Elect a Clown, Expect the Circus

Tuesday Clown Show summary:

"The Trump administration wants tech companies to publicly commit to a new compact governing the expansion of AI data centers, according to two administration officials. A draft of the compact lays out commitments to ensure data centers do not raise household electricity prices, strain water supplies, or undermine grid reliability. It also sets out that the companies driving demand carry the cost of building new infrastructure. It remains unclear which companies have agreed to the compact or have been invited to participate. Sophia Cai, Jason Plautz, James Bikales, and Ben Johansen report for POLITICO.  

The Trump administration is planning this week to repeal the 2009 “endangerment finding,” which concluded that six greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare. The finding provided the legal underpinning for federal greenhouse gas regulation. “This amounts to the largest act of deregulation in the history of the United States,” Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said. Meredith McGraw and Benoit Morenne report for the Wall Street Journal.  

Trump has directed top U.S. spy agencies to share sensitive intelligence about the 2020 election with his former campaign lawyer Kurt Olsen, according to four sources. Olsen, now a temporary government employee in the White House, is leading the probe into whether the 2020 election win was the result of fraud or other electoral irregularities. The White House did not say whether there were any limits on the intelligence that could be shared with Olsen, explaining only that the President “has the authority to provide access to classified material to individuals as he deems necessary.” John Sakellariadis reports for POLITICO. 

The Trump administration will fund efforts to promote free speech in Western countries allied with Washington, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers said yesterday. The State Department said that Rogers will discuss freedom of speech and digital freedom with officials and others on her trip to Dublin, Budapest, Warsaw, and Munich. Simon Lewis reports for Reuters. "

Thursday Clown Show summary:

"The House yesterday voted 219-211 to rescind tariffs imposed on Canada last year, with six Republicans joining nearly all Democrats in backing the resolution. Despite succeeding in the House, the measure is likely to be vetoed by Trump. Robert Jimison reports for the New York Times.  

The House also voted 218-213 to approve the SAVE America Act, with one Democrat joining Republicans to back the measure. The action would require proof of U.S. citizenship in the November midterm elections. David Morgan reports for Reuters. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi testified yesterday in a four-hour hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, fielding questions on pending investigations into Trump’s adversaries, immigration enforcement, and documents released as part of the most recent tranche of Epstein files. Bondi refused to apologize to survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse who were sitting in the room and instead demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump. Glenn Thrush reports for the New York Times.

Senators yesterday emerged from a briefing from FAA administrator Bryan Bedford demanding more information on what led to the airspace closure in El Paso. The Trump administration’s official line, from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, is that the closure happened after the FAA and Defense Department “acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion.” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said yesterday, “the details of what exactly occurred over El Paso are unclear,” adding “which is why I’m requesting a classified briefing to get further details.” Hans Nichols reports for Axios.  

The abrupt closure of El Paso’s airspace on Tuesday was caused by Customs and Border Protection officials deploying an anti-drone laser on loan from the Pentagon without giving aviation officials enough time to assess the risks to commercial aircraft, according to several sources. Sources said that CBP officials thought they were firing on a cartel drone, but it turned out to be a party balloon.

Trump was awarded the “Undisputed Champion of Beautiful Clean Coal” trophy during an event at the White House yesterday celebrating Trump’s signing of an executive order directing the Pentagon to procure electricity from coal-fired power plants.  Rebecca Falconer reports for Axios."

Tuesday Clown Show summary:

"Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is close to cutting ties with Anthropic and designating the AI company as a “supply chain risk,” amid disputes over how its Claude AI model can be used in military operations, a senior Pentagon official told Axios. The conflict centers on Anthropic’s push to restrict uses like mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons, while the Pentagon insists on “all lawful purposes.” Dave Lawler, Maria Curi, and Mike Allen report.

The Trump administration’s repeal of the 2009 “endangerment finding” has effectively stripped the federal government of its authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, leaving the United States with no significant clean-car standards. “The U.S. no longer has emission standards of any meaning,” Margo T. Oge, who previously served as the Environmental Protection Agency’s top vehicle emission regulator, said yesterday. “Nothing. Zero,” she added. “Not many countries have zero.” Hiroko Tabuchi reports for the New York Times."

Thursday Clown Show summary:

"Jay Bhattacharya, the head of the National Institutes of Health, will become acting director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention,following the dismissal of Jim O’Neill, according to a White House official and an administration official. One official said that Trump will name O’Neill to lead the National Science Foundation. Cheyenne Haslett, David Lim, and Sophie Gardner report for POLITICO.  

The Trump administration yesterday paid the remaining portion it owed to the Gateway rail tunnel project that spans New York and New Jersey,according to Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY). Chris Marquette reports for POLITICO."

Worth two minutes:
 
https://youtube.com/shorts/uNK31btpUQw?si=cLk5cbwwDLW0JZMO

Tuesday Clown Show summary:

"Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei will meet with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth today in Washington to discuss how its AI technology is used in classified systems. This follows a Jan. 9 memo by Hegseth calling on AI companies to remove restrictions on their technology, which led to the two sides renegotiating their contract. “Anthropic knows this is not a get-to-know-you meeting,” a senior Defense official told Axios. “This is not a friendly meeting. This is a sh*t-or-get-off-the-pot meeting.” Julian E. Barnes and Sheera Frenkel report for the New York Times; Dave Lawler and Maria Curi report. 

Elon Musk’s xAI has signed an agreement to allow the U.S. military to use its model, Grok, in classified systems, a Defense official confirmed to Axios. xAI has agreed to the Pentagon’s “all lawful purpose” standard, which Anthropic is holding out against. Up to now, Anthropic’s Claude has been the only model available for use in classified systems. Dave Lawler and Maria Curi report.

The Pentagon told Congress in a report that it intends to spend more than $153 billion in new military funding within the year “if that can be done without sacrificing effectiveness,” rather than over five years as originally envisioned. Megan Mineiro reports for the New York Times.  

The Trump administration yesterday announced that it is expanding its efforts to dismantle the Education Department by moving its oversight of school safety grants and foreign funding for universities to other agencies. The Department of Health and Human Services is set to take over work related to school shootings and student mental health programs. The State Department will be tasked with monitoring the flow of billions of dollars in foreign gifts and contracts to higher education institutions. Juan Perez Jr. reports for POLITICO. "

Thursday Clown Show summary:

"The Trump administration told Congress earlier this month that it will not share the classified intelligence that led to a whistleblower complaint against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, citing executive privilege, according to an email reviewed by the Wall Street Journal. In a letter to Gabbard sent on Tuesday, Sen. Mark Warner (D-IN) and Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) asked who asserted privilege over the intelligence report and on what basis. Dustin Volz reports.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) yesterday condemned the arrest of her guest to the State of the Union, Aliya Rahman, who was previously dragged from her vehicle by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Rahman has been charged with unlawful conduct by disrupting congress, according to Rahman, Omar, and the U.S. Capitol Police. Omar said the arrest “sends a chilling message about the state of our democracy.” Chris Cameron and Michael Gold report for the New York Times.

Around 10 FBI employees were dismissed this week for their work on the investigation into Trump’s retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, according to five sources. The firings came hours after FBI Director Kash Patel told Reuters that the FBI had subpoenaed phone metadata from himself and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in 2022 and 2023 during the documents inquiry. Patel portrayed the seizing of his phone records by the FBI and efforts to conceal them as an example of overreach by unelected government officials under Biden. It has been known for years that Patel was closely scrutinised by the investigators under special counsel Jack Smith and that some of Wiles’s phone records were obtained. Glenn Thrush, Alan Feuer, and Devlin Barrett report for the New York Times.

Vice President JD Vance yesterday announced that the Trump administration would temporarily halt $259.5 million in Medicaid funding to the state of Minnesota over fraud concerns. Michelle L. Price and Ali Swenson report for AP News.

Homeland Security Department official Heather Honey yesterday told election officials that ICE officers will not be stationed at polling places in November. “Any suggestion that ICE is going to be present at polling places is simply disinformation,” Heather Honey said. Andrew Howard and Erin Doherty report for POLITICO."

Monday Clown Show summary"

Trump said on Friday that the U.S. government would blacklist Anthropic, as the Pentagon declared the company a “supply chain risk.” This follows Anthropic’s rejection of the Pentagon’s demands to lift all safeguards on the military’s use of its AI model, Claude. “The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution,”Trump said. In his social media post, Trump also ordered that all government departments immediately cease use of Anthropic’s technology. David Lawler and Maria Curi report for Axios.

OpenAI announced on Friday night that it has reached an agreement with the Defense Department to deploy its AI models within the Pentagon’s classified network. CEO Sam Altman said that the agreement includes safeguards such as bans on domestic mass surveillance and human responsibility for the use of force, despite these being the two key sticking points between Anthropic and the Pentagon in recent weeks. Bob King reports for POLITICO.

A Defense Department memo, dated Friday, shows that from September the military will ban service members from attending certain graduate-level programs and fellowships at nearly two dozen universities, including Princeton,Yale, MIT, and Georgetown. The memo states, “it is imperative that our warfighter education system forges strategic senior leaders who are trained to think critically, free of bias and influence.” Chris Cameron reports for the New York Times."

Wednesday Clown Show summary:

"The Trump administration plans to meet with executives from the biggest U.S. defense contractors at the White House on Friday to discuss accelerating weapons production, five sources told Reuters. Mike Stone reports.  

The Homeland Security Department has been “systemically obstructing” investigations by withholding records, Inspector General Joseph Cuffari said in a letter to Congress released yesterday. Cuffari’s letter outlined at least 10 investigations in which his office has been denied access to records and information. Cuffari said that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had recently asked him for a list of all pending OIG matters, including criminal matters, “so that she may consider whether any audits, inspections, or investigations should be terminated.” Eric Bazail-Eimil reports for POLITICO.  

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has rescinded a 2021 Justice Department policy that restricted when law enforcement agents executing a search could enter a home without knocking.  A DOJ memo, signed by Blanche, says “no-knock” entries are now permissible for a broader set of searches, not just when law enforcement fears safety risks, but also when there is a risk that evidence could be destroyed. Carol Leonnig reports for MS Now.  

The National Capital Planning Commission has received about 32,000 comments during its public comment period about Trump’s White House ballroom plans. According to an analysis by the New York Times, more than 98% of comments are negative. Luke Broadwater and Dylan Freedman report."

Friday Clown Show summary:

"The DOJ yesterday released three 2019 FBI interviews with a woman who alleged Trump sexually assaulted her when she was a young teenager after she was introduced to him by Jeffrey Epstein. In a statement posted online on Thursday, the DOJ acknowledged that besides those FBI memos, it had also identified about a dozen other documents that were “incorrectly coded as duplicative” in the Epstein files. Devlin Barrett reports for the New York Times; Erica Orden reports for POLITICO.

Trump yesterday fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and announced plans to replace her with Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK).Trump made the announcement on social media, along with a new role for Noem inside the administration: special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, which he said would be a new security initiative for the Western Hemisphere. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said yesterday that he would push for a perjury investigation into Noem just hours after she was fired. Under oath during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Noem said that Corey Lewandowski, one of her top advisers, did not approve contracts for DHS. Blumenthal said the Democrats have evidence that Noem was lying. Michael Bender, Michael Gold, Hamed Aleaziz, and Maggie Haberman report for the New York Times; Carl Hulse and Michael Gold report for the New York Times.

The Defense Department has formally labeled Anthropic as a supply-chain risk, the Pentagon said in a statement yesterday. “From the very beginning, this has been about one fundamental principle: the military being able to use technology for all lawful purposes,” the Pentagon said in the statement. “The military will not allow a vendor to insert itself into the chain of command by restricting the lawful use of a critical capability and put our warfighters at risk.” This decision comes amid the U.S. military’s use of Anthropic’s Claude to rapidly analyze intelligence, identify and prioritize targets, and support large-scale airstrikes in Iran, two sources said. Brendan Bordelon reports for POLITICO; Tara Copp, Elizabeth Dwoskin, and Ian Duncan report for the Washington Post.

The National Capital Planning Commission yesterday delayed a vote on Trump’s White House ballroom project until next month, citing “significant public input,” including tens of thousands of comments. Jonathan Edwards and Dan Diamond report for the Washington Post."

Wednesday Clown Show summary:

"The Social Security Inspector General’s office is investigating allegations that a former U.S. DOGE Service software engineer took sensitive data on a thumb drive in a major potential security breach, sources said. The complaint claims that the employee had access to two highly sensitive agency databases and planned to share the information with his private employer once he had removed the personal details from the data. The employee told another colleague that he expected to receive a presidential pardon if his actions were deemed to be illegal. Meryl Kornfield, Elizabeth Dwoskin, and Lisa Rein report for the Washington Post.

Arizona’s acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations, Matthew Murphy, told the state attorney general’s office last month that his office was now probing the 2020 election in Arizona, a source said. Murphy said he was acting “direction from D.C.,” the source added. The HSI investigation in Arizona comes as the FBI has embarked on a separate election probe in the state. “This is not a joint investigation,” a source familiar with the FBI investigation said. Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Sarah Fitzpatrick, and Nick Moroff report for the Atlantic."

Friday Clown Show summary:

"Trump has advised María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader, not to return home. Trump told her the situation in the country is volatile and that he has concerns for her safety, but the focus on maintaining continuity in the Venezuelan government “has put the White House increasingly at odds” with Machado. Anatoly Kurmanaev and Tyler Pager report for the New York Times.

A roughly $14 billion U.S. arms package for Taiwan, including advanced interceptor missiles, is ready for President Trump’s approval and could be announced after his planned trip to Beijing later this month. The package would be the largest ever for Taiwan and suggests the administration intends to sustain, or even expand, military support for Taipei despite concerns that Trump might scale it back while pursuing a trade deal with China. Reuters reports."

Robert Reich on Secretary kegsbreath:  
 

At a press briefing on Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth complained about a CNN report that the Trump administration had underestimated Iran’s ability to disrupt global oil traffic by closing the Strait of Hormuz. 

“Patently ridiculous,” Hegseth told reporters, adding — even as the strait’s blockage was proving to be Iran’s most powerful leverage in the war — we “don’t need to worry about it.” He also denied that the U.S. bombed the school where some 175 children were killed. Hegseth added that, as to CNN, “the sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.”

These remarks are remarkably stupid, on several levels.

First, CNN got it absolutely right in reporting that Trump’s national security team had underestimated Iran’s ability to disrupt global oil traffic. CNN cited “multiple sources familiar with the matter.” 

The New York Times published a similar story, reporting that in the lead-up to the U.S.-Israeli attack, “Trump downplayed the risks to the energy markets.” 

Even The Wall Street Journal, hardly a New York Times or CNN clone, substantiated the story on Friday, reporting that Trump rejected warnings that Iran would likely retaliate by closing the strait because he believed Iran would capitulate before doing so, and he assumed that even if Iran tried to close it, the U.S. military could handle it.

Second, Hegseth’s comment that we “don’t need to worry about” the blockage of the strait is not only false but flippantly insulting to an American public that deserves to know what the Trump regime is planning to do about soaring prices at the gas pump, directly due to that blockage. 

Third, even if Hegseth believes that David Ellison’s ownership of CNN will silence CNN’s critical coverage of Trump, it’s remarkably stupid of Hegseth to say it out loud. “The sooner David Ellison takes over CNN, the better” is an open admission that Trump backed Ellison’s bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent, to silence criticism.

That deal is still pending, so Hegseth’s admission is likely to fuel even more opposition to it. California’s attorney general has already suggested he’ll go to court to block it. Now other attorneys general, the ACLU, and Democrats in Congress may join the case as co-plaintiffs. 

Hegseth’s admission also confirms CNN’s worst fears that Ellison will throttle criticism of Trump — a fear that’s already caused several leading lights to exit. As Variety put it, “Anderson, cooped. Jake, tapped. Erin, burnt. Kasie, hunted. Wolf, blitzed.”

Ellison has already proven himself an unreliable steward of journalistic independence at CBS News. One departing producer there explained in a farewell memo to colleagues that she could no longer work where stories are “evaluated not just on their journalistic merit, but on whether they conform to a shifting set of ideological expectations — a dynamic that pressures producers and reporters to self-censor or avoid challenging narratives that might trigger backlash or unfavorable headlines.”

Finally, Hegseth’s denial that the U.S. is responsible for the deaths of nearly 200 schoolchildren in Iran is belied by mounting evidence that the U.S. didbomb the school. Hegseth’s further insistence that the U.S. “never targets civilians” is refuted by the U.S. military’s killing of at least 157 people on 40 small boats in the Caribbean without evidence they were “narcoterrorists” rather than civilians. 

And, friends, this was just one news conference.

Pete Hegseth’s job is so far over his head that he can’t even see it. He evidently believes it’s to cheerlead and defend Trump with bonkers claims like “We didn't start this war, but under President Trump we’re finishing it” and “America is winning decisively, devastatingly, and without mercy” and “we will show no quarter for our enemies.” (“No quarter” means kill everyone and take no prisoners, which is a war crime.)

In the days leading up to the U.S. attack on Iran, Hegseth spent his time criticizing “wokeness” at American universities, feuding with Anthropic over safeguards for AI, and, in the day before the war began, forcing Scouting America to abandon programs aimed at promoting diversity.

He dismisses war crimes, pooh-poohs the rules of engagement, and projects unequivocal belligerence at a time when the United States is rapidly losing whatever moral standing it had in the world. 

Granted, it’s difficult to select one of Trump’s Cabinet members as the stupidest. But Pete Hegseth stands out for sheer boneheaded ignorance. 

Pray for America and the world.

Wednesday Clown Show summary:

The U.S. government said yesterday that it had deemed Anthropic an “unacceptable risk” to national security because the start-up could disable or alter its technology to suit its own interests, rather than the country’s priorities, in a time of war, according to a court filing. Sheera Frenkel reports for the New York Times. " 

Thursday Clown Show summary:

The 2026 Annual Threats Assessment, compiled by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, incorporates several Trump administration policies, refers throughout to the success of Trump’s peace deals, and concludes that China is unlikely to invade Taiwan next year. The report also warns of rising missile threats from China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and Pakistan, stating that Iran is likely to seek revenge against the United States for the killing of its leaders. Maggie Miller and Jack Detsch report for POLITICO. 

The FBI has opened an investigation into former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent, following allegations that he improperly shared classified information, four sources told Semafor. One source said the investigation predates Kent’s departure this week, describing it as being months-long. Shelby Talcott reports.

The FBI is buying information that can be used to track people’s movement and location history, FBI Director Kash Patel said yesterday during a Senate hearing. “We do purchase commercially available information that’s consistent with the Constitution and the laws under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and it has led to some valuable intelligence for us,” Patel told senators. Alfred Ng reports for POLITICO. 

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) yesterday said he would revoke a policy under Kristi Noem that slowed federal disaster aid by requiring approval for contracts over $100,000 at his confirmation hearing for Homeland Security Secretary. Scott Dance reports for the New York Times. "