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Judge Blocks Trump From Punishing Prominent Democratic Law Firm

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A federal judge spanked President Trump on Wednesday over his attempt to block the government from doing business with the law firm that helped Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign by promoting the now-discredited “Steele Dossier.”

Perkins Coie had sued, saying the executive order was unconstitutional retaliation that would upend the way law firms operate.

Judge Beryl Howell sided with them, saying Mr. Trump’s move “sends little chills down my spine.”

She issued a temporary restraining order blocking the government from following through on parts of Mr. Trump’s executive order that ordered Perkins Coie’s contracts with the government to be scrutinized, its lawyers restricted from entering government buildings, and federal employees limited in their ability to engage with the firm.

Mr. Trump, in his March 6 order, had said the firm had engaged in “dishonest and dangerous activity.” (Read more from “Judge Blocks Trump From Punishing Prominent Democratic Law Firm” HERE)

Education Secretary Linda McMahon Says Mass Layoffs Are ‘First Step’ Toward Eliminating Agency: ‘Not Taking Away Education’

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Education Secretary Linda McMahon said massive layoffs Tuesday were the “first step” toward accomplishing President Trump’s goal of eliminating the agency — and insisted the cuts won’t affect educational programs.

McMahon, during an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, was asked if the termination of nearly half of the department’s 4,000-person workforce was part of a broader plan aimed at a “total shutdown” of the federal agency.

“Yes – actually, it is,” the 76-year-old responded.

“That was the president’s mandate,” McMahon added. “His directive to me clearly is to shut down the Department of Education.”

The World Wrestling Entertainment co-founder said the Trump administration understands that it will have to “work with Congress” to accomplish the president’s goal, but that Tuesday’s “reduction in force” plan is key to eventually abolishing the department.

“What we did today was to take the first step of eliminating what I think is bureaucratic bloat,” McMahon said. (Read more from “Education Secretary Linda McMahon Says Mass Layoffs Are ‘First Step’ Toward Eliminating Agency: ‘Not Taking Away Education’” HERE)

Is Trump Committing an Unforced Error Here?

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President Donald J. Trump has had enough with one Republican congressman: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is someone the president wants jettisoned from Congress. Massie has usually been the lone rebel on a host of GOP-led legislation. Some of his reasons are not out of line; he’s sticking with his principles. Yet, Massie’s opposition to the six-month continuing resolution Trump and the GOP leadership want passed to prevent a government shutdown and not disrupt the budget reconciliation process, deporting illegal aliens, rebuilding our military, and the work done by the Department of Government Efficiency led to the president threatening the Kentucky Republican with a primary threat:

Thank you to the House Freedom Caucus for just delivering a big blow to the Radical Left Democrats and their desire to raise Taxes and SHUT OUR COUNTRY DOWN! They hate America and all it stands for. That’s why they allowed MILLIONS of Criminals to invade our Nation. Sometimes it takes great courage to do the right thing. Congressman Thomas Massie, of beautiful Kentucky, is an automatic “NO” vote on just about everything, despite the fact that he has always voted for Continuing Resolutions in the past. HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED, and I will lead the charge against him. He’s just another GRANDSTANDER, who’s too much trouble, and not worth the fight. He reminds me of Liz Chaney before her historic, record breaking fall (loss!). The people of Kentucky won’t stand for it, just watch. DO I HAVE ANY TAKERS??? Anyway, thank you again to the House Freedom Caucus for your very important vote. We need to buy some time in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE. Unite and Win!!!

(Read more from “Is Trump Committing an Unforced Error Here?” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Whoopi Goldberg Claims Trump Ruined Biden’s Wonderful Economy Without Once Mentioning High Prices

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“The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg claimed Tuesday that President Donald Trump ruined former President Joe Biden’s economy without once mentioning high prices or the record high deficit.

Goldberg argued that Trump inherited a “very robust” economy, crediting the Biden administration for adding nearly 16 million jobs to the U.S. economy, though she failed to mention this was largely a result of the U.S. recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The co-host also did not mention that inflation rose to a peak of 9% during the Biden administration and that the deficit reached record-breaking levels largely due to the previous White House’s high spending.

“Let me just remind you about the Biden economy, okay?” Goldberg began. “The economy added 16.6 million jobs and gross domestic product grew 12.6%. They are the only administration in history to have created jobs every single month. But wait, there’s more. They achieved the lowest average unemployment in 50 years. Wealth adjusted for inflation rose a record 37% for the median American household and Americans filed a record 21 million new small business applications, the most in any presidential administration.”

“[Trump] came in to a very robust, there were issues, there’s always going to be issues, but you can’t blame all of what’s happening on [Biden],” Goldberg continued.

(Read more from “Whoopi Goldberg Claims Trump Ruined Biden’s Wonderful Economy Without Once Mentioning High Prices” HERE)

U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighters Forced to Intercept 2 Aircraft That Invaded Mar-a-Lago Airspace

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Air Force F-16 fighter jets scrambled Sunday to intercept aircraft that entered the airspace over President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida — the second time that’s happened in 48 hours, NORAD says.

A civilian aircraft flew into the no-fly zone over the property at around 1:15 p.m. Sunday, according to a statement.

The fighter jets fired flares to warn the pilots to move out of the area, the military said.

The aircraft was then escorted out of the area. (Read more from “U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighters Forced to Intercept 2 Aircraft That Invaded Mar-a-Lago Airspace” HERE)

Florida AG Launches Criminal Investigation Into Andrew Tate; Influencer Lashes Out at Ron Desantis With Conspiracy Theory

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The Florida attorney general announced that a criminal investigation would be launched against controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan Tate. The 38-year-old former MMA fighter lashed out at the investigation and called the move “absolute communism.”

The Tate brothers landed at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida on Feb. 27 after Romania lifted a travel restriction on them.

According to NBC News, the brothers left Romania while still under a criminal investigation regarding accusations of having formed an organized criminal group, in addition to human trafficking, the trafficking of minors, sex with a minor, and money laundering. The Tate brothers were arrested near the Romanian capital of Bucharest in 2022 along with two Romanian women. . .

In mid-February, President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Richard Grenell, raised the issue of the Tate brothers with Romania’s Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu at the Munich Security Conference. Hurezeanu said he did not consider the discussion as a “form of pressure.”

Last week, Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism said in a statement that the Tate brothers would be expected to appear before judicial authorities if summoned and were warned that deliberately dodging “obligations may result in judicial control being replaced with a stricter deprivation of liberty measure.” (Read more from “Florida AG Launches Criminal Investigation Into Andrew Tate; Influencer Lashes Out at Ron Desantis With Conspiracy Theory” HERE)

Trump to Revoke Legal Status for 240,000 Ukrainians as U.S. Steps up Deportations

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President Trump’s administration is planning to revoke temporary legal status for some 240,000 Ukrainians who fled the conflict with Russia, a senior Trump official and three sources familiar with the matter said, potentially putting them on a fast track to deportation.

The move, expected as soon as April, would be a stunning reversal of the welcome Ukrainians received under President Joe Biden’s administration.

The planned rollback of protections for Ukrainians was underway before Trump publicly feuded with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week.

It is part of a broader Trump administration effort to strip legal status from more than 1.8 million migrants allowed to enter the US under temporary humanitarian parole programs launched under the Biden administration, the sources said.

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the department had no announcements at this time. The White House and Ukrainian embassy did not respond to requests for comment. (Read more from “Trump to Revoke Legal Status for 240,000 Ukrainians as U.S. Steps up Deportations” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Trump Envoys Meeting With Ukraine Officials Next Week in Saudi Arabia, Seeking ‘An Initial Cease-Fire’

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President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff revealed plans Thursday for a summit meeting next week with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia — saying the parties would discuss a possible cease-fire with Russia.

“We’re now in discussions to coordinate a meeting with the Ukrainians… It will be [in] Saudi Arabia. And I think the idea is to get down a framework for a peace agreement and an initial cease-fire as well,” Witkoff told reporters on the White House driveway.

The meeting will attempt to restore US-Ukrainian dialogue after the Trump administration moved to halt the flow of weapons and intelligence to Kyiv in response to an explosive Oval Office meeting Friday featuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky, who is not expected to attend the Saudi Arabia meeting, said Friday that he opposes a temporary cease-fire, citing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s prior deal-breaking.

“We can’t just speak about cease-fire and speak and speak. It will not work,” Zelensky said at that meeting, fueling Trump’s rage.

Trump told him: “Look, if you could get a cease-fire right now, I tell you you’d take it, so the bullets stop flying and your men stop getting killed.” (Read more from “Trump Envoys Meeting With Ukraine Officials Next Week in Saudi Arabia, Seeking ‘An Initial Cease-Fire’” HERE)

House Censures Al Green for Disrupting Trump Address to Congress

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The House on Thursday voted to censure Rep. Al Green (D-TX) for his protest during President Donald Trump’s address to Congress.

The chamber voted 224-198-2, which passed mostly on party lines, and ten Democrats voted with Republicans in favor of the censure.

During Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday, Green stood up, waved his cane, and yelled at the 47th president. Green sought to fight back against Trump’s claim he had a “mandate” from the American people.

Despite Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) urging the Texas Democrat to “take your seat,” Green continued to violate decorum, to which the Speaker urged the sergeant-at-arms to remove Green from the chamber.

Republicans sang, “Hey, hey, hey, goodbye,” as the sergeant-at-arms escorted Green off the House floor.

“We take no pleasure in this,” Johnson said before the censure vote.

(Read more from “House Censures Al Green for Disrupting Trump Address to Congress” HERE)

Judge’s Failure To Recuse Himself From Trump Spending Freeze Case Shows How Court Is Rigged

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Judge John McConnell, chief judge of the federal district court of Rhode Island, has such a deep conflict of interest in one of the Trump Administration’s spending freeze cases that it is obvious he should have recused himself. His continued involvement in the case is another sign that the court system is rigged, leaving the majority of U.S. citizens who voted for President Donald Trump’s policies watching lawfare instead of seeing progress.

When the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) told federal department heads in January to place a temporary pause on grant, loan, and other financial assistance programs, the left rushed to court to fight it. The OMB wanted to assure taxpayer money was not going to support programs promoting diversity equity and inclusion (DEI), woke gender ideology, and the Green New Deal.

In this case, a group of 22 states and the District of Columbia went to court calling the administration’s freeze on federal funding unconstitutional. McConnell ordered the administration to unfreeze the funds and the administration is now appealing. A similar case, brought by the National Council of Nonprofits is playing out with U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan in the Washington, D.C. court. You can read about that case here.

The spending freeze affected federally funded nonprofits which may get their money directly from the federal government, from state programs that receive federal funds and pass the money on to nonprofits, or from other nonprofits that get money from the feds and hand it out as local grants.

McConnell has held an 18-year leadership role in Crossroads Rhode Island, a $31 million nonprofit that gets over half its funding from federal money. It received more than $18 million in 2023 according to its tax exempt 990 form, first reported by researchers at America First Legal (AFL).

(Read more from “Judge’s Failure To Recuse Himself From Trump Spending Freeze Case Shows How Court Is Rigged” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr