March 24, 2026

You know how Trump voted by mail in a state senate race even though he calls mail-in-voting "mail-in-cheating"? Well, he voted for the guy he endorsed in Trump's own home district -- a district Trump won by 11 points in 2024. How'd that go??? ~~~

~~~~ Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. Florida State Senate Race. Alexandra Marquez of NBC News: "Democrat Emily Gregory won a special election Tuesday for the Florida state House district that includes ... Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, flipping the seat from Republican control, The Associated Press projects. Gregory beat Republican Jon Maples, whom Trump endorsed, in the race for a seat that has been vacant since August, when Mike Caruso resigned from the Legislature and was appointed Palm Beach County clerk."

North Carolina. Another Trump-Endorsed Candidate Bites the Dust. Gary Robertson of the AP: “North Carolina government’s most influential politician, Republican state Senate leader Phil Berger, conceded the primary race for his seat to Sam Page on Tuesday, shaking the power structure in the ninth-largest state and likely soon ending Berger’s preeminence as the state’s top conservative architect. Berger trailed Page, the Rockingham County sheriff, in their March 3 primary by only 23 votes. He has been Senate leader since 2011 when Republicans took full control over the General Assembly for the first time in 140 years.... Donald Trump had endorsed Berger for reelection, praising him for his policy accomplishments.”

Julian Barnes, et al., of the New York Times: “Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been pushing ... [Donald] Trump to continue the war against Iran, arguing that the U.S.-Israeli military campaign presents a 'historic opportunity' to remake the Middle East.... In a series of conversations over the last week, Prince Mohammed has conveyed to Mr. Trump that he must press toward the destruction of Iran’s hard-line government, the people familiar with the conversations said. Prince Mohammed, the people familiar with the discussions said, has argued that Iran poses a long-term threat to the Gulf that can only be eliminated by getting rid of the government.” Thanks to Ken W. for the link. Update: the link has been changed to one that appears to be a gift link, ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This makes it even less likely that Kush & Witless are in "productive" negotiations with a "top guy" in Iran to end the war. bin Salman is the guy, after all, who forced the Saudi wealth fund advisors to give Jared $2 billion dollars to play with & pays Jared millions of dollars annually to "manage" the $2BB. Jared is not going to give up that huge revenue stream for anything as ephemeral as, you know, world peace. ~~~

~~~ Karen DeYoung, et al., of the Washington Post: “Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey have taken the lead in efforts to broker a peace deal between the United States and Iran, serving as intermediaries in talks between Trump administration envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to U.S. and foreign officials. In a flurry of phone calls that began over the weekend and continued through Tuesday, senior officials from all three mediating countries appealed to both sides to end the war following ... Donald Trump’s Saturday ultimatum giving Iran 48 hours to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its energy infrastructure.... Officials from several governments knowledgeable about the diplomacy, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive negotiations, said the conversations so far were indirect through the mediators. Iran publicly insisted there were no direct or indirect conversations and it was uninterested in having them.”

Thomas Gibbons-Neff & John Ismay of the New York Times: Donald “Trump’s threat to 'obliterate' power stations in Iran if its leaders failed to open the Strait of Hormuz suggests that the United States is willing to violate international humanitarian law as part of its military campaign, according to current and former human rights officials.... The president’s threat appears to be part of his erratic messaging campaign, which is often construed as bluster or misdirection. 'Trump is openly threatening a war crime,' said Kenneth Roth, a former [head] of Human Rights Watch. 'And people aren’t saying anything because they’re numb to it.'... International law, specifically Article 52 of the first additional protocol of the Geneva Conventions, prohibits attacks on civilian objects.”

Myah Ward of Politico: “... Donald Trump hasn’t yet publicly weighed in on a brewing deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security, but a White House official said Tuesday morning the yet-to-be-finalized bipartisan agreement 'seems to be an acceptable solution.' That official ... noted that 'conversations are ongoing' to finalize a deal with Democrats to fund DHS.... It would pair funding for most of the department, save for ICE enforcement operations, with a new GOP reconciliation effort to pass the left-behind funding plus parts of the GOP elections bill known as the SAVE America Act.”

ICE, A Genuine Goon Squad. Hamed Aleaziz of the New York Times: “Mr. Trump has increasingly used ICE to try to achieve personal and political objectives, deploying a force with a quasi-military bearing around the country with a message that he intends to not just carry out his anti-immigration agenda but to also enforce his views on constituencies and states that have opposed him.... The deployment of ICE agents to airports also seemed to be a nod to another point: that the agency’s increasingly intimidating reputation has some upsides for the administration. In his initial announcement about the mobilization, Mr. Trump said ICE officers would also be on hand to arrest unauthorized immigrants at airports, raising the specter of people being asked to show their citizenship papers or handcuffed amid the spring break travel rush.... Mr. Trump has been open about his view that ICE can help him with goals that go far beyond immigration enforcement. In a June directive to ICE officers on social media, he indicated that aiming his mass deportation campaign at Democratic-led cities could help Republicans electorally.” 

Katie Baker & Hamed Aleaziz of the New York Times: on the rise and fall of Gregory Bovino, formerly “the pugnacious face of the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign.... This week, Mr. Bovino is officially retiring.... Mr. Bovino’s actions left a trail of litigation, condemnations from local politicians and accusations of discrimination and unconstitutional conduct. And, yes, the Commander has a few regrets. But he ... thinks he did not go far enough.” MB: If you didn't like him for his actions, you'll despise him for his attitude.

Kyle Cheney of Politico: “A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to bring back a woman abruptly deported to Mexico last month despite her active protections under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Maria de Jesus Estrada Juarez arrived in the United States in 1998 as an undocumented 15-year-old. She was granted DACA protection in 2013 and lives in Sacramento with a 22-year-old U.S. citizen daughter. On Feb. 18, Estrada — with her daughter in tow — attended a hearing as part of the process to attain lawful permanent residency. There, federal immigration officers denied her application, informed her that she was the subject of a decades-old removal order and detained her. She was deported to Mexico the next morning.... In a Monday order, U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins called the deportation a 'flagrant violation' of DACA’s promise of protection to those who arrived in the country as minors, as well as a violation of Estrada’s constitutional due process rights.”

Witness for the Prosecution. Teo Armus of the Washington Post: “Marco Rubio and David Rivera charted a rise in [Miami’s] famously scrappy politics together.... But on Tuesday, the two longtime friends faced each other again in ... a federal courtroom. Rubio ... testified as a witness against his onetime confidant, who is accused of serving as an unregistered foreign agent for Venezuela’s socialist government.... The extraordinary testimony marked the first time in more than four decades that a sitting Cabinet secretary has served as a witness in a criminal trial.... Rubio’s role in the money-laundering trial spotlights his long-standing ties with Rivera, a scandal-plagued former congressman who has tried to leverage his ties on Capitol Hill — especially with Rubio — to lobby and cut deals in Washington. The relationship has long been seen as a political liability for Rubio and could reemerge as an issue if he runs for president in 2028.”  

Elian Peltier of the New York Times: “Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government on Tuesday freed an American researcher, Dennis Walter Coyle, who had been held there for over a year, amid pressure from the Trump administration to release Americans who it says are being held without justification. Afghanistan’s leader, Sheikh Haibatullah Akhundzada, ordered Mr. Coyle’s release after his family wrote to Mr. Akhundzada asking for a pardon on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, which marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan, according to a statement from Afghanistan’s foreign ministry. Mr. Coyle, 64, who is from Colorado, had been held in Afghanistan since January 2025. He had worked there for over 20 years researching languages, according to his family. The Coyle family’s website said Mr. Coyle had not been charged with a crime but was being held 'in near-solitary conditions.' The State Department in June designated him as wrongfully detained.”

Oklahoma Senate Seat. Tim Balk of the New York Times: “Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma said on Tuesday that he had chosen an energy executive and fellow Republican, Alan S. Armstrong, to temporarily fill the Senate vacancy left by Markwayne Mullin, the new homeland security secretary. Mr. Armstrong, 63, is expected to be sworn in later Tuesday and is poised to play a caretaker role in the Senate until the end of the year. Oklahoma law requires Senate appointees to sign affidavits promising they will not seek election to a full term. President Trump has endorsed Representative Kevin Hern, who is running in the November election to serve in the next term. Mr. Armstrong led the board of directors at Williams Companies, a giant natural gas pipeline operator based in Tulsa, Okla., his hometown. He joined the company more than three decades ago and was its president from 2011 to 2025. The company says it gathers, processes and transports about a third of the natural gas used in the United States daily.”

Jon Stewart, like the rest of us, is quite flummoxed by Trump's peculiar views of things: 

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The New York Times is liveblogging developments in the Iran war. From the pinned item at 5:30 am ET: “The Israeli authorities said missiles launched from Iran hit Tel Aviv and other parts of the country on Tuesday, after the United States and Iran sent conflicting signals about whether they were negotiating to end the war in the Middle East.... There were also more drone and missile launches toward Gulf nations.... The fresh hostilities followed ... [Donald] Trump’s comments on Monday that the United States and Iran were engaged in 'very strong talks' to end the war....” More on the “very strong talks” linked below. (Spoiler: he was lying.)

Greg Jaffe & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: “Senior military officials are weighing a possible deployment of a combat brigade from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and some elements of the division’s headquarters staff to support U.S. military operations in Iran, defense officials said. The officials described the military’s actions as prudent planning, noting that nothing had been ordered by the Pentagon or U.S. Central Command, which declined to comment.... The combat forces would come from the 82nd Airborne’s 'Immediate Response Force,' a brigade of about 3,000 soldiers capable of deploying anywhere in the world within 18 hours. These forces could be used to seize Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub. Another possibility being considered, should ... [Donald] Trump authorize U.S. troops to seize the island, is an attack by about 2,500 troops from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is on its way to the region.”

NYT Reporters Crack Another Trump Lie. Tyler Pager, et al., of the New York Times: Donald “Trump seized on initial contacts between Iranian and American officials to back away on Monday from his threat to strike power plants in Iran, declaring that the countries had begun 'productive conversations' for the first time since the war began more than three weeks ago. Iranian officials publicly denied that any negotiations about terms to end the war were underway, and American officials said the contacts were in a very early stage and not substantive. But Mr. Trump used the opening of even an early dialogue as an offramp from the threat he issued Saturday to attack Iran’s power plants in retribution for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had vowed not to capitulate, and the 48-hour deadline Mr. Trump had set would have expired on Monday. Mr. Trump said he would now extend his deadline to Friday to give the talks time to proceed, setting off a flurry of diplomacy by a number of nations seeking to nurture the talks. It remained unclear, though, how seriously the White House was taking the potential for a breakthrough in a conflict that has seen both sides escalate for weeks.” ~~~

     ~~~ Gram Slattery, et al., of Reuters write a related story, which was accessible to nonsubscribers this morning: "A European official said that ​while there had been no direct negotiations between the two nations, Egypt, Pakistan and Gulf states were relaying messages. A Pakistani official and a second source told Reuters that direct talks on ending the war ‌could be held in Islamabad as soon as this week.... Trump later told reporters his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who had been ​negotiating with Iran before the war, had held discussions with a top Iranian official into the evening on Sunday and would continue on Monday. 'We have had very, very strong talks. We'll see where they lead. We have major ​points of agreement, I would say, almost all points of agreement,' he told reporters before departing Florida for Memphis.' In Memphis, he said Washington had been negotiating with Iran 'for a long time, ⁠and this time they mean business,' adding: 'I think it could very well end up being a good deal for everybody.'" MB: Sounds like more spitballing to me.

Joe Rennison of the New York Times: “Oil prices tumbled and stocks jumped on Monday after ... [Donald] Trump backed away from a threat to strike Iranian energy infrastructure, saying the United States and Iran had held 'productive' talks.... Despite Tehran responding to Mr. Trump by saying that no such talks were taking place, the gains in stocks and drop in oil mostly held.” MB: Trump must get such a kick out of watching how he can manipulate world markets, and whaddaya bet he and his buddies also are making money off the manipulations they know are coming. (Also linked yesterday.)

Paul Krugman (podcast transcript): "It’s Monday morning. Donald Trump has, at least for the time being, called off plans to bomb Iran’s civilian infrastructure. He has done so because, according to him, highly productive negotiations are underway involving the government of Iran, an invisible six-foot white rabbit, and his Canadian girlfriend.... And shortly afterwards, the Iranian government and Iranian state media said, no, they aren’t. This is not happening. I’m not going to say that Iranian state media is necessarily a credible source, but the odds are that they are in fact telling the truth and the President of the United States is either lying or fantasizing or both.... There are three important reasons to believe he might be making this stuff up." Read on for Krugman's reasoning. Also too, I note that Krugman, like me, suspects there might be some insider trading going on here. What a cynic! (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update: Three cheers for cynics. Via Paul Campos. Thanks to RAS for the link: ~~~

~~~ Yun Li of CNBC: "S&P 500 futures and oil futures flashed an unusual burst of activity early Monday minutes before a market-moving social media post from ... Donald Trump. At around 6:50 a.m. in New York, S&P 500 e-Mini futures trading on the CME recorded a sharp and isolated jump in volume, breaking from an otherwise subdued premarket backdrop. With thin liquidity typical of early trading hours, the sudden burst stood out as one of the largest volume moments of the session up to that point. A similar pattern was observed in oil markets. West Texas Intermediate May futures also saw a noticeable pickup in trading activity at roughly the same time, with a distinct volume spike interrupting otherwise quiet conditions.... The timing of the earlier volume spikes across both equities and crude caught the attention of traders, particularly given the absence of an obvious catalyst at the moment they occurred." Via Heather Cox Richardson. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Toward the end of her "letter," Richardson recounts some exchanges between Trump & reporters yesterday. The questions were good; the answers were "interesting." For instance, when CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked who would be controlling the Strait of Hormuz in Trump fantastic scenario, he answered, "Not the United States, or an international coalition, but '[m]e and the ayatollah, whoever the ayatollah is…." What could possibly go wrong? ~~~

     ~~~ Gary Legum of Wonkette has some thoughts on Trump's various pronouncements about Iran & his exchanges with reporters. Read to the end. We mustn't forget Lindsey Graham, who previously has boasted about facilitating and instigating this hot war. 

The “Foundational Flaw”: A Wish Is Not a Plan. Mark Mazzetti, et al., of the New York Times: “Within days of the war’s beginning, said David Barnea, the Mossad chief, his service would likely be able to galvanize the Iranian opposition — igniting riots and other acts of rebellion that could even lead to the collapse of Iran’s government. Mr. Barnea also presented the proposal to senior Trump administration officials during a visit to Washington in mid-January. Mr. Netanyahu adopted the plan. Despite doubts about its viability among senior American officials and some officials in other Israeli intelligence agencies, both he and ... [Donald] Trump seemed to embrace an optimistic outlook.... 'Take over your government: It will be yours to take,' Mr. Trump told Iranians in his initial address at the war’s start.... The belief that Israel and the United States could help instigate widespread revolt was a foundational flaw in the preparations for a war that has spread across the Middle East. Instead of imploding from within, Iran’s government has dug in and escalated the conflict....” Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Mad Dog Pete to Keep Reporters on Leashes. Erik Wemple of the New York Times: “The Defense Department said on Monday that it was taking a new approach to limiting access to media organizations, after a federal judge ruled on Friday that major parts of its current policy were unconstitutional, in a case brought by The New York Times. The Pentagon is closing the workspace used for years by journalists with credentials to cover the military, Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, wrote in a memo to senior Pentagon leadership. A new area for the press will be set up in an annex outside the main Pentagon building, he said, and all journalists now seeking physical access to the Pentagon will require an escort. In addition, the department is changing the wording of some of the rules for journalists requesting a credential, Mr. Parnell wrote. He said the changes, like making more explicit definitions of prohibited activities, addressed concerns raised by the judge last week. The Defense Department said it planned to appeal the judge’s ruling. But the Pentagon said its new policies would comply with the ruling while still preserving the department’s security and 'without conceding the validity of the court’s analysis.'” Update: the link has been changed to one that may be a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Scott Nover of the Washington Post: “The new facility 'will be available when ready,' he said, without specifying when that will be. The Defense Department did not immediately respond to a question about where the Pentagon press corps would work before the new annex is ready. Friday’s ruling ordered that the Pentagon reinstate Times reporters.” MB: You know the new annex will be a leaky tent with no HVAC & crap electrical service. For decor: menacing photos of Trump sewed to the canvas sidewalls. It's gonna be great. ~~~

     ~~~ All This Special Treatment & the Press Are Not Grateful! Rebecca Falconer of Axios: "The Pentagon Press Association said in a Monday evening statement the new Pentagon rules are 'a clear violation of the letter and spirit' of the court ruling and it's 'consulting with our legal counsel and will advise members once this process is complete.'... The National Press Club ... posted to X that ... when the U.S. 'is engaged in active military conflict, the public depends on journalists being able to observe, report and ask questions freely.' Eliminating the Correspondents Corridor and 'requiring escorted access would sharply limit how journalists gather news, build sources and cover one of the most powerful institutions in government — reducing what the public is able to see and understand about decisions made in its name,' the statement added. 'Independent reporting on the U.S. military is not optional. It is essential to accountability, transparency and public trust. Any policy that curtails that access should concern everyone who values a free and informed society.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: MS NOW reported on-air Tuesday afternoon that the New York Times is taking the Pentagon back to court because of the new restrictions the Pentagon placed on the press after the court's ruling. 

Matt Gertz of Media Matters: "... Donald Trump threw his administration into chaos on Saturday by demanding the stationing of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at U.S. airports in response to long lines triggered by the expiration of funding for the Transportation Security Administration. Top administration officials offered disparate explanations for what those ICE agents would be doing — explanations which also seemingly diverted from Trump’s own vision — as they scrambled to turn the president’s social media posts into some sort of coherent policy.... The president-mandated mayhem appears to stem from Trump’s habit of governing based on policy ideas he gets from his television, particularly the MAGA talking heads at Fox News.... Both the problem — long airport lines caused by Trump’s opposition to funding TSA — and his response — stationing ICE agents at the airports — seem to have their origins in Fox segments he had been watching." Read on. They really don't know what they're doing. ~~~

     ~~~ Steve Benen of MS NOW has similar thoughts. Marie: Rachel Maddow reported last night -- and ran some airport footage as anecdotal evidence -- that ICE agents are doing nothing to reduce long lines at airports and seem to spend most of their time getting coffee at the airport Starbucks & chatting with their friends, all while getting paid on your dime. Meanwhile, TSA agents, who are not getting paid, work through security checks. Although Trump didn't come up with this idea on his own, he boasted that he did, Maddow reported. Fine, let him own it, say I. ~~~

     ~~~ Based on observations of yesterday's developments, Marcie Jones of Wonkette has some more insights on the effects of ICE Agents in Airports.

Not a Day Goes By. Monica Alba of NBC News: "Trump plans to redo the West Wing Colonnade walkway, swapping out the existing pavers for some made of black granite, according to a White House official. Work on the project started today. It is just the latest major renovation Trump has made to the White House and surrounding areas since his second term started." MB: Even as I type this, I have contractors installing black granite pavers to make a new walkway to my house. I'm recycling the pavers, which were once a walkway in another house I own. I'm saddened to know I have something in common with Don the Wrecker/Builder. 

In a Trumpdates post, the New York Times liveblogged developments in yesterday's Trump fiascos. There's this: “Agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement began to be deployed at airports across the country Monday morning, but it was unclear whether their presence was helping or exacerbating long security lines. Between 100 and 150 ICE officers were sent to the airports to assist Transportation Security Administration agents, according to a U.S. official.... The official said that the ICE agents were not expected to make immigration arrests as part of this assistance, though that appeared to conflict with President Trump’s statement about the agents on Sunday. Despite the deployment of the agents, along with a collision and subsequent airport closure at LaGuardia Airport overnight, flight delays and cancellations were minimal at major U.S. airports on Monday morning, according to FlightAware, which tracks aviation data. Still, hours of waiting at T.S.A. checkpoints threatened to cause many travelers to miss their flights.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In a couple of photos I saw yesterday, agents were not wearing masks. Alexander Bolton of the Hill explains that: ~~~

~~~ Air Travelers: Nice People. Immigrants: Criminals. Alexander Bolton of the Hill: Donald “Trump on Monday prominently rejected a core Democratic demand in the negotiations to reopen the Department of Homeland Security by declaring that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers should be allowed to wear masks to protect their identities during enforcement operations. Trump’s declaration on Truth Social that he is 'a BIG proponent of ICE wearing masks as they search for, and are forced to deal with, hardened criminals' may derail any prospect of getting a deal with Democrats this week.... The president clarified, however, that he would not want ICE officers to wear masks if they are deployed to airports to help ease the massive congestion at security lines caused by high rates of absenteeism among TSA workers during the shutdown. 'I would greatly appreciate, however, NO MASKS, when helping our Country out of the Democrat caused MESS at the airports, etc,' Trump posted.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

Erica Green & Michael Gold of the New York Times: Donald “Trump said on Monday that Republicans should stop negotiating with Democrats to end the partial government shutdown and instead focus on passing voting legislation, even as Transportation Security Administration agents work without paychecks and lines at some airports stretch for hours. 'I’m suggesting strongly to the Republican Party, don’t make any deal on anything,' Mr. Trump said during a crime reduction event in Memphis. He suggested that he would use the standoff over funding for the Department of Homeland Security as leverage to pass his voter ID bill, which he says is necessary to combat voter fraud by noncitizens — something that is exceedingly rare.... Mr. Trump has repeatedly amplified unfounded claims that American elections are rife with fraud.... Senator​ John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, said in an interview on Fox News that he and other ​senators were prepared to accept the Democrats’ offer [to fund everything but ICE (MB: & CPB, I think)], but that Mr. Trump thwarted the move. 'It would have worked,' Mr. Kennedy said. 'We could have had T.S.A. paid by the end of the week, but the ​president said “no deal.”’” A related Guardian story, by George Chidi & Chris Stein is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It sounds as if Sen. Foghorn Leghorn is getting a little tired of Trump's demands & antics. Update. OR, as Marcie Jones of Wonkette more colorfully put it, "Well, well, well, sounds like somebody didn’t much preshate fiddlin’ all weekend only to have been getting jerked around all along on the chicken-neck line by Old Bossman Pappypapaw Artie Du Deal!" ~~~  

~~~ If you're sensitive, strap on your hypocrisy filter: ~~~ 

~~~ Erica Green of the New York Times: Donald “Trump, who has long railed against mail-in voting — including on Monday, when he called it 'mail-in-cheating' — used the method himself in a Florida special election scheduled to take place on Tuesday. According to voter records on the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections website, Mr. Trump voted by mail in Palm Beach County, home to his Mar-a-Lago Club. Records show he has been registered to vote there since 2019 — and that he mailed his ballot at least one other time, in 2020.” An NBC News story is here. ~~~

~~~ Sahil Kapur, et al., of NBC News: “On Sunday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., discussed an off-ramp with ... Donald Trump to reopen TSA and end the long lines and delays at airports. It would fund all of the Department of Homeland Security except for ICE, which Democrats have refused to support without new limitations on immigration enforcement operations.... ICE would be funded separately by Republicans in a party-line 'reconciliation' bill that can pass without the need for any Democratic support later in the year.... But Trump rejected it — as he made clear in a Truth Social post Sunday night. 'I don’t think we should make any deal with the Crazy, Country Destroying, Radical Left Democrats unless, and until, they Vote with Republicans to pass “THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,’” Trump wrote, while instead calling on Republicans to 'Kill the Filibuster, and stay in D.C. for Easter, if necessary.'” (Also linked yesterday.) Related articles linked yesterday.~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In case you are wondering why Trump wouldn't accept the interim deal Thune suggested, Akhilleus has the answer in today's Comments. Not only is Akhilleus' answer accurate, it is a sort of all-purpose answer that fits many a head-scratching question about Trump's weird decisions. Here ya go: "Because he believes in chaos." ~~~

~~~ BUT Hark! Are We on the Brink of Yet Another TACO Moment? Jordain Carney, et al., of Politico: “Senate Republicans believe they’ve found a path to ending the five-week Department of Homeland Security shutdown after meeting Monday with ... Donald Trump. Asked after the White House meeting if they had a solution after meeting with Trump, Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama told reporters, 'We do.'... Britt and Sens. Bernie Moreno of Ohio, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Steve Daines of Montana met with Trump to pitch an agreement that would fund most of DHS. Their pitch, according to two people with knowledge of it, was to pass a funding bill that would fund all of DHS except specific parts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is already funded under last year’s GOP megabill.” ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE, Here's What Happened in a Laboratory of Democracy. Chris Hippensteel of the New York Times: “In 2013, Republicans in [Kansas] passed ... [the] SAFE Act. It, too, aimed to root out voting fraud by noncitizens. As voters nationwide would be required to do under [Donald Trump's] SAVE Act, those seeking to register to vote in Kansas had to provide proof of citizenship, such as a passport or a birth certificate.... A federal judge struck down the law within a few years, after it was found to have blocked tens of thousands of eligible voters from registering while catching fewer than thirty noncitizens trying to do the same. Many of those who were blocked — young Kansans and less politically attuned voters who were seeking to register for the first time — were from constituencies that have flocked to Mr. Trump since his rise in 2016.” 

Madeleine Ngo of the New York Times: “The Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin as homeland security secretary on Monday, installing a Trump loyalist to head the agency responsible for carrying out immigration enforcement at a time when it is reeling from dimming public opinion. Mr. Mullin, 48, was confirmed in a 54-to-45 vote. Nearly all Republicans and two Democrats voted in support of his nomination. Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, broke from his party and opposed Mr. Mullin after clashing with him at his confirmation hearing last week. Mr. Mullin secured support from Senators John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, both Democrats.” The AP's report is here. Politico's report is here.

Ahmad Austin of Mediaite: “Senate Democrats on Monday released a set of figures detailing how much Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem spent on an ad in which she starred.... Two weeks ago, Senators Peter Welch (D-VT) and Richard Blumental (D-CT) announced an investigation into the matter. The senators request a variety of materials related to the contracts. On Monday, Welch and Blumenthal published ... a list of expenses for Noem’s ad filmed at Mount Rushmore.” MB: Some of the expenses seem preposterous. One is a $60,000 signing bonus to the Strategy Group, a firm with which Noem has deep personal ties. And she spent $3,800 on hair & make-up & $20,000 for horse rentals. 

Tracey Tully Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: “Judges in New Jersey on Monday appointed a new interim U.S. attorney, Robert Frazer, a career prosecutor who federal court veterans said could bring some stability to an office that has been in chaos for much of the past year. Mr. Frazer has served in the office for more than two decades, most recently as a senior trial counsel, and his selection reflected a rare consensus among leaders in New Jersey and Washington. According to a court filing, his appointment came after consultations between district court judges and the Justice Department’s senior leadership, and department officials welcomed his selection. That response itself represented a shift; other U.S. attorneys appointed by judges around the country during ... [Donald] Trump’s second term have been fired. A spokesman for the Justice Department thanked the panel of judges in New Jersey for working with the agency to appoint a new leader so that ;criminal prosecutions can resume without needless challenge or delay.'”

Your Tax Dollars Blowing in the Wind. Evan Halper & Jake Spring of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration reached an agreement to pay $1 billion to French energy firm TotalEnergies to stop developing two offshore wind farms off the coast of New York and North Carolina, instead directing the investments to oil and gas projects. Trump has campaigned against offshore wind for more than a decade, eventually losing a battle to stop a farm from being built off the coast from a golf course he owns in Scotland in 2015. He has called turbines ugly, expensive and dangerous to animals, though offshore wind proponents say those concerns are unfounded and that stopping any energy projects will only make electricity prices surge further.” (Also linked yesterday.) A New York Times story is here; the link to the Times story appears to be a gift link.

Michael Bender & Alan Blinder of the New York Times: “The Trump administration escalated its pressure campaign on Harvard University with two new investigations into antisemitism on campus and the school’s admissions policies, issues the federal government has repeatedly scrutinized on the Ivy League campus. The inquiries were announced Monday by the Education Department; Linda McMahon, the education secretary, vowed to 'investigate these complaints thoroughly.' A Harvard spokesman, Jason Newton, said the university was'reviewing the U.S. Department of Education’s latest actions, which represent the government’s latest retaliatory actions against Harvard for its refusal to surrender our independence and constitutional rights.'”

Alan Blinder of the New York Times: “Boston University removed Pride flags that were displayed in campus buildings this month, angering professors who believe school leaders may be suppressing expression because they fear the Trump administration.... The First Amendment’s speech protections on their own do not apply at the private university, giving campus leaders more authority than some of their counterparts to determine what may be displayed on school property.” 

Real Journalists Sue Trump Ministry of Truth. Minho Kim & Zach Montague of the New York Times: “Journalists at Voice of America sued Trump administration officials on Monday, accusing them of infringing on reporters’ First Amendment rights by turning the news group, which is federally funded, into a propaganda 'mouthpiece' that published content favorable to ... [Donald] Trump without legally mandated editorial balance. The journalists claimed in their complaint that Mr. Trump’s political appointees had interfered with editorial decisions of Voice of America reporters and editors, violating a safeguard Congress set out in law called the 'firewall' that protects their independence. Mr. Trump and his appointees, the lawsuit claimed, viewed such statutory requirements with 'antipathy and contempt.' The journalists said in the complaint that one official, Hui Jing, demanded 'loyalty' to the Trump administration if reporters wanted to 'keep their jobs.' The administration, the lawsuit said, is trying 'to use its governmental authority to control V.O.A.’s substantive output — the content of its broadcasts and publications — by suppressing coverage of events that it wishes had not occurred, and, separately, by directing that its own partisan messages be passed off to viewers and listeners as “news.”’” (Also linked yesterday.)  ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, now I understand right where Trump got the ironic name for his scammy social media site "Truth Social." 

Confederate Supremes Lean Toward Not Counting Late-Arriving Mail-in Ballots. The New York Times liveblogged a Supreme Court hearing on a Mississippi election law. From the pinned item at 1:30 pm ET: “The Supreme Court on Monday appeared poised to reject Mississippi’s mail-in ballot law, a decision that could upend mail-in voting throughout the country. The justices appeared divided along partisan lines, with the court’s six conservatives expressing deep skepticism with Mississippi’s law during arguments held on Monday. The state’s law allows ballots to be counted if they are postmarked by Election Day but received within five business days afterward. At least 18 other states and territories also allow ballots to be counted so long as they are postmarked by Election Day.” MB: Let's face it; this is an anti-democracy court. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Kate Riga of TPM: “The right wing of the Supreme Court happily churned out far-fetched hypotheticals as rationale to end a voting practice so common that 30 states use it — including ruby red Mississippi, which was defending its version during Monday’s oral arguments. Mississippi’s law, and the many like it, allows mailed ballots to be counted if they were sent by Election Day but arrived afterwards. An inordinate amount of time on Monday centered on the possibility of voters 'retracting' their votes, a complicated and rare procedure. Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas obsessed over the granularities of having a neighbor or relative drop off a voter’s ballot in their stead.... Justice Brett Kavanaugh fretted over the chance that late arriving ballots would prompt cries of fraud, creating a 'perception' that lawful elections might appear rigged. As has become rote for the Court’s conservatives, in the absence of any actual evidence of voter fraud, they fell back on the impossible-to-substantiate risk that people might think something fishy is going on.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Insufferable Sam Alito's "rationale" is hilarious and boils down to "It depends upon what the meaning of 'day' is." Like, "How can there be an 'Election Day' if the Post Office fails to get the ballot there on the "day"? Supreme Court hearings have become theater of the absurd, occasionally delivered in legalese too difficult or too convoluted for the audience to follow. ~~~

     ~~~ Ari Berman of Mother Jones: “The liberal justices noted that if ballots must be cast and counted on Election Day, that would also imperil early voting, which 47 states currently use. 'Every time you try to state what your rule is, it seems to me it’s a rule that prevents early voting,' Justice Elena Kagan said to conservative lawyer Paul Clement, who represented the RNC....  Trump himself, along with top officials in his administration, have called for all voting to take place on a single day, which would end both mail-in and early voting.... Justices John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett did not tip their hand as much as the other conservative justices, so it’s possible that Mississippi will still prevail.” Josh Gerstein of Politico writes a related report.

Julia Mark of the Washington Post: “The Supreme Court on Monday shielded a Vermont police officer from a legal claim that he used excessive force on a protester during a sit-in at the state’s Capitol. The court, in an unsigned opinion, found that Sgt. Jacob Zorn is entitled to qualified immunity after injuring a nonviolent protester in 2015. The protester, Shela Linton, accused Zorn of excessive force after the officer put her arm behind her back, applied pressure and lifted her up. She was unarmed and nonthreatening — though largely noncompliant — throughout the incident, according to court records. The court’s three liberal justices dissented from the decision. 'The majority today gives officers license to inflict gratuitous pain on a nonviolent protestor even where there is no threat to officer safety or any other reason to do so,' Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in dissent.”

Graham Bowley & Rachel Parsons of the New York Times: “A civil jury in California on Monday found that Bill Cosby had drugged and sexually assaulted Donna Motsinger, a former waitress at a Sausalito restaurant, after escorting her to one of his comedy shows in 1972. The jury awarded Ms. Motsinger $59.25 million in damages, a judgment that comes as Mr. Cosby, by his own account, has run into financial difficulties. But an expert witness her lawyers called to the stand before the jury’s final decision estimated that Mr. Cosby was worth roughly $128 million. The decision, on the third day of deliberations, further tarnished the reputation of a man, 88, whose standing as one of America’s most beloved entertainers dissolved as dozens of women came forward in recent years to accuse him of sexual misconduct. The jury award came in two separate decisions. It first awarded Ms. Motsinger $19.25 million to compensate her for her pain and suffering and then later levied an additional $40 million in punitive damages.” (Also linked yesterday.) An AP story is here.

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New York. The New York Times has several stories about the crash at La Guardia that killed two pilots:

     Christopher Maag: “Two pilots were killed and dozens were injured when an Air Canada Express jet collided with a fire truck as it landed on a runway at LaGuardia Airport in Queens at 11:37 p.m. on Sunday. The force of the crash ejected a flight attendant, who was tossed from the plane and landed on the runway still strapped to her seat. The collision shut down one of the busiest airports in the New York City region, exacerbating flight cancellations and delays across the country amid a partial federal government shutdown. The fire truck had been responding to a problem with a United Airlines plane, Bryan Bedford, administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, said at a news conference at LaGuardia on Monday afternoon.” An AP story is here.

     Kate Kelly: “The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating whether a problem with a United Airlines flight distracted an air traffic controller in the LaGuardia Airport tower at a critical juncture, said a person briefed on the matter, and whether it paved the way for a runway accident that killed two pilots.” 

     Claire Fahy: “As Transportation Security Administration staffing shortages snarled airport operations across the country on Monday, specialists from the National Transportation Safety Board ... were among those caught in the long lines for security.... Jennifer Homendy, the N.T.S.B. chair, said long airport security lines caused by the Department of Homeland Security shutdown were one of several issues that delayed the start of her investigation at LaGuardia Airport.... Other factors that delayed her team included LaGuardia’s closure until 2 p.m. because of the crash and a ground stop at Newark Liberty International Airport.... One of the agency’s air traffic control specialists was caught in a three-hour line for security at a Houston airport ... until the NTSB called 'to beg to see if we can get her through, so we can get her here,' Ms. Homendy said.”

     Ian Austen: “For some Canadians, the collision between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck that killed the plane’s two pilots at LaGuardia Airport may become yet another reason to avoid traveling to the United States. News coverage in Canada Monday about the fate of the short flight from Montreal to New York concentrated on the struggles and shortcomings of the American air traffic control system, prompting Steven MacKinnon, the minister for Transport Canada, the country’s airline regulator, to reassure Canadians about air safety. 'We will be continuing to work together to get to the bottom to find the answers that Canadians are going to be looking for,' he told the House of Commons. Earlier in an interview with the French service of the CBC, Mr. MacKinnon said that Canada’s examination includes 'the labor shortage among air traffic controllers.'”

     Helmuth Rosales, et al.: “Audio from air traffic control, flight data and imagery of the aftermath provide clues as to how the collision unfolded.” 

New York. Patrick McGeehan of the New York Times: “... hundreds of members of [New York University]’s faculty walked off the job over a contract dispute. A union representing about 950 full-time faculty members who are not on track to earn tenure began their strike at 11 a.m., several minutes after the university’s lawyers responded to the union’s final offer, said Brendan Hogan, a spokesman for the union, the Contract Faculty United-UAW. Mr. Hogan said that there was not time to review the latest counteroffer before a revised strike deadline of 11 a.m., so picketing began outside the John A. Paulson Center on Mercer Street. He said that the talks had not broken off and that the strike would continue until the bargaining committee had reached terms that it wanted to present to the members for a ratification vote.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: There should not be 950 full-time faculty who are not on a tenure track. In a university located in a city like New York, there could be an excuse for, say, a dozen or so "celebrities" and experts who might for some reason have voluntarily taken time off from their real professions to teach for a year at NYU. And those "celebrated" professors are probably well-paid. But 950? No way. NYU is exploiting these people, most of whom probably had to have Ph.D.s to get their poorly-paid jobs.