TODAY'S TOP MADDOWBLOG POSTS
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As the president weighs strikes on civilian targets in Iran, the video from Democratic veterans about rejecting illegal orders is newly relevant.
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The president’s chief of staff has urged officials to be “more forthright with the boss” about the war with Iran. That’s easier said than done.
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The president’s chief of staff has urged officials to be “more forthright with the boss” about the war with Iran. That’s easier said than done.
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Even if one were inclined to laugh off the weird propaganda touted by the White House’s app, cybersecurity concerns are tougher to overlook.
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Even if one were inclined to laugh off the weird propaganda touted by the White House’s app, cybersecurity concerns are tougher to overlook.
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After getting fired by Pete Hegseth, Gen. Randy George sent a goodbye email to colleagues that included phrasing that raised eyebrows.
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After getting fired by Pete Hegseth, Gen. Randy George sent a goodbye email to colleagues that included phrasing that raised eyebrows.
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WHAT'S ON RACHEL'S BLUESKY RADAR?
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(Rachel shares Chicago Tribune)
- “It’s like a viewpoint discrimination festival,” Mr. Boutrous said...
...
"But when politicians punish media companies based on their reporting, they risk running afoul of the First Amendment.
“Where the rubber meets the road is where they take governmental action to try to squelch speech because they don’t like the views being expressed,” said Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., a First Amendment lawyer at Gibson Dunn who has argued several such cases, including a suit filed by The New York Times against new Pentagon press rules.
In addition to cases involving news organizations, law firms and at least one university have filed suit against the administration over the same principle. “It’s like a viewpoint discrimination festival,” Mr. Boutrous said."
Trump’s Media-Bashing Is Coming Back to Bite Him in Court
(New York Times)
- "“For lawyers and law firms who found it expedient to try to stay in the president and Bondi’s good graces through cutting deals instead of reaffirming a commitment to the Constitution and the unique role the legal profession plays in upholding the rights of people and the checks and balances of our republic, or for those who are still on the sidelines, today’s events should be the latest wake-up call. People are going to overcome the generational threat to our nation that the president and his administration have created; history is watching what we all do in this time."
(Democracy Forward)
- "The latest Gallup survey found the number of Americans who identify as Republican voters fell to 39%, an 11-year low.
"Meanwhile, the number of Americans who identify as Democratic voters climbed to 49%, levels unseen since the aftermath of Jan. 6..."
(Gallup)
- Your federal government on Trumpism:
"More than 10,000 veterans lost their homes to foreclosure since May 2025, when the Trump administration shut down a key safety net in the VA home loan program...
"Another 90,000 vets are heading toward foreclosure..."
(Rachel shares NPR)
- "At every door approached by his team, Berlin yelled, “Police! Speak to me now or I’ll send the dog!” In a second-floor unit, the BORTAC team detained one man. Further down the hall, Myers noticed “signs of forced entry” and smashed open the door. Tolulope Akinsulie, an undocumented immigrant from Nigeria, happened to be hiding in the bedroom. Without issuing a warning or verbal command, Berlin let go of Yoda’s leash and the Malinois pounced, sinking its teeth into Akinsulie’s leg as he screamed in agony. Yoda bit Akinsulie repeatedly in the leg, hip, and hands before Berlin called the dog off and his team placed the man in cuffs. Akinsulie, who was not a target of the raid and has no known history of violent crime or gang affiliation, was treated for his injuries and taken to the Broadview Processing Center to face removal proceedings."
(Wired)
- "The warehouse currently has 4 toilets, 2 water fountains and an 800-gallon-per-day water allocation.
"A facility housing 1,500 people would require roughly 200,000 gallons of water per day, according to local utility estimates...
(Project Saltbox)
ICE Approved Environmental Review Day Before $102 Million Maryland Site Purchase
(Project Saltbox)
- "Homeland Security Department pauses warehouse purchases as internal revolt, legal challenges, and political infighting cloud the program's future..."
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"What has changed is the terrain: a record-long shutdown starving the agency of increased funding, lawsuits stacking up in federal courts, a congressional investigation widening, and a department whose own rank-and-file, by multiple accounts, wants no part of this. The conditions for stopping this program may never be better than they are right now.
My source put it plainly: this is the time for people to make noise."
(Project Saltbox)
- "The Warren-Raskin investigation is a legitimate and much-needed exercise of congressional oversight. The letters are pointed, the questions are the right ones, and the named companies should be made to answer them...."
ICE's Fast-Moving Detention Strategy Finally Draws Congressional Scrutiny
(Project Saltbox)
- ICE wants to build detention mega-sites across America. Even Trump country is saying no. —
GOP governors, senators and local officials are fighting DHS plans to convert warehouses into ‘concentration camps’ holding up to 10,000 immigrants each
(AZ Mirror)
- "The Trump Administration’s legal week in review:
1. Judge finds NPR/CPB defunding violated free speech.
2. Judge orders White House ballroom project halted.
3. Judge rejects bid to revive Jay Powell subpoenas.
4. Bondi fired. 🤡
@wsj.com @nicktimiraos.bsky.social"
(Carl Quintanilla shares the Wall Street Journal)
- And why do we think it's just Russia. Of all the countries in the world, just Russia. Huh.
"The Trump administration has not confirmed whether it will allow countries other than Russia to send oil to Cuba..."
(Rachel shares New York Times)
- Trump and Hegseth halted funding for research to get blood to wounded U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy sailors:
"When someone is wounded and survival depends on the availability of blood, this software would have made that survival more likely. Now it will not."
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"I led a team of students developing software, based on mathematical models, to provide recommendations on how much blood to store in various locations. We worked with blood logistics officers to refine the program. Then, in April 2025, I received a message from the Department of Defense: All funding had been frozen.
It made no sense. We were working to save the lives of Marines — why was our funding being frozen?"
(Rachel shares New York Times)
- "Manufacturing payrolls actually declined slightly over the past year, with 98,000 fewer jobs year-over-year based on the most recent data from the Labor Department. There are 29,900 fewer auto manufacturing jobs and 18,000 fewer wood manufacturing jobs — both sectors the president has tried to protect with trade barriers. New, higher tariffs on steel and aluminum, moreover, have hindered the construction of factories. The industry’s hiring rate — often a reflection of confidence in the economic outlook — is lower now than it was at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic."
(Politico)
- Your federal government on Trumpism:
"The top official in charge of the federal government’s disaster response has taken to social media to double down on his claim that he’s experienced 'teleportation' – an experience he insists was real..."
(Rachel shares CNN)
- "Under Bondi, in the first six months of Trump’s administration, DOJ quietly closed more than 23,000 criminal cases, abandoning hundreds of investigations into terrorism, white-collar crime, fraud, and drugs..."
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"The DOJ has also closed hundreds of cases involving alleged crimes that the administration has publicly emphasized as enforcement priorities. Even as the Trump administration unleashed Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency operatives to root out waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government, the DOJ declined over 900 cases of federal program or procurement fraud. About three times as many cases of major fraud against the U.S. were declined under Trump compared with the average of similar time periods under prior administrations. And while the Trump administration has promised to “make America safe again,” its DOJ has declined more than 1,000 terrorism cases, also more than prior administrations.
Federal prosecutor Joseph Gerbasi had spent years in the department’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section helping build cases against major suppliers of fentanyl ingredients in India and China. After Bondi came in, he was left bewildered when his team was ordered to abandon its work."
(Pro Publica)
- is there an over/under on whether republicans try to rename the whole country (trumpmerica? no, maybe trumpistan?) before he's gone
U.S. currency: Trump recently announced plans to add his signature to U.S. dollars — a first for a sitting American president — which is not to be confused with plans for a massive, 3-inch commemorative gold coin featuring Trump’s face.
Renaming buildings: The president’s allies have already added Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center and the Institute of Peace. By some accounts, the president expects the forthcoming White House ballroom to bear his name, too.
U.S. military: The plans to construct “Trump-class” battleships are underway, and the nation’s next-generation fighter jet will have an “F-47” designation in honor of him. (Trump is the nation’s 47th president.)
Training and standards: Training for incoming Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents was reduced from 50 days to 47 days in honor of Trump.
Banners: Giant, fascistic banners featuring Trump’s face are currently resting on the front of several government buildings, including the headquarters of the Labor, Agriculture Department and Justice departments.
Accoutrement: The administration also launched “Trump Gold Cards,” “Trump Accounts” and “TrumpRx.”
Domestic ambitions: Trump wants a new football stadium in Washington to be named after him, as well as Dulles Airport and New York City’s Penn Station.
International ambitions: Trump indicated last week that he wants and expects a statue honoring him in Venezuela. The Republican also said in January that it was “not too late” to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico (which he has attempted to rename once already) to the “Gulf of Trump,” and he recently suggested that the Strait of Hormuz should also be called the “Strait of Trump.”
(Rachel shares Steve's round-up of Trump's bizarre self-glorification campaign)
Follow Rachel Maddow on Bluesky here.
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