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Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of February 10
This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.
This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.
Trump administration orders Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop work, close building
Ordering the CFPB to shut down is not like shutting down USAID. CFPB has statutory obligations to report to congress
House Republican budget proposals cuts taxes by over 4 trillion and spending by 2 trillion
Including major cuts to Medicaid - that they claim should only target "Fraud" but are too large for that
My partner receives Medicaid waiver benefits. These are the extra home supports for someone who would need nursing home care without them. Without that we wouldn't have an accessible bathroom, a personal assistant who helps him out during the week while I'm at work, and a ramp for our door. We probably wouldn't be able to keep this house. We're not married due to the need for these services, and that means he also receives SNAP, also on the chopping block. SNAP funding means we can afford to buy more prepared/ready to eat meals which are easier for him to make for himself (especially if the PA isn't here to help with cooking). If you haven't cooked from a wheelchair, his first ham sandwich took him 45 minutes. He can do it faster now but some nights he has no energy, or I don't, because caretaking is exhausting. We could live without SNAP, but the extra money from my paycheck and his disability goes to paying for the medical supplies that aren't covered already (and the covered ones would also be at risk). And it's not like groceries have gotten cheaper.
We literally can't afford to get married or he'd lose the Medicaid assistance for Medicare (including prescription drug coverage assistance) We also cannot afford to lose the Medicaid waiver money or for serious Medicaid cuts to impact his ability to get therapy, or a new wheelchair, etc. All of that care keeps him from dying of a wound or infection and is still cheaper than a nursing home and his quality of life is better.
This feels like the thing happening under the radar and I'm going to at least try to call my congressperson who is a trumper. And my senators who aren't. Idk. I'm genuinely very, very worried about where this goes, and even if my partner wasn't one of the people at risk. Disabled people are an easy target, much like trans people, and history bears that out too.
I work in this general field and while I don't have full insight into the financials of medicaid in my state, I feel pretty certain that if these kinds of cuts go through medicaid will collapse in my state and probably others as well. People will die
I worked for, ironically, the bureau within our dept that manages Medicaid waivers in Illinois when I was in grad school. Without reading the budget, the things likely at risk are the "extra' costs. The federal government reimburses states 50% typically for Medicaid. But for certain things like Medicaid waivers, they either have temporary or sometimes permanent increased % matches. So I think the waivers are high risk, especially when they don't acknowledge they keep people out of the hospital or nursing homes.
States that expanded their Medicaid eligibility with the ACA could feel cuts if the feds stop matching for those folks, and that's been targeted explicitly.
They're focused on "fraud and waste" but also want to impose a work requirement, so disabled people who haven't been approved for disability, stay at home parents, and people coming out of prison are all vulnerable there. (Getting my parolees into their prescribed meds, especially psych meds, right after release was key to them doing well, without Medicaid that won't happen. )
Cutting coverage reverts a lot of care to the ER, which is more expensive.
The House and Senate proposals are different and so I don't know if it's worth me digging into it all, but I'm already exhausted.
Yeah, any cuts are going to hurt vulnerable people. My state is close to 70% FMAP so if there are substantial cuts it will be a huge deal. And I don't trust any talk about Fraud and Waste coming from Republicans.
Agreed, I just want to raise awareness on this as I think it's something pressure might make them cave on.
There's probably much more that will stress me out too
Absolutely. I've already contacted my representatives about it. Medicaid is a lightning rod so hopefully enough pressure will make them back down.
The save act would disenfranchise millions including married women and others who changed their names but not birth certificates
It's another game of "is the bigotry (the disenfranchisement of 69 million women) the point or an accident" and the fact that I have to ask the question of whether they're stupid or that bigoted and I'm not sure of the answer really says more than anything else.
The 'bigotry' also works to their political advantage, so it's all mixed up.
Well for sure, they've both explicitly said that women shouldn't vote and explicitly stated their goal is to disenfranchise black people during previous voting law changes.
But they also could just not have considered that women change their names.
The worst guessing game!
Since persistent gender gaps in voting exist, I doubt Republican politicians and political operatives haven't considered strategies to suppress women's votes.
But Republican moves this year have seemed extremely careless about the details and indifferent to possible consequences, so I guess I agree with you.
Sorry to have to share the worst game with you
So, how much is Canada preparing for the US to do something stupid?
Trump’s invasion threats violate international law: Canadian ambassador
Trump's Canada takeover threat 'a real thing,' Trudeau warns
Trump's national security adviser: 'I don't think there's any plans to invade Canada'
Because idk, it feels like we're going to do something stupid.
I wonder if the aggressive stance is an attempt to make Canada increase their military budget?
Right now, Canada spends the least on military out of everyone in NATO. This is because Canada has no reason to bother - in the unlikely event that Canada is invaded, the US will defend them, because anyone who occupies Canada could then invade the USA.
I don't think Trump calling Canada a potential 51st state is a clever move to shift their internal policy on defense contributions for NATO.
I think Canada is right to treat this as a threatened anschluss equivalent. Trump doesn't have the imagination to notice that with the very long contiguous border and no language barrier, there would very likely be an insurgency that crosses the border.
I don't really think that's it, personally. I think it's just a power move from a wannabe Putin. But threatening your "allies" to make them spend more on their military is a stupid idea if you want to ever have allies.
Maybe Trump isn't aware of the strategy, but someone behind the scenes is manipulating him to do specific Trump-like things that just happen to benefit the administration.
I don't think that pissing off Canada actually benefits the administration. So I don't think Trump is being manipulated into pissing off Canada.
If pissing off Canada results in Canada putting more money into NATO, then that at least benefits the military-industrial complex.
I don't think that's the original premise anymore. And you don't put money into NATO.
Putting it into their military, same thing.
Maybe the military a industrial complex is a different premise, but I brought it up in response to the "helpful to the administration", which would similarly be that different premise.
But it isn't the same thing and I don't think the administration actually wants Canada to build up its military. And it's not clear to me that they have.
My point is i still don't think that's the purpose of mocking our ally. If so it's a great way to lose an ally (and as far as I can tell, the tariffs got delayed due to actions that Trudeau had already announced so they're not really getting concessions).
I did ponder on what an expansionist dictatorship would look like earlier today.
We’re one Reichstag fire away from Trump declaring marital law and locking the whole country down.
If it goes anything like the invasion of Poland, there won’t be any people left to mount any kind of rebel movement.
I just have to hope that there are some things that the US military is unwilling to do.
Canada is fucking huge. And a lot of it is wilderness. Some of that wilderness Trump wants to exploit for minerals.
Unlike Poland, Canada now has time to prepare
Thats true, this is probably the only time I’ll ever be thankful that all he does is flap his beak
Oh it's absolutely the worst idea, but also I could see him going for a Putin and trying to take a chunk, or blockading Panama, or idek what with Greenland.
It's the chaos sure, but the impression I have from Canadians I'm seeing on social media is where they're taking the threat seriously. So I'm just trying to figure out how accurate that vibe is.
I deleted my original comment because this has the potential to go live and hurt the canadians here. My theoretical hot takes have the potential to be unintentionally hurtful.
IMHO Canada should absolutely be taking this seriously. Trump has few checks this term unless the Senate decides to throw him out.
'He's Building a Concentration Camp': Fears Grow as Images Emerge of Offshore Prison at Gitmo
(This article did an excellent job of collecting several different reports, so I'm linking most/all of them directly as well.)
Questions being asked by civil/immigrant rights groups:
It's also worth noting that per the NYT reporting cited in here, Noem is suggesting this is where the lower risk "offenders" would be placed. What happened to this being only where the "worst of the worst" got sent? That was abandoned very quickly.
The article also cites this Slate Interview
Trump’s ‘mass deportation’ reality TV show is both fake and incredibly dangerous
I think it will be impossible to move the public opinion needle on this one until the photos of abuses start coming out. Unlike most of the random shit that Trump/Musk have done in the last three weeks (JFC), this is what Trump voters ostensibly voted for.
I do think that they essentially want the impossible: cruelty-free mass deportations. When the cruelty becomes too much, they will turn. (I think.)
Sadly, I think you're mistaken. I think what Trump voters want is more money in their pockets and a higher standard of living, and they've been convinced that immigrants and the Democratic Party are the ones keeping them from that. I think many see the cruelty as just desserts, when they consider it at all; to them, it's righteous retribution for having robbed them of their due.
So what happens when the money doesn't come and their standard of living plummets due to Republican incompetence and greed? Do you think that will tear away the veil, or do you think it'll drive them harder into inhumane vengeance? The latter seems much more likely to me. I think their desperation will grow, and they'll turn more and more to cruelty, hatred and violence, because in a sick sort of way, that's the easier path for them. Anything else will require introspection, and a willingness to look critically at their golden calves. If they were willing to do that, they wouldn't be the people they are.
So many people have been exalting in the cruelty, that I'm not sure, and that's depressing.
The hardcore MAGA voters, maybe. But the ones who were wavering but swung toward Trump because they thought Harris was weak on immigration, most would likely take issue with cruelty.
I'm not sure I believe there are that many of them. I see far too many comments wanting worse harm to be done to immigrants - on relatively "normal" sites - that I'm not a particularly hopeful person.
Someone who only pivoted to Trump due to immigration would be a pretty slim number IMO, even if that's what they claim in their "i'm an undecided voter" interview (I've come away from this election with a dim opinion of those panels as well.
If you want to feel better, a minority of people actually make a comment on a website. Most just read/lurk. And on the second point, what I was getting at was that there are millions of voters who don’t identify as MAGA (and could be convinced to vote for a dem under the right circumstances). Look at the split ticket voting seen in Arizona or AOC’s Bronx district, or at polling which shows Trumps floor at around 40 percent. 49 percent voted for him in 2024, those 9 percent are significant.
You have to look at flat numbers and everything I see suggests most people didn't vote rather than people flip flopping.
Regardless, let's say 40 percent. It's far too high. And I'm aware the commenters are the minority, but even if the level of hatred is lesser among the non commenters, I see no evidence that there's actually some level of empathy or kindness either. Because in silence there's nothing but vague hope that they'll change.
I can't weigh the suffering on one hand and the hope in the other and feel good at the moment.
Vice-President JD Vance has suggested judges do not have authority over the Trump administration's executive power, as the White House responds to a flurry of lawsuits that aim to stall its agenda.
I think "has suggested" is very soft. He says "judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power"
I suppose he "implies" that it's all legitimate, which could be the suggestion part.
It's basically Andrew Jackson all over again.
Currently on judicial hold:
Birthright citizenship revocation
Trans women inmates being moved to men's prisons
Funding freeze (but ignored)
FBI agent identities
Federal employee resignations
USAID leave/recall (and reinstatement for some already on leave)
Yea, he’s been pretty straightforward in his admiration of him. Of all the presidents, lol.
Yeah, it's very intentional and very depressing
Not just Jackson, also McKinley
Link to post on reddit: Musk crashes Trump’s interview and goes on an info dump about how the judicial branch shouldn’t exist
He’s just rambling. Also, pic in comments of close-up of his eyes. (Not the edited pic that looks like circle lenses gone wrong. Just the bedraggled looking one.)
ETA: Actually, this is one of those situations that I find super interesting, because everyone in my family is solidly centrist, so the way they view events like this is completely different to how I do.
Generally, they don’t care that Elon Musk is in the Oval Office giving speeches, so long as it doesn’t affect them. They see this, and they just… trust the system; whereas I see this, and I find it surreal. There’s just some guy lecturing the U.S. about disregarding an entire branch of government, looking increasingly like he needs to take a nap — there is no emergency here, other than the one he is creating, so he could just go somewhere else, please; go relax — and we’re all just stuck here having to go through this.
It’s madness, but it’s also horribly amusing.
Well, the news of the NATO top sure has been something. Hopefully I won't die in a trench, but there is a good chance that Putin and his cronies may become emboldened after this shit.
Thinking of becoming more political active irl because my own country can't defend itself, really... Fucking hell.
Senator Bernie Sanders kicks off resist Trump tour in Nebraska
Donald Trump now has immense leverage on the Mayor of New York
Pentagon schools suspend library books for ‘compliance review’ under Trump orders
I can’t imagine this is going over well with faculty. DoD teachers, in my experience, are usually a bunch of left-leaning weirdos (in the best way).
The Missouri attorney general is suing Starbucks for "violating anti-discrimination laws." Actual quote: "More female and less white"
Just... Wow.
If I recall correctly that guy sucks in particular.
And if I don't recall correctly, this sort of proves it anyway.
This won't be the last lawsuit of this sort.
US drops wording saying it does not support Taiwan independence (Al Jazeera)
Some good news among the tidal wave of awfulness. I wish my own country would have the balls to support Taiwanese independence, but our politicians are too afraid of the consequences.
Analysis - Trump is setting up constitutional test cases in a move to radically expand presidential power, while attacking 'the Enemy from within'
This is from the New York Times. Hopefully someone has a gift link. The article is long and contains embedded links to support its points.
Here’s the archive link, in the meantime. Most of their embedded links seem to work.
And for a trip down memory lane (for Americans), an example of one type of ‘the enemy from within’.
Gift link: here
Republicans in Congress defend court power to rule against Trump. Rulings must be enforced
the administrative procedure act is one reason Trump's actions lose in court
The administrative procedure act
Trump says he and Russian leader Putin have agreed to begin ‘negotiations’ on ending Ukraine war
I'm just so fucking afraid of Putin being emboldened and the war consuming far more of Europe as a result. God fucking damnit. Trying my very best to just take things on one step at a time...
I really hope the Russian economy is not going to last after this.
There's no way that Putin does anything to Europe for the next e.g. 3 years. Even supposing Putin manages to annex Ukraine outright, the Russian army needs some to reform the army once it has breathing room, it needs to stockpile chips and other sanctionable goods, it needs to build more weapons factories, and Russia needs to fix its economy (which is currently propped up with a ton of very temporary measures for the sake of short-term wartime spending).
But most importantly, it needs to align its citizen base. Russia is facing a manpower crunch and a lack of support for the war, due to a long history of deliberately de-politicizing their population. Putin needs to re-politicize his population (i.e. make them actively support fascism), which is hard and will take time.
Any time that Putin spends building up is time that Europe has to build up. Although honestly, if Putin invaded any NATO country in the EU then France would launch its nukes, and it would be a rather short war.
I do agree that Russia is basically on its last legs and facing (most) EU armies would be devastating to it. That said, this invasion went completely against any semblance of realpolitik and that's what scares me. It's not unthinkable he'll do something grossly stupid again.
That said, actions against Moldova, and perhaps Belarus if they don't want to later become a stepping stone for the Kalingrad-Belarus gap are more likely in the immediate future.
What he did wasn't grossly stupid, if you assume that the Russian army was capable of annexing Ukraine within 3 days (the USA also made this mistaken assumption). Once Russia had annexed Ukraine, it would be presented as fait accompli and nothing would happen (except a Ukrainian insurgency).
Nitpick:
The only reason Kaliningrad was relevant was because Finland/Sweden wasn't part of NATO. Even if they managed to hold the gap, Latvia etc wouldn't be cut off from resupply, so in practice Kaliningrad would be an overextension surrounded on all sides.
I appreciate you going against me here, as you can probably tell I'm rather stressed about the situation. Sweden/Finland being locked in with NATO does make St. Petersburg incredibly vulnerable too. The risk is still there of course, but it would more likely end Russia than Europe.
There’s a Term for What Trump and Musk Are Doing (The Atlantic)
Interview with Jamie Raskin 'I am in charge of judicial strategy for this constitutional crisis'
Musk’s DOGE Team Tries to Gain Access to Taxpayer Information
Archive link: https://archive.is/BP0k7
Trump government complies with court order to restore health web pages
project to eliminate government leases and buildings hits federal public defender offices
@Deimos I see that this recurring topic appears in ~society now, but it's still linked in the sidebar for ~news.