Rep. Jamie Raskin sent a letter
to Donald Trump’s transition team on Friday, seeking “clear assurance that the Trump-Vance Transition will require that all nominees receive a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) background check before they are considered by the Senate.”
The letter comes a little more than a week after the Trump transition team finally signed an agreement
with the Department of Justice allowing the team to “submit names for background checks and security clearances.” Trump’s team has dragged its feet signing what are normally standard transition documents, including an ethics agreement
Trump himself signed into law.
“I request that the Trump-Vance Transition commit immediately to requiring all nominees to undergo FBI background checks before they are considered by the Senate,” Raskin reiterated, adding that the nominees must also ”submit to vetting before they are afforded any access to classified information.”
In his current capacity as the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, the Maryland Democrat notes that “reports indicate that some nominees may be refusing to undergo FBI background checks before the Trump Administration takes office,” referencing reports
that Trump’s crew might look to a third-party private group for background checks as a way around the FBI.
Raskin, who will be the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee
in January, also asks about the influence of Boris Epshteyn and his role on the transition team, asking for any relevant documents pertaining to Trump top legal adviser, in the wake of reports
that Epshteyn has taken money in exchange for promoting people for positions in the upcoming administration.
“This is precisely the type of permissive environment in which individuals with undisclosed and unvetted security vulnerabilities can engage in nefarious conduct that could risk American security,” Raskin’s letter adds.
Recently Sens. Richard Durbin of Illinois and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island have asked
for the nominees who will appear in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to retain any correspondence they have had with Epshteyn.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is making it clear that her state will not be part of Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan. In an interview with Newsweek
on Friday, she vowed to stand firm against the president-elect’s proposals, aligning with other Democratic state leaders who are determined to block efforts to send the National Guard to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
“We’ll use every legal tool at our disposal to challenge mass deportations, and we’ll join with other states in doing so because there is strength in numbers,” Lujan Grisham said. ”I will not assign the New Mexico National Guard to assist with mass deportations that break up families and wreak havoc on our economy in New Mexico.”
Lujan Grisham’s statement adds to a growing chorus of opposition from leaders across the country.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has referred
to Trump’s proposed migrant camps as “concentration camps.” She is also concerned that mass deportations could violate due process
, or the constitutional mandate that government officials follow proper legal procedures before depriving an individual of life, liberty, or property, according to the National Constitution Center.
“The problem with that is it leads to abuses,” Mayes said of Trump’s mass deportation plans, and argued that Trump should instead focus on “violent cartel members” inside the U.S.
On Tuesday, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker also vowed to resist incoming border czar Tom Homan’s threatened deportations, saying he and Trump don’t have the authority
to proceed with mass deportations.
“We have laws that protect undocumented immigrants, and we’re going to follow the law. I’m concerned that the Trump administration and his lackeys aren’t,” Pritzker said at a press conference. However, He did note some exceptions
, though.
“Violent criminals who are undocumented and convicted of violent crime should be deported,” Pritzker said. “I do not want them in my state. I don’t think they should be in the United States.”
Chicago will be the first place
targeted for deporting undocumented migrants after Trump is sworn in, according to Homan. Pritzker publicly vowed to protect Illinois residents last month at a press conference.
Remember Pritzker saying, “You come for my people, you come through me
” in the days after the election? Later, he helped spearhead
an organization called Governors Safeguarding Democracy, joining with fellow Democrats readying their fight by sharing information and resources.
The incoming Trump administration has also set its sights on California. But the border state, a longtime Trump target
, is pushing back against his planned deportations. On Tuesday, Sen. Alex Padilla criticized
them as “extremist” during a Judiciary Committee hearing.
Padilla also called on Congress to pass his Citizenship for Essential Workers Act
, which would expedite a pathway to citizenship for the over 5 million immigrant workers deemed essential by the Trump administration during the COVID-19 crisis. According to a press release from Padilla, these workers “kept Americans healthy, fed, and safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has also been vocal about his department’s plans to push back against mass deportations in the Golden State, with the strong backing of Gov. Gavin Newsom
.
“We are ready to file,” he said
, referring to a potential lawsuit. “We have been thinking about and preparing and readying ourselves for the possibility of this moment for months.”
Meanwhile, amidst a bribery indictment, it appears that New York City Mayor Eric Adams has acquiesced to Trump’s plan after meeting
with Homan on Thursday.
“We’re going to protect the rights of immigrants in the city that are hard-working, giving back to the city in a real way. We’re not going to be a safe haven for those who commit repeated violent crimes against innocent migrants, immigrants and long-standing New Yorkers,” Adams said.
As Daily Kos reported last month, Democratic governors
have a handful of options to push back against mass deportations, including executive order authority directing states not to intervene. But sheriffs can go outside this sort of sanctuary-city jurisdiction.
As governors and other local leaders join together to oppose mass deportations, it’s becoming apparent that states will be the de facto battleground for shaping U.S. immigration policy.
Right-wing wraith Laura Ingraham took some time away from attacking teachers
to beg pop star Taylor Swift to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration.
“Call Trump and offer to perform at the inauguration,” Ingraham said during her Fox News show Thursday night, in “advice” directed toward Swift. “It’d be smart for Taylor Swift—and another great moment of unity for the country.”
Ingraham didn’t elaborate on what she meant by “smart.” It could be read either as a threat or as a smart business move for Swift, whose Eras Tour just completed its historically successful run
.
Ingraham’s sweaty plea to Swift isn’t surprising. The pop megastar has been an obsession of Trump
and the right for some time. They have weaved conspiracy theories such as Swift being a “deep-state” psychological operation
meant to destroy Trump. When Swift endorsed Harris in this year’s presidential election, the right freaked out
about it.
For all of their culture-war BS, it seems very clear that the right wishes that any of the most popular cultural music icons of the past 60 years were willing to be paid off to like them. From Fleetwood Mac
to Beyoncé
, from Springsteen
to Bad Bunny, megastars past and present have almost never backed Republicans. And Trump has made that distinction all the clearer
.
Earlier this week, Daniel Penny was acquitted of homicide
in the killing of Jordan Neely, a Black unhoused man, on the New York City subway in 2023. And Vice President-elect JD Vance has invited Penny to commingle with him and felon-elect Donald Trump at the Army-Navy football game on Saturday
“Daniel’s a good guy, and New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone,” Vance posted on X
. “I’m grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he’s able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage.”
Penny’s case was instantly polarizing. Outcries
from minority communities and their allies called for legal retribution over Neely’s death. To them, Neely’s death was both avoidable and being treated differently, given he was an unhoused Black man.
“Jordan Neely was murdered,” New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted on X
shortly after the killing. And after New York City Mayor Eric Adams pushed back against her phrasing, Ocasio-Cortez elaborated in an interview with The Cut
, saying, “I would like everyone to pretend [Neely] was their son. I would like anyone to look at that video [of his killing], see their son, and see if they would say the same thing.”
However, conservative painted Penny as a hero, highlighting his past as a Marine and arguing his right to self-defense. And his actions became a talking point for right-leaning outlets and politicians.
“I’ll take a million court appearances and people calling me names and people hating me, just to keep one of those people from getting hurt or killed,” Penny said
to Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro the day after his acquittal.
And while many X users applauded Vance for inviting Penny to the football game, others called out the odd celebration of someone who, while acquitted, still had a role in the death of another man.
“Yay let’s go hang out with a killer at a football game,” tweeted
one account.
Kyle Rittenhouse, left, with backwards cap, walks along Sheridan Road in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Aug. 25, 2020, with another armed civilian.
Penny’s case and the public’s reaction are reminiscent of Kyle Rittenhouse’s case. Rittenhouse was found not guilty
in the 2020 fatal shooting of two unarmed men
and the wounding of a pistol-wielding third during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
At the time, tensions were extremely high following a police officer’s murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man. Protesters were taking to the streets to express their anger and heartbreak.
Later, at his trial, Rittenhouse claimed he’d traveled to Kenosha with other armed friends to protect private property from being destroyed during the unrest.
The case sparked outrage, which Trump happily stoked.
“If he didn’t pull that trigger, that guy that put the gun to his head, in one-quarter of a second he was going to pull the trigger,” Trump said in a 2021 interview
with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, who once reportedly pointed a gun
at a fellow political analyst following an on-air debate.
Trump invited Rittenhouse to Mar-a-Lago, telling Hannity that Rittenhouse was a “really nice young man
.”
Making a jab at the dead and wounded, Trump added, “[Rittenhouse] was a fan, unlike the other guy.”
