Jared Wise’s departure from the Justice Department isn’t just another resignation The Jan. 6 rioter, who urged rioters to “kill” police officers, stepped down because he no longer wanted to be a part of the DOJ’s “weaponization” group.

Given his Jan. 6 background, Jared Wise’s DOJ resignation is a good thing, but note the details:

The rioter didn’t resign because Justice Department officials no longer wanted to be associated with him; Wise resigned because *he* no longer wanted to be associated with *them*.

Hegseth ousts the Army’s top general, further destabilizing the military in middle of a war “Firing senior officers for cause is one thing,” one expert said. “Firing them repeatedly ... with no explanation is unprecedented in our nation’s history.”

The former television personality who leads the Pentagon keeps purging qualified military leaders — without cause — destabilizing the armed forces during a war.

Seems like a big deal.
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The new job numbers look good, but I’m mindful of the larger context:

Job growth during the first 15 months of Trump’s second term: 321,000 jobs

Job growth during the last 15 months of Biden’s term: 1.9 million jobs

The Trump White House has no explanation for this.
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By ousting Pam Bondi, Trump made the right call for the wrong reasons The president ousted the attorney general, not because she corrupted the Justice Department, but because she didn’t corrupt it enough.

Pam Bondi, like Mike Pence, Kevin McCarthy, Reince Priebus, Mo Brooks, Ronna McDaniel, Elise Stefanik, and Kristi Noem before her, has learned an important lesson:

Loyalty is something Trump expects to receive, not to bestow.
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By ousting Pam Bondi, Trump made the right call for the wrong reasons The president ousted the attorney, not because she corrupted the Justice Department, but because she didn’t corrupt it enough.

The problem isn’t with Trump’s decision to oust Bondi — she was a cartoonish failure and a national embarrassment — but rather with his motivation.

He fired his AG, not because she corrupted the Justice Department, but because she didn’t corrupt it enough.
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Pointing to the Iran war’s cost, Trump abandons his pre-election promises about day care “We’re fighting wars, we can’t take care of day care,” the president said. Trump touted a very different position in the run-up to Election Day 2024.

In the runup to Election Day 2024, Trump repeatedly claimed he was prepared to help families with daycare costs.

Seventeen months later, he’s arrived at a very different position: “We’re fighting wars, we can’t take care of daycare.”
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You know, Tom Cotton probably should’ve watched what happened next in “The Dark Knight” before tweeting this.

“I don’t care about that”: Trump moves the goal posts on Iran’s uranium stockpile Iran has enough highly enriched uranium for 10 to 12 bombs. The American president knows this but no longer appears to care.

If Trump told Reuters the truth, and he’s prepared to let Iran keep its current uranium stockpile, this would:
- drastically reduce the need for ground troops
- contradict everything he’s said for a decade
- generate fresh questions about why he started this war in the first place

White House scrambles to change the meaning of “regime change” (among other phrases) Trump and his team aren’t just eyeing targets in Iran, they’re also taking aim at the dictionary.

Trump and his team aren’t just eyeing targets in Iran, they’re also taking aim at the dictionary.

Ahead of tonight’s remarks, remember: “Regime change” is one of several phrases they think they can redefine to suit their purposes.
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Hegseth’s intervention in Kid Rock flyby fiasco is part of a more serious problem Even Donald Trump conceded that the helicopter pilots “probably shouldn’t” have done what they did. His defense secretary came to a different conclusion.

Hegseth’s intervention in Kid Rock flyby fiasco was ridiculous, but it’s the larger context that matters:

An apolitical military is a foundational, bedrock principle of the United States. It is a principle for which Team Trump has no use, creating an untenable dynamic.
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Trump’s elections power-grab is likely to fail, but that doesn’t mean it’s irrelevant It might be tempting to brush off the president's executive order as pointless political theater. But it’s not quite that simple.

It might be tempting to brush off Trump’s latest elections power-grab as pointless political theater since the executive order will fail in the courts.

But when a president becomes the nation’s most serious threat to the integrity of the electoral process, it matters.
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Hegseth’s unprecedented embrace of Christian nationalism sparks backlash The defense secretary isn’t just exercising his faith in line with his conscience, he’s also erasing the First Amendment’s church-state line.

Good points here from @stevebenen.com: Pete Hegseth isn't just claiming that God sanctions his bloodlust and his war crimes; he's also erasing the church-state separation in numerous ways, which Steve helpfully lists in this piece:
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“I’m going to be working for you,” Trump promised voters during his 2016 campaign. “I’m not going to have time to go play golf.”

Eying a possible payday, Jan. 6 rioters file civil suit, seeking millions in taxpayer money Ashli Babbitt’s family and Michael Flynn received big checks from the DOJ. Is it any wonder Jan 6. rioters are lining up for a slice of the pie?

Ashli Babbitt’s family filed a baseless lawsuit and received a generous check from Trump's DOJ.

Michael Flynn also filed a baseless lawsuit and also received a generous check from Trump's DOJ.

Is it any wonder why Jan. 6 rioters are lining up for their taxpayer-financed payoff?

Republicans eye health care cuts to pay for U.S. war in Iran Trump said recently Republicans can “own” health care as an issue. Absurd at the time, the comments are suddenly worse.

A new Gallup poll found that 61% of Americans are worried “a great deal” about the cost/availability of health care, which should send a clear signal about the public’s priorities.

It’s a signal Republicans appear ready to ignore — by cutting health care to pay for Iran.
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The fact that the CDC’s bullet-pocked windows remain in place, seven months after a shooting, is ridiculous. It's also emblematic of a larger problem:

RFK Jr has created an existential crisis at the agency, and its future is far from certain. tinyurl.com/3f55pccw

If Trump wants to face fewer accusations that he's been compromised by Russia, he should probably stop acting like someone who's been compromised by Russia.

Trump shares a conversation with Sharpie maker that apparently never occurred As a rule, when the president talks about imaginary conversations, his descriptions are vague. Occasionally, he slips up.

Look, I realize this framing is trite, but for all of the obsessive focus on Biden’s age and mental acuity, he never went around sharing the details of imaginary conversations that he claimed to be having in the here and now.

Trump, meanwhile, does it all the time.
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Trump gives Russia yet another pass, says it’s ‘fine’ for Putin to break Cuba oil blockade The president is no doubt aware of concerns that he has been compromised by Moscow, and he’s not exactly going out of his way to temper those fears.

Trump is aware of concerns that he’s been compromised by Russia — and he’s not exactly going out of his way to temper those fears:
- he’s allowing Putin to break US oil blockade around Cuba
- he’s indifferent to Moscow aiding Iran during US war
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For those keeping score, the National Republican Senatorial Committee made up an award for Trump. Then FIFA did the same thing. Then the coal industry followed suit. tinyurl.com/mr46uyej

House Republicans have now joined the pitiful club.

Trump’s Justice Department agrees to financial settlement with Michael Flynn The financial settlement with Ashli Babbitt’s family was indefensible. The payout to Trump’s former national security adviser is worse.

For Michael Flynn, the corrupt pardon he received wasn’t enough. He wanted a payout, too, claiming federal law enforcement subjected him to malicious prosecution when they charged him with crimes he’d twice pleaded guilty to.

Thanks to Trump’s DOJ, he’ll now get a taxpayer-financed check.

Quick follow-up question for the congressman (or anyone in Republican politics, really):

Is there literally anyone in a position of influence in the administration who's "skilled" in "policy aspects"?

Special elections in Florida, including Mar-a-Lago’s district, spell trouble for GOP The more Democrats win closely watched races, and flip seats from red to blue, the more Republicans should be concerned about the 2026 midterms.

The fact that Dems flipped the Mar-a-Lago district is amazing, the broader pattern is even more important:

The more Democrats win closely watched races, and flip seats from red to blue, the more Republicans should be terrified about the 2026 midterms.
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After publicly condemning voting by mail as “cheating,” Trump votes by mail The more the president falsely claims that mail-in ballots are corrupt, the more relevant his habit of voting by mail becomes.

In his first term, Trump was asked why he voted by mail after condemning mail-in balloting as “horrible” and “corrupt.”

“I can vote by mail — because I’m allowed to,” he replied.

Six years later, the hypocrisy isn’t just back, it’s actually much worse.
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Why it’s so unsettling to see a Republican sheriff seizing ballots in California On the heels of the FBI’s seizure of ballots in Georgia, a GOP sheriff has done the same thing in California. The fear is that a template is taking shape.

On the heels of the FBI seizing ballots in Georgia in response to conspiracy theories, a Republican sheriff in California decided to seize ballots in California — also in response to conspiracy theories.

The fear is that a template is taking shape.
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5 unavoidable questions about Trump’s “plan” to deploy ICE agents to airports My advice for air travelers: Keep showing up extra early at the airport, because ICE agents’ presence probably won’t make a positive difference.

"Are ICE agents trained for this?

ICE agents increasingly lack the necessary training **to be ICE agents,** and they definitely aren’t trained to work as TSA officials..."

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Pressed on Iran war polling, a key member of Team Trump says a bit too much To hear Mike Waltz tell it, it doesn’t much matter what Americans in general think of the war in Iran; what matters is what Republicans think.

Confronted with polls showing broad opposition to the war in Iran, the White House has some options.

Team Trump is apparently going with a “only Republican voters count” response.
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By celebrating Mueller’s death, Trump steps on lazy lies he’s apparently forgotten If Mueller “exonerated” Trump, and his findings “could not have been better” for the president, why is Trump celebrating Mueller’s death?

Remember in 2019, when Trump falsely told the public that Mueller “exonerated” him, and the special counsel’s findings “could not have been better”?

Trump’s celebration of Mueller’s passing suggests he’s forgotten his own lazy lies.
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Trump clings to self-defeating argument about Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran That the president averted a “nuclear holocaust” by rejecting an international plan that was working as intended is utterly insane.

If Trump wanted to apologize for having made the spectacularly wrong call on the JCPOA, that would be a welcome development.

But the idea that he prevented a “nuclear holocaust” by rejecting an international agreement that was working as intended is utterly insane.
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DOJ reportedly lowers standards for federal prosecutors, adding to an unfortunate pattern The entirety of the Trump presidency has been a grand experiment in what happens when an administration embraces amateurism and de-professionalization.

The DOJ lowered its standards for prosecutors, which followed the FBI lowering its standards for agents, which followed ICE lowering its standards.

Trumpism is a grand experiment in what happens when an administration embraces amateurism and de-professionalization.
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