politics

Summary

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) broke the record for longest Senate floor speech at 25 hours and 5 minutes, surpassing the 24-hour, 18-minute filibuster by former Sen. Strom Thurmond, who opposed the 1957 Civil Rights Act.

Booker said it “irked” him that Thurmond’s record symbolized efforts to block civil rights.

He used the speech to protest potential GOP spending cuts and Trump-era policies.

Supported by fellow Democrats, Booker remained standing and speaking for over a day, calling his action a symbolic reclaiming of the Senate’s legacy.

Musk poured a ton of money, time, and energy into this race

> In particular, the race was seen as a test of Musk’s political sway, as his super PAC, America PAC, alone spent more than $12 million to support Schimel. He also traveled to Wisconsin the Sunday before the election, where he handed out $1 million checks to voters who had signed his petition against “activist judges.”

Summary

A GOP-led procedural vote in the House failed after nine Republicans joined Democrats, halting legislative action for the week.

The vote's collapse blocked Republican efforts to pass the No Rogue Rulings Act, aimed at limiting federal judges’ power, and the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote.

The failed rule also sought to derail a bipartisan resolution allowing proxy voting for new parents, led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna.

With the rule defeated, Speaker Mike Johnson canceled all remaining votes until Monday evening, stalling key GOP priorities.

Summary:

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The Trump administration inadvertently revealed on Monday that it is attempting to trap Venezuelan migrants in a catch-22 that would effectively block them from challenging their deportation and detention in an El Salvador prison. In a court filing, the government acknowledged that it had deported at least one migrant to El Salvador due to an “administrative error”—but argued that the individual had no right to contest his imprisonment because he is in the custody of a “foreign sovereign.”

This argument confirms what’s been clear for weeks: The government intends to treat the prison as a black site where migrants have no constitutional rights whatsoever and may be subject to any treatment whatsoever—including indefinite detention, forced labor, torture, or death.

But Monday’s filing illustrates another, more subtle problem that the Justice Department probably did not intend to admit: The government is trying to shunt migrants’ legal claims through a channel that is doomed to end in failure.

It seeks to ensnare these migrants in a Kafkaesque trap from which there may be no lawful escape. And it is trying to sell this subterfuge to the federal judiciary as a legitimate opportunity for due process if any migrants have plausible objections to their treatment.

To see how hollow that promise is, just look to the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia. A native of El Salvador, Abrego Garcia came to the United States in 2011, fleeing gang violence. Although he entered the country without authorization, an immigration judge granted him protected status in 2019, finding that he would likely face persecution if sent back to his home country. Federal law prohibits his removal to El Salvador. The Trump administration targeted him anyway, pulling him over while he was driving with his son, who is 5 years old and intellectually disabled. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents falsely claimed that his “status has changed,” arrested him, and threatened to turn over his son to Child Protective Services if his wife did not arrive within 10 minutes. His wife, a U.S. citizen, was able to appear in time, but ICE refused to provide any information about her husband’s arrest. She did not know where he had been taken until she saw a news photo of alleged Venezuelan gang members in CECOT, a notorious Salvadoran mega-prison, kneeling on the ground, their arms raised above their shaved heads. One man, she realized, was her husband.

Abrego Garcia’s deportation was unambiguously illegal, and his lawyers swiftly filed suit demanding his return. On Monday, the DOJ responded with a bombshell admission: Abrego Garcia did have a right to remain in the U.S. and was shipped off to CECOT only because of an “administrative error.” The DOJ then declared that there was nothing the plaintiff or the government could do to fix this confessed mistake. Abrego Garcia, it wrote, would need to file a writ of habeas corpus, the traditional procedure for challenging unlawful detention. Indeed, it argued, Abrego Garcia’s claims “can proceed only in habeas”—he has no other way to fight his imprisonment. And yet, the department concluded, no federal court can hear his habeas claim, because he is “not in United States custody.” He thus has no remedy whatsoever and must remain in CECOT indefinitely.

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Summary

Liberal judge Susan Crawford defeated Elon Musk-backed conservative Brad Schimel in Wisconsin’s supreme court race, preserving a 4-3 liberal majority.

The high-stakes contest, which drew over $80 million—$20 million from Musk and affiliates—became the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history.

Democrats framed the election as a referendum on Musk and Trump, fueling turnout and grassroots support.

The liberal court majority will influence key rulings on abortion, labor rights, and congressional redistricting. Milwaukee saw historic turnout, with multiple polling sites running out of ballots during the evening rush.

Link to text of bill

H.R. 2578: To require drug testing for special Government employees, and for other purposes.

Introduced on April 1, 2025

This bill is in the first stage of the legislative process. It was introduced into Congress on April 1, 2025. It will typically be considered by committee next before it is possibly sent on to the House or Senate as a whole.

Sponsor: Mikie Sherrill

Representative for New Jersey's 11th congressional district

Democrat

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More detail from Axios:

A House Democrat is introducing long-shot legislation that would force billionaire Trump lieutenant Elon Musk and his staffers at DOGE to undergo routine drug testing, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) cited a Wall Street Journal report from 2024 that alleged Musk has used illegal drugs including LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, mushrooms and ketamine as the impetus for her bill.

• DOGE spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment.
• An attorney for Musk told the Journal that Musk is "regularly and randomly drug tested at SpaceX and has never failed a test."

Driving the news: Sherrill's bill, a copy of which was first obtained by Axios, would require special government employees to undergo a drug test before they begin work and enter into a random drug testing program.

• Anyone who tests positive for certain illegal drugs would be barred from federal service for at least a year.
• Citing Signalgate, Sherrill said it is "more important than ever to protect the American people from the Trump Administration's reckless incompetence and blatant disregard for national security."

Between the lines: Musk and many DOGE staffers have been designated as special government employees.

• The Justice Department defines a special government employee as "anyone who works, or is expected to work, for the government for 130 days or less in a 365-day period."
• The title is usually used for subject-matter experts who are brought on to assist with specific projects.

What they're saying: "Those with access to sensitive information must be thoroughly vetted, clear-eyed, and exercise good judgment," said Sherrill, a former Naval aviator running for New Jersey governor.

• She argued the special government employees at DOGE should "be held to the same standard as other executive branch employees."
• That includes "conflicts of interest or passing a drug test to maintain employment or a security clearance," she said.

Reality check: Sherrill's bill is highly unlikely to become law any time soon as Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House.

EDIT: updated with Axios article and link to text of bill

Summary

Elon Musk’s job approval dropped to 41%—his lowest since joining the Trump administration—according to a Marquette Law School poll.

His favorability fell to 38%, while 58% disapproved of his work leading DOGE.

The decline follows backlash over Musk’s political involvement, including his $22 million support of Brad Schimel, who lost Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race.

Musk’s alignment with controversial Trump policies, such as calls to annex Canada, has further eroded public support.

Summary:

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Lawmakers are calling on the Social Security Administration chief to resign after internal emails revealed that the administration shut Maine off from the late-age insurance program in retaliation for publicly defying the MAGA agenda.

Representative Gerry Connolly called Tuesday for the resignation of Leland Dudek, the acting commissioner of social security. In a release, Connolly’s office shared emails sent by Dudek in which the DOGE acolyte inquired to his staff about which contracts Maine had with his agency and ultimately chose to cancel them, despite being aware that doing so would increase fraud and waste.

“Despite reinstating the contracts on March 7, 2025, and claiming that he did not intend to harm the people of Maine, the emails obtained by the Committee show that Acting Commissioner Dudek knew of the negative impacts of cancelling the programs and was willing to hurt the people of Maine and waste taxpayer money to avenge President Trump,” Connolly’s office wrote.

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Summary

Emails reveal that Social Security Administration acting chief Leland Dudek canceled Maine’s vital records contracts as retaliation against Democratic Gov. Janet Mills after she clashed with Trump.

Despite warnings this could increase identity theft and fraud, Dudek said, “no money will go from the public trust to a petulant child.”

The termination briefly blocked parents from obtaining Social Security numbers for newborns. Dudek reversed the decision within 24 hours amid backlash.

Lawmakers called for his resignation. Dudek, a former IT staffer, was controversially elevated after aiding Elon Musk’s DOGE team.

Summary

Democrats celebrated Susan Crawford's 10-point win in Wisconsin’s state supreme court race over Elon Musk-backed Brad Schimel, preserving the court’s 4-3 liberal majority.

Musk, who spent $25M supporting Schimel, faced online ridicule, including a post from the Democrats’ official account showing him in a cheese head labeled “Loser.”

They cast the result as a rejection of Trump’s agenda and Musk’s influence. Crawford called it a victory over the “richest man in the world.”

Republicans questioned Musk’s impact. Trump stayed silent but celebrated narrower GOP House wins in Florida

Well that's just the normal functioning of a very cool and very legal government.

Summary

Sen. Cory Booker broke the all-time Senate filibuster record Tuesday with a 25-hour, 4-minute speech opposing proposed Social Security cuts by Elon Musk.

Booker criticized the broader Trump agenda and warned of threats to democracy.

Sen. Ted Cruz said he was thinking about triggering the alarm on the Senate floor to block the New Jersey Democrat from surpassing his marathon speech mark, then joked on X and posted a Homer Simpson meme.

Booker began speaking Monday at 7 p.m. and remained standing throughout, aided by Democratic colleagues who questioned him to allow brief breaks.

Democrats just won their biggest electoral victory of the second Trump era. And Elon Musk lost big.

What the fucking fuck!?

FTA:

> Two Democratic legislators are introducing a bill on Wednesday aimed at Mr. Musk and the so-called Buffalo Billion project, in which the state spent $959 million to build and equip a plant that Mr. Musk’s company leases for $1 a year to operate a solar panel and auto component factory.

> The bill would require an audit of the state subsidy deal to “identify waste, fraud and abuse committed by private parties to the contract.” It would determine whether the company, Tesla, was meeting job creation targets, making promised investments, paying enough rent and honoring job training commitments.

> If Tesla was found to be not in compliance, the state could claw back state benefits, impose penalties or terminate contracts.

Good to know

> KEY FINDINGS > -- > - Just 100 billionaire families poured a record-breaking $2.6 billion into federal elections in 2024, one of every six dollars spent altogether by all candidates, parties and committees. > - That’s two-and-a-half times the roughly $1 billion spent by individual billionaire donors in 2020. > - Billionaire political spending is up 160-fold since the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision allowed for unlimited campaign donations. > - The vast bulk of billionaire-family donations went to so-called independent expenditure groups–which thanks to Citizens United can raise unlimited amounts from each donor–rather than directly to candidates or parties, which still work under campaign-contribution limits. > - Billionaire spending heavily favored Republicans. Over two-thirds (70%) of billionaire-family contributions went in support of GOP candidates and conservative causes. Less than a quarter (23%) backed Democratic hopefuls and progressive causes. (The remainder went to committees without a clear partisan or ideological identity.) > - In the three Senate races that gave Republicans control of the Senate, billionaire giving constituted a huge amount of Republican outside spending: Montana 58.1%, Pennsylvania 56.8%, and Ohio 44.5%. > - Almost three-quarters (71%) of the total amount used by outside spending groups to attack the Democratic presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, came from billionaires. Billionaires supplied over three-fifths (61%) of all the outside dollars spent praising Donald Trump. > - While the potential undue influence on government policy of billionaire donors has always been a concern, the second Trump administration has seen a blatant and unprecedented swapping of campaign contributions for political power, most notoriously in the case of Elon Musk. > - Musk’s 2024 campaign contributions were four times more than what he paid in annual federal income taxes between 2013 and 2018. > - The Trump-Musk attempt to dismantle the federal government and the Republican tax-cutting agenda could potentially save billionaire-family donors trillions of dollars in taxes, turning a huge profit on their 2024 political investment.

Summary

Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.) halted the House by pushing a bipartisan bill allowing new parents to vote by proxy for 12 weeks.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) tried blocking the vote with a special rule, but nine Republicans joined Democrats to defeat it.

Luna and Pettersen’s move paused GOP legislation and forced Johnson to cancel votes for the week.

Johnson argues proxy voting is unconstitutional, while Luna accused GOP leaders of using threats to stop the bill. The measure will likely return for a vote.

Summary

Senator Cory Booker’s speech on TikTok live surpassed 350 million likes as he stood for over 25 hours speaking in the Senate chamber.

Booker broke Strom Thurmond’s record for the longest Senate speech, which lasted 24 hours and 18 minutes in 1957 to block civil rights legislation.

Note this is not an indefinite block, just a pain for Republicans. They can't permanently block anything without republican votes, but they can at least drag it out

> Senators have the power to invoke a hold on a presidential nominee, a maneuver that can slow or stall consideration of a nominee for days or weeks. Precious Senate floor time is often needed to overcome holds on presidential nominees.

Hopping we see more of this following Booker's 25hr filibuster

WASHINGTON/PARIS, April 2 (Reuters) - U.S. officials have told European allies they want them to keep buying American-made arms, amid recent moves by the European Union to limit U.S. manufacturers' participation in weapons tenders, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The messages delivered by Washington in recent weeks come as the EU takes steps to boost Europe's weapons industry, while potentially limiting purchases of certain types of U.S. arms.

In a March 25 meeting, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the foreign ministers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia that the United States wants to continue participating in EU countries' defense procurements, the sources told Reuters.

Summary

Trump's approval rating dropped to 43%, the lowest since his January return to office, amid backlash over new tariffs and a mishandled military strike disclosure.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll found only 37% approve of his economic leadership, and 34% support his foreign policy.

A majority view his tariff hikes as harmful, while 74% criticized the use of Signal to discuss a Yemen operation.

The poll, conducted online with 1,486 adults, showed bipartisan concern and a 2-point decline since March, reflecting rising unease over Trump's policies.

TLDR: Mike Johnson hates proxy voting in congress. Some republican wanted to allow new parents to be able to use proxy voting. One of them is trying to force a vote on it

Mike Johnson tried changing the rules to not allow that, but 9 republicans joined dems to block his attempt. He's pissed about it and canceling tons of votes because of it

Donald Trump will announce his latest round of tariffs at the White House on Wednesday afternoon, threatening to unleash a global trade war on what he has dubbed “liberation day”.

Trump has rattled global stock markets, alarmed corporate executives and economists, and triggered heated rows with the US’s largest trading partners by announcing and delaying plans to impose tariffs on foreign imports several times since taking office.

No details of Wednesday’s plans have been made available ahead of the announcement. The president is set to speak at 4pm ET. White House officials said that the implementation of the most sweeping rewrite of US trade policy would be immediate.

Trump has made clear a few goals he wants to accomplish through his tariffs: bring manufacturing back to the US, respond to unfair trade policies from other countries, increase tax revenue and incentivize crackdowns on migration and drug trafficking.