3/26/2026

chump should have gone to prison - and marco died on general hospital today



President Donald Trump took classified documents related to his private business interests from the White House in 2021, according to materials the Justice Department apparently provided to the House Judiciary Committee. 

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the committee’s top Democrat, suggested in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi that the new documents were handed over by mistake in a slapdash effort to discredit the dormant criminal case against Trump. 
“These new disclosures suggest that Donald Trump stole documents so sensitive that only six people in the entire U.S. government had access to them, that the documents President Trump stole pertained to his business interests, and that Susie Wiles, then the CEO of Donald Trump’s super PAC, witnessed President Trump showing off a classified map to passengers on his private plane,” Raskin said in the letter. 

Raskin asked Bondi to tell lawmakers in a classified setting who was on the plane, what the map showed and which of Trump’s various business interests were relevant to the documents. The letter includes an image of an aircraft manifest with a redacted passenger list from a 2022 flight from Florida to New York. 



Raskin said the information released by the Justice Department indicated Trump "apparently took classified documents on a flight to his golf club in Bedminster, NJ" in 2022. Quoting from the DOJ disclosures, the lawmaker wrote that prosecutors believed Trump might have shown a classified map to people on the plane, noting that they believed this was witnessed by Wiles, who is now the president's chief of staff.

Cannon, a Trump appointee, blocked the public release of Smith's report outside of the Justice Department earlier this year and specifically blocked it from being sent to Congress last year.

Raskin wrote that without access to Smith's report or other investigative materials, lawmakers did not have details about the classified map and other information disclosed by the DOJ.

"Without access to Volume II of the Special Counsel’s final report or the investigative files, we do not know what that classified map contained, nor can we determine from this memo the relationship between the classified documents President Trump stole and their pertinence to his 'business interests,'" Raskin wrote.

Raskin submitted a series of questions to Bondi, asking for further information about who Trump allegedly showed the classified map to, what the map detailed, and information about the document allegedly only accessible by six people. He also requested details about documents "improperly" retained by Trump that were "pertinent to his business interests."


chump should be behind bars in prison.  that's where he belongs.  that dumb idiot he put on the bench in florida ran interference for him and so did the idiot merrick garland.


he's a crook.  

'general hospital'?


where to start?


rocco told lulu what happened.  she was very supportive - didn't go off on britt or anything.  she did take im into the hospital to get his hand looked at - told elizabeth that he had cut it in the kitchen.  

danny and charlotte went to carly's to talk to her father.  carly made danny pick up the phone and speak to alexis.  this allowed danny to learn that jason was in police custody.  cassadine put on a brave face.  after danny and charlotte left, he told carly that the wsb was going to find jason guilty and disappear him.  he'd end up in prison in switzerland and, cassadine said, 'i have friends there.'  so, carly asked, he could help jason escape?  yes, cassadine said.

britt learned from portia that marcos had died but ross lived.  


that's right, marcos died.  


i couldn't believe it.

isaiah was closing a stab wound and then they'd find another and then another and marcos just bled out.  

when lucas got done with his surgery on ross, he immediately called marcos again and got his voice mail again.  he told him he loved him but he was worried about him.  

after that, elizabeth walked up to him and tried to get him to go to the break room with her but he wouldn't.  so she broke the news to him that marco had died.

lucas went to marco to say goodbye and tell him that he loved him and that he had pushed marcos and he felt responsible for what happened.


sidwell and ava were told marco had been taken to the hospital by chase.  they get there and sidwell is told marcos didn't make it.

he goes to his son and tells him he loves him and that he should have said that before.  he talked about how proud of marco he'd been.  he vowed to finish off sonny for marco's mother and to take care of whomever killed marco.


ava tried to talk to lucas but he told her he couldn't.  he said he knew that marco was gone but if he talked with her it would be admitting it and he wasn't ready for that yet. 


so danny had asked alexis when they were on the phone for her to go protect jason.  he said it's what he wanted and it's what his mother (alexis' daughter) would want as well.


so she went there and was talking to him when jack and 2 others with the wsb arrived.  they announced jason was leaving with them.


as jason was being hauled away, he told alexis she was danny's legal guardian and asked her to watch over him. 


britt arrived as they were taking jason away and she was crying and then danny (and charlotte) showed up and he was crying about his dad being taken away.  


it was a very rough episode to watch.


and i can't believe marco is dead.  

i really can't believe it. 

let's close with c.i.'s 'The Snapshot:'


Wednesday, March 25, 2026.  Americans are not happy with the job market, or the economy, or Chump's war on Immigrants or on Chump's war on Iran, but Chump's lackey Stephen Miller is pushing against a Supreme Court ruling to overturn education for children in the United States. 


The mood in America?   Martha McHardy (DAILY BEAST) reports:

More Americans say they are struggling at their jobs rather than thriving, even as confidence in the job market has hit a new low, according to a poll.

The latest Gallup poll shows that for the first time since they began tracking U.S. workers’ life satisfaction, a larger share say they are struggling (49 percent) than thriving (46 percent).

A year ago, 47 percent said they were struggling, while 49 percent said they were thriving.

What happened?  Donald Chump.  Make America Great Again just meant bigger tax breaks for the rich.  It meant destroying federal agencies.  It meant destroying federal oversight -- protecting workers on the job, protecting our environment.  It meant putting a tag on everything and selling it off.  It meant lying to a bunch of uninformed people who will never be rich -- or even well off -- that the destruction of our public square was going to help them in some way.  


Trina covered this mood in "Matthew McConaughey's Tuna Salad in the Kitchen" last night.  

You can see the mood in the polls.   Sam Stevenson (NEWSWEEK) reports:

President Donald Trump is now underwater on every major issue tested, according to new polling, as economic anxiety and foreign policy tensions build ahead of the 2026 midterms.
[. . .]
Seven months from the midterms, sustained weakness across core issues threatens Republican prospects. 

Voters are juggling higher prices, economic unease and a widening war with Iran, and history suggests that kind of environment rarely favors the party in power.
Fresh polling shows Trump’s approval rating sitting underwater across every issue tested, with economic concerns driving some of the sharpest declines.

Data released Tuesday by polling analyst G. Elliott Morris from Verasight shows net approval-negative ratings on border security, immigration, the economy, foreign policy and inflation, among other issues. None of the categories tested produced a net positive result.

That's one poll. Sam Stevenson reports on another:

Trump’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest-ever level in a new survey from media outlet The Argument, which polled 1,519 registered voters nationwide between March 12 and March 17, 2026, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percent.

In its latest national survey, just 40 percent of registered voters said they approved of Trump’s performance, while 58 percent disapproved.
That produced a net approval rating of -18, the worst result for Trump in the history of The Argument’s polling series.

While Trump has long been a polarizing figure, this moment marks uncharted territory because, according to the outlet, no previous Trump-era poll it has fielded—across either presidency—has produced numbers this negative.


President Donald Trump's approval rating fell in recent days to its lowest point since he returned to the White House, hit by a surge in fuel prices and widespread disapproval of the war he launched on Iran, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The four-day poll, completed on Monday, showed 36% of Americans approve of Trump's job performance, down from 40% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last week.

Americans' views on Trump soured significantly with regard to his stewardship over the economy and the cost of living, as gasoline prices have surged since the U.S. and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran on February 28. Just 25% of respondents approved of Trump's handling of the cost of living, an issue that was at the center of his 2024 presidential election campaign.

Only 29% of the country approves of Trump's economic stewardship, the lowest rating in either of Trump's presidential administrations and lower than any economic approval rating of his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden.



That war with Iran?  Alex Griffing (MEDIAITE) reports:

President Donald Trump reportedly ordered 3,000 more U.S. troops to the Middle East this week, reported Fox News Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin on Tuesday.

“Fox News has learned that the Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division Maj Gen Brandon Tegtmeier and his ‘command element,’ members of his headquarters staff, have been ordered to deploy to the Middle East as the Pentagon and White House weigh whether to send the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East for possible land operations,” Griffin wrote on X.

The Wall Street Journal also confirmed the report, noting, “Officials cautioned that a decision to put boots on the ground in Iran hasn’t been made. But deploying the 82nd opens the door to President Trump for several strategic options.”

The Iranian officials have not negotiated with Chump or with his son-in-law.  Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Shah Meer Baloch (GUARDIAN) report that Iranian officials say they will speak with one official -- US Vice President JD Vance:

Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, says his country is ready to “facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks” to end the war in the Middle East amid attempts to push Islamabad as a possible venue for negotiations between the US and Iran.

Pakistani sources said the US vice-president, JD Vance, was being put forward as a probable chief negotiator from the US side if talks went ahead. Iranian sources have said they would refuse to sit down with Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, or Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who led the nuclear negotiations with Iran before the war.

Officials in Pakistan said the US and Iran could meet for negotiations in Islamabad as early as this week to discuss an end to the war, which began almost a month ago.
[. . .]
The source said the Iranian side viewed Vance as a more acceptable interlocutor. Vance is widely viewed as a sceptic of the decision to entangle the US in a Middle East war and has largely kept quiet on the conflict. “If the negotiations are going to have any outcome, JD Vance should join,” they said. “With Witkoff and Kushner, nothing will come out of it. We have seen that in the past.”

JD.  

Not Chump.


JD.


When Joe Biden was elected president, he frequently asserted that “America was back” and collaborating with allies again. But the fact that the United States would elect Donald Trump once was enough to make the world skeptical of that claim, and as the New York Times columnist Carlos Lozada writes, not only was that mistrust “vindicated with Trump’s return to the White House, but his second term has marked the emergence of a “post-America world” from which there may be no recovery.
As evidence of this, Lozada cites the recent words of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who warned, “The old order is not coming back. We shouldn’t mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy.”

According to Lozada, the “Pax Americana, that U.S.-led system of alliances and institutions that promoted American interests and values and helped avoid major conflicts in the decades after World War II, is gone, and irretrievably so.” Trump’s presidency has shredded those alliances and diminished those institutions to the point where “it is clear by now that the United States has ceased to be the leader of the free world.”

Lozada uses the example of Trump’s war on Iran, which Trump launched after a year of steadily alienating allies before asking those very allies for help. When they refused, Trump responded with characteristic bluster, saying, “We don’t need anybody. We’re the strongest nation in the world. We have the strongest military by far in the world. We don’t need them.”

Chump's destroyed America's place in the world.  And now?  Iranian officials want to speak with . . . JD Vance.

Diminished and Diminishing Donald.  A lame duck.

And the lame duck quacks loudly.   Greg Sargent (THE NEW REPUBLIC) observes:


Donald Trump’s tirades about Iran are getting uglier. He let out one rant that positively relished U.S. military domination of Iran and seethed about the media’s refusal to acknowledge his greatness. He unleashed a second tirade that dripped with bizarre triumphalism, angrily declaring the war “won,” which raises questions about why it’s continuing. And Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a rant that was drenched in bloodlust. This comes as a new Strength in Numbers/Verasight poll finds Trump’s approval at 37 percent and underwater on every issue, with majorities questioning the war’s most basic premises. That mirrors other polls from CBS, Reuters and NBC showing him in trouble and a recent Quinnipiac poll finding his coalition fracturing over the war.



President Trump’s threat to “obliterate” power stations in Iran if its leaders failed to open the Strait of Hormuz suggests that the United States is willing to violate international humanitarian law as part of its military campaign, according to current and former human rights officials.

“If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!” Mr. Trump wrote on social media on Saturday.

He later extended the deadline to Friday.

The president’s threat appears to be part of his erratic messaging campaign, which is often construed as bluster or misdirection.

“Trump is openly threatening a war crime,” said Kenneth Roth, a former executive director of Human Rights Watch. “And people aren’t saying anything because they’re numb to it.”

By threatening to attack civilian infrastructure, Mr. Trump has once again pushed the United States into territory more familiar to its enemies than its allies.

In 2024, the International Criminal Court issued four arrest warrants to Russian military officers and officials charging them with war crimes for attacking “Ukrainian electric infrastructure.”

International law, specifically Article 52 of the first additional protocol of the Geneva Conventions, prohibits attacks on civilian objects. These laws are meant to protect civilians and those who can no longer fight, such as wounded soldiers, from the “barbarity of war.”


At MEIDASTOUCH NEWS this morning, Ben provides an overview of the ongoing war.



Last night on MS NOW, Lawrence O'Donnell took on the childish whines of Chump.



Today on MS NOW's MORNING JOE, they took on Pete Hegseth's immaturity and inexperience. 





As the war with Iran continues and gas prices rise, Paul Krugman notes Chump's attack on energy sources that aren't fossil fuel-based:

We are now in a global fossil fuel crisis. With oil and liquefied natural gas from the Persian Gulf unable to reach international markets due to Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, hydrocarbon prices have been soaring around the world and widespread shortages are emerging. Anyone who thought that the U.S. would be insulated from this dire picture thanks to its large domestic oil production has had a rude awakening: the average retail price of gasoline has risen more than $1 per gallon over the past month, while the price of diesel is up $1.60.

But the Trump administration hasn’t allowed these short-run distractions to divert it from its long-run goals: It remains deeply committed to killing renewable energy, especially wind power, and increasing America’s reliance on fossil fuels.

True, some of the administration’s attacks on wind power have failed: Its efforts to throttle offshore wind development by ordering developers to stop work on projects that are already underway have repeatedly been overruled by the courts. But the administration is continuing to block development of onshore wind and solar power by freezing the issuance of federal permits.

And on Monday the Interior Department unveiled a new tactic in its war on wind: It announced that it will pay TotalEnergies, a French energy giant, almost $1 billion to not produce energy — specifically to abandon its plans to build two large wind farms off the East Coast.

To understand the Trump administration’s motives in its campaign to kill renewable energy, one must realize that this campaign is both economically self-destructive and, despite the best efforts of the fossil fuel industry, deeply unpopular.



Immigration.  Former US Senator Markwayne Mullin on Monday was confirmed as the new Secretary of Homeland Security.  As a former legislator, maybe the law will matter to him in a way that it did not matter to Kristi Noem?   Claudia Boyd-Barrett, Renuka Rayasam, and Amanda Seitz (CNN) report:

Carlos arrived at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in New Mexico in December, believing he was one step closer to reuniting with his children. By that point, his 14-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter had been in a federal shelter in Texas for nearly a year after crossing the border to be with him.
“I feel like I’m suffocating inside this shelter, trapped with no way out,” Carlos’ son said, according to one of the teens’ attorneys, when asked to describe how he felt after months at the Houston-area facility. “Every day, the same routine. Every day, feeling stuck. It makes me feel hopeless and terrified.”

During daily video calls, Carlos, who had temporary protected status, urged the siblings to be patient, to trust the process. Federal officials had vetted Carlos before he could be granted custody and told him his case was complete. He believed he would soon be back with his children, who, like him, had sought refuge from political violence in Venezuela.

An immigration officer called Carlos on a Friday and asked him to attend a meeting at an ICE office the following Monday to discuss reunification with his children. Once Carlos arrived, officers tried to force him to sign documents he said he didn’t understand. When he refused, they stripped off his clothes, seized his ID and belongings, and chained him by the neck, waist, and legs.

“They tricked me,” Carlos said in a phone call from an immigration detention center in El Paso, Texas, where he was held for several months. “They used my children to grab me,” he said.

In reporting on the family’s story, KFF Health News reviewed court documents, spoke with the family’s immigration attorneys, interviewed Carlos, and reviewed statements from his children, translated from Spanish. Carlos is a pseudonym, being used at the request of attorneys concerned that speaking out could jeopardize Carlos’ immigration case or further delay his reunion with his family.
Since 2003, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement has cared for immigrant children under 18 who arrive in the country without their parents, often fleeing violence, abuse, or trafficking. The office, which in February had more than 2,300 children in shelters or with foster families across the country, is supposed to promptly release them to vetted caregivers, typically parents or other family members already living in the country.
Congress placed this responsibility with the health agency over 20 years ago to prioritize the well-being of unaccompanied children and separate their care from immigration enforcement priorities.

Now the second Trump administration is using migrant children held by the resettlement office to lure their parents, such as Carlos, whether or not they have a criminal record. A KFF Health News investigation found the resettlement office, headed by a former ICE official, coordinates with the Department of Homeland Security to arrest people seeking custody of migrant children.

As for the former head of Homeland Security?  She's garnering side eye and laughter.  Matthew Chapman (RAW STORY) reports:

Former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem may have been fired from that role following President Donald Trump's rage over her massive taxpayer expenditure on a commercial promoting herself, but she wasn't cast out of the Trump administration entirely — and her new assignment was met with widespread mockery as it was widely seen as a move to humiliate her.
Trump initially announced her firing as a new appointment as Special Envoy to the Shield of the Americas — a small, made-up role that was a clear downgrade to a Cabinet-level office. And on Tuesday, CBS News' Olivia Gazis reported that "In her capacity as Special Envoy to Shield of the Americas Kristi Noem will report directly to Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau, per a State Department official."
This new development that her boss will be a deputy triggered a fresh wave of ridicule.

"Oof," wrote Politico diplomatic correspondent Felicia Schwartz.
"In March Madness terms, this is basically like getting kicked off the starting five and wounding up as the unlucky student who ensures the team mascot isn't being hassled by drunk frat boys," writer Charlotte Clymer posted.

Meanwhile, attention is turning elsewhere.   Shreshtha Chaudhary (SHOWBIZ CHEAT SHEET) notes:


Pam Bondi might have just “exposed” the real mastermind behind Donald Trump’s controversial policies, whom social media is hailing as the “shadow president” and someone who is actually pulling the strings. She revealed that it was none other than Stephen Miller who was the architect behind Trump’s plan to deploy the National Guard to the U.S. cities.
According to The Mirror, the President (79) was joined by top officials from his MAGA administration at a roundtable discussion about the Memphis Safe Task Force’s operations and successes on Monday, March 23, 2026, afternoon.
Reportedly, Bondi (60) was one of the pivotal figures and spoke about Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard to the southern city. The Attorney General revealed with great pride that United States Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller (40) was the “real mastermind” behind the decision.​


Stephen Miller has been in the news of late.  For example, Ewan Palmer (DAILY BEAST) reports:

Stephen Miller was met with an “uncomfortable silence” when he tried to demand loyalty from Texas House Republicans during a closed-door meeting, according to reports.

The White House deputy chief of staff met with Texas lawmakers last week to try to push them to pass more hardline immigration policies in the red state.
The four-hour meeting got off to an embarrassing start for the top Donald Trump ally when Miller asked, “Do we have a RINO problem in Texas?”—using the insulting acronym for “Republican in name only” that MAGA supporters use against GOP lawmakers deemed too moderate or insufficiently loyal to the president’s ultra-conservative agenda.
“There was no answer—it was just uncomfortable silence,” State Rep. Tom Oliverson, the chairman of the Texas House Republican Caucus, told The New York Times.

Fellow state Rep. Charlie Geren also walked out of the room after becoming frustrated with Miller’s questions about “RINOs” in Texas, according to the conservative website Current Revolt, which first reported on the meeting.

And what was he telling Texas Republicans to do?  Harold Meyerson (TAP) explains:

Last week, Stephen Miller—Don Trump’s wartime consigliere—met with Texas’s Republican legislators and asked them why they hadn’t passed a bill that banned undocumented children from public schools.
At first glance, the answer to that question might be that in 1982, the Supreme Court ruled in Plyler v. Doe that states were legally required to pay for the elementary school education of children regardless of their immigration status. But, as Tom Oliverson, the chairman of the Texas House Republican Caucus, told The New York Times yesterday, “There’s a lot of people that believe that that ruling has some pretty faulty logic associated with it.”
Well, sure. The Supreme Court clearly had a bias in favor of a generally well-educated public, able to perform the range of jobs and tasks that a functioning nation tends to require. That a bias in favor of a well-educated public has seldom infected Texas Republicans, Fox News, the MAGA movement, or Stephen Miller and his Don goes without saying. Indeed, a well-educated public inherently poses a long-term threat to authoritarians and authoritarian wannabes, inasmuch as such a public may wish to have a say in many public policies.



As Mother Jones‘ Isabela Dias reported back in 2022, this isn’t the first time that Miller has attempted this. In 2019, during Trump’s first term, he reportedly led a similar push. One that, according to TIME, he’d been driving at since 2017.

In the decades since Plyler, there have been several unsuccessful attempts to upend the highest court’s ruling. The current one is buoyed by the Trump administration’s multi-pronged anti-immigration campaign that has come to define his second term. 

As Mother Jones‘ Isabela Dias reported back in 2022, this isn’t the first time that Miller has attempted this. In 2019, during Trump’s first term, he reportedly led a similar push. One that, according to TIME, he’d been driving at since 2017.

In the decades since Plyler, there have been several unsuccessful attempts to upend the highest court’s ruling. The current one is buoyed by the Trump administration’s multi-pronged anti-immigration campaign that has come to define his second term. 

Miller isn’t alone. Also this month, Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas, led a House hearing to discuss how Plyler “was wrongly decided and how it harms America’s schools and students,” according to his press office. 

During the meeting, Roy said in his opening statement: “It’s time for it to go.” Roy went on to criticize programs in schools that taught English to language learners and refugees. Roy is currently vying for Attorney General of Texas in a runoff election. 

Zeph Capo, president of the Texas American Federation of Teachers, cited Roy’s hopes in his response: “Toying with children’s futures to win a primary election is the tactic of a small, sad man.”

This enlivened push to restrict access to public education comes as scores of immigrant children are already afraid to go to school across the country as Immigration and Customs Enforcement have repeatedly been seen near schools or bus stops. (The Department of Homeland Security has said they do “NOT raid or target schools” despite “media force-feeding the public stories about parents and children being scared to return to school.”) 



While Miller was treated like an after thought or a non-thought by Texas lawmakers, he did register with others recently.  Pedro Camacho (LATIN TIMES) reports:


White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller ranks as the most unpopular political figure in the United States, according to a new polling average cited by Migrant Insider. Other high-profile figures including Rand Paul, Scott Bessent and Pam Bondi are next in line.

The Race to the White House polling average, which compiles multiple recent surveys of 27 prominent political figures, found that Miller had a net favorability of negative 36 points among voters who have formed an opinion about him.
According to analysis by Pablo Manriquez of Migrant Insider, 68% of respondents viewed him unfavorably, while only about 18% expressed a favorable opinion. The ranking places Miller below other figures in the survey, including Bondi, who registered a negative 32 rating, and other administration-aligned officials. By comparison, President Trump posted a negative 16 rating in the same dataset, while JD Vance stood at negative 12.

Former president Barack Obama led the poll with positive 18 points, followed by former First Lady Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders.



Has Donald Trump finally figured out that Stephen Miller’s fascist cruelties have become a niggling political liability for him? Well, maybe. A striking report in The Wall Street Journal suggests Trump may be moving to marginalize Miller’s influence. But Trump appears to think the difficulty can be cured by a few optical tweaks, when the real culprit is a deeper ideological one.
Trump wants to “lower the profile of his mass deportation effort,” the Journal reveals. He wants voters to think the targets of these deportations are “bad guys,” not noncriminal undocumented residents. He wants less visibility for ICE raids in cities, fewer public confrontations with local officials, and less public talk about “mass deportations,” which, he now grasps, are hideously unpopular.

Tellingly, White House chief of staff Suzie Wiles now sees deportations as a liability for the midterms, per the report. That Trump is siding with her on the politics here is a sign of political panic and a rebuke to Miller, who apparently delights in flaunting the administration’s vicious sadism and overt white nationalism—and seems certain that latent majorities are quietly cheering along.


We'll note some video coverage of the ongoing Epstein scandal. 


The following sites updated:



3/24/2026

chump's last month's rose - faded and falling apart

hope you already saw this:


North Carolina Senate leader Republican Phil Berger, who touted President Donald Trump’s endorsement throughout his campaign, conceded defeat Tuesday in his primary election in a race he lost by just 23 votes.

Berger, a powerful figure in state politics, and Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page were separated by just two votes when unofficial results first came in for the Greensboro-area seat on election night. A machine recount and a separate hand recount of ballots in some counties affirmed the 23-vote loss for the incumbent.

berger was the incumbent and he had chump's endorsement.  and this was a republican primary.  are you getting how unimportant chump is?   


if not, david w. chen ('new york times') notes another race that took place today  and this 1 was not a primary:

Democrats on Tuesday flipped a Florida legislative district that includes President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, pulling off another upset in a state house election but this time one with obvious symbolic power.

Emily Gregory, a first-time candidate with a public health background, became the latest Democrat to win a special election and claim a statehouse seat previously held by a Republican.

Across the state, another Democrat, Brian Nathan, a Navy veteran and electrical workers union leader, was leading a tight West Tampa race for a state senate seat vacated by Florida’s newly appointed lieutenant governor.

Since the 2024 presidential election, Democrats have flipped more than two dozen seats in Republican or battleground states — including ones in Arkansas and New Hampshire earlier this month — while the Republicans have not captured any Democratic seats.


chump better face facts, he is last month's rose.  press him in a book or toss him in the trash, all the life has gone out of him.  


'general hospital'?


nathan got rocco off the pier after rocco shot ross.  jason's going to take the blame for it.  jason told britt - when she came to - that she was to say he shot ross.

nathan took rocco home to lulu.  she wanted to know what had happened.  rocco can't really talk - he's dazed.  nathan said that no 1 can know what happened not even rocco's father (dante) and that if any 1 asks, rocco was home with lulu the whole time.  he tells her he'll be back as soon as he can to explain what happened.


lulu does try to talk to her son but rocco's not talking.


dante keeps trying to get jason to speak - without his attorney present.  jason refuses to.

danny calls 911 while alexis tries to stop marco's bleeding.  the police get there and then the techs.  they take marco to the hospital.


lucas is at the hospital when ross is brought in.  while he preps for surgery, he calls marco to make sure marco is ok.  he gets marco's voice mail and leaves a message asking marco to call him or text him asap because he's worried.

portia checks out britt.  britt's still coming to.  at 1 point she asks for her phone and portia tells her she had no phone when she was brought in and britt says she has to call marco.  that's when portia tells her that marco was stabbed repeatedly.  

carly and cassadine had it out before carly finally believed him that he wouldn't hurt her and that she could trust him.

danny, not knowing sonny's been picked up by the police, goes to charlotte and explains he has to find his father.  he thinks they should go to sonny.  charlotte says no because that's where every 1 would expect danny to go.  

let's close with c.i.'s 'The Snapshot:'


Tuesday, March 24, 2026.  Chump has no idea what he's doing with regards to the war on Iran, he has no concerns about how he's destroying the economy, ICE arrests a crying woman at an airport, Kristi Noem's boytoy is upset that the press is covering his dealings, and much more.


INDIA TODAY reports, "The longer the Iran war continues, the more complicated it becomes for US President Donald Trump, who is facing boiling criticism with no easy way out in sight. Leon Panetta, former US defence secretary and Central Intelligence Agency director, said that Donald Trump is stuck between 'a rock and a hard place' after weeks of conflict."  Chump changes the reason for the war near daily just as he changes the goal for it.  He has no idea what he's doing.  Akbar Shahid Ahmed (HUFFINGTON POST) reports on the mood of some service members:


Interviews with active duty soldiers, reservists, and advocacy groups focused on service members found some U.S. troops who are caught up in the war are reporting vulnerability, overwhelming stress, frustration and disillusionment to the degree they may leave the military. The reservists and active duty soldiers spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation or because they were not authorized to speak to the press. 

A military official who is treating service members evacuated from the Middle East to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany amid Iran’s retaliation said troops are suffering from “inadequate force protection and planning” and already reporting a severe, destabilizing toll from Iranian ballistic missiles and drones that have been repeatedly striking American military facilities. Thirteen troops have been killed amid the war so far, seven due to strikes, and at least 232 have been wounded.
A ground operation would be “an absolute disaster… we don’t have a plan for that,” the official said earlier this week. “We can’t even fully defend a single land base in the theater.”

A veteran and reservist who mentors younger officers told HuffPost her contacts are expressing a loss of faith to a new degree. 
“I’m hearing out of service members’ mouths the words, ’We do not want to die for Israel — we don’t want to be political pawns,” she said. Another reservist in touch with current troops separately reported hearing similar comments.

“I’ve shared conscientious objector information six times in the past two weeks and I’ve been in the military almost 20 years — I’ve never had people reach out this way,” the first reservist continued.
[. . .]
The lack of a clear, consistent narrative justifying the Iran war is a key source of discontent among troops, the reservists said, demoralizing those who believe a poorly planned conflict is placing them in unnecessary danger for no identifiable strategic benefit.


No one knows what Chump is doing -- and that includes Chump.  Martha McHardy (DAILY BEAST) notes:


His timeline for the conflict also grew increasingly muddled. Early on, Trump said the fighting could continue for “four weeks or so.” Not long after, though, he claimed the campaign was “very complete, pretty much,” before later walking that back and saying the war would not be over that week, though it would end “very soon.”
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has asked Congress to sign off on another $200 billion for the Iran conflict, a massive funding request that appears at odds with Trump’s repeated claims that the war is nearly over. The administration is also reportedly considering sending additional air and naval assets to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz and keep the vital shipping lane open.

What is known?  THE NEW YORK TIMES notes:


Oil prices rose and global stocks ticked higher on Tuesday, a day after President Trump set off a drastic market reaction by backing away from a threat to strike Iranian energy infrastructure.

On Monday, crude oil plunged and stocks jumped after Mr. Trump said the United States and Iran were in talks to end the war. Iran denied that negotiations were underway and accused Mr. Trump of issuing false statements to calm rattled energy markets.



Senior military officials are weighing a possible deployment of a combat brigade from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and some elements of the division’s headquarters staff to support U.S. military operations in Iran, defense officials said.

The officials described the military’s actions as prudent planning, noting that nothing had been ordered by the Pentagon or U.S. Central Command, which declined to comment. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing planning.

The combat forces would come from the 82nd Airborne’s “Immediate Response Force,” a brigade of about 3,000 soldiers capable of deploying anywhere in the world within 18 hours. These forces could be used to seize Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub.

Another possibility being considered, should President Trump authorize U.S. troops to seize the island, is an attack by about 2,500 troops from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is on its way to the region.

The airfield on Kharg Island was damaged by the recent U.S. bombing raids so former U.S. commanders said it was more likely to first bring in Marines, whose combat engineers could quickly repair airfields and other airport infrastructure. Once the airfield is repaired, the Air Force could start flowing matériel and supplies, as well as troops, if necessary, by C-130s.




A conservative media personality is sounding the alarm about President Donald Trump’s polling on key issues ahead of November’s midterm elections.

“November is a long way away, but if these numbers hold, we are going to get massacred in the midterms. That’s just reality,” Jesse Kelly, host of The Jesse Kelly Show, wrote on X, alongside the results of a new CBS News/YouGov poll that showed Trump underwater on issues including the Iran war, the economy and immigration.


But why look at just one poll?  Jasmine Laws (NEWSWEEK) looks at five:

Five new polls have suggested that President Donald Trump’s approval rating is falling in some cases to record lows, as America’s conflict with Iran in the Middle East continues, and concerns about the U.S. economy are growing nationwide.
[. . .]

One of the five new polls was a CBS News/YouGov survey, conducted between March 17 to 20. In total, 3,335 U.S. adults participated and the outcome revealed that 60 percent said they disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job as president.

This marked a net percentage point drop in approval of 20, according to RealClear Polling. Some 49 percent of participants also said they “strongly disapprove” of Trump’s actions as president, while 24 percent said they “strongly approve.”
For the economy, inflation and immigration, more participants disapproved than approved the way Trump was handling the policy areas.

Disapproval of how he was handling the situation in Iran was 62 percent, while 32 percent believed the U.S. economy would be in recession next year. Of those polled, 52 percent felt Trump’s policies were making them “financially worse off.” The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent.




And on the economy?  Jennifer Bowers Bahney (MEDIAITE) notes, "CNN data guru Harry Enten claimed Donald Trump was 'last in the pack' of all 21st century presidents when it comes to voter approval on the economy."  As Jill Lawrence (BULWARK) pointed out, "His top economic priority has been to enrich himself and the rest of the billionaire/(Jeffrey) Epstein class, while sharply cutting resources for programs that help low-income people."  Thomas Kika observes:

The odds that Republicans will lose both the House and the Senate in the upcoming midterm elections are increasing, and according to a new breakdown from a Fox News analyst, it will be entirely President Donald Trump's fault.

Democrats have been tipped to retake the House majority since late last year, when simmering voter resentment against Trump saw his approval rating tank and led to major Democratic victories in off-year elections. Due to an unfavorable slate of races, the Senate was seen as a long shot for the party initially, but as Trump and his agenda have grown more and more unpopular, the odds have slowly begun to break for Democrats, with some polls now putting the chamber as a toss-up.


Today on MS NOW's MORNING JOE, they noted how ICE at the airport is a bad look for Republicans heading into the mid-terms. 



And how poor of a look it is was made clear yesterday.   Malcolm Ferguson (THE NEW REPUBLIC) reports:

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents violently arrested a woman at an airport just one day after President Donald Trump called for them to help fill TSA staffing gaps.

Video of the incident on Sunday night showed two plainclothes agents dragging a sobbing woman away inside a boarding area of San Francisco International Airport. The reason for her arrest was not officially stated, and the agents refused to identify themselves or show an official badge. Meanwhile, airport authorities surrounded the agents to protect them while they kidnapped the woman—as a young girl traveling with her stood behind them crying during the arrest.



Immigration?  ICE destroyed Chump's reputation there.  Kristi Noem is out but not forgotten.  Laura Esposito (DAILY BEAST) reports:
 
Kristi Noem’s right-hand man—and alleged “loverboy”—had even more access to sensitive government secrets than previously known.

Corey Lewandowski, a top aide to the ousted Homeland Security secretary, wielded the full might of the Department of Homeland Security—sitting in on classified briefings and weighing in on contracts approved by the agency, The New York Times reported Saturday.
More than 20 current and former Trump administration officials told the Times that Lewandowski, who was brought on by Noem, 54, to serve only 130 days annually as a special government employee, built a system in which he was privy to all the department’s resources—and secrets.
Lewandowski, who is married, has been glued to Noem’s side since she stepped into her role last January. During that time, the former Trump adviser reportedly cast a powerful vote on most of the department’s ground operations and personnel decisions and was the driving force behind Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino’s ascension to power.

Bovino announced he was departing the agency this month following his leadership of immigration crackdowns across the country that saw two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis killed by federal agents.
Lewandowski also reportedly placed employees on leave on a whim over trivial matters, sources told the Times. Last month, the 52-year-old made headlines for reportedly firing a U.S. Coast Guard pilot after a blanket belonging to Noem was left behind on a different plane.

More insight into the vast power Lewandowski wielded at DHS comes from additional reporting alleging that he sought personal paydays by steering companies seeking highly lucrative government contracts.


Ariana Baio (INDEPENDENT) notes, "Corey Lewandowski, the unpaid adviser to outgoing Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, is unlikely to return to the White House once he leaves his post this month after generating various controversies over the last year, according to a new report."  But you haven't heard the last of him, Congress is very interested in his dealings.  Laura Strickler (NBC NEWS) explains:

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have launched a new inquiry into outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s top aide, Corey Lewandowski, who allegedly sought personal payments from contractors, as was outlined in an NBC News investigation last week.
On Monday, House Oversight Democrats sent a letter to the private prison company GEO Group asking it to disclose details of meetings and conversations Lewandowski had with the firm both before the transition period after President Donald Trump was elected in 2024 and during 2025.

Lewandowski denied allegations he sought payments in exchange for favorable contract decisions. GEO Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

GEO Group is the largest owner of detention centers in the United States, and the company plays a major role in Trump’s mass deportation of unauthorized immigrants. The firm holds more than a billion dollars worth of contracts with DHS.


Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform issued the following:



Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, demanded answers from GEO Group after new NBC News reporting alleged Corey Lewandowski, a Special Government Employee at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), attempted a pay-to-play scheme with the private prison company over DHS contracts. Lewandowski allegedly demanded kickbacks based on the value of GEO Group’s new or renewed contracts with DHS. After Lewandowski rejected GEO Group’s counteroffer to put him on retainer, Lewandowski allegedly told a senior DHS official not to award the corporation any more contracts in an apparent act of retaliation.

 
“Corey Lewandowski appears to have engaged in deep-rooted corruption at the Department of Homeland Security, and this massive pay-to-play scheme should concern all Americans. We need answers directly from any companies Lewandowski was soliciting. Oversight Democrats are going to root out this corruption at DHS, and we won’t stop until there’s accountability,” said Ranking Member Robert Garcia.

In the letter to GEO Group Chairman and CEO George Zoley, Ranking Member Garcia wrote, “Mr. Lewandowski may have used his position in the Trump Administration and close relationships to President Trump and Secretary Noem to enrich himself while serving as a special government employee (SGE). If true, these allegations of Mr. Lewandowski shaking down contractors for kickbacks represent a clear violation of the law and a serious breach of public trust by DHS. We ask for your cooperation in our investigation.”

This letter is an escalation of Oversight Democrats’ investigation into Corey Lewandowski’s role at the Department of Homeland Security. This month, Ranking Member Garcia joined Rep. Rick Larsen, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, to demand an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Inspector General into Corey Lewandowski’s employment. Additionally, the Ranking Members wrote directly to DHS and demanded all communications and internal records regarding Corey Lewandowski’s involvement in DHS personnel and contracting decisions.

In August, Ranking Member Garcia wrote to then-Secretary Kristi Noem regarding Corey Lewandowski’s employment as a Special Government Employee, demanding a complete accounting of his service days (including records and logs), assessment on whether he has exceeded his 130 day limit as an SGE, all documents and communications regarding his role in personnel decisions (firing/hiring) and grant approvals in FEMA operations, and all documents and direct communications between Lewandowski and any lobbying firm, lobbyist, or government contracting consultant.

In September, Ranking Member Garcia wrote to the Office of Government Ethics and to then Secretary Kristi Noem demanding the public release of Corey Lewandowski’s financial disclosures, which they have illegally failed to produce. Lewandowski meets the qualifications to be a public filer, meaning that legally, his financial disclosures must be made public.

 
###

Corey is not taking the news well.  Laura Espisito also reports:

Kristi Noem’s alleged longtime lover is lashing out—threatening a legal showdown after a bombshell report accused him of trying to cash in on lucrative government contracts.

Corey Lewandowski, a top Trump attack dog and adviser to the ousted Homeland Security secretary, is threatening litigation against NBC News, which reported that multiple companies complained to the Trump administration that Lewandowski stood to profit from the DHS contracting process.



And what of Chump's friend Epstein?  


 Nicole Charky-Chami (RAW STORY) notes:


Former modeling agent and longtime ally to President Donald Trump, Paolo Zampolli asked a top ICE official for help "to settle a personal score" and have the mother of his child deported during a custody battle, according to The New York Times.

Zampolli, a now presidential special envoy, introduced Trump to the president's now wife Melania.

He found out that his Brazilian ex-girlfriend, Amanda Ungaro, had arrested on charges of fraud at her work and in custody at a Miami jail — and last year talked to a top official at ICE, David Venturella, to see if she could be placed in ICE detention, citing that she was in the country illegally, The Times reported.

The two had been going through a custody battle over their teenage son and "now he saw an opportunity" to try and get him back, Friday's report stated.

A source familiar with Zampolli's communications and records acquired by The Times revealed that Ungaro was picked up from a Miami jail by ICE agents before she could make bail and later deported. Although this could have happened without her ex-boyfriend's involvement, it raises questions about how members of the Trump administration have used the federal government during Trump's second term to pursue personal vendettas.



When Ungaro met Zampolli, she was still a teenager, and he was in his early 30s. While Zampolli insists that their courtship didn’t begin until Ungaro was 19, certain sources imply that Ungaro was much younger when her grooming by Epstein began.

“This is not family drama. This is a criminal operation,” Ungaro shared in a statement published by Bekah Day this January. “I have proof that me and my family have faced harassment, threats, and blackmail from Paolo for years. I have information and proof of government and public officials being bribed by Paolo.I have proof that Paolo began trying to date me when I was 15 years old, and it is true that I was on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane as a teenager. I was only 16 years old the first time I was put on his plane.”

Tr*mp and Zampolli’s longstanding ties feature a number of fellow Epstein associates, such as magician David Copperfield. In a 2013 email, Zampolli wrote to Melania: “As you know Donald changed my life w/ u That night at dinner w/ Copperfild.” 
During Tr*mp’s first administration, when he put Zampolli on the board of the Kennedy Center, Zampolli and Ungaro lived together in Washington with their son. But by 2023, Ungaro discovered that her partner was busy grooming other young girls, and left him. In June of 2025, he called ICE on her.

While this information has circulating since June when Day and other independent reporters got the intel about the ICE attack on Ungaro, the Times exposé marks the first case of a mainstream news source connecting the dots between Zampolli, Ungaro, Epstein, and the Tr*mps.


Donald Chump's late friend remains in the news.  Robert Davis (RAW STORY) reports:

A political analyst was taken aback on Sunday by a report that uncovered new details about the death of disgraced financier and convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein

On Friday, the Miami Herald reported that several bags of shredded documents were found outside of the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, where Epstein was being kept. Investigatory documents obtained by the outlet revealed that at least one inmate was involved in disposing of the documents and raised questions about the extent of the prison guards' involvement in the ordeal.

Podcaster and owner of MSW Media, Allison Gill, was taken aback by the report as she discussed it on a new episode of her podcast, "The Breakdown," on Sunday. She called the report a "massive revelation."

"If there weren't already a million really weird coincidences surrounding the death of Jeffrey Epstein, if there weren't a mountain of odd coincidences, this story ... would still raise glaring alarm bells just on its own," Gill said.

Gill noted several facts presented in the report that seemed "pretty convenient." For instance, an inmate named Steven Lopez was interviewed by FBI agents about the document shredding, but was only asked yes-or-no questions. A prison lieutenant was also present during the interview.

"That's pretty intimidating," Gill said.


 Olivia Salamone (RADAR) notes:


Donald Trump's Justice Department is facing renewed scrutiny after a newly surfaced report claimed officials destroyed large volumes of documents in the days following Jeffrey Epstein's death, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

The explosive allegation, buried in a batch of records released earlier this year, suggests key materials may have been discarded while federal investigators were still trying to piece together what happened inside the New York jail where the disgraced financier died.

According to the document, seen by The Daily Beast, a Bureau of Prisons review team was sent into the Metropolitan Correctional Center shortly after Epstein was found dead in August 2019.

But instead of simply examining procedures, witnesses described a steady stream of shredded paperwork being hauled out of the facility.

"[Redacted] has never seen this amount of bags of shredded documents coming out to be put in the dumpster at the rear gate of the MCC," the report stated.

The activity reportedly unfolded while multiple agencies, including the FBI and inspector general officials, were present amid the ongoing investigation.


For those who've forgotten, Donald Chump was president in 2019 when Epstein was jailed and died.  It was his Justice Dept that was in charge.  Bill Barr and others back then told a story that honestly doesn't hold up anymore.   Samantha Ibrahim (OK!) notes:


At least one inmate was reportedly used to help discard the files, according to the DOJ. ​​“[Redacted] was bringing back bags of shredded papers, around 4 or 5 bags, and caller brought them into the gate to throw into the dumpster. [Redacted] told caller that the after-action team is shredding huge amounts of paperwork,” the files said.

“Caller found it suspicious that an after-action team charged with investigating would be shredding huge amounts of paperwork with all of the officials from the AIG, FBI and BO[P] in the building in the middle of an investigation. Those giving instructions to [redacted] said, ‘Make sure you get that box too,’” the document read, also referring to the Assistant Inspector General.


Chelsie Napiza  (INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES) reminds


A CBS News investigative review of 90 post-mortem photographs, conducted in October 2025, found that evidence markers were absent, items had been moved, and the FBI did not arrive at the cell until 1:35 p.m., more than seven hours after Epstein's body was found. Forensic analyst Nick Barreiro, who reviewed the photographs for CBS News, said, 'The FBI literally has all of the best tools. They have every tool you can imagine. And they used none of it as far as we can tell.'

Nearly two years elapsed before investigators formally interviewed the two corrections officers on duty the night Epstein died. Epstein's brother Mark told CBS News, 'This was never properly investigated as a proper homicide, it was never investigated.' His attorneys said DNA tests were never confirmed as having been carried out, while former Attorney General William Barr told investigators in a deposition that he could not remember whether they had been performed.

Political pressure to release Epstein-related government files intensified throughout 2025. In November of that year, the US House of Representatives passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which the Senate unanimously approved and President Donald Trump signed into law. The legislation required the attorney general to release all unclassified records related to Epstein, with the explicit instruction that no document be withheld on the basis of 'embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity.'


Allison Gill (MEIDASTOUCH NEWS) reviews the details on the shredding of documents following Epstein's death.






Let's wind down with this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:


Construction of these facilities threatens to waste billions of taxpayer dollars; does not advance U.S. national security or improve the military’s readiness

Migrant detention centers have been likened to “concentration camps for immigrants”

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. — Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, launched a new investigation into the diversion of military resources as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is funnels billions of dollars through a Navy contract vehicle to build a network of migrant detention centers — some of which have been likened to “concentration camps for immigrants.” In a new letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the senators call for the Pentagon to end its agreement with DHS.

“Diverting military resources to assist the development of ICE’s new detention facilities does not advance U.S. national security — nor the quality of life for our troops — and does nothing to improve the military’s readiness for conflict,” wrote the senators.

The Worldwide Expeditionary Multiple Award Contract (WEXMAC) vehicle was created in 2021 as a tool to support naval expeditionary forces “in austere and remote locations across the globe.” The contract initially supported U.S. national security efforts in Afghanistan, Sudan, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Since September, the Pentagon has allowed DHS and ICE to use the program to award 120 contracts to build and maintain a network of migrant detention centers. One recent award went to The GEO Group, a massive private prison company with a history of unsafe and inhumane conditions.

The Pentagon has also increased the WEXMAC contract ceiling sixfold, from $10 billion to $65 billion, since DHS and ICE began using the program, raising concerns that the Department of Defense (DoD) is funneling or preparing to funnel more resources from the military toward immigration enforcement. A previous investigation led by Senator Warren and Representative John Garamendi (D-Calif.) found DoD had diverted more than $2 billion of military funds—originally meant for fixing military barracks, training service members, and schools for military children—toward immigration enforcement. Pentagon officials have admitted that the military won’t be reimbursed by DHS for those funds.

“We are [also] concerned about the lack of transparency and financial risks associated with this contract vehicle…[which allows] DHS to sidestep the full federal acquisition process and fast-track the construction of migrant detention centers,” said the senators.

The WEXMAC program is structured such that it allows DHS — through DoD — to award construction and maintenance contracts to a small set of contractors under one large contract. After the large contract is awarded, Pentagon officials can quickly approve work by any of these contractors without further competition, increasing risks of taxpayer waste. DHS officials are also reportedly attempting to quickly award contracts and avoid federal competition rules, which are specifically designed to avoid political favoritism. The Pentagon also appears to be relying on uncertain legal authority to allow DHS to use this contracting vehicle.

“We are concerned that [WEXMAC] is only the latest example of a systemic pattern of diverting DoD resources to support DHS missions, and that this diversion threatens military readiness,” concluded the senators.

The lawmakers asked Secretary Hegseth to end DoD support for these programs, writing that DoD should not allow DHS to “bypass federal acquisition procedures and fast-track the construction of migrant detention facilities throughout the United States.” They also asked DoD to provide clarity on its agreement with DHS, detail what actions it’s taking to prevent the waste of taxpayer funds, and provide an accounting of the funds and resources spent supporting DHS for the building of detention centers by March 31, 2026.

###






The following sites updated: