Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, left the internet surprised on Monday after announcing he might be considering a political comeback just days after losing his primary election to a President Donald Trump-endorsed challenger.Massie wrote in a post on X that he filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for the 2028 election — keeping the details vague."I filed with FEC for the 2028 House race. This allows me to raise funds to continue my political operations supporting my position as a current office holder and as a potential candidate for federal office. I haven’t made a final decision about which office to seek, if I run," he wrote.On social media, political experts and commentators reacted to the news."Watching MAGA light itself on fire will be soothing and cathartic," former Arizona Republican congressman and veteran Adam Kinzinger wrote on X. "Thomas Massie for checkmate," White House columnist and podcaster Brian Karem wrote on X."The sign will stand as a placeholder," Jesse Lyons, a political commentator with more than 7,000 followers who self-describes as a "contrarian libertarian," wrote on X, sharing a Massie campaign sign on a grass lawn."Thomas Massie has officially filed a statement of candidacy, allowing him to begin raising money for a potential 2028 presidential run," Brian Allen, podcast host and political commentator with more than 301,000 followers, wrote on X. "That instantly changes the meaning behind a lot of what’s happening right now. Because Massie is no longer just fighting Trump politically. He’s positioning himself as a possible post-Trump alternative for the faction of the right that: distrusts foreign intervention, hates establishment Republicans, opposes surveillance expansion, views the GOP as drifting too far into loyalty politics, Epstein-class protectors, and fighting foreign wars. The Republican civil war is getting more real by the week."
The antiwar group CodePink it has yet to be served with any subpoenas after it was reported over the weekend that the Trump administration has opened an investigation into a recent humanitarian trip it helped organize to Cuba, but vehemently denied wrongdoing and said any government probe, if there is one, would only show that “this administration is beyond grotesque.”“Taking medical supplies to pediatric hospitals in Cuba is now a crime?” asked co-founder Medea Benjamin on social media on Saturday after Fox News reported that organizers had been served subpoenas. “Saving the lives of babies is a crime?”Fox reported that Benjamin and left-wing commentator Hasan Piker had been subpoenaed by federal investigators two months after they were among 40 Americans who sailed to Havana on the Nuestra America Convoy, which carried 20 tons of humanitarian aid to the island nation.The Fox reporting claimed the subpoenas issued to Benjamin and Piker seek to obtain financial, logistical, and communications information related to the trip, which was organized in response to the Trump administration’s decision in late January to threaten to impose tariffs on any country that provided Cuba with oil.The administration cut off Cuba’s main source of fuel at the beginning of the year when it sent US troops into Venezuela to abduct President Nicolás Maduro and took control of the country’s vast oil supply.White House officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, have long desired regime change in the communist country, and rights advocates have warned the administration appears to be moving toward just that as it strangles the island’s oil supply—causing frequent blackouts and impacting the healthcare and food systems—and claims the Cuban government poses a threat to the US.In organizing the Nuestra America Convoy, said Benjamin on Sunday, the advocates were acting “as moral US citizens trying to bring some relief to a population being deliberately starved by the cruel policies of our own government.”“This policy has contributed to catastrophic shortages of medicine and electricity, massive blackouts, transportation collapse, and a public health crisis that has hurt the most vulnerable, especially children and the elderly,” said Benjamin. “It is a policy that is, literally, killing babies, as we have seen in the recent tragic doubling of the infant mortality rate. This is why we focused our donations on medical supplies for pediatric hospitals.”The blockade is compounding the suffering caused by the trade embargo the US has imposed for decades, said Benjamin.The Cuban Assets Control Regulations law prohibits US citizens from conducting unlicensed travel-related transations with Cuba, but the law makes exceptions for humanitarian endeavors and other activities aimed at supporting the Cuban people.“We traveled to Cuba under the US government-authorized category of providing humanitarian aid to the Cuban people. We brought desperately needed medicines and medical supplies at a time when Cuba is suffering catastrophic shortages caused by the crippling US blockade,” said Benjamin.Benjamin, Piker, and Drop Site News co-founder Ryan Grim emphasized that the group stayed in Spanish-owned hotels that are “explicitly permitted under” the US law—while right-wing influencer Nick Shirley allegedly stayed in a sanctioned hotel on a recent trip to Cuba.“It is outrageous that the US government would target people for bringing humanitarian aid to suffering Cuban children,” Benjamin said. “But even more disturbing is the cruel and deeply immoral policy the United States continues to impose on Cuba—a policy designed to strangle the island economically, deprive people of food, fuel, medicine, and basic necessities, and make daily life unbearable.”Piker said the reports of the investigation indicate that “the American government would rather try to criminalize delivering aid to a country we’ve starved, than punish the Epstein class.”Benjamin emphasized that the reports of the probe come as the administration intensified its threats against Cuba, having indicted former President Raúl Castro last week on charges related to the shooting down of a plane operated by Cuban-American exiles in the 1990s. Trump and his allies have repeatedly mused about invading the country following his military attacks on Venezuela and Iran.“President Trump already has his hands full trying to disentangle himself from the disastrous US war with Iran,” said Benjamin. “He should not start another one in Cuba. The American people are tired of endless wars, interventions, sanctions, and suffering imposed in our name.”
The Georgia Republican Senate primary was already rife with party infighting, and now tempers are running even higher after election frontrunner Representative Mike Collins (R-GA) was forced to fire a top aide over offensive online behavior. MAGA-backed Collins is currently in a primary runoff against former college football coach Derek Dooley, who has the support of Governor Brian Kemp, who himself has been at odds with President Donald Trump over the past 18 months. To that end, the primary represents yet what many have suggested is an ongoing battle for the GOP, pitting Trump loyalists against more traditional Republicans. But it is also the party’s bid to oppose incumbent Senator John Ossoff (D-GA) in a key state. Georgia has long been safely red until turning purple in recent years, and now conservatives are struggling to bring it more firmly into their camp. Technically, Collins was well ahead of Dooley, winning the first round of the primary by 11 points. But as Punchbowl News reports, “Negative headlines of the past few days opened the door for Dooley to argue that Collins is an unelectable extremist who can’t flip this critical Senate seat.”The latest controversy came on Friday, when Dooley-affiliated GOP strategist Luke Thompson tweeted a poll on X showing that Collins' 11-point lead over Dooley had narrowed from 46 percent to 41 percent in the runoff, saying, “48 hours later and the Collins lead has cut in half. Dooley beats Ossoff. Collins can’t. Not hard to understand.” This is in line with what many strategists have suggested: that MAGA-backed candidates may win primaries within the GOP, but are not poised to do the same in general elections amid Trump’s plummeting approval rating. The Collins campaign, however, replied to Thompson’s tweet with the offensive declaration, “Matt Laurer’s sloppy seconds chiming in to take an L.” As Punchbowl News explains, “Thompson is married to Brooke Nevils, a former NBC News staffer who accused disgraced former anchor Matt Lauer of sexual assault. Lauer has denied the allegations.”Collins then fired his longtime staffer and former chief of staff, Brandon Phillips, saying, “Earlier today, a campaign advisor sent out a despicable and unauthorized twitter comment using a Team Collins campaign account. I want to apologize for this offensive tweet. I have made staffing changes to ensure this type of behavior never happens again.” According to Nevils, Collins also apologized to her personally, but she still questions the ethics underlying the campaign, saying, “I think the bigger question is, why was there a culture that permitted that kind of behavior? This is why people don’t come forward.” “This kind of disgusting behavior does not represent Georgia values — or frankly any values — and is exactly why Mike Collins cannot be our nominee this November,” Dooley declared. “A vote for Collins is a vote for Ossoff.” “The controversy is adding to GOP skepticism about Collins’ ability to beat Ossoff in the general election,” Punchbowl News explains. “Collins is a firmly right-wing member with an unapologetic MAGA brand. While Trump won Georgia in 2024, some Republicans fear that nominating Collins is a recipe for losing the state in a midterm that could favor Democrats.”As Senate Leadership Fund Executive Director Alex Latcham responded to the criticized (and now deleted) post, “Disgusting. If he’s our guy, @MikeCollinsGA has ($) 44 million reasons to get rid of this amateur.”
Donald Trump launched a sprawling early-morning attack on Republican critics of his Iran deal Sunday, singling out three GOP lawmakers by name and calling them losers, fools, and sleazebags in a 6am Truth Social post that underscored the growing tension between the president and members of his own party.Trump took aim at Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who he declared would soon be "out of office." He went after Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who last week lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger. And he saved his sharpest words for Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, whom he called "a major sleazebag who lost in a landslide" after Massie was defeated in his own primary following a series of breaks with the president."I laugh at all of the Dumocrats, RINOs, and Fools who know nothing about the potential deal I am making with Iran," Trump wrote, before rattling off the names.The post came amid fierce criticism from both parties over Trump's Iran negotiations, with hawks accusing him of repeating the mistakes of the Obama-era nuclear deal and his own base demanding military action rather than diplomacy. Trump has spent the past several days fielding attacks from former allies including retired General Mike Flynn and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, both of whom publicly urged him to walk away from any agreement with Tehran.Trump dismissed all of his critics as "weak and ineffective people" who "do nothing but create division and loss.""These people should go home and rest," he wrote. "In other words, they are losers."He closed with a warning about the deal itself: it will either be "great and meaningful" or there will be no deal at all — and it will be "the exact opposite of the JCPOA disaster," he claimed.
The U.S. Secret Service says officers shot and killed a person who opened fire at a security checkpoint on Saturday. Five senior law enforcement officials say the suspect had a history of mental health concerns. NBC News’ Julie Tsirkin reports.
Suspect who died after exchanging fire with agents had tried to enter the complex last summer, records showA gunman who opened fire outside the White House on Saturday before he was shot by federal agents was already known to the US Secret Service, court records show.The man, 21, was taken to a nearby hospital, before he was later pronounced dead. He had previously tried to enter the complex, according to an affidavit filed in DC superior court in 2025, following an arrest nearby. Continue reading...
The U.S. Secret Service shot amd killed a person who opened fire at a security checkpoint in an exchange of gunfire that briefly locked down the White House, officials said. NBC News correspondents have the latest on the shooting.
