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The hard-liners enter the chat

The hard-liners enter the chat

Politico14-05-2025

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IN TODAY'S EDITION:— Warning signs for the GOP megabill— The number SALT Republicans want— Backlash grows over Library of Congress firings
Tuesday was all about the SALT Republicans. Now, it's the conservative hard-liners' turn to make noise.
After the impasse over the state-and-local-tax deduction boiled over Tuesday — more on that below — several GOP hard-liners emerged late Tuesday night expressing their own dissatisfaction with the megabill to pass President Donald Trump's agenda.
Rep. Paul Gosar said 'not nearly enough' is being done to win conservatives' votes. Rep. Eric Burlison told Mia parts of it are 'disturbing' and that he isn't satisfied with the Medicaid numbers. Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris said in a post on X'the proposal to stop waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid will do little to achieve that.'
'What a joke,' he wrote.
Expect hard-right pushback to come to a head on Monday when Speaker Mike Johnson has to get the bill through the Rules Committee — and, more specifically, win the support of conservative panel members Chip Roy, Morgan Griffith and Ralph Norman.
It's not just a House problem. Sen. Ron Johnson is also threatening to tank the megabill if he doesn't get several trillion dollars in additional spending cuts. As our Jordain Carney reports, it's a troubling sign for Senate GOP leaders who can only afford to lose three votes. The Wisconsin Republican has a history of forcing leadership to bend to his whims; his hardball tactics during Republicans' last reconciliation bill secured a new deduction rate for pass-through businesses.
But at the moment, the House speaker is focused on solving a different problem: working out a SALT deal with a handful of blue-state Republicans after failing to reach agreement in a Tuesday night huddle.
'More sizzle than steak in that meeting,' Rep. Nick LaLota said, while acknowledging they made progress. Johnson said similarly leaving the meeting.
Reminder: The current Ways and Means proposal would triple the existing cap to $30,000. But SALT Republicans are demanding a number closer to $60,000. To close the gap, they're pointing to the additional fiscal breathing room from the GOP's tax bill coming in underneath a $4 trillion cost target, two Republicans with direct knowledge of the matter told our Meredith Lee Hill.
'The number that we have in our bill, I advocated for,' Chair Jason Smith said Tuesday night. 'Most of the committee wanted 20 [thousand]. It covers 95 to 98 percent of every one of their districts. That's the truth. I think 30's a good deal.'
Maybe so, but expect the SALT crew to hold out for a number starting with a '4.'
Meanwhile, an update on some key markups overnight:
— Ways and Means is still ongoing, with Democrats continuing to accuse Republicans of seeking to pair tax cuts for the rich with slashing health care benefits for the poor, our Bernie Becker writes in. Republicans have so far defeated a range of Democratic amendments, including four that would have cut off tax cuts at certain income thresholds and one that sought to extend premium tax credits and expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
— Energy and Commerce is also going strong after getting off to a dramatic start when at least 26 people were arrested for protesting Medicaid cuts outside the meeting room. The panel began debate on the health policy section of the draft bill a little before 1 a.m., our Ben Leonard reports. So far, Democrats have honed in on the GOP's proposals to institute work requirements in the program, arguing they would do little to boost employment while leaving millions without coverage; Republicans have countered there are plenty of exceptions and minimal red tape.
The committee late Tuesday approved the bill's energy and environment titles, which would claw back billions of dollars in unspent funds from the Democrats' 2022 climate law and speed up permitting for fossil fuel projects. And shortly after midnight Wednesday, the panel cleared the communications portion of the draft legislation that would most notably institute a 10-year moratorium on state AI legislation — a provision that might not pass the procedural smell test in the Senate.
— Agriculture paused debate last night around midnight with plans to resume work at 10 a.m. Committee Republicans are appearing to fall in line behind a plan to cut $300 billion in spending for the nation's largest anti-hunger program, which the panel's chair, G.T. Thompson, attributed to 'member education' on the issue. Democrats delivered emotional pushback against the overhaul.
Want a bigger reconciliation update? Request an invite to our next Policy Intelligence Briefing this Thursday, 2–3 p.m with Ben and Meredith, as well as our Jennifer Scholtes and Benjamin Guggenheim. Pro subscribers should have already received an invite.
GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING. Or good night to anyone who stayed up all night for these markups. And we'll see some of you in a few hours at the ACLI Capital Challenge footrace.
Follow our live coverage at the Inside Congress blog at politico.com/congress and email your Inside Congress scribes at mmccarthy@politico.com, lkashinsky@politico.com and bleonard@politico.com.
COMING UP IN PLAYBOOK — Sen. John Cornyn probably can't win a primary. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton probably can't win a general election. Our Ben Jacobs dives deep into the Texas GOP Senate primary, a demolition derby that threatens to fracture the party, force the White House to intervene and perhaps put an otherwise safe seat at risk in November.
TALKING DEFENSE — Our colleagues are sitting down with 10 lawmakers tomorrow, including Reps. Mike Lawler and Michael McCaul, for a deep dive on America's latest defense and security priorities. We'll also have exclusive interviews with admin officials including Sebastian Gorka of the National Security Council. Join us in Navy Yard at 8 a.m.
THE SKED
The House is in session and voting to advance law enforcement legislation and on a likely motion to table a Trump impeachment resolution from Rep. Shri Thanedar at 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.
— Republicans and Democrats will hold their separate weekly conference meetings at 9 a.m.
— GOP leaders will hold their post-meeting news conference at 10 a.m.
— Appropriations will have hearings on the president's fiscal 2026 budget request, with testimony from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at 9:30 a.m. and ICE acting Director Todd Lyons and DOT Secretary Sean Duffy at 10 a.m.
— Homeland Security will have a hearing on DHS' fiscal 2026 budget request with testimony from Secretary Kristi Noem at 10 a.m.
— Democratic leaders will hold their post-meeting news conference at 10:45 a.m.
— The Republican Study Committee will have its weekly lunch, with border czar Tom Homan and Education Secretary Linda McMahon as guests at 12:30 p.m.
— Rep. Andy Ogles and House Freedom Caucus members will hold a news conference on codifying the president's executive orders at 12:45 p.m.
— Reps. Ted Kennedy, Jerry Nadler, Dan Goldman and Ted Lieu will hold a news conference to announce the Aaron Salter Jr. Responsible Body Armor Possession Act, in honor of the two-year anniversary of the Buffalo shooting at 2:30 p.m.
The Senate is in session and will vote on Katharine MacGregor's nomination to be deputy secretary of Interior, Michael Rigas' nomination to be deputy secretary of State for Management and Resources, Emil Michael's nomination to be under secretary of Defense, Eric Ueland's nomination to be deputy director at OMB and end debate on Sean Donahue's nomination to be an assistant administrator of the EPA during votes at 11:30 a.m., 2:15 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
— Energy and Natural Resources will consider various nominations starting at 9:30 a.m.: Catherine Jereza and Kyle Haustveit to be assistant secretaries, Jonathan Brightbill to be general counsel, Tina Pierce to be CFO and Conner Prochaska to lead the Advanced Research Projects Agency at the Department of Energy; and William Doffermyre to be solicitor and Ned Mamula to be director of the U.S. Geological Survey at the Interior Department.
— Commerce will vote on Paul Dabbar's nomination to be deputy secretary of Commerce at 9:45 a.m. It'll examine FAA reauthorization at 10 a.m.
— Finance will have a hearing on trade in critical supply chains at 10 a.m.
— Appropriations will have a hearing on the president's fiscal 2026 budget request for the EPA, with testimony from Administrator Lee Zeldin at 10:30 a.m. and testimony from Senate Sergeant at Arms Jennifer Hemingway and U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger at 3 p.m.
— Environment and Public Works will have a hearing on nominations for Sean McMaster to be Federal Highway Administration administrator, John Busterud to be assistant administrator for the EPA Office of Solid Waste and Adam Telle to be assistant secretary of the Army for civil works at 10:30 a.m.
— HELP will have a hearing on the president's fiscal 2026 budget request for HHS with testimony from Kennedy at 1:30 p.m.
The rest of the week: The House will take up law enforcement legislation. The Senate will continue working through Trump's nominees.
THE LEADERSHIP SUITE
Senate GOP marches toward contentious emissions vote
Senate Republicans could vote as soon as next week on a controversial proposal to nix federal waivers allowing California to set its own emissions standards, Jordain reports. 'We're going to pass it next week,' Majority Whip John Barrasso told reporters Tuesday.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune hasn't committed to that timeline. A key sponsor, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, also cautioned the schedule isn't '100 percent decided.' Some GOP senators remain wary that the chamber's parliamentarian is backing a Government Accountability Office finding that the waiver isn't subject to the Congressional Review Act. Overruling her, they fear, would weaken the Senate's rules in a way that could benefit Democrats next time they're in power.
Bipartisan backlash over Trump's Library of Congress takeover
Top lawmakers on both sides of the aisle made clear Tuesday they aren't interested in an executive-branch takeover of the Library of Congress. 'There needs to be a consultation about this,' Thune said.
There's broad agreement that Trump likely had the authority to fire Librarian Carla Hayden. But lawmakers are trying to parse the legality of his next steps: firing the head of the U.S. Copyright Office and attempting to install allies from the Justice Department as acting heads of the library and copyright operation. Those conversations are now playing out in a series of behind-the-scenes meetings, including one between Senate Rules Chair Mitch McConnell and ranking member Alex Padilla, per our Katherine Tully-McManus. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who Trump installed as acting librarian, was also on the Hill Tuesday.
Johnson ponders consequences for Dems' ICE protest
Speaker Johnson told reporters the House will 'have to take appropriate action' against Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rob Menendez and LaMonica McIver after they were involved in a confrontation at an ICE detention center in New Jersey last week. GOP Rep. Buddy Carter is pushing to strip the trio of their respective committee assignments, and Johnson also floated censure as a possibility.
'I'm working on reconciliation at the moment, but we'll get to it,' Johnson said. 'There's a lot of very serious concern about it, and the tape is telling. Video doesn't lie.'
Senator blasts Johnson's DC funding fix delay
Today marks two months since the Senate passed the D.C. funding fix on March 14. And the chamber's top appropriator, Sen. Susan Collins, is urging the House to act to avoid cutbacks to city services.
'I don't understand why the House — especially after President Trump called for [passing] the bill the Senate passed immediately — has yet to act on it,' Collins told Mia.
House GOP leaders have blamed the delayed schedule on their reconciliation timeline, but Johnson said earlier this month it would be done 'as quickly as possible.'
House ethics watchdog up and running
The Office of Congressional Conduct is finally up and running for this Congress after the speaker took steps to slow down the process, our Hailey Fuchs reports. The House clerk read aloud the names of the watchdog's four board members Tuesday: Karen Haas, a former House clerk, will serve as board chair; former Rep. Bill Luther will serve as board co-chair. Lorraine Miller, another former House clerk, and former Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, will also hold seats.
POLICY RUNDOWN
MORE MEGABILL WARNING SIGNS — Key Senate Republicans are wary about E&C's plan to free up swaths of federal spectrum to raise $88 billion to help fund the megabill, believing it won't adequately safeguard Pentagon operations. Others are warning that the House's proposed rollbacks of clean-energy credits could stifle investments in newer energy technologies.
Still others are sounding caution as they review House Republicans' plans to pare back Medicaid. Collins said Tuesday she's studying the impact on rural hospitals that are already 'really teetering.'
COMING RFK JR.'S WAY — Lawmakers were already planning to hammer HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over sweeping staff cuts during his testimony before both the House and Senate today. Then on Tuesday the Trump administration asked some of the thousands of federal public health workers it laid off to return permanently, according to emails reviewed by our Alice Miranda Ollstein and Sophie Gardner.
Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel, who sits on the House subcommittee Kennedy is meeting with, told Mia she's not surprised by the reversal but plans to warn the HHS chief that 'it will take so long to start' programs back up.
Who else to watch today: GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy, a former doctor who public health officials hope will challenge Kennedy's vaccine views and actions as secretary, our Carmen Paun and Adam Cancryn write.
BILLY LONG'S COMING BACK — Senate Finance scheduled a May 20 hearing on the nomination of former Rep. Billy Long to head the IRS. Long is seen as a controversial pick, and the hearing is sure to feature harsh scrutiny of Long's business ties by committee Democrats.
CRYPTO BILL TAKE TWO — Sen. Ruben Gallego said Tuesday that lawmakers are working toward restarting bipartisan negotiations over a landmark cryptocurrency bill that was rejected on the Senate floor last week. But he cautioned not to expect it back immediately, our Jasper Goodman reports.
Best of POLITICO Pro and E&E:
THE BEST OF THE REST
One of Congress' Wealthiest Members Made Stock Trades Worth Millions After Trump Announced Tariffs, from Dave Levinthal at NOTUS
Four-term former Missouri Sen. Christopher Bond dead at 86, from Jackie Wang at Roll Call
CAPITOL HILL INFLUENCE
INSURERS IN TOWN — Health insurers such as Elevance Health that participate in Medicare Advantage are trying to avoid becoming a target as Republicans struggle to pay for their megabill, our Kelly Hooper writes. Their efforts include commissioning studies and penning papers to show that the program needs more funding and arguing to lawmakers on key committees that a congressional advisory panel's findings of rampant overpayments to the program are inaccurate. The insurers are hoping to combat the narrative that Medicare Advantage is a magnet for government waste.
SPOTTED IN THE SENATE — NCAA President Charlie Baker having meetings about name, image and likeness legislation. Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz, who's leading the charge to regulate NIL for college athletes, told Lisa he spoke with Baker on the matter last week.
JOB BOARD
Ben Monticello is now legislative director for Rep. Darin LaHood. He previously was senior legislative assistant for Rep. Jack Bergman.
Two more aides left Sen. John Fetterman's office in recent weeks: Madeleine Marr and Caroline Shaffer, two people familiar with their departures told our Holly Otterbein.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Rep. Gary Palmer … former Reps. Jackie Speier, Erik Paulsen, Mimi Walters and Alan Mollohan … Susie Wiles … Tom Donilon of O'Melveny & Myers … former Sen. Byron Dorgan … POLITICO's Jason Beeferman … J.B. Poersch of Senate Majority PAC … Semafor's Kadia Goba … Jon Vogel of MVAR Media … Sydney Thomas Stubbs of Americans for Prosperity … Aneiry Batista … Rob Levinson … Kara Allen … Judith Barnett … Brian Canfield … Caleb Randall-Bodman of QuestEnd Advisors
TRIVIA
TUESDAY'S ANSWER: Kenny Robinson correctly answered that Rules was the first House select committee created in 1789. (It didn't become a permanent standing body until 1880.)
TODAY'S QUESTION, from Monday's winner Tim Trent: Who was the only founding father to become president who never owned a slave?
The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to insidecongress@politico.com.

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How viral images are shaping views of L.A.'s immigration showdown
How viral images are shaping views of L.A.'s immigration showdown

Yahoo

time29 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

How viral images are shaping views of L.A.'s immigration showdown

As protesters and police officers clashed in the streets of Los Angeles, a parallel conflict raged on social media, as immigration advocates and President Donald Trump's allies raced to shape public opinion on the impacts of mass deportations on American life. The sprawling protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids were captured from all angles by cellphones and body cameras and streamed in real time, giving a visceral immediacy to a conflict that led to more than 50 arrests and orders from the Trump administration to deploy the National Guard. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. Amateur videographers and online creators shared some of the mayhem's most-talked-about videos and images, often devoid of context and aimed at different audiences. Clips showing officers firing less-lethal rounds at an Australian journalist or mounted police directing their horses to stride over a sitting man fueled outrage on one side, while those of self-driving Waymo cars on fire and protesters holding Mexican flags stoked the other. The protests have become the biggest spectacle yet of the months-long online war over deportations, as Trump allies work to convince Americans that the issue of undocumented immigration demands aggressive action. But immigrant families and advocates have also been winning attention, and seeking public support, through emotional clips of crying families grappling with removal orders, anti-ICE gatherings and young children in federal custody. The messaging war comes at a time of polarized public sentiment over Trump's immigration policies. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll in April found that roughly half the country believed Trump's deportations had gone too far, while the other half thought his actions were about right or hadn't gone far enough. 'To advance your side of the story, you need a piece of content that the algorithm likes. You need something that really grabs people's attention by the throat and doesn't let it go,' said Laura Edelson, an assistant professor at Northeastern University's Khoury College of Computer Sciences. 'If you're on the pro-ICE side of this, you need to find visual images of these protests that look really scary, look really dangerous because that's what's going to draw human attention,' she added. But if 'you don't think that ICE should be taking moms away from their families and kids, you're going to have a video that starts with a crying child's face.' A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans, said Trump's digital strategists were following the president's lead by spotlighting images of destruction while insisting that he would always intervene in moments of unrest. The White House, which has said the ICE deportations are necessary to solve a national crisis, on Sunday posted an Instagram photo of Trump and a warning that looters and rioters would be given 'no mercy.' 'We're obviously following the president's direction. He is driving the message through his posts and his comments to the press,' the official said. 'We are definitely playing offense here. We are once again boxing the Democrats into the corner of defending criminal illegal aliens.' The unrest and its online propagation also heightened activity around projects like People Over Papers, a crowdsourced map for tracking the locations of ICE officers. Reports flooded in as the clashes continued, said Celeste, a project organizer in L.A. who spoke on the condition that her last name not be used for fear of government retribution. 'I haven't slept all weekend,' she said. She added, however, that she worried violent imagery from the ground could hurt the protesters' cause. She said she planned to start making Spanish-language videos for her 51,000 TikTok followers, explaining to skeptics that the violence isn't reflective of the protests, which she sees as necessary to counter ICE's agenda. The L.A. unrest followed weeks of online skirmishes over deportations, some of which have been touched off by the White House's strategy to lean into policy fights with bold and aggressive messaging. The White House last month posted a video that it said showed an 'EPIC takedown of 5 illegal aliens' outside a home improvement store and included an ICE hotline to solicit more tips. The clip, recorded by ICE agents' cameras, was liked 68,000 times but also drew criticism from commenters, who called it 'disturbing' and said this 'isn't a reality show.' After a similar ICE raid on Saturday outside a Home Depot in Paramount, a predominantly Latino suburb of L.A., witnesses sent out alerts on social media, and protesters raced to the scene. Within hours, the Trump administration called for the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to neutralize the unrest. On his Truth Social account a week earlier, Trump celebrated the Supreme Court clearing the way for the removal of some immigrants' legal protections by posting a photo of a jet-filled sky with the phrase, 'Let the Deportations Begin!' The White House has also posted stylized mug shots of unnamed immigrants it said were charged with heinous crimes. 'I love this version of the white house,' one commenter said, with a cry-laugh emoji. 'It feels like a movie every day with President Trump.' During the protests, the administration has worked with new-media figures and online influencers to promote its political points. Phil McGraw, the TV personality known as Dr. Phil who now runs the conservative media network Merit Street, posted an exclusive interview with border czar Tom Homan and embedded with ICE officers last week during L.A. raids, as the company's spokesperson first told CNN. Some top administration officials have worked to frame the protests in militaristic terms, with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller on Saturday sharing a video of the protest and calling it 'an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States.' Others, like Vice President JD Vance, have treated it as a chance for dark jokes. When posters on X said Vance could do the 'funniest thing ever' by deporting Derek Guy, a prominent menswear commentator who discussed how his family had been undocumented after fleeing Vietnam, the vice president on Monday posted a brief clip of Jack Nicholson nodding with a sinister grin. Some far-right influencers urged their followers to identify people caught on camera during the civil unrest. In one X post with more than 29,000 likes, the account End Wokeness shared a video of masked figures throwing rocks at police from an overpass and said, 'These are insurrectionists trying to kill cops. Make them famous.' In more left-leaning online spaces, some posters watching from the sidelines offered advice on how protesters could best position their cause to the rest of the world. On the r/ICE_raids subreddit, some posters urged L.A. protesters to stop carrying non-American flags. It's 'adding ammo to ICE's justification,' one poster said, attaching a screenshot of a Homeland Security post showing masked protesters with Mexican flags. Many accounts, knowingly or unknowingly, shared images that warped the reality of what was happening on the ground. An X account with 388,000 followers called US Homeland Security News, which is not affiliated with DHS but paid for one of X's 'verified' blue check marks, posted a photo of bricks that it said had been ordered to be 'used by Democrat militants against ICE agents and staff!! It's Civil War!!' The photo actually originated on the website of a Malaysian construction-supply company. The post has nevertheless been viewed more than 800,000 times. On Sunday night, California Gov. Gavin Newsom's X account tried to combat some of the misinformation directly, saying a viral video post being passed around as evidence of the day's chaos was actually five years old. Even before the L.A. protests, the increased attention on ICE activity had driven a rush of online organizing and real-world information gathering, with some people opposed to mass deportations tracking the movements of ICE officers with plans to foil or disrupt raids. In one viral TikTok post last week, a Minneapolis protester marching in a crowd outside the site of a rumored ICE raid said he had learned of it from Reddit, where a photo had been posted of Homeland Security Investigations officers outside a Mexican restaurant. The local sheriff's office later told news crews that the operation was not an immigration-enforcement case and that no arrests had been made. Some online creators treated the L.A. clashes as a prized opportunity for viral content. On Reddit, accounts with names like LiveNews_24H posted 'crazy footage' compilations of the unrest and said it looked like a 'war zone.' On YouTube, Damon Heller, who comments on police helicopter footage and scanner calls under the name Smoke N' Scan, streamed the clashes on Sunday for nearly 12 hours. Jeremy Lee Quinn, a photographer who shares protest footage to his social media followers, posted to Instagram on Saturday a video of protesters cheering from a bridge as officers tried to extinguish a burning police vehicle. Quinn, who also documented Black Lives Matter marches and the U.S. Capitol riots, said viewers on the left and right treat viral videos like weapons in their arsenal. Far-left viewers might take away from the videos ideas for militant tactics to use in future protests, he said, while far-right viewers will promote the videos to suggest the other side craves more violent crime. Either way, his material gets seen - including through reposts by groups such as the LibsOfReddit subreddit, which shares screenshots mocking liberal views on undocumented immigrants and transgender people. 'You end up with a far-right ecosystem that thrives on these viral moments,' Quinn said. As short-form video and social media platforms increasingly become many Americans' news sources of choice, experts worry they could also amp up the fear and outrage engendered by polarizing events. The fragmentation of social media and the attention-chasing machinery of its recommendation algorithms helps ensure that 'there are a lot of people talking past each other,' said Northeastern's Edelson, not seeing one another's content or 'even aware of the facts that are relevant to the other side.' Darrell West, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, said videos can play a uniquely forceful role in shaping people's reactions to current events because they 'encapsulate the emotion of the moment.' 'There's a heavy dose of misinformation,' he added. 'And, you know, people just end up getting angrier and angrier.' Related Content 'He's waging a war on us': As Trump escalates, Angelenos defend their city To save rhinos, conservationists are removing their horns Donald Trump and the art of the Oval Office confrontation

Donald Trump is front and center for Army's big DC birthday parade
Donald Trump is front and center for Army's big DC birthday parade

USA Today

time34 minutes ago

  • USA Today

Donald Trump is front and center for Army's big DC birthday parade

Donald Trump is front and center for Army's big DC birthday parade Trump is poised to be president during the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding, the FIFA World Cup in 2026 and the LA Summer Olympics in 2028. Show Caption Hide Caption Military equipment headed to DC ahead of Trump's birthday parade Battle tanks, fighting vehicles and infantry carriers departed Texas for D.C. for President Trump's military parade. The June 14 parade reflects the president's vision of his role and of the nation's power. Some predict an inspiring moment of patriotism; others see an alarming echo of authoritarianism. WASHINGTON − Donald Trump loves a parade. Also palace-in-the-sky planes, gold decor in the Oval Office, the adulation of huge rallies, the company of kings (British, Saudi), and the general aura that surrounds power, wealth and royalty. The president's determination to stage a procession of America's troops and its military hardware, with 28 Abrams tanks thundering up Constitution Avenue in the nation's capital and 50 military helicopters thumping overhead, reflects his vision of his role and the nation he leads. Asserting sweeping and sometimes unprecedented powers for the presidency, he is commanding a go-it-alone United States, ready and willing to flex its muscle in the world. The last big national event, Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, was a demonstration of tradition and shared powers: The incoming president stood on the Capitol steps, the chief justice gave the oath, members of Congress and former presidents witnessed the peaceful transition of authority. Five months later, the celebration on June 14 marking the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Army will put Trump alone front and center. Also: The parade just happens to be taking place on his 79th birthday. Trump is the happy beneficiary of the calendar. He is poised to be president not only during the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding but also the FIFA World Cup in 2026 (co-hosted with Canada and Mexico) and the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028. The confluence of events is no coincidence, he suggests. "I have everything," he boasted at a Memorial Day event at Arlington Cemetery. "Amazing the way things work out. God did that." The good fortune of Trump's 2020 defeat Whether or not it was a case of divine intervention, Trump's electoral defeat in 2020 has, with the benefit of hindsight, turned out to be serendipitous for him. The four-year interregnum not only put him in a position to preside during historic and high-profile celebrations, but it also gave him a Democratic predecessor as a whipping boy when things go wrong. It also provided the opportunity for him to solidify control of the Republican Party and for supporters to create ambitious blueprints like Project 2025 to tap when he landed a second term. It even opened the door for the parade he had set his heart on when he watched French tanks roll down the Champs-Élysées in Paris on Bastille Day in 2017. "One of the greatest parades I've ever seen," he marveled, telling French President Emmanuel Macron he wanted to "top" it. During Trump's first term, though, the Pentagon resisted. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, a retired Marine Corps four-star general, objected to the idea as a politicization of the military. In 2020, when Trump pushed again despite concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, Mattis' successor, Mark Esper, arranged instead for an array of warplanes to fly down the East Coast in an "air parade." Now, Pete Hegseth, a Trump loyalist and former Fox News host, is leading the Defense Department. The Army's plans for a low-key birthday celebration of festivals, fun runs and a commemorative stamp have now been dramatically expanded to include what the White House might call a big, beautiful parade. The sight of more than 100 combat vehicles on the ground and dozens of vintage and modern warplanes in the air should be staggering. The troops plus 34 horses, two mules, a dog named Doc Holliday and some of the vehicles will start at the Pentagon in Virginia, cross Arlington Memorial Bridge, then head to the parade route along the National Mall, joined there by the tanks. Trump will be watching from a reviewing stand just south of the White House that is now being constructed for the occasion. Paratroopers from the Army's Golden Knights are set to parachute in, land on the Eclipse and present Trump with an American flag. The president will then preside over the enlistment and reenlistment of 250 soldiers. There will be fireworks. Is it inspiring or alarming? The United States has staged military parades before, of course. At the end of the Civil War, the bloodiest conflict in American history, the Grand Review of the Armies lasted two days and featured 145,000 soldiers from the victorious Union forces marching through Washington and sometimes breaking into song. President Andrew Johnson, who had been sworn in after Abraham Lincoln's assassination a month earlier, presided. During the Cold War, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a retired five-star general and hero of World War II, had troops, tanks and warplanes in his inaugural parade. His successor, John F. Kennedy, included troops in his inaugural parade in 1961. The last major military parade in the capital was in 1991 to mark the end of the first Gulf War, when George H.W. Bush was president. But there is not much precedent in the United States for such a massive military parade in peacetime. Like many things involving Trump, reactions clash between those who predict a stirring moment of patriotism and those who see it as an alarming echo of authoritarianism. The ritualized display of armaments and troops is more routine in places like Russia, China and North Korea, where strongmen show their force to their own citizens and the world. In the USA, liberal and pro-democracy groups have declared a "No Kings" day of protests on June 14, with anti-Trump demonstrations planned in more than 1,500 communities across the country. Trump has never been shy about demanding attention and claiming credit for his presidential record, putting himself in the top rank of the 45 men who have held the job. In his State of the Union address in March, he said that "many" believed he had just recorded the most successful first month of any presidency − with George Washington in second place. Last month, on the facade of the Agriculture Department that faces the Mall, a huge banner of Trump's face was draped between the columns alongside one of Lincoln. By the way, that's the building where thousands of the troops who will be marching in the parade will bivouac, sleeping on cots and bringing their own sleeping bags. Agriculture employees have been directed to work from home for the first three weeks of the month to clear the way for them. $45 million? 'Peanuts,' Trump says The parade's price tag? The Army has estimated the cost at $30 million to $45 million, in addition to the promise to help the D.C. government deal with the aftermath. Huge steel plates are being embedded at some intersections to protect the asphalt, but at 140,000 pounds each, the Abrams battle tanks are expected to, well, leave an impression. That could add as much as an estimated $16 million. "Peanuts," Trump said of the cost on NBC's "Meet the Press" last month, "compared to the value of doing it."

Why It Will Take Strong Character To Address The Alarming U.S. Deficit
Why It Will Take Strong Character To Address The Alarming U.S. Deficit

Forbes

time44 minutes ago

  • Forbes

Why It Will Take Strong Character To Address The Alarming U.S. Deficit

The public and bitter split between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk has once again spotlighted a glaring deficit in the personalities of both leaders. Although the breach erupted after Musk criticized Trump's 'big beautiful bill,' a tax and spending plan projected to result in an additional budgetary shortfall of $2.4 trillion over the next decade, that is not the deficit I'm referring to here. The void that has further polarized our country is a lack of character and values at the highest levels of government. Aside from the clear lack of decorum, the Trump-Musk feud has turned into an outrageous display of insults and retaliation. As the former chair and CEO of Baxter International, I can say that if such a level of public acrimony had happened in the corporate world, it would have raised serious governance concerns that would need to be addressed. Without values and a strong moral character, leadership is weakened. That's why in today's polarized environment, values-based leadership is not only relevant, it should also be a yardstick against which we evaluate leaders in business and government. As my good friend and former chair and CEO of Medtronic, Inc., Art Collins, wrote in an insightful LinkedIn post: 'While past performance should always be examined, I firmly believe that an individual's character is a crucial attribute to be considered when selecting and appraising a leader.' After reading his post, I asked Art to engage in a discussion on values, character, and leadership. Here are some highlights from our conversation. As the Trump-Musk breakup fills the news headlines and late-night television monologues, we cannot let ourselves be distracted by political theater playing out in Washington. This is a matter of character, not only among our leaders, but for our country and how we are perceived around the world.

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