Where Would Trump Be Without His Spineless Defenders?
Plus: Hundreds of State Dept. Officials Sign Dissent Cable Urging Rubio to Stop Killing USAID
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MONA CHAREN: Where Would Trump Be Without His Spineless Defenders?
IN 2022, AFTER RUSSIAN TANKS ROLLED across an international border into Ukraine and missiles pierced the quiet of cities like Kharkiv and Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky earned worldwide acclaim for his courage and heroism. Famously, in response to an American offer of a safe exit, he replied “I don’t need a ride. I need ammunition.” Former President George W. Bush expressed what many were thinking when he declared that Zelensky was the “Winston Churchill of our time.”
JILL LAWRENCE: ‘Time for It to Die’: The Chaotic Killing Off of the Government
BY DINNERTIME ON MONDAY, the Senate had confirmed Linda McMahon as secretary of education. Within an hour, she was sworn in. And well before midnight, she had sent an email to department employees outlining “our final mission.”
“My vision is aligned with the President’s: to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children,” she wrote. In plain English, Donald Trump’s “vision” is to kill the department, which Congress created in 1979 to administer federal education programs. An executive order has reportedly been in the works for a month, and legal or not, the department could be gone before you know it.
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SAM STEIN: Hundreds of State Dept. Officials Sign Dissent Cable Urging Rubio to Stop Killing USAID
IN AN EXTRAORDINARY STEP, more than 700 U.S. foreign service officers and civil servants have signed on to a dissent cable to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging him to stop the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and unfreeze foreign aid.
The cable, which was shared with The Bulwark and whose authenticity was confirmed by a second source, argues that the hollowing out of USAID is both strategically and morally wrong and in violation of federal workplace protections.
GISELLE DONNELLY: Europe Needs to Adjust Faster to the Post-American World
AS IF DONALD TRUMP’S FIRST-TERM THREATS or the brutal performances by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance on their recent trips to Brussels and Munich weren’t enough, last Friday’s Oval Office ambush of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ought to put the fear of God—or at least American abandonment—in Europe.
Yet, if Monday’s crash quasi-summit in London is any indication, it’s pretty clear that European leaders remain at sixes and sevens when it comes to formulating a coherent response. Beyond the quite understandable shock and dismay at the Trump administration’s enthusiasm for blowing up the foundations of American strategy and European security, the continent will have to collectively cast off past habits and rapidly adapt to new realities.
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Happy Wednesday! My Saint Louis Billikens put up an amazing first half against the Dayton Flyers, only to blow it in the second half. It was an excellent game, and my first trip to see a game there, but it was nice to spend some time in the town where my mom grew up.
In local news… After I got home (and listened to most despicable address given to a joint session in my lifetime… probably ever?) a fire engulfed a portion of Piqua, Ohio’s main street, including the corporate office of regionally beloved coffee roaster and chocolatier Winan’s. Hours earlier, I stopped in to a Dayton location to pick up some of their specialty: the mint jewels for an upcoming family birthday. Luckily, Winan’s will survive. Other, smaller, businesses, however, may not.
A unique federal agency… Tells DOGE and Musk to back off. Given the structure of the African Development Foundation, it is a bit unique compared to some of the other targeted agencies. But it is heartening to see folks deny Musk, “Big Balls” and Mr. Marocco access to the agency.
Trump’s return to Congress… was darkly absurd comedy, writes my friend Anthony Fisher and MSNBC. He had a similar thought to what I was hearing (and could picture, though it was worse than I imagined): the laughter sounded awfully fake. So much hardy har-harring, one wonders if they were warned to be prepared to laugh, cry, and kiss two hours goodbye. But mostly laugh.
“The president’s brand of bully humor elicited MAGA “clapter” from Republicans and sporadic protests from Democrats…” Fisher writes. Clapter. Perfect.
If you’d like a damning fact check… of last night, you have a lot of good options. Here are my top picks: MSNBC, FactCheck.org, CNN, AP, NPR, and Bloomberg.
Why Techdirt Is Now A Democracy Blog… (Whether We Like It Or Not.) TechDirt and Mike Masnick have been putting out some amazing stuff. Please consider supporting their work.
How Trump's lawlessness is emboldening bad cops… An ugly incident in Idaho is likely a harbinger of things to come. (Justin Glawe, Public Notice)
More insanity from Peter Navarro… “Canada has been taken over by Mexican cartels.” Increasingly, Michael Moore’s Canadian Bacon is beginning to look like prophecy. Watch it if you haven’t.
Judge Says Trump Can’t Fire Chair of Federal Workers Board… Without Cause (NYT)
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