02b U.S. Politics – Progressive

Pro-Hamas Mob Hits New Low With Latest Attack on Fetterman– townhall.com

pgnewser April 4, 2025 0

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Pro-Hamas activists targeted Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) again. This time, they attacked the charity center in his hometown of Braddock, Pennsylvania, where he was once mayor of the tiny Pittsburgh-area borough and still resides with his young family.

The Free Store 15104, which Fetterman’s wife Gisele Barreto Fetterman runs, was defaced overnight with pro-terrorism messages telling “Genocide John” and “Genocide Gisele” that they have “Blood On [Their] Hands.”

Democrats call out Texas governor over delayed election– www.dailykos.com

pgnewser April 4, 2025 0

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Wednesday that Democrats are “very likely” to sue Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, accusing him of deliberately delaying a special election to fill a House seat that’s been vacant for nearly a month.

Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner of Texas died on March 5, at age 70, just two months into his term. But Abbott has yet to announce a special election date and has missed the deadline for the race to be held on May 3, Texas’ next available election date. That means the seat for Texas’ 18th Congressional District might not be filled until November.

In an interview with NBC News, Jeffries didn’t mince words, flat-out accusing Abbott of dragging his feet to help Republicans cling to their razor-thin House majority—especially as more members grow frustrated with House Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries

When asked directly if he believed Abbott was intentionally stalling, Jeffries simply said, “Yes.”

Trump Attorneys Eye ‘Loophole’ For Potential Third Term– trendingpoliticsnews.com

pgnewser April 3, 2025 0

Trump Attorneys Eye ‘Loophole’ For Potential Third Term– trendingpoliticsnews.com
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President Donald Trump’s second term is still in its first 100 days, but speculation about a third term is already well underway.

According to multiple media reports, a top attorney for the president has been exploring a “loophole” in the U.S. Constitution that would allow him to remain in office after 2028, a move without recent historical precedent. President Trump said on Sunday that he was “not joking” about the possibility of serving another four years.

The reports add to Trump’s claim to NBC News that “there are methods” by which he could remain in office, though he declined to elaborate when asked.

CNN legal analyst Elie Honig said Tuesday he believes he knows what Trump’s lawyers are closely evaluating: the exact wording of the 22nd Amendment, which states that “[N]o person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”

White House desperately wants you to forget national security fail– www.dailykos.com

pgnewser April 3, 2025 0

White House desperately wants you to forget national security fail– www.dailykos.com
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The Trump administration is attempting to shut down growing concerns over the war plans leak, even as congressional requests for independent investigations have begun to surface.

Senior members of the Trump administration—including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz—discussed confidential war plans in a Signal group chat, in which journalist Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally included.

“As the president has made it very clear, Mike Waltz continues to be an important part of his national security team, and this case has been closed here at the White House as far as we are concerned,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday.

Leavitt, who has a history of lying, said that “steps have been made” to ensure that another leak doesn’t happen in the future but gave no details on what those purported steps were.

Tammy Bruce: Annexing Greenland Is ‘For Their Own Good’– crooksandliars.com

pgnewser April 3, 2025 0

Tammy Bruce: Annexing Greenland Is ‘For Their Own Good’– crooksandliars.com
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During her hit on Fox Business Network Monday, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce ignored Trump’s military threats to acquire Greenland, claiming instead the US only wants to protect them from foreign threats.
.
When has Greenland been threatened?

Oh, wait. The U.S. just did.

VARNEY: Now this, President Trump did not rule out using military force to acquire Greenland from Denmark.

State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce joins me now. Tammy, how far will Mr. Trump go to control Greenland?

BRUCE: Well, you know, this is not, and good morning, Stu, nice to see you.

DOGE Moves to Gut CDC Work on Gun Injuries, Sexual Assault, Opioid Overdose Data, and More – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com

pgnewser April 1, 2025 0

DOGE Moves to Gut CDC Work on Gun Injuries, Sexual Assault, Opioid Overdose Data, and More – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com
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On Tuesday, thousands of staffers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta received early morning emails asking them to resign. The centers affected included those working on reproductive health, chronic disease, occupational safety, birth defects, smoking, tuberculosis, asthma and air quality, accidental and intentional injury, and prevention of violence and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.

“It’s a blood bath this morning,” one CDC employee messaged me. Several others told me that their entire departments had received the letters. It wasn’t immediately clear whether everyone who had received the notices would ultimately be laid off.

“I regret to inform you that you are being affected by a reduction in force (RIF) action,” the letters stated. “After you receive this notice, you will be placed on administrative leave and will no longer have building access beginning Tuesday, April 1, unless directed otherwise by your leadership.” This action follows the announcement last week, by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to cut 10,000 employees from the agency. “This overhaul will be a win-win for taxpayers and for those that HHS serves,” Kennedy said in a statement. “That’s the entire American public because our goal is to Make America Healthy Again.”

Yet the staffers I talked to weren’t convinced that the cuts would improve public health or efficiency—on the contrary, they said they worried that government efforts to improve the lives of Americans would be undermined.

France Cracked Down on Far-Right Corruption—And Team Trump Is Triggered – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com

pgnewser April 1, 2025 0

France Cracked Down on Far-Right Corruption—And Team Trump Is Triggered – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com
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Far-right French politician Marine Le Pen has not proven to be as lucky as Donald Trump was in skirting consequences of breaking the law.Alexis Sciard/IP3/ZUMA

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After a French court found far-right leader and former presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen guilty of embezzlement on Monday—a conviction that will bar her from holding political office for five years—some of President Donald Trump’s closest allies are boosting baseless conspiracy theories alleging that Le Pen’s conviction is part of a global scheme to keep right-wing populists from holding office.

Le Pen is reportedly accused of wrongfully diverting $5 million in funds earmarked for the European Parliament to staffers of her nationalist, xenophobic party, the National Rally, over a 12-year period. The verdict makes her ineligible to run in the country’s next presidential election in 2027—and comes after she was polling at 37 percent, more than 10 points ahead of her closest challenger. Le Pen has run for that office three times before, and became more popular as right-wing political parties across Europe rose in prominence in recent years; in the 2022 presidential runoff, Le Pen earned 41.5 percent of votes to President Emmanuel Macron’s 58.6 percent. (Macron is term-limited.)

 

Putin open to contacts after Trump criticism: Kremlin– thehill.com

pgnewser March 31, 2025 0

Putin open to contacts after Trump criticism: Kremlin– thehill.com
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Russian President Vladimir Putin says he’s open to staying in touch with the White House after critical comments from the U.S. president toward Russia’s leader, which have been rare amid his efforts to get peace talks rolling.

Putin criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, suggesting he may not be a legitimate leader, and therefore unable to represent Ukraine in peace talks.

Trump said Sunday he was “very angry” and “pissed off” at Putin’s remarks about Zelensky, and threatened to impose new tariffs on Russian oil exports.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov indicated on Monday the remarks would not derail ongoing discussions related to Ukraine.

“We are working to implement some ideas in connection with the Ukrainian settlement. This work is ongoing,” Peskov said, per The Associated Press.

Republicans can’t stop making pathetic excuses for war chat fiasco– www.dailykos.com

pgnewser March 31, 2025 0

Republicans can’t stop making pathetic excuses for war chat fiasco– www.dailykos.com
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As fury mounts over the Trump administration’s leaking of classified military operations in an unsecure Signal group chat that included a reporter who did not have a security clearance, GOP lawmakers have continued to downplay the seriousness of the situation.

The ridiculous defenses—ranging from lies about the contents of the messages to conspiracy theories about how the reporter got added to the conversation in the first place—are even rankling some Trump administration allies, who told Politico that President Donald Trump and his team need to own up to the error, fire those involved, and end the controversy.

But that message has clearly not been heard by congressional Republicans, who are still defending the monumental fuck-up that risked U.S. troops who were carrying out an attack on a rebel group in Yemen—even as more details emerge confirming that classified information was shared on an insecure platform.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, said that he stands by the Trump administration officials who were involved—including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who shared in the chat the exact timing of the forthcoming attack and the weapons systems that would be used.

“President Trump and his team have admitted that having a journalist in the group text was wrong, will be reviewed and falls in the category of ‘lessons learned’ so that it doesn’t happen again. I think President Trump has handled this matter well. Further, I believe that all the participants in the chat were under the impression they were using an appropriate and secure form of communication. This will also fall into the category of ‘lessons learned,’” Graham said in a statement.

 

Trump says he doesn’t ‘want to talk about a third term now’ but ‘so many people’ are asking him to run– thehill.com

pgnewser March 31, 2025 0

Trump says he doesn’t ‘want to talk about a third term now’ but ‘so many people’ are asking him to run– thehill.com
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President Trump said he doesn’t want to discuss his plans for 2028 but said “so many people” are asking him to run for a third term — a move prohibited by the Constitution.

Trump was asked about his comments from an earlier Sunday interview in which he said he was “not joking” about running for a third term and said there were some potential methods that could allow him to seek another term.

“I’m not looking at that, but I’ll tell you, I have had more people ask me to have a third term, which in a way is a fourth term because the other election — the 2020 election — was totally rigged, so it’s actually sort of a fourth term,” Trump said, when asked whether his comments earlier meant he’s “not planning to leave office on January 20.”

Trump repeatedly touted what he described as the success of his administration, saying that’s the reason people want him to stay in office.

Trump Again Floats Running for Anti-Constitutional Third Term – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com

pgnewser March 31, 2025 0

Trump Again Floats Running for Anti-Constitutional Third Term – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com
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Trump said on Sunday that he’s “not joking” about running for a third term—despite the fact that would be unconstitutional.Jacquelyn Martin/AP

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President Donald Trump has repeatedly teased running for a third term in violation of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, which limits presidents to two terms.

Until now, it has been unclear whether he was making such comments seriously. But in a phone call with Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker of NBC News on Sunday, Trump gave his clearest indication yet that he is indeed serious. “I’m not joking,” he reportedly said. “But I’m not—it is far too early to think about it.”

“There are methods which you could do it,” Trump continued. NBC reports that when Welker asked about the plausibility of Vice President JD Vance running for office and then passing power to Trump (who would try to run as VP in 2028, and then take over when Vance resigns, according to the theory) Trump replied, “That’s one,” adding, “but there are others too.” He declined to provide specific examples, NBC reported.

Trump Fuels Blue Wave By Planning To Hit Americans With Biggest Peacetime Tax Increase In History– www.politicususa.com

pgnewser March 31, 2025 0

Trump Fuels Blue Wave By Planning To Hit Americans With Biggest Peacetime Tax Increase In History– www.politicususa.com
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Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro said, according to an X post from Jeff Stein of The Washington Post that Trump is planning on imposing $600 billion worth of tariffs per year for ten years:

White House aide Peter Navarro today: Trump’s tariffs will raise $600 billion per year, or $6 trillion over a 10 year period Seems to reflect our reporting that Trump wants to go absolutely enormous on the tariffs, regardless of short-term economic consequences

Video of Navarro:

To put this into context, Trump’s proposed tariffs would be 2.2% of GDP.

Here is a chart from The Tax Foundation of the largest tax increases as a percentage of GDP in US history:

 

Egypt’s plan for the reconstruction of Gaza– thehill.com

pgnewser March 20, 2025 0

Egypt’s plan for the reconstruction of Gaza– thehill.com
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For over 16 months, Palestinians in Gaza have endured unspeakable humanitarian circumstances unseen since the Second World War. Almost 2 million people in Gaza have been internally displaced, with more than 150,000 people killed or injured according to the UN, 50 percent of hospitals and medical facilities destroyed, 88 percent of schools partially or fully shattered, 68 percent of agricultural areas damaged and 68 percent of roads have become dysfunctional.

As the statistics reflect, Israel’s war didn’t turn out to be just a war against Hamas, but expanded to the entire civilian population and its critical infrastructure.

To address this crisis of colossal magnitude, two critical steps need to be taken. First, we must immediately provide a comprehensive and thorough humanitarian plan that alleviates the suffering of Palestinians and restore life back to Gaza through early recovery programs and reconstruction.

Second, it is imperative that we offer a political roadmap that brings decisive closure to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict once and for all culminating in an independent Palestinian state and ensure that this latest horrific round of violence becomes the final one. Let me address both steps.

Hillary Trashes America on Foreign Soil, Demands Control of Information That ‘Determines How We Think’ – RedState– redstate.com

pgnewser March 20, 2025 0

Hillary Trashes America on Foreign Soil, Demands Control of Information That ‘Determines How We Think’ – RedState– redstate.com
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Hillary Clinton spoke at the World Forum on the Future of Democracy, Tech, and Humankind on Tuesday, immediately slamming America under Trump’s leadership as marching towards autocracy.

She said that at a forum in … Germany.

“There’s no way to sugarcoat it. There’s no way to explain it away,” she said less than 60 seconds into her speech. “Autocracy is on the March, and we now have a government in the United States that has thrown in its lot with the autocrats.”

That government, she continued, “has made a choice to support those who wage war, not peace, who has given enormous power to the men who control the information flow in our world, who have all pledged allegiance to the continuation of algorithms that not only addict us, but poison us with hatred and fear.”

House Dems Ramp Up Calls for Schumer’s Resignation as Donors Lament ‘Despair and Hopelessness’– freebeacon.com

pgnewser March 20, 2025 0

House Dems Ramp Up Calls for Schumer’s Resignation as Donors Lament ‘Despair and Hopelessness’– freebeacon.com
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Democratic politicians and donors are sounding the alarm over the party’s discord during President Donald Trump’s second term, with House Democrats calling for Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) to step down.

Reps. Delia Ramirez (D., Ill.) and Glenn Ivey (D., Md.) are openly supporting Schumer’s ouster, with another House Democrat telling Axios that other members of the caucus would join them but “just haven’t been asked directly or avoided the question.”

Schumer last week voted with Republicans to advance a bill that averted a government shutdown, prompting widespread Democratic backlash. A petition to withhold donations to Senate Democrats until they oust Schumer as leader has amassed around 25,000 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.

The Schumer situation is part of Democrats’ general failure “to land on a unified message to effectively confront Trump,” CNN reported based on conversations with Democratic donors and activists. Atlanta-area fundraiser Maggie Kulyk, for example, described the party’s situation as “astoundingly bad.”

Democrats ask Trump to remove Patel as acting ATF director – The Hill– news.google.com

pgnewser March 20, 2025 0

Democrats ask Trump to remove Patel as acting ATF director – The Hill
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A group of Democrats are calling on President Trump to remove FBI Director Kash Patel as the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Fourteen Democratic members of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, chaired by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), expressed “grave concerns” over Patel’s leadership position at the agency in a letter to Trump dated March 3 and shared on social media by Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday.

“As you are aware, ATF is the lead law enforcement agency responsible for addressing the gun violence epidemic in our country. At a time when gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and teenagers in the United States, it is unconscionable that someone without experience fighting crime, responding to mass shootings or confronting domestic terrorism has been named as ATF’s Acting Director,” the Democrats wrote.

The Israeli American Trump Mega-Donor Behind Speech Crackdowns– www.truthdig.com

pgnewser March 20, 2025 0

The Israeli American Trump Mega-Donor Behind Speech Crackdowns– www.truthdig.com
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The Trump administration’s effort to deport a Columbia University graduate student, Mahmoud Khalil, in retaliation for Khalil’s role in campus protests opposing Israel’s war in Gaza, showed the lengths the White House is prepared to go to police speech about Israel.

The administration’s unprecedented decision to seek the deportation of a U.S. permanent resident without bringing any criminal charges has an overlooked ally, however: the largest financier of Trump’s three presidential campaigns, Israeli American billionaire Miriam Adelson.

Adelson’s support for the administration’s campaign to stifle criticism of Israel on college campuses isn’t a new focus, but her alignment with the levers of state powers to implement her vision are unprecedented. In fact, tax documents reveal that she is directly overseeing a social media campaign targeting Khalil and Columbia University.

Trump Is Trying to Create His Own Personal Legal Strike Force – The Nation– news.google.com

pgnewser March 20, 2025 0

Trump Is Trying to Create His Own Personal Legal Strike Force – The Nation
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Late last week, Donald Trump went to the Department of Justice and, once again, threatened his political enemies with unlawful prosecutions. Referring to himself as “the chief law enforcement officer in our country,” he called for the agency to prosecute everybody from former special counsel Jack Smith to MSNBC and CNN to (apparently) anybody who writes or says mean things about him or his pet judge, Aileen Cannon. Even lawyer Norm Eisen, cofounder of The Contrarian (a freaking Substack), was singled out as a potential target.

Gavin Newsom schools Tim Walz on why Dems are ‘losing’ young men to ‘bad guys’ like Charlie Kirk, online influencers | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com

pgnewser March 20, 2025 0

Gavin Newsom schools Tim Walz on why Dems are ‘losing’ young men to ‘bad guys’ like Charlie Kirk, online influencers | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com
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“Not only do they exist, they persist. And they’re actually influencing young kids every single day.”

Minnesota Governor and former Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz appeared on California Governor Gavin Newsom’s new podcast where the two talked about how the Democratic Party is losing support among young male voters.

During the latest episode of This is Gavin Newsom, the two governors spoke about the ongoing issues in the Democratic Party regarding support among young men. Newsom, who previously interviewed high-profile conservative commentators Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon, explained to Walz why these right-wing voices are resonating with young male voters and the working class.

“We’re losing them to these guys online, we’re losing them to people that I’m bringing on this podcast as well, that’s why I brought on Charlie Kirk,” Newsom said, to which Walz claimed that they were “bad guys.”

“But they exist,” Newsom responded, “and we can deny they exist, they exist—not only do they exist, they persist. And they’re actually influencing young kids every single day.”

Walz asked how to “push some of those guys back under a rock,” to which Newsom said, “I think we have to first understand what their motivations are, I think we have to understand what they’re actually doing.”

Ask PolitiFact: Is Tren de Aragua invading the US, as Trump says? Legal experts say no.– www.politifact.com

pgnewser March 20, 2025 0

Ask PolitiFact: Is Tren de Aragua invading the US, as Trump says? Legal experts say no.– www.politifact.com
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As justification for deporting some immigrants in the country illegally without due process, President Donald Trump said the U.S. is under invasion.

“Evidence irrefutably demonstrates that (Tren de Aragua) has invaded the United States,” a March 15 White House proclamation said. Tren de Aragua is a Venezuela-based gang with some U.S. presence.

The proclamation says Tren de Aragua “is a hybrid criminal state that is perpetrating an invasion of and predatory incursion into the United States,” and so any person 14 years or older who is a Tren de Aragua member and who has neither U.S. citizenship nor permanent residency can be arrested, detained and deported using the Alien Enemies Act.

Trump and his allies have referred to illegal immigration as an invasion for years, and Trump’s move to use the 1798 Alien Enemies Act for deportations hinges on this characterization. To invoke the law, the U.S. has to be at war or under invasion by a foreign

Waltz: All options ‘on the table’ to ensure Iran does not have a nuclear weapon– thehill.com

pgnewser March 18, 2025 0

Waltz: All options ‘on the table’ to ensure Iran does not have a nuclear weapon– thehill.com
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National security adviser Mike Waltz said on Sunday that all options are “on the table” to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

In an interview on ABC News’s “This Week,” anchor Martha Raddatz asked the president’s top adviser to elaborate on President Trump’s warning to Iran a week ago that they would not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and that something would happen very soon “that will solve the problem if there is no peace deal,” Raddatz said, referring to nuclear weapons.

“So, what is he talking about? Is he talking about a possible strike on the nuclear facilities by Israel, and would the U.S. join in that?” Raddatz asked.

“Well, what the president has… repeatedly said is that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Waltz said.

“All options are on the table to ensure it does not have one. And that’s all aspects of Iran’s program. That’s the missiles, the weaponization, the enrichment. They can either hand it over and give it up in a way that is verifiable, or they can face a whole series of other consequences,” he continued.

Trump Attacks Free Speech on Campus– www.thenation.com

pgnewser March 18, 2025 0

Trump Attacks Free Speech on Campus– www.thenation.com
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Donald Trump’s cruel and chaotic second term is just getting started. In his first month back in office, Trump and his lackey Elon Musk (or is it the other way around?) have proven that nothing is safe from sacrifice at the altar of unchecked power and riches.

Only robust independent journalism can cut through the noise and offer clear-eyed reporting and analysis based on principle and conscience. That’s what The Nation has done for 160 years and that’s what we’re doing now.

Our independent journalism doesn’t allow injustice to go unnoticed or unchallenged—nor will we abandon hope for a better world. Our writers, editors, and fact-checkers are working relentlessly to keep you informed and empowered when so much of the media fails to do so out of credulity, fear, or fealty.