The Conversation -- June 12, 2025
⭐Maegan Vazquez, et al., of the Washington Post: “Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) was forcibly removed Thursday from a news conference held in Los Angeles by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem focused on recent protests in the area against immigration enforcement efforts. Padilla appeared to disrupt the news conference, which took place at the Los Angeles FBI headquarters. 'I have questions for the secretary,' he said as he was pushed out of the room. Speaking to reporters after the incident, Padilla said he was waiting for a scheduled briefing from federal officials when he learned about Noem’s news conference. He said he then went to the news conference to 'hear if I could learn any new, additional information' about the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions. 'I was there peacefully. At one point, I had a question and so I began to ask a question. I was almost immediately, forcefully removed from the room. I was forced to the ground, and I was handcuffed. I was not arrested. I was not detained,' Padilla said. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Padilla was not compliant with officers’ commands and that the U.S. Secret Service 'thought he was an attacker.... Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem.... Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands.'” ~~~
~~~ Here's video. Sen. Padilla clearly says, "I'm Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the Secretary." ~~~
~~~ Rebecca Shabad & Jacob Soboroff of NBC News: "'I am Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,' Padilla said to Noem, which prompted several men dressed in plain clothes to physically push him out of the room. A top FBI official later said bureau personnel and Secret Service agents were involved in the senator's removal.... Video shows Padilla being taken into a hallway outside and pushed face forward onto the ground as officers with FBI-identifying vests told the senator to put his hands behind his back. The officers then handcuffed him.... During an interview on Fox News, [Noem] falsely said Padilla did not identify himself before being forced out. 'We were conducting a press conference to update everyone on the enforcement actions that are ongoing to bring people bring peace to the city of Los Angeles, and this man burst into the room, started lunging towards the podium, interrupting me and elevating his voice, and was stopped, did not identify himself, and was removed from the room,' she said."
~~~ Marie: If Trump "law enforcement" officers decide you're not a White person, they will manhandle you. It doesn't matter if you're a member of Congress. Ask Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.). BTW, it isn't clear to me that Sen. Padilla tried to disrupt the press conference. Update: In an interview with NBC reporter Jacob Soboroff, Padilla said he was escorted into the room where Noem was giving her presser by two federal officers, one an FBI officer. They literally opened the door for him, so he obviously was not an "attacker." The incident took place in a federal building, where everyone who wishes to enter is screened.
“He's Not All There.” Ben Johansen of Politico: Gov. Gavin Newsom & Donald Trump “had a Saturday morning discussion, the two men say, in which Trump purports to have brought up the National Guard. But Newsom decried that account as false. 'He lied...,' Newsom said on The New York Times podcast. '... He lied. Stone cold liar.' Once Trump began fabricating parts of their conversation later that day, Newsom alleged, it started 'to disturb me on a different level that maybe he actually believed he said those things,' he said. 'He’s not all there,' the governor added.” ~~~
~~~ Ja'han Jones of MSNBC: “The Trump administration has tried to portray the Los Angeles demonstrations against its ICE enforcement raids as chaos at a scale worthy of military intervention. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Police Department has repeatedly disputed that claim.... 'The possible arrival of federal military forces in Los Angeles absent clear coordination presents a significant logistical and operational challenge for those of us charged with safeguarding this city,” Chief Jim McDonnell said, adding, “The Los Angeles Police Department, alongside our mutual aid partners, have decades of experience managing large-scale public demonstrations, and we remain confident in our ability to do so professionally and effectively.' On Wednesday, Trump ... [said,] 'If we weren’t there, if we didn’t bring in the National Guard and the Marines, you would probably have a city that was burning to the ground.'... (In reality, the largely peaceful protests have been confined to just a few blocks in the city.) Trump continued, 'In fact, the chief of police said so much, if you look at what his statements were. He said, “We’re very lucky to have had them.’” But McDonnell rejected that claim. Asked by CNN host Kaitlin Collins if Trump’s characterization of his statement was accurate, McDonnell said, 'No....'”
Paul Krugman: “The militarized response to the LA demonstrations and Trump’s warning that anyone protesting his military birthday parade (which millions probably will) will be 'met with heavy force' aren’t about moving the poll numbers. They’re all about rejecting the idea that Americans have a right to oppose Trump policies.... This is the moment. Everything is on the line, right now.”
Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with a teenage girl with epilepsy and her parents who had sued a Minnesota school district, claiming that her school had failed to provide reasonable accommodations, which made it difficult for her to receive instruction. The case hinged on what standard of proof was required to show discrimination by public schools in education-related disability lawsuits. In a unanimous decision written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the court held that the student and her family needed to show only that the school system had acted with 'deliberate indifference' to her educational needs when they sued. That is the same standard that applies when people sue other institutions for discrimination based on disability.”
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously revived a suit from a couple whose home was mistakenly raided by the F.B.I., giving them a fresh opportunity to try to persuade lower courts that they should be able to sue the federal government for the harm they suffered. The case, Martin v. United States, No. 24-362, arose from a raid very early on a fall morning in 2017, when F.B.I. agents used a battering ram to knock down the front door of the home of the couple, Hilliard Toi Cliatt and Curtrina Martin. Guns drawn, the agents set off a flash-bang grenade and charged inside. The couple barricaded themselves in a closet. The agents dragged Mr. Cliatt out at gunpoint and handcuffed him. They told Ms. Martin to keep her hands up as she pleaded to see her 7-year-old son, who had been asleep in another room. As they questioned Mr. Cliatt, he gave his address. It was different from the one the agents had a warrant to enter.”
Scott MacFarlane of CBS News: "Two police officers who defended the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack filed a federal civil lawsuit, asking a judge to order the hanging of a plaque to honor police heroes who protected the Capitol, lawmakers and staff from rioters. The lawsuit cites a 2022 law signed by President Biden that required the honorary plaque be hung by March 2023. The plaque has been completed and in storage since at least last year, but GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson has not committed to installing it at the Capitol. The dispute over the plaque has angered victims and inflamed a politically divisive issue on Capitol Hill. Republican leaders, who control the administration of the Capitol complex, have not honored requests by some officers and Democratic colleagues to hang the plaque, as required under federal law. In their lawsuit, former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges argue ... [Donald] Trump has spun conspiracy theories about Jan. 6, that have been adopted by his Republican allies in Congress."
Jurors Behaving Badly. Hurubie Meko of the New York Times: “The judge overseeing the sex-crimes trial of Harvey Weinstein on Thursday declared a mistrial on a final charge against him, after the jury foreman said he was unwilling to return to deliberations. The ruling followed a wild day in court on Wednesday, in which jurors in Manhattan convicted Mr. Weinstein of a felony sex crime but were then sent home to cool off. The jury foreman had complained to the judge that deliberations had devolved into yelling and that he felt threatened by the other jurors. On Wednesday, the panel of seven women and five men announced a partial verdict, convicting Mr. Weinstein on a single count of criminal sexual act and acquitting him of another count of the same charge. They were unable to reach a consensus on a charge of third-degree rape. On Thursday, the foreman said he was not willing to return to the jury room and continue deliberating with the 11 others.”
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Naftali Bendavid of the Washington Post: “In Washington, tanks will roll down the streets, planes will streak overhead and bands will pump out military tunes as soldiers parade before a president who embraces a gilded, muscular form of patriotism — and whose birthday it is. Across the country, demonstrators will flood hundreds of cities and towns, making speeches and holding 'No Kings' signs to denounce what they see as ... Donald Trump’s authoritarian tactics and disregard for the Constitution. This Saturday will see one of the starkest displays of America’s divisions since Trump took office, as contrasting visions of America unfold in vivid colors on the country’s streets. Trump’s critics are especially inflamed by the notion that the president would host a military parade on his birthday, which they say carries an unmistakable whiff of authoritarianism.
“'Americans, in particular veterans, see this as a vanity endeavor for Donald Trump,' said Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colorado), a former Army ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. 'You have massive cuts to [veterans’] health care, troops away from their families for years over the last decade fighting wars on terror, barracks falling apart in many posts — and we will spend over $50 million to roll tanks through the streets of D.C.? It doesn’t add up.'... 'For those people that want to protest, they’re going to be met with very big force,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, making no distinction between violent and peaceful demonstrators. 'And I haven’t even heard about a protest, but you know, this is people that hate our country. But they will be met with very heavy force.'”
~~~ Marie: What Trump is threatening is to crush people exercising their First Amendment rights to free speech and peaceable assembly. As I understand it, there are no sponsored protests in Washington, D.C., so maybe Trump won't get a chance to exercise "very heavy force" against people "that want to protest." ~~~
~~~ Jaclyn Peiser of the Washington Post: “Some supporters of ... Donald Trump are calling for a Walmart boycott after an heiress to the nation’s largest retailer took out an ad in the New York Times to promote a protest of the president’s policies. The full-page display, which appeared in the newspaper Sunday and was paid for by Christy Walton, advertises 'No Kings Day' gatherings across the country Saturday.... The ad doesn’t mention Trump by name.... In a statement to The Washington Post, a Walmart spokesman sought to distance the company from the ad. 'The advertisements from Christy Walton are in no way connected to or endorsed by Walmart,' he said. 'She does not serve on the board or play any role in decision-making at Walmart.'” ~~~
~~~ Here's Tom Sullivan's list of resources for the "No Kings Day" protests around the country:
No Kings Day, June 14th (this Saturday)
The Resistance Lab
Choose Democracy
Indivisible: A Guide to Democracy on the Brink
You Have Power
Chop Wood, Carry Water
Thirty lonely but beautiful actions
Attending a Protest Surveillance Self-Defense
Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: “Since taking office in January, Mr. Trump has, step by step, expanded domestic use of the military, testing the legal and political limits on involving troops trained to fight foreign wars in roles traditionally carried out by the local police or Border Patrol.... [In the Los Angeles deployment,] the guard’s mission was not merely limited to protecting federal buildings from vandalism. Troops began assisting the Los Angeles police, but also Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers as they carried out deportation raids.... Speaking to reporters, he described the military deployment to Los Angeles as 'the first, perhaps, of many.'”
Stephen Saideman in an NBC News opinion piece: "... Donald Trump ... has made a special effort to violate the standards that have long kept the U.S. military out of partisan politics.... He chose an unqualified Fox News host to be defense secretary to ensure he would not face the resistance he met from [his first-term defense secretaries, James] Mattis and [Mark] Esper. Then he fired multiple senior leaders of the military for being, well, Black or female.... Trump is dragging the U.S. military into the partisan fray, attempting to turn the American military into a Republican or Trumpian army.... Impartial militaries are a key ingredient for stable democracy, while Trump’s actions are those of an autocrat. Turning the U.S. military into an ally of one politician against his opponents is more than just another instance of democratic backsliding. It is a serious step toward ending American democracy.... Deploying the military against peaceful protests and encouraging the troops to boo members of the opposition are two decisions that get us much closer to truly catastrophic outcomes." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Konstantin Toropin & Steve Beynon of Military.com: "...what unfolded Tuesday at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, bore little resemblance to the customary visit from a president and defense secretary. There..., Donald Trump unleashed a speech laced with partisan invective, goading jeers from a crowd of soldiers positioned behind his podium.... Internal 82nd Airborne Division communications ... reveal a tightly orchestrated effort to curate the optics of Trump's recent visit, including handpicking soldiers for the audience based on political leanings and physical appearance. One unit-level message bluntly saying: 'No fat soldiers.' 'If soldiers have political views that are in opposition to the current administration and they don't want to be in the audience then they need to speak with their leadership and get swapped out,' another note to troops said.... Officials declined to comment when asked about the extent to which troops were screened, whether soldiers displaying partisan cheers on television -- a violation of long-standing Pentagon rules -- would be disciplined or if soldiers who objected to participating in the event, citing disagreements with the administration, would be disciplined or admonished in any way." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Tom Nichols of the Atlantic: “... Donald Trump continued his war against America’s most cherished military traditions today when he delivered a speech at Fort Bragg. It is too much to call it a 'speech'; it was, instead, a ramble, full of grievance and anger, just like his many political-rally performances.... He led soldiers ... in a display of unseemly behavior that ran contrary to everything the founder of the U.S. Army, George Washington, strove to imbue in the American armed forces.... Trump, himself a convicted felon, doesn’t care about rules and laws, but active-duty military members are not allowed to attend political rallies in uniform.... Senior officers of the United States military have an obligation to speak up and be leaders. Where is the Army chief of staff, General Randy George?... Where is the commander of the airborne troops, Lieutenant General Gregory Anderson, or even Colonel Chad Mixon, the base commander?... If they are truly Washington’s heirs, they should speak up — now — and stand with the first commander in chief against the rogue 47th.” Thanks to laura h. for this gift link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Looks as if the generals will speak up if you put them under oath before Congress. See WashPo report on Joint Chief Chair Dan Caine's testimony before Congress.
Cat Zakrzewski, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump is prepared to send National Guard troops into more U.S. cities if protests against immigration raids expand beyond Los Angeles, administration officials said Wednesday, potentially opening the door to the most extensive use of military force on American soil in modern history. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in testimony to Congress that the Pentagon has the capability to surge National Guard troops to more cities 'if there are other riots in places where law enforcement officers are threatened.' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned protesters beyond Los Angeles that more 'lawlessness' will only increase Trump’s resolve. 'Let this be an unequivocal message to left-wing radicals in other parts of the country who are thinking about copycatting the violence in an effort to stop this administration’s mass deportation efforts,' Leavitt said. 'You will not succeed.' The White House’s message coincides with a rise in bellicose language from Trump....” ~~~
~~~ Marie: I'm not sure what exactly "preparing" means here. Apparently the "preparing" Trump and Drunk Pete did to send troops into Los Angeles did not include providing those soldiers with sleeping accommodations, meals or, um, paychecks.
Paul Campos in LG&$: "Gavin Newsom often comes across as kind of a tin-[eared] empty suit and a panderer to the Yeti-like cryptid known as the persuadable MAGA voter, but the guy does have a social media fastball[.] Campos reproduces a tweet from Gov. Sarah Huckleberry Sanders (R-Ark): "What's happening in California would never happen here in Arkansas because we value order over chaos." Newsom quickly tweet-replied (correctly): "Your homicide rate is literally DOUBLE California's." ~~~
~~~ AND how 'bout this, Sarah, you ignorant slut: ~~~
Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: Donald “Trump thinks it is a sign of strength to send in troops to deal with protesters in Los Angeles.... You can almost feel, emanating from the White House, a libidinal desire to do violence to protesters, as if that will, in one fell swoop, consolidate the Trump administration into a Trump regime, empowered to rule America both by force and the fear of force.... The problem for Trump, however, is that this immediate, and potentially unlawful, recourse to military force isn’t a show of strength; it’s a demonstration of weakness.... Power, real power, rests on legitimacy and consent. A regime that has to deploy force at the first sign of dissent is a regime that does not actually believe it can wield power short of coercion and open threats of violence.” The link appears to be a gift link. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Rachel Maddow made the same point on Monday. But IMO, "strength" or "weakness" here is a distinction without much of a difference, at least from where most of Trump's victims sit. If Trump has deported you, or jailed you, or physically injured you, or economically hurt you and your family, the legitimacy of Trump's chest-thumping doesn't matter much. It may or may not be easier to lay low a bully, but he will put up a rapacious fight on the way down.
Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post: “As unrest and military troops overtake Los Angeles, terrifying scenes are also unfolding in smaller communities around the country. They, too, are being invaded by what resembles a secret police force, often indistinguishable from random thugs. [Linda] Shafiroff and ... Sarah Stiner own a boutique home-design and construction firm in Great Barrington, a New England town largely populated by artists, aging hippies and affluent second-home-owners. On May 30, around 11 a.m., six armed agents showed up outside the women’s office. The agents were dressed as though they had parachuted into a war zone, rather than a small town where the crosswalks are painted in rainbows.... 'These guys had guns hanging all over them,' said Shafiroff, but they otherwise had no conformity to their dress. 'None of them had the same letters on the front of their vests. Some of them didn’t even have letters, but it said “Police” across the back.… One had light-colored jeans and sneakers on, and one had on a Red Sox hat.' The agents arrived in unmarked cars, some with out-of-state plates. The women asked to see IDs or warrants, or even the names of the alleged criminals these agents were there to track down. They refused.... [A] gardener was eventually put in the back of an unmarked car and driven away.”
Lauren Gurley, et al., of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration has ramped up investigations of companies suspected of employing undocumented immigrants, directing officials to meet audit quotas for such reviews to accelerate deportation efforts. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement division has ordered its 30 regional offices to meet quotas on inspections of employers’ documentation of their workers’ immigration status, according to three immigration lawyers and a former Department of Homeland Security government official familiar with the agency’s operations. The number of notices of inspection, known as I-9 audits, has increased 'tenfold' since January, three lawyers said. The inspections can be a precursor to workplace raids and have recently been used by the Trump administration as a method for detaining undocumented workers without judicial warrants, according to immigration advocates and lawyers. Often, undocumented workers never return to work after ICE agents serve an employer an inspection notice.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Ben Brasch, et al., of the Washington Post: “Protests over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement continued to spread Wednesday to cities across the United States, drawing stark warnings from the White House that it would not hesitate to expand its deployment of National Guard troops and Marines to quell demonstrations beyond Los Angeles. Hundreds of people have been arrested in recent days as events have taken place in Chicago, New York, Atlanta and various Texas cities. More are planned for the coming days in cities from Eugene, Oregon, to Raleigh, North Carolina.... The sparring at federal, state and local levels reflected partisan divisions that have only hardened in recent days as more raids and protests took place.”
Our Very Own Inspector Javert. Matt Viser & Travis Andrews of the Washington Post report on Trump's “appearance in the president’s box of the Kennedy Center Opera House for opening night of one of his favorites, the award-winning 'Les Misérables.'... The story follows a convict on parole seeking redemption, and it is based on a youth-led revolt against the French monarchy and related injustices in the 19th century.... Others see him as emblematic of the monarchy that the masses of 'Les Mis' assemble against. This weekend, anti-Trump groups are staging rallies around the country they have labeled 'No Kings' protests. And his appearance at the theater came just days after he called up the Marines and National Guard to help quash protests in Los Angeles over immigration raids. The man whose order has led to the tearing down of barricades in Los Angeles watched on as the heroes of the musical sang, 'Now we pledge ourselves to hold this barricade.'... As the president and first lady Melania Trump took their seats, some boos erupted in the crowd before cheers and chants of 'U.S.A.!' sought to compete.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: This is telling: "Asked before the show whether he identified more with Jean Valjean, the humble protagonist..., or Javert, the inspector who uses strict enforcement of the law to pursue Valjean, Trump responded, 'Oh, that’s a tough one … I don’t know.'” Yeah, that is a tough one, because in all the years this musical has supposedly been a Trump favorite, Trump never once thought about the meaning of Victor Hugo's novel. He doesn't realize that people like those he is oppressing are the heroes of the story. He is the villain. As Hugo himself wrote of the novel, first published during the American Civil War, “It addresses England as well as Spain, Italy as well as France, Germany as well as Ireland, the republics that harbour slaves as well as empires that have serfs.” It was just this week that Trump boasted about honoring Confederate leaders who “harboured slaves.” And see Gabriel Zucman's essay on wealth disparity linked below. Trump's Big Bad Bill is of course designed to further increase that disparity, the same sort of wealth differential that forced Jean Valjean to steal bread in the first place.
Abigail Hauslohner of the Washington Post: “Gen. Dan Caine, who since becoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in April has assiduously avoided the public spotlight, on Wednesday broke with ... Donald Trump’s assessment of the threat posed by Russia and the ongoing protests and violence in Los Angeles. Caine’s comments during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing were restrained but significant.... Trump has routinely downplayed alarm about Vladimir Putin’s territorial ambitions in Eastern Europe and, in an address this week, branded those in the United States protesting his immigration policies as agents of a 'foreign invasion.'... When asked by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) whether Putin intends to 'stop in Ukraine,' the general was frank: 'I don’t believe so, sir.' When pressed by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) to say if he believes the demonstrations and violence in Los Angeles are a sign the United States is 'being invaded by a foreign nation,' as Trump told an audience of soldiers Tuesday in North Carolina, Caine said he doesn’t.... When Schatz asked if there has been a 'rebellion' against the government..., Caine declined to affirm that either....
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, seated beside Caine at the hearing, “tried to paper over what Caine had said.... Senate Democrats, just as their House counterparts had on Tuesday, seized the opportunity to attack Hegseth’s record of 'chaos and poor judgment' while helming the Defense Department, and his unwillingness to respond to congressional inquiries and the news media.” MB: There's a mistake in the report here. Hauslohner recounts remarks by “Sen. Chris Coons (Connecticut), the subcommittee’s top Democrat.” She refers to Coons several more times. Coons is “the subcommittee's top Democrat,” but he is not from Connecticut. Chris Murphy, who also is on the subcommittee, represents Connecticut. So I can't tell who said what. (I wrote to her to suggest she fix the affected grafs.) Update: Hauslohner fixed the mistake, but she wasn't nice enough to thank me for the tip.
Joe Gould & Connon O'Brien of Politico: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday insisted the Pentagon’s deployment of troops to Los Angeles was lawful. He just couldn’t cite the law he was following. The Pentagon chief clashed with several lawmakers at a Senate budget hearing as he sought to defend ... Donald Trump’s decision to send thousands of troops, including 700 active-duty Marines, to California in response to mass deportation protests.... Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) raised concerns about Trump politicizing the military, asking Hegseth whether he supported deploying the National Guard to the Capitol in response to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection that sought to overturn the election. Hegseth would not say. 'All I know is it’s the right decision to be deploying the National Guard in Los Angeles to defend ICE agents,' he said. Murphy called Hegseth’s response evidence of a double standard.... But it was Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the usually restrained Senate Armed Services Committee’s ranking member, who was the most forceful in tone. He raised alarms about the Los Angeles deployment, as well as several Homeland Security requests for 20,000 more troops to assist at the border, for 'military forces to detain or arrest American citizens,' and to provide drone surveillance.” ~~~
~~~ Amy Wang & Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday resisted lawmakers’ demands for transparency about the luxury airplane from Qatar that ... Donald Trump wants to use as Air Force One, rebuffing several sharp questions about the Boeing 747-8 jetliner and the terms surrounding its transfer to the U.S. government.... When Sen. Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) asked, for instance, how long it might take for a contractor to reconfigure the aircraft..., Hegseth said that information was 'not for public consumption.' Hegseth also said he could not reveal the cost of such a contract [which according to Hegseth has not been signed], a rebuff that appeared to anger the usually low-key Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. 'Why can’t it be revealed in this setting?' Reed snapped. 'This is the Appropriations Committee of the United States Senate. We appropriate the money that you will spend after it’s authorized by my committee.' Reed criticized the secrecy shrouding the Trump administration’s deal with Qatar and said the plane was 'not only a bad deal for the American public' but also about 'gratifying the president’s ego.'... 'We’re talking about a pretty massive investment of appropriations dollars into a plane that the secretary is saying is currently planned to be transferred personally to the president,' [Sen. Chris] Murphy [D-Conn.] concluded. 'There’s a lot of other pending needs that we need to fund. This would seem to be low on the list.'” Retrofitting the Qatari plane could not be finished until a few months before two new Boeings to be used as AF1 are scheduled to be completed.
Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: “A federal judge on Wednesday barred the Trump administration from continuing to detain Mahmoud Khalil under a rarely cited law invoked by the secretary of state — and suggested that Mr. Khalil could be released as early as Friday. However, the judge, Michael E. Farbiarz, paused his own order to give the administration a chance to appeal, saying it would not go into effect until 9:30 a.m. on Friday. And he left a pathway for the government to continue to detain Mr. Khalil for other reasons, though he suggested he would be skeptical were authorities to do so. It was not clear whether the administration would appeal the order.... Though Judge Farbiarz took longer than judges assessing similar cases to arrive at the conclusion that Mr. Khalil should not be detained, he also took a deeper look at the core constitutional issues informing the case, ultimately concluding that the law [Marco] Rubio invoked could not be used as grounds for deportation.... Mr. Khalil ... has been held in Louisiana for three months without being accused of a crime.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Anne Applebaum of the Atlantic: Donald Trump's “military deployment in Los Angeles follows a long, disturbing tradition.... doubt very much that Donald Trump knows a lot about the methods of Bolsheviks or Maoists, although I am certain that some of his entourage does. But he is now leading an assault on what some around him call the administrative state, which the rest of us call the U.S. government. This assault is revolutionary in nature. Trump’s henchmen have a set of radical, sometimes competing goals, all of which require fundamental changes in the nature of the American state. The concentration of power in the hands of the president. The replacement of the federal civil service with loyalists. The transfer of resources from the poor to the rich, especially rich insiders with connections to Trump. The removal, to the extent possible, of brown-skinned people from America, and the return to an older American racial hierarchy.... Now Trump faces the same choice as his revolutionary predecessors: Give up — or radicalize.... Like his revolutionary predecessors, Trump has chosen radicalization and polarization, and he is openly seeking to provoke violence.... For the moment, the administration’s demonstration of force is mostly performative, a made-for-TV show....” This is a gift link via digby.
~~~ More Than Anything Else, He's Sorry for Himself. Jonathan Swan & Theodore Schleifer of the New York Times: Donald “Trump received a phone call from Elon Musk late on Monday night, outreach that led to a public expression of regret by the billionaire early Wednesday for the attacks he had lodged against the president in their extraordinary public showdown last week, according to three people briefed on the conversation. The call came after the tech entrepreneur spoke privately on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, about a path to a truce.... Those conversations paved the way for the strikingly chastened tone Mr. Musk struck in an X post early Wednesday, in which he wrote: 'I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.'” ~~~
~~~ Marie: As Lawrence O'Donnell pointed out last night, Musk's "apology" is entirely self-serving. He is not sorry for the estimated 300,000 children around the world he has effectively killed by cutting off relatively minor USAID funds or the havoc he has wreaked in the U.S. government by firing civil servants and vital cancelling domestic programs.
Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: “Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday named eight doctors and researchers, including two prominent critics of federal scientists and the Biden administration’s Covid vaccine policies, to replace roughly half the members he fired from an expert panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mr. Kennedy made the announcement Wednesday on the social media platform X, two days after he fired all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.... But the appointments of at least two of the new members — Martin Kulldorff and Dr. Robert Malone — are likely to draw an uproar from pro-vaccine groups. Both were highly critical of President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s coronavirus vaccine policies during the pandemic.” The story has been updated since posted here at 6:15 pm ET Wednesday. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Mike Stobbe of the AP: “The new appointees include Vicky Pebsworth ... who has been listed as a board member and volunteer director for the National Vaccine Information Center, a group that is widely considered to be a leading source of vaccine misinformation. Another is Dr. Robert Malone, the former mRNA researcher who emerged as a close adviser to Kennedy during the measles outbreak. Malone, who runs a wellness institute and a popular blog, rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic as he relayed conspiracy theories around the outbreak and the vaccines that followed. He has appeared on podcasts and other conservative news outlets where he’s promoted unproven and alternative treatments for measles and COVID-19. He has claimed that millions of Americans were hypnotized into taking the COVID-19 shots and has suggested that those vaccines cause a form of AIDS. He’s downplayed deaths related to one of the largest measles outbreaks in the U.S. in years.” (Also linked yesterday.)
China, China, Here We Come, Right Back to Where We Started From. Ana Swanson of the New York Times: “After two days of tense negotiations, the United States and China appear to have walked back from the brink of a devastating economic conflict — maybe. Officials from the two countries reached a handshake agreement in the early hours of Wednesday in London to remove some of the harmful measures they had used to target each other’s economies as part of a clash that rapidly intensified in recent months. It remains unclear whether the truce will hold — or crumble like one struck in May did. Even if the agreement does prove durable, its big accomplishment appears to be merely returning the countries to a status quo from several months ago, before ... [Donald] Trump provoked tensions with China in early April by ramping up tariffs on goods it produces.... Veronique de Rugy ... [of] the Mercatus Center, a libertarian think tank[, said,] 'This deal suggests there was never a real plan.'... Wendy Cutler, the vice president of the Asia Society and a former U.S. trade negotiator, said the United States 'appears to have paid a heavy price' for regaining access to Chinese critical minerals and magnets.... Analysts and experts argued that the events of recent weeks showed that the Trump administration had overplayed its hand against China.... In a report this week, the World Bank said U.S. tariffs would set the stage for the weakest decade of global growth since the 1960s.” Here's an Ars Technica report. Trump announced the lousy deal in an all-caps social media boast that for some reason didn't mention he had created a major fiasco from which the U.S. has gained nothing. ~~~
~~~ AND Heather Cox Richardson points to this tongue-in-cheek analysis by U. Michigan economist Justin Wolfers: “The US & Chinese trade negotiators have negotiated a handshake agreement to seek signoff to agree that a previously-agreed agreement was still their agreed upon agreement. (That agreement is not an agreement but a framework for seeking future agreements).... Notice that not only are we not getting a better deal, we’re not even getting back to where we were at the start of the Administration.”
Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: “The Trump administration moved Wednesday to erase limits on greenhouse gases from power plants and to weaken restrictions on their other hazardous emissions, including mercury, arsenic and lead. Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, hailed a 'historic day' and said the proposed changes would unshackle the coal, oil and gas industries from 'expensive, unreasonable and burdensome regulations' imposed by the Biden administration. Together, the moves mark a major blow to efforts to tackle climate change and to reduce threats to public health. The power sector is the country’s second largest source of pollution that is heating the planet, behind transportation. The Trump administration is pursuing an aggressive agenda to bolster the production and use of fossil fuels, while also scrapping policies that reduce planet-warming emissions.” ~~~
~~~ Oliver Milman of the Guardian: “More than 200 health experts wrote to the EPA on Wednesday warning the moves 'would lead to the biggest pollution increases in decades and is a blatant give-away to polluters'. The experts added the reversals are 'a direct contradiction to the Environmental Protection Agency’s mission of protecting public health and the environment'.”
Another Trumpy Threat Against a U.S. Ally. Victoria Kim of the New York Times: “The Trump administration is reviewing whether a deal to equip Australia with nuclear submarines is 'aligned with the president’s America First agenda,' sowing doubt on the future of the landmark agreement between the United States, Britain and Australia, which is meant to counter China’s rise in the Asia Pacific. News of the Pentagon’s review of the security pact dominated headlines on Thursday in Australia, which has made the deal the centerpiece of its defense in the coming decades and has already invested heavily in the industrial base and training needed to maintain and build the submarines. The decision to review the accord, which was reached in 2021 during President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s administration, appeared to reinforce ... [Donald] Trump’s skeptical and transactional approach to longstanding alliances, including demands that allies spend more on their own defense.”
Edward Wong of the New York Times: “The dozen board members of the prestigious Fulbright program that promotes international educational exchanges resigned on Wednesday because of what they said was political interference by the Trump administration in their operations.... The members are concerned that political appointees at the State Department, which manages the program, are acting illegally by canceling the awarding of Fulbright scholarships to almost 200 American professors and researchers who are prepared to go to universities and other research institutions overseas starting this summer, said the people, including Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire. The board approved those scholars over the winter after a yearlong selection process, and the State Department was supposed to send acceptance letters by April, the people said. But instead, the board learned that the office of public diplomacy at the agency had begun sending rejection letters to the scholars based mainly on their research topics, they said. In addition, the department is reviewing the applications of about 1,200 scholars from other countries who have already been approved by the board to come to the United States, the people said.” Looks like a gift link. Read on for details. (Also linked yesterday.) The CBS News story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: My husband was on the Fulbright board. If I'm not mistaken, Ronald Reagan appointed him. My husband was not a Republican and was not active in politics beyond, you know, voting.
“You Were Not Invited.” Martine Powers & Theodoric Meyer of the Washington Post: “Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) said the Trump administration has excluded him and his family from a congressional picnic at the White House in what he believes to be an act of retribution, politicizing an annual celebration of bipartisanship over Paul’s refusal to support the president’s signature legislation. 'We just tried to get our tickets today, and they said, “You were not invited,’” Paul told reporters outside the Capitol on Wednesday.... The congressional picnic is a time-honored tradition dating back decades — intended to serve as a symbol of nonpartisan bonhomie between political leaders. The White House typically invites all members of the House and Senate, along with their families, for one of the few times each year that administration officials and representatives of both parties gather to socialize.”
Gabriel Zucman in the Guardian: “... unprecedented wealth concentration – and the unbridled power that comes with such wealth – has distorted our democracy and is driving societal and economic tensions. [Elon] Musk ... wields power no one person should have. He has used this power to elect candidates that will enact policies to protect his interests and he even bought his way into government.... Musk dramatically reshaped the government in ways that benefit him – for instance, slashing regulatory agencies investigating his businesses – and hollowed out spending to make way for tax cuts that would enrich him.... ... Just 800 families in the US are collectively worth almost $7tn – a record-breaking figure that exceeds the wealth of the bottom half of the US combined.... Under the current federal income tax system, over half of the real-world income available to the top 0.1% of wealth-holders (those with $62m or more) goes totally untaxed. As a result, billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have gotten away with paying zero dollars in federal income taxes in some years, even when their real sources of income were soaring.” Thanks to laura h. for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: “David Hogg, the young vice chair of the Democratic National Committee who divided the party over his plans to intervene in primary races against sitting Democratic lawmakers, said that he would step aside from his prominent post after the party voted to force him to run again on Wednesday. Mr. Hogg, 25, became a lightning rod for criticism within the party after he told The New York Times two months ago that he planned to spend millions of dollars on primaries through a separate group, Leaders We Deserve, that he leads. He said he was raising as much as $20 million to help bring generational change to the Democratic Party. On Wednesday, the Democratic National Committee announced that its members had voted to force new elections for the vice chair, posts held by Mr. Hogg and another vice chair, Malcolm Kenyatta.” This is a gift link. Goldmacher outlines the backstory, which I've mostly ignored. Politico's story is here.
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Florida Celebrates Spanish History with an Inquisition. Judd Legum, et al., of Popular Information: "In a chilling meeting of the Florida State Board of Education last week, a school district superintendent was publicly browbeaten and repeatedly threatened with criminal prosecution. The members of the State Board were incensed that Van Ayres, the Superintendent of Hillsborough County [Tampa area] Public Schools, had not unilaterally and permanently removed a list of 55 books from school libraries. While Florida Republicans have defended removing books from public school libraries in the name of 'parents' rights,' no Hillsborough County parent had objected to the books at issue. Rather, the State Board had summarily declared that the 55 books were 'pornography,' even though none of the books met the legal definition of pornographic material. Many of the books targeted by the State Board are award-winning literature that have been read by students for years.... Kelly Garcia, who was appointed to the State Board by Governor Ron DeSantis (R) in 2023, suggested that librarians in Hillsborough County were illiterate and told Ayres they lacked a 'single shred of decency.' She described the librarians as 'child abusers' and asked if Ayres had considered firing all of them.... The Florida State Board of Education’s effort to remove any books with sexual content, despite the wishes of parents in Hillsborough County, mirrors a legislative push that failed in the Florida State Senate this year." ~~~
~~~ Marie: The school librarians whom Garcia characterized in a public meeting as child abusers should sue her individually and in her capacity as a member of the board. What could be more defamatory and threatening than accusing people of child abuse, particular people whose professions required them to work with children?
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Israel. Isabel Kershner of the New York Times: “A motion by opposition parties to dissolve the Israeli Parliament failed in the early hours of Thursday morning. But the vote itself presented the most serious challenge yet to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government, exposing splits in the ruling coalition and weakening his leadership credentials. Fifty-three of the 120 Parliament members voted for the dissolution bill, including two members of the governing coalition, while a majority of 61 opposed it. Despite the defeat, representatives of the opposition parties said that they had nevertheless managed to drive a wedge into the coalition’s ranks. By bringing the bill to a vote, the opposition parties planned to exploit a fight within the governing coalition over the contentious, decades-old policy that has largely exempted ultra-Orthodox men who are studying religion in seminaries from compulsory military service.” MB: IOW, they're fighting over the wrong thing. ~~~
~~~ Michael Crowley, et al., of the New York Times: “Israel appears to be preparing to launch an attack soon on Iran, according to officials in the United States and Europe.... The concern about a potential Israeli strike and the prospect of retaliation by Iran led the United States on Wednesday to withdraw diplomats from Iraq and authorize the voluntary departure of U.S. military family members from the Middle East. It is unclear how extensive an attack Israel might be preparing. But the rising tensions come after months in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has pressed ... [Donald] Trump to seize on what Israel sees as a moment of Iranian vulnerability to a strike.” The CBS News story is here.
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