The Conversation -- April 24, 2025
Patrick Marley of the Washington Post: “A judge temporarily blocked election officials Thursday from implementing parts of ... Donald Trump’s executive order requiring people to prove they are citizens when they fill out federal voter registration forms. The sweeping order Trump signed last month sought to overhaul how the 2026 midterm elections are run, even though the Constitution says voting policies are to be set by the states and Congress. Democrats and voting rights groups quickly sued, leading to Thursday’s preliminary injunction. 'Our Constitution entrusts Congress and the States — not the President — with the authority to regulate federal elections,' Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. District Court for D.C. wrote in her opinion.... Kollar-Kotelly’s preliminary injunction put that part of Trump’s order on hold while she considers lawsuits filed by the Democratic National Committee, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the League of Women Voters and others. Her ruling diminishes Trump’s chances of changing the form before the 2026 elections.... Under the ruling, the independent, bipartisan Election Assistance Commission is barred for now from changing the federal voter registration form to require people to provide passports or other documents proving their citizenship to get on the voter rolls. The ruling also prevents federal agencies from implementing a part of the executive order that tells them to determine whether someone is a citizen before providing the person a registration form.”
Dana Goldstein of the New York Times: “A federal judge in New Hampshire limited on Thursday the Trump administration’s ability to withhold federal funds from public schools that have certain diversity and equity initiatives. The judge, Landya B. McCafferty, said that the administration had not provided an adequately detailed definition of “diversity, equity and inclusion,” and that its policy threatened to restrict free speech in the classroom while overstepping the executive branch’s legal authority over local schools. She also wrote that the loss of federal funding 'would cripple the operations of many educational institutions.' The decision followed a demand earlier this month by the Trump administration that all 50 state education agencies attest that their schools do not use D.E.I. practices that violate ... [Donald] Trump’s interpretation of civil rights law. Otherwise, they would risk losing billions in Title I money, which is targeted toward low-income students. About a dozen states, mostly Democratic leaning, refused to sign the document.”
Not only is Musk vastly overinflating the money he has saved, he is not accounting for the exponentially larger waste that he is creating. He’s inflicted these costs on the American people, who will pay them for many years to come. -- Max Stier, CEO of the Partnership for Public Service ~~~
~~~ Elizabeth Williamson of the New York Times: Donald “Trump and Elon Musk promised taxpayers big savings, maybe even a 'DOGE dividend' check in their mailboxes, when the Department of Government Efficiency was let loose on the federal government. Now, as he prepares to step back from his presidential assignment to cut bureaucratic fat, Mr. Musk has said without providing details that DOGE is likely to save taxpayers only $150 billion. That is about 15 percent of the $1 trillion he pledged to save, less than 8 percent of the $2 trillion in savings he had originally promised and a fraction of the nearly $7 trillion the federal government spent in the 2024 fiscal year. The errors and obfuscations underlying DOGE’s claims of savings are well documented. Less known are the costs Mr. Musk incurred by taking what Mr. Trump called a 'hatchet' to government and the resulting firings, agency lockouts and building seizures that mostly wound up in court. The Partnership for Public Service ... has used budget figures to produce a rough estimate that firings, re-hirings, lost productivity and paid leave of thousands of workers will cost upward of $135 billion this fiscal year. At the Internal Revenue Service, a DOGE-driven exodus of 22,000 employees would cost about $8.5 billion in revenue in 2026 alone, according to figures from the Budget Lab at Yale University.... Neither of these estimates includes the cost to taxpayers of defending DOGE’s moves in court. Of about 200 lawsuits and appeals related to Mr. Trump’s agenda, at least 30 implicate the department.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: The IRS figures cited looks extremely low. That is, Musk has cost much more than $8.5 billion in uncollected tax revenue calculated in Williamson's report. According to a Washington Post analysis made a month ago, Musk's cuts to IRS employees will lead to a loss of $500 billion in revenue, not $8.5 billion. So the analysis above is an underestimate. So subtract only the "savings" Musk claims (without evidence) of $150BB from the $500BB he cost in lost tax revenue: $500BB - $150BB = $350BB. That is, Musk's chainsaw massacre will cost a minimum of $350BB per year, and that's before calculating the other costs Williamson cites. All of this disruption and loss of service for a net loss to federal coffers. Trump and Musk are either incredibly stupid or they are bent on destroying the country. I think it's the latter. ~~~
~~~ Dan Diamond, et al., of the Washington Post: A yelling match Elon Musk had with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent outside the Oval office this week “was just Musk’s latest confrontation with a top Trump appointee in a three-month government stint that has been peppered with controversy. He has rebuked officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and economic adviser Peter Navarro in meetings or on social media, calling them incompetent or suggesting that they have lied. He also alienated Trump aides with unscripted remarks and abrupt edicts, forcing political appointees to scramble to explain his decisions.... Polls show a majority of Americans hold an unfavorable view of him and say he has had too much sway in government operations.... The White House has sought for weeks to put guardrails around Musk and his team’s activities.”
~~~ Marie: According to Diamond, et al., after the dustup Musk & Bessent had outside the Oval, “Musk unfollowed Bessent on X, his social media platform.” Ooh, I wonder if Scott will take Elon off his phone contacts list. I know the POTUS* is a toddler, but the junior-high-school atmosphere around him is not much of an improvement.
Reed Abelson of the New York Times: “The small government agency responsible for overseeing programs like Meals on Wheels is being dismantled as part of the Trump administration’s overhaul of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Roughly half its staff has been let go in recent layoffs and all of its 10 regional offices are closed, according to several employees who lost their jobs.... In ... [Donald] Trump’s quest to end what he termed 'illegal and immoral discrimination programs,' one of his executive orders promoted cracking down on federal efforts to improve accessibility and representation for those with disabilities, with agencies flagging words like 'accessible' and 'disability' as potentially problematic. Certain research studies are no longer being funded, and many government health employees specializing in disability issues have been fired.”
Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: Donald “Trump on Thursday plans to direct the Justice Department to investigate ActBlue, the fund-raising platform that powers virtually every Democratic candidate and cause, according to a person briefed on the preparations. The move steps up Republicans’ effort to cripple their opponents’ political infrastructure. It will be the third time in three weeks that Mr. Trump has directed the government to target a perceived political enemy, a drastic expansion of his use of his powers to try to damage domestic opponents. Mr. Trump plans to call for an investigation by Attorney General Pam Bondi into ActBlue, which is used across the Democratic Party’s ecosystem to collect donations online. The inquiry is ostensibly meant to look into possible illegal donations made by people in someone else’s name, known as straw donations, as well as hard-dollar contributions from foreign donors.... Congressional Republicans have separately been investigating what they claim are the platform’s insufficient security provisions.”
Evan Hill of the Washington Post: “The Washington Post reviewed hundreds of cases involving contractors alleged to have used unauthorized technology or mishandled sensitive government information — the same types of security violations that experts have said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth may have committed last month when he disclosed the details of impending airstrikes in Yemen using ... Signal. The Post found that in at least five cases, the contractor lost their credentials.... 'These people had their security clearances either denied or revoked for conduct that was far less serious than ... what occurred with the Signal exchange,' said R. Scott Oswald ... of the Employment Law Group.... Such attack plans typically are considered so highly classified that accessing them requires a code word and a secure line of communication, former defense officials have said.... Security clearance guidelines are the same for contractors, civil servants and members of the military.” MB: And this doesn't even get to the issue of Drunk Pete's sending imminent air strikes to his wife, brother & lawyer.
No Country for Old Women. Meredith Wadman, et al., in Science: "... Donald Trump’s administration appears to be killing much, if not all, of a historic initiative that was the first, and is still the largest, National Institutes of Health (NIH) effort centered on the health needs of women. The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) has enrolled tens of thousands of participants in clinical trials of hormones and other medications and tracked the health of many thousands more over more than 3 decades. Its findings have had a major influence on health care. WHI leaders announced yesterday that contracts supporting its regional centers are being terminated in September and that the study’s clinical coordinating center, based at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, “will continue operations until January 2026, after which time its funding remains uncertain.” They added that the contract terminations for its four main sites “will significantly impact ongoing research and data collection … severely limit[ing] WHI’s ability to generate new insights into the health of older women, one of the fastest-growing segments of our population.” (There are about 55 million postmenopausal women in the United States.)” Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See also his commentary below. MB: Here's mine: This is infurating! ~~~
~~~ Update. Roni Rabin of the New York Times: “Following an outcry from scientists and health experts, federal health officials on Thursday said they would restore funding to the Women’s Health Initiative, one of the largest and longest studies of women’s health ever carried out. The findings of the W.H.I. and its randomized controlled trials have changed medical practices and helped shape clinical guidelines, preventing hundreds of thousands of cases of cardiovascular disease and breast cancer. 'These studies represent critical contributions to our better understanding of women’s health,' said Emily G. Hilliard, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services. 'We are now working to fully restore funding to these essential research efforts,' she added.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Sorry, but I don't believe Emily there. Little Marco promised, for instance, that he would restore PEPFAR funding that has saved millions of lives of people with HIV. Well, he didn't do a very good job, and some of those former recipients of PEPFAR-funded treatments are dying today.
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David Yaffe-Bellany, et al., of the New York Times: “In an astonishing escalation of the Trump family’s efforts to profit from crypto, a website promoting $TRUMP, the president’s so-called memecoin, announced on Wednesday that the coin’s largest buyers would be invited to meet him. The effort was, in effect, an offer of access to the White House in exchange for an investment in one of Mr. Trump’s crypto ventures. 'Have Dinner with President Trump and the $TRUMP Community!' the invitation said. 'Let the President know how many $TRUMP coins YOU own!'... The flashy online announcement called it 'the most EXCLUSIVE INVITATION in the World,' a chance to have 'an intimate private dinner' with President Trump at his members-only golf club in Virginia, followed by a tour of the White House. A seat would be reserved for each of the top 220 investors in $TRUMP.... The top 25 buyers would win access to a reception with Mr. Trump before the dinner and a V.I.P. tour of the White House. (At the moment, the 25th-ranked investor on the chart owns about 4,000 coins, worth roughly $54,000.)... As news of the dinner invitation spread on social media, the memecoin’s price surged more than 60 percent, suggesting that investors were rushing to accumulate enough coins to qualify for a dinner seat. 'This is really incredible,' said Corey Frayer, who oversaw crypto policy for the Securities and Exchange Commission during the Biden administration. 'They are making the pay-to-play deal explicit.'” Gift link next. ~~~
~~~ Paul Campos in LG&$: “This (gift link) is simply a straight up pay-to-play scheme. I mean Trump is not even bothering to create some sort of pretext, no matter how flimsy or absurd. It’s just 'bribe me.'” The announcement, linked in the NYT story and featured in Campos post, depicts a lean, 45-year-old Trump in an “Uncle Sam Wants You” pose. ~~~
~~~ Russ Choma of Mother Jones: “Launched one business day before Trump’s inauguration in January, the cryptocurrency — which has no inherent value or particular use — immediately saw its value shoot from just $6.29 to $74, before crashing to around $10 by early March. The price has slumped as low as $7.57 and was hovering around $9 on Monday. But a little before noon Eastern Time on Tuesday, the price steadily began rising, hitting a peak of $14.28 a few moments after the coin’s official X account announced a special event for top investors of $TRUMP.... Meme coins have no intrinsic value or particular usefulness as currency, but serve more as a cultural signifier.... While real money can be made riding the speculative highs and lows of meme coin trading, it’s also one of the sectors of the crypto world most prone to bubbles and subsequent collapses.... Jordan Libowitz ... of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, characterized the move as a naked quid pro quo.... '... This is about as unethical as you can get — essentially selling off access to the president and the White House.'” ~~~
~~~ Clara Morse, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump raised a record $239 million for his 2025 inauguration celebrations, propelled by contributions from corporations and ultra-wealthy individuals — including more than a dozen people Trump has nominated to a variety of roles in his administration.... Donors to his inaugural committee included picks for ambassadorships, members of Trump’s Cabinet and firms engaged in actions with federal agencies or those looking for favorable regulatory decision.... In total, 10 companies and four individuals gave more than $1 million to the committee. Top donors included a poultry company, prominent firms and the billionaire businessman Trump tapped to lead the NASA.”
Jason Karaian & Kevin Granville of the New York Times: “Markets slipped on Thursday, reversing some of the gains from a heady two-day rally, after officials in China said they were not holding talks with the United States about easing trade tensions between the superpowers.”
Danielle Kaye of the New York Times: “A stock market surge on Wednesday was again fueled not by concrete evidence of policy changes, but by off-the-cuff comments from ... [Donald] Trump and other officials, as investors latched onto scraps of information about tariffs, trade and other crucial issues that can shift from day to day. Wall Street’s drastic swings this week — a sharp sell-off on Monday, followed by two big daily rallies — highlight how investors are swayed by the latest headlines amid the confusion and uncertainty about the White House’s intentions.... Stocks surged to start the day [Wednesday], before paring back gains after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed speculation that Mr. Trump would unilaterally lower tariffs imposed on Chinese goods. The S&P 500, which rose as much as 3 percent in early trading, settled to a gain of 1.7 percent for the day, extending the rally from the day before, when the index jumped 2.5 percent. The initial enthusiasm came from Mr. Trump’s remark on Tuesday that he had 'no intention' of firing the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome H. Powell, which helped lift markets on Wednesday. Days before, Mr. Trump had lashed out at Mr. Powell — 'If I want him out, he’ll be out of there real fast,' he told reporters — which unnerved investors who see the Fed’s independence as critical to the health of the U.S. economy.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Jeff Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump’s abrupt shift in rhetoric Tuesday toward Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell reflected the private lobbying of some of his senior advisers, who had urged the president to back off his incendiary attacks on the central bank.... On Monday, the stock market fell precipitously as Trump attacked Powell as a 'major loser,' fueling speculation that the president would move to fire the Fed chief. But by Tuesday afternoon, Trump appeared to dial back his rhetoric, saying he had 'no intention of firing' Powell and arguing that the 'press runs away with things.' Stock futures jumped overnight, and markets surged Wednesday as trading opened. The president’s shift followed the counsel of several administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick....” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marc Caputo & Ben Berkowitz of Axios: Donald "Trump got a scare from CEOs and markets on Monday. On Tuesday, he blunted some of his sharpest threats — signaling a softer stance on China and retreating from fiery rhetoric targeting the Fed.... The CEOs of three of the nation's biggest retailers — Walmart, Target and Home Depot — privately warned him that his tariff and trade policy could disrupt supply chains, raise prices and empty shelves, according to sources familiar with the meeting.... Another official briefed on the meeting said the CEOs told Trump disruptions could become noticeable in two weeks. While that was happening, financial markets were slumping — stocks, bonds, the dollar — as investors panicked about Trump's latest threats to oust Fed chair Jerome Powell and step on the central bank's independence. Then on Tuesday, he turned the dial down. His Treasury secretary, and then his press secretary, and then Trump himself all indicated that trade talks with China were imminent, starting on a good foot, and would result in a deal with much lower tariffs than the current 145%." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: If you check out the piece by Karaian & Granville (linked above), you'll see that China is not negotiating with the U.S. to establish a trade agreement. ~~~
~~~ Paul Krugman, in a post titled “Trump Is a Virus": “It has been amazing to watch the stock market gyrating in response to things that aren’t even policy changes — they’re hints and rumors of policy changes. Today’s Washington Post has an article with the headline 'White House eases tone on tariffs on China but won’t be cutting them soon.' OK, how much does the change in 'tone' tell you about what will actually happen? Why, then, did stocks rise on this non-news? I’d say that the market is like someone caught in an abusive relationship — still in denial, seizing on every hint of decency as evidence that their partner is really changing their ways. Apparently investors and the news media still haven’t learned that you can’t read supposed insider reports on administration thinking the way you could in a normal administration — as indications of where the policy process is headed. There is no policy process.... We may soon see a disruption of supply chains reminiscent of what happened during and after the Covid pandemic. But this time a virus won’t be responsible. It will all be about Donald Trump. And this time there won’t be a vaccine coming to our rescue. We’re stuck with this chaos agent for three years and three months.”
~~~ Blinkity-Blink-Blink. David Sanger of the New York Times: “After weeks of bluster and escalation..., [Donald] Trump blinked. Then he blinked again. And again. He backed off his threat to fire the Federal Reserve chairman. His Treasury secretary, acutely aware that the S&P 500 was down 10 percent since Mr. Trump was inaugurated, signaled he was looking for an offramp to avoid an intensifying trade war with China. And now Mr. Trump has acknowledged that the 145 percent tariffs on Chinese goods that he announced just two weeks ago are not sustainable.... He entered this trade war imagining a simpler era in which imposing punishing tariffs would force companies around the world to build factories in the United States. He ends the month discovering that the world of modern supply chains is far more complex than he bargained for, and that it is far from clear his 'beautiful' tariffs will have the effects he predicted.... Mr. Trump ... insisted to reporters at the White House that everything was going according to plan.” ~~~
~~~ Lawrence O'Donnell noticed something surprising in Trump's remarks: he seems to be getting a glimmer of understanding that U.S. consumers are the ones who pay tariffs. In the Oval Office yesterday, Trump said, "Well, 145 percent -- when you add that to the price of a product -- you know, a lot of those products aren't gonna sell." (YouTube video here. Trump's remark starts at about 9:20 minutes in.)
David Chen of the New York Times: “A dozen states, most of them led by Democrats, sued ... [Donald] Trump over his tariffs on Wednesday, arguing that he has no power to 'arbitrarily impose tariffs as he has done here.' Contending that only Congress has the power to legislate tariffs, the states are asking the court to block the Trump administration from enforcing what they said were unlawful tariffs.... The states, including New York, Illinois and Oregon, are the latest parties to take the Trump administration to court over the tariffs. Their case comes after California filed its own lawsuit last week, in which Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state attorney general accused the administration of escalating a trade war that has caused “immediate and irreparable harm” to that state’s economy.”
Sapna Maheshwari & Ang Li of the New York Times: “Chinese manufacturers are flooding TikTok and other social media apps with direct appeals to American shoppers, urging people to buy luxury items straight from their factories. And amid the threats of sky-high tariffs on Chinese exports, Americans seem to be all in. The pitch in the videos is that people can buy leggings and handbags exactly like those from brands like Lululemon, Hermes and Birkenstock, but for a fraction of the price. They claim, often falsely, that the products are made in the same factories that produce items for those brands. American influencers have embraced the videos, promoting the factories and driving downloads of Chinese shopping apps like DHGate and Taobao as a way for shoppers to save money if the price of goods skyrockets under ... [Donald] Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports.”
Michael Bender of the New York Times: Donald “Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order targeting college accreditors, a group of largely unknown but long-established companies that evaluate the educational quality and financial health of universities. The order, one of seven education-related measures he signed on Wednesday, was the latest move by Mr. Trump aimed at shifting the ideological tilt of the higher education system, which he views as hostile to conservatives.... A passing grade from accreditation companies, some of which have existed for more than a century, is crucial for colleges to gain access to $120 billion in federal financial aid approved each year. But Mr. Trump has blamed these businesses for promoting the kind of diversity, equity and inclusion policies that his administration has made a priority to stamp out.... Mr. Trump’s order would make it easier for schools to switch accreditors and for new accreditors to gain federal approval, according to the White House, which provided fact sheets about the measures.... Bob Shireman ... of the Century Foundation, a liberal think tank..., said, 'The federal government has long stayed away from any involvement in a college’s curriculum or hiring, and current law prohibits this kind of intrusion into academic affairs,'... adding that the executive order 'steps far across this line.'” ~~~
~~~ Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump signed a flurry of executive orders Wednesday aimed at undoing his predecessor’s policies and furthering a conservative agenda to reshape American education.... Among the new orders is a directive to eliminate a civil rights enforcement tool long used to fight discrimination in education, housing and other aspects of American life — and long criticized by conservatives. Under the concept of disparate impact, actions can amount to discrimination if they have an uneven effect on people from different groups even if that was not the intent. It relies on data analysis to help identify discriminatory results. The new order Trump signed Wednesday instructs the attorney general to 'repeal or amend' Title VI regulations that include disparate impact liability. Supporters of disparate-impact analysis say it is a critical tool because finding 'smoking gun' evidence to prove someone intended to discriminate is difficult.”
Odd! Akela Lacy of the Intercept: "Most professors at Barnard College received text messages on Monday notifying them that a federal agency was reviewing the college’s employment practices, according to copies of the messages reviewed by The Intercept. The messages, sent to most Barnard professors’ personal cellphones, asked them to complete a voluntary survey about their employment. 'Please select all that apply,' said the second question in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, survey. The choices followed: 'I am Jewish'; 'I am Israeli'; 'I have shared Jewish/Israeli ancestry'; 'I practice Judaism'; and 'Other.'” Barnard claims the college provided their phone numbers to the EEOC in order to facilitate an EEOC inivestigation of whether or not Barnard discriminated against Jewish employees. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update. The New York Times story is here.
Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: Donald “Trump asserted on Tuesday that undocumented immigrants should not be entitled to trials, insisting that his administration should be able to deport them without appearing before a judge. The remarks, which he made in the Oval Office in front of reporters, were Mr. Trump’s latest broadside against the judiciary, which he has said is inhibiting his deportation powers. Mr. Trump falsely claimed that countries like Congo and Venezuela had emptied their prisons into the United States and that he therefore needed to bypass the constitutional demands of due process to expel the immigrants quickly. 'I hope we get cooperation from the courts, because we have thousands of people that are ready to go out and you can’t have a trial for all of these people,' Mr. Trump said. 'It wasn’t meant. The system wasn’t meant. And we don’t think there’s anything that says that.' He claimed that the 'very bad people' he was removing from the country included killers, drug dealers and the mentally ill.... Mr. Trump’s remarks have drawn swift backlash.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Steve Thompson & Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: “The federal judge overseeing the case of the Maryland resident who was mistakenly sent to a prison in El Salvador granted the Trump administration a week-long pause in detailing what steps, if any, it has taken for his return. The order Wednesday evening, which said it came with 'the agreement of the parties,' was the first sign of accord in an otherwise contentious legal battle. The move in the case of Kilmar Abrego García was a sharp departure from U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis’s pledge last week that discovery would proceed quickly and wrap up in two weeks, potentially marking a dramatic but still secret turn in the case. Her order came after a sealed request from the Trump administration Wednesday for the pause, and a sealed response to that request from Abrego García’s lawyers. In documents filed in court this week, the administration said it had held 'appropriate diplomatic discussions' with El Salvador concerning Abrego García, a striking shift after repeated assertions that the administration was powerless to encourage or bring about Abrego García’s release from custody in El Salvador.”
Zachary Leeman of Mediaite: "The wife of deported migrant Kilmar Abrego García has revealed she was moved into a safe house after government officials posted her address on social media. Jennifer Vasquez Sura spoke with The Washington Post’s María Luisa Paúl after her husband’s ongoing case and the depiction by the Trump administration. Sura said her address was shared publicly when the Department of Homeland Security posted an order of protection she sought — and ultimately abandoned — against her husband. The order did not have her address redacted." MB: Hard to say if the government's posting the family's address was the result of incompetence or injurious intent. (Also linked yesterday.)
Hafiz Rashid of the New Republic, republished by Yahoo! News: "The U.S. government is reportedly preparing to deport immigrants to Rwanda who can’t be sent back to their country of origin due to fears of prosecution. The Handbasket newsletter reported Tuesday that a State Department cable sent from the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, on March 13 stated that the country would be willing to accept such people. A new cable sent Tuesday from the State Department said that a refugee from Iraq, Omar Abdulsattar Ameen, became the first person to be officially deported to Rwanda thanks to this arrangement.... The use of Rwanda as a third country for deportations has not been publicly disclosed by the country or the U.S. government." Read ib,
Marc Caputo of Axios: "Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent got into a heated shouting match in earshot of ... [Donald] Trump and other officials in the White House last week during a dispute about the IRS, two witnesses and three sources briefed on the matter tell Axios. 'It was two billionaire, middle-aged men thinking it was WWE in the hall of the West Wing,' one witness said of the argument last Thursday. (Bessent's net worth is actually $520 million.)... 'They were not physical in the Oval, but the president saw it, and then they carried it down the hall, and that's when they did it again,' the first witness said. Said a second: 'It was quite a scene. It was loud. And I mean, loud.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Marie: Okay, okay, I know Drunk Pete has had his problems adjusting to his new job. But, finally, finally, we learn that he has things on the right track and is taking care of crucial Pentagon priorities: ~~~
~~~ He's Ready for His Close-up! Jennifer Jacobs & Eleanor Watson of CBS News: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently ordered modifications to a room next to the Pentagon press briefing room to retrofit it with a makeup studio that can be used to prepare for television appearances, multiple sources told CBS News. The price tag for the project was several thousand dollars, according to two of the sources, at a time when the administration is searching for cost-cutting measures. 'Changes and upgrades to the Pentagon Briefing Room are nothing new and routinely happen during changes in an administration,' a Defense Department spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News. The renovation that was initially planned was estimated to cost more than $40,000, but the ideas were scaled back, sources said." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Apparently Pete has put some effort into accommodating his personal needs at the office. ~~~
~~~ Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the installation of Signal, a commercially available messaging app, on a desktop computer in his Pentagon office, said three people familiar with the matter, illustrating the extent to which he has integrated use of the unclassified communications platform at the center of his political troubles with the highly secure systems the U.S. government relies on to safeguard military plans and other sensitive information. In doing so, Hegseth effectively “cloned” the Signal app on his personal cellphone, these people said.... Hegseth’s decision earlier this year to install Signal on a desktop computer in the Pentagon was a work-around that enabled him to use Signal in a classified space, where his cellphone and other personal electronics are not permitted, and communicate with ease with anyone — other government officials or his family — who is outside of the imposing military headquarters.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: If the office still looks like this, you can see why Pete would want to make it more comfy-like.
Judge Howell Likens Bondi & Vought to Temperamental Toddlers. Mark Berman of the Washington Post: “A federal judge on Wednesday seemed skeptical of ... Donald Trump’s efforts to sanction law firms, pressing a Justice Department lawyer for more information on the penalties and the deals the administration struck with firms hoping to avoid punishment. U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell sharply criticized senior Trump administration officials for their combative response to an order she issued, at one point comparing them to toddlers. Last month, Howell ... directed Attorney General Pam Bondi and Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to deliver guidance about her order to federal agencies. In a March 20 memo to other agencies, Bondi and Vought passed the information along and added that Howell’s order was 'erroneous.' They also accused the law firm of 'dishonest and dangerous' actions. During a 2½-hour hearing Wednesday in D.C. about Perkins Coie’s lawsuit, Howell appeared irritated by the commentary, calling it 'derogatory language' and questioning why it was added. 'It struck me as a bit of a temper tantrum' by administration officials, Howell said. She added that the remarks were 'worthy of a 3-year-old,' not the Justice Department or OMB.”
Anil Oza of Stat: "Last week, at least one scientific journal received a letter from a top U.S. attorney asking it to respond to alleged bias. Now, one of the world’s leading medical journals, has received a similar inquiry as well. The New England Journal of Medicine’s editor in chief, Eric Rubin, received a letter from the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Edward R. Martin Jr. in recent days in which the prosecutor asked six questions, largely about alleged bias in the decision to publish unspecified content. The journal told STAT it responded by affirming its commitment to evidence-based recommendations and editorial independence." MB: Oops! This story is firewalled. But you get the idea. It's another attack by the Trumpies, this time on science, medicine AND journalism. I hope those scholars who are tracking our descent into authoritariam take note.
Carl Hulse of the New York Times: “Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat for two decades and a leading liberal voice on Capitol Hill, announced on Wednesday that he would not seek re-election next year, closing out a 44-year congressional career.... The decision by Mr. Durbin, 80, was widely expected and will immediately touch off a crowded competition for a rare Senate vacancy in his solidly blue state. It also intensifies a generational shift in the chamber as he becomes the fifth sitting senator to announce a retirement, all of them over the age of 65.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Mark Sherman of the AP (April 22): “The Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Tuesday signaled support for the religious rights of parents in Maryland who want to remove their children from elementary school classes using storybooks with LGBTQ characters. The court seemed likely to find that the Montgomery County school system, in suburban Washington, could not require elementary school children to sit through lessons involving the books if parents expressed religious objections to the material.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Wait, wait. It gets worse. (You know it's getting worse when you see Sam Alito's name highlighted.) ~~~
~~~ Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: “Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito leapt into proselytizing from the bench on Wednesday — and in doing so, he 'revealed his own homophobia' as well as that he didn't understand the basic plot of the children's book he wants to allow parents to force schools to embargo, court watcher Mark Joseph Stern wrote for Slate in an analysis published on Wednesday.... During the arguments, Alito took particular aim at 'Uncle Bobby's Wedding,' a 2008 picture book about a child reacting to her uncle's same-sex wedding. 'I’ve read that book, Alito proclaimed, with what Stern called the bravado of 'a homophobic uncle at Thanksgiving dinner preparing to lecture his family about something he saw on Fox News.' 'I don’t think anybody can read that and say, well, this is just telling children that there are occasions when men marry other men, that Uncle Bobby gets married to his boyfriend, Jamie. And everybody’s happy and … everyone accepts this — except for the little girl, Chloe, who has reservations about it. But her mother corrects her: “No, you shouldn’t have any reservations about this.” As I said, it has a clear moral message.' At this point, Stern noted, Justice Sonia Sotomayor was forced to step in and correct him, saying, 'Wait a minute, the reservation is about...' only for Alito to talk over her.... But the book makes it abundantly clear that Chloe’s reservations are not about Uncle Bobby’s sexual orientation. Rather, she frets that he won’t have as much time to spend with her.” Thanks to Ken W. for the lead. ~~~
~~~ Marie: In all fairness, Alito not only displays his homophobia by completely twisting a message that children could understand and appreciate, but also shows off his misogyny by shushing the Latina justice, surely a paradigmatic DEI hire. He's a pathetic, cartoonish exemplar of bigotry of any sort.
Mark Jacob of Stop the Presses has some good advice for major media on how they can redeem themselves. And they do need redemption. "The mainstream news media have helped bring us to this disaster with both-sidesing, sane-washing, and cheap fascination with Trump’s supposed “entertainment” skills. They had a duty to warn, and they largely failed. If our democracy goes down, legacy news outlets will be a key reason why." So here are Jacob's suggestions, on which he elaborates in his post: "1. Say directly that Trump is overthrowing democracy. Lose the weasel-wording.... 2. Cover the mass protests as major news.... 3. Treat White House briefings as the travesty they are.... 4. Show how Trump’s cuts will hurt people.... 5. Emphasize that fascism is bad for the economy." Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
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Ukraine/Russia, et al. Kim Barker & Maria Varenikova of the New York Times: “Russian forces launched a major missile and drone attack on Kyiv early Thursday, killing at least nine people in the city, and injuring more than 60, the Ukrainian authorities said, the deadliest attack on the Ukrainian capital since last summer. Explosions could be heard throughout the night; clouds of brown smoke rose over the city as the sun came up. One missile hit a two-story building with eight apartments where emergency workers hunted for survivors Thursday morning. A five-story building next door lost all of its windows.... No military target was visible nearby.” ~~~
~~~ Siobhán O'Grady & Steve Hendrix of the Washington Post: “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insisted Wednesday that Russia must accept a full ceasefire before negotiations, thwarting U.S. efforts to gain quick concessions from Kyiv, as ... Donald Trump said the Ukrainian leader’s options were either peace now or the eventual loss of his country.... 'He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'We are very close to a Deal, but the man with “no cards to play” should now, finally, GET IT DONE.' U.S. officials presented a proposal last week that apparently included leaving Russia with 20 percent of the Ukrainian land it now occupies, while also denying Ukraine NATO membership and security guarantees. It has also offered U.S. recognition of Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea as well as the eventual lifting of sanctions.... Trump’s post came soon after Vice President JD Vance warned that the White House could walk away from its own peace process if progress is not made soon.” The AP report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Barak Ravid of Axios: "The U.S. expects Ukraine's response Wednesday to a peace framework that includes U.S. recognition of Crimea as part of Russia and unofficial recognition of Russian control of nearly all areas occupied since the 2022 invasion, sources with direct knowledge of the proposal tell Axios.... The one-page document the U.S. presented Ukrainian officials in Paris last week describes this as ... [Donald] Trump's 'final offer.' The White House insists it's ready to walk away if the parties don't make a deal soon." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Michael Shear & Mark Landler of the New York Times: “Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday called on Ukraine to accept an American peace proposal that closely aligns with longstanding Russian goals, including a 'freeze' of territorial lines in the three-year war, acceptance of the annexation of Crimea by Russia and a prohibition on Ukraine becoming part of the NATO alliance. It was the first time a U.S. official had publicly laid out a plan to end the war that favors Russia in such stark terms. A peace plan that leaves Russian forces deep inside eastern Ukraine would be welcome news in Moscow.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ This report has been updated. David Sanger is the lead reporter: Donald “Trump and his top aides demanded on Wednesday that Ukraine accede to an American-designed proposal that would essentially grant Russia all the territory it has gained in the war, while offering Kyiv only vague security assurances. The American plan, which would also explicitly block Ukraine from ever joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was rejected by President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, whose long-running dispute with Mr. Trump broke into the open two months ago in the Oval Office. The proposal also appears to call for the United States to recognize Russia’s 2014 takeover of Crimea, a region of Ukraine. 'There is nothing to talk about,' Mr. Zelensky said. 'This violated our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of Ukraine.' Mr. Trump shot back on social media that the Ukrainian president was being 'inflammatory' and said he would only 'prolong the “killing field.”’”
~~~ Tom Nichols of the Atlantic writes a firewalled opinion piece titled, "Trump Is Acting as a Proxy for Putin." I think I get the gist. ~~~
~~~ Update. Here's a gift link to a Nichols piece from laura h. Same topic; different title: "The proposal that Trump, Vice President J. D. Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are pushing is not a framework for peace, but a rich and bloody reward to Moscow for three years of aggression and war crimes.... [In exchange for the dream deal the Americans are offering Putin,] Ukraine gets basically nothing, except a vaporous security guarantee from an American president who has made clear his hostility to Ukraine and its leaders, an animus that became especially clear when Trump and Vance ambushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a White House meeting last month. The Trump 'peace' plan is no such thing; it is an instrument of surrender, and the Ukrainians are unlikely to accept it.... We need not invoke World War II comparisons to recognize the moral and political vacuity of the Trump-Vance position.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Europe's diplomats need to muster up some guts and, speaking as one, tell Team Trump to take a hike. ~~~
~~~ Update: Heather Cox Richardson does a nice job of putting all this disjointed "diplomacy" together and describing the shameful mess that it is.
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