Pete Hegseth

‘Authoritarian Escalation’: Trump Deploys US Marines to Help Put Down LA Protests

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Original article by Jessica Corbett republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Members of the National Guard stand outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, California on June 8, 2025. (Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

“Every governor, red or blue, should reject this outrageous overreach,” said California’s Democratic governor, who sued over the president’s takeover of the state’s National Guard. “We will not let this stand.”

As President Donald Trump deployed U.S. Marines to Los Angeles on Monday in response to protests against immigration raids and the violent arrest of a popular labor leader, California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office announced that he and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom sued Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over their weekend takeover of the state’s National Guard.

“President Trump’s order calling federalized National Guard troops into Los Angeles—over the objections of the governor and local law enforcement—is unnecessary and counterproductive. It’s also deeply unfair to the members of the National Guard who are hard at work every day protecting our state, preparing for and responding to emergencies, and training so that, if called, they can fight our nation’s wars,” Bonta said in a statement.

“Let me be clear: There is no invasion. There is no rebellion. The president is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends,” he added. “Federalizing the California National Guard is an abuse of the president’s authority under the law—and not one we take lightly. We’re asking a court to put a stop to the unlawful, unprecedented order.”

As of press time, the filing was not yet available, but it was set to be shared on Bonta’s government website.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted raids in Los Angeles on Friday and Saturday, sparking intense protests. Trump’s memorandum came on Saturday, prompting Newsom’s Sunday letter formally requesting that the president reverse course. The governor also previewed the new lawsuit during a Sunday interview with MSNBC.

“Donald Trump is creating fear and terror by failing to adhere to the U.S. Constitution and overstepping his authority. This is a manufactured crisis to allow him to take over a state militia, damaging the very foundation of our republic,” Newsom, who widely seen as a 2028 presidential contender, said Monday.

“Every governor, red or blue, should reject this outrageous overreach,” he argued. “This is beyond incompetence—this is him intentionally causing chaos, terrorizing communities, and endangering the principles of our great democracy. It is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism. We will not let this stand.”

Trump’s actions and remarks related to the protests against ICE in California have elicited fears of wider repression during his second term.

Criticism continued to mount on Monday, with Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of the progressive group Our Revolution, declaring that “this is not law and order—it’s tyranny… When power is concentrated in the hands of a corrupt few, and dissent is met with armed repression, democracy itself is under siege. We must call this what it is: a threat to the republic.”

Before the Marine deployment on Monday, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) said in a statement that “Trump politicizing and weaponizing the National Guard makes us all less safe and less free. His threat to deploy the Marines into the streets of an American city is an illegal and authoritarian escalation.”

Politico reported Monday that the administration ordered about 700 Marines to Los Angeles, and while it is not yet clear what role they will play, “one of the defense officials said they will likely support the 2,000 National Guard troops sent to assist law enforcement.”

Casar tied the recent events in Los Angeles to congressional Republicans’ evolving budget reconciliation package, saying that “Trump’s threats have nothing to do with keeping people safe—it’s about political theater. He’s scapegoating immigrants to distract from the GOP’s real agenda: ripping healthcare away from millions to pay for tax cuts for the ultrarich.”

“We will not be intimidated,” he added. “Progressives are standing up to this administration, including by conducting lawful oversight at ICE detention centers in Los Angeles and across the country. We stand with Angelenos, and we stand with immigrant families everywhere. The president must return command of the National Guard to Gov. Newsom.”

Original article by Jessica Corbett republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

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Why April 20, 2025 Could Alter the Course of American Democracy

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https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/change-course-american-democracy

A marcher holds a sign that says, “Not My Dictator” with a picture of Donald Trump in front of Trump International Tower during the Woman’s March in the borough of Manhattan in New York on January 18, 2020. (Photo: Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images)

…

April 20 is the deadline Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Agency head Kristi Noem have for submitting a joint report to President Donald Trump about conditions at the southern border, along with their recommendations for invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807 and the National Emergencies Act of 1976.

Hegseth and Noem were given this task by a presidential proclamation declaring a state of emergency at the border, and an accompanying executive order (EO No. 14159) that Trump issued on Jan. 20. The edicts gave the department leaders 90 days to reach their conclusions. Both are based on the theory that the U.S. faces an invasion of undocumented migrants on its southern flank, and are part of a larger set of 51 executive orders, 12 memorandums, and four proclamations Trump promulgated on the first day of his second term.

If any of this comes to pass, it won’t just be undocumented migrants, foreign students, asylum-seekers, and suspected gang members who end up in the crosshairs.

…

Originally adopted in 1792 as the “Calling Forth Act,” the Insurrection Act on the books today authorizes the president to deploy the Army and deputize the National Guard to suppress insurrections, rebellions, instances of civil disorder, and unlawful “combinations or assemblages” that obstruct the authority of the United States or the ability of any state to enforce the law.

…

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/change-course-american-democracy

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NATO Chief Rebuffs Trump’s Attempt to Use Alliance to Help US Take Greenland

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Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House on March 13, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“Trump is causing a completely unforced recession, the markets tanking, and your 401(k)s plummeting, and he’s focused on invading Greenland,” said one observer.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Mark Rutte met with President Donald Trump on Thursday at the White House in Washington, D.C., where he brushed off the Republican leader’s suggestion that the transatlantic alliance might get involved in his quixotic bid to annex the autonomous territory of another NATO member.

Revisiting his wish to somehow acquire Greenland from Denmark—an outcome opposed by Greenland, Denmark, and a majority of Americans—Trump told reporters during a joint press conference with Rutte and other NATO and U.S. officials including Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that he’s bullish on the prospects of annexation.

“I think it’ll happen,” the president said. “And I’m just thinking, I didn’t give it much thought before, but I’m sitting with a man that could be very instrumental. You know, Mark, we need that for international security, not just security, international.”

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At one point during the meeting, Trump turned to Hegseth and remarked, “You know, we have a couple of bases on Greenland already, and we have quite a few soldiers, and maybe you’ll see more and more soldiers go there, and I don’t know, what do you think about that, Pete?”

“Don’t answer that, Pete,” Trump said, eliciting laughter.

Maintaining the congenial vibe of the meeting, Rutte said with a laugh that “when it comes to Greenland yes or not joining the U.S., I would leave that outside, for me, this discussion, because I don’t want to drag NATO into that.”

The former longtime Dutch prime minister then said that Trump is “totally right” about countering Chinese and Russian regional influence, and that NATO cooperation on that matter is “very important.”

While many observers focused on Rutte’s diplomatic rejection of Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland, Rasmus Jarlov, a member of Denmark’s Parliament representing the Conservative People’s Party, said on social media that “we do not appreciate the secretary general of NATO joking with Trump about Greenland like this.”

“It would mean war between two NATO countries,” Jarlov warned. “Greenland has just voted against immediate independence from Denmark and does not want to be American, ever.”

The center-right Demokraatit Party pulled off a surprise victory Tuesday in Greenland’s parliamentary election, with Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the territory’s likely next prime minister, vehemently rejecting U.S. annexation.

“I hope it sends a clear message to [Trump] that we are not for sale,” he said of the election results in an interview with Sky News. “We don’t want to be Americans. No, we don’t want to be Danes. We want to be Greenlanders, and we want our own independence in the future. And we want to build our own country by ourselves.”

Trump’s comments came on the same day that NBC Newscited U.S. officials who said the president has ordered the Pentagon to prepare plans to “take back” the Panama Canal—including through the use of military force if deemed necessary.

Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

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Trump Offers Key Pentagon Job to Billionaire Whose Firm Trained Khashoggi’s Murderers

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Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

Stephen Feinberg is pictured at the U.S. Capitol on December 11, 2008. (Photo: Jahi Chikwendiu/The The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Stephen Feinberg is co-CEO of Cerberus Capital Management, which owns a company that provided training to members of the hit squad that murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly offered the number-two Pentagon job to a secretive billionaire investor with close ties to the military-industrial complex, potentially introducing additional conflicts of interest to an incoming administration that is set to be rife with corporate executives and lobbyists.

Stephen Feinberg is co-founder and co-CEO of the private equity behemoth Cerberus Capital Management, which owns a firm that provided paramilitary training to members of the elite team that murdered Saudi journalist and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Trump drew global outrage for publicly defending the Saudi regime in the wake of the assassination, even after U.S. intelligence agencies established that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman authorized Khashoggi’s murder.

The New York Times reported in 2021 that four Saudis who took part in the 2018 Khashoggi assassination “received paramilitary training in the United States the previous year under a contract approved by the State Department.” Tier 1 Group, an Arkansas-based company financed by Cerberus, provided the training.

“The instruction occurred as the secret unit responsible for Mr. Khashoggi’s killing was beginning an extensive campaign of kidnapping, detention, and torture of Saudi citizens ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, to crush dissent inside the kingdom,” the Times noted.

“Having this revolving door of people who sit on boards of major defense contractors and then cycle in and out of the Pentagon is a problem that did not begin with Trump, but is a problem nonetheless.”

It’s not yet clear whether Feinberg intends to accept Trump’s offer to serve as deputy defense secretary, but news of the choice prompted speculation that Feinberg could be elevated to the top Pentagon spot as Fox News host Pete Hegseth—the president-elect’s nominee for the role—faces skepticism from senators amid new details of the sexual assault allegations against him. (Update: The Times reported Wednesday morning that Trump’s support for Hegseth is “wobbling” and he is “openly discussing other people for the job, including Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida.”)

Citing an unnamed person familiar with his thinking, Politicoreported that Feinberg is expected to accept the job offer for deputy defense secretary. Feinberg would also have to be confirmed by the Senate.

The Washington Post, which first reported Trump’s offer on Tuesday, noted that the private equity billionaire is a major donor to the president-elect and has “investments in defense companies that maintain lucrative Pentagon contracts.” The Post observed that Cerberus “has invested in hypersonic missiles” and “previously owned the private military contractor DynCorp.”

Matt Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy and a former foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), told the Post that “having this revolving door of people who sit on boards of major defense contractors and then cycle in and out of the Pentagon is a problem that did not begin with Trump, but is a problem nonetheless.”

“Is he going to be listening to a whole range of constituencies or primarily business constituencies?” Duss asked of Feinberg.

If he accepts the president-elect’s offer, Feinberg would join a number of conflict-of-interest-ridden nominees for high-level positions in the incoming Trump administration.

Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project, characterized Trump’s Cabinet picks so far as “chaotic evil” and warned that their conflicts of interest could bring horrible consequences for the American public.

“Corruption is not only bad in and of itself,” Hauser told the Institute for Public Accuracy on Tuesday. “It’s also a bad thing that makes other terrible things more likely to happen. If you corrupt the enforcement of environmental protection laws, people will be poisoned by the water they drink and air they breathe. If you corrupt the Department of Labor, workplace safety will collapse over time and wage protections will disappear.”

“That’s what happened under the last Trump administration. This is going to be worse,” Hauser warned. “Food safety issues, automobile safety with driverless cars, rail safety—these are all risks that the Trump team will be taking with the lives of ordinary people.”

Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

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When the Press Says “Fiery” It Means “Insane”

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https://newrepublic.com/article/188512/medias-euphemism-trumps-appointees-fiery

Albany firefighters put out a fire in a dumpster. Lori Van Buren/Getty Images

With the president-elect choosing his rogues’ gallery of future appointees, the political press is really wearing out its go-to synonym for crazy.

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The meaning of mainstream media euphemisms has always been pretty plain to me, even before I entered the business. But just as I need my daughter, Alice, to translate when she says, “John is rizzing up trade”—it means “John is flirting with someone attractive”—it stands to reason that a new generation might need help with the word fiery. It means “sociopathic or clinically insane.”

Suddenly the news is full of fiery people. Stephen Miller is “fiery” (Associated Press, CNN). Elise Stefanik is “fiery” (Politico, Albany Times Union). Matt Gaetz is “fiery” (New York Times, Sky News) and also a “firebrand” (Financial Times, Reuters). Gaetz is so proud of the latter that in 2020 he published a book titled Firebrand. The puppy-killing South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, whom Trump nominated for secretary of homeland security, is another “firebrand” (Fox News). So is (Financial Times, Daily Mail), the ax-throwing Fox News personality Trump nominated for secretary of defense. So is the Trump superloyalist Kash Patel (Daily Mail), rumored to be Trump’s pick for FBI director. This is all just in the past week. Little fires everywhere.

The one person who hasn’t been called “fiery” or “firebrand” lately is Robert Kennedy Jr. I find this omission puzzling, given that Trump’s nominee for health and human services secretary practically stepped out of a textbook on abnormal psychology: whale-beheader, dead-bear fancier, sex diarist, etc. And that’s before we plumb RFK Jr.’s novel opinions against vaccines and fluoridation. Maybe the press feels squeamish about the worm that ate part of Kennedy’s brain. But they don’t come much fierier.

…

America’s firebrand in chief is Donald Trump. We’ve all been witnessing Trump’s mental derangement for so long that when the press describes Trump as “fiery” it has come to mean more than just “toxic and unhinged.” It means “more toxic and unhinged than usual.”

…

https://newrepublic.com/article/188512/medias-euphemism-trumps-appointees-fiery

Continue ReadingWhen the Press Says “Fiery” It Means “Insane”