NBC News: Congress set to hand Trump billions to recruit more ICE agents

The House-passed version of the Trump budget bill includes $8 billion to hire an additional 10,000 ICE employees over five years, with millions more for signing and retention bonuses.

President Donald Trump is on the verge of getting billions of dollars from Congress to recruit and retain agents to carry out the mass deportation campaign that was one of the central promises of his campaign.

Trump has been on a roll in his efforts to combat illegal immigration and remove undocumented immigrants from the country, and both advocates and critics of his plans say that bolstering border security and interior enforcement will make it easier for him to execute on his vision.

President Donald Trump is on the verge of getting billions of dollars from Congress to recruit and retain agents to carry out the mass deportation campaign that was one of the central promises of his campaign.

Trump has been on a roll in his efforts to combat illegal immigration and remove undocumented immigrants from the country, and both advocates and critics of his plans say that bolstering border security and interior enforcement will make it easier for him to execute on his vision.

The House-passed version includes $8 billion to hire an additional 10,000 ICE employees over five years, boosting the agency’s ranks by nearly 50%, and $858 million more for signing and retention bonuses. At full employment of 30,000 people, the money would cover about $28,600 per employee. Customs and Border Protection would get $2 billion to spread around for such bonuses to its larger workforce, which currently can range as high as $30,000 for new recruits.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/congress-set-hand-trump-billions-recruit-ice-agents-rcna214990

Daily Beast: Trump Drives GOP Senator to Quit in Shock Announcement

Trump attacked the senator as “NOT A DOER” amid an internal GOP battle over his “big, beautiful, bill.”

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, 64, announced that he won’t seek re-election Sunday after President Donald Trump attacked him for not voting to advance his “big, beautiful bill.”

Trump directed his fury at Tillis after Senate Republicans narrowly voted to advance the MAGA figurehead’s sprawling spending package in a 51-49 vote Saturday night.

Tillis joined GOP Sens. Ron Johnson and Rand Paul with Democrats to vote against advancing the bill, enraging Trump and his followers, Al Jazeera reported.

Kudos to Sen. Tillis for following his conscience instead of sucking up to King Donald!

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-drives-gop-senator-thom-tillis-to-quit-in-shock-announcement

Buzzfeed: Trump Allegedly Decided To Bomb Iran And “Get In On The Action” After Watching Fox News

President Donald Trump apparently decided to bomb Iran and “get in on the action” Saturday after watching Fox News praise Israel for striking the country earlier this month, says New York Times reporter Helene Cooper, who cited Pentagon and Trump administration officials.

Cooper argued Monday on MSNBC’s All In With Chris Hayes that Trump previously prided himself on being a noninterventionist, and said he maintained an “America First” perspective even after Israel attacked Iran on June 13, but that a shift occurred the very next day.

“One official told me that it started as early as the next morning when President Trump woke up and watched Fox News and started to see how well Israel was being presented as doing,” Cooper, who also spoke with U.S. military and Pentagon officials, said Monday.

“Israel was hitting all of these Iranian sites, it was taking out military commanders, nuclear scientists, and that was being presented on Fox as this huge victory,” she continued.

“And he decided that he wanted a piece of it,” she said of Trump.

Cooper explained that the president then started taking credit for some of Israel’s operations, citing a June 17 social media post in which Trump said “We” have taken control of Iran’s airspace, and that a meeting with his national security advisers cemented the decision to enter the war.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/marcomargaritoff/trump-decision-bomb-iran-influenced-by-fox-news

NBC News: Trump administration accuses judge of ‘unprecedented defiance’ of Supreme Court in immigration dispute

The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to clarify a decision Monday that paved the way for the government to quickly deport criminal immigrants to “third countries.”

 fight over the fate of six migrants the Trump administration wants to deport to South Sudan flared up again on Tuesday as the Justice Department accused a federal judge of “unprecedented defiance” of a Supreme Court decision the previous day.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer filed a motion at the Supreme Court seeking clarification of the Monday evening decision that lifted nationwide restrictions on the administration’s ability to send convicted criminals to “third countries” they have no connection to.

Immediately after the Supreme Court action, Massachusetts-based U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, who is presiding over the litigation, said in a docket entry he did not believe that a May 21 order he issued that prevented the six people being sent to South Sudan had been blocked by the justices. The detainees are currently being held in a U.S. facility in Djibouti.

Murphy’s understanding was that the high court had blocked only his earlier ruling that set nationwide rules giving those affected a “meaningful opportunity” to bring claims that they would be at risk of torture, persecution or death if they were sent to countries the administration has made deals with to receive deported immigrants.

The Supreme Court itself did not explain its decision and did not specify which of Murphy’s rulings were blocked. But liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who wrote a dissenting opinion, said she did not think Murphy’s May 21 decision was affected.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/trump-administration-accuses-judge-unprecedented-defiance-supreme-cour-rcna214735

Daily Beast: Trump Sends Dollar Plunging With Plan to Turn Federal Reserve MAGA

The president is looking for a new Fed chair who is “unstintingly loyal.”

The U.S. dollar plunged Thursday to a three-year low after word got out that President Donald Trump is plotting to announce a MAGA-friendly Federal Reserve chair as early as this summer.

Peeved at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s refusal to slash interest rates, Trump has unleashed blistering attacks against the banker, calling him the “WORST” and a “dummy” who is “costing America $Billions.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-sends-dollar-plunging-with-plan-to-turn-federal-reserve-maga

Daily Express: CNN airs breaking news in huge blow to Donald Trump following Iran airstrike

CNN has been providing updates on the situation in Iran following Donald Trump’s decision to strike the country’s nuclear facilities.

CNN aired a breaking news segment featuring a guest exclaiming, “this is huge” in response to Donald Trump’s strike on Iran.

On the program, United States Representative Thomas Massie predicted Republicans will lose their majorities due to the President’s impulsive leadership.

Anchor Manu Raju introduced Massie, who advised Trump to “go back and look at the first Iraq war,” highlighting that the President at the time engaged in debate and voting with his government before any significant military action. He cited additional instances, such as Barack Obama’s 2013 desire to intervene in Syria, which Congress rejected, resulting in no action. It comes as new dementia fears were raised about Trump after viewers spotted a mysterious clue in his suit.

https://www.the-express.com/entertainment/tv/175645/cnn-donald-trump-iran-airstrike

Irish Star: ‘Gaslighting’ Karoline [Bimbo #1] Leavitt beginning to ‘crack’ as MAGA trolls turn on her

White House press secretary Karoline [Bimbo #1] Leavitt is no stranger to being made fun of and ridiculed throughout various forms of media; however, now it seems to be taking its toll

White House press secretary Karoline [Bimbo #1] Leavitt is no stranger to being made fun of and ridiculed throughout various forms of media. However, according to on senior analyst, the Trump attack dog is reportedly starting to show some strain.

Speaking with RawStory, Salon Senior Writer Amanda Marcotte described [Bimbo #1] Leavitt’s role within the Trump, who has been given a terrifying nickname by Iran, administration as “to keep the mostly male MAGA base invigorated by demonstrating the White House’s powers at annoying the women they resent.” However, the 27-year-old mom of one is starting to lose her edge.

https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/gaslighting-karoline-leavitt-beginning-crack-35439445

Raw Story: ‘Not going to pass’: Another MAGA senator turns on megabill over GOP provision

A prominent pro-Trump senator is coming out against one of the more controversial provisions proposed for President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”

Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) told Punchbowl News congressional reporter Max Cohen that the plan by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) to sell off portions of federally-owned land to build housing is a dead letter as far as he is concerned.

“I oppose it. The way it’s written right now, it’s not going to pass,” he said.

https://www.rawstory.com/steve-daines-2672419783

Daily Beast: Musk Accuses Trump Aide of Federal Crime as Feud Explodes

The former boss of the Department of Government Efficiency has ramped up his attacks on White House staffer Sergio Gor.

Elon Musk has accused one of President Donald Trump’s top aides of committing a federal crime.

Weeks after the epic breakup between the president and the world’s richest man, Musk has continued to snipe at Sergio Gor, the director of the presidential personnel office, who he believes fueled his falling out with Trump.

Earlier this week, Musk described Gor as a “snake” after the New York Post reported that, even though Gor is in charge of vetting thousands of executive branch employees, he himself hasn’t been fully vetted.

But on Friday, the former head of the Department of Government Efficiency ramped up his attacks, writing on X: “He deliberately lied about where he was born on Federal forms. That’s a serious crime.”

“Gor is breaking the law,” Musk later added.

The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House about Musk’s latest comment, which came in response to a series of posts by Ukraine-born American race car driver Igor Sushko accusing Gor of being a “Russian spy.”

Sushko had posted a series of articles relating to the White House aide, including a New York Post story questioning where Gor was born; details of a fact-finding trip he took to Russia while working for Senator Rand Paul; an archive of Gor’s high-school email suggesting it referred to him as “Russian-Maltese”; and a now-retracted investigation by former Washington Post reporter-turned-independent journalist Brian Krebs.

Central to Musk’s attack is the claim that Gor failed to file his own SF-86, the critical vetting form required for permanent U.S security clearance. This was despite Gor being responsible for vetting thousands of executive branch employees.

Among other things, the form covers citizenship, employment history, relatives, foreign contacts and travel, financial activities, and drug use. The White House, however, insisted earlier this week that Gor filled out the form, has the relevant clearance, and is a “trusted adviser to President Trump.”

Underpinning Musk’s accusation is a long-standing rift with Gor, who says the 38-year-old fueled his spectacular falling out with Trump earlier this month.

Things got particularly messy when Gor encouraged Trump to rescind his nomination for Jared Isaacman—Musk’s personal friend—to lead the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) just days before his Senate confirmation vote. Trump at the time cited Isaacman’s “prior associations”—a reference to Isaacman’s past donations to Democrats—as the reason for withdrawing his nomination.

And that last tidbit is probably the real issue here — F’Elon Musk’s buddy won’t be running NASA, which would have removed a lot of regulatory obstacles from Musk’s path, not to mention helping to ensure a steady stream of lucrative government contracts.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/elon-musk-accuses-trump-aide-sergio-gor-of-federal-crime-as-feud-explodes

Wall Street Journal: Trump Is Losing Political Ground on Immigration

The Trump administration’s aggressive deportation program is testing the political bounds of what Americans will tolerate, spurring a backlash from voters and some Republicans and testing the administration’s resolve.

Federal officials in recent weeks have stepped up raids on worksites and farms, seeking to fulfill President Trump’s pledge of mass deportations. The move has sparked alarm in immigrant communities and street protests in Los Angeles and other cities. Last weekend, Trump directed that arrests be paused at farms and hotels, only to reverse the directive days later.

Republican members of Congress from California, Texas and Florida have publicly urged the White House to give priority to deportations of criminals rather than migrants who have resided in the U.S. for long periods and have otherwise obeyed the law. The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R., Pa.), called the farm raids “just wrong.” The co-founder of Latinas for Trump, Florida state Sen. Ileana Garcia, wrote on X that the administration’s actions were “unacceptable and inhumane” and “not what we voted for.”

“I may have voted for Trump, but I can’t stay silent about what’s happening with ICE in LA,” Ryan Garcia, a former interim lightweight boxing champion who endorsed Trump last year, wrote on X. “We can have borders without losing our humanity.”

Presidents of both parties have historically hesitated to pursue large-scale immigration enforcement in the country’s interior precisely because it tends to be politically unpopular. Trump’s push for deportations far from the border has begun to trigger a backlash in public opinion, with polls showing his approval rating on immigration and deportations—formerly one of his strongest issues—has now turned negative.

Quinnipiac poll earlier this month found that just 43% approved of Trump’s performance on immigration while 54% disapproved. On deportations, 40% approved while 56% disapproved. In the polling average maintained by the analyst Nate Silver, Trump’s immigration policies were popular on a net basis until earlier this month—but are now more unpopular than popular by a 3-point margin. 

https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-is-losing-political-ground-on-immigration-20de43bc

Also here:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-is-losing-political-ground-on-immigration/ar-AA1H5df5