Elon Gives House GOP A Little Incentive For Helping The Executive Defy The Judiciary
Musk has been championing talk of impeaching federal judges who block or place temporary holds on some of Trump's most Constitution-smashing executive actions since Day 1. When judges first started shutting down some of DOGE's initial stabs at freezing and rescinding congressionally allocated federal grants and funds, Musk was one of the first to push the idea that judicial impeachments were in order.
Since then, some of Trump's closest allies in the White House and his more far-right friends in the People's House have latched onto the effort. It's been a natural escalation in some ways. As I noted in yesterday's edition of Where Things Stand, House Republicans began ceding their own check on the executive branch during shutdown talks last week. It makes a certain sense for them to begin trying to pare back the third branch of government's checks as well.
This week, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) introduced articles of impeachment against U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who has attempted to keep the Trump administration in check after it defied his instructions to halt deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. Republicans have also moved to impeach federal judges Paul Engelmayer, John McConnell Jr., John Bates and Amir Hatem Mahdy Ali.
The New York Times is now reporting that Musk has, apparently, 'made the maximum allowable donation to Republican members of Congress who support impeaching federal judges,' in the Times words, citing five people with knowledge of the matter.
Those who have received the $6,600 donation include Gill, as well as Reps. Eli Crane (R-AZ), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Andy Ogles (R-TN), Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Derrick Van Orden (R-WI). Each of these Republicans has either publicly supported impeaching judges who have ruled against the Trump administration or has taken some sort of 'action' in response to recent rulings. Musk also donated to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who criticized Boasberg.
Not content to just hand over their own authority, and thereby expanding the powers of the executive branch, Musk is giving House Republicans incentive to help the Trump administration take a sledgehammer to additional parts of our system of checks and balances.
While most of her colleagues are hiding from their constituents while at home in their states this week, Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY), who launched a successful primary challenge against former Rep. Liz Cheney in 2022, decided to face voters in person in her district (one that Biden won in 2020). Rather than answering questions about constituents' concerns, it appears she spent the whole time gaslighting the crowd, which was angry about the Trump administration's latest lawless executive actions. Per NBC News:
'It's so bizarre to me how obsessed you are with federal government,' Hageman told attendees, prompting more outbursts from the crowd.
'You guys are going to have a heart attack if you don't calm down,' she added. 'I'm sorry, your hysteria is just really over the top.'
She ended the town hall 15 mins early and her office later claimed that the uproar was staged by Dem activists, just as it, presumably, was for the rest of her Republican colleagues who have been berated by scared and angry constituents in recent weeks.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has brought the first criminal charges under his state's near total abortion ban against a midwife for, he claimed, providing illegal abortions. It's one of the first times since Roe was overturned that a provider has been charged. As 'Abortion, Every Day' author Jessica Valenti pointed out, it appears that Paxton is attempting to do some broader anti-abortion, but also anti-midwife care, messaging with the arrest by framing it as a crackdown on someone practicing medicine 'without a license' — rather than an outright attack on abortion access in the state.
Check out this new piece from The Bulwark, as the constitutional sheriffs movement gets in line behind Trump's mass deportations effort: Your Sheriff Might Be Planning to Help ICE Conduct Mass Deportations
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Axios
a few seconds ago
- Axios
GOP leans into Trump administration's Obama accusations
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The Hill
a few seconds ago
- The Hill
Democrats hear some criticism as redistricting talk picks up
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Speaking to reporters on Friday, Newsom said any move by California 'is predicated on Texas moving forward' with its own redistricting plan, which some have seen as a way for the Lone Star State to make it more likely to hold on to five House seats. Several other Democratic governors, including Govs. Kathy Hochul of New York, Phil Murphy of New Jersey and JB Pritzker of Illinois have left the door open to possibly changing their maps. The GOP may also not be done. The White House is reportedly pushing Missouri to consider redrawing its map. Civil rights and voting groups are worried actions by both parties could undermine or weaken the political power of historically marginalized minority communities. The issue is a thorny one for Democrats, who have positioned themselves as the prodemocracy party and championed racial justice initiatives. At the same time, Democratic states just like Republican states have been sued by civil rights groups over Voting Rights Act violations. Both Democrats and Republicans have also been found guilty of creating gerrymandered maps. 'We have sued both Democrats and Republicans on these issues,' said Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. 'So yes, we are concerned that when leaders of either party seek to take maximum advantage, partisan advantage of redistricting, they often neglect, if not ignore, the imperatives of the Voting Rights Act with respect to reliably Democratic voting groups.' Some groups are also frustrated given efforts by blue states to move beyond gerrymandering. 'Independent commissions like the gold standard in California were created specifically to avoid what's being considered here, which is voting maps drawn for the sole purpose of protecting incumbent politicians and political party interests to the exclusion of community needs and community feedback,' Vicuna said. California Common Cause was intimately involved in the creation of California's independent commission. It could be difficult for some Democratic-held states to answer Texas. Several would likely need to change their state constitution and work around their respective redistricting commissions. Should the Lone Star State craft new House lines, John Bisognano, president of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee and its affiliates, in a statement said they would be met 'with a wall of resistance and a wave of legal challenges.' His statement did not address Democratic-led states mulling their own midcycle redistricting. Democrats argue that if Republicans are headed down that road, nothing should be off the table for them as well. 'Republicans should be careful what they ask for,' Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), chair of the House Democrats' campaign arm, told The Hill in a statement. 'And if they go down this path? Absolutely folks are going to respond across the country. We're not going to be sitting back with one hand tied behind our back while Republicans try to undermine the voices of the American people.' Democrats are also leaning into the issue of democracy, saying the longevity of the country is at stake if the party does not respond. Newsom painted the situation in grim terms, saying on Friday, 'I believe that the people of the state of California understand what's at stake. If we don't put a stake into the heart of this administration, there may not be an election in 2028.' 'We can sit back and act as if we have some moral superiority and watch this 249, almost 250-year experiment be washed away,' Newsom said. 'We are not going to allow that to happen. We have agency, we can shape the future.' 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Boston Globe
a few seconds ago
- Boston Globe
It's a year of rapid change, except when it comes to Trump's approval numbers, AP-NORC polling finds
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