by Brandy Zadrozny | Jul 25, 2026 | Congress, News
Sade, a self-described mother of three from Michigan, posted a video to Instagram and TikTok earlier this July, expressing a popular sentiment: It was getting harder to make ends meet, as the costs of gas, rent, groceries and other expenses were too high in the state, and wages weren’t keeping up.
“Make it make sense,” the woman posting as sades.journey told her few dozen followers.
That language, “Make it make sense,” was a popular refrain, appearing in more than a dozen other recent videos viewed by MS NOW. In them, small-time creators (mostly women) posted selfies with white overlaid type, bemoaning Michigan’s cost of living. The accounts — all created this year — also posted about other topics of concern, like holding Immigration and Customs Enforcement “accountable” and standing up to President Donald Trump. At about the same time this July, the accounts seemed to settle on a solution for their troubles. As Sade put it, “That’s why I’m looking at Haley Stevens.”
The race to fill Michigan’s open Senate seat narrowed this month to a two-way Democratic primary between Rep. Haley Stevens and physician and former county health director Abdul El-Sayed. Backed by the Democrats’ progressive wing, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., El-Sayed’s campaign has outraised Stevens, an establishment candidate who has been endorsed by retiring Sen. Gary Peters, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and, on Friday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. But outside groups, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, and its affiliates, have poured $50 million into the race to boost Stevens. The primary election is on Aug. 4.
These seemingly coordinated social media
by Steve Benen | Jul 24, 2026 | Congress, Maddowblog, News, Politics, White House
There’s one word Donald Trump clearly doesn’t like to hear: “No.” And yet, it’s precisely what Senate Majority Leader John Thune has been forced to tell the president quite a bit over the past year or so — not because the South Dakota Republican necessarily disagrees with the White House’s agenda, but because Thune hasn’t had the votes to give Trump everything he wants.
One GOP senator, who requested anonymity to discuss the internal dynamics, told MS NOW last month that Trump and Thune “have an awkward relationship.” The lawmaker added, “It’s awkward for everybody.”
This is especially true of the president’s top legislative priority, a sweeping voter suppression package he has labeled the SAVE America Act that Republicans have already conceded they can’t pass. Trump, apparently furious by Congress’ inability to meet his demands, has increasingly turned against his own party’s Senate leader.
During a campaign-style event in Georgia this week, the president told supporters, “[House Speaker] Mike Johnson and Congress have done a great job, but we’re having a hard time in the Senate. The Senate, what they’re doing, it’s just not right.” The Republican added, “It’s like the Senate is where you send things you want them to die. We’re not going to be able to take it much longer.”
He didn’t elaborate as to what would happen after he’s no longer content to “take it,” though Trump specifically told attendees to “call John Thune” and demand that the GOP-led Senate pass the president’s anti-voting legislation.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed the message during Thursday’s briefing.
Leavitt on Trump’s views on Thune: “His patience is running out”— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-07-23T15:46:36.874Z
Asked
by Ja'han Jones | Jul 24, 2026 | Civil Rights, Congress, Opinion
It’s past time to place private prison firm GEO Group under a microscope.
The firm, whose executives have boasted about the corporate profits the company stands to make from aiding President Donald Trump’s racist anti-immigrant crackdown, added to a growing list of controversies on Wednesday when one of its employees was charged with assault for allegedly shooting a woman in the foot while she was protesting against Immigration and Customs Enforcement at one of its facilities.
As Denver7 news reported:
The 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday that DA Brian Mason had charged 42-year-old Brandon Booth with one count each for first-degree assault and attempted first-degree assault in the shooting of 21-year-old Emma Landis and another protester.
Booth was facing several felony charges in connection with the shooting, including two counts of second-degree attempted murder, one count of first-degree assault, one count of unlawful carrying of a concealed weapon, and two counts of felony menacing.
Colorado Public Radio reported an arrest affidavit in which Booth allegedly acknowledged after the shooting that he had “done some dumb sh*t.” Booth is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, CBS news reported.
In an email to The Guardian, the GEO Group said, “We are aware that an off-duty Aurora ICE Processing Center employee was involved in a shooting incident,” and that he “has been placed on unpaid administrative leave, and we will fully cooperate with law enforcement.”
Emma Landis, the shooting victim, spoke out about the reality of violence against protesters during a demonstration on Sunday.
The shooting adds to a growing list of bad publicity for GEO Group. Last year, executives boasted about the “unprecedented opportunities” they expected to
by Nick Akerman | Jul 24, 2026 | Congress, Opinion
While some are focused on whether a couple of lame-duck Republican senators will vote to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general, all senators should be aware: Blanche’s written responses to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee show how, even as he serves as acting attorney general, he’s still acting as President Donald Trump’s lawyer. He should not be confirmed.
A key factor compromising Blanche’s fitness to be attorney general is his role in attempting to settle President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. Blanche is the only signatory to the May 19 release order, published by the Office of the Attorney General, that went beyond the $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and provided massive benefits, including IRS and other government immunity, to the president, his family, businesses and affiliates.
Do we really want an attorney general who will stand by Trump’s personal interests over a ruling by a federal judge?
Twelve members of the Senate Judiciary Committee posed written questions to Blanche in recent days. The exchanges are illuminating.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., asked, “Is this release order still in effect?” Blanche answered, simply: “Yes.”
That response contradicts the recent order of federal Judge Kathleen M. Williams, who effectively prohibited Trump from relying on the settlement agreement. Williams, who oversaw Trump’s case against the IRS, held that the lawsuit was a manipulation of the federal court: “brought for an improper purpose — to gain the imprimatur of judicial legitimacy for a ‘settlement’ that had no viable basis in law or fact.”
Play
New: 2 GOP senators hit Trump by withholding AG votes, Epstein survivors oppose nomination
July 22, 2026 / 09:46
For Blanche to publicly claim that the
by Jake Johnson | Jul 24, 2026 | Congress, cost of living, House Republicans, Iran, Military Budget, military funding, News, Reconciliation
House Republicans on Wednesday approved a $95 billion budget framework that would pump more money into US President Donald Trump’s illegal Iran war and push states to adopt restrictions on voting rights, all while Americans struggle to afford groceries and other necessities. Every present House Democrat and just three members of the GOP caucus — Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky…
Source
by Rep. Angie Craig | Jul 23, 2026 | Congress, Opinion
As the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, I spend a lot of my time talking to the farmers and ranchers who feed and fuel the world. But these conversations started long before I took this position last January. The district I represent is covered in corn and soybeans this time of year — and in about a month, Minnesota’s farmers will be readying the combines for harvest.
We could all learn a lot about politics from the experiences of our family farmers. Farming is a difficult job in any climate. It requires months of planning with limited information and an ability to adapt to changing weather patterns, market conditions and consumer demand. But even for farmers, who are a resilient bunch, this climate is taking a toll — and I’m not just talking about the Canadian wildfires blowing smoke our way.
While Republicans have largely been on vacation, family farmers have been working overtime to make up for the markets they lost due to Trump’s tariffs and the fertilizer and diesel price increases resulting from Trump’s illegal war with Iran.
This week, congressional Republicans are trying to jam through their third budget proposal of this Congress. Reconciliation 3.0 includes $12 billion in farm aid, $73 billion in defense spending and $10 billion to implement President Donald Trump’s election-rigging voting restrictions. Put another way: In the last week of legislative business before Congress takes a five-week recess, Republicans are scrambling to pass Trump’s remaining policy priorities.
This has been one of the least productive Congresses in our nation’s history. Between unexpected recesses and abruptly canceled voting days, Republicans have prioritized passing two disastrous
