Cinco de Mayo 2026

Here's your Not-Trump Video of the Day: ~~~ 

Trump Ballroom Scamarama, Ctd. A week or two ago, contributor Patrick explained how we taxpayers would be paying for a large portion of Trump's big gaudy ballroom. Patrick noted that the donors to Trump's ballroom fund at minimum would get standard tax breaks for their contribution. A tax break for a rich person is a burden on every other taxpayer. (Some of Trump's secret ballroom donors are probably foreign nationals (so no U.S. tax breaks), but rest assured they're getting something in return, too, and that something likely will often mean Americans are the losers.) Well, now we're moving from paying for a substantial percentage of Trump's big gaudy ballroom to paying for most of it: ~~~  

~~~ Dan Diamond, et al., of the Washington Post: “Senate Republicans late Monday proposed $1 billion to pay for new White House security measures, with lawmakers and White House officials disagreeing over whether the legislation would cover ... Donald Trump’s planned ballroom. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, laid out a funding package for security upgrades related to the 'East Wing Modernization Project,' the Trump administration’s name for its planned 90,000-square-foot project to rebuild the East Wing that Trump demolished last year. The proposed legislative text says the money would be used for both aboveground and underground security features that the administration has declined to fully detail. The text explicitly says the money could not be used for “non-security elements” of the project, a reference to Trump’s planned ballroom.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: A spokeswoman for ole Chuck said, 'This bill does not fund ballroom construction'” She was not under oath when she said it, of course. I don't believe her. Plus: somehow this $300MM ballroom went to $400MM, and now I guess it's up to $1.4BB. And Trump says there's no inflation.

Marie: In the past, I seldom read Thomas Edsall's New York Times opinion columns. They are long & pedantic. Frankly, I left it to contributor Ken W. to read Edsall for us. Occasionally, I would scan a column in which Ken found some value. But lately, Edsall -- in his abstruse way -- has climbed aboard the Hair-on-Fire Express. He's still sitting at the back of the bus, but his current column is worth reading. And that's because is so alarming. And real. In it, he explains how Trump can overturn the results of the 2026 election, using laws & procedures that have been on the books since the 1950s. And Edsall reasonably suggests, Congress & & the Supine Court will let Trump get away with it. The link is a gift link. ~~~

Ole Donald's Toadies, they are jumping higher & further than Mark Twain's "Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." ~~~

~~~ Scott Nover of the Washington Post: “The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the New York Times on Tuesday, alleging that the news organization violated federal law by passing over a White male employee for a promotion. 'No one is above the law — including “elite” institutions,' EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas, an appointee of ... Donald Trump, wrote in a statement.The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Lower Manhattan, alleges that the Times violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 in denying an unnamed employee a promotion. The EEOC said the Times’ emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), which the Trump administration has worked to eliminate, was to blame.... The lawsuit follows reporting in the Times alleging that staffers at the EEOC are under intense pressure to bring cases that further the Trump administration’s agenda, including dismantling DEI policies.”

Todd Wallack of the Washington Post: “The Education Department has launched an investigation into Smith College, one of the nation’s most well-known women’s colleges, for its policy that allows transgender women to enroll. The probe, announced Monday, could mark the start of a lengthy legal battle between the Trump administration and women’s colleges that accept students who were assigned male at birth and now identify as women. Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination at education institutions that receive federal money, makes an exception for admissions decisions at private undergraduate colleges, like Smith. That allows single-sex colleges to operate without violating the law. But the Education Department asserted that the exception applies only to biological sex, not gender identity.”

Ohio Senate Race. Reid Epstein of the New York Times: There is an “upside-down picture in Ohio, where Senator Jon Husted, a Republican appointed last year to replace Vice President JD Vance, is hoping to fend off former Senator Sherrod Brown, a three-term Democrat who was unseated in 2024.... The election is a test of how far even a Republican-dominated state has swung left during ... [Donald] Trump’s second term and of whether Mr. Brown, as he has done in the past, can outperform his party in a state where Democrats have been trounced in the last three presidential elections. Now, as the general election begins — Mr. Brown faces only token opposition in the primary contest on Tuesday and Mr. Husted is unopposed — both sides are beginning an advertising war expected to exceed the $550 million spent on Ohio’s 2024 Senate race. The winner will serve the final two years of Mr. Vance’s term and then face re-election again in 2028. Mr. Brown’s opening salvo last week sought to capitalize on Mr. Husted’s relatively low profile by highlighting $116,000 in campaign contributions he received in the past from Leslie Wexner, an Ohio billionaire who was the source of much of [Jeffrey] Epstein’s wealth.” ~~~

Claire Heddles of the Miami Herald: "Palm Beach County commissioners will take their first public vote Tuesday on the renaming of Palm Beach International Airport after Donald Trump, now that county officials have reached a tentative trademark deal with the president’s companies following weeks of negotiations. The controversial deal is unusual: other airports named after presidents don’t have trademarks owned by private companies. Trump’s companies and Palm Beach County administrators have argued the trademark agreement is necessary to protect the county from lawsuits, not for private profit.A copy of the agreement signed by Trump Sunday and reviewed by the Miami Herald, however, shows it could leave openings for Trump’s businesses and family members to benefit from the taxpayer-funded airport name change." Read on. Thanks to RAS for what looks to be a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is outrageous. The voters of Palm Beach County should get rid of these commissioners right now. Do a recall, for Pete's sake. The county has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election since at least 2008. That means they voted against Trump three times. And they're naming a public airport after Trump and allowing him to maneuver a way to make money off of it?? Just horrible. What is the matter with these people? The only way they could do worse would be to name the airport for some other infamous Palm Beach resident, like, you know, Epstein International. Update: Oops, my mistake. I'm having a bit of an Emily Litella moment. The airport renaming is a DeSantis-state legislature project: "DeSantis signed the law forcing the name change in late March, but it only takes effect if the county reaches a deal for the trademark." So we'll see what happens at the commissioners' meeting. ~~~

     ~~~ Update 2. Well, the Palm Beach County commissioners royally screwed that up. They had a chance to put the kibosh on "Donald J. Trump International Airport & Revenue Stream." And they blew it. My Emily Litella moment has passed. The voters should recall the four commissioners who voted to perpetuate this abomination. ~~~

     ~~~ Patricial Mazzei of the New York Times: “Commissioners in Palm Beach County, Fla., approved a trademark and licensing agreement with ... [Donald] Trump’s family business on Tuesday, a step required to rename Palm Beach International Airport as President Donald J. Trump International Airport.... Under the new agreement, the Trump family won’t profit from branded merchandise sold at the airport. But the agreement does not prevent the family from profiting off any such merchandise sold outside the airport’s premises, according to Josh Gerben, a trademark lawyer. It also gives the Trump family control over any biographical material presented at the airport, or on airport materials. And it requires the airport to pick a vendor to provide any branded merchandise from a list approved by the Trump family business.

“Mr. Gerben called the agreement 'extremely unusual when it comes to an honorary naming of an airport.' He noted that other airports named after presidents, such as Kennedy in New York and Reagan in Washington, do not have licensing agreements with private businesses benefiting those presidents’ families. Commissioners adopted the agreement by a 4-to-3 vote, with one Democrat joining the three Republicans on the board.”

Anatoly Kurmanaev of the New York Times: “U.S. and Venezuelan officials have promised a new era of accountability for Venezuela’s lucrative oil industry after the downfall of President Nicolás Maduro.... [Donald] Trump said the United States would control Venezuelan oil sales. Venezuela would submit monthly budgets to the White House, the Trump administration said, and the United States said it hired auditors to check receipts. Venezuela’s new leader and Mr. Trump’s ally, Delcy Rodríguez, said the public could trace every oil dollar on a new website. None of these initiatives, however, have thus far shed light on where Venezuela’s oil money has been going....”

John Yoon of the New York Times: “The U.S. military said on Monday that it had struck another boat in the Caribbean Sea, killing two men as part of a campaign against people the Trump administration accuses of smuggling drugs by sea. The strike was ordered by Gen. Francis L. Donovan, the head of the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees operations in Latin America, Central America and the Caribbean, the command said in a statement. The two deaths raised the overall toll to at least 187 in the U.S. campaign against boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific. There have been more than 50 strikes since the campaign began in September.”

Erica Green & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: Donald “Trump on Monday sought to portray his policy wins for small businesses as evidence that he was succeeding in building up the economy.... The White House described the Small Business Week event as highlighting 'the extraordinary revival of Main Street under his America First agenda.' But looming over it all was a war abroad that Mr. Trump had begun, and whose economic impact is compounding cost-of-living concerns among Americans, many of whom increasingly say their economic reality has worsened under his tenure. Mr. Trump’s comments on Monday created a sharp contrast with the economic reality outside Washington, as rising energy prices hammer families and businesses alike.... During the event on Monday, [Mr. Trump] sought to downplay the rising cost of energy, saying that it had been projected to rise much more, and that he saw it 'going down very substantially' soon.... 

“During the more than one-hour speech on Monday, Mr. Trump veered off into other topics, including criticizing former President Joseph R. Biden Jr., boasting about passing cognitive tests and complaining about polls and media coverage. He also offered a lengthy account of how he had decided to renovate the reflecting pool at the National Mall.” MB: He also fell asleep standing up. 

Trump's Toxic Waste Dump # 1. Maxine Joselow of the New York Times: “Soil at a public golf course in Washington where the Trump administration dumped debris from the demolition of the White House East Wing has tested positive for lead, chromium and other toxic metals, according to data released by the National Park Service. The data, which the Park Service published on its website last week, showed relatively low levels of these contaminants in the soil at East Potomac Golf Links. Yet ... some of the samples exceeded what California regulators, who have taken a more aggressive approach than has the federal government, consider safe levels of lead in industrial settings.... 

“The dump raised questions about the decision by the Trump administration to bypass environmental laws when it dropped truckloads of mud, rebar, plaster and other debris in the middle of the popular public course near the Jefferson Memorial. The president is planning a sweeping overhaul of the 105-year-old golf course, where generations have played in view of monuments and memorials at bargain rates that currently run $42 for 18 holes on weekdays. Mr. Trump wants to transform it into a championship course, which would likely spell the end to an existing mini-golf course as well as a surrounding roadway that is popular with cyclists and runners.” Update: the link has been changed to one that appears to be a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Joshua Chapin of ABC 7 News (Washington, D.C.): "East Potomac Golf Links remains open for now. That was in question over the weekend as federal officials had planned to close the place and the existing parkland for a massive overhaul. A district court judge on Monday morning ruled that the government must provide reasonable notice if it plans to close the golf course or cut down as few as 10 trees. Over the weekend, lawyers for the D.C. Preservation League filed a motion to halt work at the course, and that seems to have worked."

Oh, Give Me a Home Where the Buffalo Roam. Jack Healy of the New York Times: “... the Trump administration wants to evict ... hundreds of ... bison from ... [a Montana] range, and replace them with cattle. The resulting clash on the prairie has pitted ranchers and Republican leaders against a furry, snorting symbol of the American West.... The conflict centers on 900 bison owned by the group, which was allowed by multiple administrations, including ... [Donald] Trump’s first, to graze on federal lands, much to the consternation of politically conservative ranchers who wanted the land for cattle. This winter, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management reversed course and canceled the bison grazing permits. Citing the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934, the agency said the federal grasslands where the animals grazed should go to livestock being raised for food, not bison largely enjoying their right to roam. The agency deemed the bison to be wildlife, not production livestock. Conservation groups condemned the decision, as did Native American tribes, who say the anti-bison effort threatens their own herds as they try to revive bison populations that were hunted to near extinction by 19th-century settlers.”

Ashleigh Fields of the Hill: “A new poll found that most Americans say they believe ... [Donald] Trump is mentally and physically unfit to serve as commander in chief.  The Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found that 59 percent of U.S. respondents said that Trump does not have the mental sharpness it takes to lead the country.... Comparatively, 55 percent of U.S. adults said Trump is not in good enough physical health to serve as president.... More than half of respondents, 54 percent, said they do not believe the president is a strong leader. Sixty-seven percent of survey participants also said they don’t think Trump carefully considers important decisions.” MB: I only occasionally link polls, and I skipped this one when the WashPo published the results yesterday. But I liked Fields' lede, so I went with it.

Marie: I often write that Everything Trump Does Is Wrong. Rachel Maddow puts it another way: "This administration is bad at everything they set their mind to ... except one thing":

Tom Wellborn well may have written the best description of Donald Trump -- whom he does not name -- that I've ever read -- and I've read a lot of excellent ones, including on the pages of Reality Chex. Thanks to RAS for this dazzling link. (Also linked yesterday.) 

Glenn Thrush, et al., of the New York Times: “The Secret Service shot and wounded an armed man on Monday afternoon just south of the White House in a burst of gunfire that also grazed a young bystander in an area packed with pedestrians, officials said. There was no indication that the man, who was taken to a hospital with multiple gunshot wounds, was targeting anyone in the executive complex, Chris McDonald, a congressional affairs official with the Secret Service, wrote in an email to Congress after the episode. 'President Trump was not in any danger, and there is currently no known nexus between the incident and the White House,' Mr. McDonald wrote. A motorcade with Vice President JD Vance had passed through the area — a heavily trafficked route for official vehicles, as well as people visiting the nearby Washington Monument — shortly before the confrontation took place, officials told reporters.” ~~~

     ~~~ Sophia Solano, et al., of the Washington Post: “The White House was briefly locked down Monday afternoon after a U.S. Secret Service officer exchanged gunfire with an armed individual nearby, the agency said.” An NBC News story is here.

Dan Mangan of CNBC: "A U.S. Secret Service officer was arrested Monday in Miami on a charge of indecent exposure while off-duty, authorities said. The officer, John Spillman, had worked hours earlier on exterior security screening for ... Donald Trump’s appearance Sunday at the PGA Tour’s Cadillac Championship, which was being held at the Trump National Doral. Spillman was held at the Miami-Dade County Jail in lieu of a $1,000 bond on Monday, online jail records showed. The 33-year-old has been placed on administrative leave from the Secret Service, the agency said.... Police said they responded to the [Double Tree Inn] in response to a call about a man who was naked on the sixth floor. When police arrived, they found Spillman 'masturbating at the end of the hallway,' the arrest report said.” Oh, read on.

Nick Corasaniti, et al., of the New York Times: “The Justice Department has demanded the identities of every worker who staffed the 2020 election in Fulton County, Ga., according to court records, escalating an ongoing federal investigation of the 2020 vote in Georgia’s most populous county that relies on false and debunked claims.The demand targets employees of Fulton County elections as well as volunteer poll workers, who likely numbered in the thousands during the 2020 election, according to court records. The demand, which came via a federal grand jury subpoena, appears to be the latest effort by ... [Donald] Trump and his administration to use the investigative power of the federal government to pursue false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. With midterm voting underway in many states, including Georgia, the effort risks further undermining public confidence and sowing chaos among voters. It is not known what the Justice Department intends to do with the names of election workers.” MB: Well, for one thing, harass workers who earn a few dollars an hour for a few days' work each year to assuage the ego of a doddering old megalomaniac. Update: the link has been changed to one that looks like a gift link.

Salvador Rizzo & Andrew Ackerman of the Washington Post: “The Justice Department no longer plans to appeal a court ruling that quashed two subpoenas directed at the Federal Reserve and its chairman, the latest sign of surrender from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro in the politically thorny probe of the independent central bank, according to a legal filing Monday.... When Pirro closed the probe on April 24, she said her office still intended to appeal a ruling by Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg of D.C., who had effectively halted the investigation by quashing two grand-jury subpoenas that had been issued to the Fed and [Fed chair Jerome] Powell.... Instead, prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office filed court papers [Monday] asking Boasberg to throw out his prior rulings in the case.” MB: Because they want to be able to bring baseless nuisance cases whenever Trump demands it.

Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico: “A federal judge said Monday that the Trump administration had put her security at risk by posting a 'patently false' allegation that she knowingly released an ICE detainee with an international warrant for murder. Justice Department attorney Kevin Bolan profusely apologized to Rhode Island-based U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose for the press release posted last week by the Department of Homeland Security, which Bolan acknowledged 'simply was not true.' Bolan said that he didn’t tell the judge about the foreign arrest warrant because Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials instructed him not to. The officials, Bolan said, were concerned that law enforcement in the Dominican Republic, where the warrant was issued, had not signed off on sharing that information. But DuBose noted that the Trump administration itself had publicly disclosed the existence of the warrant in a press release earlier last month. She also noted that the April 30 release slamming her — 'Activist Biden Judge Releases Violent Criminal Illegal Alien Wanted for Murder' — remained online Monday.... DuBose said at the hearing Monday that she is considering whether to hold officials from DHS or DOJ in contempt of court for their handling of the situation.”

The New DHS Secretary Is Just Like the Other One. Dave Jamieson & Matt Shuham of the Huffington Post: “The Department of Homeland Security is closing an office responsible for investigating misconduct and abuse in the immigration detention system, according to an internal email to DHS employees obtained by HuffPost. The Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman is in the process of removing all its public signage and ending its inspections, according to the email. The office’s public-facing website, which advised the families and attorneys of detainees on how to file complaints, was down as of Monday afternoon. Even basic informational webpages explaining the office’s responsibilities appeared to have been taken offline. The email attributed the closure to a lack of funding in the Homeland Security appropriations bill that ended the recent shutdown, though the text of that bill does not require the closure of the ombudsman’s office.”

Perry Stein & Aaron Schaffer of the Washington Post: “The Justice Department will remain blocked from examining electronic devices seized from a Washington Post reporter, a federal judge in Virginia ruled Monday. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga marks the second time a court in the Eastern District of Virginia has rejected efforts by the Justice Department to sift through a phone, computers and other devices belonging to Post reporter Hannah Natanson. The FBI seized her belongings in January during an investigation of a government contractor accused of leaking classified material.”

The House of Representatives Is a Festering Cesspool of Abusive Men. Hailey Fuchs of Politico: “The federal government paid out more than $338,000 to settle allegations of sexual harassment on behalf of House members or their offices since 2004 — far more than had been previously known — according to Rep. Nancy Mace and a person granted anonymity.... The panel subpoenaed the information detailing the government payouts after a March committee vote, seeking a full accounting of secret payouts made before the settlements were ended in 2018. Some of the payments have been previously reported, but not all. Mace (R-S.C.) released a list of offices that had been implicated in the settlements, including former Reps. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.), John Conyers (D-Mich.), Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) and Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.) — all of whom have been previously publicly implicated in misconduct. Mace also listed a settlement of $8,000 for the office of the late Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) as well as a $15,000 payout associated with former Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.). Alexander, who left Congress in 2013, said in a brief interview Monday the complaint concerned a former staffer, whom Alexander fired after learning of the accusation. A message to a former McCarthy aide ... was not immediately returned.” ~~~

     ~~~ MB: So we don't know if McCarthy was the alleged abuser or if the person was a staffer. 

~~~ Kate Santaliz of Axios: "Rep. Chuck Edwards [R-N.C.] told a young female staffer that she had 'written a complex chapter in my heart' shortly before she was set to leave his office, according to a handwritten letter he sent her that was reviewed by Axios.... Edwards is now the subject of a House Ethics Committee probe, Axios first reported. That probe was prompted in part by Edwards' conduct toward two female staffers.... Three sources told Axios they witnessed conduct by Edwards toward two female staffers in their 20s that they described as inappropriate. The sources said Edwards' behavior crossed professional boundaries and created an uncomfortable work environment."

Marie: I can't believe it. Sam the Inquisitor defied my expectations: ~~~

~~~ Ann Marimow of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Monday restored nationwide access to a widely used abortion medication in a temporary order that will, for now, allow women to once again obtain the pill mifepristone by mail. In a brief order, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. paused a lower-court ruling from Friday that had prevented abortion providers from prescribing the pills by telemedicine and shipping them to patients, causing confusion for providers and patients. The one-sentence order imposes a pause until at least May 11. He requested that the parties file briefs by Thursday, and then the full court will determine how to proceed.” The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Speedy Jim Crow. Abbie VanSickle & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Monday evening agreed to immediately transmit to the lower courts its opinion striking down Louisiana’s congressional map, rather than wait 32 days, as would have been routine. Last week’s landmark opinion from the court, which weakened the Voting Rights Act by concluding that one of Louisiana’s majority-Black congressional districts was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, has set off a chaotic scramble in the state.... It was not immediately clear what effect Monday’s decision to send the case back to the lower courts without delay would have on the effort to speedily redistrict. Those moves have been challenged in court.” ~~~

     ~~~ Sam Levine of the Guardian: “The US supreme court went out of its way on Monday to help Louisiana Republicans redraw their congressional maps before this year’s midterm elections by allowing a recent ruling that gutted a key part of the Voting Rights Act to take effect ahead of schedule.” MB: Don't tell he this cartoon is too much. These “justices” look better in their original white. Thanks to RAS for the link: 

Cartoon by Chris Britt.

The New York Times lists the Pulitzer Prize winners & their works which won the prizes.

~~~~~~~~~~ 

Florida Congressional Map. Gary Fineout of Politico: “Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed into law a new congressional map that could help Republicans pick up four more seats in the House — a move that swiftly drew a lawsuit.... The new map was approved just days ago by the GOP-controlled Legislature and was put into place one week after the governor’s office delivered it to state legislators. Democrats have repeatedly called the map 'illegal' and a power grab designed to help Republicans keep hold of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections.The civil rights group Equal Ground Education Fund — along with a group of 19 Florida voters living in congressional districts across the state — asked a state judge to block the new map and reinstate the one that had been approved by the Legislature back in 2022. The lawsuit contends that the governor and Legislature violated voter-approved anti-gerrymandering standards. Those standards maintain that districts cannot be redrawn for partisan or to hurt or help incumbents.”