What They’re Hoping You Don’t Notice This Week

A lot happened. Here’s what actually matters once you cut through the noise.

On Tuesday, I took a look at the TSA shutdown. Now, the whole debacle is ballooning faster than airport security wait times.

After blocking multiple standalone bills from Democrats to fund TSA while the debate over DHS funding continues, Republicans put out their own proposal. It would have funded all of DHS except for some parts of ICE. Democrats said the offer didn’t include any of the limits on ICE agents they’re asking for.

So now, you have untrained ICE agents sent in to do the jobs of TSA they have absolutely no business doing. Which sounds idiotic on its face, but there’s a perverse logic to it, according to some. Like, for example, Steve Bannon. On his podcast, he said that sending ICE agents to airports is a test case for sending them to polling places in November.

First you had these masked idiots terrorizing Americans in the streets. Then you send them to the airports, to make the already stressful process of making a flight on time even worse. The end goal is apparently to take all the skills they’ve mastered and apply them to the midterms. It’s so obvious that Republicans are terrified of the absolute devastation they’re facing in this election, if they feel like they have to literally physically scare voters away from the polls.

Then there’s the fact that this isn’t just about ending the stalemate over funding and ending the DHS shutdown. Trump has made it explicitly clear that he’s not approving any funding deal unless Republicans pass the SAVE America Act, which is itself another desperate attempt to disenfranchise voters.

All of which is to say, Congress has been very busy. Here are a few things I’ve been keeping an eye on, and what’s really going on here.

The SAVE America Act

What happened:

Why paraphrase when Trump just came out and said it?

“I’m tying Homeland Security into voter identification, with picture, and proof of citizenship in order to vote.”

So, he effectively killed any chance of resolving the DHS issue, unless Democrats not only get on board with Republicans’ half assed funding proposal, but ALSO agree to essentially gut whatever is left of the Voting Rights Act.

What’s really going on:

This isn’t about election integrity, or preventing widespread voter fraud, which, to be clear, does not exist. This is about suppressing the vote, making it harder for people to vote, making it harder for specific people to vote.

The SAVE America Act would impose “proof of citizenship,” which is really just a fancy way of saying, “we don’t want young people, poor people, and married women who change their last names to be able to register to vote.” It also states that government-issued ID does not include student IDs issued by colleges and universities. I wonder why.

It’s also a blatant attack on mail-in voting, something Trump’s been railing against since time immemorial. On any given day, it’s “corrupt” and guarantees a “crooked election,” or cheating.

Apropos of nothing, Trump just cast a mail-in ballot in a Palm Beach special election this week. I don’t blame him though. It must cost a fortune to gas up the jet and get down there with oil prices being what they are.

Pam Bondi Threatens to Defy Subpoena

What happened:

Lawmakers have subpoenaed Pam Bondi to testify about her failure to release 3 million missing Epstein files. But Bondi hasn’t yet committed to comply with her deposition under oath, offering up an off the record briefing with lawmakers instead.

What’s really going on:

Here’s the thing. They’re mutually exclusive: “under oath” and “off the record.” And Pam Bondi has already proven that when she’s under oath, she has a tendency to - for lack of a better word - shit the bed. The last time she testified under oath, it did not go well. She perjured herself by saying that there’s no evidence in the Epstein files that Trump committed any crime in connection with Jeffrey Epstein. She was then immediately confronted with evidence.

She can only pull off this stunt for so long. Rep. Thomas Massie, who’s been leading the charge on the Epstein Files alongside Rep. Ro Khanna, had sharp words for her.

“I think Pam Bondi just needs to follow the law. We literally passed a law, and if Pam Bondi doesn’t follow it, her successor could prosecute her for that.”

Congress Won’t Rein In Trump’s War Powers

What happened:

The Senate rejected a war powers resolution that would have blocked Trump from using military force in Iran without congressional approval.

What’s really going on:

Democrats have put forward war resolutions three different times, all of which were rejected by Republicans. We’ve been watching Trump and the Republicans trip over themselves desperately trying to describe this war as anything but a war, because it’s only a war if congress says it is. But Trump waltzed into Iran unannounced, and that lack of communication extends to congress. So their hands are tied without passing some kind of resolution.

Meanwhile, Trump is sending 1000 paratroopers on an “excursion” into Iran, while simultaneously offering Iran a proposal to end “the war.” Which is it?

The Takeaway

You’ll notice that we’re not just talking about Congress in each of these instances. Trump butts in on every argument, puts his finger on the scales, sends his minion to do his bidding. It looks like chaos, but there’s a strategy. It’s meant to overwhelm us so that when we’re not looking, power shifts, and the structures safeguarding democracy get a little bit weaker.

Congress is struggling to keep up, but it’s everyday Americans taking the hit. At the airports, at the gas pump, and at the grocery store. That’s why it’s crucial to keep an eye on what’s happening and the pressure on the people in charge.