Talk about what was at Hillary Clinton's home!...”
— Trump's AG Pam Bondi, raising the "but her emails!" battle cry to justify any failure to investigate this week's Signalgate group chat scandal. |
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The Trump team backed off plans to trim Social Security services after a backlash — in the latest sign Trump can’t sow chaos while defying political reality or consequences forever.
- President Donald Trump seems to think he’s Thanos, the Marvel baddie who can change the laws of physics with a snap of his fingers. That’s pretty much how he likes to operate — crushing agencies, firing people, demonstrating rank incompetence… and somehow always failing upwards and surviving to the sequel. But take a glance at the Trump team’s reaction to the furious backlash over proposed changes to Social Security, and suddenly it looks like political normality may be reasserting itself over these reality-bending powers — at least for the moment.
- The Trump Administration is backing off a plan to cut off phone services for Social Security beneficiaries. The change would have required folks to either go online, or travel to one of the agency’s field offices, to apply for benefits or change their account info. The plan is now delayed for approximately 60 million recipients of regular benefits and SSI, and postponed indefinitely for 8 million disabled persons.
- The problems with this idea were obvious from the start: Older folks aren’t always great at being online, and both the elderly and the disabled may face extra challenges in traveling. But acting Social Security Administration leadership rushed to implement the changes anyway. They even admitted that they were moving too fast, and that disruptions for millions of disabled and elderly people were inevitable. And there’s more: A Trump order to do away with paper benefits checks could affect half a million beneficiaries who don’t have direct deposit or aren’t comfortable using it.
- This is what you get when policy is driven by a billionaire who a) lies about fraud and abuse in Social Security, and b) gripes to his millionaire buddy that the country’s most important program for keeping Americans out of poverty is “a Ponzi scheme.”
- Their reversal teaches us a simple lesson: Social Security is important and popular, and that really matters. Politicians, including Republicans, hear from their from constituents when they start to tinker with benefits. Donald Trump knows this. That’s why he has promised never to cut benefits even as Elon Musk and MAGA zealots try to justify cuts by using waste, fraud and abuse as an excuse.
To be sure, DOGE and Trump are still trying to gut Social Security’s infrastructure. And they’re hardly stopping there.
- Trump’s team of misfits is rapidly engineering other painful changes. On Thursday anti-vaccine propagandist and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced a plan to slash 10,000 jobs from the agency. It’s nearly one eighth of the total HHS workforce. On the same day he fired thousands of people, RFK Jr. declared he’s “having fun” in his new role.
- These cuts would hobble vital services Americans rely on like making sure prescription drugs are safe and effective, preparing for pandemics, and the small issue of medical research via the National Institutes of Health. Here, the pain is less direct than what Trump is attempting at Social Security: Most Americans aren’t directly involved in medical research or food safety inspection. But they’ll feel the effects if those services get hollowed out.
- By the way, RFK’s reductions include 300 employees at the agency that runs Medicare. Despite demagoguery, the agency is extraordinarily well-run and efficient, at least by the dismal standards of the American private health care system.
If the Social Security experience is any guide, Musk, under-President Trump, and RFK might want to tread carefully before tearing it up.
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TRUMP'S AMBASSADOR, NO MORE
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The Social Security debacle isn’t the only time political reality bonked the Trump gang this week, causing them to reverse course. Trump was also forced to nix plans for one of his besties in the House.
MAGA acolyte and “Great Replacement” propagandist Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) won’t be Trump’s U.N. Ambassador, after all (sad trombone). The White House withdrew her nomination over mounting GOP fears that the party could lose her House seat if she leaves, putting even more pressure on their extremely compressed House majority.
Republicans are right to worry! Just this week a Democrat pulled a massive upset in a Pennsylvania state Senate district that Trump won by 15 points in November. Meanwhile, the GOP candidate to replace National Security Advisor and Signal-enjoyer Mike Waltz in Congress is behind on fundraising, and seems to be in trouble. Republicans are so nervous about losing the seat that Trump himself is rushing to headline a tele-town hall for Republican Randy Fine tonight. A poll out yesterday put Democrat Josh Weil within the margin of error in the deep red district for next Tuesday’s special election.
Bottom line: Democrats’ brand may be awful. But there are growing signs that Trump’s marauding across both the government and the rule of law is utterly toxic. Republicans are sure acting like they know that if Stefanik gets up out of her seat, they’re likely to lose it.
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The Trump administration must preserve messages related to this week’s massive Signal app scandal, a federal judge ruled. The ruling marks the latest defeat for the Trumpies in this ridiculous saga where sensitive military plans were accidentally sent to a journalist. Given the way this has been playing out, it won’t be the last!
Canada is responding to Trump’s intimidation and bullying by going on offense (you hear that, Democrats?). Billboards have popped up in 12 red-leaning states declaring that “tariffs are a tax” on things like food and gas. The ads are paid for by the Canadian government, and intended to spur Americans to push back on Trump’s policies.
Second Lady Usha Vance’s planned visit to Greenland is falling apart, as planned events fall off the itinerary. Greelanders from the Prime Minister on down say they’ve had enough of Donald Trump's talk of acquiring their land. First a drop-in on the country’s most important dogsled race was cancelled. Then a travel store. Danish TV reported that American officials went door-to-door to find a family willing to host Usha and her husband, VP JD Vance. There were no takers. Now the couple will just visit a U.S. base on the island. As they say in Kalaallisut… Aliasuppallaartoq!* (*Sad!)
Trump officials have revoked the visas of more than 300 foreign students for Palestinian-rights protests that the administration brands “pro-Hamas,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Thursday. “Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa,” Rubio gloated to reporters. Meanwhile, Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish Tufts University postdoctoral student, is being detained in Louisiana despite a judge’s order that she not be removed from Massachusetts.
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THERE'S MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM
From ignoring federal injunctions to unlawfully detaining immigrants, Trump's administration is testing the limits of the law. And on the newest episode of Assembly Required, Stacey Abrams sits down with Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward, to break down Trump’s most brazen legal battles. Then, Mandela Barnes joins to discuss Wisconsin’s crucial Supreme Court race—an election that could reshape 2025. Tune into this important conversation now, on the Assembly Required feed or on YouTube.
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Renewable energy capacity soared last year to its highest level ever, in growth that amounted to 90 percent of total power expansion. That means clean energy sources like wind, solar and hydroelectric expanded much faster than dirty oil and gas (although, to be sure, they need to grow faster still). Trump might "hate wind"... but we love this news!
New pharoah just dropped! Archaeologists have uncovered the tomb of a previously unknown pharaoh, about 300 miles south of Cairo. They estimate the tomb is 3,600 years old. Whoa, mummy!... really makes you Sphinx!
Not literally everything about Washington, DC has to stress you out. DC shines in the Springtime, so take a stroll through peak cherry blossom season! It's the best thing this town has to offer right now.
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