The Conversation -- January 27, 2025

Marie: I have to be away for quite a while this afternoon, so if Trump invades Canada or arrests Barack Obama or whatever, please mention it in the Comments.

Ron Dicker of the Huffington Post: "Kristi Noem kept Vice President JD Vance waiting about 25 minutes to swear her in after she was confirmed for homeland security secretary on Saturday, so he left without doing the honor, Politico reported.... The Associated Press noted the delay previously, reporting that she eventually took the oath from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. 'It was made even more meaningful by being sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas at his home,' Noem wrote on X with a video of the moment. 'Thank you, President Trump for putting your trust in me to help keep America safe.'" And I swear on the lives of my beloved puppies and goats that I will put America first whenever it's convenient. Thanks to RAS for the link.

Will Bunch of the Inquirer: "On the surface, Trump's dictator-on-Day-One orders were a campaign-promise-fulfilling war on 21st-century liberal 'wokeness,' but in reality the MAGA movement was stabbing at the heart of MLK, of LBJ's 'Great Society,' and the progressive victories that have sustained my generation for our lifetimes. In a matter of hours, an American strongman had achieved the long-held dream of the far right, to toss the wave of liberations of the Long Sixties down an Orwellian memory hole.... What we thought was the ever-upward arc of the moral universe turned out to be -- as the great historian Heather Cox Richardson and others have noted -- a pendulum, requiring a constant push against the unholy forces of small-minded reaction." MB: This is a free link, via the Democratic Underground. RAS has a direct link to this column in today's Comments.

Devlin Barrett, et al., of the New York Times: "The frenetic scale and speed of leadership changes that the Trump administration has made at the Justice Department in its first week alone indicate the degree to which it intends to remake not just the political direction of the department, but also the makeup of its senior career ranks. Senior officials handling national security and public corruption at the department have been transferred to areas far outside their expertise, as have high-ranking employees overseeing environmental, antitrust and criminal cases. Top officials overseeing the immigration court system were outright fired. Every new administration replaces the political leadership of federal agencies and, over time, changes some of the senior career officials. But what happened in just a matter of days at the department is much different -- sloughing off decades of apolitical expertise to new assignments widely seen in the building as punishments likely to result in resignations."

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Genevieve Glatsky, et al., of the New York Times: "Under threats from ... [Donald] Trump that included steep tariffs, President Gustavo Petro of Colombia has relented and will allow U.S. military planes to fly deportees into the country, after turning two transports back in response to what he called inhumane treatment. The two leaders had engaged in a war of words on Sunday after Colombia's move to block Mr. Trump's use of military aircraft in deporting thousands of unauthorized immigrants. But on Sunday night, the White House released a statement in which it said that because Mr. Petro had agreed to all of its terms, the tariffs and sanctions Mr. Trump had threatened would be 'held in reserve.' Other penalties, such as visa sanctions, will remain in effect until the first planeload of deportees had arrived in Colombia, the statement said. 'Today's events make clear to the world that America is respected again,' it added." Read on. The AP's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Only a stupid person would confuse "respect" with fear & loathing. Speaking of stupid, yesterday's Comments feature a lively discussion about the, uh, "moral characters" of the TMZ (Trump-Musk-Zuck, et al.) crowd. ~~~

     ~~~ Conor Dougherty of the New York Times: "The possibility of a trade war erupted on Sunday between the United States and Colombia that could make coffee, flowers and raw materials more expensive for Americans, while U.S. corn growers and chemical companies could find billions of dollars in sales at risk.... The United States is Colombia's largest trading partner, but Colombian products make up a relatively minor share of U.S. imports. Some Colombian products are much more exposed than others." ~~~

~~~ Douglas Magno, et al., of the AFP, via Yahoo! News: "Brazil's government expressed outrage on Saturday after dozens of immigrants deported from the United States arrived by plane in handcuffs, calling it a 'flagrant disregard' for their rights. The foreign ministry said it would demand an explanation from Washingto over the 'degrading treatment of passengers on the flight'. The spat comes as Latin America grapples with ... Donald Trump's return to power bringing a hard-line anti-immigration agenda, promising crackdowns on irregular migration and mass deportations. When the plane landed in the northern city of Manaus, Brazilian authorities ordered US officials to 'immediately remove the handcuffs,' the justice ministry said in a statement.... Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician, was on the flight, after seven months in detention in the United States. 'On the plane they didn't give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldn't even let us go to the bathroom,' he told AFP. 'It was very hot, some people fainted." ~~~

~~~ Nick Miroff & Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have been directed by Trump officials to aggressively ramp up the number of people they arrest, from a few hundred per day to at least 1,200 to 1,500, because the president has been disappointed with the results of his mass deportation campaign so far.... The quotas were outlined Saturday in a call with senior ICE officials, who were told that each of the agency's field offices should make 75 arrests per day and managers would be held accountable for missing those targets.... The orders significantly increase the chance that officers will engage in more indiscriminate enforcement tactics or face accusations of civil rights violations as they strain to meet quotas, according to current and former ICE officials....

"ICE officers ... [took] fewer than 400 [people into custody] on Tuesday..., nearly 600 on Friday ... [and] 286 on Saturday, according to ICE. Trump's supporters and others have pointed out that those totals will not yield the 'millions' of deportations the president has promised. Trump made a similar promise during his first term and came up far short, reaching a peak of about 267,000 during the 2019 fiscal year. The Biden administration deported 271,000 in fiscal year 2024, the highest annual total in a decade. Trump has long had little patience for explanations of why his goals are not realistic." A related NBC News story is here.

     ~~~ Marie: If the figures cited (and my math) are correct, the Biden administration deported an average of 742 people per day in 2024; that is, significantly higher than the highest number of those deported in Trump's supposed "shock and awe" week of massive deportations of scary, scary felons. No wonder Grumpy Trumpy is "disappointed."

Ezra Klein of the New York Times argues that "attention, not cash, is the form of power that most interests [Donald Trump].... Attention, not money, is now the fuel of American politics. It seemed clear in 2022 that [Elon] Musk had overpaid when he bought Twitter for $44 billion. And if it's judged as a business transaction, he probably did overpay.... But we did not know then ... how to value the attention he bought. In terms of attention, Musk's purchase of Twitter turned him into the most powerful person in the world, save perhaps Trump. What is that worth?" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Looks to me as if Ezra is just catching up. Trump has craved attention all his life. It seems a bit ridiculous to argue that attention is more important to Trump than is money, when he relentlessly craves both. Those daily fundraising letters & his hundreds of cheesy moneymaking schemes are not merely attention-seeking devices. If there is one ultimate form of power Trump seeks, it is "respect." (See his remarks re: bullying Colombia.) Trump seeks to gain that respect via avenues that will never work on discerning people: money, attention & what one might call "situational dominance." His quest is in vain.

Marie: There has been a good deal of discussion here and elsewhere as to just how retro Trump is. Does he want to take us back to the 1950s when white men ruled without much question? Maybe even the Gilded Age, when there was no income tax at all and the titans of industry did as they pleased? I'm going with pre-Civil War, when the post-Civil War Constitutional Amendments didn't threaten the established order. Adam Liptak of the New York Times asks, "Is Trump's Plan to End Birthright Citizenship "Dred Scott II"?

Michael Phillis & Alexa St. John of the AP: "For four years, the Environmental Protection Agency made environmental justice one of its biggest priorities, working to improve health conditions in heavily-polluted communities often made up largely of Black, Latino and low-income Americans. Now that short-lived era is over.... Donald Trump in his first week eliminated a team of White House advisors whose job it was to ensure the entire federal government helped communities located near heavy industry, ports and roadways. Trump eliminated the 'Justice40' initiative the Biden administraton had created. It required 40% of the benefits from certain environmental programs go to hard-hit communities. When the government reviews new facilities now, experts say officials are likely to ignore how any pollution they create may exacerbate what communities already experience. Trump's actions will likely halt funds from Biden administration's signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, for climate programs and environmental justice. In making the decision this week, Trump eliminated federal policy dating back to the Clinton-era, which had established a government priority of addressing environmental health problems for low-income and minority groups." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is just one of Trump's way of telling minorities that they are nothing to him. It is retribution of a sort, a power-play against human decency. "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?" "I have none, and I'm proud of it."

Ruth Graham & Elizabeth Dias of the New York Times: "Speaking at a prayer service at the National Cathedral in Washington the day after ... [Donald] Trump's inauguration, [Episcopalian Bishop Mariann E. Budde] faced the president and made a direct plea: 'Have mercy.' After the service, Mr. Trump called Bishop Budde a 'Radical Left hard line Trump hater' in a social media post. His foes immediately hailed her as an icon of the resistance. But for many progressive Christians and their leaders, the confrontation was ... an eloquent expression of basic Christian theology, expressed in an extraordinarily public forum.... Bishop Budde's sermon delivered a jolt of energy in many mainline Protestant churches, whose numbers and influence have declined steeply from a high point in the middle of the last century."

Devlin Barrett of the New York Times: "The Justice Department announced Sunday it had begun a multiagency immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, as the Trump administration sought to show it is quickly fulfilling a campaign promise to ramp up arrests and deportations. Officials said a host of law enforcement agencies would conduct such operations in the coming days. The Justice Department announced that its acting deputy attorney general, Emil Bove, had traveled to Chicago to oversee the effort to address what he called a 'national emergency.'"

Zach Montague of the New York Times: "In a wide-ranging interview ... on CBS's 'Face the Nation' ... on Sunday, Vice President JD Vance defended a variety of plans set in motion by ... [Donald] Trump during the first week of his term, including the beginnings of a promised crackdown on migrants living in the United States and an effort to supercharge oil and gas production.... But even as he offered an endorsement of the Trump administration's first week, Mr. Vance grew defensive when asked to speak about previous statements that conflicted with his current ones. After saying earlier this month that anyone who engaged in violence on Jan. 6 'obviously' should not receive a pardon, Mr. Vance backtracked on Sunday, saying that Mr. Trump's decision to issue blanket pardons, even for people convicted of assaulting police officers and seditious conspiracy in connection with the riot, was 'the right decision.'"

Naomi Nix & Elizabeth Dwoskin of the Washington Post: "With Trump back in the Oval Office, [Mark] Zuckerberg is rebranding the company to go all-in on a MAGA-dominated Washington, shelving Meta's once-lauded fact-checking program, eliminating DEI initiatives and installing [Meta's top Republican lobbyist, Joel] Kaplan as the face of the company's policy division to replace the liberal-leaning former British politician Nick Clegg." MB: See my comments below on Ronald Lauder. They certainly apply to Zuck & Kaplan. And to anyone who considers himself a decent person. How's about you, JayDee? (According to the Zach Montague's NYT article linked above, JayDee said, 'I think the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has, frankly, not been a good partner in common sense immigration enforcement that the American people voted for. And I hope, again, as a devout Catholic, that they'll do better.") What happened to Christian mercy, you hypocritical punk?

I would encourage the president to revisit the decision for those people who are being targeted by Iran. -- Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) ~~~

~~~ Oh! The Meek Can Speak. Meekly. Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Two Republican Senate allies of President Trump urged him on Sunday to rethink his decision to strip security details from former advisers who have been targeted by Iran, saying the move could chill his current aides from doing their jobs effectively. Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas and the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, spoke after Mr. Trump abruptly halted government security protection for three officials from his first time who were involved in his Iran policy and have remained under threat. One of them, John R. Bolton, Mr. Trump's third national security adviser, has been a vocal critic of Mr. Trump since departing the administration in 2019. The other two, his former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and another former top State Department official, Brian Hook, have been supportive of Mr. Trump. His decision to pull their details surprised and alarmed some of the president's allies." ~~~

~~~ Maya Miller of the New York Times: "Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a key Trump ally, spoke out Sunday against ... [Donald] Trump's pardoning of violent rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, several of whom were convicted of assaulting law enforcement officers. 'I've always said that when you pardon people who attack police officers, you're sending the wrong signal to the public at large,' Mr. Graham told CNN's Dana Bash. 'And that's not what you want to do to protect cops.' 'But he has that power,' he added. Mr. Graham also criticized former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s use of pardons for his family members and a last-minute commutation for Leonard Peltier, an Indigenous-rights activist who spent nearly 50 years in prison in connection with a shootout that killed two F.B.I. agents." The AP report is here.

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Andrew Higgins of the New York Times: "More than 50 world leaders, including King Charles III, will join a dwindling group of Nazi death camp survivors on Monday in southern Poland to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Red Army's liberation of Auschwitz, where more than 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were murdered. A day of solemn ceremony, shadowed by a resurgence of nationalism in Germany and several other European countries, will take place near a former gas chamber and crematory in the Polish town of Oswiecim, whose name was Germanized to Auschwitz during Hitler's 1939-1945 occupation of Poland....

At an election rally on Saturday in eastern Germany, AfD politicians and Elon Musk, a top adviser to ... [Donald] Trump,

Marie: The article cites remarks by billionaire Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress and chairman of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Foundation: "We thought the virus of anti-Semitism was dead, but it was just in hiding." Lauder supports Donald Trump & attended his inauguration. I have news for Lauder and every single Jewish person who think that's okay: whatever tax breaks or other advantages you may get out of Trump, they cannot possibly be worth the price of the rabid anti-Semitism that is the cost of doing business with Trump and his fascist friends. Anti-Semitism is not in hiding, Mr. Lauder; you were looking at the broad backside of it at the inauguration. Shame on you. You have betrayed the memories of the innocent victims of the Holocaust. You have betrayed the positions of trust you hold.

Belarus. Such a Popular Fellow. Andrew Higgins of the New York Times: "Europe's longest-serving leader, President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus, cruised to his seventh election victory in a row on Sunday in a contest that his exiled opponents dismissed as a sham whose only purpose was to cement his autocratic grip on the former Soviet republic, Russia's closest ally. 'Don't use the word election to describe this farce,' said Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, an opposition leader who fled Belarus after the country's previous presidential vote in 2020 and a brutal crackdown on nationwide protests over election fraud. 'It is a staged performance by Lukashenko to cling to power at any cost.'"

Israel's Wars, etc. The New York Times' live updates of developments Monday in Israel's wars are here: "Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians were walking toward their homes in northern Gaza on Monday, nearly 16 months after they were forced to flee at the start of Israel's military offensive. A column of people that stretched for miles marched north along Gaza's coastal road, many carrying their few possessions on their heads, on makeshift carts and in plastic bags slung over their backs. The cease-fire between Israel and Hamas remained in place after it appeared to falter over the weekend.... As [the Palestinians] began arriving in Gaza City, in the north of the territory, they confronted a wasteland of rubble after the Israeli military destroyed whole neighborhoods and Hamas booby-trapped many buildings." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here. ~~~

     ~~~ ⭐Judd Legum of Popular Information: Donald "Trump's Middle East policy took a dark turn on Saturday when he announced on Air Force One that he favored the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza. 'You're talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing,' Trump said.... His administration is already taking steps to try to remove more Palestinians from the area. Trump said he spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan, a country that has already taken in nearly 2.4 million Palestinian refugees, "to take on more." He indicated he would press Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to take in Palestinians currently living in Gaza in a call on Sunday.... Trump discussed his vision for Gaza on January 20, his first day in the office, suggesting Gaza could be an ideal site for real estate development.... Trump's policy of relocating Gazans and redeveloping the country closely matches a vision floated by his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, last year.... If Palestinians are removed from Gaza and the land is absorbed by Israel, both Kushner and Trump could benefit financially from its redevelopment."

     ~~~ ⭐Peter Beinart of the New York Times: "If America's leaders prioritized the lives of all those who live between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, it would become clear that asking if Israel has a right to exist is the wrong question. The better question is: Does Israel, as a Jewish state, adequately protect the rights of all the individuals under its dominion? The answer is no.... Roughly half the people under Israeli control are Palestinian. Most of those -- the residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip -- cannot become citizens of the state that wields life-or-death power over them.... Even the minority of Palestinians under Israeli control who hold Israeli citizenship -- sometimes called 'Israeli Arabs' -- lack legal equality....

American Jewish leaders don't just insist on Israel's right to exist. They insist on its right to exist as a Jewish state.... They are effectively saying there is nothing Israel can do -- no amount of harm it can inflict upon the people within its domain -- that would require rethinking the character of the state. They have done so even as Israel's human-rights abuses have grown ever more blatant.... When you deny people basic rights, you subject them to tremendous violence. And, sooner or later, that violence endangers everyone.... What Jewish leaders and American politicians can't countenance is equality between Palestinians and Jews -- because that would violate Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state."

The Conversation -- January 26, 2025

Jonathan Freedland of the Guardian: "The bombardment of executive orders, decisions and declarations has been unrelenting, a shock-and-awe display of presidential action that has left its targets reeling.... [The orders] have come in a blizzard and the media, both conventional and social, cannot keep up. It simply doesn't have the bandwidth. It means voters can barely absorb, let alone scrutinise, what's being done.... What we are witnessing is an assertion of raw power and an attempt to exercise it without limit. That, surely, is the way to understand his attempt to revoke birthright citizenship.... Similar thinking surely motivates the sweeping pardon for the insurrectionists of 6 January 2021, those Trump unforgivably refers to as 'the J6 hostages'... The picture that emerges ... [is] of a president and his ruling circle asserting their power and, in so doing, exposing the weakness, or absence, of anybody willing and able to curb them.... Whether it's the obvious abuse of power involved in stripping a former adviser and ally of personal security because he dared criticise Trump or in profiting from high office by issuing a cryptocurrency meme coin on the eve of the inauguration, the picture is clear: the most powerful office in the world is becoming the court of an emperor, untrammelled by alliances, the constitution or the law."

Peter Baker of the New York Times: Donald Trump has shocked the nation by way of "norm-shattering, democracy-testing assertions of personal power that defy the courts, the Congress and the ethical lines that constrained past presidents.... Mr. Trump in effect declared that he was willing and even eager to push the boundaries of his authority, the resilience of American institutions, the strength of the nearly two-and-a-half-century-old system and the tolerance of some of his own allies. Even more than in his first term, he has mounted a fundamental challenge to expectations of what a president can and should do, demonstrating a belief that the rules his predecessors largely followed are meant to be bent, bypassed or broken.... He dominates his own party as no president in generations.... Mr. Trump has forced technology billionaires, Wall Street tycoons, corporate executives and media owners who previously opposed him to show newfound deference and, in many cases, flood his political accounts with millions of dollars. The resistance that sprang up when he was first inaugurated eight years ago has faded...."

The Way We Were. Last week, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had to remind Americans that in this country, "We hate Nazis." Friday Heather Cox Richardson went into some detail on that topic. A fine read. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: What we're seeing now is a metaphorical Battle of the Bulge. The fascistic forces who championed the Lost Cause of the Confederacy are prevailing to the extent that they feel emboldened to demand our surrender. There's no doubt they're "bulging." But it's up to us to say "NUTS!"

Here's how it works: the president makes decisions. He's the Decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put 'em through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know - fiction! -- Stephen Colbert, White House Correspondents Dinner, 2006 ~~~

~~~ David Nakamura, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump on Saturday night defended his removal of a slew of inspectors general Friday night, as lawmakers in both parties raised concerns about the late-night purge and questioned a decision that appeared to violate federal law. 'It's a very common thing to do,' Trump claimed to reporters on Air Force One traveling to Florida, in his first comments after a decision that caused alarm among government watchdogs and members of Congress. 'I don't know them,' he said, even though many of those he fired were people that he appointed during his first term. 'But some people thought that some were unfair or some were not doing their job. It's a very standard thing to do.' The White House removed the independent inspectors general of nearly every Cabinet-level agency in an unprecedented purge that could clear the way for Trump to install loyalists in the crucial role of identifying fraud, waste and abuse in the government.'... The top Democrats from nearly two dozen House committees signed a joint letter to Trump on Saturday afternoon defending the independence of the federal watchdogs and pointing out that removing them without notifying Congress violates the law." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: That is, Trump claims it's "very common" and "very standard" to do something that is in fact "unprecedented," AND he claims he "doesn't know" IGs he hired. So, two lies in a few short sentences. What I want to know is, how many of those intrepid White House reporters flying across the country with Trump on AF1 called out his lies? The reason Trump gets away with lies passing as "answers" to questions is that reporters accept the lies and record them. A report somewhat obliquely pointing out the lies in an obscure newspaper story published many hours later is not sufficient. Moreover, the very title of the report -- "Trump defends oustings..." -- suggests that Trump's defense was successful or at least presented justifiable explanations. Not true. If this headline doesn't read, "Trump defends oustings with lies," then the headline itself is a kind of lie.

The Aspiring Emperor. Ian Aikman of BBC News: "... Donald Trump has said he believes the US will gain control of Greenland, after showing renewed interest in acquiring the autonomous Danish territory in recent weeks. 'I think we're going to have it,' he told reporters on Air Force One on Saturday, adding that the island's 57,000 residents 'want to be with us'. His comments come after reports that Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen insisted Greenland was not for sale in a fiery phone call with the president last week."

Will Weissert & Thomas Beaumont of the AP: "... Donald Trump came to Las Vegas on Saturday to crow about his campaign promise to eliminate taxes on tips, signaling to allies in Congress the importance of the policy but stopping well short of offering details for making the slogan a reality. Instead, Trump spent most of his 40 minutes speaking to roughly 1,000 supporters in a casino ballroom lauding his November election victory, mocking former President Joe Biden's administration and touting his torrent of executive actions since taking office Monday.... The victory lap, Trump's first swing-state rally since taking office, came after he won Nevada's six electoral votes in November, becoming the first Republican since George W. Bush in 2004 to carry the state. It was part of Trump's sweep of all seven of the most competitive states that gave him a healthy electoral majority and a second, non-consecutive term."

Dan De Luce of NBC News: "... Donald Trump's decision this week to revoke the security clearances of more than four dozen former intelligence officials is an unprecedented move, underscoring his willingness to break decades-old norms to please his supporters and punish his perceived opponents, legal experts say. 'This is the most politically saturated security action since the Oppenheimer case in the 1950s,' said Dan Meyer, a Washington-based lawyer who specializes in security clearance cases.... In an executive order issued hours after his inauguration on Monday, Trump stripped 49 former senior officials of their security clearances for signing a letter more than four years ago that Trump said showed 'misleading and inappropriate political coordination' with Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign. The former senior officials have repeatedly denied Trump's claim.... In the 2020 campaign, more than 200 retired military officers endorsed Trump in an open letter.... None of their security clearances were [MB: was!] revoked." MB: The article is worded in a way that is extremely hard to follow (at least for me). I think what De Luce means is that Trump objected to the letter the officials signed, & he claimed that the officials had signed the letter after discussing it with Biden's 2020 campaign officials.

Marie: Here's something I missed in all the excitement over Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Thanks to Jeanne for the heads-up: ~~~

[It is my hope that the president] exercises his presidential authority so the Council can continue to advocate for fitness and good health for all Americans. These are bipartisan issues ... nonpartisan issues.... May God give you the wisdom, Mr. President, to put politics and name calling aside ... and instead lift up the everyday people working to bring America together. Let's build longer tables.... -- José Andrés, responding to Donald Trump's false claim that he had fired Andrés ~~~

~~~ Kelly McCarthy of Good Morning America/ABC News: "Humanitarian and chef José Andrés spoke out Tuesday after ... Donald Trump claimed he had 'fired' Andrés from the President's Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition shortly after being sworn in for his second term. Andrés served as co-chair of the federal advisory committee for two years, having been appointed to the position on March 23, 2022. Trump posted what he called a 'Official Notice of Dismissal' on social media early Tuesday morning, stating that his office would be 'identifying and removing over a thousand Presidential Appointees from the previous Administration, who are not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again.... Let this serve as Official Notice of Dismissal for these 4 individuals, with many more, coming soon: Jose Andres from the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, Mark Milley from the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, Brian Hook from the Wilson Center for Scholars, and Keisha Lance Bottoms from the President's Export Council -- YOU'RE FIRED!'...

"Andrés responded in his own social media post later on Tuesday morning, stating that he had already submitted his resignation earlier in the month, at the conclusion of his two year term. Less than three weeks ago, the Spanish American chef and World Central Kitchen founder was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in part due to his work providing relief to 'communities affected by natural disasters and conflict around the world,' the White House stated at the time." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: I cannot figure out what upside even a cartoon villain like Trump sees in publicly insulting someone who is best known for providing humanitarian aid in the worst of conditions. We know Trump is the biggest jerk in the world but does he want more recognition for it? Or what??? Update: RAS provided a t least a partial answer in yesterday's Comments. Still, I recall when Trump tried to join New York's posh set by at least pretending to donate to their proverbial "worthy causes" (usually he reneged on his splashy pledges). Here he is openly sneering at humanitarian efforts. Of course that is in keeping with the comic-book villain image he is projecting.

Peter Nicholas of NBC News: "A question that loomed over Trump's 2024 campaign was whether he'd use presidential powers for retribution against his perceived political foes. For some, the answer has arrived. 'There are plenty of early warning signs that confirm the worst fears of people who were concerned about a second Trump administration and what it would mean for the rule of law,' David Laufman, a former senior Justice Department official under Republican and Democratic administrations, said in an interview. 'The real question remains what checks and balances will there be to prevent the creeping establishment of an authoritarian state in the United States.'"

Here's a Guardian's story on the same topic as a Politico story linked yesterday: "The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has ordered a halt to virtually all foreign aid, but made an exception for funding to Israel and Egypt, according to an internal memo to staff at the US state department.... [The underlying executive order, issued by Trump on Monday,] is unlawful, argued a source, [because]... the US Congress sets the federal government budget.... 'Organizations will have to stop all activities, so all lifesaving health services, HIV/Aids, nutrition, maternal and child health, all agriculture work, all support of civil society organizations, education,' said [a USAid] official." P.S. Take a look at the Guardian's new(ish) fundraising pitch at the bottom of the article. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump & Rubio may be acting illegally, but who would have standing to sue? Foreign governments who expected aid? Maybe. But their case is kind of embarrassing: you promised us a gift; now you must send it. Or the Congress whose powers Trump & Rubio have usurped? Uh, would Bible Mike's Congress have the nerve to sue Trump?

BOLO, Puppies & Goats. Tim Balk of the New York Times: "The Senate voted on Saturday to confirm Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary, putting a former South Dakota governor in charge of the department at the heart of President Trump's agenda to crack down on immigration. The vote was 59 to 34. Ms. Noem, a longtime ally of Mr. Trump who was once seen as a contender to be his running mate, issued a statement on Saturday thanking him and vowing to 'work to make America SAFE again!'" Politico's story is here.

Heil, Musk! Angie Hernandez of the Washington Post: "Greeted with loud cheers, Elon Musk virtually delivered a short speech Saturday at a rally for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, where he urged the crowd to not be ashamed of their country's history. Musk's appearance comes amid debate over whether a gesture he made twice during an inauguration rally was a Nazi-style salute, which he denies[*].... 'There is too much focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that. Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their great-grandparents,' Musk said, seeming to reference the country's history when the Nazis.... [Musk] reiterated his praise for AfD, telling supporters, 'I think you're the best hope for Germany.'" Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Perhaps he did so sub rosa, but I am not aware Musk has actually denied he made a Nazi salute at the inauguration day rally; rather, he said the controversy was "tired" and he has joked about it. Because invoking Nazism is so funny (see Heather Cox Richardson's essay linked above). That is, Musk has deflected questions about his Nazi salute; he has at best issued a non-denial denial. My personal opinion, based on Musk's history (including his support of the AfD) is that he made a Nazi salute -- twice -- and he's good with it.

Clash of the Titans. Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "It's a remarkable spectacle watching an entirely new power center flock to Washington, fight for Trump's attention, jockey to prove their loyalty, post groveling encomiums to Trump, throw money at him, clamor for eight-figure mansions around town....The colliding egos of Silicon Valley have joined the colliding egos on the Potomac, but the president is not perturbed. Mixing it up, stirring conflict for its own sake, this is just how Donald Trump has fun."

2024 Election. It's the Maps, Stupid. Nick Corasaniti & Michael Wines of the New York Times: "A New York Times analysis of the nearly 6,000 congressional and state legislative elections in November shows just how few races were true races. Nearly all either were dominated by an incumbent or played out in a district drawn to favor one party overwhelmingly. The result was a blizzard of blowouts, even in a country that is narrowly divided on politics. Just 8 percent of congressional races (36 of 435) and 7 percent of state legislative races (400 of 5,465) were decided by fewer than five percentage points.... Roughly 90 percent of races are now decided not by general-election voters in November but by the partisans who tend to vote in primaries months earlier. That favors candidates who appeal to ideological voters and lawmakers who are less likely to compromise. It exacerbates the polarization that has led to deadlock in Congress and in statehouses.... While it is easy to focus on the candidates, the money, the message or the economy, increasingly it is the maps that determine the outcome." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The obvious (if only partial) solution to a Congress legislatures full of nutters is to outlaw gerrymandering. Not. Going. to. Happen.

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Israel's Wars. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Sunday in Israel's wars are here: "Israeli forces opened fire on Lebanese citizens returning to their villages in southern Lebanon on Sunday, killing at least 11 and wounding 83 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, as the 60-day deadline for Israeli troops and Hezbollah to withdraw from the area under a ceasefire agreement expired. The Lebanese army said one soldier was killed and another injured. The Israel Defense Forces said that it fired 'warning shots' toward 'suspects' and that it apprehended an unspecified number of people. The IDF described the unfolding situation earlier as Hezbollah's sending 'agitators' to inflame tensions in southern Lebanon....

"... Donald Trump told reporters his government lifted a hold by the Biden administration on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. They had been paused over concerns about the ballooning scale of civilian casualties in Gaza. 'They've been waiting for them for a long time,' Trump said." ~~~

~~~ Zolan Kanno-Youngs & Andrés Martínez of the New York Times: "... [Donald Trump said he told King Abdullah II of Jordan during a phone call Saturday that he would like Jordan and Egypt to take in more Palestinians from Gaza, an idea that is likely to reignite debate about the future of nearly two million Palestinians. 'I said to him, "I'd love for you to take on more because I'm looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it's a mess,"' Mr. Trump told reporters on Air Force One. He added that he would also like Egypt to take in more Palestinians and that he would speak to the country's president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, on Sunday. Mr. Trump made the remarks on an evening flight after a rally in Las Vegas...." The AP's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump vehemently opposes taking "Muslim" refugees into the vast expanse of the U.S., but he thinks tiny Jordan should accept them. Seems fair & reasonable (well, at least as fair & reasonable as pressuring Denmark into ceding Greenland to the U.S.).

South Korea. Choe Sang-Hun of the New York Times: "South Korea's impeached and arrested president, Yoon Suk Yeol, was formally indicted on Sunday on charges of leading an insurrection last month when he briefly imposed martial law. Mr. Yoon's indictment means that his trial is likely to start soon. It follows the indictments of a former defense minister and several military generals and police chiefs, all of whom face criminal charges of helping Mr. Yoon commit the same crime."

The Conversation -- January 25, 2025

Marie: Here's something I missed in all the excitement over Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Thanks to Jeanne for the heads-up: ~~~

[It is my hope that the president] exercises his presidential authority so the Council can continue to advocate for fitness and good health for all Americans. These are bipartisan issues ... nonpartisan issues.... May God give you the wisdom, Mr. President, to put politics and name calling aside ... and instead lift up the everyday people working to bring America together. Let's build longer tables.... -- José Andrés, responding to Donald Trump's false claim that he had fired Andrés ~~~

~~~ Kelly McCarthy of Good Morning America/ABC News: "Humanitarian and chef José Andrés spoke out Tuesday after ... Donald Trump claimed he had 'fired' Andrés from the President's Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition shortly after being sworn in for his second term. Andrés served as co-chair of the federal advisory committee for two years, having been appointed to the position on March 23, 2022. Trump posted what he called a 'Official Notice of Dismissal' on social media early Tuesday morning, stating that his office would be 'identifying and removing over a thousand Presidential Appointees from the previous Administration, who are not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again.... Let this serve as Official Notice of Dismissal for these 4 individuals, with many more, coming soon: Jose Andres from the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, Mark Milley from the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, Brian Hook from the Wilson Center for Scholars, and Keisha Lance Bottoms from the President's Export Council -- YOU'RE FIRED!'...

"Andrés responded in his own social media post later on Tuesday morning, stating that he had already submitted his resignation earlier in the month, at the conclusion of his two year term. Less than three weeks ago, the Spanish American chef and World Central Kitchen founder was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in part due to his work providing relief to 'communities affected by natural disasters and conflict around the world,' the White House stated at the time." ~~~

~~~ Marie: I cannot figure out what upside even a cartoon villain like Trump sees in publicly insulting someone who is best known for providing humanitarian aid in the worst of conditions. We know Trump is the biggest jerk in the world but does he want more recognition for it? Or what???

The Way We Were. This week, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had to remind Americans that in this country, "We hate Nazis." Yesterday Heather Cox Richardson went into some detail on that topic. A fine read. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: What we're seeing now is a metaphorical Battle of the Bulge. The fascistic forces who championed the Lost Cause of the Confederacy are prevailing to the extent that they feel emboldened to demand our surrender. There's no doubt they're "bulging." But it's up to us to say "NUTS!"

Here's a Guardian's story on the same topic as a Politico story linked below: "The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has ordered a halt to virtually all foreign aid, but made an exception for funding to Israel and Egypt, according to an internal memo to staff at the US state department.... [The underlying executive order, issued by Trump on Monday,] is unlawful, argued a source, [because]... the US Congress sets the federal government budget.... 'Organizations will have to stop all activities, so all lifesaving health services, HIV/Aids, nutrition, maternal and child health, all agriculture work, all support of civil society organizations, education,' said [a USAid] official." P.S. Take a look at the Guardian's new(ish) fundraising pitch at the bottom of the article. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Okay, Trump & Rubio may be acting illegally, but who would have standing to sue? Foreign governments who expected aid? Maybe. But their case is kind of embarrassing: you promised us a gift; now you must send it. Or the Congress whose powers Trump & Rubio have usurped? Uh, would Bible Mike have the nerve to sue Trump?

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⭐This Was the Week That Was, An Overview. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "'I think we're going to do things that people would be shocked at...,' Donald Trump declared on his second day in office. It was one of the few true things he said all week. The crush of vindictive, cruel, unconstitutional and just plain bonkers orders and actions coming from the restored Trump administration in its first week makes even the worst-case predictions look conservative. But if you're feeling knocked off-kilter by the fire hose of bad policies, well..., Trump himself seems downright bewildered."[Milbank reports incident after incident in which Trump shows his "astounding ignorance" by contradicting his own orders or remarks, misstating facts or just seeming to know nothing about what he's doing.] MB: I'd give this column a Pulitzer, even if Milbank did have to share it with Trump for providing all the raw material. ~~~

     ~~~ Melissa Goldin of the AP: "... Donald Trump stepped back into the presidency this week moving quickly to set a new agenda, but from his inaugural address continuing through a flurry of executive actions, press conferences and interviews Trump relied on an array of false and misleading information to support his case. Here's a closer look at the facts." Way less fun than Milbank's column.

Abigail Hauslohner, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Senate on Friday confirmed ... Donald Trump's nomination of Pete Hegseth ... to become the country's next defense secretary.... Hegseth secured his post Friday night in a vote of 51-50, after Vice President JD Vance cast the tiebreaking vote. It marks the second time in U.S. history that a vice president's vote was necessary to confirm a Cabinet official, and Republicans applauded as Vance entered the chamber. Three Republicans, Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine) and Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) joined the chamber's Democrats and independents in opposing Hegseth, following a heated confirmation process that centered on allegations of alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct and financial mismanagement. Hegseth steadily and vigorously denied any wrongdoing.'Winning is what matters, right?' Trump told reporters in Los Angeles, upon hearing news of Hegseth's confirmation." The NBC News story is here. The AP report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: For anyone thinking of giving props to the Turtle for doing the right thing for once, I remind you that we very likely would not be stuck with a president* who would even think of nominating a falling-down-drunk misogynist teevee personality to head the Pentagon had Mitch had the spine to lead his party in finding against Trump in his impeachment trials. Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution: "Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States...." Once again, we're in a terrible fix because Mitch & Trump's many other GOP enablers. P.S. Wondering who was the only other Cabinet officer to require the veep to break a tie for confirmation (because, weirdly, the WashPo article, doesn't tell us)? Why, it was Forrest M.'s neighbor, the lovely Betsy DeVos, another Trump nominee (NYT link).

David Nakamura, et al., of the Washington Post: "The White House late Friday fired the independent inspectors general of at least 12 major federal agencies in a purge that could clear the way for ... Donald Trump to install loyalists in the crucial role of identifying fraud, waste and abuse in the government. The inspectors general were notified by emails from the White House personnel director that they had been terminated immediately, according to people familiar with the actions, who like others in this report spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private messages. The dismissals appeared to violate federal law, which requires Congress to receive 30 days' notice of any intent to fire a Senate-confirmed inspector general. Oversight of some of the government's largest agencies was affected: the departments of Defense, State, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Energy, Commerce and Agriculture, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, Small Business Administration and the Social Security Administration." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times story, published later, puts the number of IGs Trump fired at 17. Oh, Trump "violated federal law"? Meh. It's what a felon does.

Different Strokes for Different Folks. Zolan Kanno-Youngs & Chris Cameron of the New York Times: "President Trump toured disaster zones on Friday in North Carolina and California, where he sparred with Democrats over recovery efforts, called the Federal Emergency Management Agency 'a big disappointment' and said government help -- at least for one blue state -- would come with a catch. The visits were a reminder of Mr. Trump's willingness to flout the unwritten rules that have long governed the nation's disaster responses: Cooperate with officials at all levels of government. Bury political differences. Act as a comforter and healer. And promise aid with no conditions attached. Mr. Trump began the day by warmly embracing supporters in hurricane-ravaged North Carolina and pledging to deliver 'the support that you need to quickly recover and rebuild.' He said that he would also help fire-scorched California, which unlike North Carolina is a state he lost in the November election, but he first wanted the state to impose voter identification laws and change its environmental policies." ~~~

~~~ Once Again, Trump Shows He Does Not Know How to Behave in Public. Chris Cameron of the New York Times: "... [Donald] Trump repeated falsehoods about California's firefighting efforts on Friday and blamed Democratic officials for a wide variety of issues affecting the response to wildfires as he toured areas of Los Angeles damaged by the disaster. In a meeting with state leaders in Pacific Palisades, a community that was heavily damaged by fire..., Mr. Trump blamed the local bureaucracy, Democratic politicians, and a small species of protected fish known as the delta smelt for water supply issues that made it harder for firefighters to get the blazes under control. Water experts in California have said that many of those claims are wrong.... [Trump singled out officials who were at the meeting, including L.A. Mayor Karen Bass.] In one bizarre exchange, Mr. Trump accused Representative Brad Sherman, a Democrat who represents Pacific Palisades, of causing insurance companies to pull out of the state of California. 'You did something, Brad, where every insurance company in the country left California,' Mr. Trump said. 'So you have no insurance. You made it so impossible, and the people that think like you --' 'People like me? Mr. President, I don't know,' Mr. Sherman said before Mr. Trump cut him off." ~~~

~~~ Blake Jones, et al., of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Friday demanded concessions from California Democrats on two pet issues unrelated to the devastating Los Angeles County wildfires -- requiring voter ID at the polls and sending more water from Northern California to other parts of the state -- in his clearest public indication yet of what he wants in exchange for federal disaster aid. The stunning salvo -- mere hours before Trump was set to land in Los Angeles to tour the area -- instantly undermined a strategy from local officials and members of Congress, who had hoped a firsthand view of the destruction would appeal to the president's emotions.... Democrats decried the notion of wildfire aid being used as leverage in an election policy debate."

Alice Ollstein & Carmen Paun of Politico: "... Donald Trump's campaign-trail promise to leave abortion regulation to the states lasted just a few days into his presidency. He issued executive orders on Friday that revive some anti-abortion policies from his first administration -- including restrictions on federal funding for family planning and other health programs abroad that discuss abortion as an option or provide referrals for the procedure. The president signed the executive orders hours after addressing the annual anti-abortion March for Life in a prerecorded video that included no mention that the policies were coming.... Vice President JD Vance, who spoke at the march in person, similarly did not mention them or other policy promises, but assured the crowd that Trump would be 'the most pro-family, most pro-life American president of our lifetimes.'... The order[s] came on the same day that Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed the U.S. Mission to the United Nations to rejoin the Geneva Consensus Declaration, an international anti-abortion pact signed during Trump's first term. One day earlier, in another move that thrilled abortion opponents, Trump issued pardons for roughly two dozen people convicted of forcibly entering and blocking access to abortion clinics."

Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "Dr. Anthony S. Fauci's government security protection was canceled Thursday night and he has now hired his own security detail, according to a person familiar with the move. Dr. Fauci, one of the nation's top health officials for decades, had received death threats during the coronavirus pandemic, when he became a frequent target of conservative critics.... Dr. Fauci did not have Secret Service protection; he was protected by federal marshals, and later by a private contractor whose fees were paid by the government, the person said. Dr. Fauci's chief critic on Capitol Hill, Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, had publicly called for the security arrangement for Dr. Fauci to be withdrawn.... [Dr. Fauci] is the latest prominent former government official to lose his security protection since ... [Donald] Trump returned to the White House." (Also linked yesterday.)

David Yaffe-Bellany of the New York Times: "... [Donald] Trump on Thursday issued an executive order to support the growth of the cryptocurrency industry, calling for a new plan to regulate a business in which he has substantial personal investments. The executive order, which was light on details, said the Trump administration would create a working group on digital assets to come up with a comprehensive plan including 'regulatory and legislative proposals.' The group would also consider establishing a national cryptocurrency stockpile, the order said -- a government-controlled stash of digital coins that the industry has spent months lobbying the new administration to create." (Also linked yesterday.)

Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post: "In virtual remarks to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland..., Donald Trump on Thursday spouted many false or misleading economic claims. Here's a quick rundown." MB: If you check out Dana Milbank's column at the top of today's page, you'll notice that many of Stupid Hitler'sTM:digby remarks were spoken off-the-cuff; not so here. The Davos speech was scripted, & Trump read it from a teleprompter. That is, Trump's speechwriters are writing porkies for him, perhaps at his direction, perhaps not. Lies and propaganda are administration policy.

Katie Hawkinson of the Independent: "... Donald Trump told Denmark's prime minister he is serious about taking over Greenland in a 'fiery' phone call last week, the Financial Times reports. Trump and Mette Frederiksen spoke on the phone for 45 minutes last week after the president said he wanted the US to take Greenland, despite officials repeatedly saying it's not for sale. One official with knowledge of the conversation call[ed] it 'horrendous'. 'He was very firm, another unnamed source told the Financial Times. '... Before, it was hard to take it seriously. But I do think it is serious, and potentially very dangerous.' Officials also told the Financial Times Trump was aggressive and confrontational, despite Frederiksen's offer to increase Greenland-US cooperation on military bases and natural resource exploitation."

Robbie Gramer, et al., of Politico: "Secretary of State Marco Rubio halted spending Friday on most existing foreign aid grants for 90 days. The order, which shocked State Department officials, appears to apply to funding for military assistance to Ukraine. Rubio's guidance, issued to all diplomatic and consular posts, requires department staffers to issue 'stop-work orders' on nearly all 'existing foreign assistance awards,' according to the document.... It is effective immediately. [The order] appears to go further than ... Donald Trump's recent executive order, which instructed the department to pause foreign aid grants for 90 days pending review by the secretary. It had not been clear from the president's order if it would affect already appropriated funds or Ukraine aid."

Courtney Kube & Jonathan Allen of NBC News: "Mexico denied a U.S. military plane access to land Thursday, at least temporarily frustrating the Trump administration's plans to deport immigrants to the country, according to two U.S. defense officials and a third person familiar with the situation. Two Guatemala-bound Air Force C-17s, carrying about 80 people apiece, flew deportees out of the U.S. Thursday night, the sources said. The third flight, slotted for Mexico, never took off. It was not immediately clear why Mexico blocked the flight, but tensions between the U.S. and Mexico, neighbors and longtime allies, have risen since President Donald Trump won the November election.... After the publication of this article, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt tweeted, 'Yesterday, Mexico accepted a record 4 deportation flights in 1 day!' A White House official, however, did not clarify whether they were military, commercial or private flights." MB: I see Leavitt is into Trumpunctuation.

Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "U.S. officials are preparing to send thousands of additional troops to the U.S.-Mexico border -- including, potentially, infantry soldiers equipped with 20-ton Stryker combat vehicles, according to four U.S. officials familiar with the planning. The Pentagon is rushing to cobble together options for an operation that ... Donald Trump has declared a national emergency. These additional service members and capabilities, if all approved, would vastly expand the military's footprint from Texas to California, where roughly 2,500 troops are positioned to assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the detection and apprehension of migrants seeking to enter the United States illegally.... The flow of people and illegal drugs across America's southern frontier ... plummeted last year after U.S. and Mexican authorities introduced new efforts to stem the flow of migrants looking to enter the United States."

Hamed Aleaziz of the New York Times: "Department of Homeland Security officials have ordered what amounts to a pause for a range of programs that allowed immigrants to settle in the United States temporarily, including a key initiative providing an entryway for Ukrainians. The directive, contained in an email sent by the top official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Thursday..., demands an immediate end to 'final decisions' on applications related to the programs while the administration reviews them and decides whether to terminate them. The scope of the programs mentioned in the pause is vast, and the decision will block the entrance of immigrants fleeing some of the most unstable and desperate places in the world. In addition to Ukraine..., the programs offered a pathway to immigrants from Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela, among others.... [Donald Trump] signed an order on Monday demanding that the Department of Homeland Security end 'all categorical parole programs that are contrary to the policies of the United States established in my executive orders,' or programs that allow a wide number of people to enter the country under a temporary status known as parole."

Ali Bauman of CBS News New York: "The mayor of Newark, New Jersey said federal Immigration agents 'raided a local establishment' Thursday. Mayor Ras Baraka said in a statement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained multiple people, including United States citizens, a U.S. military veteran and undocumented individuals. According to Baraka, the agents did not produce a warrant. 'Today, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided a local establishment in the City of Newark, detaining undocumented residents as well as citizens, without producing a warrant. One of the detainees is a U.S. military veteran who suffered the indignity of having the legitimacy of his military documentation questioned,' Baraka said in a statement. 'This egregious act is in plain violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees "the right of the people be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures....'... In a joint statement late Thursday night, Democratic Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim, of New Jersey, said they were 'deeply concerned about the news of an ICE raid in Newark today.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Zach Montague of the New York Times: "The Education Department said on Friday that it would no longer investigate schools that remove books from their libraries, emphasizing its new stance by dismissing 11 pending civil rights complaints related to book bans in public schools. The move, immediately hailed by conservative groups, represents a significant whittling-down of the department's traditional authority as President Trump's incoming administration makes rapid strides toward its goal of relinquishing oversight of education to the states."

Weird Nominee Was MIA for Key Meeting. Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: "For two hours [last week], incoming Secretary of State Marco Rubio, South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem and other intended members of ... Donald Trump's Cabinet hashed out their roles and responsibilities in the event of a crisis -- splitting their time between a hypothetical avian flu outbreak and a hypothetical terrorist attack in New Orleans -- as outgoing Biden officials shared lessons and guidance from their real-world experience. National security officials in previous administrations have characterized the exercise, which is a required part of the presidential transition, as essential preparation to ensure that a new government is ready for an emergency on Day 1. But ... Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, the pivotal agency when a pandemic strikes, [did not attend].... Kennedy was two miles away, on Capitol Hill, seeking to sway senators skeptical of his candidacy to serve as the nation's top health official.... Kennedy left some of them deeply rattled by sharing debunked theories about vaccines and making other questionable assertions, the people said.... It would fall to Kennedy -- who has never held a senior government role nor steered an emergency response -- to oversee key decisions [during a pandemic], or make them himself."

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A little over two years ago, prosecutors in the U.S. attorney's office in Washington obtained a landmark conviction against Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers militia, on charges of seditious conspiracy for the role he played in the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. On Friday, the same office -- now led by one of ... [Donald] Trump's appointees, Ed Martin -- effectively assumed the role of Mr. Rhodes's defense lawyer, filing court papers that sought to reverse a federal judge's order from earlier in the day that barred him and other convicted members of the far-right group from visiting Washington without permission.... On Friday morning, Judge Amit P. Mehta, who oversaw Mr. Rhodes's case, issued an order altering the terms of his supervised release, saying he could no longer enter Washington without the judge's permission. Unlike hundreds of other Jan. 6 defendants, Mr. Rhodes was not fully pardoned by Mr. Trump; his 18-year prison term was reduced to time served. So Judge Mehta asserted control over his conditions of release....

"[Mr. Martin] was a prominent member of the 'Stop the Steal' movement that sought to overturn Mr. Trump's loss in the 2020 election.... According to his own social media posts, he also appears to have been at the Capitol on Jan. 6.... Moreover, Mr. Martin is still listed as a board member of the Patriot Freedom Project, one of the most prominent fund-raising organizations working to help pay legal fees for Jan. 6 defendants. He has also represented some of those defendants himself, squaring off against the very same federal prosecutors he now leads."

Hannah Ziegler & Julian Mark of the Washington Post: "Target said Friday that it plans to scale back many of its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, including efforts to hire from underrepresented groups, amid a tougher legal environment for those programs and new threats from the White House. The retailer ... said it will end the DEI goals it sets in three-year cycles and curtail racial equity initiatives aimed at improving representation for Black businesses and suppliers, according to a memo shared with staff by Kiera Fernandez, Target's chief community impact and equity officer. The company also said it will stop conducting external diversity surveys and submitting information to the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index, which evaluates corporate policies on LGBTQ+ inclusion....

"The shift comes only days after ... Donald Trump issued executive orders meant to quash DEI programs in the public and private sectors. He directed agency heads to draw up lists of publicly traded companies to investigate over their DEI programs, which legal experts said could send further chills through the corporate sector. Many large companies began reassessing the legality of their programs after the Supreme Court in 2023 overturned affirmative action in university admissions, which sparked dozens of lawsuits alleging that certain programs violated federal civil rights laws."

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North Carolina. Ari Berman of Mother Jones: "In early January, the Republican majority on the North Carolina Supreme Court blocked the State Board of Elections from certifying the victory of Democratic Justice Allison Riggs after she led by 734 votes following two recounts. Riggs' Republican opponent, Jefferson Griffin, had asked the court to overturn the election by throwing out more than 60,000 ballots. On Thursday, the court rejected Griffin's extraordinary request to appoint him the winner -- for now -- and sent the case back to the lower courts for a full trial. The court continued to block the state board from certifying the election; it is now the last uncertified race in the country. Worse, three of the court's Republican justices expressed full-throated support for overturning the election -- a stunning outcome that would have major ramifications for free and fair elections across the country....

"Rather than accept a narrow defeat, Griffin challenged the eligibility of 60,000 voters, claiming that ballots were wrongly counted from people who submitted incomplete voter registration records. But Griffin's campaign couldn't point to a single instance of an ineligible voter casting a ballot, and all of the 60,000 voters he challenged showed identification while voting by mail or during early voting. His list of challenged ballots included example after example of lawful voters -- including Riggs' own parents...."

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Shira Rubin of the Washington Post: "Four Israeli female soldiers were released by Hamas in Gaza City on Saturday morning, marking the start of a second week of a protracted ceasefire and hostage release deal that has halted 15 months of fighting and delivered Hamas a new platform to project optics of power. The highly choreographed event showed the women, dressed in army-green outfits, being forced by their captors to take the stage, smile and raise their arms for a gaggle of cameras before being transferred to the Red Cross vans that would bring them home to Israel. Shortly afterward, the Israel Defense Forces said the women had been transferred to them in the Gaza Strip. The event in Gaza City occurred several hours earlier than expected. The women's parents, siblings and friends could be seen crying, overjoyed to see the women walking on their own feet, and waiting to embrace them in Israel."