Latest news with #RepublicanAllies
Bloomberg
5 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Trump to Ask Congress for DC-Specific Crime Bill, Funding
President Donald Trump said he would ask Congress to approve a crime bill that would allow him greater authority over Washington, DC's police department as well as new spending to fund beautification projects, days after announcing he was taking control of law enforcement in the capital. 'We're going to be going to Congress for a relatively small amount of money,' Trump said during an event at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday, adding that he expected his Republican allies to approve the spending.
Yahoo
09-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ex-Trump Lawyer Calls President's Mid-Decade Redistricting Scheme More Brazen Than Watergate: 'Welcome To The Next Phase Of American Heist'
President Donald Trump and his Republican allies are reportedly working on a redistricting strategy that has been compared to a scheme 'making Watergate look like forgetting a library book' by Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen. What Happened: Cohen recently published an article titled 'Redistricting Is The New Trump Coup,' where he criticizes the alleged plan by Trump to redraw congressional districts. Cohen claims that Trump is putting pressure on Republicans in Texas to make drastic changes to the current congressional map, with the goal of securing five additional seats in Congress. Cohen sees this as a blatant disregard for the traditional decennial redistricting process, indicative of Trump's disregard for constitutional norms. 'These aren't congressional districts; they're kill zones for democracy. The GOP helped build this, and now it's swallowing them. So here we are again; President Trump, the man who couldn't find Kansas City on a map, is now redrawing the entire damn thing. Because when you can't win by persuading voters, you rig the district lines, pack the courts, and pray no one's paying attention, Cohen wrote in his post. Also Read: Ex-Trump Lawyer Says Trump Could Set Sights on Musk's Billions: 'It Bothers Him That He Is the Richest Man' 'Welcome to the next phase of the American heist; a mid-decade redistricting scheme so brazen, it makes Watergate look like forgetting to return a library book,' Cohen added. Furthermore, Cohen suggests that this strategy is causing unease among some Republicans. He cites New York's Mike Lawler and California's Kevin Kiley as examples of members who are apprehensive about the potential repercussions of this plan. 'Unlike past cycles, where GOP members practically body surfed toward Trump for a hit of MAGA mojo, what we're hearing now is... crickets. Or worse; resentment,' Cohen wrote. He argues that Trump's redistricting plan could put the political careers of these members at risk. Why It Matters: The redistricting strategy alleged by Cohen could have significant implications for the balance of power in Congress. If successful, it could potentially secure a Republican majority, altering the political landscape for years to come. Furthermore, the alleged disregard for the traditional redistricting process raises concerns about the integrity of democratic processes. The unease among some Republicans suggests that the plan could lead to internal divisions within the party, potentially impacting its unity and effectiveness. Also Read: Ex-Trump Lawyer Sent This Message To Elon Musk After Feud With Donald Trump Erupted UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Ex-Trump Lawyer Calls President's Mid-Decade Redistricting Scheme More Brazen Than Watergate: 'Welcome To The Next Phase Of American Heist' originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump and Musk renew their feud. Will Elon drop an Epstein 'bomb' again?
Donald Trump and Elon Musk may have found their own personal "forever war," now that the world's most powerful man and the world's richest man have renewed their feud. Trump, who has made retribution the central focus of his second term as president, is vowing to turn Musk's own wrecking machine – the inaccurately named Department of Government Efficiency – against Musk's many billions in federal contracts. And, being Trump, he also suggested just deporting the South African-born billionaire. Musk, who has been lashing out at Trump and his Republican allies in Congress for the also inaccurately named "Big Beautiful Bill" that slashes health care for the working poor to preserve tax cuts for wealthiest Americans, is now drumming up interest in a new political party for some retribution of his own in next year's midterm elections. Trump's approval rating plunges as president's policies on immigration, economy and trade grow unpopular with Americans | Opinion It's getting pretty caustic. And that's not surprising, coming from two men who have always gone heavy on disdain and light on dignity. So you have to wonder, will Musk go there again? Will he drop another Epstein "bomb?" Trump and Musk: A no-love story That's a reference to Jeffrey Epstein, a former Trump wingman who pleaded guilty to soliciting minors for sex in 2008 and then killed himself in federal prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges during Trump's first term as president. Musk used a June 5 post on X, his social media hellhole, to point out what was already known – Trump and Epstein were tight enough at one time that Trump flew on Epstein's private jet. This came during the first volley of insults between Musk and Trump, just after he left DOGE and was fuming over Trump's budget bill "Time to drop the really big bomb," Musk said in his post. "@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!" Musk later deleted that and posted on June 11 that he regretted some of his posts about Trump because "they went too far." But that was when the first eruption between the two was dying down. On Tuesday, July 1, Trump's budget bill cleared a Senate vote in a tiebreaker vote and now goes back to the Republican-controlled House, where more drama seems likely. And here – as the House considers significant Senate changes to language the House first narrowly approved its own version on May 22 – is Musk threatening to make politicians who vote for the legislation regret it during the midterms. Trump vs. Musk: Three ways the Trump-Musk feud revealed the GOP's twisted hypocrisy | Opinion MAGA's Epstein obsession isn't going anywhere Musk dropped the Epstein bomb with precision last month because he knows Trump and his administration have been taking serious heat from his MAGA supporters, who consume conspiracy theories and crave confirmation. They want Trump to release the "Epstein files" and are getting increasingly impatient. Remember, a vocal segment of the MAGA crowd during Trump's first run for president was convinced that top Democrats ran a pedophile ring out of the basement of a Washington, DC, pizzeria (that had no basement, and no pedophile ring). Guess who used X in 2023, during Trump's third run for president, to revive that ridiculous conspiracy theory? Musk posted about it and then deleted the post, as he was starting to lean toward backing Trump's campaign. Musk spent nearly $290 million to help Trump win reelection. Musk has a problem here. Like Trump, he tries to make all things in politics transactional to benefit his businesses building electric cars, running satellite systems, launching rockets and more. Trump's budget bill plays poorly for some of those businesses, and Trump's ire may do even more harm. But the world's richest man can't really cry poor about that to all of us, can he? So, also like Trump, he'll seek to attack with distraction. The Epstein files are potent weapons in such a fight, thanks to the ineptitude of Trump and his administration. Trump's base is unhappy about the Epstein files. Will Musk use it? In a softball interview with Fox News during the 2024 campaign, Trump appeared to say he would release the Epstein files. But the news site Semafor caught that the televised version of that interview edited out this quick follow-up from Trump, who waffled and waivered, adding that he might now because "you don't want to affect people's lives if it's phony stuff in there." Which "people" do you think Trump was thinking of there? I think Musk knows. Opinion newsletter: Sign up for our newsletter on people, power and policies in the time of Trump from columnist Chris Brennan. Get it delivered to your inbox. Trump's team has tried head fakes at transparency. Attorney General Pam Bondi enlisted the support of Trump "influencers" in February, calling them to the White House to collect binders of Epstein documents that backfired when they turned out to be previously available to anyone who knows how to Google. Bondi, again speaking at the White House on May 7, said the FBI was examining "tens of thousands of videos of Epstein with children or child porn." But FBI Director Kash Patel, speaking on Joe Rogan's podcast a month later, seemed to walk back Bondi's claim about what those videos show. Trump's been in office now for 23 weeks. He's done plenty. Releasing the Epstein files is not one of them. Polling shows that Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act is deeply unpopular with a significant majority of Americans. Which means he needs his base now more than ever to apply pressure as Republicans in the House squabble about the legislation. That base is unhappy with Trump about the Epstein files. And that's a vulnerability Musk may find impossible to resist. Follow USA TODAY columnist Chris Brennan on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ByChrisBrennan. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, Translating Politics, here. You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How Musk could use Epstein to turn MAGA against Trump | Opinion
Khaleej Times
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
Trump, White House race to stem Epstein conspiracy fallout
For years, President Donald Trump and his Republican allies benefited from conspiracy theories that fuelled the conservative MAGA movement and targeted his political enemies. Now the persisting furore over files related to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein has forced Trump into an unfamiliar role: trying to shut a conspiracy theory down. Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, was facing federal charges of sex-trafficking minors when he died by suicide in jail in 2019. He had pleaded not guilty, and the case was dismissed after his death. The saga burst back into the news last week after the Trump administration reversed course on its pledge to release documents it had suggested would reveal major revelations about Epstein and his alleged clientele. That reversal has enraged some of Trump's most loyal followers. In an effort to contain the fallout, Trump and White House officials are weighing a range of options, including unsealing new documents, appointing a special prosecutor and drafting executive actions on issues such as pedophilia, according to two White House sources. Trump and senior aides have also reached out to key MAGA-aligned influencers, urging them to dial down their criticism of the administration's handling of the Epstein investigation and shift focus to broader priorities for the America First movement, one source said. The backlash over the Epstein case has laid bare tensions inside Trump's coalition and is testing one of Trump's most enduring political strengths: his ability to command loyalty and control the narrative across the right. The outcry comes amid discontent among parts of Trump's base over the US strikes on Iran, continued involvement in Ukraine and any hint of backsliding on the administration's hardline immigration promises. The two sources said the intra-party friction was damaging to the coalition and that the White House was actively trying to restore unity, though they did not expect the Epstein controversy to dent Trump's core support. Many conservative influencers and hard-right media figures remain unconvinced by a Justice Department memo last week that concluded there was "no incriminating client list" or any evidence that Epstein may have blackmailed prominent people. The review also confirmed prior findings by the FBI that concluded that Epstein killed himself in his jail cell while awaiting trial, and that his death was not the result of a criminal act such as murder. Trump knew Epstein socially in the 1990s and early 2000s. During the 2021 trial of Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell, the financier's longtime pilot, Lawrence Visoski, testified that Trump flew on Epstein's private plane multiple times. Trump has denied ever being on the plane and has not been accused of any wrongdoing. That history now complicates Trump's response, as he works to reassure a base steeped in long-running suspicions about Epstein and his connection to influential figures. Trump has defended Attorney General Pam Bondi against calls for her firing by some MAGA personalities. He has urged his supporters to move on from the Epstein saga. "I don't understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case is of interest to anybody," Trump told reporters on Tuesday. "It's pretty boring stuff. It's sordid, but it's boring and I don't understand why it keeps going." Both White House sources said there were mistakes in how information about the Epstein files was shared with pro-Trump influencers, especially by Bondi, who had previously implied that a list of Epstein's clients existed. The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment, and Bondi did not answer questions on Tuesday about Trump's comments on the Epstein files at a press conference. Asked if she expected to keep her job, she said, "I am going to be here for as long as the president wants me here - and I believe he's made that crystal clear." In a statement on Tuesday, the White House said Trump's law-and-order team remains focused on "Making America Safe Again" and "restoring the integrity of our criminal justice system." While some prominent voices outside the administration are falling back in line, others are not. Charlie Kirk, a key MAGA influencer who had amplified doubts about the Epstein probe, abruptly reversed course after a call with Trump, one of the sources said. On Monday, Kirk posted on social-media platform X: "I'm done talking about Epstein. I'm gonna trust my friends in the government." Trump's call for critics to back off is not landing everywhere. Podcast hosts, including Joe Rogan, Theo Von and Tim Dillon, whose large audiences are not necessarily pro-Trump but broadly anti-establishment and helped propel his election victory, are unlikely to let up, according to Angelo Carusone, president of the progressive nonprofit watchdog group Media Matters for America. "Trump seems very disconnected from the zeitgeist that put him into power in the first place," Carusone said. Some of Trump's staunchest political allies also are keeping the pressure on. House Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson, called on Tuesday for the Justice Department to release more Epstein documents. Representative Lauren Boebert, a hardline MAGA supporter, made her own demand on X: "We deserve the truth about the Epstein files. I'm ready for a Special Counsel to handle this."
