April 2, 2026

Marie: Pam Bondi is out. I can't find an up-to-the-minute story, but when somebody catches up, I'll link it. Trump just put out a social media post praising Bondi & saying she's going to take an important job in the private sector (or something like that). Fixer Todd Blanche will be the acting AG. I guess this is the distraction from Trump's dud of a speech last night. Update: Here we go ~~~

~~~ From an item on a New York Times liveblog: Donald “Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday, removing the nation’s top law enforcement officer as his frustration with her job performance deepened. Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, will be the acting attorney general, the president said on Thursday. Ms. Bondi becomes the second cabinet member in recent weeks to lose her job, after Mr. Trump ousted Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, last month.... The dismissal of Ms. Bondi, 60, ends a turbulent 14-month tenure as attorney general in which she tried desperately to appease a boss who demanded unimpeded control of the Justice Department to pursue politically motivated investigations against targets of his choosing, even when prosecutors warned that there was no evidence to do so. In the process, Ms. Bondi surrendered much of the department’s historic independence and oversaw the exodus of experienced career officials, leaving the department’s public corruption and national security units, along with many local U.S. attorneys’ offices, weakened and demoralized. Yet Mr. Trump remained annoyed by Ms. Bondi’s inability to secure indictments of people he referred to as 'scum' during a speech in the department’s Great Hall about a year ago.” ~~~

     ~~~ Update: The AP has a story here. Politico's story is here.

There Was This. Jordain Carney, et al., of Politico: “The Senate sent its deal to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security back to the House on Thursday morning — marking what should be the beginning of the end of a historic partial government shutdown. The Senate’s action, taken in a mostly empty chamber just after 7 a.m., came less than a day after ... Donald Trump effectively endorsed a two-track strategy for DHS: funding most of it through a bipartisan deal with Democrats then using the party-line budget reconciliation process for immigration enforcement activities.” ~~~

~~~ Then There Was That. Chris Stein of the Guardian: “The US House of Representatives on Thursday took no action on a compromise measure that would end the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), raising questions about how much longer the record-long funding lapse will persist.” ~~~

~~~ Because of the Other Thing. Mike Lillis & Sudiksha Kochi of the Hill: “Hard-line conservatives are seething after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) reversed course to back a Senate plan that detaches funding for immigration enforcement from a broader package to reopen the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Although Johnson had previously called the Senate proposal 'a joke,' he changed his tune Wednesday after President Trump endorsed the strategy.” ~~~

~~~ Doktor Zoom of Wonkette was summing it all up here when, as he put it, "suddenly I was run over by Pam Bondi getting shitcanned." Which is sad. However, he also left us a nice gift link to a WashPo article about the whole mess, an article that looks like a rewrite because everything was happening all at once and the reporters couldn't keep it in order. I know. It's hard to keep up.

Marie: Will Saletan of the Bulwark hits on something I hadn't quite zeroed in on: that Pete Hegseth spends a lot more time insulting Americans and American allies than he does knocking, say, the Ayatollah:

     ~~~ What Saletan does not say is that Drunk Pete is merely following his leader: if you have listened to what Old McDonald has said just over the past few days, you would have heard him insulting all of our former presidents for the past 47 years and most of our closest allies. He called U.S. judges and justices "stupid" (linked below) just yesterday. And the names he has called political opponents & the false accusations he has made against them are stunning: he has called them scum and crazy and enemies of the people; he has accused them of treason and has attempted to bring criminal charges against them. On the other hand, he even used Vladimir Putin as a reference in one of his insults to our NATO allies, and he's always saying how well he gets along with Xi Jinping. And he recently described Iran's leaders as "very smart players … high-level intellect. High, very high-IQ people." 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

     ~~~ Kenneth Chang of the New York Times reports. 

The New York Times' live updates of developments in the Iran war are here. From the pinned item at 4:30 am ET: “Israel and several Persian Gulf nations reported a new influx of drone and missile launches toward them early Thursday morning, hours after ... [Donald] Trump asserted in a national television address that the U.S. military campaign against Iran was an overwhelming success and 'near completion.' On Wednesday night, in his first prime-time address from the White House since the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, Mr. Trump did not offer a clear exit strategy or make any revealing announcements. Instead, he issued ambiguous and conflicting statements, weaving diplomatic overtures with threats of escalating attacks. And he seemingly pleaded with Americans uneasy about the war’s economic costs to 'keep this conflict in perspective.'... He framed the opening of the Strait of Hormuz ... as an issue for other nations, even though he had said hours earlier that he would not agree to any cease-fire deal unless the waterway was opened.”

We’re going to hit them extremely hard. Over the next two to three weeks, we’re going to bring them back to the Stone Age.... Essentially, I did what no other president was willing to do. They made mistakes and I am correcting them.... When this conflict is over, the strait [of Hormuz] will open up naturally. It will just open up naturally.... We have so much gas. -- Donald Trump, in an address to the nation, Wednesday evening ~~~

~~~ Cleve Wootson & Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: “Facing economic and political headwinds a month after launching a surprise attack on Iran..., Donald Trump defended the increasingly unpopular conflict Wednesday night, but assured the nation that the military activity in the Middle East was 'nearing completion.' In a speech from the White House, Trump said the United States was on track to complete all of its military objectives 'shortly, very shortly' but first there would be a period of military buildup.... Trump sought to assure Americans ... that the spike in fuel costs was 'short term,' ... suggesting only that prices would 'rapidly come back down' once the conflict is over. He also tried to clear up contradictory statements about the competing objectives of the bombardment launched on Feb. 28, saying it was a continuation of political promises he’s made for years: to deny Iran a nuclear weapon.” The AP's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ You can watch the speech here. The New York Times has a transcript here. The AP transcript is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As a number of commentators predicted, this was a speech about nothing. Trump didn't say anything he hadn't signaled over the past few days. "Shortly, very shortly" is no reassurance that the conflict will end anytime soon, and "bringing them back to the Stone Age" is a war crime, a crime that will likely get Americans killed, too. Lawrence O'Donnell characterizes the speech as Trump's version of a "surrender": 

Let's revisit one of those predictions: Eli Stokels, et al., of Politico, yesterday: “... Donald Trump will use a primetime address Wednesday night to declare that the month-long war in Iran is winding down, against a backdrop of spiking oil prices and increasingly dismal poll numbers. The president has telegraphed that message in interviews, social media posts and public comments over the past 24 hours, laying the groundwork for a speech that is expected to claim that all military objectives have been met.... He also intends to harshly scapegoat NATO allies for the biggest unresolved matter of the war, Iran’s ongoing restrictions of shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.... The president’s decision to deliver a major address about the war’s endgame, coming as an additional 2,500 U.S. Marines make their way to the region, may be primarily an attempt to assuage voters’ concerns and Wall Street’s unease about energy markets and the knock-on effects of the strait closure.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Somebody must have talked Trump down off the NATO pole, because he never specifically knocked NATO during the speech. The Politico reporters might have mentioned the bluster, braggadocio, delusions, lies and insults that we all knew were inevitable. Trump's mischaracterization of the agreement John Kerry negotiated at President Obama's behest is an example of the reason I couldn't listen to the speech. Trump's insults were not only to Obama and Kerry but to history and to the intelligence of people listening to the speech.  

     ~~~ AND yesterday I predicted that Trump would try to borrow some glory from the Artemis mission: Marie: I think I figured out why Trump decided to save for this evening what is predicted to be an inconsequential speech: NBC News: "NASA's long-awaited Artemis II mission is set to launch four astronauts on a journey around the moon today. Liftoff is scheduled for 6:24 p.m. ET from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida." Trump is hoping to bask in reflected glory. Update: Not surprisingly, then, Trump opened his speech by congratulating the NASA team and the Artemis crew. ~~~

~~~ In all fairness, RAS figured out the real reason Trump held off making his big Iran war announcement: 

By Nick Anderson for the Contrarian.

If Trump's speech was supposed to calm the markets, like the war itself, the effort failed. ~~~

~~~ New York Times: “The price of oil jumped and stocks sank on Thursday after ... [Donald] Trump, in an address from the White House, said the war against Iran was  'nearing completion' but failed to offer a concrete timeline and committed to more attacks.... Investors hoping for clearer signals of a de-escalation of the conflict were disappointed. The war, now into its fifth week, has brought an energy shock that threatens to drive up the cost of living in wealthy countries and deprive vulnerable regions of staples like electricity and cooking fuel.”

Tom Nichols of the Atlantic: "Trump’s critics (including me) have castigated him for refusing to go on television and provide a comprehensive explanation of the war to the American people. But given his performance this evening, perhaps he had the right instinct. His address did not come across as a wartime speech but instead was a disjointed series of complaints, brags, and exaggerations (along with a few outright lies) delivered by a man who looked and sounded tired.... The president seems lost. Perhaps he should have stayed off the podium for a bit longer, rather than display how adrift he is to the American public and the world." Thanks to akaWendy for this gift link.

Robert Farley in LG&$: "... the United States is in a worse position now than it was a month ago. Iran’s navy has been destroyed, its leadership culled, its stocks of missiles and drones depleted, and its defense industries attrited. All of these are things to be expected in a war. In return, Iran has asserted military control over the Strait of Hormuz. This latter thing is more important than all of those former things, by a country mile. The Islamic Republic appears to remain in firm control of the country. It can easily reconstitute the military capabilities that have been depleted. Its nuclear program may have been further degraded over the last month but the key components- human capital and enriched uranium- remain in Iranian possession."

Paul Krugman (video transcript): "Donald Trump doesn’t even have the courage to run away.... The speech was sort of an anticlimax, although not in a good way. Many people expected Trump to pull the mother of all TACOs, to declare victory and surrender. He did not do that. He declared victory, of course, but he did not actually announce an end to hostilities. On the contrary, he said we’re going to bomb Iran into the Stone Age. So add massive war crimes to your schedule. There is clearly no strategy here. There’s no endgame. There’s nothing. It’s hard to tell, as always, whether Trump is delusional or just completely unable to admit something that he actually knows.... The reality is that the world is looking and saying, my God, what is wrong with America? They may still have a lot of bombs — although not as many as we started with — but it’s not a country anybody can trust for anything. And that, even more than the price of oil, is going to be the legacy of this war." Read the whole post or watch the video; they're short & rich.

Ellen Nakashima, et al., of the Washington Post: “The U.S. military has given the president a plan to seize nearly 1,000 pounds of highly enriched uranium in Iran that would involve flying in excavation equipment and building a runway for cargo planes to take the radioactive material out, according to two people familiar with the matter. The complex plan was briefed to the president in the past week after he asked for a proposal, they said, as were its significant operational risks. Trump’s request for the plan, previously unreported, signals his interest in contemplating what would be an unusually sensitive and high-stakes special operations mission.”

Helen Corbett & Jane Dalton of the Independent: “... Donald Trump has had a fresh dig at Sir Keir Starmer by suggesting the King would have backed him over the war in Iran when the prime minister did not. Mr Trump claimed the monarch would have taken a 'very different stand' from Sir Keir – the latest in a long string of broadsides at the Labour leader.... The president drew a contrast between the King and Sir Keir a day after Buckingham Palace confirmed Charles and Camilla would next month carry out a state visit to the US – despite calls for it to be postponed or cancelled because of the Middle East war.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump's praise of Charles reminds me that Charles' son Harry served two tours of active duty in Afghanistan -- in support of the war the U.S. started there. So, again, why isn't Trump urging Eric, Tiffany & Barron to join up to fight a war Donald himself started? Are the Trump progeny more precious than a prince? 

Thomas Gibbons-Neff of the New York Times: “The U.S. military’s decision to move troops away from bases under Iranian attack to hotels and office spaces in civilian areas may amount to violations of international humanitarian law and the U.S. military’s own laws of war, human rights officials and experts say. The constellation of American bases in the Persian Gulf region has been essential to the U.S. military’s execution of the air war over Iran. But commanders have relocated many of their troops because the sprawling compounds did not have adequate defenses to protect from Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, U.S. defense officials said. The move illustrates the U.S. military’s lack of preparedness for a war that the Trump administration started on its own terms, military experts said.... 'It is unconscionable that U.S. forces would knowingly put civilians at risk by leaving their bases and moving to hotels in the densely populated city centers,' said Brian Castner ... [of] Amnesty International....”

... we’re in a new world now, as Justice [Samuel] Alito pointed out to, where 8 billion people are one plane ride away from having a child who’s a U.S. citizen. -- Solicitor General John Sauer

Well, it’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution. -- Chief Justice John Roberts, response to Sauer in oral arguments, Trump v. Barbara ~~~ 

~~~ Mark Sherman of the AP: “The Supreme Court seemed poised Wednesday to reject ... Donald Trump’s restrictions on birthright citizenship in a momentous case that was magnified by his unparalleled presence in the courtroom. Conservative and liberal justices questioned whether Trump’s order declaring that children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens comports with either the Constitution or federal law. Arguments lasted more than two hours in a crowded courtroom that included not only Trump..., but also Attorney General Pam Bondi and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and in seats reserved for the justices’ guests, actor Robert De Niro. The case frames another test of Trump’s assertions of executive power that defy long-standing precedent for a court with a conservative majority and a robust view of presidential power, which has largely ruled in the Republican president’s favor. In the notable exceptions when the court has not, Trump has responded with starkly personal criticisms of the justices. A definitive ruling is expected by early summer.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times report, by Abbie VanSickle, is here. 

     ~~~ Marie: For those of us who have been wondering why the Supremes agreed to even hear the birthright citizenship case, RAS may have found the answer: here's Prof. Michael Dorf on BlueSky: "Don't get me wrong: I'm relieved that this case is shaping up as either 8-1 or 7-2 against the Trump executive order. But the case is a gift to the Supreme Court. By rejecting an outlandish position, it will earn credibility as apolitical, even as the Overton window moves far to the right." 

Heather Cox Richardson outlines the history of birthright citizenship in the U.S. The history goes back even further than Richardson lets us, according to NYU legal scholar Melissa Murray. Appearing on MS NOW yesterday, Murray said that the American colonists adopted birthright citizenship in accordance with British common law.

The World is getting rich selling citizenships to our Country, while at the same time laughing at how STUPID our U.S. Court System has become (TARIFFS!). ‘Dumb Judges and Justices will not a great Country make!’ -- Donald Trump, in a recent social media post ~~~ 

~~~ In Your Face. Ann Marimow & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: Donald “Trump on Wednesday became the first sitting president to attend oral arguments at the Supreme Court, sitting in the public gallery for the birthright citizenship case and coming face to face with justices whom he has tried to bully and intimidate. His presence for the argument raises the stakes of an already closely watched case. The president’s relationship with the justices became even more strained after the court’s decision in February to invalidate the administration’s tariffs plan, which like immigration is at the heart of his administration’s agenda.... Earlier this week, Mr. Trump ... insist[ed] the justices must prove their intelligence by siding with him on the birthright citizenship issue.... At a news conference the day the Supreme Court released its 6-3 opinion in the tariffs case, Mr. Trump called the majority a 'disgrace to our nation' and suggested that Justices Neil M. Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, whom he nominated during his first term, were 'an embarrassment to their families' because of their votes.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated: Donald Trump “spent about an hour listening to the government make its case against birthright citizenship at the Supreme Court on Wednesday.... But about 13 minutes into the opposing argument by the American Civil Liberties Union, Mr. Trump abruptly got up and walked out, trailed by two escorts.... During oral arguments, spectators are generally expected to remain seated and silent.... Mr. Trump departed the Supreme Court just as Cecillia Wang, the A.C.L.U. lawyer, and the justices went back and forth on questions central to the case, including whether undocumented immigrants or temporary visitors, such as students or workers on visas, should receive automatic U.S. citizenship. Upon his return to the White House, Mr. Trump issued a public reaction to the arguments on social media, falsely claiming the United States was 'the only Country in the World STUPID enough to allow “Birthright” Citizenship!' The United States is among at least 30 countries that automatically grant citizenship to anyone born within its borders.”

 ~~~ What's Wrong with This Picture? Akhilleus points to a CNN analysis by Aaron Blake (late of the Washington Post), in which Blake points to how often Trump and Co. expect us to sacrifice for things we don't want: like tariffs & the Iran War. Akhilleus asks, "How about he sacrifices something? Like his million dollar per golf junkets." Or sending his kids to war, three of whom -- Eric, Tiffany & Barron -- are of military age. MEANWHILE, Ken W. found some pretty specific evidence that Trump isn't suffering at all for the things he wants. Ken found this useful site: https://didtrumpgolftoday.com, which tracks the days Trump plays golf. During this term, Trump has golfed 103 days out of 437 days in office. The estimated cost to taxpayers of those 103 outings, based on GAO figures, is $144,200,000. (Also linked yesterday.) 

Marcie Jones of Wonkette: "... here is more corroboration to the story of the victim who claimed Trump allegedly did [have sex with her], allegedly, allegedly, who in 2019 Trump’s own FBI deemed credible. This was the one who had been living in South Carolina and said she bit Trump’s dick in the 1980s, and also said that Epstein had raped her along with another man, taken photos, and blackmailed her mother with them, holy shit. Now new reporting from Ellie Leonard's Substack and verified by the South Carolina Post and Courier corroborates that victim’s story even more, and gives an identity to the name of one of the accused child rapists." Jones goes into the details. Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: A viable question that comes out of the millions of pages of files is what happened to this particular investigation? Agents interviewed this woman four times, and there are enough threads from the even scant information journalists can glean from the published 302 reports that they can verify parts of the woman's story. So what happened? Trump was president* and the DOJ aborted an investigation that might have led to a credible child sex-abuse case against him. Who closed the file? Why? Who knew about it? What did Trump know about it?

A Leak in Search of Air Quotes. Tyler Pager of the New York Times: Donald “Trump has discussed firing Attorney General Pam Bondi in recent days as he grows frustrated with her leadership at the Justice Department and her handling of the Epstein files.... Mr. Trump has floated the idea of replacing Ms. Bondi with Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the people said.... The president has been souring on Ms. Bondi for months. Among his top complaints is Ms. Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files, which has become a political liability for Mr. Trump among his supporters. He has also complained about her shortcomings as a communicator and vented about what he sees as the department’s lack of aggressiveness in going after his foes....” MB: This report is not one that required reporter tenacity; surely the so-called leakers dropped it in Pager's lap. Update: the link has been changed to one that appears to be a gift link. Here's a derivative report from Mediaite. ~~~

~~~ Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: “Donald Trump has privately asked cabinet officials in recent weeks whether he should replace his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, venting frustration that she shielded a former deputy [Joe Kent] who undercut his rationale for war with Iran, according to two people briefed on the discussions. It is not clear that Trump will actually fire Gabbard over the episode. Currently, there is no standout candidate to take the job, and advisers have cautioned that creating a high-profile vacancy before a successor is ready could cause unhelpful political distractions. But Trump’s discussions marks an ominous development for Gabbard, given the president tends to poll his advisers when he starts to seriously consider whether a personnel change is necessary.” MB: This is another fake leak; Trump likes to humiliate the people he fires.

Dan Diamond & Jonathan Edwards of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump isn’t inclined to seek Congress’s approval for his controversial $400 million White House ballroom — and many lawmakers are not inclined to give it. A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Trump must obtain congressional authorization to complete his ballroom project, which the president has sought to fund with private donations. The White House immediately appealed the decision, and Trump struck a defiant tone in remarks to reporters and on social media. 'In the Ballroom case, the Judge said we have to get Congressional approval. He is WRONG!' Trump wrote Tuesday on his Truth Social platform. 'Congressional approval has never been given on anything, in these circumstances, big or small, having to do with construction at the White House.' In interviews with The Washington Post, lawmakers and aides said that Trump was wrong about Congress’s role, pointing to decades of examples of legislators approving changes to the White House grounds....” ~~~

     ~~~ Hailey Fuchs & Riley Rogerson of Politico: “... most Republicans who sit on committees with direct jurisdiction of White House and public property matters have so far been silent on whether they’ll shepherd through legislation to protect one of Trump’s top priorities. Doing so could put them in the crosshairs of Democrats, who have already made clear they think the ballroom is proof the president cares more about entertaining wealthy donors than passing policies to lower the costs of everyday goods — and who, in the Senate, have the ability to block any ballroom authorization measure from ever reaching Trump’s desk.” 

Jonathan Edwards & Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: “The National Capital Planning Commission is scheduled to vote Thursday on [Donald Trump's ballroom], the final procedural obstacle to building a 90,000-square-foot structure.... Emails ... show the commission changed what would become a public FAQ document about the ballroom after a White House staffer asked it to soften language about the commission’s authority over the project.... The [change] is likely to deepen concerns about the commission’s independence. Critics have already questioned Trump’s decision to appoint three White House staffers to the 12-member board, which Congress created more than a century ago to ensure federal construction projects conform with a comprehensive vision.... The emails show the Trump administration once again flexing executive power to influence what’s supposed to be an independent process, said Jon Golinger ... with the Public Citizen, a liberal advocacy group that often opposes Trump. 'This is further evidence of the hidden hand of the White House during this whole process … like a puppet master pulling the strings, in this case, behind the scenes,' Golinger said.” 

Hamed Aleaziz, et al., of the New York Times: “An expansive inquiry by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general into the handling of contracts under the agency’s former secretary, Kristi Noem, is scrutinizing her senior adviser Corey Lewandowski’s interactions with companies seeking federal business, according to multiple people familiar with the investigation. The inquiry comes as administration officials have fielded complaints from companies about their dealings with Mr. Lewandowski, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. They and others familiar with the inquiry spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation. Among the companies that complained, the people said, is Palantir, the data analysis and technology firm whose services have been used broadly by the Homeland Security Department, including for a new program to help track individuals for deportation. The focus of the investigation by the inspector general, Joseph V. Cuffari, who was nominated to his post by ... [Donald] Trump in his first term, reflects the widening fallout from Ms. Noem’s rocky tenure.”

Another DHS Homicide. Ana Ley of the New York Times: “The medical examiner in Buffalo has ruled that the death of a nearly blind man left alone by Border Patrol agents on a frigid night was a homicide, a finding that could lead to criminal charges. Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a Rohingya refugee from Myanmar, died in February after the agents dropped him off outside a closed Tim Hortons doughnut shop. His death triggered outrage in Buffalo and around the nation. Dr. Gale R. Burstein, the Erie County Department of Health commissioner, said that Mr. Shah Alam’s death was caused by complications from an ulcer that bored through his intestines. The ulcer formed when hypothermia decreased blood flow, weakening the lining of his intestines, while dehydration led to a buildup of stomach acid that eroded his digestive system, she said. 'The symptoms of a perforated ulcer are severe pain,' Dr. Burstein said during a news conference on Wednesday. 'It’s a medical emergency.'... The state attorney general, Letitia James, said in a statement that her office was reviewing the case. The Erie County district attorney was also investigating.” CBP called Dr. Burstein's assertion a “hoax.” Update: the link has been changed to one that appears to be gift link. An AP story is here.

Judge Puts a Crimp in Kavanaugh Stops. Zach Montague of the New York Times: “A federal judge in California found on Wednesday that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials had violated a previous order regarding warrantless arrests, and ordered agents operating in her judicial district to fully document their reasons for making any future stops. The judge, Jennifer L. Thurston of the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of California, had previously found that immigration operations in Kern County, Calif., appeared to have been based on racial profiling, with agents making arrests when people they stopped could not produce proof of citizenship on the spot. Last year, she restricted the agency from continuing to carry out random immigration sweeps in the region, citing a 'pattern and practice of agents performing detentive stops without reasonable suspicion.' On Wednesday, Judge Thurston found that border agents appeared to have violated that order when they carried out an immigration sweep last year in a Home Depot parking lot in Sacramento.”

Hannah Schoenbaum & Susan Bryan of the AP: “... Donald Trump’s administration will move the U.S. Forest Service headquarters out of the nation’s capital to Salt Lake City as part of an organizational overhaul that involves shuttering research facilities in 31 states and concentrating resources in the West, the agency announced Tuesday. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the move, which is expected to be completed by summer 2027, will bring leaders closer to the landscapes they manage and the people who depend on them.... The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been moving thousands of employees out of Washington over the past year and eliminating layers of management as part of Trump’s push to slim down the federal workforce and make it more efficient.”

Jacob Wendler & Aaron Pellish of Politico: “Democratic Party leaders filed suit Wednesday to block ... Donald Trump’s attempt to limit voting by mail ahead of the midterm elections. Democrats argue that an executive order Trump signed at the White House on Tuesday, which creates an approved list of absentee voters among other actions, is an unconstitutional interference in the power of states to regulate elections. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries joined the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Governors Association in suing to challenge the order. 'President Trump possesses no such authority to order such a sweeping change to American elections,' the suit argues.” ~~~

     ~~~ Of course the Trumpetiers always describe these changes & cutbacks as innocent efforts to make each department more responsive and efficient. And activists are always unmasking what is really happening. To wit; ~~~

~~~ Jim Pattiz of More Than Just Parks: “Late Tuesday afternoon, with the subtlety of a wrecking ball and the morality of a foreclosure notice, the Trump administration announced the most devastating attack on the U.S. Forest Service in the agency’s 121-year history. Not a budget cut. Not a policy shift. Not a 'reorganization.' An execution.  

“They’re ripping the headquarters out of Washington and shipping it to Salt Lake City, Utah — the beating heart of the anti-public-lands movement in America. They’re shuttering every single one of the ten regional offices that have governed this agency since Gifford Pinchot built the system over a century ago — and with them, the career professionals who spent entire lifetimes earning the expertise and the authority to push back when politicians came calling with bad ideas and worse motives. They’re destroying more than fifty research facilities across thirty-one states, labs that house decades of irreplaceable long-term science, the kind you literally cannot restart once it’s gone. And they’re replacing all of it ,,, with fifteen political appointees ... embedded in state capitals alongside the very governors, legislators, and industry lobbyists who have spent their careers demanding that the Forest Service log more, protect less, and get out of the way.” 

Emily Brooks & Mallory Wilson of the Hill: “Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on Wednesday announced a deal that, if accepted by their members, would end the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The two GOP leaders said they will pursue a two-track plan endorsed earlier in the day by ... [Donald] Trump to end the shutdown by funding immigration and border enforcement through a GOP-only reconciliation bill — making a stark reversal for the House GOP from just a week ago.” (Also linked yesterday.) A New York Times story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The media seem to be portraying this as a case of Bible Mike backing down. But is isn't, really. Mike does what Trump says, whether there's any rhyme or reason to it. That's what happened here. Trump gave in. This was yet another TACO momentito. Update: The New York Times reporters seem to agree; they write, “[Trump's] turnabout appeared to have persuaded Mr. Johnson, who has fashioned his speakership almost exclusively as a vehicle for serving the president’s desires, to back down and accept an idea he had dismissed just days ago as 'ridiculousness.'”

Faiz Siddiqui & Elizabeth Dwosin of the Washington Post: “Rocket maker SpaceX has filed to make an initial public offering..., becoming the second company run by Elon Musk to eye a stock market listing after the first one, Tesla, vaulted the billionaire to become the world’s richest person more than a decade after its 2010 debut. SpaceX’s debut marks the most anticipated IPO in years, one that could set a record by making shares of the trillion-dollar firm publicly available. Since its founding in 2002, SpaceX has established a foothold in satellite delivery, taken on numerous missions for NASA, put thousands of satellites into orbit and pioneered reusable rockets. Bloomberg News, which first reported on SpaceX’s confidential filing to go public, said the company could seek a $1.75 trillion valuation and debut on the stock market in June.”

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