BREAKING: Court grants Abrego Garcia the power to sanction Trump admin
ALSO INSIDE: Republican Senators have seven protestors arrested for civil disobedience over Trump’s budget
Cam here 👋 bringing you your daily dose of what people are doing – good, bad, and otherwise – in the world of politics. We’re diving into the stories you won’t see anywhere else. And remember, you can also keep up with me over on TikTok and Bluesky.
One more thing before we get into it: COURIER just launched two brand new shows! Make sure you check out How Is This Better? with Akilah Hughes, which is providing a much-needed reality check during Trump’s golden age of grift, and REPRESENT, a docuseries following reproductive rights activist and Gen Z influencer Deja Foxx as she runs for Congress.
What Happened
President Donald Trump spent Wednesday morning simultaneously praising China’s negotiation skills, attacking his predecessor, and bullying the chair of the Federal Reserve he appointed, giving far-right outlets their choice of rage-inducing topics to cover.
And they certainly are focused on this latest Trump chaos, while most traditional outlets seem split between justifying the hefty price tag the Congressional Budget Office gave Trump’s budget proposal and helping Elon Musk put distance between himself and the policies in the budget he helped push forward.
Meanwhile, a major motion was granted in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia that allows the wrongfully deported man’s legal team to sanction the US Department of Justice over its abuse of confidentiality orders and for withholding unredacted materials from the court. By allowing discovery sanctions, US District Judge Paula Xinis has given Abrego Garcia’s lawyers the power to compel Trump’s DOJ to provide unredacted copies of materials that they have used as justification for ignoring the court’s order to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return home.
But here’s the kicker: if the DOJ fails to comply, case closed. Among the penalties for ignoring discovery sanctions are that the requested materials can no longer be used in the case—meaning the DOJ has no defense—or the judge can render “a default judgment against the disobedient party.”
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have until June 11 to file sanctions, and the DOJ has seven days after that filing to comply, which means the government’s case against Abrego Garcia could finally come to an end just in time for Trump’s birthday parade.
Attempts to Sanewash
China's Xi is 'extremely hard to make a deal with,' Trump says
Fact-checking Trump’s claim that Biden pardons are ‘void’ because he used an autopen
Trump blasts Jerome Powell after new report shows lowest jobs growth in two years
Far-Right Spin
Bodies line the halls of the House
As senators attempted to enter their offices Tuesday afternoon, they were met with an unexpected blockade: a line of body bags.
A group of climate activists with the Gen Z advocacy group Sunrise Movement were behind this as part of an effort to urge Republican senators to vote against Trump’s budget bill on the grounds that people would die if Medicaid funding were to be cut at the proposed levels.
“Billionaires like Elon Musk and Oil CEOs gave record amounts of money to elect Trump — now, Trump is returning the favor by proposing massive tax cuts for them so they can get even richer,” said Sunrise organizer Stevie O’Hanlon. “Trump doesn’t care if we lose our jobs, lose our healthcare, or don’t have food on the table — as long as he can make his billionaire donors happy. We won’t let them.”
In an act of civil disobedience, protestors lay in body bags and blocked halls and doorways, a direct response to Iowa US Sen. Joni Ernst’s cynical comment to voters that people dying was a small price to pay for tax cuts because “we’re all going to die” anyway.
The protest took place after over 100 people rallied outside the Capitol in opposition to the budget. US Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Melanie Stansbury, and US Sen. Ed Markey came out in a show of political force, outlining to the crowd what’s at stake should Trump’s budget become law.
“This is the betrayal of working people, of poor people, and is the most cruel, most despicable thing, because they are cutting Medicaid, kicking 14 million people off of healthcare,” said Jayapal. “Why? So big oil can get tax breaks, and big billionaires can get, what, another yacht?”
Republican senators were less sympathetic to their cause, however, and had seven of the protestors arrested outside Oklahoma US Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s office shortly after entering the building.
Oklahoma US Sen. Markwayne Mullin
Since being elected to Congress in 2103, Sen. Mullin has:
Seen his net worth increase from $4 million to $65 million
Sponsored 143 bills, four of which have been signed into law
Had constituents arrested outside his DC office
Lied to voters about collecting his salary for being a member of Congress
Violated the code of ethics by promoting his plumbing company as a member of Congress
Received $600,000 for promoting his plumbing company while in Congress
Fun Facts
Despite being incredibly independently wealthy, Sen. Mullin seems to never miss an opportunity to pocket a few extra bucks. In addition to paying himself $600,000 for violating ethics rules and using his syndicated home improvement radio show while in Congress to promote his businesses, Mullin has been accused of using his position to profit from insider trading.
He’s also benefited from millions in taxpayer dollars, a fact he has repeatedly denied. Mullin has told voters that he doesn’t take his congressional salary—which he does—and, while he’s railed against student loan forgiveness, has taken a much more sympathetic approach towards his own forgiven loans. Mullin’s company received nearly $1.5 million —which would cover almost three years of his salary—in PPP loans, which he never paid back.
Ernst isn’t Iowa’s only congresswoman taking a hit
While Ernst’s unforgiving admission that she thinks it’s OK if the government lets people die so that rich people can pay less in taxes has kept her at the forefront of public ridicule, she’s not the only MAGA Iowan taking heat. US Rep. Ashley Hinson held a town hall this week as well, and her ability to stick to the script was severely tested.
Hinson was interrupted by the audience so many times that Iowa Starting Line, COURIER’s Iowa newsroom, set up a “boo counter” to track the outbursts. Check it out on their Instagram and see if you can last as long as Hinson—and then make sure to watch ISL’s Amie Rivers’ breakdown of Ernst’s breakdown.
Advertise in this newsletter
Do you or your company want to support COURIER’s mission and showcase your products or services to an aligned audience at the same time? Contact advertising@couriernewsroom.com for more information.
No, all this means is that the judge has approved (granted) the plaintiffs’ request to *file* a motion for sanctions under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37. GRANTED means the judge approved the request. The plaintiffs may now go ahead and file their motion asking the court to sanction the DOJ. If that’s granted, then this article will be accurate.