[guest post by Dana]

Nothing we don’t already know, arguing against it would be to argue in vain:

Since 2015, every time it looked as if Trump’s goose was cooked (Access Hollywood, impeachment, Jan 6th, indictments, etc), he found a way to come back and succeed. This is why so many Rs in Congress are willing to give him benefit of the doubt on tariffs.

Those who pulled the trigger too soon (denouncing Access Hollywood, criticizing his Jan. 6th actions; assuming he’d never win nomination in ‘24), are either no longer in Congress or have been thoroughly chastened.

If nervous R’s try to push-back on Trump and/or try and distance themselves from his policies, they risk backlash in their CD’s/states from the base, esp, if Trump’s tariff gamble turns out to be less than the disaster markets expect.

Plus, there’s a chance that the courts ultimately step in and invalidate Trump’s actions. That too is a reason for worried R’s to hold their powder.

If economy does indeed slip into a recession, GOP members will feel the brunt of the anger in midterms, but running away from Trump won’t make their re-election prospects any better.

All of this is to say that we should expect to see R’s stick with Trump, even as the markets convulse more.

I think this cowardly and self-serving description of Congressional Republicans is correct. Even giving Trump the benefit of the doubt on tariffs is a self-serving decision to protect their own political futures. He’s so smart and clever, he got away with murder thn surely he’ll get away with crashing the economy too! Shameful.

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]
A gift to Trump:

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed President Donald Trump to enforce the Alien Enemies Act for now, handing the White House a significant victory that will let immigration officials rely on a sweeping wartime authority to rapidly deport alleged gang members.

The unsigned decision in the case, the most closely watched emergency appeal pending at the Supreme Court, lets Trump invoke the 1798 law to speed removals while litigation over the act’s use plays out in lower courts. The court stressed that people deported going forward should receive notice they are subject to the act and an opportunity to have their removal reviewed.

The report breaks down the vote: the 3 liberal justices, along with Coney-Barrett, dissented.

There was more news from the Court today:

Chief Justice John Roberts agreed Monday to pause a midnight deadline for the Trump administration to return a Maryland man mistakenly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

The temporary order comes hours after a Justice Department emergency appeal to the Supreme Court arguing U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis overstepped her authority when she ordered Kilmar Abrego Garcia returned to the United States.

The administration has conceded that Abrego Garcia should not have been sent to El Salvador because an immigration judge found he likely would face persecution by local gangs.

Even though the administration acknowledged and agreed that they had wrongly sent Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, there is still going to be a court-approved delay in returning him to the United States. No new date was set by the Court.

Expectedly, Trump’s team of attorneys argued that the Court had “overstepped” their power by ordering Abrego Garcia returned.

—Dana