Trump cultists

Balls & Strikes reports: Josh Divine is Missouri’s solicitor general, a role that has allowed him to put the finishing touches on the exact sort of record that gets ambitious Republican lawyers noticed by the White House these days. Over the past several years, he has used the powers of his office to defend anti-trans legislation, fight President Joe Biden’s …

The Christian Post reports: “Sesame Street” drew fire on social media Sunday for celebrating pride month, the latest firestorm related to allegations that the publicly funded PBS children’s program is pushing LGBT ideology on children. The post, which has 14 million views as of Monday, drew scorn from many X users who accused “Sesame Street” of being part of a …

“If no one informed Trump then the White House has to condemn this immediately and pull all support and tell Lindsey Graham to come home or we are going to put you under arrest when you come home. You’re stirring it up. Lindsey Graham’s over there saying: ‘Hey, forget Trump. I got the House and the Senate. We’re going to …

Salt Lake City’s NBC affiliate reports: Law enforcement is investigating suspicious posters and flyers with similar anti-LGBTQ messages left in front of people’s homes in Providence and North Logan. Homeowner Ryan Thorell said he spotted large poster boards stapled to utility poles, facing toward his house early Sunday morning. He said the signs read, “White power,” and “man plus woman.” …

Axios reports: The Supreme Court said Monday it would take on an Illinois case challenging the validity of mail ballots that arrive past Election Day. Republicans have worked to restrict mail-in voting for years. Rep. Michael Bost (R-Ill.) challenged a state electoral regulation following his reelection. He was joined by two other presidential electors. The current Illinois election law allows …

The New York Times reports: Before being confirmed as the director of the F.B.I., Kash Patel made clear his intent to remake it in his own image, reflecting a larger desire by the White House to bend the agency to its will. “The F.B.I. has become so thoroughly compromised that it will remain a threat to the people unless drastic …

Rolling Stone reports: “I’m going to testify!” Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO and staunch Donald Trump ally, tells Rolling Stone. “Of course I’m gonna testify at my own trial! … I have nothing to hide. I am a former crack addict, I’ve always been open about that. I’ve always been open about everything! I’m as transparent as they come … …

The Huffington Post reports: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) drew fierce blowback on Sunday over his social media post about 22-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. Graham shared a news article about Thunberg’s presence on a flotilla that is headed to Gaza and whose occupants want to deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, amid the monthslong, starvation-inducing Israeli blockade. “Hope …

CNN reports: Gabrielle Cuccia criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s crackdown on press access at the Pentagon. And then, she said, she was fired. Cuccia was briefly the chief Pentagon correspondent OAN. A self-proclaimed “MAGA girl,” Cuccia positioned herself as a proudly conservative voice among the normally nonpartisan Pentagon press corps. But she grew perturbed by Hegseth’s actions against the press. …

Axios reports: The massive Republican budget bill working its way through Congress has mostly drawn attention for its tax cuts and Medicaid changes. But it would also take steps to significantly roll back coverage under the Affordable Care Act, with echoes of the 2017 repeal-replace debate. The bill that passed the House before Memorial Day includes an overhaul of ACA …

The Washington Post reports: A battle is roiling Oklahoma over new social studies standards that include teaching high-schoolers that there were “discrepancies” in the 2020 presidential election, as a legal fight unfolds over allegations that the state superintendent added the provision to the standards without notifying some education board members before they voted to pass them. An Oklahoma County judge …

CBS News reports: President Trump attacked the powerful conservative legal activist Leonard Leo late Thursday, calling the former Federalist Society leader who once advised the president on Supreme Court picks a “bad person” who “probably hates America.” Mr. Trump lashed out at Leo a day after a panel of judges — including a Trump appointee — called most of his …

CNN reports: Former New York police commissioner Bernard Kerik, who led the department during the September 11 terror attacks in 2001, has died at the age of 69, according to the New York Police Department and a source close to Kerik. Kerik, a Trump ally who once served three years in federal prison for charges including tax fraud and lying …

The Christian site Protestia reports: Prominent charismatic teacher Lance Wallnau is under fire for claiming to be and repeatedly promoting himself as a ‘Doctor’ despite holding only an honorary degree from a diploma mill University. We’ve written about Wallneau in the past after demonstrating how he’s been thoroughly discredited as a false prophet. A key player in the New Apostolic …

The Daily Beast reports: White House communications director Steven Cheung has built a reputation for his profanity-laced, scorched-earth style—but author Michael Wolff, one of Cheung’s favorite punching bags, thinks his combative persona is just theater. “There’s a sort of tragic feel about (Cheung) because he’s so heavy,” Wolff continued, arguing that he has to be “hidden away” and can’t become …

Just in via press release: Representative Greg Steube (R-Fla.) today introduced the Make Autorail Great Again Act to block all federal funding to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) until it officially changes its name to the “Washington Metropolitan Authority for Greater Access” (WMAGA) and renames the Metrorail the “Trump Train.” “WMATA has received billions in federal assistance over …

CNBC reports: A federal appeals court on Thursday granted the Trump administration’s request to temporarily pause a lower-court ruling that struck down most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The Trump administration had earlier told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that it would seek “emergency relief” from the Supreme Court as soon as Friday if the tariff …

“Speaker Johnson, come on — you said this year that you were going to establish a new select subcommittee for the 119th Congress to continue House Republicans’ investigation into all events leading up to and after January 6. “Now, a couple of things about this, folks. He announced his intent. Right? And what does he say there at the end, …

Media Matters reports: A guest on former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast argued that if the Supreme Court doesn’t limit the federal judiciary’s power to issue nationwide injunctions, then President Donald Trump must suspend the writ of habeas corpus to accelerate his mass deportation plans. Rogan O’Handley — a conservative commentator who goes by the moniker DC Draino …

Wired reports: Nancy Mace, the South Carolina Republican congresswoman, often tells her staff that she’s a self-taught coder—just one aspect of how Mace presents her tech expertise, as befits her role in shaping the GOP’s policies on technology and work as chair of the House subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation. “I would say [it was] at least …