Politics

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin might be stripping away billions of dollars in grants, but at least he’s delivering hard-hitting information on beloved MAGA conspiracies.  After posting a video on X Thursday in which Zeldin announced a new website dispelling the concerns over chemtrails and contrails, he seems to be butting heads with his fellow Cabinet members. “The Trump EPA is committed to total transparency. I tasked my team @EPA to compile everything we know about contrails and geoengineering to release to you now publicly. I want you to know EVERYTHING I know about these topics, and without ANY exception!” he wrote in the caption. YouTube Video The new website lists contrails as a “normal” effect left behind by jets and the right-wing conspiratorial chemtrails as “inaccurate.” But while Zeldin is shutting down conspiracies, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. might not be too pleased.  Kennedy has been adamant about his mission to stop the “crime” of chemtrails since last year. And in April, the MAHA guru even took the conspiracy to Dr. Phil. “That is not happening in my agency. We don’t do that. It’s done—we think—by DARPA, and a lot of it now is coming out of the jet fuel. Those materials are put in jet fuel,” he said. “I’m going to do everything in my power to stop it. We’re bringing on somebody who’s gonna think only about that, find out who’s doing that and hold them accountable.” Related | RFK Jr. fails to solve yet another MAGA conspiracy Of course, Kennedy’s not the only MAGA supporter pushing the idea. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has been a longtime supporter of weather modification, like cloud seeding and chemtrails In the wake of the recent Texas flooding, the conspiracy that extreme weather is caused in some capacity by some sort of weather modification has taken hold in the online zeitgeist.  And while Zeldin didn’t directly address that in his video, it’s likely that he’s trying to quell some of those theories. Time will tell if he’s successful.

The concealment that ICE agents are using during immigration operations is more than face coverings. Federal immigration agents are disguising themselves and confronting people without showing or having identification visible. Legislation for Sens. Booker and Padilla is out to change that. U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Alex Padilla (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, introduced new legislation to require immigration enforcement officers to display clearly visible identification during public-facing enforcement actions. The Visible Identification Standards for Immigration-Based Law Enforcement (VISIBLE) Act of 2025 would strengthen oversight, transparency, and accountability for the Trump Administration’s indiscriminate and alarming immigration enforcement tactics that have terrorized communities across California and the nation. Under the Trump Administration’s mass deportation agenda, civil immigration enforcement operations have increasingly involved Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers engaging with the public while wearing unmarked tactical gear, concealing clothing, and face coverings that obscure both agency affiliation and personal identity. Without visible badges, names, or insignia, members of the public often have no way to confirm whether they are interacting with legitimate government officials. Read more

Corbin Trent America is being hollowed out by an extractive economy. The post When GDP Goes Up and Democracy Goes Down appeared first on The Nation.

Jacob Silverman The strange saga of a shadowy UAE company’s $100 million investment in World Liberty Financial, the Trump-aligned crypto trader The post Does Trump’s Biggest Crypto Backer Really Exist? appeared first on The Nation.

Arnold Isaacs It’s hard not to see a straight line between Stalin’s version of photoshopping and the purge of the Pentagon archives in 2025. The post The Trump Administration Is Airbrushing History appeared first on The Nation.

Jennifer Abruzzo, Jay Swanson The Constitution, properly interpreted, protects workers. But the Trump administration isn’t going to enforce those protections unless labor fights for them. The post Remembering Labor’s Constitutional Rights appeared first on The Nation.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session of the state legislature on Wednesday to demand the GOP-controlled body redraw the state’s congressional districts, an effort to gerrymander the state to try to squeeze out more seats for Republicans in the 2026 midterms. Abbott called the special session because President Donald Trump wants Texas Republicans to rig the map for the GOP to try to offset potential Republican losses next November, when Republicans could lose control of their three-seat House majority. Political analysts say that under the current congressional maps, Democrats are favored to win control of the House in 2026. Knowing that Democratic House control would end Trump’s legislative agenda and allow Democrats to investigate his corrupt business dealings and administration, Trump is desperately trying to prevent that from happening by getting Texas and Ohio to be “ruthless” and make their state congressional districts even more heavily Republican gerrymanders. Texas was the first state to bite, after Abbott called the special session. Abbott cited a letter Trump’s Department of Justice sent purporting to say that several Democratic-held Texas congressional districts “constitute unconstitutional racial gerrymanders” and should be redrawn. But that’s obviously just a ruse to give Republicans an excuse to redraw the congressional districts to give Republicans an edge. The New York Times reported, however, that Republicans in the Texas congressional delegation are wary about redrawing districts, worried that they could inadvertently make GOP lawmakers more vulnerable if the 2026 midterms turn out to be a Democratic wave. By spreading out GOP voters in more districts, it could make Republicans more vulnerable if independents break Democrats’ way next November. People look through belongings at Camp Mystic along the banks of the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area on July 6, in Hunt, Texas. “The only way you make the state more competitive congressionally is you do it at their expense,” Democratic state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer told the Times, referring to congressional Republicans. “I think the Republicans have already maximized their map, given the demographic changes in the state.” Abbott called the special session as his state is reeling from a horrible natural disaster in which at least 120 people—many of them children attending summer camps—were swept away and killed by flash flooding. Nearly 200 more are still missing and likely presumed dead, as it has been days since the flooding. Reports said that Texas state did not have adequate warning systems to prevent the tragedy, and that Trump’s cuts to federal disaster preparedness funding could make things even worse in future flood situations. Democrats, for their part, are slamming Abbott’s special session announcement, saying it is a craven political move that shows he is putting politics over saving lives. “Hundreds of people have died or are missing as a result of the deadly flooding in the Texas Hill country. There are real questions about Governor Greg Abbott’s failed leadership, lack of preparation and the reckless decision not to bolster the early warning infrastructure in flood prone communities,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement. “Instead of aggressively addressing the failures of his administration, Governor Abbott and shameless extremists are conspiring with Donald Trump and House Republicans to try to rig the election and disenfranchise millions of voters.” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Suzan DelBene echoed those sentiments. “It’s shameful that while Texans are still responding to the deadly and tragic floods, Governor Abbott, House Republicans, and Donald Trump are focusing their time and resources trying to push through new, rigged Congressional maps,” she said in a statement. “Republicans are running scared because they know the American people will reject them next year for their broken promises and failed agenda. They also know they cannot win fair and square, so they are trying once again to rig the maps.”

President Donald Trump can’t seem to get enough of Africa—or at least its “beautiful” reporters.  During a press briefing Wednesday, Trump scoured the media pool for his latest muse, African reporter Hariana Verás. “Where is my reporter from Africa?” he asked with a sly smirk. “There you are. How are you? She’s very famous in Africa.” YouTube Video Trump first crossed paths with Verás in the Oval Office late last month, when she recounted the suffering of citizens in the Congo.  “I saw hope. They have hope now for a better day in Congo,” she said. And while Verás’ impassioned speech lasted minutes, going over plenty of possible talking points for Trump, he still only managed to cling to her appearance.  “That’s so beautifully stated,” he began before diving into how “beautiful” Verás is. “I’m not allowed to say that,” he added. “You know that could be the end of my political career, but you are beautiful—and you’re beautiful inside. I wish I had more reporters like you.” In another awkward exchange Wednesday, Trump showered Liberian President Joseph Boakai with compliments for his well-spoken English.  “Such good English,” Trump said. “Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?”   YouTube Video And while Boakai accepted the compliment graciously, no one seemed to let Trump in on the fact that English is the official language of Liberia. At least he didn’t go on a rant about Boakai’s looks.

A cartoon by Pedro Molina. Related | Watch Trump make it weird when reporter asks about Epstein

One of the most enduring conservative myths is that of the self-reliant, salt-of-the-earth, rural-dwelling American who pulls himself up by his bootstraps, wrestles a steer before breakfast, and builds his own house out of patriotism and chewing tobacco because, by god, they sure do love America!  If that were ever true, it hasn’t been for a while. These days, rural America is largely dependent on the federal government it claims to hate. In fact, far from self-reliant, rural America is subsidized by blue states. And it’s not even close. The Economic Innovation Group, a bipartisan public policy organization, has put together a map tracking the share of every county’s personal income that’s made up of government transfers, which include Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, food assistance, and veterans benefits—money specifically sent or spent on individuals.  I circled some of the country’s largest metropolitan areas to highlight how stark the urban-rural disparity can be. The metros around Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco all show minimal (less than 15% of personal income) or moderate (15% to less than 25%) reliance on government transfers. Rural America, meanwhile, is a glowing sea of government-dependent yellow. The South in particular looks like it took a bath in it. There are reasons for this. Rural regions have a big share of older people, given decades of young people fleeing for big cities. And while there is evidence of that trend reversing since 2020, due largely to the proliferation of remote work, rural areas still tend to be older than large metros. And more older people in a county means a bigger share of that country drawing Social Security and Medicare. And rural areas are more dependent on Medicaid. Government benefits are a good thing, so none of this is inherently bad, per se. But it does mean those rural areas are dependent on the very social safety net that Republicans are gleefully hacking apart with their cuts on Medicaid, food assistance, and the like. They’re also poorer than expensive urban regions, so they rely more on federal food assistance to eat.  But hey, that’s what these voters asked for. Rural areas lean heavily Republican, and farming-dependent counties voted for Trump at an eye-popping average of 78%. Maybe they were just eager to get back to some serious bootstrap-pulling, or maybe they thought the government cheese tasted better if it came with a side of moral superiority and immigrant-blaming. And can anyone actually eat when a handful of trans girls might be playing high school sports? They sure had their priorities!  And don’t worry, rural Republican voters: Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, gets a tax cut. Which he definitely needed. For reasons.