Trump Officials

• President Donald Trump has signaled that the U.S. will continue bombing operations in Iran, with officials indicating fresh strikes could occur as early as this weekend. • The decision comes despite increasing domestic pressure within the United States to wind down the ongoing conflict. • Separately, Trump announced a new agreement on Thursday aimed at disarming Hamas in Gaza, sparking intense political reactions in Israel ahead of October elections.

EPA tosses out scientific research carried out under Biden and says toxic sludge not a significant threat to publicThe Trump administration has killed proposed regulations for sewage sludge contaminated with Pfas and spread on farmland as fertilizer, a practice that has sickened farmers, destroyed their livelihoods, killed livestock, polluted water supplies, and poisoned meat and food products sold to the public.The proposed regulations would largely have ended the use of sludge, also called biosolids, in the nation’s food system. But the Environmental Protection Agency tossed out its scientific research from less than two years ago that formed the basis of the proposed regulations. It justified the decision by declaring that sludge was not a wide threat to the public because it is mostly used on farms, and only a small percentage of cropland. Continue reading...

• DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin is escalating attacks on election officials in key battleground states, claiming hundreds of thousands of non-citizens are illegally registered to vote. • Internal agency acknowledgments reveal that these figures have not been fully vetted or verified, contradicting the administration's public assertions. • This conflict highlights a growing tension between the Trump administration and state election authorities over the integrity and security of voter rolls.

Marco Rubio and Stephen Miller took aim at only leftwing activism at meeting of 66 nations against political violenceTop Trump officials on Thursday hosted a gathering of 66 nations to discuss the supposed threat of leftwing violence, and launched a series of diatribes, harsh even by the standards of the Trump administration, against leftism.The conference, convened by Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, and attended by Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser, and Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary, was billed as a “ministerial on the resurgence of political violence” but the focus was solely on crushing leftist violence. It came as Donald Trump ramps up his efforts to label his political opponents, and a rising number of politicians identified with the Democratic Socialists of America as “communists”. Continue reading...

Lawsuit alleges administration coordinated with online surveillance groups to ‘criminalize solidarity with Palestine’Mahmoud Khalil filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Trump administration officials and several pro-Israel groups, accusing them of conspiring to target him and others as punishment for their support of Palestinian rights.The former Columbia University graduate student became the face of the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestine speech after he was detained last year. A permanent US resident, Khalil is also fighting in court against the government’s effort to deport him. Continue reading...

Public health advocates warn of conflicts of interests and say panel likely to provide justification for key rollbacksThe Trump administration has stacked a top chemical safety board with industry-aligned scientists who have a range of financial conflicts of interest and stand to profit from deregulation, public health advocates say.The Environmental Protection Agency’s science advisory committee on chemicals (SACC) is slated to review research for dozens of toxic chemicals during the new members’ terms. At least 13 proposed Trump appointees are probably conflicted on the chemicals that will be reviewed, comments filed with the EPA by a coalition of public health advocacy groups alleges. Continue reading...

• Former officials associated with Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election are actively promoting claims that noncitizens are voting in U.S. elections. • These efforts aim to sow doubt regarding the legitimacy of upcoming midterm election results by highlighting a phenomenon that voting experts describe as extremely rare. • This strategy is significant as it mirrors previous attempts to undermine public confidence in the electoral process and democratic institutions.