Top News | Musk Might Be Gone, But Watchdogs Warn Trump/DOGE Carnage Will Continue

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Friday, May 30, 2025 ■ Today's Top News  In Dissent, Jackson Warns of 'Devasting' Impacts as Supreme Court OKs Trump Ending Protections for 500K Migrants One immigration lawyer wrote that the order "simply ignores the human costs and blesses the Trump admin's stripping of status of hundreds of thousands of people who entered the country legally." By Eloise Goldsmith The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for the Trump administration to end, for now, legal protections for more than 500,000 Haitian, Cuban, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan migrants with a ruling that liberal Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson blasted in a dissent as deeply harmful. The decision puts on hold a ruling from U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, who in April issued a stay on the Trump administration's move to end a humanitarian program extended to this group under former U.S. President Joe Biden. The ruling means the immigrants are at risk of being deported under President Donald Trump's mass deportation effort, even as the core legal issues in the case continue to play out in lower courts. The unsigned order from the Supreme Court focuses on the so-called CHNV parole program, which allows certain individuals from those four nations to apply for entry into the U.S. for a temporary stay, so long as they have a U.S.-based sponsor, go through security vetting, and meet other conditions. In some cases, beneficiaries of the program work in the U.S. On his first day in office, Trump issued an executive instructing the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security to "[t]erminate all categorical parole programs," including CHNV. "The court has plainly botched this assessment today. It requires next to nothing from the government with respect to irreparable harm" wrote Jackson in her dissent, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. "And it undervalues the devastating consequences of allowing the government to precipitously upend the lives of and livelihoods of nearly half a million noncitizens while their legal claims are pending." Friday's ruling is the second time this month that the Supreme Court has permitted the Trump administration to halt a program aimed at protecting immigrants who leave their home countries for humanitarian reasons. Earlier in May, the court issued an unsigned order allowing Trump to cancel Temporary Protected Status protections specifically extended to 350,000 Venezuelans immigrants while the legal case winds its way through lower courts. The court's decision on Friday is a temporary order and litigation is still playing out, but it signals that a majority of the justices think the Trump administration is likely to prevail in the case, according to The New York Times. "Respondents now face two unbearable options," according to Jackson's dissent. Jackson wrote that immigrants in the program could either chose to leave the U.S. and potentially confront dangers in their home countries, and other adverse outcomes, or "risk imminent removal at the hands of government agents, along with its serious attendant consequences." "The court allows the government to do what it wants to do regardless, rendering constraints of law irrelevant and unleashing devastation in the process," she concludes in the dissent. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, wrote: "an incredibly devastating decision which simply ignores the human costs and blesses the Trump admin's stripping of status of hundreds of thousands of people who entered the country legally." Josh Gerstein, a legal reporter at Politico, wrote that the ruling "may spell trouble for Ukrainians/Afghans with similar status." Musk Might Be Gone, But Watchdogs Warn Trump/DOGE Carnage Will Continue "Musk's departure obscures but does not actually change the continuity of DOGE's staff and mission to destroy everything that protects the public from the depredations of the most rapacious oligarchs," said one critic. By Brett Wilkins Critics of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency cautioned Friday against undue elation or complacency over Elon Musk stepping down as de facto DOGE chief, warning that officials at the contentious agency are pressing ahead with U.S. President Donald Trump's mission of eviscerating key agencies and the ability of the federal government to properly function. With Musk's official departure from DOGE this week—returning to the private sector to run his beleaguered business empire—most of the agency's leadership and rank-and-file staff remain in place. As the Revolving Door Project (RDP) noted Friday, key DOGE officials "maintain extensive ties to Musk's corporate empire, with many of them having come to DOGE directly from one of Musk's companies." According to RDP research, "at least 46 former or current DOGE members have substantial and direct ties to Elon Musk." "DOGE isn't going anywhere, according to the Trump administration's own officials," RDP said. The watchdog group warned specifically about Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought, who they said "seems to be the new boss in town." The visions of the two men, said RDP, "have been aligned from the start. Musk endorsed Vought's view of the unconstitutionality of the Impoundment Control Act and said that DOGE would work 'closely with [OMB].'" Vought co-authored the policy portion of Project 2025, a far-right blueprint for gutting the government and expanding executive power. "There is no daylight between Elon Musk and Russ Vought on the aim of greenlighting corporate abuse, as anyone can see from their joint destruction of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau," RDP executive director Jeff Hauser said Friday. "DOGE's Musk-tied staffers have already burrowed into the government, and having a new boss who has coordinated extensively with Musk isn't likely to change their actual actions much at all." "Musk's departure obscures but does not actually change the continuity of DOGE's staff and mission to destroy everything that protects the public from the depredations of the most rapacious oligarchs," Hauser added. Another watchdog, Accountable.US, noted Friday that Vought "has a nearly 20-year record working on Republican efforts to cut Social Security and Medicare—including overseeing numerous Trump budget proposals." "It's proof that DOGE's extreme agenda, which is causing ordinary families to fall behind, is full steam ahead as Trump and his allies in Congress push forward deep cuts to Americans' essential benefits," the group continued. "Last week, congressional Republicans advanced the largest cuts to Medicaid and [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] in history, which would result in 14 million Americans losing health coverage, 3 million households without food assistance, and an increased burden for millions with higher education and energy costs. All while adding over $4 trillion to the deficit." "Americans deserve real government reforms to cut red tape, eliminate waste, and ensure taxpayers are able to access the services they pay for," Accountable.US added. "That was never DOGE's goal. Instead Trump and Musk tried to gut Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, to line their own pockets and those of their billionaire friends with tax cuts, and the administration is only just getting started." As one staffer at the DOGE-beset National Institutes of Health told Politico, "DOGE is still hungry. We've still got to feed the fucking dog." On Top of All of Israel's Other Bombs in Gaza, Study Reveals a War-Driven Carbon Bomb "What we are facing is severely impacting all life in Gaza, and also threatening human rights in the region, and even globally, due to the aggravation of climate change," said one United Nations special rapporteur. By Eloise Goldsmith A group of researchers has released an updated analysis detailing the devastating impact that Israel's war on Gaza has had in terms of greenhouse gas emissions—in addition to loss of human life. The study, first reported on by The Guardian and posted to SSRN on Friday, found that the projected planet-warming carbon emissions of "direct war activities" over 15 months of Israel’s military assault on Gaza were greater than the individual annual emissions of 36 countries and territories. According to local health officials in Gaza, over 54,000 people have been killed in the enclave following October 7, 2023, when a deadly Hamas attack on Israel spurred a devastating military response. "For over 600 days, Israel has been saying it's targeting Hamas, but it is civilians who have been corralled, bombed, and killed en masse every day," said Bushra Khalidi, policy lead in the Occupied Palestinian Territory for the anti-poverty group Oxfam, on Wednesday. According to the study, 15-months of war, a period from October 2023 to January 2025, resulted in an estimated 1.89 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. According to The Guardian's write up of the study, 99% of that 1.89 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent was generated by Israel's ground invasion and aerial attacks on Gaza. In January 2025, a cease-fire went into effect, but Israel ended the cease-fire in mid-March. The estimated tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent increases to 32.2 million tonnes when the study accounts for "pre-conflict and post-conflict related construction activities." The pre-conflict emissions include the construction of security-related concrete infrastructure in both Israel and Gaza over the past 16 years, including Hamas' network of tunnels and Israel's "iron wall." Post-conflict relates to the future reconstruction needs of Gaza following extensive Israeli attacks. "This updated research evidences the urgency to stop the escalating atrocities, and make sure that Israel and all states comply with international law, including the decisions from the [International Criminal Court] and the [International Court of Justice]," Astrid Puentes Riaño, U.N. special rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, told The Guardian. "Whether or not states agree on calling it a genocide, what we are facing is severely impacting all life in Gaza, and also threatening human rights in the region, and even globally, due to the aggravation of climate change," she added. The study, which according to The Guardian is under peer review by the journal One Earth, follows a study released last year authored by some of the same researchers who tackled this same question of the climate costs of the war on Gaza. "These calculations point to the urgent need for increased visibility and mandatory reporting of military emissions for both war and peacetime through the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change," the more recent study states, referencing a treaty ratified by nearly 200 countries in the 1990s to combat "dangerous" human interference with climate systems. GOP's Latest Pitch for Gutting Medicaid and Food Aid? 'Well, We All Are Going to Die' "We're at the point where a U.S. senator is saying healthcare and hunger don't matter because we all die eventually." By Jake Johnson Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst on Friday brushed off her constituents' concerns about the life-threatening consequences of her party's proposed cuts to Medicaid and federal nutrition assistance, telling a town hall audience, "Well, we all are going to die." Ernst's remark came after a person in the crowd warned that "people will die" if the safety net cuts proposed in the House-passed budget reconciliation package become law. The Iowa senator began by waving away the crowd's response, saying, "People are not... " After trailing off, Ernst said facetiously that "we all are going to die." "So, for heaven's sakes," she added with a smile. Ernst, echoing Republican leaders, repeatedly denied that the reconciliation bill would cut Medicaid or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, claiming the legislation only targets "overpayments" and those who are currently on the programs' rolls but aren't eligible. Throughout the town hall, people in the audience called Ernst a "liar" and shouted in protest as she attempted to justify the reconciliation bill's safety net cuts. As written, the GOP measure includes roughly $1 trillion in combined cuts to Medicaid and SNAP—the largest-ever spending reductions for the programs—as well as draconian work reporting requirements that analysts say would strip benefits from millions of people across the country. The bill also includes a provision that would require some low-income Americans to pay more for Medicaid benefits—an effective cut. "We're at the point where a U.S. senator is saying healthcare and hunger don't matter because we all die eventually," the progressive media organization More Perfect Union wrote on social media in response to Ernst's comments. "Joni Ernst is worth at least $7 million," added the advocacy group Social Security Works. "She won't die due to lack of healthcare. But she thinks you should." Research published earlier this month found that Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act has saved tens of thousands of lives since 2010—an indication that the severe Medicaid cuts included in the GOP reconciliation package could have deadly consequences. The Center for American Progress recently estimated that the work requirements Republicans are seeking to impose on many Medicaid recipients "would lead to more than 21,600 avoidable deaths nationally each year." 'A Betrayal': Colorado's Democratic Governor Vetoes Bill Targeting Algorithmic Rent-Setting The veto, said one critic, "sends the devastating message that corporate landlords can keep using secret price-fixing algorithms to take extra rent from people who have the least." By Jake Johnson New Illegal Settlements Show Israel Is 'Blatantly Working to Destroy the Palestinian People' "The international community is enabling Israel's crimes by standing aside while millions of Palestinians are subjected to this racist and brutal regime of the Israeli government," said the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem. By Jake Johnson  Israeli government officials confirmed Thursday that they have approved the largest expansion of unlawful settlements in the occupied West Bank in decades, including the construction of new settlements and the "legalization" under Israeli law of existing outposts in the Palestinian territory. The decision, reportedly made during a secret Israeli security cabinet meeting last week, drew sharp backlash from Israeli human rights organizations. A spokesperson for B'Tselem said the latest expansion of settlements—which the International Court of Justice has condemned as part of an illegal annexation campaign—shows that "Israel continues to promote Jewish supremacy through the theft of Palestinian land and the ethnic cleansing of the West Bank." "The Israeli government is openly and blatantly working to destroy the Palestinian people, and any chances for a normal future for the people living between the Jordan River and the sea," the spokesperson said. "The international community is enabling Israel's crimes by standing aside while millions of Palestinians are subjected to this racist and brutal regime of the Israeli government." Israeli settlements in the West Bank have grown rapidly since the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, with the United Nations Human Rights Office estimating that Israel moved ahead with plans to build more than 20,000 housing units in new or existing settlements between November 2023 and October 2024. "This extremist Israeli government is trying by all means to prevent the establishment of an independent Palestinian state," Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, toldReuters on Thursday. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that's the government's objective, declaring that settlement expansion "prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel." "The Israeli government no longer pretends otherwise: The annexation of the occupied territories and expansion of settlements is its central goal." The new expansion will add nearly two dozen settlements, according to far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in a West Bank settlement and vocally supports annexation of the Palestinian territory. "This is a great day for settlement and an important day for the state of Israel," Smotrich wrote in a social media post on Thursday. The announcement came amid continued Israeli raids and home demolitions in the West Bank, alongside the Israeli military's devastating assault on the Gaza Strip. Israel's attacks have displaced tens of thousands of people in the West Bank and virtually the entire population of Gaza. It's unclear where the new settlements will be located in the West Bank, given that the expansion decision was made in secret. The Israeli anti-occupation group Peace Now suggested that the secrecy could stem from "concerns about the proceedings in the International Criminal Court, which has begun investigating Israel's settlement construction and development as possible war crimes." The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court was considering arrest warrants against Smotrich and Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for their roles in expanding West Bank settlements. "The Israeli government no longer pretends otherwise: The annexation of the occupied territories and expansion of settlements is its central goal," Peace Now said in a statement Thursday. "The cabinet's decision to establish 22 new settlements—the most extensive move of its kind since the Oslo Accords, under which Israel committed not to establish new settlements—will dramatically reshape the West Bank and entrench the occupation even further." "At a time when both the Israeli public and the entire world is demanding an immediate end to the war, the government is making clear—again and without restraint—that it prefers deepening the occupation and advancing de facto annexation over pursuing peace," the group added. JOIN THE MOVEMENT As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. JOIN WITH US TODAY ■ More News As Subvariant Spreads, CDC Maintains Child Vaccine Guidance Despite RFK Announcement Trump Taps 'Comically Unfit' Election Denier to Head Key Legal Ethics Office U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday nominated a far-right former podcast host with white supremacist views who called for martial law to keep Trump in power after his 2020 election loss to lead a key legal ethics office. Trump tapped 30-year-old Paul Ingrassia—who is currently serving as the White House liaison to the Department of Homeland Security—to head the Office of Special Counsel, an independent investigative and prosecutorial agency tasked with enforcing ethics laws and protecting federal whistleblowers. "Paul is a highly respected attorney, writer, and Constitutional Scholar, who has done a tremendous job serving as my White House Liaison for Homeland Security," Trump wrote Thursday on his Truth Social network. "Paul holds degrees from both Cornell Law School and Fordham University, where he majored in Mathematics and Economics, graduating near the top of his class." Critics, however, had a different assessment of Ingrassia's qualifications. Hampton Dellinger, the previous OSC chief, was initially fired by Trump in February but was temporarily reinstated via court order before being fired again after he began investigating the administration's mass layoffs of federal workers under the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Dellinger dropped his legal challenge in March and announced that "my time as special counsel... is now over." The OSC enforces the Hatch Act, which restricts the political activity of civilian executive branch employees. In 2021, the agency found that 13 senior Trump aides violated the law by campaigning for the president's failed 2020 reelection bid. At that time, Ingrassia and his sister Olivia Ingrassia were hosting the "Right on Point" podcast. As Trump stoked the conspiracy theory that Democrats stole the election, Ingrassia amplified the president's "Big Lie" and called for authoritarian measures to keep him in the White House. On December 12, 2020, the podcast's handle on its Twitter page was renamed "Stop the Steal HQ." The account reposted a tweet from prolific white supremacist and antisemite Nick Fuentes with the added message, "Time for @realDonaldTrump to declare martial law and secure his re-election!" Ingrassia has expressed his own white supremacist views, including the assertion that "exceptional white men are not only the builders of Western civilization, but are the ones most capable of appreciating the fruits of our heritage." He also replied to a call for slavery reparations by demanding that the descendants of slaves "pay reparations to the descendants of slave owners" and advocated replacing the "treasonous" Ukrainian flag with the Confederate battle flag under penalty of "serious fines." During the 2024 Republican presidential primaries, Trump boosted a false birther smear by Ingrassia that Nikki Haley—the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador during the first Trump administration—was ineligible to run for president because her parents were not American citizens when she was born. Ingrassia posted several racist aspersions of Haley's Americanness, which have been archived by freelance journalist Jason Hart. In March, Daily Dot's Amanda Moore revealed that Ingrassia misrepresented himself as an attorney for more than a year prior to his admission to the bar. During this time, he represented former professional kickboxer, self-described misogynist, and alleged rapist, sex trafficker, and money launderer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate in a civil suit. The Tates deny the charges. Critics Warn 'Office of Remigration' Is Just Right-Wing Code for Trump's Office of Ethnic Cleansing Mahmoud Khalil Team Files FOIA Request to Expose Trump Collusion With Anti-Palestinian 'Agents of Repression' VIEW ALL NEWS ■ Opinion Neoliberalism Cannot Be Rehabilitated Deregulation. Privatization. Tax cuts. Free trade. Stagnant pay for most. A soaring stock market for the top. That’s the legacy of neoliberalism. It also brought us Trump. We cannot go back to that place. There's a better path. By Robert Reich Defunding Truth: Trump’s Attack on NPR and the War on Independent Media The attack on NPR is not incidental. It is part of a broader, systematic effort to hollow out the institutions that sustain a shared civic life. By Matt Watkins The Palestine Exception, Right-Wing Elite Capture, and New Student Visa Rules Trump’s aim is a campaign of terror and intimidation against universities and colleges designed to suppress free speech and critical thinking. By Michael R. 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