BREAKING: Trump’s DOJ charges Congresswoman for opposing his administration

ALSO INSIDE: What happens when an ICE agent thinks you “look” like an immigrant.

May 20, 2025

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.

What Happened

Alina Habba, a Trump-appointed US attorney, as well as a current advisor to President Trump, announced charges against New Jersey US Rep. LaMonica McIver over her attempt to exercise her right as a member of Congress to inspect conditions of one of the Trump administration’s detention facilities in McIver’s district.

I obtained a copy of the criminal complaint shortly after it was filed, and the government seems intent on throwing the full weight of assault charges at McIver. The language used to describe her interaction with law enforcement sets up prosecutors to ask for the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

But even if the charges are dropped, the message is clear: Trump is willing to use his position to silence opposition from anyone—including members of Congress.

And just the initial accusation of assault was more than enough to make the headlines, with most news outlets painting McIver as an unruly protester who attacked law enforcement—none of which is true, as can plainly be seen in a video released of the incident. Incredibly, The Blaze, a conservative outlet, displayed more caution than Forbes, identifying the charges as merely alleged at first.

“This administration will never stop me from working for the people in our district and standing up for what is right,” McIver said in a statement. "I am thankful for the outpouring of support I have received, and I look forward to the truth being laid out clearly in court.”

The prosecution of McIver is a rare federal criminal case against a sitting member of Congress for allegations other than fraud or corruption.

And, like in the recent case against judges who have opposed the administration’s immigration policies, Trump has remained largely silent on the issue at hand. Instead, he’s letting his subordinates do the dirty work while he continues to attack his predecessor for being diagnosed with cancer.

Attempts to Sanewash

Far-Right Spin

A basic history lesson was too much to handle

Vermont US Rep. Becca Balint decided to use her experience as a history teacher on the House Floor the other day, but her Republican colleagues couldn’t stomach the curriculum.

On the lesson plan was a timeline of Trump’s lies, starting with his insistence that former US President Barack Obama was not born in the United States—a blatant falsehood he latched on to that propelled him to conservative stardom.

Balint then walked her colleagues down a brief—but certainly not exhaustive—chronological list of Trump’s more disprovable lies: the size of his 2017 inauguration crowd, changing weather emergency maps with a Sharpie, and eroding trust in US elections by repeatedly attacking the validity of the 2020 elections.

The lies had a purpose, however, as Balint pointed out: they were a way for his would-be supporters to prove their loyalty. The more dedicated they were to upholding his lies, the more entrenched they could become in Trump’s circle.

“It was actually a test. It was a test to signal your willingness to be loyal. ‘If you promise to spread our lies, you can be on the team.’ It was a qualification to be able to work on that team,” Balint said.

But House Republicans didn’t appreciate the message and cut off Balint’s mic after barely a minute. You can watch her whole Floor speech—and her colleagues squirm and avoid eye contact—on YouTube.

US Rep. Jeff Van Drew, New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District

Since taking office in 2019, Rep. Jeff Van Drew has:

Switched political parties after internal polling showed it would give him a better chance of winning
Voted to expand the draft to include women
Voted in 2022 to pass a law protecting same-sex marriage federally, then voted against it five months later
Believes drone sightings in New Jersey are a result of an Iranian “mothership” located in international waters, launching drones the size of minivans at the US

Fun Facts

Rep. Van Drew held elected office as a Democrat for 28 years before switching parties in 2019—along with almost all of his core principles and morals. The split began during Trump’s first impeachment; Van Drew was one of two Democrats to vote against it, and later introduced legislation to have all impeachments expunged from Trump’s criminal record.

Shortly after, he met with Trump, offered his “undying support,” and went all-in: he contested the 2020 election results and defended Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene when she was reprimanded for her history of “anti-Semitism and xenophobia.”

On policy, Van Drew founded the Offshore Wind Caucus to further US investment in wind as a renewable energy source. He changed his tune, however, as Trump’s erratic rage at wind energy surfaced. He quit the caucus in 2024 and personally drafted Trump’s executive order to freeze offshore wind energy projects.

His support of the LGBTQ community is tenous at best, as illustrated by his involvement in the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus: he joined in 2019, left in 2020, joined again in 2021, then left once more in 2022.

Van Drew claimed to support abortion rights protected under Roe v. Wade—until it was overturned in 2022. He has since described himself as pro-life.

ICE detains US citizen, forges documents to keep him

A young family from New Mexico was visiting family in Tucson, Arizona, when the father had a seizure. His family called for help, and an ambulance came and took him to the hospital, where he recovered before his family arrived.

Confused and disoriented, he asked the first authorities he could find for help getting home—unfortunately, the officers were Border Patrol agents. Instead of offering help, they treated Jose like a criminal, locking him in a freezing detention center for ten days, where he was unable to talk to his family or see his newborn child.

Jose’s crime? He “looked” like an immigrant, and since Trump took office, that’s enough for government agents to jail someone indefinitely. Like hundreds of others abducted since January, Jose denied due process: he wasn’t charged with any crime and doesn’t have a criminal record.

Get the full story on Instagram from COURIER’s Arizona newsroom, The Copper Courier, or watch my breakdown of the bigger picture on TikTok.

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