Trump DHS Discord Problem is Worse Than You Think & The Secret Trump Civil War You Didn’t Know About
PDS Published 02/16/2026
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The Department of Homeland Security is trying to dox hundreds of anti-ICE users online, and it’s roping in some of the biggest tech platforms to do it.
Right, according to The New York Times, over the last few months, DHS has been quietly subpoena’ing names, emails, phone numbers, and other personal user data on these platforms:
Google,
Reddit,
Discord,
And Meta – AKA, Facebook and Instagram
This for accounts that either pointed out the locations of ICE agents or even just “criticized” ICE online. [] (Broll: 0:00-0:14)
And here’s the kicker: we know each of those platforms besides Discord have complied with at least some of the requests.
And all of this is on top of the fact that as ICE has also been using: (Broll: 0:47-0:57, 4:36-4:47)
1) Facial recognition technology on protesters in Minneapolis and Chicago, []
2) a Palantir-built database “to identify real-time locations for individuals they’re pursuing,”
And 3) tools that allow them to potentially hack into people’s phones.
With Border Czar Tom Homan telling Fox News last month:
“We’re going to create a database. Those people that are arrested for interference, impediment or assault, we’re gonna make them famous. We’re gonna put their face on TV, we’re going to let their employers and their neighborhoods and their schools know who these people are.” (0:17-0:31)
Now as far as the subpoenas go, you have the Times reporting, “SOME of the companies notified the people whom the government had requested data on and gave them 10 to 14 days to fight the subpoena in court.”
And officially, DHS has said it’s only subpoena’ing people to keep its agents safe out in the field.
But the type of subpoena it’s issuing has historically been used only very rarely, mainly for stuff like catching child traffickers. []
Right, we’ve talked about these on the show before, they’re called administrative subpoenas.
Unlike arrest warrants, these don’t require a judge’s signature and can be issued by DHS directly.
And Trump’s DHS LOVES using these:
Back in 2017, it tried to expose anonymous Twitter users critical of Trump’s first administration.[]
Last year, it also used them against Meta accounts that were posting updates about ICE raids in California,
As well as ones in Pennsylvania that have been documenting ICE sightings just outside Philly. [image of page]
Each of those situations eventually made it to court – however, DHS then withdrew all of them before any rulings were made.
With the ACLU explaining that a judge’s order to stop could end the tactic, so if DHS pulls a subpeona before that, they can just keep going with this tactic.
And as one lawyer for the ACLU explained, not everyone who gets subpoena’d is going to sue:
“The pressure is on the end user, the private individual, to go to court.”
Which is why you now have a ton of people, including Ro Khanna – who represents Silicon Valley – saying: []
“Tech must not bend the knee to a surveillance state. Google, Meta & other companies should refuse to comply with administrative subpoenas that target anonymous speech critical or ICE as a blatant violation of the First Amendment.”
Except… Tech kinda now loves bending the knee to MAGA…
You’ve got Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg cozying up to Trump, killing fack-checking on his platforms and justifying that by parrotting the same talking points as Trump: (broll) []
Saying that Meta’s content moderation resulted in “censorship.”
He also donated a million to Trump’s second inauguration on top of the $1 million Amazon and Google each donated.[]
All of that more than double what they donated during Biden and Trump’s first inauguration combined.
Meanwhile, TikTok’s now owned by Oracle, which is run by Larry Ellison who’s a close ally of Trump’s. []
And then of course, there’s Twitter – Trump and Elon might fight, but Elon is still very much aligned with the MAGA camp.
And because of all that, you now have people connecting these anti-ICE subpoenas to Discord’s announcement last week that it’s going to roll out new age-verification features beginning in March,[]
Features that would notably include using a government-issued ID.
While Discord has tried to assure people that uploading IDs is optional and that it’s ONLY looking at someone’s age then immediately deleting that info, even today, you have people saying things like:[]
“so THATS why Discord wants everyone’s IDs”
With reports also indicating that in the UK, some users have already been alerted that they’re part of “an experiment” with Persona, an age verification vendor whose investors include Peter Thiel, []
AKA, the co-founder of Palantir, you know, that company I mentioned a few minutes ago that’s building a database to surveil people ICE is trying to go after.
Hell, Discord’s own post on Twitter has been community noted, with that saying: []
“While initially Discord may have never sent your data to their vendor after failure of the system being shown (e.g. face scan bypasses) they are swapping vendors to persona, who does in fact receive and retain your data. Persona is also funded by Peter Thiel. Discord Lied.”
And of course, there’s no official confirmation that Discord is trying to use people’s IDs so that Trump can spy on them, but people are still understandably VERY cautious there…
…Because while DHS might go to hell and back to keep its agents' identities under lock and key, the average American?
Well, you might be shit out of luck if you aren’t on their side.
And while you had DHS officially shutting down Saturday morning after Congress failed to pass a deal to fund the department, that doesn’t really mean the agency’s going dark.
Right, Democrats in the Senate blocked a spending bill that would have funded the agency through the fiscal year, arguing that the package didn’t include any new restrictions on federal immigration agents. []
And specifically, you had Democrats calling for what they say are simple, common-sense reforms.
Like mandating search warrants, requiring agents to wear identification, prohibiting officers from wearing masks, and establishing universal use-of-force standards, among other measures.
With party leadership also shutting down a last-minute counteroffer from the White House that wasn’t made public, but which Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned as “not serious, plain and simple.”[]
But, of course, you also had Republicans blaming Democrats for the funding lapse, accusing them of making unreasonable demands and failing to provide enough time for negotiations to play out.[]
Now, very notably here, this shutdown only affects DHS — the rest of the government has already been funded through the end of the fiscal year.
And while the partial shutdown officially kicked off this weekend, it was basically a sure thing after the upper chamber failed to break the 60-vote filibuster on Thursday.
With every single Democrat voting against the bill except, for some reason, John Fetterman, who has basically become the Democratic equivalent of a Republican in Name Only — a DINO, if you will. []
And unlike other funding showdowns we’ve seen recently, there was no last-minute rush to try and find a solution on Friday.
Instead, you had Senators on both sides of the aisle packing their bags and leaving D.C. on Thursday after the chamber adjourned for a week-long recess.
And while both Schumer and Senate Majority Leader John Thune have said that senators will return to the Capitol if a deal is struck, it’s unclear if that will happen anytime soon.
Right, on Thursday, Thune told reporters that negotiations between the White House and Democrats were making progress, claiming he believed a deal was still possible with more time.
But he also maintained that the left would have to make some concessions, saying:
“Democrats are never going to get their full wish list. That’s not the way this works.”
Now, as far as what Republicans want out of this, that remains unclear, because the White House’s counteroffer hasn’t been made public.
Though you did have Thune saying that he expects the White House’s demands will include new protections for federal immigration agents and restrictions on sanctuary cities, which limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
But, at the same time, some Democrats have also said they don’t want to offer concessions that could undermine the guardrails they are trying to impose here.[]
So, at least right now, it seems like this partial shutdown could drag on for some time, but DHS leaders have said that their essential missions and functions will still continue.
In fact, despite being the whole reason for this shutdown, ICE and CBP will hardly be affected because Republicans gave the agency billions of dollars in the Big Beautiful Bill.
So while their operations will hardly be impacted — if at all — it’s the other agencies under DHS that will be hit the hardest, like the TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard. []
We’re talking about direct effects felt by 13% of the federal workforce.
And while DHS has not publicly released an updated plan for how the agency will operate, its last shutdown plan from September indicates that 91% of its employees would continue to work without pay.
What’s more, you also had the department’s internal watchdog warning that the shutdown could endanger immigration enforcement oversight.
Right, the DHS inspector general currently has eight active probes into the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, but the office has said it’ll be forced to suspend 85% of its audits, evaluations, and inspections.
And beyond that, the American people could also be directly affected, because while 95% of the TSA’s employees are required to work during a shutdown, experts have warned that there is still a risk of airport delays if the shutdown drags on.
With the acting TSA administrator warning that the public could start seeing the impacts of the shutdown in as little as two weeks.[]
[Outro to feed cleanly into Chris’ Friday write-up on Noem] But meanwhile, as officials are coping with the possibility of an extended shutdown, there is a secret civil war happening inside the Department of Homeland Security.
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Kristi Noem is totally fucking her top aid.
That is one of many allegations made about the ICE Barbie DHS secretary in this rollercoaster of a Wall Street Journal article. [Show article]
And where we’ll start is with the silent civil war going on behind the scenes at Homeland Security.
On one side you’ve got border czar Tom Homan and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, who prefer a more traditional, targeted approach focused on criminals, and on the other side you have Kristi Noem and that top aid COrey Lewandowski [Pronounce 00:16], who opt for flashy, attention-grabbing operations that terrorize migrants indiscriminately. [B roll andB roll, thenB roll andB roll]
Now two dozen current and former officials tell the Journal that Noem’s been warned such flashy displays would discredit the department’s ultimate mission. [Quote, find “warned”]
But she didn’t listen, and White House officials have reportedly grown angry that she and Lewandowski have declined to take guidance on events, messaging and management of the agency. [Quote same link, find “headache”]
With even several senior officials describing DHS as the biggest headache thus far of the second Trump term. [Same quote]
But to understand how we got here, you’ve gotta understand the relationship between these two little lovebirds: Noem and Lewandowski. [Image]
Because reportedly he’s part of the reason she’s DHS secretary at all, with him quietly lobbying to get her the post even though she had little experience in immigration enforcement. [Quote same link, find “lobbying”]
Right, he took her to functions with Republican kingmakers, introduced her as a rising star in the party, tried to make her Trump’s vice president, then settled for Homeland Security instead. [Quote same link, find “rising star”]
Which was still pretty big, since DHS occupies a central place in Trump’s agenda, and Lewandowski reportedly saw it as a launchpad for a potential 2028 presidential run. [Same quote andB roll]
Which, just, good God, could you imagine a President Noem? President Barbie? Gah!
Anyway, if she’s Barbie, Lewandowski must be Ken, at least if the rumours are true.
Because The Daily Mail published photos of him holding a duffle bag and going back and forth between his apartment and Noem’s across the street last year. [Image]
Then, after people were like, ‘are y’all fuckin?’ She moved into a government-owned waterfront house on a military base in Washington, citing security reasons, but Lewandowski spends time there too. [Image]
Also, they’ve lately been travelling together on a luxury 737 MAX jet with a private cabin in the back, according to sources. [Quote, find “luxury”]
And within the department it’s just considered an open secret that they’re bumping hips, which isn’t helped by the fact they routinely show up to public events side by side like a couple. [Image]
Now to be clear, both Noem and Lewandowski are married, and they’ve denied the gossip about an affair with each other.
But apparently even Trump doesn’t buy that, because reportedly when Lewandowski asked to formally serve as Noem’s chief of staff, the president said no, citing the supposed romance, and he has continued to bring it up. [B roll and Quote same link, find “romantic”]
So instead, Lewandowski accepted the title of “special government employee,” basically a loophole in federal ethics law that’s meant to allow private experts to work on specific public projects without giving up their outside salaries and investments.
Right, it’s also the title Elon Musk had when he headed DOGE, and the catch is that you can only use it for 130 days in a year. [B roll]
But reportedly Lewandowski got around that by simply not swiping in at the DHS building, and reporting fewer days than he’d actually worked to the White House Counsel’s Office. [Quote same link, find “swiping”]
So together, he and Noem allegedly tyrannize everybody below them.
Frequently berating senior level staff, giving polygraph tests to employees they don’t trust, and firing or demoting roughly 80% of career ICE field leadership. [Quote same link, find “polygraph” and “80%”]
Speaking of which, we’ve gotta talk about the “blanket incident.”
Right, reportedly, when Noem’s plane had a maintenance issue, she had to switch to a different one, but her blanket — yes, her blanket — wasn’t transferred as well. [Quote same link, find “second plane”]
So what did they do? Reportedly Lewandowski fired the pilot and told that person to take a commercial flight home when they reached their destination. [Same quote]
Except when they got there, Noem and Lewandowski realized they themselves didn’t have anyone to fly them back, so they reinstated the pilot. [Same quote]
And presumably Noem slept like a baby, clutching her favorite blankey — I swear these people are children.
Anyway, however much people disliked them, Noem and Lewandowski were too close to the president to do much about it.
But as the Minnesota debacle unfolded, the internal criticism rose from a simmer to a boil. [B roll]
Because with the murder of Alex Pretti, and Noem’s comments that he was a domestic terrorist trying to massacre law enforcement, some officials wanted her fired. [Same B roll]
So Lewandowski reportedly shot a message over to Trump’s pollster, Tony Fabrizio [Fuh-breezey-O], saying, hey Tony, can you cut an ad to help out my girl? [Quote same link, find “cut an ad”]
And according to sources, Fabrizio just ignored him. [Same quote]
Meanwhile, even some Republican lawmakers were blasting her, but still, Trump resisted the pressure.
Though he did kick out Greg Bovino, whom Noem and Lewandowski had elevated, and replaced him with Tom Homan, who’s a longtime rival of Noem’s. [B roll, thenB roll]
Right, the Journal reports that she’s been waging a war against him for power and influence inside the administration. [Quote same link, find “battle”]
With her routinely berating staff if she saw Homan on TV and keeping track of his screentime to make sure she was on TV more than him. [Quote same link, find “bigger crowd”]
In fact, on at least one occasion, a source says she asked aides to ensure she drew a bigger crowd than him at a conference. [Same quote]
And more recently, sources add that she’s gone so far as asking Republicans to write op-eds backing her, like one in Newsweek by Louisiana’s Governor Jeff landrey. [Quote same link, find “op-eds”]
But others are more annoyed, especially by her handling, or rather mishandling, of department finances.
Right, for example, Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp’s office reportedly had to call top DHS aides to get money approved for disaster aid because it was inexplicably held up. [Quote same link, find “Georgia”]
And down in Florida, officials have struggled to get federal funds for “Alligator Alcatraz.” [Quote same link]
Hell, even on Trumps border wall, people say she’s fucked that up as well.
With sources claiming, for example, that a contract for bulk steel sat on Noem’s desk just waiting to be approved for so long that by the time she signed it, the price of steel had gone up more than 100 million dollars. [Quote same link, find “bulk steel”]
Meanwhile, the complaints about Lewandowski have focused more on his apparent conflicts of interest.
Right, because as a special government employee, he retains ties to the private sector, but he’s also involved in dishing out contracts.
So several officials told the Journal that contracts and grants are being awarded in an opaque and arbitrary manner, and some are being held up without explanation. [Quote same link, find “opaque”]
With high-level staff reportedly being instructed to meet with particular companies for services that other contractors have previously carried out. [Quote same link, find “instructed”]
You know, totally not suspicious at all, but I should also add that this is par for the course in Trump’s America.
Right, this president has apparently indulged in enough graft, bribery and corruption to fill another 20 minutes of this show.
But for the sake of your sanity as well as my own, I’m gonna tie a knot in this right here and throw it to y’all: give me your reactions to any part of this, especially the blanket incident.
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The Trump Administration is spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to deport migrants to countries they’re not from while lining the pockets of corrupt and dangerous foreign governments through secretive, backroom deals.
That is what was revealed in an absolutely bombshell new report published by Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Now, notably, it’s unclear exactly how much Trump has spent on third-country deportations because this whole thing is so fucking shady and there’s so little transparency.
But the report estimated that the costs were “likely upward of $40 million” through January of this year.
But despite the big price tag, the report found that the money has been used to move “a relatively small number of migrants” and, in some cases, the U.S. has paid more than one million dollars PER PERSON to send someone to a country they have no connection to.
And in many cases, migrants could have returned to their countries of origin, which would have been much cheaper than sending them to a random country.
Right, more than 80% of the people the U.S. paid third countries to take in “have already been returned to their home countries or are in the process of doing so.”
And in some cases, “the U.S. paid to fly migrants to third countries only to later pay again for them to fly to their home country,” which cost the taxpayers even MORE money.
What’s more, some of the countries the U.S. has given millions of dollars to have records of corruption, human rights abuses, and human trafficking.
But the Trump administration hasn’t been monitoring how the money is being used and whether American taxpayers are unknowingly funding those illicit activities.
And while many nations have vowed to treat migrants in accordance with international human rights laws, the report found no evidence at all that the U.S. is tracking what happens to the deportees or enforcing those assurances.
In fact, officials have even admitted that some countries are violating their human rights promises, and the Administration STILL hasn’t done anything.
And that’s just based on the little information we actually do have about these shady agreements, with the senators also claiming that the Administration “is not being transparent [...] about the extent of its deal-making with foreign governments.”
Noting that it’s unclear if the U.S. is exerting pressure on these countries, offering them some kind of sweetener, or striking secret side-deals that go against the interests of the American people.
