The Conversation -- May 14, 2025

Retired Appeals Court Judge J. Michael Luttig, in the Atlantic, writes a remarkably strong condemnation of Donald Trump's attack on the Constitution and the rule of law. Luttig, a conservative Bush I appointee, covers many of Trump's outrageous usurpations of power and concludes, "After these first three tyrannical, lawless months of this presidency, surely Americans can understand now that Donald Trump is going to continue to decimate America for the next three-plus years. He will continue his assault on America, its democracy, and rule of law until the American people finally rise up and say, 'No more.'" I hope you'll find the time to read this essay, if not today, then later. Thank you to laura h. for this gift link.

Ismaeel Naar & Enjoli Liston of the New York Times: Donald "Trump met the leader of Syria on Wednesday, one day after announcing a plan to lift sanctions on that country -- a move that could ease the economic stranglehold on a nation battered by civil war and sectarian strife. It was the first time in 25 years that the two countries' leaders had met, and another milestone in Syria's bid to reintegrate itself into the international community after decades of isolation. The two men spoke for about half an hour just before a summit of Gulf leaders in Saudi Arabia, a White House official said.... Mr. Trump met [Ahmed] al-Shara at the invitation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, who took part in the meeting. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, which backed the insurgency that brought Mr. al-Shara to power, joined by phone."

Maggie Haberman & Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, is moving the assembly of the president's daily intelligence brief from the C.I.A. headquarters to her own complex, according to officials.... The brief ... is overseen and presented to the president by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. But C.I.A. officers write much of the analysis in the document and produce it, pulling together articles and graphics on the agency's classified computer systems.... [Donald] Trump has openly mused to aides over time about whether the office she leads -- which was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks ... -- should continue to exist.... Ms. Gabbard has discussed Mr. Trump's concerns with him directly and has considered how to overhaul the office...."

More DOGE Stupid. William K. Reilly, EPA Administrator for George H.W. Bush, in a Washington Post op-ed: "The Trump Environmental Protection Agency has made clear its hostility to initiatives animated by concern about climate change. But the Energy Star program, targeted for elimination last week, is not and never has been about climate. I was there at the creation. The EPA created Energy Star in 1992 as a public-private partnership to provide builders, owners and renters with reliable information about the energy demand associated with their buildings, homes and appliances.... The program costs $32 million in annual federal outlays to administer but has saved consumers $200 billion in utility bills since 1992 -- $14 billion in 2024 alone. The averted air pollution, which was the EPA's initial objective, has been considerable, equivalent to the emissions of hundreds of thousands of cars removed from the road."

Zach Montague of the New York Times: "A judge in Virginia on Wednesday ordered the immediate release of Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University who was arrested in March after two months of detention in an immigration facility in Texas. The order, issued from the bench by Judge Patricia Giles of the Eastern District of Virginia, came as courts around the country have been forced to navigate a sea of legal challenges caused by the Trump administration's campaign to remove scores of foreign academics from the United States. Judge Giles ordered that Mr. Suri be released without bond and imposed minimal conditions beyond requiring him to continue attending court proceedings. Mr. Suri was among several individuals legally studying in the United States, including Mahmoud Khalil, Mohsen Mahdawi, Rumeysa Ozturk and Momodou Taal, whom the Trump administration targeted for their pro-Palestinian activism, raising profound legal questions about freedom of expression.... In a statement in April, Mr. Suri said he had 'never even been to a protest' and the petition for his release filed by his lawyers suggested that he was more likely targeted because of his marriage to a U.S. citizen of Palestinian descent who has been scrutinized by conservative outlets over her family's ties to Hamas."

Marie: I'm not a great fan of Jen Psaki's, but she does a nice job here of taking down Trump & his supposed Middle East "deals":

Jeanna Smialek of the New York Times: "In a case that could help shape transparency rules in a digital era, a court on Wednesday said the European Union should not have denied a journalist's request for text messages exchanged as a top official negotiated for coronavirus vaccine access. The case centered on the European Commission's denial of the request, from a New York Times journalist, for text messages between Ursula von der Leyen, president of the commission, and Pfizer's chief executive, Dr. Albert Bourla. The two had exchanged the texts in 2021 while striking a deal for Covid-19 vaccines. When the commission refused to provide the messages, The Times in early 2023 brought a case challenging that decision in court. The question at the core of the case was whether Ms. von der Leyen's text messages were covered by E.U. transparency laws and should have potentially been released.... It remains unclear whether the messages still exist or whether they have been deleted. The General Court in Luxembourg ruled that the commission did not provide enough explanation in refusing the request."

More GOP Stupid. David Goodman, et al., of the New York Times: "Conservative states with a hands-off approach to development, such as Texas and Oklahoma, have become wind and solar energy dynamos in recent years. But a simultaneous push by Republicans in Washington and in Sun Belt state capitals to cut off tax incentives and tighten permitting regulations threatens to snuff out the red-state renewable energy boom. The one-two punch underscores the Republicans' move away from embracing an 'all-of-the-above' approach to energy to a one-sided effort to return to fossil fuels. Its success would unwind four years of Democratic efforts to address climate change and advance a clean-energy economy. The shift has been particularly jarring in Texas, the nation's top wind power producer, which is second only to California in solar energy and industrial battery storage....

"On Tuesday, Republicans in Congress began work on legislation that would roll back tax credits for low-carbon energy, using rules that ensure the bill could reach ... [Donald] Trump with simple majorities in the House and Senate. Rather than object, the Republican-controlled State Senate in Texas has passed -- and the State House is currently considering -- several regulatory bills to curtail solar and wind projects in favor of new natural gas plants. Long the party of limited regulation and free markets, Republicans are now seeking to impose new rules on how electricity should be produced."

Israel/Palestine. Aaron Boxerman & Abu Bashir of the New York Times: "Israeli strikes killed dozens of Palestinians in northern Gaza overnight, Palestinian health officials said on Wednesday, as Israel threatened to ramp up its military campaign in the enclave despite mounting international pressure. The bodies of more than 50 people killed overnight had arrived at the Indonesian Hospital by noon on Wednesday, according to Marwan Sultan, director of the medical facility in the town of Beit Lahia. He said children were among the dead and that dozens more people had been injured. Gaza's health ministry also said that about 70 people had been killed on Wednesday, without specifying where. Gaza health officials do not distinguish between combatants and civilians when reporting death tolls. Israel has been threatening a massive escalation across the Gaza Strip in an attempt to force Hamas to surrender and release the remaining hostages it has held for more than 18 months."

Helpful News. Maeghan Tobin & Agnes Chang of the New York Times: "Earlier this month..., [Donald] Trump closed a longstanding loophole that had allowed a flood of inexpensive Chinese goods to be mailed to the United States without any tariffs. Starting on May 2, those packages faced a tariff of 120 percent or a $100 flat fee. After the United States and China agreed this week to a temporary truce in trade tensions, that tariff is now 54 percent. The changes, which took effect on Wednesday, were described in a White House executive order and guidance from Customs and Border Protection.... Last year, nearly four million packages a day entered the United States with no customs inspection and no duties paid, angering American businesses that said the loophole made it difficult for them to compete.... Under the rules for de minimis shipments, carriers of international mail packages can pay either the 54 percent tariff or the fee of $100 per package.... One caveat: Carriers must use the option they choose -- either the tariff or the fee -- on all packages they ship, and can elect to change only once a month.... It is likely that much of the extra cost resulting from the new tariffs will fall on shoppers. The tariffs on these shipments are also disrupting the economics of global trade." Emphasis added.

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Here are the New York Times' live updates of whatever grift and graft Donald Trump is up to today in his corruption sojourn to the Middle East.

Katherine Doyle of NBC News: "... Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would cease sanctions against war-torn Syria 'to give them a chance at greatness,' as he seeks to strengthen ties to Saudi Arabia and others.... Trump will meet with Syria's new president in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, an announcement confirmed by the White House shortly before the president began speaking. In his speech, Trump presented Middle Eastern leaders with a vision of a future steeped in prosperity, business deals and technological advances, which the president treated as an antidote to historic divisions. His rhetoric stood in contrast to the words of former President Joe Biden, who deemed the kingdom 'a pariah' before taking office and struggled to regain diplomatic footing with Saudi leaders during his presidency. Instead, Trump offered an image of rising regional powers steeped in homegrown economic self-development, while holding up his host as a model.... Earlier, the two leaders [Trump & Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman] signed a landmark $600 billion investment agreement, marking a high point of the day's ceremonial events. As Trump offered heavy flattery to his host, he also took aim at his predecessors in Washington...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Remember, the CIA concluded that bin Salman arranged the brutal murder (WashPo link) of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi for criticizing the Saudi regime. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Akhilleus' commentary at the top of today's thread is a very fine summary of "Donnie Visits the Sheiks of Araby."

Jeff Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "Behind the scenes, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other aides told Trump that his own voters were in danger if the tariffs did not come down.... That gave them a path to initiating negotiations with the Chinese, which culminated this past weekend in Geneva with a partial deal to reduce tariffs between the world's two biggest economies. One White House official cautioned, however, that multiple factors contributed to the trade talks in Switzerland.... Since the inauguration on Jan. 20, Trump administration officials have announced new or revised tariff policies more than 50 times.... Some of his plans have been strikingly short-lived.... 'The reason why the tariffs go up and come back down is businesses or markets are pressuring him to back off,' [Dartmouth economist Douglas Irwin] said. 'The only special interest guiding President Trump's decision-making is the best interest of the American people,' said White House spokesman Kush Desai." MB: That might be partially true if you were talking only about white people. But it really isn't the truckers and farmers Trump cares about; it's his poll numbers.

Aaron Gregg of the Washington Post: "Car prices crept upward in April as tariffs took effect and global automakers braced for billions of dollars in potential extra costs. Cox Automotive's first batch of Kelley Blue Book vehicle price data since the Trump administration's auto tariffs took effect showed that the average transaction price for a new vehicle increased 2.5 percent last month. That's compared to a typical increase of 1.1 percent for April over the past decade.... Even those vehicles assembled in the United States will face higher component costs, analysts say. Automakers also saw a surge of demand in the first three months of the year, as many consumers sought to get ahead of impending tariffs. That temporary buying frenzy is one factor that has pushed car prices upward every week since the auto tariffs were announced in March, Cox Automotive analyst Jonathan Smoke said.... Even vehicles that aren't imported are becoming more expensive, he said."

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "Inflation was slightly lower than expected in April as ... Donald Trump's tariffs just began hitting the slowing U.S. economy, according to a Labor Department report Tuesday. The consumer price index, which measures the costs for a broad range of goods and services, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% for the month, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.3%, its lowest since February 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said." (Also linked yesterday.)

Hamed Aleaziz & Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "On the same day that dozens of white South Africans arrived in the United States as refugees, at the invitation of ... [Donald] Trump himself, his administration said thousands of Afghans could be deported starting this summer. Mr. Trump's immigration policies are riddled with contradictions, epitomized by Monday's arrival of a chartered jet, paid for by the American government, carrying dozens of Afrikaners who say they are facing racial discrimination at home. The Trump administration's focus on white Afrikaners, an ethnic minority that ruled during apartheid, is particularly striking as it effectively bans most other refugees and targets legal and illegal immigrants alike for deportation. Those include Afghans who were granted 'temporary protected status' after the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, many of whom had risked their lives to help American forces....

"Mr. Trump said on Monday that the United States had 'essentially extended citizenship' to [Afrikaners] because he said they were victims of a genocide. There have been murders of white farmers, a focus of Afrikaner grievances, but police statistics show they are not any more vulnerable to violent crime than others in the country. Three decades after the end of apartheid, white South Africans continue to dominate land ownership. They are also employed at much higher rates than Black South Africans and are much less likely to live in poverty." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: While Trump's immigration policies may be "riddled with contradictions," this stark contrast between his policy for Afrikaners and his policies for everybody else is not one of them. It's a very consistent general policy adhering to the tenets of white nationalism. Trump has been a virulent racist all his adult life.

Jeremy Roebuck & Marianne LeVine of the Washington Post: "A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Tuesday became the first in the nation to allow ... Donald Trump's invocation of a wartime law to fast-track deportations of accused Venezuelan gang members. Bu U.S. District Judge Stephanie L. Haines described the administration's process for carrying out those removals as 'constitutionally deficient' and ordered the government to give targeted migrants at least 21 days' notice and an opportunity to challenge their deportations in court. The ruling from Haines -- whom Trump appointed during his first term in the White House -- breaks with decisions earlier this month from federal judges in Colorado, New York and South Texas. They each concluded that it was unlawful for Trump to invoke the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to remove alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang outside of the usual immigration court process. All three judges then barred or temporarily paused such deportations in their districts. Hours after Haines's ruling on Tuesday, a judge in West Texas also temporarily barred Alien Enemies Act deportations." The AP report is here.

Mitch Smith & Dan Simmons of the New York Times: "The Wisconsin judge arrested last month and accused of helping an undocumented immigrant evade federal agents was indicted by a federal grand jury on Tuesday on charges of concealing a person from arrest and obstruction of proceedings. The indictment of the judge, Hannah C. Dugan of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, was a routine but significant step in the Justice Department's case against her. The Trump administration has defended the prosecution as a warning that no one is above the law, while many Democrats, lawyers and former judges have denounced it as an assault on the judiciary." The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story is here.

Paul Blumenthal of the Huffington Post: "The Trump administration has reportedly told the court overseeing the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, via private filings, that it was working to secure his release from custody from a prison in El Salvador, according to a memorandum filed by his lawyers on Monday. That is in stark contrast to the public pronouncements by ... Donald Trump, administration officials and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, who have all stated that Abrego Garcia, who has not been charged, convicted or accused of any crime, will not come back to the United States despite an April 10 Supreme Court decision ordering the administration to 'facilitate' his release from prison and return. '[T]he President has insisted on national television that, although he has the power to bring Abrego Garcia back, he won't, because his lawyers have advised him against it,' the filing by Abrego Garcia's lawyers states. 'Other cabinet members, including the Secretary of Homeland Security, have likewise testified before Congress that "there is no scenario where Abrego Garcia will be in the United States again." Meanwhile, in sealed, ex parte proceedings, the Government presumably has told this Court the opposite, as it has repeatedly sought to draw out this litigation.'"

Susannah Sudborough of MassLive: "Prior to arresting a Brazilian woman on the streets of Worcester[, Massachusetts,] last week, federal immigration agents used her family members as 'bait' to draw her out of her home so that they could arrest her, according to an exclusive report from Rolling Stone Magazine. On the morning of May 8, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested 40-year-old Rosane Ferreira-De Oliveira..., leading to a chaotic and tense confrontation between immigration agents and a crowd of more than 25 people. Anonymous sources ... are now claiming to Rolling Stone that ICE agents stopped Ferreira-De Oliveira's daughters and infant granddaughter as they tried to leave their home that morning as a tactic to get Ferreira-De Oliveira to leave her home.... The immigrant officers threatened to arrest Ferreira-De Oliveira's 21-year-old daughter Augusta Clara, who was carrying her 3-month-old baby, the magazine reported. They insisted that Ferreira-De Oliveira come to meet her daughters, as her second daughter at the scene was 17, and they were not allowed to leave a baby in the hands of a minor.... ICE [then] detained Ferreira-De Oliveira in connection with a domestic violence case she was charged in in February. She is accused of using a phone charger cable to hit a pregnant family member and faces one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a pregnant victim."

David Fahrenthold & Jeremy Singer-Vine of the New York Times: "Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is no longer claiming credit for killing dozens of federal contracts after The New York Times reported last week that they had already been reinstated. The Times had identified 44 revived contracts, and 43 of them were still featured on the group's online 'Wall of Receipts' as of last week. Then, late Sunday, Mr. Musk's group deleted those claims for 31 of the contracts from its website, eliminating $122 million of the savings it claimed to have achieved by cutting federal contracts. Those savings had actually disappeared days or weeks before, when federal agencies reversed cancellations they had made at the behest of Mr. Musk's group.... The presence of revived contracts on DOGE's list of 'terminations' was the latest in a series of data errors that have inflated its success at saving money." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It's ridiculous that reporters have to do DOGE's records-keeping for them. If the boys are so lax in their public-facing calculations, think of all the mistakes they're making in scooping up the billions of records that hold personal data.

Rebecca Beitsch & Filip Timotija of the Hill: "Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard fired two top officials at the National Intelligence Council, purging leaders amid what the office called an effort to address 'weaponization' of intelligence. Gabbard removed the acting head of the council, Mike Collins, as well as his deputy, Maria Langan-Riekhof. It's a big shift at an entity the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) bills as part of the 'analytic arm' of the intelligence community.... In addition to the removal of the two aides, Gabbard also uprooted the council from its office space at the CIA, returning it to quarters within the ODNI.... According to Fox ['News'], Collins was associated with Michael Morell, former deputy director of the CIA, who was among the former intelligence officials who signed a letter casting doubt on the discovery of Hunter Biden's laptop, saying it had 'all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.' The firings come just days after the council released, through a Freedom of Information Act request, an assessment contradicting Trump administration claims that the Tren de Aragua gang is coordinating with the Venezuelan government. In doing so, it undercut a key basis for ... [Donald] Trump's invocation of wartime powers to remove people to a Salvadoran prison."

Amudalat Ajasa of the Washington Post: "The Environmental Protection Agency plans to rescind and reconsider limits on four different 'forever chemicals' under a landmark drinking water standard implemented last year by President Joe Biden.... The drinking water rules were adopted as part of the Biden administration's efforts to limit public exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), hazardous chemicals linked to range of serious illnesses. The original rule covered six common PFAS contaminants, including PFOA, a known human carcinogen, and PFOS, a likely carcinogen. The EPA estimates that more than 158 million Americans are exposed to PFAS through their drinking water."

Tom Jackman & Keith Alexander of the Washington Post: "On his last full day as interim U.S. attorney for the District, Ed Martin on Tuesday said he will review the pardons issued by President Joe Biden and the actions of prosecutors in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot cases as he shifts to new roles in the Justice Department. Then, having been stymied in his attempt to become permanent top prosecutor in the District by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Martin sprayed criticism at local judges, the attorney general of D.C., the mayor and city leaders of D.C., and he suggested that perhaps the District should no longer have home rule.... Martin also called the news conference to announce that an immigration task force had arrested 189 people in recent days in the D.C. region, 181 for immigration violations and eight on criminal charges.... In removing Martin from the U.S. attorney's office, Trump assigned him two jobs in the Justice Department: to head the 'Weaponization Working Group' and also to serve as the U.S. pardon attorney." ~~~

~~~ Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "The conservative activist named by ... Donald Trump as the head of the Justice Department's 'Weaponization Working Group' said Tuesday he planned to 'name' and 'shame' individuals the department determines it is unable to charge with crimes, in what would amount to a major departure from longstanding Justice Department protocols. Ed Martin described himself at a press conference as the 'captain' of the group that is investigating prosecutors who launched past investigations into Trump and his allies.... During Trump's first tenure, the justification given for Trump's firing of former FBI Director James Comey was that Comey had given a press conference in which he released 'derogatory information' about then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016. [MB: Of course that excuse was entirely false.] 'Derogatory information sometimes is disclosed in the course of criminal investigations and prosecutions, but we never release it gratuitously,' then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein wrote in a memo, adding that he believed Comey had given a 'textbook example of what federal prosecutors and agents are taught not to do.'"

Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "Harvard University expanded its lawsuit against the Trump administration on Tuesday, hours after the government said it was ending about $450 million in research funding to the school. The battle between the administration and the nation's oldest university has been intensifying since April 11, when the government sent Harvard a list of intrusive demands in a mistakenly emailed missive. After the university refused to comply, the government froze more than $2 billion in grants, which prompted the school to sue in federal court in Boston. But the litigation has done little to cow the federal government. Last Monday, Education Secretary Linda McMahon warned Harvard against even applying for federal grant money 'since none will be provided.'"

Benjamin Guggenheim & Meredith Hill of Politico: "... Donald Trump won more than he lost in the House GOP's newly unveiled tax legislation, though some of his priorities were slimmed down and his bid to raise taxes on some financial heavyweights wasn't included. The bill -- which the House tax-writing committee will take up Tuesday -- not only delivers on his promise to make a slew of his expiring 2017 tax cuts permanent, but also includes tax relief for tips, seniors and overtime work. Trump also got his request to give taxpayers a deduction for the interest they pay on auto loans, and to limit deductions for the purchase of sports teams. The bill leaves a placeholder to at least triple the state and local tax deduction, after Trump promised blue-state Republicans during the presidential campaign that he would 'get SALT back,' a break prized by their constituents that is now capped at $10,000. The exact contours are still up for discussion, though, Speaker Mike Johnson said. In an homage to Trump's populist base, Republicans would create a new tax-preferred savings plan called a 'MAGA account' for children under the age of 8." ~~~

     ~~~ Kevin Freking & Lisa Mascaro of the AP on what's in the legislative package so far.

Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "Lawmakers bickered, protesters shouted and senators came to take in the moment as [the House Energy & Commerce Committee] considered ... [Medicaid cuts as part of an effort] to enact ... [Donald] Trump's domestic agenda.... Capitol Police officers ultimately removed five people -- three in wheelchairs -- as the dozens of lawmakers on the panel looked on. (The Capitol Police later said that officers had arrested 26 people for illegally protesting inside a congressional building.)... [The] meeting ... went all evening and was expected to continue well into Wednesday -- one committee member estimated it could take as long as 28 hours -- as Republicans and Democrats sparred over the plan, a key part of major legislation to enact ... [Mr.] Trump's domestic agenda. It unfolded as the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee met to consider a $2.5 trillion tax proposal that would extend Mr. Trump's 2017 tax cuts; temporarily fulfill his campaign pledges not to tax tips or overtime pay; roll back subsidies for clean energy; and create a new type of tax-advantaged investment account for children. Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee tried unsuccessfully to extend tax credits that have helped people buy insurance on the Obamacare marketplaces. The subsidies are scheduled to expire at the end of the year, and the Congressional Budget Office estimates that more than four million people will lose coverage as a result." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Thanks to the protesters and to any committee members who tried to insert language that would help ordinary people rather than only rich ones.

Tony Romm of the New York Times: "Across the country, state leaders are beginning to express alarm about the budgetary fallout from ... [Donald] Trump's economic agenda, warning that they will not be able to pick up the bill if the federal government reduces its funding for major public services. To governors and other officials..., the fear is that Washington could sharply curtail federal programs that help states improve their infrastructure, respond to natural disasters, expand education and provide a suite of health, housing and nutrition benefits to the poor. But Mr. Trump has made no secret about the fact that many of his preferred budget cuts are meant to help offset his costly and ever-expanding legislative ambitions, including his desire to cut taxes....The Trump administration proposed $163 billion in cuts targeting a staggering array of federal climate, education, health and housing programs, while increasing military spending and funding the president's pledge to conduct more aggressive deportations. Explaining the recalibration, Russell. T. Vought, the White House budget director, denounced broad categories of federal spending as wasteful or 'woke.' Mr. Vought added that some of the proposed cuts reflected a belief that federal services 'could be provided better by state or local governments (if provided at all).'"

Drown 'Em in Paperwork. Jonathan Cohn of the Bulwark: As "the GOP [budget] proposal became clear..., so too did the massive impact it could have on the lives of low-income Americans. The GOP legislation still contained rather significant cuts to Medicaid, including requirements that enrollees show they are working (or qualify for a limited set of exemptions) and requirements that states check eligibility more frequently. The Republicans pushing these plans ... are ... happy to have the $625 billion in projected savings from those proposals, because they believe in smaller government and because they are looking for ways to offset the cost of the multi-trillion-dollar tax cuts in the same bill. But most people on Medicaid already work or have a reason like a disability that they can't, so that the main impact of work requirements is to make enrolling and staying on Medicaid more difficult. The same goes for requiring states to check eligibility more frequently, which actually requires governments to spend extra money on verification -- and leads, again, to large numbers of people losing their Medicaid even though they still qualify for it. As Loren Adler ... of the Brookings Institution's Center on Health Policy, put it to me Tuesday, 'A lot of this is really just about erecting barriers to enrollment and re-enrollment, and then, more broadly, just narrowing eligibility.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm sure many people who are eligible for Medicaid are not very good at filling out paperwork or utilizing forms to make compelling cases for themselves. Add to that the time factor: people who are working (possibly more than one job) and rearing families may not have time (or may not be able to get time off) to wait in lines to obtain forms and fill them out and turn them in during business hours (assuming they can get to a place to file the forms). If forms are available online (as they are in New Hampshire), some people may not have computer access or the knowledge to find the online forms.

Eric Bazail-Eimil & Robbie Gramer of Politico: "A number of Republican lawmakers are souring on ... Donald Trump's plans to accept a luxury Boeing 747 aircraft as a gift from Qatar -- a rare series of rebukes of the president by his allies in Congress. Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Tuesday became the most prominent Republican to express discomfort with the deal, telling reporters there are 'lots of issues associated with that offer which I think need to be further talked about.'... [Rand Paul & Ted Cruz also expressed reservations.] The senators' remarks have made the outrage over the potential deal a rare bipartisan moment in Washington, as Democrats and some of the most fervent backers of the president outside of government unite to slam the plans. The U.S. and Qatar have a warming, yet complicated relationship. Despite its past material support for terror groups, Doha emerged as a critical mediator in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, and members of the Trump administration had ties to Qatar before entering government."

Paul Kane & Meryl Kornfield of the Washington Post: "In a rare bipartisan effort to defend its institutional authority, Congress is quietly resisting ... Donald Trump's attempt to assert control over the Library of Congress -- a move that experts say threatens the separation of powers and the integrity of the legislative branch's premier research body. Pushing back on Trump's designation of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting librarian, lawmakers said Tuesday that control of the institution remains with its top career official, Robert R. Newlen. Newlen told staff at the library that he is the acting head.... The president installed Blanche -- a close Trump ally and his former defense attorney -- as the acting head of the library just days after he abruptly fired Carla Hayden, the first woman and African American to serve as librarian of Congress, on Friday, nine years into her 10-year term....

"'We made it clear that there needs to be a consultation around this -- that there are equities that both Article I and Article II branches have [with] the Library of Congress,' Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) told reporters Tuesday, referring to the legislative and executive branches, adding that Trump administration officials had met with members of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, which oversees the library. Still, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) attacked Republicans as 'a compliant rubber stamp' for Trump's agenda and said Democrats would 'look into' the president's firing of Hayden. He hinted at possible litigation." ~~~

~~~ Marie: Here's an angle to the firings of the Librarian and the Register of Copyrights of which I was not aware: ~~~

   ~~~ Tina Nguyen of the Verge: "What initially appeared to be a power play by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to take over the US Copyright Office by having Donald Trump remove the officials in charge has now backfired in spectacular fashion, as Trump's acting replacements are known to be unfriendly -- and even downright hostile -- to the tech industry. When Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden last week and Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter over the weekend, it was seen as another move driven by the tech wing of the Republican Party -- especially in light of the Copyright Office releasing a pre-publication report saying some kinds of generative AI training would not be considered fair use." According to Nguyen, the people Trump has attempted to put in place -- Todd Blanche, Paul Perkins and Brian Nieves -- are all anti-tech.

Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic minority leader, intends on Tuesday to put a hold on all Justice Department political appointees awaiting Senate confirmation until he gets more information on plans by ... [Donald] Trump to accept a luxury airliner from Qatar. Mr. Schumer's expected announcement of his blockade of administration nominees comes after he and other Senate Democrats assailed Mr. Trump on Monday for his decision to accept the jet, which is estimated to be worth as much as $500 million and would serve as Air Force One. 'This is not just naked corruption,' Mr. Schumer plans to say, according to remarks prepared for a Senate floor speech. 'It is also a grave national security threat.'"

Joyce Vance on Substack: "Josh Gerstein at Politico [wrote], 'Chief Justice John Roberts described the rule of law as "endangered" and warned against "trashing the justices," but speaking in Washington Monday he didn't point fingers directly at ... Donald Trump or his allies.... Apparently, this is what it takes to get the chief justice's attention. Giving a crooked president a pass on being prosecuted?... Roberts was down with that. But when it comes to criticizing judges, well, that's a bridge too far.... Criticism of the judiciary is fair game. But threats against judges, even if, as an institution, they have the will to withstand them, are not." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Roberts is in a difficult place. It sounds ridiculous to criticize someone for criticizing you or your "group." So Roberts, both because of this, and because he doesn't want to criticize a president* of his own party, doesn't dare say Trump's name. BUT. Trump's criticisms of judges have been more than criticism -- they have served as a form of intimidation -- and purposely so -- because Trump knows his MAGA followers can and will threaten or even harm judges he has criticized. A real president, unlike Trump, knows he has to mind his words at all times. But Trump not only does not watch what he says, he threatens others with words that for you and me would be fairly ordinary protected speech. So, giving Roberts the benefit of the doubt, what he may have wanted to say was, "Donald Trump, quit threatening judges." But he couldn't. Or he didn't know how to. A more prudent and honest jurist might have said, "When a president criticizes anyone, he must be careful that he does so in a manner that does not incite others to act in unlawful or dangerous ways."

Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "The credentials committee of the Democratic National Committee voted on Monday to void the results of the internal party vote that made David Hogg a party vice chair, ruling that the election had not followed proper parliamentary procedures. The decision -- which came after roughly three hours of internal debate and one tie vote -- will put the issue before the full body of the Democratic National Committee. It must decide whether to force Mr. Hogg and a second vice chair, Malcolm Kenyatta, to run again in another election later this year. Mr. Hogg, 25, an outspoken survivor of the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Fla., has prompted a fierce backlash over his plans to spend up to $20 million through another organization he heads, Leaders We Deserve, on primary campaigns against incumbent Democrats.... Mr. Kenyatta expressed frustration on social media -- both with the committee's decision and all the attention on Mr. Hogg...." MB: Looks to me as if the Old Guard can't deal with the kidz. (Also linked yesterday.)

New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger in a NYT op-ed on the importance of a free press: "From its beginning, our nation has recognized journalism as an essential ingredient for democratic self-governance.... All over the world, we have seen escalating pressure on the ability of the press to play [its essential] roles. A record number of journalists have been killed or jailed in recent years. Many more are subjected to campaigns of harassment, intimidation, surveillance and censorship.... But a more insidious playbook for undermining the press has emerged in places like Hungary and India. Places where democracy persists but in a more conditional way under leaders who were elected legitimately and then set about undermining checks on their power.... This anti-press playbook is now being used here in this country -- and it could not come at a more difficult time for the American press. The business model that funded original reporting is failing.... Even the most cursory read of the news shows that our democracy is undergoing a significant test. Foundational laws and norms are being undermined or swept aside. Rule of law. Separation of powers. Due process. Intellectual freedom." It appears A.G. has endowed his op-ed with a gift link.

Jennifer Szalai of the New York Times reviews a book by Jake Tapper & Alex Thompson about Joe Biden's decision to run for a second term: The book "is a damning, step-by-step account of how the people closest to a stubborn, aging president enabled his quixotic resolve to run for a second term. The authors trace the deluge of trouble that flowed from Biden's original sin: the sidelining of Vice President Kamala Harris; the attacks on journalists (like Thompson) who deigned to report on worries about Biden's apparent fatigue and mental state; an American public lacking clear communication from the president and left to twist in the wind.... The people closest to Biden landed on some techniques to handle (or disguise) what was happening: restricting urgent business to the hours between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.; instructing his writers to keep his speeches brief so that he didn't have to spend too much time on his feet; having him use the short stairs to Air Force One." MB: The link, which I acquired from another source, looks like a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "A forthcoming book that promises explosive new details on former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s mental and physical decline while in the White House has revived the subject of how his aides and top Democrats handled his decision to run for re-election. The book, 'Original Sin,' by Jake Tapper of CNN and Alex Thompson of Axios, chronicles how Mr. Biden's advisers stomped out discussion of his age-related limitations, including internal concerns of aides, external worries of Democratic allies and scrutiny by journalists.... As he forgot familiar names and faces and showed his physical frailty, the authors write, aides wrapped him in a protective political cocoon.... The book is so reliant on anonymous sourcing -- very few aides or elected officials are quoted by name -- that it reveals the enduring chill that Mr. Biden's loyalists have cast over a Democratic Party still afraid to grapple publicly with what many say privately was his waning ability to campaign and serve in office. Already, Mr. Biden has begun pushing back against reporting on the end of his presidency, re-emerging for interviews to try to shape his legacy. The book does not contain any astonishing revelation.... Instead, it is a collection of smaller occurrences and observations reflecting his decline.... Here are six takeaways."

Marie's Sports Report. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post: "Pete Rose and 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson are no longer official baseball pariahs. In a seismic decision that will alter the legacies of 17 disgraced individuals, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Tuesday that those punished with permanent ineligibility will be reinstated after their deaths. Players on MLB's permanently ineligible list are banned from entry into the Hall of Fame, meaning Rose, baseball's all-time hits leader who died last year at 83, Jackson and the other deceased individuals who were banned will now be eligible for inclusion. A committee dedicated to reviewing the Hall of Fame candidacies of players who starred before 1980 will vote on them at its next scheduled meeting in December 2027." This is a gift link because the article is interesting for reasons other than the Hall of Fame chances of for Rose & Shoeless Joe. ESPN's story is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

California. Tim Arango, et al., of the New York Times: "Lyle and Erik Menendez were resentenced on Tuesday to life in prison with the possibility of parole, setting the stage for their possible release after more than three decades behind bars for killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion. The decision, by Judge Michael V. Jesic of Los Angeles Superior Court, came after a day of testimony by family members, who said the brothers had turned their lives around inside prison through education and self-help groups. They urged the court to reduce the brothers' sentences for the 1989 killings. 'This was an absolutely horrific crime,' Judge Jesic said as he delivered his ruling. But as shocking as the crime was, Judge Jesic said, he was also shocked by the number of corrections officials who wrote letters on behalf of the brothers, documented support that clearly swayed his decision."

Nebraska. Mitch Smith of the New York Times: "A Democrat, John Ewing Jr., appeared on track to win Omaha's mayoral race on Tuesday, unofficial county results showed, a victory that would end a long period of Republican leadership in a politically divided city that has outsize importance in presidential elections. Mr. Ewing, the longtime Douglas County treasurer, was leading Mayor Jean Stothert, a Republican who had been seeking a fourth term leading Omaha, which has nearly half a million residents and is Nebraska's largest city. Though the race was officially nonpartisan, the political affiliations of both candidates were well known to voters. Ms. Stothert conceded to Mr. Ewing in a speech on Tuesday evening.... Nebraska is one of two states, along with Maine, that award an electoral vote to the winner of each congressional district. Mr. Trump won the Omaha-based district in 2016, but lost to the Democratic nominee there in 2020 and 2024."

~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine. Natan Odenheimer & Ronen Bergman of the New York Times: "Some Israeli military officials have privately concluded that Palestinians in Gaza face widespread starvation unless aid deliveries are restored within weeks, according to three Israeli defense officials familiar with conditions in the enclave. For months, Israel has maintained that its blockade on food and fuel to Gaza did not pose a major threat to civilian life in the territory, even as the United Nations and other aid agencies have said a famine was looming." MB: This purposeful starving of civilians is medieval & deplorable. I spent much of my life as a knee-jerk supporter of Israel. I'm over that now.

Even the Pope has at least one close relative who is a colossal jerk: ~~~

Vatican/Florida. Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "[The] ... Facebook posts [of Louis Prevost, Pope Leo XIV's older brother] — no longer publicly viewable -- suggest that he has embraced some of the most common complaints and conspiracy theories of the right.... Among other things, he reposted an old video of [former House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi, under which the author of the original post referred to her with a vulgar sexist epithet. The original post also insinuated that Ms. Pelosi's husband, Paul, was gay, echoing a misinformation campaign that spread among those on the right after Mr. Pelosi was brutally attacked by a man who broke into his home in October 2022.... Mr. Prevost ... described himself to [television personality Piers] Morgan as a 'MAGA type.'..." He says he's going to "tone it down" but probably won't change.

News Ledes

New York Times: "Richard L. Garwin, an architect of America's hydrogen bomb, who shaped defense policies for postwar governments and laid the groundwork for insights into the structure of the universe as well as for medical and computer marvels , died on Tuesday at his home in Scarsdale, N.Y. He was 97.... A polymathic physicist and geopolitical thinker, Dr. Garwin was only 23 when he built the world's first fusion bomb. He later became a science adviser to many presidents, designed Pentagon weapons and satellite reconnaissance systems, argued for a Soviet-American balance of nuclear terror as the best bet for surviving the Cold War, and championed verifiable nuclear arms control agreements." -75-

The Conversation -- May 13, 2025

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "Inflation was slightly lower than expected in April as ... Donald Trump's tariffs just began hitting the slowing U.S. economy, according to a Labor Department report Tuesday. The consumer price index, which measures the costs for a broad range of goods and services, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% for the month, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.3%, its lowest since February 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said."

Jennifer Szalai of the New York Times reviews a book by Jake Tapper & Alex Thompson about Joe Biden's decision to run for a second term: The book "is a damning, step-by-step account of how the people closest to a stubborn, aging president enabled his quixotic resolve to run for a second term. The authors trace the deluge of trouble that flowed from Biden's original sin: the sidelining of Vice President Kamala Harris; the attacks on journalists (like Thompson) who deigned to report on worries about Biden's apparent fatigue and mental state; an American public lacking clear communication from the president and left to twist in the wind.... The people closest to Biden landed on some techniques to handle (or disguise) what was happening: restricting urgent business to the hours between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.; instructing his writers to keep his speeches brief so that he didn't have to spend too much time on his feet; having him use the short stairs to Air Force One." MB: The link, which I acquired, looks like a gift link.

Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "The credentials committee of the Democratic National Committee voted on Monday to void the results of the internal party vote that made David Hogg a party vice chair, ruling that the election had not followed proper parliamentary procedures. The decision -- which came after roughly three hours of internal debate and one tie vote -- will put the issue before the full body of the Democratic National Committee. It must decide whether to force Mr. Hogg and a second vice chair, Malcolm Kenyatta, to run again in another election later this year. Mr. Hogg, 25, an outspoken survivor of the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Fla., has prompted a fierce backlash over his plans to spend up to $20 million through another organization he heads, Leaders We Deserve, on primary campaigns against incumbent Democrats.... Mr. Kenyatta expressed frustration on social media -- both with the committee's decision and all the attention on Mr. Hogg...." MB: Looks to me as if the Old Guard can't deal with the kidz.

Katherine Doyle of NBC News: "... Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would cease sanctions against war-torn Syria 'to give them a chance at greatness,' as he seeks to strengthen ties to Saudi Arabia and others.... Trump will meet with Syria's new president in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, an announcement confirmed by the White House shortly before the president began speaking. In his speech, Trump presented Middle Eastern leaders with a vision of a future steeped in prosperity, business deals and technological advances, which the president treated as an antidote to historic divisions. His rhetoric stood in contrast to the words of former President Joe Biden, who deemed the kingdom 'a pariah' before taking office and struggled to regain diplomatic footing with Saudi leaders during his presidency. Instead, Trump offered an image of rising regional powers steeped in homegrown economic self-development, while holding up his host as a model.... Earlier, the two leaders [Trump & Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman] signed a landmark $600 billion investment agreement, marking a high point of the day's ceremonial events. As Trump offered heavy flattery to his host, he also took aim at his predecessors in Washington...." MB: Remember, The CIA concluded that bin Salman arranged the brutal murder (WashPo link) of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi for criticizing the Saudi regime.

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News from Trump's Bribery, Grift and General Corruption Group, LLC

New York Times: "Saudi Arabia gave ... [Donald] Trump a lavish welcome on Tuesday, rolling out an honor guard, a team of Arabian horses and a delegation of royals and business leaders to kick off the president's four-day tour through the Gulf, the first major overseas trip of his second term.... Mr. Trump was accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, among other top members of his administration. Some of America's biggest business leaders were also on hand to attend an investment forum hosted by the Saudi government where Mr. Trump was due to speak, including Elon Musk and the chief executives of IBM, BlackRock, Citigroup, Palantir and Nvidia, among others." At 7:00 am ET, this is the pinned item in a liveblog.

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: Donald "Trump angrily brushed off ethical concerns about accepting a $400 million luxury jet from Qatar to be used as a new Air Force One, saying only someone 'stupid' would turn down such an offer.... Mr. Trump said when the Qatari plane is decommissioned from military use and is turned over to his library at the end of his term that he won't continue flying in it.... He grew angry at the questions of an ethical quagmire, including whether Qatar expected anything in exchange for the donation, which he said would be to the Defense Department and not to him personally.... 'You should be embarrassed asking that question,' Mr. Trump told an ABC News reporter who pressed him on the issue. 'They're giving us a free jet. I could say, "No, no, no, don't give us. I want to pay you a billion or $400 million, or whatever it is." Or I could say, "Thank you very much."' He then invoked a golf analogy about accepting a free putt during a round, suggesting that following rules when one doesn't have to is foolish." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Shawn McCreesh of the New York Times: "This is the parable of the president and the putt." This is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The second Trump administration is showing striking disdain for onetime norms of propriety and for traditional legal and political guardrails around public service. It is clearly emboldened, in part because of the Supreme Court's ruling last year that granted immunity to presidents for their official actions and because of the political reality that Mr. Trump's hold on the Republican Party means he need not fear impeachment.... The current moment, coming as Mr. Trump's crypto gambit merges into his intended acquisition of a Qatari plane, is particularly remarkable for the openness with which the president, his immediate family and entities in his orbit are unabashedly leveraging his position to accrue personal benefits or to otherwise advance his personal agenda separate from governmental policymaking.... [Unlike the decommissioned old plane that the Air Force put on permanent loan to the Ronald Reagan foundation,] the Qatari plane will still be nearly new in 2029, raising the question of whether Mr. Trump's museum foundation, which is run by his allies, would allow Mr. Trump to keep using the plane after he leaves office. On Monday, Mr. Trump denied that this was his intent.... On Monday, Mr. Trump also signaled that he viewed Qatar's offer of a plane as something of a quid pro quo, emphasizing that the United States had provided security to the Gulf country and 'we will continue to.'" ~~~

~~~ Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Paul Campos in LG&$: "... the media don't know how to cover crimes committed by politicians completely out in the open, meaning Donald Trump's daily schedule as president. New York Times headline at the moment: 'Trump's Plan to Accept Luxury Jet From Qatar Strains Bounds of Propriety' No it does not strain the bounds of propriety. It shatters the limits of federal law, including the most basic principles of constitutional law. It's a completely out in the open crime. Bribing public officials is a crime. This is a bribe.... This violates the Emoluments Clause, in the same way that taking the vote away from women would violate the 19th amendment. That is to say, on its face, unambiguously."

     ~~~ Marie: Two other things about that $400MM gift-bribe to Trump: (1) most news reports describe it as a gift from the "Qatari government." That's true, but the "Qatari government" is the royal family. This is a gift from a real king (okay, emir) to a would-be king. (2) Here are some interior photos of the plane. Refitting the plane to serve as AF1 isn't just a matter of a couple of electricians putting in a presidenty communications system and a CIA technician going around to make sure there are no bugs between the sofa cushions. The planes currently used as AF1 have something like 260 miles of electrical wire in each, and that wiring is protected to work at all times, even during a nuclear attack. To replace the current electrical system, the plane has to be stripped down to its shell. All those gold fixtures and sofas, all those golden toilets and walls will have to be carefully removed and placed in storage (though I suppose they might put one sofa on loan to JayDee). On this subject: ~~~

~~~ Natalie Allison, et al., of the Washington Post: "... current and former U.S. military, defense and Secret Service officials said [Donald Trump] will likely have to waive existing security specifications to be able to use the [Qatari] plane.... Flight records show that the Qatari jet was moved five weeks ago to San Antonio International Airport, suggesting that preparations for improvements might already be underway. The Wall Street Journal first reported this month that Trump had commissioned defense contractor L3Harris to retrofit the Qatari plane in Texas.... Retrofitting the 13-year-old aircraft to current Air Force One requirements would take years of work and billions of dollars, current and former U.S. officials say. Such a task would be impossible to complete before Trump leaves office." Here's a related Politico story. ~~~

~~~ Garrett Graff: "This 'gift' is wildly corrupt, even by Trumpian standards. The idea that a foreign government could 'gift' a half-billion-dollar plane to the Pentagon through some sleight of hand that then becomes the personal toy of an ex-president when he leaves office is absolutely absurd from an ethics standpoint and clearly unconstitutional vis-à-vis the so-called 'emoluments clause,' which Trump has already severely bent in his first term.... The braintrust of Pam Bondi and Pete Hegseth have apparently come up with some legal interpretation that says this foreign gift is definitely absolutely not a foreign gift, that the United States government is totally happy and able to accept a half-billion gift from a foreign country that we would turn around and give to a president for his personal use when he's done in office. American media utterly failed yesterday in explaining the sheer illegality, unconstitutional and corrupt nature of this deal.... Maybe if the Qataris had tried to buy some of Hunter Biden's artwork instead the US media would have been able to work up the appropriate outrage lather." Graff goes on to discuss the national security risks of putting a U.S. president* on a plane owned by a foreign country.

Paul Waldman on the high cost of Trumpian corruption: "... a wealthy foreign government is giving Donald Trump a personal gift worth $400 million.... By the time these four years are over, domestic and foreign interests who want some policy favor -- a tariff waiver, a change in regulation, an arms sale -- will probably have deposited billions of dollars directly into Trump's pockets. 'I could be a stupid person and say, "Oh no, we don't want a free plane," he said by way of explaining why he'll take the Qatari jet. As far as he's concerned, if you don't cash in on public office, you're just a sucker." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Waldman also makes these two points about the Supremes: "... the Supreme Court, which in a series of recent cases has all but defined corruption out of existence.... More important, however, was their contemptible decision in Trump v. United States, in which the six conservative justices ruled that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for just about anything they do while in office. I can't prove this, but I believe that this decision ... not only ... free[d Trump] from the specter of prosecution for many of his crimes, it sent him a message: You can do whatever you want. A man who always chafed at even the slightest impingement on his ability to lie and cheat and scam his way through life now had the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card. It told him that he was subject to no limits." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. And do read Waldman's whole post.

Last Chance!! Sale Ends Monday!! Eric Lipton & David Yaffe-Bellany of the New York Times: "The sale of face-to-face access to ... [Donald] Trump using the Trump family's own cryptocurrency has done more than benefit him financially, though it has certainly done that.... Since the announcement [of the bribery opportunity auction], crypto investors around the world have raced to expand their holdings of $TRUMP -- a digital currency called a memecoin, which is typically treated more as a novelty investment than an actual currency. Certain buyers, in interviews and statements, have said they bought the coins or entered the dinner contest with the intention of securing an action by Mr. Trump to affect United States policy.... But the bidders' buying patterns, documented on a public ledger called the blockchain, suggest that a large share of the investors are based abroad. Many of the purchases took place on overseas crypto platforms like Binance or Bybit that do not allow United States-based users....

Trading records examined by The New York Times show that a flurry of purchases of the $TRUMP token started the day before the coin's backers disclosed the contest. Information had leaked about the upcoming promotion, allowing certain parties to make early bets that the market price was about to jump, the records suggest. The aggressive effort by Mr. Trump and his partners to promote the dinner has also drawn scrutiny from former securities regulators, who assert that Mr. Trump may be violating federal securities laws. However, he would almost certainly not be targeted for investigation, now that his administration has curtailed crypto enforcement efforts at both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department." (Also linked yesterday.)

~~~ Okay, the sale is over. Let's see how it went. ~~~

~~~ Eric Lipton, et al., of the New York Times: "... as the unusual contest came to a close on Monday, at least 17 of the 220 winning bidders had figured out a way to effectively outsmart the sponsors of the contest. These crypto investors had secured an invitation to the dinner even though their online wallets showed that they held zero of the memecoins.... That is because of a quirk in the rules: The winners were selected based on the average number of coins they held during the three weeks the contest was underway rather than their total at the end of bidding. Participants expected the price of the coin to crash as soon as the contest ended. And it did just that on Monday afternoon, plunging by 6.5 percent once the winners were announced. By that point, nearly 20 of the contestants had sold off or transferred all their $TRUMP holdings.... These traders had managed to benefit from the surge in price driven by the contest's promotion and still secure a seat at the dinner, set for May 22 at the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia. That was not the plan.... Mr. Trump had been urging people to buy the coins throughout the auction period, and his partners encouraged investors to keep holding them even after it ended."

Patricia Clarke of the Observer (Guardian) draws a Venn diagram of the Trumpocracy's various corrupt players & their interests. Thanks to laura h. for the link. MB: Looks like Clarke wrote the piece before the Sky Palace story erupted, so we'll need another circle or perhaps another part of the Oval Office walls on which to begin a new Venn diagram. BTW, you'll realize when you take a look at that chart that there is no way to separate the Trump corrupt players from the Trump corrupt administration. They're one-and-the-same. (Also linked yesterday.)

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Is there no end to the talents of the very stable genius? As he rolled out his executive order on Monday decreeing lower prices for prescription drugs..., Donald Trump announced that he had also achieved a lexicographical breakthrough. 'There's a new word that I came up with, which I think is probably the best word,' he announced from the Roosevelt Room. 'We're going to "equalize," where we're all going to pay the same.' He has the best words. A stickler might point out that, according to the Online Etymology Library, the word 'equalize' has been part of the English language since the 1580s." This is a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump's "equalizing" plan is getting a lot of positive news coverage, because U.S. reporters are remarkably credulous. For a more realistic look at what's in the order, how it would work (or not) and on prices for what drugs (who knows?), here are fairly realistic views from the WashPo & NYT: ~~~

The cost for Medicaid and Medicare, and just basically pharmaceuticals and drugs is going down at a level that nobody has ever seen before. -- Donald Trump, yesterday ~~~

     ~~~ Daniel Gilbert of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday that aims to coax pharmaceutical companies into offering lower prices in the United States..., but without clear mechanisms for providing fast relief to American patients. The order, with little detail, targets drug pricing on a potentially broader scale than Trump did in his first administration, but his directive lacks teeth that would compel lower prices in the near term. In a telling signal, the stock prices of numerous large pharmaceutical companies rose Monday.... Experts said the plan lacks enough detail to determine whether patients would realize any tangible benefits and pointed out it is likely to face court challenges. The order did not state whether the administration would be seeking lower prices in Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance markets -- or all of the above." ~~~

~~~ Margot Sanger-Katz & Rebecca Robbins of the New York Times: Donald "Trump on Monday signed an executive order asking drugmakers to voluntarily reduce the prices of key medicines in the United States. But the order cites no obvious legal authority to mandate lower prices.... It was something of a win for the pharmaceutical industry, which had been bracing for a policy that would be much more damaging to its interests. Last week, Mr. Trump hyped a coming announcement that was 'as big as it gets.' And on Sunday evening, he teed up the order in a Truth Social post, writing that he would link U.S. drug prices to those in peer countries under a 'most favored nation' pricing model -- a policy he attempted unsuccessfully in his first term for a small set of drugs in Medicare. His executive order on Monday does not do that.... With his executive order, Mr. Trump opted not to propose measures ... [with] more teeth....

"Mr. Trump's executive order came just hours after House Republicans offered an expansive set of health care policy changes that would cut around $700 billion from Medicaid and the Obamacare marketplaces over a decade and would cause an estimated 8.6 million Americans to become uninsured. Congress declined to include any provisions to directly limit drug prices in that package."

Would you take your children or grandchildren to a sewerage-infested, off-limits creek for a Mother's Day swim? I didn't think so. But our Health Secretary would. And did. ~~~

Chris Cameron of the New York Times: "Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, posted photos on Sunday of himself and his grandchildren swimming in a contaminated Washington creek where swimming is not allowed because it is used for sewer runoff. Rock Creek, which flows through much of Northwest Washington, is used to drain excess sewage and storm water during rainfall. The creek has widespread 'fecal' contamination and high levels of bacteria, including E. coli, and the city has banned swimming in all of its waterways for more than 50 years because of the widespread contamination of Rock Creek and other nearby rivers. Rock Creek has high levels of bacteria and other infectious pathogens that make swimming, wading, and other contact with the water a hazard to human (and pet) health,' the National Park Service wrote in an advisory on its website, adding 'All District waterways are subject to a swim ban -- this means wading, too!'... Mr. Kennedy said in [a] social media post that he had gone for the swim in Rock Creek during a Mother's Day hike in Dumbarton Oaks Park with his family -- including his grandchildren, who are also seen in the photos swimming in the contaminated water. Dumbarton Oaks Park is downstream from Piney Branch, a tributary of Rock Creek that receives about 40 million gallons of untreated sewage and storm water overflow each year, according to the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The D.C. police should arrest Kennedy for child endangerment.

OMG. Josh Gerstein & Katherine Tully-McManus of Politico: "The leadership of the Library of Congress is in apparent dispute after the White House moved Monday to install Justice Department's No. 2 official as its new acting chief. A DOJ official said ... Donald Trump appointed Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting Libarian of Congress. But the official who now holds that post, Robert Randolph Newlen, disputed a change had been made in an email to library staff Monday morning. 'Congress is engaged with the White House and we have not received direction from Congress about how to move forward,' Newlen wrote in an internal email to Library of Congress employees. Newlen took over as acting Librarian of Congress Thursday after Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, cutting short her 10-year term.

"White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that Trump had dismissed Hayden because 'she did not fit the needs of the American people.' Leavitt described as 'quite concerning' Hayden's work on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs.... Leavitt also claimed Hayden was 'putting inappropriate books in the library for children,' a puzzling assertion since the Library of Congress is not a lending library and researchers have to be at least 16." (See clarification in Miller & Barrett's report below.) (Also linked yesterday.)

     ~~~ Marie: You will, no doubt, recognize Todd the Librarian as one of Felonious Trump's many defense attorneys. You also might have noticed we have less and less of a government and more and more of a Trumpocracy where Trump's cronies (minus the ones he's discarded along the way) are "in charge" of everything and necessarily don't do much other than run errands for the boss. In any event, our "government" is becoming a farcical outfit run principally in service to the king. As for Press Secretary Pouty Barbie, she clearly has never been inside the Library of Congress.

     ~~~ Update. Maya Miller & Devlin Barrett of the New York Times: "... staff members at the Library of Congress pushed back, insisting that Congress must have input and refusing to give two other top Justice Department officials whom Mr. Blanche chose for senior positions there access to the agency's headquarters on Capitol Hill.... Staff members ... called the U.S. Capitol Police as well as their general counsel, Meg Williams, who told the two officials that they were not allowed access to the Copyright Office and asked them to leave.... [Blanche's employees] then left the building willingly, accompanied to the door by Ms. Williams.... It is primarily a research facility limited to people 16 years or older, but it also has a children's reading room." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update 2. "Katherine Tully-McManus, et al., of Politico: "Top congressional leaders are pushing back against ... Donald Trump's attempt to replace two Library of Congress leaders, with the dispute over presidential powers over the institution leaving its future in question Monday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in a brief interview that congressional leaders 'want to make sure we're following precedent and procedure' in naming a replacement for Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress whom Trump dismissed Thursday.... While the president nominates the Librarian of Congress for Senate confirmation, the library itself is part of the legislative branch." MB: Wait a minute, Thune. You're talking about replacing the librarian Trump fired. The Librarian of Congress. How is it that you're allowing the President* to fire the Librarian of Congress without cause? Without Congressional input or review. Without nuthin'?

Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor White People. Teo Armus & Emily Wax-Thibodeaux of the Washington Post: "A group of about 50 White South Africans landed at Dulles International Airport on Monday as refugees, coming to the United States under a humanitarian designation meant for people fleeing war or persecution that the Trump administration has suspended for all other groups worldwide.... Donald Trump has said the Afrikaners -- a minority group descended from Dutch settlers in South Africa -- are facing racial discrimination due to a land redistribution law in that country that seeks to correct an imbalance in property ownership stemming from four decades of apartheid rule. No land seizures have been carried out under that law. But Trump claimed Monday that a genocide was taking place in South Africa, an allegation government officials there say lacks any evidence." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The WashPo reporters don't mention it, but I saw a clip on MSNBC in which a reporter asked the Trump official who greeted the Afrikaners why they were admitted to the U.S. when all others were barred. The official, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, replied that the Afrikaners were better able to assimilate in the U.S. and did not pose a challenge to our national security (unlike non-white people, one infers). On another MSNBC program, Eddie Glaude said that among its various characteristics, Team Trump was running a white nationalist administration. IMO, that is an appropriate description. And this Afrikaner refugee program -- again, just my opinion -- is purposely flaunting that white nationalist agenda. ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Amanda Friedman of Politico: "Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced on Monday that the U.S. will terminate the temporary protected status program for Afghanistan, a move that could lead to the deportation of over 9,000 Afghans residing in the country. Noem said in a statement that the conditions in Afghanistan have improved sufficiently to warrant the program's termination. Afghans' temporary protected status will expire on May 20 and the elimination of the program will take effect on July 12.... However, the Trump administration has considered exempting Christians from its campaign to deport Afghan refugees.... Refugee rights groups have condemned the administration, saying that many Afghans protected by the program have aided U.S. national security efforts. The nonprofit #AfghanEvac, which helps Afghan families resettle in the U.S., called the move 'unconscionable.'"

Bill Shaner, a local, Worcester, Massachusetts, reporter, in Mother Jones: Shaner witnessed an arrest and detention of an alleged undocumented woman (name unknown). The local police, who claimed not to be helping the federal agents (departments unclear), in fact showed up in force to protect the agents from residents trying to stop the detention or at least see a warrant (that didn't happen). The local cops arrested two people, one a 16-year-old girl who is the daughter of the detained woman, the other a community activist. Thanks to RAS for the link. MB: I urge you to read this report. This is happening in a town near you (and in this particular case, near me). (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "In the weeks since [Tufts Ph.D. student Rumeysa Ozturk's] arrest, similar scenes have become commonplace. Reports and social media posts from across the country document federal agents seizing targeted individuals (and likely some number of non-targeted ones) while wearing plainclothes and face coverings. The mass deportation effort Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail has unfolded less like a careful, accountable police operation than the emergence of a secret police force acting on behalf of the chief executive. This is almost certainly not an accident.... Radley Balko..., author of 'Rise of the Warrior Cop,' explained ... to me that this desire for anonymity is likely a function of numerous overlapping impulses.... 'The masking ... [is] mostly about intimidation.'... This overlaps with another motivation: impunity. 'Just based on my own research and reporting, I think there's a strong correlation between cops who think they're above the law,' Balko said, 'and cops who shield their faces and refuse to give names and badge numbers.' Trump has made very clear that he has little interest in confronting police corruption or abuse....

"'These are public employees that are accountable to the public and accountable to Congress,' Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) said in a social media post on Saturday. 'And this idea that we are going to allow some kind of paramilitary force to bloom that is not in any way -- accountable to the Constitution of the United States? We've got another thing coming.' This lack of accountability, she said, was what was 'actually anti-American' -- given that it served 'to attack free speech, to attack the powers of Congress, to erode our ability to investigate and conduct oversight.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Niraj Chokshi of the New York Times: "In the four years since its first flight, Avelo Airlines has gained loyal customers by serving smaller cities like New Haven, Conn., and Burbank, Calif. Now, it has a new, very different line of business. It is running deportation flights for the Trump administration. Despite weeks of protests from customers and elected officials, Avelo's first flight for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement appears to have departed on Monday morning from Mesa, Ariz.... Commercial carriers typically avoid this kind of work so as not to wade into politics and upset customers or employees. The risks for Avelo are perhaps even greater because a large proportion of its flights either land or take off from cities where most people are progressives or centrists who are much less likely to support Mr. Trump's hard-line immigration policies.... But ... the money the company stands to make from ICE flights is too good to pass up, the airline's founder and chief executive, Andrew Levy, said last month in an internal email.... The Democratic governors of Connecticut and Delaware denounced Avelo, while lawmakers in Connecticut and New York released proposals to withdraw state support, including a tax break on jet fuel purchases, from companies that work with ICE."

Ryan Mac & Mark Walker of the New York Times: "The Federal Railroad Administration, the nation's railroad agency, has brought in the Boring Company, the tunneling firm founded by Elon Musk, to see if it could help with a multibillion-dollar Amtrak project, according to three people familiar with the discussions. Federal Railroad Administration officials have talked with employees at the Boring Company about assessing the costs and progress of the Frederick Douglass Tunnel program, a new tunnel along a busy Amtrak stretch connecting Baltimore to Washington and Virginia. Amtrak ... estimates [the tunnel project] could cost as much as $8.5 billion.... It is the 'single largest infrastructure effort' led by Amtrak, according to a report last year by Amtrak's inspector general office, which also expressed concerns over ballooning costs and missed deadlines."

Ana Swanson & Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: Donald "Trump's decision to impose, and then walk back, triple-digit tariffs on Chinese products over the past month demonstrated the power and global reach of U.S. trade policy. But it was also another illustration of the limitations of Mr. Trump's aggressive approach.... The talks this weekend [between the U.S. and China], and the tariff chaos of the past month, did not appear to generate any other immediate concessions from the Chinese other than a commitment to keep talking.... Through his so-called reciprocal tariffs and maximalist levies on China, the 'Art of the Deal' president is employing a strategy that involves manufacturing trade crises in hopes of extracting quick economic concessions. But when confronting an economic power with similar might and perhaps more willingness to endure pain, Mr. Trump opted to stand down.... The decision to temporarily lower tariffs on China provides a welcome reprieve for businesses, but it will also do little to ease longer-run uncertainty that is weighing on U.S. firms."

River Davis & Jason Karaian of the New York Times: "Stocks swung sharply higher on Monday after the United States and China agreed to temporarily lower tariffs on each other, a significant step-back in the trade war that's roiled markets for nearly six weeks. The S&P 500 gained 3.3 percent, its best day since April 9, when a huge rally was spurred by Mr. Trump pausing his 'reciprocal' tariffs on all countries except China. The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed even higher, rising more than 4 percent. The apparent thaw in relations between the United States and China, even if temporary, was the latest concession offered by the Trump administration, which had sent stocks tumbling last month after announcing unexpectedly high tariffs on dozens of countries." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm sure Trump gets a tremendous thrill out of manipulating the stock market, and I'm nearly as certain that there is insider trading going on. ~~~

~~~ Paul Krugman: "1. A 30 percent tariff is still really, really high, especially combined with the 10 percent tariff we're imposing on everyone else.... 2.... This was basically Trump running away from the killer rabbit. 3. The prohibitive tariff has been paused, not canceled.... 4. This retreat probably hasn't come soon enough to avoid high prices and empty shelves." ~~~

~~~ Wall Street Journal Editors: "Rarely has an economic policy been repudiated as soundly, and as quickly, as ... [Donald] Trump's Liberation Day tariffs -- and by Mr. Trump's own hand. Witness the agreement Monday morning to scale back his punitive tariffs on China -- his second major retreat in less than a week. This is a win for economic reality, and for American prosperity. Make that a partial win for reality.... As with last week's modest British agreement, the China deal is more surrender than Trump victory." MB: This appears to be a gift link; it worked for me.

~~~ Marcie Jones of Wonkette seems strangely unsympathetic to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer having to "haggle with themselves over how much dolls and pencils should cost back home" while Chinese trade reps sampled the fruit platters. "Scott B. and JG ended up with a final offer of 30 percent for 90 days, after Trump had talked himself down to 80 percent on Friday. Hey, those tariffs were supposed to make us RICH RICH RICH and make all the little girls grateful! What happened to that?... Watch Jamieson and Scott B., both looking haggard and miserable, explaining that this is all China's fault for reciprocating after Trump started the whole thing, leading to an effective embargoing of ourselves. Behold how Scott B.'s heavy pancake is not blended with his neck or hairline at all while he tries to say this is all big strategery, we were just negging, us and China are still a couple!" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It is refreshing to know that at a moment when Team Trump has floored me that some people are still able to cheerfully mock them. Not only that, Jones' point is well-taken.

Karen Zraick of the New York Times: "The Agriculture Department will restore information about climate change that was scrubbed from its website when ... [Donald] Trump took office, according to court documents filed on Monday in a lawsuit over the deletion. The deleted data included pages on federal funding and loans, forest conservation and rural clean energy projects. It also included sections of the U.S. Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service sites, and the U.S. Forest Service's 'Climate Risk Viewer,' which included detailed maps showing how climate change might affect national forests and grasslands. The lawsuit, filed in February, said the purge denied farmers information to make time-sensitive decisions while facing business risks linked to climate change, such as heat waves, droughts, floods and wildfires. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Yeah but. Obviously, climate change is, well, changing. So I assume that from time to time, climate scientists updated the government's risk review. There is no suggestion in this story that the review will be updated or that the research to update the review will happen. I don't see that a risk review stuck in 2024 will continue to be of high value over the next 4-year or 4-year-plus period.

Niraj Chokshi, et al., of the New York Times: "As few as three air traffic controllers were scheduled to work on Monday evening at the facility guiding planes to and from Newark Liberty International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said, far fewer than the target of 14 controllers for most of those hours. The staffing crisis added strain to an already troubled aviation system, with flights to Newark delayed by as much as seven hours on Monday. The F.A.A. said in a statement to The New York Times that it had at least three controllers scheduled every hour on Monday evening at a Philadelphia facility that manages Newark's air traffic. But four people familiar with problems at the airport said that the number of fully certified controllers on duty was at times one or two. Staffing shortages affected flights at the airport for much of the day, forcing the F.A.A. to hold up incoming flights from taking off." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In case you're wondering, "Who's fault is this, anyway?" this AP report on DOGE cuts to the FAA may help. But it doesn't seem to me that one can pin the staffing shortages on Trump 2.0.

Dana Hedgpeth of the Washington Post: "Several trains on Amtrak's Northeast line and on the MARC commuter train's Penn line were canceled Tuesday morning because of a large-scale fire overnight at a warehouse in West Baltimore. No details were given as to when full train service would be restored on either of the lines. Travelers are advised to check with the train services. More than 200 firefighters were battling the seven-alarm blaze at a mattress warehouse that sits near the train tracks, Baltimore Fire officials said Tuesday. At an early-morning briefing, Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace said the building has two levels below ground that are 'stacked full of mattresses.'"

Anumita Kaur of the Washington Post: "Nearly 60,000 people in the United States will lose their federal housing assistance years before they anticipated, placing them at imminent risk of eviction and potential homelessness. A sweeping effort launched in 2021 allocated $5 billion to rapidly house the most vulnerable people at the height of the coronavirus pandemic: those living on the streets, facing domestic violence or experiencing human trafficking. The emergency housing vouchers initiative -- a beefed-up version of the longtime Section 8 program -- was slated to last through 2030, granting recipients housing security through the decade with the expectation that they would have the time and resources to wean off the assistance. But the Department of Housing and Urban Development said the money ran out early.... The remaining funds are likely to support families for another 18 months at most, housing officials said."

Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "If it becomes law..., Donald Trump and congressional Republicans' massive bill will reshape much of the federal government 00 and the U.S. economy. GOP majorities in the House and Senate are attempting to move swiftly to reverse many of President Joe Biden's legislative accomplishments and cement Trump's legacy in the tax code, on the southern border and in generations-old anti-poverty benefits. The House's bill would devote hundreds of billions of dollars to finishing Trump's border wall, fortifying maritime border crossings, outfitting the Defense Department and more. It would extend the tax cuts that were one of the signature legislative achievements of Trump's first term, create new savings accounts for newborns and fulfill some -- but not all -- of the president's campaign promises.... GOP leaders are using the budget reconciliation process to shepherd the measure, which would allow them to dodge a Democratic filibuster in the Senate and pass it on party lines.... Here's what's in the proposal." ~~~

~~~ Tony Romm of the New York Times: "House Republicans on Monday proposed a series of sharp restrictions on the federal anti-hunger program known as food stamps, seeking to limit its funding and benefits as part of a sprawling package to advance ... [Donald] Trump's tax cuts. The proposal, included in a draft measure to be considered by the House Agriculture Committee this week, would require states to supply some of the funding for food stamps while forcing more of its beneficiaries to obtain employment in exchange for federal aid. The moves could result in potentially millions of low-income families losing access to the safety net program. But G.O.P. leaders insist that their approach would improve the provision of food stamp benefits while helping to defray the cost of Mr. Trump's expensive legislative ambitions." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Gosh, the GOP is worse than Marie Antoinette. At least she thought the poor could eat cake (or, more specifically, brioche). Okay, the quote is fictional, but it does show you how careless Congressional Republicans are. One thing they could do to cut the cost of SNAP is to pass a living minimum wage, so people could buy food for their families out of their very own pockets. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25/hour for non-tipped employees ($2.13/hour for some tipped employees). ~~~

     <~~~ Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post: "It's never a great time to purge millions of Americans from critical safety-net services. But if we are indeed barreling toward recession, as many economists predict, now is an especially bad time.... Republicans desperately want to cut taxes, with the largest benefits going to higher-income households and businesses. This combination -- top-heavy tax cuts financed by low-income benefit cuts -- would add up to possibly the largest single transfer of wealth from poor to rich in U.S. history, according to back-of-the-envelope numbers from Bobby Kogan, a former Senate budget staffer and researcher at the Center for American Progress." Read on. This is an incredibly depressing/doom-and-gloom column.

Last week, Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) addressed Congressional Republicans. Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See also his commentary in yesterday's thread: ~~~

Most major news organizations are covering the federal Sean Diddy Combs sex-trafficking trial. I'm not. Here are the New York Times' live updates of developments yesterday, which was the first day of testimony in the trial. From here on, at least until the verdict, if you're interested in what's happening in the trial, you'll have to seek other sources.

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Israel/Palestine, et al. Claire Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "Hamas released Israeli American Edan Alexander from captivity in Gaza after more than 19 months, in a gesture to the Trump administration following direct talks between U.S. and Hamas officials in recent days. Alexander was handed over to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Khan Younis on Monday evening local time, Hamas said in a statement. The ICRC then transferred him to the Israeli military, the Israel Defense Forces said. He is expected to be flown to a facility in southern Israel to undergo initial medical examinations and reunite with his mother, who traveled from New Jersey to meet him. If his health allows, he will then fly to Qatar to meet ... Donald Trump and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, his family told Israeli media.... He was the last living American held hostage in Gaza, and Hamas's decision to free him was seen as a goodwill gesture amid efforts to reach a ceasefire with Israel." (Also linked yesterday.)

Here's a hopeful note, maybe not for us in the U.S., but for the world: ~~~

~~~ Vatican. Noah Berlatsky of Public Notice: "... the new pope, like the old pope, does not support MAGA's christofascist nationalism. MAGA, confronted with the fact that they do not control everything or everyone, responded in their usual fashion -- by wailing and gnashing their teeth.... The Vatican had to know that selecting an American, reform-minded, pro-immigrant pope would be perceived by Trump and his followers as a rebuke. Trump is currently the leading exponent of dehumanizing anti-immigrant rhetoric, and of Christian fascism, in the world. Leo's first homily pointedly referenced the Biblical phrase 'a city set on a hill' -- a phrase Ronald Reagan used to refer to America, but which the pope reads as a reference to the Church.... Trump's uniquely clumsy illiberalism makes him a perfect foil for opponents of fascism across the globe.... Trump's unfailing ability to make everyone his enemy benefits liberals in Canada, Australia, and Germany, who are trying to fight their own right wing...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ MB Note to Berlatsky: The Pope would read "a city set on a hill" as "as reference to the Church." It recalls the Sermon on the Mount: "You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden." (Matthew 5:14)-76-

The Conversation -- May 12, 2025

Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor White People. Teo Armus & Emily Wax-Thibodeaux of the Washington Post: "A group of about 50 White South Africans landed at Dulles International Airport on Monday as refugees, coming to the United States under a humanitarian designation meant for people fleeing war or persecution that the Trump administration has suspended for all other groups worldwide.... Donald Trump has said the Afrikaners -- a minority group descended from Dutch settlers in South Africa -- are facing racial discrimination due to a land redistribution law in that country that seeks to correct an imbalance in property ownership stemming from four decades of apartheid rule. No land seizures have been carried out under that law. But Trump claimed Monday that a genocide was taking place in South Africa, an allegation government officials there say lacks any evidence." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The WashPo reporters don't mention it, but I saw a clip on MSNBC in which a reporter asked the Trump official who greeted the Afrikaners why they were admitted to the U.S. when all others were barred. The official, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, replied that the Afrikaners were better able to assimilate in the U.S. and did not pose a challenge to our national security (unlike non-white people, one infers). On another MSNBC program, Eddie Glaude said that among its various characteristics, Team Trump was running a white nationalist administration. IMO, that is an appropriate description. And this Afrikaner refugee program -- again, just my opinion -- is purposely flaunting that white nationalist agenda.

River Davis & Jason Karaian of the New York Times: "Stocks swung sharply higher on Monday after the United States and China agreed to temporarily lower tariffs on each other, a significant step-back in the trade war that's roiled markets for nearly six weeks. The S&P 500 gained 3.3 percent, its best day since April 9, when a huge rally was spurred by Mr. Trump pausing his 'reciprocal' tariffs on all countries except China. The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed even higher, rising more than 4 percent. The apparent thaw in relations between the United States and China, even if temporary, was the latest concession offered by the Trump administration, which had sent stocks tumbling last month after announcing unexpectedly high tariffs on dozens of countries." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm sure Trump gets a tremendous thrill out of manipulating the stock market, and I'm nearly as certain that there is insider trading going on.

Paul Waldman on the high cost of Trumpian corruption: "... a wealthy foreign government is giving Donald Trump a personal gift worth $400 million.... By the time these four years are over, domestic and foreign interests who want some policy favor -- a tariff waiver, a change in regulation, an arms sale -- will probably have deposited billions of dollars directly into Trump's pockets. 'I could be a stupid person and say, "Oh no, we don't want a free plane,"' he said by way of explaining why he'll take the Qatari jet. As far as he's concerned, if you don't cash in on public office, you're just a sucker." ~~~

~~~ Waldman also makes these two points about the Supremes: "... the Supreme Court, which in a series of recent cases has all but defined corruption out of existence.... More important, however, was their contemptible decision in Trump v. United States, in which the six conservative justices ruled that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for just about anything they do while in office. I can't prove this, but I believe that this decision ... not only ... free[d Trump] from the specter of prosecution for many of his crimes, it sent him a message: You can do whatever you want. A man who always chafed at even the slightest impingement on his ability to lie and cheat and scam his way through life now had the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card. It told him that he was subject to no limits." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. And do read Waldman's whole post.

OMG. Josh Gerstein & Katherine Tully-McManus of Politico: "The leadership of the Library of Congress is in apparent dispute after the White House moved Monday to install Justice Department's No. 2 official as its new acting chief. A DOJ official said ... Donald Trump appointed Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting Libarian of Congress. But the official who now holds that post, Robert Randolph Newlen, disputed a change had been made in an email to library staff Monday morning. 'Congress is engaged with the White House and we have not received direction from Congress about how to move forward,' Newlen wrote in an internal email to Library of Congress employees. Newlen took over as acting Librarian of Congress Thursday after Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, cutting short her 10-year term.

"White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that Trump had dismissed Hayden because 'she did not fit the needs of the American people.' Leavitt described as 'quite concerning' Hayden's work on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs.... Leavitt also claimed Hayden was 'putting inappropriate books in the library for children,' a puzzling assertion since the Library of Congress is not a lending library and researchers have to be at least 16." (See clarification in Miller & Barrett's report below.)

     ~~~ Marie: You will, no doubt, recognize Todd the Librarian as one of Felonious Trump's many defense attorneys. You also might have noticed we have less and less of a government and more and more of a Trumpocracy where Trump's cronies (minus the ones he's discarded along the way) are "in charge" of everything and necessarily don't do much other than run errands for the boss. In any event, our "government" is becoming a farcical outfit run principally in service to the king. As for Press Secretary Pouty Barbie, she clearly has never been inside the Library of Congress.

     ~~~ Update. Maya Miller & Devlin Barrett of the New York Times: "... staff members at the Library of Congress pushed back, insisting that Congress must have input and refusing to give two other top Justice Department officials whom Mr. Blanche chose for senior positions there access to the agency's headquarters on Capitol Hill.... Staff members ... called the U.S. Capitol Police as well as their general counsel, Meg Williams, who told the two officials that they were not allowed access to the Copyright Office and asked them to leave.... [Blanche's employees] then left the building willingly, accompanied to the door by Ms. Williams.... It is primarily a research facility limited to people 16 years or older, but it also has a children's reading room."

Last Chance!! Sale Ends Today!! Eric Lipton & David Yaffe-Bellany of the New York Times: "The sale of face-to-face access to ... [Donald] Trump using the Trump family's own cryptocurrency has done more than benefit him financially, though it has certainly done that.... Since the announcement [of the bribery opportunity auction], crypto investors around the world have raced to expand their holdings of $TRUMP -- a digital currency called a memecoin, which is typically treated more as a novelty investment than an actual currency. Certain buyers, in interviews and statements, have said they bought the coins or entered the dinner contest with the intention of securing an action by Mr. Trump to affect United States policy.... But the bidders' buying patterns, documented on a public ledger called the blockchain, suggest that a large share of the investors are based abroad. Many of the purchases took place on overseas crypto platforms like Binance or Bybit that do not allow United States-based users....

"Trading records examined by The New York Times show that a flurry of purchases of the $TRUMP token started the day before the coin's backers disclosed the contest. Information had leaked about the upcoming promotion, allowing certain parties to make early bets that the market price was about to jump, the records suggest. The aggressive effort by Mr. Trump and his partners to promote the dinner has also drawn scrutiny from former securities regulators, who assert that Mr. Trump may be violating federal securities laws. However, he would almost certainly not be targeted for investigation, now that his administration has curtailed crypto enforcement efforts at both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department."

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: Donald "Trump angrily brushed off ethical concerns about accepting a $400 million luxury jet from Qatar to be used as a new Air Force One, saying only someone 'stupid' would turn down such an offer.... Mr. Trump said when the Qatari plane is decommissioned from military use and is turned over to his library at the end of his term that he won't continue flying in it.... He grew angry at the questions of an ethical quagmire, including whether Qatar expected anything in exchange for the donation, which he said would be to the Defense Department and not to him personally.... 'You should be embarrassed asking that question,' Mr. Trump told an ABC News reporter who pressed him on the issue. 'They're giving us a free jet. I could say, "No, no, no, don't give us. I want to pay you a billion or $400 million, or whatever it is." Or I could say, "Thank you very much."' He then invoked a golf analogy about accepting a free putt during a round, suggesting that following rules when one doesn't have to is foolish." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Shawn McCreesh of the New York Times: "This is the parable of the president and the putt." This is a gift link.

Marcie Jones of Wonkette seems a bit unsympathetic to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer having to "haggle with themselves over how much dolls and pencils should cost back home" while Chinese trade reps sampled the fruit platters. "Scott B. and JG ended up with a final offer of 30 percent for 90 days, after Trump had talked himself down to 80 percent on Friday. Hey, those tariffs were supposed to make us RICH RICH RICH and make all the little girls grateful! What happened to that?... Watch Jamieson and Scott B., both looking haggard and miserable, explaining that this is all China's fault for reciprocating after Trump started the whole thing, leading to an effective embargoing of ourselves. Behold how Scott B.'s heavy pancake is not blended with his neck or hairline at all while he tries to say this is all big strategery, we were just negging, us and China are still a couple!" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It is refreshing to know that at a moment when Team Trump has floored me that some people are still able to cheerfully mock them. Not only that, Jones' point is well-taken.

Last week, Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) addressed Congressional Republicans. Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See also his commentary below: ~~~

Bill Shaner, a local, Worcester, Massachusetts, reporter, in Mother Jones: Shaner witnessed an arrest and detention of an alleged undocumented woman (name still unknown). The local police, who claimed not to be helping the federal agents (departments unclear), in fact showed up in force to protect the agents from residents trying to stop the detention or at least see a warrant (that didn't happen). The local cops arrested two people, one a 16-year-old girl who is the daughter of the detained woman, the other a community activist. Thanks to RAS for the link. MB: I urge you to read this report. This is happening in a town near you (and in this particular case, near me). ~~~

~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "In the weeks since [Tufts Ph.D. student Rumeysa Ozturk's] arrest, similar scenes have become commonplace. Reports and social media posts from across the country document federal agents seizing targeted individuals (and likely some number of non-targeted ones) while wearing plainclothes and face coverings. The mass deportation effort Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail has unfolded less like a careful, accountable police operation than the emergence of a secret police force acting on behalf of the chief executive. This is almost certainly not an accident.... Radley Balko..., author of 'Rise of the Warrior Cop,' explained in an email to me that this desire for anonymity is likely a function of numerous overlapping impulses.... 'The masking ... [is] mostly about intimidation.'... This overlaps with another motivation: impunity. '... I think there's a strong correlation between cops who think they're above the law,' Balko said, 'and cops who shield their faces and refuse to give names and badge numbers.' Trump has made very clear that he has little interest in confronting police corruption or abuse....

"'These are public employees that are accountable to the public and accountable to Congress,' Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) said in a social media post on Saturday. 'And this idea that we are going to allow some kind of paramilitary force to bloom that is not in any way ... accountable to the Constitution of the United States? We've got another thing coming.' This lack of accountability, she said, was what was 'actually anti-American' -- given that it served 'to attack free speech, to attack the powers of Congress, to erode our ability to investigate and conduct oversight.'"

Patricia Clarke of the Observer (Guardian) draws a Venn diagram of the Trumpocracy's various corrupt players & their interests. Thanks to laura h. for the link. MB: Looks like Clarke wrote the piece before the Sky Palace story erupted, so we'll need another circle or perhaps another part of the Oval Office walls on which to begin a new Venn diagram. BTW, you'll realize when you take a look at that chart that there is no way to separate the Trump corrupt players from the Trump corrupt administration. They're one-and-the-same.

Here's a hopeful note, maybe not for us in the U.S., but for the world: ~~~

~~~ Noah Berlatsky of Public Notice: "... the new pope, like the old pope, does not support MAGA's christofascist nationalism. MAGA, confronted with the fact that they do not control everything or everyone, responded in their usual fashion -- by wailing and gnashing their teeth.... The Vatican had to know that selecting an American, reform-minded, pro-immigrant pope would be perceived by Trump and his followers as a rebuke. Trump is currently the leading exponent of dehumanizing anti-immigrant rhetoric, and of Christian fascism, in the world. Leo's first homily pointedly referenced the Biblical phrase 'a city set on a hill' -- a phrase Ronald Reagan used to refer to America, but which the pope reads as a reference to the Church.... Trump's uniquely clumsy illiberalism makes him a perfect foil for opponents of fascism across the globe.... Trump's unfailing ability to make everyone his enemy benefits liberals in Canada, Australia, and Germany, who are trying to fight their own right wing...." ~~~

     ~~~ MB Note to Berlatsky: The Pope would read "a city set on a hill" as "as reference to the Church." It recalls the Sermon on the Mount: "You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden." (Matthew 5:14)

Claire Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "Hamas released Israeli American Edan Alexander from captivity in Gaza after more than 19 months, in a gesture to the Trump administration following direct talks between U.S. and Hamas officials in recent days. Alexander was handed over to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Khan Younis on Monday evening local time, Hamas said in a statement. The ICRC then transferred him to the Israeli military, the Israel Defense Forces said. He is expected to be flown to a facility in southern Israel to undergo initial medical examinations and reunite with his mother, who traveled from New Jersey to meet him. If his health allows, he will then fly to Qatar to meet ... Donald Trump and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, his family told Israeli media.... He was the last living American held hostage in Gaza, and Hamas's decision to free him was seen as a goodwill gesture amid efforts to reach a ceasefire with Israel."

     ~~~ MB: I meant to link this earlier. Thanks to RAS for the link.

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A Temporary, Partial Ceasefire in Trump Trade Tax War with China. Daisuke Wakabayashi, et al., of the New York Times: "The United States and China said Monday they reached an agreement to temporarily reduce the punishing tariffs they have imposed on each other in an attempt to defuse the trade war threatening the world's two largest economies. In a joint statement, the countries said they would suspend their respective tariffs for 90 days while they negotiate. Under the agreement, the United States would reduce the tariff on Chinese imports to 30 percent from its current 145 percent, while China would lower its import duty on American goods to 10 percent from 125 percent. 'We concluded that we have a shared interest,' said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at a news conference in Geneva where U.S. and Chinese officials met over the weekend.... The agreement breaks an impasse that had brought trade between China and the United States to a halt. Many American businesses had suspended orders, holding out hope that the two countries could strike a deal to bring down the tariff rates while raising the possibility of price increases." A CNBC report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Are we supposed to cheer now? ~~~

~~~ Marcy Wheeler: "Against the background of empty ports, stalled shipping traffic, and impending business failures, Trump has capitulated on his trade embargo with China. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will announce an even bigger rollback of tariffs than the 80 or 50% tariffs Trump floated last week, to 30% (which is the 10% tariffs imposed worldwide, plus the 20% that purports to be a punishment for China's role in providing precursors for fentanyl).... In announcing this 'deal,' Greer offered up thin excuses for capitulating within hours." Wheeler argues that Greer's thin excuses may be useful evidence for the plaintiffs bringing lawsuits against the tariffs.

... And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. -- U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 9, Clause 8

⭐~~~ Extraordinary Graft. Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The Trump administration plans to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 plane as a donation from the Qatari royal family that will be upgraded to serve as Air Force One, in possibly the biggest foreign gift ever received by the U.S. government, a senior official with direct knowledge of the matter said. The plane will then be donated to ... [Donald] Trump's presidential library when he leaves office, the official said, allowing him to continue using it as a private citizen. The plan raises substantial ethical issues, given the immense value of the lavishly-appointed plane and the fact that Mr. Trump plans to use it after he leaves office. Sold new, a commercial Boeing 747-8 costs in the range of $400 million.... The plane being donated by Qatar is expected to be retrofitted by a military contractor called L3Harris, in Texas, and that work can begin once the government approves how the plane is being acquired, the official said. It is expected to be finished being equipped with military capabilities by the end of the year, the official said, allowing Mr. Trump to use it while in office." (Also linked yesterday.) The story has been updated. ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the last graf: "The current plan has been signed off on by government lawyers who concluded it does not violate the emoluments clause of the Constitution and that the Defense Department can accept the gift, the official said." MB: Yeah, I'll bet those government lawyers signed off. Wouldn't we like to know who they were: Pam Bondi & Emil Bove?? And who will be doing the extensive remodeling and upkeep of Trump's plane? You and I, of course. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Oh, wait. This is from the ABC News report, which broke the story: "... Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump's top White House lawyer David Warrington concluded it would be 'legally permissible' for the donation of the aircraft to be conditioned on transferring its ownership to Trump's presidential library before the end of his term.... Bondi provided a legal memorandum addressed to the White House counsel's office last week after Warrington asked her for advice on the legality of the Pentagon accepting such a donation.... Both the White House and DOJ concluded that because the gift is not conditioned on any official act, it does not constitute bribery, the sources said. Bondi's legal analysis also says it does not run afoul of the Constitution's prohibition on foreign gifts because the plane is not being given to an individual, but rather to the United States Air Force and, eventually, to the presidential library foundation, the sources said." MB: I was mostly kidding about Bondi. I should have known she would not even consider standing between Trump and a $400MM thing. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: While Trump is flying around in his "palace in the sky," he is cutting services and programs for young families, cutting R&D for medical and other scientific advancement that help us all, AND is raising the prices of everything that struggling young families need, especially safe products for babies and children like car seats & strollers (or as Trump would have it, "the thing you carry the baby around in"). Also, do see Patrick's comment in yesterday's thread regarding federal government gift laws. ~~~

The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar's Ministry of Defense and the US Department of Defense. But the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made. -- Ali Al-Ansari, Qatar's media attaché, in a statement made shortly before Trump boasted about acquiring the plane

Nothing says "America First" like Air Force One, brought to you by Qatar.... It's not just bribery, it's premium foreign influence with extra legroom. -- Sen. Chuck Schumer, in a statement ~~~

     ~~~ The Latest. So Far. Zeke Miller & Will Weissert of the AP: "... Donald Trump is ready to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet as a gift from the ruling family of Qatar during his trip to the Middle East this coming week, and U.S. officials say it could be converted into a potential presidential aircraft. The Qatari government said a final decision hadn't been made. Still, Trump defended the idea -- what would amount to a president accepting an astonishingly valuable gift from a foreign government -- as a fiscally smart move for the country. 'So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane,' Trump posted on his social media site on Sunday night. 'Anybody can do that!'...

"One expert on government ethics, Kathleen Clark of the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, accused Trump of being 'committed to exploiting the federal government's power, not on behalf of policy goals, but for amassing personal wealth.'... [The Trump Organization recently entered into] a new deal to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar, partnering with Qatari Diar, a real estate company backed by that country's sovereign wealth fund." ~~~

     ~~~ Politico's story concentrates on the Qatari's insistence that reports about the gift plane are inaccurate. MB: So it appears to me that Trump's boast about acquiring the Qatari "gift" is an effort to force the Qataris to give him the luxury plane. ~~~

~~~ Robert Reich: "Apparently [Trump has] been talking about the plane for months. In February, he toured it while it was parked at Palm Beach International Airport. He's tried to redecorate the White House into a palace but that's not nearly as satisfying as flying around the world in one, especially once he's left the White House (assuming he will).... [Pam Bondi, who blessed this gift,] represented Trump in a criminal proceeding. Presumably he appointed her attorney general because he knew she'd do and say anything he wanted. Oh, and she used to lobby for Qatar.... This week's trip to Qatar, Saud Arabia, and the U.A.E. is as much a personal business trip for Trump and his family businesses as a diplomatic trip." ~~~

~~~ Julianne McShane of Mother Jones outlines just a few of the other incidents in which Trump has flouted the Constitution, the law and ethics rules. She concludes, "The real threat to our democratic institutions and national interests, then, may not be the foreign kings the Emoluments Clause warned about, but the one sitting in the White House." ~~~

~~~ Jacob Levy in a Washington Post op-ed: "... how can the royal family of Qatar give Trump a $400 million 'flying palace' of a plane, one that will act as Air Force One during his presidency but remain his afterward? The answer lies in a problem that predates Trump: the presidential library system. These somewhat misnamed institutions -- they do house presidential records and archives, but they also act as hagiographic museums, almost shrines -- are established through private donations, from anyone, in any amount.... Concerns have been raised about this system since at least the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum, which received millions from foreign governments; reform efforts have stalled.

"The Qatari plane will first be a time-limited gift to the Air Force. Shortly before Trump leaves office, after it has been upgraded at taxpayer expense, it will be transferred to the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Fund, which will then keep it available for the fund's namesake. Presto: a gift to the Air Force becomes one to the library fund becomes a lavish lifetime perk for Trump personally. As with donations to a presidential inaugural committee, gifts to the library fund fall between the cracks of campaign finance regulations and rules governing ethics in office. As he has already done with inaugural committees, Trump seems likely to expand a known problem with library foundations into a crisis.... Now that he has shown the path to personal enrichment in the billions of dollars from those currying his favor, lawful general governance is at risk even after he departs." ~~~

~~~ Josh Marshall of TPM disagrees: "... the [presidential] libraries are structured as nonprofits with boards and so forth. They become little museums ... and they also become the official repositories of the presidential papers. But those remain under the control and custody of the National Archives. Basically, you've got what is in effect a museum and then the Archives enter into some contract to store and protect the official presidential records on the grounds. The point is that the library isn't the ex-president's official office. It's not owned by the president and it doesn't, like, book his hotel reservations. Each president also gets public funds to do just that, to have an official office, the formal entity from which he does his ex-presidenting. The [New York Times is] acting like the library is his office. But it's not.... The relevant point here is that the plane remains for the personal use of Trump and his family, permanently. So that means he owns it, whatever paperwork definition they may come up with. It's a bribe. (Trump has literally been found to have abused a charity. So he's got a record for this.) They're not even trying to hide it. And the Times does everyone a bit of a disservice by not making clear that this isn't how presidential libraries work."

Jonathan Swan, et al., of the New York Times: Donald "Trump will tour the Gulf this week in search of ... business deals. Planes. Nuclear power. Artificial intelligence investments. Arms. Anything that puts a signature on the bottom of a page. While planning the first major overseas trip of his second term, a four-day swing through Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Trump told his advisers that he wanted to announce deals that would be worth more than $1 trillion.... Yet as a strategic exercise, the trip's purpose remains foggy.... It is unclear what foreign policy goals, if any, will be advanced on this visit.... In place of grand strategy will be a series of financial transactions that Mr. Trump will promote as producing jobs for American workers. The agenda conveniently aligns with Mr. Trump's expanding business plans. His family has six pending deals with a majority Saudi-owned real estate firm, a cryptocurrency deal with an affiliate of the government of the United Arab Emirates and a new golf and luxury villa project backed by the government of Qatar."

Gerry Shih of the Washington Post: "During his first major overseas trip this week..., Donald Trump is set to visit three countries in the Middle East -- Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates == without stopping in Jerusalem. It's not the first time he has bypassed Israel -- or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. From embarking on nuclear talks with Iran to attempting hostage talks with Hamas without Israel's knowledge, Trump has increasingly sidelined Netanyahu, stoking anxieties in a country long accustomed to being consulted by successive U.S. administrations." The article includes quite a good rundown of the Trumpity slights to Israel and tensions between the two administrations. So the link here is a gift link. In the meantime, I suggest Bibi find a $500MM yacht to donate to the Trump Presidential* "Library" & Emoluments Ministry. And how 'bout those plans for a Middle East Riviera in Gaza, featuring a complex of gaudy Trump-branded highrises?

Rebecca Robbins & Margot Sanger-Katz of the New York Times: Donald "Trump will sign an executive order on Monday aimed at lowering some drug prices in the United States by aligning them with what other wealthy countries pay, he said on Truth Social on Sunday evening. The proposal he described, which alone cannot shift federal policy, is what he calls a 'most favored nation' pricing model. Mr. Trump did not provide details about which type of insurance the plan would apply to or how many drugs it would target, but he indicated that the United States should pay the lowest price among its peer countries. Any such plan will most likely be subject to challenges in court, and it is not clear whether it will pass legal muster, especially without action by Congress. In his first term, Mr. Trump tried unsuccessfully to enact a version of this idea for Medicare.... A federal court blocked it, ruling that the administration had skipped steps in the policymaking process. The pharmaceutical industry bitterly opposes the idea, which would almost certainly cut into its profits, and has been lobbying against it...." The CBS News story is here.

The Trump Effect. Giovanna Coi of Politico: "A majority of people [around the world, surveyed in a poll by the Alliance of Democracies Foundation] had an overall negative perception of the U.S., marking a steep decline from last year. America's reputation took a particularly massive hit in EU countries -- perhaps unsurprisingly, as ... Donald Trump has called the bloc "horrible," "pathetic" and "formed to screw the United States... Meanwhile, China kept improving its global standing, overtaking the U.S. for the first time and recording mostly positive perceptions in all regions except Europe.... The survey showed [Trump is] less popular worldwide than his Russian and Chinese counterparts, Putin and Xi Jinping."

Troy Closson of the New York Times: "As Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the nation's busiest airports, struggled with technological disruptions and staffing shortages, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned in a television interview on Sunday that more U.S. airports could face similar disruptions as the busy summer travel season approached. Mr. Duffy, who recently announced a multibillion-dollar proposal to modernize and overhaul the country's air traffic control system, said in the interview that he would meet with the leaders of major airlines on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., to create a plan for scaling back flights at Newark. It was not clear by how much flights could be reduced.... The troubles at the nation's airports have created significant havoc for travelers, stranding some far from their destinations. [Besides the mounting troubles in Newark,] in Georgia, an equipment outage on Sunday led to a ground stop for more than an hour at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the area's largest airport, according to the F.A.A." (Also linked yesterday.)

Stephanie Loder of NJ.com: "The mounting air traffic control problems at Newark Liberty International Airport caused aviation officials to implement a ground stop for flights on Sunday morning, the third such incident in the past two weeks. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed Sunday that there was a telecommunications outage that impacted communications and radar display at the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control center known as TRACON, which manages air traffic control in the airspace surrounding the Newark airport. 'The FAA briefly slowed aircraft in and out of the airport while we ensured redundancies were working as designed,' the FAA said in a statement. 'Operations have returned to normal.' FAA advisories show the ground stop lasted for about 45 minutes, according to a CNN report." (Also linked yesterday.)

Lisa Mascaro of the AP: "House Republicans unveiled the cost-saving centerpiece of ... Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' late Sunday, at least $880 billion in cuts largely to Medicaid to help cover the cost of $4.5 trillion in tax breaks. Tallying hundreds of pages, the legislation is touching off the biggest political fight over health care since Republicans tried to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, during Trump's first term in 2017 -- which ended in failure. While Republicans insist they are simply rooting out 'waste, fraud and abuse' to generate savings with new work and eligibility requirements, Democrats warn that millions of Americans will lose coverage.... [They] said the cuts are shameful' and essentially amount to another attempt to repeal Obamacare. A preliminary estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the proposals would reduce the number of people with health care by 8.6 million over the decade."

Derek Hawkins of the Washington Post: "Federal judges say unsolicited pizza deliveries to jurists' homes that began in February may number in the hundreds across at least seven states, prompting increased security concerns and a demand from a Senate leader for a Justice Department investigation. Many of the deliveries have gone to judges presiding over lawsuits challenging the Trump administration's policies.... Some of the pizza deliveries have gone to judges' relatives. In recent weeks, orders have been placed in the name of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas's son, Daniel Anderl, who was fatally shot at the family home in New Jersey in 2020 by an attorney who posed as a delivery person.... The U.S. Marshals Service has been tracking the deliveries...."

Keith Alexander of the Washington Post: "A fight to lead Washington's influential bar association has drawn triple the votes of a typical cycle, animated by the candidacies of two lawyers connected to Trump appointees who some members fear could transform the body into a retaliatory arm for the president's administration.... Heightened attention has focused on the bids of Bradley J. Bondi, a presidential candidate and brother of Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Alicia Long, a candidate for treasurer and longtime prosecutor who was principal assistant to the District's departing interim U.S. attorney, Ed Martin.

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India/Pakistan. Anupreeta Das, et al., of the New York Times: "The fragile truce between India and Pakistan appeared to be largely holding on its first full day after some initial skirmishing, as both countries turned on Sunday to making the case that they had come out on top in the four-day conflict.... [Donald] Trump announced on Saturday that the two sides had agreed to a cease-fire with the help of U.S. mediation.... [He followed up on Sunday, saying] that he would increase trade 'substantially' with both countries, and that he would work with them to see if a 'solution can be arrived at' to settle their seven-decade dispute over the Kashmir region. Pakistan ... praised the American role as a mediator. But ... in the hours after the cease-fire was announced, India said it had negotiated directly with Pakistani officials.... On Sunday, a senior Indian official offered a timeline of the conflict that acknowledged discussions throughout with American officials but described India as making its own decisions." MB: That's because President* Blunderbuss couldn't zip his fat lips. Also, because he had Junior Scout JayDee phoning up Modi, and deploying JayDee is an automatic insult.

Israel/Palestine, et al. Wafaa Shurafa & Samy Magdy of the AP: "Hamas said Sunday that the last living American hostage in Gaza, Edan Alexander, will be released as part of efforts to establish a ceasefire, reopen crossings into the Israeli-blockaded territory and resume the delivery of aid. Two Hamas officials told The Associated Press they expect the release in the next 48 hours. The announcement of the first hostage release since Israel shattered a ceasefire in March comes shortly before ... Donald Trump visits the Middle East this week. It highlighted the willingness of Israel's closest ally to inject momentum into ceasefire talks for the 19-month war as desperation grows among hostages' families and Gaza's over 2 million people under the new Israeli blockade. Alexander is an Israeli-American soldier who grew up in New Jersey. He was abducted from his base during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that ignited the war in Gaza." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.

Philippines. Sui-Lee Wee of the New York Times: "... Rodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines..., is accused of crimes against humanity, and [is currently housed in a detention center for the International Criminal Court in The Hague.]... Mr. Duterte, who ordered a brutal antidrug campaign in which tens of thousands of people died during his presidency, remains very popular in the Philippines. With Filipinos voting in midterm elections on Monday, he is expected to win another term as mayor of Davao City, his eighth, by a landslide. For now, he remains eligible for office."

Turkey. Erika Solomon & Ben Hubbard of the New York Times: "A Kurdish militia group that has waged a bloody insurgency against the Turkish state for four decades said on Monday that it would lay down its arms and disband, a decision that could reshape Turkish politics and reverberate in neighboring countries. The announcement by the Kurdistan Workers' Party, known by its Kurdish acronym, P.K.K., came a few months after its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, urged the group to disarm and disband. In his February message, he said the group's armed struggle had outlived its initial purpose and that further progress in the struggle for Kurdish rights could be achieved through politics. The P.K.K. began as a secessionist group that sought to create an independent state for Turkey's Kurdish minority. More recently, it has said that it sought greater rights for Kurds inside Turkey. It is classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and other countries."

⭐Ukraine/Russia, et al. Isobel Koshiw of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump on Sunday backed Russian President Vladimir Putin's call for direct talks with Ukraine, breaking his administration's agreement with European leaders announced less than 24 hours earlier. On Saturday, the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Poland met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and demanded that Putin accept a 30-day ceasefire starting Monday or see sanctions increased. Trump, they said, had joined them in the demand, a key development. Trump's envoy to Russia and Ukraine reposted a picture of the European leaders on a call with him and said the 30-day ceasefire would start theprocess of ending the war. Putin, in response, proposed direct talks to begin Thursday in Istanbul. Zelensky has said he would be open to direct talks -- once a ceasefire was agreed upon. Trump, writing on social media on Sunday... said, 'Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY.... At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the U.S., will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly!' Zelensky responded moments later to Trump, saying Kyiv still expected a ceasefire but that he was ready to meet Putin on Thursday." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I guess Vlad reminded Donald of the "thing" he is holding over Donald's head. I don't know what the thing is, but it must be really bad, because there's almost nothing that can shame Donald Trump. But you do have to wonder how many times a day that colossal dirtbag can shame the USA. Yesterday was a monumental doozy.

Vatican. Elisabetta Povoledo of the New York Times: "Pope Leo XIV returned to the balcony where he was presented to the world as the new leader of the Roman Catholic church just days ago, using his first Sunday address to the faithful to call for peace. 'Never again war,' he said to a roar from the tens of thousands who had gathered in St. Peter's Square at noon. Leo's appeal was addressed to the world's most powerful leaders, and he noted that it had been almost 80 years to the day since the 'immense tragedy' of World War II had ended. He quoted Pope Francis, his predecessor, who often referred to the current global wave of violence as 'a third world war in pieces.'" (Also linked yesterday.) -56-