Dutch king accepts government's resignation after Wilders withdrawal
Dutch King Willem-Alexander on Wednesday accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Dick Schoof, while asking him to remain in office in a caretaker capacity.
"After all, life goes on in the Netherlands and abroad, and decisions have to be taken that cannot be postponed," Schoof told parliament in The Hague.
The collapse of the unwieldy four-party coalition came after right-wing populist Geert Wilders withdrew his members from the Cabinet in a conflict over migration.
Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV) formed the largest group in parliament after the party emerged victorious in the November 2023 elections.
But PVV ministers and state secretaries have now withdrawn from Schoof's cabinet.
Wilders' move came in for strong criticism in parliament from the coalition parties and from the opposition.
"In my view, the fall of this government was unnecessary and irresponsible," Schoof, an independent, said. "We face large challenges nationally and internationally, and more than ever, decisiveness is required," he added.
He said he would continue to conduct government business with the remaining three parties until fresh elections, which are expected in October or November. A date is likely to be set on Thursday.
For his part, Wilders accused his former coalition partners of blocking his migration policies.
"We want a complete halt to asylum, We want intensive border controls. We want every – truly every – asylum seeker to be turned back at the border," he said.
"And that has to happen immediately," Wilders added.
He said his party no longer wished to bear responsibility for what he described as "the demise of the Netherlands."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Four of Trump's Cabinet secretaries coming to Santa Fe for Western governors meeting
Santa Fe may be one of the most liberal cities in New Mexico, if not the nation. But later this month, the City Different will host some of the most high-profile figures of the MAGA movement. Four U.S. Cabinet secretaries under the administration of Republican President Donald Trump will headline the 2025 annual meeting of the Western Governors' Association as keynote speakers June 23-24, the association announced Friday. They include Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin. Additional Trump administration officials may be coming to New Mexico, too, but their attendance has not yet been confirmed. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who chairs the association, said the four Cabinet secretaries' attendance represents the largest gathering of presidential administration officials at a Western Governors' Association meeting since the coronavirus pandemic. "I think the point is both Democratic and Republican governors want a chance to talk about their states and what their pressing issues are," Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, said in a telephone interview Friday. "All the governors in the National Governors Association signed a resolution that I helped lead that is against all the cuts that we're seeing in the budget reconciliation bill, so this is a chance to maybe, outside of the larger party platform lobbying, to talk about real issues," she said. The two-day meeting, held at the Eldorado Hotel and Spa, will be a star-studded event, at least in the world of politics. In addition to the four Cabinet secretaries, six Western governors — Mike Dunleavy of Alaska, Jared Polis of Colorado, Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota, Arnold Palacios of the Northern Mariana Islands, Spencer Cox of Utah and Mark Gordon of Wyoming — are also scheduled to attend. "Together, these federal officials and state leaders will explore bipartisan solutions to the West's most pressing challenges," a news release states. The governors will also moderate panel discussions on various issues, including rural health care, outdoor recreation for disabled people, housing and post-wildfire flooding. 'True bipartisan dialogue' Amy Barela, chair of the Republican Party of New Mexico, said the state GOP welcomes the Cabinet secretaries and governors to New Mexico. In a statement, she called the meeting an extraordinary opportunity for New Mexico to be part of meaningful conversations on critical issues impacting the region. "We sincerely hope this event fosters true bipartisan dialogue — especially on matters like rural health care, which must prioritize the needs of New Mexican citizens first; outdoor recreation, which should begin with making our state a safer, more desirable destination; and post-wildfire flooding, where discussions must recognize not only the diverse landscapes but also the stark differences in recovery outcomes," she said. Barela noted New Mexico's wildfire recovery efforts are much further along under Republican-led leadership in Ruidoso and bipartisan leadership in Roswell, "while citizens in San Miguel and Mora counties under Democrat leadership are still suffering and waiting for meaningful recovery." "These contrasts must be acknowledged in any honest discussion about disaster response and preparedness," she said. Lujan Grisham, who announced her initiative would focus on housing when she was elected association chair last year, said she wants to make sure housing is a big topic of discussion during the meeting. "Affordable housing is my signature issue, and I want to make sure that we get a chance to really talk about the federal government's role and the state's regional roles at supporting each other to get more affordable housing in stock," she said. 'We are not shy' Lujan Grisham said Cabinet secretaries typically talk about their priorities and "what we should expect to see in the Trump administration." "They're beginning to hire people back," she said. "They want us to know that that's occurring, that they are wanting to engage with states directly, and this is really what the Western Governors' Association promotes, that irrespective of the federal administration, we want these partners to recognize states' rights and the state's priorities, and as they unfold their own [priorities], do no harm and make sure that you're engaging in the things that matter to us." All the governors will want to talk about regulatory reform and "to lean much heavier on states' rights," Lujan Grisham said. "I've been a proponent of that as well." Asked whether she expected friction, given proposed federal budget cuts, Lujan Grisham said the Western governors are "typically pretty respectful, which is one of the reasons that the [Western Governors' Association meeting] is a popular forum." But, she added, "we are not shy." "I just got back from Alaska," she said. "Gov. Dunleavy and the administration officials who were there will tell you I'm not shy. They know how I feel about the cuts and how I feel about some of the more draconian measures that are being pitched and proposed, and I think that they fully expect for us to be talking about it." The meeting also presents opportunities to discuss collaborations, she said. "There are some issues and proposals that could really help us," she said. "I'd like more help finishing up our transmission lines, so I do think there's an opportunity here, so we really try to make it a dialogue. But none of us are going to shy away from what our concerns are, and they didn't in the Biden administration, either." An economic boon Lujan Grisham called it "kind of fantastic" to have the meeting in a super blue city like Santa Fe. "It is valuable to show that we can stand on our own, that we are not afraid of having active dialogue," she said. "We can be respectful, but we can also make sure that we're heard. "And they should come here," she added. "They expect me to go to D.C. I expect them to come into my fantastic state and to talk about resolutions to the problems that they, A, may create, and B, they have the power to resolve. I like these juxtapositions." The meeting is expected to provide an economic boon for Santa Fe. More than 400 people are registered so far. While the meeting will include various panel discussions and keynote addresses, it won't be all business for the governors and administration officials. The agenda includes a dinner at the Santa Fe Opera, a reception at La Fonda on the Plaza and a working lunch meeting at the governor's residence. "I think the vast majority of governors are bringing their spouses and partners, and I think that speaks volumes about people wanting to be in New Mexico and wanting to be in the City Different, so I'm excited about that," she said. "It's a packed agenda, so we're going to be working overtime, so I'm excited about that, too." Lujan Grisham said her husband, Manny Cordova, may have his hands full, too. "We're trying to get Manny to do a red chile cooking lesson for the spouses," she said. "And maybe one last thing we'll do, we'll remind all the governors that the best green chile in the world is indeed in New Mexico."
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kilmar Abrego Garcia Was Never Coming Back. Then He Did.
The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. After insisting again and again that they would not bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the United States, Trump-administration officials flew the 29-year-old Maryland man back from El Salvador today to face a grand-jury criminal indictment in Tennessee. Abrego Garcia's return doesn't mean he can go free. He now faces federal charges for human trafficking, according to the indictment unsealed today, and the Trump administration will get its opportunity to prove what it has long alleged about Abrego Garcia's membership in the gang MS-13. Even if prosecutors fail to convict him, the government could attempt to deport him to a third country—just not back to El Salvador. But by bringing him back to the United States, the Trump administration has climbed down from the court-defying pedestal where Vice President J. D. Vance, the adviser Stephen Miller, and Cabinet officials perched for months, claiming that Abrego Garcia's deportation was not, in fact, a mistake, and that he would never be allowed to set foot in the country again. Their obstinacy led to warnings of a constitutional crisis. Abrego Garcia's wife, a U.S. citizen, sued the government in March after he was deported to his native country in violation of a 2019 court order protecting him from being sent back to face likely harm. U.S. officials initially acknowledged that they'd made an 'administrative error,' then shrugged and said that the matter was out of their hands. White House officials remained dug in even as the Supreme Court ordered the administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return. 'There is no scenario where Abrego Garcia will be in the United States again,' Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified to lawmakers last month. Now, by bringing Abrego Garcia back to face criminal charges, the administration can quiet the constitutional concerns about his due-process rights and lay out the evidence it claims to possess showing that he is not a benign sheet-metal worker and devoted father but a gang leader and human trafficker. Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters that Abrego Garcia 'played a significant role in an alien-smuggling ring.' The criminal charges, filed in the Middle District of Tennessee, allege that Abrego Garcia participated in a nine-year conspiracy that moved thousands of people to destinations across the United States and totaled more than 100 trips. The indictment also accuses him of gun running and drug smuggling. According to ABC News, which first reported on Abrego Garcia's return and the trafficking charges, the chief of the criminal division in the U.S. attorney's office in Nashville resigned after the indictment was filed. The attorney, Ben Schrader, declined to comment when I reached out to him this evening. Senator Chris Van Hollen, who traveled to El Salvador in April and was allowed by the country's authorities to meet with Abrego Garcia, said in a statement that the administration has 'finally relented to our demands for compliance with court orders and with the due process rights afforded to everyone in the United States.' 'As I have repeatedly said, this is not about the man, it's about his constitutional rights—and the rights of all,' Van Hollen said in the statement. 'The Administration will now have to make its case in the court of law, as it should have all along.' [Read: An 'administrative error' sends a Maryland father to a Salvadoran prison] This is the second time in a week that Trump officials have relented on one of the cases in which federal judges ordered the government to bring back a deportee removed from the country without due process. A gay Guatemalan asylum seeker known in court documents as O.C.G., who was wrongly deported to Mexico, was allowed to return and pursue his protection claim on Wednesday. The Trump administration remains defiant elsewhere, however, holding a group of men from Laos, Vietnam, Cuba, and other nations in a shipping container on a U.S. military base in Djibouti while it attempts to deport them to South Sudan. Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, an attorney for Abrego Garcia, told me the administration's decision to bring his client back is a sign that 'they were playing games with the court all along.' Standard legal procedure would entail filing criminal charges against an alleged perpetrator and convicting them prior to a deportation—not the other way around, as the Trump administration is now attempting, Sandoval-Moshenberg said. 'Due process means the chance to defend yourself before you're punished, not after,' he said. 'This is an abuse of power, not justice. The government should put him on trial, yes—but in front of the same immigration judge who heard his case in 2019, which is the ordinary manner of doing things.' After Abrego Garcia's return, government attorneys told U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis that they intend to file a motion to dismiss the case challenging his unlawful deportation. Abrego Garcia was stopped for speeding by Tennessee state troopers in December 2022 while driving a Chevy Suburban with nine male passengers, none of whom carried identification, according to the indictment. Abrego Garcia was cited for an expired license, but he was not arrested or charged with a crime, even though troopers flagged the incident as a potential trafficking case. Abrego Garcia told officers that he'd been sent by his employer to pick up the men for a construction job, and his family has said that he would sometimes drive workers between job sites. They have denied the government's claims that Abrego Garcia was an MS-13 member. Driving passengers for money wouldn't be a crime unless the government can prove that Abrego Garcia knew he was transporting passengers who were unlawfully present, Andrew Rankin, an immigration attorney in Memphis, told me. Participating in a criminal conspiracy to bring them across the U.S.-Mexico border, as the government alleges, would bring severer penalties. 'What did he know? Did he have actual knowledge? What was the discussion between each person and Abrego?' Rankin said. 'And if these people were in violation of the law, the government could offer immunity to testify against him.' The indictment identifies six unnamed co-conspirators and says that Abrego Garcia transported MS-13 gang members on the trips. One of the co-conspirators told investigators that Abrego Garcia 'abused some of the female undocumented aliens' and was ordered to stop because it was 'bad for business.' Rankin said it was highly unusual for the government to deport someone and then begin building a criminal indictment. 'Now that the government has had to essentially bend the knee to bring Mr. Abrego back, the government is upset, and they can't just let him go,' Rankin told me. 'They can't just let him out and just let him walk around like he did before.' Article originally published at The Atlantic
Atlantic
6 hours ago
- Atlantic
Kilmar Abrego Garcia Was Never Coming Back. Then He Did.
After insisting again and again that they would not bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the United States, Trump-administration officials flew the 29-year-old Maryland man back from El Salvador today to face a grand-jury criminal indictment in Tennessee. Abrego Garcia's return doesn't mean he can go free. He now faces federal charges for human trafficking, according to the indictment unsealed today, and the Trump administration will get its opportunity to prove what it has long alleged about Abrego Garcia's membership in the gang MS-13. Even if prosecutors fail to convict him, the government could attempt to deport him to a third country—just not back to El Salvador. But by bringing him back to the United States, the Trump administration has climbed down from the court-defying pedestal where Vice President J. D. Vance, the adviser Stephen Miller, and Cabinet officials perched for months, claiming that Abrego Garcia's deportation was not, in fact, a mistake, and that he would never be allowed to set foot in the country again. Their obstinacy led to warnings of a constitutional crisis. Abrego Garcia's wife, a U.S. citizen, sued the government in March after he was deported to his native country in violation of a 2019 court order protecting him from being sent back to face likely harm. U.S. officials initially acknowledged that they'd made an 'administrative error,' then shrugged and said that the matter was out of their hands. White House officials remained dug in even as the Supreme Court ordered the administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return. 'There is no scenario where Abrego Garcia will be in the United States again,' Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified to lawmakers last month. Now, by bringing Abrego Garcia back to face criminal charges, the administration can quiet the constitutional concerns about his due-process rights and lay out the evidence it claims to possess showing that he is not a benign sheet-metal worker and devoted father but a gang leader and human trafficker. Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters that Abrego Garcia 'played a significant role in an alien-smuggling ring.' The criminal charges, filed in the Middle District of Tennessee, allege that Abrego Garcia participated in a nine-year conspiracy that moved thousands of people to destinations across the United States and totaled more than 100 trips. The indictment also accuses him of gun running and drug smuggling. According to ABC News, which first reported on Abrego Garcia's return and the trafficking charges, the chief of the criminal division in the U.S. attorney's office in Nashville resigned after the indictment was filed. The attorney, Ben Schrader, declined to comment when I reached out to him this evening. Senator Chris Van Hollen, who traveled to El Salvador in April and was allowed by the country's authorities to meet with Abrego Garcia, said in a statement that the administration has 'finally relented to our demands for compliance with court orders and with the due process rights afforded to everyone in the United States.' 'As I have repeatedly said, this is not about the man, it's about his constitutional rights—and the rights of all,' Van Hollen said in the statement. 'The Administration will now have to make its case in the court of law, as it should have all along.' This is the second time in a week that Trump officials have relented on one of the cases in which federal judges ordered the government to bring back a deportee removed from the country without due process. A gay Guatemalan asylum seeker known in court documents as O.C.G., who was wrongly deported to Mexico, was allowed to return and pursue his protection claim on Wednesday. The Trump administration remains defiant elsewhere, however, holding a group of men from Laos, Vietnam, Cuba, and other nations in a shipping container on a U.S. military base in Djibouti while it attempts to deport them to South Sudan. Simon Sandoval-Mosenberg, an attorney for Abrego Garcia, told me the administration's decision to bring his client back is a sign that 'they were playing games with the court all along.' Standard legal procedure would entail filing criminal charges against an alleged perpetrator and convicting them prior to a deportation—not the other way around, as the Trump administration is now attempting, Sandoval-Mosenberg said. 'Due process means the chance to defend yourself before you're punished, not after,' he said. 'This is an abuse of power, not justice. The government should put him on trial, yes—but in front of the same immigration judge who heard his case in 2019, which is the ordinary manner of doing things.' After Abrego Garcia's return, government attorneys told U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis that they intend to file a motion to dismiss the case challenging his unlawful deportation. Abrego Garcia was stopped for speeding by Tennessee state troopers in December 2022 while driving a Chevy Suburban with nine male passengers, none of whom carried identification, according to the indictment. Abrego Garcia was cited for an expired license, but he was not arrested or charged with a crime, even though troopers flagged the incident as a potential trafficking case. Abrego Garcia told officers that he'd been sent by his employer to pick up the men for a construction job, and his family has said that he would sometimes drive workers between job sites. They have denied the government's claims that Abrego Garcia was an MS-13 member. Driving passengers for money wouldn't be a crime unless the government can prove that Abrego Garcia knew he was transporting passengers who were unlawfully present, Andrew Rankin, an immigration attorney in Memphis, told me. Participating in a criminal conspiracy to bring them across the U.S.-Mexico border, as the government alleges, would bring severer penalties. 'What did he know? Did he have actual knowledge? What was the discussion between each person and Abrego?' Rankin said. 'And if these people were in violation of the law, the government could offer immunity to testify against him.' The indictment identifies six unnamed co-conspirators and says that Abrego Garcia transported MS-13 gang members on the trips. One of the co-conspirators told investigators that Abrego Garcia 'abused some of the female undocumented aliens' and was ordered to stop because it was 'bad for business.' Rankin said it was highly unusual for the government to deport someone and then begin building a criminal indictment. 'Now that the government has had to essentially bend the knee to bring Mr. Abrego back, the government is upset, and they can't just let him go,' Rankin told me. 'They can't just let him out and just let him walk around like he did before.'
