1/ A THREAD on the death of honor in the Senate and why we can't just let it go and brush it off as "Republicans doing Republican things".
2/ Democracy is predicated on the exercise of restraint and fair play. Our Constitution has enormous amounts of wiggle room in it - enough so that a democracy could be converted to a one party system without a technical violation of our founding document.
3/ For instance, the founding fathers didn't require a Senate vote on a President's nominee for the Supreme Court bc they assumed fair play. They never envisioned a situation like 2016 where the Senate's majority party refused to vote on the president's pick.
4/ McConnell's figured out the Constitution lets him operate the Senate any way he wants, and he's moved to demolish tradition at a dizzying pace. SCOTUS filibuster, blue slips gone. Debate on nominees curtailed. He's tasted how easy it is to grab power, and he isn't finished.
5/ And there's no logical end. He can keep cutting down debate. He can start denying resources to the minority party. Now that he's made the decision that power is more important than comity, he can effectively muzzle the opposition.
6/ Further, now that lying has been normalized (and newsflash - they were lying when they said there was a new rule not to confirm judges in an election year), an institution that requires deal-making and compromise cannot function - if keeping your word in now passe.
7/ Any democratic parliamentary body runs on the principles of restraint and honor. And in the last 10 days, McConnell and his caucus have destroyed both.
Now there are new rules - I get this and I will have to live by them - but it's potentially lethal for our democracy.
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2/ This meeting essentially accepts Russia back into the club of legitimate major nations. And that's unacceptable, because Putin is committing war crimes in Ukraine - purposely murdering innocent people and kidnapping young children.
The photo op alone is a disaster for peace.
3/ How could the meeting become an even bigger disaster? Easy.
If there is no ceasefire (and there can't be, because Ukraine isn't even attending!), and Trump doesn't immediately announce sanctions AND new weapons for Ukraine.
The story of how Trump sells access to the White House - to benefit himself and his family financially and to benefit his political operation - is shocking and sordid.
No President has ever monetized access like Trump has.
1/ It's a story you need to know.
2/ The primary way to get to Trump is at his golf clubs. Reportedly, a $5 million donation to Trump's political operation gets you a one-on-one meeting. $1 million will get you a group private dinner.
3/ One crypto CEO who paid the $1 million price explained to the @nytimes that after his meeting with Trump, his idea to make money off the federal government was suddenly "making the rounds...so mission accomplished from my view.” nytimes.com/2025/08/02/us/…
2/ The most significant claim Trump made in the "announcement" was a $550 billion Japanese investment fund in the U.S. where the U.S. would split profits with Japan 90/10.
Trump called it a "signing bonus".
"They gave us $550B up front, 100 percent," he said.
3/ The press reported it straight even though it sounded absurd.
$550 billion is 13% of Japan's entire GDP! Who believes Japan is investing 13% of its GDP in the U.S. and giving the U.S. 90% of the profits?
It made no sense. And of course we find out - Trump made it up.
I told you that the SCOTUS's ban on national injunctions would supersize Trump's lawlessness.
Well, it's starting.
1/ Let me break some news for you: Trump is stealing money to build facilities like Alligator Alcatraz - from an account earmarked for the OPPOSITE of detention.
2/ I'm the top Democrat on the sub-committee that writes the budget for DHS. I know that budget.
Since 2019, the budget always includes a line item for detention beds AND a line item for the Shelter and Services Program ("SSP"). They are very different programs.
3/ The detention account funds secure beds for immigrants who are detained. But many asylum applicants are released into the U.S. as their cases are processed.
SSP provides small grants to help local communities provide shelter or services to those people.
2/ First, let's just understand how wildly illegal and devastating this funding cut is. This is money authorized by Congress for after school programs. Not a new program; schools get it every year. In many low income districts, their programs cannot run without these federal $.
3/ This fall, over a million kids could have no after school option. In Umatilla, OR - a low income rural town - notice just went out that the programs would shut down. Low income parents will have to find expensive (and likely far away) alternatives, or cut back working hours.
Ok, so Republicans just introduced a 900 page bill none of them have read. But my team is going through it line by line and on this 🧵you can see the hidden provisions we found. Will update all day.
1/ NEW Medicaid cuts, so now 17 million - instead of 16M - lose health care.
2/ It was bad enough they cut all the tax incentives for wind and solar energy - they added a NEW TAX on these projects to make sure America never builds any new renewables.
Remember, Trump promised the oil industry provisions like this in exchange for a $1B campaign donation.
3/ The bill BANS state regulation of AI - a stone cold giveaway to the tech companies who want to addict our kids, pollute our politics, and kill our jobs with zero guardrails.
Rumor is there's a new language coming, but it's still an effective ban. Just an outrage.