Just moments after 21 Republican members of Indiana’s state Senate voted with Democrats to reject President Trump’s aggressive attempt to force the state to draw a new congressional map, one that would have dramatically reduced Indiana Democrats’ chances of holding seats in the U.S. House next year, Gov. Mike Braun went on Twitter to demonstrate his support for … Trump.
“Ultimately, decisions like this carry political consequences. I will be working with the President to challenge these people who do not represent the best interests of Hoosiers,” he posted, after expressing his disappointment in the Republican members of the state Senate who voted down the gerrymandered maps.
The reaction from the Republican governor is not entirely a surprise. Braun has been so utterly pathetic in his capitulation to the Trump administration that he even earned a TPM Golden Duke nomination this year. Ever since Trump and his allies began threatening primary challenges against Republican members of the state Senate who were uncomfortable with redistricting mid-decade — and redistricting in a way that would effectively eliminate Democratic representation for the state of Indiana in the U.S. House — Braun has sided with the Trump administration over his own state Republicans.
Trump has not yet, as of this writing, responded to the Indiana Senate’s rejection of his redistricting pressure campaign — which has involved months of gentle nudging from Vice President JD Vance and more aggressive, public attempts by the president to bully state legislators. Some of the state Senate Republicans who were public about their opposition to the measure have even been victims of attempted swatting and bomb threats in recent weeks.
In the end, Trump’s intimidation tactics and blatant attempts to predetermine control of Congress were not enough to persuade the 21 Republicans to cave.
— Nicole LaFond
White House Seeks Halligan Confirmation
The White House has made moves to try to secure Halligan’s confirmation in the Senate as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. The Senate Judiciary Committee received a copy of Halligan’s confirmation questionnaire on Wednesday, MS NOW reported:
In a statement to MS NOW, the White House confirmed the submission of Halligan’s questionnaire. “She’s the president’s nominee,” said press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “It is our hope that she is confirmed and submitting her questionnaire is a part of that process.”
This all, of course, comes after a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia refused to bring a new indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James, for a second time.
— Nicole LaFond
Trump Appeals to Keep Using California Guard as ‘National Police Force’
The Trump Justice Department on Thursday appealed a judge’s ruling that the administration can no longer federalize the California National Guard to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The administration had struggled to articulate a justification for keeping the Guard federalized, but argued that once they were, that federalization could be extended indefinitely. Judge Charles Breyer (brother of former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer), called the administration’s argument “shocking,” and added that it would create a “perpetual police force comprised of state troops.”
Meanwhile — and stop me if you’ve heard this one before — we continue to wait for the Supreme Court to act on an emergency motion of a similar Guard case in Illinois.
— Kate Riga
Navy Says It’s Submitted Report on Kelly
A Department of Defense official told The Hill on Thursday that the Navy has submitted to DoD an apparent report on potential punishments for Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), whom Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is salivating to discipline after he participated in a video with other Dem veterans and ex-CIA officials calling on service members to remember their duty to disobey illegal orders. It’s part of Trump’s ongoing retribution crusade against people he deems his political foes, or, really, anyone who thinks or speaks about things differently than his administration would like you to. Per The Hill:
The report, which was ordered by the Defense Department (DOD) and referred to the Navy, was sent to the Pentagon’s Office of General Counsel, “where they are providing a legal review and input,” a DOD official told The Hill on Thursday.
Kelly is just one of six elected Democrats who put out the video, encouraging members of the military to remember their oath to the Constitution and not carry out illegal orders, as the Trump administration deploys the military domestically to, essentially, go after American civilians who protest his indiscriminate and inhumane ICE raids and carries out an ongoing series of attacks on the high seas against small boats he claims to be at war with.
— Nicole LaFond
Meta Capitulates
It’s been clear since before inauguration that Meta founder, chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg had no plans to stand up to the Trump administration’s agenda. The Guardian has a new report out today that suggests that Zuckerberg’s capitulation goes deeper than previously known and in some cases, might even be aiding in the administration’s ideological assault on DEI, women’s rights and the LGBTQ community. Per The Guardian:
Meta has removed or restricted dozens of accounts belonging to abortion access providers, queer groups and reproductive health organisations in the past weeks in what campaigners call one of the “biggest waves of censorship” on its platforms in years.
The takedowns and restrictions began in October and targeted the Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp accounts of more than 50 organisations worldwide, some serving tens of thousands of people – in what appears to be a growing push by Meta to limit reproductive health and queer content across its platforms. Many of these were from Europe and the UK, however the bans also affected groups serving women in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
— Nicole LaFond
In Case You Missed It
BREAKING: Indiana Senate Republicans Defy Trump Admin and Reject Gerrymandered Maps
The latest from Emine Yücel: Both Dem and GOP Messaging Bills on Expiring ACA Subsidies Fail in Senate As Expected
EXCLUSIVE from Josh Kovensky and Kate Riga: Fetterman Writes Letter Asking Israel’s President to Pardon Netanyahu
Morning Memo: Pam Bondi Is Low-Key Defying Federal Judges Over DQ’d US Attorneys
David Kurtz: The Cruelest Irony of the Abrego Garcia Case
Yesterday’s Most Read Story
The Grim Fate of the Sole Survivor of a Lawless U.S. Boat Strike
What We Are Reading
Maryland Democratic state leaders say redistricting won’t be on the special session agenda
Blame Republicans for our health insurance mess
Trump’s handling of the economy is at its lowest point in AP-NORC polling
