the Newark, New Jersey, airport lost their radar Friday morning for the second time in two weeks. The Federal Aviation Administration said the radar at the facility in Philadelphia that directs planes in and out of Newark airport went black for 90 seconds at 3:55 a.m. Friday. That’s similar to what happened on April 28.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Mitch Smith & Catherine OConnor of the New York Times: “Pope Leo XIV has voted fairly regularly in general elections over the last two decades, and has chosen to participate in both Republican and Democratic primary elections over the years, state and local records in Illinois show. The new pontiff, a Chicago native, has voted in at least 10 general elections since 2000, the records show, most recently in November when he cast an absentee ballot in the presidential election. In primary elections in Illinois, voters may choose any party’s ballot at the polls, and Pope Leo has varied in his selection, picking Democratic ballots years ago and Republican ones more recently.”
Ruth Graham & Julie Bosman of the New York Times report on Pope Leo's childhood in Chicago. Article includes some photos of Robert Prevost as a child and young man as well as of his Chicago home & parish.
Richard Fausset & Robert Chiarito of the New York Times (May 8): “Robert Francis Prevost, the Chicago-born cardinal selected on Thursday as the new pope, is descended from Creole people of color from New Orleans. The pope’s maternal grandparents, both of whom are described as Black or mulatto in various historical records, lived in the city’s Seventh Ward, an area that is traditionally Catholic and a melting pot of people with African, Caribbean and European roots. The grandparents, Joseph Martinez and Louise Baquié, eventually moved to Chicago in the early 20th century and had a daughter: Mildred Martinez, the pope’s mother.” ~~~
~~~ John Eligon of the New York Times: “The revelation that Pope Leo is descended from Creole people of color from New Orleans, including some with potential ties to the Caribbean, has excited ... Catholics around the world, particularly those in Africa and other places with deep African ancestry. Several have said they saw him as one of their own — someone they could better relate to and who may champion their causes.”
Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times: “David H. Souter, a New Hampshire Republican who was named to the Supreme Court by President George H.W. Bush and who over 19 years on that bench became a mainstay of the court’s shrinking liberal wing, died on Thursday at his home in New Hampshire. He was 85.” Marie: David Souter was my neighbor, and this is my loss. He was the kindliest person one could hope to know. (Also linked yesterday.)
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India/Pakistan. Salman Masood, et al., of the New York Times: “The fighting between India and Pakistan intensified sharply on Saturday, with both sides targeting air bases and military sites, and each blaming the other for striking first. Pakistan said India had targeted at least three of its air bases with air-to-surface missiles in the early hours of Saturday, including Nur Khan, a key air force installation near the capital, Islamabad. Witnesses in the city of Rawalpindi, where Nur Khan is located, reported hearing at least three loud explosions, with one describing a 'large fireball' visible from miles away. Within hours, Pakistan said it had retaliated using short-range surface-to-surface missiles against several locations in India, including the Udhampur and Pathankot air bases and a missile storage facility. 'An eye for an eye,' the Pakistani military said in a statement.” ~~~
~~~ Imogen Piper, et al., of the Washington Post: “India’s air force appears to have lost at least two fighter jets, including one of its most advanced models, during attacks Wednesday morning on sites in Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir, according to a review of visual evidence by The Washington Post. Islamabad said Wednesday it had downed five Indian warplanes. New Delhi has neither confirmed nor denied the Pakistani claim....”
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Reader Comments (4)
"The migrant shell game
Judges and civil rights attorneys have their hands full trying to keep this administration in line, especially when it comes to its draconian and unconstitutional policies, its flouting or even defiance of court orders, and its documented abuses of migrants.
A clear example is the shell game it has played, using different departments to hide or pass the ball. This administration evaded direct court orders to Homeland Security to stop deporting migrants to El Salvador by handing migrants over to the Defense Department. It then claimed the latter was not bound by earlier orders, and it used that logic to transport migrants from Guantanamo in Cuba to third countries, including El Salvador.
Further, Homeland Security may be operating these flights and deportations without any authority or even knowledge of Trump himself. For example, the president did not appear to know the flight to Libya was even happening. On Wednesday, when he spoke to reporters from the Oval Office, he told reporters that he was unaware of the flights and added, “You’ll have to ask Homeland Security.”
This continues Trump’s strategy of evading direct questions by passing them off to his subordinates."
Birthday Celebration
"Constitution Avenue has been selected as the main route for Trump’s Jun. 14 military parade, so for once “trampling on Constitution” will be more than a metaphor for him."
"Dailey Briefing
"Since President Donald Trump was sworn into office in January, he has sat for just 12 presentations from intelligence officials of the President’s Daily Brief. That’s a significant drop compared with Trump’s first term in office, according to a POLITICO analysis of his public schedule. In much of his first term, Trump met with intel officials twice a week for the briefing, which provides the intelligence community’s summary of the most pressing national security challenges facing the nation.
The low number of briefings this time around is troubling to many in and around the intelligence community, who were already concerned about Trump’s act-first-evaluate-after approach to governing. There is added concern as he is known not to read the accompanying briefing document, referred to as “the book,” that is put together by intelligence analysts in a highly labor-intensive process. This document is delivered in hard copy or on a tablet device to the president and his key advisers five days a week."
More good news brought to us by those Citizens United folks:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/10/us/politics/trump-republicans-money-super-pacs.html
It just keeps on a' coming.