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This Week’s “Party on the Peninsulas”
✹ Chairperson Barnes
Trump policies a direct threat to Michigan’s economy
✹ Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson
Candidate for Governor of Michigan
✹ This week’s Trump/GOP outrages
Corruption is now legal if Trump likes you
In the News
2025 State Convention – Michigan Democratic Party
Trump Friends-and-Family Corruption
- Editorial | Trump shows tolerance for corruption with executive order and pardon – The Washington Post
- How Trump Is Gutting Regulatory Agencies Like the SEC, CFPB and EEOC – The New York Times
- Trump and Bondi are breaking America’s anti-corruption safeguards – MSNBC
- What to Know About the Trump Family’s Deals in the Middle East – The New York Times
- How the Trumps Turned an Election Victory Into a Cash Bonanza – Wall Street Journal
- Early Crypto Traders Had Speedy Profit on Trump Coin as Others Suffered Losses – The New York Times
- Here’s How Much Money Trump Has Made Off the Presidency So Far – The New Republic
- Jared Kushner builds a business empire off his father-in-law’s back – Financial Review
- Can Jared Kushner’s investment firm connect Gulf money to Trump’s Gaza plan? – Middle East Eye
- Jared Kushner defends his equity firm getting $2 billion from Saudis after he left White House – CBS News
- With firings and lax enforcement, Trump moving to dismantle government’s public integrity guardrails – AP News
Michigan Politics and Policy
- Swanson launches campaign for governor, proposes sheriffs network for constituent services – Michigan Advance
- VIEDO – Senator Slotkin Speaks on Senate Floor on how Tulsi Gabbard will make Americans less safe – YouTube
- Trump tariffs creating “costs and chaos” for automakers, CEO says – Axios
- Republican senator introduces bill to kill EV subsidy – Detroit Free Press
- Trump tries to block EV charger money — again. Michigan impact ‘clear as mud’ – Bridge Michigan
- Trump steel, aluminum tariffs likely to drive up car costs, industry leaders say – AP News
- Michigan’s largest health care system resumes gender-affirming care for youth – The ‘Gander
- Deal close on minimum wage for tipped workers, key lawmaker says – Detroit News
- Gov. Whitmer: Tax ‘big tech,’ marijuana to improve Michigan roadways – Detroit News
- Trump grant money cuts could cost Michigan universities $200 million – Detroit Free Press
- MSU doubles down on DEI defense amid Trump administration hostility – The State News
- Michigan poll: Democrats face uncertain road in 2026 races – Detroit Free Press
- Follow the dough to know who’s leading the race for mayor of Detroit – Detroit Free Press
- Michigan ‘red flag’ gun law, year 1: 287 confiscation orders, 84 denials – Bridge Michigan
- Michigan leaders blast Trump’s plans for public education – Detroit Free Press
Trump/Musk’s Assault on Government and the Constitution
- Danielle Sassoon and Other Officials Resign After Order to Drop Eric Adams Case – The New York Times
- Opinion | Robert Rubin, Lawrence Summers, Timothy Geithner, Jacob Lew, Janet Yellen: DOGE Is a Threat to U.S. Democracy. – The New York Times
- ‘Who the Hell Voted for… Big Balls?!’ CNN Panel Melts Down Over Musk Hires – Daily Beast
- 19-year-old Musk surrogate has State Department email address – The Washington Post
- At Oval Office, Musk Makes Broad Claims of Federal Fraud Without Proof – The New York Times
- Trump preparing executive order to abolish the Education Department – NBC News
- Elon Musk is waging war on the CFPB, a key check on his business empire – CNN Business
- Right-Wing Crusade Against USAID Has Been Fueled by Falsehoods – The New York Times
- White House says it has the right to punish AP reporters – AP News
- The NSA’s “Big Delete” Word Purge – Popular Information
- Trump orders immediate dismissal of military academy boards of visitors – Axios
Lawlessness and Corruption
- Everything Elon Musk Touches Is a Conflict of Interest – Mother Jones
- How Tesla could benefit from Musk’s government dismantling efforts – AP News
- ‘People are just flipping out’: Billions in federal funding remain frozen despite court orders to keep the taps open – CNN Politics
- “Armored Tesla” (was) forecast to win $400 million State Department contract after Trump’s election – Drop Site
- Trump taps oil industry advocate for public land agency – AP News
- Exclusive | Musk’s X Agrees to Pay About $10 Million to Settle Trump Lawsuit – Wall Street Journal
- Trump takes aim at agencies that police wrong-doing, protect federal workers – The Washington Post
- Trump to pardon Rod Blagojevich – Axios
- DOJ moves to dismiss federal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams – Fox News
- Steve Bannon pleads guilty in New York ‘We Build the Wall’ case – NBC News
The Clown-Car Cabinet
- VIDEO – Senator Slotkin Speaks on Senate Floor on how Tulsi Gabbard will make Americans less safe – YouTube
- The cowards in the Senate bow down to Trump – Frank Bruni/The New York Times $$
- ‘Loyalty tests’ in Trump administration hiring reportedly take a ridiculous turn – MSNBC
The Nation
- Laughing Kremlin Insiders Say Trump Has Given Putin Greenlight to Expand the War – The Daily Beast
- Trump assumes Kennedy Center chair, ousts longtime president – POLITICO
- AP White House reporter blocked from Trump and Modi news conference – AP News
- The AP provides a model of effective press resistance – Public Notice
- Trumponomics and Rising Inflation – Wall Street Journal
- Christian aid groups receive millions in USAID funds. Now their humanitarian work is collapsing – AP News
- FACT FOCUS: FEMA funding to New York City to assist migrants is misrepresented – AP News
- Canada’s Trump Card in a Tariff War: Turning Off the Oil Taps – Mother Jones
- Nearly two dozen states sue the Trump administration to halt cuts in medical research funding – AP News
- Trump says no right of return for Palestinians in Gaza under his plan for US ‘ownership’ – AP News
- The Most Dangerous DOGE Cut – The Bulwark
- Dozens of Clinical Trials Have Been Frozen in Response to Trump’s USAID Order – The New York Times
- Since Trump’s ‘Emergency,’ What Is Actually Happening on the Border? – The New York Times