Senate Passes ICE Funding. John Bolton’s Guilty Plea. NYT Sends Platner Bat Signal. Strassel Reviews Bill Pulte Resume. Inside the Biden Immigration Industrial Complex. More
Well, well—it’s hard news Friday as the main (as opposed to Maine) news today originates in the world’s greatest deliberative society, so known.
An embattled ICE—Immigration and Customs Enforcement—might receive funding until the end of President Trump’s term, although the Senate bill to do so required some fancy footwork:
Republican senators stopped short of using their political leverage to kill President Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, approving a critical immigration-enforcement bill without adding language reining in the controversial program.
Passage of the $70 billion package funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of Trump’s second term came after a more than 19-hour session of amendment votes and intraparty negotiations. The GOP-backed measure passed 52 to 47 shortly before 5 a.m., with Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voting with Democrats against the bill.
The session’s votes allowed GOP senators in competitive election fights this fall—including Susan Collins of Maine, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Jon Husted of Ohio and Ashley Moody of Florida—to register their objections to the fund without derailing a bill that is a priority for Trump and the party.
The House is expected to take up the immigration-enforcement measure next week.
The party line vote, 52-47, came early this morning. The Washington Post observes:
The bill’s passage is the culmination of a months-longfight over government funding triggered by the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis in January during protests against the administration’s deportation operations there. Democrats in Congress refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE and CBP, unless Republicans agreed to impose new restrictions on federal agents.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, nominated to become AG, previously gave assurances that the anti-weaponization bill is dead. The amendments were sought to put a final nail in its coffin. An underlying issue in ICE funding is whether the United States will enforce its immigration laws at all. To that point, here’s a Rorschach test. Do you see this as a sad necessity or a crime against humanity?
The hard news is certainly hard for John Bolton. Bolton, who served as a national security adviser in President Trump’s first term and then wrote a book critical of the experience (“The Room Where It Happened“), plans to plead guilty to mishandling classified documents and will pay a $2.25 million fine as part of a deal with federal prosecutors, three sources told Reuters yesterday.
An editorial in the Wall Street Journal is merciless on the Trump administration’s handling of Bolton:
President Trump may hate being the target of lawfare, but he sure knows how to wield it against anyone who crosses him. That’s the story of John Bolton, his former national security adviser, who is agreeing to a plea deal essentially for the sin of writing a critical book about his time advising Mr. Trump.
Former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy writes in National Review:
To repeat what I explained when Bolton was indicted in autumn 2025, the Bolton investigation was always qualitatively different from other episodes in President Trump’s lawfare campaign to prosecute his political enemies. I admire Bolton, so I take no pleasure in saying his case involved concrete evidence of misconduct.
New York Times Sends Bat Signal. The New York Times published a devastating story yesterday headlined “Several Women Who Dated Graham Platner Recall ‘Unsettling’ Behavior.” “Unsettling” is mild for the kind of behavior described by the Times, and the story is being interpreted in some circles as the New York Times’ signal to dump Platner. Politico reports that many Dems are rejecting this advice. Platner so far shows no inclination to get out of the race:
Platner, on MSNOW on Thursday just hours after The Times published its story, denied the allegations of violence and said they were coming from someone who’s “politically motivated.” He said he has “not once” considered dropping out of the race.
The New York Times is not the only establishment standard-bearer that has a Platner problem. Maine is a cornerstone to Democratic hopes of taking the majority in the Senate in the midterms. And won’t things be interesting in Maine this weekend?
“Rubio, Bessent Show Obsequious GOP How to Give No Quarter to Propagandists” is the headline on a delightful Federalist piece. Both men went to the circus—I mean, separate hearings on Capitol Hill—this week. They were lion tamers! No, make that masters of a three-ring circus of angry pussy cats, who, alas, were not rendered speechless. Here’s a favorite Bessent moment as captured on a Nick Sortor X post:
TILLIS TO BESSENT: Did you tell Director Pulte you’d punch him in the face? BESSENT: “No sir — I actually said I was going to kick his ASS!”
LMAOOOO
Ah, Mister Pulte. I’m afraid he has been the talk of the town this week. Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel has something to say about Mr. Pulte, a MAGA stalwart, whom President Trump wants to serve as the new Director of National Intelligence:
Job Description: Superpower seeks . . . anyone, to direct its national intelligence apparatus. Responsibilities: Whatever the CIA tells you. Qualifications: Obeisance to Donald Trump’s day-by-day agenda. Willingness to express constant admiration for the boss. Fluidity in MAGA “talk.” No intelligence experience required. Benefits: Knowing you are one Truth Social post from permanent retirement. Hours: This can be a part-time position (and please also consider our IRS opening)….
That’s a disturbing thought, though the naming of Mr. Pulte as acting director of national intelligence offers a useful contrast between the two Trump terms—and an explanation of its problems today. Trump One was drawn from experienced Republican hands who, despite initial disorganization and later disruptions, produced a record of achievement that helped get Mr. Trump a second term. Trump Two is populated from an ecosphere of MAGA think tanks, money men and political shops that was created post-2020 to cultivate and vet a pool of loyalists. That makes for a small universe, as evidenced by the growing number of multi-hatted Trump employees….
Many on the team are doing admirable work. But these requirements for club entry make for a small and self-limiting pool….
Meanwhile, Matthew Continetti, also in the Wall Street Journal, says: “End the Phony Cease-Fire with Iran.” President Trump must regain the initiative and restore U.S. credibility, Continetti argues:
Furthermore, Iran’s public rhetoric is as hostile as ever—even as President Trump and his team say Iran is negotiating in good faith. “I’d like to meet him,” Mr. Trump says of Iran’s nepo-baby ayatollah, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
The happy talk may be necessary to calm markets. Meanwhile the U.S. blockade crushes Iran’s economy. But one can walk this tightrope for only so long. Eventually, one returns to earth. The phony cease-fires strain U.S. credibility. They sap America’s deterrent. They foster mistrust among our allies, when the goal should be to sow disorder in Iran.
Alarm. Emma Camp warns in a piece entitled “Death Is Bad for Your Mental Health” that societies that have surrendered to moral relativism are giving doctors permission to help mentally ill teenagers commit suicide.
Insider Information. Juan David Rojas about “My Time Inside the Immigration Industrial Complex” for Compact Mag.
It did not take long, however, before I began to question the foundations of the immigration regime under Biden. …
Early on in my time as case manager, a sponsor originally from Honduras, Humberto, asked me what he should say at his immigration hearing. Dutifully, I explained that those persecuted due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or specific social group were eligible for asylum with some courts including fear of reprisal from criminal groups. Minors who suffer sexual abuse or forced labor during their journeys or while in the United States may also qualify for a special visa. “Does any of that apply in your case?” I asked.
“No,” he told me. “I just want to help my family in Honduras.”
I had many conversations along these lines, though most of those I spoke to were less overt about the dubiousness of their asylum claims.
In legal terms, policymakers have determined that those most deserving of asylum are afforded Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a determination made on the grounds that conditions in specific countries are so severe they warrant additional protections and benefits. Under Biden, protected status was granted to Cubans, Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, and Haitians. Recipients from Cuba and Haiti were also eligible for Medicaid and food stamps.
This Just In: Good May Jobs report.
