Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared to run away Friday when reporters asked about President Donald Trump's $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund." DeSantis broke into a sprint up stairs to exit onto the street. The fund in question was created as a settlement for Trump's $10 billion IRS lawsuit, despite the constitutional irregularity of Trump suing an agency he controls. Since its announcement, Jan. 6 rioters have expressed interest in applying for compensation, prompting criticism from Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Some GOP senators have proposed reconciliation bill provisions to limit fund eligibility. DeSantis's escape was captured on video and widely mocked on social media. Former Florida Agriculture Secretary Nikki Fried wrote on X, "He LITERALLY can't run faster away." Florida Politics editor Peter Schorsch joked about DeSantis struggling on the stairs on X. Economist Anders Åslund wrote on X, "To be a Trump loyalist is to be a coward & refuse to tell the truth or stick to the rule of law."Watch the video below. Your browser does not support the video tag.
President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video of himself throwing former late-night show host Stephen Colbert in a dumpster, following the end of his show. On Friday, the day after Colbert signed off from his last show, the president posted a video showing the departed late-night host standing for his monologue, only to be flanked […]
Jan. 6 prosecutor, Trump administration targets sue over ‘weaponization’ fund
Four of President Donald Trump's cabinet members have left his administration over the last several months — and people noticed a similar pattern on Friday. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was the latest to exit, citing her husband's battle with a rare bone cancer. The move comes after months of rumors that Trump wanted her gone.The internet spotted something similar to previous Trump administration officials ousted from their roles, including former Attorney General Pam Bondi, former Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem."Four major departures from Trump's cabinet are all women," Sam Stein, managing editor of The Bulwark and MS NOW contributor, wrote on X."Four of Trump’s Cabinet officials have departed in the last 3 months and all are women: Noem, Bondi, Chavez-DeRemer and now Gabbard," Grace Panetta, politics reporter for The 19th, wrote on X."As I have said many times, they are all awful! Every one of Trump‘s cabinet members was handpicked for their loyalty, and almost all are not only unqualified, but dangerously so. Yet of the four that have been fired or pushed out so far, all four of four are women," author and activist Amy Siskind wrote on X."Donald Trump only has four women left in his Cabinet to fire..." Amee Vanderpool, lawyer and writer of the Shero Substack, wrote on X."Called it. That’s four women now," Laura Bassett, freelance journalist and former Jezebel editor-in-chief, wrote on Bluesky.
President Donald Trump's move to push out a longtime Republican ally could backfire — because he now needs his help, according to reports on Friday.Burgess Everett, Semafor congressional bureau chief, pointed out that as Tulsi Gabbard announced her resignation as director of national intelligence, it has left three openings for the Trump administration to fill all while he navigates a more tense relationship with GOP lawmakers in the economic fallout over the Iran war, the White House ballroom funding and his controversial $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund."Upshot from Gabbard resigning: Trump now has three Cabinet vacancies (Labor, AG) while he's basically at war with Senate Republicans," Everett wrote in a post on X."And confirming a new DNI will require the votes of Sens. Collins and ... Cornyn in Senate Intelligence Committee, whom Trump just snubbed," Everett added.Interim leaders have been tapped to run the Labor Department and Justice Department until Trump names new nominees to the roles."Acting attorney general Todd Blanche faces a tough road to confirmation if Trump nominates him to a permanent role," according to a Semafor report."Any Gabbard replacement would have to get approval from the Senate Intelligence Committee, whose members include moderate Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who has voted against several Trump nominees and priorities, as well as Texas Sen. John Cornyn, recently snubbed by Trump in his primary. Gabbard’s successor would need both of their votes — and confirming her was a challenge to begin with at the peak of Trump’s power," Semafor reported.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's resignation could have been connected to the potential legal trouble she created for President Donald Trump, according to an analyst on Friday.Legal analyst Scott MacFarlane, Chief Washington Correspondent for MeidasTouch, told MS NOW anchor Katy Tur that Gabbard's presence at the January FBI raid on the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center caused legal problems for the Trump administration, Mediaite reported."Not only is there concern that Tulsi Gabbard was there when the feds raided Fulton County and took their 2020 ballots — that’s complicating the effort by the [Trump] administration to fend off a legal challenge from Fulton County trying to get their ballots back. Her presence there has been a problem, potentially legally, in the dispute over those ballots," MacFarlane said.“Because she’s a political actor,” MacFarlane said. “As a national intelligence director, she’s viewed as a political actor if she’s there for what is viewed to be a politically-motivated raid. The Fulton County commissioner is arguing in court that this was a weaponized seizure of their ballots. Tulsi Gabbard being there is part of their argument, and that complicates things more. Why is the director of national intelligence playing any type of politicized role in anything domestically?”White House adviser Kurt Olsen led the raid in Fulton County. The former Trump campaign attorney was a figure in the "Stop the Steal" campaign — the MAGA effort to overturn President Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election win.Gabbard announced on Friday that she was leaving due to her husband's cancer diagnosis. However, a source familiar with her resignation told Reuters that Gabbard "had been forced out by the White House" — a different story compared to the announcement and social media reactions from Trump and other officials.
President Trump announces via Truth Social, “Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Aaron Lukas, will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence” following the departure of DNI Tulsi Gabbard on June 30, 2026. [SOURCE] Aaron Lukas will do a solid job as ‘acting’ or as fully nominated and confirmed DNI. There will likely be a […] The post President Trump Responds to DNI Gabbard Departure, “Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Aaron Lukas, will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence” appeared first on The Last Refuge.
The Trump administration is temporarily moving immigration lawyers to the Justice Department to speed up efforts to strip citizenship from naturalized Americans, Axios has learned.Why it matters: Denaturalization cases have a very high burden of proof, but they're a priority for Trump officials who are searching for fraud in the legal immigration system. Zoom in: Lawyers at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the office for legal immigration services, are being temporarily transferred to U.S. attorney's offices to work on denaturalization cases, four former agency officials tell Axios. One source said staffers were being "volun-told" to move offices. A second source describe the transfers as lawyers "being force volunteered."It's not necessary that they have prior trial or denaturalization experience, just that they have an active law license, a third source said. "We are proud to support this critical effort by providing the Department of Justice with a team of our most skilled immigration law attorneys," said USCIS Spokesman Zach Kahler.Between the lines: The Trump administration tried to accelerate the number of denaturalization cases in his first term, creating a dedicated team of 10-15 lawyers. The cases identified by that team are "still kicking around," USCIS chief Joe Edlow said last September."There's a reason why 'denats' have never really taken off," one source said. "It's really hard to prove ... the standard is really high, and you need good evidence. A lot of cases, it's just it's not there."The legal burden requires proving "clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence which does not leave the issue in doubt" in civil cases where someone willfully lied on their application.In cases where someone illegally got citizenship that they weren't eligible for, there can be criminal charges filed.The big picture: Justice Department officials have shortlisted 385 people for denaturalization charges, according to a New York Times report from April. In Trump's first term, USCIS claimed to have identified 2,500 potential cases but referred just a fraction to DOJ.The Trump administration filed 35 denaturalization cases since the start of the second term, including 12 as recently as this month, according to a DOJ spokesperson.A Justice Department memo from June 2025 also listed denaturalizations as a top priority for the Trump administration.Outlining the benefit of bringing these cases, the memo says pursuing denaturalization "supports the overall integrity of the naturalization program."In a statement to Axios, a DOJ spokesperson said it welcomed the assistance from USCIS lawyers "to advance the President's mission to promote public safety and root out fraud."The bottom line: Increasing the number of denaturalization cases has long been a goal in Edlow's crusade against suspect fraudulent immigration applications."I think it's just as useful to have a decentralized denaturalization process," Edlow said when asked about the denaturalization's unit in Trump's first term last September at an event hosted by the Center for Immigration Studies."If that gives rise to the need for a denaturalization, we're going to move forward. I don't need it specially sent to an office. I want every office using this as a benchmark," he added.
A Trump cabinet secretary is breaking from the White House on proposed budget cuts, according to reporting by the New York Times. "The White House is asking Congress to cut the number of lawyers enforcing civil rights in schools," the Times reported on Friday. "Education Secretary Linda McMahon has told Congress she wants money to hire more."McMahon told House lawmakers last week that the proposed cuts are a "floor for hiring," the report noted. Two anonymous White House officials said McMahon is contradicting their position by framing the proposed cuts as a starting point for negotiations. The White House wants to cut staffing at the Department of Education's civil rights office by 49 percent and reduce its staff from 530 to 271, according to the Times. White House officials are expecting McMahon to work with those cuts, they told the outlet. "Public disagreements are rare between the White House and Cabinet officials," the Times noted. "The incongruity over the education budget reflects the chaotic approach the Trump administration has taken toward civil rights enforcement in schools." McMahon fired half of the Education Department's civil rights lawyers during her second week leading the department, prompting bipartisan concern "about the department's handling of civil rights enforcement," the report added. McMahon said the firings were already underway as part of the DOGE cuts. "In December, Ms. McMahon gave up on the firings in the face of mounting legal challenges and an expanding backlog of discrimination complaints in schools," according to the report. "Ms. McMahon told senators during a budget hearing in April that all of the civil rights lawyers had returned except for those who took early retirement. But public records suggest that Ms. McMahon has so far been unable to rebuild the office."A spokesperson for the Education Department, however, said they plan to "use all congressionally appropriated funds responsibly to uphold and restore civil rights enforcement." The Department of Education currently has job openings posted online for lawyers in civil rights enforcement roles.