BumRushDaShow
BumRushDaShow's JournalDemocrats press White House over ballroom donations
Source: Roll Call
Posted October 27, 2025 at 11:35am
Democratic lawmakers are demanding more information about donations from several of America’s largest tech companies to President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project, which included the destruction of the East Wing. In the wake of the release of the donor list on Oct. 23, they raised potential conflicts of interest over corporate donations from Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and others to a project personally important to Trump. Many of the companies benefit from government contracts or face important legal or regulatory decisions in the future.
Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., said the donation list, including through the settlement of at least one lawsuit brought by the president, “appears very much like a shakedown.” He also highlighted the presence of executives of several of the tech companies at the presidential inauguration in January after their donations to Trump’s inaugural committee. Hoyer added that there is particular motivation for tech companies to curry favor with the president given pending investigations or legal cases. “I don’t think they’re doing it all of a sudden because they fell in love with giving away their money,” he said.
A group of Democratic House appropriators, including Hoyer, sent a letter dated Oct. 23 to the Office of Management and Budget, the National Capital Planning Commission and the National Park Service demanding a list of donors to the project and how much each gave, as well as whether any foreign entities or individuals donated. Rep. Glenn F. Ivey, D-Md., signed on to that letter in his role as a member of the House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee.
He suggested examining which of the tech companies involved have government contracts or who are currently pursuing them, as well as open investigations or litigation. “It’s a pretty long list, which is why, you know, normally you wouldn’t allow this type of funding, especially of this magnitude in a federal project like this involving, you know, the White House or the presidency,” he said. Ivey bemoaned the failure to fund the project through the appropriations process.
Read more: https://rollcall.com/2025/10/27/democrats-press-white-house-over-ballroom-donations/
Link to PRESS RELEASE - Hoyer, Pocan, Bishop, Ivey Demand Accountability for Trump's Demolition of White House East Wing
Link to LETTER (inquiry) (PDF) - https://hoyer.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/hoyer.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/final-letter-wh-ballroom-fsgg-1.pdf
NPR lawsuit alleges Corporation for Public Broadcasting gave in to political pressure
Source: NPR
October 27, 2025 6:26 AM ET
The chasm is widening between NPR and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the nonprofit that funneled federal dollars to public media until Congress killed that funding earlier this year. NPR's legal team privately questioned the CPB's longtime chief executive, Patricia Harrison, under oath earlier this month, according to the radio network's legal filings, and is scheduled to do so publicly at a court hearing Tuesday morning.
In court documents, NPR has presented evidence to bolster its case that the board of the nonprofit corporation first approved a multiyear, multimillion-dollar contract for NPR to operate a satellite distribution system for public radio stations. Then, NPR alleges, CPB unlawfully yielded to political pressure by yanking the contract just days after President Trump warned that NPR should receive no more federal dollars. NPR contends it is yet one more example of a major institution yielding to the president's whim.
CPB rejects that, saying that it awarded the contract to a different group to better serve the nation's diverse array of public radio stations. NPR and CPB each declined comment for this story, citing the litigation. The two institutions — along with PBS — have stood together at the core of public media for more than a half century. They formed a united front, at least publicly, as they lobbied lawmakers against clawing back the $1.1 billion already approved by Congress and signed into law by the president for the broader public media system.
More than 60 years after President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 into law, Congress is voting on whether to take back federal funding already promised for the public media system. The Republican majority has accused PBS and NPR of left-leaning bias and being a waste of taxpayer funds. Behind the scenes, however, CPB and PBS officials signaled they would not object to pulling funding for NPR, which has drawn the lion's share of Republicans' accusations of liberal bias.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/10/27/nx-s1-5586147/npr-cpb-lawsuit-political-pressure
Link to FILING (PDF viewer) - https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26197555-partial-motion-for-preliminary-injunction-and-for-summary-judgment/
Link to FILING (PDF) - https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26197555/partial-motion-for-preliminary-injunction-and-for-summary-judgment.pdf
Lawsuits against banks with Epstein ties may shed new light on financier's crimes
Source: The Guardian
Mon 27 Oct 2025 09.00 EDT
Last modified on Mon 27 Oct 2025 11.12 EDT
For years, survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have demanded justice. For a while, it seemed like they would get it. Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s ex-girlfriend, was found guilty of sex trafficking four years ago for her involvement in the late financier’s sexual abuse of teen girls – and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment. Meanwhile, banks who had done business with Epstein, although not admitting wrongdoing, paid hundreds of millions in settlements to victims.
Donald Trump even made releasing the Epstein investigative files part of his campaign platform, and doubled down on his promise to do so early this year. In the end, Trump’s justice department did not release these files, and his administration has become embroiled in reports about social ties between him and Epstein. Congressional promises to release files have lagged, due to political jockeying and justice department foot-dragging. But two new lawsuits could shed light on Epstein’s activities amid the stalemate – regardless of their outcome.
These lawsuits, filed by an anonymous plaintiff against Bank of America and the Bank of New York Mellon (BNY), allege that these financial powerhouses illicitly enabled Epstein’s sex trafficking. The suits are helmed by Sigrid S McCawley, of Boies Schiller Flexner, and Brad Edwards of Edwards Henderson, who have long represented Epstein victims.
“Epstein committed these crimes by means of not only his own extraordinary wealth and power, but through access to funding and financial support from both individuals and institutions, including BNY,” one lawsuit claims. “Egregiously, BNY had a plethora of information regarding Epstein’s sex trafficking operation but chose profit over protecting the victims.”
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/27/jeffrey-epstein-lawsuit-us-banks
Political peril spurs Trump to act on beef prices even as ranchers rage
Source: Politico
10/27/2025 05:00 AM EDT
The Trump administration is acutely aware of a looming political vulnerability: beef. In just the last month, President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration with the high prices U.S. consumers are seeing in grocery stores, promising “a deal” to “bring the price down.” The near-term solution to boost supply — plans to purchase 80,000 metric tons of beef from Argentina, quadruple the typical quota — has spurred intense backlash from farm-state Republicans and agriculture industry groups who have felt burned by several Trump administration policies in recent months.
But Trump’s election was fueled, in part, by Americans’ concerns over high costs, an issue the president often hammered on the campaign trail as he promised food prices would fall if he returned to the White House. Ten months in, Trump and his top aides are scrambling to keep the campaign pledge, calculating that in the short-term it’s worth antagonizing ranchers, a loyal GOP constituency that benefits from elevated beef prices, if they can bring down costs for consumers.
“It’s kind of like eggs, part two,” said one person close to the Trump administration, who was granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. “This all kind of started with just concern over consumer prices.”
The average price for a pound of ground beef is $6.32, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. That’s up about 14 percent since Trump took office, and meat remains one of the key drivers of overall inflation in grocery stores, according to the latest federal data on food prices released Friday.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/27/like-eggs-part-two-trump-administration-scrambles-to-bring-down-beef-prices-00622680
These cult members willing "drink the Kool-Aid" to "own the libs" and only whine "privately" until they are forced to "cry uncle".
Gov. Mike Braun calls special session to redraw Indiana's congressional maps
Source: Indianapolis Star
Updated Oct. 27, 2025, 12:32 p.m. ET
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun has officially called lawmakers back to the Statehouse for a special session to redraw the Hoosier State’s congressional maps mid-decade, as requested by President Donald Trump's administration. But the votes to redistrict still aren't there, a Senate Republicans spokesperson told IndyStar after Braun's announcement Oct. 27.
The special session is expected to start Nov. 3, according to the proclamation Braun plans to sign Oct. 27. In a statement, Braun said it would also include resolving a state and federal tax compliance issue caused by the One Big Beautiful Bill's changes to tax law.
“I am calling a special legislative session to protect Hoosiers from efforts in other states that seek to diminish their voice in Washington and ensure their representation in Congress is fair," Braun said in a press release Oct. 27. "I am also asking the legislature to conform Indiana's tax code with new federal tax provisions to ensure stability and certainty for taxpayers and tax preparers for 2026 filings.”
Indiana follows other red states, including Texas and Missouri, which have already made changes to their maps to make more favorable maps for Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Republicans already hold seven of the state’s nine congressional districts, or 77%. Fewer than 60% of Indiana voters chose a Republican at the top of the ticket in the 2024 presidential election.
Read more: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2025/10/27/indiana-governor-mike-braun-special-session-redistrict-republican-congress-2026-election/85739380007/
Democrats Demand Trump Administration Fund November Food Benefits
Source: Huff Post
Oct 27, 2025, 01:28 PM EDT
WASHINGTON ― Food benefits for millions have become a top flashpoint in the government shutdown that shows no end in sight. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is adamant that it can’t pay next month’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits unless Congress approves legislation to fund agency operations. “Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01,” says a prominent message on the agency’s website.
The USDA said in a Friday memo it couldn’t use contingency funds or money from other sources to cover all or part of the roughly $8 billion needed for November’s SNAP allotment. The position seemed to contradict a September contingency plan, since deleted from the USDA’s website, that said Congress intended “that SNAP’s operations should continue” and that contingency funds “are also available to fund participant benefits in the event that a lapse occurs in the middle of the fiscal year.”
Democrats say any missing benefits will be the Trump administration’s fault, not theirs. Except for certain essential functions, federal agencies shut down earlier this month after most Senate Democrats voted against a “continuing resolution” that would have funded operations into mid-November.
“There are clear steps the administration can and must take immediately to ensure that millions of families across the country can put food on their table in November,” congressional Democrats said in a letter to the USDA on Friday. “Choosing not to ensure SNAP benefits reach those in need this November would be a gross dereliction of your responsibilities to the American people.”
Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/government-shutdodwn-snap-november_n_68ff9e16e4b0fb1b95157fd6?origin=home-whats-happening-unit
Link to now-deleted but ARCHIVED USDA "Contingency Plan" if there was a funding lapse (PDF) - https://web.archive.org/web/20251001024645/https:/www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fy2026-usda-lapse-plan.pdf
More proof that everything they do is to "blame the libs" for their craven actions.
Statue of Confederate general toppled by protestors in 2020 is returned to its DC perch after Trump's order
Source: The Independent
Monday 27 October 2025 12:59 EDT
The statue of a Confederate general that was toppled by demonstrators protesting the murder of George Floyd in 2020 has been reinstated in Washington, D.C., under orders from President Donald Trump. After sitting in storage for over five years, the statue of Albert Pike, a brigadier general and revered figure among Freemasons, returned to Judiciary Square, just a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol, on Saturday, WTOP News reported.
The bronze statue of Pike was the sole outdoor statue of a Confederate military leader in the nation’s capital. It had been yanked to the ground with ropes and chains and set on fire on Juneteenth 2020, as nationwide protests erupted following the death of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man killed in Minneapolis when a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck.
Confederate statues around the country were toppled during similar protests, while several military bases named for Confederate leaders were given new names.
The statue’s reinstallation “aligns with federal responsibilities under historic preservation law as well as recent executive orders to beautify the nation’s capital and reinstate pre-existing statues,” the National Park Service said in August announcing the the return.
Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/confederate-statue-albert-pike-dc-trump-b2853104.html
Except when you destroy history by ripping out 1/3rd of the "historic" White House, blatantly ignoring the "historic preservation law".
Former President Joe Biden receives lifetime achievement award at Kennedy Institute in Boston
Source: CBS News
Updated on: October 27, 2025 / 6:15 AM EDT
Former President Joe Biden received the lifetime achievement award at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute in Boston Sunday night, saying that it was "one of the most meaningful honors" he had ever received. The event marked Biden's first public appearance since completing a round of cancer treatment a week ago.
The institute honored Biden as part of its tenth anniversary celebration. It noted his contributions to public service, including his election to the Senate in 1972, his time as vice president under Barack Obama, and his eventual election as the 46th president. Biden is the first-ever recipient of the award and was introduced by Kennedy's widow, Victoria Kennedy.
"I want to tell you how much this means to me, to receive an award that honors the legacy of my friend Teddy Kennedy, who was by my side for every consequential moment of my political life," Biden said at the event. "He made such a profound difference in my personal life."
Biden explained that Kennedy helped him in his Senate campaign and continued to help through the death of his first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden, and his daughter, Naomi Christina Biden. "I was planning to give up my seat in the Senate," Biden explained. "Teddy wouldn't let me give up."
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-kennedy-institute-joe-biden-lifetime-achievement/
US government shutdown threatens the spending power of Congress
Source: Reuters
October 26, 2025 6:01 AM EDT Updated October 26, 2025
WASHINGTON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - As Republican and Democratic lawmakers trade blame for the U.S. government shutdown, some have begun to worry that the impasse is ceding their authority over federal spending to an increasingly assertive President Donald Trump. The White House during the shutdown has frozen billions of dollars in funds meant for Democratic-led jurisdictions, sought to lay off thousands of federal workers and shifted money around to guarantee that military personnel and gun-carrying law enforcement officers will not see their pay disrupted.
Nonpartisan observers said that further marginalizes Congress at a time when Trump is already pushing the boundaries of presidential power in other areas, like military action and international trade. "That's like an existential threat for congressional power," said Molly Reynolds, a government expert at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution think tank. "How do you negotiate a longer-term spending deal, something that goes more than just a couple of weeks, when you don't believe the executive branch is going to implement whatever choices it is that you put into that law?"
The U.S. Constitution assigns the power of the purse to Congress and not the president. Trump's fellow Republicans narrowly control both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The shutdown began on October 1, the first day of the 2026 federal fiscal year, because congressional Republicans and Democrats had failed to agree on legislation to fund government services.
Democrats have said they will not vote to resume federal funding unless Congress also addresses subsidies for 24 million Americans due to expire at the end of the calendar year. Republicans have said Congress first must pass a temporary spending bill that would allow the government to reopen. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 50% of Americans blame Republicans, while 43% blame Democrats.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-government-shutdown-threatens-spending-power-congress-2025-10-26/
THAT is the crux of the problem. You "pass something" and he signs it into law (or something is already law) and then he changes his mind and does a TACO and ignores it and refuses to carry it out. And the effectively "dissolved"-by-the-majority-GOP Congress then sits there and shrugs and the majority Congressional GOP won't impeach and remove him nor will they even invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him. Congress can pass funding and he'll just withhold it until the end of the fiscal year, letting it fall back into the Treasury, completely ignoring the "Budget Control and Impoundment Act".
Biden calls these 'dark days' as he urges Americans to 'get back up'
Source: ABC News
October 27, 2025, 1:56 AM
Former President Joe Biden called these “dark days” as he urged Americans to stay optimistic and not to check out in response to what he says are attacks on free speech and tests on the limits of executive power by President Donald Trump. “Since its founding, America served as a beacon for the most powerful idea ever in government in the history of the world,” Biden said. “The idea is stronger than any army. We’re more powerful than a dictator.”
Biden, 82, speaking publicly for the first time since completing a round of radiation therapy for an aggressive form of prostate cancer, addressed an audience in Boston on Sunday night after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Edward M. Kennedy Institute.
He said America depends on a presidency with limited power, a functioning Congress and an autonomous judiciary. With the federal government facing its second-longest shutdown on record, Trump has used the funding laps as way to exercise new command over the government.
“Friends, I can’t sugar coat any of this. These are dark days” Biden said before predicting the country would “find our true compass again” and "emerge as we always have — stronger, wiser and more resilient, more just, so long as we keep the faith.”
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/biden-calls-dark-days-urges-americans-back-126890069
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