Los Ángeles — En un discurso pronunciado esta noche ante casi 40 millones de californianos y estadounidenses en todo el país, el Gobernador Gavin Newsom condenó la militarización ilegal de Los Ángeles por parte del Presidente Trump y advirtió que las acciones del Presidente marcan un peligroso punto crucial para la nación.
“Lo que estamos atestiguando no es la aplicación de la ley, sino el autoritarismo,” dijo el Gobernador Newsom a los californianos. “Lo que más desea Donald Trump es su lealtad. Su silencio. Que sean cómplices en este momento. No se rindan ante él.”
El Gobernador Newsom relató recientes redadas federales en comunidades latinas, la apropiación de 4,000 miembros de la Guardia Nacional de California y el despliegue de más de 700 miembros de la Infantería de Marina en las calles de una ciudad estadounidense – todo ello sin consultar con las autoridades estatales ni locales. “Trump está desplegando una redada militar en Los Ángeles,” dijoNewsom. “Sus acciones son cobardía disfrazada como fortaleza.”
El Gobernador, al calificar este momento de reflexión nacional, le pidió a los estadounidenses tomar medidas pacíficas. “El cargo más importante en una democracia no es el de Presidente ni el de Gobernador, sino el de ciudadano.”
Vea y lea el discurso completo en inglés abajo, como escrito:
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Discurso del Gobernador Newsom a California: La Democracia en una Encrucijada
Quiero decir algunas palabras sobre los acontecimientos de los últimos días.
El fin de semana pasado, agentes federales realizaron redadas a gran escala en sitios de trabajo en Los Ángeles y sus alrededores.
Estas redadas continúan hasta en este momento.
California no es un estado ajeno a la aplicación de la ley migratoria.
Pero en lugar de enfocarse en inmigrantes indocumentados con antecedentes penales graves y personas con órdenes de deportación firmes —una estrategia que ambos partidos han apoyado desde hace tiempo— esta administración está impulsando deportaciones masivas.
Atacando indiscriminadamente a familias inmigrantes trabajadoras, sin importar sus orígenes ni el riesgo que corren.
Lo que está sucediendo ahora es muy diferente a todo lo que hemos visto antes.
El sábado por la mañana, cuando agentes federales saltaron de una camioneta sin identificación cerca del estacionamiento de un Home Depot, empezaron a detener a la gente.
Un ataque deliberado contra una comunidad mayoritariamente latina.
Una escena similar se desarrolló cuando una empresa de ropa fue allanada en el centro de Los Ángeles.
En otras acciones: una ciudadana estadounidense, con 9 meses de embarazo, fue arrestada. Se llevaron a una niña de cuatro años.
Familias separadas. Amigos desaparecidos.
En respuesta, los angelinos salieron a ejercer su derecho constitucional a la libertad de expresión y reunión.
Para protestar contra las acciones de su gobierno.
A su vez, el Estado de California y la Ciudad y el Condado de Los Ángeles enviamos a nuestros agentes de policía para ayudar a mantener la paz, y con algunas excepciones, tuvieron éxito.
Como muchos estados, California no es ajeno a este tipo de disturbios civiles. Los gestionamos con regularidad… y con nuestros propios cuerpos policiales.
Pero esto, de nuevo, fue diferente.
Lo que siguió fue el uso de gas lacrimógeno. Granadas aturdidoras. Balas de goma.
Agentes federales deteniendo a personas y socavando sus derechos al debido proceso.
Donald Trump, sin consultar con las autoridades policiales de California, desplegó a 2,000 miembros de la Guardia Nacional de nuestro estado en nuestras calles.
Ilegalmente y sin motivo alguno.
Este descarado abuso de poder por parte de un Presidente avivó la situación… poniendo en riesgo a nuestra gente, a nuestros oficiales y a la Guardia Nacional.
Fue entonces cuando comenzó una espiral de declive. El redobló la apuesta por su peligroso despliegue de la Guardia Nacional, poniendole más leña al fuego.
Y el Presidente lo hizo a propósito.
Mientras que la noticia se difundía por Los Ángeles, la ansiedad de familiares y amigos aumentaba. Las protestas se reanudaron.
Por la noche, varias docenas de infractores de la ley se volvieron violentos y destructivos. Vandalizaron propiedades. Intentaron agredir a agentes de policía.
Muchos de ustedes han visto videos de autos incendiándose en las noticias.
Si incitan a la violencia o destruyen nuestras comunidades, rendirán cuentas.
Ese tipo de comportamiento criminal no será tolerado. Punto final.
Ya se ha arrestado a más de 370 personas. Estamos revisando las grabaciones para abrir casos adicionales, y serán perseguidos con todo el peso de la ley.
Una vez más, gracias a nuestro cuerpo policial y a la mayoría de los angelinos que protestaron pacíficamente, esta situación se estaba calmando y se había concentrado en tan solo unas pocas cuadras en el centro de la ciudad.
Pero eso no era lo que quería Donald Trump.
Una vez más, él optó por la escalación; optó por aún más fuerza.
El prefirió el teatro por encima de la seguridad pública: federalizó a 2,000 miembros adicionales de la Guardia Nacional.
Desplegó a más de 700 miembros de Infantería de Marina Estadounidense.
Estos son hombres y mujeres entrenados a combatir en suelo extranjero, no en la aplicación de la ley nacional.
Honramos su servicio. Honramos su valentía. Pero no queremos que nuestras calles sean militarizadas por nuestras propias Fuerzas Armadas. Ni en Los Ángeles. Ni en California. Ni en ninguna parte.
Hemos visto vehículos de policía no distintivos en los estacionamientos de las escuelas. Niños, con miedo de asistir a su propia graduación.
Trump está desplegando una redada militar en Los Ángeles, que va mucho más allá de su intención declarada de perseguir a delincuentes violentos y peligrosos.
Sus agentes están arrestando a trabajadores de restaurante, jardineros, jornaleros y costureras. Eso es simplemente cobardía. Sus acciones son cobardía disfrazada como fortaleza.
El gobierno de Donald Trump no está protegiendo a nuestras comunidades – las está traumando. Y ese parece ser el objetivo.
California seguirá luchando por nuestra gente, por toda nuestra gente, incluso ante las cortes.
Ayer, presentamos una impugnación legal contra el imprudente despliegue de tropas estadounidenses por parte del Presidente Trump en una ciudad principal estadounidense.
Hoy, solicitamos una orden judicial de emergencia para detener el uso del ejército estadounidense en actividades policiales en Los Ángeles.
Si cualquiera de nosotros puede ser secuestrado de las calles sin orden judicial, basándose únicamente en sospechas o el color de la piel, entonces ninguno de nosotros está a salvo.
Los regímenes autoritarios empiezan por atacar a las personas con menos capacidad de defensa. Pero no se detienen ahí.
Trump y sus leales se alimentan de la división porque les permite tomar más poder y ejercer aún más control.
Por cierto, Trump no se opone a la anarquía ni a la violencia, siempre y cuando le sirvan a él mismo.
¿Qué más evidencia necesitamos que el 6 de enero?
Les pido a todos que se tomen un momento para reflexionar sobre este peligroso momento.
Un presidente que no quiere regirse por ninguna ley ni constitución.
Perpetrando un ataque unificado contra las tradiciones estadounidenses.
Este es un Presidente que, en poco más de 140 días, ha despedido a los organismos de control del gobierno que podrían exigirle responsabilidades por corrupción y fraude.
Ha declarado una guerra contra la cultura, la historia, la ciencia; contra el conocimiento mismo. Bases de datos, literalmente desapareciendo.
Está deslegitimando a las organizaciones de noticias y atacando la Primera Enmienda.
Amenazando con desfinanciarlas, él está dictando lo que las universidades pueden enseñar.
Atacando a los bufetes de abogados y al poder judicial, que son la base de una sociedad civil ordenada.
Exigiendo que un gobernador sea arrestado sin otra razón más que, en sus propias palabras, “por haber sido elegido.”
Y todos sabemos que este sábado ordenará a nuestros héroes estadounidenses —el ejército de los Estados Unidos— a realizar una exhibición vulgar para celebrar su cumpleaños, tal como lo han hecho otros dictadores fallidos en el pasado.
Miren, esto no se trata sólo de las protestas en Los Ángeles.
Cuando Donald Trump buscó la autoridad absoluta para comandar la Guardia Nacional, hizo que esa orden se aplicara a todos los estados de esta nación.
Se trata de todos nosotros. Se trata de ustedes.
California puede ser el comienzo, pero claramente no terminará aquí. Otros estados son los siguientes.
La democracia es la siguiente.
La democracia está bajo ataque ante nuestros ojos; el momento que temíamos ha llegado.
Está demoliendo el proyecto histórico de nuestros padres fundadores.
Las tres ramas de gobierno independientes e iguales.
Ya no hay pesos y contrapesos. El Congreso no existe. El líder Johnson ha abdicado por completo de esa responsabilidad.
El estado de derecho ha cedido cada vez más ante el gobierno de Don.
Los padres fundadores de esta nación no vivieron ni murieron para presenciar este momento.
Es hora de que todos nos levantemos pacíficamente.
El Juez Brandeis lo expresó mejor: en una democracia, el cargo más importante no es el de Presidente, ni mucho menos el de Gobernador. El cargo más importante es el de ciudadano.
En este momento, todos debemos levantarnos y rendir cuentas ante un mayor nivel de responsabilidad.
Si ejercen sus derechos bajo la Primera Enmienda,por favor, háganlo pacíficamente.
Sé que muchos de ustedes sienten profunda ansiedad, estrés y miedo.
Pero quiero que sepan que USTEDES son el antídoto contra ese miedo y esa ansiedad.
Lo que más desea Donald Trump es su lealtad. Su silencio. Ser cómplices en este momento.
NO se rindan ante él.
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Source: United States Senator for New York Charles E Schumer
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer today released the following statement on President Trump announcing the Army would be renaming Fort Johnson, named in honor of the Medal of Honor recipient, Albany Resident, Harlem Hellfighter, and New York Army National Guard Sgt. William Henry Johnson, back to Fort Polk:
“This is a vile insult to the memory and heroic patriotism of Sgt. Henry Johnson, a Medal of Honor recipient and Albany resident who Theodore Roosevelt called ‘one of the five bravest Americans’ to have served in World War I. Allied Commander Gen. John Pershing singled out Johnson for his valor in repelling a German raider party of at least 12 men, and Johnson protected his fellow soldiers under heavy fire and repelled the raiding party resulting in several enemy casualties, engaging in hand to hand combat. For this he received no American military honor because of a racist and segregated military,” said Senator Schumer. “For nearly a century, the nation for which he was willing to give his life shamefully failed to recognize Henry Johnson’s heroics, simply because of the color of his skin, and now they are disgracefully removing his name from an honor he unquestionably earned via superhuman heroism on the battlefield. Henry Johnson loved America when America did not love him back. Yet he still willingly put his life on the line for our great nation. Some might call that the warrior spirit. I call it patriotism of the very highest order.”
Schumer continued, “Sgt. Johnson is a true American hero who displayed the most profound bravery on the battlefield, and returning this fort to its former name, and taking this honor away from a medal of honor recipient is a disgusting new low for the Trump administration. It is utterly indefensible. All of America should be outraged at this slap in the face of a war hero. The Trump administration should be ashamed and should immediately reverse this decision.”
Trawool Fire Brigade and Seymour VICSES hosted a large-scale multi-agency training exercise last month in collaboration with Victoria Police, St John Ambulance Victoria, Ambulance Victoria, V/Line and Defence Australia.
A train versus truck collision was simulated in Seymour on Friday 30 May with over 200 people participating in the event including first responders, injured passengers, and event observers.
From a hazmat incident to an amputation, the experience provided all involved with an opportunity to refine their first response skills working alongside other agencies.
Trawool Fire Brigade Captain and Exercise Director Sean Kerris was pleased with the outcomes of the exercise and thanked Seymour Railway Heritage Centre (SRHC) for hosting the successful event.
“The exercise itself was designed to utilise a real-life scenario in a high-risk local area to guide the end product,” Sean said.
“We used lessons from recent Trawalla, Kerang and Lara train incidents and the Wallan derailment to formulate the exercise, alongside coroner reports, inquiry documents and firsthand recounts to further elevate it.
“The realistic response allowed crew members to challenge themselves through real-time concerns and foster innovation when working with multiple agencies.”
CFA Deputy Group Officer Mitchell Shire Laiton Telfer said brigade members predominantly supported fire suppression and the hazmat incident on the night.
“It was great to work with the other agencies to get to know them better, as we do see them out on ground at the local incidents we respond to,” Laiton said.
Last week, President Donald Trump ordered an investigation into “who ran the United States while President Biden was in office”, alleging top aides masked the “cognitive decline” of his predecessor. The announcement referenced revelations in a new book by journalists Jake Tapper (CNN) and Alex Thompson (Axios).
Original Sin made headlines last month for revealing that Biden’s declining physical and cognitive health had been hidden from the public by his closest aides and his loyal but overly protective wife, Jill Biden.
Whatever merit there is in Trump’s order must be seen alongside his bottomless cynicism. He seizes on the two authors’ investigative journalism to continue tarnishing his predecessor’s reputation, while doing everything in his power to bully news companies such as CBS over almost meritless defamation cases and to cut the funding of public media organisations PBS and NPR.
Review: Original Sin – Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson (Hutchinson Heinemann)
In November 2020, Biden was seen by many as a hero. He won the American election and saved the country from Donald Trump, who scholars judged among the worst presidents in the nation’s history, not least because just over 384,500 people died from COVID-19 that year.
Today, just as many see Biden as a villain. He said he would be a “bridge” president. He knew he would have ended his second term aged 86 if he had won and served it, so said he would hand over to a successor well in time for the 2024 election. But he didn’t. Not until three and a half weeks after his wincingly bad performance in a debate with Trump last June.
By then it was too late for his Democratic Party to go through its usual primaries process. Biden anointed his vice president Kamala Harris as his successor, but with only 107 days to campaign before the election, it is more accurate to say he gave her what football commentators call a “hospital pass”.
Donald Trump regained the presidency. Four months into his second term, all but his most loyal supporters (and this time he has made sure to surround himself only with loyal supporters) think it is already much worse than his first.
Whatever Biden achieved in his presidency is being forgotten amid the horror at watching America’s democratic institutions assaulted by an authoritarian leader determined to undo Biden’s policies, especially on climate change.
What on earth happened? How much responsibility does Biden bear? Did the news media subject Biden to sufficient scrutiny before the debate last June? Was everyone except the MAGA base suffering from a new variant of what conservative commentators long ago dubbed “Trump derangement syndrome”?
In short order, the answers are: Biden declined faster and worse than had been anticipated; a lot; the media possibly didn’t scrutinise him enough, but it’s more complicated than that – and, yes, “Trump derangement syndrome” was a factor, though not quite in the way conservative commentators thought.
Clooney’s alarm
Original Sin’s most spectacular revelation was that at a Democrat fundraising event last year, Biden did not appear to recognise George Clooney – who as well as being an actor, is a longtime Democrat supporter and a friend of the president.
Clooney was shocked by Biden’s frail appearance. “Holy shit,” he thought, according to the authors, as he watched Biden enter the room, taking tiny steps with “an aide guiding him by his arm”. The book describes the excruciating moment in detail:
“You know George,” the assisting aide told the president, gently reminding him who was in front of him.
“Yeah, yeah,” the president said to one of the most recognizable men in the world, the host of this lucrative fundraiser. “Thank you for being here.”
“Hi, Mr. President,” Clooney said.
“How are ya?” the president replied.
“How was your trip?” Clooney asked.
“It was fine,” the president said.
It was obvious to many standing there that the president did not know who George Clooney was. […]
“George Clooney,” the aide clarified for the president.
“Oh, yeah!” Biden said. “Hi, George!”
A Hollywood VIP who witnessed the moment told the authors “it was not okay”, describing it as “uncomfortable”. Clooney felt he had to sound the alarm publicly, which he did in an impassioned opinion piece for The New York Times a few weeks later, on July 10. He wrote about how he loved and respected Biden, but
the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can. It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.
Just days after publicity about the book began, news broke that Biden has stage four prostate cancer – and that he had not had a prostate test for more than a decade.
The ‘loyalty police’
Tapper and Thompson’s book derives not only from their day jobs, but from reporting they have done since last November’s election, including interviews with 200 people. Some of them, even now, prefer to speak on background rather than be named.
Through them, they tell a bracing story with three main themes.
First, there is the unblinking loyalty of close aides. Chief strategist Mike Donilon had been with Biden since 1981. Bruce Reed was a speechwriter and longtime political consultant. Steve Ricchetti had been Biden’s chief of staff when he was vice president, and was also a friend who would watch the morning political shows with him. All four of Richetti’s children worked in the Biden administration, the authors write.
Jill Biden’s longtime aides, Annie Tomasini and Anthony Bernal, were fiercely protective of the Bidens as much as the office of the president. “Are you a Biden person?” they would ask, leading other aides to label them the “loyalty police”.
Collectively, the close aides were known as The Politburo. Kamala Harris’ aides called them a “cabal of the unhelpful”. Time and again, they responded to queries about Biden’s health with firm assurances he was doing fine – even though the president needed to be supplied with cue cards when he was meeting his cabinet secretaries.
Biden, like previous presidents, had an annual medical check-up and was given a clean bill of health. But doctors outside the White House noted that his cognitive abilities were not tested. Asked about this, aides – and Biden himself – would say he passed a cognitive test every day of his presidency, which was a superficially plausible but practically meaningless statement.
Some aides genuinely believed in Biden, while others harboured doubts. The latter suppressed those to focus on the task of defeating Trump in 2024. One told Tapper and Thompson: “He just had to win, and then he could disappear for four years – he’d only have to show proof of life every once in a while.” Which sounds pretty much like the plot of the 1989 movie, Weekend at Bernie’s, except the situation was anything but comic.
Biden’s aides admonished journalists, including Alex Thompson, for even raising the issue of the president’s health. Worse, they shielded Biden from what his own pollsters were saying about his dire prospects for re-election.
The oldest presidential candidates
For Biden, work usually began at 9am, included two hours in the afternoon for “POTUS time”, and finished at 4.30pm when he had dinner. Availability for evening events was limited. By 2024, cabinet secretaries in the Biden administration told Tapper and Thompson that Biden could not be relied upon to be available at 2am for the kind of emergency the presidency can require.
After the Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, born the same year as Biden, froze in public a second time, in 2023, his fellow Republican Nikki Haley said, “The Senate is the most privileged nursing home in the country […] You have to know when to leave.”
When the Democrats did unexpectedly well at the 2022 midterm elections, Biden’s aides took that as a sign he should run again, rather than note the level of protest in the midterm vote, which came soon after the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v Wade decision on abortion.
The opinion polls, though, were telling. An early November 2022 Ipsos poll had the president’s approval rating at a low 39%, Tapper and Thompson report. Two thirds of those surveyed said they thought the country was on the wrong track. When Ipsos ran a poll after the midterm election, 68% said Biden might not be up for the challenge of running in 2024. Worse, almost half of Democrats agreed.
Biden’s aides may have been right to marvel at what their boss could still do, and to resent the media harping on about Biden’s age while turning a blind eye to his cheeseburger-chomping, Coke-slurping political nemesis, only four years younger. The bitter fact for them is that by 2020 Biden looked and sounded frail while Trump looked and sounded commanding.
Trump may have lied repeatedly during the debate last June, but in a real sense that was not news; Trump lies as easily as he breathes. What was news was watching a mumbling, open-mouthed US president freeze on live television.
Grisly anecdotes and Hunter Biden
Original Sin is replete with grisly anecdotes about Biden’s decrepitude. “The guy can’t form a fucking sentence”, thought one aide attending to him onboard Air Force One. This leads to the second main theme: the tragic circumstances that appear to have accelerated the decline.
It is well known that personal tragedy has scarred – and in crucial ways shaped – Biden’s life and career. He lost his first wife, Neilia, and their one-year-old daughter, Naomi, in a car accident in 1972. Their young sons, Beau and Hunter, were in the car. They survived but Hunter suffered a fractured skull, an injury with lifelong effects, according to Tapper and Thompson.
Beau served as an army officer in the Iraq war. On his return, he was elected attorney-general of Delaware in 2006 and 2010. He planned to run for governor in 2016. But a year earlier, the brain cancer for which he was first treated in 2013 recurred; he died in May 2015. In a worrying precursor to later actions, the Bidens kept Beau’s illness a secret. “Beau’s death aged him significantly,” a longtime Biden confidant told Tapper and Thompson. “His shoulders looked smaller. His face looked more gaunt. In his eyes, you could just see it.”
A year later, Hunter Biden became addicted to crack cocaine. Ashley, Biden’s daughter by his second wife Jill, also struggled with addiction. Both spiralled downwards after Beau’s death, which weighed heavily on their father. As the authors write:
After Beau’s death in 2015, Biden desperately and understandably clung to Hunter. He would privately refer to him as ‘my only living son.’ But Biden aides felt that Hunter manipulated his father’s blind love for his own aims. The president struggled to say no to Hunter. Aides felt that he had tragically become Hunter’s chief enabler.
In 2021 Hunter published a memoir, Beautiful Things, and travelled round the country in an effort to provide hope to others struggling with addiction. The memoir’s candour provided valuable information to David Weiss, a special counsel appointed by Attorney-General Merrick Garland in 2023.
Weiss had been previously appointed by the first Trump administration to investigate the contents of a laptop Hunter Biden left at a repair shop. Biden had not interfered with Garland’s decision, as he did not want to be seen as behaving the way his predecessor had.
Weiss charged Hunter Biden over his possession of a handgun while being addicted to cocaine. A plea deal broke down and Hunter faced trial in 2024. The Biden family attended each day of the trial. Biden felt guilty, believing Hunter would never have been on trial if he wasn’t the president’s son.
There is little doubt the Republicans weaponised Hunter Biden’s actions, but he gave them plenty of ammunition. He had had an extramarital affair with his brother’s widow and had introduced her to cocaine, to which she became addicted. There is more, but you get the (tawdry) picture.
Then, after the election in November, Biden did what he had repeatedly said he wouldn’t, exercising his power as president to pardon his son. It may have been the understandable action of a besieged father, but Biden did not frame it that way, blaming Garland, wrongly, for pursuing the case.
Equally to the point, the authors report that Trump’s lawyers took note, believing the Hunter Biden pardon “gave them a great deal of leeway on whether they could pardon and free from prison the hundreds of convicted January 6 insurrectionists” from the 2021 Capitol riot. Which of course Trump did as soon as he took office in January 2025.
The old adage has it that two wrongs don’t make a right. But for a politician who had won the presidency promising to be everything Trump was not, it was a fatal, final blow to Biden’s credibility.
The media ‘missed a lot’
The third theme of the book asks how much of all this the news media reported during Biden’s presidency. Some, but not all of it – including some by Thompson, who recently won a White House Correspondents’ Association award for his disclosures.
Both he and his co-author acknowledge they and other journalists did not dig hard enough to reveal the extent to which the Biden administration was hampered by the president’s declining health. Said Thompson:
Being truth-tellers also means telling the truth about ourselves. We – myself included – missed a lot of this story, and some people trust us less because of it […] We should have done better.“
It is worth keeping this in perspective. The news media’s failings in the lead up to the Iraq war in 2003 were more significant. Then, too many journalists swallowed the administration’s lines justifying its decision to invade a country, while the work of those who did report sceptically was buried well inside the newspaper. There, it “played as quietly as a lullaby”, as The New York Times’ first public editor, Daniel Okrent, wrote in 2003.
The war’s reporting led to a lot of soul searching in American newsrooms. If there was a coverup in the media about the Biden administration, it wasn’t very effective, wrote media critic Jon Allsop in the New Yorker. “Not least because the majority of the public thought Biden was too old long before the debate.”
The other element infecting both the mainstream media and social media is divisiveness, rancour and hostility. It is hard, for journalists and the public, to see political information other than through a hyper-partisan lens. I felt this acutely when reading the section in Original Sin about Biden getting drawn into the FBI’s investigation of Trump for withholding classified documents – when the FBI found Biden had done essentially the same thing. (Though it should be stressed Biden, unlike Trump, cooperated at all times.)
‘Well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory’
It was through this investigation that special counsel Robert Hur’s recording of a long interview with Biden came to light. Journalists were backgrounded that Hur was a right-wing operative; he was anything but that, write Tapper and Thompson. He treated Biden fairly and respectfully. In the interview, excerpts of which run to seven pages of the book, Biden rambles and needs regular reminding of facts – including the year his son Beau died.
In Hur’s report, released in 2024, he found Biden had inappropriately retained classified documents but he did not recommend pressing charges. To a jury, Hur concluded, Biden would present “as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory”. He was making the kind of decision prosecutors routinely make about the likelihood of a conviction.
Hur was attacked by the White House and much of the media as a partisan warrior who had brought up the death of the president’s son in the interview, when it was Biden who mentioned it himself. If Hur really had been a partisan warrior, the authors write, he would have recommended continuing with the prosecution.
Several months later, after the disastrous Biden-Trump debate, friends and colleagues texted Hur saying he must have felt vindicated. “Hur told them that all he felt was sad. How could anyone look at Joe Biden at that debate and not feel bad?”
It is true that aides, and sometimes the news media, have covered up previous presidents’ health issues, such as Franklin Roosevelt’s paralysis from polio, John Kennedy’s debilitating back pain that required heavy doses of painkillers, and Ronald Reagan’s Alzheimer’s disease.
Tapper and Thompson argue the coverup of Biden’s health problems is the most consequential in presidential history.
Underplays Biden’s achievements
The authors successfully prosecute their case about Biden’s responsibility for his own demise. Perhaps worried they may not be believed by Democrat supporters, they continue amassing evidence well beyond that point, which means the minutiae of aides continuing to deny the reality of Biden’s decline becomes repetitive.
Their relentless focus on Biden’s decline also means they underplay both his achievements as a president and the breadth of his character. At one point, they admiringly refer to Richard Ben Cramer’s book about the 1988 presidential campaign, What it Takes, which includes Biden’s failed attempt to win the Democratic nomination for the presidency.
Cramer’s book is a massive 1,047 pages. He interviewed more than a thousand people and took so long on the book it came out during the next presidential campaign, in which Bill Clinton was elected.
One reviewer, Richard Brownstein, wrote of it: “Presidential elections are the white whale of American journalism – and in Cramer they have found a manic Melville.” But it is written in an intimate, novelistic style, taking the reader deep into the lives and thoughts and feelings of the candidates, George H.W Bush, Bob Dole, Michael Dukakis, Richard Gephardt, Gary Hart and Biden.
Cramer told Robert Boynton in an interview for his 2005 book, The New New Journalism, he was amazed political journalists spend so little time talking to childhood friends, family and early colleagues.
If you want to understand how someone got to the point where he [sic] is a credible candidate for president of a nation of 250 million people, you’d better godamn-well know how he is wonderful. But most journalists don’t care about that.
As such, Cramer provides a deeper, richer portrait of Biden as an idiosyncratic and flawed, but also impressive politician, who was a force of nature in his youth. By comparison, Original Sin reads like an autopsy: which in a way, it is. If you want to remember why Biden became an effective politician in the first place, seek out a copy of What it Takes.
In the end, though, whatever achievements Biden had as president are being overtaken by his disastrous decision to try to hang on for a second term. By the evidence presented in Original Sin, “Honest Joe” was, like many politicians, prey to ego and overvaulting ambition, and prone to secrecy when it suited him.
He and his aides thought – and astonishingly still do think – he was the person best able to repel the return of a person they feared (with good reason) would do enormous damage to the country. Biden said this after the November election, earning Harris’s ire, for which he apologised, and Donilon affirmed it in an interview with the authors early this year.
The savage irony is, by their actions, Biden and his team eased Trump’s path to victory last November. Now, it is not just Americans but the rest of the world who are left to deal with the second Trump administration.
Matthew Ricketson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United States Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)
Padilla, Schiff Demand Answers From Trump Administration on Reckless Decision to Deploy Hundreds of Marines to Los Angeles
Senators: “We strongly oppose this deployment and request you clarify the legal authority that purports to grant the President and you the ability to deploy active-duty personnel on American streets under these circumstances.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) demanded answers regarding the Trump Administration’s decision to deploy approximately 700 Marines to Los Angeles. In their letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, the Senators requested that the Administration clarify and provide the legal authority that purports to grant the President and the Department of Defense the ability to deploy active-duty military personnel on American streets.
“The presence of the Marines was not requested by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, or California Governor Gavin Newsom. Moreover, local and state law enforcement officers are carrying out their missions to protect the public amid ongoing immigration raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel. We strongly oppose this deployment and request you clarify the legal authority that purports to grant the President and you the ability to deploy active-duty personnel on American streets under these circumstances,” wrote the Senators.
“A decision to deploy active-duty military personnel within the United States should only be undertaken during the most extreme circumstances, and these are not them. That this deployment was made over the objections of state authorities is all the more unjustifiable. In this instance, this extraordinary action was also irresponsibly rushed and lacked clear communication to government officials or the U.S. public. The notification from NORTHCOM did not provide critical information to understand the legal authority, mission, or rules of engagement for Marines involved in this domestic deployment,” continued the Senators.
Senator Padilla has been outspoken in slamming the Los Angeles ICE raids and Trump’s misguided mobilization of the National Guard and U.S. Marine Corps. Earlier today, Padilla spoke on the Senate floor to blast President Trump for manufacturing a crisis by launching indiscriminate ICE raids across Los Angeles and deploying the National Guard and active-duty servicemembers to the region. Yesterday, Padilla, Schiff, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) demanded answers from top Trump Administration officials regarding the arrest and detention of David Huerta, President of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California and SEIU-United Service Workers West. Padilla has joined national and local TV and radio broadcasts in the past few days to condemn the Trump Administration’s cruel immigration enforcement in Los Angeles and across the country.
Full text of the letter is available here and below:
Dear Secretary Hegseth,
According to a U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) notification to Congress on June 9, 2025, approximately 700 Marines have been deployed in support of Task Force 51, the unit comprised of National Guard troops called into federal service by President Trump and operating in Los Angeles. You explained subsequently that these “… active-duty U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton are being deployed to Los Angeles to restore order.”
The presence of the Marines was not requested by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, or California Governor Gavin Newsom. Moreover, local and state law enforcement officers are carrying out their missions to protect the public amid ongoing immigration raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel. We strongly oppose this deployment and request you clarify the legal authority that purports to grant the President and you the ability to deploy active-duty personnel on American streets under these circumstances.
A decision to deploy active-duty military personnel within the United States should only be undertaken during the most extreme circumstances, and these are not them. That this deployment was made over the objections of state authorities is all the more unjustifiable. In this instance, this extraordinary action was also irresponsibly rushed and lacked clear communication to government officials or the U.S. public. The notification from NORTHCOM did not provide critical information to understand the legal authority, mission, or rules of engagement for Marines involved in this domestic deployment. As such, we ask that you provide immediate answers to the following questions:
What is the legal authority for the Marine deployment and any activity they will be authorized to undertake? Please provide any Department of Defense analysis on the legal authority for this action. What is the specific mission for the Marine deployment and how has that mission been communicated to the Marines?
Will the Marines engage in, and have legal authority to engage in, law enforcement activities?
Please also clarify any requests made of the Department of Defense by other federal entities, such as the White House and the Department of Homeland Security, regarding the scope of the Marines’ mission and duties.
What are the rules of engagement for the Marines while deployed to Los Angeles? The NORTHCOM notification indicates that “Task Force 51 forces have been trained in de-escalation, crowd control, and standing rules for the use of force.” How much training was provided to the Marines involved and at what time? What crowd control equipment was issued to the Marines prior to or during their deployment, and what training have they received on proper use of that equipment? Given that the Marines, who are trained to be among the most lethal forces in the U.S. military, may have direct contact with U.S. civilians as part of the domestic deployment, please clarify the precise rules of engagement that have been provided to them or under which they are expected to operate.
Given the significant questions about the role of the Marines as part of this operation, we respectfully request answers to these questions within 48 hours or a stand down of their mobilization.
Source: United States Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)
WATCH: Padilla Slams Trump’s Unprecedented Mobilization of Marines and National Guard in LA, Pushes for Permanent DACA Protections
WATCH: Padilla: “Immigrants are not political pawns for his agenda. Just as servicemembers … are not political pawns for his agenda.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, spoke on the Senate floor to condemn President Trump’s move to federalize the California National Guard and mobilize U.S. Marine Corps elements, sending 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 active-duty Marines to Los Angeles. Padilla delivered remarks ahead of the 13th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, pushing for permanent protections for Dreamers rather than indiscriminate Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.
Padilla called out President Trump for trying to scapegoat immigrants to distract from Republicans’ unpopular billionaire-first budget bill, which would deliver tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy at the expense of working families. As part of this manufactured crisis, Trump has caused a chaotic escalation of the conflict in Los Angeles while ignoring fundamental due process rights.
“Time and time again, we’ve seen one of the most frequently called plays out of the Trump playbook. When everything else is going wrong, shift the narrative, scapegoat immigrants, blame immigrants for whatever your failure is at the moment.”
“Well today, between his failing trade wars that are raising the cost of living on working families across the country, to his losses in federal court and delays in Congress on their efforts to give billionaires even bigger tax breaks, and even the embarrassing breakup recently with his former BBFF, billionaire best friend forever, Elon Musk, it’s safe to say that Donald Trump is grasping for anything he can do to change the narrative, to distract us of the damage that his political agenda is going on.”
“In order to distract the country from his failures and his efforts to ‘flood the zone,’ Donald Trump is expanding his deportation agenda far beyond the focus and targeting of violent and dangerous criminals that he claimed would be the strategy.”
“He’s so desperate to show quick results that he’s even throwing due process rights out the window for so many. The due process rights, by the way, that I know most of you, if not all of you, should agree are paramount, foundational to our democracy.”
Padilla emphasized that the Trump Administration’s cruel immigration enforcement in Los Angeles is deeply personal for him, and that he would keep fighting against Trump’s mass deportation agenda and demonizing of immigrant communities.
“It’s personal for me not just because Los Angeles is home — I was born and raised in Los Angeles — but as a proud son of immigrants, I know the true story of the vast majority of immigrants and immigrant families in Los Angeles, throughout California and throughout the country.”
“But instead of honoring those contributions … Donald Trump is manufacturing a crisis to once again, not just distract us, but divide us. And just as he’s always done, he’s using immigrants to do it.”
“So I can’t help but speak up and remind us, immigrants are not political pawns for his agenda. Just as servicemembers — women and men — are not political pawns for his agenda.”
As the nation approaches the 13th anniversary of the DACA program, Padilla pushed his Republican colleagues to finally pass permanent protections for DACA recipients, including over 160,000 in California alone. He highlighted that most Dreamers have been contributing to our communities and economy for years, and underlined that if DACA ended, it could cost the country nearly $650 billion while potentially cutting over 400,000 workers.
“As we should be celebrating the 13th anniversary of DACA this week, hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients and Dreamers are actually now worried that they are at risk, at further risk. That they could be next as President Trump struggles to find enough violent criminals to detain and deport to meet a campaign promise. Since he can’t get his numbers there, he’ll look elsewhere. So I want to take this moment to make very clear: Dreamers are our neighbors. Dreamers are our loved ones.”
“These are young people who are Americans in every sense of the word, except for one important piece of paperwork. … Yet because of Congressional Republicans’ refusal to act, Dreamers live at a minimum in a constant state of uncertainty, but oftentimes in a constant state of fear. They deserve better. Mr. President, they deserve permanent protections.”
“If through the President or through Republicans’ actions in Congress, you were to take away work authorization for hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients, that’s reducing our workforce at a time when we’re trying to grow the workforce and grow the economy.”
“I’m talking about Dreamers who work as teachers, as caregivers, as nurses and doctors, as construction workers, as food service workers, and so many other key industries for our economy. And they’re hardworking community members who pay taxes just like the rest of us and just want a chance to work hard and raise a family in the country that they love. They deserve peace of mind, the piece of mind to know that they are safe here at home.”
Padilla concluded by pushing his colleagues to pass the DREAM Act to finally provide permanent protections for Dreamers who have long contributed to our economy and communities, yet are forced to live in uncertainty.
“For my Republican colleagues who may be caught up in the heat of the moment and trapped in this anti-immigrant rhetoric in our current political climate on the right, I’ll say this: Dreamers make our communities better. Dreamers make our economy stronger. And Dreamers make our nation stronger.”
“The DREAM Act is a commonsense bill that has enjoyed bipartisan support. So I urge you to join me in supporting the DREAM Act now and giving these young people the certainty and the protections that they deserve, and strengthen our nation in the process.”
Video of Padilla’s full remarks is available here.
Senator Padilla has been outspoken in calling out the Los Angeles ICE raids and Trump’s misguided mobilization of the National Guard and U.S. Marine Corps. Earlier today, Padilla and U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) demanded answers regarding the Trump Administration’s decision to deploy approximately 700 Marines to Los Angeles. Padilla also spoke on the Senate floor today to blast President Trump for manufacturing a crisis by launching indiscriminate ICE raids across Los Angeles and deploying the National Guard and active-duty servicemembers to the region. Yesterday, Padilla, Schiff, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) demanded answers from top Trump Administration officials regarding the arrest and detention of David Huerta, President of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California and SEIU-United Service Workers West. Padilla has joined national and local TV and radio broadcasts in the past few days to condemn the Trump Administration’s cruel immigration enforcement in Los Angeles and across the country.
Senator Padilla is a leading voice in Congress for immigration reform. To commemorate the 12th anniversary of DACA, Padilla joined immigration advocates, DACA recipients, and other lawmakers to urge Congress to pass a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and call on former President Biden to protect Dreamers and long-term undocumented communities through executive action. He previously joined his Senate colleagues and directly impacted immigrant youth leaders for a press conference calling on Republicans in Congress to work with Democrats to pass permanent protections for DACA recipients after the 5th Circuit’s 2022 ruling left these recipients in limbo.
Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy
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WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Monday spoke on the U.S. Senate floor to call on his Senate colleagues to stand up to President Trump’s brazen corruption of U.S. foreign policy. Murphy will force a vote as early as this week on two joint resolutions of disapproval to block multi-billion-dollar weapons sales to Qatar and the UAE after Trump demanded billions of dollars in luxury gifts and business deals from the two countries, including a $400 million dollar luxury plane that he intends to keep for personal use.
Murphy exposed the historic nature of Trump’s corruption and the danger it poses to national security: “The blatant exchange of U.S. national security secrets, our most sensitive drone technology and our most sensitive chip technology, in exchange for cash into Donald Trump’s pocket, is perhaps the most brazenly corrupt act in the history of the American presidency. And we cannot normalize it just because he is doing it out in the open, in public.
On Trump demanding Qatar gift him a luxury jet for his own personal use, Murphy said: “Now, this kind of gift, a $400 million luxury jet, it has no precedent in American history. No President has ever asked for, never mind been given, a $400 million gift from a foreign nation. Why? Well, because presidents know that that’s crossing a line. That is a massive abuse of their power. The leverage that presidents have over other countries, that they could use to ask for millions of dollars in gifts, it’s supposed to be used to benefit the nation’s security, not to enrich themselves. But also, it’s just illegal. There is a very specific clause in the Constitution that forbids this kind of gift from a foreign government to a president. And this body is supposed to be in charge of helping to enforce the Constitution. Our founders wrote that clause into the Constitution because they worried about this exact situation, where a president is using his authority like a monarch or a king to make himself the richest person in the world.
Murphy stressed that Republicans and Democrats must unite to protect the U.S. Constitution and preserve a foreign policy rooted in furthering American interests: “Donald Trump is using the power of his office not to help or protect us, but to enrich himself and his family. He is doing it publicly, brazenly, out in the open. He is, in effect, daring us – specifically daring the legislative branch, the co-equal branch – to stop him…Republicans can’t ignore this just because the president is their party’s leader. We have that independent obligation to protect the Constitution, which clearly says that these gifts are illegal, whether they’re going to a Democratic president or a Republican president. We have a responsibility to our taxpayers to stop a president from immorally enriching himself, using the power we give him to help himself instead of helping us.
He concluded: “The net result is an American public that is poorer, and weaker, and less secure. And a president who is richer. It’s corrupt. It’s corrupt. We’ve never, ever, in the history of this country, allowed for a president to do this. Never in the 250 years that our republic has been on the Earth has a president ever asked another nation to enrich himself in this way, in exchange for preferential treatment from the U.S. taxpayers. If you are a Republican or a Democratic senator, you have to see this as unprecedented, as terrible for our nation, as corruption. American foreign policy should not be for sale. If we let these arms sales go through, we are greasing the wheels of that corruption. If we vote for these resolutions of disapproval, at least we have a shot to stop it.”
Murphy filed these joint resolutions of disapproval last month.
A full transcript of his remarks can be found below:
MURPHY: “The U.S. Constitution and the American people give the American president vast power: the power to decide how billions of dollars are spent; the power to oversee the entire federal criminal justice system; the power to sell arms around the world; to deploy millions of American soldiers; to negotiate peace treaties. We give him these powers – the Constitution gives the president these powers – so that he uses them on our behalf: to deploy that vast power of the American presidency; to increase our quality of life; to protect the American people. We place immense trust in the president not to abuse these incredible authorities that are given to him. But Donald Trump is abusing that authority in ways that honestly shock the conscience.
“Donald Trump is using the power of his office not to help or protect us, but to enrich himself and his family. He is doing it publicly, brazenly, out in the open. He is, in effect, daring us – specifically daring the legislative branch, the co-equal branch – to stop him.
“Nearly three weeks ago, news broke that the White House had dialed up one of our key allies in the Middle East, the government of Qatar, and it asked that the Qataris give the president a luxury jet that is reportedly worth upwards of $400 million.
“Now, the nicest jet that I have ever been on is Air Force One, and it’s really nice. But the jet that Trump wants to make Air Force One, that he’s asking for from the Qataris, makes Air Force One, the current version, look like a tenement house. The Qatari jet that he is asking for, its interior is designed by a famed French designer, complete with a flowing grand staircase, sculpted ceilings, plush carpeting, leather couches, gold furnishings. The plane has been called the world’s most luxurious private jet. It includes nine bathrooms, five kitchens, swanky lounges, and a master bedroom suite. The arrangement that Trump proposed to the Qataris would briefly pass the jet through U.S. government hands, but only, as reported, for just a year or two before it would end up belonging personally to Donald Trump. The U.S. Government would essentially be a straw purchaser. The real owner of the jet, for all practical purposes, would be Donald Trump.
“Now, this kind of gift, a $400 million luxury jet, it has no precedent in American history. No President has ever asked for, never mind been given, a $400 million gift from a foreign nation. Why? Well, because presidents know that that’s crossing a line. That is a massive abuse of their power. The leverage that presidents have over other countries, that they could use to ask for millions of dollars in gifts, it’s supposed to be used to benefit the nation’s security, not to enrich themselves. But also, it’s just illegal. There is a very specific clause in the Constitution that forbids this kind of gift from a foreign government to a president. And this body is supposed to be in charge of helping to enforce the Constitution. Our founders wrote that clause into the Constitution because they worried about this exact situation, where a president is using his authority like a monarch or a king to make himself the richest person in the world.
“Now, the Qatar government feels like it had little choice but to say yes when asked for this $400 million gift – again, briefly to the U.S. Government – but really, for all practical purposes, to the president. They felt like they had no choice precisely because an American president has so much power. They have so much leverage, especially over a vulnerable country in the Middle East. In this case, Qatar really needs to keep the United States on its side. Middle East politics, they shift really quickly, and during Trump’s first term, when the Qataris were not close to Trump, they paid a price. They found themselves badly and dangerously isolated in the region. Saudi Arabia and the UAE, if you remember, effectively ganged up to blockade Qatar, and Trump gave that move implicit consent. Qatar, frankly, is willing to pay a very high price to avoid that fate again.
“But Qatar also has things that it wants from the United States. No Middle East country has ever been allowed to buy MQ-9 Reaper drones. These are the most lethal armed drone that America makes. We have previously judged that the region is just too volatile to allow any nation to possess the Reaper, and arguably there’s an arms control regime that doesn’t allow us to transfer that technology, but Qatar wanted to break that precedent. Of course they did. They wanted to be the first nation to have the Reaper technology, and Trump seemed willing to go along. So, a $400 million gift to the president, again, that the president was asking for, it’s a relatively small price to pay for that kind of military edge over your rivals in the region.
“But there was one more reason that Qatar had no choice but to give Trump, or at least they felt they had no choice but to give Trump, this wildly illegal gift: because Trump had made it clear to the whole region, to the whole of the Gulf region in the Middle East, that he was for sale and that preferential American treatment was for sale. And if Qatar didn’t pay, another country would. Qatar wasn’t going to be protected, frankly, by a collective refusal of Trump’s extortion in the region. And they had only to look next door to the United Arab Emirates to see how high the price was getting to win Trump’s affection.
“At the exact moment that Trump was leaning on Qatar to give him the luxury plane, he was also leaning on UAE to give him not a $400 million gift, but a $2 billion gift. And he didn’t have to lean hard. Just before the Qataris committed to give Trump the plane, an investment firm, backed by the Emirati government and chaired by Emirati government’s national security advisor, shocked the world and announced that it would use Trump’s brand-new stablecoin, this is a form of cryptocurrency, in a $2 billion investment deal that this investment fund, essentially an arm of the UAE government, was doing. And because of that $2 billion deal, overnight Trump’s stablecoin became one of the five largest stablecoins in the world, massively inflating the president’s wealth due to this one single investment. Now this wasn’t an ordinary investment decision. Out of all the stablecoin companies in the world, the Emiratis chose what at the time was a brand-new, relatively small crypto company, run by two people who had very little background in the industry. Why? To put money directly into the pocket of Donald Trump. On the website of World Liberty Financial – that’s the company that is issuing the Trump coin – they don’t hide the fact that this isn’t the Trump kids that own the business. On the website, it states 60% of this company, World Liberty Financial, is owned by an entity affiliated with Donald J. Trump.
“But it gets even more corrupt because World Liberty Financial’s other cofounder is a guy named Zach Witkoff, who, not coincidentally, is the son of Steve Witkoff, Trump’s top Middle East advisor. The Trumps could have picked anybody in the world to run this stablecoin business with but they chose the son of the Middle East envoy, just so that when they were going around asking for money in the region, it was crystal clear that if you were doing business with World Liberty Financial, you were doing business with the people in the Trump administration who make all the decisions about the Middle East. So, in one fell swoop, the Emiratis can put money into the family that controls the White House and the family that deploys and decides Middle East policy.
“Now, just like the Qataris, the Emiratis want something in return, too. Their ask was for the U.S. to remove restrictions on selling the most advanced American-made computer chips to the UAE. The restrictions have been in place under Republican and Democratic administrations for a really good reason. The UAE has a very close, too close, relationship with China. And the U.S. is always rightly worried that if we gave advanced technology to UAE, it would pretty quickly, potentially, fall into the hands of the Chinese. Now, this would be really bad – especially regarding these microchips, these computer chips – because these chips power the most advanced and proprietary American A.I. systems. Losing these chips to China could cost us the lead to China on the global A.I. race. The UAE also wanted the United States to look the other way while they helped fund a death-spiral civil war in Sudan. The UAE is the main supplier of weapons to the worst of the two parties that are involved in the brutal, catastrophic, deadly, civil war in Sudan. And they want the United States to keep giving them weapons, most recently asking for a resupply of Chinook helicopters, even as they use their military prowess to destroy Sudan.
“Now, the end of this chapter of the story will not shock you. In coordination with the $400 million luxury plane and the $2 billion investment in Trump crypto, Qatar got sign-off on buying the Reaper drones. And Steve Witkoff, father of the co-owner of World Liberty Financial, marched over to UAE, right before the president was showing up himself, and announced that the United States would, in fact, magically lift those restrictions on the microchips. And just as unsurprisingly, Trump announced that he’ll sell the Chinooks to Abu Dhabi, with no requirement that they stop fueling the war in Sudan.
“The blatant exchange of U.S. national security secrets, our most sensitive drone technology and our most sensitive chip technology, in exchange for cash into Donald Trump’s pocket, is perhaps the most brazenly corrupt act in the history of the American presidency. And we cannot normalize it just because he is doing it out in the open, in public.
“The Senate, which is given the responsibility by the Constitution to be a coequal branch with the president, we have independent responsibility to uphold and protect the Constitution, to set American foreign policy. We cannot pretend this is not happening. We cannot look the other way while the entire moral foundation of our foreign policy is being shattered. Republicans can’t ignore this just because the president is their party’s leader. We have that independent obligation to protect the Constitution, which clearly says that these gifts are illegal, whether they’re going to a Democratic president or a Republican president. We have a responsibility to our taxpayers to stop a president from immorally enriching himself, using the power we give him to help himself instead of helping us.
“What makes this moment so dangerous is that both UAE and Qatar, but especially Qatar, are key partners of the United States. They aren’t our adversaries. They are our allies. They’re imperfect allies, but they are our allies. In fact, I’ve been down on this floor in the past arguing on behalf of Qatar and the U.S.-Qatar relationship, when other senators have tried to denigrate the Qataris’ contributions to regional peace. The Qataris have been a critical partner of ours on so many important issues. It’s worth saying that. There’s no way that we would have been able to evacuate 124,000 people from Afghanistan on the eve of the Taliban takeover without Qatar’s help. The Qataris today host thousands of U.S. troops at Al Udeid Air Force Base. That’s the largest base in the region. The Qataris are critical mediators who helped us send back-channel messages to secure the release of American hostages or negotiate peace deals. There’s no question that Qatar is a country that helps stabilize the region and often is indispensable in protecting U.S. interests overseas. So, I want to cultivate and strengthen that important relationship. I honor the work that the United States and UAE does all around the region to try to track down and hold accountable terrorists. These are real partnerships. But our relationship with Qatar and the UAE, it can’t be a corrupt relationship. We can’t sell drones to Qatar, our friend, if our friend is willing to take part in Trump’s corruption. We cannot sell weapons to the UAE, our ally, if our ally is willing to take part in Trump’s corruption.
“We’ll have a chance this week to make this clear: that the United States Senate will not facilitate, will not grease the wheels of Trump’s corruption of our foreign policy. We can do that by voting to block these two arms sales to Qatar and the UAE. Not permanently, but until both countries commit to deny Trump’s requests for personal enrichment as part of the bilateral relationship. That’s why Senators Van Hollen, Kaine, Schatz, and Sanders have joined me in two resolutions of disapproval for those Reaper drone sales and the Chinook sale, and we’ll have a vote on these two resolutions as early as this week.
“President Trump has declared that U.S. foreign policy is for sale. And the opening bids, from two of the richest nations in the world, is a $2 billion investment in Trump’s crypto company, from the UAE, and a $400 million luxury plane, essentially for the president’s permanent personal use. At the exact same moment that Trump is trying to push a bill through this Congress that is going to ruin a lot of people’s lives, cutting off their health care or leaving kids without food at night, he’s making himself even richer by trading American national security policy for gifts. And, to make it worse, trading away U.S. national security secrets in exchange. The net result is an American public that is poorer, and weaker, and less secure. And a president who is richer. It’s corrupt. It’s corrupt. We’ve never, ever, in the history of this country, allowed for a president to do this. Never in the 250 years that our republic has been on the Earth has a president ever asked another nation to enrich himself in this way, in exchange for preferential treatment from the U.S. taxpayers. If you are a Republican or a Democratic senator, you have to see this as unprecedented, as terrible for our nation, as corruption. American foreign policy should not be for sale. If we let these arms sales go through, we are greasing the wheels of that corruption. If we vote for these resolutions of disapproval, at least we have a shot to stop it.
“I yield the floor.”
What you need to know: In an address delivered to nearly 40 million Californians and Americans nationwide tonight, Governor Gavin Newsom condemned President Trump’s unlawful militarization of Los Angeles and warned that the President’s actions mark a dangerous inflection point for the nation.
LOS ANGELES — In an address delivered to nearly 40 million Californians and Americans nationwide tonight, Governor Gavin Newsom condemned President Trump’s unlawful militarization of Los Angeles and warned that the President’s actions mark a dangerous inflection point for the nation.
“What we’re witnessing is not law enforcement — it’s authoritarianism,”Governor Newsom said to Californians. “What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty. Your silence. To be complicit in this moment. Do not give in to him.”
Governor Newsom recounted recent federal raids in Latino neighborhoods, the unlawful commandeering of 4,000 California National Guard members, and the deployment of over 700 active-duty Marines to the streets of an American city — all done without consultation with state or local officials. “Trump is pulling a military dragnet across Los Angeles,”Newsom said. “It’s weakness masquerading as strength.”
Calling this a moment of national reckoning, the Governor urged Americans to take peaceful action. “The most important office in a democracy is not President or Governor — it’s citizen.”
Watch and read the entire speech here:
Governor Newsom’s Address to California: Democracy at a Crossroads
I want to say a few words about the events of the last few days.
This past weekend, federal agents conducted large-scale workplace raids in and around Los Angeles.
Those raids continue as I speak.
California is no stranger to immigration enforcement.
But instead of focusing on undocumented immigrants with serious criminal records and people with final deportation orders – a strategy both parties have long supported – this administration is pushing mass deportations.
Indiscriminately targeting hardworking immigrant families, regardless of their roots or risk.
What’s happening right now is very different than anything we’ve seen before.
On Saturday morning, when federal agents jumped out of an unmarked van near a Home Depot parking lot, they began grabbing people.
A deliberate targeting of a heavily Latino suburb.
A similar scene also played out when a clothing company was raided downtown.
In other actions: a US citizen, 9 months pregnant – arrested. A four-year-old girl – taken.
Families separated. Friends disappearing.
In response, everyday Angelinos came out to exercise their Constitutional right to free speech and assembly
To protest their government’s actions.
In turn, the State of California and the City and County of Los Angeles sent our police officers to help keep the peace, and with some exceptions, they were successful.
Like many states, California is no stranger to this sort of civil unrest. We manage it regularly … and with our own law enforcement.
But this, again, was different.
What then ensued was the use of tear gas. Flash-bang grenades. Rubber bullets.
Federal agents, detaining people and undermining their due process rights.
Donald Trump, without consulting with California’s law enforcement leaders, commandeered 2,000 of our state’s National Guard members to deploy on our streets.
Illegally, and for no reason.
This brazen abuse of power by a sitting President inflamed a combustible situation … putting our people, our officers, and the National Guard at risk.
That’s when the downward spiral began. He doubled down on his dangerous National Guard deployment by fanning the flames even harder.
And the President did it on purpose.
As the news spread throughout LA, anxiety for family and friends ramped up. Protests started again.
By night, several dozen lawbreakers became violent and destructive. They vandalized property. They tried to assault police officers.
Many of you have seen video clips of cars burning on cable news.
If you incite violence or destroy our communities, you are going to be held accountable.
That kind of criminal behavior will not be tolerated. Full stop.
Already, more than 370 people have been arrested. And we’re reviewing tapes to build additional cases, and people will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Again, thanks to our law enforcement officers and the majority of Angelenos who protested peacefully, this situation was winding down and was concentrated in just a few square blocks downtown.
But that’s not what Donald Trump wanted.
He again chose escalation; he chose more force.
He chose theatrics over public safety – he federalized another 2,000 Guard members.
He deployed more than 700 active U.S. Marines.
These are men and women trained in foreign combat, not domestic law enforcement.
We honor their service. We honor their bravery. But we do not want our streets militarized by our own Armed Forces. Not in L.A. Not in California. Not anywhere.
We’re seeing unmarked cars in school parking lots. Kids, afraid to attend their own graduation.
Trump is pulling a military dragnet across LA, well beyond his stated intent to just go after violent and serious criminals.
His agents are arresting dishwashers, gardeners, day laborers and seamstresses – That’s just weakness. Weakness, masquerading as strength.
Donald Trump’s government isn’t protecting our communities – they are traumatizing our communities. And that seems to be the point.
California will keep fighting on behalf of our people – all of our people – including in the courts.
Yesterday, we filed a legal challenge to President Trump’s reckless deployment of American troops to a major American city.
Today, we sought an emergency court order to stop the use of the American military to engage in law enforcement activities across Los Angeles.
If some of us can be snatched off the streets without a warrant, based only on suspicion or skin color, then none of us are safe.
Authoritarian regimes begin by targeting people who are least able to defend themselves. But they do not stop there.
Trump and his loyalists thrive on division because it allows them to take more power and exert even more control.
By the way, Trump – he’s not opposed to lawlessness and violence, as long as it serves HIM.
What more evidence do we need than January 6th?
I ask everyone to take the time to reflect on this perilous moment.
A president who wants to be bound by no law or constitution.
Perpetrating a unified assault on American traditions.
This is a President who, in just over 140 days, has fired government watchdogs that could hold him accountable for corruption and fraud.
He’s declared a war on culture, on history, on science – on knowledge itself. Databases, quite literally vanishing.
He’s delegitimizing news organizations and assaulting the First Amendment.
At the threat of defunding them, he’s dictating what universities can teach.
Targeting law firms and the judicial branch that are the foundation of an orderly, civil society.
Calling for a sitting Governor to be arrested for no other reason than – to use his words – “for getting elected.”
And we all know, this Saturday, he’s ordering our American heroes – the United States military – forcing them to put on a vulgar display to celebrate his birthday, just as other failed dictators have done in the past.
Look, this isn’t just about protests in LA.
When Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard, he made that order apply to every state in this nation.
This is about all of us. This is about you.
California may be first – but it clearly won’t end here. Other states are next.
Democracy is next.
Democracy is under assault right before our eyes – the moment we’ve feared has arrived.
He’s taking a wrecking ball to our founding fathers’ historic project.
Three independent, coequal branches of government.
There are no longer any checks and balances. Congress is nowhere to be found. Speaker Johnson has completely abdicated that responsibility.
The rule of law has increasingly given way to the rule of Don.
The founding fathers did not live and die to see this moment.
It’s time for all of us to stand up.
Justice Brandeis said it best: in a democracy, the most important office is not president, it’s certainly not governor. The most important office is office of citizen.
At this moment, we must all stand up and be held to a higher level of accountability.
If you exercise your First Amendment rights, please do so peacefully.
I know many of you are feeling deep anxiety, stress, and fear.
But I want you to know that YOU are the antidote to that fear and anxiety.
What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty. Your silence. To be complicit in this moment.
Do NOT give in to him.
Press releases
Recent news
Jun 10, 2025
News LOS ANGELES – Governor Newsom and Attorney General Bonta are standing up all states by filing a lawsuit and request to block President Trump and the Department of Defense’s illegal militarization of Los Angeles and the takeover of a California National Guard (Cal…
Jun 10, 2025
News “Turning the military against American citizens” What you need to know: Standing up for American citizens and the Nation’s foundational ban on martial law in peacetime, California Governor Newsom and Attorney General Bonta are requesting the court step in to…
Jun 9, 2025
News What you need to know: California is surging mutual aid resources to support law enforcement as they clean up the actions caused by President Trump. LOS ANGELES – Moving quickly to support local response to federal actions that have caused unrest in Los Angeles,…
A View from Afar – Dr Paul G. Buchanan and Selwyn Manning deep-dive into the United States November 5, 2024 Elections and consider the ‘what, where, how and why’ questions as they detail the rise and fall and rise of Donald John Trump and Trumpism.
Background Image courtesy of Nick Minto, Copyright 2024 Nick Minto; photographed November 6, 2024, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
In this episode Paul and Selwyn discuss:
Why Democrats Lost: Incumbency, Elitism, Class & Alienation, Identity Politics…
Why Trump Won: Anti-Establishment, Populism, Avatar for the Alienated…
What to Expect Next: Trump Appointments, Isolationism, Geopolitical Impact & Response…
INTERACTION WHILE LIVE: Paul and Selwyn encourage interaction while live, and encourage their audience to lodge comments and questions. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel and click on notification-bell for an alert for future programmes.
Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/c/EveningReport/
Background image: courtesy of and Copyright Nick Minto 2024. Image taken November 6 2024, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
RECOGNITION: The MIL Network’s podcast A View from Afar was Nominated as a Top Defence Security Podcast by Threat.Technology – a London-based cyber security news publication. Threat.Technology placed A View from Afar at 9th in its 20 Best Defence Security Podcasts of 2021 category.
A View from Afar – In this episode of A View From Afar political scientist Paul Buchanan and host Selwyn Manning analyse how the state of Israel has gone rogue, attacking United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.
At this juncture it is clear this is an intentional attack. Over the past week Israel Defense Force troops have repeatedly attacked UN peacekeepers who were authorised and deployed to the region by the United Nations Security Council.
Also last week; the Government of Israel issued a statement notifying the United Nations Secretary General that he was now banned from Israel and was persona non grata.
Within a day of that statement, IDF troops had fired on UN peacekeeping positions in Southern Lebanon. Since then, the IDF has continued operations that threaten the UN’s presence.
And Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has now issued a directive to the UN peacekeeping force to withdraw from the area north of its borders in Southern Lebanon.
Also, despite the United States Biden Administration cautioning Israel on its attacks on UN personnel, overnight New Zealand time, the United States has deployed 100 US troops on the ground in Israel to operate missile defence systems.
Paul and Selwyn consider:
* Why Israel has begun to attack United Nations peacekeepers in the region?
* Why has the United States deepened its involvement in Israel’s so-called defence?
* What of Hezbollah, Hamas; are their attacks on Israel a defence or an attacking offensive?
* What of Iran, what is its position and will it engage in a full-scale war with Israel and what are the consequences should it do so?
INTERACTION WHILE LIVE:
Paul and Selwyn encourage their live audience to interact while they are live with questions and comments.
To interact during the live recording of this podcast, go to Youtube.com/c/EveningReport/
Remember to subscribe to the channel.
For the on-demand audience, you can also keep the conversation going on this debate by clicking on one of the social media channels below:
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Police officers try to disperse protesters in front of the Los Angeles Federal Detention Center in Los Angeles, California, the United States, June 8, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
Top legal officials in the U.S. state of California moved to halt President Donald Trump’s deployment of military forces in their communities, filing an emergency court motion on Tuesday that challenged the federal government’s authority to use troops for local law enforcement.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Governor Gavin Newsom requested in the 28-page document that the federal court take immediate action to block Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the U.S. Department of Defense from using military personnel and federalized California National Guard units to patrol communities and conduct law enforcement activities.
The officials argued the military deployment violated federal law, threatened state sovereignty, and escalated rather than reduces civil tensions.
“The President is looking for any pretense to place military forces on American streets to intimidate and quiet those who disagree with him,” Bonta said in a statement released by the California Attorney General’s office. “It’s not just immoral – It’s illegal and dangerous.”
The emergency motion follows a lawsuit filed Monday by the same officials challenging Trump’s order to federalize the California National Guard for 60 days under federal statute 10 U.S.C. § 12406.
Early Sunday morning, the U.S. Department of Defense redirected hundreds of National Guard troops from San Diego to Los Angeles without gubernatorial authorization and against the wishes of local law enforcement, according to the Attorney General’s office.
As of Tuesday, the federal government has order to deploy 4,000 National Guard troops across California, plus an additional 700 Marines, to the second-largest city of the country.
“The federal government is now turning the military against American citizens,” Newsom said, according to the Attorney General’s statement. “Sending trained warfighters onto the streets is unprecedented and threatens the very core of our democracy.”
The Californian officials contended that local law enforcement, not military forces, should handle civilian policing within state borders. They claimed the deployment deprives California of its own National Guard resources and creates “imminent harm” to state operations.
“Local law enforcement, not the military, enforce the law within our borders,” Bonta said. “The President continues to inflame tensions and antagonize communities.”
Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined the New Mexico Congressional Delegation and Tina Cordova, Co-Founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, to mark the one-year anniversary since the Radiation Exposure Compensation (RECA) Reauthorization Act, legislation to compensate Americans exposed to radiation by government nuclear programs, expired after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives failed to reauthorize RECA in June 2024.
Heinrich has reintroduced legislation to extend and expand RECA since his first Senate term, starting in 2013.
“In the year since the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act expired, thousands of Americans lost compensation for health conditions caused by radiation exposure on behalf of our national security. And thousands of additional victims, victims who were never adequately compensated under the original bill, lost their chance to finally be included,” said Heinrich. “Our federal government has a moral responsibility to support Americans that helped defend our country– and it has a moral responsibility to include all people who were exposed. That begins with reauthorizing RECA and amending it to include those who have been left out for far too long. To the families impacted: keep telling your stories. Keep raising your voices. Together, that’s how we’ll reintroduce RECA, and it’s how we will make it the law of the land.”
In January, Heinrich joined U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), along with U.S. Senators Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) to reintroduce their Radiation Exposure Compensation (RECA) Reauthorization Act to compensate Americans exposed to radiation by government nuclear programs.
Despite the Senate passing this bill last Congress, the House of Representatives failed to pass RECA reauthorization before its expiration deadline in June 2024.
Last fall, Heinrich joined Luján and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), and advocates and survivors who traveled all the way across the country from New Mexico for a press conference calling on Speaker Mike Johnson to hold a vote on a Senate-passed bill that would strengthen RECA.
Heinrich also pressed Speaker Mike Johnson to immediately take up the Senate-passed and fully comprehensive RECA extension in a bipartisan, bicameral letter.
In March 2024, Heinrich delivered remarks on the Senate floor urging his colleagues to reauthorize and expand RECA. Later that day, Heinrich secured Senate passage of bipartisan legislation to reauthorize and expand RECA to compensate individuals exposed to radiation while working in uranium mines or living downwind from atomic weapons tests.
Heinrich’s remarks from today, as prepared for delivery, are below:
It’s been one full year since the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act expired.
And not only have thousands of Americans lost compensation for health conditions caused by radiation exposure on behalf of our national security.
But thousands of additional victims, victims who were never adequately compensated under the original bill, also lost their chance to finally be included.
These victims include Tularosa Downwinders who were exposed to the Trinity Test in New Mexico;
All of the uranium workers who were exposed to radiation in service to our nation’s defense, not just the miners;
And all Americans who were directly impacted by our nation’s nuclear testing program, across the country and around the world.
Those Americans include people like my father. When he served in the Navy, my dad witnessed two above-ground nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands.
It was only later in life that we began to understand how much his health challenges were tied to those tests.
Our federal government has a moral responsibility to support Americans that helped defend our country– and it has a moral responsibility to include all people who were exposed.
That begins with reauthorizing RECA and amending it to include those who have been left out for far too long.
To the families impacted: keep telling your stories. Keep raising your voices.
Together, that’s how we’ll reintroduce RECA, and it’s how we will make it the law of the land.
Source: US Defense The Joint Staff (video statements)
General Mark A. Milley, US Army, is sworn in as the twentieth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph F. Dunford Jr., during a ceremony presided over by President Donald J. Trump at Summerall Field, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia, on September 30, 2019.
Research credit: Joint History and Research Office (http://www.jcs.mil/about/joint-staff-history)
Source: US Defense The Joint Staff (video statements)
General Richard B. Myers, US Air Force, is welcomed as the fifteenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in a ceremony presided over by President George W. Bush at Conmy Hall, Fort Myer, Virginia, on October 15, 2001.
Go to: https://www.c-span.org/video/?166677-1/joint-chiefs-chairman-welcoming-ceremony . This link does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.
Research credit: Joint History and Research Office (http://www.jcs.mil/about/joint-staff-history)
Source: US Defense The Joint Staff (video statements)
General Joseph F. Dunford Jr., US Marine Corps, is sworn in as the nineteenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin E. Dempsey, during a ceremony presided over by President Barack H. Obama at Summerall Field, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia, on September 25, 2015.
Research credit: Joint History and Research Office (http://www.jcs.mil/about/joint-staff-history)
Source: US Defense The Joint Staff (video statements)
General John M. Shalikashvili, US Army, is welcomed as the thirteenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by Secretary of Defense Leslie Aspin Jr., during a ceremony at the Pentagon parade field, Arlington, Virginia, on November 9, 1993.
Go to: http://www.c-span.org/video/?52179-1/joint-chiefs-welcoming-ceremony . This link does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.
Research credit: Joint History and Research Office (http://www.jcs.mil/about/joint-staff-history)
Source: US Defense The Joint Staff (video statements)
General Peter Pace, US Marine Corps, is sworn in as the sixteenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard B. Myers, during a ceremony presided over by President George W. Bush at Summerall Field, Fort Myer, Virginia, on October 1, 2005.
Go to: https://www.c-span.org/video/?189118-1/joint-chiefs-chairman-retirement-ceremony . This link does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.
Research credit: Joint History and Research Office (http://www.jcs.mil/about/joint-staff-history)
AST Networks, a global provider of satellite communication and marine electronics, recently participated in a prestigious Defence Industry Exhibition and Reception held in the Netherlands, hosted by Her Excellency Joanna Roper CMG, British Ambassador to the Netherlands, and Commander James Wallington-Smith, commanding officer of HMS Sutherland. This high-profile event brought together leading British defence companies to engage with key European stakeholders in the defence maritime sectors.
Held aboard HMS Sutherland, a Royal Navy Type 23 frigate, the event served as an important diplomatic and commercial platform for strengthening international collaboration, innovation exchange, and sovereign defence capabilities. For AST Networks, the exhibition provided an unparalleled opportunity to engage with military and governmental representatives from the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom, and beyond.
Showcasing Satellite Communications and Marine Electronics Excellence
AST Networks presented a suite of cutting-edge technologies, designed to enhance mission-critical communication in the most demanding environments. Some of the featured solutions included:
SAL SPU-200: A compact and rugged anti jamming and spoofing comms unit designed for maritime operations.
ICOM IC-SAT100 PTT Radios: Reliable, one-to-many satellite Push to Talk radios enabling real-time voice communication across vast distances.
Encrypted Thuraya XT-PRO Radios: Secure and versatile satellite handsets designed for global deployment.
Iridium 9575 PTT Radios: Combining satellite voice with Push to Talk capabilities on the robust and reliable Iridium network.
Whilst all the products generated strong interest, the SAL SPU-200 was especially well received, an apt highlight given the navel setting and the growing demand for agile, deployable safety systems in maritime operations.
Strengthening International Partnerships and Defence Readiness
The event enabled businesses to connect with a broad range of stakeholders, including defence attachés, navel commanders, Ministry of Defence officials, and government technology advisors. These interactions have already led to ongoing conversations and invitations for AST Networks to deliver further product demonstrations and in-country engagements.
Empowering Defence Through Global Communication and Support
AST Networks specialises in delivering resilient, flexible, and scalable satellite communications and marine electronics systems tailored to meet the critical needs of defence, maritime, and emergency services sectors. Whether operating in remote locations, at sea, or across contested communication environments. AST’s solutions ensure users remain connected, informed, and mission ready. With decades of experience and a proven track record across global defence projects, AST Networks offers:
Fully managed communication systems for land and sea operations.
Custom-built integration of satellite and hybrid communication systems with existing infrastructure.
Remote monitoring, diagnostics, and control through their advanced INTEGRA platform.
Compliance with the highest security and encryption services, supporting government and defence requirements.
24/7 Technical support across the globe.
AST Networks distinguish themselves through their proven and unmatched commitment to customer support. With 24/7 – 365 days a year – technical support, real-time troubleshooting, and rapid response, AST Networks ensure operational continuity – no matter the hour, the mission, or the location.
“Our participation in this event demonstrates not only the strength of British innovation in the defence sector, but also our unwavering dedication to supporting the evolving requirements of allied forces,” said Vic Litaunieks, Government Liaison Officer with AST Networks. “We’re proud to deliver solutions that help our partners stay connected, secure, and safe, whether at sea, in the field, or at base.”
Looking Ahead
As AST continues to expand their global footprint, events such as this reinforce the importance of international collaboration, knowledge sharing, and trusted partnerships in an increasingly complex defence environment. The team looks forward to building on the relationships established during the event and continuing to support the Netherlands and wider European defence community in advancing secure communications and mission resilience.
About AST Networks
AST Networks is a global leader in satellite communications, safety services, and intelligent maritime electronics solutions. From commercial shipping and offshore energy to defence and polar research, AST Networks delivers cutting-edge systems that keep vessels connected, secure, and compliant — wherever they are in the world.
Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine
BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO OF KAINE’S EXCHANGE IS AVAILABLE HERE.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), delivered opening remarks at the SASC hearing on U.S. Navy posture. During his remarks, he discussed his concerns about President Trump and Secretary Hegseth activating thousands of National Guard members and 700 Marines in California—over the objections of California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass—in response to immigration protests.
“I have a lot of experience in dealing with the [National] Guard as a former mayor and governor,” said Kaine. “The genius of the Guard is that it is a partnership between the President and the Governors and Guardsmen and women… The President’s decision to deploy thousands of Guardsmen and women to quell protests in Los Angeles—without a request by the California Governor and in fact, over the objection of the California Governor—is nearly unprecedented.”
Kaine continued, “We are in very, very dangerous territory. I think my colleagues and I are right to be concerned about this. The American public is concerned about this.”
“To deploy active duty Marines to quell civilian protests is, in my view, very, very dangerous,” said Kaine. “It’s dangerous beyond the escalatory effects that both the Governor and Mayor of Los Angeles are warning us about. If we screw up the balance of how we use the Guard or how we use the military in the instance of civilian protests that local law enforcement can handle, we will regret that for a very, very long time.”
“Many Americans are worried now that if they express dissenting voices to policies and the Administration, they’re concerned that the military may be deployed against them,” Kaine continued. “We’re coming up on the commemoration of 250 years of American democracy. It’s on the shoulders of this generation to decide whether the commemoration will be a celebration or a requiem or a wake or a coronation. We need to make it a celebration, and for that, we need brave and patriotic citizens who are willing to, without fear, exercise rights that were guaranteed to them from the very first days of this country.”
Then, Kaine rebutted comments from his colleague erroneously comparing Trump’s decision to activate the National Guard in California to President Dwight Eisenhower’s activation of the Arkansas National Guard to ensure the integration of Central High School in Little Rock.
“The issue is not is there lawless behavior that can be controlled by local law enforcement. You either believe in a federal system or you don’t where a Governor requests the National Guard or doesn’t, and you either believe in a civilian military division or you don’t,” Kaine said.
“Senator Cotton brings up the example of Little Rock. President Eisenhower, Republican President, did federalize the Guard in that instance. Why? Because it was the Governor that was violating federal law. There is no suggestion that Governor Newsom is violating federal law. In fact, he said, arrest me if I’m violating the law—and yesterday, the chief border agent for the United States said there is no cause to arrest you. You are not violating federal law,” said Kaine.
Kaine continued, “The right balance in this instance is to let a local official—mayor, governor—seek assistance if they need it. If the President decides if more assets are needed, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion if he sent in federal law enforcement—FBI, DEA. We’re having this discussion because the President in an unprecedented way, without a request and over the objection of the local elected leadership decided to send in the United States military.”
Kaine also raised concerns about the Trump Administration’s failure to submit a full budget request; delays with naval shipbuilding programs, including Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarines and amphibious assault ships; and the lack of the nomination from the Administration for a new Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). He also expressed his commitment to continuing to work with the Department of the Navy and other services on the implementation of provisions from the Brandon Act, which he helped get signed into law to make it easier for servicemembers to access mental health care.
“The Navy does remain the finest maritime force in the world, but it’s struggled to grow and maintain the fleet… Many vessels—aircraft carriers, multiple destroyers and frigates, and some of the air platforms—are behind schedule,” Kaine said. “In particular, the Virginia-class fast attack subs and Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, which are so critical and prioritized very highly by all of you, are delayed and face budgetary challenges… We need to do more. I continue to believe that the most significant challenge we have is a workforce challenge.”
“The Brandon Act was passed by this body a number of years back—named after a young sailor, Brandon Caserta, who died by suicide in Norfolk,” said Kaine. “There were a lot of challenges and problems with, frankly, lack of access to mental health services, and it was a pivotal step toward improving access to mental health services, not just for the Navy, but everybody in the service. The implementations across the Armed Services—we’ve seen fits and starts, but some critical gaps in effectiveness, fragmented implementation, undefined procedures for mental health requests, lack of policies tailored toward the National Guard and Reserves… I would really love your help working to continue to implement this.”
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri conducted key meetings with senior UAE officials in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, reinforcing bilateral cooperation on security matters and expressing gratitude for the UAE’s support of recent Indian parliamentary initiatives.
Foreign Secretary Misri met with Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE’s Minister of Tolerance and Co-Existence, where he conveyed gratitude for the warm reception of the All-party delegation by His Highness and the UAE. The discussions emphasized the shared values of harmony and tolerance that form the foundation of India-UAE relations.
In a separate meeting, Misri held talks with Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Defence Affairs, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federal National Council of UAE, where “both sides reaffirmed their commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.” The officials also explored opportunities to enhance India-UAE parliamentary cooperation.During the Mid-Year Review in Abu Dhabi, Foreign Secretary Misri also met with UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation, Reem Al Hashimy. The discussions focused on taking stock of bilateral relations and exploring avenues for future collaboration across sectors.
The meetings follow a recent high-level all-party delegation visit from India to the UAE, led by Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Eknath Shinde, which focused on strengthening cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts. During that visit, UAE officials had expressed solidarity with India following recent security challenges, with Sheikh Nahyan stating that India and UAE would tackle terrorism together.
Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)
Published: June 10, 2025
WASHINGTON – During today’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a combat veteran and long-time advocate for financial accountability within the Department of Defense, commended the United States Marine Corps for successfully passing its audit for the second consecutive year.
Watch Senator Ernst’s full remarks here.
“I got my start in public service as a county auditor, so this is really exciting stuff for me. The Marine Corps has achieved a clean audit – not once but twice – which is very, very good. It proves really that success is possible when you have really good leadership that prioritizes it,” said Ernst.
Ernst also highlighted how the Navy and Marine Corps met their recruiting goals for Fiscal Year 2024 and touted her SERVE Act, which would help strengthen the pipeline for young Americans to enter military service.
Source: United States Senator for Idaho Mike Crapo
Washington, D.C.–Citing more than $63 million in reported losses in Idaho to payment scams in 2024, U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) introduced the bipartisan Task Force for Recognizing and Averting Payments Scams (TRAPS) Act, which would create a task force to combat the growing issue of payment scams. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported losses to fraud have soared 25 percent over the last year to $12.5 billion nationwide.
U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) and Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia) are co-sponsors of the legislation.
“Criminals continue to target vulnerable Americans through creative ways to trick them out of their hard-earned money,” said Senator Crapo. “We can–and should–better equip law enforcement and regulators with the tools to go after scammers and prevent scams before they happen.”
“The evolving sophistication of financial scams emphasizes the urgent need for unified and proactive defense,” said Senator Warner. “The TRAPS Act will bridge the gap between law enforcement, regulators and the financial industry in order to better protect Americans’ financial welfare and hold those who prey on hard-working individuals accountable.”
“Combatting the global rise in fraud starts with making certain federal regulators and law enforcement agencies are coordinating effectively to address these threats,” said Senator Moran. “Establishing a task force to promote inter-agency cooperation on preventing payment scams and other fraud is yet another step in protecting the financial security of Kansans.”
“Scams and financial schemes continue to debilitate Americans’ pocketbooks and funds, especially our seniors who work hard their entire lives to build savings,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “The Task Force for Recognizing and Averting Payments Scams (TRAPS) Act better equips law enforcement and regulators to fight back and provide much-needed protection for fraud victims, and helps prevent scams before they happen.”
“Fighting cyber and financial crime is a priority for the Idaho Department of Finance, and Sen. Crapo’s TRAPS Act is an important step for creating strategies to address the growing threat electronic payment scams pose to Idahoans and Americans,” said Idaho Department of Finance Director Patti Perkins.
Payment scams occur when a scammer induces a victim, usually under false pretenses of romance or investments, to voluntarily send them money. Crapo’s legislation would bring together industry, law enforcement, financial regulators and telecommunication regulators to decide best practices for identifying and preventing future scams.
Specifically, the TRAPS Act would:
Create a task force, chaired by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and composed of the prudential regulators, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Department of Justice and representatives from industry.
Direct the task force to examine the payments landscape and compile a report to recommend legislative and regulatory changes, including best practices to coordinate state, local and federal efforts.
Require the task force to update the report annually for three years.
The TRAPS Act is supported by AARP, Early Warning Services, Electronic Transactions Association, GoWest Credit Union Association, American Bankers Association, Consumer Bankers Association, National Bankers Association, the Defense Credit Union Council and America’s Credit Unions.
“Scams don’t originate on payment platforms, and this legislation is a critical step in protecting consumers and preventing scams by bringing together regulators, law enforcement, industry leaders and consumer advocates to help strengthen our nation’s scam prevention infrastructure,” said Cameron Fowler, CEO, Early Warning Services, the company behind Zelle. “Protecting consumers, small businesses and community financial institutions is essential to preserving trust in our financial system. Early Warning thanks Senators Mike Crapo, Mark Warner, Jerry Moran and Raphael Warnock for their leadership in introducing and sponsoring this proposal. Criminals are constantly evolving how they scam American consumers, small businesses and financial institutions. Combating these criminals demands a united front from government, law enforcement and the private sector.”
“Consumer Bankers Association deeply appreciates Sen. Crapo’s leadership to address the growing fraud and scams crisis. A whole-of-government approach is critically important to make a meaningful difference toward protecting the hardworking Americans we’re all working to serve,” said Consumer Bankers Association President and CEO Lindsey Johnson. “This legislation would convene a comprehensive group of financial regulators along with multiple industry sectors to get the root of the problem and propose solutions.”
“We thank Senator Crapo and the bill’s co-sponsors for their leadership and commitment, not just to credit union members, but to all consumers and the long-term integrity of our financial system,” said Troy Stang, President and CEO, GoWest Credit Union Association. “The TRAPS Act reflects the credit union movement’s deep-rooted priority: protecting the safety and security of our members and communities. This legislation is a smart, holistic approach to identifying and seeking solutions to actively combat and put a stop to the fraud that is eroding the financial security of Americans.”
“Fighting fraud and scams is a priority shared by the payments industry, policymakers and law enforcement,” said Jodie Kelley, CEO, Electronic Transactions Association. “We applaud Sen. Crapo’s TRAPS Act as it brings together the key players needed to help address this common goal.”
Bill text is available here.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Ted Lieu (33 District of California)
WASHINGTON –Today, House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) joined House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar and DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene for a press conference. During the press conference, Congressman Lieu denounced looters and violence exacerbated by President Trump federalizing the National Guard and deployingMarines to Los Angeles.
Read the transcript of Congressman Lieu’s opening remarks:
“Peacefully protesting is an American right. It’s part of the rich tradition of our country. Burning cars, looting, and destroying property are crimes, and anyone who takes advantage of this situation and engages in those crimes should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
“State and local law enforcement have repeatedly said they have the resources necessary to handle the situation. It is completely un-American and needlessly provocative for Donald Trump to deploy the National Guard and Marines to Southern California. So, I want to talk about the National Guard first. Their legal authority Trump is using is 10 U.S.C. Section 12406. I encourage all of you to read it. It very specifically says the only way he can do this is through the orders of the Governors of the states. Governor Newsom clearly has not given this order; the National Guard troops are following unlawful orders. I ask every National Guard person who is under this order to read the order, to see if it came from Governor Newsom and then to read the law and then decide for themselves if they are following unlawful orders.
“It also turns out that when Secretary Hegseth ordered this deployment, and in carrying out those orders, he put all these troops into Southern California without federal funding for food, water, fuel, equipment. They were sleeping on the floor. They were sleeping on each other. It is a complete mess. Secretary Hegseth’s repeated incompetence is next level. He needs to resign.
“And in terms of the Marines deployment, we should not be deploying Marines against Americans. Marines are trained to kill the enemy. What are they going to do at this protest? They’re going to shoot protesters? What exactly is their role? They are not trained to do crowd control. They are not trained to handle these kinds of situations. They are not trained for law enforcement. So I asked the President to rescind his orders. He’s being needlessly provocative and inflammatory.”
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34)
WASHINGTON, DC – Representatives Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA), Representative Nanette Barragán (CA-44), and 39 other California Delegation Representatives are demanding President Doanld Trump immediately withdraw the National Guard and U.S. Marines from Los Angeles, California. In a bicameral letter sent today, the lawmakers condemn the deployments as an unlawful overreach that bypassed state and local authority and urge the immediate withdrawal of the National Guard and Marines.
“We are writing to express grave concern regarding the deployment of the National Guard and the activation of 700 Marines to Los Angeles. These actions were taken without the consent of California Governor Gavin Newsom and over the objections of local law enforcement. It constitutes a clear violation of constitutional principles and law, and a grave overreach of executive authority,” wrote the lawmakers.
“This deployment does not appear to be motivated by any public safety emergency that could not be dealt with successfully by local authorities. Instead, it coincides with a broader federal enforcement escalation involving mass ICE raids, militarized immigration tactics, and the use of tear gas and riot control methods in civilian areas. These actions undermine civil liberties, destabilize communities, erode public trust in government institutions, and violate the law,” continued the lawmakers.
On June 7 and June 9, Rep. Jimmy Gomez was illegally denied access to the Roybal Federal Building, where ICE is reportedly detaining migrant families—including moms and kids—under inhumane conditions. Rep. Gomez called for a formal DHS investigation and submitted a written inquiry demanding answers and accountability from Secretary Kristi Noem. As protests erupted in Los Angeles in response to the raids and detentions, the Trump administration escalated the situation by authorizing the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines—without the consent of California Governor Gavin Newsom and over the objections of local elected and community leaders. They argue the legal authority Trump cited doesn’t apply—making the deployment plainly unlawful.
“As federal officials we must prioritize de-escalation and adherence to the constitutional principles that govern the balance of power between federal and state and local governments. For these reasons, we urge you to immediately withdraw the National Guard and U.S. Marines from Los Angeles and to refrain from further deployments of any military personnel in circumstances that violate constitutional boundaries and escalate domestic tensions,” concluded the lawmakers.
In addition to Representative Gomez, Senator Schiff, and Representative Barragán, the bicameral letter was signed by Representatives Nancy Pelosi (CA-11), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Pete Aguilar (CA-33), Ami Bera (CA-6), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Judy Chu (CA-28), Gilbert Cisneros Jr. (CA-31), Lou Correa (CA-46), Jim Costa (CA-21), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Laura Friedman (CA-30), John Garamendi (CA-8), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Jared Huffman (CA-2), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Sam Liccardo (CA-16), Ted Lieu (CA-36), Doris Matsui (CA-7), Dave Min (CA-47), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Scott Peters (CA-50), Luz Rivas (CA-29), Raul Ruiz (CA-25), Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Brad Sherman (CA-32), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Eric Swalwell (CA-14), Mark Takano (CA-39), Mike Thompson (CA-4), Norma Torres (CA-35), Derek Tran (CA-45), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Maxine Waters (CA-43), and George Whitesides (CA-27).
Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME), in a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), spoke with Secretary of the Navy John Phelan and raised the importance of properly funding cutting-edge directed energy programs — the class of weapons systems that use electromagnetic energy, such as high-energy lasers. Calling it the “weapon of the future,” he received commitment from Secretary Phalen to advocate for an increase in the directed energy budget.
“It’s unclear in the budget where the directed energy money is if it’s in there. Those missiles that we’re using in the Red Sea to knock down $20,000 Yemen drones cost $4 million apiece. Directed energy is an incrediblyimportant priority. The prior administration grossly underfunded it. I hope this administration will pay attention. This is cost-effective and it’s the weapon of the future. Mr. Secretary, are you going advocate for directed energy and see an increase in that budget,” asked Senator King.
“Yes, senator. I think it’s very important. Our capability, and as you mentioned, it’s a cost-effective one. We continue to be working very hard with the one system we have been testing live right now that appears to be working well, so we continue to work on that. So, yes,” replied Secretary Phelan.
Senator King also touted Bath Iron Works’ (BIW) role in helping construct the U.S. Navy’s Guided-Missile Destroyer (DDG) ships. Earlier in their exchange, Senator King thanked Secretary Phelan for his visit earlier this year to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY) to discuss the strategic value of developing a strong workforce and expanding shipbuilding in the U.S. to stay ahead of foreign adversaries.
“I want to thank you for your visits to the Portsmouth naval shipyard and Bath Iron Works, particularly for the time you took to talk with the men and women on the deck plates, the people who are out there doing the work. It meant a lot to those people, it meant a lot to the workforce, and the fact that you took the time to do that, I think is exemplary. The other thing I want tonote at the beginning, we always get in these hearings and there’s a lot of criticism and harsh questions. I want to compliment the Navy for the performance in the Red Sea. It’s the longest protracted naval battle since World War II, and the Navy has performed extraordinary well. I’ve had briefings both in this committee and the Intelligence Committee about the work that has been done under very difficult circumstances, so I think that should be acknowledged in a hearing like this. I should also note some of the workhorses in the Red Sea are DDGs, which are— I visited a government facility some years ago that had a spot on the map of the whole world of all the U.S. Assets, and DDGs were all over that map. Truly the workhorse of the Navy,” said Senator King.
As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator King is recognized as an authoritative voice on national security and foreign policy issues. Senator King has previously spoken up about the emerging threats of Russia and China’s development of “nightmare weapon” hypersonic missiles, which he has described as “strategic game-changers.” He previously urged the Department of Defense (DoD) to take advantage of private sector technologies or risk losing access to innovative defense technologies and encouraged the (DoD) to reevaluate its acquisition process of defense technologies. Additionally, Senator King has been a steady voice on the need to address the growing nuclear capacity of our adversaries.
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY) is a key economic driver in Maine, supporting thousands of jobs integral to America’s national security. After calls from Senators King and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the U.S. Department of Defense exempted the shipyard workforce from the civilian hiring freeze. The Senators, alongside Sena too Susan Collins (R-ME), once again called on the Administration to process PNSY civilian hires to support the work of the Shipyard. Earlier this year, Senator King visited the Shipyard with Navy Secretary Phelan to highlight the Shipyard’s role in supporting U.S. national security and the need to bolster the Shipyard’s workforce to meet workload demand.
PM call with Prime Minister Støre of Norway: 10 June 2025
The Prime Minister spoke to Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre of Norway this afternoon.
The Prime Minister spoke to Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre of Norway this afternoon.
They agreed on the importance of this afternoon’s announcement between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom, confirming sanctions on two Israeli Ministers for their repeated incitement of violence against Palestinian civilians.
The Prime Minister reiterated his commitment to a two-state solution, which ensures a safe and secure future for Israelis and Palestinians.
Discussing the publication of last week’s Strategic Defence Review, the leaders agreed that the UK and Norway are key partners, showcased through Norway’s vital contribution to the Carrier Strike Group.
They agreed on the vital importance of all NATO allies stepping up on our collective defence at an increasingly dangerous time for the world.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Cory Mills Florida (7th District)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CLOUD Aviation Act
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Cory Mills along with a group of bi-partisan legislators just introduced theCOLLISION-LIMITING OPERATIONAL UPGRADE FOR DOD (CLOUD) AIRCRAFT ACT.
This bill directs the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, to conduct a feasibility study on equipping all Department of Defense (DoD) fixed and rotary wing aircraft that operate in highly trafficked domestic airspaces with air-to-air and air-to-ground collision detection systems. These systems must be compatible with civilian commercial aircraft.
This initiative comes in response to the tragic accident on January 29, 2025, between American Airlines Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army Black Hawk PAT-25, which resulted in the deaths of 67 passengers. Currently, not all DoD aircraft are required to have the same type of collision detection or avoidance systems that are compatible with civilian commercial aircraft.
Moreover, these systems are not always activated while flying in congested city airspace or the airspace of large commercial airports. This discrepancy has contributed to unsafe flying conditions, putting service members, civilians, and emergency responders at unnecessary risk. The proposed bill aims to address this issue by mandating a comprehensive study to determine the feasibility, costs, associated operational risks, and implementation timelines of equipping military aircraft with the appropriate collision detection and/or avoidance systems. By doing so, the study will help increase safety for all aircraft operating in the same congested airspace as civilian commercial aircraft.
Congressman Cory Millssaid,“As an Army combat veteran, I understand the importance of equipping our servicemen with the tools they need to operate both safely and effectively. After the tragic loss of 67 lives earlier this year in the collision at Reagan National Airport, it is important we enhance safety for our troops, our civilians, and our first responders who share our busy domestic airspaces. This bill strengthens our military’s readiness while ensuring the DoD has the resources to keep our citizens and skies safe. This is a critical first step toward broader aviation safety reforms to prevent future tragedies and improve airspace coordination nationwide.”
“As a 25-year Army veteran and a Virginian, I know how critical it is to my community and our country that we ensure the safety of both military and civilian aircrafts operating in shared airspace. The CLOUD Aircraft Act is a smart, commonsense step to prevent avoidable tragedies and save lives. I’m proud to support this bipartisan effort to modernize our aviation safety standards,”said Congressman Eugene Vindman (VA-07).
“As a Navy veteran and member of the House Armed Services Committee, I know how critical safety is in every phase of military aviation. The CLOUD Aircraft Act is a commonsense step toward enhancing flight safety for our service members and the communities they operate near. By studying the feasibility of equipping military aircraft with modern collision detection systems, we can reduce risk in crowded airspaces, align with FAA best practices, and help prevent tragic accidents before they happen. I’m proud to support this effort to bring greater safety, accountability, and modernization to our skies,”said Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-02).
“As a Marine aviator and a House Armed Services Committee member, I am committed to the safety of our servicemembers and civilians. The tragic collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and Army Black Hawk PAT-25 highlights the urgent need for action. That’s why I am proud to cosponsor the CLOUD Aircraft Act, directing the Secretary of Defense to study equipping military aircraft with collision detection systems compatible with civilian aircraft. This crucial step will enhance safety in congested domestic airspaces, prevent future tragedies, and protect those who serve alongside the American people. I urge my colleagues to support this vital legislation,”said Congressman Rich McCormick (GA-07).
“My home district leads the way in the aviation industry, so I have a particular interest in exploring any opportunity to improve our outdated systems. Secretary Duffy and Administrator Rocheleau share our focus on the modernization of the National Airspace System, and I believe that this bill is a critical step in the right direction. That is why I am so glad to work with Mr. Mills on such a proactive and prudent piece of legislation,” said Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-03).
Co-Sponsors: Congressman Eugene Vindman (VA-07), Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-02), Congressman Rich McCormick (GA-07), Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-03).
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For inquires contact julie.singleton@mail.house.govor jillian.anderson@mail.house.gov
About Cory Mills: Congressman Cory Mills represents Florida’s 7th Congressional District and serves on the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committees. A veteran of the U.S. Army, Mills is committed to protecting American sovereignty, strengthening national security, and promoting economic opportunity for a
Question for written answer E-002024/2025/rev.1 to the Commission Rule 144 Bart Groothuis (Renew)
With the rise in geopolitical tensions and European armed forces’ clear dependence on civilian fuel systems, the shrinking capacity to store and refine fossil fuels in Europe could threaten military readiness. This problem is made worse by the lack of a clear strategy, contingency planning, regulatory barriers that restrict the modernisation of infrastructure, and limited coordination between the civilian and military sectors. Following a report by The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS),[1] there are doubts regarding how Mr Kubilius, the Commissioner for Defence and Space, plans to align an increasingly electrified civilian infrastructure with military fuel needs in order to ensure military readiness.
1.Does the Commission agree with the findings of the HCSS report and support its recommendations?
2.Has NATO ever asked the Commission to develop a liquid fuels strategy and, if so, when can we expect the Commission to present such a strategy?
3.Has NATO asked the Commission to improve its military fuel infrastructure and, if so, what concrete steps did the Commission take to meet these demands?
The Commission is actively working to reduce dependency on Chinese drone components by promoting diversification of supply chains and supporting EU industrial capacities.
To this end, the European Defence Fund provides funding for collaborative projects in drone and counter-drone technologies. The EU’s foreign direct investment screening framework helps identifying and mitigating risks associated with third-country dependencies.
The EU Drone Strategy 2.0[1] contributes to the objectives of the ‘Action plan on synergies between civil, defence and space industries’, exploring synergies between the civil and defence drone industries, including counter-drone technologies.
The Drone Strategy includes measures to support research related to drones and innovation with dual-use potential, sets up an EU network on civil-defence drone testing centres, promotes alignment of certification requirements for civil and military drone applications, and supports the adoption of EU counter-drone package.
Moreover, in the White Paper and Rearm Europe Plan published[2] 19 March 2025 the Commission has recognised drones and counter-drones systems as one of the critical capability shortfalls and is committed to support Member States actions aimed at reducing dependencies.
The EU counter-drone communication[3], adopted in October 2023, aims to address the terrorist threat possibly posed by non-cooperative drones. It identified 18 key actions aiming at drawing up a fully-fledged EU counter-drone policy, which are being implemented.
Source: United States Department of Defense (video statements)
The @marines Silent Drill Platoon showed their skills at Fleet Week New York during a kickoff performance at Times Square.
#DYK Fleet Week New York is an annual celebration where the@USNavy, Marine Corps, and@U.S.CoastGuard ships dock in New York City; allowing members of the community to tour vessels and meet service members.
For more on the Department of Defense, visit: http://www.defense.gov
