August 24, 2026

Six members of the Supreme Court believe in promoting democratic principles and following the Constitution as much as Donald Trump believes in promoting democratic principles and following the Constitution. ~~~

~~~⭐Abbie Van Sickle & Ann Marimow of the New York Times: “A divided Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to move forward with plans to restrict mail-in voting before the midterm elections. In an emergency order, the justices said ... [Donald] Trump could proceed with implementing an executive order he had signed, which directed the U.S. Postal Service to help decide which voters should receive mail-in ballots. Under the executive order, the Department of Homeland Security will also create lists of U.S. citizens that the administration believes could be used to monitor voter rolls for noncitizens. The decision means the administration can move ahead with planning for restricting the use of mail ballots even as a lower court continues to weigh the legality of Mr. Trump’s executive order. But with a little more than two months until Election Day — and considerably less time before early voting begins in many states — it remains unclear whether the White House’s rules will be in effect for a midterm election in which control of both chambers is at stake. Additional legal action is a near certainty with the plan’s fate not yet final.

“A separate injunction by the same lower court complicates matters. That court action prevents the postal service from implementing some parts of the executive order. That case could also soon be headed to the justices.... The three liberal justices dissented, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warning that the majority 'needlessly injects chaos and uncertainty into the upcoming midterm elections.'” The link is a gift link. Politico's report, by Josh Gerstein, is here. Democracy Docket's report is here. MB: IMO, both Politico's and Democracy Docket's report do a better job of getting to the heart of the order than does the NYT report; however, Kanno-Young's report -- linked next --makes up for what the report linked above lacks. Again, that's just my opinion, pretty much made off the top of my head after quick scans. ~~~

~~~ Zolan Kanno-Youngs, et al., of the New York Times: “Four weeks before ... [Donald] Trump signed an executive order seeking to restrict mail voting, he filed four nominations for vacancies on the Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service. All four were Republicans. Three have expressed doubts about who won the 2020 presidential election and the security of voting. The selections broke with a longstanding practice of nominating board members in bipartisan pairs. Two of those nominees are on a fast track for approval, and could reach a full Senate vote when the chamber returns from recess in September. If confirmed, their appointments would effectively tip the board to a majority that is loyal to Mr. Trump. The quiet attempt to restructure the leadership of the Postal Service comes as the president and his allies are trying to transform the 251-year-old agency into a central player in their quest to overhaul the nation’s elections. Last year, Mr. Trump took an unusually active role directing the board of governors to select the current postmaster general, David Steiner. And the president has imposed a highly partisan agenda on a historically apolitical institution: restricting mail voting, a practice more heavily used by Democrats than Republicans, which Mr. Trump has publicly acknowledged would benefit his party.” The link is a gift link.

Madeleine Ngo of the New York Times: “A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to immediately bring back a Mexican man who was deported this month despite proving to an immigration court that he would likely face torture in Mexico. The man, who is in his late 40s and was referred to in court documents only as John Doe, helped U.S. authorities by testifying against Mexican drug cartels. The man provided information to U.S. law enforcement that put his and his family members’ lives at 'significant risk,' according to the order, which was issued by Judge Stephanie Gallagher in Maryland on Friday. The court found that the administration’s revocation of protections barring his removal 'likely violated his procedural due process rights,' exceeding the government’s lawful authority. The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement moved to reverse his protections after the State Department received diplomatic assurances from the Mexican government that the man would not be harmed, according to background information on the case included in the judge’s order.” The link is a gift link.

Sarah Kaplan of the Washington Post: “Nevada sued the Trump administration Monday over a plan requiring it and two other states to cut Colorado River water use, the first legal challenge to the federal government’s attempt to rescue the waterway, which is on the brink of collapse. The state in its challenge filed in U.S. district court said the Interior Department’s long-awaited drought management plan would cause 'devastating environmental, socioeconomic, and health and human safety impacts to southern Nevada and its citizens.' The federal plan was developed after the seven states that rely on the river failed to reach a compromise over how to share the pain of mounting water shortages.”

Riley Beggin, et al., of the Washington Post: “Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday unveiled a sweeping campaign of financial sanctions and diplomatic pressure designed to sever Iran’s remaining links to the global economy, but he declined to say which countries would be targeted or when new penalties on Iran’s trading partners would take effect.... The initiative is aimed at closing loopholes in the existing U.S. financial dragnet around Iran and, Bessent said, forcing an 'endgame' in the conflict that ... Donald Trump launched in February. Treasury officials said they are adding five sectors of the Iranian economy to their target list: cryptocurrency used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and regime insiders; weapons-related technologies; gold used to stabilize the plummeting Iranian currency; Iran’s airlines; and shipping that carries weapons components and oil. They also announced sanctions on 60 entities, individuals and vessels that enable Iran to procure nuclear or missile technology, conduct cyber operations, and sell oil.”

Ted Hesson & Lauren Gurley of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration plans to charge employers seeking skilled foreign workers through the H-1B visa program a $103,265 fee, a proposed regulation posted on Monday said. Revenue from the fee would be used to run the legal immigration system.... Trump tried to implement a similar $100,000 fee last year through a presidential proclamation, but it was invalidated by a federal judge in June.... U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin of Massachusetts said the president unilaterally imposed an illegal tax, bypassing Congress, and failed to consider the impact of his actions on sectors experiencing labor shortages that rely on the H-1B program to hire physicians, nurses and teachers. The Trump administration appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit and requested it be paused pending the appeal, but the request was denied in late July. The new proposed regulation ... seeks to carve a different legal path by proposing to use the fees to offset the cost of running the immigration system....

“The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and an association of top research universities in a separate lawsuit last year criticized Trump’s earlier fee, saying H-1B workers fill critical jobs in the medical, manufacturing and technology fields. The federal judge in that case sided with the Trump administration in December, leading the Chamber of Commerce and university association to appeal.” MB: Obviously, Trump hates immigrants more than he loves U.S. businesses. 

Georgia Senate Race. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) is really good at addressing campaign issues: ~~~ 

More Murder on the High Seas. Eric Schmitt & Helene Cooper of the New York Times: “The U.S. military killed two men in a strike against a boat in the eastern Pacific that it said was transporting narcotics, U.S. Southern Command announced early Monday. It was the first such strike by the military since June 21. The United States began a campaign of boat strikes last year in the run-up to the military operation that seized Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela. The military has continued the operations in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, killing at least 223 people in 67 strikes that it said were involved in the narcotics trade. But narcotics experts say the boat strikes have failed to slow the smuggling of cocaine from South America to the United States. According to Brown University, the costs of the operation were at $4.7 billion as of March 31. Legal specialists also have said that the strikes are illegal extrajudicial killings because the military is not permitted to deliberately target civilians — even suspected criminals — who do not pose an imminent threat of violence.” The link is a gift link. 

Ana Swanson & Tony Romm of the New York Times: Donald “Trump threatened on Monday to increase tariffs on all cars, trucks, car parts and steel from Canada to 50 percent, starting Jan. 1, as the relationship with America’s closest traditional ally edges toward a full-blown trade war. Writing on Truth Social, the president said that Canada was 'among the worst Nations in the World to deal with' and that it 'will be treated like a State no longer.... They feel entitled, and yet, WE DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US!'...” The link is a gift link. 

Benjamin Mullin of the New York Times: “A private arbitrator has ordered The Washington Post to rehire the opinion columnist Karen Attiah, who was fired in September over her social media posts about the assassination of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk. It also ordered the company to compensate her with back pay. Sarah Miller Espinosa, the arbitrator, said in a written decision Thursday that The Post 'did not have good and sufficient cause' to terminate Ms. Attiah and 'violated' its labor agreement, according to a copy of the decision shared with The New York Times by Ms. Attiah’s lawyers. 'The Washington Post failed to establish the grievant engaged in gross misconduct,' Ms. Espinosa wrote.... The Post’s opinion section has been in flux since early last year, when Jeff Bezos, the newspaper’s owner, moved to reorient the section to focus on 'personal liberties and free markets.'” The link is a gift link.

Why don't the White House press corps ask Trump every day why this is? Thanks to RAS for the link. 

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⭐Bunker-Busted. Noah Robertson & Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump has claimed that the White House needs a massive new ballroom because it would provide him and future presidents with a secure, hardened facility. But former officials say the argument fails to acknowledge that the presidential complex already has one. More than a decade ago, federal officials built a highly protected bunker, embedded deep underground, that can shelter the president and his top aides in a national security emergency, according to three former officials. The facility, which was secretly completed during the Obama administration, can house dozens of people for up to multiple weeks, two former officials said. It’s buried more than 60 feet underneath the White House complex and built to withstand a nuclear blast, two of the officials said, ensuring the president and his team have a secure command center to run the country in times of extreme duress.

“The bunker’s existence, the former officials said, undercuts the Trump administration’s emerging legal argument in the ongoing lawsuit over the $600 million ballroom complex’s construction: that the facility must be completed due to its significance for U.S. national security. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss elements of the secretive facility, some of which have not been previously reported. The Washington Post is withholding some details of the bunker and its construction in order to not compromise sensitive White House security protocols.” The link is a gift link. The rest of the story is worth reading.

Fatter Hitler. Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump ... may have gained ... 23 pounds ... since his last campaign for president. In August 2023, when he was charged in Georgia in an election interference case, Trump’s booking record listed his weight as 215 pounds. He weighed 238 pounds in May of this year, according to a medical report released by the White House that month. That would make him about 1.6 pounds shy of being classified as 'obese,' as he was in 2019 and 2020, given his height of 6-foot-3.”

Shawn McCreesh of the New York Times: “It has been a fun summer in Washington for [Donald] Trump.... [He] and the first lady, Melania Trump, were driven in the presidential limo around an IndyCar racetrack shaped from the streets of downtown Washington on Sunday afternoon. It was the final, major event planned for the city as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum shouted, 'Gentlemen, start your engines!' Mr. Trump waved a large green flag up and down while his wife smiled and clapped. The Qatari jumbo jet that he now uses as Air Force One flew low overhead. Twenty-five racecars screamed around a 1.7-mile track that wended between white marble monuments and Smithsonian museums along Pennsylvania Avenue, cut across the National Mall and passed before the Capitol.... One car came around an especially tight turn near the Capitol and crashed straight into a retaining wall. The next car to come around the corner crashed into that car. The other cars coming through the turn slowed to avoid the two-car pileup. The announcers said that both drivers were OK.” The link is a gift link.

    ~~~ Marie: If you check out one photo accompanying the story, you will see not only Donald & Melanie whooping it up, but also -- in the background -- poor Natalie smiling bravely. ~~~

~~~ But maybe it wasn't all smiles Don & Melanie: ~~~

This conversation between President Trump and Melania Trump actually seemed to start out somewhat positive a few minutes before this clip starts but as you can see, it didn’t end that way pic.twitter.com/vGTHnrSmIt

— Acyn (@Acyn) August 23, 2026

Lauren Almeida of the Guardian: “Donald Trump has hit back at Canada after a breakdown in negotiations plunged the two countries into a trade war. In his first public comments since negotiations collapsed on Friday in Washington, the US president wrote on social media: 'Canada wants the benefits of being a State, without being one!!!'” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Ian Austen of the New York Times: “The lists of hundreds of goods from Canada subject to new 50 percent tariffs from the United States are long and seemingly organized at random.... Anoraks and suit jackets. National flags. Some Christmas ornaments. And 36 different kinds of plywood.... Here are some of the goods that are subject to the new tariffs[.]” The link is a gift link. ~~~

~~~ "The Moose That Roared." Paul Krugman: "Why did the talks [between the U.S. and Canada break down? According to the Toronto Star, [Prime Minister Mark] Carney 'was faced with a trade agreement that was suddenly transformed into an attack on Canadian sovereignty, an attempted psychological annexation that could have turned Canada into an American client state, a sort of North American Belarus.'... he U.S. economy is far more dependent on Canadian goods than most Americans realize.... And all indications are that the Canadians will be much more willing to bear the pain of a trade war than Americans will – especially given that the great majority of Americans are already dissatisfied with Trump’s economic management.... The bottom line is that Trump is going to lose his trade war with Canada as thoroughly as he has lost his shooting war with Iran. But because he won’t face reality, trade with our northern neighbor will probably be disrupted until the narcissistic bully in the White House no longer controls trade policy." ~~~

~~~ Joe DePaolo of Mediaite: “The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board trashed ... Donald Trump for escalating a tariff battle with Canada — which they say 'makes no economic or political sense.' In a scathing op-ed published late Sunday, the Journal referenced a column the editorial board published in January 2025 headlined 'The Dumbest Trade War in History.' Sunday’s follow-up was titled, 'The Dumbest Trade War Revisited.' 'President Trump took exception last year when we called his tariffs against Canada and Mexico the dumbest trade war in history,' the board wrote. 'It got dumber this weekend as Mr. Trump escalated with another round of border taxes on Canadian imports, a mere 10 weeks before midterm elections.'” Comme d'habitude, the Journal's editorial is firewalled.

CK Smith of Salon: Donald Trump's “plan [to import beef] has prompted unusually sharp opposition from cattle producers and Republicans representing ranching states, who say importing discounted foreign beef will undercut the American producers Trump has promised to protect.... Trump dismissed those concerns Friday. 'The ranchers are great; they’re my people. I love the ranchers,' he told reporters. But consumers want lower prices, Trump said, and the foreign beef would provide 'a little help.'”

Marie: Akhilleus pointed to an item published last week that I'll bet even Krugman can't explain, more evidence that Donald Trump knows more about economics than a Nobel Prize-winning economist: ~~~

~~~ David Gilmour of Mediaite: “... Donald Trump suggested Friday he could use the military to stage an 'intervention' on bond markets in a confusing response to a reporter asking about Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s efforts to bring down soaring yields.... [During the Q&A, the reporter asked,] 'Have you talked to him [Bessent] about another type of intervention? Is that something he will be doing?' 'We have many types of intervention...,' Trump said, adding: 'The ultimate intervention is our military. And if we have to use that, we will.'” MB: Explain that, Krugman.

Rebecca Falconer of Axios: Donald "Trump defended the expansion of data centers in an interview with his former fixer, Michael Cohen, that aired in full on Sunday.... Trump's support comes as data centers face growing backlash in both red and blue states.... Trump told Cohen during their interview that the U.S. was leading China in AI 'by a lot' and that data centers were not taking power from the grid. 'They're making their own power plants. They're building the most beautiful, you've never seen power plants like this,' Trump said during the interview that was recorded last week. 'Communities that don't take a data center, they're making a mistake' because data centers create 'tremendous amounts of jobs and money,' Trump added."  

     ~~~ Marie: I'm not sure what a "beautiful" data center power plant looks like, but here's a shot of one in Deer Park, Texas, near Houston. Doesn't look like what I think of when I think of a deer park. In the eyes of the beholder, I guess. Maybe if they planted some petunias and other gas station flowers around it.... ~~~

~~~ Andrew Pantazi & Ben Geman of Axios: "Texas Gov. Greg Abbott delivered one of the starkest warnings yet from a Republican to the AI industry, saying data center companies 'dug their own grave' and deserve the backlash they're facing after failing to win community support.... Abbott is the latest governor to sharply change course on the AI data center boom he once enthusiastically courted, as local opposition becomes a potent political force.... Just last November, Abbott called Texas the 'epicenter of AI development' as he joined Google to announce a $40 billion investment into three data center campuses. In June, however, Abbott directed state regulators to make data centers pay the full cost of the electrical infrastructure they require and called for phasing out tax incentives. Earlier this month, he ordered regulators to audit data centers seeking to connect to Texas' power grid before allowing the projects to move forward."

Robert Kagan in the Atlantic: “For years, Iran confronted a balance of power in the Middle East that tilted against it. The region was dominated by a hostile American superpower, a nuclear-armed and militarily superior Israel, and significant local actors — Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates — that were strategically and economically aligned with the United States. Today finds Iran in entirely new circumstances. It has gone head-to-head with the superpower and Israel, withstood a pounding from their most advanced weapons, and more than survived. As a result, Iran has, with American help, completely reconfigured the power structure of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. The dominant power in the region going forward will be Iran, not the U.S. or Israel. Neighboring countries are already making their adjustments to this new reality. More distant powers will too.” Thanks to akaWendy for this gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Defeat Has Many Fathers, at least in this case, but I blame Netanyahu primarily. Sure, Trump went along with Bibi's plan, despite the advice of U.S. advisors. But it was, after all, Bibi's plan -- one he had nurtured for a long time. He has been familiar with Middle East dynamics all of his life; Trump didn't discover the region until he began to imagine the Trump Gaza Plaza or whatever. Trump's excuse is that he is a greedy, thoughtless, shortsighted, not-very-bright real estate huckster. Bibi has no excuse. 

Choe Sang-Hun of the New York Times: “The United States has canceled a joint amphibious landing exercise with South Korean forces that was set for next month, citing resource constraints driven by the war in Iran, the South Korean military announced Monday. The U.S. Marine Corps had notified its South Korean counterpart in June that Middle East operational demands would prevent the deployment of forces for the biennial exercise known as Ssangyong, or 'Twin Dragons,' the South Korean Marine Corps said on Monday. The U.S. military in Korea did not immediately comment on the announcement. The move marked the second joint military drill with South Korea to be canceled or downsized during ... [Donald ]Trump’s second term. The decision has intensified doubts over Washington’s commitment to maintaining a credible deterrent on the Korean Peninsula and ​its capacity to manage concurrent global conflicts, as U.S. weapons stockpiles have fallen to troubling levels.” The link is a gift link.

Thank You for Your Service. Bill Feather & Dennis Romero of NBC News: "The immigrant father of a sailor on board the beleaguered USS Abraham Lincoln was detained Saturday by immigration officials, family members said. Luis Manuel Aviles, originally from Nicaragua, was detained shortly after 11 a.m. ET in Key West, Florida, where he lives, stepdaughter Katty Delgado told NBC News on Saturday evening. She said that Aviles has been in the U.S. for roughly 20 years and that she has no knowledge of an arrest history or criminal allegations against him.... The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Sunday that the Border Patrol arrested Aviles during a traffic stop in Key West. The agency said Aviles entered the U.S. illegally at an unknown date and location and would remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings."

Eric Bazail-Eimil & Myah Ward of Politico: “... Donald Trump’s nominee to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement is stalled in the Senate. That’s just fine with many at ICE. Some officials inside the Department of Homeland Security, which houses ICE, question Oklahoma state trooper Lance Schroyer’s qualifications to lead the agency. And they also prefer acting director Dave Venturella, an ally of border czar Tom Homan, who is viewed as a familiar and steady set of hands, according to interviews with six officials and others familiar....” Part of the headline: “Trump’s ICE pick is stuck in the Senate.” MB: Ice pick? 

Linda Qiu of the New York Times: “Across the country, farmers and rural residents describe struggling to obtain the basic services the Agriculture Department is meant to offer, including loans and grants, technical assistance and financing for housing and utilities. Sharp attrition under the Trump administration, largely through voluntary resignations and dismissals by the Department of Government Efficiency, have left many of the Agriculture Department’s local offices with skeletal staffing — and, in some counties, with no one at all. The ripple effects of the Agriculture Department’s depleted work force illustrate how the Trump administration’s mission of shrinking the federal bureaucracy has undercut a competing priority: delivering for farmers, a core political constituency.... Overall, more than 20,000 workers out of more than 110,000 left the Agriculture Department through the first half of 2025, according to an inspector general report.... [The Ag Department's] plans to fundamentally overhaul the agency, as well as funding cuts proposed by ... [Donald] Trump’s latest budget, are likely to deepen difficulties for farmers and rural communities.” The link is a gift link.

Joe DePaolo of Mediaite: “Notable progressive observers are furious over news of a secret meeting between House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and ... Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — which was reported by The New York Times on Sunday. (MB: There's a gift link to the NYT story (by Maggie Haberman & Annie Karni) on yesterday's Reality Chex page. Also commentary from Akhilleus in yesterday's thread.) 

Laurel Rosenhall of the New York Times: “California’s attorney general has canceled a meeting with representatives of Paramount that was scheduled for Monday to begin discussing a settlement of the state’s lawsuit seeking to block Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Rob Bonta, the attorney general, called off the meeting late Sunday, accusing Paramount of acting in bad faith. In a statement to The Times, Mr. Bonta accused Paramount of leaking details of a meeting the parties held on Friday. 'Not only did Paramount leak the alleged substance of settlement discussions, but they misrepresented these discussions, demonstrating a lack of good faith,' Mr. Bonta said in the statement. 'As soon as Paramount stops playing games and engages sincerely, my office is happy to meet again.'” The link is a gift link.

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Alaska Senate Race. Requel Uribe of NBC News: "A new Dan Sullivan has entered the conversation surrounding the Alaska Senate race, in which incumbent Dan S. Sullivan faces a candidate with the same name. The Republican former mayor of Anchorage, Dan A. Sullivan, endorsed GOP Sen. Dan S. Sullivan for re-election over retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan and Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola on Tuesday. 'As the OG Dan Sullivan, I urge Alaskans to vote for Sen. Dan S. Sullivan. He’s been great for Alaska,' the former mayor wrote on Facebook."

California. Darth Vader makes the case for Flock cameras at a San Diego city council meeting. Thanks to RAS for the link: ~~~

Nevada. Bernard Mokam of the New York Times: “A wildfire burning in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and moving toward Reno, Nev., has forced thousands of evacuations, shuttered two hospitals and prompted emergency declarations from state officials. The blaze, known as the Hawk fire, has grown to more than 13,000 acres since Saturday without any containment and has encroached on the outskirts of Reno, a city of almost 300,000 people near the California border. At a news briefing late Sunday morning, local officials suggested that around 90,000 people in the vicinity of the raging flames should evacuate. About 42,000 of those people are under formal evacuation orders.” The link is a gift link.

New York. Santul Nerkar of the New York Times: Alexis “Rodriguez was found guilty of attempted rape [of a Staten Island woman] in 2014 and sentenced to 15 years in prison.... [His conviction was based on DNA evidence extracted from her clothing and analyzed by s]cientists at the New York City medical examiner’s office — a leader in developing forensic methods to crack America’s most difficult cases.... But in 2021, a judge overturned the conviction, finding that Mr. Rodriguez had received inadequate counsel. Specifically, his lawyer had failed to properly challenge the DNA evidence, a move that could have exonerated his client.... Mr. Rodriguez wound up serving seven and a half years in prison.... Now, Mr. Rodriguez, 42, is suing the city and the lab analysts who worked on his case, accusing the analysts of fabricating evidence.... The suit, which was filed in Federal District Court in Brooklyn on Wednesday, comes more than a decade after the medical examiner’s office launched an internal investigation into whether it had mishandled DNA evidence in hundreds of rape cases. A subsequent report from the state inspector general found a troubling pattern of errors at the office.” The link is a gift link.