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Republicans Against Trump - Trump compared the UFC cage on the White House South Lawn to the Eiffel Tower and said he might keep it there permanently: “We're building something in front of the White House that's quite attractive to a lot of people.... And I'm looking at it, and maybe we'll never ever take it down." |
June 4, 2026
Hmm ...
Health
Study Finds - Americans born after 1970 are already dying at higher rates from heart disease, cancer, and external causes than people born before them were dying at the same ages, a pattern researchers call alarming given how many years these cohorts still have ahead. A separate nationwide deterioration in death rates began around 2010 and hit nearly every living adult at once, driven mainly by stalling progress against cardiovascular disease after decades of improvement.
Americans born in the 1950s marked the generational turning point: cohorts born before them tended to show steadily improving survival, while every generation since has fared progressively worse across most major causes of death.
Researchers warn that if current trends continue as post-1970 cohorts age further, the United States could face an unprecedented long-running stagnation, or even a sustained decline, in overall life expectancy.
The Guardian - Three scientific papers that raised questions about vaccine safety and were used by the Trump administration to justify controversial changes to US vaccine policies have over the last two months been removed, retracted or placed under investigation by the journals that published them.
Axios - Democratic states are pushing back on the Trump administration's rules for new Medicaid work requirements, warning that a chaotic rollout in the coming months could lead to even more people losing their coverage.
The first-ever work requirements in last year's Republican tax-and-spending bill were already controversial — but now there are new clashes over the way the administration wants to implement them.
Six Democratic governors led by Oregon's Tina Kotek last week called on the administration to "stop forcing states into an unworkable rollout" of the requirements by a Jan. 1 deadline.
They asked for an extension, citing what they called shifting guidance from the federal government.
Instead, the administration on Monday released a rule that imposed a stricter-than-expected approach to granting exemptions from the work requirements.
Among other things, people with cancer or HIV may not qualify for a "medically frail" exemption — unless the condition significantly impairs the ability to work.
Without an exemption, people ages 19 to 64 would have to work or participate in 80 hours of community engagement per month to keep their Medicaid coverage. MORE
Housing prices drop
Newsweek - After years of relentless price growth, U.S. home asking prices are now falling at their fastest pace in nearly a decade according to new data from a real estate listings website. High mortgage rates, stretched affordability, and geopolitical uncertainty tied to the Iran war continue to weigh on demand.
The sustained cooling marks a clear shift in the U.S. housing market: after the pandemic-era boom pushed prices to record highs, buyers are stepping back, forcing sellers to cut expectations.
Realtor.com said the national median listing price has been falling for seven consecutive months now, as mortgage rates remain high and rising inflation fuels Americans’ fear over what could come next.
In May, the median listing price fell 2.4 percent year-over-year to $429,500—the steepest annual decline in data going back to 2017.
Return of the Dixiecrat South
The American Prospect - It has been just one month since the 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court effectively nullified Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), making it lawful for states to draw congressional districts that systematically dilute the votes of Black and Latino Americans. Within hours, Southern states responded. Florida legislators passed a GOP gerrymander the day the decision was announced. Alabama moved to eliminate majority-minority districts even after primary-election votes had been cast, though an appellate court has temporarily blocked the state from proceeding. (UPDATE: The Supreme Court waved the gerrymandered map through last night.) In Tennessee, the district representing Memphis—majority-Black—was cracked into three, all now majority-white, all expected to turn red. By 2028, South Carolina will likely gerrymander out of existence the district that has elected the state’s only Black congressman, civil rights icon James Clyburn
Donald Trump
Time - President Donald Trump accused California Democrats of “cheating” and “trying to steal” the elections from Republican candidates as the state continues to count votes in what may be a days or weeks-long process. “They are trying to steal the Governor of California primary and the Mayor of Los Angeles primary away from two great Republican candidates,” he claimed. “Here we go with the very late and massive numbers of mail-in ballots.” In a follow-up Truth Social post, he claimed there was “big cheating” by the Democrats, querying: “Votes are all tied up. May not be in for weeks. Under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Why the vote counting delay?”
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| Andy Borowitz: This version works for me |
Trump regime
The Hill - he Trump Administration has proposed what could be the biggest overhaul in years of how the federal government distributes billions of dollars in grants, requiring senior appointees to conduct “pre-issuance reviews” that critics say pave the way for political interference in what should be independent research funding. The proposal, which was more than 400 pages long and was published in the Federal Register Friday, by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) calls for the review of awards on several grounds, including whether they “demonstrably advance the President's policy priorities.”
Agencies would also have broad authority to terminate awards if they decide that a grant no longer aligns with government goals or interests, similar to “termination for convenience” provisions in federal contracts.
MS NOW - When Markwayne Mullin appeared before Congress Tuesday for the first time as homeland security secretary, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., asked a question Mullin should have had no trouble answering: Will the Department of Homeland Security follow federal court orders?
Mullin couldn’t give Murphy a straight answer (nor could he provide one to similar questions from Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., on Wednesday). The secretary repeatedly evaded questions, refused to commit to complying with the law and suggested DHS would abide by some court orders and ignore others supposedly based on “political opinion, not just the rule of law.”
While the administration has regularly described its immigration policies as upholding the rule of law, its actions tell a different story.
But that’s not how the rule of law works. This principle — that the government is constrained by legal rules promulgated publicly and enforced consistently — is foundational to American democracy. It is a key reason we have a government “of laws, and not of men,” as John Adams wrote 250 years ago.
Murphy’s question didn’t come out of nowhere. Earlier this year, a Republican-appointed judge found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement violated at least 96 federal court orders in Minnesota alone in less than a month.
Federal workers
NPR - Trump issued an executive order yesterday that transforms around 8,000 federal workers into at-will employees. This move will allow the government to fire them without providing a reason. It’s the latest move in efforts Trump began in his first term to strip a vast number of federal employees of their civil service protections, which are designed to shield their work from political interference. These protections are designed to shield their work from political interference. Most of the 8,000 affected people are at the highest level of the civil service, GS-15. The Trump administration characterizes these roles as carrying significant influence over policy. They include leaders of policy offices, senior public affairs officers and heads of regional offices.
Climate change
The Guardian - Humanity can raise living standards, reduce inequality and keep global heating within a 2C rise, according to a sweeping vision for planetary survival.
The report by the World Inequality Lab (WIL) aims to be the most comprehensive attempt yet to navigate the polycrisis that is pushing the world toward climate breakdown, political extremism and ever greater economic and social tension.
It offers a set of bold policy proposals, including hefty wealth taxes on billionaires, sharp reductions in working hours, a change in diets and a shift of investment from materially intense sectors, such as industry and mining, to education and health.
If these and other measures are taken, the report says, the incomes of 89% of the world’s population would double by 2100 and global heating would be kept below 2C above the preindustrial average.
Elections
The Guardian - The California governor’s race remained unsettled Thursday, as state election officials continued to sift through uncounted primary ballots – a process that could take days or even weeks as voters eagerly await the results. Polls indicated that British-born conservative pundit Steve Hilton was narrowly leading the race, followed by former US human services and health secretary Xavier Becerra. Billionaire Tom Steyer trailed behind the pair. Under California’s primary system, the top two vote-getters will advance to the general election.
The question of which two will face off in November may be unanswered for weeks, according to election officials. Per state law, California counties must finish counting ballots by 15 June, but certain ballots are exempt from that deadline. For example, mail-in ballots postmarked by election day and received by 9 June are valid and can be processed beyond the deadline..
Middle East
The Guardian - The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said the military will continue its ground operations in southern Lebanon, hours after Israel and Lebanon agreed to implement a US-backed ceasefire to end hostilities. Katz said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will not withdraw from southern Lebanon, including Beaufort Castle, and the hundreds of thousands of people forced to flee their homes will not be able to return.
“The IDF will, at this stage, continue its fire and ground operations, remain in the security zone in Lebanon up to the yellow line – including in the Beaufort area – and without the return of the population, while continuing to dismantle terrorist infrastructure on the ground,” he said in a statement.
He added that the IDF retained the “freedom of action, with American backing, to strike in Beirut in response to fire on Israeli communities and territory”. The IDF also issued a warning this morning saying fighting will continue in southern Lebanon as it urged people to “refrain from heading south of the Zahrani River”.
The Guardian - Israel and Lebanon have agreed to implement a ceasefire to end hostilities, the Trump administration has announced – but it comes with caveats. Not only is the deal contingent on a complete cessation of fire from the Iran-aligned Hezbollah armed group, and on the evacuation of all its fighters from the area south of the Litani River, but Hezbollah has not been part of the talks.
The Lebanese government has been negotiating with Israel without Hezbollah as part of its effort to reassert the government’s control over the country and disarm the armed group. And, despite the joint commitment to a ceasefire, Israel carried out drone strikes in the Nabatieh area of southern Lebanon on Thursday morning.
NBC News -The House’s vote to pass a Democratic-led measure to end President Donald Trump’s war with Iran was a rare rebuke that some Republicans fear will weaken the U.S.’s attempts to secure a nuclear deal. “They just want a stupid political vote, which is what this is,” said Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, a Republican. He called the action “a total BS vote.”
The Iran war powers resolution passed 215-208, with four Republicans joining all Democrats in voting yes. The resolution directs Trump to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities with Iran, unless Congress votes to declare war or authorizes using military force against it. It would not force the president to end the conflict, however, making the resolution a symbolic expression of disapproval with the war.
The House vote comes after Republicans rejected three other attempts to pass a war powers resolution this year. Last month, the resolution was abruptly pulled from the floor when it appeared too many Republicans were absent to defeat it. The vote also gives momentum to the Senate’s version of the war powers resolution.
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Farming
Bloomberg - The deadly new world screwworm was confirmed in the US for the first time in nearly a decade, posing the latest threat to a cattle herd already at its lowest level in 75 years. The USDA is taking measures to contain the parasite and said there’s no reason to believe it will gain a foothold, but the news comes at a dire time for the industry that’s already sent sent beef prices climbing to a record high. Here’s why authorities are worried.
June 3, 2026
Polls
The Guardian - About 65% of US adults believe same-sex marriage should be legal, down slightly from 71% in 2022 and 2023. Most of the change is due to dropping acceptance among Republicans. In the new survey, which was conducted in May, only 37% of Republicans say same-sex marriage should be legally valid, while 35% say gay and lesbian relations are “morally acceptable”.
War on protest
Mother Jones - On a Wednesday afternoon last June, Bajun Mavalwalla II, Jac Archer, and Justice Forral gathered with hundreds of others to protest outside an ICE office in Spokane, Washington. Word had spread on social media that two young Venezuelan immigrants—both of whom came to the United States legally—had been detained at a routine ICE check-in.
Mavalwalla, Archer, and Forral—now known as the “Spokane Three”—were charged in July with “conspiracy to impede or injure” officers of the law for participating in that protest, in which people attempted to block an ICE vehicle from exiting the field office.
All three were found guilty on Wednesday of “conspiracy to impede or injure an officer” or “aiding and abetting another to conspire,” felony convictions with the potential for significant prison time. It’s a significant defeat for protesters following Trump administration prosecutors’ repeated failures to convict people who attend anti-ICE rallies.
Videos from the day show brief scuffles—protesters and ICE agents pushing each other—but no evidence of serious injury to anyone. “None of the protesters were hurt. Fortunately, none of the law enforcement officers were hurt either,” Richard Barker, then the acting US Attorney for eastern Washington, told PBS in March. Yet local police arrested more than 30 people on the scene.
Health
Health.com - New research suggests that both too little and too much sleep may be linked to accelerated biological aging. However, biological aging was lowest among people who slept within an optimal range. Regularly sleeping more than eight hours a night could suggest an underlying health condition... Researchers pinpointed 6.4 hours to 7.8 hours of sleep per night as the range associated with slower rates of biological aging. That’s a measure of the body’s age at the cellular level, and it usually gives a more complete picture of health than your actual age.
Voting
NBC News - The Supreme Court allowed Alabama to use a congressional map that eliminates one of two majority-Black districts in the state in a win for Republicans. The justices split 6-3 on ideological lines with conservatives in the majority. A lower court had found that the map, which was enacted in 2023 but has never been used, intentionally discriminated against Black voters in violation of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
Car loan debt
WalletHub has released its updated report on the States Where People Overspend the Most on Car Loans, shedding light on where financial strain is most evident. To determine these rankings, WalletHub compared median car-loan debt to residents’ income across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
For the full report and to see where your state ranks
| Highest % of Income Spent | Lowest % of Income Spent |
| 1. Mississippi (44.60%) | 42. Washington (25.82%) |
| 2. New Mexico (43.60%) | 43. Michigan (25.23%) |
| 3. Arkansas (43.17%) | 44. Minnesota (25.17%) |
| 4. Louisiana (42.30%) | 45. New Hampshire (23.91%) |
| 5. Oklahoma (41.75%) | 46. Rhode Island (23.57%) |
| 6. West Virginia (40.57%) | 47. New York (23.57%) |
| 7. Texas (40.27%) | 48. Connecticut (21.91%) |
| 8. Alabama (40.24%) | 49. New Jersey (21.71%) |
| 9. Tennessee (38.39%) | 50. Massachusetts (19.85%) |
| 10. Nevada (38.27%) | 51. District of Columbia (17.02%) |
For the full report and to see where your state ranks
Trump's war on mail-in voting
Alternet - Donald Trump is wasting no time on legal niceties in pushing for quashing of mail ballots for the November election. Last Friday, one day after a federal judge declined temporarily to block the provision in Trump's election-related executive order, the U.S. Postal Service essentially announced that it would only deliver mail ballot applications to voters that the federal government recognizes, stopping the delivery of applications to tens of millions or more.
What the Postal Service rules made public last Friday was that it would strictly follow new mail-in ballot rules that require states to submit voter names, addresses and unique ballot barcodes for federal elections. The order also sets forth mandatory "best practices" for federal elections including Election Mail logos, tracking barcodes and design reviews.
No Democratic-run state as well as some Republican-run states has agreed to provide these names and private information to the government, arguing instead that this order is unconstitutional.
Whatever the wording, two things are true: Trump is seeking to stomp out mail-in voting with a federal order telling the states how to run their elections, and despite that single judge's decision not to put a stop to the order right now, the legal issues here are still very much in question.
Media
People - Former 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley accused the CBS News program’s new executives of currying favor with President Donald Trump in response to his firing on Tuesday, June 2.
“When stewardship of the program passed to my colleagues and me, our responsibility was to expand energetically into a new age of media technology while preserving the values our audience expects,” Pelley, 68, wrote in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. “Now, the new owner of our network is casting this legend aside, apparently to curry a moment of favor with the Trump administration. The waste is heartbreaking.”
On May 28, 60 Minutes parted ways with journalists Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi. CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and CBS News president Tom Cibrowski also fired executive producer Tanya Smith, replacing her with tech journalist Nick Bilton.
Elections
NPR - Trump-endorsed Congressman Randy Feenstra lost the Iowa gubernatorial primary race last night to businessman Zach Lahn. It's a rare blow to President Trump, who has seen almost all of his chosen candidates succeed. Farmers in Iowa have been disproportionately impacted by Trump administration policies like tariffs and the war in Iran. The state is governed by Republicans, but voters have cast their ballots for Democrats in recent federal and state elections. Democratic voters are strategically selecting candidates they believe will best position them to flip seats in November. |
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$1.8 billion Trump give away is said to be no more
Headline USA - The proposed $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund is no more. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed in remarks to the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday that the Department of Justice is walking away from the initiative.
“We are not moving forward with the fund, period,” Blanche told lawmakers in a tense hearing, later adding: “The reasons for the fund, I think, remain as important as they were before, but we are not moving forward with the fund.”...
Blanche’s remarks mark the latest sign that the DOJ has abandoned the effort entirely.
The fund was first announced in a May 18 press release after Trump settled a civil lawsuit against the IRS over the agency’s failure to prevent the leak of his confidential tax-return information to the legacy media.
His comments also followed two federal court rulings tied to the settlement.
First, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, a Clinton appointee, on May 29 issued a temporary restraining order blocking the fund after a lawsuit filed by a former federal prosecutor who claimed he was fired for his role in the aggressive targeting of Jan. 6 defendants.
Separately, U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams of Florida also on May 29 revived Trump’s case against the IRS after a group of former judges urged her to do so in an amicus brief.
CNBC - Trump, his family members and related business entities remain protected from tax audits and enforcement actions in connection with tax returns filed before last month's out-of-court settlement of his lawsuit, Blanche said. "We are not moving forward with the fund, period," Blanche told Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., the ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies.
NPR - In a rare occurrence, the fund has prompted many Republicans, especially in the Senate, to publicly oppose Trump, NPR’s Ryan Lucas says. Many Republicans disliked the possibility that payouts could go to Capitol rioters who attacked police on Jan. 6, 2021. This Republican pushback has stalled some of the administration’s legislative priorities, including funding for immigration enforcement. From the beginning, Democrats have criticized the fund, arguing that it would serve as a slush fund that allows the president to give nearly $1.8 billion in taxpayer money to his supporters and allies.
Electric vehicles
Bloomberg - Growing numbers of Americans are finding relief from soaring fuel prices in a used-car market awash with affordable electric vehicles. As gasoline costs climb, a glut of secondhand EVs is turning excess inventory into bargains.
- Carmakers had been struggling to sell new EVs as higher prices, steep financing rates and concerns over driving range contributed to a slowdown in adoption.
- But the average cost of a new car broke $50,000 for the first time last year, meaning EVs don’t look as expensive anymore. In fact, more than a third of used battery-powered cars sell at half that amount.
- Gasoline prices have become a particular pain point too as the continued effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz squeezes fuel supplies, adding to the appeal of EVs.
Donald Trump
Time - President Donald Trump has revived talk of his ambitions to annex Canada and make it the 51st state—an idea he has floated repeatedly since returning to the White House last year. The most recent instance occurred Monday night, when Trump shared an article that stated Canada had entered a “technical recession” for the first time since 2020. In response, the President wrote: “51st State!”
The Bank of Canada itself had earlier addressed the recent data that showed GDP had declined for two consecutive quarters on an annualized basis, cautioning people about focusing on the numbers.
“I think we need to be careful not to put too much weight on any one indicator,” the bank’s senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers told a parliamentary committee.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded directly to the annexation reference, stating: “I can’t believe I have to say this again, but Canada will never be the 51st state. Canada is not for sale.”
June 2, 2026
Civil rights
NY Times - In a move that disproportionately targets women and minority officers, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently blocked the promotions of nine Navy officers who had been selected by a board of senior Navy admirals.
The net result of Mr. Hegseth’s intervention is a slate of 22 nominees to be one-star admirals that bears little resemblance to the broader force these officers will help lead.
Three of the officers removed by Mr. Hegseth from the promotion list are women and two are Black men. An additional four are white men.
Mr. Hegseth’s actions, which appear to violate the rules governing a promotion system that is supposed to be apolitical and merit-based, were described by five current and former defense officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters.
Polls
InteractivePolls: YouGov: Net Favorables of Public Figures
Pope Leo XIV (+37)
Jon Stewart: (+14)
Mark Kelly: (+10)
Jon Ossoff: (+6)
Glenn Youngkin: (+6)
James Talarico: (+5)
Ro Khanna: (+5)
Pete Buttigieg: (+1)
Josh Shapiro: (+1)
——
AOC: (-1)
Kamala Harris: (-3)
Thomas Massie: (-4)
Gavin Newsom: (-5)
JD Vance: (-8)
Marco Rubio: (-8)
Ron DeSantis: (-10)
Donald Trump: (-17)
Don Jr: (-27)
Tucker Carlson: (-36)Trump vs. the media
The Guardian - In another apparent affront to press freedom from the Trump administration, journalists may no longer enter the Pentagon’s press office, which has been designated as a classified space.
The defense department began rolling out new restrictions to press access in September, when the military demanded journalists pledge not to gather any information – including unclassified documents – that had not been authorized for release, or else risk revocation of their press passes.
Joel Valdez, the acting defense department press secretary, said in a social media post: “This is the most transparent war department in history. No amount of spin from the Fake News media will change that.” He claimed the redesignation was because “speechwriters from the Office of the Secretary of War” shared the facility.
After the defense department announced sweeping restrictions in October, many longtime reporters refused to agree and began turning over their press passes. The department then announced a “next generation of the Pentagon press corps” featuring 60 journalists from far-right outlets. The New York Times sued the Pentagon over those policies, which designated journalists as “security risks”, and a federal judge found in the Times’s favor in March.
The defense department began rolling out new restrictions to press access in September, when the military demanded journalists pledge not to gather any information – including unclassified documents – that had not been authorized for release, or else risk revocation of their press passes.
Joel Valdez, the acting defense department press secretary, said in a social media post: “This is the most transparent war department in history. No amount of spin from the Fake News media will change that.” He claimed the redesignation was because “speechwriters from the Office of the Secretary of War” shared the facility.
After the defense department announced sweeping restrictions in October, many longtime reporters refused to agree and began turning over their press passes. The department then announced a “next generation of the Pentagon press corps” featuring 60 journalists from far-right outlets. The New York Times sued the Pentagon over those policies, which designated journalists as “security risks”, and a federal judge found in the Times’s favor in March.
Melania Trump
Alternet America - Melania Trump held a press conference in April to deny rumors that didn’t publicly exist yet. Turns out she knew something was coming. Former Brazilian model Amanda Ungaro, locked in a bitter custody battle with presidential envoy Paolo Zampolli, has revealed in a bombshell WhatsApp message that Melania met Trump through Epstein, not Zampolli.
“It was Jeffrey Epstein, as she was escort of Jeffrey Epstein,” Ungaro says on the tape. “That’s how she met Donald Trump.”...
Ungaro was 17 in 2002 when she boarded Epstein’s private jet from Paris to New York, accompanied by Epstein recruiter Jean-Luc Brunel. Zampolli is now a Special Envoy for Global Partnerships and sits on the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees. The First Lady has not updated her statement.
Meanwhile .. .
Serena Williams announced she will return to competitive tennis this month, nearly four years after she retired.
Middle East
NPR - President Trump said he secured pledges from Israel and Hezbollah to pause fighting after Iran said it would suspend peace talks with the U.S. over Israel's offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran's announcement came after Israel's military warned residents in southern Beirut to leave ahead of planned airstrikes.
Congressional ethics filings and other public records show the trips, led by the American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF), revolved around one-sided briefings on Middle East politics and Israeli domestic and foreign policy. Lawmakers and their staffers from both parties met Israeli officials, military contractors and civil society figures, including Benjamin Netanyahu and advocates for the annexation of the West Bank and the displacement of Palestinians from Jerusalem.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) and other pro-Israel groups have sponsored such trips for years, and both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have joined. But the continued participation of Democratic lawmakers and their staff on recent trips is particularly noteworthy given how much sympathy for Israel has ebbed among Democratic voters, and the pains that some Democratic politicians have recently taken to distance themselves from the lobby group
Trump regime
NPR - The Justice Department says it will abide by a federal court order that puts funds for the Trump administration's nearly $1.8 billion anti-weaponization program on hold. The administration says the fund would compensate people who allege they were targeted by the federal government. The fund has faced bipartisan backlash and concerns that it would be used to pay people convicted for storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. NPR's Elena Moore tells Up First that the issue has elicited rare Republican pushback. Even after the DOJ stated it would abide by the court order, some Senate Republicans continued to push for the White House to end the fund. Moore says it has become a distraction as Republicans focus on the upcoming midterms. The Hill - President Trump named William Pulte, a feisty Trump loyalist who runs the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), as the acting director of national intelligence, replacing to replace Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned last month. Pulte is a controversial pick for several reasons: 1) Pulte has no high-level national security experience. He previously owned a construction company and a private equity firm. Now, in this new role, he will be coordinating U.S. intelligence among more than a dozen government agencies. Trump justified Pulte’s appointment by arguing he has “deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America.” 2) He’s controversial even within the Trump administration. He frustrated Justice Department officials by pushing for Trump enemies to be prosecuted. And his public fight with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over Trump enemy prosecutions is one of his most notable moments. 3) Trump says Pulte will also keep his job running the FHFA, as well as remaining the chairman of Fannie Maie and Freddie Mac. Keep in mind: Trump indicted Pulte would serve as the *acting* director of national intelligence, meaning he may not need Senate confirmation like a director of national intelligence would need. |
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