Raw Story

Expert makes the case for Trump's biggest self-inflicted wound

1 hour agoFar Left

The Trump administration abandoned a $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization" fund created through a Department of Justice, or DOJ, settlement with the Internal Revenue Services, or IRS, over the President's leaked tax returns. The fund was designed to compensate individuals who claimed improper prosecution, with multiple of President Donald Trump's allies indicating they would seek payments. In his latest Substack essay, former federal prosecutor Harry Litman characterized the retreat as Trump's "biggest self-inflicted wound of Trump 2.0," noting the President was "pinned between a rock and a hard place." The fund became "politically radioactive" after reporters questioned Republicans about potentially paying individuals convicted of assaulting police officers during the January 6 insurrection. Litman warned Trump could face "serious lumps" from the MAGA base approaching the midterms. He added, the retreat represents a public defeat for a president whose political brand centers on bravado and winning, though the full parameters of the reversal remain unclear as of the report."All of that amounts to a richly deserved comeuppance for Trump’s staggering audacity in trying to make the American people not just pardon but financially reward the most serious assault on American democracy since the Civil War," Litman wrote. Watch the video below. Your browser does not support the video tag.

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'Provision in the law' may bar new Trump hire from taking the job: MS NOW reporter

Raw Story

15 minutes ago

'Provision in the law' may bar new Trump hire from taking the job: MS NOW reporter

Donald Trump’s attempt to insert Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHA) Director Bill Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) on Tuesday could run into a legal roadblock according to MS NJOW’s Ken Dilanian, with Republican lawmakers also questioning whether he should hold the job.According to a report from the New York Times, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), James Lankford (R-OK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) are questioning his stunning lack of experience in intelligence matters.As Dilanian pointed out, that lack of experience runs afoul of the law that created the intelligence gathering department after the 9/11 attacks.Speaking with host Anna Cabrera, he explained, “This is really an incredible development. Bill Pulte is an investment guy, he's a real estate guy. He has not only no intelligence experience, [but] no foreign policy experience. And we should remember there is a provision in the law; this job was created after 9/11, remember, to knit together strands of intelligence and connect the dots and there's a provision in the authorizing legislation that requires that the person holding this job has significant, substantial intelligence experience.”“When Tulsi Gabbard was nominated for this role, a lot of people believed that she didn't fit the bill, but at least she had been a military officer and a member of Congress,” he recalled. “I don't even know if Bill Pulte has a security clearance right now. And this role, this job, this person gets access to some of the most sensitive intelligence that the U.S. government collects. The biggest secrets, just incredible things, sensitive compartmented programs, need-to-know things that only a handful of people in the government know — and now Bill Pulte will know them.” - YouTube youtu.be

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2 million fewer kids have Medicaid since Trump took office — and it's about to get worse

Raw Story

30 minutes ago

2 million fewer kids have Medicaid since Trump took office — and it's about to get worse

The number of young children without health insurance in the US rose sharply between 2022 and 2024 and is set to continue surging as the Trump administration implements work reporting requirements and other changes expected to kick millions—adults and kids—off Medicaid.A report published Monday by the Center for Children and Families (CCF) at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy found that nearly 220,000 additional children under the age of six were uninsured in 2024, a 23% increase from 2022. During that period, the total share of young children without health insurance rose to 5.3%—the highest rate in almost a decade.The new report argues the rising uninsured rate among young children is “at least in part” attributable to the unwinding of pandemic-era protections that allowed people to remain on Medicaid without undergoing routine eligibility checks. The analysis found that Texas, Florida, and Georgia accounted for more than half of the increase in young children without insurance between 2022 and 2024.Elisabeth Wright Burak and Aubrianna Osorio, researchers at CCF, wrote that “these data provide a major warning sign for what’s to come, as states grapple with the onslaught of Medicaid cuts from [the 2025 Republican budget law] and new coverage restrictions.”“One in 4 children in the US have at least one parent who was born abroad,” the researchers wrote. “For these children, the vast majority of whom are citizens, harsh anti-immigration policies and rhetoric are already leading to missed doctor appointments, on top of the ongoing fear, uncertainty, and overall stress that can compromise healthy development of young children. Fears of safety and separation have made more parents afraid to enroll their eligible, citizen children in programs like Medicaid and [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program], exposing children and families to additional financial risk and food insecurity.”“Many more parents of young children enrolled in Medicaid themselves will be at higher risk of losing coverage as work reporting requirements and added red tape come along in 2027,” they added. “We know as parents lose coverage, their children are also at grave risk of losing access to health care through the ‘unwelcome mat’ effect.”CCF’s report came as the Trump administration rolled out a new rule that will dictate how states implement Medicaid work reporting requirements included in the 2025 Republican budget law, which contains around $900 billion in cuts to Medicaid over the next decade.Advocates warned the rule will result in millions of people, including many children, losing coverage by creating onerous bureaucratic barriers to obtaining and keeping Medicaid coverage. CCF estimated last week that, as of April 2026, roughly 2 million fewer children were enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program compared to January 2025, the start of President Donald Trump’s second White House term.“This is terrible news because when child enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP goes down, the child uninsured rate goes up,” wrote Joan Alker, CCF’s executive director. “And the child uninsured rate was already going up when President Trump took office, yet we have heard nothing about this from them. Federal officials should be scrambling to figure out the root cause of this coverage loss for children as income eligibility levels did not change and the unemployment rate has been inching upward since President Trump took office.”

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Trump signs AI order creating voluntary system for early government access to new models

Washington Examiner

44 minutes ago

Trump signs AI order creating voluntary system for early government access to new models

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday that would allow artificial intelligence companies to voluntarily collaborate with the federal government, which would get early access to new models. The order released by the White House specifies that the federal government would be given access to “covered frontier models” up to 30 days before […]

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Rubio roasted in hearing over Trump's high gas prices and war: 'Dumpster fire'

Raw Story

50 minutes ago

Rubio roasted in hearing over Trump's high gas prices and war: 'Dumpster fire'

Secretary of State Marco Rubio faced a blistering broadside Tuesday from Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the FY27 State Department budget — a session that quickly turned into a referendum on the Trump administration's foreign policy record."The Trump foreign policy has become a dumpster fire," Van Hollen said at the hearing, ticking through a lengthy charge sheet: a war in Iran that has killed at least 15 U.S. service members and sent gas prices up 28% year-over-year; a UAE crypto deal that enriched the Trump family; and USAID cuts he argued enabled the current Ebola outbreak in the DRC.Van Hollen also criticized Trump's China trip, saying the president returned with nothing but "ballroom envy" — a reference to Trump's Truth Social post marveling at Chinese ballroom architecture after a summit that produced no comprehensive trade deal — while having loosened chip export restrictions to Beijing beforehand.He also zeroed in on Trump's comments about gas prices."He called high gas prices 'peanuts' and said, 'I don't think about Americans' financial situation,'" Van Hollen said at the hearing. Trump made those remarks on May 19, as national inflation hit 3.8% — a three-year high.Rubio pushed back but conceded little. When Van Hollen pressed him on whether the administration had found new evidence to justify reinstating Cuba's state sponsor of terrorism designation, Rubio replied: "Why would I need new evidence?""Because you're claiming they're a state sponsor of terrorism, suggesting they're ongoingly involved in that," Van Hollen fired back.The two also sparred over media reports that the U.S. is working with Israel to strip Jordan of its custodianship over the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex. Rubio said he'd never heard the claim discussed. "Is it a credible website?" he asked. Van Hollen said he was glad to provide it.It was not the first time the two had clashed. Last year, Van Hollen told Rubio to his face that he regretted voting to confirm him. Rubio's response: "Your regret for voting for me confirms I'm doing a good job."

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Trump names Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence

NBC News Politics

57 minutes ago

Trump names Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence

President Trump has named Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as the acting director of national intelligence after Tulsi Gabbard resigned from the position. NBC News' Gabe Gutierrez reports on the appointment and Pulte's past work in the administration.

Center Left

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Make Russia pay for its illegal aggression and war crimes

The Hill News

1 hour ago

Make Russia pay for its illegal aggression and war crimes

Rep. Kevin Kiley of California has signed a discharge petition to force a House floor vote on the Ukraine Support Act, which would impose tougher sanctions on Russia, authorize up to $8 billion in Foreign Military Financing loans for Ukraine, and reaffirm U.S. support for both Ukraine and NATO.

Center

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Trump signs scaled-back AI executive order

The Hill News

1 hour ago

Trump signs scaled-back AI executive order

President Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order directing federal agencies to shore up their defenses against more advanced AI models and develop a voluntary testing framework. The new order appears to be a scaled-back version of the order Trump initially intended to sign recently. The president backed out just hours before the planned signing…

Center

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‘Partisan thug’: Democrats erupt over Trump intel pick Bill Pulte

The Hill News

1 hour ago

‘Partisan thug’: Democrats erupt over Trump intel pick Bill Pulte

Democratic lawmakers are airing their frustration Tuesday, after President Trump appointed Bill Pulte to serve as acting head of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Trump named Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency )FHFA), to replace Tulsi Gabbard after she resigned from the office last month. “Bill Pulte is…

Center

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