Rep. Wiley Nickel urged his Democratic colleagues to appoint a shadow cabinet to challenge Trump's agenda, modeled from the U.K. oversight of the ruling party's ministers. Nickel suggested that party leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer could appoint 26 members of Congress to match up against Trump's cabinet
https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-cabinet/
GOP senators are pushing back against Trump and his MAGA supporters as they try to ram a potential party leader down their throats. Calls for Sen. Rick Scott to become next majority leader has infuriated several GOP senators who do not want to consider conservative pundits' demands when choosing a candidate to support. "Trump is testing whether Senate Republicans will defend the chamber’s independence as an institution or bow toward his victory and his agenda."
https://www.rawstory.com/republican-senators-against-trump-2669769583/
Talks who will fill Trump’s new Cabinet has inspired speculation, and a chart of potential picks revealed “a deep bench of idiots, freaks and wannabe tough guys,” said John Oliver. “That chart f---ing sucks,” Her added, “It looks like a ‘choose your fighter’ screen where the only thing they’re fighting is the arc of the moral universe. It looks like an advent calendar where every circle opens up to a tiny piece of literal shit. It looks like a game board for Guess Who? Oops! All a--holes.”
MeidasTouch @MeidasTouch
REPORT: Stephen Miller will serve as White House deputy chief of staff for policy under Trump. Miller has discussed a “turbocharged” program of denaturalization — that is, removing the citizenship of citizens who immigrated to the U.S. — to engage in mass deportations.
@KyivPost
Poland is preparing to put up a European alliance in support of Ukraine in response to Trump’s return.
Polish PM Donald Tusk said “We will actively coordinate with countries that share our views on the geopolitical and transatlantic situation, as well as on Ukraine...Ukraine must not be allowed to weaken or capitulate, as this would pose a serious threat to Poland and our interests,” Tusk stated.
The alliance could include the UK, Nordic countries, and the Baltics.
Trump announced his intention to have Tom Homan join his administration as the so-called "border czar" who will oversee immigration policy. Homan infamously told CBS News that they intended to avoid family separation in the mass deportations by deporting whole families, even if the family members were U.S. citizens. under Homan's past leadership, "more than 4600 children were forcibly — and deliberately — separated from their parents under that policy.
https://rawstory.com/department-of-homeland-security/
Trump will appoint racist Stephen Miller to serve as White House deputy chief of staff for policy. Miller was behind the family separation policy during Trump's first administration, and he was the architect of a mass deportation plan that Trump revealed during his 2024 campaign. Former Republican Tara Setmayer said that Miller was "a despicable human being that is a racist and a xenophobe, and his own family has disowned him."
https://www.rawstory.com/stephen-miller-trump-white-house/
Musk may now be in position to accumulate unprecedented power but historian David Nasaw believes that the clock is ticking on his ability to maintain influence over Trump White House policy. believes that this dynamic will play out even more rapidly under a second Trump White House, where the president-elect's narcissism will simply not allow him to share a spotlight with anyone.
https://www.rawstory.com/elon-musk-trump-2669744620/
Trump Team is weirded out by 'guest that wouldn't leave: Elon Musk. He rankled insiders as he dazzles Trump with "nerd glamor" amid a high-profile bid for political influence, said journalist Kara Swisher. She believes Musk will remain a member of Trump world until Trump gets fed up with Elon. "They're both narcissists, and there can be only one narcissist as head of the country, and that's Donald Trump," Swisher said.
https://www.rawstory.com/elon-musk-trump-live/
Experts are already worried about the immediate impacts on the country as Trump gears up to wipe out much of the federal government workforce. With Congress unlikely to do much to intervene, the executive branch is likely to see a "protracted period of legal challenges from individuals and government employee unions while many of the best people in government simply leave for the private sector" — gutting the civil service of people who know how to do their jobs.
Trump vowed retribution against his political enemies if re-elected. “I’ll die right here on my f---ing house,” said rtd police officer Michael Fanone, who was badly injured during the J-6 who became a vocal Trump critic. “I’m not going to be in some ‘Apprentice’ f---ing military tribunal.”
Trump surrogate Ivan Ranklin drafted a list of 350 individuals to be arrested when he's appointed "secretary of retribution,".
https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-retribution-list/
A network of hundreds of lawyers say they're better prepared than ever before to challenge Trump's anti-immigrant policy promises that include mass deportations and camps. Immigrants rights attorneys told the Times they've been preparing for months to combat workplace raids, immigrant roundups, asylum restrictions and detention centers.
https://www.rawstory.com/challenges-to-trumps-immigration-policy/
Steve Bannon set a goal of removing every liberal judge from the U.S. Supreme Court after Trump was re-elected. During his podcast, Bannon called on Republican senators to block any of President Joe Biden's judicial appointments before Trump takes office. "Now we're going to get all the judges," he crowed. "We're going to have a 7-2 Supreme Court, maybe hopefully one day 9-0."
https://www.rawstory.com/steve-bannon-trump-supreme-court/
After campaigning on a theme of “retribution” & vowing to be a “warrior” & “justice” to those who were “betrayed” by the government, Trump could soon prepare to seek revenge against those he believes have wronged him. His allies in Congress already have mounted investigations into Pres. Biden & his family, as well as the judges & prosecutors overseeing the criminal cases against Trump, whose attacks have inspired a deluge of threats to their offices, courtrooms & families.
Vindictive Trump moved to seize a measure of power months before being sworn in by demanding that the U.S. Senate block President Joe Biden to appoint any judges during his remaining time in office.
https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-senate-judges/
In 2022, the number of undocumented immigrants is estimated to be near 11M. Overall, a record 47.8 million immigrants lived in the U.S. in 2023. Trump plans to deport even those immigrants who are legal residents of the U.S. Removal of undocumented and legal immigrants from the U.S. will take years and will have severe impact on the economy as a whole.
N.B. Check figures from: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/09/27/u-s-immigrant-population-in-2023-saw-largest-increase-in-more-than-20-years/
There is now greater urgency for Congress to act on passing the Protecting Our Democracy Act. The Supreme Court’s Immunity Decision in favor of Trump has serious consequences on American Democracy. Now that Trump will be president in January, high court's Trump immunity, has likely removed most of the constraints that were in place since the founding of the country, which made clear that all U.S. presidents are not above the law.
Cartoon Movement
@cartoonmovement
Dangerous waters. Today’s cartoon by @Ramsesdraw