𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

In amongst all yesterday’s security breach excitement, the president threatened to unilaterally impose a 25 percent tax (that Americans would have to pay) on any imports from foreign countries that permit their domestic industries to make use of Venezuelan oil or gasoline.

Trump’s latest tariff aggression will start next month alongside a number of other new import taxes he will be imposing as part of a push to reverse decades of global supply chain integration and free trade efforts.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump claimed that “tens of thousands” of Venezuelan refugees who have fled that country’s authoritarian regime in recent years were actually “high level… criminals, many of whom are murderers and people of a very violent nature” who were “purposefully and deceitfully” sent “undercover” to the United States by that same government.

He also claimed that the presence of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan street gang, in the United States, was entirely due to deliberate efforts by the Nicolas Maduro dictatorship, contradicting language he used in a proclamation purporting to give him the power to summarily remove alleged members of that gang without due process under the terms of a 1798 law, the Alien Enemies Act, while also noting that the Maduro government has been “been very hostile to the United States and the Freedoms which we espouse.”

Here’s Andrew Feinberg.

Trump yesterday named his one-time defense attorney and current White House counselor Alina Habba to be the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey.

Habba, who turns 41 today (er, happy birthday, I guess), takes over the interim post from John Giordano, whom the president said he is naming to be the new U.S. ambassador for the southwestern African country of Namibia.

A partner in a small New Jersey law firm near Trump’s Bedminster golf course, Habba served as a senior adviser for Trump’s political action committee, defended him in court in several civil lawsuits and acted as a spokesperson last year as he volleyed between courtrooms and the campaign trail.

Habba said she looked forward to working with Attorney General Bondi to pursue the president’s agenda of “putting America first” and going after the people “we should be going after.”

The lawyer was out front yesterday making sure everyone understood this was definitely a promotion.

The postmaster general of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) resigned from his position Monday, earlier than expected, after reportedly refusing to give Elon Musk’s DOGE broad access to agency computer systems.

DeJoy, a former logistics magnate and Republican donor appointed by Trump himself in the chaotic summer of 2020, announced last month that he would resign once the USPS’s independent board of governors had chosen a successor.

Instead, he said yesterday that he would leave at the end of the day and be replaced by deputy postmaster Doug Tulino on an interim basis.

The news came after Trump threatened to dissolve the USPS board in apparent contravention of U.S. law, which guarantees its independence and bipartisan governance.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed the gift choice that may have triggered his blockbuster showdown with Donald Trump at the White House last month.

What should have been a friendly meeting between two allies soon descended into a heated argument in front of the world’s media.

Now, one month after the fiery clash damaged relations between the two countries, Zelensky has reflected on what may have set the U.S. president off in an interview with Time magazine.

Barney Davis has the details.

The Signal scandal threatens to cause problems for the president overseas as well as on the home front, given that Goldberg’s Atlantic article revealed key members of his cabinet ripping into their European allies, branding them “free-loading” and “pathetic” in a series of extraordinary leaked messages.

Pam Bondi, rarely off Fox these days, called on Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett to apologize last night for her recent comments calling for Elon Musk to be “taken down,” claiming the comments are driving violence and “insurrection.”

“She needs to unequivocally denounce the violence,” Bondi said during her latest interview with Sean Hannity.

“She must apologize immediately, not only to all Texans, but to our country, to the American shareholders of Tesla, because she is promoting violence.”

All of that came after the president had held his third official cabinet meeting since returning to the White House, which came amid conflict with the judiciary over Trump’s executive orders on illegal immigration and ongoing concerns over Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Here’s Richard Hall on how these gatherings showcase the extent of the billionaire’s influence, which appears to stretch to almost every department of the executive branch.

You will not be surprised to hear that America’s conservatives have so far expressed a rather different attitude to all of this, with Elon Musk, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senator Josh Hawely and Fox hosts Sean Hannity and Jesse Watters all rushing to insist this is a big nothing burger, their haste to do so rather giving the game away.

Hegseth is already facing calls to resign from Democrats, who branded the scandal “amateur hour” and “a major screw-up.”

Particularly incensed was former U.S. secretary of state and first lady Hillary Clinton, whom Trump repeatedly threatened to jail for allegedly using a private email account while in office, who responded by saying simply: “You have got to be kidding me.”

Here’s more from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Eric Swalwell, Pete Buttigieg, Ruben Gallego, Tom Suozzi and Adam Schiff:

The memes are, naturally, flowing thick and fast too.

Here’s more on the social media response from Mary Papenfuss.