Brad Karp, the chairman of Paul Weiss and one of the most powerful lawyers in New York, has been in Washington this week meeting with officials in President Donald Trump’s orbit, people familiar with the matter said, days after the White House issued an executive order revoking the security clearance of attorneys working at the firm. Karp, people familiar with the matter said, is discussing a particular path back into the administration’s good graces: helping the White House respond to alleged instances of antisemitism that came out of the wave of campus protests last year. Trump this week ordered Columbia University to oust some academic leaders or risk its federal funding, his boldest broadside yet against a set of elite universities he feels have fostered antisemitic and otherwise “woke” cultures.

Not only did Paul Weiss bend the knee, they offered to lend their expertise to Trump's efforts to also get universities to fall in line. www.semafor.com/article/03/1...

We'll see how this plays out but from what I can see, this is laying the groundwork for a bunch of very bad ideas:

-defunding evidence-based research
-suspending vaccine access for unnecessary safety studies
-replacing medicine w/ supplements
-discrediting scientists

(b) Make our Children Healthy Again Strategy. Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Commission shall submit to the President, through the Chair and the Executive Director, a Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy (Strategy), based on the findings from the Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment described in subsection (a) of this section. The Strategy shall address appropriately restructuring the Federal Government’s response to the childhood chronic disease crisis, including by ending Federal practices that exacerbate the health crisis or unsuccessfully attempt to address it, and by adding powerful new solutions that will end childhood chronic disease. (c) The Chair may hold public hearings, meetings, roundtables, and similar events, as appropriate, and may receive expert input from leaders in public health and Government accountability.

"ending Federal practices that exacerbate the health crisis or unsuccessfully attempt to address it" = bye, bye NIAID, NCI, most of CDC's ID epi portfolio, & any other agency that isn't jumping on board the anti-vax gravy train

"expert input" = the anti-vax industrial complex

(vii) ensure transparency of all current data and unpublished analyses related to the childhood chronic disease crisis, consistent with applicable law; (viii) evaluate the effectiveness of current Federal Government childhood health data and metrics, including those from the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics and the National Survey of Children’s Health; (ix) restore the integrity of science, including by eliminating undue industry influence, releasing findings and underlying data to the maximum extent permitted under applicable law, and increasing methodological rigor; and (x) establish a framework for transparency and ethics review in industry-funded projects.

Pretty rich to hear this about transparency from an administration that is systematically deleting publicly funded health data from government websites. Of course, that's so it can be replaced with new "integrity"-having MAHA data, which is what is meant by "methodological rigor"

(iv) identify and report on best practices for preventing childhood health issues, including through proper nutrition and the promotion of healthy lifestyles; (v) evaluate the effectiveness of existing educational programs with regard to nutrition, physical activity, and mental health for children; (vi) identify and evaluate existing Federal programs and funding intended to prevent and treat childhood health issues for their scope and effectiveness;

Instead of weight loss drugs or evidence-based treatments for mental health, let's send all the fat, sad, neurodivergent kids to wellness camps where they can heal on a steady diet of snake oil these people are selling.

(iii) assess the prevalence of and threat posed by the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, stimulants, and weight-loss drugs;

No more anti-depressants, anxiolytics, ADHD medications, or GLP-1 agonists (Ozempic, Mounjaro, etc) for anyone! Unclear if that last category would also apply to treating type 2 diabetes, which is also a chronic disease.

More on the heinous MAHA grift

Yeah, but by defunding USAID and freezing government contracts, they've HALTED subsidies to farmers. And by sending ICE to deport immigrants to detention centers or foreign countries, there's no one to harvest that fresh food. 😖

Thread w details of heinous Executive Order establishing "Make America Healthy Again" (i.e., revive infectious disease epidemics & mass deaths from preventable diseases by demonizing vaccinations & prescription drugs). Good God, this makes Big Pharma *our ally* rn in fighting 4 evidence-based care!

Gov. Hochul Can Remove Eric Adams From Office. Will She? The governor indicated that she was examining her options, but removing a reliable ally could create political problems.

Houchul can remove Adams. And at this point, she must. www.nytimes.com/2024/09/26/n...

Instead of sending SMS alerts begging for campaign donations...👀

Not even military jets are safe since 1/20/25. WTAF

It's getting tiring to keep saying this, but for posterity's sake I will: any previous administration would have been instantly sunk by this. Before January 20, 2017, this would have been the most stunning corruption scandal in the history of the American justice system. Now, it's...a Thursday.

Rep. Raskin’s Telephone Town Hall on Escalating Violations of the Constitution and Rule of Law YouTube video by Rep. Jamie Raskin

Thanks to the 13,000 participants who joined me for our telephone town hall this week to discuss violations of the rule of law and escalating threats to key federal government programs, federal workers and vulnerable communities. We’re fighting back. Check it out below.

Trump's CFPB has set up a "tip line" where you can rat out any CFPB staff who tries to work

Yes think about how judges are supposed to decide if things the president does are constitutional, and why the richest man in the world who just bought the election might not be into that.

Some people seem confused by the “This is the way” reference. We mean that standing up to the Trump administration—no matter the cost—is the way forward for the resistance.

Paul Martin, the inspector general for the USAID, has been fired after resisting the administration. Just a day ago, his office released a report warning that staff reductions and spending freezes put hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars at risk of misuse and waste. This is the way.

Additionally, Trump announced his intention to immediately close the Education Department.

Last night, the Trump administration stated that it would not fire probationary employees. However, layoffs of probationary employees have already begun at several offices, including the CFPB, OPM, and GSA, and are still continuing today.

Conflict of interest? The State Department’s procurement forecast lists Tesla as the recipient of the largest expected contract, with Marco Rubio’s department planning to purchase $400 million worth of “Armored Tesla” vehicles.

Elon Musk’s staffers have taken an additional $7.4 million this week in expenses, bringing the total to $14.4 million.

Education Department employees on probation were abruptly dismissed without cause across the department this morning. Staff have been warned that more layoffs are coming.

How much Elon Musk makes from the government a day: $8 million.

How much a senior on Social Security gets a day: $65

Note: In 2024 alone, Musk’s enterprises were awarded approximately $3 billion across nearly 100 federal contracts, averaging about $8 million per day.

Elon Musk re-shared a tweet containing Judge John McConnell Jr.’s daughter’s job and financial records on X after the judge ruled against DOGE.

👀 DOJ acknowledges making two significant errors during a court hearing last week on efforts to dismantle USAID

1) It said only 500 employees had been placed on leave. Actual number was 2,140.

2) Said only future contracts were stopped. Existing contracts were also stopped.