JONATHAN TURLEY: Democrats' rabid anti-ICE resistance in LA against Trump could backfire
Newsom is planning to challenge the deployment as cities like Glendale are cancelling contracts to house detainees and reaffirming that local police will not assist the federal government.
Trump has the authority under Section 12406 of Title 10 of the U.S. Code to deploy the National Guard if the governor is "unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States."
The administration is saying that that is precisely what is unfolding in California, where mobs have attacked vehicles and trapped federal personnel.
Most critics are challenging the deployment on policy grounds, arguing that it is an unnecessary escalation. However, even critics like Berkeley Law Dean Erwin have admitted that "Unfortunately, President Trump likely has the legal authority to do this."
There is a fair debate over whether this is needed at this time, but the president is allowed to reach a different conclusion. Trump wants the violence to end now as opposed to escalating as it did in the Rodney King riots or the later riots after George Floyd's death, causing billions in property damage and many deaths.
Courts will be asked to halt the order because it did not technically go through Newsom to formally call out the National Guard.
Section 12406 grants Trump the authority to call out the Guard and employs a mandatory term for governors, who "shall" issue the president's order. In the memo, Trump also instructed federal officials "to coordinate with the Governors of the States and the National Guard Bureau."
Newsom is clearly refusing to issue the orders or coordinate the deployment.
Even if such challenges are successful, Trump can clearly flood the zone with federal authority. Indeed, the obstruction could escalate the matter further, prompting Trump to consider using the Insurrection Act, which would allow troops to participate directly in civilian law enforcement.
In 1958, President Eisenhower used the Insurrection Act to deploy troops to Arkansas to enforce the Supreme Court's orders ending racial segregation in schools.
The Trump administration has already claimed that these riots "constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States." In support of such a claim, the administration could cite many of the Democratic leaders now denouncing the claim.
After January 6th, liberal politicians and professors insisted that the riot was an "insurrection" and claimed that Trump and dozens of Republicans could be removed from ballots under the 14th Amendment.
Liberal professors insisted that Trump's use of the word "fight" on January 6th and his questioning of the results of an election did qualify as an insurrection. They argued that you merely need to show "an assemblage of people" who are "resisting the law" and "using force or intimidation" for "a public purpose." The involvement of inciteful language from politicians only reinforced these claims. Sound familiar?
Democrats are using this order to deflect from their own escalation of the tensions over the past several months. From Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz calling ICE officers "Gestapo" to others calling them "fascists" and "Nazis," Democratic leaders have been ignoring objections that they are fueling the violent and criminal responses. It did not matter. It was viewed as good politics.
While Newsom and figures like New Jersey Democrat Sen. Cory Booker have called these "peaceful" protests, we have also seen rocks, and Molotov cocktails thrown at police as vehicles were torched. Police have had to use tear gas, "flash bang" grenades, and rubber bullets to quell these "peaceful" protesters.
There appears little interest in deescalation on either side. For the Trump administration, images of rioters riding in celebration around burning cars with Mexican flags are only likely to reinforce the support of the majority of Americans for the enforcement of immigration laws.
For Democrats, they have gone "all in" on opposing ICE and these enforcement operations despite support from roughly 30 percent of the public.
Some Democrats are now playing directly to the mob. A Los Angeles City Council member, Eunisses Hernandez, reportedly urged anti-law enforcement protesters to "escalate" their tactics against ICE officers: "They know how quickly we mobilize, that's why they're changing tactics. Because community defense works and our resistance has slowed them down before… and if they're escalating their tactics, then so are we. When they show up, we gotta show up even stronger."
So, L.A. officials are maintaining the sanctuary status of the city, barring the cooperation of local police, and calling on citizens to escalate their resistance after a weekend of violent attacks. Others have posted the locations of ICE facilities to allow better tracking of operations, while cities like Glendale are closing facilities.
In Washington, House Speaker Hakim Jeffries has pledged to unmask the identities of individual ICE officers who have been covering their faces to protect themselves and their families from growing threats.
While Democrats have not succeeded in making a convincing political case for opposing immigration enforcement, they may be making a stronger case for federal deployment in increasingly hostile blue cities.
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Newsweek
12 minutes ago
- Newsweek
DOGE Issues Fourth of July Cuts Update
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Fox News
27 minutes ago
- Fox News
New York Times columnist admits that Trump is a 'normie Republican'
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Forbes
37 minutes ago
- Forbes
Tax Breaks: The Hot Dogs, Fireworks And Taxes Edition
Fireworks are a mark of summer. getty I don't know about you, but I had hoped that my Fourth of July weekend would involve some lounging around–it was, after all, a day off. However, in a show of solidarity that took most by surprise, the House passed the Senate's version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) on July 3 in a narrow 218 to 214 vote. It now moves to the President's desk–he's expected to sign it around 5 p.m. ET on July 4, meaning that by the time comes across your screen, it will be law. That meant I had a little reading to do: The bill is 887 pages long. Fortunately for you, I read it so that you don't have to. You can review the highlights here. A few nuggets in the meantime: The bill makes permanent several of the expiring tax cuts from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, including individual income tax rates and the increased standard deduction. The state and local tax deduction cap was boosted to $40,000 with a 1% increase in the cap each year, but only until 2029 (it goes back to $10,000 in 2030). And remember those pass-through entity tax (PTET) deductions that allow pass-through entities (like partnerships and S-corporations) to pay state income taxes at the entity level, rather than individual owners paying at the personal level, effectively reducing the pass-through entity's income? They were preserved. There are also new deductions. Seniors are also entitled to claim a new, temporary deduction of $6,000 beginning in 2025—the deduction would expire in 2028. The deduction begins to decrease when income hits $150,000 for taxpayers filing jointly and $75,000 for all other taxpayers. This is a stand-in for the 'no tax on Social Security'—there is no separate provision. According to the White House, under current law, 64% of seniors do not pay tax on Social Security benefits, and that will bump up to 88% under OBBBA. Tip income will also be temporarily deductible—only for tax years 2025 through 2028—for individuals in traditionally and customarily tipped industries. The deduction is limited to $25,000 of reported tips and you don't have to itemize to claim it. And don't let those social media threads on 'cash only tips' throw you—the deduction applies to cash or cash-equivalent tips (including credit cards). Workers who receive overtime will be eligible for a deduction for qualified overtime pay of $12,500 ($25,000 for married filing joint filers). The deduction would apply to the tax years 2025 through 2028. The deduction phases out for taxpayers with income over $150,000 ($300,000 for married filing jointly). And yes, this likely means that Form W-2 will be redesigned. OBBBA eliminated most individual credits for clean energy, including the clean vehicle credits for cars, the energy-efficient home improvement credit, the residential clean energy credit, and the new energy-efficient home credit. The repeal takes effect 180 days from the date of the bill (if the bill is signed on July 4, 2025, that should be December 31, 2025) except for the new energy-efficient home credit—that's eliminated 12 months from the date of enactment (so, likely July 4, 2026). There will also be impacts on colleges and universities. While some will be subject to higher excise taxes, others got something of a tax cut. And yes, businesses got breaks, too. The only way OBBBA was going to get through the business-friendly Senate was to extend some tax benefits to corporations, too. Keep in mind that many of the TCJA provisions for businesses, like tax cuts, were already permanent, so there wasn't any need to extend those. (The entire wrap-up is here. You can find out more about how the law might impact you here.) What didn't make it into the bill? A few things, including a higher tax rate on carried interest and the so-called 'millionaire's tax' on those earning over $2.5 million annually. An excise tax on litigation funding, which worried litigation funders and lawyers, was also excluded. The bill is not cheap. The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan group responsible for scoring the budget, projects that the bill would increase federal deficits over the next 10 years by nearly $3.3 trillion. With the budget bill now in place, D.C. can now tackle tariffs. Tariffs, especially those on China, have been a central theme of President Trump's economic policy. The Trump Administration raised tariffs on Chinese imports as high as 145% earlier this year before dropping the rate to 30% in May (that's on top of the existing 25% tariffs for most goods). The two countries reached something of an agreement in May, but that truce is slated to end in mid-August. It's uncertain where the numbers might land after that time. During the last trade war, Trump exempted a few items, including fireworks, from the tariffs. That was important because the U.S. gets almost all of its fireworks from China. And I really do mean almost all. About 99% of fireworks sold in the U.S. come from China—that's a huge chunk of the $2 billion industry in the U.S. Two trade organizations, the National Fireworks Association and the American Pyrotechnic Association (APA), have asked the President to reconsider his stance, writing, 'tariffs will only drive-up costs for American businesses, local governments, and consumers.' Their biggest worry? The impact on next year when many cities, including Philadelphia, have big plans to celebrate the nation's 250th birthday. That's also around the same time as the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Speaking of soccer, there are still some Club World Cup matches to be played this weekend in Philadelphia, Atlanta, and New Jersey. I won't say I'm biased, but (whispers), Go Bayern! Enjoy your weekend, Kelly Phillips Erb (Senior Writer, Tax) Questions "BBQ Hotdog with Mustard, Potato Salad and Baked Beans at a 4th of July Picnic -Photographed on Hasselblad H3D2-39mb Camera" getty This week, a reader asked, Is a hot dog a sandwich? I realize this is not a traditional tax question, but since it's the Fourth of July, I'll bite (see what I did there?). It probably won't surprise you to learn that I've written about hot dogs before—for National Hot Dog Day (it's July 23, in case you're wondering). But that article focused on a hot dog tax—this question is quite different. For most folks, the question of whether a hot dog is a sandwich hinges on the bread. In fact, Merriam-Webster defines a sandwich as "two or more slices of bread or a split roll having a filling in between". This definition would most definitely include a hot dog. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) generally agrees that a sandwich is 'two slices of bread, or the top and bottom sections of a sliced bun, that enclose meat or poultry.' But that's where it gets tricky. Does an open-top hot dog bun make the cut? It might not. But then, neither would a grilled cheese or PB&J, since neither of those includes meat or poultry. The question, however, does matter. In addition to being a fun philosophical question, it has real implications for tax purposes. If a hot dog is considered a sandwich, it may be taxed under the same rules as other sandwiches. For example, in New York, hot dogs are considered sandwiches for sales tax purposes so long as they are heated and served on a bun. The presence of bread also makes a huge difference in my own state of Pennsylvania. The sale of ready-to-eat or heated hot dogs is generally taxable, while hot dogs sold as grocery or deli items (meaning that you're going to eat them later) are typically exempt. That tends to be the case in most states—if a hot dog is heated, served on a bun, and sold as a ready-to-eat meal, it's typically considered a prepared food item and subject to sales tax. But temperature can be a difference-maker. In Massachusetts, a hot dog can still be taxed if cold, so long as it's ready to eat. Ditto in South Carolina. However, in California, hot food is generally taxable while cold food is not—the opposite is true for take-out drinks, where hot drinks are generally taxable and cold drinks are not. So, is a hot dog a sandwich? For sales tax purposes, the answer is almost always yes. As for me? I also say no (I have very strong feelings about what a sandwich looks like). For the record, the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council agrees with me, opining, 'Limiting the hot dog's significance by saying it's 'just a sandwich' is like calling the Dalai Lama 'just a guy'.'There you have it. — Do you have a tax question or matter that you think we should cover in the next newsletter? We'd love to help if we can. Check out our guidelines and submit a question here. Getting To Know You What does a tax professional look like? This week, meet Nicole Davis, CPA. Nicole explains that her job is more than crunching numbers. 'I help businesses, medium and small, redesign their business processes by reducing or automating non-value added tasks and focusing on improving productivity and quality,' she explains. Put another way, she advises business owners on operations and accounting. Nicole Davis, CPA Nicole Davis, CPA When asked about the biggest change that she's seen in the tax profession in the last five years, she calls out 'how compliance is pretty much a tech product now.' 'We are no longer chained to keyboard cranking out returns,' she explains. 'Our job now is reading the story behind the numbers, then translating that into action steps on cash flow, entity tweaks, deal timing, and wealth plays. Firms that buddy-up with the bots and lean harder into human smarts? They're sprinting past the pack.' Nicole, who was also included on our Forbes Best in State Top CPAs List, is the next professional to be featured in our rebooted Getting To Know You Tuesday series—a chance to get to know all kinds of tax professionals and understand that the field of tax is bigger than April 15. If you'd like to nominate a tax professional to be featured, send your suggestion to kerb@ with the subject: Getting To Know You Tuesday. Statistics, Charts and Graphs OBBBA poll Kelly Phillips Erb Congress may have some more work to do. A recent Quinnipiac University national poll of registered voters found that 53% of voters opposed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, while 20% had no opinion. That's consistent with a Pew study that found that nearly half (49%) of voters oppose the bill, while 29% favor it. Another 21% are not sure. Whether respondents supported the bill tended to hang on the specific provisions. Most supported an increase in the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, along with higher taxes on colleges and universities. However, voters weren't enthusiastic about losing green tax credits, opposing the end of consumer credits for electric vehicle purchases, and business credits for wind, solar, and nuclear energy production. Details about the bill have been less than clear—the talking points in the press have struck a chord, but across most polls, providing more information about the bill has produced less support. In fact, support among MAGA voters dropped by more than 20% when spending cuts were featured in the question. Why does any of this matter? The 2026 midterm elections will be here soon (primaries are already heating up). What's at stake? There are 468 seats in Congress up for election in 2026–that's all 435 House seats and 33 Senate seats. You can bet that both parties will bring up OBBBA—and hope that the numbers are on their side. A Deeper Dive An illustration shows the USD Coin logo displayed on a smartphone on March 13, 2025. (Photo Illustration by Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images The One Big Beautiful Bill Act isn't the only business that Congress has on its plate this summer. Last month, the U.S. Senate passed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. The Act now heads to the House of Representatives to be reconciled with the House's Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act. Stablecoins are a class of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value by tying their worth to traditional assets, such as the U.S. dollar. This tie reduces the volatility associated with other cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin. Stablecoins peg their value on a 1:1 basis to an underlying asset, meaning that for every stablecoin in circulation, there is an equivalent amount of that asset held in reserve to back it. These coins are housed and exchanged on decentralized networks (blockchains), which act as a transparent ledger to account for all transactions. Unlike traditional payment systems, such as credit cards or wire transfers, these decentralized structures do not need intermediaries, which means that consumers can move funds rapidly and without additional intermediary and exchange fees. It also means that there may not be a reporting trail. The GENIUS Act introduces a federal regulatory framework that provides clearer rules for operation, issuance, and reserve requirements. If the legislation passes, it could lead to the mainstream adoption of stablecoins for digital payments and drive growth in the stablecoin industry. However, it will also give rise to some tricky tax questions, and require some clarity when it comes to reporting requirements (especially those that apply to foreign assets, like FATCA). It's clear that even if the GENIUS Act passes, the Treasury will need to issue guidance for taxpayers. Tax Filings And Deadlines 📅 September 30, 2025. Due date for individuals and businesses impacted by recent terrorist attacks in Israel. 📅 October 15, 2025. Due date for individuals and businesses affected by wildfires and straight-line winds in southern California that began on January 7, 2025. 📅 November 3, 2025. Due date for individuals and businesses affected by storms in Arkansas and Tennessee that began on April 2, 2025. Tax Conferences And Events 📅 July 1-September 16 (various dates), 2025. IRS Nationwide Tax Forum in Chicago, New Orleans, Orlando, Baltimore and San Diego. Registration required (discounts available for some partner groups). 📅 July 18-19, 2025. Tax Retreat "Anti Conference." Denver, Colorado. Registration required. 📅 July 21-23, 2025. National Association of Tax Professionals Taxposium 2025. Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada. Registration required. 📅 July 22-24, 2025. Bridging the Gap Conference. Denver Marriott Tech Center, 4900 S. Syracuse Street, Denver, Colorado. Registration required. 📅 July 28-30, 2025. Tax Summit 2025. Grand America Hotel, Salt Lake City. Registration required. 📅 September 17-18, 2025. National Association of Tax Professionals Las Vegas Tax Forum. Paris, Las Vegas, Nevada. Registration required. Trivia Which midwestern state clings to a 1942 ban on fireworks, while neighboring states have boasted millions of dollars in sales tax revenue from selling the Fourth of July staple? (A) Illinois (B) Indiana (C) Iowa (D) Ohio Find the answer at the bottom of this newsletter. Positions And Guidance The IRS has published Internal Revenue Bulletin 2025-27. The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) submitted comments to the U.S. Treasury related to the implementation of Executive Order 14247, which requires the Treasury to stop issuing and receiving paper checks. The AICPA has supported the transition to electronic payments for federal disbursements and receipts; however, there are challenges associated with implementing a system that requires taxpayers to have a U.S. bank account to participate. Mandating a U.S. bank account for electronic tax payments could exclude vulnerable taxpayers, such as seniors and the 'unbanked' population, while international banking rules currently limit automated clearing house (ACH) transfers with non-U.S. financial institutions. Noteworthy The IRS and its Security Summit partners announced the launch of the special summer "Protect Your Clients; Protect Yourself" campaign to help tax professionals protect themselves against new and ongoing threats involving tax-related identity theft. Now in its tenth year, the Security Summit partners continue to work together to raise awareness about data theft in the tax professional community. 'The IRS, the states and the nation's tax industry through the Security Summit partnership continue their decade-long effort to protect taxpayers,' said IRS Commissioner Billy Long. 'This effort is a testament to what can be accomplished when business and government work together to educate the taxpayer and raise awareness of this wide-ranging problem.' — If you have tax and accounting career or industry news, submit it for consideration here or email me directly. In Case You Missed It Here's what readers clicked through most often in the newsletter last week: You can find the entire newsletter here. Trivia Answer The answer is (A) Illinois. Indianapolis map (Indiana) getty Since 1942, Illinois residents have crossed state lines into border states to stock up on fireworks. Its neighboring state, Indiana, has averaged approximately $5.4 million annually from 2019 through 2023 in sales tax revenue. Fireworks are a $3 billion industry in the U.S. Most of those sales are consumer fireworks, totaling more than $2.4 billion in 2024. Feedback How did we do? We'd love your feedback. If you have a suggestion for making the newsletter better, submit it here or email me directly.
