In one moment, embattled Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was touting polls that reflected poorly on President Donald Trump. In another, he was dismissing a survey that showed a grim approval rating for himself.
The inconsistent commentary on the significance of bad poll numbers, first <a href="https://x.com/frankthorp/status/1917304878327816344" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highlighted</a> on X by NBC&#8217;s Frank Thorp V, happened Tuesday as Schumer and other Senate Democrats held a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-bVrqfslqI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press conference</a> to highlight &#8220;100 days of chaos&#8221; during Trump&#8217;s second term.
In his introductory remarks, Schumer said, &#8220;The polls this week show Trump has the lowest 100-day approval rating since they started polling 80 years ago. The lowest! Even worse, 72% of Americans think it&#8217;s likely that Trump&#8217;s handling of the economy will walk us directly into a recession.&#8221;
Less than 20 minutes later, during the same event, CNN&#8217;s Manu Raju <a href="https://x.com/mkraju/status/1917306463145415149" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> Schumer about his own dismal approval ratings.
&#8220;There&#8217;s a poll out today that has your approval ratings lower than any other congressional leader at 17%. Are you concerned that you may be a liability for your party?&#8221; Raju asked.
&#8220;Polls come and go,&#8221; Schumer replied. &#8220;Our party is united. We&#8217;re on our front foot. We&#8217;re stepping forward, going after Trump and having real success.&#8221;
Schumer has faced a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/embattled-schumer-crowns-himself-the-best-leader-for-the-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crisis</a> of confidence in his leadership among some Democrats ever since he refused to vote in favor of blocking a GOP stopgap bill to avert a partial government shutdown earlier this year.
The New York Democrat <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh6DQMjKuDk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> CNN over the weekend that he was &#8220;staying put&#8221; after Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), the second-ranked Democrat in the Senate, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/no-2-senate-democrat-dick-durbin-to-retire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> last week, &#8220;In my heart, I know it’s time to pass the torch,&#8221; revealing that he would not seek re-election in 2026.
“I’m fighting the fight every day, as is our caucus, in a united and successful way, as you have seen by your poll and other polls,” Schumer <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/schumer-wont-rule-out-prioritizing-another-trump-impeachment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “We’re showing America how bad Trump is, and showing that Republicans who embrace Trump do so at their peril.”
Just before he reached the 100-day milestone of his second term, Trump also disregarded the polls in a post to his social media platform on Monday.
&#8220;The Polls from the Fake News are, like the News itself, FAKE! We are doing GREAT, better than ever before,&#8221; he <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114419185611217033" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Truth Social.

Minority Leader, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Schumer’s Poll Dance: Pounces On Trump’s Low Numbers, Ignores His Own Dismal Ratings

Chuck Schumer

Congress

Democrats

Donald Trump

Politics

Polls

U.S. Senate

On Sunday, embattled Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) would not rule out prioritizing another impeachment effort against President Donald Trump if Democrats take back power in Congress after the 2026 midterm elections.
CNN anchor Dana Bash pressed Schumer on the question during an interview on &#8220;State of the Union,&#8221; noting how Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) said he &#8220;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/25/politics/jon-ossoff-trump-impeachment/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strongly</a>&#8221; agreed that Trump needs to be impeached.
&#8220;Your colleague from Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff told voters at a town hall that he &#8216;strongly&#8217; agrees that President Trump should be impeached. Do you agree with him? Would that be a priority if Democrats were to take back Congress?&#8221; Bash asked.
&#8220;Well, look, right now, President Trump is violating rule of law in every way,&#8221; Schumer claimed. &#8220;We&#8217;re fighting him every single day in every way. And our goal is to show the American people over and over again, whether it&#8217;s the economy, whether it&#8217;s tariffs, whether it&#8217;s Russia and overseas, and whether it&#8217;s rule of law, how bad he is. And two years is too far away to predict. Our job is day to day to day to show who Trump is, what he is doing. And it&#8217;s having an effect.&#8221;
Bash cut in as Schumer started talking about polls, &#8220;But you&#8217;re not ruling out &#8230; You&#8217;re not saying no?&#8221;
Schumer would not take a stance either way. &#8220;Look, it&#8217;s too far away to even judge,&#8221; he said.
Trump was impeached twice during his first term by the House, which was then controlled by the Democrats. One effort dealt with Ukraine, and the other with January 6. Both bids ended in acquittal by a GOP-led Senate.
Schumer, who is facing a crisis of confidence in his leadership after he refused to obstruct a GOP stopgap bill to avert a partial government shutdown earlier this year, insisted that he is staying put and sent a warning to Republicans.
&#8220;I&#8217;m fighting the fight every day, as is our caucus, in a united and successful way, as you have seen by your poll and other polls,&#8221; Schumer said. &#8220;We&#8217;re showing America how bad Trump is, and showing that Republicans who embrace Trump do so at their peril.&#8221;

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y

Schumer Won’t Rule Out Prioritizing Another Trump Impeachment

Impeachment

U.S.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), who rose up the ranks to become the second-ranked Democrat in the Senate during his more than four decades in Congress, announced on Wednesday that he will not seek re-election in 2026.
His move sets the stage for a potentially fierce primary fight among Democrats in a deep-blue state.
&#8220;The decision of whether to run for re-election has not been easy,&#8221; Durbin said in a video. &#8220;I truly love the job of being a United States Senator. But in my heart, I know it’s time to pass the torch. So, I am announcing today that I will not be seeking re-election at the end of my term.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I have given more than half of my life to House and Senate Congressional service, and I’ve always tried to stand up to power on behalf of the people of Illinois and our country.
I am proud of what I have achieved and hope my record will speak for itself. <a href="https://t.co/oiY49IQCUF">pic.twitter.com/oiY49IQCUF</a>
&mdash; Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorDurbin/status/1915076692030169535?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Illinois voters elected Durbin to the House in 1982 and the Senate in 1996. Durbin served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and helped to confirm 235 judges, including Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. He became the second-ranking Democrat whip in 2005.
Durbin, 80, is the fourth Democrat in the upper chamber to rule out a re-election campaign in 2026. The others are Sens. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/michigan-dem-senator-gary-peters-wont-run-for-re-election" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gary Peters</a> (D-MI), <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democratic-sen-jeanne-shaheen-wont-run-in-2026-opening-up-key-seat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeanne Shaheen</a> (D-NH), and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/another-dem-senator-announces-she-wont-run-for-re-election-in-2026" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tina Smith</a> (D-MN).
A number of Democrats are expected to announce campaigns for Durbin&#8217;s seat, including Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL), and Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL).
The GOP could also compete, but it will likely be a tough race for any Republican who decides to run. When Durbin secured his fifth term in 2020, he <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/results-illinois-senate.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defeated</a> Republican candidate Mark Curran by more than 15 percentage points.
Currently, Republicans have a 53-seat <a href="https://www.senate.gov/history/partydiv.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">majority</a> in the Senate. There are also 45 Democrats and two independents who caucus with them.
Durbin&#8217;s office said he is the longest-serving whip for either party. His impending retirement also paves the way to a future contest for the role, which is used to <a href="https://www.senate.gov/about/parties-leadership/party-whips.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rally</a> members and secure votes.
Durbin’s career has not been without controversy, as reported by The Daily Wire.
One story covered how Durbin <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dick-durbin-apologizes-to-tim-scott-after-calling-his-police-reform-bill-token" target="_blank" rel="noopener">apologized</a> to Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), the sole black Republican in the Senate, for referring to his police reform legislation as a &#8220;token&#8221; solution. Another focused on Durbin <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dick-durbin-attacks-gop-governors-over-transporting-migrants-to-democrat-cities-broken-every-basic-standard-of-decency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accusing</a> Republican governors of violating “every basic standard of decency” by transporting migrants to sanctuary cities.
Mike Davis, who helped oversee the vetting of judicial appointments as a GOP Senate staffer and now runs the conservative Article III Project, was among those who responded to Durbin&#8217;s announcement.
&#8220;Dick Durbin is, by far, the smartest and most effective Democrat senator,&#8221; Davis <a href="https://x.com/mrddmia/status/1915073436784759273" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. &#8220;He is a political savage, who comes across as Midwest reasonable. Big loss for Senate Democrats, with unhinged partisan Sheldon Whitehouse taking over Senate Judiciary Democrats.&#8221;
Former President Barack Obama, who served as a U.S. senator from Illinois alongside Durbin before winning the White House, lauded his former colleague.
&#8220;As an Illinois voter, I couldn’t be prouder that our senator for the last 28 years has been one of the finest in the country. Dick Durbin has always fought the good fight on behalf of working families, and his integrity shines through in everything he does,&#8221; Obama <a href="https://x.com/BarackObama/status/1915080417876517007">said</a> on X.
&#8220;It’s also true that I would not have been a United States Senator – and certainly would not have been President – had it not been for Dick’s support,&#8221; Obama added. &#8220;He has been a great and loyal friend, and Michelle and I wish him and Loretta all the best in their next chapter.&#8221;

Senator Dick Durbin

No. 2 Senate Democrat Dick Durbin To Retire

Dick Durbin

Election

Illinois

President Trump’s signal policy — and the one that is working the best for him — is immigration.
Polling shows that President Trump&#8217;s immigration policy is highly popular. It&#8217;s not just because Americans are sick and tired of the open borders policy of the Biden administration. It&#8217;s also because Democrats continue to take the worst possible tack when it comes to this sort of stuff.
The tack they should be taking on immigration right now is that President Trump is right to close the border, that he is correct to unleash ICE, to go find criminal illegal immigrants and deport them — but we need to obey the law.
That would be the intelligent approach to this particular issue. But Democrats have decided that the smart approach is to shove their heads directly up their own a**es. What that means is that they are instead going out of their way to praise MS-13 members and suggest that President Trump is wrong to try and deport all of those people.
This led to the awkward situation of absolute dolt Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland — who has the IQ of a turnip — going down to El Salvador to meet with a man named Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who is a suspected MS-13 member and whose wife accused him of allegedly beating her.
Garcia was deported to El Salvador, but the Trump DOJ said it was a processing issue mistake. Thus, Democrats should have said, “Listen, everyone deserves due process. If you are here on a green card, you deserve whatever the due process is for a green card holder. If you are here as an illegal immigrant, you deserve whatever due process is available to you under the law. Due process shouldn&#8217;t be violated; it&#8217;s sacrosanct in the United States.”
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2183-pope-francis-dead-what-comes-next-member-exclusive?elementPosition=2&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
That&#8217;s the argument they should have made. Instead, because they have an internal emotional necessity to valorize people who are “victims” of the Trump administration, they&#8217;ve decided to treat people who are actually quite bad with Sympathy. This led to the awkward spectacle of Chris Van Hollen being asked if the person he visited down in El Salvador and had drinks with was a member of MS-13.
And he couldn’t answer the question.
“What Donald Trump is trying to do here is change the subject,” Van Hollen <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/tv/van-hollen-deflects-twice-after-cnns-dana-bash-asks-point-blank-if-abrego-garcia-is-a-member-of-ms-13/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told CNN’s Dana Bash</a>. “The subject at hand is that he and his administration are defying a court order to give Abrego Garcia his due process rights. They are trying to litigate on social media what they should be doing in the courts. They need to put up or shut up in the courts.”
“But since you were the one person to have met with him and since this is a thing, you say, on social media, it&#8217;s what we hear from Donald Trump and Republicans every day all day long, you didn&#8217;t ask him?” Bash asked.
“I didn&#8217;t ask him that because I know what his answer is,” Van Hollen answered. “What he told me was he was sad and traumatized that he was being imprisoned because he has committed no crimes.”
“Sad and traumatized,” says the likely MS-13 member. You can see Van Hollen trying to backtrack and turn it into a due process argument, which is a better argument for Democrats. 
The Supreme Court, over the course of the last 72 hours, handed out <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/19/politics/supreme-court-alien-enemies-act-order/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an order</a> for the Trump administration to respond to an emergency appeal and stated, “The government is directed not to remove any members of the putative class detainees from the United States until further order of this Court.”
Those would be the people being detained under the so-called Alien Enemies Act, which is an 18th-century law designed to allow the expeditious removal of people who are declared wartime enemies by the executive branch of the government.
There was <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a1007_22p3.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a dissent</a> by Justices Alito and Justice Thomas, saying:
<blockquote>Shortly after midnight yesterday, the Court hastily and prematurely granted unprecedented emergency relief. &#8230; Although the order does not define the “putative class,” it appears the Court means all members of the class that the habeas petitioners sought to have certified, namely “all non-citizens in custody in the Northern District of Texas who were, are, or would be subject to the March 2025 Presidential Proclamation entitled “Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of the United States by Tren de Aragua and/or its implementation.</blockquote>
Alito and Thomas criticized the Court for doing all this by saying that even though it&#8217;s not clear the court had jurisdiction, it&#8217;s questionable whether the applicants complied with their obligation to seek emergency injunctive relief in the district court, and that the Court of Appeals is already considering the issue of emergency relief.
They wrote:
<blockquote>The papers before us, while alleging that the applicants were in imminent danger of removal, provided little concrete support for that allegation. …In sum, literally in the middle of the night, the Court issued unprecedented and legally questionable relief without giving the lower courts a chance to rule, without hearing from the opposing party, within eight hours of receiving the application, with dubious factual support for its order, and without providing any explanation for its order. I refused to join the Court’s order because we had no good reason to think that, under the circumstances, issuing an order at midnight was necessary or appropriate. </blockquote>
I think what the rest of the Court would say is, “We wouldn&#8217;t think that was necessary or appropriate either, except for the fact that we&#8217;ve now had situations in which the Trump administration has allegedly ignored the orders of lower courts not to do a deportation and, instead, went ahead with the deportation.”
That&#8217;s the argument being made on the other side of the aisle.
One of the things that should become clear to Republicans at this point is that doing things in meticulous fashion is likely to lead to longer-lasting victories than doing them as one-offs and in quick fashion. That’s because, when it comes to morality, the Trump administration is not only correct, they are unbelievably correct.
Tom Homan, our bulldog border czar, slammed Van Hollen for his sympathy for MS-13 members, <a href="https://grabien.com/story?id=523850" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a>, “What shocks me is that he’s remained silent on the travesty that happened on our southern border. Many people die. Thousands of people die. I met with hundreds of angel moms and dads who buried their children that were murdered by an illegal alien. How many angel moms and dads has he met in the state of Maryland? That&#8217;s what concerns me.”
When it comes to the politics of immigration, Republicans are absolutely right.
But, in addition, if they practice the law correctly, they’ll have longer-lasting victories, because otherwise many of the things they are trying to do might get reversed on appeal, and that would be bad for the Trump administration.
I&#8217;m rooting for the Trump administration to do everything correctly so its policies work to their utmost.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen Meets With Wrongly Imprisoned Man Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia in El Salvador

Deportation, Due Process, And Democrat Delusions

Ben Shapiro

Due Process

El Salvador

Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Maryland

Opinion

Supreme Court

On Sunday, Trump border czar Tom Homan condemned Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) for making a taxpayer funded trip to El Salvador to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant who was deported from the United States last month.
Homan redirected a question from ABC&#8217;s &#8220;This Week&#8221; by anchor Jonathan Karl when pressed about Abrego Garcia, who has been imprisoned in El Salvador, his home country. Abrego Garcia&#8217;s legal team has been <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69777799/1/abrego-garcia-v-noem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fighting</a> the federal government in a high-profile court to secure his return to the United States. Van Hollen, who claims Abrego Garcia is a Maryland “constituent” who endured an &#8220;abduction and unlawful deportation,&#8221; met the man on Thursday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/RealTomHoman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RealTomHoman</a> : &quot;A U.S. senator traveled to El Salvador on taxpayers&#39; dime to meet with a MS-13 gang member &#8230; How many Angel Moms and Dads has he met in the state of Maryland?&quot; <a href="https://t.co/dkpuxWGIMn">pic.twitter.com/dkpuxWGIMn</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1913956139504480315?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Sen. Van Hollen is — obviously got a chance to meet with [Abrego Garcia], but he had to travel to El Salvador to get any information. Is (sic) that concern you at all? I mean, these are people sent by — I mean, in his case, sent by the United States, and not even a U.S. senator could get any information about his whereabouts, or the condition of his incarceration, without actually going down and making the trip to El Salvador himself?&#8221; Karl asked.
&#8220;Well, he obviously knew his whereabouts, because he went there to see him. But you know, what bothers me more than that is a U.S. senator traveled to El Salvador on taxpayer dime to meet with an MS-13 gang member, public safety threat, terrorist. I mean, in the meantime, the day before he traveled, an illegal alien was arrested for murder, was released to the streets rather than honoring an ICE detainer in his very own state,&#8221; Homan retorted.
The Trump administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/facilitate-not-effectuate-wh-responds-to-scotus-ruling-on-mistakenly-deported-salvadoran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accuses</a> Abrego Garcia of being a member of MS-13, which has been <a href="https://www.state.gov/designation-of-international-cartels/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">designated</a> as a foreign terror organization, and has released <a href="https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1396906/dl?inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">documents</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-senator-van-hollen-did-not-ask-deported-illegal-immigrant-ms-13" target="_blank" rel="noopener">photo</a> evidence to substantiate the affiliation. Abrego Garcia&#8217;s attorneys <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69777799/1/abrego-garcia-v-noem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deny</a> the claim.
On CNN, Van Hollen <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-senator-van-hollen-did-not-ask-deported-illegal-immigrant-ms-13" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dared</a> the Trump administration to bring up the gang affiliation claim in Abrego Garcia’s ongoing deportation case. The senator also <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1913954303418474622" target="_blank" rel="noopener">conceded</a> during an interview on &#8220;Fox News Sunday&#8221; that his trip to El Salvador was funded by taxpayer dollars.
Homan went on to criticize Van Hollen over the border crisis during President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration.
&#8220;What concerns me is Van Hollen never went to the border the last four years under Joe Biden, when he had a 600% increase in sex trafficking in women and children,&#8221; Homan said. &#8220;You have a record number of known inspected terrorists crossing that border. You had a quarter of a million Americans die from fentanyl overdose because of the open border. You had over 4,000 illegal aliens died making that journey, which is an historic record. What shocks me is he&#8217;s remained silent on the travesty that happened on the southern border. Many people died, thousands of people died. I met with hundreds of Angel moms and dads who buried their children that were murdered by illegal aliens. How many Angel moms and dads has he met in the state of Maryland? That&#8217;s what concerns me.&#8221;
Last week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-calls-surprise-briefing-with-patty-morin-whose-daughter-was-killed-by-illegal-alien?author=Virginia+Kruta&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=White+House+Calls+Surprise+Briefing+With+Patty+Morin%2C+Whose+Daughter+Was+Killed+By+Illegal+Alien" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> Van Hollen and other Democrats who have rallied in support of Abrego Garcia during a press briefing alongside <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-the-briefing-room-an-angel-mom-begs-white-house-media-to-tell-the-truth-about-illegal-crime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Patty Morin</a>, whose daughter, Rachel, 37, was raped and murdered in Maryland two years ago by another illegal immigrant from El Salvador.
“It’s appalling and sad that Senator Van Hollen and the Democrats applauding his trip to El Salvador today are incapable of having any shred of common sense or empathy for their own constituents and our citizens,” Leavitt said.

US Border Czar Tom Homan

Trump Border Czar Tears Into Dem Senator Van Hollen For El Salvador Trip

Border Crisis

Illegal Immigation

Tom Homan

Trump Administration

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said on Sunday he did not bother to press Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant deported from the United States and sent to prison in his home country of El Salvador, to answer whether he is or has ever been a member of MS-13 when the two met last week.
The Democrat, who contends that Abrego Garcia is a “constituent” of Maryland who was unlawfully deported, told CNN&#8217;s Dana Bash he did not ask &#8220;because I know what his answer is: what he told me was he was sad and traumatized that he was being in prison because he has committed no crimes, and that goes to the heart of this issue because he&#8217;s being denied his due process rights.&#8221;
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BASH: “Can you say with absolute certainty that he is not, nor has he ever been a member of the MS-13 gang, and did you ask him point blank?”
VAN HOLLEN: “What Donald Trump is trying to do here is change the subject. The subject at hand is that he and his administration are… <a href="https://t.co/QlXZZANLXf">pic.twitter.com/QlXZZANLXf</a>
&mdash; State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/1913945462542942658?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old living in Maryland, was detained and deported to El Salvador last month <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-blasts-legacy-media-for-focusing-on-deported-salvadoran-ignoring-angel-mom-patty-morin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">despite</a> a 2019 court order prohibiting him from being sent back to the country. His legal team has been <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69777799/1/abrego-garcia-v-noem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fighting</a> the federal government in a high-profile court to secure his return to the United States.
The Trump administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/facilitate-not-effectuate-wh-responds-to-scotus-ruling-on-mistakenly-deported-salvadoran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accuses</a> Abrego Garcia of being a member of MS-13, which has been <a href="https://www.state.gov/designation-of-international-cartels/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">designated</a> as a foreign terror organization, and has released <a href="https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1396906/dl?inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">documents</a> to substantiate the affiliation. Among them was a 2019 interview sheet in which police wrote that a confidential informant identified Abrego Garcia as a member of the gang. Abrego Garcia&#8217;s attorneys <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69777799/1/abrego-garcia-v-noem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deny</a> the claim.
After Van Hollen met with Abrego Garcia on Thursday, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele posted photos of the encounter on X. One photo <a href="https://x.com/nayibbukele/status/1913028548001923259" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showed</a> there were tattoos on the knuckles of Abrego Garcia&#8217;s left hand, a possible sign of gang membership.
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the “death camps” &amp; “torture”, now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!🍹 <a href="https://t.co/r6VWc6Fjtn">pic.twitter.com/r6VWc6Fjtn</a>
&mdash; Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) <a href="https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1913028548001923259?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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President Donald Trump then posted on social media a photo of himself holding a photo of a hand. It was titled &#8220;Kilmar Abrego Garcia MS-13 Tattoo&#8221; and showed a close-up picture of a hand with a cannabis leaf, smiley face, cross, and skull tattooed across four knuckles. In his post, Trump alluded to the 2019 immigration case and a 2021 restraining order that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/deported-illegal-immigrant-who-dems-have-championed-accused-of-beating-wife-court-docs?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News+and+Commentary&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Deported+Illegal+Immigrant+Who+Dems+Have+Championed+Accused+Of+Beating+Wife%3A++Court+Docs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shows</a> Abrego Garcia was accused of beating his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, who now says they worked through the incident.
&#8220;This is the hand of the man that the Democrats feel should be brought back to the United States, because he is such &#8216;a fine and innocent person.&#8217; They said he is not a member of MS-13, even though he’s got MS-13 tattooed onto his knuckles, and two Highly Respected Courts found that he was a member of MS-13, beat up his wife, etc. I was elected to take bad people out of the United States, among other things. I must be allowed to do my job. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!&#8221;
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This is the hand of the man that the Democrats feel should be brought back to the United States, because he is such “a fine and innocent person.” They said he is not a member of MS-13, even though he’s got MS-13 tattooed onto his knuckles, and two Highly Respected Courts found… <a href="https://t.co/31sNr2k1SK">pic.twitter.com/31sNr2k1SK</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1913358867708493982?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
Van Hollen insisted that the president is trying to distract people and dared the Trump administration to bring up the gang affiliation claim in Abrego Garcia&#8217;s ongoing deportation case.
&#8220;He and his administration are defying a court order to give Abrego Garcia his due process rights. They are trying to litigate on social media what they should be doing in the courts they need to put up or shut up in the courts,&#8221; Van Hollen said. &#8220;Let me tell you, I decided to write this down so I could be absolutely accurate as to what federal district Court Judge Zennis said about these allegations by the Trump administration, quote, &#8216;No evidence linking Abrego Garcia to MS-13 or any terrorist activity has been presented to the court.&#8217; That&#8217;s where to litigate this. It&#8217;s been litigated in many other places, so I&#8217;m not going to get into the details because the whole purpose of our court system is for them to adjudicate these things, not for Donald Trump to go off on social media.&#8221;

Sen. Chris Van Hollen

Dem Senator Says He Did Not Ask Deported Illegal Immigrant About MS-13

Illegal Immigration

MS-13 Gang

This is going to be my most controversial take of many months, but it&#8217;s urgent now, because there is a bipartisan group of senators with the backing of President Trump who want to end daylight saving time.
I don&#8217;t like this. I am a big supporter of daylight saving time and I&#8217;m not just saying that to be contrarian. I really like daylight saving time, and I think it is a mistake to end it.
When all the senators get together across both parties and they all agree on something, you know that thing is going to be terrible. In this case, what they want to do is lock the clock. Why? Because every person who&#8217;s never given a second thought to daylight saving time and has just scrolled through Twitter will say, “Actually, daylight saving time is really bad, because people die every year. Did you know that it actually increases deaths every year?”
To that I say, “Oh, really? How&#8217;s that?”
“Because I saw a tweet about it one time. It increases deaths because people have to wake up a little earlier. Plus, they have heart attacks,” they will say.
Well, there is a negligible uptick in deaths but that is a statistically dubious observation. What that argument ignores, however, are all of the benefits we get from daylight saving time. I guess the question you have to ask yourself, which really gets down to a difference between the Left and the Right, is “Why do we have daylight saving time in the first place?” Before we go and tear down Chesterton&#8217;s Fence, how about we ask, ”Why is that fence up in the first place?”
Most people will say, “Well, because of farming. It used to be when a lot of people were farmers, having that extra daylight was really helpful. But, you know, now most people don&#8217;t really farm, so it&#8217;s not a big deal.”
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mks-ep-1714-member-exclusive?elementPosition=4&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=The+Michael+Knowles+Show&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Michael Knowles Show</a></h3>
Okay then, what are the other benefits of daylight saving time? Daylight saving time extends daylight in the warmer months when you want to be outside playing around. You don&#8217;t need that extra daylight in the winter months when you really don&#8217;t want to be outside much anyway.
According to the Department of Energy, daylight saving time <a href="https://energyharbor.com/en/energy-resources/energy-savings-tips/daylight-saving-time-save-energy#:~:text=To%20be%20clear%2C%20the%20U.S.,to%20turn%20on%20the%20lights." target="_blank" rel="noopener">reduces energy usage</a> and energy costs, not by a ton, but by 0.5%. That’s pretty good when you consider all the energy of the United States. There is also evidence that daylight saving time actually reduces deaths, because it reduces car crashes. That&#8217;s from <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.85.1.92" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a study</a> back in 1995. It also saves property and might save people&#8217;s lives because daylight saving time reduces street crime, pretty significantly. Robberies, for instance, dropped 27% during the sunset hours during daylight saving time. That&#8217;s according to a more <a href="https://jenniferdoleac.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Doleac_Sanders_DST.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent study</a> from 2015.
Daylight saving time increases economic activity because you can go out, and you&#8217;re more inclined to go shopping. You&#8217;re more inclined to work a little bit. It increases economic activity both domestically and internationally, because other countries use daylight saving time too.
But here’s my most basic argument for daylight saving time: it&#8217;s a tradition. It&#8217;s a kind of fun tradition. It&#8217;s a tradition that recognizes, in a particularly pronounced way, the changing of the seasons, the movement of time, the variety of life. It&#8217;s kind of fun, and kooky. People will say, “Well, we shouldn&#8217;t have to change our clocks twice a year, what a hassle. It&#8217;s not efficient.” Life is about more than efficiency, my friends. Our modern, clinical, robotic culture just wants to maximize efficiency in everything.
I am a conservative. I don&#8217;t want to maximize efficiency in everything. I like to enjoy fun, quirky little things. I enjoy our culture, and that&#8217;s a fun little cultural habit. It actually does produce economic and health benefits as well, and it kind of makes sense. And we&#8217;ve forgotten why we had daylight saving time in the first place. And like so many levelers and radicals, when we forget why a tradition exists, we just want to get rid of it. We don&#8217;t ask ourselves, “Why did that tradition arise in the first place? Why, if we maintain that tradition, have we ever tried to get rid of the tradition? How has it worked out?”
It seems like there&#8217;s a mass psychosis that&#8217;s going on that convinces everyone that we&#8217;ve been wrong for so many decades now.
I&#8217;m pro daylight saving time and you should be too. Call your congressman.

Spain Moves The Clock Forward One Hour To Adapt To Daylight Saving Time

Should We End Daylight Saving Time?

Clocks

Crime

Daylight Saving Time

Farmers

Light

Michael Knowles

Schools

After multiple attempts, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) met Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant deported from the United States and sent to a mega-prison in El Salvador.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele shared photos on Thursday evening of Van Hollen, Abrego Garcia, and one other individual meeting and having a conversation over drinks. He did so in a post on X mocking the idea that Abrego Garcia was perhaps dead or being kept in inhumane conditions.
&#8220;Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the &#8216;death camps&#8217; &amp; &#8216;torture&#8217;, now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!&#8221; Bukele said.
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the “death camps” &amp; “torture”, now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!🍹 <a href="https://t.co/r6VWc6Fjtn">pic.twitter.com/r6VWc6Fjtn</a>
&mdash; Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) <a href="https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1913028548001923259?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Van Hollen posted another photo of himself with Abrego Garcia, albeit with no margaritas.
&#8220;I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return,&#8221; Van Hollen said.
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I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return. <a href="https://t.co/U9y2gZpxCb">pic.twitter.com/U9y2gZpxCb</a>
&mdash; Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisVanHollen/status/1913034619710034094?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Van Hollen travelled to El Salvador earlier this week, calling Abrego Garcia a &#8220;constituent&#8221; who endured an &#8220;abduction and unlawful deportation.&#8221;
The senator <a href="https://x.com/nypost/status/1912661294475247839" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> reporters on Wednesday that El Salvador&#8217;s government rejected his request to check on Abrego Garcia and, earlier on Thursday, was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-senator-driving-el-salvador-prison-stopped-soldiers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blocked</a> by soldiers in an attempt to visit the prisoner at the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). Van Hollen later <a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/427b4L23yiA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he intended to &#8220;keep at this&#8221; until he could make sure Abrego Garcia had his &#8220;rights to due process.&#8221;
Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old man from El Salvador who entered the United States unlawfully, but got permission from a judge to stay in 2019, had been living in Maryland when he was detained and deported last month as the Trump administration cracks down on illegal immigration.
This particular deportation has become the subject of a high-profile legal fight, which remains ongoing after the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/scotus-rules-partially-against-trump-in-deported-migrant-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a ruling last week that said the government must “facilitate,” but not necessarily “effectuate,” Abrego Garcia&#8217;s return.
Although the government said in court the deportation was an &#8220;administrative error,&#8221; White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller later <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stephen-miller-blames-doj-saboteur-for-claiming-salvadoran-migrant-mistakenly-deported" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dismissed</a> the claim, pinning it on a “saboteur” within the Justice Department.
The Trump administration also has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/facilitate-not-effectuate-wh-responds-to-scotus-ruling-on-mistakenly-deported-salvadoran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accused</a> Abrego Garcia of being a member of MS-13, which has been designated as a foreign terror organization. Abrego Garcia&#8217;s attorneys have <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kilmar-abrego-garcias-court-trump-deportation-el-salvador-president/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> denied that their client is part of the gang, but the government has publicly released <a href="https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1396906/dl?inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">documents</a> to substantiate the affiliation.
In an order on Thursday refusing to stop a judge&#8217;s demand for Trump administration officials to testify on whether they are making an effort to &#8220;facilitate&#8221; getting Garcia back, a U.S. appeals court panel <a href="https://x.com/danielchaitin7/status/1912974094922121592" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, &#8220;The government asserts that Abrego Garcia is a terrorist and a member of MS-13. Perhaps, but perhaps not. Regardless, he is still entitled to due process.&#8221;
More revelations have been made concerning Abrego Garcia as his case drew national attention. A newly uncovered restraining order <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/deported-illegal-immigrant-who-dems-have-championed-accused-of-beating-wife-court-docs?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News+and+Commentary&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Deported+Illegal+Immigrant+Who+Dems+Have+Championed+Accused+Of+Beating+Wife%3A++Court+Docs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shows</a> Abrego Garcia was accused of beating his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, who now says they worked through the incident.
During a White House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-officials-bukele-tear-into-cnn-reporter-who-asked-if-illegal-alien-will-be-returned-to-u-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meeting</a> with President Donald Trump, Bukele declared that he would not send Garcia back to the United States. “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?” Bukele said, adding, “I don’t have the power to return him.”
Shortly after revealing that Van Hollen and Abrego Garcia had met, Bukele posted again on X, <a href="https://x.com/nayibbukele/status/1913035243918864742" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a>, &#8220;Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody.&#8221;

US Senator Chris Van Hollen

‘Sipping Margaritas’: Dem Senator Finally Meets Deported Illegal Immigrant In El Salvador

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said on Thursday that soldiers blocked his attempt to visit an illegal immigrant deported from the United States who is being held at a mega prison in El Salvador.
After <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/denied-el-salvador-wont-allow-dem-senator-to-see-man-deported-by-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcing</a> on Wednesday that El Salvador&#8217;s government rejected his request to check on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Van Hollen tried driving to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) to see the prisoner anyway. That did not work out, as Van Hollen explained in a video posted to X. He showed footage of himself and Chris Newman, the attorney for Abrego Garcia&#8217;s wife and mother, talking to soldiers at a military checkpoint.
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We were just denied entry into CECOT — the notorious prison in El Salvador where Mr. Abrego Garcia is being illegally held.
We were there for one simple reason: to check on his well-being, which his family and lawyers have not been allowed to do. We won’t stop fighting. <a href="https://t.co/yG2b7N6Nvn">pic.twitter.com/yG2b7N6Nvn</a>
&mdash; Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisVanHollen/status/1912911703823483150?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;These soldiers were ordered to prevent us from going any farther from this spot,&#8221; Van Hollen said in the video. &#8220;I understand we&#8217;re about 3 kilometers now from CECOT, and as you can see, they&#8217;re letting other cars go by, but they stopped us because they&#8217;re under orders not to allow us to proceed to check on the well-being of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.&#8221;
Will Carless, a USA Today national correspondent who said he was in the same convoy as Van Hollen, <a href="https://x.com/willcarless/status/1912903754741063984" target="_blank" rel="noopener">affirmed</a> the senator&#8217;s account.
Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old man from El Salvador who entered the United States unlawfully, but got permission from a judge to stay in 2019, had been living in Maryland when he was detained and deported last month as the Trump administration cracks down on illegal immigration.
This particular deportation has become the subject of a high-profile legal fight, which remains ongoing after the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/scotus-rules-partially-against-trump-in-deported-migrant-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a ruling last week that said the government must “facilitate,” but not necessarily “effectuate,” Abrego Garcia&#8217;s return.
Although the government said in court the deportation was an &#8220;administrative error,&#8221; White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller later <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stephen-miller-blames-doj-saboteur-for-claiming-salvadoran-migrant-mistakenly-deported" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dismissed</a> the claim, pinning it on a “saboteur” within the Justice Department.
The Trump administration also has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/facilitate-not-effectuate-wh-responds-to-scotus-ruling-on-mistakenly-deported-salvadoran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accused</a> Abrego Garcia of being a member of MS-13, which has been designated as a foreign terror organization. Abrego Garcia&#8217;s attorneys have <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kilmar-abrego-garcias-court-trump-deportation-el-salvador-president/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> denied that their client is part of the gang, but the government has publicly released <a href="https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1396906/dl?inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">documents</a> to substantiate the affiliation.
More revelations have been made concerning Abrego Garcia as his case drew national attention. A newly uncovered restraining order <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/deported-illegal-immigrant-who-dems-have-championed-accused-of-beating-wife-court-docs?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News+and+Commentary&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Deported+Illegal+Immigrant+Who+Dems+Have+Championed+Accused+Of+Beating+Wife%3A++Court+Docs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shows</a> Abrego Garcia was accused of beating his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, who now says they worked through the incident.
Van Hollen travelled to El Salvador earlier this week, calling Abrego Garcia a &#8220;constituent&#8221; who endured an &#8220;abduction and unlawful deportation,&#8221; and <a href="https://x.com/nypost/status/1912661294475247839" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> reporters on Wednesday that he met with El Salvador Vice President Félix Ulloa to discuss securing the man&#8217;s release.
During a White House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-officials-bukele-tear-into-cnn-reporter-who-asked-if-illegal-alien-will-be-returned-to-u-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meeting</a> with President Donald Trump, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele declared that he would not send Garcia back to the United States. “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?” Bukele said, adding, “I don’t have the power to return him.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-calls-surprise-briefing-with-patty-morin-whose-daughter-was-killed-by-illegal-alien?author=Virginia+Kruta&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=White+House+Calls+Surprise+Briefing+With+Patty+Morin%2C+Whose+Daughter+Was+Killed+By+Illegal+Alien" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> Van Hollen and other Democrats who have rallied in support of Abrego Garcia during press briefing on Wednesday alongside <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-the-briefing-room-an-angel-mom-begs-white-house-media-to-tell-the-truth-about-illegal-crime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Patty Morin</a>, whose daughter, Rachel, 37, was raped and murdered in Maryland two years ago by another illegal immigrant from El Salvador.
“It’s appalling and sad that Senator Van Hollen and the Democrats applauding his trip to El Salvador today are incapable of having any shred of common sense or empathy for their own constituents and our citizens,” Leavitt said.

Senator Chris Van Hollen

Dem Senator Tries Visiting Deported Illegal Immigrant In El Salvador Prison, Gets Blocked By Soldiers

World

On Wednesday evening, President Donald Trump circumvented an effort by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/schumer-intervenes-block-trumps-us-attorney-nominees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">block</a> one of his nominees for a key federal prosecutor role in New York.
Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114349929882626042" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> on Truth Social that he was appointing Jay Clayton to become interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, sidestepping the Senate confirmation process that Schumer sought to jam, at least for now.
&#8220;I am pleased to announce that Jay Clayton will serve as the Interim United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. During my First Term, Jay served with great distinction as the Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and earned the respect of everyone,&#8221; Trump said.
Trump noted that he first announced his intent to nominate Clayton for the Southern District of New York in mid-November and contended that his pick had received &#8220;wide, Bipartisan support.&#8221;
He added, &#8220;Now, after five months and, even though Jay was previously confirmed by the Senate on a Bipartisan basis, and has complied with ALL requests of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Schumer has announced that he is blocking all New York U.S. Attorney Nominees.&#8221;
Schumer said earlier on Wednesday that he intended to stop Clayton as well as Joseph Nocella Jr., a Long Island judge chosen for U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, using the &#8220;blue slip&#8221; tradition in which home-state senators can effectively block a nominee if they do not support the individual.
&#8220;Donald Trump has made clear he has no fidelity to the law and intends to use the Justice Department, the U.S. Attorney offices and law enforcement as weapons to go after his perceived enemies,&#8221; Schumer said in a <a href="https://www.democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/schumer-uses-blue-slip-to-block-trump-us-attorney-nominees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.
He added, &#8220;Such blatant and depraved political motivations are deeply corrosive to the rule of law and leaves me deeply skeptical of the [sic] Donald Trump’s intentions for these important positions. For that reason, I will not return the blue slip for the U.S. Attorney nominees for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.&#8221;
The Republican majority Senate Judiciary Committee has the power to disregard Schumer and proceed with the nominees in spite of his protest. However, Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/us/schumer-trump-new-york-prosecutors.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">indicated</a> to The New York Times that his panel would not break the &#8220;blue slip&#8221; tradition.
In his Wednesday post, Trump stated that his administration remains committed to securing full Senate confirmation for Clayton, advancing past his temporary U.S. attorney role, as with Ed Martin and Alina Habba, interim top federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., and New Jersey, respectively.
&#8220;The Southern District leads the Department of Justice’s oversight over our Financial Markets, and fights for the safety of Millions of New Yorkers and the over 60 Million people who visit New York annually,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;The Southern District needs strong leadership NOW, and I thank Jay for taking on this role while we continue to pursue his Senate confirmation.&#8221;

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Trump Outmaneuvers Schumer On Pick For Top Federal Prosecutor

New York

Presidential nomination

U.S. attorneys

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced on Wednesday that he intended to stop two of President Donald Trump&#8217;s nominees for U.S. attorney positions in New York.
The move hinges on the &#8220;blue slip&#8221; tradition in which home-state senators can effectively block a nominee if they do not support the individual.
&#8220;Donald Trump has made clear he has no fidelity to the law and intends to use the Justice Department, the U.S. Attorney offices and law enforcement as weapons to go after his perceived enemies,&#8221; Schumer said in a <a href="https://www.democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/schumer-uses-blue-slip-to-block-trump-us-attorney-nominees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.
He added, &#8220;Such blatant and depraved political motivations are deeply corrosive to the rule of law and leaves me deeply skeptical of the [sic] Donald Trump’s intentions for these important positions. For that reason, I will not return the blue slip for the U.S. Attorney nominees for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.&#8221;
The affected nominees are former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton, picked to become U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Joseph Nocella Jr., a Long Island judge chosen for U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
If Republicans on the Judiciary Committee choose to disregard Schumer, they could advance the nominees. However, Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) appears unwilling to depart from the norm.
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/us/schumer-trump-new-york-prosecutors.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Grassley affirming, &#8220;The answer is yes,&#8221; when asked about adhering to the blue slip tradition. &#8220;If they are from the state the nomination comes from.&#8221;
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), a member of the judiciary panel, told the news outlet that the blue slip tradition &#8220;serves a useful purpose even when in Democratic hands.&#8221; He added, &#8220;Obviously we value the ability to, appropriately, stop some nominees.&#8221;
Democrats have employed another tactic to stymie a different U.S. attorney nominee.
Earlier this month, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) <a href="https://www.schiff.senate.gov/news/press-releases/statement-sen-schiff-announces-hold-on-d-c-u-s-attorney-nominee-ed-martin/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a> that he would place a hold on the nomination of Ed Martin to be U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, a role he currently serves in an interim capacity.
A hold requires Senate majority leadership to schedule a floor vote for a nominee, bypassing the faster unanimous consent process.
Trump allies have sounded the alarm.
Responding to a post on X about Senate Democrats obstructing Trump&#8217;s picks for top prosecutor roles, his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., <a href="https://x.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1912490445818511451" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, &#8220;We can&#8217;t let the swamp block my father&#8217;s picks for US Attorney!!!&#8221;

Schumer Intervenes To Block Two Of Trump’s U.S. Attorney Nominees

Chuck Grassley

John Cornyn

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday &#8220;it&#8217;s mind-boggling&#8221; how far Democrats are going to defend accused illegal immigrant gang members over American citizens.
During the White House press briefing, a reporter asked Leavitt for a response to the &#8220;priorities&#8221; of Senate Democrats on the illegal immigration issue after noting how Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-senator-ultimatum-bring-back-deported-ms-13-suspect-or-ill-go-to-el-salvador" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> plans to travel to El Salvador later this week if Kilmar Abrego Garcia — an alleged MS-13 gang member who was detained last month in Maryland, deported, and sent to a prison in his home country of El Salvador — is not returned to the United States.
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.<a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a> on Democrats prioritizing criminal illegal alien criminals over American citizens: &quot;It&#39;s mind-boggling.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/MavhBwf6nd">pic.twitter.com/MavhBwf6nd</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1912199992590168533?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;It&#8217;s mind-boggling, the priorities of the modern-day Democratic Party. I think it&#8217;s atrocious that to have Democrats in Congress on Capitol Hill, who swear an oath to protect their constituents and to serve them in Washington, D.C., spending more time defending illegal immigrant gang members than their own constituents and law-abiding American citizens like Rachel Morin,&#8221; Leavitt said.
Morin, a 37-year-old Maryland mother of five, was found dead in August 2023 after she went out to exercise on a hiking trail. Earlier this week, Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez — who has been identified as an illegal immigrant from El Salvador — was <a href="https://people.com/man-convicted-killing-raping-md-mom-rachel-morin-11715380" target="_blank" rel="noopener">convicted</a> of raping and murdering Morin.
Leavitt said that she witnessed President Donald Trump &#8220;personally on the campaign trail, and I continue to see him in his role as president of the United States, put American families first, reach out to the families of victims at the hands of illegal immigrant crime.&#8221;
She added, &#8220;Frankly, the actions and the words of the Democrat Party prove they could not care less about the American public. And maybe if they did, they&#8217;d see a bit higher approval ratings right now.&#8221;
Van Hollen issued his ultimatum on Monday, saying that he requested to speak with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, during his trip this week to the United States, and declaring that he planned to travel to El Salvador this week to check on Garcia&#8217;s condition and discuss his release if Garcia is &#8220;not home by midweek.&#8221;
Garcia &#8220;never should have been abducted and illegally deported, and the courts have made clear: the Administration must bring him home, now,&#8221; Van Hollen <a href="https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/van-hollen-requests-meeting-with-president-bukele-to-discuss-return-of-kilmar-abrego-garcia-announces-intent-to-travel-to-el-salvador-this-week-if-abrego-garcia-is-not-returned" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;However, since the Trump Administration appears to be ignoring these court mandates, we need to take additional action.&#8221;
The Trump administration has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/facilitate-not-effectuate-wh-responds-to-scotus-ruling-on-mistakenly-deported-salvadoran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accused</a> Garcia, who illegally entered the United States but got permission to stay in 2019, of being an MS-13 gang member. Garcia&#8217;s attorneys have <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kilmar-abrego-garcias-court-trump-deportation-el-salvador-president/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> denied that their client is a member of MS-13. On Monday, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stephen-miller-blames-doj-saboteur-for-claiming-salvadoran-migrant-mistakenly-deported" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dismissed</a> claims that Garcia was deported by mistake and contended that the withholding order the suspect received six years ago is no longer valid because the Trump administration has designated MS-13 as a foreign terror organization.
Last week, the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/scotus-rules-partially-against-trump-in-deported-migrant-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a ruling that said the government must “facilitate,” but not necessarily “effectuate,” Garcia&#8217;s return as the legal battle over his removal continues. While meeting Trump at the White House on Monday, Bukele <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-officials-bukele-tear-into-cnn-reporter-who-asked-if-illegal-alien-will-be-returned-to-u-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that he would not send Garcia back. &#8220;How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?&#8221; Bukele said to reporters, adding, &#8220;I don&#8217;t have the power to return him.&#8221;

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt

‘Mind-Boggling’: White House Slams Dems As Senator Threatens El Salvador Trip For MS-13 Suspect

Deportations

Karoline Leavitt

White House

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