Evening Roundup
Featuring "Offsides" with Pablo Torre & Jen Rubin; David Bernell & Thomas Graham; Meredith Blake; Austin Sarat; Michael de Adder; "Talking Feds;" and The Democracy Movement
Offsides with Pablo Torre: Bill Belichick, El Clásico, and leadership in sports
Pablo Torre is back with his weekly segment ‘Offsides’ to give the latest updates in the world of sports. The biggest story in sports right now somehow seems to be the relationship between former General Manager of the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick, and his 24-year-old girlfriend/personal agent...
Canada and the United States: How did we get here?
By David Bernell and Thomas Graham
Donald Trump's bombastic statements on our northern neighbor helped cement a win for Liberals.
Bob from Chicago
His name is Bob. He’s from Chicago, likes to play Wordle, and roots for the White Sox.
A Trump executive order takes a sledgehammer to key civil rights tool
By Austin Sarat
The president exceeded his authority by effectively nullifying a law passed by Congress and ignoring Supreme Court decisions that upheld disparate-impact litigation.
The Woke Pope
Michael de Adder is an award-winning editorial cartoonist. You can find him on Substack here.
Third Term Threat
It was a week that brought a series of stinging court defeats for Trump and his bevy of executive orders, which have--as a common theme--the disregard of constitutional limits. Michael Scherer, Ali Vitali, and Charlie Sykes join Harry on Talking Feds Substack!
The Contrarian covers the Democracy Movement
Every day (Monday-Friday), we’ll update this space with protests, signs and other public demonstrations against the actions of the administration. Keep checking to see how Americans all across the country are protecting and defending democracy. Find protests in your area at
Have questions about what’s happening with the budget this week? Any other economic queries? Then be sure to join us tomorrow at 12:00 ET for “Let’s Do Lunch!” with Former Biden CEA Chair and The Contrarian’s go-to source for all things related to the economy, Jared Bernstein. Tomorrow he’ll be joined by special guest Shalanda Young, the former Director of the US Office of Management and Budget. See you there!
Listening to Jen ask questions about a subject I knew next to nothing about just reminded me how glad I contributed to The Contrarians. Learned a lot tonight. Thank you!
And now the news:
1. Laura Loomer: Qatari jet gift a ‘stain’ on Trump presidency. https://thehill.com/homenews/5295240-laura-loomer-criticizes-trump-qatari-gift/
Only time I ever agreed with her. Foreign Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution:
“No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”
Plus “It’s going to be hard for the admin to designate the Muslim Brotherhood and obliterate Iranian proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah when Qatar funds the Muslim Brotherhood, harbors HAMAS, and the US just accepted a $400 million jet from Qatar,” Loomer wrote. “The biggest lobby in DC is the Qatar lobby. We are watching an Islamic takeover of our country in real time.”
Qatar has been a significant financial supporter of Hamas, channeling aid to Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, for years. Qatar has given amnesty to Hamas political leaders, including Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashal, in Doha. It held itself out an a mediator but that is baloney.
Also implicated is Pam Bondi. Pam Bondi's Qatar Links Under Scrutiny Over Trump's Luxury Plane Gift https://www.newsweek.com/pam-bondi-qatar-links-under-scrutiny-over-trump-luxury-plane-gift-2070774
Mark Levin, a MAGA radio host and a member of Trump’s Department of Homeland Security advisory board, joined Loomer in criticizing the move. But other usual Qatar critics on the Hill remained quiet, at least for now.
Doug Heye, a GOP strategist, said Republicans would have criticized any Democratic move to accept such a significant gift from Qatar. “The ethical problems with this are so obvious that even some of the most ardent Trump defenders are saying, ‘wait a sec,’” he said.
Bondi worked as a foreign lobbyist for the nation of Qatar, earning $115,000 a month in the role which she held in 2020 and in the run up to the World Cup in 2022. In this role, she lobbied Congress on behalf of Qatari interests. She also worked in a separate lobbying position for the Washington, D.C.-based firm Ballard Partners, where she also lobbied on behalf of Qatari interests and several conglomerates including Amazon.
Wealth funds in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have invested hundreds of millions of dollars with Jared Kushner's private equity firm.
2. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) on Sunday called threats to arrest Democratic colleagues over an incident at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility “very drastic.” https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5295361-mccaul-threatens-arrest-democrats-ice/?tbref=hp
3. Top Republican Warns GOP Medicaid Cuts Are ‘Morally Wrong’
‘POLITICALLY SUICIDAL’
4. Trump backs down on China Tariffs.