Today in Politics, Bulletin 135. 5/20/25

… DHS Sec Kristi Noem had no clue what habeas corpus was when she was asked about it today by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH). Noem: “Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country.”

… Hassan: “That's incorrect. Habeas corpus is the legal principle that requires that the govt provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people. If not for that protection, the govt can simply arrest people, including American citizens, and hold them indefinitely for no reason. It is what separates America from police states like North Korea.”

… Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ): “Do you know what section of the Constitution the suspension clause of habeas corpus is in? NOEM: I do not. Nope. KIM: Do you know which article is it in? NOEM: I do not, sir.”

… Kim also asked Noem about the incident at the Newark ICE facility that led to Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) getting criminal charges. Kim: “I just want to hear from you if you can confirm that you understand that members of Congress by law are allowed to show up unannounced to conduct oversight visits of ICE detention facilities? Noem: Yes, they can show up to conduct oversight, but they aren’t allowed to show up with a mob. Are you making excuses for their behavior that day?”

… Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) asked Noem why she keeps getting dressed up in various costumes to do cosplay stunts. Noem: “I do spend time out there with our components. Gallego: We’ve seen the Instagram photos. Noem: They’re not photos. And they’ve meant the world to the individuals at DHS. Gallego: I’ve seen some of them especially some really bad weapons handling.”

… Oh yes, ICE and other federal agents just love it when Noem shows up in her customers for staged photo ops. It means everything to them - probably the greatest honor of their lifetimes.

… NJ US Attorney Alina Habba announced that she was dropping the charges against Newark Mayor Baraka but was charging McIver: "After extensive consideration, we have agreed to dismiss Mayor Baraka's misdemeanor charge of trespass for the sake of moving forward.” On McIver: “I have persistently made efforts to address these issues without bringing criminal charges and have given Rep. McIver every opportunity to come to a resolution, but she has unfortunately declined.”

… That likely means that Habba was trying to get McIver to agree to a pretrial diversion agreement where she would receive some punishment in exchange for charges ultimately getting dropped, but McIver wasn’t having it.

… Former NJ US Attorney Paul Fishman is representing McIver: “As a member of Congress, she has the right and responsibility to see how ICE is treating detainees. Rather than facilitating that inspection, ICE agents chose to escalate what should have been a peaceful situation into chaos. This prosecution is an attempt to shift the blame for ICE’s behavior to Rep. McIver. In the courtroom, facts — not headlines — will matter.”

… Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY): “The proceeding initiated by the so-called US Attorney in NJ is a blatant attempt by the Trump admin to intimidate Congress and interfere with our ability to serve as a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch. House Democrats will not be intimidated by the Trump admin. Not today. Not ever.”

… Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA): “A RED LINE has been crossed. Trump is prosecuting his political enemies in Congress. This is just the beginning. We must take whatever we’ve done before to show dissent and go ONE RUNG HIGHER. And save your bullshit documents on this, Alina. You’ll need them when you testify.”

… Rep. McIver: “The charges against me are purely political — they mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight. This admin will never stop me from working for the people in our district and standing up for what is right. I am thankful for the outpouring of support I have received and I look forward to the truth being laid out clearly in court.”

… Trump was asked about McIver’s charges: “Give me a break. Did you see her? She was out of control. Those days are over. The days of woke are over. That woman - I have no idea who she is - that woman was out of control. We’re going to have law and order.”

… Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) on Fox: “I think she has a lot of consequences headed her way, and I fully support DHS and DOJ pursuing them to the fullest extent."

… Rep. Nancy Mace decided to escalate her feud with ex-fiance Patrick Bryant by making him the centerpiece of her presentation at an Oversight Committee hearing today: “Yes. I’m going there. Today I will show my naked body on one of the videos predator and rapist Patrick Bryant took of me and many other women. Without our knowledge. Without our permission. And without our consent.”

… It seems like there must be a different way to make her point that he allegedly recorded her without permission without showing nudes in Congress. This was Mace in the hearing: "This naked silhouette is my naked body."

… Venezuelan immigrants who supported Trump feel betrayed that he is revoking their Temporary Protected Status, which leaves them now subject to deportation. Carol Duran Perez to CBS Miami: “I supported Trump. I believe there is a large community of Venezuelans who did. This was a hard blow because practically the same day he took office he went against Venezuelans. It seems personal.”

… Adelis Ferro, Venezuelan American Caucus: “We feel beyond betrayed. They used us. During the campaign, officials from the Republican Party told us that they will not touch the documented people.”

… MSNBC to Deportation Czar Tom Homan: “A Georgia college student was mistakenly pulled over. She's being detained right now. Her father said he was never worried about her because you said you would prioritize gang members, rapists, and criminals. She's none of those things. Has that policy changed? HOMAN: If you're in the country illegally, you're not off the table.”

… Jon Stewart roasted CNN and Jake Tapper for their non-stop hype over the past month of his Biden book. He first posted clip after clip of Tapper hawking his book day after day, along with other CNN hosts and guests. Stewart also ridiculed them for using Biden’s cancer diagnosis to claim that the book was now “even more relevant.”

… Stewart then mocked CNN host Brian Stelter for his statement claiming that it was “even more important” for people to buy the book after the cancer news: “Do these CNN people work on commission? Why are they hawking this fucking thing so much - is this a Girl Scout situation where whoever sells the most Tapper books gets a Schwinn?”

… I posted a montage of Stewart’s segment on X, Bluesky, and Threads.

… Senior Counsel to DOJ’s Asst. AG for Civil Rights Leo Terrell said that Jill Biden could face criminal charges for allegedly pushing Joe to run for president again despite health issues: “Elder Abuse! Criminal Charges?” A couple right-wing websites also ran stories on Jill getting criminally charged.

… This was the lead story today on CNN. Again:

… Trump took the unusual step of visiting Capitol Hill today to try and whip Republican holdouts on the budget bill. His primary message appeared to be geared towards telling so-called deficit hawks to learn to love a massive new increase in debt.

… Trump was asked about Republicans in states with state income taxes who are holding out over the SALT deduction: "The governors of NY, IL, and CA - those are the people who want this. They are all Democrats. These are all very blue states. If we had honest elections, I think I would've won CA, I would've won NY. I even think I would've won IL."

… Fox reported on what Trump said to SALT advocate Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) in the closed-door meeting: “I know your district better than you do, if you lose because of SALT, you were going to lose anyway.”

… But in Sept during the campaign, Trump told people at his Long Island rally that he was going to remove the SALT cap if he won, after he imposed a $10K cap on it during his last term in 2017. This is what Trump told NYers in his campaign stop: "I will cut taxes for families, small businesses and workers, including restoring the SALT deduction, saving thousands of dollars for residents of NY, PA, NJ and other high-cost states."

… That was then, this is now.

… Lawler on Fox after: “The issue of SALT is one of the biggest issues impacting my district. It's the reason I won. I made very clear when I ran for office back in '22, that I would never support a tax bill that does not adequately lift the cap on SALT. My district, 3 of the 4 counties that I represent, are in the top 16 highest property tax counties in America. It blows well past the $30,000 cap with the $400,000 income cap. So as I've said repeatedly, that is insufficient. We will continue the dialog with leadership, but as it stands right now, I do not support the bill.”

… Lawler: “The president can say whatever he wants, and I respect him. But the fact is I certainly understand my district. I'm one of only three Republican members that won in a district that Kamala Harris won, and I did so for a reason.”

… Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY): “Mike Lawler has a clear choice: Trump or his constituents. Who will you choose, Mike?”

… SALT Caucus Chair Andrew Garberino was asked by NOTUS if Trump did enough to ease their concerns: “No. There were no specifics. If they put the bill on the floor as is I think there’s a lot of no votes.”

… Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN): “I would say that if the vote were held right now, it dies a painful death.”

… Trump also lashed out at his nemesis Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). Punchbowl: “Trump told Massie he should be voted out of office and doesn’t understand government.”

… Massie was asked outside the meeting what Trump said about him: “I usually don’t talk about private conversations in our GOP meetings but the rumors are true - Trump said that although I have similar hair to Rand Paul, he thinks mine is better.”

… Massie then went on CNN and was asked about Trump and Karoline Leavitt’s claims that the bill will not add to the deficit: “That’s a joke. We’re going to add $20 trillion dollars to the debt over the next 10 years, which is $3.5-$5 trillion dollars more than would have been added otherwise.”

… House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-MD) to The Hill after the meeting: “I don’t think the president convinced enough people that the bill is adequate the way it is.”

… After Trump said they were “not cutting anything meaningful,” he was asked why they were cutting food assistance for the poor: “The cut is going to give everybody much more food because prices are coming down.”

… NBC: “Trump just told reporters on the Hill that gas prices are now $1.99. AAA gas price tracker says the national average is $3.17, with no state below $2.66.”

Reminder that there is no Bulletin tomorrow since I do my podcast Uncovered where we do a deep dive on the Top 10 stories of the week. I will post the link here before the show. The last 3 days have been absolutely brutal with the volume of political news. If you read the last 3 Bulletins together you will get more news than any other single political column on the planet. I know I’m pretty worn out - I’ve pretty much only left my desk since Sunday morning to go to the bathroom.

Thanks again for everyone who supports my work. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here. Now on with the show!

… AP reports that 2 months after tornados destroyed their towns, people in Mississippi have still not gotten any help from Trump or FEMA. Firefighter and homeowner Bobby McGinnis: “We need federal help, and we need it desperately, and we need it now. I know President Trump said that — America first, we’re going to help our American folks first. But we haven’t seen the federal folks down here.”

… Homeowner Brian Lowery: “I don’t know what you got to do or what you got to have to be able to be declared for a federal disaster area because this is pretty bad. We can’t help you because, whatever, we’re waiting on a letter; we’re waiting on somebody to sign his name. You know, all that. I’m just over it.”

… St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer told MSNBC that FEMA has not provided any assistance yet after the city was just devastated by tornadoes, killing and injuring dozens of people across three states: “What we need right now is fed assistance. This