Today in Politics, Bulletin 130. 5/13/25

… One day after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa offered to build a Trump Tower Damascus as a sweetener to persuade Trump to meet with him during his Middle East trip to discuss the US lifting sanctions on his country, Trump announced he was lifting sanctions. He said it will “give them a chance at greatness” and claimed he was only doing it as a favor to Saudi Arabia’s MBS: "Oh, the things I do for the Crown Prince."

… While we don’t know whether Trump’s motives involved bribery and self-interest (it usually does), many still believe it was the right decision. Former CIA agent Marc Polymeropoulos: “There must be a hell of a backstory on this, as I assumed his national security team, particularly those in the NSC, was against such moves. Also - the Israelis are not gonna be very happy. My take as someone who worked on Syria for many years, this the right move.”

… Noah Rothman of conservative National Review says that Trump’s decision here probably goes against the wishes of his Assad-fan DNI Tulsi Gabbard: “In case you need a primer on the dispute within the admin over how to approach post-Assad Syria - looks like the Tulsi faction is on the outs.”

… Oz Katerji, Director of The Battle for Kyiv: “If a proscribed paramilitary organization wins a civil war, disarms, renounces terrorism, and bans terrorist activity on the territory it now governs, it becomes perfectly possible to become deproscribed.”

… In his speech, Trump praised MBS: “I want to thank his royal highness the Crown Prince. He's an incredible man. I've known him a long time now. There's nobody like him. Appreciate it very much, my friend. We have great partners in the world, but we have none stronger and nobody like the gentleman right before me. He's your greatest representative. And if I didn't like him, I'd get out of here so fast. He knows me well. I like him a lot. I like him too much."

… He then praised himself to his mostly-Saudi audience, claiming that he just saved the American health care system with his executive order on prescription drugs: "You saw what we did yesterday in healthcare. We've cut our healthcare by 50-90%."

… Then he saluted Saudi Arabian generals.

… WH Correspondent’s Assn: “For the first time since the WH press corps started traveling with American presidents abroad, no wire service reporter is aboard Air Force One today. As the president travels across the ocean for high-stakes meetings in the Middle East, the White House has decided not in include any wire reporter. The WHCA is disturbed by this new restriction on who can cover this WH and continued retaliation for independent editorial decisions.”

… WH Communications Director Steve Cheung responded: “Oh no! Not a strongly worded email!”

… Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) was critical of Trump’s executive order on pharmaceuticals in a committee hearing today: “The ‘most favored nation’ approach coming out of the admin - all of these other things, are short-sighted, unsustainable measures that are not going to produce the result I believe all of us want to achieve.”

… Sen. Maj. Leader John Thune to HuffPost: “My guess is that it'll be the subject of probably multiple lawsuits, and I think the courts will probably have something to say about it.”

… Lots of Republicans were asked about Trump’s ‘Palace in the Sky’ Qatari plane grift today with very different takes. Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) on CNN: “This is just an offer of friendship, but I’m sure this has to be legal if we are going to accept it. If it’s unethical, that will be up to the president to decide.”

… Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) to CNN: “I have zero issue with it.”

… Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT): “You can’t beat free!”

… Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL): “I worry about the president of the United States flying on any plane owned by a foreign government, especially a foreign government that supports Hamas."

… Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT): "It must be one heck of a jet. I understand it went through AG Pam Bondi. So it's legal. It's ethical."

… Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK): “How many of us have actually been offered the promise of a jet? When you get something of that value from a country, one typically thinks that there's something in it for the country that is offering it.”

… Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Fox: “The constitution in Article 2 says the president cannot take gifts from foreign leaders. There is a provision in the Constitution that says you cannot do this. I think it’s not worth the appearance of impropriety.”

… Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on CNBC: "I think the plane poses significant espionage and surveillance problems. I certainly have concerns."

…. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) on CNBC: "We don't want to be straight up accepting any type of gift from any foreign government, certainly not one that can be viewed in a way that obviously has been presented here."

… Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) on CNN: "I don't like it. There's a reason that people can't even buy me a steak dinner. It's not necessarily that you can prove I have an ethical problem, it's that the appearance of it doesn't look great."

… Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) on Fox: “Would we let another country decorate the Oval Office? Would we let another country build the Situation Room? Would we let another country wire the press office? Oh, wait. Air Force One is all three. Air Force One is the Oval Office. It's the press room. It's the situation room all in the air. Why on Earth is it a good idea from a national security perspective to let another country, let alone the Emir of another country, give President Trump his next Air Force One?”

… Nikki Haley: “Accepting gifts from foreign nations is never a good practice. It threatens intelligence and national security. Especially when that nation supports a terrorist organization and allows those terrorist regimes to live on its soil. Regardless of how beautiful the plane may be, it opens a door and implies the President and US can be bought. If this were Biden, we would be furious.”

… Reuters reported that the Trump admin ordered the FBI to devote a third of it’s time to help ICE with immigration enforcement, and to deprioritize white collar crime investigations to free up the time.

… RFK Jr. posted a video of his family swimming in DC’s Rock Creek. The National Park Service bans swimming and wading in the creek because there is “high levels of bacteria and other infectious pathogens, including fecal coliform, Giardia, and other potential waterborne illnesses. Chemicals flow into streams and into the creek from surrounding communities through storm drains and rainfall. These contaminants, among others, can make your family members, your furry four-legged friends, and you sick.”

… Indy journalist Jim Stewartson: “I lived outside DC for 20 years. Swimming in Rock Creek is like swimming in a toilet bowl. It’s fucking insane and everyone knows it. RFK JR TOOK HIS GRANDKIDS TO SWIM IN SEWER WATER. That’s why he’s so dangerous. He’s homicidally ignorant. He really believes his bullshit.”

… Mr. Brainworms is in charge of public health for the United States.

… Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) says govt spending needs big cuts: “People that are sitting around at home, watching ‘The View’ on television, getting SNAP cards, food stamps, and on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid—that’s got to be over with. Our country is not gonna make it. We cannot afford for that to happen, and President Trump is all about that. That’s what the House is pushing very hard.”

… Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) was asked how he can assure the American people that Medicaid won’t be cut. Burchett: “How can you assure your nana that you still support her after she told you that chocolate milk doesn’t come from brown cows?”

Just a reminder there is no Bulletin tomorrow because I do my podcast Uncovered live at 4:00 ET, where we do a deep dive on the Top 10 stories of the week. I will post the link here tomorrow with an outline of the show topics. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here.

… A bizarre situation as the DNC announced that it will now hold a new election for the two Vice Chair seats recently won by Malcolm Kenyatta and David Hogg. Kalyn Free, who lost to Hogg, filed a complaint alleging that the DNC improperly combined two questions presented to voters and tallied votes together. Free asserted that gave male candidates an advantage over female candidates, violating the party's charter. The party’s rules state that the DNC should achieve gender parity or get as close to it as is possible. The Credentials Committee voted to re-run the election.

… Hogg then claimed that this was only being done as retribution for his announcement that he will spend $20 million from his PAC to try and defeat long-time Democratic incumbents in primaries. Hogg told Politico that it’s “impossible to ignore the broader context of my work to reform the party which loomed large over this vote. The DNC has pledged to remove me, and this vote has provided an avenue to fast-track that effort.”

… Kenyatta was not pleased with doing the election over again or with Hogg’s take: “I’m pissed that this challenge was successful, especially when I won in such a resounding way. But here we are. That being said — this challenge was brought well before David’s announcement. Any reporter covering this as party retribution against David is full of shit. This story is complex and I’m frustrated— but it’s not about David