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June 19, 2025
Trump faces uproar from MAGA base over possible Iran strike
(Reuters) The prospect of a U.S. strike against Iran has exposed divisions in the coalition of supporters that brought President Donald Trump to power, with some of his base urging him not to get the country involved in a new Middle East war. Some of Trump's most prominent Republican allies, including top lieutenant Steve Bannon, have found themselves in the unusual position of being at odds with a president who largely shares their isolationist tendencies.
Go to discussionRepublicans Threaten a Hospital Apocalypse
(American Prospect) As we at the Prospect have reported, while the Senate’s version of the Republican budget reconciliation bill was widely expected to be more moderate than the House one, when it comes to health care it is more extreme. If the 190 rural hospitals estimated in a recent Center for American Progress report as collateral damage of the Republican cuts close, all of their patients must find treatment at the remaining health care providers. Many of these new-arrival patients are likely to be uninsured (many thrown off Medicaid or Obamacare by Republicans), crushing hospital finances and potentially adding more closures on top.
Go to discussionJudge says Trump admin must give immigrants 21 days to challenge their deportations under Alien Enemies Act
(Law & Crime) The Trump administration on Wednesday received some clarity over its much-stalled efforts to relaunch the mass deportation of Latin American immigrants using the Alien Enemies Act (AEA). In a 15-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Stephanie L. Haines, appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, signed off on a plan for a 21-day period in which would-be detainees are made aware of their potential deportations under the obscure 18th-century wartime law.
Go to discussionUS judge invalidates Biden rule protecting privacy for abortions
(Reuters) A federal judge on Wednesday struck down a rule adopted by the administration of former President Joe Biden that strengthened privacy protections for women seeking abortions and patients who receive gender transition treatments. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas, said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services exceeded its powers and unlawfully limited states' ability to enforce their public health laws when it adopted the rule last year.
Go to discussionIce's 'inhumane' arrest of well-known vineyard manager shakes Oregon wine industry
(The Guardian) In the early morning hours of 12 June, Moises Sotelo woke up to go to work in the rolling hills of Oregon’s Willamette Valley wine country, a place he has called home for decades. But this morning was not business as usual. A car tailed Sotelo as soon as he left his driveway, according to an account from his coworker. Trucks surrounded him just outside of St Michael’s Episcopal church, where he was detained by federal immigration agents. By the end of the day, Sotelo was in an Ice detention facility.
Go to discussionTwo members of the National Guard were worried ICE would grab their mom at immigration hearing so they accompanied her
Go to discussionFlorida attorney general wants lawmaker deported over criticism of Trump military parade
(The Hill) Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier called for Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) to be deported for criticizing last weekend’s military parade in Washington, D.C. Uthmeier wrote “Denaturalize and Deport” in a repost on social platform X featuring an interview with Omar from the left-leaning outlet Democracy Now!
Go to discussionKennedy's new US vaccine panel to discuss measles shot for children
(Reuters) U.S. vaccine advisers will discuss recommendations for flu vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal and a combination measles shot for children this month, putting topics of concern to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. high on the public health agenda. Kennedy, who has a long history of sowing doubt over the safety of vaccines, contrary to scientific evidence, wrote a book in 2014 claiming that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, causes brain damage.
Go to discussionNortheastern Governors and Canadian Premiers Unite Against Trump
(American Prospect) Canada knows the drill. Prime Minister Mark Carney worked hard to stage-manage President Trump’s whirlwind G7 appearance. It went sideways anyway, as the president sidetracked a press briefing into lobbying for Russia, absent from the proceedings since the invasion of Crimea. Then came the predictable mendacities about former prime minister Justin Trudeau, and diatribes about blue cities, undocumented immigrants, and for some reason, Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, “probably the worst governor in the country.”
Go to discussionTrump is 'losing confidence' in Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard as he mulls removing her entire office
(The Independent) As he weighs joining Israel’s war against Iran, President Donald Trump reportedly finds himself at odds with his Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, with one White House official saying that he has “just been kind of down on her in general” of late. The president was recently incensed, according to Politico, by Gabbard’s decision to post a three-minute video on X in the early hours of June 10 in which she warned that “political elite and warmongers” are “carelessly fomenting fear and tensions between nuclear powers,” placing the world “on the brink of nuclear annihilation.”
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