Latest news with #CPAC
Sinar Daily
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Sinar Daily
Trump names Fox News host as top Washington prosecutor
The brash 73-year-old has been selected to work as interim US Attorney for the District of Columbia, plucked from one of Trump's favourite hiring pools: right-leaning television networks. 09 May 2025 01:19pm Jeanine Pirro speaks following an exclusive interview with Daniel Penny for Fox Nation on Dec 10, 2024 in New York City.(Photo by John Lamparski / AFP) WASHINGTON - Donald Trump on Thursday appointed TV personality and former judge Jeanine Pirro to a key post in the US judiciary, the president's latest nomination of a Fox News on-air host to a position of government power. The brash 73-year-old has been selected to work as interim US Attorney for the District of Columbia, plucked from one of Trump's favourite hiring pools: right-leaning television networks. Other hires from cable news include Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who co-hosted "Fox & Friends Weekend," and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, a former reality TV show competitor and Fox Business co-host. The pick came soon after Trump pulled his first choice for the post, a defense lawyer who represented defendants charged in the Jan 6, 2021 storming of the US Capitol. Judge Jeanine Pirro of Fox News Network makes remarks to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at National Harbor, Maryland, Feb 23, 2017. - (Photo by Mike Theiler / AFP) "I am pleased to announce that Judge Jeanine Pirro will be appointed interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, describing the former district attorney of New York's Westchester County as being "in a class by herself." Pirro briefly entered politics in ill-fated attempts to run for the US Senate and for New York Attorney General, losing the latter race to Democrat Andrew Cuomo. She began earning wider public exposure by hosting a weekday television show, "Judge Jeanine Pirro," from 2008 to 2011. That year she joined Fox News Channel to host "Justice with Judge Jeanine," which ran for 11 years, and today she is a co-host of the network's show, "The Five." Pirro has also authored several books, including "Liars, Leakers, and Liberals: The Case Against the Anti-Trump Conspiracy," from 2018. The Washington Post described the book as "sycophantic" in its support for Trump. After promoting unfounded conspiracy theories alleging election fraud in 2020, Pirro was named a defendant in a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems, which said Fox broadcast false statements about the company. Fox News settled the case for nearly $800 million. - AFP More Like This
Bloomberg
3 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Poland Presidential Election on June 1: What's at Stake
00:00 For anyone who's not been watching this vote as closely as you, just take us through who the candidates are and what exactly that campaigning on it is. Indeed, It's it's a bit of a nail biter and coin toss or whatever metaphor you want to use, but it's it's definitely a very tight race. So we have two candidates essentially in this runoff, as we mentioned, Warsaw mayor, who is a polyglot son of of a prominent jazz musician, Rafal Trzaskowski, and he's coming up against a fairly new face on the on on the political scene. Karol Nawrocki, he's a former boxer as well. And he has a bit of a checkered past that, you know, that's been coming to light and sort of keeping everyone excited about this race coming into Sunday. Yeah, it's if you look at those two characters, they basically show you how divided the country is. Two different versions of Poland, one with just Trzaskowski, who is who's very much pro-European. He's very friendly with the government and actually he's a candidate of the government. So government is hoping that by having him as a president, it will be easier for them to push forward with with a pro-EU agenda. On the other hand, Nawrocki is is very conservative. He's the representative of the opposition and he also got MAGA endorsement just this week. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was in in Poland at CPAC conference, and she said, I'm here on behalf of President Trump and Karol Nawrocki should be your president. So so he's coming as this kind of who's who's railing against migration. He's very much skeptical of climate change. And he's standing for for traditional values, as he puts them. So, you know, you basically have two visions of Poland on the ballot this Sunday. Okay. So hugely consequential for Europe. Maybe another test of Trump's influence in Europe. But let's also just think about the market reaction, because so far, Poland's had this world beating rally this year. How much is this going to put that to the test? Indeed, the Polish assets, both stocks and bonds, but also the currency, has been on a tear. And this was basically a result of the fact that when when the current government came to power in 2023, the expectations were they were reversed. It was those times of populist government where, you know, Poland had for the past eight years and they will introduce reforms, they will get power to Poland, closer to to to the EU mainstream. And also Poland has has really envious metrics when it comes to the economy. It's one of the fastest growing in in the EU. So there were expectations that things will only get better for the Polish economy, for for where it's going next. And that's where we saw the the the markets reacting accordingly. Now, the big question now is Poland also has a huge deficit, which it also has a lot to spend on on defense. So the question is, if if the government doesn't get the president that they want that that will be working with them. It may put all these plans for reforms to test and put in question.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Jimmy Kimmel Jokes Elon Musk Left Trump for His Real Job, ‘Destroying Companies and Inseminating Every Woman in Sight
Jimmy Kimmel was 'happy to share some good news from Washington for a change' during his monologue on Thursday's 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' — Elon Musk stepping away from his role in the Trump administration. 'We got a message from Elon Musk, an important message, it said, 'as my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,'' Kimmel explained. 'Hey, you know what, spending, that's great, we're just happy your time as a special government employee has come to an end.' 'We're thankful. We are glad you're gone,' he added. 'Elon had a remarkable 130-day stint in government. He came, he chainsawed, we bled, he left,' Kimmel continued, referencing Musk's appearance at CPAC earlier this year. 'When he started, he promised to save us a trillion dollars. Now he says DOGE will probably only save about 160 billion dollars. whereas most everyone else says he probably cost us hundreds of billions of dollars,' Kimmel went on. 'Officials from the IRS alone estimate his cuts to that agency will result in a minimum of $500 billion in uncollected taxes this year.' 'But here's the thing, politics isn't about money, it's not about success, it's not about failure, it's about the lives of the civil servants you destroy along the way. That's what's most important,' the ABC host joked. 'And Elon promised that DOGE's work will go on… similar to how the Empire continued killing Ewoks after The Emperor died.' 'Now that he's out of Washington, Elon can return to his primary job, which is destroying companies and inseminating every woman in sight.' Watch the whole monologue below: The post Jimmy Kimmel Jokes Elon Musk Left Trump for His Real Job, 'Destroying Companies and Inseminating Every Woman in Sight | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
Yomiuri Shimbun
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Elon Musk Came to Washington Wielding a Chain Saw. He Leaves behind Upheaval and Unmet Expectations
AP file photo Elon Musk holds up a chainsaw he received from Argentina's President Javier Milei, right, as they arrive to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk arrived in the nation's capital with the chain saw-wielding swagger of a tech titan who had never met a problem he couldn't solve with lots of money, long hours or a well-calibrated algorithm. President Donald Trump was delighted to have the world's richest person — and a top campaign donor — working in his administration, talking about how he was 'a smart guy' who 'really cares for our country.' Musk was suddenly everywhere — holding forth in Cabinet meetings while wearing a 'tech support' shirt and black MAGA hat, hoisting his young son on his shoulders in the Oval Office, flying aboard Air Force One, sleeping in the White House. Democrats described the billionaire entrepreneur as Trump's 'co-president,' and senior officials bristled at his imperial approach to overhauling the federal government. After establishing Tesla as a premier electric automaker, building rockets at SpaceX and reshaping the social media landscape by buying Twitter, Musk was confident that he could bend Washington to his vision. Now that's over. Musk said this week that he's leaving his job as a senior adviser, an announcement that came after he revealed his plan to curtail political donations and he criticized the centerpiece of Trump's legislative agenda. It's a quiet exit after a turbulent entrance, and he's trailed by upheaval and unmet expectations. Thousands of people were indiscriminately laid off or pushed out — hundreds of whom had to be rehired — and some federal agencies were eviscerated. But no one has been prosecuted for the fraud that Musk and Trump said was widespread within the government. Musk reduced his target for cutting spending from $2 trillion to $1 trillion to $150 billion, and even that goal may not be reached. In Silicon Valley, where Musk got his start as a founder of PayPal, his kind of promises are known as vaporware — a product that sounds extraordinary yet never gets shipped to market. Trump said Thursday on his Truth Social platform that he would hold a press conference Friday with Musk. 'This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way,' Trump added. 'Elon is terrific!' Musk's position was always designed to be temporary, and he had previously announced his intention to dedicate more of his time to his companies. But he also told reporters last month that he was willing to work part-time for Trump 'indefinitely, as long as the president wants me to do it.' Musk got a seat at Trump's table and put $250 million behind his campaign It was clear that Musk wouldn't be the typical kind of presidential adviser around the time that he showed the world his belly button. Racing on stage at a campaign rally one month before the election, he jumped for joy next to Trump, his T-shirt rising to expose his midriff. Musk had already sold Trump on his idea for a Department of Government Efficiency while also putting at least $250 million behind his candidacy. The plan called for a task force to hunt for waste, fraud and abuse, a timeworn idea with a new twist. Instead of putting together a blue-ribbon panel of government experts, Trump would give his top donor a desk in the White House and what appeared to be carte blanche to make changes. Musk deployed software engineers who burrowed into sensitive databases, troubling career officials who sometimes chose to resign rather than go along. Trump brushed off concerns about Musk's lack of experience in public service or conflicts of interest from his billions of dollars in federal contracts. Their unlikely partnership had the potential for a generational impact on American politics and government. While Musk dictated orders for government departments from his perch in the White House, he was poised to use his wealth to enforce loyalty to the president. His language was that of catastrophism. Excessive spending was a crisis that could only be solved by drastic measures, Musk claimed, and 'if we don't do this, America will go bankrupt.' But even though he talked about his work in existential terms, he treated the White House like a playground. He brought his children to a meeting with the Indian prime minister. He let the president turn the driveway into a makeshift Tesla showroom to help boost sales. He installed an oversized screen in his office that he occasionally used to play video games. Sometimes, Trump invited Musk to sleep over in the Lincoln Bedroom. 'We'll be on Air Force One, Marine One, and he'll be like, 'do you want to stay over?'' Musk told reporters. The president made sure he got some caramel ice cream from the kitchen. 'This stuff's amazing,' Musk said. 'I ate a whole tub of it.' Looking back on his experience in government, he described it as a lark. 'It is funny that we've got DOGE,' an acronym that references an online meme featuring a surprised-looking dog from Japan. 'How did we get here?' Musk did not give federal workers the benefit of the doubt From the beginning, Musk treated federal workers with contempt. At best, they were inefficient; at worst, they were committing fraud. His team offered them a 'fork in the road,' meaning they could get paid to quit. Probationary employees, generally people new on the job without full civil service protection, were shown the door. Anyone who stayed faced escalating demands, such as what became known as the 'five things' emails. Musk wanted every government employee to submit a list of five things they accomplished in the previous week, and he claimed that 'failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.' Some administration officials curtailed the plan, concerned that it could jeopardize security in more sensitive areas of the government, and it eventually faded, an early sign of Musk's struggle to get traction. But in the meantime, he continued issuing orders like thunderbolts. One day in February, Musk posted 'CFPB RIP,' plus an emoji of a tombstone. The headquarters of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created after the Great Recession to protect Americans from fraud and deceptive practices, was shut down and employees were ordered to stop working. Musk had already started gutting the U.S. Agency for International Development, a pillar of the country's foreign policy establishment and the world's largest provider of humanitarian assistance. 'Spent the weekend feeding USAID into a wood chipper,' he bragged. Thousands of contacts were cut off, pleasing conservatives who disliked the agency's progressive initiatives on climate change and gay rights. Musk rejected concerns about the loss of a crucial lifeline for impoverished people around the globe, saying, 'no one has died.' However, children who once relied on American assistance perished from malnutrition, and the death toll is expected to increase. The lawsuits began piling up. Sometimes workers got their jobs back, only to lose them again. The Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for ensuring the safety of everything from baby formula to biotech drugs, planned to lay off 3,500 employees. But again and again, the agency was forced to rehire people who were initially deemed expendable, including laboratory scientists, travel bookers and document specialists. Commissioner Marty Makary, who started his job after many of the cuts took place, told attendees at a recent conference that 'it was hard and my job is to make sure we can heal from that.' Only 1,900 layoffs took place, but another 1,200 staffers took buyouts or early retirement. Experts fear the agency has lost much of its institutional knowledge and expertise in areas like vaccines, tobacco and food. There are also concerns about safety on public lands. The National Park Service has been bleeding staff, leaving fewer people to maintain trails, clean restrooms and guide visitors. More cuts at the Forest Service could undermine efforts to prevent and fight wildfires. The Environmental Protection Agency faces a broad overhaul, such as gutting the Office of Research and Development, which was responsible for improving air pollution monitoring and discovering harmful chemicals in drinking water. Not even low-profile organizations were exempt. Trump ordered the downsizing of the U.S. Institute of Peace, a nonprofit think tank created by Congress, and Musk's team showed up to carry out his plan. The organizations' leaders were deposed, then reinstated after a court battle. Musk made little headway at the top sources of federal spending The bulk of federal spending goes to health care programs like Medicaid and Medicare, plus Social Security and the military. Unfortunately for Musk, all of those areas are politically sensitive and generally require congressional approval to make changes. Thousands of civilian workers were pushed out at the Pentagon, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is reducing the ranks of top generals and looking to consolidate various commands. A plan to downsize an office for testing and evaluating new weapons systems could save $300 million per year. Hegseth recently asked employees to submit one idea per week for cutting waste. However, the Pentagon budget would increase by $150 billion, for a total of more than $900 billion, under Trump's spending proposal working its way through Congress. The money includes $25 billion to lay the groundwork for Trump's 'golden dome' missile defense program and $34 billion to expand the naval fleet with more shipbuilding. Another $45 million is expected to be spent on a military parade on June 14, which is the 250th anniversary of the Army's founding and Trump's 79th birthday. Musk also faced blowback for targeting Social Security, which provides monthly benefits to retirees and some children. He suggested that the popular program was 'a Ponzi scheme' and the government could save between $500 billion and $700 billion by tackling waste and fraud. However, his estimates were inflated. Social Security's inspector general said there was only $71.8 billion in improper payments over eight years. Nor was there any evidence that millions of dead people were receiving benefits. Changes to Social Security phone services, pitched as a way to eliminate opportunities for fraud, were walked back after an outcry from lawmakers and beneficiaries. But the agency could still shed 7,000 workers while closing some of its offices. Musk's popularity cratered even though Americans often agreed with his premise that the federal government is bloated and wasteful, according to polling from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Just 33% of U.S. adults had a favorable view of Musk in April, down from 41% in December. In addition, 65% said Musk had too much influence over the federal government. Musk talked of staggering savings but delivered modest results During a campaign rally in October, Musk said he could find 'at least $2 trillion' in spending cuts. In January, before Trump was inaugurated, he revised by saying, 'if we try for $2 trillion, we've got a good shot at getting one.' But in April, at a Cabinet meeting, Musk provided a different target. He was 'excited to announce' that they could reach $150 billion in savings during the current fiscal year. Whether that figure proves to be accurate is difficult to measure, especially because DOGE routinely inflated or mischaracterized its work. But it falls short of President Bill Clinton's initiative three decades ago, which resulted in $136 billion in savings — the equivalent of more than $240 billion today. Elaine Kamarck, a key figure in the Clinton administration, said they focused on making the government more responsive and updating antiquated internal procedures. The work took years. 'We went about it methodically, department by department,' she said. The effort also reduced the federal workforce by more than 400,000 employees. However, Musk did little to seek insight from people who knew the inner workings of government. 'They made some changes without really knowing what they were doing,' said Alex Nowrasteh, vice president for economic and social policy studies for the libertarian think tank Cato Institute. He said there were 'a lot of unforced errors.' In the end, Nowrasteh said, 'they set themselves up for failure.'
Newsweek
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
The 500 Sanctuary Cities, Counties and States the Trump Admin Just Put 'On Notice'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Thursday named more than 500 cities, counties, and states it considers sanctuary jurisdictions, accusing them of obstructing federal immigration enforcement. The move is part of a renewed push by the Trump administration to increase pressure on communities it believes are standing in the way of the president's mass deportation agenda. The list, now publicly available on the DHS website, identifies jurisdictions deemed noncompliant with federal immigration laws. Each will receive formal notice from the federal government and could face legal action or loss of federal funding under directives set forth in a recent executive order. Why It Matters This announcement escalates the Trump administration's long-standing campaign against so-called sanctuary jurisdictions—communities that limit cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). By publishing the list and threatening financial penalties or legal consequences, the administration is seeking to force compliance with its immigration enforcement policies ahead of intensified deportation efforts. Critics say the tactic threatens federalism and undermines trust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement. Supporters argue it's necessary to remove undocumented immigrants—particularly those with criminal records—and restore law and order. What to Know The list includes over 500 jurisdictions, identified based on several factors: whether they publicly declared sanctuary policies, restricted information-sharing with ICE, or provided legal protections for undocumented immigrants. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem accused sanctuary leaders of "endangering Americans" by shielding violent criminals, calling them obstacles to law enforcement. There is no official legal definition for a "sanctuary jurisdiction," but the term often refers to places where local law enforcement doesn't fully cooperate with ICE detainer requests or federal immigration authorities. Trump's April 28 executive order directs DHS and the Department of Justice to publish this list regularly and find federal grants or contracts to suspend for listed jurisdictions. ICE has around 6,000 officers nationwide, and the administration uses local partnerships—like 287(g) agreements—to expand enforcement capabilities by allowing local officers to carry out immigration duties. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Jasionka, Poland. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Jasionka, Poland. Associated Press What People Are Saying DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a press release: "These sanctuary city politicians are endangering Americans and our law enforcement in order to protect violent criminal illegal aliens." Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, said in a press release last month: "President Trump's latest executive order targeting sanctuary cities is designed to punish local governments for upholding their own public safety policies and refusing to collude with his mass deportation agenda. "This executive order is nothing more than an intimidation tactic designed to undermine the ability of local governments to enact the policies they believe best safeguard their communities, while strong-arming localities into becoming complicit with Trump's attacks on immigrants." President Donald Trump, in an April Truth Social post: "No more Sanctuary Cities! They protect the Criminals, not the Victims. They are disgracing our Country, and are being mocked all over the World. Working on papers to withhold all Federal Funding for any City or State that allows these Death Traps to exist!!!" San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, in a statement to Newsweek last month: "Trump cannot coerce cities into taking on the federal government's immigration responsibilities. The Administration wants to commandeer local police officers as federal ICE agents while strong-arming local officials with threats of withholding federal funds. "Trump is illegally asserting rights the federal government does not have, as courts already determined during the first Trump Administration. Eroding trust between our communities and local law enforcement will make us all less safe. The Administration's actions are illegal and authoritarian, and our lawsuit seeks to put a stop to it." What Happens Next Jurisdictions on the list will receive formal notices of noncompliance. If they continue to "remain in defiance," DHS and the DOJ are empowered to pursue "legal remedies and enforcement measures," which could include lawsuits or cuts to federal funding. The list will be updated regularly and federal agencies—coordinating with the Office of Management and Budget—will review grants and contracts tied to these jurisdictions for possible suspension or termination. Legal challenges are expected, as similar Trump-era actions have previously faced snags in federal courts. This article contains reporting by The Associated Press.
