Steve Benen

ICE lowered its hiring standards, which followed DOJ lowering its standards for prosecutors, which followed the FBI lowering its standards for agents.

Trumpism is a grand experiment in what happens when an administration embraces amateurism and de-professionalization.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/ices-hiring-spree-led-to-recruits-of-questionable-qualifications-adding-to-pattern

Trump’s pardon for Michael Flynn was among the most corrupt moves of his first term.

The pardon, however, wasn’t enough. The disgraced former White House national security adviser wanted a taxpayer-financed payout, too.

Then he got one.

And now he’s getting another.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-justice-department-agrees-to-a-second-settlement-with-michael-flynn

Look, I realize this framing is trite, but for all of the obsessive focus on Biden’s age and mental acuity, he never went around sharing the details of imaginary conversations that he claimed to be having in the here and now.

Trump, meanwhile, does it all the time.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-shares-a-conversation-with-sharpie-maker-that-apparently-never-occurred

Ashli Babbitt’s family filed a baseless lawsuit and received a generous check from Trump's DOJ.

Michael Flynn also filed a baseless lawsuit and also received a generous check from Trump's DOJ.

Is it any wonder why Jan. 6 rioters are lining up for their taxpayer-financed payoff?
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/eying-a-possible-payday-jan-6-rioters-file-civil-suit-seeking-millions-in-taxpayer-money

The former television personality who leads the Pentagon keeps purging qualified military leaders — without cause — destabilizing the armed forces during a war.

Seems like a big deal.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/hegseth-ousts-the-armys-top-general-further-destabilizing-the-military-in-middle-of-a-war

As Hegseth made the case that Americans are “the biggest adversary,” he failed a basic test of patriotism.

He envisions an environment in which people say what he says, believe what he believes, and support what he supports. Others are an enemy to be defeated, or at least bullied into silence.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/hegseth-sees-americans-as-the-biggest-adversary-as-the-war-in-iran-begins-its-third-month

Remember in February, when Trump filed a ridiculous $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, expecting a massive taxpayer-financed payout?

The IRS signaled in a new court filing that settlement talks are underway.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/irs-signals-negotiations-with-trump-over-controversial-10-billion-leak-lawsuit

If Trump told Reuters the truth, and he’s prepared to let Iran keep its current uranium stockpile, this would:
- drastically reduce the need for ground troops
- contradict everything he’s said for a decade
- generate fresh questions about why he started this war in the first place
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/i-dont-care-about-that-trump-moves-the-goal-posts-on-irans-uranium-stockpile

Media Matters’ victory over Trump’s FTC is a timely reminder: Fighting back against administration abuses works, and appeasement doesn’t.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/media-matters-claims-victory-in-its-fight-against-trumps-federal-trade-commission

Kevin Hassett, the top economist in the Trump White House, said with a straight face that there’s been “an employment boom.”

I know I should shrug off such nonsense, but I just couldn’t let this go.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/leading-white-house-economist-points-to-employment-boom-that-clearly-hasnt-happened

It was two months ago today when Trump boasted, “Yesterday, my administration announced decisive action to help keep down the oil prices.” He quickly added that prices “have pretty much stabilized.”

Today seemed like a good day to revisit that quote.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-gas-prices-iran-boast-two-months

If Trump nominees acknowledge Trump’s 2020 loss, he’ll pull their nominations. If they peddle conspiratorial nonsense under oath, they risk alienating key senators.

The result is 15 months of mind-numbing confirmation hearing exchanges — including Kevin Warsh's hearing this week.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/why-so-many-trump-nominees-keep-flubbing-a-simple-question-who-won-in-2020

For Michael Flynn, the corrupt pardon he received from Trump wasn’t enough. He wanted a payout, too, claiming federal law enforcement subjected him to malicious prosecution when they charged him with crimes he’d twice pleaded guilty to.

Thanks to Trump’s Justice Department, he’ll now get a taxpayer-financed check.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-justice-department-agrees-to-financial-settlement-with-michael-flynn

It might be tempting to brush off Trump’s latest elections power-grab as pointless political theater since the executive order will fail in the courts.

But when a president becomes the nation’s most serious threat to the integrity of the electoral process, it matters.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-elections-power-grab-is-likely-to-fail-but-that-doesnt-mean-its-irrelevant

Given his Jan. 6 background, Jared Wise’s DOJ resignation is a good thing, but note the details:

The rioter didn’t resign because Justice Department officials no longer wanted to be associated with him; Wise resigned because *he* no longer wanted to be associated with *them*.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/jared-wises-departure-from-the-justice-department-isnt-just-another-resignation

A new Gallup poll found that 61% of Americans are worried “a great deal” about the cost/availability of health care, which should send a clear signal about the public’s priorities.

It’s a signal Republicans appear ready to ignore — by cutting health care to pay for Iran.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/republicans-eye-health-care-cuts-to-pay-for-u-s-war-in-iran

When the latest polling showed 2-to-1 opposition to the WH ballroom project, the survey question emphasized private financing.

Now congressional Republicans want to spend $1 billion in taxpayer money on a $400 million project.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/republicans-want-1-billion-taxpayer-money-trump-ballroom

The fact that Dems flipped the Mar-a-Lago district is amazing, the broader pattern is even more important:

The more Democrats win closely watched races, and flip seats from red to blue, the more Republicans should be terrified about the 2026 midterms.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/special-elections-in-florida-including-mar-a-lagos-district-spell-trouble-for-gop

The problem isn’t with Trump’s decision to oust Bondi — she was a cartoonish failure and a national embarrassment — but rather with his motivation.

He fired his AG, not because she corrupted the Justice Department, but because she didn’t corrupt it enough.

Her successor will struggle just as much because Trump wants what an AG can’t deliver: evidence-free indictments against his perceived enemies.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/by-ousting-pam-bondi-trump-made-the-right-call-for-the-wrong-reasons

In the runup to Election Day 2024, Trump repeatedly claimed he was prepared to help families with daycare costs.

Seventeen months later, he’s arrived at a very different position: “We’re fighting wars, we can’t take care of daycare.”
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/pointing-to-the-iran-wars-cost-trump-abandons-his-pre-election-promises-about-daycare

The new job numbers look good, but I’m mindful of the larger context:

Job growth during the first 15 months of Trump’s second term: 321,000 jobs

Job growth during the last 15 months of Biden’s term: 1.9 million jobs

The Trump White House has no explanation for this.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/jobs-report-march-unemployment

Trump and his team aren’t just eyeing targets in Iran, they’re also taking aim at the dictionary.

Ahead of tonight’s remarks, remember: “Regime change” is one of several phrases they think they can redefine to suit their purposes.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/white-house-scrambles-to-change-the-meaning-of-regime-change-among-other-phrases

In his first term, Trump was asked why he voted by mail after condemning mail-in balloting as “horrible” and “corrupt.”

“I can vote by mail — because I’m allowed to,” he replied.

Six years later, the hypocrisy isn’t just back, it’s actually much worse.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/after-publicly-condemning-voting-by-mail-as-cheating-trump-votes-by-mail

On the heels of the FBI seizing ballots in Georgia in response to conspiracy theories, a Republican sheriff in California decided to seize ballots in California — also in response to conspiracy theories.

The fear is that a template is taking shape.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/why-its-so-unsettling-to-see-a-republican-sheriff-seizing-ballots-in-california

Hegseth’s intervention in Kid Rock flyby fiasco was ridiculous, but it’s the larger context that matters:

An apolitical military is a foundational, bedrock principle of the United States. It is a principle for which Team Trump has no use, creating an untenable dynamic.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/kid-rock-helicopter-hegseth-trump

When Trump and his allies launched a partisan redistricting arms race, it really does seem as if they assumed Democrats would just capitulate and grumble about how frustratingly impressive the GOP’s hardball tactics are.

That’s ... not what happened.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/virginia-redistricting-democrats-fight

Trump is aware of concerns that he’s been compromised by Russia — and he’s not exactly going out of his way to temper those fears:
- he’s allowing Putin to break US oil blockade around Cuba
- he’s indifferent to Moscow aiding Iran during US war
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-gives-russia-yet-another-pass-says-its-fine-for-putin-to-break-cuba-oil-blockade