— Supreme Court lets Trump ban transgender people from military: President Donald Trump can proceed with his plan to ban transgender people from the military , including by removing transgender troops currently serving, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The brief one-page order — delivered over the dissent of the three liberal justices — lifted a lower-court judge’s ruling that had paused the administration’s ban, concluding it was likely unconstitutional and based on distortions of limited research on the subject. The Trump administration had argued that the courts are required to nearly always defer to the military’s determinations about readiness, lethality and unit cohesion. excerpt: The brief one-page order — delivered over the dissent of the three liberal justices — lifted a lower-court judge’s ruling that had paused the administration’s ban, concluding it was likely unconstitutional and based on distortions of limited research on the subject. The Trump administration had argued that the courts are required to nearly always defer to the military’s determinations about readiness, lethality and unit cohesion. Neither the majority nor the dissenters provided any reasoning for their positions. The order, which followed an emergency appeal from the Trump administration, is not a final ruling on the issue, but will remain in place as litigation proceeds. Two federal district judges had previously blocked the administration’s ban, finding the move was so unsupported that it could not be sustained even when showing great deference to military leaders. The judges also ruled that the military had to resume medical care for transgender service members. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, a Joe Biden appointee in Washington, D.C., blocked the ban on March 18, only to have her ruling paused by a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. But a second decision on March 28 by U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle, a George W. Bush appointee based in Tacoma, Washington, was allowed to stand by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. In an urgent appeal to the high court last month, Solicitor General John Sauer argued that federal judges were overstepping their bounds by intruding on the president’s authority to supervise the armed forces. “The Constitution does not authorize courts to second-guess the approach to gender transition adopted by the 2025 policy,” Sauer added. In 2019, the Supreme Court split 5-4 as it ruled that the first Trump administration could proceed with a narrower ban that sought to exclude transgender people who had undergone gender transition and those unwilling to serve “in their biological sex” from the military. Biden reversed that ban and allowed most transgender people to serve openly in the military. But shortly after returning to office, Trump revoked Biden’s policy and issued an executive order reinstating an even stricter ban. Groups who challenged the ban called Tuesday’s Supreme Court ruling a “devastating blow to transgender servicemembers who have demonstrated their capabilities and commitment to our nation’s defense.” “By allowing this discriminatory ban to take effect while our challenge continues, the Court has temporarily sanctioned a policy that has nothing to do with military readiness and everything to do with prejudice,” the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and Lambda Legal said in a statement. *****WATCH WHAT MAGA GOP VOTE TO PROTECT THE LEAST AMONG US TO FUND TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY! **************** — House Democrats launch longshot procedural move to prevent safety net cuts: House Democratic leaders said Tuesday they would launch a longshot effort to force a vote on a bill preventing cuts to key federal safety-net programs. The discharge petition is meant to put political pressure on Republicans as they eye cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in writing their domestic policy megabill. If 218 members sign the discharge petition, it would force a floor vote on a bill that would prevent the House from taking up bills under the party-line reconciliation process that would cut Medicaid or SNAP. Members are generally reluctant to buck party leadership to sign discharge petitions, and GOP leaders have taken steps this Congress to block the process entirely. ***INSENSITIVE & POOR DECISION!**** — Embassies disinvited from WWII ceremony after Europeans protest Russian invite: Foreign embassies have been disinvited from an annual Washington event commemorating the end of World War II in Europe this week, after a group of European embassies protested the organizers’ decision to include ambassadors from Russia and its close ally Belarus. The invitation to the Russians and Belarusians marked the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 that the two nations were invited to the May 8 ceremony, which is organized by the Friends of the National World War II Memorial, a non-profit organization. A number of European ambassadors banded together to threaten to boycott the event, according to three European officials. That prompted the nonprofit to withdraw invitations to all foreign embassies, leaving the United States as the only formal participant in an event that has regularly drawn European ambassadors and symbolizes close historic transatlantic ties. excerpt: A number of European ambassadors banded together to threaten to boycott the event, according to three European officials. That prompted the nonprofit to withdraw invitations to all foreign embassies, leaving the United States as the only formal participant in an event that has regularly drawn European ambassadors and symbolizes close historic transatlantic ties. Organizers sent an email Tuesday telling embassies that the event — which this year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the conflict — is now an America-only ceremony. “We have made the decision to scale back this year’s ceremony to keep the focus squarely on the 16 million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II,” the group said in the email, which was obtained by POLITICO. The dustup underscores how toxic any formal engagement with Russia remains for many of the United States’ closest allies amid the war in Ukraine — while the Trump administration looks to re-engage with Moscow in peace talks to end the war. It comes one month before the annual NATO leaders meeting in The Hague, where the raw feelings between Washington and its closest allies in Europe will likely be on display as those leaders come face-to-face with President Donald Trump, who is expected to attend and again demand that NATO allies increase their defense spending significantly. One senior European official familiar with the matter called the idea of inviting Russia to the event as a “slap in the face.” This official said the invitation to embassies were likely withdrawn because of the sharp backlash. Like others, the official was granted anonymity to speak candidly on internal diplomatic reactions to the event. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch an unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and the largest war in Europe since World War II. U.N. investigators have accused Russian forces occupying Ukraine of myriad atrocities including the murder of civilians and systematic torture and sexual violence. One foreign embassy official said the group had told event organizers it would be impossible for them to participate, explaining, “We cannot put a wreath with our national colors next to a Russian wreath.” Friends of World War II Memorial spokesperson Scott Warner confirmed via email that while allies normally participate in war commemoration events, “no embassy representatives will participate in this year’s ceremony as part of the official program.” The White House noted that the event is not organized by the administration and declined to comment further. A second official described the initial list of invitees as “a very strange group,” noting that it includes not only Russia, but Brazil and Slovakia, while excluding the Czech Republic, which broke from Slovakia in 1992. A copy of the original invitation obtained by POLITICO lists Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, Slovak Republic, Ukraine and the U.K. The event, which will feature performances by the U.S. Army band, speeches by National Parks officials and a recognition of American veterans of WWII, will now likely be much smaller than other celebrations in allied capitals.
****THE COST OF DEFENDING ISRAEL!**** — Trump announces US will stop bombing Houthis: The United States will stop strikes against Yemen’s Houthi group , President Donald Trump announced Tuesday, after a nearly-two month bombing campaign. Trump, ahead of a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, said the halt would start immediately. The Houthis approached the administration on Monday night indicating “they want to stop the fighting,” he said.
excerpts: The military has struck at least 800 targets in Yemen and killed hundreds of Houthis since March, according to U.S. Central Command. The threat of Houthi attacks on the Red Sea waterway has forced commercial ships to divert course, causing lengthy delays and extending maritime trading routes thousands of miles around the tip of Africa. A senior Houthi leader told DropSiteNews in April that the group would cease attacks if the Trump administration halted bombings. But the arrangement is unlikely to calm tensions in the region if it’s limited to protecting American ships. Israel escalated strikes against the Houthis on Monday night with 20 fighter jets bombing the rebel-held port city of Hodeidah. Israeli forces were responding to a ballistic missile strike against the Jerusalem airport by the group. The Trump administration also labeled the Houthis a terror group in March, changing a Biden-era policy. Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff worked to reach a ceasefire over the weekend with Oman serving as a mediator, said a person familiar with the matter, who was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic issues. Witkoff has also been leading talks with Iran, which is backed by the Houthis, over its nuclear program. The Houthi ceasefire could help improve the environment for those discussions, which are meant to reconvene soon. Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a senior Houthi official, told Bloomberg News that the group would stop attacking U.S. military ships if Washington halts its strikes, “but we will definitely continue our operations in support to Gaza.” He said Houthi operations would continue “until the end of the aggression on Gaza and blockade on its people.” The Houthis have launched more than 500 strikes on commercial ships in the Red Sea and against Israel since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, according to the International Crisis Group, an independent conflict monitor. But Houthi strikes against the waterway have declined significantly in recent months, and the group hasn’t targeted a commercial vessel since late December. But the costs have continued to pile up with an extraordinary display of U.S. military force. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth extended the deployment of the USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group in the region and sent a second carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, in a major allocation of resources. The Pentagon also sent six B-2 bombers to the U.S. airbase at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean — a third of the entire U.S. fleet. The strike halt comes before Trump heads to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates next week. Trump said he will make a “very, very big” and “positive” announcement before the trip, but did not specify what that would mean. |
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