Democrat Politics

Lee Zeldin might be dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency bit by bit, but at least he’s making gas cans great again.

The EPA administrator announced Friday that he had made an official plea to gas-can manufacturers, begging them to change their spout designs. 

“Gas cans used to POUR gas. Now they just DRIBBLE like a child’s sippy cup. The Trump EPA’s message to gas can makers: VENT THE DARN CAN and let it FLOW BABY FLOW!” he wrote on X.

In a memo sent to can manufacturers, Zeldin’s EPA encouraged the designers to stop making cans in compliance with a 2009 EPA standard that was meant to cut down on the release of harmful greenhouse gases. 

On one hand, the frustration among consumers using gas cans seems to be more than just among a sparse few. However, as Zeldin wages public battles with plastic cans, he has also been wreaking havoc on his environmental colleagues.

Last week, Zeldin announced his plans to shut down the scientific research arm of the EPA. 

“Under President Trump’s leadership, EPA has taken a close look at our operations to ensure the agency is better equipped than ever to deliver on our core mission of protecting human health and the environment while powering the great American comeback,” Zeldin said in a statement. “This reduction in force will ensure we can better fulfill that mission while being responsible stewards of your hard-earned tax dollars.”

A sign protesting emissions from oil and gas stands across from Lybrook Elementary School, in Counselor, New Mexico, Navajo Nation, on March 11.

Zeldin’s plan is to shutter the Office of Research and Development, which oversees studies into the harms of toxic chemicals, wildfires, climate change, drinking-water pollutants, and more. And less oversight and public awareness is just what the chemical industry wants.

All of this fits into Zeldin’s other work since taking on his role at the EPA. 

Since January, he has cut the workforce, including scientists and researchers, and pulled critical research grants across the country. And as he seeks to hamper the EPA’s ability to do its job, he has also made it easier for companies to bypass regulations as well. From no longer collecting most greenhouse-gas data to allowing companies to opt out of regulations by emailing in their requests, Zeldin has been hard at work. 

After all, it was his initial plan to “driv[e] a dagger” through the heart of “climate-change religion.”

And now the world gets to suffer from that wound.

A cartoon by Jack Ohman.

Related | CBS cancels Trump critic Colbert’s ‘Late Show’—and faces sharp blowback

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr was asked about Stephen Colbert, whose show was canceled in what many view as a craven concession to appease President Donald Trump, during an appearance on CNBC Friday.

“They have such a storied history, and it’s sort of sad to see what’s happening to Colbert. They obviously can’t get it done. They’re not making money over there. But I think they need a course correction. And frankly, I think, you know, the media industry across this country needs a course correction,” he said.

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Carr was on the show to discuss approving a multibillion-dollar merger between Paramount and Skydance, which came just weeks after the media giant paid Trump $16 million to settle his frivolous lawsuit—a lawsuit that was mocked by “South Park,” a Paramount-distributed show. 

Anna Gomez, the sole Democratic-appointed FCC commissioner, castigated Paramount’s “months of cowardly capitulation to this Administration.” 

When asked about her statement condemning the obvious bribe and violation of the First Amendment, Carr responded, “I think it’s time for a change.”

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While CBS claimed that Colbert’s late night show was canceled for financial reasons, it’s been widely criticized as disingenuous. And as Carr defends President Donald Trump ’s war on the First Amendment as an effort to combat “bias” against the right, his actions prove otherwise.

President Donald Trump’s war on U.S. history is far from over.

Thanks to an executive order, books telling the true story of slavery in the United States have reportedly been labeled as “corrosive ideology” and could soon be purged from national park bookstores.

A sign in a bookstore window reads, “We sell banned books.”

According to The Washington Post, internal records from the Department of Interior show that books on slavery, George Washington, and the history of Native Americans are among those that have been flagged for possible removal.

Trump’s March 7 executive order, “Restoring Truth And Sanity To American History,” instructed the Smithsonian Institution and the national park system to purge materials that don’t align with conservative ideology on U.S. history, which prioritizes the views of racist white people.

Alan Spears, senior director of cultural resources at the National Parks Conservation Association, slammed the Trump administration’s attempt at whitewashing.

“Great countries don’t hide from or sanitize their history,” he told the Post.

For instance, a book sold at the Washington Monument gift shop that labels George Washington as an “enslaver” has been flagged for potential violation of Trump’s order—despite the fact that Washington did indeed enslave people.

Former Interior Secretary Deb Halaand was the first Native American Cabinet secretary in U.S. history.

The official website for Mount Vernon, Washington’s residence, notes that he owned “hundreds” of Black people who lived on the estate. It also says that Washington “depended on their labor to build and maintain his household and plantation.”

The department has also reportedly flagged a children’s book on the life of former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who was appointed by President Joe Biden. Haaland was the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary in U.S. history.

This right-wing attack is in line with other racist conservative initiatives, including a Florida education curriculum that falsely claims that slavery brought “personal benefit” to enslaved Black people.

The Trump administration has been focused on purging educational materials on U.S. history, particularly regarding abuses against people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. It has also sought to erase evidence of advancement of people in these groups and to establish laws and policies to undo civil rights gains.

At the same time, the Trump team has celebrated white supremacy by renaming military bases after pro-slavery Confederate figures and by using white supremacist imagery in official government communications.

All told, the Trump administration has made it clear that it wants to pervert the historical record and restrict Americans from learning the truth—good and bad—about their own country.

Before jetting off to Scotland for a 5-day trip, President Donald Trump was asked about the application of the Supreme Court’s 2024 immunity decision to President Barack Obama, who is weathering baseless treason accusations, cooked up to distract from the ongoing Epstein scandal. 

At the time of the decision, Justice Sonia Sotomayor argued that it made Trump “a king above the law.” 

“It probably helps him a lot. It probably helped him a lot, the immunity ruling, but it doesn’t help the people around him at all. But it probably helps him a lot. He’s done criminal acts, no question about it. But he has immunity, and it probably helps him a lot,” Trump said before adding, “He owes me big. Obama owes me big.”

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The irony is that Trump’s defense against the many lawsuits he faces now revolves around the court’s presidential immunity decision, and the man he repeatedly slanders would likely be protected by the radical right-wing Supreme Court’s decision.

Unable to escape the fallout from the Trump administration’s refusal to release the Epstein files, GOP officials have also latched onto the conspiracy that Obama committed a “treasonous conspiracy” that Russia interfered in the 2016 election in Trump’s favor.

Of course, Obama shouldn’t need immunity to beat this evidence-free case.

The Trump administration is considering a move that could significantly hinder non-English speakers from filing their taxes: removing multilingual services at the IRS. According to The Washington Post, the agency is reviewing its language access policies following Trump’s March executive order declaring English the official language of the United States.

The announcement was controversial from the start. The U.S. has never officially designated an official language. While English is the most widely spoken, between 350 and 430 languages are spoken across the country—something Trump’s order conveniently ignores. It’s also unclear whether he even has the authority to make such a declaration.

Related | Trump to overturn 249 years of history with new executive order

“Establishing English as the official language will not only streamline communication but also reinforce shared national values, and create a more cohesive and efficient society,” the order states.

On July 14, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued guidance instructing federal departments to “phase out unnecessary multilingual offerings” and redirect funds toward programs that enhance English “proficiency and assimilation.”

“A shared language binds Americans together,” Bondi wrote, “while leaving ample room for the vibrant linguistic diversity that thrives in private and community spheres.”

But the fallout is already unfolding. Internal emails reviewed by the Post show Treasury officials believe the IRS needs to reevaluate its “commitment to assist non-English speaking taxpayers.” This could mean cutting over 100 translated forms, eliminating free interpreter services, removing the IRS’s multilingual website, and stopping Spanish-language communications, including on social media.

The impact would be broad—and primarily affect Spanish speakers. And this isn’t the first time Trump has targeted them. In April, he issued another executive order requiring U.S. truck drivers to speak English, a move critics called unnecessary and discriminatory.

Other agencies are scrambling to interpret the mandate, but the IRS stands out. The agency has already gutted its civil rights division and only recently renewed its phone interpreter contract for a few months after the Department of Government Efficiency, Trump’s cost-cutting office, pushed for a review of all expiring contracts.

IRS commissioner Billy Long

DOGE’s reach has extended even further. In May, CNBC reported that nearly one-third of IRS auditors had been cut, due to staffing reductions linked to DOGE’s deferred resignation program and mass layoffs. The agency has lost more than 11,000 employees—11% of its workforce—according to a Treasury Inspector General report released May 2.

Meanwhile, the interpreter contract is set to expire before the year’s end. Sources told the Post that senior officials at the IRS and Treasury agreed the services were critical—but that wasn’t enough to secure long-term support. Whether the new IRS commissioner, Billy Long, will extend the contract remains uncertain, though before he became commissioner he long campaigned to abolish the IRS completely.

All signs point to an agency being dismantled and reshaped to align with Trump’s political agenda. What was once a push to make government services more accessible is now being reversed—one executive order at a time.

A cartoon by Clay Bennett.

Related | Guess who’s reportedly named in the Epstein files

President Donald Trump on Friday refused to rule out the possibility that he could grant clemency to Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for helping her ex-boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein sexually exploit and traffic underage girls.

Trump was asked twice about whether he would pardon Maxwell—whom he used to party with—and both times, he refused to answer.

“It’s something I haven’t thought about,” Trump said to the first reporter who asked Trump about possibly granting clemency to Maxwell. “I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I have not thought about.”

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Trump was then asked again before he got into Marine One for a taxpayer-funded trip to two Trump-branded golf courses in Scotland.

“Would you consider a pardon or clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell?” a reporter asked Trump.

“I don’t want to talk about that,” Trump said, going on to bring up other men who have been tied to Epstein, including former President Bill Clinton.

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Trump’s refusal to rule out clemency for Maxwell comes as Todd Blanche—Trump’s former criminal defense attorney who now serves as deputy attorney general—is interviewing Maxwell for a second day about whether she has incriminating information about Epstein’s alleged clients.

But as Daily Kos reported, the interview is a sham and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Maxwell has ample reason to lie and tell Trump what he wants to hear in order to butter him up for a pardon. And Blanche likely has Trump’s interest at heart when questioning Maxwell, rather than the truth.

Audrey Strauss, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, points to a photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, during a news conference in New York in July 2020.

Trump was asked about the Maxwell interview on Friday, but he tried to distract from that interview by pushing the baseless lie he’s crafted and ordered other Republicans to parrot about former President Barack Obama committing “treason.”

“People should really focus on how well the country is doing, or they should focus on the fact that Barack Hussein Obama led a coup,” Trump said.

But ultimately, Trump refusing to rule out a pardon for Maxwell is unlikely to quell the Epstein-files mania that is consuming Trump’s presidency. In fact, it will likely only increase the public’s dissatisfaction with how the Trump administration is handling the Epstein case, as well as the belief that Trump is hiding something by not releasing the files. After all, Trump was reportedly told by his top aides that he appears multiple times in the files.

“Thousands of FBI agents from NY’s Field Office were pulled from terrorism, drug, and gang cases to work 12-hour days combing through and redacting info from the Epstein files. After all that there’s nothing to share with the public? Even Trump loyalists know it’s a cover-up,” Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman of New York said Thursday night on MSNBC, referring to the MAGA outrage over Trump’s Epstein files response.

Just a few weeks after Paramount decided to pay off President Donald Trump for what legal experts described as a frivolous lawsuit, the Trump administration has approved a merger between the media giant and Skydance. The regulatory decision is raising concerns about corporate bribery and payoffs while Trump and other Republicans work to silence dissent.

On July 1, Paramount said it would pay out $16 million to Trump’s presidential library to make the lawsuit stemming from his whining about an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris that aired last year. Then last Thursday, CBS said it would be cancelling “The Late Show,” hosted by longtime Trump critic Stephen Colbert. Trump praised the cancellation writing, “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired.”

Then on Thursday the FCC said it would approve the $8 billion merger between CBS parent Paramount and Skydance.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr

The decision was announced by the Federal Communications Commission alongside a message from FCC chairman Brendan Carr praising concessions made by Paramount to move news coverage in a more conservative direction.

“Skydance has made written commitments to ensure that the new company’s programming embodies a diversity of viewpoints from across the political and ideological spectrum,” Carr said.

Among those concessions is the decision by the combined entity to eliminate existing diversity, equity, and inclusion policies—which have been the target of the Trump administration as it seeks to erase and roll back gains made following the Civil Rights Movement, while pushing Trump’s racist agenda.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has been among the most vocal critics of the apparent bribery between the media company and the administration.

“Even with Donald Trump playing king, CEOs should remember that bribery is STILL ILLEGAL,” Warren wrote after the announcement.

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In an appearance on MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes” on Wednesday, Warren explained that Trump “is exercising control over our media and signaling to everybody out there: If you cross Donald Trump there is potentially a huge price to pay.”

The administration and their Republican allies in Congress have been using the power of the government to take action against outlets they perceive as hostile to the right. Congressional Republicans—following a directive from Trump—recently voted to eliminate all federal funding for public broadcasting, a longtime goal of conservatives who object to fact-based news reporting from outlets like PBS and NPR.

But despite the political and corporate machinations, the Republicans haven’t silenced everyone yet.

The decision to cancel Colbert has been criticized by lawmakers and there has been a public outpouring of support for him from fellow comedians—even his rivals in the late-night talk show space. Comedians Jimmy Fallon, Seth Myers, John Oliver, and Jon Stewart all appeared on “Late Night” following CBS’ decision.

And on Monday the White House reacted with outrage after “South Park,” which is a Paramount property, aired an episode mocking Trump and Paramount’s decision to bow to him.

The public is also not being swayed. In a recently released Gallup poll Trump’s approval rating continued to drop, and he has particularly cratered with independent voters where his rating has fallen 25 percentage points since he was sworn in.

Perhaps more bribes are needed.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has been telling people privately that he has no plans to leave his role early, despite President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign to force him out, according to CNN on Friday. Powell reportedly says that doing so would have the same effect as ending the Fed’s independence. 

CNN’s report came after Trump personally went to the Federal Reserve Bank on Thursday to try to publicly embarrass Powell about cost overruns for renovations at the bank’s headquarters. It was likely an effort to make Powell—whom Trump detests for not lowering interest rates to Trump’s desired levels and has mused about firing—decide to leave his role on his own before his term expires next May.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, from left, President Donald Trump and Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina visit the Federal Reserve on July 24, in Washington.

But an eye-popping encounter during Trump’s visit showed that he badly misjudged Powell’s intestinal fortitude.

As a hard-hat-wearing Trump toured the facility with Powell, he pulled out an incorrect number for the cost of the renovations to try to shame Powell.

“It looks like it’s about $3.1 billion,” Trump said of the cost of the projects, as Powell stood next to him angrily shaking his head. “It went up a little bit, or a lot. So the $2.7 [billion] is now $3.1 [billion].”

That’s when Powell had seemingly had enough. He asked to see Trump’s proof, saying he hadn’t seen that. Trump handed Powell a document from his jacket pocket with the costs, which Trump said has “just came out,” and that’s when Powell corrected Trump’s lie.

“You just added in a third building,” Powell said.

“It’s a building that’s being built,” Trump said back.

“No, it was built five years ago,” Powell replied, leading Trump to abruptly change the subject.

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Trump rarely faces pushback to his face. 

His Cabinet meetings often turn into stomach-churning fluff sessions in which administration officials heap praise onto Dear Leader. World leaders, too, try to get what they want out of Trump by publicly praising him.

But Powell, whom Trump has been attacking for months as a “loser,” was not playing that game.

Ultimately, the only way Trump can fire Powell is for cause. And legal experts say renovation cost overruns are a weak ruse since Trump has been clear that he actually wants to fire Powell for not doing what he wants in regards to monetary policy.

Indeed, after Powell confronted Trump’s lies to his face, Trump said Thursday that he will not attempt to fire Powell.

“To do that is a big move and I just don’t think it’s necessary,” Trump said. “I believe that he’s going to do the right thing, I believe that the chairman is going to do the right thing. It may be a little too late, as the expression goes.”

At the end of the day, this whole situation is like a famous scene in the sitcom “The Office,” in which branch manager Michael Scott wants to fire his nemesis, human-resources representative Toby Flenderson.

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“Is there no way we can get rid of him?” Scott asks the company’s chief financial officer, David Wallace.

“Not without cause, Michael,” Wallace says.

“I have cause,” Scott replies. “It is beCAUSE I hate him.”

The only difference here is that Michael Scott, unlike Donald Trump, is a likeable character.