This administration seems bound and determined to convince the world that any "national security" justification the US claims is a hollow pretext to be created or bargained away on a whim

(not that previous administrations were immune to pretextual "national security" measures of course, but they generally put more effort into maintaining a veneer of plausibility)

https://mastodon.social/@zackwhittaker/116060159052968820

🤡 🎬 "Noem was forced to switch planes due to a maintenance issue, but the blanket she used was not transferred to the second plane … In response, Lewandowski fired the pilot.

In another plot twist, the pilot was then reinstated after no one else was available to fly the pair home"

https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-barbies-alleged-lover-fired-her-pilot-for-absurd-reason/

ICE Barbie’s Alleged Lover Fired Her Pilot for Absurd Reason

Corey Lewandowski reportedly fired a U.S. Coast Guard pilot in bizarre circumstances.

The Daily Beast

I for one am shocked… "Video evidence has revealed that sworn testimony provided by two separate officers appears to have made untruthful statements"
(shocked that DHS would admit it)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8l9jp1z3yo

Federal officers may have lied about shooting of migrant in Minneapolis, officials say

ICE chief Todd Lyons says the two officers were immediately placed on administrative leave.

JFC people, this should not be "reassuring" all that stuff about shared history and culture and how the US just wants to "help" Europe is just Vance's white supremacist screed in a cheap suit

https://www.rferl.org/a/rubio-warning-munich-speech-/33678260.html

Rubio Wraps Warnings In Warmth As Europe Breathes A Sigh Of Relief

At this year's Munich Security Conference, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed European leaders with affirmations of transatlantic ties -- calling America a "child of Europe" -- while urging reforms to address deindustrialization, migration, and sovereignty challenges.

RFE/RL
Vance: We hate you and everything you stand for, so we must destroy the EU and install far-right racist parties in government
Rubio: We love you and our shared historical culture, so to save it we must destroy the EU and install far-right racist parties in government

"Hundreds of judges around the country have ruled more than 4,400 times since October that President Donald Trump’s administration is detaining immigrants unlawfully"

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/courts-have-ruled-4400-times-that-ice-jailed-people-illegally-it-hasnt-stopped-2026-02-14/

"While Rubio’s tone was politer than the diatribe delivered by US vice-president JD Vance on the same stage the previous year — the first of a year-long series of blows dealt by Trump’s administration to the EU and Nato — the substance of the US message was little changed" https://www.ft.com/content/94633f65-04c0-4cea-b682-98c17720eebc
‘The best we can hope for’: Rubio’s Munich unity appeal fails to woo Europe

US secretary of state sought to mollify but underlying message reinforced US administration’s talking points

Financial Times
Aaron Blake rounds up a few of soon-to-be-ex DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin's biggest lies
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/17/politics/dhs-ice-trump-tricia-mclaughlin
The many claims by Trump’s DHS that have fallen apart

The imminent exit of Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin from the agency is the latest sign of a reset in the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation strategy, which has fallen sharply out of favor with the American people.

CNN
Chlorine Dioxide, Raw Camel Milk: The FDA No Longer Warns Against These and Other Ineffective Autism Treatments

The FDA has taken down a webpage warning about therapies and products making “false claims” of treating autism. It’s part of a series of actions the agency has taken under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to discredit long-established science.

ProPublica
Wittes' translation of Rubio's speech is not so different from mine https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-situation--translating-rubio
The Situation: Translating Rubio

The secretary of state’s Munich speech in plain simple English

Default
The cruelty is the point: 'last week in Wisconsin, a federal judge pressed the Trump administration to say why the nursing mother of a six-month-old had been detained. In response, DOJ said it consulted with the Department of Homeland Security and that DHS was “unable to identify” any reason to keep her detained' https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/18/pregnant-nursing-ice-detainees-00784683
🤡 🎬 "A PDF that Department of Homeland Security officials provided to New Hampshire governor Kelly Ayotte’s office about a new effort to build “mega” detention and processing centers across the United States contains embedded comments and metadata identifying the people who worked on it"
https://www.wired.com/story/metadata-exposes-authors-of-ices-mega-detention-center-plans/
Metadata Exposes Authors of ICE’s ‘Mega’ Detention Center Plans

Comments and other data left on a PDF detailing Homeland Security’s proposal to build “mega” detention and processing centers reveal the personnel involved in its creation.

WIRED

Taking that along with the numerous SNAFUs in the Epstein and JFK releases, I think there's a real chance the latest hastily ordered #UFO/#UAP release will turn up something interesting, if it happens (far from certain, given Trump's long track record of announcing shit and not following through).

Not aliens, mind you, but accidentally outing some other classified program or embarrassing screwup

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g57gqqln1o

Trump directs US government to prepare release of files on aliens and UFOs

Trump says he will seek release of files on extraterrestrials, "based on the tremendous interest shown".

Nothing says "government efficiency" like paying to lock up retiree tourists for six weeks when they would have gladly paid to get their own flight on the first day!

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/21/karen-newton-valid-visa-detained-ice
‘Don’t go to the US – not with Trump in charge’: the UK tourist with a valid visa detained by ICE for six weeks

Karen Newton was in America on the trip of a lifetime when she was shackled, transported and held for weeks on end. With tourism to the US under increasing strain, she says, ‘If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone’

The Guardian

Damning Rolling Stone deep dive into RFK Jr's HHS wildly unethical involvement in the Guinea-Bissau hepatitis B vaccine trial

(also no small irony Rolling Stone helped launch RFK Jr's antivax grift into the mainstream)

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/new-documents-vaccine-study-cdc-approval-1235518406/

New Documents Reveal a Controversial Vaccine Study’s Unusual Path to CDC Approval

A new investigation has found irregularities in the ethics review of a grant to study effects of a birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine in Guinea-Bissau.

Rolling Stone

"Now, rather than largely ignoring the actual operations of one agency, [Jay Bhattacharya] can largely ignore the actual operations of two"

https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/02/with-nih-in-chaos-its-controversial-director-is-taking-over-cdc-too/

Controversial NIH director now in charge of CDC, too, in RFK Jr. shake-up

The unusual dual role has renewed criticism of Bhattacharya's lack of leadership.

Ars Technica

While the Trump admin is trying to throw an extra $500 billion at the Pentagon, they also claim spending a tiny fraction of that to stop people literally starving to death is not in the national interest

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/02/trump-state-department-ending-aid-seven-african-countries/686106/?gift=hVZeG3M9DnxL4CekrWGK3xzCPg7Z1oVNh5eTu3qO-Zc

The Trump Administration Is Ending Aid That It Says Saves Lives

The State Department will let lifesaving projects expire because “there is no strong nexus between the humanitarian response and U.S. national interests,” according to an internal email.

The Atlantic

Gaslighting or less than zero self awareness?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Prediction: There will be unhinged posting when this story filters into Trump's media feed
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/jeanine-pirros-office-shelves-pursuit-democrats-social-video-sources-s-rcna259783
Jeanine Pirro's office shelves pursuit of Democrats over social video, sources say

Jeanine Pirro has decided to stop pursuing the case against six Democratic lawmakers over a social media video, three people familiar with the matter told NBC News.

NBC News

Lawfare piece shows in excruciating detail
1) The truly astonishing levels of misconduct required for the feds to actually be held in contempt
2) Holding them in contempt does work, at the individual case level

https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lessons-from-the-minnesota-s-civil-contempt-case

Lessons from the Minnesota’s Civil Contempt Case

“The government’s understaffing and high case load is a problem of its own making,” a federal judge observed.

Default

Tariff 🤡 🎬 continues: Apparently that tweeted increase from 10% to 15% didn't make it into the published documents

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd6zn3ly22yo

Trump's new global tariff comes into effect at 10%

The global levy comes in at 10%, lower than the rate the president had threatened at the weekend.

"‘No chance’ U.S. will be in drawn-out war in Middle East" shirt has people asking a lot of questions etc etc

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/02/26/vance-no-chance-us-will-be-drawn-out-war-middle-east/

Vance: ‘No chance’ U.S. will be in drawn-out war in Middle East

As President Trump contemplates military action in Iran, the vice president told The Post he still sees himself as a “skeptic” of overseas military intervention.

The Washington Post

"In fact, China is nearly as transactional as the Trump administration is. What sets Beijing apart, however, is its predictability, which offers countries a clear picture of how they might work with China even if it is less appealing than what the United States could offer" - Heck of a job guys

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/china-winning-waiting

China Is Winning by Waiting

How Beijing turns predictability into power.

Foreign Affairs
Aged to perfection

"The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!

Thank you for your attention to this matter"

Trump DOJ giving up on the absurd law firm EOs sure seems like it should have consequences for the leaders of the ones that folded, but probably won't

https://www.lawdork.com/p/doj-to-drop-its-appeals-of-losses

DOJ to drop its appeals of losses in the law firm order cases, per WSJ. What does it mean?

And: The Supreme Court heard arguments Monday over a federal law banning firearm possession by users of illegal drugs.

Law Dork

"When FBI Director Kash Patel fired a dozen FBI agents and staff last week for their role in the classified documents investigation of Donald Trump, he targeted an elite counter espionage unit that investigates threats from foreign adversaries and specializes in Iran, according to more than a half dozen sources"

https://www.ms.now/news/kash-patels-latest-firings-ousted-agents-with-expertise-in-iran

Kash Patel’s latest firings ousted agents with expertise in Iran

The FBI director gutted a specialized, global espionage unit of counterintelligence agents, just days before Operation Epic Fury.

MS NOW

LOL "All importers of record whose entries were subject to IEEPA duties are entitled to the benefit" [a refund]

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1d66k5r1x4o

Trade court orders tariff refunds in setback for Trump

A trade court has cleared the way for businesses to receive refunds for tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down last month.

Sure, there's a lot one could criticize about Donald's economic policies, but you can't deny he's created an entire new industry of corrupt pardon lobbyists

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/us/politics/schwartz-trump-pardon-industry.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RFA.HHHy.yXJKlcBkcKQB&smid=url-share

#GiftArticle #GiftLink

Pardon Industry Offers Rich Offenders a Path to Trump

One inmate paid lobbyists and lawyers with ties to the president’s team and walked free. Others are following his blueprint, but it is not always clear who can deliver.

The New York Times

Want to be incandescent with rage? This story should do the trick: "To flag grants for their DEI involvement, Fox entered the following command into ChatGPT: “Does the following relate at all to DEI? Respond factually in less than 120 characters. Begin with ‘Yes.’ or ‘No.’ followed by a brief explanation. Do not use ‘this initiative’ or ‘this description’ in your response.” He then inserted short descriptions of each grant"

https://www.techdirt.com/2026/02/19/doge-bros-grant-review-process-was-literally-just-asking-chatgpt-is-this-dei/

DOGE Bro’s Grant Review Process Was Literally Just Asking ChatGPT ‘Is This DEI?’

Federal grants that had been approved after a full application and review process were terminated by some random inexperienced DOGE bros based on whether ChatGPT could explain—in under 120 characte…

Techdirt

#KavanaughStop "Sunny, a U.S. citizen born in Evanston, was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport while returning from Turkey on Thursday … held at the lower level of Terminal 3 at O’Hare for nearly 30 hours along with five of her colleagues. Two of them are also U.S. citizens and three are green card holders" and then shuffled through ICE detention centers before eventual release

https://wgntv.com/news/chicago-news/family-says-us-citizen-detained-after-returning-to-ohare/

Arizona Is Now at the Center of Election Investigations

Both the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are probing the results of the 2020 election in Arizona.

The Atlantic

Bovino "chose to quit rather than be pushed out as he faces multiple investigations into his conduct, according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) insider"

https://www.thedailybeast.com/insider-reveals-humiliating-reason-for-ousted-border-patrol-goons-next-move/

Insider Reveals Humiliating Reason for Ousted Border Patrol Goon’s Next Move

A DHS insider noted Gregory Bovino had an internal investigation looming when he announced he was quitting.

The Daily Beast

Great work from @Bellingcat identifying individual CBP goons, including Kristopher Hewson, who was apparently part of the group that assaulted Aguilar Garcia*
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03/17/border-patrol-agents-of-chaos/

https://mastodon.social/@reedmideke/116214693493081023

Agents of Chaos: Unpacking the Actions of Border Patrol Agents Across US

Bellingcat and our partners analysed over 85 hours of footage, analysing the actions of Border Patrol agents across the United States. 

bellingcat

Remember that time discount Goebbels assured* us "Nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland"?
Welp: "When Danish soldiers were flown to Greenland in January of this year, they brought explosives with them so that they could destroy, among other things, the runways in Nuuk and Kangerlussuaq … cargo also included blood from Danish blood banks"

https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/groenland/danmark-forberedte-sig-paa-muligt-angreb-fra-usa-floej-poser-med-blod-til-groenland-og-gjorde-klar

* https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5674507-stephen-miller-trump-greenland/

Danmark forberedte sig på muligt angreb fra USA: Fløj poser med blod til Grønland og gjorde klar til at sprænge landingsbaner i luften

Nøglekilder i Danmark og Europa fortæller nu for første gang, hvad der skete i de mest kritiske dage, hvor Donald Trump truede med at tage Grønland "på den hårde måde".

DR
"The goal of having soldiers on land in Greenland – with as many different flags on their shoulders as possible – was, according to six of the sources, so that the Americans would be forced to take a major hostile action if Donald Trump actually wanted to occupy Greenland militarily" - After which, Trump immediately threw a tariff hissy fit
Trump Vowed to Crack Down on Fraudsters, but He’s Pardoned Dozens

Across both of his terms, President Trump has granted clemency to more than 70 allies, donors and others convicted in fraud cases.

The New York Times

Another one for the Best People™ files: That guy (Paolo Zampolli) who used his high level Trump admin connections to try to sic ICE on his ex… met said ex when she was 17 and recently arrived in the US courtesy of a plane ride from one Jeffery Epstein

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/us/paolo-zampolli-ice-melania-trump-epstein.html?unlocked_article_code=1.UlA.MsdA.hcwNjGUd_pNA&smid=nytcore-ios-share

#GiftArticle #GiftLink

Trump Friend Asked ICE to Detain the Mother of His Child

Paolo Zampolli, a former modeling agent and a longtime Trump ally, was in a custody battle over his son. An ICE official agreed to help.

The New York Times

Hey remember that time the GOP was all up in arms* over how it was "election interference" for Ukraine have a photo op with local Dems at a factory in Dem district? Can you imagine the shitstorm if, say, Macron went on TV to give AOC his "complete and total endorsement"

https://www.politico.eu/article/trump-affirms-complete-and-total-endorsement-of-orban-amid-clash-with-eu/

* https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/25/zelenskyy-insulted-him-house-gop-to-probe-ukraine-leaders-pa-trip-.html

Trump affirms ‘total endorsement’ of Orbán ahead of Hungary election

U.S. Vice President JD Vance is reportedly due to visit Budapest in April in support of the Prime Minister Orbán.

POLITICO
"Move fast and break things" bros capturing the NRC, what could possibly go wrong? https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-nuclear-power-nrc-safety-doge-vought
DOGE Goes Nuclear: How Trump Invited Silicon Valley Into America’s Nuclear Power Regulator

In its rush to boost nuclear energy, the Trump administration is rapidly rewriting rules to ease regulations and provide financial breaks for industry. “The safety culture is under threat,” a former head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.

ProPublica