Republicans clash with Democratic lawmakers defending violent anti-ICE rioters



Violent riots broke out in Los Angeles over the weekend as Immigration and Customs Enforcement began cracking down on deportations, with footage of masked protestors waving foreign flags, burning vehicles, and throwing rocks at law enforcement. In spite of all the chaos, Democrats were quick to defend the rioters.

Several high-profile California Democrats, like Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sen. Adam Schiff, attempted to downplay the violence and encourage peaceful protesting, recognizing the less-than-flattering optics of the situation. Others, like Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California, flat-out glossed over the violence and even likened it to protests during the Civil Rights Movement.

'Gavin Newsom can [no] longer hide his failures and incompetence.'

RELATED: Fiery footage shows radicals in LA savagely attack law enforcement on second night of violent riots

Photo by RINGO CHIU/AFP via Getty Images

"My message to Donald Trump is you are a cruel human being and that you're using the poorest people in the land, the most vulnerable people in the land, to promote your politics," Waters said. "You are wrong. We know what this is all about."

"All of the elected officials in this city should be on the street," Waters added. "I want them to know what happened during the Civil Rights Movement, where we got out onto the street, where we marched, where we fought, and we made the government change."

Similarly, Democratic Rep. Nanette Barragan of California inaccurately claimed that President Donald Trump's administration is going after peaceful protesters. During an interview with CNN on Sunday, Barragan reiterated her point without realizing that the outlet was simultaneously airing footage of protesters rioting in a less-than-peaceful way.

"The president is sending the National Guard because he doesn't like the scenes," Barragan said. "He doesn't like the scenes of people peacefully protesting, and we know that California law enforcement, local law enforcement, they're there to protect the public. They're there to protect and have public safety, and that's what they're there to do."

'Stay peaceful? It never was peaceful.'

RELATEED:Officer slams door in Rep. Maxine Waters' face when she tries to check in on union president arrested in ICE rioting

Photo by Apu Gomes/Getty Images

One of the most high-profile defenses of the protests over the weekend came from former Vice President Kamala Harris. The failed presidential candidate said the ICE raids were part of Trump's "cruel, calculated agenda to spread division" and claimed that the protests have been "overwhelmingly peaceful."

Republicans refuted the mainstream Democratic narrative that the protests were both peaceful and justified. Republican Rep. Vince Fong of California condemned the riots and blamed Newsom's "failures and incompetence" for the escalation.

"Rioters blocking freeways, setting fires, and clashing with federal, state and local law enforcement," Fong said. "Gavin Newsom can [no] longer hide his failures and incompetence. Los Angeles deserves better."

Republicans outside of California, like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Andy Biggs of Arizona, had similar reactions.

"Democrats are waging an insurrection and using Antifa, Cartels, and criminal illegals to, as the media says, 'peacefully protest' ICE deporting illegal rapists, child/human traffickers, and drug dealers," Greene said. "The left is inciting a war on US soil and is siding with terrorists."

"Stay peaceful? It never was peaceful," Biggs said. "What a disgusting joke. Democrats will never take responsibility for their failed policies."

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It Took Lee Zeldin Just 3 Words To Send Adam Schiff Into A Tizzy

'I understand you are an aspiring fiction writer'

GOP saboteurs join Democrats to derail Trump’s justice agenda



One of the biggest political fights of Donald Trump’s early second term just ended — and not in his favor.

The country didn’t rally behind Ed Martin, the president’s nominee for U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., because of his résumé. And the fight was never about Martin alone. It was about the first real clash between two irreconcilable political forces that had managed a brief post-election détente.

The Senate took its first scalp — and it was a big one.

After Trump’s big victory, most of his Cabinet picks cleared the Senate with some turbulence but no real roadblocks — except for Matt Gaetz at the Justice Department. That era just ended. The honeymoon is over.

After weeks of public drama, the Senate — with Republican help — forced Trump to pull Martin. Trump reassigned him to duties inside the Justice Department that don’t require Senate confirmation. He named Judge Jeanine Pirro in Martin’s place, a figure seemingly more palatable to senators who either opposed Martin outright or refused to defend him. The administration cast this as a “double down.” In reality, the Senate won.

The consequences go far beyond who runs the D.C. office. Martin’s defeat sends a clear message: The Senate will challenge Trump’s ability to govern. That includes the looming budget reconciliation battle, judicial confirmations, and the future of the America First movement.

Traitorous Thom Tillis

With no filibuster-proof majority, Trump’s window to act remains narrow — and shrinking.

Martin’s supporters and opponents split along familiar lines. On one side stood the Democrats: Sen. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), Sen. Adam Schiff (Calif.), Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), and House attack dog Jamie Raskin (Md.). They had help from establishment Republicans and anti-Trump legal elites. Senator Thom Tillis led the GOP sabotage effort, backed quietly by the Wall Street Journal editorial board and the usual anonymous gang of Republican senators who prefer to knife the president in private.

On the other side stood Trump, his team, and a bloc of loyal senators including Mike Lee (Utah), Tommy Tuberville (Ala.), and Rand Paul (Ky.). Law enforcement organizations backed Martin, as did nearly every Republican state attorney general (except three) and Jewish leaders who stood up for him after a failed smear campaign falsely branding him anti-Semitic. Martin had prosecuted Hamas — unlike his Biden-era predecessor.

This was more than a nomination fight. It was a battle between the GOP’s old guard and its future. The result will shape whether Trump can deliver on his second-term agenda — or get strangled by the same Beltway forces that worked to undermine his first.

The calendar never favored Martin. His 120-day term would expire May 20. For a confirmation to happen, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) needed to notice a hearing by Monday, move him out of committee by Thursday, and schedule a floor vote by May 19. Tillis waited until the last minute to air his “concerns” — and only met with Martin that Monday.

The meeting reportedly turned hostile, with Tillis mocking the death of Ashli Babbitt. Grassley then declined to notice Martin’s hearing. The swamp knew exactly what it was doing. With the clock running, Martin’s nomination began to wither.

Lukewarm Republicans had always hoped for this outcome: let Martin “time out” without casting a vote. But grassroots support surged, and the base refused to stay quiet. The plan collapsed. To avoid giving Judge James Boasberg the power to name a successor, Trump replaced Martin himself.

Protecting ‘norms’? Not exactly

Democrats played this masterfully. Schumer, Durbin, and Schiff funneled opposition research to legacy media and pliable Republicans. The smears didn’t stick — neither the false anti-Semitism claims nor the soft attacks on Martin’s legal ethics — but the damage was done. “Controversial” became the tag.

Democrats understood the moment. Post-Cabinet, pre-reconciliation, and perfectly timed to fracture the Senate GOP. They sent Martin 561 written questions — more than some Supreme Court nominees get — and then whined to the press when they didn’t like his answers. They told Republicans to protect Senate “norms.” And like clockwork, some did.

Many of these same Republicans voted without hesitation for Biden’s most extreme picks during the last evenly divided Senate. Back then, they claimed to defend “institutional norms.” Now, they enable Democrats to shred them.

Democrats knew the political impact of blocking a president’s U.S. attorney pick for D.C. It’s usually a voice vote. Martin’s predecessor, Matthew Graves, coasted through. So did Eric Holder under Bill Clinton. Blocking Martin wasn’t normal — it was a deliberate strike.

What happens next will determine whether the Senate helps or hinders Trump’s agenda. If Tillis emerges stronger from this, Republicans will reward a man openly working against the president. He’s up for re-election, most likely facing former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D), and faces no GOP primary challenge. If he keeps swinging left, he could stall confirmations for judges and Justice officials and block efforts to fight the lawfare campaign against Trump.

That this situation is even possible shows how broken the Republican Senate remains. No one worries that a Democrat would do this. Remember: Even Joe Manchin, the so-called “independent,” voted to protect Biden Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas from impeachment — just to spare fellow Democrats from a tough vote.

Patriots who backed Martin must recognize the cost of this defeat. The Senate took its first scalp. The White House swapped staffers. But the message was unmistakable: Sabotage works.

If the America First movement fails to hold the saboteurs accountable — and simply moves on — the Senate will do this again. And again. Until nothing of the agenda remains.

We can’t let that happen.

Democrats smear, stall, and spin to stop Trump’s DC cleanup



Ed Martin’s nomination to serve as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia marks the most consequential confirmation of President Trump’s second term so far. Predictably, it’s also Senate Democrats’ top target. Blocking Martin would be a massive blow to the administration, derailing momentum and setting a dangerous new precedent for future nominations and legislation.

Democrats know it — and they’re all in.

In a matter of months, Martin has reoriented the US attorney’s office from a political weapon into a proper law enforcement agency.

If they succeed in stopping Martin, they’ll be emboldened. Future nominees will face the same obstruction.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) may understand Trump’s 20-point campaign platform better than most. He knows Trump’s political identity rests on a rare quality: keeping promises. Undermining Trump’s ability to deliver on those promises — especially while Democrats remain fractured on nearly everything else — would hand Schumer a major win.

That’s why Democrats have zeroed in on Martin.

He holds primary responsibility for delivering on Trump’s pledge to clean up Washington, D.C., and restore order ahead of America’s 250th anniversary in 2026. With the world watching, the nation’s capital cannot remain a showcase of chaos. Martin also oversees implementation of the president’s executive order titled “Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful.”

He’s already delivering.

Unlike his predecessor, who obsessed over 1,600 low-level January 6 misdemeanor defendants, Martin has gone after serious crimes. He’s charged violent offenders targeting police, schools, and children. In March, he set a record with 18 federal gun crime charges — a mark he’s on pace to surpass. He’s seized over $200,000 from Hamas-linked actors, rescued 25 children from predators, and secured a 10-year sentence for a carjacker.

In a matter of months, Martin has reoriented the U.S. attorney’s office from a political weapon into a proper law enforcement agency.

Historically, D.C. U.S. attorney nominations were routine. Confirmations often happened by voice vote. Martin’s immediate predecessor, Matthew Graves — who prioritized nonviolent J6 prosecutions over spiraling violent crime — sailed through. So did Eric Holder, Bill Clinton’s pick, later Barack Obama’s self-described “wingman” in the Justice Department. Even in the face of an assassination attempt, one might expect President Trump to receive basic deference in selecting his top federal prosecutor.

So why the fight?

Democrats view blocking Martin as their best shot to stall the entire Trump agenda. If they win this round — especially before action begins on the tax and border reconciliation bill — they will exploit GOP hesitation and slow the administration’s rollout. It’s a savvy play, especially at a moment when Democrats and the left have few options.

No Senate Republican has publicly opposed Martin. But Democrats wouldn’t push this hard without sensing weakness. They’re dusting off their Kavanaugh-era playbook: smear campaigns, media pressure, and manufactured “process” complaints.

They’ve falsely painted Martin as anti-Semitic — based on an award he once gave to a person he didn’t know held anti-Semitic views. Martin later denounced the individual in no uncertain terms. He handed out dozens of awards that day, including to Jewish honorees. That hasn’t mattered to the same party that won’t denounce Hamas apologists in its own ranks.

Next came U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who claimed Martin’s assistance in helping Jan. 6 defendants secure local counsel created a “conflict of interest.” The D.C. Bar cleared Martin of any wrongdoing.

Now Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has buried Martin in written questions and, via the Washington Post, accused him of noncompliance. The strategy is clear: overwhelm, confuse, smear, repeat.

Democrats also enjoy a tactical advantage. Martin’s interim appointment expires after 120 days — in other words, mid-May. Senate procedures reward delay, and some Republicans may prefer letting the clock run out to avoid a high-profile vote. But that strategy depends on silence.

And silence won’t last.

Public support for Martin continues to build. GOP inaction that produces the same outcome as a Democratic rejection won’t go unnoticed. There is no backdoor exit. Only forward movement will do.

Senate Republicans now face a clear choice: Hold the line or hand Democrats a tactical win with long-term consequences. Failing to confirm Martin risks turning every legislative priority — including future judicial and Supreme Court nominations — into an internal conference war.

The next few weeks will reveal what kind of Senate this is — and whether it will carry out the mandate voters gave to Donald Trump. Schumer, Durbin, Schiff, and their House allies like Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) are betting on Republican hesitation.

Let’s hope that they lose and that President Trump gets his prosecutor in D.C. so he can make the city safe and beautiful. America has a big birthday party coming up. Let’s not mess it up.

Ex-DOJ ‘Biden holdover’ challenges firing after Trump ally calls for his ouster



A former Department of Justice prosecutor whom the Trump administration fired in March is now challenging his termination, the Associated Press reported Monday.

Adam Schleifer previously worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. However, he was removed from his position reportedly one hour after pro-Trump activist Laura Loomer called for his termination in a post on social media.

'A Trump hating federal employee is now "challenging his firing" from the DOJ after I exposed his anti-Trump vitriol.'

On March 28, Loomer questioned why President Donald Trump’s administration had allowed the “Biden holdover” and “Trump hater” to remain on staff with the U.S. attorney’s office.

“Fire him. He supported the impeachment of President Trump and said he wanted to repeal Trump’s tax plan,” she wrote. “We need to purge the US Attorney’s office of all leftist Trump haters.”

Loomer shared a screenshot of Schleifer responding to a 2020 post from Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).

Schiff’s post read, “Donald Trump must be convicted and removed from office.”

Schleifer responded, “This. Proud of my former rep. ... Trump erodes our constitutional integrity every day with every lie and every act of heedless, narcissistic corruption.”

He also previously shared his plans to “repeal Trump’s tax plan.”

According to a Monday report from the AP, Schleifer challenged his recent firing in a filing to the Merit Systems Protection Board. He argued that his termination was due to “unprecedented partisan and political reasons” and undermined the justice system’s “bedrock principle.”

He claimed that his firing was an unlawful retaliation for protected political speech made before he was a government lawyer.

Schleifer reportedly received a letter last month from a White House official notifying him that he had been terminated, but no reason was given.

He is seeking to be reinstated and receive back pay, as well as other relief.

The filing, obtained by the AP, read, “Nothing in Mr. Schleifer’s conduct as a private citizen would cast any doubt on his commitment to defend the Constitution and the rule of law and to advance the impartial administration of justice."

Schleifer declined the AP’s request for comment. The White House did not respond to the news outlet.

Loomer reacted to Schleifer’s challenge.

“A Trump hating federal employee is now ‘challenging his firing’ from the DOJ after I exposed his anti-Trump vitriol,” Loomer wrote in a post on X. “Trump haters are very angry they are being exposed before they are given a chance to sabotage and obstruct the 2nd Trump admin.”

“I’m going to expose all of them!” she added.

Loomer has previously taken credit for some of the White House’s decisions to terminate staffers.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration fired the director of the National Security Agency, Gen. Timothy Haugh, and his civilian deputy, Wendy Noble, was removed and reassigned. Several National Security Council officials were also terminated.

Loomer responded to the firings in a post on X.

“NSA Director Tim Haugh and his deputy Wendy Noble have been disloyal to President Trump. That is why they have been fired,” she wrote. “Thank you President Trump for being receptive to the vetting materials provided to you and thank you for firing these Biden holdovers.”

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Trump declares Biden's 'autopen' pardons for J6 committee, Fauci, others are 'VOID'



President Donald Trump declared early Monday morning that Joe Biden's pardons are "VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT," suggesting that the former president did not sign them or "know anything about them."

While the potential voidance of Biden's pardons could spell trouble for Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley, members of the Biden clan, and others with troubled pasts, Trump indicated that former members of the House Jan. 6 select committee — including Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) — are his favorites to reap the whirlwind.

"Those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level," Trump noted on Truth Social.

Earlier this month, the Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project revealed that Biden's signature on numerous executive orders, pardons, and other documents of national consequence was apparently machine-generated. The watchdog group indicated that with the exception of Biden's announcement concerning his decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, "every document" researchers could find "used the same autopen signature."

'If in fact this has been occurring, then all those orders are void.'

"The prolific use of autopen by the Biden White House was an instrument to hide the truth from the American people as to who was running the government," Oversight Project Executive Director Mike Howell told Blaze News at the time.

Biden's cognitive decline alone may have been enough to doubt the legal legitimacy of many of the official documents issued in his name and bearing his signature. Suspicions were, however, compounded by reports of staffers and family members making decisions on his behalf; Biden's alleged admission to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) that he did not remember signing a consequential January 2024 order to pause decisions on exports of liquefied natural gas; and evidence that Biden's signature appeared on documents while he was absent — and in one instance, while on vacation.

In a recent letter demanding that the Department of Justice investigate whether "President Biden's cognitive decline allowed unelected staff to push through radical policy without his knowing approval," Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey noted, "It is black-letter law that a document is void, ab initio, when the person signing it lacks mental capacity."

Bailey added, "Staffers and the Vice President cannot constitutionally evade accountability by laundering far-left orders through a man who does not know what he is signing. If in fact this has been occurring, then all those orders are void."

'He had no idea what the hell he was doing.'

After further analysis, the Oversight Project confirmed that "the same exact Biden autopen signature" was used on the pardons for Fauci, Milley, and members of the Jan. 6 committee, as well as on the pardons for several members of Biden's family who were apparently involved in dodgy foreign deals with the former president and his felonious son Hunter Biden, and for Gerald Lundergan, the former head of the Kentucky state Democratic Party, who served as state chair for Hillary Clinton's failed 2008 presidential campaign and was convicted in 2019 of making illegal campaign contributions.

— (@)

In the wake of the Oversight Project's damning reports, a former Biden aide told the New York Post that a key staffer, who was not named, was suspected of unilaterally making decisions to sign documents as the former president's mental faculties declined. According to the aide, others in the Biden administration questioned the staffer's routine use of the autopen but refrained from speaking up.

"I feared no one as much as I feared that [staffer]. To me, [the staffer] basically was the president," said the aide. "No one ever questioned [the staffer]. Period."

Trump raised the issue of the autopen in his Friday address to the Department of Justice, calling it a "big deal."

"You don't use the autopen," said the president. "Number one, it's disrespectful to the office. Number two, maybe it's not even valid because who's getting [Biden] to sign? He had no idea what the hell he was doing."

Trump evidently became convinced of the illegitimacy of Biden's autopen-signed orders and pardons over the weekend, declaring early Monday morning, "The 'Pardons' that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen. In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them!"

"The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime," continued Trump.

Trump suggested further that in the case of the Jan. 6 committee members, the pardonees were "likely responsible for the Documents that were signed on their behalf without the knowledge or consent of the Worst President in the History of our Country, Crooked Joe Biden!"

The president subsequently shared an image of three presidential portraits. The first and third framed images were of Trump, with the plaques below indicating his duration in office. The second image was of an autopen machine writing Biden's signature with the dates 2021-2025 marked below.

— (@)

Despite his declaration of voidance, Trump reportedly told reporters Sunday evening, "It's not my decision; that'll be up to a court."

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FACT CHECK: Did Kash Patel Say The FBI Found 256 Emails Between Adam Schiff And Jeffrey Epstein?

A post shared on X claims FBI Director Kash Patel found 256 emails between California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff and deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. 🚨BREAKING: Kash Patel says: “FBI investigation uncovers 256 emails between Adam Schiff and Jeffrey Epstein. This is a massive scandal, and Schiff must be held accountable.” Do you support a full investigation? […]

Adam Schiff cries 'constitutional crisis' after failing to spike Kash Patel confirmation



California Sen. Adam Schiff (D) spent weeks pearl-clutching over the possibility that Kash Patel might become the first FBI director of Indian descent. To Schiff's chagrin, the U.S. Senate confirmed Trump's pick Thursday.

After democratic processes that Schiff recently vowed to defend produced another result he didn't like, the Democrat went on MSNBC to vent, claiming that the confirmation of the popular president's choice was evidence America is in a "constitutional crisis."

Earlier in the day, Schiff, Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D), and a particularly thin crowd of fellow travelers met outside the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., to make one last pitch for why Patel should not be confirmed.

Schiff, who misled the nation about the FBI's use of a FISA warrant to monitor former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page and championed the Russian collusion hoax, characterized Patel as a "political hack [who] does not deserve to be in this building" and "lacks the character to do this job."

'We find ourselves in really uncharted waters.'

Prior to the majority of the California Democrat's peers indicating they believed otherwise and confirming Patel in a 51-49 vote, Schiff told MSNBC talking head Lawrence O'Donnell — who set the stage by claiming that Patel "was absolutely unimaginable as being qualified for any form of federal service prior to Donald Trump winning the presidency" — that Americans are now living in an "upside-down, terrible world."

"We find ourselves in really uncharted waters," added Schiff, later adding that he believes the nation is in a "constitutional crisis" that "can get worse if they start ignoring court opinions."

Schiff, fresh off condemning Trump for firing various inspectors general and federal employees, stressed that if the next administration is Democratic, it must ensure Patel does not complete his 10-year term.

Patel previously called Schiff "the worst criminal in Congress in the last 250 years," accusing the Democrat of lying and seeding false information to set up a presidential impeachment where he ultimately served as a lead manager for the prosecution in the House.

Schiff was among the congressional Jan. 6 inquisitors who received a pre-emptive pardon from former President Joe Biden; however, those pardons cover them only for their involvement in the Jan. 6 investigation.

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