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Reposted by Karen Elder

Santiago Mayer @santiagomayer.com · 54m

Politico has now confirmed this.

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Capitol Police called to investigate swastika in GOP congressional office

An American flag altered to include an image of a swastika was found in Rep. Dave Taylor’s office.

www.politico.com

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Santiago Mayer @santiagomayer.com · 1h

Holy shit. This is Angelo Elia, a legislative correspondent for Congressman Dave Taylor.

According to @rooster.info, during a Zoom meeting today, he had an American nazi flag displayed in the background.

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Reposted by Karen Elder

STAT @statnews.com · 6h

The CDC Under Siege

Even critics couldn’t imagine how quickly CDC is being reshaped, with major medical associations, former directors, and surgeon generals all warning that Americans’ wellbeing is being challenged.
We discuss with @danielpayne.bsky.social, Rochelle Walensky and Daniel Jernigan

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 5h

I fell down an election-data rabbit hole.

The votes-per-acre paradox

One of Donald Trump's favorite places in the country is Sweetwater County, Wyoming. Not because there's anything in the county that's particularly compelling beyond its natural beauty. No, Trump likes...

www.pbump.net

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 2h

When college kids publicly say "Israel's war on Gaza is bad" that is full-blown anti-Semitism that requires the federal government to crack down on all colleges.

When Young Republicans in their 20s and 30s privately praise Hitler and "joke" about the Holocaust, well, that's just freedom baby.

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Reposted by Karen Elder

diabolicalengineer.bsky.social @diabolicalengineer.bsky.social · 1h

Given that the ADA requires the executive to essentially prosecute itself in situations like this, how do we fix it going forward? Say in the example of the first 3 years of a first term. Normally the statute of limitations running into a new president would deter, but nobody seems to consider that

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

By an entire parsec, the Trump administration has undertaken the most illegal set of budget actions in history. This is why we desperately need guardrails to restrain and go after budget malfeasance from the White House.

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

There's maybe standing to stop bad transfers. But if they want to just spend from an account that doesn't have budget authority, I don't think *this* SCOTUS would say anyone has standing for that, regardless of whether the purpose is authorized.

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

So now we get to suits to stop stuff, and standing. It depends on which form they're doing. If they're spending out of an account for a purpose not allowed (like with this), there's probably standing (if SCOTUS isn't awful).

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

Once you've decided to violate the ADA, even in the most narrow sense, all of those levels of badness are theoretically open to you. The only thing that matters is your own self-imposed restrictions.

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

At the next level of badness, they might choose to simply spend money that doesn't exist. So instead of spending out of an account for a purpose that's not allowed, like they're doing with RDTE to fund milpers activities, imagine someone chooses to spend money that doesn't exist.

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

At the next level, imagine they don't feel bound by GTA limitations at all. If they don't, we're now basically saying POTUS can move any money he wants to anywhere else - but theoretically they might still believe the money needs to exist, and the usages needs to be allowed.

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

Maybe they don't care about the GTA size limit or time period limit, but feel bound to stay within the same approps bill or department. Imagine President AOC transfers 100% of the money from ICE to FEMA disaster relief. Still keeping all the money within annual bills inside DHS.

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

Now let's go to the next level. Do they think they could do this again? There's not enough money left in RDTE to do this again on November 1. But across ALL military accounts under the defense bill with the general transfer authority (GTA), is there?

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

So just how bad is this? I got a text from an appropriator friend saying "The Republic has fallen. Pack it in."

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

And the craziest part is this was needless. Congress would've passed a military pay bill with near unanimous support! Congressional Ds have been begging Rs to bring a bill to pay the military to the floor! But Johnson refuses to gavel in because he doesn't want an Epstein vote.

Johnson wearing a jacket that's photoshopped to say "this has nothing to do with epstein"

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

The White House told approps they would not be transferring the money. Not now, not ever. They said, explicitly, that they'd use RDTE money on milpers.

Direct deposits went out yesterday. No transfers happened. They spent RDTE money, which can only be used on RDTE, on milpers.

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

You can check the milpers accounts in the OMB apportionment website. There is no money transferred into those accounts for them to use. No money has been transferred from RDTE to milpers.

Instead, what happened? They spent RDTE money, which can only be used on RDTE, on milpers.

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

Trump is using money from the research development testing and evaluation funds (RDTE) account. Why does that still have money? It's period of availability was October 1, 2024-Spetember 30, 2026. It was meant to be spent over 2 years, so it has a lot left in it.

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

Military pay is appropriated one year at a time, with a one-year period of availability. The fiscal year ended on September 30th, and we did not pass new appropriations bills (the government is shut down), so there's no money available to pay the troops (or to do lots of things).

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

Most money has what's called a period of availability. You can go about obligating it only during that period. While it's illegal to not use it all (that's the illegal impoundments Trump has been doing all year), after that period of availability ends, you can't use it anymore.

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

The mechanism through which Trump is paying the troops is the most blatant large Antideficiency Act (ADA) violation in US history. It's also clearly willful. No one has been charged under the ADA before, but violations carry a two-year jail term. The statute of limitations is five years.

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

Trump's mechanism to pay the troops during the shutdown is by far the most illegal budgetary action he's taken as POTUS, potentially setting the stage to break everything.

It's also needless because Congress would easily pass a troop pay bill if Johnson were willing to gavel in.

Long thread.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/10/national-security-presidential-memorandum-nspm-8/

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 1h

Reminder: the House recess isn't because of the budget, the House adjourned before the shutdown because the GOP doesn't want to hold a vote to release government files on a pedophile because everyone knows those files implicate Trump. Republicans are doing this to protect their pedophile President.

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1h

Trump's mechanism to pay the troops during the shutdown is by far the most illegal budgetary action he's taken as POTUS, potentially setting the stage to break everything.

It's also needless because Congress would easily pass a troop pay bill if Johnson were willing to gavel in.

Long thread.

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Reposted by Karen Elder

Sarah Longwell @sarahlongwell25.bsky.social · 4h

@jvl.bsky.social: "Jay Jones is the mirror image of those Young Republicans...talking about gas chambers...Democrats ought to demand that Jones either drop out of his race or, if he wins, immediately resign."

Read today's Triad, only @thebulwark.com: www.thebulwark.com/p/all-the-pr...

All the Pretty Little Nazis

The shape of things to come.

www.thebulwark.com

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