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March 24, 2025
New On The Market: 'Empty Chair' Town Halls
(TPM) They’re happening: 'empty chair' town halls in Republican districts pretty much all over the place. This weekend we’ve got reports in Columbus, Ohio for Sens, Moreno and Husted, on Maryland’s eastern shore, where Jamie Raskin had to show up in place of Andy Harris, in Little Rock for French Hill, Tom Cotton and John Boozman, in Lexington for Andy Barr. Almost all of these are very red districts. And they’re not a few people showing up holding signs. The one in Little Rock had 800 attendees. There were reportedly 1,000 in Lexington. The others seem to have had comparable numbers if not quite that many.
Go to discussionGOP grapples with mounting frustration over DOGE cuts
(The Hill) Republicans are facing mounting voter frustration with Trump administration cuts made under tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The anger has spilled out into public view in recent days as Republican lawmakers have been confronted over the cuts at raucous town halls. And multiple polls have suggested that, while voters are open to the broader idea of a federal downsizing, they’re concerned by the implementation of DOGE’s efforts.
Go to discussionGreenland states they will not meet with Usha Vance or Trump's delegation
(USA Today) Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede criticized an upcoming trip to the Danish territory by Usha Vance, wife of Vice President JD Vance, and other senior U.S. officials as a "provocation" and "highly aggressive." The second lady was expected to travel to Greenland on Thursday alongside Mike Waltz, President Donald Trump's national security adviser, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright. The White House said that she would watch the island's national dogsled race and "celebrate Greenlandic culture and unity." Egede, who is Greenland's outgoing prime minister, said his caretaker government would not meet with the delegation.
Go to discussion'Chilling effect on free speech:' Trump wants green card applicants already legally in the US to hand over social media
(The Independent) The Trump administration’s proposal to vet social media profiles of green card applicants already legally in the U.S. has been condemned in initial public feedback as an attack on free speech. USCIS said the vetting of social media accounts is necessary for “the enhanced identity verification, vetting and national security screening.” The agency also said it was necessary to comply with Trump’s executive order titled “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.”
Go to discussionSix weeks in, White House on way to being the most corrupt in US history
(Chris Murphy) Trump and Elon Musk and their billionaire friends have engaged in a stunning rampage of open public corruption — not fundamentally different than what happened in Russia. These are efforts to steal from the American people to enrich themselves. And their strategy is to do it all out in the open ... at such a dizzying pace that the country just gets overwhelmed, or anesthetized, or dulled into a sense that we just all have to accept the corruption, or maybe more charitably that this is just how government works — that government is just corrupt.
Go to discussionHouse Democrat: Trump administration acting 'with an unbelievable cocktail of incompetence and illegality'
(The Hill) Democratic Rep. Jim Himes (Conn.) said he thinks the Trump administration is acting “with an unbelievable cocktail of incompetence and illegality.” Himes, who is the ranking member on the House Committee on Intelligence, joined CBS News’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday, where host Margaret Brennan asked him about the Trump administration’s deportation flights of alleged Venezuelan gang members and the differing messages about the legality of Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to do so.
Go to discussionTrump Adviser Draws Ire for Saying He Takes Putin 'at His Word'
(Newsweek) U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff drew ire online for his comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin—chiefly that he would "take him at his word" as talks for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine continue in their ongoing war. Witkoff has emerged as one of the main players in the Trump administration's negotiations with Russia and Ukraine, and recently traveled to Moscow to meet with Putin. Ukraine and its European backers have watched on with deepening concern over the thawing of relations between Washington and Moscow.
Go to discussionChina is turning up pressure on Walmart. That could mean higher prices for US customers
(CNN) Trump has slapped 20% tariffs — or taxes on imported goods — on all products coming from China. That’s put the squeeze on retailers like Walmart, which imports a lot of merchandise from China and sells those goods at the lowest price possible to American consumers. Walmart, in turn, has tried to pressure its Chinese suppliers to lower prices. But the Chinese government is having none of it. The strong reaction from the Chinese government reveals how American companies are caught in the middle of an escalating trade war between the United States and China.
Go to discussionCanadians traveling to the U.S. reach COVID lows with nearly 500,000 fewer travellers in February
(CBC) Nearly 500,000 fewer travellers crossed the land border from Canada into the U.S. in February compared to the same month last year, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the latest sign that President Donald Trump's taunts and tariffs have shaken bilateral relations. The number of travellers entering the U.S. in a passenger vehicle — the most common way to make the trip — dropped from 2,696,512 in February 2024 to 2,223,408 last month, reaching levels not seen since cross-border travel normalized in the post-COVID-19 era.
Go to discussionAt the Kennedy Center, Conan O'Brien Gets Honored, and the Trump Jokes Are Plentiful
(New York Times) In honoring Conan O’Brien at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, a lineup of big-name comedians made the veteran late-night host and comedy fixture the main focus of roasting — but President Trump and his recent takeover of the Washington arts center quickly became the second-favorite target of the night.
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