Markwayne Markwayne

Markwayne Markwayne is someone who could be even worse than Kristi Noem if he's made Secretary of Homeland Security.  Joe Mathieu, Matt Shirley and Amanda Hayes Roark (BLOOMBERG NEWS) report:

Markwayne Mullin is expected to face tough public questioning next week from fellow Republican Rand Paul, whose Senate committee has tremendous influence over Mullin’s path to confirmation as President Donald Trump’s next Homeland Security secretary. 

The two GOP senators have had an often adversarial relationship, with Mullin, one of Trump’s fiercest defenders on Capitol Hill, referring to Trump critic Paul as a “freaking snake” just last month. The hearing on Mullin’s nomination to head the shuttered department, tentatively planned for next week, will only spotlight their fissures. 

“We’ll find out more in the nomination hearing,” Paul told Bloomberg Television when asked about Mullin’s prior comments in a Wednesday interview. 

The Homeland Security Committee led by Paul has eight Republicans and seven Democrats. Paul hasn’t signaled whether he supports Mullin’s nomination but at least one Democrat — John Fetterman of Pennsylvania — has said he supports Mullin. 

Fettycrap.  As Mike likes to point out, Sam Seder and Kyle Kulinski rooted in John Fetterman on, attacked reporters -- real journalists -- who questioned Fettycrap's health (remember, after being sworn in, Fettycrap would immediately have to do in patient care for approximately three months).  That's why we don't need to listen to people like that when they tell us who to vote for.  They went against Jasmine Crockett in Texas and we'll see how that works out and they're against the Governor of Maine currently as they pimp the 'problematic' male. 

Markwayne Markwayne is not qualified to hold the position.  He said the same things about Renee Good and Alex Pretti that Noem did and said them after there were enough questions raised.  Markwayne Markwayne will be even worse than Noem if he's confirmed as Secretary of Homeland Security.  Hilden notes:

After a year of spiraling public opinion due to heavy-handed deportation tactics that culminated in the on-camera murder of two US citizens, Trump seeks to give the Department of Homeland Security a refreshed image by replacing Kristi Noem with Senator Markwayne Mullin. But according to reporters at the Bulwark, the switch is unlikely to bring real change, and amounts to “an effort to put lipstick on a pig.”

Under Noem, perceptions of DHS suffered due to a combination of the agency’s aggressive tactics and her highly controversial actions, from spending $220 million of public money on an ad campaign featuring herself, to handing out lucrative no-bid contracts to those in her orbit. The final straw came when she threw Trump under the bus at a recent congressional hearing, asserting that he had approved her contested expenditures. Shortly after that, she was fired.

Trump then nominated his close ally Mullin for the role, but if he hopes the swap fixes the agency’s PR problem, the fact that the senator’s positions are so similar to Noem’s suggests it will do little to course-correct.

In the wake of the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis, Mullin’s stance showed little daylight from that of Noem, saying those killed should be investigated for “terrorizing” the city, and that Noem’s position was “absolutely, 100-percent correct.” According to Mullin, agents accused of brutality and murder are just “doing their job.”

Then after images of the deportation of 5-year-old Liam Ramos drew public outcry — even among Republican senators — Mullin asserted that he “spoke to Secretary Noem” about it, and that they agreed that the real problem was the reporting. “There probably should be some lawsuits filed against this,” he said.

Statements like these and others imply that DHS will show little to no change under Mullin’s leadership. Rather than appointing him out of a genuine desire to reform the agency, it is more likely that Trump tapped Mullin due to his loyalty to the president. Mullin, for example, has repeatedly stated his belief that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, and that the January 6 insurrection was the fault of Nancy Pelosi.

Matthew Chapman (RAW STORY) notes of Markwayne Markwayne:

President Donald Trump's new choice to lead the Department of Homeland Security, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), once employed a convicted felon at his personal business who committed a weapons felony on the premises, according to The Washington Post — and may have committed a federal crime himself in the process.

"The employee, Timothy L. Saylor, was previously convicted of felonies, barring him from owning firearms. He said Mullin knew his criminal history but nonetheless allowed him to store the weapons at Mullin Plumbing in Oklahoma," said the report. "'Markwayne knew I was a felon,' Saylor said in an interview with The Washington Post. 'Of course he knew. Because I told him.'"

This incident was known and heavily discussed when Mullin first ran for Congress in 2012, but at the time he claimed to have no knowledge of Saylor's criminal past, and that he hadn't run a background check because Saylor had been an existing employee at a business his company had purchased. Saylor's claims to The Post cast doubt over this.

"Federal law makes it a crime to knowingly provide a weapon to a felon," noted the report. "Mullin told authorities at the time that he gave Saylor guns 'to clean.' Mullin was never charged, according to court records."       

"The Snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Thursday, March 12, 2026. The House Oversight Committee hears from Epstein's accountant that a woman who accused Epstein and Donald Chump of assault got a settlement, questions remain about where the other papers from The Epstein Files are on the woman accusing Chump of assaulting her when she was underage (and no one knows if this is the same woman that Epstein's accountant was speaking of), Chump has wasted over 11 billion of our tax dollars on his illegal war of choice with Iran, Senator Patty Murray calls out Republicans who don't want to get honest about ICE, and much more. 

Jeffrey Epstein.  Chump's friend from the 80s through when?  No one's really sure.  Chump likes to pretend it was 2005 or 2006 but there are e-mails carrying the timeline up to 2016 -- November of 2016.  Jeffrey Epstein was Chump's friend for years.  He died in prison.  In 2019.  With new revelations regarding Epstein's death, Ari's put together a timeline. 

Bill Barr was Attorney General in 2019 -- under Chump.  He remembers or 'remembers' (I don't buy what he says, he wasn't at all convincing when he spoke to Tara Palmeri) having two conversations about Epstein with Chump -- the first when Chump told him that he and Epstein were no longer friends  and the second was after Epstein died in prison when he says he broke the news to Chump.

Those were  their only conversations?  They didn't have one about New Mexico?  Even though something happened  in New Mexico when Barr was in charge of the Justice Dept?  

I ask because Zachary Leeman (MEDIAITE) notes:

Rep. James Comer (R-KY) said President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice asked New Mexico investigators to shut down a 2019 probe into a ranch owned by convicted child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.

Comer joined Fox News’s Jesse Watters on Tuesday evening after New Mexico authorities searched a ranch in the state once owned by Epstein. Victims of Epstein have said they were trafficked at the ranch. This is the second time the property has been investigated.

The property was being probed in 2019, but federal investigators reportedly took over and shut things down. Epstein died of an apparent suicide in 2019 while incarcerated awaiting sex trafficking charges.

Comer, who chairs the House Oversight Committee, said on Tuesday:

The federal government asked New Mexico to stop their investigation, I believe, back in 2019 of that ranch. So there’s just so many questions about how the government failed, the victims and how government failed in trying to prosecute Epstein sooner. I mean, this whole thing doesn’t make sense. Everyone has conspiracy theories on how Epstein was able to get away with it. Was it because he had powerful friends? Was it because he was an agent? We don’t know, but we’re gonna find out and I’m glad that they’re on the ground now in New Mexico searching that property.

Bill Barr was Attorney General when that investigation was shut down. 

Did Comer ask him about that?  Did anyone?  

Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzalez were supposed to be deposed by Comer's Committee; however, they both swore in letters that they had no knowledge of anything.  And then they were told that they didn't have to testify.  So why did they make Hillary Clinton testify?  She'd been very clear prior to appearing before the Committee that she had no knowledge of Epstein.  

Yesterday, the House Oversight Committee sought to depose another witness.  Graham Kates (CBS NEWS) reports:

An accountant who worked closely with Jeffrey Epstein for more than a decade and serves as an executor of his estate told members of Congress on Wednesday that he "was not aware of the nature or extent of Epstein's abuse of so many women until after Epstein's death."

Richard Kahn was one of Epstein's closest associates in his final years, managing his finances, investments and other minutiae, such as renovations on Epstein's private Caribbean island. He was subpoenaed to appear before the House Oversight Committee, and testified behind closed doors that he did not socialize with Epstein. 

"Had I learned of any of his horrific behavior, I would have quit work immediately," he said, according to his prepared opening statement, which was provided to CBS News. 

Democratic Rep. Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia said during a lunch break that Kahn told the committee the Epstein's estate had reached a settlement with a person who had also made accusations related to President Trump. Subramanyam did not give further detail on what was said about that settlement or the accuser. 

Was that person -- the one who had also made accusations regarding Chump -- the same woman that NPR discovered?  Or is this another woman who has accused Chump of assault? 

 

From Friday's NPR POLITICAL PODCAST:

TAMARA KEITH:  And we're back. And NPR political reporter Stephen Fowler is here with us. Hey, Stephen.

STEPHEN FOWLER, BYLINE: Hello.

KEITH: There were a number of developments in the long-running Epstein files story this week. And Stephen, I want to start with your latest reporting on files that were missing or redacted from the original public release. Some of those files have now been posted by the Justice Department. What do they have in them?

FOWLER: Just to recap, we found that there were 53 pages that appeared to be missing from that public Epstein files database. They all related to an allegation that President Trump sexually abused a minor in the early 1980s. There was a mention of this explicit allegation found in a Justice Department PowerPoint from last year that was in the files and also an FBI email kind of recapping all of the claims made about Trump, but we couldn't find it anywhere else in these files. Looking at some of the other documents, we were able to find that the FBI interviewed this woman as an adult in 2019 four separate times. Only one of those interviews was initially published in the Epstein files, and it didn't mention Trump at all.

Now, we do have some of those files, 16 pages covering three other interviews, plus a two-page sheet detailing the initial tip that was called in. These interviews do go into more explicit detail about what Trump was alleged to have done to her when she was a teenager, forcing her head down onto his penis. She allegedly bit it. He said foul words and hit her head. There's also an interview, which was the final one in 2019, and this woman was asked whether she, quote, "felt comfortable" detailing her contacts with Trump, and she reportedly asked, quote, "what the point would be of providing this information at this point in her life when there was a strong possibility nothing could be done about it." And remember, these interviews took place during Trump's first term in office.

KEITH: Stephen, how is the White House responding to this?

FOWLER: We should also note here that Trump denies any wrongdoing related to Epstein and has not been charged with a crime. The White House has repeatedly said that Trump is, quote, "totally exonerated" by the Epstein files. The latest statement from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says that these are completely baseless accusations, backed by zero credible evidence. They also point on background to two different articles that claim to discredit the woman's accusations, but we haven't verified those things. In fact, Tam, looking at the release of these documents, it doesn't actually shine any more light on how credible federal investigators viewed these claims or how they were resolved, or why these allegations were included in the Justice Department slide presentation summarizing the cases against Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

KEITH: But there are still records that haven't been released. What has the government said about the delays in the release?

FOWLER: It's been a shifting story. I mean, back when the Epstein files were released on January 30, the Justice Department said they were all done in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act law Congress passed. When we asked specifically about these documents, the Justice Department would not comment on them directly and said anything that might've been withheld was because of privilege, or they were duplicates, or they were part of an ongoing federal investigation. After more people reported on the documents and there was more of a public backlash, the story changed again. The Justice Department said they were reviewing to see if anything was accidentally mistakenly tagged as duplicate, and if they found something, of course, they would publish it.

So fast-forward to Thursday night, where there were a thousand new pages uploaded, including some documents that it discovered were, quote, "incorrectly coded as duplicative" and a few more documents related to prosecution memos that the Southern District of Florida determined could be published while protecting privileged materials. That said, we still know based on looking at the serial numbers stamped onto these documents and the logs of files turned over to Ghislaine Maxwell's attorney in her case, that there are still 37 pages, at least, that still haven't been published.

KEITH: Domenico, this is a story that is just not going away for the administration, and it comes when they have all kinds of other issues related to their base and possible disillusionment with respect to the war with Iran. You know, it's one thing to be fighting a messaging battle on one front, but this is now two fronts that they're on. Where do you see this going?

MONTANARO: Well, certainly, this isn't going to go away anytime soon. You know, it's going to continue to be a thorn in the Trump administration's side. I mean, Trump would very much like this to go away, but there are a lot of people on both sides of the aisle who don't want that to be the case, and it's not necessarily because they're targeting Trump. You know, there are lots of men with power and influence who are named in these files, many of whom have not faced any consequences whatsoever. You have lots of victims who are continuing to speak out and are trying to make sure this story doesn't go away.

And from Friday's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED (NPR):

SCOTT DETROW, HOST:

Last week, an NPR investigation revealed some Epstein files related to President Trump were being withheld from the public. They related to an allegation that Trump sexually abused a minor in the 1980s. Now some of those documents have been published, and they raise new questions. And a warning, we want to let you know the story does include a description of sexual abuse. NPR's Stephen Fowler is here with an update. Hi, Stephen.

STEPHEN FOWLER, BYLINE: Hey there.

DETROW: Let's start with this - remind us how we knew there were documents missing and that they mentioned the president.

FOWLER: Well, in the millions of Epstein files that were released, there was this PowerPoint slide and an email from the FBI that talked about a claim that Trump sexually abused a minor four decades ago, but there was no other mention of where it came from, what investigators did about it, or why it made it into this roundup about the Epstein case. NPR was the first to piece together other records in the files to discover the FBI interviewed this woman four times in 2019. Only one interview was made public, and there was no mention of the abuse claim.

DETROW: OK, so that was the initial reporting. We have now gone from documents that were missing to the Justice Department publishing some of them yesterday.

FOWLER: Well, at first, the Justice Department would not directly comment about these documents. They said that, generally speaking, they wouldn't publish anything that included privileged information, duplicates or documents that were related to an ongoing federal investigation. The House Oversight Committee had some members ask the attorney general to answer if there was an ongoing investigation. They noted that there was nothing that appeared to be privileged related to these interviews and pointed out that you can't have duplicates of something that doesn't exist. So then the Justice Department said they were checking to see if something was mistakenly flagged as a duplicate, and if it was, they'd publish it, which they did Thursday night, along with 1,000-plus other pages that were flagged.

DETROW: And ever since then, you have had a chance to read through these interviews. What do they tell us about the allegation against President Trump?

FOWLER: An adult woman in 2019 gave graphic details during interviews with the FBI about what she said Trump did when she was a teenager, mainly that he forced her to perform oral sex and then he reacted angrily when she bit him. In the fourth and final interview, she reportedly asked the agents, quote, "what the point would be of providing the information at this point in her life," because she said, "there was a strong possibility nothing could be done about it."

DETROW: Are there any indications whether investigators viewed this as a credible allegation?

FOWLER: We don't know. We know that Trump has not faced criminal charges from this claim. We don't know ultimately how this was addressed or resolved. We also don't know why this allegation was included in the Justice Department's slide deck presentation last year that gave an overview of the cases against Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, his accomplice. And the new release of materials is 16 pages, meaning there are at least 37 more pages related to these claims that still are not published.

Tuesday, Josh Fiallo (DAILY BEAST) noted:

Documents detailing FBI interviews with a Jeffrey Epstein victim who accused President Donald Trump of sexually abusing her when she was 13 are being kept under wraps.

More than three dozen pages remain missing, according to an NPR analysis, including “files related to allegations that President Trump sexually abused a minor.”

The Department of Justice, which has slow-walked its legally-mandated release of the Epstein files, published 16 pages regarding the accuser last week. However, 37 pages, including notes from the interviews, a law enforcement report, and license records, are still classified.

 At POLITICO, Ankush Khardori types:

Meanwhile, as entirely new conspiracy theories have begun to flourish, pretty much no one in America is happy — not the victims who were insulted by Attorney General Pam Bondi during her latest daylong series of outbursts on Capitol Hill; not President Donald Trump, who effectively created this mess by fueling Epstein conspiracies as a presidential candidate and who remains the subject of intense scrutiny based on unverified allegations against him in the documents that he has strenuously denied; not the American public, most of whom believe that the government is still hiding information; and not the lawmakers who drafted and ultimately passed the law requiring disclosures with the near-unanimous consent of their colleagues in both houses of Congress. In a remarkable bipartisan rebuke, the House Oversight Committee voted last week to subpoena Bondi to testify with five Republicans joining the Democrats on the committee over the objection of Chair James Comer (R-Ky.).

"who remains the subject of intense scrutiny based on unverified allegations against him in the documents that he has strenuously denied"

Huh?

Chump has claimed the files exonerated him.  That was before NPR, MS NOW and others discovered -- after Chump began saying he was exonerated by the files released -- that the Justice Dept had held back three reports on one woman who was accusing Chump of assaulting her when she was underage.  I've never heard Chump address that.  Those are allegations.  He has not "strenuously denied" them.

Ankush is an attorney, he knows words and he knows words matter.  To read his trash piece for POLITICO is to know that he's downgrading The Epstein Files and doing so intentionally.  He really goes after Virginia Giuffre, for example.  

Chump's guilt?  It can't be determined at this point.  But he looks guilty.  That judgment call is based on the sweetheart deal he gave to Ghislaine Maxwell and upon his refusal to state, "No, I won't pardon her.  She was convicted of preying on young women and girls and I will not pardon her."  

Rebecca Friedman (OK!) reports on Maxwell: 

New details have emerged about Ghislaine Maxwell's lonely life behind bars.

In a recent interview, a woman using the pseudonym Raven Johnson — who said she was incarcerated at Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee from November 2023 to November 2025 — alleged the disgraced British socialite, 64, stood out among inmates for her behavior, hygiene habits and sense of entitlement.

Johnson claimed Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to recruit and abuse underage girls, was often viewed harshly by fellow prisoners.

"People don’t look at you as if you’re actually even human," Johnson alleged of inmates convicted of crimes involving minors while speaking to The U.S. Sun. "If you have crimes against children, you’re trash. It doesn’t matter how much money you have or who you are in the real world."

According to Johnson, Maxwell’s reputation inside the facility meant she kept a relatively small social circle. The former inmate claimed the socialite primarily spent time with women convicted of violent crimes, including one prisoner who had been jailed for murdering members of her own family.

Johnson also alleged Maxwell frequently tried to bend prison rules to her advantage.

"She could file a complaint, and things are going to change," Johnson claimed, adding that Maxwell reportedly submitted hundreds of grievances about everything from food portions to shower conditions.

At mealtimes, Johnson said Maxwell would allegedly bypass long cafeteria lines.

"There could be 50 or 60 people waiting in the chow hall," she recalled. "She’d just walk right past."

The former inmate further claimed Maxwell’s personal hygiene became a running joke among prisoners.

"This lady worked out every day but rarely showered," Johnson alleged. "There are a lot of bad smells in prison, but she still stood out."

That's when Maxwell was in a prison that her crimes demanded she be in.  Then she met with Chump's Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch last summer and got transferred to Club Fed in Bryant, Texas.  She also had the documents that NPR found.  They were turned over to her attorneys in discovery.  We don't know if she let Todd Blanche know about that.  We just know that Chump campaigned on protecting women and girls and taking on the Epsteins of this world.  But he put Maxwell in a comfy prison that she's not legally allowed to be in due to what she was convicted of.  He's breaking the rules for her.  

It makes him look guilty.  David Edwards (RAW STORY) notes, "Trump, however, appeared far more times in the files on the infamous sex offender. The New York Times found that Trump was referenced in more than 5,300 of the files released so far. Reportedly, hundreds of thousands of files have not been made public."  So much has still not been released -- and this despite Congress passing a law.  Nicole Charky-Chami (RAW STORY) notes Congressional anger regarding Attorney General Pam Bondi:

Attorney General Pam Bondi has come under fire as a bipartisan group of senators has called for a new investigation on Wednesday over her handling of the Epstein files.

Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) have demanded that the Government Accountability Office launch a probe to investigate the Department of Justice's efforts, The Daily Beast reported.

The group has questioned Bondi's DOJ and its "controversial efforts" with its partial release of documents, such as missing the December deadline required under the Epstein Transparency Act to release all the materials.

"This sloppy job was nearly the opposite of how information regarding some powerful people was treated, they argued," The Beast reported.

Meanwhile, REUTERS broke the news yesterday of a hack:

A foreign hacker compromised files relating to the FBI’s investigation of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a break-in at the bureau’s New York Field Office three years ago, according to a source familiar with the matter and recently published Justice Department documents reviewed by Reuters.

The details of who accessed a server at the FBI’s New York Field Office, including the allegation that a foreign hacker was involved, are being reported here for the first time.

In a statement, the FBI said what it described as a “cyber incident” was “an isolated one.”

“The FBI restricted access to the malicious actor and rectified the network. The investigation remains ongoing, so we do not have further comments to provide at this time.”

Turning to Chump's illegal war on Iran, Eva Roytburg (FORTUNE) notes:

On Tuesday afternoon, Energy Secretary Chris Wright posted six words on X that moved global oil markets more than any airstrike this week: The Navy, he wrote, had “successfully escorted an oil tanker” through the Strait of Hormuz.

Crude cratered at the fastest pace in years. West Texas Intermediate, a reliable benchmark, plunged as much as 19% as traders who had spent days pricing in a prolonged closure of the world’s most critical energy chokepoint suddenly scrambled to unwind their positions. An exchange-traded fund tied to oil futures shed $84 million in market cap in just ten minutes. Then, the post disappeared, and the White House confirmed no such escort had taken place. A Department of Energy spokesperson called it an “incorrectly captioned” video clip. But the damage was already done.

“The market is depending on accurate information from the administration,” Andy Lipow, president of analyst firm Lipow Oil Associates, told Fortune. “And when a tweet is posted and deleted quite rapidly, it brings into question what exactly is happening.”

What exactly is happening, over the past few days, has depended entirely on which administration official you’re listening to. 

On Monday, crude oil had surged to $119, until President Donald Trump told CBS that the war was “very complete, pretty much.” After that, crude slid by nearly $34 in a matter of hours, dropping below the psychological barrier of $100 a barrel. Then, on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth promised that day would contain the most intense strikes yet— “the most fighters, the most bombers, the most strikes.” It didn’t seem like the war was over, so oil climbed back toward $90. Wright then said the Strait disruption would last “weeks, certainly not months.”

The result of all the mixed messaging is a market that has swung 36% from peak to trough in two sessions—the largest such move since April 2020—driven less by the fundamentals than by the inability of traders to distinguish signal from noise when the executive happens to be the source of both.

In last night's "We've all grown tired and disgusted by Chump," Ruth noted the confusion is created by Chump who doesn't know what he's doing, doesn't have a plan or a clue.  This has he wastes billions of US tax dollars on this war.  Euan Ward, Catie Edmondson, Abdi Latif Dahir, Rebecca Elliott and Liam Stack (NEW YORK TIMES) note:

Waves of airstrikes shook Beirut and Tehran on Wednesday and into Thursday morning, adding to the toll of the war in the Middle East, as the Pentagon told Congress that the U.S. cost of the war was more than $11.3 billion in just the first six days.

The dollar figure, disclosed in a closed-door briefing on Capitol Hill, did not include many of the expenses associated with the operation, now in its 12th day, so the ultimate cost for American taxpayers is expected to be much higher. The briefing was described by three people familiar with it, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.

The Middle East war showed no sign of letup on multiple fronts.

Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:

Senate Republicans once again block Murray’s bill to fund everything at DHS but ICE and Border Patrol, as they drag their feet on common-sense reforms to protect Americans from violence at the hands of ICE

Murray: “Democrats are not going to write a blank check for rogue agencies that are trampling on the rights of Americans. Nor are we going to accept the premise that the only way to fund TSA or disaster relief is by giving money to ICE. That’s absurd.”

Murray: “Here’s the simple truth: if Republicans agreed to simple reforms, all of DHS could be funded tomorrow. And if Republicans stopped blocking the bill I just offered, TSA could be funded today.”

***WATCH: Senator Murray’s floor remarks***

Washington, D.C. — Senate Republicans once again blocked straightforward legislation to fund every agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—except Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Office of the Secretary. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, took to the Senate floor to slam Republicans for dragging their feet in ongoing negotiations over common-sense reforms to rein in ICE and Border Patrol.  

Senator Murray sought unanimous consent to pass her legislation to fund DHS agencies like the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and other important DHS functions while talks on ICE and CBP proceed.

Yet again, Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) blocked Senator Murray’s request to pass the legislation.

While negotiations on ICE and CBP proceed, Senator Murray’s bill:

• Funds FEMA, TSA, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Secret Service, CISA, and other important DHS components.
• Excludes funding for ICE, CBP, and the Office of the Secretary.

Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are below:

“M. President, it’s extremely frustrating to me that despite all their talk about how important it is we fund TSA, and FEMA, and CISA, and more—and despite Republicans’ own acknowledgement that they already funded ICE and Border Patrol with their big reconciliation, I call it the big ugly bill, from last summer—now Republicans are unwilling to work with us to fund some of these programs that keep Americans safe, while we keep trying to get somewhere on ICE and Border Patrol accountability.

“Worse than that—they are acting like they have no idea why Democrats are not willing to accept the premise that to fund TSA, we have to cut some blank check for ICE.

“Republicans are acting like they didn’t see the same awful footage of Renee Good and Alex Pretti getting shot in cold blood. Republicans are acting like they don’t remember that little boy in the bunny hat arrested like some violent criminal. Republicans are acting like they don’t remember the family that got tear gassed on the way back from a basketball game, or the American citizen marched out of his house, in the freezing cold, in his underwear.

“As a reminder because apparently Republicans need it: The Senate has had at least two hearings on this since Alex Pretti was murdered by CBP officers. And with a couple of exceptions, we have not heard any Republicans in those hearings suggest they want to work with us on reforming the agencies and reining in DHS. 

“And yet, some Republicans, are acting like they have no idea why we are demanding things like body cameras, visible identification, adequate training standards, and basic standards, as the senator just spoke about—same as our local police—on things like use of force and requiring warrants before some agents smashes in your door and drags someone away.

“Republicans know exactly what Democrats have been asking for, because weeks ago, Democrats provided Speaker Johnson and Leader Thune a list of ten critical reforms needed to pass the Homeland Security bill.

“Unfortunately, Republicans have been saying no on many of these items—as far back as last year. Or in some cases, first, they would say ‘Sure we’ll work with you,’ and then Stephen Miller and the White House would get involved and Republicans would say, ‘never mind!’

“Last year—Democrats were already talking about many of the reforms we are talking about today. In July, some of us introduced a bill calling for no masks and for clear identification.

“And then we saw federal agents shoot citizens and lie about it, like in the case of Marimar Martinez. And we heard horror stories of masked agents dragging away American citizens for no reason.

“One American citizen was dragged off and detained twice. Not charged with any crime. Not arrested with a warrant. Just picked off his worksite—until ICE realized he was a citizen. That happened twice to the same guy!

“That’s exactly why Democrats had been saying—let’s take off the masks, we cannot have unaccountable agents. But Republicans said no to that idea.

“And then the world watched, as Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent, and denied any medical care—something even the most basic training—to say nothing of morals—should have told officers was wrong.

“So, Democrats pushed in our DHS funding negotiations, we said—this is exactly the kind of thing we are gravely concerned about. We need serious reforms and accountability. Still, Republicans said no.

“Then an innocent man, an American citizen, was dragged out of his home in the freezing cold in his underwear. Agents refused to even look at his ID which showed—they had completely the wrong guy. And yet when Democrats pushed to require real judicial warrants, Republicans said no.

“A little boy in bunny ears was ripped away from his home for absolutely no reason, Republicans said no.

“A family on their way home from a basketball game was tear gassed. Republicans said no.

“A woman on the way to a doctor’s appointment had her window smashed—she was dragged out of her car, Republicans said no.

“And Alex Pretti was tackled to the ground and shot in the back several times by federal agents—another completely unjustified killing. A murder of an American citizen.  And the Trump Administration tried to slander him as a terrorist!

“For a moment, even some Republicans said that was concerning, that was unacceptable, that was wrong. But we all know what’s ultimately happened: Republicans have, for weeks now, refused some pretty basic steps to make these agencies accountable. Once again—Republicans have said no. 

“Well—the American people are not going to take ‘no’ for an answer.

“Stephen Miller is not above the Constitution. Donald Trump is not a king who can just sic an army of masked thugs on whatever city he wants to punish next.  

“And Democrats are not going to write a blank check for rogue agencies that are trampling on the rights of Americans. Nor are we going to accept the premise that the only way to fund TSA or disaster relief is by giving money to ICE. That’s absurd.

“Now, some on the other side are claiming that the bill I just offered would defund Customs—or Homeland Security Investigations. M. President, that too is absurd.

“All the bill I just offered does is fund the rest of DHS while talks continue on ICE and Border Patrol—and the simple fact is Republicans have already funded these agencies when they gave them more money, than most militaries by the way, in their Big Ugly Bill.

“And Republicans’ latest tactic—trying to use a war as leverage against accountability for Americans is just plain wrong.  It’s cynical and it is utterly transparent.

“We are not going to give Trump a pass on citizens getting shot and killed here in America, just because he singlehandedly chose to start a war that has led to Americans being killed across the globe as well.

“Who in the world thought that argument would fly? Did Stephen Miller tell Republicans two wrongs make a right here? Did you think that was going to convince anybody?

“Look—we are going to hold Trump accountable for his reckless war, and we are going to hold him accountable for using ICE to terrorize American cities.

“As for the rest of DHS that does important work to keep Americans safe like FEMA, Coast Guard, TSA, Democrats are here, we are trying to fund those agencies—while ICE and Border Patrol negotiations continue. But, Republicans will neither agree to the reforms we need to rein in ICE and protect Americans nor fund the rest of DHS while those talks continue.

“Here’s the simple truth: if Republicans agreed to simple reforms, all of DHS could be funded tomorrow. And if Republicans stopped blocking the bill that I just offered, TSA could be funded today.

“But Republicans don’t want to take serious action to prevent rogue government agencies from gunning down American citizens, we just heard that on the floor from several Republican senators who spoke. They don’t want to take new steps to make sure masked federal agents don’t kidnap people off the street. They don’t want to pass legislation to make sure federal agents only target people who they have a judicial warrant for—instead of breaking down windows and dragging away completely innocent people. That is the crux of the problem right now.

“Let me state that again: the problem right now is not a lack of communication between both the sides—that’s absurd—the problem is a lack of willingness on the part of Republicans to pass some pretty basic reforms—or to even fund the rest of DHS while talks continue.

“Republicans don’t want to protect Americans from rogue ICE agents. You know how I know that? Just listen to what they said—and what they didn’t say—right here on the floor.

“Are Republicans talking about the fact American citizens have been gunned down by ICE and Border Patrol? Are Republicans talking about the fact that peaceful protesters are being tear gassed, or pepper sprayed, or tackled to the ground?

“Not a word about that right here.If Republicans cannot talk about the obvious, blatant abuse we have all see from ICE and Border Patrol, how do they expect to work with us to address that?  The answer is they don’t.

“Instead, they are pretending this is about FEMA—which I’ve offered to fund, or TSA—which I’ve offered to fund, or CISA—which I’ve offered to fund, and they are pretending this is about ICE funds running low—even after Republicans spent weeks acknowledging the agency has plenty of funding left from their Big Ugly Bill.

“What this debate actually is about is accountability. It is long past time Republicans get serious about that.”

###

The following sites updated:

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Matthew Chapman (RAW STORY) reports:

A Republican candidate whom President Donald Trump endorsed for the heavily Republican 5th Congressional District of Louisiana has a problematic past, reported The Atlantic on Wednesday evening.

At the start of February, Trump posted he is giving his “Complete and Total Endorsement” to Blake Miguez for that race, which prompted Miguez to shoot a video of himself from the White House, touting his close relationship with the president. 

"What he did not say — either publicly or to Trump’s advisers at the time — was that there was a political bombshell about to drop on his campaign for Louisiana’s deep-red Fifth Congressional District," said the report. "Months earlier, when Miguez was running for the U.S. Senate, a 2007 police report had surfaced that showed that Miguez’s former girlfriend had accused him of rape and other abusive behavior, including locking her in bedrooms, taking away her keys, and holding her down."

Assault of a woman?  That's probably why Chump endorsed him  -- why.  Chump's accused in The Epstein Files, he was accused by multiple women when running in 2016.  Chump's a man who assaults women.  

Speaking of Republican men who assault women, Matt Gaetz.  Alex Bollinger (LGBTQ NATION) reports:

Disgraced congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is getting criticized for a social media post where he appeared to compare being a living trans person to dying in a war.

“I just want a political party that doesn’t want to trans my son or send him to fight someone else’s war,” he wrote in a post responding to a clip about sending people to fight in the president’s war on Iran. “Is that too much to ask?”

Of course, no one wants to “trans” anyone, something that is not even possible. Some people are transgender, and Democrats generally support letting trans people live their lives authentically.

Gaetz was mocked on social media for this post. Some people brought up how he was under investigation for child sex trafficking while he was in Congress but quit just days before a House Ethics report on the matter was about to be released. 

"The Snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Wednesday, March 11, 2026.  Chump continues to blunder through the war he and Netanyahu started with no clear goals or aims, the GOP works on 'messaging' for their immigration spiel, Senator Patty Murray calls out the ICE shootings, and much more. 

 

Rafael Behr (GUARDIAN) observes this morning:

Waging war with no fixed purpose means victory can be declared at any point. Donald Trump’s motives for launching Operation Epic Fury against Iran were incoherent at the start. They are no clearer now that he has declared it “very complete, pretty much”.

US and Israeli bombs have caused death and destruction, shaking but not toppling the government in Tehran. Among the targets was the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. He has been replaced by his son – an “unacceptable” candidate in the US president’s evaluation.

Regime change was the plan, but Trump finds it easier to change plans than regimes. What began as a long-haul commitment to roll back decades of Islamic revolution has become a “short-term excursion” to neutralise Iran’s military capabilities.

Trump has not quite declared “mission accomplished”. He says he has won, but also that he has more winning to do. This is the familiar stage of rhetorical climbdown, indicating dawning awareness that a problem is more complicated than the president initially thought. Complexity resists his whim. It bores him.

Iran turns out to be unlike Venezuela, except in a superficial analysis as energy-exporting countries with a history of hostile relations with Washington. The model of regime decapitation and coercion that saw Nicolás Maduro kidnapped from Caracas and replaced with his compliant vice-president earlier this year whetted Trump’s appetite for an Iranian sequel. But the Islamic Republic has reserves of ideological and institutional resilience. It can also spook international markets by menacing trade in the Gulf.

The White House seems not to have anticipated the predictable economic repercussions of war in the Middle East – soaring oil prices, falling stock markets, disrupted supply chains feeding inflation and choking growth.

Yesterday, Aaron Blake (CNN) wondered if Donald Chump even knew what was going on with Iran:

On Saturday, President Donald Trump claimed it was Tehran that struck an Iranian elementary school early in the war, killing scores of children.

On Monday, he admitted he basically had no idea what he was talking about when he said that, then went on to suggest other countries, including Iran, use Tomahawk missiles, the type of munition that appears to have hit the school. Iran does not have Tomahawks.

When pressed at a news conference why nobody else in his administration was making the same claim about Iran being responsible (and instead pointing to an investigation), Trump said,“Because I just don’t know enough about it.”

He added that he would respect the findings of the investigation.

Just to put a fine point on that: Trump not only says he shared this claim despite appearing to know little about the situation; he’s also saying he didn’t know much about perhaps the single most controversial strike of the war.

It’s a strike that had become a huge international story by the time he weighed in — and one that even some Republicans fear could do real damage to the war effort, if the US was indeed culpable. (The US military was likely responsible, according to a CNN and expert analysis of evidence, and new video has emerged that appears to show a US missile targeting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval base adjacent to the school.)

But apparently, Trump was out of the loop.

This is hardly the only example of the president seeming to have a loose grasp of what’s happening on the ground in Iran.

Trump has often had a complicated relationship with the truth, but it’s striking to see that play out in the context of a war.

The school strike wasn’t even the only example from Monday’s press conference.

At another point in his introduction, Trump seemed to claim that Iran’s Gulf neighbors had joined the war effort against Tehran alongside the United States and Israel.

“Their neighbors were largely neutral — or at least weren’t going to be involved — and they got attacked,” he said. “And it had the reverse effect. The neighbors came onto our side and started attacking them, and actually quite successfully. If you look at Saudi Arabia, you look at UAE, Qatar and others.”

But this does not reflect reality.

Chump's avoided reality throughout his war of choice.  That includes insisting that the US government is not short on weapons when they are.  That's why Chump met with weapon manufacturers in the White House on Friday.  It's why he's moving weapons.  Ellie Cook (NEWSWEEK) reports:

The United States is moving one of its critical anti-ballistic missile air defense systems from South Korea to the Middle East, a sign of the strain 11 days of strikes across the region is putting on U.S. troops and its allies despite officials downplaying stockpile concerns.

U.S. forces deployed in South Korea have transferred parts of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system from the peninsula, local media reported.

The Pentagon has also reportedly pulled interceptor missiles for the ground-based, U.S.-made Patriot air defense system from other regions, including the Indo-Pacific. The Department of Defense declined to comment when contacted by Newsweek.

The U.S. has used up vast amounts of munitions since it started striking Iran on February 28, upping the ante on Tuesday as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said American forces would unleash their most powerful strikes yet.

You don't do that unless you're running short on supplies.  So, yes, that is what's happening.  

As Ben notes in the video above, FOX "NEWS" is wondering where the Iranian uprising is?

Donald Chump bombed a school.  Girls were killed.  No one in Iran's rushing to embrace that.  Chump should have grasped that and they should have taken real care with strikes.  But they didn't and now they still don't grasp the importance of 'hearts & minds.'  Chump only makes things worse by lying and claiming it might have been the Iranian government that attacked the school.

Today on MORNING JOE, Mika and Joe spoke with career diplomat Richard Haas.

Richard Haas: It took one country to start the war -- that's us.  It's going to take three to stop it. Israel wants to continue for some time.  Israeli goals and American goals are not aligned here, they are not aligned.  Israel has much more far reaching goals and is not nearly as concerned about the knock-on effects.  Iran gets a serious vote and, yes, Iran is much weaker but Iran can continue.  All it's going to take is one mine in a passage way and no one's going to insure a tanker for months or longer until you can prove it's safe again.  All it's going to take is one drone hitting this or that target.  So we can talk about these goals -- and by the way, we have zero ability to ensure what the future leadership of Iran is -- who it's going to be, what it's policies are going to be -- but this is a classic case, that we did not -- we didn't begin to play chess here in thinking through what the moves of our rival would be here.

This war is not going the way Chump hoped, to put it mildly.  Rhian Lubin (INDEPENDENT) notes:

Some of President Donald Trump’s advisers have warned him in private to find a way to end the war with Iran over fears of political backlash, according to a report.

In recent days, aides have urged Trump to make the case that the U.S. military had mostly achieved its objectives and told the president to communicate an exit plan for the joint American and Israeli bombing campaign, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.

His advisers are reportedly concerned that a drawn-out war could “deplete” Trump’s support among his conservative base as the conflict has already split his MAGA following and prompted some Republicans to speak out, though largely anonymously.

The reported closed-door discussions follow Trump’s public remarks Monday, where he said the war could end “very soon” and it was “very complete, pretty much.”

But will Chump listen to them or continue to listen to Netanyahu?  Netanyahu is nowhere near ready to pack it in. So will Chump listen to his advisors or to Netanyahu?  

He's refused to listen to the American people so far.  Steve Benen (MS NOW) notes:

The latest national Quinnipiac University poll found:

Fifty-three percent of voters oppose the U.S. military action against Iran, while 40 percent support it. … Seventy-four percent of voters oppose sending U.S. ground troops into Iran, while 20 percent support it.

‘Voters are unenthusiastic about the air attack on Iran and there is overwhelming opposition to putting American troops on Iranian soil to fight a ground war,’ said Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy.

The same survey data also found that 55% of Americans agreed that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States, the White House’s dubious claims notwithstanding; 59% said the president should have gone to Congress to approve the mission; and 62% concluded that the administration had not provided a clear explanation of the reasons behind military action against Iran.

And, yet again, Chump's screwed over the American farmers.  Jesus Mesa (NEWSWEEK) reports:

As the U.S.–Israeli bombardment of Iran continues with no end in sight, the economic shockwaves are already hitting American farmers, with some struggling to buy fertilizer and gasoline prices rising.

The war zone sits at the crossroads of the world’s fertilizer supply. Since the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran a week ago, maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has ground to a near standstill. The waterway moves roughly 20 percent of the world’s daily oil and a quarter of its nitrogen fertilizer.

Chet Edinger, a corn and soybean farmer from Mitchell, South Dakota, saw it coming. As soon as the news broke, he rushed to lock in one last load of urea, the most widely used nitrogen fertilizer, the morning the strikes began. He paid 22 percent more than he had late last year, the highest price he had ever seen.

Days later, the market froze entirely.

“You can’t even buy it right now if you wanted to,” he told Newsweek. “Because all the supplies are tied up with their existing customers.”

[. . .]

Tariffs. Economic uncertainty. And now war. For many farmers, the Iran conflict is not a shock so much as the latest entry in a long list of crises they did not choose over the past 15 months.

Farmers had already grown critical of the administration over a deal that quadrupled Argentine beef imports, undercutting domestic producers at a time when the U.S. cattle herd sat at a 75-year low. Farm bankruptcies filed under Chapter 12 are up 46 percent compared to 2024.

Dan Osborn, an independent Nebraska Senate candidate who has spent months talking to farmers across the state, said the rot set in long before the first strike on Iran. He recently spoke with a soybean farmer who told him the administration’s $12 billion relief package would cover seed, chemicals, and fuel for next year, but nothing for the losses already suffered this year.

“A lot of our farmers are just out,” Osborn told Newsweek. “And now, with the increasing prices of fertilizer and fuel, that bailout is going to fall even more short.”

Garrett Downs (CNBC) reports:

Senate Democrats on Tuesday rebutted President Donald Trump's claims that the in Iran may soon be over, warning that the U.S. risks getting dragged into another prolonged conflict in the Middle East.

The concerns from Democrats who attended a bipartisan classified briefing with military brass on Tuesday stand in stark contrast with the president, who on Monday suggested the U.S. may be nearing the completion of its operation. Trump's statements sent slumping markets soaring and cratered oil prices that had skyrocketed in recent days.

The senators were briefed as the Trump administration continues to whipsaw between explanations, goals and timelines for the war that has seen eight U.S. service members killed in action and left the longtime leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dead.

"What I heard is not just concerning, it is disturbing," Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, whose members were briefed. "I'm not sure what the endgame is or what their plans are. ... And if he does want to put us in a forever war, which it seems like he does, he needs to come out and let us be able to have that discussion.

"Do you think because he thinks he waves some magic wand that everything just stops? ... It's not going to stop just because he wishes it to be so," Rosen said.

The pessimism from Democrats on an eventual U.S. end for the war it started with Israel against Iran comes as Congress awaits a potential supplemental funding request to finance the offensive. The effort has burned through billions of dollars of U.S. munitions, which will have to be refilled. 

7 US service members have been killed so far and AP notes, "The Pentagon, meanwhile, offered its first tally of American wounded, saying about 140 U.S. troops have been injured, 8 severely."  Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali (REUTERS) place the number of troops injured at 150. 

US Speaker of the Closet Mike Johnson put Congress on a holiday as he rushed to be in Florida with Donald Chump and assorted other Republican members of the House of Representatives.  Kate Santaliz (AXIOS) reports what took place there:

White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair privately urged House Republicans on Tuesday to stop emphasizing "mass deportations" and instead focus their messaging on removing violent criminals, according to sources in the closed-door briefing.

Why it matters: Mass deportations were central to the GOP's 2024 campaign message.

Nearly half — 49% — of Americans say Trump's mass deportation campaign is too aggressive, including 1 in 5 voters who backed the president in 2024, a Politico poll from January found.

State of play: Blair delivered the message during a policy listening session with House Republicans at their annual retreat in Doral, Florida.

He encouraged members to focus on deporting violent offenders rather than defending the broader concept of mass removals.

The advice signals a recalibration by the White House — and reflects growing concern among some Republicans that Democrats are successfully framing Trump's immigration policy as overly sweeping and indiscriminate.

This as Sasha Rogelberg (FORTUNE) reports:

More than one year into the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, there’s little to suggest White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller has achieved his goal of boosting the U.S.-born workforce by closing borders.

A National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) policy brief published this month noted from February 2025 to February 2026, labor force participation for U.S.-born workers aged 16 and older actually fell from 61.4% to 61%, citing jobs data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

That dip in the U.S.-born labor force—part of a larger labor market slowdown that saw just 181,000 jobs added to the U.S. economy in 2025—coincided with a swath of actions meant to curb immigration. This included roughly $170 billion in immigration enforcement funding, counting $75 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement through 2029, outlined in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB).

The crackdown appears to have had its intended effect in driving out immigrants and those considering coming to the U.S. The Brookings Institute estimated the U.S. saw between 10,000 and 295,000 people leave the country in 2025, reaching negative net migration for the first time in about half a century. NFAP’s analysis found a decline of 596,000 foreign-born workers in the U.S. since January 2026 and a total of 1.01 million workers since the number of foreign-born workers in the U.S. peaked in March 2025.

While efforts to slash the foreign-born workforce were efficacious, they did not succeed in bolstering jobs for U.S.-born workers, according to labor economist and NFAP senior fellow Mark Regets.

“Most economic research shows that immigration increases employment opportunities for the U.S.-born, so it would not be surprising if reducing immigration harms American workers,” Regets said in the report.

Regets previously told Fortune an immigrant workforce can help boost productivity and justify hiring more workers, as well as encourage U.S. firms to take advantage of a domestic workforce instead of offshoring jobs. Greater immigration can also encourage consumer spending to stimulate economic activity.

“A company unable to find the workers it needs for some roles could shut down operations rather than continuing,” Regets said. 

Turning to the ongoing Epstein scandal, Leigh Kimmins (DAILY BEAST) notes:

Howard Lutnick is facing a fresh Epstein files headache as two organizations have teamed up to call for his head, with a former White House ethics czar bashing his muddled excuses.

The watchdogs, Democracy Defenders Fund (DDF) and Public Citizen (PC), have demanded the commerce secretary’s resignation in an open letter, seen first by the Daily Beast.

They cite his murky messaging over a relationship with fellow billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, which persisted for years after he was convicted of sex crimes. The saga has put Lutnick in the spotlight, risking Trump’s ire as he tries to distance himself from the ongoing Epstein saga.

Norm Eisen, former White House ethics czar and ambassador to the Czech Republic under President Barack Obama, told the Daily Beast that Lutnick’s alleged behavior is “a direct assault on every American who does everything right and still gets less.”

“Government corruption has a price—and the American people are the ones paying it, in the form of their hard-earned money and a destabilized economy," Eisen, who also co-founded DDF, said.

“We have now learned that a top economic official concealed his financial and personal ties to Jeffrey Epstein while testifying under oath, and buried evidence of his own fraud.”

Eisen, a prominent lawyer and former CNN legal analyst, added: “That is a profound betrayal of the public trust. When the well-connected get to play by a different set of rules, it is not only unfair, but is a direct assault on every American who does everything right and still gets less.”

Eisen is one of Trump’s most persistent legal foes, and he made repeated manoeuvres to force the DOJ and FBI to cooperate and release files relating to Trump’s own relationship with Epstein.

Noting that Lutnick’s relationship with Epstein “did not end until at least 2018,” 10 years after he was convicted in Florida of soliciting a minor for prostitution, another DDF director said he “can’t be trusted.”

 “He appears to have lied about his relationship with a child predator and faces serious allegations both from his time in the private sector and as Commerce Secretary,” said Virginia Canter, chief counsel and director of ethics and anti-corruption at Democracy Defenders Fund.

Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:

Senator Murray: “The painful reality is that in addition to the tragic killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good which—rightfully—got national attention, there are other cases where ICE and Border Patrol shot people, with no clear cause, and lied about it afterwards. We have to put an end to this alarming pattern—and that means we cannot let Republicans ignore it.”

***WATCH: Senator Murray’s Recap of Violent ICE Shootings***

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released a video about the numerous violent shootings we are seeing from Trump’s reckless ICE and CBP agents across the country—and the urgent need to rein in these rogue agencies. Senator Murray highlighted the stories of Marimar Martinez, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, Carlos Jimenez, Francisco Longoria, and Carlitos Ricardo Parias—all of whom were shot by ICE or CBP agents. Throughout the video, Senator Murray calls out the egregious use of force from federal agents, their lies that don’t hold up in court, and the extreme danger they are putting families and communities in by recklessly using firearms. Senator Murray also called out Republicans for refusing to negotiate serious and common sense measures to rein in ICE and CBP. Last week, Murray pushed to pass legislation that would fund every agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—except ICE, CBP, and the Office of the Secretary—while negotiations continue to rein in ICE and Border Patrol, but Republicans blocked her effort.

“Republicans are so far refusing to do things as simple as requiring the masks to come off and requiring ICE to follow the same basic standards that local police follow every day when it comes to things like use of force, or getting an actual judicial warrant before bashing someone’s door in and dragging them away. Republicans would rather shut down DHS than pass a funding bill with basic oversight. I don’t know how Republicans can look at what happened to Renee Good and Alex Pretti, or see the videos of peaceful protesters getting tear gassed and tackled, or see lawful observers getting their windows smashed and getting dragged out of their cars, and think—this is fine,” said Senator Murray. “I want to make the problem just a bit more clear to Republicans here in the Senate who are trying to sweep it under the rug, by discussing some other ICE and Border Patrol shootings you may have missed. Because the painful reality is that in addition to the tragic killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good which—rightfully—got national attention, there are other cases where ICE and Border Patrol shot people, with no clear cause, and lied about it afterwards. We have to put an end to this alarming pattern—and that means we cannot let Republicans ignore it. So, I am putting a spotlight on some of the details of other shootings ICE and Border Patrol do not want the American people to hear about.”

WATCH HERE: The Shootings ICE Doesn’t Want You To Know About…

“I know these stories are very upsetting—especially when Republicans want to try so hard to ignore what is happening. But I want to make sure you also know—we are not powerless. And the stories I’ve been sharing don’t just show how bad things have gotten, they are also a reminder about how we all can fight back in this country—with our voice and our votes,” continued Senator Murray. “These survivors are not staying silent. And we cannot be silent either—we have to keep speaking up. We have to keep making clear to people what is happening and demanding Republicans work with us to hold ICE and Border Patrol accountable. Republicans are hoping this will all just blow over—but that’s not up to them—it is up to us. Elections are just around the corner this fall. Remember that. So, I am going to keep using my platform here in D.C. to shine a spotlight on this, and I am going to keep using my position to demand accountability. And I hope all of you will keep using your voice out there as well.”

Senator Murray has spoken out forcefully and constantly throughout this year against the Trump administration’s cruel and counterproductive mass deportation campaign and the egregious treatment by ICE and DHS of American citizens, legal immigrants, and undocumented immigrants. Murray called attention to the violent assault of Wilmer Toledo-Martinez in Vancouver, Washington and she successfully advocated for his release from the Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC). Wilmer was lured out of his home under false pretenses, violently detained by federal agents, and mauled by an attack dog despite not resisting arrest or attempting to flee. Murray also recently called attention to the case of Jose Paniagua Calderón, whose foot was run over by agents in Vancouver.

In November, Senator Murray joined 48 of her colleagues in the Senate and House of Representatives in introducing the Restoring Access to Detainees Act, which would mandate that DHS allow people who have been detained to contact their legal counsel and families. In February 2025, Senator Murray signed onto a letter led by Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) demanding that DHS end wrongful searches and interrogations of Tribal members, and continued to push for answers from DHS on the matter last December. Last year, Murray also reintroduced her Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act. She and Senator Richard Blumenthal led 27 of their Senate colleagues last year in a letter expressing concern with prevalence and treatment of pregnant, postpartum, and nursing women in ICE detention, and she also joined a letter led by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) calling for ICE to end the misuse of solitary confinement in immigration detention.

In Washington state, Senator Murray has been conducting oversight of the Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC), despite the Trump administration’s efforts to block Congressional oversight of federal immigration detention facilities. After a protracted legal battle over Washington state’s ability to enforce health and safety standards at NWIPC, a federal appeals court ruled in August that the state should be allowed to enforce such standards at the detention center, and that failure to comply could result in fines of up to $10,000 per violation. In December, Senator Murray led Members of the Washington state Congressional delegation in a letter to Acting Director of ICE Todd Lyons expressing grave concerns with conditions at NWIPC in Tacoma, Washington and demanding answers to a long list of questions regarding overcrowding and lack of access to medical services, food, and legal counsel for individuals detained at the facility. 

Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are below:

“Hey everyone, Senator Patty Murray here.

“Before I begin, first, a note to everyone watching: We are going to be discussing instances where people were shot, and seriously hurt. So keep in mind: these stories, and some of the images from them, may be disturbing.

“You may have heard about the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.

“The gist is: Funding has run out for DHS, and before passing any new funding, Democrats are insisting on putting in place reasonable accountability measures for ICE and Border Patrol after the horrific killings and overreach we have seen.

“But Republicans are so far refusing to do things as simple as requiring the masks to come off and requiring ICE to follow the same basic standards that local police follow every day when it comes to things like use of force, or getting an actual judicial warrant before bashing someone’s door in and dragging them away.

“Republicans would rather shut down DHS than pass a funding bill with basic oversight.

“I don’t know how Republicans can look at what happened to Renee Good and Alex Pretti, or see the videos of peaceful protesters getting tear gassed and tackled, or see lawful observers getting their windows smashed and getting dragged out of their cars, and think—this is fine.

“But I am not budging. We have a rogue agency—and we need to rein it in. 

“DHS officials even testified to Congress that filming their activities in public is perfectly legal. Yet they threaten citizens with arrest and take their pictures for unknown purposes. Sometimes they spray them in the face point-blank with pepper spray. Sometimes they gang-tackle them and shoot them in the back ten times.

“So today, I want to make the problem just a bit more clear to Republicans here in the Senate who are trying to sweep it under the rug, by discussing some other ICE and Border Patrol shootings you may have missed. Because the painful reality is that in addition to the tragic killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good which—rightfully—got national attention, there are other cases where ICE and Border Patrol shot people, with no clear cause, and lied about it afterwards.

“We have to put an end to this alarming pattern—and that means we cannot let Republicans ignore it. So, I am putting a spotlight on some of the details of other shootings ICE and Border Patrol do not want the American people to hear about.

[MARIMAR MARTINEZ]

“Marimar Martinez is a U.S. citizen, and a teacher’s assistant in Chicago. Last year, a Border Patrol agent rammed her car and then shot her five times. And what happened next? The agent texted his colleagues bragging about it. He drove the vehicle immediately from Chicago to Maine. And the Trump Administration tried to label Martinez a domestic terrorist.

“But those lies came face-to-face with reality in court. And the charges against Martinez were dropped by the Department of Justice when the story DHS made up was completely contradicted by the evidence. They said officers were forced to fire when Martinez tried to run them over. But surveillance video does not show that at all.

“According to Martinez’s lawyer, the government’s own evidence showed one bullet hit the rear passenger window and another traveled from the back of the vehicle to the front. Not through the windshield like these agents claimed. They said that the Border Patrol vehicle was ‘boxed in’ by 10 cars. Again, the surveillance video shows—there were not 10 cars boxing them in.

“In fact, you can see there was no car in front of them and no car beside them. They tried to hide behind the fact Martinez had a gun in the car. One she has a permit for. One that she did not touch. And one that the government acknowledges was not even visible to agents when all of this went down.

“And last, but not least—DHS tried to say Martinez rammed Border Patrol agents. Well, we now have body cam footage from inside the Border Patrol vehicle. And it seems pretty clear from that video, the agent who shot Martinez, is the one doing the ramming. You can see him turn his wheel sharply to the left—where Martinez was driving. Followed by the impact. 

“The dishonesty here is shocking—and honestly, scary. This woman—again, an American citizen—is lucky to be alive—and she has been bravely speaking out about what happened to her. And the same week the body cam footage from her shooting was released, lies from DHS in a different case in Minnesota also started falling apart.

[JULIO CESAR SOSA-CELIS]

“In January, ICE claimed a DoorDash driver, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, was shot in the leg after attacking ICE agents with a shovel. Fast forward a month, and—ICE completely reversed course, and said two of its officers were being investigated for quote: ‘Untruthful statements.’ The district attorney said new evidence was ‘materially inconsistent’ with the allegations made by the ICE agents.

“So how did we get here? Because, after ICE shot this man in the leg, Secretary Noem tried to say the officer was ‘ambushed and attacked,’ said this was ‘attempted murder.’ A few problems with that story. The officer was not ambushed—he was chasing Julio and another man—mistakenly thinking they were someone else.

“Second, the officer said in his own statement to FBI investigators, that he fired as the men ran away from him, towards a house. And perhaps the biggest problem: Julio, and other witnesses at the scene—say he never attacked ICE agents. And they say the agent actually shot him through a door. I mean, how is it self-defense to shoot blindly at someone through a door?  

“And, of course—what did DHS do initially? Well the same night the shooting took place they swept the building where it happened and detained several witnesses. They even detained Julio’s partner, and sent her to Texas—and then New Mexico. A judge had to step in to prevent them from deporting witnesses and tell them to stop moving these people around.

“But even as ICE was rounding up witnesses and moving them as far away as they could. There was other evidence they could not hide. Like the recording of the 911 call after the shooting—where you can hear a woman tell the operator someone was shot through the door.

“And there’s one more obvious hole in ICE’s story—that is the bullet hole in the door itself. At first, law enforcement tried to say they couldn’t find any bullet holes in the house. But then this photo was released, lo-and-behold, there is very clearly a bullet hole in the door. And there’s actually another hole from the bullet inside. Because the bullet traveled through the front door, and into the wall, before it stopped between a child’s bed and a crib.

“Talk about reckless! ICE should not be firing blindly through doors and putting kids in danger. Will Republicans finally join us to rein in this kind of behavior?

[CARLOS JIMENEZ]

“And another shooting in California further underscores ICE’s complete disregard for how their actions might affect kids. Carlos Jimenez is an American citizen, who works at a food bank. Last year, he saw some federal agents pulled over near a bus stop for a local elementary school. According to his attorney, he pulled up to let them know they are blocking a school bus stop, and there will be young kids gathering soon so they might want to wrap it up.

“The response he got for that notice? Well, an officer drew his gun, pointed it directly at Carlos’s face, and told him to ‘get the F out of here.’ So, Carlos backs up his vehicle to start turning around, he pulls forward to leave like he was told, and then he is shot in his shoulder.

“Now the DHS version of events is once again ridiculous. They say that officers fired at him after he tried to run them over. Though—as with so many other cases—there is basically no evidence of that so far. The bullet went in through the rear passenger window, as he started to pull forward to drive away. They arrested him at the hospital before he could get full treatment. They hand cuffed him, they dragged him back to the scene of the shooting, gave him a bag to puke in, slapped on what his lawyer describes as essentially a band-aid, and started interrogating him.

“And something else notable—this case happened just half an hour away from another ICE shooting that happened previously. 

[FRANCISCO LONGORIA]

“Francisco Longoria and his teenage sons were driving through a San Bernadino neighborhood when they were pulled over by an unmarked car and suddenly surrounded by masked men—one with his gun already drawn. Mind you he was doing nothing but driving when this happened.

“They did not show a warrant or anything. And when Francisco refused to roll down his window without some answers—they smashed it in. So he drove away, which is when an agent behind him fired three shots—at the passenger side of the vehicle. That is—they fired shots at the side his teenage son was sitting on.

“You already know what comes next: A bunch of disgusting lies from the Trump Administration that this person was attempting to run over officers, followed by video evidence that completely debunks those lies. You can see from cellphone footage inside the car—there is no one in front of Francisco as he drove away. You can also see from cellphone footage outside the car—that there is no one in front of the vehicle.

“And there is still another California shooting that I really have to talk about.

[CARLITOS RICARDO PARIAS]

“Last year, in LA, Carlitos Parias, also known as RichardLA18 on TikTok where he streams local breaking news, was shot by a federal agent after having his car boxed in. An officer was also injured by the ricochet. To no one’s surprise, DHS blatantly lied about the incident and said Carlitos was shot after he ‘weaponized his vehicle and began ramming the law enforcement vehicle in an attempt to flee.’

“But in court the government dragged its feet during discovery, only releasing the body camera footage five days after the deadline! So what did the footage show? Federal agents box Carlitos in, officers walk up and smash in his windows, and an officer swears after his gun goes off accidentally while he is switching hands to open the passenger door. Warning, the following clip is disturbing.

“There is a huge world of difference between an accidental discharge and a firing in self-defense. And there is just no world where the original DHS story has a shred of honesty here. A few weeks after the footage was released—a judge dismissed this case with prejudice, and noted the Government not only failed to comply with court deadlines—but deprived Carlitos of access to his lawyer.

[CONCLUSION]

“The pattern in these cases is clear and alarming. ICE and Border Patrol agents are charging into our communities with guns blazing. They are shooting people with zero justification, and then the Trump Administration is lying about it, slandering innocent people, and covering up the facts for as long as they can get away with.

“It is deeply alarming—and there are so many more examples that deserve more attention. Like the man who nearly died after he had eight fractures in his skull, and ICE tried to say it was from running into a wall on purpose. Or there’s one of the men who died in ICE detention after being asphyxiated by facility staff. DHS said it was a suicide—but an autopsy found it was a homicide. Or there’s a blind refugee, who died after immigration officials dumped him alone at a Tim Horton’s five miles away from home, once they realized they had no grounds to deport him.

“If there’s an example you think people need to hear about, need to talk about, or need to know about—please share it in the comments. Let people know! We need accountability. We need to rein in ICE and Border Patrol. That is what Democrats are insisting on, common sense measures to protect Americans from out-of-control masked federal agents. But Republicans would rather shut down DHS than rein in ICE.

“I know these stories are very upsetting—especially when Republicans want to try so hard to ignore what is happening. But I want to make sure you also know—we are not powerless. And the stories I’ve been sharing don’t just show how bad things have gotten, they are also a reminder about how we all can fight back in this country—with our voice and our votes.

“Carlitos used his TikTok reporting to keep his community informed about ICE activities. Francisco Longoria’s son-in-law came here to D.C. alongside Marimar Martinez, and Renee Good’s brother to share their stories with lawmakers. Marimar is not just speaking out—she fought to make sure the evidence in her case became public, and she announced she is suing DHS. And do you know what Carlos Jiminez did a few days after he was shot by federal agents? He went to vote in California’s special election.

“These survivors are not staying silent. And we cannot be silent either—we have to keep speaking up. We have to keep making clear to people what is happening and demanding Republicans work with us to hold ICE and Border Patrol accountable.

“Republicans are hoping this will all just blow over—but that’s not up to them—it is up to us. Elections are just around the corner this fall. Remember that.

“So, I am going to keep using my platform here in D.C. to shine a spotlight on this, and I am going to keep using my position to demand accountability.

“And I hope all of you will keep using your voice out there as well.”

###

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