Tag Archives: President Donald Trump

CNN: Judge halts drastic cuts to agencies being done under Trump executive order

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A federal judge is halting the Trump administration from carrying out, under a February executive order, mass firings or major reorganizations of multiple agencies going forward.

Senior District Judge Susan Illston on Friday evening granted a temporary restraining order sought by federal employee unions, local governments and outside organizations that rely on federal services, who argued the administration was acting outside the bounds of the law. The judge’s order, which lasts two weeks, blocks the administration’s approval or implementation of plans –- known as Agency RIF and Reorganization Plans, or ARRPs – for conducting mass layoffs and for shrinking or eliminating entire components of an agency. She is also pausing any orders from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, cutting programs or staff in accordance with Trump’s executive order and the related directives.

Illston, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton who sits in San Francisco, said at a hearing earlier in the day that presidents have authority to make changes to the government, but when it comes to large scale reorganizations, presidents “must do so with the cooperation of Congress.

Judge halts drastic cuts to agencies being done under Trump executive order
A federal judge is halting the Trump administration from carrying out, under a February executive order, mass firings or major reorganizations of multiple agencies going forward.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/judge-halts-drastic-cuts-to-agencies-being-done-under-trump-executive-order/ar-AA1Ev3KN

Fortune: Trump calls emptying U.S. ports a ‘good thing’ despite supply-chain panic because ‘that means we lose less money’

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As logistics professionals sound the alarms on emptying U.S. ports as a result of steep tariffs, President Donald Trump said those major import slowdowns are actually a boon.

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Trump not only acknowledged the shipping slowdown in a Thursday press briefing announcing a trade deal with the UK; he seemed heartened by it.

“We’re seeing as a result that ports here in the U.S., the traffic has really slowed and now thousands of dockworkers and truck drivers are worried about their jobs,” a reporter said in the press briefing.

“That means we lose less money,” Trump said. “When you say it slowed down, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing.”

Trump is deranged!

Trump calls emptying U.S. ports a ‘good thing’ despite supply-chain panic because ‘that means we lose less money’
The president has repeatedly claimed the U.S. has a $1 trillion trade deficit with China, though economists argue a trade deficit isn’t inherently negative.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-calls-emptying-u-ports-180609056.html

Raw Story: ‘Who holds the power?’ Defenders of Trump in criminal cases turn on him in court filing

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A group of conservative legal heavyweights — including some who once defended Donald Trump against his criminal prosecutions — are now urging a federal judge to strike down the former president’s sweeping tariff policy.

“Congress, not the president, has the power to impose tariffs,” they wrote in an amicus brief filed this week in a lawsuit brought by two small businesses that design educational toys and pet items, NOTUS reported Friday. The brief was signed by a total of 14 lawyers and former officials, including Federalist Society co-chair Steven Calabresi and former Attorney General Edwin Meese III, the publication added.

“This dispute is not about the wisdom of tariffs or the politics of trade,” the group wrote. “It is about who holds the power to tax the American people.”

‘Who holds the power?’ Defenders of Trump in criminal cases turn on him in court filing
A group of conservative legal heavyweights — including some who once defended Donald Trump against his criminal prosecutions — are now urging a federal judge to strike down the former president’s sweeping tariff policy. “Congress, not the president, has the power to impose tariffs,” they wrote in an amicus brief filed this week in a lawsuit brought…

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/who-holds-the-power-defenders-of-trump-in-criminal-cases-turn-on-him-in-court-filing/ar-AA1EuOAS

Politico: Judges have a warning about Trump’s rapid deportations: Americans could be next

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A fundamental promise by America’s founders — that no one should be punished by the state without a fair hearing — is under threat, a growing chorus of federal judges say.

That concept of “due process under law,” borrowed from the Magna Carta and enshrined in the Bill of Rights, is most clearly imperiled for the immigrants President Donald Trump intends to summarily deport, they say, but U.S. citizens should be wary, too.

Across the country, judges appointed by presidents of both parties — including Trump himself — are escalating warnings about what they see as an erosion of due process caused by the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. What started with a focus on people Trump has deemed “terrorists” and “gang members” — despite their fierce denials — could easily expand to other groups, including Americans, these judges warn.

“When the courts say due process is important, we’re not unhinged, we’re not radicals,” U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, a Washington, D.C.-based appointee of President Joe Biden, said at a recent hearing. “We are literally trying to enforce a process embodied in probably the most significant document with respect to peoples’ rights against tyrannical government oppression. That’s what we’re doing here. Okay?”

It’s a fight that judges are increasingly casting as existential, rooted in the 5th Amendment’s guarantee that “no person shall … be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law.” The word “person,” courts have noted, makes no distinction between citizens or noncitizens. The Supreme Court has long held that this fundamental promise extends to immigrants in deportation proceedings. In a 1993 opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia called that principle “well-established.”

Judges have a warning about Trump’s rapid deportations: Americans could be next
Judges across the country continue to note that if courts don’t protect the rights of the least popular and most vulnerable, everyone is at risk.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/judges-have-a-warning-about-trump-s-rapid-deportations-americans-could-be-next/ar-AA1EvZfM

Washington Post: U.S. pushes nations facing tariffs to approve Musk’s Starlink, cables show

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Some countries have turned to the satellite internet firm in conjunction with trade talks, State Department staffers wrote. The U.S. has a strategic interest in countering Chinese internet providers, but Musk’s role complicates the picture.

Corruption at its finest!

Less than two weeks after President Donald Trump announced 50 percent tariffs on goods from the tiny African nation of Lesotho, the country’s communications regulator held a meeting with representatives of Starlink.

The satellite business, owned by billionaire and Trump adviser Elon Musk’s SpaceX company, had been seeking access to customers in Lesotho. But it was not until Trump unveiled the tariffs and called for negotiations over trade deals that leaders of the country of roughly 2 million people awarded Musk’s firm the nation’s first-ever satellite internet service license, slated to last for 10 years.

The decision drew a mention in an internal State Department memo obtained by The Washington Post, which states: “As the government of Lesotho negotiates a trade deal with the United States, it hopes that licensing Starlink demonstrates goodwill and intent to welcome U.S. businesses.”

Lesotho is far from the only country that has decided to assist Musk’s firm while trying to fend off U.S. tariffs. The company reached distribution deals with two providers in India in March and has won at least partial accommodations with Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam, although this is probably not a comprehensive count.

Hopefully there will be some prosecutions after the 2028 elections!

U.S. pushes nations facing tariffs to approve Musk’s Starlink, cables show
Some countries have turned to the satellite internet firm in preparation for trade talks, State Department staffers wrote. The U.S. has a strategic interest in countering Chinese internet providers, but Musk’s role complicates the picture.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/05/07/elon-musk-starlink-trump-tariffs

Newsweek: Iraq War Veteran in US for Nearly 30 Years Can Be Deported: Judge

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An Arizona resident who has lived in the U.S. legally for decades―and even fought a war for the country―may be deported, after an immigration judge’s ruling on Friday.

Iraq War veteran Marlon Parris, who moved to the U.S. from the Caribbean in 1997 and was repeatedly issued Green Cards, was detained in January earlier this year.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) had previously ruled the Green Card holder should be allowed to stay in the U.S. despite serving prison time for a drugs offense back in 2011 because the crime was nonviolent.

However, airport officials confiscated his Green Card in 2023 when he returned from a vacation abroad with his wife. Parris was still embroiled in the legal process to have his card returned when he was unexpectedly pulled over in his car by ICE officials in January, who reportedly told him he was “on a list” to be detained and he now faces deportation.

The 2011 decision should be honored. It is grossly unfair to do otherwise 14 years later.

Iraq War veteran in US for nearly 30 years can be deported: Judge
Marlon Parris, who moved to the U.S. in 1997 and was repeatedly issued Green Cards, may be deported to Trinidad and Tobago.

https://www.newsweek.com/iraq-veteran-deported-immigration-marlon-parris-2070513

Independent: Backstabbed US auto companies blast Trump’s trade deal with Britain

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America’s automakers have strafed President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful” tentative trade deal with the U.K.

Ford, GM and Stallantis complained the “deal,” which hasn’t yet been officially agreed to, will actually hurt U.S. automakers by putting them at a competitive disadvantage with British companies.

Under the deal, Britain can send a quota of 100,000 cars annually to the U.S. with a 10 percent tariffs (amounts over that level will face 27.5 percent tariffs). Steel exports will be tariff free.

The U.S. carmakers said their vehicles produced in Canada and Mexico, or produced with parts from those countries or with steel from those countries, continue to face devastating 25 percent tariffs.

Backstabbed US auto companies blast Trump’s trade deal with Britain
Backstabbed US auto companies blast Trump’s trade deal with Britain – Trump has put American automakers at a disadvantage with their British competitors, they complain

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/backstabbed-us-auto-companies-blast-trump-s-trade-deal-with-britain/ar-AA1Evtyt

Crybaby Republican Loser Finally Throws in the Towel

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Republican Jefferson Griffin conceded the North Carolina Supreme Court race Wednesday to Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs, bringing an end to the last unresolved contest from the 2024 election that dragged on for months after a barrage of lawsuits.

The announcement came two days after a federal judge ruled against Griffin’s legal challenge to tens of thousands of ballots and ordered the North Carolina State Board of Elections to certify Riggs’ 734-vote victory.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Richard Myers, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, effectively put an end to all ongoing litigation and provided Griffin with seven days to appeal. Instead, Griffin, chose to end his legal efforts six months after the final votes had been cast in November’s election.

Republican Jefferson Griffin concedes N.C. Supreme Court race after months of legal battles
The announcement, which comes six months after the final votes were cast, ends the final unresolved contest from the 2024 election.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/republican-jefferson-griffin-concedes-nc-supreme-court-race-rcna205358

The Hill: What is Trump even doing any more?

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One of the most frustrating things about the Trump administration is that it offers too much nuttiness to process.

Not long ago, the discovery that the president doesn’t know what the Declaration of Independence is would have consumed the country for months. Today, it barely registers because the Trump White House pumps out similar stories two or three times a week. 

When you compare such stories to the trade war with China or President Trump’s claim that he doesn’t know whether he’s required to uphold the Constitution, it’s tempting to view Trump’s recent brainstorms on movie tariffs and reopening Alcatraz as mere distractions. That would be a mistake. They are evidence of something much darker than Steve Bannon’s call to “flood the zone with s—.”

https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5289900-trump-tariffs-alcatraz-constitution-hollywood

Reason: The U.K. Trade Deal Screws American Consumers

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Residents of the United Kingdom will get lower tariffs, while Americans are stuck paying higher ones.

The White House is hailing a new trade deal with the United Kingdom as “a great deal for America.”

But is it a great deal for Americans? The specifics of the deal seem to suggest otherwise.

The agreement maintains the 10 percent universal tariff that President Donald Trump imposed on nearly all imports to the United States. But even the president admits this is a tariff hike on American consumers, rather than a reduction.

The point of comparison should be the average tariff rate on imports from the U.K. before Trump took office. In 2023, the most recent year for which full data are available, the average U.S. tariff on British goods was 3.3 percent.

That means this “deal” charges American consumers a 10 percent baseline tax on goods that were previously taxed at 3.3 percent. That’s not a win for free trade or lower prices.

Meanwhile, it is British consumers who will benefit from lower tariffs. According to the White House, the deal means that American exports to the U.K. will now face an average tariff rate of 1.8 percent, down from 5.1 percent before the deal.

So it’s a 6.7% increase for us and a 5.1% decrease for the Brits? Thank you ever so much for screwing us over, King Donald!

The U.K. trade deal screws American consumers
Residents of the United Kingdom will get lower tariffs, while Americans are stuck paying higher ones.

https://reason.com/2025/05/09/the-u-k-trade-deal-screws-american-consumers