… Crybaby Ron Desantis melted down after he was smacked down by Republicans in the FL House and Senate today. He demanded a special session so he could enact a series of migrant deportation policies and secure funding to get in on the PR spotlight for his 2028 run for president. But the President of the FL Senate and Speaker of the House had other plans for Lame Duck Ron.
… They rejected Desantis’s plan to play a lead role in migrant deportations in FL, said Trump has everything handled so they don’t need Desantis’s spotlight-hogging stunts, and instead moved to make pro-Trump Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson to essentially be the state’s deportation czar working with the Trump Admin.
… Simpson and Desantis don’t especially like each other, and Simpson is a likely candidate for governor in 2026. This new role is something that will set him up perfectly for the Republican primary in FL next year, which doesn’t exactly thrill Desantis.
… Former Republican State Rep. Anthony Sabatini: “The Florida Legislature just declared war against Ron Desantis.”
… Desantis posted a whiny video on X where he ranted and raved about his Republican friends: “We got to work as a team. They bizarrely stripped immigration enforcement power from me and gave it to the Commissioner of Agriculture! Agriculture has not exactly been known for immigration enforcement. It’s the fox guarding the henhouse. It’s a sop to folks who want cheap labor.”
… Desantis Press Secretary Christina Pushaw: "Florida Democrats, whose party was soundly rejected by the voters of our state, are thanking Republican legislative leaders for doing petty political stunts rather than passing laws to facilitate mass deportations right now. Definition of UniParty. Why does it sound like these legislators' priority is to ensure FL pays for more beds to comfortably house illegal aliens here? We voted for MASS DEPORTATIONS."
… Sen. President Ben Albritton explained why he disagrees with Desantis: "Immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, which deserves a new focus and energy. President Trump has the situation under control, and is leading from the Oval Office. I don't want to do anything to undermine President Trump's very good plan. Immigration must be handled on Trump’s terms, not the state’s.”
… Speaker Daniel Perez told the House he is tired of Desantis trying to "bully" them, specifically noting that members’ personal cell numbers were sent out to voters in mass texts to get them to exert pressure: "Attacks on this body, on all of you, are not acceptable. This House will never be moved by threats." (They have been moved in the past by threats, but now Desantis is a lame duck and Trump has their back if he goes after them).
… What this is really all about is that some of the wealthiest, most politically connected donors in FL have huge companies that employ so many migrant workers in the construction, agriculture, landscaping, food service, and hospitality industries that they want to do everything they can to shield them from Tom Homan’s goon squad. They know Desantis likely won’t do that for them because all he cares about is the 2028 Republican presidential primary, and Simpson will.
… Simpson has said in the past that he is concerned about the “unintended consequences” that mass deportations could have on Florida businesses and the state’s economy. That tells you right there what his mindset is and why Republicans in the legislature wanted him in charge instead of Desantis.
… Trump’s DOJ fired every career prosecutor today who had anything to do with any of the investigations of him. DOJ Spokesman to NBC: “Acting AG McHenry terminated the employment of a number of DOJ officials who played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump. In light of their actions, the Acting AG does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the President’s agenda. This action is consistent with the mission of ending the weaponization of government."
… House Republicans had a retreat today in FL where Trump made an appearance to discuss their legislative agenda. What a surprise, Mike Johnson emerged saying that he now agrees with Trump that FEMA might need to be abolished: “Everything is on the table for reevaluation. This is a new moment for us to reevaluate everything that the federal government does, and FEMA is in the crosshairs.”
… No state has gotten more out of FEMA than Johnson’s Louisiana and paid less in taxes. New Orleans was built below sea level surrounded by levees on the coast of an ocean with a massive river behind it, but I guess we don’t need to talk about his state’s policies and whether they invite natural disasters.
… Johnson also said aid to CA from the wildfires will come with conditions: “We talked about conditioning the aid that will go there to policy changes. I think that is a common sense notion that is supported by the vast majority of the American people who do not want to subsidize crazy California leftist policies that are dangerous for people.”
… I think that means they have to water the tumbleweed now or whatever Trump said on Saturday.
… In his remarks to them, Trump reiterated his intent to start a global trade war since all the tariffs other countries will pay us will cover all our expenses so we won’t have to pay any taxes and everyone will be happy: "It's time for the US to return to the system that made us richer and more powerful than ever before. Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich foreign nations, we should be tariffing and taxing foreign nations to enrich our citizens."
… And Mexico will pay for the wall.
… Russian Media Monitor Julia Davis posted a clip from Russian State TV where the host mocked Trump’s Ambassador to the EU: “The new US Ambassador to the EU, Andrew Puzder, Trump has known him personally for a long time. But he has no diplomatic experience whatsoever. He spent his whole life developing fast food in the US. Puzder replaces a career diplomat who specialized in Central and Eastern Europe.”
… Puzder was the CEO of Hardee’s.
… The Russians also said they aren’t worried about Trump’s threat to hit them with tariffs, because they think he’s just playing to his MAGA base and it’s all a bluff: “Trump always postures as a strong man and a winner to avoid being criticized for talking to Putin. So he’s just working his audience. It’s not aimed at us. He always has to appear to be in a position of strength. But one week of talking is enough. It’s time to start doing something. We anticipate good things.”
… Tucker Carlson’s son Buckley Carlson will reportedly be named Press Secretary to VP JD Vance. No DEI hires in this Admin - strictly a meritocracy.
… Fox is reporting that Trump is about to sign an executive order reinstating all 8,000 US service members who were discharged by the Biden Admin for refusing to get the covid vaccine. The order will also reinstate their rank and award back pay. That means that they will each be paid 4 full years of pay despite the fact that they didn’t serve during that time and worked in civilian jobs.
… Adam Kinzinger: “So, the ‘no government handouts’ party is going to give, in some cases, up to $300,000 in one big check to people who didn’t do anything?”
… WaPo is reporting that Trump is unhappy with the pace of migrant deportations and has told ICE he expects to see 1,200-1,500 people deported a day. It has only been 300-600 a day so far. Tom Homan was asked about this by NBC: “I don’t have a quota. My instructions to ICE is to arrest as many as you can.”
… Homan was at an arrest in person in Chicago yesterday along with his guest Dr. Phil, who was playing honorary ICE agent I guess.
… Brazil is outraged that 88 immigrants deported from the US arrived in their country by plane in handcuffs and leg shackles, calling it a "flagrant disregard" for their rights. The Justice Ministry said that passengers were subjected to “degrading treatment” and they demanded that handcuffs and shackles be removed immediately when the plane landed. Brazil now demands "explanations from the US government about the degrading treatment of passengers."
…. AFP News spoke to Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician who was one of the immigrants on the flight: "On the plane they didn't give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldn't even let us go to the bathroom. It was very hot, some people fainted."
… Luis Antonio Rodrigues Santos told AFP the flight was a "nightmare .. four hours without air conditioning" due to technical issues on the plane. Brazil’s Minister of Human Rights Macae Evaristo: "Immigrants are being treated like criminals. Children with autism who went through very serious experiences" were also on the flight.
… Sen. Ruben Gallego says Trump threatening Colombia from the golf course was