Talking Points Memo: Trump Has Ordered Safeguards Stripped From Procurement As Pentagon Prepares To Spend $1 Trillion

To summarize, the new executive orders purport not merely to change or improve regulations, but to simply eliminate most of the existing procurement rules developed through years of oversight processes and outside scrutiny. They effectively undo procurement safeguards put in place after tremendous waste was exposed during the Cold War. In their place, the executive orders would elevate certain procedures that allow the government to spend unlimited sums without competition — the so-called “other transactions” process that need not be competed and that circumvents safeguards put in place to protect tax dollars. The Executive Orders say there should be a “first preference” for other transactions processes, which is like having a “first preference” for bringing a pistol with no safety to compete in a boxing match.

It’s all about lining their own pockets. They’ll get a pardon [they hope!] at the end of King Donald’s term and all will be well.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-has-ordered-safeguards-stripped-from-procurement-as-pentagon-prepares-to-spend-1-trillion/ar-AA1DLRfe

Mirror: Karoline Leavitt [Bimbo #1] called out for propaganda stunt that would make ‘Kim Jong Un blush’

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt [Bimbo #1] was called out on social media for a video that showed mugshots of undocumented alients accused of committing crimes like rape and murder lining the White House.

The youngest press secretary was joined by ‘border czar’ Tom Homan at a press conference early Monday morning, where they talked about the “100 days of promises made and promises kept” by U.S. President Donald Trump in the first 100 days of his presidency, largely focusing on the deportation of undocumented migrants.

My question is how many of these people were actually tried and convicted in a court of law? That’s key point that Bimbo #1 and her crowd of gagglers tend to overlook.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/karoline-leavitt-called-out-for-propaganda-stunt-that-would-make-kim-jong-un-blush/ar-AA1DLHJj

essanews: Tariffs threaten Walmart, Target shelves and US economy stability

Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on China might lead to empty shelves at Walmart and Target stores, along with rising prices. Experts forecast shortages and layoffs in the transportation and retail sectors, creating a shock for the American economy. “The clock is absolutely ticking.”

Narcissistic wannabe dictators like King Donald think only of themselves. We little people don’t matter.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/tariffs-threaten-walmart-target-shelves-and-us-economy-stability/ar-AA1DM8qs

Daily Beast: Marco Rubio Contradicts Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi [Bimbo #3] on Due Process

Secretary of State Marco Rubio forgot the Gospel According to Donald Trump on Sunday by admitting that anyone on U.S. soil is entitled to a fair hearing before being removed from the country.

“Yes, of course,” Rudio said in response to the host’s question of whether the Fifth Amendment still applies under Trump during his morning interview with MSNBC. “That’s what the law says!”

Yup! Got that right!

Perhaps conscious of having contradicted the latest White House statements and directives on the matter, he then scrambled to tell the network that “if you’re in this country illegally, you have no right to be here and you must be removed.”

Oops! It must be painful to have spoken the truth for a change. Suck it up, Bubba!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/marco-rubio-contradicts-trump-and-attorney-general-pam-bondi-on-due-process/ar-AA1DIJO4

Newsweek: Donald Trump Rages at Judges After Deportation Setback: ‘No Retribution’

Trump said that millions of people would not be able to have trials, as the government already knew who the criminals were, and it was necessary to get them out of the country as soon as possible.

Dangerously (and unconstitutionally) flawed reasoning!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/donald-trump-rages-at-judges-after-deportation-setback-no-retribution/ar-AA1DHFgW

Kansas City Star: Trump Insults CNN Reporter For ‘Hating’ America

President Donald Trump met with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office to discuss Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national wrongly deported to El Salvador’s CECO prison complex. The administration called Abrego Garcia’s removal an administrative error. A Supreme Court ruling declared his deportation illegal and ordered the administration to help him return to the U.S.

During the meeting, CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins asked both leaders about the process for Abrego Garcia’s return. When Collins pressed for details, Trump shifted focus to insult her, calling her “low-rated” and saying CNN “hates our country.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-insults-cnn-reporter-for-hating-america/ss-AA1DJNzX

NBC News: Students and faculty demand Columbia University stand up to federal government

Columbia University students, faculty, staff and alumni launched a “speak out” Monday to criticize school leaders for bowing to the Trump administration’s demands after it pulled $400 million in federal funding from the campus.

Hundreds of students, faculty, staff and alumni were expected to take part in the 25-hour event that organizers said was intended to amplify a growing position within the Columbia community that the school administration had caved-in to Washington and that the school’s academic freedom was under attack.

The Trump administration told the university last month that it would reinstate the school’s federal funding if it met certain demands, including banning masks on campus and holding disciplinary hearings for student protesters

Students and faculty said they had some demands of their own for the university: fight back against federal attacks; protect and defend students and international scholars; re-establish diversity policies; and protect researchers.

Professors at the rally hoisted signs reading, “Columbia Fight Back,” “Defend Freedom of Speech” and “Protect our Students.”

Authorities have apprehended at least three Columbia students in recent weeks, including graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, who was involved in student protests last year.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/students-and-faculty-demand-columbia-university-stand-up-to-federal-government/ar-AA1DN5Y6

Independent: Elon Musk’s ‘efficiency’ team is quietly building a vast immigration tracking database

Musk’s team is using the highly sensitive data it has gathered to build a “master database” at the Department of Homeland Security that could be used to “track and surveil” undocumented immigrants, WIRED reported last week.

….

“The Trump-Musk Administration is infiltrating agencies and weaponizing the information they steal to target and attack America’s immigrant communities,” Connolly said. “DOGE’s dystopian demand for the sensitive, personal data of millions of Americans and immigrants is alarming, especially as this Administration abducts and disappears people off our streets without due process — including immigrants with legal status — and in light of President Trump’s chilling admission that he plans to target American citizens, or ‘home growns,’ next.”

Gabe Lezra, policy and advocacy director at State Democracy Defenders Action, told The Independent that what’s happening “should horrify every American.”

“The Trump–Musk regime sold DOGE to the American people as a way to cut costs and streamline government. What they actually created was Big Brother,” Lezra said. “This isn’t just about giving bad actors in our own government access to deeply personal data – like your party registration, charitable givings, medical history, citizenship status, and financial records. It’s also because we cannot have confidence that DOGE can keep this database safe–particularly because malicious foreign actors will immediately make this database their number one target,” he added.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/elon-musk-s-efficiency-team-is-quietly-building-a-vast-immigration-tracking-database/ar-AA1DFinZ

Alternet: ‘Another Trump in the future’: Why international allies may ditch the US for good

The global community is reportedly concerned about the potential emergence of another leader like President Donald Trump after the end of his term in 2029.

The New York Times reported that given these concerns, international allies are forging trade partnerships and security alliances independent of the United States, with the European Union and South American nations recently establishing a significant trade zone.

Ian Goldin, a professor at Oxford, told the Times that he believes Trump’s MAGA following and its motivations — rooted in economic insecurity and inequality — will persist beyond Trump’s presidency.

“The MAGA base and JD Vance will still be around long after Trump’s gone,” Goldin said. ‘No matter who next occupies the White House, the conditions that propelled the ‘Make America Great Again’ movement — widening inequality and economic insecurity — remain. For the rest of the world, there is still a worry, he said, that there could be ‘another Trump in the future’,” he said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/another-trump-in-the-future-why-international-allies-may-ditch-the-us-for-good/ar-AA1DNcDr

Mediaite: ‘Give Me a Break!’ Judge Shreds DOJ Attorney Defending Trump Executive Order Targeting Law Firm

A federal judge firmly swatted down a series of arguments from a Department of Justice attorney defending President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting the Jenner & Block LLP law firm at a hearing Monday, at one point uttering an exasperated “Give me a break!”

Since the beginning of his second term, Trump has issued a series of executive orders targeting by name multiple BigLaw firms that represented prominent Democratic clients like Hillary Clinton, refused to represent him or other pro-MAGA causes, hired former federal prosecutors that investigated him, or worked on the criminal cases he was facing before he won re-election.

The president’s social media posts and executive orders often lambast these firms using language accusing them of being “dishonest” and a “dangerous” risk to national security. The sanctions he has sought to impose include stripping the security clearances of the firms’ attorneys and staff (critically important for certain types of federal legal cases), terminating contracts the firms had with federal agencies, barring the firms’ employees from federal buildings (again, a major obstacle for the lawyers to represent their clients), demanding firms abolish diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and programs, and threatening additional civil and criminal investigations against the firms.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/give-me-a-break-judge-shreds-doj-attorney-defending-trump-executive-order-targeting-law-firm/ar-AA1DNgFP