National, Regional and Local News

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Land of the free?
Land of the lawless?

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She doesn't lie well does she?

Trump Is About to Be Pissed at Tulsi Gabbard’s Canada Admission
Gabbard struggled to defend one of Donald Trump’s main reasons for bullying Canada.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard absolutely—and accidentally—shredded Donald Trump’s phony reason for placing steep tariffs on Canada.

During a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing Tuesday, Gabbard presented the Annual Threat Assessment, or ATA, about the dangers state and nonstate actors pose to the United States. In her opening statement, Gabbard emphasized the presence of foreign cartels and illicit drug trafficking as the most dire threat to national security—but notably didn’t mention Canada at all.

Canada’s absence in the report presents a stark contradiction to the Trump administration’s insistence that drug trafficking across the northern border presents a major threat to Americans. Trump has cited this excuse as part of his rationale for levying 25 percent tariffs on Canadian exports.

Senator Martin Heinrich asked Gabbard to explain why she hadn’t mentioned Canada in her report.

“Is the [Intelligence Community] wrong in its omission of Canada as a source of illicit fentanyl in the ATA? I was surprised, given some of the rhetoric, that there is no mention of Canada in the ATA,” the New Mexico Democrat pressed.

“Senator, the focus in my opening and the ATA was really to focus on the most extreme threats in that area. And our assessment is that the most extreme threat related to fentanyl continues to come from and through Mexico,” Gabbard replied.

“So, the president has stated that the fentanyl coming through Canada is massive, and actually said it was an “unusual and extraordinary threat,” and that was the language that was used to justify putting tariffs on Canada,” Heinrich said. “I’m just trying to reconcile those two issues. Is it an “unusual and extraordinary threat,” or is it a minor threat that doesn’t even merit mention in the Annual Threat Assessment?”

Gabbard said she couldn’t speak to the “specifics” of the threat posed by Canadian fentanyl trafficking.

Heinrich assured her that it accounted for “less than 1 percent” of the fentanyl seized by the U.S. government. “But if you have different information, I would very much welcome that,” he said.

The Trump administration has repeatedly referred to a terrifying 2,000 percent increase in drug trafficking over the U.S.-Canada border in the last year. But the reality is much less thrilling.

In 2023, only two pounds of fentanyl were seized at the northern border, and a total of 43 pounds of fentanyl were seized in 2024, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. As one NBC News reporter pointed out, that’s still “less than a carry-on suitcase.”

https://newrepublic.com/post/193148/don ... a-fentanyl

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I just found out today that none of his cronies cabinet was properly vetted by intelligence agencies.

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[Owendonovan]

The hypocrisy is over the top. Any complaint from maga folks needs to be met with an eff off. Every. Single. Time.

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US supreme court allows deportations under 18th century law with limits
Trump can invoke Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members after 5-4 ruling, but with caveats

Reuters
Mon 7 Apr 2025 20.01 EDT
Share
The US supreme court on Monday allowed Donald Trump to use a 1798 law that historically has been employed only in wartime to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members as part of the Republican president’s hardline approach to immigration, but with certain limits.

The court, in an unsigned 5-4 ruling, granted the administration’s request to lift Washington-based US judge James Boasberg’s 15 March order that had temporarily blocked the summary deportations under Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act while litigation in the case continues.

Despite siding with the administration, the court’s majority placed limits on how deportations may occur, emphasizing that judicial review is required.

Detainees “must receive notice after the date of this order that they are subject to removal under the Act. The notice must be afforded within a reasonable time and in such a manner as will allow them to actually seek habeas relief in the proper venue before such removal occurs,” the majority wrote.

The court has a 6-3 conservative majority. Conservative justice Amy Coney Barrett and the court’s three liberal justices dissented.

Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act on 15 March to swiftly deport the alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang, attempting to speed up removals with a law best known for its use to intern Japanese, Italian and German immigrants during the second world war.

In a legal challenge handled by the American Civil Liberties Union, a group of Venezuelan men in the custody of US immigration authorities on the same day sued on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated, seeking to block the deportations. They argued, among other things, that Trump’s order exceeded his powers because the Alien Enemies Act authorizes removals only when war has been declared or the United States has been invaded.

The Alien Enemies Act authorizes the president to deport, detain or place restrictions on individuals whose primary allegiance is to a foreign power and who might pose a national security risk in wartime.

Boasberg, an appointee of the Democratic president Barack Obama, temporarily blocked the deportations. But Trump’s administration allowed two planes already in the air to continue to El Salvador where American officials handed 238 Venezuelan men over to Salvadoran authorities to be placed in the Central American country’s “Terrorism Confinement Center.”

The judge also has scrutinized whether the Trump administration violated his order by failing to return the deportation flights after his order was issued. Justice department lawyers said the flights had left US airspace by the time Boasberg issued a written order and thus were not required to return. They dismissed the weight of Boasberg’s spoken order during a hearing two hours earlier calling for any planes carrying deportees to be turned around.

Trump’s administration has argued that Boasberg’s temporary ban encroached on presidential authority to make national security decisions.

On 18 March, Trump called for Boasberg’s impeachment by Congress – a process that could remove him from the bench – drawing a rebuke from the US chief justice John Roberts. Trump on social media called Boasberg, who was confirmed by the US Senate in 2011 in a bipartisan 96-0 vote, a “Radical Left Lunatic” and a “troublemaker and agitator”.

The DC circuit upheld Boasberg’s order after holding a contentious hearing that involved heated language. Judge Patricia Millett told a justice department lawyer, Drew Ensign, that “Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemies Act than has happened here.” Ensign responded: “We certainly dispute the Nazi analogy.”

Family members of many of the deported Venezuelan migrants deny the alleged gang ties. Lawyers for one of the deportees, a Venezuelan professional soccer player and youth coach, said US officials had wrongly labeled him a gang member based on a tattoo of a crown meant to honor his favorite team, Real Madrid.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... portations

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Fired Federal Workers Could Work Factory Jobs Created by Tariffs: Bessent
Published Apr 08, 2025 at 6:43 AM EDT
Updated Apr 08, 2025 at 10:53 AM EDT

By Hugh Cameron
U.S. News Reporter

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has suggested that those who have been laid off from their jobs in the federal government will be able to take on new jobs created as tariffs rehouse manufacturing in the U.S.

"So what we are doing: on one side, the president is reordering trade. On the other side, we are shedding excess labor in the federal government and bringing down federal borrowings," Bessent told Tucker Carlson on Friday. "And then on the other side, that will give us the labor we need for the new manufacturing."

Newsweek has reached out to the Treasury Department for comment.

Why It Matters

Despite legal pushback and forced reinstatements of fired workers, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has continued on its quest to slash the federal workforce, with hundreds of thousands let go across dozens of agencies by some estimates.

What To Know

The transcript of the interview put out by the Treasury Department on Tuesday differs slightly from the comments made by Bessent in his interview on April 4. In the footage posted to Carlson's YouTube channel, the Treasury secretary states that the federal government layoffs "will give us" an additional labor force, rather than "we will have the labor we need for new manufacturing."

U.S.-based employers announced 275,240 job cuts in March, a 60 percent increase from February, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. This marks the third-highest monthly total since the firm began tracking data in 1989. Only April and May of 2020 saw higher numbers—671,129 and 397,016 cuts, respectively—during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Challenger attributed 216,670 of these job cuts to the actions of DOGE, including its direct layoffs and the cuts caused by the "downstream effect of cutting federal aid or ending contracts."

Experts recently told Newsweek that the DOGE-driven layoffs have further saturated the labor market, resulting in too few job openings and leaving many unable to find comparable roles to those they performed while in government.

Bessent framed DOGE's efforts as part of a two-prong plan to put the U.S. economy back on course. The Treasury Secretary told Carlson that trimming down the federal workforce and cutting government spending would "substantially" cut expenses, while President Donald Trump's tariff plans would generate "substantial tariff revenue."

What People Are Saying

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in his interview with Tucker Carlson, said: "Right now we're in this strange 'betwixt and between,' because we're going to take in substantial tariff revenue. And what DOGE is doing is substantially cutting expenses. But we're not getting credit for it right now. I think the market's starting to get a hint of it. The 10-year bond, which had almost peaked at 5 percent, is now through 4 percent. A way to think about it is: every 100 basis points is about $1 trillion in savings. So we've saved $100 billion. That's probably not going to happen that quickly again. But I think we are setting the sails for a much better fiscal time. People don't have to say, 'The U.S. is out of control. The U.S. is going to default.' We're not. And I think every day, my case gets better."

Indeed economist Allison Shrivastava previously told Newsweek: "Ultimately, the overall job market's ability to absorb cuts will depend largely on the types of jobs workers are looking for and a rebound in employer hiring and confidence."

Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan, professor of Economics at Brown University, previously told Newsweek: "First and foremost, every reason the administration gives to justify tariffs is wrong: tariffs do not decrease US overall trade deficit (unless you shut down entire trade with everyone), tariffs do not bring jobs back and tariffs do not mean foreigners take advantage of us taking our wealth."

What Happens Next?

Trump's flat 10 percent tariffs on all imports took effect on Saturday, with the "reciprocal" tariffs set to follow on Wednesday.

Elon Musk announced he will step away from his role at DOGE by the end of May, stating he expects to meet his goal of cutting federal spending by $1 trillion by then.

https://www.newsweek.com/bessent-fired- ... fs-2056700

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Ok-Lets-Talk-It-Out
OP
•
1d ago
The letter said Chatfield posted supportive comments on LinkedIn about a diversity summit and gave a speech in 2015 at Women’s Equality Day. The group quoted her as saying that investing in empowering women can unlock human potential.

And they also said she was quoted as saying, “our diversity is our strength” — a phrase that Hegseth has repeatedly condemned.

She was fired for years old comments that didn't draw any ire if you are a rational adult.

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‪Rachel Maddow‬ ‪@maddow.msnbc.com‬
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4h

azmirror.com/2025/04/08/i...

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Social Security Administration ‘will be using X to communicate’ moving forward
by Ashleigh Fields - 04/11/25 2:25 PM ET

The Social Security Administration (SSA) unveiled Thursday that it would use the social platform X to make announcements going forward, instead of traditional press releases or memos typically posted to the agency’s website.

“The agency will be using X to communicate to the press and the public — formerly known as Twitter,” Linda Kerr-Davis, SSA Midwest-West regional commissioner told employees in a call Thursday, according to Federal News Network (FNN).

“This will become our communication mechanism,” she told reporters.

The shift comes as communications staff at the agency has dwindled due to reassignments in front-facing roles at field offices across the country. Officials announced that regional SSA offices would no longer have fully staffed public affairs offices as a result.

“If you’re used to getting press releases and Dear Colleague letters, you might want to subscribe to the official SSA X account, so you can stay up to date with agency news,” Kerr-Davis said, as reported by FNN.

“I know this probably sounds very foreign to you — it did to me as well — and not what we are used to, but we are in different times now,” she added.

The SSA’s last press release, which was posted March 27 on the website, denied reports that local field offices may be closing. It also features a link to an inactive social media account for the agency that encouraged website viewers to follow the press office on X, which is owned by close Trump adviser and donor Elon Musk.

The past few months have seen considerable changes at the agency under the Trump administration, which announced new verification standards that were later walked back by officials who said they were evaluating policies to prevent fraud.

The updated policies have caused some concerns for rural communities and people who require assistance to travel to the in-person offices or those who have trouble logging in to their accounts online for help. The final memo on its website said the agency would work with the public to address the issues.

“SSA works closely with local congressional delegations before closing any office permanently,” the last release reads. “The agency also reassigns employees from an affected office to other locations to help communities access in-person services.”

Officials noted that while no field offices have been permanently closed, some buildings may have their leases terminated as the department has turned mostly to virtual hearings.

The Hill reached out to the SSA for comment.

—Updated at 5:05 p.m. EDT

https://thehill.com/homenews/administra ... -releases/

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