SCOOP: An empty promise was all it took to get the final budget votes
ALSO INSIDE: Congressman details ‘horrific’ conditions at ICE detention center in NYC
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.
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Since day one of Trump’s political career, people have desperately attempted to normalize his absurd abuses of power and blatant corruption – and 10 years later, much of corporate media remains a victim of their own attempts to return to a sense of normalcy.
It’s time to stop sane-washing the insanity.
What Happened
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday that claims to end all federal subsidies and tax credits for renewable energy.
It doesn’t. But it does fulfill a promise the president made behind closed doors last week, during tense negotiations over the federal budget.
Unlike the five bills Trump has signed into law, most of the 170 executive orders he’s issued are either performative or unconstitutional; the order “ending market distorting subsidies for unreliable, foreign controlled energy sources” is more or less the former. Pavel Molchanov, a managing director for energy investment banking firm Raymond James, told Inside Climate News that the order simply reiterates what’s already in law.
“Contrary to the EO’s headline, the EO does not abolish any tax credits,” Molchanov said. “It is worth noting that, under the Federal Power Act, the government cannot favor one type of power generation over another. Thus, the EO simply restates existing law in that regard.”
What the impotent order does, however, is fulfill an empty promise made to US Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Ralph Norman (R-SC). The Freedom Caucus duo were a few of the final Republican holdouts threatening to kill Trump’s tax-cutting, ICE-funding, budget — largely because they opposed a section that phased out renewable energy credits over the course of a few years.
Norman and Roy wanted the incentives to end immediately and were willing to derail the entire federal budget in order to stick to their convictions. But in the end, a private meeting with Trump was all they needed to settle for a ceremonial declaration that the tax credits were over. The EO is now being lauded as a victory in Trump’s war on wind — when, in fact, the tax credits still have congressional funding through 2027.
Attempts to Sanewash
Trump executive order seeks end to wind and solar energy subsidies
New Trump Order Adds to Pressure on Sunrun and Other Renewable-Energy Stocks
Far-Right Spin
Trump Issues Order To End Green Energy Gravy Train, Cites National Security
Reclaiming Our Energy Independence Ending Subsidies For Foreign Energy
NYC Congressman details ‘horrific conditions’ of ICE facility
US Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) has attempted for months to gain access to a Lower Manhattan DHS office in his district, where government agents take New Yorkers they’ve abducted. The office is in the same building where City Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested for escorting immigrants to their court appearances, and officials have repeatedly told Goldman they wouldn’t allow him to conduct a congressional oversight inspection because “we don’t have to.”
Goldman has since spoken with several individuals detained at 26 Federal Plaza, who painted a horrific mural of human rights violations. There are no beds or showers, as the location is only equipped to hold detainees for up to 12 hours for processing. People have been held there for weeks. Agents have 100 detainees crammed on the office floor at any given time.
Any semblance of privacy has been abandoned; the floor has one toilet in plain view of 20 to 30 people, who are given no change of clothes — or even blankets to sleep with — during their confinement. Medical care is scarce, as is food, and requests for sustenance are ignored by government agents.
Most of those being detained are ambushed while on their way to immigration court, which they have been ordered to attend. Some have been apprehended by mistake and detained anyway. Goldman noted that most are given no explanation as to why they have been arrested, what their rights are, or how long they’ll be held.
“They are now literally arresting people who are coming to court, who are following the law, who are doing things the right way. These are the exact opposite of convicted criminals and not the ‘worst of the worst’ that Donald Trump said he was going to deport,” Goldman said. “ It absolutely reeks inside, and nobody is being told why they are there.”
Support for Trump’s mass incarceration efforts has plummeted as details regarding his administration’s barbaric tactics have come to light. Without representatives like Goldman’s consistent efforts to conduct oversight visits and amplify stories of those who have experienced Trump’s tactics firsthand, much of what goes on in these facilities would remain unknown.
As the dust settles on the undoing of a decade’s worth of diplomatic efforts to prevent war against Iran and Israel, it’s worth looking at who was in the room. This week, let’s take a look at the sort of strategic military minds that have been tapped for Trump’s War Cabinet.
Susie Wiles, White House Chief of Staff
Since being appointed in January 2025, Wiles has:
Reported a net worth of around $10 million
Negotiated the release of a Russian cybercriminal
Helped convince the president of ABC News to settle a lawsuit with Trump for $15 million
Been sued by the Associated Press for First Amendment violations
Been appointed to the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Role in ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’
Trump’s Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, is a lifelong political operative who’s credited with steering Trump’s 2024 campaign to victory. She also worked on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reelection campaign in 2020, where, if he didn’t find a way to keep his seat and retain power indefinitely — say through a war with Palestine or Iran — he would face charges of corruption and fraud.
Wiles has proven to be a very influential figure within Trump’s inner circle, but not enough to prevent leaks about the operation. She was praised by the administration for being the disciplined manager who ensured details about the strike remained secret. In reality, intelligence information was leaked as soon as it was relayed to Congress.
Her time on the Netanyahu campaign isn’t the only sign that Wiles would have supported the strike; She was hacked by Iranian operatives during Trump’s 2024 campaign, so she might have a chip on her shoulder about that.
Special Mention: Dan Scavino
Wiles’ deputy, Dan Scavino, was also there. No military experience, not international relations, just a professional troll.
He’s run Trump’s social media accounts since 2015, and has been known to make alt accounts to rally Trump’s base and incite violence on the darkest corners of the internet. Odds are, he wasn’t in the Situation Room to offer advice; he was there to figure out the best way to spin bombing the Middle East into “owning the libs.”
ICE in Iowa: West Liberty man with no criminal record detained
Pascual Leonardo Pedro-Pedro was 13 years old when he moved with his father from Guatemala to the US. He played soccer at his high school in West Liberty, Iowa, and has been working in construction since graduating last year.
The government has known about Pascual’s situation as an undocumented childhood arrival, and he’s worked with immigration officials to schedule routine check-ins in order to comply with the law. It was at his check-in on July 1 that Pascual was ambushed and arrested by ICE agents.
Amie Rivers, community editor for COURIER’s Iowa Starting Line, has been covering Pascual’s abduction closely. Working with community organizers, she put together a list of ways people can help:
For those who want to help from wherever they are at and can make a phone call, Pascual’s godfather, Father Guillermo Treviño Jr. Treviño, is encouraging supporters to call ICE offices in Cedar Rapids and Omaha to request Pedro-Pedro’s immediate release. More information and a sample script is on Treviño’s Facebook post here.
There is also an online form from Catholic Worker here, which will email ICE, and a GoFundMe set up to aid the family and help his legal defense here.
“Pascual belongs with his family and community,” Treviño wrote.
You can read more from Rivers as she covers immigration in the Midwest at Iowa Starting Line, or by subscribing to her newsletter.
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