This Weekend in Politics, Bulletin 147.

… Fed agents dressed for war in military-style tactical gear used flash-bang grenades against protestors in LA while they were doing a raid on a clothing wholesaler. ICE recently conducted raids in the area stores, restaurants and court buildings. ICE also raided a Home Depot where day laborers regularly gather where contractors hire them.

… NYT: “It was an extraordinary show of force. Dozens of fed agents wearing helmets and green camouflage arrived in two hulking armored trucks and other unmarked vehicles, and were soon approached by a crowd of immigrant activists and supporters. Some agents carried riot shields and others held rifles, as well as shotguns that appeared to be loaded with less-than-lethal ammunition.”

… Local ABC7’s live broadcast as it unfolded: “This Blackhawk moved in from the border patrol—they are unloading dozens of boxes of ammunition, less lethal weaponry. You see these tanks with flammable labels on the side—as if they were getting ready for a major battle.”

… Rep. Jimmy Gomez, who represents LA, told LA Times what happened when he tried to check on people who were arrested with Reps. Luz Rivas, Norma Torres, and Lou Correa: "They didn't have access to food and water on a schedule. They definitely don't have access to their medicines. That's not healthy for anybody. They have a right to make sure that they're treated fairly and that they're allowed to see their attorney. So we're here because fed law says that we as members of Congress can show up and do a facility check on all those issues."

… But a federal agent turned them away and told them to come back on Monday. Rivas: “That is not what the law says. We should be allowed any time for an oversight visit, and that was our intention — to come in to check in on the facility and to get a briefing.”

… Trump, always the voice of reason and restraint, tried to calm things down by posting this before heading out to a UFC fight: “If Gov Gavin Newscum, of CA, and Mayor Karen Bass, of LA, can’t do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t, then the Federal Govt will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!”

… Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT): “Important to remember that Trump isn’t trying to heal or keep the peace. He is looking to inflame and divide. His movement doesn’t believe in democracy or protest - and if they get a chance to end the rule of law they will take it. None of this is on the level.”

… Frustrated senior counsel of the SoCal ACLU, as things were unfolding: “When masked goons are abducting and locking Angelenos in basements, when police are tear gassing protesters and legal observers exercising their 1st Amend rights, and when union leaders are brutalized for daring to oppose blatant injustice, we ask our local and state leaders: Where are you? What will you do to end this madness?"

… Newsom: “The fed govt is taking over the CA Nat Guard and deploying 2,000 soldiers in LA — not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle. Don't give them one. Never use violence. Speak out peacefully.”

… NYT: “President Trump took extraordinary action on Saturday by calling up 2,000 National Guard troops to quell immigration protests in CA, making rare use of federal powers and bypassing the authority of Gavin Newsom. It is the first time since 1965 that a president has activated a state’s National Guard force without a request from that state’s governor, according to Elizabeth Goitein at the Brennan Center for Justice. The last time was when LBJ sent troops to Alabama to protect civil rights demonstrators in 1965.”

… “Governors almost always control the deployment of Nat Guard troops in their states. But the directive signed by Trump cites 10 U.S.C. 12406, referring to a specific provision within Title 10 of the US Code on Armed Services. Part of that provision allows the fed deployment of Nat Guard forces if ‘there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the govt of the US.’ It also states that the president may call into federal service ‘members and units of the Nat Guard of any State in such numbers as he considers necessary to repel the invasion, suppress the rebellion, or execute those laws.’”

… Trump’s order invoking the act: “To the extent that protests or acts of violence directly inhibit the execution of the laws, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

… Gov. Gavin Newsom: “That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions. This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust.”

… Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA): I agree with Gov Newsom that Trump’s takeover of the CA Nat Guard is purposefully inflammatory. I also note this federalization is being done under 10 U.S.C. § 12406, which means the Guard troops will still be subject to the prohibitions in the Posse Comitatus Act. Any Guard personnel under this authority who violates the Posse Comitatus Act would be violating orders and federal law.”

… Brennan Center for Justice: “The Posse Comitatus Act bars fed troops from participating in civilian law enforcement except when expressly authorized by law. This 143-year-old law embodies an American tradition that sees military interference in civilian affairs as a threat to both democracy and personal liberty.”

… Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger: “Big point that is being missed: without the insurrection act, the activated Guard troops are now fed Army and cannot do law enforcement. Period. They have no ability to do law enforcement without the Insurrection Act. They are essentially no longer Nat Guard and now are active duty fed troops with all the restrictions. Only a governor can activate them for law enforcement without the insurrection act.”

… This is what DHS Sec Kristi Noem said on Feb 6, 2024 on Hannity while she was Gov of SD when Biden considered sending Guard units to the border: “If Joe Biden federalizes the Nat Guard, that would be a direct attack on states' rights. Over the last several years, we've seen Democrats try to take away our freedoms of religion, assembly, and speech. We can't let them take away our right to defend ourselves, too. SD defends the Constitution.”

… Trump posted this, BEFORE the Guard was even deployed: “Great job by the National Guard in LA after two days of violence, clashes and unrest. We have an incompetent Governor (Newscum) and Mayor (Bass) who were, as usual (just look at how they handled the fires, and now their VERY SLOW PERMITTING disaster. Federal permitting is complete!), unable to to handle the task. These Radical Left protests, by instigators and often paid troublemakers, will NOT BE TOLERATED. Also, from now on, MASKS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED to be worn at protests. What do these people have to hide, and why??? Again, thank you to the National Guard for a job well done!”

… Apparently we are also now not allowed to wear any face coverings outside by edict of our Fuhrer.

… Newsom: “For those keeping track, Donald Trump's National Guard had not been deployed on the ground when he posted this.”

… LA Mayor Karen Bass: “I want to thank LAPD and local law enforcement for their work tonight. I also want to thank Gov Newsom for his support. Just to be clear, the Nat Guard has NOT been deployed in the City of LA.”

… Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA): “CA has not requested assistance from the Nat Guard because it is not needed. Local and state officials are able to effectively manage the situation. Invoking the Insurrection Act under these circumstances is not a show of leadership — it is an abuse of power.”

… Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ): "We have a president who sat back and did nothing as people stormed our Capitol, viciously beat police, and then when those people who viciously beat police and led to some of their deaths - therefore cop killers - were convicted by juries, he pardoned them all. So for him to be talking to anybody about responsive law enforcement to protect people is hypocritical at best."

… Gavin Newsom on Sunday night: “I have formally requested the Trump Administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles county and return them to my command. We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved. This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed. Rescind the order. Return control to California.”

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… Of course, drunk Pete Hegseth had to weigh in with a post. Note that he has even adopted the Cult Leader’s syntax and inappropriate caps usage: “The violent mob assaults on ICE and Fed Law Enforcement are designed to prevent the removal of Criminal Illegal Aliens from our soil; a dangerous invasion facilitated by criminal cartels (aka Foreign Terrorist Organizations) and a huge NATIONAL SECURITY RISK. Under President Trump, violence & destruction against fed agents & fed facilities will NOT be tolerated. It’s COMMON SENSE. DOD is mobilizing the Nat Guard IMMEDIATELY to support fed law enforcement in LA. And, if violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized — they are on high alert.”

… Newsom: “The Secretary of Defense is now threatening to deploy active-duty Marines on American soil against its own citizens. This is deranged behavior.”

… Full-time social media troll / part-time SecDef Hegseth responded: “Deranged = allowing your city to burn and law enforcement to be attacked. There is plenty of room for peaceful protest, but ZERO tolerance for attacking federal agents who are doing their job. The National Guard, and Marines if need be, stand with ICE.”

… Authoritarianism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat: “Authoritarianism 101: note the internalization by Hegseth of cult leader's writing style and language. Note the attempt to link foreign and domestic ‘enemies’ to create a fake emergency and justify a state crackdown.”

… ABC’s Jonathan Karl: Could we really see active duty Marines on the streets of LA? MIKE JOHNSON: “One of our core principles is maintaining peace through strength. We do that on foreign affairs and domestic affairs as well. I don't think that's heavy handed.”

… One of our core principles is to not deploy the Marines domestically to carry out law enforcement functions. They aren’t trained for that and aren’t there for that. Since the founding of the Republic. But this toady will never go against Trump on anything.

… Juliette Kayyem, former Undersecretary for Homeland Security, on CNN: “Active duty Marines for this? I mean, we were just reporting on the protests. There's music. The traffic is moving. Most people in LA probably don't even know that this is going on. It's such a big city, and we need an admin that's not going to go to DefCon 1 every time they see something on TV they don’t like.”

… Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI): “There is literally no reason to have active duty Marines respond to a street protest. Whether or not this takes a terrible turn depends partly on the conduct and the discipline of law enforcement, of community members being peaceful, of media members speaking truth to power, and all of us agreeing that the use of the military for this purpose is the stuff of dictatorships across the planet and throughout history.”

… CBS’ Margaret Brennan: You said back in November the admin would fail if it began going after non-violent migrants. People are getting arrested going to court appearances. Are these people the worst of the worst? Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX): “They're not. What I'd like for us to do is focus on the convicted criminals.”

… Gonzales is trying to run away from the Trump admin’s Gestapo-like enforcement on immigrants given the district that he represents, but he has been all-in on Trump from the beginning and this isn’t going to work at this point. Especially since it is only going to get worse.

… Podcaster Karly Kingsley: “The Obama admin deported over 3.16 million people. Biden’s passed 4.44 million. Not once did either need troops in the streets to do it. That’s all you need to know about what’s happening.”

… Sen. Bernie Sanders to CNN: "We have a president who is moving this country rapidly toward authoritarianism. I would say that to a large degree the future of this country rests with a small number of Republicans in the House and Senate who know better, who do know what the Constitution is about, and it's high time they stood up."

… WH Policy Director Stephen Miller: “We will take back America.”

… This protestor became an instant legend with this interview to CBS LA that Meidas posted which went viral: “Tasted a little tear gas. Tasted like fascism.”

… I read that a Democratic PAC is spending $20 million to conduct a study on how the party can appeal to young male voters. They can save themselves a bunch of money and just hire this guy.

… Elon Musk’s father Errol was in Moscow this weekend for a conference sponsored by the Kremlin (shocker). He was asked to comment on the feud between his son and Trump: “Elon made a mistake, I think, but he's tired, he's stressed. 5 months of continuous stress, continuous, continuous stress, stress, stress. They are all suffering from a bit of PTSD over the last few months, they started hitting out at each other.”

… Errol Musk: “It happens in marriages, it happens in partnerships, it happens a lot. And people have to understand that at the moment, Elon is having second thoughts. He's not a great politician, he is still learning, he's a great tech innovator and so forth. But his politics is, as I've said before, is a swimming pool with no bottom, it's a swimming pool with no sides. When you're in a swimming pool of politics, you've got to really know where to go, and Elon doesn't realize that.”

… Trump almost face-planted today while attempting to walk up the steps to Air Force One. Expect media to be banned from future tarmacs.

… Then again they probably won’t even talk about it.

… CNN reported on the awkward situation of Stephen Miller’s wife Katie leaving the WH to work as Musk’s personal assistant right before this all blew up: “The episode has left the Millers on conflicting sides of the biggest breakup of Trump’s 2nd term, spawning gossip among WH aides and rounds of speculation about how the fallout could impact the political fortunes of one of the most powerful couples in Trump’s Washington, where loyalty reigns.”

… Former Trump staffer: “Everyone is talking about it.”

… A current Trump staffer: “She has a choice between Elon and Trump, but it can’t be both.”

… Musk unfollowed Stephen Miller on X when things got ugly. A senior WH official: “This whole thing will definitely make that more complicated. Katie being paid by Elon is not good for Stephen.”

… Fox host Maria Bartiromo asked Karoline Leavitt if Trump has called Musk yet to patch things up or if he intends to call him this week: “No, he hasn’t. And frankly, I don't think the president intends to.”

… NASA and Pentagon officials are scrambling to find alternatives to Musk’s SpaceX. WaPo: “Govt officials were especially stunned after Musk responded to Trump with a salvo of his own: SpaceX would stop flying its Dragon spacecraft, a move that would leave the space agency with no way to transport its astronauts to the Intl Space Station. Musk later recanted his threat. But it alarmed officials at NASA, which entrusts SpaceX with the lives of its astronauts, and at the Pentagon, which relies heavily on the company to launch its most sensitive satellites.”

… “The worried reaction within space and national security agencies highlights the risks of the govt’s heavy dependence on SpaceX for crucial tasks, including classified missions. SpaceX, with billions of dollars in government contracts, flies people and cargo to the ISS, launches satellites for the Pentagon and develops satellites used by intelligence agencies. The concerns are compounded by the fact that its competitors have been slow to catch up, leaving SpaceX’s dominance largely unchallenged and the govt with few options.”

… A former NASA official: “When you realize that he’s willing to shut everything down just on an impulse, that kind of behavior and the dependence on him is dangerous. I can tell you there is deep concern within NASA.”

… Politico reported that DNC Chair Ken Martin told party leaders in a May 15 Zoom meeting that he’s unsure about his ability to lead the party because of infighting created by Vice Chair David Hogg. They published a recording of the leaked call: “I’ll be very honest with you, for the first time in my 100 days on this job … the other night I said to myself for the first time, I don’t know if I wanna do this anymore. No one knows who the hell I am, right? I’m trying to get my sea legs underneath of me and actually develop any amount of credibility so I can go out there and raise the money and do the job I need to to put ourselves in a position to win. And again, I don’t think you intended this, but you essentially destroyed any chance I have to show the leadership that I need to. So it’s really frustrating.”

… Sen Rand Paul was on Fox this morning trashing Trump: “Think about it this way, who caused the deficit? Well, the first Trump admin passed out $2500 checks to everybody. We shut the entire economy down. During the first Trump admin, $8 trillion in debt was added. So if the deficit's $2.2 trillion every year for the next 10 years and you cut $150 billion a year which is what the big, beautiful bill is going to do, you still have over $2 trillion a year. You're still adding $20 trillion over 10 years. It's unsustainable.”

… Mike Johnson was asked by ABC’s Jonathan Karl why it was a priority to remove the 10% tax on tanning beds in their budget bill: “Look, I think that was an unfair thing that the Biden admin put on an industry. KARL: It goes back to 2010.”

… Karl: There's also a provision that eliminates a tax on gun silencers. It's been on the books for about 100 years. Why? JOHNSON: “The 2nd Amendment is a critical freedom in the Constitution, and there's no real rationale for adding taxes on these pieces of equipment.”

… Cut heath care, food for the poor, VA workers, and cancer research, but tax cuts on gun silencers and tanning beds. Because priorities.

… ABC’s senior political correspondent Terry Moran has been suspended by the network after Trump admin officials, including JD Vance, called for him to be fired after he made this post: “The thing about Stephen Miller is not that he is the brains behind Trumpism. Yes, he is one of the people who conceptualizes the impulses of the Trumpist movement and translates them into policy. But that’s not what’s interesting about Miller. It’s not brains. It’s bile. Miller is a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred. He’s a world-class hater. You can see this just by looking at him because you can see that his hatreds are his spiritual nourishment. He eats his hate. Trump is a world-class hater. But his hatred only a means to an end, and that end his his own glorification. That’s his spiritual nourishment.”

… Moran deleted the post, but ABC later issued a statement that he “has been suspended pending further evaluation.”

… Prior to the suspension, Karoline Leavitt was on Fox ranting and raving: "ABC is going have to answer for what their so-called journalist put out on twitter. We have reached out to ABC. They have said they will be taking action, so we will see what they do. Hopefully this journalist will either be suspended or terminated."

… Stephen Miller: “The most important fact about Terry’s full public meltdown is what it shows about the corporate press in America. For decades, the privileged anchors and reporters narrating and gatekeeping our society have been radicals adopting a journalist’s pose. Terry pulled off his mask.”

… George Conway: “What Moran reported was demonstrable fact. Indisputable fact. Yet they suspend him. This is the advantage that Trump and his ilk have. They are so beyond the moral pale, so beyond normality, that it is considered impolite, impolitic, or intemperate to describe them as they are.”

… With the Supreme Court’s ruling this past week in the AP lawsuit that the Trump admin is free to ban news organizations from the WH and AF1, it will be interesting to watch this play out. I suspect it will be a one-week timeout. If he gets fired for this for years of exemplary service, we have entered the dark ages of legacy media journalism.

… Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) disclosed on his podcast that he was with Trump when Elon was posting about him, including his post where he essentially accused him of being a pedophile: “I was sitting in the Oval as this unfolded. Trump was pissed. He was venting. I was sitting there, and the tweets were coming. Elon was saying some really harsh things. These are two men whom I know very well, they’re both good friends of mine. I feel like the kids of a bitter divorce where you’re just saying, ‘I really wish mommy and daddy would stop screaming.'”