The Biggest Loser

lousubcap

Wednesday TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION (Slow day in the courts!)

"A federal judge yesterday ordered the Trump administration to maintain custody of migrants on a deportation flight that the immigrants’ lawyers alleged was headed to South Sudan. The court ordered the government to ensure that any migrants in its custody do not leave U.S. control after the plane lands until a hearing is held to determine whether the deportation violated an April court injunction. The judge warned that based on the information he received during the hearing, the deportation “seems like it may be contempt.” Hamed Aleaziz, Alan Feuer, and Mattathias Schwartz report for the New York Times."

lousubcap

Thursday TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION

"The Trump administration had violated a judicial order barring officials from deporting people to countries not their own, a federal judge ruled yesterday. The judge held that the administration did not give the group of men it was trying to deport to South Sudan sufficient notice, and ordered that each of the deportees, who for now are detained in Djibouti, should be provided access to a lawyer and given an interview. It was not immediately clear what penalties, if any, the judge intended to impose on the administration. Alan Feuer, Tyler Pager, Hamed Aleaziz, and Mattathias Schwartz report for the New York Times.

Trump illegally removed two Democratic members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, a federal judge ruled yesterday, holding that the board’s structure was intended to have a restriction on the president’s removal power and that Travis LeBlanc and Ed Felten are to remain as the privacy oversight board’s members. Alfred Ng reports for POLITICO.

A federal judge yesterday granted what he described as the prosecution’s “embarrassing retraction” of a trespassing charge against the Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, adding that the “hasty arrest” and quick dismissal of the charge suggest a “worrisome misstep” by interim U.S. Attorney for N.J. Alina Habba. Ry Rivard reports for POLITICO."

lousubcap

Friday TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION

"The Supreme Court yesterday overturned a lower court’s order that had temporarily reinstated two board members of independent federal agencies who had been fired by Trump. The majority wrote that “the government is likely to show that both the [National Labor Relations Board] and [Merit Systems Protection Board] exercise considerable executive power.” The court sought to exclude the members of the Federal Reserve from the scope of its judgment, commenting that the Reserve is a “uniquely structured, quasi-private entity.” Lawrence Hurley and Steve Kopack report for NBC News.

A federal judge yesterday temporarily blocked Trump’s executive order aimed at dismantling the Education Department and ordered the reinstatement of thousands of fired employees. The judge found that the record “abundantly reveals” that the administration’s “true intention is to effectively dismantle the department without an authorizing statute.” Michael C. Bender reports for the New York Times.

The Trump administration is temporarily blocked from terminating the legal statuses of international students and from arresting or detaining any foreign-born students on the basis of their immigration status after a federal judge found that the Trump administration has “wreaked havoc” on the lives of the students by removing them from F-1 student visa database. Kimmy Yam and Chloe Atkins report for NBC News.

A federal judge yesterday extended her order prohibiting the Trump administration from carrying out vast layoffs of federal workers, ordering the government to pause the firings until the proceedings in a case challenging them conclude. Eileen Sullivan reports for the New York Times.

The former head of the U.S. Copyright Office, Shira Perlmutter, yesterday filed a suit challenging her dismissal. In the suit, Perlmutter argues her abrupt ouster from the position violates the Constitution’s separation of powers. Gregory Svirnovskiy reports for POLITICO."

JohnInCarolina

Canugghead

Plate included?

DoubleEgger

Is that a leftover Trump steak? 

Legume

To the server, "please leave room on the plate for ketchup"

JohnInCarolina

Legume said:

To the server, "please leave room on the plate for ketchup"

I do wonder if the steaks were well done.

JohnInCarolina

Our president *billionaire does not seem to know how many zeroes are in a billion. 

JohnInCarolina

lousubcap

Can't fix stupid!  

Botch

JohnInCarolina said:

Our president *billionaire does not seem to know how many zeroes are in a billion. 

-  Of the three Universities I've attended, about 1/3 of all my engineering classes were foreign students
-  Those students pay Top Dollar, completely dwarfing my out-of-state tuition
-  The billions of dollars from the feds are mostly research, which this administration wishes to cut
-  Not 100% sure on this last one, but "one" source I trust stated that Barron trump had applied to Harvard, and was not accepted.  

JohnInCarolina

Botch said:

JohnInCarolina said:

Our president *billionaire does not seem to know how many zeroes are in a billion. 

-  Of the three Universities I've attended, about 1/3 of all my engineering classes were foreign students
-  Those students pay Top Dollar, completely dwarfing my out-of-state tuition
-  The billions of dollars from the feds are mostly research, which this administration wishes to cut
-  Not 100% sure on this last one, but "one" source I trust stated that Barron trump had applied to Harvard, and was not accepted.  

In fact it’s a mix when it comes to international students.  Undergraduates who are here on student visas generally pay full tuition, as do Masters students.  PhD students, especially in STEM areas, generally do not pay tuition.  They are supported by research grants from one of any number of sources, most of which are federal in nature.  

The other aspect of Trump’s statement there that’s troubling is the “we want to know who they are” - the US government knows exactly who they are already, by virtue of granting them a student visa in the first place.

As for this mostly being about Barron, online I can only find speculation that he applied to Harvard.  I don’t think there’s ever been any confirmation of that, never mind getting rejected.  It’s a reasonable assumption with Trump that there may be a personal grievance aspect to the administration’s fight with Harvard, but I think there’s a lot more to it.

For me, the fact of the matter is that Harvard in many ways is the best positioned to fight the administration.  But there’s another side to that coin: if they can’t manage to win the fight, other institutions like them stand little chance.  I wish I liked their chances, but right now I’m not optimistic.

DoubleEgger

With Trump, it’s rarely more than a personal vendetta. 

JohnInCarolina

DoubleEgger said:

With Trump, it’s rarely more than a personal vendetta. 

I tend to agree, but I'm not sure he's the only person in the Executive branch driving this battle with Harvard.  The sad reality is that the GOP has decided that academia is a useful enemy for them, and there are plenty of people in Trump's White House who have embraced this approach.  

Botch

JohnInCarolina said:
...PhD students, especially in STEM areas, generally do not pay tuition.  They are supported by research grants from one of any number of sources, most of which are federal in nature.  

I did not know that; of course, I didn't get up to that level in college.  

JohnInCarolina

lousubcap

Tuesday TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION

"A federal judge on Friday issued an order temporarily restraining the Trump administration from rescinding Harvard University’s ability to enroll foreign students, hours after the school filed a lawsuit accusing the DHS of retaliation for Harvard’s refusal to agree to the government’s demands. Bianca Quilantan, Josh Gerstein, and Kyle Cheney report for POLITICO.

Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday issued an administrative stay of a lower court order directing the government to respond to freedom of information requests seeking documents from DOGE and allowing for the deposition of the DOGE administrator, Amy Gleason. Lawrence Hurley and Gary Grumbach report for NBC News.

Trump’s order threatening penalties against the law firm Jenner & Block was unconstitutional, a federal judge held on Friday. The judge found that Trump’s orders were “doubly violative” of the Constitution, violating the First Amendment rights of Jenner & Block and intimidating all other lawyers. The ruling is the second decision finding Trump’s orders punishing law firms unconstitutional. Zach Montague reports for the New York Times.

A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a Guatemalan man the U.S. authorities have deported to Mexico. The judge ruled that the man was likely to succeed in “showing that his removal lacked any semblance of due process.” Mattathias Schwartz reports for the New York Times.

An environmental group has filed a lawsuit challenging Trump’s order that opened the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument to commercial fishing, arguing that commercial fishing in the area would harm the interests of a group of Native Hawaiian plaintiffs. Jennifer Sinco Kelleher reports for AP News."

JohnInCarolina

The President of the United States is preoccupied with a *high school* track and field event.

Buckwoody Egger

Praise Jesus the Chrisleys have been pardoned!  That’s the America we were all so desperately missing!!!  Woohoo!!!

JohnInCarolina

lousubcap

You can't make this up.  As has been said too many times..."Follow the Money" or "Show me the Money" are the heaviest hitters in politics-always was, always will be.  F'me once again-such a frequent event that I now own lots of Vaseline stock!!!  

GrateEggspectations

From https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/golden-dome-61-billion-1.7545414:

Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday that it will cost Canada $61 billion US to join the Golden Dome "if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation," but will cost nothing "if they become our cherished 51st State."

He claimed Canada is "considering" the offer.

🤭🤭🤭

Buckwoody Egger

Not sure why the US needs the golden dome. Who is the enemy?  Everyone is scared of trump after those tough talkin’ tweets and seeing those drawings of him as the barrel chested buttkicker in a blue suit!!  Superman with a power red tie!!  Just spitballin here but maybe he will get Canada to pay for the dome which will almost bankrupt them then we swoop in with bitcoins crypto wealth and get them for a song. He’s so smart at business and bankruptcies— he’s not gonna show his hand!!! 

JohnInCarolina

DoubleEgger

JohnInCarolina said:

“American kids” = Barron Trump 

DoubleEgger

Sounds like Trump is actually looking for more DEI at Harvard. Funny how that works. 

lousubcap

Wednesday TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION

"The Trump administration yesterday filed an emergency appeal asking the Supreme Court to lift a lower court’s ruling that the government cannot rapidly deport people to countries that are not their own and without an opportunity to claim they would be subject to torture. In the appeal, Solicitor General John Sauer argued that the lower court’s order “disrupts sensitive diplomatic, foreign-policy, and national-security efforts.” Josh Gerstein reports for POLITICO.

Trump’s executive order targeting the law firm WilmerHale unconstitutionally infringed on freedoms preserving an “independent bar willing to tackle unpopular cases, however daunting,” a federal judge ruledyesterday. Striking down the order “in its entirety,” the judge said that “to rule otherwise would be unfaithful to the judgment and vision of the Founding Fathers!” C. Ryan Barber reports for the Wall Street Journal.

Attorneys for 14 states who had sued Elon Musk, DOGE and Trump in February made a credible case that Musk “occupies a continuing position” and “exercises significant authority” in leading DOGE without “proper appointment” by Congress, a federal judge ruled yesterday. Lora Kolodny reports for CNBC.

DOGE staffers who underwent training and vetting procedures may access sensitive Treasury data, a federal judge ruled yesterday. In her decision, the judge found that the government had complied with her earlier requests to demonstrate it is equipped to screen and train employees before granting them access. Kelly Kasulis Cho reports for the Washington Post.

A federal judge yesterday temporarily barred the Trump administration from withholding federal funds for New York City in order to pressure the city to drop its congestion pricing plan. Jack Morphet and Joseph De Avila report for the Wall Street Journal.

The National Public Radio (NPR) and three Colorado public radio stations yesterday filed a federal lawsuit challenging Trump’s executive order that sought to cease all funding for the NPR and PBS. The lawsuit argues that in addition to “usurping” Congress’ power to direct how federal money is to be spent, the order violates the broadcasters’ First Amendment rights. David Folkenflik reports for NPR.

The Trump administration yesterday filed a federal lawsuit accusing North Carolina’s election board of violating the 2002 Help America Vote Act by failing to ensure voter registration records of some applicants contained identifying numbers. Gary D. Robertson reports for AP News."

GrateEggspectations

Buckwoody Egger said:

Not sure why the US needs the golden dome. Who is the enemy?  Everyone is scared of trump after those tough talkin’ tweets and seeing those drawings of him as the barrel chested buttkicker in a blue suit!!  Superman with a power red tie!!  Just spitballin here but maybe he will get Canada to pay for the dome which will almost bankrupt them then we swoop in with bitcoins crypto wealth and get them for a song. He’s so smart at business and bankruptcies— he’s not gonna show his hand!!! 

You mean like how the Mexicans paid for the wall? 🤭

Buckwoody Egger

funny you ask!  lots of people are saying Mexico paid for the posts in the fence — and before they finished the walls Biden stole all those votes and installed turnstiles!!!!  and the receipts are being looked at and will be shown to everyone in a couple weeks!!!  if not it’s probably because they are too busy “correcting” the US history textbooks in Oklahoma!!  should i have used all caps?!???????!!!!!