The Trump Self-Deportation Leak is Crazy & AIPAC Spent Hidden Millions to Crush Progressives
PDS Published 03/18/2026
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Rand Paul is a snake, some people need a good punch in the face, and members of Congress are legally allowed to shoot each other.
These are all positions that Trump’s pick to head Homeland Security just endorsed, whether explicitly or implicitly, under oath.
Right, today was the Senate’s confirmation hearing for Markwayne Mullin, a lawmaker representing Oklahoma who’s supposed to replace the outgoing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
Now on paper, he’s kind of a strange pick; right, he’s got no bachelor’s degree; he was a mixed martial arts fighter and the owner of a plumbing company before coming to Congress.
Even there, he’s never held a prominent party leadership role, he’s never served on any congressional committees related to Homeland Security or immigration, and he has no law enforcement experience.
But what we’ve seen with Trump is that these kinds of things — “experience,” “qualifications,” “competence” — aren’t the top consideration.
What gets you promoted in Trump’s America is loyalty, fealty, unconditional subservience.
And as you might’ve guessed, Mullin has long been one of Trump’s closest allies and in his words a personal “friend” in the Senate.
Right, even today, he was literally brought to tears just talking about how the president supported him after his son suffered a brain injury.
[Clip, 03:31 - 03:42, 04:29 - 04:37]
He also voted to overturn the 2020 election results, and he’s been a staunch defender of Trump’s mass deportation policy.
Plus he’s got a real knack for that distinctively Trumpian brand of political showmanship; I mean, he wears a cowboy hat on the Senate floor.
In fact, one time he almost brawled with the Teamsters union president during a Senate hearing, and actually might have were it not for an appalled uncle Bernie. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 00:13 - 00:16, 00:47 - 01:17]
So when he took the floor for today’s hearing, his attitude toward violence was a big point of concern, especially since he’s nominated to head federal law enforcement.
And for Rand Paul, who chairs the Homeland Security committee, it was personal.
Right, he was assaulted in 2017 by his neighbor, who tackled him, putting him in the hospital.
So today, he confronted Mullin about his comments on that incident.
[Clip, 02:09 - 02:16, 02:25 - 02:35, 03:48 - 04:00]
With Mullin then going, yeah, that’s what I said.
[Clip, 16:30 - 16:39] Caption: “I simply addressed that I said I could understand, because of the behavior you were having, I could understand why your neighbor did what he did.”
And as for the “freaking snake” comment?
[Same clip, 16:43 - 16:50] Caption: “I work around this room to try to fix problems. I’ve worked with many people in this room. It seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us.”
But despite that, he stressed that he has a job to do, and partisan bickering won’t get in his way.
[Same clip, 17:54 - 18:00] Caption: “I can set it aside, if you’re willing to set it aside. Let me earn your respect. Let me earn the job.”
But Rand Paul wasn’t having it.
[Same clip, 24:57 - 25:24] Caption: “You said a few minutes ago, ‘we can just set it aside.’ Well political differences we can, but when you say that you agree with a felon, a Trump-hating felon, who attacked me, somehow you think I’m just gonna set that aside? Oh, it’s no big deal. You know, I lay in pain for two months, had six ribs broken, three of them separated, grinding bone on bone for months. I had part of my lung removed. And you think that’s great and to be extolled.”
And then he just held Mullin’s feet to the fire, first playing the clip I showed you of the near-brawl with the Teamster’s boss, and then playing other clips where Mullin displays a penchant for violence.
[Same clip, 27:49 - 27:56, 28:03 - 28:13, 28:27 - 28:35]
Now this is where shit gets crazy, because when Paul asked him about that “caning and dueling” clip in particular, Mullin replied:
[Same clip, 30:48 - 31:07] Caption: [Markwayne Mullin:] “What I was simply pointing out is some of the rules that still apply to this body. For instance, dueling between two consenting adults is still there. I was pointing out what is…”
[Rand Paul:] “It’s been illegal for 170 years. There’s no precedent for legal dueling. Even then, they fled the country.”
After that, the committee’s top Democrat, Gary Peters, got him to concede on at least one of the shootings by federal agents.
[Same clip, 38:31 - 38:38, 39:08 - 39:18] Caption: [Gary Peters:] “You sir, you called Alex Pretti ‘a deranged individual that came in to cause max damage.’” … [Markwayne Mullin:] “Like I said, there’s some times I’m gonna make mistakes, and I own it. That one, I went out there too fast. I was responding immediately without the facts. That’s my fault. That won’t happen as secretary.”
But when it came to Renee Good, by contrast, he said he doesn’t regret calling her shooting justified.
[Same clip, 01:07:38 - 01:07:45] Caption: “It’s very clear that an officer had to make a split decision, in that case as a car was running toward him and did strike him.”
So then the rest of it was pretty much just senator after senator throwing hardball questions at him, and his answers weren’t always reassuring.
[Clip, 50:37 - 50:44, 50:56 - 50:58] Caption: [Maggie Hassan:] “If directed by the president to take an action that would break the law, would you follow the law or follow the president’s direction?” … [Markwayne Mullin:] “The president would never ask me to do that.”
[Same clip, 01:12:20 - 01:12:54] Caption: [Richard Blumenthal:] “If confirmed, will you commit to me, and the chair and ranking member of this committee, and the American people, that ICE will no longer instruct agents to break into people’s homes without a judicial warrant?” [Markwayne Mullin:] “Sir, you’re using the word ‘break into people’s houses’ very loosely. However, I have made it very clear to the staff, and I think when you and I spoke, that a judicial warrant will be used to go into houses and place of businesses unless we’re pursuing someone that enters in that place.”
[Same clip, 01:22:25 - 01:22:31] Caption: [Andy Kim:] “And you wouldn’t attempt to eliminate FEMA?” [Markwayne Mullin:] “As I’ve said, I think it needs to be restructured, not eliminated.”
Also, he refused to admit that Trump lost the 2020 election, then gave this answer about future elections.
[Same clip, 01:59:38 - 01:59:48, 01:59:50 - 01:49:55] Caption: [Elissa Slotkin:] “If you are secretary of Homeland Security, do you feel you have the authority to put uniformed officers at polling locations in 2026?” … [Markwayne Mullin:] “The only reason why my office would be there, if there was a specific threat for them to be there, not for intimidation.”
Now if he does get confirmed (and it looks like he has pretty solid support), he’s gonna have a hell of a mess to clean up over at DHS.
Right, for one thing, its reputation is in tatters, and he says he says one of his main goals is to restore the public’s trust.
Also, thanks to the partial shutdown, funding lapsed over a month ago, and Democrats say they won’t pass more spending until they get some concessions on stuff like masks and body cameras.
And then there’s all the chaos around DHS contracts piling up on Noem’s desk because she required everything above 100,000 dollars to get her personal approval.
Though when asked whether he’d revoke that policy, Mullin said yes.
[Same clip, 01:26:56 - 01:26:59] Caption: “Absolutely. That’s called micromanaging.”
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And among the troubles that Markwayne Mullin is inheriting with DHS is its flop of a self-deportation program.
Right, last May, the Trump administration announced “Project Homecoming” - a way for undocumented immigrants to “self-deport” with a free flight to their home country and a stipend to take with them.
At first, that stipend was $1,000 but it recently got bumped up to $2,600. []
They’ve made an app called CBP Home, spent millions of dollars on ad campaigns, did a social media blitz, the whole nine yards.
And the price tag for that? Nearly a billion dollars. []
But since they kicked this off, the Trump administration hasn’t released any detailed data about its efficacy.
All we’ve really gotten is a statement from outbound DHS Secretary Kristi Noem back in January saying that 2.2 million illegal immigrants have chosen to self-deport. []
But we don’t really know where she got that number and we do know that it absolutely includes many people who haven’t interacted with “Project Homecoming” at all.
In fact, DHS confirmed that - saying in a statement,
“DHS has been consistently clear that those who have used the CBP Home app and utilized Project Homecoming are but a fraction of the those who have voluntarily left the country because illegal aliens know President Trump is enforcing our immigration laws.” []
But the lack of transparency on “Project Homecoming” specifically has left many experts wondering whether this program is actually working and to what extent.
With David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, saying,
“They’re trying to claim credit for those people who are leaving but it’s not obvious to me that those people would’ve stayed in the absence of this financial incentive.” []
“Every year, there’s hundreds of thousands of people who leave the United States on their own, voluntarily, for various reasons. Before this app, that was a zero cost to the government. Nothing was being expended on people leaving the country.” []
It wasn’t until December when sworn statements were filed in court that we got a look at any on-record details.
According to the sworn statement of an executive from Salus Worldwide Solutions - which holds the contract to run Project Homecoming - the government had authorized nearly 35,000 stipends to individuals who had registered as self-deported. []
Though only about half of those had been completed at the time.
And according to newly leaked internal DHS documents reviewed by CNN, that number has only gone up to 72,000 people since then. []
With the kicker being that more than half of those were already in ICE detention at the time.
With one North Carolina immigration attorney saying,
“They’re having to choose between a prolonged detention and spending a lot of money to fight their case. Or take voluntary departure, get money for leaving, and potentially not to have to pay for their flight home.” []
Which was the case for Lisette, who self-deported to Honduras in May after her husband was detained and deported. []
Saying his detention separated her family in a way she couldn’t tolerate - so she took the federal immigration officer’s suggestion of using the app and going back to Honduras.
But some experts and attorneys have expressed concern that by being pressured into this choice, many immigrants in the program aren’t aware of the potential penalties of accepting.
Including years-long bans on reentering the US.
Now, as for the government’s response, they don’t really have one - in fact, the White House didn’t give a comment on the whole thing. []
Which isn’t really surprising considering Trump and Co’s strong feelings about leaks to the press.
But what we do know is that this nearly billion dollar program isn’t turning out the results Noem initially claimed and is doing its best to not confront that publicly.
So the question at this point is what Mullin and the wider Trump administration is going to do with it going forward.
Right, are they going to ramp up the stipend again or will it just fade into obscurity as we kick-start World War 3?
We’ll just have to keep our eyes on this.
But I’d love to know what you’re thinking in those comments down below.
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Israel took out another one of Iran’s highest-ranking officials, allegedly struck the largest natural gas field in the world, and is continuing to sow death and destruction in Lebanon.
But let’s start with this latest assassination—which targeted Iran’s intelligence minister.
An individual the Israeli military claimed oversaw “surveillance, espionage, and the execution of covert operations worldwide, particularly against the state of Israel and Iranian citizens.”
With Israel’s Defense Minister saying in a statement afterward:
“The intensity of the strikes in Iran is reaching a new level.”
“Israel’s policy is clear and unequivocal: no one in Iran has immunity, and everyone is a target.”
And with that, the civilian death toll in the country, according to Iran, is at least 1,348—although that number is now several days old—and Israel is hunting down leaders of the regime one by one. []
Right, today’s announcement came a day after Israel said it killed Iran’s national security chief, who had been serving as the de facto leader of the country since the war began, as well as the commander of the powerful Basij (Ba-siege - AUDIO) militia.
And with that, early this morning, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said they had successfully struck Israel in retaliation for the latest assassinations.
And you had the Israeli emergency service reporting that an Iranian missile had killed two people outside Tel Aviv and injured at least one other—bringing the overall death toll in Israel to fourteen according to Israeli authorities.
Officials also revealed today that missile strikes had hit a major railway station and the country’s main international airport.
And outside of Israel, Iranian strikes have also kept up across the region.
With several Gulf nations—including Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—all saying they were intercepting missiles and drones today.
And at one point you had Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warning people to stay away from major oil and gas facilities in several of these countries—claiming they would be targeted in the coming hours.
WIth that coming after what Iranian state media said Israeli airstrikes hit what is by far the largest offshore natural gas field in the world.
And to give you an idea, this place? It reportedly holds enough to supply the world’s needs for about 13 years. []
And it accounts for roughly seventy to seventy-five percent of Iran’s natural gas production, which is almost entirely for domestic use, including heat, hot water and cooking by most Iranians. []
Although that’s just the Iranian portion, right because these reserves are actually shared with Qatar.
Which also blamed Israel for the strikes—with a spokesperson warning that targeting shared energy infrastructure was a “dangerous and irresponsible step” that could threaten global energy security.
And on that note, the impact? It was almost immediate.
International oil prices leapt to around $108 a barrel—up from $103 earlier this morning. []
And that’s as—despite Trump’s downplaying of the economic impact this war might have in the US— we’re continuing to see exactly that.
With the national average price for regular gas reaching $3.84 a gallon today—up 29 percent since the war began.
And similarly, despite Trump’s claims that everything is under control, the Strait of Hormuz remains on lockdown— at least to anyone Iran wants.
Right, because while most shipping traffic through the Strait has been halted since the war began—with nearly 20 vessels getting attacked in the area—about ninety ships have actually made their way through.
With Iran managing to export well above 16 million barrels of oil since the beginning of March—as some ships linked to other countries also allowed to pass at times. []
And yesterday, you had Iran's speaker of parliament claiming the Strait won’t ever return to its pre-war status.
With the country’s foreign minister doubling down on that today—arguing that after the war comes to an end countries in the Gulf should draft a new protocol for the Strait of Hormuz.
With the aim being to ensure that safe passage through the waterway is carried out under certain conditions aligned with Iranian and regional interests. []
And so it may only be getting more urgent for Trump to show that there’s something he can do.
Although, notably, recent reporting from Notus his administration may be lacking the expertise to give him good advice—not that he would listen anyways.
With the outlet speaking to several former employees and officials who said that back in July, the DOGE wrecking ball took out staff who would have been responsible for gaming out possible scenarios if the Strait of Hormuz was closed.
As well as staffers with close professional relationships at oil and gas companies in the Middle East and experts tasked with maintaining diplomatic contacts at foreign energy bureaus. []
With the former assistant secretary of state for energy resources under Joe Biden saying:
“I’m sure Secretary Rubio wishes he had that expertise available today,
“Most of that institutional knowledge was lost…”[]
And notably, with that, the impact of these cuts? It may extend just beyond this specific oil and gas expertise.
With people who quit positions at the National Security Council, the Treasury, and the Department of Energy saying the usual process of analyzing, reporting and debating before decisions are made is virtually nonexistent now. []
And you had the editorial board of The Financial Times making a similar point in an opinion published today claiming that Trump has “undermined the US national security apparatus.”
Arguing that Trump’s emphasis on loyalty over experience at least partly explains how he started this war against Iran without a clear objective or plan and is “hampering America’s ability to prosecute” the war now that it has begun. []
The piece also pointed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s push for “unapologetic lethality” — along with his gutting of a congressionally mandated office meant to help military planners avoid civilian casualties.
Raising the question of whether this could have something to do with what was likely a US missile strike on a girls’ school in Iran that killed more than 100 children
But with all that, you actually had Trump today sharing an opinion from a different editorial board—that of the New York Post—which was titled:
“US allies need to get a grip — step up and help open the Strait of Hormuz”
And that’s as he also had some words to share himself—writing in another post:
“I wonder what would happen if we ‘finished off’ what’s left of the Iranian Terror State, and let the Countries that use it, we don’t, be responsible for the so called ‘Strait?’ That would get some of our non-responsive ‘Allies’ in gear, and fast!!!”
And so that just appears to be his latest lash-out in response to NATO members refusing to participate in a mission to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz while Iranian missiles rain down on them.
And with that strategy failing, he is trying other options.
Right, one to manage the effects of rising prices, today he temporarily waived a century-old shipping law called the Jones Act to lower the cost of transporting oil, gas and other goods around the US.
And then, of course, the military is continuing to try and degrade Iran’s ability to threaten ships in the strait.
With CENTCOM claiming today that it had “successfully employed multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran’s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz.”
But, as of now, there’s no sign that the Strait is opening back up.
And it’s increasingly clear that the impact is not just about rising prices, it’s about human lives.
With the United Nations World Food Programme now saying that because of this war the number of people going hungry may go up by tens of millions worldwide.
This is partly because the disruption of shipping lanes since the start of the conflict is delaying deliveries of lifesaving food aid;
But, notably, even aid that doesn’t have to pass through the Strait of Hormuz will be affected.
And that’s because shipping costs have risen 18 percent—and higher oil prices are driving up the World Food Programme’s operating costs.
Plus, as we’ve talked about, in addition to roughly twenty percent of the world’s oil and liquid natural gas, around one-third of global seaborne trade in fertilizers typically passes through the Strait of Hormuz.
So, along with oil and gas, fertilizer is getting more expensive.
And since all three are key agricultural inputs—food is likely going to get more expensive as well.
And overall the World Food Program estimates that if war in the Middle East goes on through June it will push another 45 million people into acute hunger.
With the agency’s deputy executive director and operations chief saying:
“This would take global hunger levels to an all-time record, and it’s a terrible, terrible prospect.”
“The consequences are falling on the world’s most vulnerable people who are already living in dire conditions.”
And with that, I will say, even without the war, the situation was bad, getting worse, and partly the fault of Donald Trump.
Right, according to the agency, around 319 million people around the world already suffer from acute hunger—which represents a threefold increase in the last five years. []
But because the US and several other major donors have slashed aid funding the agency has had to reduce rations and cut the number of people receiving food aid.
And so children that might have lived otherwise are literally starving to death.
And speaking of dying children, we still have to talk about Lebanon.
Right, because the Israeli military has continued to ramp up its attacks on the country—striking Beirut and other major cities, towns and villages while Israeli troops continued a ground invasion in the country’s south.
And, of course, Israel claims it is targeting Hezbollah.
But many strikes have now hit central and eastern Beirut—away from where Hezbollah is generally based—adding to fears that areas once considered safe aren't anymore.
In one neighborhood in central Beirut, for example, the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for a building that it said was used by Hezbollah.
And as residents fled the area during the morning call to prayer a missile hit the building and brought it to the ground (BROLL).
Which is notable because while Israeli airstrikes have targeted some buildings in Beirut over the past two weeks—reportedly—they haven’t collapsed entire buildings until now. []
Some Israeli strikes, however, have reportedly hit without any warning whatsoever.
With one unannounced attack on central areas of Beirut reportedly killing at least 10 people and injuring 27 others—according to the Lebanese health ministry.[]
And overall the death toll is now reported to be at least 960—including at least 110 children.
And you also have the Norwegian Refugee Council reporting today that one million people have by now been displaced by the fighting—which is about one-sixth of the country’s population.
And the worst fear is that we have another Gaza on our hands—which is something some in Israel seem absolutely giddy about.
In fact, last week, you had the Israeli army dropping leaflets over Beirut with what was seen as mocking text, saying:
“In light of the remarkable success in Gaza, the newspaper: ‘The New Reality’ arrives in Lebanon. Where is your country heading?” []
We also talked about the country’s finance minister claiming one part of the country would soon “resemble Khan Younis”—one of the cities almost obliterated by the Israeli military in Gaza.
And you’ve also had a member of his party also claiming:
“We must conquer territory in southern Lebanon, destroy the villages there and annex the territory to the state of Israel.”
While a member of another party has called for the implementation of a doctrine understood as a strategy of overwhelming, disproportionate force and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.
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And while the war is still playing out in real time, leaders across the U.S. are currently being asked to answer for why it is happening in the first place.
Right, you had Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and other top officials sit for a hearing in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee to address the war and other security threats.
And we heard a lot of this:
“I’m not going to comment on what the president did or didn’t ask me on any topic.” 2:05:08 - 2:05:13
Right, a lot of dodging at every turn — and while Gabbard wasn’t alone in that, this hearing was especially high stakes for her.
Right, she is a long-time anti-interventionalist who has previously voiced strong opposition to getting involved in Iran militarily.
While testifying before the same Senate committee a year ago, she downplayed Iran’s nuclear weapons program, saying it wasn’t close to a bomb — a claim that prompted a direct response from Trump, who said she was “wrong.”
And since the war broke out, she’s remained almost entirely silent.
Basically, the only time she said anything of substance was yesterday after Joe Kent resigned as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, saying he couldn’t support the war with Iran and claiming the country didn’t pose an imminent threat to the U.S.
With Tulsi issuing a lukewarm statement arguing that Trump has the power to determine if there is an imminent threat, and he made that determination based on the intelligence her office provided.[]
Though, notably, she didn’t outright say that she herself believed the intel showed that there was an imminent threat.
But regardless, the whole Kent situation has become a major flashpoint for Gabbard, with some speculating that his resignation has raised questions about how long she will last in the administration — at least in her current role.
And Kent did come up at the hearing when CIA Director Ratcliffe pushed back against Kent’s claims, arguing:
“I think Iran has been a constant threat for an extended period of time, and posed an immediate threat at this time.” (1:13:37-1:13:46)
But when asked if an Iranian missile could threaten the U.S. within six months, he didn’t give a timeline.
Meanwhile, you had Gabbard painting a picture of a threat that was a bit further off, noting in her opening statement that a previous Defense Intelligence Agency report said Iran couldn’t build a viable missile to reach the U.S. before 2035.[]
And when she was questioned about whether or not Iran posed an imminent threat, she danced around the issue and insisted that this actually isn’t even her job:
“OSSOFF: The White House stated on March 1 of this year that this war was launched and was a military campaign to eliminate the imminent nuclear threat posed by the Iranian regime.” (2:16:06-2:16:18)
“OSSOFF: You have stated today that the IC’s assessment is that Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was obliterated and that there had been no efforts since then to rebuild it. Was it the IC’s assessment that nevertheless, despite the obliteration, there was a nuclear threat?GABBARD: it is not the IC’s responsibility to determine what is or is not an imminent threatOSSOFF: okay here is the problem, it is precisely your responsibility to determine what constitutes a threat. This is the worldwide threats hearing.” (2:17:03-2:17:44)
“O: You’re here to be timely, objective, and independent of political considerationsG: that’s exactly what I'm doing…
O: no, you’re evading a question because to provide a candid response to the committee would contradict a statement from the White House.” (2:18:37-2:18:54)
Beyond that, another notable moment from Gabbard was when she said in her opening remarks that Iran’s regime was intact but degraded, and added that their strategy position had been degraded as well.
But when it came to actually answering questions about the war, she repeatedly tried to avoid answering them as much as possible.
Right, when Sen. Wyden noted that her agency previously testified that Iran was capable of disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, we saw this interaction:
WYDEN: “Every problem we are seeing now was not only foreseeable but was actually predicted by the intel agencies, so, in the lead up to the start of the war did the intel agencies stick to their assessment?”
GABBARD: “Thank you, sen wyden, the intel community has continued to provide POTUS and team with the intel related to this operation in Iran.” (0:21-0:58)
And she played a similar card when asked about the potential for attacks on the Gulf States.
WYDEN: “Donald Trump was asked about Iranian strikes on the Gulf States. He said, and I quote, ‘Nobody, nobody, no, no, no, the greatest experts, nobody thought they were going to hit the gulf states.’ you all are supposed to be the greatest experts, that’s what we have you for. Dir. Gabbard, did the intel agencies assess that Iran could conduct strikes on our own partners in the region if it was attacked?”
GABBARD: “The intel community has continued to assess the potential threats to the region, the existing threats to the region, and providing those assessments to the policymakers.” (0:03-0:38)
And when pressed further by Sen. Angus King, Gabbard appeared to acknowledge that U.S. intelligence showed that the Strait would be vulnerable in the event of U.S. strikes, but she still refused to say whether or not Trump was given that information:
KING: “Any predictions to the president about the Strait of Hormuz? All you gotta do is look at a map, and you’ll see the vulnerability in the Strait of Hormuz. Was that part of the briefing, Director Gabbard?”
GABBARD: “Because of that longstanding assessment that the IC has continued to report that the department of war took the preemptive planning measures that they did.”
KING: “They stated they did not plan for the strait of hormuz. The president said who knew that was going to happen.” 1:11 - 1:56
Now Ratcliffe, for his part, was at least a little less vague when King asked him if top intelligence officials had briefed Trump on threats to neighboring countries and the Strait:
“Senator, I’ll answer the question. So, with regards to briefings, the president gets briefings constantly about intelligence.” 00:35 - 00:46
But both Gabbard and Ratcliffe also claimed that they weren’t aware of Trump’s claims about how no one knew that Iran could attack its neighbors and shut down the Strait.
Which is pretty fucking hard to believe given the fact that he has said that repeatedly in the last few days.
Right, and with all that, you had a lot of Democratic senators pissed off that the top intelligence officials in the country were refusing to say whether Trump was actually told about the major risks involved with striking Iran, or if he did know and just decided to lie to the American people to cover his ass:
“We’re having a hard time finding out not only if you briefed the president on something, but even if the White House if they could be briefed on something, or if analysis was produced.” (1:55:58 -1:56:10)
“We’re trying to figure out if the president knew what the downside of the Strait of Hormuz being closed. And I’m having a hard time finding out whether the White House was asked, or whether there was a brief, whether the president knew. Did he know this was going to happen, or did he just disregard it?” (1:56:38- 1:55:56)
But at least part of the reason these officials were so tight-lipped is because they’re also testifying before a closed-door hearing today where they will be able to discuss more high-security matters — at least in theory.
This including the prospects of boots on the ground in Iran and other issues.
But while some of this had to move behind closed doors, Trump is apparently promising his supporters he'll tell them national security secrets.
With Mark Kelly pulling up a fundraising email a pro-Trump committee sent:
“As a national security briefing member, you’ll receive my private national security briefings. Dir. Gabbard or Ratcliffe, Do you think supporters of the president should be able to pay and receive his private national security briefings?” (0:19-0:39)
“Regardless of what the document says, I don’t know what that document is, but whatever it says it didn’t happen.” (0:49-0:54)
And Gabbard likewise said she was unfamiliar with this email.
So yeah, that’s just one more thing to add to the mix.
Not only can no one in the Trump administration get on the same page about this war, but Trump wants to treat the war like a Patreon subscription where his MAGA diehards can pay for exclusive details.
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But getting back into the news, left-leaning Democrats got decimated in the Illinois primaries yesterday, and now you have that fueling questions about the way PACs and Big Tech bankrollers are reshaping the Democratic Party as a whole.
And one of the PACs at the center of this is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AKA AIPAC (A-Pack), whose influence is making things complicated as the war in Iran persists.
Let’s start with the election results.
Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, Rep. Melissa Bean and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton landed big wins yesterday.
Miller beat our former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who had $1.4 million in donations from the top AI super PAC, after she received nearly $4.5 million from an A-Pack-affiliated group, according to AdImpact. []
A-Pack-affiliated groups also threw $4 million behind Bean.
Rep. Robin Kelly lost to Stratton, who was largely backed by Governor J.B. Pritzker, receiving $14.4 million from him. []
And I’m naming these donations because they tell a bigger story.
For one, this type of financial support often creates the messy election ads we see in American voting seasons.
For example, Bean seems to use her ad support to paint her opponent as a friend to Elon Musk and those supporting the use of fossil fuels, even though he’s a pretty progressive politician in reality. []
However, Bean herself is generally accepted as a centrist ex-lawmaker, but she received heavy ad support from AI and crypto PACs that portrayed her as a more progressive candidate than we might actually see play out.
We also saw A-Pack flip-flop in Illinois’s 9th district with Sen. Lauren Fine’s loss, where A-Pack spent much of the race bashing Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, who they then seemed to give a nod to on X after his win. []
“While disappointed Laura Fine didn’t prevail, the pro-Israel community is proud to have helped defeat Kat Abughazaleh - a fiercely anti-Israel candidate and would-be Squad member.”
A-Pack has tried to switch up their song like this in multiple cases, praising candidates they didn’t back or ignoring their candidate’s loss by celebrating more leftist agendas falling short instead.
But this sort of dishonest, Machiavellian approach hasn’t gone unnoticed.
A senior House progressive told Axios, for example, that "A-Pack wanted Daniel Biss to lose. It seems their spending harmed their candidate because it's so toxic in this politically active district.” []
You also see this toxicity in A-Pack's choice to hide its spending power in Illinois through new super PACs called Elect Chicago Women and Chicago Progressive Partnership, which they only claimed after the results were in. []
And it’s sort of a telltale sign of just how influential these groups can be without us even knowing.
Reports say that four Chicago House candidates saw more than $32 million in outside spending for their campaigns, led by A-Pack groups, who reportedly spent upwards of $20 million, as well as other PACs in the crypto and artificial intelligence industry. [] []
To get more into the impact these groups are having, Stratton is now also the favorite to win in November, which would be the first time the US has ever had three Black women in the Senate at one time.
However, she’s also pro-Israel, which has a large impact on how voters see her as the war in Iran continues. []
While Miller reportedly opposed US military aid to Israel, she is for a two-state solution, which, again, is a point of voter contention. []
Bean’s victory is being reported as a “likely return of a moderate former Blue Dog Democrat to the House.”[]
So these lobbying groups do make a real difference in how our government looks and how we can expect those officials to vote.
It’s clear that the AI industry, the crypto sector and A-Pack – who reports say collectively had about $340 million to spend on political endeavors at the top of this year – saw yesterday’s primaries as a chance to reshape the Democratic party in 2027, as well as the rest of this year’s primaries. []
Even before the election, their money was shaping our government as some candidates threw out open hints to attract financial support with posts flirting with pro-AI and crypto ideals. [] [] []
But this isn’t to say these groups are all-powerful because some of their candidates definitely fell short yesterday.
Left-leaning candidates didn’t bring home the votes they expected, which was an upset as progressive New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the New Jersey special election gave a lot of people hope that the Democratic party could pull left as the primaries progressed.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus only landed one out of the four candidates it endorsed, and that was Biss.
Even candidates backed by Justice Democrats, a left-wing group that has had luck in unseating moderate Democratic incumbents in the past, still didn’t come out on top.
So, where does this leave us in the primaries?
Well, what most complicates the A-Pack money backing these candidates is that it often seems to come with a war tag that has only made the Democratic party more divided, along with its voters.
Some Democrats say, "It's difficult to trust politicians who take money from weapons manufacturers and A-Pack, all of whom are for this war, and for those politicians to then stand up and say they are against the war." []
This is yet another schism amongst the Democratic party, where more progressive Dems believe that politicians should be rejecting A-Pack donations to avoid a sort of conflict of interest in their stance against the war. []
But more moderate Democrats have claimed to be fully capable of accepting the donations while still speaking out against the war, saying that those progressive Democrats are “manufacturing a conflict for electoral gain.” []
And while the Democratic party has generally been anti-war, this infighting could squander their chances of success in upcoming elections.
Similar issues could surround the party as voters consider AI regulations and other special interest concerns that have become a sort of dumpster fire across the board.
So for now, there’s nothing left to do but to see how the rest of the primaries play out before the upcoming midterms.
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