Democratic Senator To Offer Amendment Barring Violent Criminals From Trump’s Payouts
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) plans to introduce an amendment to the GOP’s budget reconciliation bill to prevent child sex offenders and criminals who assaulted police officers from getting payouts from President Donald Trump’s so-called “anti-weaponization fund.”
The Trump administration apparently plans to use this $1.776 billion fund to make payments to Jan. 6 rioters and other purported victims of “lawfare” by past administrations. None of this appears legal, as only Congress has the authority to appropriate federal dollars.
“The Trump Department of Justice is using American taxpayer dollars to reward Trump allies,” Van Hollen said in a statement. “But what’s even worse is that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche couldn’t confirm that violent criminals who assaulted our police on January 6th or convicted child molesters would be ineligible for these taxpayer payouts. This is inexcusable.”
“My amendment would prevent this disgusting misuse of taxpayer dollars – it’s time to see where Republicans stand,” he said.
The Senate is expected to begin debate this week on the GOP’s budget reconciliation package, which includes tens of billions of dollars for ICE, Customs and Border Protection and Trump’s ballroom.
Because Republicans are using the so-called reconciliation process to pass this bill, Democrats can offer unlimited amendments to it.
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Massie Files To Run In 2028 After Losing To Trump-Backed Candidate
Days after losing the Republican primary to challenger Ed Gallrein, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) announced he has filed paperwork to campaign for his U.S. House seat in 2028.
Donald Trump endorsed Gallrein after Massie clashed with the president on several issues, including the Jeffrey Epstein Files and the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
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More Black Men Are Tuning Out Major Media Outlets
Black men who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 and then for Donald Trump in 2024 have soured on the president, expressing concern about the president’s leadership, the economy and skyrocketing gas prices. But they’re also frustrated with another group — the news media.
A focus group conducted on Wednesday by the Democratic firm Navigator Research, which HuffPost was allowed to view, revealed that these men have chosen to divest from what they believe are mainstream media outlets and largely get their news from nontraditional outlets and independent creators on platforms like YouTube.
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Trump Again Boosts Paxton Ahead Of Contentious Texas Runoff
President Donald Trump reiterated his backing for scandal-plagued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Sunday ahead of a closely contested Senate primary runoff this week.
“Ken Paxton was a GREAT Attorney General, probably the best in the Country. He was also very loyal to your favorite President, ME, as the Dumocrats played their ultimate game of Weaponization, and failed, BADLY!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump also criticized incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) without mentioning him by name, and repeated his complaints about Senate Republicans’ failure to advance restrictive new voting rules.
“Ken’s opponent was VERY disloyal to me, as President, and didn’t fight hard enough for the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Trump claimed.
The Texas race heads to a runoff on Tuesday, with the winner facing off against Democratic nominee Texas State Rep. James Talarico this fall.
Cornyn on Sunday noted that Senate Republicans didn’t have the numbers to advance parts of Trump’s policy agenda like he’s demanded and described himself as an "ally" of the president. He also argued that a Paxton primary win could put Republicans at higher risk of losing the seat in November.
“I think I can help maintain the Senate seat in Republican hands,” Cornyn said during a Fox News interview.
Iran's Supreme Leader Is Reportedly Sheltering In An Undisclosed Location
Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is sheltering in a secluded location and has only been reached through a complex courier network, CBS News reported, citing U.S. officials.
As such, Iranian officials have had difficulty communicating within the Iranian government. Mojtaba Khamenei has not made a public appearance since before the start of the war.
Read more at CBS News.
Crack In California Chemical Tank Could Lessen Explosion Risk
A crack in a 7,000-gallon chemical tank on the brink of exploding in Orange County, California, could actually reduce the risk of explosion.
“Our firefighters went in, and they were able to visualize the tank. What they found was a potential crack in the tank, which could potentially be relieving some of the pressure in there,” Orange County Fire Authority Interim Fire Chief TJ McGovern said Sunday, according to CNN.
The tank, located at GKN Aerospace in the city of Garden Grove, is holding methyl methacrylate, and an explosion at this site could also then lead to the explosion of a nearby tank containing the same chemical that is more than twice the size.
“We’re talking about possibly one of the worst chemical incidents in California history,” Orange County Fire Authority incident commander Craig Covey told NBC News.
Newsom declared a state of emergency in the region on Saturday due to the possibility of an explosion. An estimated 50,000 people have been evacuated, and it's unclear when they will be able to return home.