... OR, as RAS puts it ~~~
Dan Diamond & Scott Clement of the Washington Post: “Americans reject ... Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom by a 2-to-1 margin, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, and they appear largely unmoved by the intensified calls from the president and his allies in Congress to allow the project to go forward.... There is also a notable enthusiasm gap: Nearly three times as many people “strongly” oppose the project as strongly support it, the poll found.... Trump has also pursued other building projects, including a planned 250-foot triumphal arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. He has sought to put his name on government buildings and visible symbols, including a plan for the U.S. Treasury to print Trump’s signature on paper money instead of the treasury secretary’s. The public rejects those ideas, too, the Post-ABC-Ipsos poll finds.” ~~~
The only thing they have is history. -- Donald Trump, December 2025, comparing his proposed Arc de Trump with the Arc de Triomphe ~~~
~~~ Mark Landler of the New York Times: Donald “Trump is pressing ahead with a plan to construct a triumphal arch in Washington that he envisions, among other things, as one-upping the Arc de Triomphe in the French capital. That has prompted jaded reactions in France, a land that is no stranger to political leaders afflicted with edifice complexes. It has also cast a fresh light on the Arc de Triomphe and its tangled history, which could serve as a reminder to Mr. Trump of both the ephemeral nature of power and the contested legacy of monuments. Conceived in 1806 by Napoleon as a tribute to military glory after the Battle of Austerlitz, the Arc de Triomphe has come to symbolize very different things in modern France. Sacred tomb for France’s unknown soldier. Jubilant destination for soccer fans after France won the World Cup in 2018. Reviled target for the “yellow vest” protesters, who vandalized it later that year.” A bit more on Trump's edifice complex below.
David Sanger of the New York Times: Donald “Trump declared on Wednesday evening that he is 'studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany,' in what appears to be retaliation for comments by Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, that Iran has 'humiliated' the United States. Even before Mr. Merz made his comments to a group of German students, the United States had hinted that it may review its troop levels in Europe, despite the continuing concerns that Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, may attempt to test whether NATO would truly come to the aid of one of its smaller, newer members, like Estonia or Latvia. Germany is the hub of the American presence in Europe, with about 35,000 American troops based there. It is also the center for medical treatment, aircraft arming and maintenance, and the headquarters for American forces in Europe.”
Marie: Once again, it appears to me that Trump's advisors are trying to explain things in terms simple enough for him to understand, but he still is not bright enough to comprehend what they are saying. Also too, the advisors are catering to his toddler-like thrill of the moment when "Everything goes ka-boom!" ~~~
~~~ Evan Halper of the Washington Post: “After weeks of unsuccessfully pressuring Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz..., Donald Trump spent recent days arguing that its closure had brought Tehran to the brink of an explosive plumbing problem.... 'If they don’t get their oil moving, their whole oil infrastructure is going to explode,' Trump told reporters at the White House last Thursday, touting the success of a U.S. blockade on the waterway that ordinarily ferries about 20 percent of the world’s oil and natural gas. He said during a Fox News appearance Sunday that Iranian oil pipelines 'both mechanically and in the earth' would 'explode from within' if the country did not start exporting through the strait soon. 'They say they only have about three days left before that happens. And when it explodes, you can never rebuild it the way it was,' Trump said.... Energy industry officials and analysts warn that scenario is unlikely. Iran has weeks or even months before it risks running out of places to store oil, experts told The Washington Post.”
Robert Jimison of the New York Times: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday castigated members of Congress in both parties for questioning the war in Iran, during a contentious Capitol Hill hearing dominated by a conflict that the Pentagon said had cost $25 billion and 14 American lives so far. Appearing at what had been scheduled as a routine hearing to review the Defense Department’s nearly $1.45 trillion budget request for the coming year, Mr. Hegseth spent much of his time lashing out at lawmakers whose approval would be needed to provide that funding. 'The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans,' the defense secretary declared in his prepared remarks to the House Armed Services Committee, before members had asked a single question. The statement set a hostile tenor for the secretary’s first public testimony on Capitol Hill since the war began, coming after Republicans had for weeks refrained from exercising any public oversight of an operation undertaken without congressional authorization, and which polls indicate is unpopular.” ~~~
~~~ Greg Jaffe of the New York Times: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday defended his decisions to fire or sideline nearly 30 generals and admirals over the past year with little explanation by falsely comparing his record to that of President Barack Obama. 'I would also note that under Barack Obama, 197 general officers were removed,' Mr. Hegseth said in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee. 'So this is not something specific to this administration.' The number Mr. Hegseth gave has no basis in fact. It originated with an unsigned 2018 editorial in Investor’s Business Daily, which cites the right-wing news site 'Breitbart.com’s Facebook page' as its source.... When challenged on the figure’s origins, Kingsley Wilson, the press secretary for the Pentagon, asked The Times not to publish the statement. Ms. Wilson then sent a new statement, which did not include the 197 figure.... Mr. Hegseth’s actions to fire senior military leaders are without precedent in recent decades and have come with little explanation. On Wednesday, lawmakers pressed him to justify his decisions, including his move this month to remove Gen. Randy A. George, the Army chief of staff.”
~~~ Marie: I want to give Pete credit for one thing. Pam Bondi did her best to play an out-of-control harpy during Congressional hearings, but she just never pulled off that foaming-at-the-mouth mad-dog look that is a Hegseth specialty. Here he is at yesterday's hearing: ~~~
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| Photo: Getty Images. |
~~~ The photo, BTW, came from an article about how my own Congressperson, Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.) got the better of Drunk Pete during the hearing. ~~~
~~~ John Ismay & Megan Mineiro of the New York Times report their takeaways from the hearing.
~~~ How Gay Is Trump? Yesterday, a panelist on MSNOW or CNN asked if Trump hadn't fired the grossly incompetent Hegseth because Trump has a crush on him. The other panelists laughed off the comment, but it strikes me that Trump quite often does let his inner gay man show. Remember how he was "in love" with Kim Jong Un during his first term? The other day he remarked on how "handsome" the agents were who stormed the Hilton ballroom. (If I were in danger of being shot, I probably would not think much about the good looks of a man who might protect me.) Trump is known to choose his Cabinet members because they look the parts; he was so obsessed with the appearance of the men on his Cabinet this term that he bought them new (and often ill-fitting) Florsheim shoes. He reportedly spends 45 minutes a day fixing his hair. He slathers on makeup every day. He even makes up his hands. Yesterday, in meeting the Artemis II crew, he spoke about their physical prowess and his. "... you ... have to do a lot of things physically good. So I would’ve had no trouble making it [as an astronaut.] I’m physically very, very good." The only theater he enjoys are Broadway musicals. Most members of the group who sing his anthem "YMCA" are gay. He is fussy about home decoration and goes for over-the-top rococo. He boasts about his knowledge of interior design and picks out curtains and wallpaper himself. You can probably think of more stereotypical gay stuff Trump does or says. Easing himself out of the closet could be his one endearing quality.
Colby Smith of the New York Times: “Jerome H. Powell capped off his eight-year tenure as chair of the Federal Reserve with the most divisive policy meeting in decades, as three officials suggested the central bank should more directly signal that the Fed’s next move could just as likely be a rate increase as a cut. Adding to the drama was an announcement by Mr. Powell that he would remain as governor at the central bank after his term as chair ends May 15 and ... [Donald] Trump’s handpicked successor, Kevin M. Warsh, takes over. That decision will deny Mr. Trump the opportunity to appoint another governor to the Fed’s seven-member board until Mr. Powell leaves. Mr. Powell’s decision to stay, which he can do until January 2028, breaks with tradition. But he pegged it to the numerous broadsides that Mr. Trump and his administration had launched against the Fed in the last year, which he warned put the central bank’s independence 'at risk.'” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Jerome Powell looks like a ordinary milquetoast 'n eyeshades kinda guy. He is soft-spoken, and in comparison to Trump, he does not carry a big stick. But appearances are deceiving; he has shown extraordinary spine in standing up to a pompous bully. And apparently he won't back down soon. Oh, and this is rich: “Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, told Fox Business that it was a 'highly unusual' move and a 'violation of all Federal Reserve norms.' He added that it was an 'insult' to Mr. Warsh.” There is, of course, no president* in the history of the nation who has done more to “violate norms” than Bessent's boss. Trump is norms-crushing us right out of our democracy.
Michael Gold of the New York Times: “The House on Wednesday narrowly adopted a Republican budget blueprint that would allow the G.O.P. to blow past Democratic opposition and pour an additional $70 billion into immigration enforcement through the remainder of ... [Donald] Trump’s second term. The measure is a crucial step in Republicans’ plan to reopen the Department of Homeland Security, ending a shutdown that has lasted for nearly 11 weeks. Republicans pushed through the plan, which the Senate adopted last week, on a party-line vote of 215 to 211, with one independent lawmaker voting “present.” That set the stage for the G.O.P. to begin working on a special budget measure, shielded from a filibuster in the Senate, to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, the two agencies charged with carrying out the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.”
Charlie Savage & Michael Gold of the New York Times: “The House voted on Wednesday to extend a high-profile warrantless surveillance law for three years, but its fate remained uncertain ahead of a midnight expiration on Thursday after the Senate said it would not move ahead with the measure. Bipartisan approval in the House capped a chaotic struggle in that chamber, where Speaker Mike Johnson just barely overcame a rebellion by a libertarian-leaning faction of Republicans who had blocked the legislation as they demanded a chance to add privacy protections. But just hours later, Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader, said his chamber would instead attempt to push through a 45-day extension, punting a debate on renewing a key section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, until mid-June.... The surveillance law, known as 702, is set to lapse after midnight on Thursday, and members of the Senate in both parties want to make changes to the extension the House passed....” ~~~
~~~ Carl Hulse of the New York Times on how dysfunctional the House is. Even John Thune, the Senate majority leader, seems openly frustrated that House Republicans can't do their basic job.
Welcome Back, Jim Crow. Akhilleus saw the handwriting on the wall a few days ago, and it looked like Alito's. He was right: ~~~
~~~ Josh Gerstein & Andrew Howard of Politico: “The Supreme Court significantly narrowed a key provision of the Voting Rights Act in a 6-3 ruling Wednesday, further eroding the impact of the landmark civil rights-era law. For decades, Section 2 — a provision that broadly outlawed discrimination in voting on the basis of race — has been interpreted to allow, and sometimes demand, the use of race-conscious data in redistricting, to protect the voting power of minorities. But the court’s new opinion, which split the justices along ideological lines, throws into question exactly how states can utilize race in their mapmaking process. The case involves a challenge to two majority-Black districts in Louisiana.... Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito said evidence of racial disparity in the drawing of earlier maps was too weak to justify the use of race to draw the new map.... All three liberal justices joined a dissent by Justice Elena Kagan, who read portions of her opinion aloud from the bench — a sign of profound disagreement with the majority.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down Louisiana’s voting map, finding that lawmakers had illegally used race when drawing up a new majority-Black district and potentially setting off a scramble in the middle of primary season as states consider drawing new maps. The decision was 6 to 3, split along ideological lines. The conservative majority asserted that the opinion was a limited ruling that preserved a central tenet of the Voting Rights Act, but the court’s liberal wing, in dissent, argued that the justices had taken the final step to dismantle the landmark civil rights law.” ~~~
~~~ MB: I'll be darned if can figure out what Alito is talking about, but I'll take Kagan's word for it: “... she said what the majority billed as mere updates actually 'eviscerate the law' and amount to the 'demolition of the Voting Rights Act.'” Ken W. asked (rhetorically) in yesterday's Comments, "So a 'racial gerrymander' to protect Black voting power is 'unconstitutional' but a gerrymander that protects White vote is not?" Evidently. ~~~
~~~ Nick Corasaniti, et al., of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court’s ruling on the Voting Rights Act in the middle of a heated primary season could create a chaotic scramble among states that are considering drawing new congressional maps ahead of November. The decision is likely to modestly improve Republicans’ fortunes ahead of the midterm elections, giving them a slight edge in the redistricting wars.... And the ruling all but guarantees that the redistricting arms race will stretch into the 2028 election, with both Republican and Democratic states likely to redraw their maps yet again to eke out a partisan advantage. The court’s ruling declared Louisiana’s congressional map to be an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: It strikes me that the Louisiana ruling is worse than some of the other rulings that have been part of John Roberts' project to free the White people. The most infamous ruling -- Shelby County v. Holder -- for instance, determined that the Voting Rights Act formula requiring states to "preclear" voting law changes was outdated. That is, it was a ruling that Congress could "correct," at least in theory. But Congress can't "correct" the fault the confederate Supremes found in yesterday's ruling because anything Congress -- or the states -- try to do to create majority Black (or Latino) districts would be "discriminating against the White people." So this ruling, it appears to me, affects liberal states, too. If California tries to massage a new majority-Latino district in Los Angeles County, for instance, that would be unconstitutional. ~~~
"The Supreme Court itself has shown itself to be the enemy of democracy. If and when Democrats retake control of the political branches, it will be incumbent on them not only to write new voting legislation protecting minority voters and all voters in the ability to participate fairly in elections that reflect the will of all the people; they will also have to consider reform of the Supreme Court itself, a conclusion I had been resisting until the court made this unavoidable." MB: I don't have a subscription to Slate; I clicked on Hasen's column by mistake, so I guess Slate allows a few freebies.
~~~ Joshua Douglas in the Washington Monthly: "The best way to think about this week’s momentous Supreme Court decision dismantling the Voting Rights Act is to consider it alongside four previous voting rights cases from the past 13 years. Each time, the Court’s majority claimed it was taking incremental or technical steps. The collective project, however, shows the evisceration of the VRA, the crown jewel of the civil rights era. American democracy will be much weaker as a result." ~~~
~~~ Dan Merica & Patrick Marley of the Washington Post: “Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) told Republican House candidates Wednesday that he plans to suspend next month’s primary elections so state lawmakers can pass a new congressional map first.... The [Supreme Court] ruling positions Republicans to gain one or two seats in the midterms as they fight to hold their narrow majority in the House.... Most states are unlikely to be able to redraw districts in time for the November midterm elections, but Louisiana could be one of the exceptions.”
Michael Shear, et al., of the New York Times: “King Charles III of Britain fed chickens in Harlem. His wife, Queen Camilla, visited with Winnie-the-Pooh at the New York Public Library. In the morning, the royal couple laid a bouquet at the Sept. 11 memorial, and by evening, they were hobnobbing with the city’s cultural and artistic elite at Rockefeller Center. After a day of politics and diplomacy in Washington, the king and queen spent Wednesday taking in different parts of what New York City has to offer. It was the third day of a four-day visit to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, and the royal couple escaped the politically awkward moments from their trip to the nation’s capital and returned to tightly choreographed photo opportunities, keeping reporters at bay.” The link is a gift link. MB: I remember former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown (R) talking about how busy he was "meeting with kings and queens." This article gives you a good picture of how kings and queens spend their work days. It saves your having to meet with them to find out.
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Ukraine-Russia, et al. Mary Ilyushina of the Washington Post: “Russia’s Victory Day, its foremost national holiday, in commemoration of its defeat of Nazi Germany at unthinkable cost, also serves as a showcase of its military might.... Russia is scaling back its upcoming Victory Day parade, to be held without a spectacle of armaments for the first time in nearly 20 years, amid fears of long-range Ukrainian strikes. The May 9 event will proceed in a reduced format, with a smaller number of participants — several military schools and cadet corps are not to take part 'due to the current operational situation,' the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.... The parade and the broader symbolism of the Soviet toll in World War II have long formed the backbone of the ultraconservative, militaristic identity President Vladimir Putin has worked to forge....” ~~~
~~~ Marie: So what does Trump do? He decides to help his pal Vlad out of a predicament. ~~~
Valerie Hopkins of the New York Times: “In a lengthy phone call on Wednesday..., [Donald] Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia agreed that there should be a brief cease-fire in Ukraine in the coming days, according to both Mr. Trump and a top adviser to Mr. Putin. The cease-fire would coincide with the May 9 Russian holiday marking the end of World War II, said Yuri Ushakov, Mr. Putin’s chief foreign policy adviser, but he did not give precise timing. Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House: 'I suggested a little bit of a cease-fire and I think he might do that. There’s so many people being killed, it’s so ridiculous.' Mr. Ushakov did not say explicitly who had suggested a truce, but said that Mr. Putin 'informed his American counterpart of his readiness to declare a cease-fire for the duration of the Victory Day celebrations.' Mr. Trump 'actively' supported the idea, Mr. Ushakov said.”
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