NC Supreme Court race ruling is a dangerous attack on voters who followed the rules | Opinion
The Editorial Board – April 4, 2025
Hundreds of demonstrators rally at the North Carolina State Capitol on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. The rally, organized by Common Cause, protested Republican state Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin’s challenge of 65,000 ballots in November’s election. He trails Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs.More
Roughly 65,000 votes are just a step away from being thrown out after the North Carolina Court of Appeals sided with Jefferson Griffin in his lawsuit seeking to overturn the state Supreme Court race he lost by 734 votes out of more than 5 million cast.
In a stunning decision that changes the rules of an election after that election has occurred, the court ruled that the vast majority of the votes in question must be recounted and verified, and voters will be given 15 days to “cure” their ballots by providing documentation to verify their identities.
The ruling creates a dangerous precedent for overturning an election result that the loser simply doesn’t like.
The decision by a three-judge panel broke along party lines, with two Republicans in support of Griffin’s appeal and Democrat Judge Toby Hampson issuing a lengthy dissent, rejects rulings by the State Board of Elections and a Wake Superior Court judge who found the board ruled correctly.
The case is now almost certain to go to the Republican-controlled state Supreme Court, where Griffin’s opponent in the race, Justice Allison Riggs, will recuse herself. If the state Supreme Court upholds the appeals court’s ruling, it will be a new extreme in judicial partisanship and a national embarrassment for North Carolina.
The ruling also places an extraordinary burden on voters who must now defend their legitimacy despite the fact that they did nothing wrong. In most cases, those voters simply did not have a driver’s license number or Social Security number attached to their voter registration. That could be because the directions on their registration form were unclear, or because there was a typo or other clerical error in the database. Republicans argue that means their identities cannot be verified, even though those voters were required to show ID in order to cast their vote.
Giving the affected voters the opportunity to cure their ballots does not make this decision any less an act of disenfranchisement. It’s fantastical to think that any meaningful share of those voters will provide the missing information in such a tight window, especially those living overseas who may not even receive notice until the 15 days are nearly over.
It’s worth noting that Griffin has not been able to prove that any of the voters he is challenging were actually ineligible to vote. Yet he — and the court — are fervent in their assertion that those votes may well be illegal.
As Hampson wrote in his dissent: “Petitioner has not established that any one of the ballots he challenges was cast by an unlawfully registered voter. Therefore, Petitioner has not met his burden of establishing probable cause to believe a violation of election law has occurred.”
Even more ridiculous is the fact that the new standard is not being evenly applied — the votes Griffin chose to challenge disproportionately belong to demographics or counties that lean Democratic. Only these specific ballots, in this specific race, are at risk of being thrown out. It undermines the public’s faith in our elections and in the judges that are apparently willing to overturn them.
Friday’s ruling sends the unwelcome message that the right to vote in North Carolina may be more fragile than ever. Even if you follow the rules, that right can still be taken away from you months later by judges who believe themselves more bound to partisanship than to the law. It’s a shame for democracy, and a shame for North Carolina.
Trump administration abruptly cuts Nevada food bank deliveries, funding
Jeniffer Solis – April 3, 2025
Food Bank of Northern Nevada distributes groceries through their Mobil Harvest program. (Photo Credit: Food Bank of Northern Nevada marketing and communications manager, Aramelle Wheeler.)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has halted the delivery of more than a million pounds of meat, eggs and dairy to food banks in Nevada ― even as many report that the need for food assistance has only increased.
Dozens of trucks filled with fresh food bound for Nevada’s food banks were pulled back last week then the USDA cancelled 40% of food deliveries ordered by the Nevada Department of Agriculture under the Emergency Food Assistance Program, funded by the federal Commodity Credit Corporation.
Three Square Food Bank ― which serves Clark, Lincoln, Esmeralda, and Nye counties ― was notified March 25 that about one million pounds of USDA food donations slated for the food bank had been canceled. Beth Martino, the CEO of Three Square Food Bank, said part of that delivery was funded through the Commodity Credit Corporation.
That same day, the Food Bank of Northern Nevada ― which serves about 160,000 Nevadans monthly across 12 counties ― was informed that 350,000 pounds of food they were expecting between April and August would be immediately canceled.
According to the Nevada Department of Agriculture 35 trucks of fresh food scheduled for delivery to Nevada’s food banks were abruptly canceled by the USDA. The Food Bank of Northern Nevada was slated to receive 12 of those trucks.
“This was additional food that we got through that program that, frankly, we need right now. The need is extraordinarily high at the food bank,” said Jocelyn Lantrip, the director of marketing and communications at the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. “We’re helping 160,000 people every single month, which is about 76% higher than it was before the pandemic.”
In October, the USDA announced $500 million in additional funding to support food banks through the Emergency Food Assistance Program. That funding has now been canceled as part of an ongoing campaign to slash the federal budget, leaving Nevada with less food to fill its emergency food pantries.
A spokesperson for the USDA said that while the Emergency Food Assistance Program “continues to operate uninterrupted with more than $166 million spent in recent months” the additional half-a-billion in funding for the program has been terminated.
Asked to explain the rationale for ending the funding, the USDA, in a statement, said the additional $500 million in Commodity Credit Corporation dollars were announced by the Biden administration “without any plans for long-term solutions.”
The USDA said that despite terminating the additional funding for food banks the agency “has not and will not lose focus on its core mission of strengthening food security, supporting agricultural markets, and ensuring access to nutritious foods.”
Before the funding was frozen last week, the Food Bank of Northern Nevada received about two million pounds of food through Commodity Credit Corporation funding over the last 12 months. If the funding is not reinstated the food bank anticipates it will lose roughly the same amount of food donations next fiscal year.
“The situation has gotten worse for many families so as far as the food bank is concerned, we don’t think it’s a great time to cut funding for food programs, because we’re seeing more need than we’ve ever seen,” Lantrip said.
A cascade of challenges
The Commodity Credit Corporation funding offered more meat and dairy to food banks than other federal commodity programs. The high-protein staples that come directly from USDA funding aren’t easily replaced by donations or other sources, Lantrip said.
“That’s what makes it so significant, because this type of food is harder to source. It’s more expensive,” Lantrip said. “Meat and protein items are always difficult for food banks to find, just because there’s less of that in the donation stream, and it’s more expensive to source if we’re purchasing.”
A diverse funding stream will allow the Food Bank of Northern Nevada to continue operating at its current capacity, but addressing wider USDA cuts to the food bank will be more difficult to overcome, said Lantrip.
“Replacing that food in the long term is the larger concern for us,” Lantrip said.
Other food pantry operators in Nevada said the cuts put yet another strain on nonprofits that are already trying to address high levels of need, leaving operators scrambling to quickly fill in gaps with their own funds, food purchases and donations.
The Community Food Pantry distributes groceries in Reno. (Photo credit: Barbara Monroy, director of the Community Food Pantry)
The Community Food Pantry, which serves the Reno-Sparks area, said they would lose a third of their food deliveries due to the cuts. The food pantry has seen a 21% increase in the total number of clients visiting from the same time last year, an increase the extra dollars largely helped cover.
“The biggest drawback is that it brought in healthy foods. Potatoes, fresh veggies, and proteins ― whether it be milk or eggs or cheese,” said Barbara Monroy, the director of the Community Food Pantry.
“I’ve started to look around at other places where I could get food, because if the food bank doesn’t happen, I’ve got to find it somewhere else,” Monoy continued. “Right now we’re looking at applying for additional grants that aren’t government related, reaching out to donors, and trying to find other programs that might be able to fit the need.”
For the Community Food Pantry, the cut in USDA food donations adds to other financial issues brought on by inflation and higher operating costs for the nonprofit.
“Our car insurance went up 40% this year. It’s crazy that this is happening,” Monoy said.
Three Square Food Bank said the canceled shipments represent a small portion of the donations the food bank is expecting. Last year, Three Square distributed more than 41 million meals, the equivalent of more than 49 million pounds of food and grocery products.
But at a time when the cost of food and other basic needs continues to increase, and the threat that the increases could accelerate as a result of Donald Trump’s tariff policies, the loss of nutritional funding will be felt by low-income Nevadans.
News of the canceled deliveries also comes as Congress seems poised to further cut other safety-net programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which gives low-income Americans money to buy food. The prospect of such additional cuts only intensifies the need for nutrition assistance programs, Monoy said.
“The need hasn’t gone away since COVID, by any means,” Monoy said. “Just this last weekend we talked to several people in line and their SNAP benefits are $23 a month. I know another woman who gets $17 a month. That just doesn’t seem to be enough to help people when a dozen eggs is $11.”
Prices for all food are predicted to increase 3.2% this year, according to data from the USDA, and grocery store purchases are now 1.9% higher than this time in 2024. The overall annual inflation rate for 2024 was 2.9%.
Nevada’s workforce has also been slower to recover from the financial impact of the pandemic. Nevada currently has the highest unemployment rate in the nation at 5.8%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Everybody’s feeling the pinch,” Monoy said. “It’s just the high cost of everything that’s forcing people into the pantry line.”
Editor note: This article was updated to clarify that $4 million in funding for Home Feeds Nevada was cut from the Nevada Department of Agriculture.
Countries boost recruitment of American scientists amid cuts to scientific funding
Chandelis Duster – March 29, 2025
People walk past the faculty of economy of the Aix-Marseille University in Marseille on Oct. 4, 2023.Christophe Simon/AFP via Getty Images
As the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s DOGE seek to reduce the federal workforce and cut spending, some European countries are looking to capitalize on the opportunity by recruiting talent from the scientific community.
The administration’s actions, including eliminating programs and funding for scientific research, are prompting some researchers and scientists to consider leaving the U.S. to live in other countries, such as France, to continue their work.
According to a survey released by the journal Nature on Thursday, more than 1,200 respondents who identified as scientists said they were considering leaving the U.S. and relocating to Europe or Canada because of President Trump’s actions. Approximately 1,650 people completed the survey, which was posted on the journal’s website, social media and an e-mailed newsletter, according to the journal.
Jennifer Jones, director of the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, tells NPR that she has spoken with scientists, some of whom currently work at federal agencies and others who have been fired. Many of them say they are looking for opportunities abroad due to a lack of options for conducting their research with the government or at universities, Jones says.
“There’s another bucket of folks as well, and those are folks who are just worried in general about the intimidation, fear and harassment that they are facing,” she says. “This could be a result of the kind of work that they’re doing. They might be doing work around issues of diversity, equity, [and] inclusion, trying to broaden participation in our STEM or science, technology, engineering, math fields. These could be folks working on issues of climate change, of vaccine safety.”
Jones also says she has spoken with scientists who said after the 2024 presidential election, they “began seeking and have acquired positions overseas.”
“They would have started that process before inauguration and before the last few weeks,” Jones says.
Helping as many scientists as possible
The U.S. has historically been viewed as a leading country for research, having actively recruited scientists from around the world for significant projects and studies. For example, when the Manhattan Project began in December 1941, it was a top-secret research initiative by the U.S. government that ultimately led to the development of the first atomic bombs. Scientists from Europe were specifically sought out to help with the project. Many of these European scientists were already living in the U.S. after being displaced because of the turmoil of WWII or fleeing from Nazism and fascism.Sponsor Message
American scientists conducting research in other countries is not a new phenomenon, and there are programs where American students and scientists can study abroad, Sudip Parikh, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, tells NPR. But the growing number of American scientists considering leaving the U.S. due to uncertainty in the U.S. is not normal, he says.
“It’s something that’s ramped up and it has a different messaging, which is saying, ‘There’s uncertainty there. Come to us,’ ” Parikh says of efforts by other countries to recruit scientists and researchers from the United States.
In response to these recent developments, schools in France, including the prestigious CentraleSupélec, have established funds to support American scientists. The engineering school announced last week that it has allocated 3 million euros (around $3.2 million) to finance research projects that can no longer continue in the U.S. Additionally, earlier this month, Aix-Marseille Université — one of the oldest and largest universities in France, with roots tracing back to1409 and approximately 80,000 students — announced it is accepting applications for its Safe Place For Science program.
The program aims to offer “a safe and stimulating environment for scientists wishing to pursue their research in complete freedom” and will support about 15 American scientists with a total fund of up to 15 million euros (around $16.2 million) over three years. The university has already received more than 150 applications, according to a public relations agency representing the university.
“We are witnessing a new brain drain. We will do everything in our power to help as many scientists as possible continue their research,” Éric Berton, president of the university, said in a statement. “However, we cannot meet all demands on our own. The Ministry of Education and Research is fully supporting and assisting us in this effort, which is intended to expand at both national and European levels.”
Other countries are also actively seeking to attract American scientists. For instance, the Netherlands is also launching a fund to support American scientists as well as those from other countries. Minister of Education, Culture and Science Eppo Bruins informed the parliament in a letter last week that he requested the country’s science financier to set up a fund aimed at bringing top international scientists to the Netherlands as soon as possible.
“The world is changing. Tensions are increasing. We see that more and more scientists are looking for another place to do their work,” Bruins wrote in the letter. “I want more international top scientists to come and do that here. After all, top scientists are worth their weight in gold for our country and for Europe.”
While it remains unclear what funding will be available for scientific research from the U.S. government and for universities, Parikh says he is encouraging scientists working here not to leave.
“Over the last 80 years, we have built the greatest innovation engine that the world’s ever seen and it’s delivered cures and treatments for disease. It has delivered economic growth and jobs. And the other countries have paid attention and they wanna copy it and we shouldn’t make it easy for them,” he says.
DOGE’s access to the payroll system of 276,000 federal employees puts government on path to have ‘unprecedented power and control’ over Americans’ information, experts say
Sasha Rogelberg – April 1, 2025
Elon Musk’s DOGE gained access to federal payroll systems over the weekend, raising privacy and cybersecurity concerns.
The Elon-Musk led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) gained access over the weekend to the payroll system overseeing the information of 276,000 federal workers. DOGE’s continued access to sensitive data has raised concerns about privacy and cybersecurity, but also about the long-term goal of the advisory group, which has continued to espouse eliminating government waste and fraud.
The Department of Government Efficiency has continued its charge to obtain sensitive government information, gaining access over the weekend to federal payroll systems, raising concerns about the long-term goals of the advisory’s efforts to overhaul U.S. bureaucracy.
The Elon Musk–led advisory now has entry into the employment information of 276,000 federal employees and is able to view Social Security numbers and more easily hire and fire workers, two anonymous sources told the New York Times. The system, known as the Federal Personnel Payroll System, is inside the Department of the Interior, which processes pay for the Air Force, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as well as the departments of Homeland Security, Treasury, and Justice.
DOGE’s access to these systems could compromise cybersecurity of sensitive government information, the sources said. When senior IT personnel pushed back against the move, they were reportedly put on administrative leave; they are now reportedly under investigation for “workplace behavior.”
“We are working to execute the President’s directive to cut costs and make the government more efficient for the American people and have taken actions to implement President [Donald] Trump’s Executive Orders,” an Interior Department spokesperson told Fortune in a statement.
Musk recently doubled down on justifying DOGE’s access to government data, claiming it was a necessary part of identifying and eliminating waste and fraud.
“These databases don’t talk to each other,” Musk said in a Fox News interview last week. “And that’s really the source of, that’s the biggest vulnerability for fraud, is the fact that these databases don’t talk to each other. So we need to reconcile the databases. It’s a, frankly, painful homework, but it has to be done, and will greatly improve the efficiency of the government systems.”
However, policy and transparency experts warn DOGE’s acquisition of private information will have reverberating consequences that have yet to be determined.
“Being able to amass all of that information will give the federal government unprecedented power and control to do with that information a number of things that we just haven’t experienced as a country before,” Elizabeth Laird, the director of equity in civic technology at technology policy nonprofit the Center for Democracy and Technology, told Fortune.
What’s the long game?
Over the past two and a half months, Musk’s DOGE team has also gained access to the Internal Revenue Service, which stores bank account information and purchase itemizations, and the Social Security Administration, which houses individuals’ lifetime wages and disability and citizenship status.
While one of DOGE’s more immediate goals appears to be leveraging AI to streamline administrative tasks, as well as eventually privatizing Social Security, Musk’s ultimate goal of eliminating fraud and waste remains mysterious to some.
“[It’s] never really been clear what the long game is,” Cary Coglianese, an administrative law professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, told Fortune. “Ostensibly, we’ve been told it’s to try to improve the efficiency, maybe to identify where there are people who are getting paid who are not really living, or methods for auditing payroll systems.
“This doesn’t seem to be following any of those conventions, as far as anybody can tell from the outside,” he added. “And there isn’t really a clear articulation of an overarching vision.”
DOGE did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
Trump’s first-term playbook could offer a hint at the administration’s intentions. During his first term, the administration moved to ensure more information was shared among federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to make it easier to identify biological data and immigration status.
Last month, Trump signed a similar executive order to “eliminate information silos,” claiming to give federal officials speedy and full access to unclassified records, data, software, and information systems.
“If you look at the data environment that DOGE is attempting to create, it looks pretty similar to the data environment that the Trump administration indicated they wanted to create in their first term,” Laird said. “Except instead of using that information for fraud use, they wanted to use it for immigration purposes.”
Easier access to private information has raised serious legal questions. More than a dozen lawsuits have alleged DOGE’s access to sensitive federal data is a violation of the Privacy Act of 1974, a post-Watergate law restricting agencies’ sharing of private information with unauthorized entities without the consent of citizens.
Even if cybersecurity and legal concerns were assuaged, Laird argued, DOGE’s access to sensitive government data still presents unknowns about the government’s future use of AI, as well as the true efficacy of massive workforce eliminations.
“Something can be private, and something can be secure, and it can be legal,” Laird said. “And it can still be a bad idea.”
Wednesday is Liberation Day, and one person might be even more excited about it than Donald Trump is: Elon Musk. While much of what the president will announce from the Rose Garden on April 2 remains a mystery, Trump has alreadydeclared that 25 percent tariffs will kick in this week on imported cars and light trucks—to be followed by tariffs on auto parts as well. Economists, car dealers, and consumers are sounding the alarm, and rightly so. “If the taxes are fully passed onto consumers,” the AP reports, “the average auto price on an imported vehicle could jump by $12,500.” But Trump said he “couldn’t care less” if that happens because then “people are gonna buy American-made cars. We have plenty.”
Well, not really. There is no such thing as a truly American-made car, if you take into account the origin of the parts. And even “American” brands, like General Motors and Ford, assemble a significant amount of their vehicles abroad. But when looking for the most American-made vehicles, one manufacturer stands out: Tesla. Its fleet is 100 percent assembled in the United States.
This is just the latest of many examples—almost too many to count—of Trump’s policies redounding directly to Musk’s benefit. From executive orders to foreign misadventures, much of what crosses Trump’s desk or flits through his birdbrain is in Musk’s material interest. Even Trump’s own political interests are taking a back seat to enriching Musk, who donated nearly $300 million last year to help Trump and his MAGA minions get elected. The generous (albeit still damning) interpretation is that the president is merely returning that favor; less favorably, he’s in Musk’s back pocket. Either way, the great con man Trump has met his match—now he’s the one being conned.
The Tesla CEO claimed last week that his company will also be significantly impacted by the tariffs because it imports some of its auto parts. But because Tesla’s vehicles are made in California and Texas, and it imports fewer parts by value than other manufacturers, it will have a tremendous competitive advantage.
And even if the tariffs do ding Tesla, well, Musk can take heart that he’s making off like a bandit in so many other respects under the Trump administration.
Last week, Trump sent JD Vance to Greenland, where the vice president said the territory’s mother country, Denmark, had “underinvested” in the island’s people and its “beautiful landmass.” It’s the latter that so intrigues Musk and others in Silicon Valley, since the resources there—an abundance of rare earth elements needed for lithium-ion batteries, on which Teslas run—could represent a major windfall for the tech industry. No wonder Musk tweeted earlier this year, “If the people of Greenland want to be part of America, which I hope they do, they would be most welcome!”
Of course, Trump’s obsession with critical minerals has also played a major role in the batshit negotiations over ending Russia’s war on Ukraine. The president twice mentioned the embattled country’s “rare earth” when he proposed a “deal” to end the war that was really more of an extortion attempt—asking Ukraine to pay the U.S. $500 billion in minerals in exchange for continued American aid. This eventually led to Trump and Vance’s embarrassing Oval Office ambush of Volodymyr Zelenskiy, for which Musk had helped set the stage by laying accusations against the Ukrainian president and repeatedly suggesting he be removed.
Other proposals have Musk’s fingerprints all over them as well. As Paul Waldman pointed out for TNR, a Biden-era program to improve broadband access and service in areas of the country that lack high-speed internet is now being revised in a way that will allow Musk’s satellite internet provider, Starlink, to underbid competitors and secure $20 billion in government funding—while also providing service that is inferior to the fiber connections that the program favored. Unsurprisingly, the advantages that Musk will receive have been presented as a win for the American people. The former head of the program hit the nail on the head: “Stranding all or part of rural America with worse internet so that we can make the world’s richest man even richer is yet another in a long line of betrayals by Washington.”
In fact, Starlink keeps showing up these days. What explains Musk’s animosity toward USAID, which his Department of Government Efficiency has been busy dismantling? Perhaps it stems from the agency’s investigation of its contract with the company to provide Ukraine with internet access. Starlink has also been installed throughout the White House campus and at the DOGE-allied General Services Administration.
Nothing Musk does runs contrary to his own ambition. Starlink is a wholly owned subsidiary of SpaceX, which Musk founded. He didn’t appreciate the Federal Aviation Administration’s probe of his company, so he launched an online campaign pressuring its head, Michael Whitaker, to resign and then axed many others at the agency—exacerbating a staffing crisis that has coincided with several deadly collisions. Not to worry: The FAA is going to be using Starlink for its soon-to-be upgraded technology networks. You can be sure the competition for the contract was fierce.
Must be a coincidence, too, that SpaceX engineer Theodore Malaska happens to be just the right person to serve at the FAA, where he’s been granted an ethics waiver to oversee projects that directly impact the company he works for. Ordinarily such a situation might raise ethics concerns, given the clear conflict of interest and lack of governmental impartiality, but it’s alright because we all know Musk wouldn’t engage in anything unethical, right? Otherwise we might also be suspicious of the fact that, while DOGE is going around infiltrating and cutting agencies, it’s essentially suggested no spending cuts to NASA or the Pentagon, both of which have massively increased their investments in SpaceX.ADVERTISEMENTAdvertisement
That wasn’t the case with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has seen a 10 percent workforce reduction, possibly impeding the six investigations it was conducting into Tesla’s self-driving technology.
But we can trust Musk to oversee himself, we’re told. Just last week, he negotiated with himself so that his xAI company could purchase his X social media platform, claiming respective valuations of $80 billion and $33 billion—both undoubtedly inflated figures. In fairness, all that really matters in such an arrangement is the stock ratio for investors, but Reuters did note that it was “unclear … whether there would be regulatory scrutiny.” Such scrutiny would come from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which Musk’s DOGE team has invaded.
Similarly, Trump is attempting to eliminate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which, if successful, would eliminate the government agency that had planned to regulate Musk’s proposed mobile payments service on X. Yet Musk’s ambitions go well beyond digital payments. Combining xAI with X and its Grok service will position him well to embark on an even bolder agenda that will leave the federal government more dependent on him and his companies than ever: Musk has instituted an AI takeover of government data, potentially making him and xAI indispensable to future government operations.
Even before Musk fully sinks his AI claws into our government, it’s hard to overstate the leverage Musk now has. Through his effective control of both the General Services Administration and the Office of Personnel Management, Musk oversees hirings and firings, data systems, federal buildings, and government vehicles. Perhaps that explains why the State Department is expected to spend around $400 million to purchase Teslas to transport diplomats. The question is whether any foreign representatives will want to be seen being shepherded around town in a vehicle that has become synonymous with cruelty and douchebaggery.
In fact, the one thing Musk didn’t seem to plan on when he spun his big con of Trump was the blowback he’d receive. The resistance, declared dead by many as Trump took office for his second term, has shown signs of life of late, as growing anti-Musk sentiment has been directed in part at Teslas—including large protests at its dealerships across the country. I guess that recent Tesla infomercial on the White House lawn, yet another example of Trump doing Musk a solid, has backfired.
The key to pulling off a big con, Henry Gondorff tells Johnny Hooker in 1973’s The Sting, is maintaining the façade: “He can’t know you took him.” Right now, that’s exactly what Musk is doing with Trump. For the low price of $288 million—chump change when you’re the world’s richest person, valued at $350 billion—Musk has been handed the keys to the U.S. government and given the run of the place, while Trump seems to have convinced himself that he’s still in charge. Meanwhile, angrycrowds are storming Republican town halls, furious that DOGE is killing jobs, destroying vital services, and attacking the social safety net while enriching Musk. Elections are turning in Democrats’ favor, potentially imperiling Trump’s power to enact his agenda. And yet, there sits the duped president behind the Resolute Desk, grinning like a senile old lady who’s happily given out her bank card and Social Security number to a cunning younger man with an accent.
McConnell warns of ‘embarrassing naivete’ in Trump admin’s dealings with Putin while sharply criticizing Ukraine policy
Morgan Rimmer and Manu Raju, CNN – March 28, 2025
Sen. Mitch McConnell arrives prior to the Senate Republicans weekly policy luncheon, in the US Capitol on March 25 in Washington, DC. – Al Drago/Getty Images
Former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell sharply criticized the Trump administration’s Ukraine policy and pivot toward isolationism Thursday night, accusing President Donald Trump’s advisers of showing “their embarrassing naivete” in dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
McConnell, a staunch supporter of Ukraine who delivered remarks while being awarded the US-Ukraine Foundation’s highest honor, warned that “some of the president’s advisers” are urging Trump to pull back from supporting the war-torn nation, and argued that such a move would be a sign of “weakness.”
“This war is a reminder that what happens in one region has implications in another. That weakness in the face of one adversary would invite aggression from another even closer to home. That our credibility was not divisible,” McConnell said. “Allies half a world away in Asia have told us the same – that Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression matters to those who live in China’s shadow.”
“America can’t afford to ignore these lessons. But that’s exactly what some of the president’s advisers are urging him to do.”
The pointed remarks from McConnell come as Trump has spoken with Putin twice since taking office – breaking a sustained period of silence between the White House and the Kremlin – and follow the president’s fiery Oval Office meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky late last month.
McConnell’s desire for an active US role in deterring aggression from Russia in Ukraine has put him at odds with a growing share of the Republican electorate, which has embraced Trump’s more isolationist view. And while the Kentucky Republican has largely voted with Trump during his tenure, he recently put himself at odds with nearly all Senate Republicans when he cast a trio of votes against Trump’s Cabinet nominees – including for the critical defense secretary and director of national intelligence roles.
In turn, McConnell, the longest-serving leader in Senate history when he stepped down from the role in November, has drawn Trump’s ire.
McConnell on Thursday noted that the US’ allies and adversaries are watching closely as the administration praises Putin.
“When the president’s envoys trumpet the magnanimity of a thuggish autocrat, they do so under the watchful eyes of his friends in Beijing, Tehran, and Pyongyang. When his representatives in negotiations masquerade as neutral arbiters, or legitimize sham elections, or treat aggressor and victim as morally equivalent, they do so in full view of longtime partners across the globe – some who know the taste of aggression, and some who have good reason to fear its imminent arrival,” McConnell said.
“When American officials court the favor of an adversary at the expense of allies. When they mock our friends to impress an enemy. They reveal their embarrassing naivete.”
The former GOP leader pointed to former President Ronald Reagan’s military buildup and the end of the Cold War, and specifically what he said is “the most popular phrase in Washington today: peace through strength.”
“But too many of those who use it – particularly among the president’s advisers – don’t seem ready to summon the resources and national will it requires,” he argued.
McConnell ended with a stark warning: “To cut off Ukraine is to stab ourselves in the back. So is the denigration of allies who have fought and died alongside us.”
Ukraine’s spy agency says Russia believes it must end the war by 2026 or risk falling far behind the US and China
Matthew Loh – March 28, 2025
The deputy head of Ukraine’s GUR said the Kremlin forecasts a need to end the war by 2026.
Vadym Skibitsky said Moscow is likely concerned about its long-term ability to compete with the US.
If the war drags on, its relevance could be relegated just to Eastern Europe, Skibitsky said.
Ukraine’s intelligence agency said on Tuesday that Russia likely believes it must resolve its war with Kyiv by 2026, or eventually lose its chances of competing with the US and China on the world stage.
Maj. Gen. Vadym Skibitsky, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency GUR, referenced forecast documents from the Kremlin at a press event in Kyiv about European security.
Business Insider could not independently verify the existence and authenticity of these documents.
“We can say that the Russian Federation has clearly defined in these documents that the Ukrainian issue must be resolved by 2026,” said Skibitsky, who is also deputy head of GUR.
Skibitsky, pictured here during a separate January 2024 interview, is deputy head of the GUR.Global Images Ukraine/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
“Because if the war continues for another five to 10 years, Russia will never be able to catch up and reach the same level as the United States and China,” he added.
Should this happen, Russia could stand to “forever remain a regional player” in Eastern Europe, Skibitsky said.
“And the Russian Federation clearly understands this today. That is why it foresees this in the future,” he said.
Skibitsky said such Russian forecasts typically combine work from government ministries, federal agencies, and research institutions, and that the Kremlin’s plans had described war scenarios as far in the future as 2045. These included conflict scenarios with Northern European states, Poland, and the Baltics, Skibitsky said.
The deputy spy chief’s comments come as the White House has sought to push Ukraine and Russia toward a cease-fire. The effort has surfaced new questions about how long the war will last — and concerns in Ukraine that the resulting peace might only be achieved by giving Russia outsize concessions.
In early March, The Washington Post reported that an influential think tank in Moscow had assessed that a “peaceful resolution” to the war by 2026 would be impossible.
According to the Post, the analysis recommended a hardline, maximalist stance toward negotiations with the US and Ukraine. However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the outlet that the federal government “was not aware of such recommendations” and was working with “more considered options.”
Ukraine thinks Russia’s costs are too high
The head of GUR, Kyrylo Budanov, recently voiced a similar assessment of Moscow needing a 2026 deadline.
“If they don’t end this war by 2026, they lose even a chance for global leadership,” he told state broadcaster Ukrinform on February 27. “They will be left with, at most, a regional leadership level, which is absolutely unacceptable to them.”
Budanov said that a protracted war would undermine Russia’s ability to innovate in tech and compete with the US on the world stage, especially with its ability to contest the Arctic regions.
“The cost of the war is too high — the financial cost,” he told Ukrinform.
Washington’s leaders consider Russia as one of two near-peer competitors or potential adversaries, meaning that it has a chance of being comparable to US military might.
The other is China, which leaders in both the Biden and Trump administrations have repeatedly said is the Pentagon’s main priority for preparing against threats.
The Russian Defense Ministry and the Kremlin’s press office did not respond to requests for comment sent by BI.
Trump weighs in on House special election races in Florida as GOP fights to keep majority
Oren Oppenheim – March 28, 2025
In a pair of back-to-back rallies held over the phone on Thursday night, President Donald Trump praised the two Republican candidates in the upcoming special elections for Florida’s 6th and 1st Congressional districts, amid recent concerns among Republicans over whether their candidate in the 6th Congressional District, State Sen. Randy Fine, can keep the seat in Republican hands.
Fine has lagged behind his Democratic opponent, Josh Weil, in fundraising, and Republicans have expressed concerns about his campaign, although many still believe he will be able to hold the seat in the ruby-red district.
The special election in Florida’s 6th Congressional District, which is on the state’s eastern coast and includes the city of Daytona Beach, is being held on Tuesday, April 1, to fill the vacancy created by former Rep. Mike Waltz when he resigned to become Trump’s national security adviser.
PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, March 26, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)
The tele-rallies also came amid broader concerns among Republicans about maintaining their razor-thin majority in the U.S. House, and on the same day that Trump asked Rep. Elise Stefanik to withdraw her nomination to be United Nations ambassador, citing “a very tight Majority” in the U.S. House.
House Republicans currently hold a narrow majority with 218 Republicans to 213 Democrats. Speaker Mike Johnson has a two-vote cushion for his majority.
Fine, at the start of the telephone rally for him, emphatically praised Trump and said he would serve in Congress as one of the president’s strongest allies.
PHOTO: Florida State Rep. Randy Fine, answers a question about his House Bill 3-C: Independent Special Districts in the House of Representatives, April 20, 2022, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. (Phil Sears/AP, Files)More
“Mr. President, I’m immensely grateful for your unwavering support, trust and confidence in me. I believe that God saved your life in Butler, Pennsylvania, so that you could save the world,” Fine said, referencing the July assassination attempt Trump survived. “And it will be one of the most profound honors of my life to be one of your foot soldiers as you make America great again.”
Trump praised Fine’s early endorsement of him during the 2024 election cycle, adding, “that’s why Randy will always have a very open door to the Oval Office. He will be there whenever I need him, and he wants to be there whenever we need him. He wants to be there for you.”
“I’ve gotten to know him under pressure situations, and he can react well under pressure. So go vote for Randy,” Trump said later.
Fine reiterated he would work to carry out Trump’s agenda in Congress.
“It’s not overstating things to say that your agenda is at stake in this election, and this district can’t let you down. Your agenda is on the ballot on April 1,” he said.
During the earlier telephone rally supporting the Republican candidate in the 1st Congressional District, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, Trump praised Patronis’ work in Florida and framed the special election as important for his own agenda.
That special election, which will determine who takes the seat vacated by now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz, has gotten less concern from Republicans.
PHOTO: Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis speaks during a meeting between Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state cabinet at the Florida capitol in Tallahassee, Fla., Mar. 5, 2025. (Rebecca Blackwell/AP, Files)More
“The 1st Congressional District is special, and I won it by a lot, and Jimmy is going to win it by a lot. And remember, you’re five days away from this all important special election taking place in your district on Tuesday, April 1, so April Fool’s Day. So it’s going to be the fool for the Democrat candidate, who happens to be terrible,” Trump said of Patronis’ Democratic opponent Gay Valimont, a gun violence prevention activist.
Praising Patronis, Trump said, “Jimmy’s done an outstanding job as the chief financial officer of the state of Florida, helping to guide your state to tremendous economic success. And now he wants to keep on fighting for Florida in Congress.”
This 2018 photo shows an ActBlue office in Somerville, Massachusetts. – Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
ActBlue, a fundraising juggernaut for liberal candidates and causes, is facing stepped-up scrutiny and criticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill and allies of President Donald Trump – as the GOP flexes its new power in Washington and targets one of the key pillars of the Democratic Party’s financial infrastructure.
Three Republicans in Congress – including the chairmen of the House Oversight and Administration panels – are urging Trump’s Treasury Department to share with lawmakers reports of suspicious financial transactions related to ActBlue. Other GOP lawmakers are demanding probes by Treasury and the FBI into whether the fundraising platform has helped organizations engaged in terrorism or violated federal campaign finance laws.
And billionaire Trump donor Elon Musk – who is overseeing the administration’s controversial effort to rapidly shrink the federal government – has criticized ActBlue, seeking to tie it to protests and acts of vandalism against his electric-vehicle company Tesla. He has argued, without evidence to substantiate his claims, that some prominent Democrats – including one who died in 2019 – were funding ActBlue and the protests.
“Something stinks about ActBlue,” Musk posted earlier this month on his social media platform, X.
Officials with ActBlue deny any wrongdoing.
“ActBlue has always dealt with attacks and baseless claims from the Right that are designed to undermine the power of the small-dollar donors who rely on our platform,” spokesperson Megan Hughes said in a statement in CNN. “This new, coordinated attack is different only in scale, and our team remains steadfast in defending against these bad-faith attacks.”
She said the platform would continue its “mission to expand access to political giving and ensure people-powered movements continue to thrive.”
ActBlue, a nonprofit organization, is a fundraising powerhouse for Democrats and progressive groups – helping to funnel small-dollar donations to candidates, party committees and others. In all, it has collected more than $16 billion since its founding in 2004, according to a running tally on its website.
Although it has competitors, it has long dominated processing payments online for the party. According to the platform, more than 14 million users have saved their contact and payment information with the group, allowing contributors to easily make one-click donations.
But the ramped-up criticism from Republicans comes as ActBlue has faced internal tumult – including the recent departure of several high-level staffers as first reported by The New York Times – and criticism from some Democratic consultants and others in liberal circles over whether the platform is doing enough to protect donors from deceptive tactics.
Last December, for instance, dozens of individuals and progressive groups signed an open letter to ActBlue, urging reforms – including prohibiting political committees that raise money on the platform from using misleading language in fundraising solicitations.
But some Democrats worry that – with Republicans now controlling all the levers of government in Washington – the increased scrutiny could serve as a precursor to a Republican attempt to shut down the platform entirely and undermine Democratic fundraising in future elections.
Josh Nelson, the CEO of the ad platform Civic Shout and one of the signatories of last year’s letter recommending changes to ActBlue’s policies, said his concerns about its internal practices have taken a back seat this year to his growing alarm over what he views as “illegitimate attacks” from the GOP.
“I think Republicans know that ActBlue has been an extremely effective fundraising platform for thousands of Democratic campaigns and progressive groups,” Nelson said. “They’re just trying to use power to harm their political opponents in future elections.”
“The question is how far will Republicans go?”
GOP lawmakers in recent years have increased their scrutiny of ActBlue, questioning how it guards against fraud and prevents foreigners from illegally contributing to US campaigns. Among the issues raised: ActBlue did not always require donors to add the CVV number – or card verification value – on every credit card transaction.
(ActBlue has added the CVV requirement but has said it has long used several reliable means to prevent fraud and prohibit illicit foreign contributions, including an address verification system to ensure cardholder addresses match those at the banks that issued the cards. Americans living abroad, for instance, also must include a copy of their passport photo.)
But this month has seen a slew of fresh ActBlue activity from GOP lawmakers, who are seeking executive branch probes or access to sensitive documents from Treasury, such as the “suspicious activity reports” or SARs, which financial institutions file with the agency to flag suspected cases of money laundering, fraud or other suspicious transactions.
Wisconsin GOP Rep. Bryan Steil, who oversees the House Administration Committee, and others have complained that the Biden administration provided only limited information in response to requests for the reports involving ActBlue.
He recently joined House Oversight and Accountability Committee chairman, Kentucky Rep. James Comer, and New York Rep. Nick Langworthy in a letter that seeks all suspicious activity reports mentioning ActBlue filed at any point from January 1, 2023.
It’s not clear whether Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will cooperate.
Currently, the House Administration Committee “is in communication with the Treasury Department about reviewing SARs,” a source familiar told CNN this week. A Treasury spokesperson did not comment.
Other GOP lawmakers pushing for probes of the fundraising platform include Trump allies, California Rep. Darrell Issa and Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs.
In the meantime, Democrats are trying to use the GOP scrutiny to bring in more political contributions.
“Republicans are attacking ActBlue because small-dollar donations from people like you are a major advantage for Democratic campaigns up-and-down the ballot,” read a recent fundraising email from the Democratic National Committee.
The appeal then links users to ActBlue to help Democrats “fight back.”
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Musk and his helper Donald Trump want to gut the system. After all, billionaires have no need for Social Security.
However, they know that if they tried a direct approach and simply slashed Social Security benefits, even their most ardent sycophants in Congress would balk, knowing they’d be booted from office in the next election.
DOGE cuts make it tough to access Social Security benefits
White House Senior Advisor, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk attends a cabinet meeting held by U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on March 24, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Instead of drastically cutting benefits, the plan seemingly is to make it more and more difficult for people who have earned those benefits to get them.Advertisement
That’s why Musk and his DOGE bros want to cut thousands of jobs from Social Security’s workforce, close regional offices and limit phone service by “requiring recipients to show up in person to verify certain changes to their accounts,” according to The Washington Post.
As a result, The Post reported, “the Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month because the servers were overloaded, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts.”
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., succinctly outlined the plot to gut Social Security at a hearing in Washington, D.C.
Not just retirees rely on Social Security
She said, “DOGE is considering slashing up to 50% of the Social Security Administration’s workforce. That means longer lines, more errors, and for everyone who gives up or who dies before they get their benefits sorted out, those delays and errors also turn into benefit cuts.”
Warren added, “The law is to deliver the benefits that people are legally entitled to. If you don’t have the staff. If you don’t answer the phones. If you don’t fix the mistakes. People don’t get what they’re legally entitled to.”
The list of people who will be most at risk includes retirees, of course. But also individuals with disabilities, patients in hospitals, people who live in remote areas, even children, many living in foster homes.
It goes on.
Long lines, confusion and delay hurt us all
Already, legitimate Social Security recipients are feeling it. Very long wait times for callers. Confusion. Uncertainty.Advertisement
Delays in receiving Social Security benefits can be catastrophic for some recipients. Many people rely on the money to help take care of their most basic needs.
A survey published in January found that, without their benefits, 42% of Americans 65 and older reported, “I would not be able to afford the basics, such as food, clothing, or housing.”
Former Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O’Malley said recently at a briefing, “I can tell you that democracy is waking up to this very, very real threat that they are coming for Social Security.”
