The man behind a popular pro-Trump X account effectively had his conviction tossed on Wednesday, after the Biden-era <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-justice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Justice</a> was ready to imprison him for memes that mocked Hillary Clinton voters during the 2016 presidential election.
Douglass Mackey, who was charged by the Biden DOJ some four years after posting the memes in question, was facing a stunning 10 years behind bars. After the DOJ secured a conviction, Mackey was sentenced to seven months behind bars in 2023, but the sentence was delayed by an appeals court.
On Wednesday, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit reversed Mackey’s conviction and directed a lower court to enter a judgment of acquittal.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
DOUG MACKEY WINS !! MEME MAGIC HAS EMERGED COMPLETELY VICTORIOUS !! <a href="https://t.co/hyJFw5rQxe">pic.twitter.com/hyJFw5rQxe</a>
— Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeBenzCyber/status/1942949310380880156?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
&#8220;The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has thrown out my conviction for lack of evidence the case has been remanded to the district court with orders to immediately dismiss,&#8221; Mackey posted to X. &#8220;Hallelujah!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BREAKING: THE SECOND CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS HAS THROWN OUT MY CONVICTION FOR LACK OF EVIDENCE
THE CASE HAS BEEN REMANDED TO THE DISTRICT COURT WITH ORDERS TO IMMEDIATELY DISMISS
HALLELUJAH!
— Douglass Mackey (@DougMackeyCase) <a href="https://twitter.com/DougMackeyCase/status/1942947069745934603?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
As reported by The Daily Wire, Mackey, who went by the Twitter (now X) alias Ricky Vaughn, was charged about a week after President Joe Biden took office — some four years after the memes were posted. While the DOJ claimed Mackey conspired to “injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate” people from exercising their constitutional right to vote, his legal team, other legal minds, and many politicos said the memes were obviously protected free speech.
The meme the prosecution zeroed in on was published on November 1, 2016. It shows a woman holding an “African Americans for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hillary-clinton-lands-professor-and-presidential-fellow-gig-at-columbia-university" target="_blank" rel="noopener">President Hillary</a>” sign with overlaid text reading, “Avoid the line. Vote from home. Text ‘Hillary’ to 55925.”
<div id="attachment_945037" style="width: 528px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-945037" class="wp-image-945037 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-09-at-7.45.11-PM-518x576.png" alt="" width="518" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-09-at-7.45.11-PM-518x576.png 518w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-09-at-7.45.11-PM-270x300.png 270w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-09-at-7.45.11-PM-768x855.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-09-at-7.45.11-PM.png 1170w" sizes="(max-width: 518px) 100vw, 518px" />Screenshot: Twitter</div>
Mackey has the support of President Donald Trump, and others in his orbit, including Donald Trump Jr., but said after Trump won the 2024 election that he would not ask Trump for a pardon, since he was anticipating a good result on appeal.
“Since so many are asking, my team and I have not asked President Trump for a pardon at this time as we are hoping for a favorable, precedent-setting ruling in the 2nd Circuit that would prevent the DOJ from politically weaponizing the law,” he said at the time. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Since so many are asking, my team and I have not asked President Trump for a pardon at this time as we are hoping for a favorable, precedent-setting ruling in the 2nd Circuit that would prevent the DOJ from politically weaponizing the law.
Thank you everybody for your support!
— Douglass Mackey (@DougMackeyCase) <a href="https://twitter.com/DougMackeyCase/status/1881538008698204562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
Mackey also posted on X, &#8220;Now we sue,&#8221; suggesting a coming suit against the federal government.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Now we sue
— Douglass Mackey (@DougMackeyCase) <a href="https://twitter.com/DougMackeyCase/status/1942947698631442630?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-doj-trying-to-lock-up-a-pro-trump-meme-maker-for-ten-years-heres-what-you-need-to-know" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden DOJ Trying To Lock Up A Pro-Trump Meme Maker For Ten Years. Here’s What You Need To Know.</a>

Douglass Mackey

Trump Supporter Gets Case Tossed After Biden DOJ Was Ready To Imprison Him For Memes

Trump Supporter Just Got Case Tossed After Biden DOJ Was Ready To Imprison Him For Memes

Department of Justice

Hillary Clinton

Memes

The Department of Justice released video from the prison in which the late financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019, concluding that nobody entered his cell that day and that it was in fact a suicide.
The video was released in a memo that also details Justice Department findings from an investigation into the existence of an Epstein “client list”  and questions around his death. The findings state that Epstein did not keep a “client list” and that his death in 2019 was a suicide.
The memo says that FBI agents reviewed “more than 300 gigabytes of data and physical evidence” in its investigation into Epstein and his death.
“This systematic review revealed no incriminating ‘client list.’ There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,” said the memo, obtained by <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/07/07/jeffrey-epstein-suicide-client-list-trump-administration">Axios</a>.
As part of the investigation, FBI agents reviewed footage from the Metropolitan Correctional Facility in New York from the day Epstein died. The Justice Department released nearly 11 hours of footage from the common area of the “Special Housing Unit” in the facility where Epstein was held.
The Department of Justice released two versions of the footage, a “<a href="https://www.justice.gov/video-file1">raw</a>” and “<a href="https://www.justice.gov/video-file2">enhanced</a>” version. The enhanced version of the footage the FBI made by “increasing its contrast, balancing the color, and improving its sharpness for greater clarity and viewability.”
“[A]nyone entering or attempting to enter the tier where Epstein’s cell was located from the SHU common area would have been captured by this footage. The FBI’s independent review of this footage confirmed that from the time Epstein was locked in his cell at around 10:40 pm on August 9, 2019, until around 6:30 am the next morning, nobody entered any of the tiers in the SHU,” the memo says.
“After a thorough investigation, FBI investigators concluded that Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on August 10, 2019,” the memo says. “This conclusion is consistent with previous findings, including the August 19, 2019 autopsy findings of the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the November 2019 position of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in connection with the investigation of federal correctional officers responsible for guarding Epstein, and the June 2023 conclusions of DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General.”
The department&#8217;s findings echo statements that FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino have said about Epstein since taking up posts at the agency. In May, Bongino in an appearance on Fox News <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/clear-as-day-bongino-says-fbi-will-release-convincing-video-on-epsteins-death">said</a> that the Justice Department would eventually release video that shows “clear as day, [Epstein is] the only person in there and the only person coming out. You can see it.”

Kash Patel, Pam Bondi

DOJ Drops 11-Hour Video Of Jeffrey Epstein’s Prison Cell On Night He Died

DOJ Drops 11-Hour Video From Prison On Night Epstein Died

Jeffrey Epstein

The Department of Justice <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/national-health-care-fraud-takedown-results-324-defendants-charged-connection-over-146" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the results of its annual healthcare fraud “takedown” this week, in which they charged 324 defendants with $14.6 billion of medical fraud.
Defendants include 96 licensed medical professionals “in 50 federal districts and 12 State Attorneys General’s Offices across the United States.”
“With more than $13 billion in fraud uncovered, this is the largest takedown for this initiative to date,” said FBI director Kash Patel. The <a href="https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">initiative</a> identified $2.75 billion in fraud in 2024 and $2.5 billion in 2023.
“The government seized over $245 million in cash, luxury vehicles, cryptocurrency, and other assets,” the Justice Department stated.
In addition, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “prevented over $4 billion from being paid in response to false and fraudulent claims and that it suspended or revoked the billing privileges of 205 providers in the months leading up to the Takedown.” Civil charges and settlements amount to another $48.5 million.
The busted fraud schemes involve identity theft, fraudulent wound care, prescription opioid trafficking, and fake telemedicine claims.
One transnational criminal organization alone was responsible for $10.6 billion of the $14.6 billion in total fraud identified.
A network of foreign individuals “strategically bought dozens of medical supply companies located across the United States,” then used the stolen identities of over a million Americans to submit fraudulent Medicare claims for “urinary catheters and other durable medical equipment.”
In another case, foreign individuals relied on artificial intelligence to carry out identity theft.
“The defendants allegedly used artificial intelligence to create fake recordings of Medicare beneficiaries purportedly consenting to receive certain products,” the Justice Department says. The recordings were then “sold to laboratories and durable medical equipment companies, which used this unlawfully obtained and fraudulently generated data to submit false claims to Medicare.”
So far, the government has recovered $44.7 million of the $418 million paid on these claims.
Other defendants allegedly submitted fraudulent claims for unnecessary amniotic wound grafts, targeting elderly patients and receiving “millions in illegal kickbacks from the fraudulent billing scheme.”
Agency and department heads affirmed their commitment to rooting out health care fraud schemes, emphasizing how they harm patients and Americans.
The schemes “often result in physical patient harm through medically unnecessary treatments or failure to provide the correct treatments,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, adding that medical fraudsters steal “ money hardworking Americans contribute to pay for the care of their elders and other vulnerable citizens.”
“This record-setting Health Care Fraud Takedown delivers justice to criminal actors who prey upon our most vulnerable citizens and steal from hardworking American taxpayers,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
“Make no mistake — this administration will not tolerate criminals who line their pockets with taxpayer dollars while endangering the health and safety of our communities.”

President Trump Swears In Steve Witkoff As Special Envoy

Trump Justice Department Exposes $14 Billion In Medicare and Medicaid Fraud

Fraud

Medicaid

Medicare

Pam Bondi

Two Chinese nationals were arrested for allegedly working on behalf of a Chinese intelligence agency to recruit members of the United States military to betray America, the Justice Department announced.
The Justice Department said Tuesday that the FBI on June 27 had arrested 38-year-old Yuance Chen, a Chinese national who has legal permanent residency in Oregon, and 39-year-old Liren “Ryan” Lai, a Chinese national who entered the country on a tourist visa in April. Both were charged with operating within the United States as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the attorney general.
The criminal complaint against them says that they were working on behalf of the Ministry of State Security (MSS), Communist China’s primary foreign intelligence service. Specifically, they are accused of attempting to recruit members of the Navy to be assets for the MSS.
“This case underscores the Chinese government’s sustained and aggressive effort to infiltrate our military and undermine our national security from within,” <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/justice-department-charges-two-individuals-acting-agents-prc-government">said</a> Attorney General Pam Bondi. “The Justice Department will not stand by while hostile nations embed spies in our country – we will expose foreign operatives, hold their agents to account, and protect the American people from covert threats to our national security.”
In January 2022, the pair facilitated the leaving of a backpack containing $10,000 from MSS in a locker at a recreational facility in Livermore, California, in a dead-drop payment in exchange for national security information on the United States, according to the Justice Department.
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“The FBI arrested two Chinese nationals who were allegedly attempting to recruit U.S. military service members on behalf of the PRC,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The Chinese Communist Party thought they were getting away with their scheme to operate on U.S. soil, utilizing spy craft, like dead drops, to pay their sources.”
The two also allegedly worked together to obtain recruitment information from a Naval installation in Washington and a Navy recruitment center in San Gabriel, California. Chen stole personal recruitment information and sent it to an MSS agent in China, the Justice Department said.
Chen allegedly met with MSS intelligence officers in April 2024 and March 2025 to discuss his assignments and what he would be paid. If convicted, the pair of Chinese nationals could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

AG Bondi, FBI Director Patel Hold Press Conference In Florida After Drug Seizure

Chinese Nationals Arrested Over Plot To Recruit American Military Personnel

California

Communist China

Crime

Spying

U.S.

U.S. Navy

The Trump administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a memo directing United States’ attorneys to “prioritize” and “pursue” denaturalization proceedings for new citizens who may pose a threat to national security.
The <a href="https://www.justice.gov/civil/media/1404046/dl?inline">memo</a>, issued by Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate to the Justice Department’s Civil Division on June 11, directs lawyers to “prioritize and maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence.”
The DOJ&#8217;s denaturalization efforts will also target “individuals who pose a potential danger to national security, including those with a nexus to terrorism, espionage, or the unlawful export from the United States of sensitive goods, technology, or information raising national security concerns,” the memo explained. The move will also “prevent convicted terrorists from returning to U.S. soil or traveling internationally on a U.S. passport,” Shumate <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/doj-directs-us-attorneys-seek-revoke-citizenship-naturalized-americans-over-crime">explained</a>.
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The memo went on to argue that denaturalization proceedings reaffirm the sanctity of citizenship and support “the overall integrity of the naturalization program by ensuring that those who unlawfully procured citizenship, including those who obtained it through fraud or concealment of material information, do not maintain the benefits of the unlawful procurement.”
The DOJ successfully <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-secures-denaturalization-convicted-distributor-child-sexual-abuse">denaturalized</a> one man last month after he was convicted of collecting and distributing child sexual abuse material. The man, who <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/06/30/nx-s1-5445398/denaturalization-trump-immigration-enforcement">identified</a> with the “they/them” pronouns, joined the United States Army while still a citizen of the United Kingdom and gained American citizenship in 2012. The DOJ contended that he lied about his criminal history in order to fraudulently obtain American citizenship.
“If you commit serious crimes before you become a U.S. citizen and then lie about them during your naturalization process, the Justice Department will discover the truth and come after you,” Shumate asserted while commenting on the case.
The case is part of an ongoing, national effort between the DOJ and ICE to “identify and prosecute sex offenders who have fraudulently obtained United States citizenship.”

DOJ Podium

Trump Admin Orders Justice Dept To Denaturalize New Citizens Convicted Of Crimes

Immigration

mass immigration

Politics

Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon issued a blanket condemnation of universities across the country, averring that virtually none of them have acted in accordance with federal law regarding non-discrimination in admissions.
Dhillon and her law firm joined the Alliance Defending Freedom to represent The Daily Wire when it <a href="https://adflegal.org/case/daily-wire-v-occupational-safety-and-health-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">became</a> the first major company to file a lawsuit against the emergency vaccine mandate implemented by the Biden administration in 2021. Other groups later joined the case, which was consolidated into National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of The Daily Wire and its fellow plaintiffs.
Dhillon <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2025/07/01/assistant-a-g-almost-every-school-violated-federal-discrimination-law/">said</a> with regard to Harvard University, “even if they never took a penny of federal funding again in the future, they’ve taken billions annually over the past many years. And so, the United States has jurisdiction over discrimination that has occurred during the time. And, to be very clear, every time a vendor like a university like Harvard takes federal money, they sign certifications saying that they’re compliant with federal law. Except they aren’t.”
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“Almost no university in the United States has been compliant with federal law when it comes to anti-discrimination in admissions, and particularly the most elite ones,” she said, widening the argument. “They have quotas. They have discrimination. This sort of wave of antisemitism on American campuses, which I believe stems from foreign funding, but is absolutely allowed and exacerbated by callousness or even reckless disregard by these universities, is making life miserable for students, and the American government’s not going to put up with it. So, we have a choice as to where the federal money goes. And a minimum criterion is you can’t be in violation of federal law.”
According to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559738&quot;:320,&quot;335559739&quot;:80,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">, universities and colleges that receive federal financial aid are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin. A student cannot be prevented from any educational opportunities or subjected to discriminatory treatment based on their color or ethnicity. Those anti-discrimination laws are enforced by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), a division of the U.S. Department of Education.
In 2019, the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) released the results of a seven-year study into illicit funding of U.S. universities by foreign governments. The study <a href="https://isgap.org/follow-the-money/">found</a> “substantial Middle Eastern funding (primarily from Qatar) to US universities that had not been reported to the Department of Education. &#8230; ISGAP has uncovered and established that the foreign donations from Qatar, especially, have had a substantial impact on fomenting growing levels of antisemitic discourse and campus politics at US universities, as well as growing support for anti-democratic values within these institutions of higher education.”
ISGAP followed that report with another titled, “<a href="https://isgap.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Ongoing_Failure_Report_Yale.pdf">The Ongoing Failure to Report: Yale, Qatar, And Undisclosed Foreign Funding</a>.”

US-POLITICS-REPUBLICANS-RNC

DOJ Warns: Almost All U.S. Universities Are Breaking Federal Anti-Discrimination Laws

American Universities

Civil Rights Division

Discrimination

Education

Harmeet Dhillon

The DOJ cracks down on “sanctuary city” Los Angeles, Trump continues his feud with Jerome Powell, and Harvard and Democrats try to slow Trump’s budget bill as the clock ticks down on the president&#8217;s self-imposed July 4 deadline.
It’s Tuesday, July 1, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here: 
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<h2>L.A. On ICE</h2>
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Topline: The Trump administration has sued the city of Los Angeles over its &#8220;sanctuary&#8221; status.
The Justice Department <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-lawsuit-against-sanctuary-city-policies-los-angeles-california">filed a lawsuit</a> on Monday against L.A., arguing that its “sanctuary city” policies violate the U.S. Constitution. Local law enforcement in L.A. is prohibited from directly enforcing federal immigration law or collaborating with ICE on immigration enforcement actions. The DOJ argues that L.A. is discriminating against the federal government, specifically treating immigration officers differently than other law enforcement officials. The suit says L.A.’s sanctuary policies are &#8220;invalid&#8221; and should be blocked.
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In a statement, Attorney General Pam Bondi blamed these sanctuary policies for the recent anti-ICE riots, which she said were the “driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles.” She added that jurisdictions like L.A. “that flout federal law by prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens are undermining law enforcement at every level.” The DOJ has also <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-lawsuit-against-sanctuary-city-policies-los-angeles-california">targeted</a> other sanctuary city policies, including in New York.
The Trump administration has consistently made detaining and deporting illegal aliens one of its main policy priorities. Recently, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/06/30/ice-raids-arrests-workers-companies/">dozens</a> of workplace raids have been carried out across the nation, in states like California, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, and many others. It appears that illegals with and without criminal backgrounds – aside from illegally entering the U.S. – have been picked up. Daily immigration arrests have also skyrocketed. In June, ICE has averaged around 1,200 daily arrests, with some days surpassing 2,000 – nearly double the daily average during Trump’s first 100 days, though still short of the administration’s target of 3,000 per day.
There are currently 59,000 immigrant detainees in federal custody – officials say that number is the highest in U.S. history, and these facilities are reportedly well over capacity. Additional funds for immigration enforcement and facilities are included in the Big, Beautiful Bill, currently making its way through Congress.
Meanwhile, as reported by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-raid-california-home-harboring-iranian-nationals-with-terrorism-ties">The Daily Wire</a>, Customs and Border Protection raided a Los Angeles residence that it says was being used to harbor Iranian illegal aliens with ties to terrorists. On Friday, two unidentified individuals were arrested, and that followed a previous raid at the same home that resulted in the arrest of seven Iranian nationals, some of whom are on the FBI terror watch list and associated with an Iranian human smuggling network.
And DHS Secretary Kristi Noem will end Temporary Protected Status, known as <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/dhs-terminates-haiti-tps-encourages-haitians-to-obtain-lawful-status">TPS</a>, for up to 500,000 Haitians on September 2. DHS said in a press release that this decision “restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protective Status is actually temporary.” A spokesperson added that the “environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home.”
<h2>Trump Hammers Harvard, Pummels Powell</h2>
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Topline: Trump continues his assault on Jerome Powell and Harvard, targeting both the Fed chairman and the Ivy League institution.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt opened Monday’s White House press briefing by showing the White House Press Corps a scathing letter that President Trump sent to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, which included a handwritten note from the president in which Trump urges Powell to lower interest rates by “a lot.”
<blockquote>“Jerome. you are as usual TOO LATE! You have cost the USA a fortune and continue to do so. You should lower the rate by a lot. Hundreds of billions of dollars are being lost, and there is low inflation.&#8221;</blockquote>
Meanwhile, the Trump administration informed Harvard that it found the university in “violent violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act,” which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin, through its treatment of Jewish and Israeli students. If Harvard fails to take action immediately to “institute adequate changes,” the university could lose all federal funding.
“[A] majority of jewish students experienced negative bias, felt physically unsafe, assaulted and spit on, concealed kippahs for fear of being harassed, and concealed identities from classmates for fear of ostracization,” Leavitt told reporters. “These are all facts that Harvard cannot dispute and that’s why the admin has found them in violation of Title VI and threatened to withhold their funding, because if you break federal law, you are not entitled to federal tax dollars.”
<h2>Dems Drag Big, Beautiful Bill</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-941597" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/MRN-7.1.25-Tue-Seg-Head-3-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/MRN-7.1.25-Tue-Seg-Head-3-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/MRN-7.1.25-Tue-Seg-Head-3-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/MRN-7.1.25-Tue-Seg-Head-3-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/MRN-7.1.25-Tue-Seg-Head-3-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/MRN-7.1.25-Tue-Seg-Head-3.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: Democrats are pulling out all the stops to thwart President Trump’s sweeping legislative agenda, which is slowly pushing its way through the two chambers despite some Republicans joining the opposition.
The Senate held a so-called vote-a-rama stretching past 21 hours as of early Tuesday morning, with Democrats forcing votes on amendments to the bill as a way of stalling – but also forcing Republicans to go on the record regarding topics like Medicaid funding and tax cuts for the wealthy, two issues on which Democrats believe Republicans are out of touch.
A few months ago, the idea of passing such a contentious piece of legislation through Congress seemed unlikely, given Republicans’ slim majority in both chambers and the competing interests within the party. Typically, in these situations, the president would push for their agenda to be broken up into smaller pieces and voted on piecemeal, but Trump has been adamant from the start that everything be included in one bill. 
Polling shows that the Big, Beautiful Bill is not all that popular with Americans — Pew has it with a net favorable rating of minus 20, Fox has it at minus 21, and Quinnipiac has it at minus 26. The White House says it is confident that once it passes and folks see the extra money in their paychecks, they’ll quickly change their tune.

MRN 7.1.25 Thumbnail_V1

Morning Brief: Trump Sues Los Angeles, Battles Harvard, And Pushes Big Beautiful Bill

Donald Trump

Economy

Harvard University

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Jerome Powell

Lawsuit

Los Angeles

Media

Morning Wire

A federal judge in Tennessee ordered suspected human smuggler and illegal alien Kilmar Abrego Garcia to stay in prison while his case continues to play out in court.
Federal Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.tnmd.104622/gov.uscourts.tnmd.104622.67.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ordered</a> Monday that Abrego Garcia remain in the custody of U.S. Marshals after his lawyers expressed fear that he may be deported before his criminal case concludes. She previously ruled that he should be released from custody while his trial plays out, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/judge-orders-release-of-maryland-man-but-the-illegal-alien-could-be-deported-again">claiming</a> the Justice Department failed to demonstrate justification for his remaining in custody.
“Abrego shall therefore remain in the custody of the United States Marshal pending further order. He shall, to the extent practicable, be held separately from persons awaiting or serving sentences or being held in custody pending appeal and he shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity for private consultation with defense counsel,” Holmes wrote Monday.
Abrego Garcia’s legal team moved to keep him detained after a Justice Department official <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kilmar-abrego-garcia-will-be-deported-to-third-country-prosecutors-say?author=Spencer+Lindquist&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Kilmar+Abrego+Garcia+Will+Be+Deported+To+‘Third+Country%2C’+Prosecutors+Say">indicated</a> that the suspected human smuggler would be taken into ICE custody and removal proceedings begun if he was released by U.S. Marshals.
The illegal alien, who has been incorrectly dubbed a “Maryland man” by the legacy media, faces 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for one count of conspiracy to transport aliens and up to 10 years in prison for each illegal smuggled across the country if found guilty on another count of unlawful transportation of illegal aliens. He was returned to the United States last week after being deported to El Salvador due to suspected ties to MS-13.
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Earlier this month, the Justice Department <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-why-the-trump-admin-says-it-would-be-dangerous-to-release-kilmar-abrego-garcia">argued</a> in Nashville that Abrego Garcia should be detained because he was a flight risk and would endanger the community based on testimony and evidence that he had endangered children through his alleged participation in a smuggling ring, ties to violent gangs, and the multiple complaints from his wife about domestic violence.
The Department of Homeland Security has remained firm in its position that Abrego Garcia will not go free, issuing a swift response to the judge who ordered his release. Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kilmar-abrego-garcia-will-be-deported-to-third-country-prosecutors-say">asserted</a> last week that “Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a dangerous criminal illegal alien” who “will never go free on American soil.”

Nationwide Protests Against Trump Administration

Suspected Human Smuggler Kilmar Abrego Garcia Will Stay Behind Bars, Judge Says

Courts

Human Trafficking

Illegal Immigation

Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Tennessee

The Trump administration sued the city of Los Angeles on Monday, accusing the city of violating the Constitution with “sanctuary city” policies that impede federal immigration enforcement.
The Justice Department said in a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1406366/dl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> that the city’s policy prohibiting any city resources from being used for federal immigration actions violates the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution. The DOJ argued that the city’s policies contributed to the anti-ICE riots that rocked Los Angeles County earlier this month as law enforcement officers were attacked and vehicles were burned.
“Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said. “Jurisdictions like Los Angeles that flout federal law by prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens are undermining law enforcement at every level – it ends under President Trump.”
Shortly after Trump was elected in November, the Los Angeles City Council voted to officially designate itself as a sanctuary city. These policies prevent the city from working with or sharing information with federal immigration authorities.
“The Supremacy Clause prohibits the City of Los Angeles and its officials from singling out the Federal Government for adverse treatment — as the challenged law and policies do — thereby discriminating against the Federal Government,” the lawsuit says. “Accordingly, the law and policies challenged here are invalid and should be enjoined.”
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The suit names Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, the Los Angeles City Council, and Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson.
Dozens of people were federally or locally <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-are-coming-for-you-feds-reveal-more-charges-against-anti-ice-rioters?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=‘We+Are+Coming+For+You’%3A+Feds+Reveal+More+Charges+Against+Anti-ICE+Rioters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">charged</a> earlier this month after riots broke out in response to ICE conducting arrests in Los Angeles County. President Donald Trump sent in the Marines and the National Guard to protect federal personnel and property in response to the riots.
“Today’s lawsuit holds the City of Los Angeles accountable for deliberately obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration law,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “The United States Constitution’s Supremacy Clause prohibits the City from picking and choosing which federal laws will be enforced and which will not. By assisting removable aliens in evading federal law enforcement, the City’s unlawful and discriminatory ordinance has contributed to a lawless and unsafe environment that this lawsuit will help end.”

Protesters continue to clash with the Los Angeles Police Department in downtown Los Angeles due to the immigration raids in L.A.

Trump Admin Hits Los Angeles With Lawsuit After Violent Anti-ICE Riots

Illegal Immigration

Karen Bass

Sanctuary Cities

Trump Administration

The Department of Justice is suing the state of Minnesota over a law providing in-state tuition for illegal aliens.
“No state can be allowed to treat Americans like second-class citizens in their own country by offering financial benefits to illegal aliens,” Attorney General Pam Bondi <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-complaint-challenging-minnesota-laws-providing-state-tuition">said</a> in a press release.
The lawsuit targets the Minnesota Dream Act, which <a href="https://ohe.mn.gov/mn-dream-act">allows</a> &#8220;undocumented students&#8221; to apply for in-state tuition and state financial aid. The law was passed in 2013.
The DOJ said the law contradicts federal law prohibiting &#8220;postsecondary education benefits to aliens that are not offered to U.S. citizens.&#8221;
The Minnesota laws allow illegal aliens to apply for in-state and free tuition.
&#8220;These laws blatantly conflict with federal law and thus are unconstitutional under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution,&#8221; the department said.
The suit also names Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, and the Minnesota Office of Higher Education.
&#8220;The Department of Justice just won on this exact issue in Texas, and we look forward to taking this fight to Minnesota in order to protect the rights of American citizens first,&#8221; Bondi said.
Texas ended its in-state tuition programs for illegal aliens hours after the DOJ filed a lawsuit, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-ends-benefit-program-for-illegal-immigrants-after-justice-department-suit">reported</a>.
&#8220;Ending this discriminatory and un-American provision is a major victory for Texas,&#8221; Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said at the time.
A Texas judge granted a permanent injunction against the law.
&#8220;Other states should take note that we will continue filing affirmative litigation to remedy unconstitutional state laws that discriminate against American citizens,&#8221; Bondi <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-texas-reach-agreement-end-state-tuition-illegal-aliens?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery">said</a> at the time.
In March, President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/protecting-american-communities-from-criminal-aliens/?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery">signed</a> an executive order directing Bondi to identify and take appropriate actions to stop the enforcement of State and local laws, regulations, policies, and practices favoring aliens over any groups of American citizens that are unlawful, preempted by Federal law, or otherwise unenforceable, including State laws that provide in-State higher education tuition to aliens but not to out-of-State American citizens.&#8221;

Attorney General Pam Bondi Testifies In Senate Hearing

Trump DOJ Sues Blue State Over Benefit Program For Illegals

Minnesota

The Justice Department announced more charges against suspects accused of taking part in the violent anti-ICE riots that rocked parts of California last week.
U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli announced that federal officials had charged three more individuals over violent anti-immigration enforcement riots that broke out in Los Angeles County. Essayli was joined at a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeBqQSzmSLU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press conference</a> by Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who told rioters that “we are coming for you” and that law enforcement would track them down.
“We have zero tolerance for violence. As the district attorney said, you have an absolute right to peacefully protest, you have no right to destroy property or to engage in acts of violence, especially at our law enforcement officers,” Essayli said, noting that the Justice Department had charged more than 20 individuals for engaging in violence.
One of those charged was Adam Charles Palermo, who Essayli said “was caught on video participating in the attack, his social media account contained a collage of photographs and videos depicting a man holding flying debris, a California Highway patrol car on fire, and various other damage to California Highway Patrol cars.”
Essayli said that Palermo posted a caption on a post about the riot that of all the “protests I&#8217;ve been involved in, which is well over 100 now, I&#8217;m most proud of what I did today.”
Palermo, charged with attempted arson of a vehicle used in interstate or foreign commerce, faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 20 years behind bars.
Another suspect charged by the Justice Department was Angus Johnson, who Essayli said spit on a California National Guardsman.
“Johnson then spit on other federal police officers present who were trying to keep the peace,” Essayli said. “As our president said, if you spit, we hit, and we will hit you with a felony.”
If convicted, Johnson could face up to eight years in prison.
The press conference comes after Essayli <a href="https://x.com/USAttyEssayli/status/1933158095833964798" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> last Friday that Alejandro Theodoro Orellana was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit civil disorder. Essayli alleged that Orellana distributed face shields to those taking part in the violence.

US-POLITICS-IMMIGRATION

‘We Are Coming For You’: Feds Reveal More Charges Against Anti-ICE Rioters

The Justice Department confirmed Monday that the United States Naval Academy would no longer consider race in admissions, according to a court document. 
In a joint <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1403766/dl?inline=&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filing</a> with Students for Fair Admission, the Trump administration asked a federal appeals court to dismiss a lawsuit against the academy over a policy that allowed it to consider race during the admissions process. Students for Fair Admission, which sued the academy in October 2023, agreed that the suit was no longer needed due to policy changes implemented by the Trump administration. 
“This Department is committed to ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity throughout the federal government,” <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-addresses-racial-discrimination-lawsuit-challenging-race-based-admissions">said</a> Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “We are proud to partner with the Department of Defense to permanently end race-based admissions at the United States Naval Academy and ensure that admission to this prestigious institution is based exclusively on merit.”
The filing states that the lawsuit is now moot due to the policy change and asks that the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit dismiss a lower court&#8217;s ruling that kept race-based admissions in place. The policy allowed the academy to “consider race or ethnicity as one of many nondeterminative factors” for admission. 
This policy ended after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on January 27 that said that no one within the military should be given any advantage based on gender or race. 
In compliance with that order, Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Admiral Yvette Davids issued a memo in February saying that “at no point during the admissions process (including qualification and acceptance) should race, ethnicity, or sex be a factor for admission.”
The joint filing said that considering race and ethnicity for admissions does not contribute to military cohesiveness, lethality, recruitment, or national security. 
“It is the military judgment of the Department of Defense that recruiting and promoting individuals based on merit alone, and not based on their immutable characteristics, improves unit cohesion and performance,” the joint filing said. “The Department of Defense has now determined that neither the recruitment and retention of talented officers nor the legitimacy of the U.S. military are positively affected by the service academies’ consideration of race in admissions.”
Students for Fair Admission was the organization behind the landmark case where the Supreme Court ruled that affirmative action in higher education was unconstitutional and racially discriminatory.

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