Could Trump’s travel ban pave the way for the Insurrection Act?
ALSO INSIDE: The IRS just saved Biden’s free tax-filing software
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
On Wednesday, Trump used an alleged act of violence by a man from Egypt as justification to revive his 2017 “Muslim ban” in the name of national security.
But… Egypt wasn’t actually on this new list of restricted countries, and the man accused of firebombing Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colorado, didn’t “exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes,” as the executive order states as its purpose. In fact, Trump defended his decision to keep Egypt off the list, even as he blamed one of its citizens’ actions as justification for the travel ban.
"Egypt has been a country that we deal with very closely,” Trump told reporters. “They have things under control.”
While the exemption of Egypt in Trump’s 2017 and 2025 travel bans may have less to do with how “under control” things are and more to do with the $10 million boost the 2016 Trump campaign allegedly received from Egypt’s president, the reinstatment of the travel ban is one of Trump’s first times this term where he’s used violence to justify authoritarian executive action.
Trump has long pined for the opportunity to use force against domestic opposition: he was stopped from deploying soldiers against Black Lives Matter protestors in 2020, and in 2025, he ordered two of his top cabinet members to give him the green light to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would allow him to direct armed forces to do whatever he wanted. In each instance, putting a stop to fabricated violence was the justification Trump used to seek this power, and the lack of actual violence was the reason that power was ultimately denied.
Loosely tying the violent act in Boulder, Colorado, to enact a travel ban could help Trump achieve his goal on two fronts: first, it sets a precedent for him to prematurely respond to violence at any level with aggressive, executive action; and second, it opens the door to mass protests. Protests against the 2017 travel ban sparked protests at airports across the country.
Like the protests we’ve seen this year, those protests were almost exclusively peaceful acts of civil disobedience. But, with this precedent set, any perceived violence could be all the justification Trump needs to invoke the Insurrection Act, just as envisioned by the authors of Project 2025.
Attempts to Sanewash
Trump banned citizens of 12 countries from entering the U.S. Here’s what to know
Trump travel ban: Which countries are affected? Who is exempt? How did Trump justify it?
Far-Right Spin
12 countries won’t cut it: Why Trump’s travel ban ultimately falls short
Trump bans travel to US from several countries to block ‘dangerous foreign actors’
Trump Bans Travelers from High Terror-Risk Countries in Response to Boulder Firebomb Attack
The IRS just saved Biden’s free tax-filing software
One of the more quietly impactful effects of the Inflation Reduction Act was the creation of Direct File, a free tax filing software people could use instead of paying $80 every year for the privilege of using software from a private company to pay their taxes. Direct File was still growing—it could only be used in a handful of states and couldn’t handle complex tax situations—but was popular and had the potential to provide a genuine, cost-saving service to millions of taxpayers.
And then TurboTax’s developer, Intuit, donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund, and Direct File was put in DOGE’s crosshairs. Musk fired the team that built and maintained it, but it wasn’t shut down completely—just abandoned.
But not entirely.
One aspect of the IRS’s plan to offer free tax filing was to eventually make the software’s code open source, meaning the code would be available to the public so anyone could create, customize, improve, and develop their own tax software independently. This goal was accomplished last week, according to reporting by 404 Media. The IRS uploaded Direct File’s code to the platform GitHub, where anyone with a little programming experience can clone it, develop a user-friendly software, and make it available to the public.
US Rep. Steve Scalise, Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District
Since taking office in 2008, Rep. Scalise has:
Sponsored 109 bills, three of which have been signed into law
Been shot by anti-Trump domestic terrorist while at baseball practice
Voted against certifying election results on Jan. 6.
Opposed the Affordable Care Act, abortion rights, and legislation to protect LGBTQ rights
Denied humanity’s role in climate change: “it gets warmer, it gets colder — that’s called Mother Nature.”
Fun Facts
Rep. Scalise was within striking distance of becoming Speaker of the House—until his past caught up with him. Within 24 hours of winning his party’s nomination, Scalise’s relationship with the former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and his congressional predecessor, David Duke, was put in the national spotlight. Scalise had spoken at an event in 2002 whose organizers were connected to Duke, and when Scalise was starting his political career, he would describe himself as “David Duke without the baggage.”
That, combined with the revelation that Scalise spent an average of $41,000 annually at a high-end steakhouse in DC, led to him withdrawing his name from the role of Speaker. As a consolation, Scalise was made House Majority Leader and has upped his steak budget to $78,000 per year.
Pennsylvania’s crypto-millionaire congressman
While the crypto industry invested heavily in congressional campaigns last year, only a handful of Congress members have invested in it. Even fewer have taken the risk to put their money in buying coins, a gamble former hedge fund manager and current US Sen. Dave McCormick appears to be banking on.
McCormick hadn’t touched the stuff prior to Trump’s reelection, but since January, has invested upwards of $1 million in Bitcoin. Bitcoin is one of the most stable cryptocurrencies on the market, as it can be used to pay for goods and services—unlike meme coins, which are speculative investments that have been used in the past to scam unsuspecting investors.
McCormick’s background in finance, coupled with his power over crypto regulation as a member of the Senate Banking subcommittee, could give him an insider’s leg up on cashing in with crypto. Check out the video above for some really excellent reporting on the subject from Sean Kitchen, political correspondent for COURIER’s Pennsylvania newsroom, The Keystone.
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