Latest articles from Crooks and Liars

Friday Nite Funnies: Iliza Shlesinger: Toxic Mindset

John Amato — Sat, 23 May 2026 01:22:57 +0000

Here's another very funny lady.

I saw her on a Netflix special and laughed much of the time. I didn't know she was the 2008 winner of NBC's Last Comic Standing.

Open thread.

Elon Musk's White Supremacist Attack On Director Christopher Nolan

John Amato — Fri, 22 May 2026 22:47:41 +0000

Elon Musk's attack on Christopher Nolan's upcoming movie "The Odyssey," turned to a darker level when he described the Academy Award-winning director as an "anti-white racist" earlier today.

Chris Nolan is an anti-White racist

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 22, 2026

Musk, like many White supremacists and Christian nationalists, constantly focus on the culture wars memes they are good at producing and then running wild on social media for clicks.

This new war began when Musk went on a racist tear after Nolan cast Lupita Nyong'o to be Helen of Troy.

BBC writes, "Musk said director Nolan has "grossly insulted the Greek people", and replied "true" to a meme of a man supposedly dancing on Homer's grave . The X owner wrote: "I agree that she [Nyong'o] is beautiful, but casting a Black woman to play a White woman in a foundational work of European literature is no more right than casting a White man to play Shaka Zulu!" Shaka Zulu was a famed leader of the Zulu nation."

The phrase "anti-white racism" is a fictional characterization designed by White supremacists and nationalists to continually denigrate black and brown people of all nationalities.

Fox Host Serves Up Heaping Pile Of Whataboutism To Justify Trump Slush Fund

Heather — Fri, 22 May 2026 21:57:18 +0000

The Five cohost Joey Jones defended Trump's $1.776 billion slush fund by pretending this is just what politicians do before launching into a screed demonizing "illegal" immigrants.

They can't defend the indefensible, so this is the sort of nonsense they spew instead. Here's the back and forth between Jones and Jessica Tarlov during a discussion about the sentence of Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock, who was found guilty of fraud in Minnesota, where the rest of the wingnuts on the panel were trying to pretend Democrats are the ones that don't care about fraud.

TARLOV: I'm a big fan of rooting out fraud — I think it should happen. I did notice that Aimee Bock is not Somalian, and I was assured that it was the Somalis who were committing all the fraud.

GUTFELD: Those are her people — they worked with her.

TARLOV: I understand. I'm just noting how this was framed.

GUTFELD: All you see is color.

TARLOV: When you make blanket statements—

JONES: How do you know she's not Somalian?

TARLOV: Joey, don't push me on this.
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GOP State Treasurer Steers Contract To Allies In Christian Finance

Lauren Windsor — Fri, 22 May 2026 20:48:22 +0000

by Lauren Windsor, Oklahoma Watch
May 19, 2026

Oklahoma Treasurer Todd Russ has used the state investment pools he oversees against corporations engaging in climate change and diversity initiatives, purportedly to refocus their attention away from politics and on their fiduciary duty of maximizing shareholder profits.

But Russ, who is also a minister, steered a contract managing $2 billion in taxpayer money to a Christian investment firm that partnered with his close allies during the bid process. Russ directed the firm to conduct so-called Oklahoma values tests of portfolio managers, indicating his own conservative religious politics are fair investment criteria.

Despite delivering record returns, NEPC, the longtime investment consultant for the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, was fired last year in favor of Innovest Portfolio Solutions, a firm founded by devout Catholics that serves many Catholic dioceses and religious organizations. Russ chairs TSET’s Board of Investors, which published the request-for-proposals last year. But the bid process may not have been very competitive; Innovest had been a client of Russ advisor Jerry Bowyer, who is himself an Episcopal deacon.

Has Mike Johnson Dumped Trump?

David Edwards — Fri, 22 May 2026 20:08:35 +0000

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) skipped a White House meeting Thursday — and sources say it wasn't an accident.

Two aides familiar with the cancellation told reporter Pablo Manríquez that Johnson flatly refused to attend, marking what may be the first time the Speaker has said no to Donald Trump.

That's no small thing. Since taking the gavel in 2023, Johnson has been one of Trump's most reliable allies on Capitol Hill — shepherding the president's agenda through a razor-thin majority with near-total loyalty. A CQ Roll Call vote study found House Republicans backed Trump's position on 95 percent of votes in 2025, the highest presidential support rate ever recorded. Johnson, who sets the floor schedule, was the engine behind that number.

A former White House official once summed up the dynamic bluntly: "Loyalty is always going to be chief among the things that Trump cares about, and Johnson has never wavered on that."

Until now, apparently.

Observers inside Washington took notice. The Independent's DC Bureau Chief Eric Michael Garcia framed the significance quickly: "John Thune being fed up with Trump is one thing. Mike Johnson is a whole other kettle of fish."

Rep. Pat Ryan Calls Out 'These Chicken Hawk Motherf*ckers'

Ed Scarce — Fri, 22 May 2026 19:04:39 +0000

House Republicans' decision to abruptly yank a floor vote to halt the Iran war did not sit well with Pat Ryan. Speaking on the steps of the Capitol, he lambasted them, calling them 'chicken hawks,' which, for a vet, is as insulting as it gets.

REP. PAT RYAN (D-NY): "These chickenhawk motherfuckers are gonna send us home for Memorial Day weekend, where I'm gonna honour my fellow veterans that I served 27 months in combat with, and they are gonna not even give an up or down vote on continuing this war almost three months in, while Americans are paying almost $5 a gallon at the pump. It is fucking pathetic."

"They use this procedural bullshit argument, and every American should just be absolutely outraged about this. It's a disgrace. It is a disgrace."

And it's not the first time Ryan has used such colorful language to describe them. Just after the war started, Ryan had this to say about then Senator MarkWayne Mullin:

Hey @SenMullin, what the actual fuck are you talking about?

Did I miss the part of your bio where you served in combat (or served in uniform at all??).

Call of Duty doesn’t count. https://t.co/7iDHvjPwJl

— Pat Ryan 🇺🇸 (@PatRyanUC) March 2, 2026
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Florida Biologist Wins $485,000 Settlement Over Charlie Kirk Post

Ed Scarce — Fri, 22 May 2026 18:00:01 +0000

Florida officials tried to destroy the life of one of their biologists and might well have succeeded had it not been for the ACLU. Brittney Brown won't be getting her job back, but will receive some compensation from the state.

Source: Associated Press

Florida officials will pay nearly half a million dollars to a biologist who was fired by a state agency for criticizing conservative activist Charlie Kirk on social media after his death.

The state’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission fired biologist Brittney Brown in September after she reposted a meme on her personal Instagram account that claimed Kirk wouldn’t care about children being shot in their classrooms. She filed a lawsuit seeking reinstatement, saying she struggled to find other work because the state agency is the regulatory body for her research specialization in bird conservation.

Brown on Thursday signed a $485,000 settlement agreement with agency directors that covers backpay, damages and attorney costs. She agreed as part of the deal to not seek future employment at the agency.

And this foolishness started as one might expect.

Dem Rips GOP On Iran War Powers Vote: ‘You Guys Don’t Have The Guts Or The Balls!’

Heather — Fri, 22 May 2026 17:01:44 +0000

Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern tore into Republicans on the House floor this Thursday for pulling an Iran war powers resolution they knew they were going to lose.

Trump’s Humblebrag: I 'Gave Up' A Fortune So My Allies Could Get The Slush Fund

Conover Kennard — Fri, 22 May 2026 16:02:29 +0000

The two-hour meeting with Senate Republicans and acting attorney general Todd Blanche became "incredibly hostile" with as many as 25 Republicans opposed to Trump's Cop Killer slush fund.

So, of course, Trump took to Truth Social to drop the most selfless humblebrag of all time, which, in a nutshell, reads basically like this: 'I heroically gave up a massive fortune on my own cases — you know, the illegal tax leaks and that nasty Mar-a-Lago raid — so the new $1.8 Billion Cop Killer Fund could pay out to all the other victims of the evil Biden regime.' What a guy. You’re welcome, America. Classic Trump: turning his theft of taxpayer dollars to hand over to criminals into a Nobel Peace Prize moment.

"I gave up a lot of money in allowing the just announced Anti-Weaponization Fund to go forward," Trump insisted. "I could have settled my case, including the illegal release of my Tax Returns and the equally illegal BREAK IN of Mar-a-Lago, for an absolute fortune."

"Instead, I am helping others, who were so badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden Administration, receive, at long last, JUSTICE!" he added. "President DJT"

'Freeze Of The Century' Causes Catastrophic Crop Losses In NJ

Susie Madrak — Fri, 22 May 2026 15:08:14 +0000

A four-day freeze in April that proved mildly bothersome for summer-starved New Jerseyans was devastating for Garden State farmers, with growers of tree fruits, strawberries, blueberries, and other early bloomers reporting catastrophic losses, the New Jersey Monitor reports.

Now, Gov. Mikie Sherrill has declared a state of emergency in all 21 counties, a move that should ultimately open up funding to help farmers recover from damages the state estimates could top $300 million.

Desperate farmers say they need the help.

The April 19-22 cold snap, with temperatures dipping into the low 20s, came after a heat wave that drove many perennial crops to flower earlier than usual. The cold spell that followed wasn’t just the freeze of a lifetime, said Jim Giamarese, who farms 130 acres in East Brunswick, but the freeze of a century.

The wintry blip impacted farmers all along the eastern U.S., with the U.S. Department of Agriculture finding that farms in 13 states, from Virginia to Michigan, sustained catastrophic damage to perennial crops.

They're a deep blue state. Here's hoping somehow they get the help they need. On a personal level, I am mourning the loss of New Jersey peaches.

Napolitano: Trump Can't Sue Himself Into A Slush Fund

John Amato — Fri, 22 May 2026 13:55:14 +0000

Newsmax legal analyst Andrew Napolitano threw cold water on the legality of Trump's $1.8 billion Sedition Slush Fund by stating two constitutional problems that will undermine the fund.

As I wrote before, Blanche and Trump orchestrated a theft from the federal government.

Blanche should be impeached solely for his role in this.

HOST: I mean, I agree with Senator Fetterman here. I have issues with this, and I'm just not sure how you can be the defendant and the — on both sides of this lawsuit.

It's the Trump — it's Trump against Trump.

NAPOLITANO: There's two major constitutional issues here.

The first you raised, this is not a real lawsuit. There's no case or a controversy. The president can — no person can be on both sides.

In my view, Todd Blanche has very serious ethical issues because he signed this agreement knowing he works for the plaintiff.

That's issue number one.

Issue number two is the one Senator Fetterman raised.

Where's the money coming from? Congress didn't authorize this.

That Obama fund that the government cites as a precedent was expressly authorized by the Congress.

The Constitution says no money shall be spent from the public treasury but that which has been appropriated by Congress.

There are no constitutional grounds for this fund to exist.

Stephen Miller: Elections A Choice Between White Supremacy Or Ghetto

NewsHound Ellen — Fri, 22 May 2026 13:18:49 +0000

Stephen Miller’s influence in the White House has reportedly “quietly diminished” of late, but the guy who could easily make you lose your appetite just by looking at him is still Donald Trump’s White House deputy chief of staff for policy.

According to The Daily Beast, Miller’s “apparent sidelining by Donald Trump is a deliberate ruse to allow him to secretly retain his iron grip on immigration policy.”

Whenever “policy” is used in the same sentence as Miller’s name, what is really meant is “white supremacy" and "ethnic cleansing."

Whether sidelined or scheming, Fox News welcomed Miller’s racist “insights” into politics on Wednesday. There, Miller declared, “The major political dividing line in America today is between a First World vision of America and a Third World vision of America. We see these politics playing out over and over again in every race across this country." We know that "Third World" is Miller's code for poverty caused by people of color.

Trump Rolls Back Regulations On Super-Polluting Hydrofluorocarbons

Susie Madrak — Fri, 22 May 2026 12:26:00 +0000

The Trump administration just overhauled two Biden-era Environmental Protection Agency rules for refrigerants in a push the White House claims will lower grocery costs for consumers.

One action, reported first by USA TODAY, delays deadlines for groceries and other companies to phase out the use of climate-damaging hydrofluorocarbons for refrigeration under the 2023 Technology Transitions Rule.

Hydrofluorocarbons, used for refrigeration and cooling, are considered "super pollutants" that, although short-lived in the atmosphere, are more powerful than carbon dioxide. That's why the Biden administration created the regulations.

The move is expected to make more refrigerants ‒ the key chemical compounds in freezers, refrigerators and air-conditioning systems ‒ available for supermarkets, homeowners and other businesses, which the White House estimates will produce $900 million in savings, including $800 million at groceries.

Which is, of course, bullshit.

Hydrofluorocarbons are why it's so expensive to recharge your car's AC, because they have to capture and safely dispose of the gas. It's a major contributor to destruction of the ozone layer. But hey, who cares when there's money to be made?

It's Still A BFD When The DoJ Tries To Fix A Grand Jury Case

Susie Madrak — Fri, 22 May 2026 11:59:00 +0000

Federal prosecutors in Chicago just dismissed all charges against the four remaining members of the so-called "Broadview Six," a group of protesters who were arrested outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview last fall. Via CBS News:

Defense attorneys said prosecutors were forced to drop the case because of "significant errors" in the grand jury process.

U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros said during a Thursday afternoon hearing that the decision to dismiss charges was due to improper handling of the grand jury proceedings by the lead prosecutor in the case. A rare federal trial for misdemeanor charges that had been scheduled to begin next week was canceled, after prosecutors agreed to dismiss the charges with~~out~~ prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled.

Boutros announced the decision to dismiss the remaining charges in court following a closed-door meeting over redacted grand jury transcripts. He told U.S. District Judge April Perry he was unaware until recently of the alleged misconduct, including a prosecutor meeting with a grand juror outside proceedings and other jurors who disagreed with the case being dismissed and prevented from participating. Boutros did not dispute the allegations, saying the conduct was upsetting and the reason the case was being dismissed.

Sure he was unaware. Boutros being a MAGA appointment wanting to please his master had nothing to do with it!

Mike’s Blog Roundup

Steve in Manhattan — Fri, 22 May 2026 10:12:09 +0000

First Draft - slush funds are OKIYAR!

Dispatches From a Collapsing State - Trump, China, and moving beyond this wretched order;

Jack Hopkins Now - if Democrats get crushed in the midterms …

The Field Negro - the death of voting rights;

The Grim Historian - how the Goldwater Rule broke the 25th Amendment.

Send tips, requests, and suggestions to mbru@crooksandliars.com (with ‘for MBRU' in the subject line). Steve in Manhattan is on Bluesky for his sins.

Vance Is Unclear On The Concept Of 'No Kings'

Chris capper Liebenthal — Fri, 22 May 2026 10:12:00 +0000

J. Divan Vance is a few fries short of a Happy Meal and likes to remind people of that every chance he gets. On Tuesday, in what I'm sure he thought was a clever Gotcha moment, he made this observation about the No Kings movement:

They are very, very insistent that we not have kings. And then King Charles comes to the congressional chamber, and these guys break out in rapturous applause. So maybe they don't care so much about kings as they pretend that they do. Maybe they just don't like the agenda that we're implementing, that's actually making American workers and American families safe and prosperous again.

Maybe Vance doesn't realize that Charles is the King of England, and that America doesn't have kings, even wannabe ones like his Fearless Leader, President Pedo.
Maybe, despite election after election, all across the country, Vance hasn't picked up on the message that fascism isn't a good selling point.

Or, maybe, just maybe, given his comment about families being safe and prosperous, Vance might be just stark raving mad. When people can't afford the gas to drive to the grocery store to buy the food they also can't afford, that is not being prosperous. When lunatics can get a gun to do a mass shooting easier than they can get a ballot to vote, people aren't safe.

Again, can't we get Vance to take a cognitive exam along with Pedo King? Maybe the whole lot of them, then we get to do the 25th Amendment on everyone at the same time!

J6 Police Officer: Trump Slush Fund ‘A Slap In The Face’

NewsHound Ellen — Fri, 22 May 2026 10:11:48 +0000

Harry Dunn is one of two Jan. 6 Washington, D.C. police officers who are now suing Donald Trump over what Conover Kennard appropriately calls his Cop Killer Slush Fund.

Dunn is no longer a police officer. He is now running for Congress in Maryland. But he told CNN viewers on Wednesday why the slush fund endangers him, personally. Although everybody has seen what happened on January 6th, he said a lot of people don’t know that he and other J6 officers have been getting death threats ever since, “over and over again."

The pardons that Donald Trump gave to the convicted Jan. 6 insurrectionists forgave them for their crimes but now he “seeks to reward them for their behaviors,” Dunn added, “which also would create an incentive for more people to join.”

He described it as “Donald Trump putting a retainer on a mob that will do violence and commit violence in his name.”

Dunn is not wrong.

CNN host Brianna Keilar seemed to tacitly agree. “When you heard the reaction yesterday of the acting attorney general and the vice president and they weren't able to unequivocally say, no, money will not be given to people who were violent toward police officers, whether they are charged or convicted. what did you think?” she asked.

'I Know A Lot About Flagpoles'

John Amato — Fri, 22 May 2026 03:00:01 +0000

"And I know a lot about flagpoles, and that's the best pole there is," Demented Donald said.

I leave this without comment.

Trump: “I know a lot about flagpoles”

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-05-19T23:34:17.322Z

Open thread.

Newsmax Host On Cuba: 'Sounds Like A False Flag Operation'

Chris capper Liebenthal — Thu, 21 May 2026 22:48:46 +0000

Rep James Comer joined Newsmax's Rob Finnerty, who grilled him over Cuba.

Finnerty talked about the sanctions, the indictment of the all but dead Raúl Castro, and all the saber-rattling coming from the Trump regime. He then asked Comer how these threats against Cuba jive with America First, especially after Venezuela and Cuba, and Americans struggling with gas and food prices.

Comer then prattled on about how Cuba was a strategic threat to the United States and had been for decades, that the Cuban people wanted regime change, yada, yada, yada. It was all the same shit that they said about Iran regurgitated for Cuba.

Finnerty then confronted Comer on whether he was buying into the bullshit he was peddling, and if he thought Cuba was a threat. Comer's response was so laughable that it calls for a spit take. What came after all but guaranteed the spit take:

COMER: If, if some country went in and loaded Cuba with the same drones that Iran had, when we first started bombing Iran, then yes, I think it could be a threat. I don't think that's there. I know John Radcliffe has been on the ground. The CIA is on the ground as we speak, talking to the Cuban officials.
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Did Xi Jinping Just Epically Troll Vladimir Putin In Beijing?

Ed Scarce — Thu, 21 May 2026 22:48:38 +0000

Was this deliberate by the Chinese? Given how they do things, where symbolism matters, it's quite possible. In August 1991, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake was broadcast continuously on Soviet state television for three days during an attempted coup d'état against Mikhail Gorbachev.

Source: Reuters

MOSCOW, May 20 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin will on Wednesday dine ‌on Peking duck and Jinhua ham at a banquet featuring Chinese opera and Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, Russian state ⁠news agency TASS reported.

A programme and menu reported by TASS showed guests would be offered an array of cold "zakuski" hors d'oeuvres, prawn soup, beef in bean sauce, Fuzhou noodles, pumpkin pastries, fruits.

A 2009 "Greatwall" ‌Cabernet ⁠Sauvignon and a 2016 Changyu Chardonnay will be offered, TASS said.

The programme includes a mixture of Chinese ⁠and Russian classics played by the military orchestra of the Chinese Communist ⁠Party's People's Liberation Army including a melody of Peking ⁠opera, "An unforgettable evening" and the dance of the little swans from Swan Lake.

And why is the "Dance of the Little Swans" so significant? via NPR

Vance Embarrasses Himself On NATO: America Isn’t World Police

John Amato — Thu, 21 May 2026 21:23:18 +0000

It's infuriating that the Vice President of the United States has no understanding of the NATO alliance, what that means for the stability and security of the United States, as well as all member nations.

The US is withdrawing 4,000 troops from Poland. When asked about this maneuver, JD Vance's response was either a lie or an uneducated screed from a lazy conspiracy theorist who didn't even bother to review its platform.

The United States doesn't police the world or NATO. Its creed is that if you attack one nation, you attack us all, which has kept the peace since its inception after World War II.

Q: So last week, the Pentagon halted deployment of 4,000 troops, U.S. troops, in Poland, to Poland. This is in direct contradiction to President Trump explicitly promised not to reduce the troop level in Poland. So I'm going to ask you this question, which many people in Poland think.

Why are you rewarding Putin and punishing your best ally in Europe?

VANCE: Mr. Zients, well, first of all, I'd say there's been no President who's done more, frankly, to ensure that Ukraine survived the invasion of Russia than Donald Trump.

As he famously said, Obama gave him sheets, I gave him javelins, and it was those javelins that ensured that Ukraine still has its territorial sovereignty.
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Jim Jordan Tantrums When He Fails To Get His Gotcha Moment

Chris capper Liebenthal — Thu, 21 May 2026 21:23:17 +0000

During a congressional hearing in which the Republicans were trying to defend their fellow white supremacists from the eeeeeebil Southern Poverty Law Center, Rep Jim Jordan thought he could paint one of the witnesses into a corner. Hilarity ensued.

Jordan had set his sights on Attorney Maya Wiley, who is also the President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Jordan led off by ranting about how the SPLC allegedly would feature one of their informants as the "Extremists of the Month" to raise funds, even though the person was a paid informant. By the time he got to the question, you could almost see the spittle flying from his lips as he yelled, "They said, let's stop the racist — even though we're paying him to be racist. Is that appropriate, Ms. Wiley?"

Wiley asked him to clarify which part he was talking about, which sent Jordan into another tizzy as he blustered, "Is that appropriate — to tell your donors, this is the extremist of the month, this hateful racist guy is really bad, send us money, but not tell those donors that we're paying this guy $140,000?"

Wiley calmly replied, "We have public reporting that over a dozen donors actually said that they sent money."

Jordan tried again by rephrasing the question, if she thought it was appropriate, to which Wiley responded, "Donors have supported it, and they keep trying to send more money to the Southern Poverty Law Center."

Todd Blanche To Cop Assaulters: Come Get Your Slush Fund Money!

NewsHound Ellen — Thu, 21 May 2026 18:20:14 +0000

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche should wear a button saying, “I work for President P***y Grabber, not you,” just so we all know what the guy whose salary we all pay considers his job.

And speaking of money coming from the pockets of we, the people, Blanche made his taxpayer-funded fealty to Trumpism over the country and the U.S. Constitution abundantly clear on CNN Wednesday night, when he all but asked January 6 insurrectionists to start lining up for our dough from the Trump Slush Fund.

CNN’s Paula Reid asked Blanche, “You’re the nation’s top law enforcement official right now. Would you be okay with people who were convicted of hurting police getting taxpayer money?”

Oh, yes he is. “Just to be clear, people that hurt police get money all the time,” he said. He went on to pretend that any money from the slush fund will be carefully vetted. “Okay, there's a process where, where, if you are, if you are, if you believe you have your rights violated, you can, you can apply for funds, you can sue, you can file a claim, you can go to court. In some of those cases, the state, the government, the federal government settles those cases.”

It’s no wonder Blanche stammered so much because he knows that our public money is intended to go to insurrectionists and militias who tried to violently overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Republicans Huddle With Blanche To Justify Cop Killer Slush Fund

Conover Kennard — Thu, 21 May 2026 18:16:29 +0000

Bless his lil' heart, Acting AG Todd Blanche met with Republican lawmakers Thursday morning to address their concerns about a DOJ settlement that would distribute $1.8 billion to people who claim they were targeted by government overreach. As John Amato notes, this is a crime in broad daylight, and "Blanche claims Trump wasn't part of creating the fund, but that is not plausible or credible." Yeah, we can clearly see what they're doing.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said his caucus wants Blanche to walk them through how the fund would actually operate and what guardrails would be in place. The DOJ declined to comment. The outcome of the meeting could prove pivotal for the GOP's roughly $72 billion budget package, which Republicans are racing to get to Trump's desk before the week is out, Bloomberg reports.

Though the bill is chiefly designed to boost funding for immigration enforcement agencies, an early version also sets aside roughly $1.46 billion for the DOJ. On a separate front, Republicans appear poised to cut a $1 billion Secret Service allocation that the agency had earmarked in part for massive "security upgrades" to the massive ballroom Trump wants to build to replace the White House's destroyed East Wing.

Polis Pays The Price: Democrats Censure Governor For Letting Election Saboteur Walk

Conover Kennard — Thu, 21 May 2026 17:05:30 +0000

As it happens, Tina Peters didn't need Trump's fake pardon to get out of her nine-year sentence for felonies related to providing unauthorized access to voting equipment when she was the elected clerk and recorder of Mesa County. Democratic Gov. Jared Polis stepped in, and now she's due to be released on June 1st, even though she has shown little remorse for her lawless actions.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said his state will not release Peters after Trump announced he is pardoning her state-level convictions, then Polis changed all that, saying, "Clearly, her free speech -- however much we disagree with it -- was used as a factor in that sentencing."

However, Peters was convicted in August 2024 on seven of ten charges of engaging in a security breach to advance a false conspiracy theory of election fraud. That doesn't sound like a violation of her free speech rights, Jared. Still, he commuted her sentence.

And now he's facing consequences. Imagine that.

Nearly 90% of the Colorado Democratic Party's central committee voted to censure Polis, a formal rebuke that temporarily prohibits him from appearing or speaking at party events. Polis has dismissed the effort — driven by hundreds of fellow Democrats — as politically motivated, CBS reports.

Yeah, no.