Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of May 19

Gift link:
Divided Supreme Court Rejects Bid for Religious Charter School in Oklahoma

In a 4-to-4 decision, the court upheld a ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court that blocked the school.

A divided Supreme Court rejected a plan on Thursday to allow Oklahoma to use government money to run the nation’s first religious charter school, which would teach a curriculum infused by Catholic doctrine.

The court split 4 to 4 over the Oklahoma plan, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett recusing herself from the case, and the decision provided no reasoning.

I find the recusal interesting and wonder what the takeaway here is for groups that want to use government funds for religious schools. Will they take this as a signal not to try and escalate again for fear of getting a precedent against them, or that they should try again in a way that sidesteps the facts of the Oklahoma courts ruling?

As Trumps Monetize Presidency, Profits Outstrip Protests

When Hillary Clinton was first lady, a furor erupted over reports that she had once made $100,000 from a $1,000 investment in cattle futures. Even though it had happened a dozen years before her husband became president, it became a scandal that lasted weeks and forced the White House to initiate a review.

Jeff Bezos agreed to finance a promotional film about Melania Trump that will reportedly put $28 million directly in her pocket — 280 times the Clinton lucre and in this case from a person with a vested interest in policies set by her husband’s government

The Trump family and its business partners have collected $320 million in fees from a new cryptocurrency, brokered overseas real estate deals worth billions of dollars and are opening an exclusive club in Washington called the Executive Branch charging $500,000 apiece to join, all in the past few months alone.

Just last week, Qatar handed over a luxury jet meant for Mr. Trump’s use not just in his official capacity but also for his presidential library after he leaves office. Experts have valued the plane, formally donated to the Air Force, at $200 million, more than all of the foreign gifts bestowed on all previous American presidents combined.

And Mr. Trump hosted an exclusive dinner at his Virginia club for 220 investors in the $TRUMP cryptocurrency that he started days before taking office in January. Access was openly sold based on how much money they chipped in — not to a campaign account but to a business that benefits Mr. Trump personally.

Trump Jr. has said that the family restrained itself during his father’s first term only to be criticized anyway, so it made no sense to hold back anymore. “They’re going to hit you no matter what,” he said last week at a business forum in Qatar. “So we’re just going to play the game.”

Sources contradict Trump narrative about Qatar offering plane as ‘gift’ (CNN)

After Trump took office in January, the Pentagon contacted Boeing and was told the company would not be able to deliver the new jets it was building to replace the aging presidential planes for another two years, the sources said.

The Trump administration, however, wanted a replacement plane much faster, and the Air Force was exploring different options for doing so. At the same time, Trump tasked his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff with finding a list of viable planes, a senior White House official told CNN.

After the Pentagon’s initial engagement with the company, Boeing provided US defense officials with a list of other Boeing clients around the world with planes that could work in the meantime, three of the sources said.

“And Qatar was one of the clients,” the second source familiar with the discussions said, adding the Pentagon “offered to buy the plane” and Qatar indicated it was willing to sell it.

The Pentagon had launched the discussions with Qatar after learning that the White House supported the idea, the third source familiar said, and Witkoff helped facilitated the initial conversations, the White House official said.

The third source recalled that the initial discussions were about leasing the plane, rather than buying it outright.

…

The four people familiar with the discussions say the transaction is still being hashed out by lawyers on the two sides.

“From that time [the initial US outreach to Qatar] until today, the matter is still with the legal teams,” said the second source familiar with the discussions, “and no decision has been made at all.”

…

Beyond the ethical and legal questions, retrofitting and installing the required security and communications equipment on a second-hand plane from another government, even a friendly one, is a monumental task.

It could take two years and cost multiples of what the plane itself is worth, current and former officials have told CNN. US spy and security agencies tasked with the overhaul would need to essentially strip the aircraft down to its frame and rebuild it with the necessary equipment.

In the ongoing saga of the Trump admin trying to destroy anyone smarter than him:
Trump administration revokes Harvard's ability to enroll international students

Republicans Pass Horrid Tax Bill Thanks to Democrats Dying in Office (The New Republic)

Republicans passed their terrible tax bill by one vote. Guess how many Democrats died in office this year.

Trump’s White House Goes From Hiding 80% Of His Transcribed Remarks To Hiding 99.5%

‘Laugh all you want’: Democrats erupt after Mike Johnson calls Trump ‘most respected president in the modern era’

I figured I'd put it here since, well. It's difficult to seperate it from US politics: Small plane crashes into San Diego neighborhood, setting homes and vehicles on fire (APNews)

Airplane crashing season is back, which, well, Musk cut out a lot of workers from the already stretched avian security. If anything, it's been sometime since once happened and it's impressive how much of the infrastructure keeps working despite it.

It's absolutely horrible what's happening in that neighbourhood of San Diego... Families of the residents and those who were on the plane are, of course, having their life thorn apart while those responsible for it getting this bad are not seeing consequences any time soon.