The #House bill would also block the #accountability office from suing the government to force the release of frozen funds, unless Dodaro & his successors obtain congressional support. That could make it harder for the office to conduct #oversight of #Trump, though #Senate #Republicans have not targeted the #GAO as part of their own appropriations bill for 2026. A spox for Valadao did not respond to a request for comment.

Since returning to office, #RussVought has argued that the federal #law limiting #Trump’s spending powers is unconstitutional. And Dodaro has acknowledged that the admin has “not been cooperative” in the investigations.
The WH disabled a website this spring that had helped #oversight ofcls track #federal #spending, claiming it revealed sensitive info. The #GAO described the move in April as disruptive & potentially #illegal, w/“implications” for “congressional oversight,” incl’g on #impoundment.

But #oversight officials have recently found themselves in a direct & highly unusual confrontation with the White House over the #power of the purse. The #watchdog chiefly enforces a 1970s #law that prohibits the president from defying congressional instructions on #spending. Since taking office, #Trump has sought to test that law, working swiftly to disband entire agencies & programs without lawmakers’ approval.

I don't know if its an artifact of cable news, cowardice, or genuine ignorance but there's a countercurrent developing in the discussion around the disgustingly-named "Alligator Alcatraz" migrant cages in the Florida Everglades and I think it's important to nip arguments that it's not *really* a "concentration camp" in the bud. So I cleaned up a post from earlier this week, threw some links in, and got into how the camp is run, the efforts Trump and DeSantis are undertaking to keep much of this a secret, and what conditions are like inside.

https://www.ninaillingworth.com/2025/07/18/recommended-reading-yes-its-a-concentration-camp/

Recommended Reading: Yes, It’s A Concentration Camp

"I think the debate over whether or not “Alligator Alcatraz” officially qualifies as a “real” concentration camp is both farcical and insulting. However you feel about longtime DNC minion Debbie Wasserman-Schultz as a politician, it is inarguable that she’s objectively describing a type of concentration camp. With dozens of brown bodies packed into small cages, inadequate access to washroom facilities and water, purposely reduced caloric counts inadequate for the preservation of healthy adults, exposure to elements and insects; what else would you call what we’re doing in the Florida swamp besides running a concentration camp? It’s not an accident Wasserman-Schultz references America’s dark history with the term “interment camps” but I think she’s still being too generous to the Trump regime here; this is a camp of cages for cruelly concentrating migrants without any concern for their wellbeing at all – a concentration camp, to be precise."

This looks like a clear sign to show how difficult it is for #Trump to deport people to 'Third Countries'.

That they need to bribe, the terms of the agreement are classified, the king of a tiny country like Eswatini (former Swaziland) with just 1.2 million inhabitants, to take 5 deportees.

Yet, arranging #camps in other countries was also Hitler's solution to prevent #oversight. That part of history, they know.

https://archive.ph/voPQn

@anneapplebaum.bsky.social
#Deportation

The efforts, which have not been previously reported, are part of a broader #deregulatory push by the #Trump admin, which has said it wants to spur economic *growth* [#fraud] by slashing government #oversight.

In a February executive order, Trump directed #DOGE officials at #FederalAgencies to identify #regulations the admin may seek to eliminate for any of a range of different reasons, such as imposing "undue burdens" or costs on businesses.

From near the conclusion of Justice Barrett's opinion for the Court, on behalf of the 6 conservatives:

"#FederalCourts do not exercise general #oversight of the #ExecutiveBranch; they resolve cases & controversies consistent with the authority #Congress has given them. When a court concludes that the Executive Branch has acted unlawfully, the answer is not for the court to exceed its #power, too."

TOTAL BS!

#Trump #SCOTUS #judiciary #authority #BirthrightCitizenship #immigration #law

The Army’s conduct during these deployments was far from flawless. In addition to credible allegations of #ExcessiveForce, the #Army carried out extensive #domestic #surveillance, often tracking #civilians & #protest groups without legal #authority or #oversight. And although its own use of force was generally restrained, its involvement helped blur the line between #military & #police roles.

“It’s the same move a second time,” Sen #ElizabethWarren said in an interview. “Why is the industry here asking for regulation? They want the gold star of US government oversight without really having significant #oversight.”

Warren is not alone. Sen #ChuckSchumer of #NY, the Democratic leader, has also opposed the bill consistently.

#Senate passage came over the fierce objections of #Democrats, who warned that the measure lacked strict-enough #regulations or #oversight to prevent abuses, including
anti-#corruption rules that would bar #Trump & his family from continuing to #profit from #cryptocurrency.

The bill still must be passed by the #House & signed by Trump. But the 68-30 vote in the Senate marked the first time the chamber has approved major cryptocurrency #legislation.

Acting U.S. Attorney for #NewJersey [& #Trump’s former personal defense attorney] #AlinaHabba announced the grand jury #indictment in a post on X [of course].

#LaMonicaMcIver, a #Democrat, had been charged in a complaint by Habba last month with two assault charges stemming from the May 9 visit to #Newark’s #DelaneyHall — a 1,000-bed, privately owned facility that #ICE uses as a detention center.