How the Hell Did Democrats Leave the IRS $20 Billion in the Red?

Democrats forgot to read the fine print on a bill and spoon-fed a huge victory to Republicans who want to kill the IRS.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the IRS’s tax enforcement fund, which allowed the IRS to better audit corporations and the wealthiest households, is now $20 billion in the red—leaving the fund’s future up in the air.

In 2022, when Democrats had a trifecta hold over the government, they put $80 billion toward the IRS, which was supposed to help the agency hire, modernize, and enforce through the next decade. When Republicans took the House back in 2023, they started making cuts to that fund to protect their rich friends and corporate interests, placing a $1.4 billion cut and then another $20 billion cut into deals they made with Biden last year.

This year’s stopgap funding bill—meant to keep the government open through December 20—kept the same $20 billion cut in the text. Congressional Republicans noticed that the Democrats didn’t notice its inclusion and watched silently with glee as yet another massive slash was made to one of the most important agencies we have.

“Our concern right now is that because of this risk to the IRS and the uncertainty of it, the IRS is going to potentially have to make dramatic decisions about stopping hiring,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told the Journal. “They are running low on enforcement dollars today.”

Adeyemo also noted that the cuts will force the IRS to do 2,000 fewer large corporate audits over the next five years and 6,000 fewer audits of wealthy individuals.

Donald Trump’s pick for the secretary of the Navy isn’t sitting well even with some MAGA faithful.

Trump announced Tuesday evening that he had selected John Phelan, founder and chairman of the private investment firm Rugger Management, to head the Navy. “A true Champion of American Enterprise and Ingenuity!” Trump wrote in a statement. “John’s intelligence and leadership are unmatched. John holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School, and is a truly brilliant guy! His incredible knowledge and experience will elevate the lives of the brave Americans who serve our Nation.”

Phelan is a somewhat curious choice, considering he has no military experience. Military Times reports that, if confirmed by the Senate, he “would be the first permanent Navy secretary without military experience since 2009, when Donald Winter finished up his three-year term in the role. Unlike Winter, who previously had worked within the Pentagon and on Navy contracts at major defense firms, Phelan has little public connection to the sea service.” Phelan is, however, on the board of a nonprofit “dedicated to supporting troops and diplomats worldwide.”

A detail that perhaps clarifies Trump’s decision: Along with his record as a businessman, Phelan was a Trump campaign megadonor. He reportedly donated more than $800,000 to Trump’s joint fundraising committee in April. This summer, he and his wife hosted a Trump campaign fundraising dinner at their $38 million home, “where attendees were required to donate anywhere from $25,000 to $500,000 a couple,” per The Guardian.

Online, even some of Trump’s supporters are questioning the pick and interpreting it as a display of cronyism.

One X user who sports “#MAGA” in her bio wrote: “This makes ZERO sense. NONE. How is Trump naming a hedge fund guy as Secretary of the Navy??? WTH??? I’m a huge Trump supporter, but we need MILITARY COMMANDERS running military branches.”

“Questioning the John Phelan pick,” posted another “Pro-Trump” user. “Feels like rewarding a cronie as he has no military experience. But, if his focus is going to be on making sure that the supply chain is up to stuff so that the Navy can build the ships it needs, it may be okay.”

Other conservative X users asked, “Ummm, why? He has never served in the Navy,” observed the appointment “seems like a gift,” and deemed it a “weird choice to nominate a person with no military experience to lead a branch of the military.”

“The Secretary of the Navy should be someone who served in the Navy,” posted user “Ms. Deplorable.”

Similar sentiments can be found in responses to the announcement on Trump’s Truth Social platform. One user wrote, “As a Veteran of the U.S. Navy, I want a Sailor in charge!! Not some walstreet billionaire with ZERO Military experience!! You got this wrong DJT!!!”

Another said the choice “feels like you’re rewarding a friend/donor.”

Recently released, beautifully drawn courtroom sketches are giving us a vivid depiction of just how out of control Rudy Giuliani is right now.

Artist Jane Rosenberg, who has sketched the likes of Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, and Jeffrey Epstein while they were on trial, appeared on CNN Tuesday to discuss her experience sketching Donald Trump’s embattled crony.

“His decorum has certainly changed from when I sketched him 44 years ago as a prosecutor,” Rosenberg said. “He’s losing it. He was wild. I feel bad for anyone who represents him. He blurts out orders at his lawyers who are at the podium, and he’s interrupting all the time.”

Rosenberg’s sketches show Giuliani looking absolutely incensed—brow furrowed and arms crossed in one; finger pointing sharply at someone in another.

Rosenberg’s sketch captures Giuliani’s  outburst about how broke he is right now. The former New York City mayor was ordered to pay $148 million to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, two Georgia election workers he defamed after Donald Trump lost the state  in 2020. He’s already handed over his luxury watches, a diamond ring, and a 1980 Mercedes-Benz, and claims he has no cash left to fulfill the judgment.

Donald Trump’s pick to lead the National Institutes of Health has a long history of criticism of the agency.

The Washington Post reports that Jay Bhattacharya, a physician and economist at Stanford University, was described as “fringe” by the head of the NIH in October 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic for being one of the authors of the “Great Barrington Declaration,” which stated that it was time for coronavirus lockdowns to end.

Trump announced Bhattacharya as his choice to lead the agency Tuesday night, drawing on the suggestion from his adviser and pick to run the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy. The department oversees the NIH.

Bhattacharya is a favorite of many Covid-skeptical Republicans, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis taking his advice during the pandemic. The Stanford academic also has the support of powerful figures among Trump supporters, including Silicon Valley billionaire and conservative megadonor Peter Thiel; Elon Musk, who claims Twitter suppressed Bhattacharya’s views before the tech CEO bought the platform; and podcaster Joe Rogan.

Bhattacharya claims that the NIH is shutting down alternative perspectives, saying figures in the agency such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for 38 years, were too powerful.

“I would restructure the NIH to allow there to be many more centers of power, so that you couldn’t have a small number of scientific bureaucrats, dominating a field for a very long time,” Bhattacharya said in a January interview.

Trump’s choice of Bhattacharya seems to be a nod not only toward Covid and lockdown skeptics but also to those who might place economic concerns over public health. This, coupled with the appointments of people like Kennedy, suggests that if a second pandemic breaks out (which is increasingly likely), the Trump administration may handle it even worse than last time.

Donald Trump is shirking decades-old norms intended to make the transfer of power smoother, according to The New York Times.

After weeks of delays, the president-elect’s team has finally signed a standard transition agreement with the White House to start briefing staff members. But they are still refusing to sign two other key documents. One is a Justice Department agreement to let the FBI perform security clearances for transition team members. This means that the Biden administration still isn’t able to share classified information with anyone from Trump’s transition team. The Trump team also won’t sign the General Services Administration agreement, which provides secure office space and government email accounts.

Top Trump aide Susan Wiles explained the reasoning behind this refusal, stating that Trump wants his team to “operate as a self-sufficient organization. This organizational autonomy means a streamlined process that guarantees the Trump Administration is ready on Day 1.

“The transition already has existing security and information protections built in, which means we will not require additional government and bureaucratic oversight,” Wiles continued.

But Biden officials say this refusal will just make information sharing harder, as they will have to find other ways to share important, unclassified information with the incoming administration—meaning in-person-only briefings and more restrictions on how said information will be shared. The Trump team has not commented on whether it does intend to sign the agreement sometime in the near future.

One of Canada’s leading right-wing politicians was taken aback by Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on America’s northern neighbor. 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, a member of Canada’s Conservative Party, said to the press Tuesday that Trump’s threat to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods entering the United States is “like a family member stabbing you right in the heart.”

“It’s the biggest threat we’ve ever seen.… It’s unfortunate, it’s very, very hurtful to Canadians and Americans on both sides,” Ford said. 

Like Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Tuesday, Ford said that Canada would have “no choice” but to retaliate with tariffs of its own, pointing out that such a move would hurt the $500 billion in annual trade between the United States and the province of Ontario, as well as the country’s entire economy. Trump attacked Canada, Mexico, and China in Truth Social posts on Monday, accusing the North American countries of not doing enough to restrict migrants and drugs from crossing U.S. borders. 

If the province of Ontario was a country, it would be America’s third-largest trading partner, serving as the top destination for exports for 17 states, and the second-largest for 11 others, so Ford is understandably worried. But right-wing politicians have a lot in common, and Ford said he heard the president-elect’s border comments “loud and clear.”

“The threat is serious. We need to do better on our borders. We need to give resources to [the Canada Border Services Agency],” he said, but pointed out that drugs, guns, and migrants arrive in Canada from the United States. “We have to tighten our borders on both sides.” 

Ford has also attacked Mexico in recent weeks, proposing a new trade deal between Canada and the U.S. that would exclude Mexico, and seemed particularly upset that Trump would lump the two countries together. 

“I want to emphasize, to compare us to Mexico is the most insulting thing I have ever heard from our friends and closest allies, the United States of America,” Ford said.  

The leader of the Conservatives, Pierre Poilievre, has often been compared to Trump, insulting his opponents and the media. But that didn’t stop him from criticizing Trump as well, calling the proposed tariff  “an unjustified threat.”  

“Our economy is teetering on the brink of collapse, and now we face this renewed threat,” Poilievre said. “We need a plan to put Canada first.”

A cadre of progressive Democrats is urging President Biden to change federal marijuana laws before his lame-duck presidency ends. 

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden, as well as Representatives Ilhan Omar, Barbara Lee, and Earl Blumenauer all helped write a letter to Biden on Tuesday asking him to deschedule marijuana and restrict federal marijuana prosecutions before his term ends. 

The letter, also signed by Senator Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, and others, notes that the mere descheduling of marijuana “will not end federal criminalization, resolve its harms, or meaningfully address the gap between federal and state cannabis policy. Possession and use of recreational marijuana—and much state-legal medical marijuana—will continue to be a violation of federal law.”  

Marijuana deregulation has been caught in limbo for some time now. While many progressive Democrats have pushed for full decriminalization of the popular recreational and medicinal drug, the letter asked Biden to reschedule the drug from Schedule 1—where heroin is at—to Schedule 3 alongside ketamine. 

And while Biden’s 2022 federal marijuana conviction pardons were notable, the letter points out that at least 3,000 people are still locked up. The letter also points out that “of the almost 700,000 drug possession arrests each year, one-third are for marijuana possession, and Black Americans are almost four times more likely than white Americans to be arrested for marijuana possession.”

This letter comes as confusion arises regarding where exactly the Trump administration stands on marijuana. People like Health and Human Services secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are extremely pro-weed, while people like attorney general nominee Pam Bondi and Food and Drug Administration nominee Marty Makary are much less open-minded.

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon threatened MAGA’s perceived foes with “the long arm of the law” on a recent episode of his podcast War Room.

The MAGA fixture was released from prison last month after a four-month sentence for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House Select Committee to Investigate January 6. Now, in the wake of Donald Trump’s election, Bannon is naming Democratic and Republican figures who he hopes will find themselves in the new administration’s crosshairs.

“I want these judges to understand, you’re not going to hide behind your cloaks,” Bannon said in Monday’s episode. “We’re coming for you too. You are corrupt. What you allowed to happen in that D.C. courtroom and what you’re allowed to do to these J6 people and send these to prison.”  

The former Trump official singled out January 6 Committee Chair Bennie Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney. “Bennie Thompson, you’re corrupt; Liz Cheney, you’re corrupt,” he said. “Preserve your documents, because we’re coming after you. You people are criminals.” 

Bannon also mentioned U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, special counsel Jack Smith, and MSNBC legal analyst Andrew Weissmann, saying, “You people are revolting … you can run wherever you’re going to run. The long arm of the law is going to track you down, and you’re going to be held accountable.”

Bannon’s remarks build on previous threats he has made during his daily podcast. Earlier this month, he told Weissmann and other MSNBC anchors and producers, “You better be worried. You better lawyer up. Some of you young producers, you better call Mom and Dad tonight. ‘Hey Mom and Dad, you know a good lawyer?’ Lawyer up. Lawyer up.”

His remarks are also consistent with Trump’s expressed desires to go after members of the January 6 committee. In March, Trump posted to Truth Social that Cheney “should go to Jail along with the rest of the [committee],” and in June, he posted, “INDICT THE UNSELECT J6 COMMITTEE.”

Representative Lauren Boebert’s Cameo page disappeared just one day after it went up amid questions over whether it broke congressional rules.

The Colorado congresswoman was charging $250 for personal advice or a “pep talk” on the celebrity video service, she explained in a welcome video. But questions quickly came up about whether her Cameo gig violated House rules prohibiting honoraria, or a “payment of money or thing of value for an appearance, speech, or article.”

Now, Boebert’s Cameo page is gone, returning a 404 error, and she may have managed to avoid an investigation from the House Ethics Committee over the whole thing. Members of the House are prohibited from earning more than $31,815 in outside income, and the only way she could have legitimized her Cameo income would have been to funnel it into her campaign account. However, that would have violated Cameo’s terms of service.

Boebert managed to stay in Congress during the past election thanks to switching to a safer, more conservative district after barely surviving Democratic challenger Adam Frisch in 2022. It seems that merely retaining her seat wasn’t lucrative enough for her, so she tried to copy her old colleagues Matt Gaetz and George Santos by launching a Cameo page.

But Boebert failed to realize that the two have ethical violations of their own that made them former members of Congress: sexual misconduct for Gaetz and various corruption charges for Santos. Despite her own numerous theatrical missteps, Boebert has yet to join Gaetz and Santos in breaking federal law or attracting attention for ethical shortcomings. But, seeing as how her congressional career has gone thus far, it may only be a matter of time.

Infamous Trump stooge Rudy Giuliani let the world know that he is desperate and broke after an unsuccessful attempt to postpone his trial.

Giuliani is facing another trial after refusing to pay $148 million he owes to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, two Georgia election workers he defamed after Donald Trump lost the state  in 2020. Giuliani sought to delay this latest trial, claiming the dates interfered with President-elect Trump’s inauguration in January, which he wanted to attend. The last-ditch delay tactic was likely an effort to seek a Trump pardon post-inauguration and make all of his legal problems go away—but unfortunately for him, his request was denied. This set Giuliani off on a pitiful rant against the judge, Lewis J. Liman. 

“It’s punishment for being the one who revealed first Joe Biden’s 30-year criminality,” Giuliani opined. “He’s been trying to torture me, stop me, take everything away from me since then.” It’s unclear whether he’s referring to President Biden or Judge Liman. 

“The reality is I have no cash,” he went on. “It’s all tied up. So right now, if I wanted to call a taxi cab, I can’t do it. I don’t have a credit card. I don’t have a checking account. I have no place I can go take cash out except a little bit that I saved, and it’s getting down to almost nothing.”

Giuliani already handed some of his prized possessions over to the plaintiffs, including his luxury watches, a diamond ring, and a 1980 Mercedes-Benz. It remains to be seen whether Trump will come to his aid.