Against unified Democratic opposition, Republican senators approved a bill to fund US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

The measure passed by a vote of 52-47 in the early hours of Friday morning, after a long marathon of debate and votes on proposed amendments to the bill.

Senate Republicans muscled the legislation through by a procedure known as reconciliation, because such bills are immune to a filibuster.

It was a use never intended for reconciliation because reconciliation was created for budget matters and not routine funding of federal agencies. However, Republicans used it because Democrats would have filibustered any routine legislation.

Democrats had demanded reforms to the conduct of the federal agents carrying out Trump’s immigration crackdown, which caused the deaths of two US citizens earlier this year in Minnesota and chaos more recently outside an immigration detention facility in Newark, NJ, known as Delaney Hall.

Sen Andy Kim, a Democrat, has become a prominent and fierce critic of ICE and CBP due to the recent events at Delaney Hall in his home state.

Kim had tried to rally opposition to the Senate bill that just passed, and continues to still see a way to defeat it as the legislation now moves to the House for final approval.

He posted an online video on Friday morning, with the comment: “At around 5am, after voting all night, Senate Republicans voted to give ICE $70 BILLION more in your taxpayer dollars. No reforms or changes made.

“We can still fight this.”

Lawmakers, Kim said, should be forced on the affordability issues facing Americans — not the Trump administration’s brutal immigration agenda.

Attention, he said, should turn to lawmakers in the House.

“We can do everything we can to say, ‘This is not what we want,’” Kim said in his video.

Watch a clip of Sen Kim talking about ICE funding bill here:

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Senate Democrats’ Election Protection Task Force convened Wednesday with key election experts including former attorney general Eric Holder, Marc Elias of the Elias Law Group, Ian Bassin of Protect Democracy, Skye Perryman of Democracy Forward, and election law expert Norm Eisen.

During the Task Force meeting, the senators and experts looked at responses to several key threats to the 2026 midterms, including foreign interference and misinformation, the deployment of federal agents to polling places, and law enforcement agents seizing ballots from local election officials, according to a statement from the Senate Democrats.

This was the second meeting of the Senate Democrats’ Election Protection Task Force, which was launched in April.

Donald Trump has said he’ll deploy an “election integrity army” to polling places across the country and is making it harder to vote-by-mail. His Justice Department sought to seize state voter rolls. FBI agents and then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard raided election offices in Georgia. Republicans pressed election officials in Arizona to turn over documents. Poll workers are being threatened nationwide.

“President Trump’s approval rating is in the tank and he’s bringing Republicans down with him. The President has tried to overturn an election before, so the country needs to be prepared to defend the election process to keep the midterms free and fair,” said Sen Sheldon Whitehouse, of Rhode Island, according to the Democrats’ statement.

The activities of the task force Wednesday were described as a “table-top exercise.”

“We have to take Trump at his word when he threatens to ‘take over’ our elections and compromise the integrity of our democracy,” Sen. Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said in the statement. “Today’s tabletop exercise offered a sobering look at the lengths President Trump and his allies and cronies could go to disrupt free and fair elections, and it underscored the coordinated effort that will be necessary to stop him and protect our democracy. The exercise reinforced a simple but critical truth: no institution can defend our democracy alone. Preventing Trump from carrying out illegal efforts to subvert our elections will require public servants, civil society, elected officials from both parties, and ordinary citizens to stand together and refuse to let him succeed.”

Americans have already begun going to the polls nationwide, and right-wing efforts to interfere in elections only will increase, according to Sen Alex Padilla, of California.

“That is exactly why this task force exists. We will fight back in the Senate, in the courts, and in the states, and we will ensure that Donald Trump can’t ‘takeover’ our elections. Our democracy is not his to take," Padilla said in the statement.

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Blanche, who served as Trump’s personal attorney before joining the Justice Department, has been operating as acting attorney general since Trump dismissed Pam Bondi.

However, during his brief tenure atop the Justice Department, Blanche has found himself amidst multiple legal scandals and one lawmaker is already calling for his resignation.

The Trump administration has confirmed that the president will nominate Blanche as attorney general.

However, Blanche doesn’t have enough votes in the Senate to win the needed confirmation, according to Sen Cory Booker (D-NJ), who also described Blanche as “wholly unqualified.”

Blanche is already facing massive backlash related to multiple scandals, including the release of Justice Department documents related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Trump’s planned $1.776 billion slush fund to pay off political allies, and more.

“Todd Blanche to be named AG? Please stop the madness,” pro-democracy activist and commentator Steve Heise posted on social media. “Will the same Senators who bashed the Slush Fund vote for his confirmation?

“If the Senate approves Todd Blanche as AG, the word spineless would describe more of a backbone than they have,” he added.

Even before Blanche’s nomination comes before the Senate, Rep Jamie Raskin (D-Md) is calling for Blanche’s resignation.

“[W]e must demand that Todd Blanche resign. An Attorney General who has disgraced himself by settling a bogus lawsuit with a $1.8 billion taxpayer-funded bonanza payout to convicted cop beaters,” said Raskin, referring to the violent Trump supporters who rioted at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and now stand to profit from Trump’s fund.

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In a quite contentious exchange, Rep Madeleine Dean, of Pennsylvania, demanded acting Attorney General Todd Blanche release the remaining documents from the Justice Department related to Epstein and his abhorrent crimes.

She faced off with Blanche Tuesday, in a hearing on Capitol Hill.

Specifically, Dean asked him whether the Justice Department would release the millions of pages still being held in what she and others have described as violations of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

That law, enacted late last year, required the full release of all documents related to Epstein’s trafficking and sexual abuse of young women and girls.

A number of lawmakers of both parties are trying to secure justice for survivors of Epstein’s abuse and uncover any additional co-conspirators aside from Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving time in prison.

Donald Trump was a longtime close associate of Epstein’s. The president has denied any wrongdoing but he’s also been highly focused on getting Congress and the American people to move on from the Epstein scandal.

Trump’s name appears many times in the Epstein files.

Blanche claimed that the Justice Department has complied with the law, but Dean was not convinced.

“There are 3 million more documents. And you know what you said to me? ‘They’re all duplicative and they include another guy named Epstein,’” Dean told Blanche.

Before joining the Trump administration, Blanche had been one of Trump’s personal attorneys. And last year, Blanche personally questioned Maxwell in prison — after which Maxwell was moved to a much more comfortable prison.

The congresswoman explained how she visited Justice Department headquarters three times, for 10 hours, in order to personally view the unredacted Epstein files.

Dean held up a full legal pad to show how she’s had to capture notes from those files under the onerous limitations that Justice Department officials have placed on members of Congress who view the files.

“What is true is that the president has lied about being on Epstein’s plane, and the unredacted files prove that,” she said. “There’s a lot in here. It’s all covered up.”

Dean two months ago, faced off against Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Lutnick had lied about the extent of his association with Epstein. Despite that, Trump continues to have Lutnick serve as a top official in his administration.

View a clip of Rep Dean questioning Blanche here:

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News broke late Tuesday that Pelley had fired “for cause” only slightly more than 24 hours after the longtime journalist laid into the new executive producer of the storied 60 Minutes broadcast as well as the chief of CBS News, who Pelley said was “murdering” the program.

Once word of Pelley’s ouster via email began spreading online, professionals in the press and media quickly lined up behind him — even more strongly than they had a day before when Pelley confronted Nick Bilton, the tech journalist installed by CBS News editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, during a staff meeting in Manhattan.

For his part, Pelley released a statement about the situation.

As recently as this spring, 60 Minutes was recording higher ratings — a rare feat in the fracturing market of broadcast television, he noted.

He paid tribute to the history of the program, which has been a Sunday evening fixture on CBS for decades.

But Pelley acknowledged something more insidious, as well.

“Last month, 60 Minutes lost its DNA when our entire senior leadership and two of our best on-air correspondents were cruelly fired without cause,” his statement said, in part. “Good people were silenced because they stood up for our audience. They stood for fairness against the forces of political bias; they stood for professionalism against chaos.”

Weiss had been hired by the billionaire owners of the parent company of CBS to make the network’s news more palatable to Donald Trump and his allies.

Figures across media lauded Pelley for his courage, including famed actor and producer Jon Cryer.

“Scott Pelley took a stand. We need more Scott Pelleys,” Cryer wrote above a repost of the Bilton’s missive conveying Pelley’s firing.

Independent journalist Charlotte Clymer posted: “Scott Pelley was fired for speaking obvious truths about the present and future of CBS that far too many in his industry are unwilling to voice themselves. Simple as that.”

Independent journalist and author Wajahat Ali posted: “Scott Pelley exits with integrity in tact. Well done.”

Pelley’s ouster showed Bilton’s true intentions, according to David Corn, Washington bureau chief of Mother Jones.

“If Bilton truly cared about ‘60 Minutes’ he might have taken a stab at winning over Mr. Pelley—even after that meeting—rather than canning him,” Corn posted.

A number of media professionals said that Pelley’s firing signals the functional end to 60 Minutes.

“By firing Scott Pelley, editor-in-chief of CBS News Bari Weiss has single-handedly destroyed the most brilliant investigative newsmagazine in network history, 60 Minutes. Weiss exemplifies everything MAGA is about: ego, incompetence, and blithering idiocy,” posted activist and musician Bill Madden.

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That’s the message from Sen Andy Kim, the New Jersey Democrat who himself was caught in a tear gas attack by federal agents outside of the privately run immigration detention facility in Newark, NJ, which has become a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s mass deportation crackdown.

Delaney Hall has attracted demonstrations outside, while detainees inside reportedly have been on a hunger strike to protest abhorrent conditions, including food infested with maggots.

Delaney Hall holds about 800 detainees and is operated by the private company, GEO Group.

“GEO Group is getting a nearly $1 billion contract to run Delaney Hall. They tell me there is one full-time doctor for 800 detainees. They could have more doctors if they wanted to, but that’s cutting into their profits,” Kim said in a TV interview over the weekend.

While this situation is unfolding in the Garden State, Donald Trump has been pushing Republicans on Capitol Hill final approval to legislation to fund US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) programs without any restrictions or reforms even after the killings earlier this year of US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota.

That’s where Kim’s attention is now that he has returned to Washington DC.

“Senate Republicans are pushing forward on an effort that would give upwards of $60 to $70 billion for ICE and CBP,” the senator said in an online video message. “Without any accountability, without any reforms since Minnesota and the killing of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. It has to stop.”

Kim said he will oppose this legislation.

“If people are concerned about what’s going on at Delaney Hall, let us try to stop this legislation,” he added.

View a clip of Kim talking about the funding bill here:

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Pelley let the program’s new executive producer have it during a staff meeting in Manhattan just days after the new chief of CBS News let go the program’s previous executive producer and two respected correspondents.

Multiple news outlets reported the incident after the industry newsletter Status first broke the story based on a recording of the meeting.

Pelley was reacting to moves at CBS News intended to neuter its independence and make it more acceptable to Donald Trump and Trump’s right-wing allies.

Pelley confronted the new executive producer of 60 Minutes, Nick Bilton, about CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss: “She’s murdering 60 Minutes,” Pelley said.

Weiss, an opinion journalist with no previous news experience, earlier sparked a firestorm by trying to kill a major 60 Minutes piece which was deeply critical of the Trump administration’s moves to deport migrants to a brutal prison in El Salvador.

An executive warned Pelley in the meeting that he was being “rude.”

“You know what was rude? Black Thursday. That was the absolute definition of rudeness,” Pelley shot back, using his dark label for the day last week that former executive producer Tanya Simon and others were ousted. “Telling Tanya Simon she had to be out of here at five o’clock.”

Pelley reportedly was treated to a round of applause by the others in the staff meeting after Bilton left the room.

As news broke of the lambasting Pelley delivered, he was immediately treated as a folk hero of the press.

Clara Jeffery, editor-in-chief of Mother Jones, reposted a snippet of the reporting from Pelley’s tirade with the simple caption: “Scott Pelley, hero.”

Politics reporter Roger Sollenberger also reacted.

“Good for Scott Pelley. These people need to be humiliated personally because they have no humiliation about what they’re doing professionally,” Sollenberger posted.

It wasn’t only national media figures cheering Pelley’s gumption. Rank-and-file journalists like Tessa Duvall, of the Lexington (Ky) Herald Leader, joined in, posting, “Scott Pelley, the man that you are.”

Jerad Walker, podcast editor at North Carolina Public Radio, also weighed in, posting: “lol Scott Pelley and the old guard at 60 Minutes eat people like this alive for breakfast.”

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly spelled Nick Bilton‘s name. It’s corrected now.

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Activists have been demonstrating outside of Delaney Hall in Newark, NJ, in solidarity with those immigrants being held inside who have been on a hunger strike for nearly two weeks.

The protests inside and outside of the facility are targeting the abhorrent conditions detainees are facing, such as lack of medical care and food infested with maggots.

Delaney Hall is the site where last week one of New Jersey’s US senators, Democrat Andy Kim, was caught in a tear gas attack requiring medical attention.

Violence on the part of authorities, including federal agents with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have continued violent clashes with protesters.

However, in this case, it’s not only federal agents deployed by the Trump administration who are being faulted.

New Jersey’s Democratic governor, Mikie Sherrill, is also coming under strong criticism.

“Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s mishandling of protests outside the Newark ICE detention center, with violent state troopers running amok, is a national embarrassment,” Philadelphia Inquirer national opinion columnist Will Bunch posted on social media Sunday. “To make it worse, Sherrill invoked the vile ‘outside agitator’ trope of 1960s segregationists,” he added.

Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin, a popular activist and social media influencer, also reported violence by state troopers.

“The state police are about to march on protestors at Delaney Hall as the protestors are singing ‘all we are saying is give peace a chance’ with their hands in the air,” she posted.

There’s also been a concerted push to limit the access and ability of news reporters to gather the news.

Ali Velshi, a journalist with the MS NOW cable network reported on-camera being pushed back by police to a distance that impeded his and his crew’s ability to cover the scene.

Leah Greenberg, co-founder and co-executive director of the pro-democracy organization Indivisible, posted a clip of Velshi’s encounter with police.

She captioned the clip with: “Last night, law enforcement outside of Delaney blocked news media coverage. Don’t let the truth be buried. Share this story and keep ALL EYES ON DELANEY HALL.”

Meanwhile, another reporter said that an ICE agent specifically attacked him to destroy his camera.

“I was clearly identified as press, carrying a camera in my hand and actively taking photos,” this reporter said, according to a social media post from independent journalist Marisa Kabas. “He deliberately targeted my camera — not my body, not my legs — my camera.”

At least much of the actions taken against the press likely run afoul of the US Constitution, particularly the inclusion of the press under a curfew which was imposed.

“This Delaney Hall curfew likely violates both the U.S. and New Jersey Constitutions, and certainly violates them both by failing to exempt press,” posted Adam Rose, deputy director of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation.“Press require sight and sound access to do their job. Think of them like a first responder, running to danger to keep public informed.”

View a clip of the scene outside of Delaney Hall here:

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In particular, he lost two cases in court and the splashy celebrity-filled event that he planned for the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration was thrown into disarray when most of acts who had been lined up backed out.

These reversals demonstrate some of the limits on Trump’s power as his approval ratings continue to plummet — especially given that his response Friday was more whimpering than defiant.

Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema issued a decision that blocks — at least temporarily — Trump’s planned $1.776 billion fund at the Justice Department intended as a slush fund to pay off the president’s political allies, including his supporters who violently attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Beyond the judge’s ruling, even many of Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress are unhappy with the idea of this slush fund.

Also Friday, a second federal judge, Christopher Cooper, ruled that Trump and his allies acted illegally when they added the president’s name to the storied Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC. He ordered the administration to remove Trump’s name from the building and any official materials.

And Trump — well-known for his obsession with celebrities — saw his so-called “Great American State Fair” take a huge black eye as most of the musical acts that were to perform publicly backed out of the event. That even includes Milli Vanilli, the singing group notorious for lip-syncing their music decades ago.

Rather than react with defiance, Trump posted a particularly long, petulant and whiny message on his social media.

After claiming domain over the arts center, Trump suddenly has “no interest” anymore and somehow intends to transfer it to Congress.

Democratic Rep James Walkinshaw, of Virginia, captured Trump’s situation perfectly in a social media post of his own.

“Trump is racking up losses,” the congressman wrote. “He tried to illegally pay Jan. 6 rioters with your money. Judges said no.

“He illegally slapped his name on the Kennedy Center. Judges said no. Milli Vanilli won’t even perform at his Freedom 250 party,” Walkinshaw added. “Bad week to be Donald Trump.”

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Texas Republicans this week ousted incumbent Sen John Cornyn as their nominee for this year’s election, choosing instead Ken Paxton, the state’s scandal-plagued attorney general.

With recent public opinion polls indicating that Talarico was ahead of Paxton, national Republicans are working overtime to smear Talarico with whatever baseless accusations they can apparently muster.

Donald Trump and other Republicans have been labeling Talarico — a state legislator in Texas — as “vegan,” apparently because Talarico ordered a breakfast taco with potato and egg without meat.

Since Paxton prevailed in Tuesday’s runoff election against Cornyn, national Republicans have been making baseless claims about Talarico without engaging in any actual policy debate.

For his part, Talarico has been campaigning aggressively in Texas, appearing this week alongside former president Barack Obama.

Republicans have settled on a Trump-style insulting moniker for Talarico, by referring to him as “Tala-freako.”

“Tala-freako is a creep. He’s a vegan. He thinks God is nonbinary. He wants to mutilate children,” Joe Gruters, chair of the Republican National Committee, said Wednesday in an appearance on Fox News.

White House adviser and deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, doubled down on these false, baseless attacks Thursday evening in an appearance on Fox News host Jesse Watters’ program.

While Watters laughed along, Miller called Talarico the Democrats’ “first transgender Senate candidate.”

“It’s very bold that Democrats would choose Texas to nominate their first transgender Senate candidate who’s transitioning into a female,” Miller said. “When Talarico goes in for a blood test, blood doesn’t come out, instead soy milk comes out.

“This man has less testosterone than Jasmine Crockett,” Miller added, referring to the Democratic congresswoman from Texas.

Although Talarico supports transgender rights, there is no basis or indication to call him transgender himself.

It’s a similar ploy to that used by many Republicans when Obama was first running for president, calling Obama a Muslim even though he was a Christian.

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Goodbye, DOGE. And hello, COGE.

That was the message that New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivered as he reclaimed the concept of government efficiency from Donald Trump and the Republicans.

Mamdani, still months into his historic term as New York mayor, announced the creation of a Commission on Government Efficiency, or COGE, in a speech Thursday.

He made clear that this effort will share nothing with the DOGE initiative that Trump unleashed last year when he first returned to the presidency, in which he allowed billionaire businessman Elon Musk and his team to destroy federal programs — and sometimes entire federal agencies — which resulted in massive firings of the federal workforce.

“‘Government efficiency,’ these are words that somehow have been understood as if they are Republican priorities, when in fact they’re the priorities of anyone who believes in the public sector,” Mamdani said. “Any yet, Elon Musk took that language and used it to cut as many jobs that were as critical as possible for so many of the neediest people across the country and across the world.

“Ours is going to be a focus on actually delivering efficiency. Not as a byword for cutting services, but actually a sincere commitment to efficiency,” he added. “And we firmly believe not only in closing the last chapter of city government, but in starting the new one.

“The proposals that COGE will be looking at will be ones that we view as critical to unlocking the full potential of city government.”

COGE will be charged with making city government work better for New Yorkers, according to Mamdani’s office.

Its members will examine how the New York City Charter can better support public excellence by improving efficiency, modernizing city government and ensuring government keeps pace with New Yorkers’ needs, according to a statement from Mamdani’s office.

COGE will be led by Patrick Gaspard, who worked in the White House for President Barack Obama and also served as Obama’s ambassador to South Africa.

View a clip of Mamdani talking about New York’s Commission on Government Efficiency here:

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Trump made his outlandish remark against the nation of Oman Wednesday during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.

That outburst didn’t go unnoticed, as CNN host Abby Phillip called it out on her program Wednesday evening.

Flailing in his war against Iran, Trump chose to lash out at the nation of Oman, a kingdom on the Arabian Peninsula that sits across from Iran, separated by the currently contested Strait of Hormuz.

While Oman is one of the few Arab nations to maintain friendly relations with Iran, it also has a relationship with the United States that goes back 200 years.

Oman and the United States have established formal trade relations in recent decades and the two have maintained defense ties for more than a half century.

Despite this longstanding relationship — which saw Trump’s own secretary of state meet with his Omani counterpart during Trump’s first term in office — the US president chose to pop off Wednesday.

“Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we will have to blow them up,” he said.

CNN’s Phillip picked up on that provocation later Wednesday.

“I’m not really sure what that is all about, but I guess it's worth noting that Trump has now threatened one in 13 nations on this planet, the 15th time he’s threatened a country since, I guess, he became president this second time around,” she said.

“I mean, is the answer to — I guess if it’s a nail and you've got a hammer, the only thing that you can do is just use the hammer?” Phillip added, rhetorically.

View a clip of Trump threatening Oman here:

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The session held Wednesday was no different except that Trump’s statements are becoming even more bizarre and hard to follow. And his tendency to publicly doze off during these meetings appears to be even more profound.

The president veered from topic to topic, Wednesday, taking on subjects of little or no relevance to the most pressing issues facing the nation.

Much of Trump’s focus, such as it was, revolved around random, often petty, complaints.

Indeed, he increasingly sounds as though he is the president of Washington DC, giving undue attention to conditions in and around the nation’s capital without regard to the rest of the nation.

Trump complained about the city’s homeless population, saying, “We just can’t have them in the nation’s capital.”

He also showed interest in Washington DC’s restaurant scene, claiming without evidence that “there weren’t very many restaurants” in DC before he came back into office.

Trump also swerved to talking about the fountain, reflecting pools and other landmarks of the city.

Some statements just made no sense, such as: “You take a look. The Lincoln Memorial -- it was built, I guess, a little after the Lincoln Memorial. It’s embarrassing. It was so horrible. It was filthy dirty. It was Biden.”

Trump’s declining acumen is not going unnoticed.

“This is like watching a car engine sputtering as it tries to start, except it’s the brain of a man who could end humanity with one order. The wires just aren’t connected anymore,” author Mike Rothschild wrote in a social media post Wednesday.

Zeteo journalist Justin Baragona offered a similar take when Trump began referring to the “very sophisticated form of rubber” being used at the iconic Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

“With the country at war and Americans struggling due to soaring energy and grocery prices, the president of the United States has sdevoted [sic] the past 20 minutes of his Cabinet meeting boasting about the amount of time and money he’s spending on fountains and reflecting pools.”

View a clip of Trump at Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting here:

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Ostensibly part of the administration’s plans this summer to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary, the event itself happens to fall on June 14, which will be Trump’s 80th birthday.

The 90-foot-tall UFC structure and associated construction for Trump’s first is just the latest in a number gaudy, self-indulgent projects that he’s been pursuing at a time when the nation is at war in Iran and a growing number of Americans are struggling with the cost of living.

The entire endeavor is being widely panned as inappropriate, particularly on social media.

Writer Charlie Warzel posted a photo of the construction with only the comment: “wake up babe the white house is a six flags.”

William Adler, a professor of political science at Northeastern Illinois University, posted the same image, with the caption: “We are not a serious country.”

And historian and writer John Garrison Marks, reposted Adler’s message with the additional remark: “As someone who has been helping museums and historic sites prepare for this anniversary for nine years, and who has written and spoken about the 250th extensively over that time, let me just say: yes, this is stupid.”

Nor are progressives and Democrats alone complaining about this monstrosity. Former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger posted: “The UFC fight on the White House lawn is a disgrace.

“History will remember this being an extreme low for our nation, among many other lows we keep bumping up against.”

Taxpayers will pick up the tab for the UFC event, just as they now will for Trump’s other pet projects, such as his White House ballroom and the massive new arch he wants to construct.

All the while, Trump and top officials in his administration insist that there’s no money in the federal budget to help Americans pay for food assistance, education, healthcare or other basic necessities.

One popular social media influencer who goes by the moniker, “Monica,” posted, “No, you can not have health insurance, you whiny fucking peasants! Yes, we can afford to build UFC cages on the Whitehouse property!”

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Talarico, who has a real shot at flipping a Senate seat blue in the Lone Star State for the first time in decades, posted a video online almost immediately after Paxton decisively ousted Republican Sen John Cornyn for contention for reelection this fall.

Paxton bested Cornyn Tuesday after a bruising intra-party contest in which Donald Trump loudly endorsed Paxton in final days of the campaign.

Paxton, who was indicted more than a decade ago for securities fraud and more recently was impeached by his own party in Texas, beat Cornyn with almost 64 percent of the vote, compared to the incumbent senator’s 36 percent.

“Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in America,” Talarico posted on social media Tuesday evening. “He embodies the broken system we’re running against.

“It’s time to come together: The People vs. Ken Paxton,” his post added.

In a separate post, Talarico reached out to Cornyn supporters for their support.

“I want to thank Senator John Cornyn for his years representing our state,” wrote Talarico, who came to prominence as a member of the Texas state legislature. “We don’t agree on everything, but we both still believe in public service.

“To Senator Cornyn’s supporters: you have a place in our campaign,” Talarico added.

A number of recent public opinion polls have Talarico either running even with — or ahead of — Paxton.

The well-respected and nonpartisan Cook Political Report shifted its rating of the Texas Senate race towards the Democrats right after Paxton’s victory.

View a clip of Talarico’s video here:

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The state Department of Revenue recently certified that Massachusetts collected more than $3.1 billion in revenue from the state’s 4-percent tax on high-income earners over the first 10 months of the state’s current fiscal year. That’s a 20-percent increase over the $2.5 billion collected at the same point last year.

In FY25 (July 2024-June 2025), the Bay State collected a total of $3 billion in Fair Share revenue over the full year. Once additional revenue is collected this May and June, the FY26 (July 2025-June 2026) total is set to be significantly higher and will set a new record for Fair Share collections, according to state data.

In November 2022, Massachusetts voters passed the Fair Share Amendment, choosing a fairer tax system and guaranteeing that the richest 1 percent will pay more to fund schools, colleges, roads, bridges, and public transit.

The Fair Share Amendment established a 4-percent tax on the portion of a taxpayer’s annual income above $1 million (increased annually for inflation — the threshold in 2026 is $1,107,750), and constitutionally dedicates the funds to be spent on transportation and public education.

Fair Share revenues have consistently exceeded expectations, according to a statement by Raise Up Massachusetts, a coalition of more than 100 community organizations, faith-based groups, and labor unions that supports the wealth tax.

In 2022, when the Fair Share Amendment was on the ballot, the state Executive Office for Administration and Finance projected that the tax would generate just $1.2 billion annually. For the third year in a row, actual Fair Share revenue will more than double that initial projection, the Raise Up Massachusetts statement said.

“Nearly four years after voters passed the Fair Share Amendment, it’s still surpassing expectations,” the organization’s leaders said in the statement. “The skeptics who said multi-millionaires would flee for other states rather than pay their fair share are being proved wrong; the ultra-rich are clearly staying in Massachusetts and paying more in taxes, leading to the tax’s massive overperformance relative to initial projections.

“Thanks to this windfall paid for by the richest 1%, we’re allocating billions of dollars to improve our public schools, colleges, roads, bridges, and public transportation,” the statement added. “We’re finally fixing the T and rebuilding crumbling bridges across the state. We’re delivering much-needed funding to local public schools and colleges and increasing access to affordable childcare. And Fair Share-funded programs like universal free school meals, free community college, and free buses are making a real difference in the cost of living for Massachusetts families.

“Since we began taxing multi-millionaires to fund transportation and public education, Massachusetts has been ranked the strongest state economy in the US, as well as the second-best state in the U.S. to start, grow and operate a business. Greater Boston was recently named the third-best destination for recent college graduates and early career professionals, and for the last two years, Massachusetts has been ranked the nation’s best state to live in. The evidence is crystal clear: millionaires in Massachusetts are doing just fine.”

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Democratic Sen Andy Kim was seen being given medical attention on-scene Monday outside of Delaney Hall, in Newark.

Kim was at the facility Monday. He and other Garden State Democratic officials — including Gov Mikie Sherrill and Rep Rob Menendez — are demanding the closure of Delaney Hall, which has been the site of ongoing protests over the conditions inside.

New Jersey officials arrived at Delaney Hall over the weekend, where eventually members of the state’s congressional delegation were allowed to enter.

The poor conditions described at Delaney Hall are similar to those being reported at such immigration facilities across the country.

Kim was trying to help control a chaotic scene outside the detention facility when federal agents fired tear gas.

“It’s just burning,” he said, referring to his lungs as he received first aid after the ordeal.

This, according to news accounts at the scene.

Kim described the situation on social media later in the day.

“I saw chaos inside and outside of the ICE detention center Delaney Hall today. Detainees protesting the lack of due process, the disgusting food and poor treatment while their families and advocates stood outside calling for help,” he wrote. “Instead of engaging with me and others about the poor conditions, ICE sent in an armored vehicle and a line of armed agents that only poured gasoline on the fire. Civilians were tackled and restrained, and agents fired pepper balls and spray into the crowd. This is more of the same lawlessness we’ve seen elsewhere around the country.

“Our country deserves accountability. Our country deserves the humane treatment of every person here. In fact, our Constitution demands this. What I witnessed and experienced today was shameful,” Kim added. “Delaney Hall is a failure; it’s this administration’s failure. The only way to make this right for our communities is to shut it down and make sure the failures we’ve seen never happen again.“

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The Vermont independent and two-time presidential candidate recently posted his thoughts on social media.

Meanwhile, Sanders this weekend traveled crossed the state line to headline a campaign rally for Democratic candidates in Maine.

Sanders has long been one of Donald Trump’s fiercest opponents. But he is also well-known for advocating for a variety of progressive policies, including in healthcare and education.

He recently posted his thoughts on social media.

“Yes. Democrats must fight Trump—his authoritarianism, attacks against working families, racism, kleptocracy and endless wars — every single day,” Sanders’ post began.

“But being anti-Trump is not good enough to win elections. The working families of this country are hurting and they want to know how their lives are going to be improved,” he continued. “Democrats must fight for an agenda that takes on the greed of the oligarchs and addresses the enormous crises facing ordinary Americans.”

That includes, Sanders said, talking about the unprecedented income and wealth inequality that exists in the United States, pass a tax on billionaires, and use that revenue to improve affordable housing, childcare, education and more.

The senator is taking his message to Maine this holiday weekend, to rally in support of two Democratic candidates in the state: US Senate hopeful Graham Platner and gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson.

Sanders spoke at a crowded event Sunday in Orono, Maine, about proposed legislation that would impose a 5 pm annual wealth tax on billionaires.

“What we are talking about is not radical. What is radical is when so few have so much,” he said. “It is not radical to say that we should not have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any nation, and that so many of our seniors live in economic despair.”

Sanders will be making his next appearance Monday at a rally event in Portland.

View a clip of Sanders’ rally in Maine:

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That video — which depicts Trump marching onto the stage of Colbert’s former late-night show and tossing the funny man into a dumpster — appears to be proof that it was Trump’s influence that was the real motivation behind the decision by CBS to announce the cancellation of Colbert’s long-running show, according to Sen Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts.

Colbert, who hosted the CBS Late Show for nearly 11 years, presided over the final installment Thursday night, to high ratings and to tributes from celebrities and fans alike.

Trump had long been vocal about trying to get Colbert off the air. The comedian had made criticizing and poking fun at the president a central part of his monologue for years.

When CBS last summer announced that it would put an end to its Late Show, executives claimed that finances — not political pressure — were to blame.

However, the Colbert show has consistently been the highest rated of the network late-night shows and the cancellation came just days after he called a payout to Trump from the parent company of CBS a “big, fat bribe.”

The billionaires who own that parent company, Paramount, have been needing approvals from the Trump administration for its media mega-mergers.

So this childish post by Trump would only seem to validate that politics were truly to blame, Warren wrote in her own social media post.

“Remember, Paramount said canceling Colbert was ‘purely a financial decision,’” Warren wrote. “Give me a break.

“Paramount has apparently been trying to keep Trump happy for months to get its takeover of Warner Bros. past regulators,” she added. “This AI video bragging may just be more evidence.”

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Trump and his Justice Department this week announced a new $1.776 billion fund which would compensate those who claim to have been wronged under the Biden administration.

But the establishment of this fund subverts a variety of established procedures and practices, and could well pay off those violent offenders who beat police officers and participated in other crimes during the riot at the US Capitol at the end of the first Trump term.

It’s not only Democrats who object to this new arrangement, but Republicans have also joined in.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Republican senators Thursday to sell them on backing the settlement fund. But that meeting did not go well.

In particular, there’s outrage about the government offering restitution to those who were convicted of offenses related to January 6 and have already been pardoned for their crimes by Trump last year.

“These people don’t deserve restitution. Many of them deserve to be in prison,” said Sen Thom Tillis (R-NC). “But this is — I mean, this is just stupid on stilts.”

Asked if other Republican colleagues harbor similar concerns, Tillis replied, “Yeah, they do. And they need to speak up. I mean, this is beyond the pale.

“This is not good for my colleagues. There’s not one positive thing that could be spun out of this between now and November. This is bad policy, it’s bad timing, and it’s bad politics,” he added.

That Tillis is not only Republican angry with this Trump fund is evident because a swing-district Republican congressman has teamed with a Democrat to introduce legislation to combat it.

Reps Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY)introduced their Bipartisan Transparency for American Taxpayers Act, legislation to prohibit federal funds from being used to pay any claims submitted to the Justice Department’s newly announced “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” according to a statement from Fitzpatrick’s House office.

The legislation came just one day after Fitzpatrick pressed Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for answers on the fund’s legal authority, funding source, eligibility standards, and lack of congressional oversight.

“Congress has a constitutional responsibility to protect taxpayer dollars and oversee federal spending. Yesterday, I called on the DOJ to explain where this money is coming from, who may receive it, and under what authority this fund was created. Today, we are acting," Fitzpatrick said in his statement. “The Bipartisan Transparency for American Taxpayers Act ensures federal funds cannot be used for this fund without the transparency, oversight, and legal safeguards the American people deserve. Taxpayer dollars will not become a discretionary payout fund. Transparency is not optional. Accountability is not negotiable.”

The full text of the legislation can be found here.

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