DOJ Investigates Walz and Frey as Trump Says They’ve “Lost Control”
Escalation in Minnesota. Plus: Trump uses tariffs to try and get Greenland. Nobel Peace laureate gives her medal to Trump. Iran cleric calls for mass executions. And lots of News That Doesn't Suck.
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When I was young, I liked bubblicious. I didn’t have many vices and bubble gum seemed reasonable. Not to my father. He used to say, “Gum chewing girls and cud chewing cows are somewhat alike but different somehow. Ah, yes. It’s the intelligent look on the face of the cow.” My dad was otherwise pretty liberated in his expectations. He just had a thing about gum. He’s no longer with us; he died in 2002. But if he were around, I’d forward him one of today’s stories in News That Doesn’t Suck. It’s a case for chewing gum. We’ve also got good news about food banks and a breakthrough cancer treatment. That’s all at the end of the newsletter.
Before we get there we bring you some news that does, well, suck. Today Trump keeps the insurrection threat alive and the ACLU alleges a pattern of abuse in Minnesota. Voters pan Trump’s first year. US lawmakers try to reassure Greenland, while Trump threatens tariffs. In Iran the death toll mounts as Trump freezes strikes and a cleric threatens protesters. And Jimmy Kimmel offers to trade trophies for peace.
Here Are Your Headlines
Breaking: The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. While we don’t know the specifics of the investigation, on Truth Social Trump alleged that “highly paid professionals” are causing trouble in Minnesota and that the “Governor and Mayor … have totally lost control.” Earlier this week, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche described the situation in Minnesota as an “insurrection” and accused “a failed governor” and a “terrible mayor” of encouraging violence against agents. Contrary to the administration’s claims, state and city leaders have repeatedly called for peaceful demonstrations and have even faced criticism for not deploying the National Guard. Keep in mind, this is the same DOJ that is not investigating agent Jonathan Ross’s actions in the killing of Renee Good. Governor Walz posted a statement on X saying, “Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents is a dangerous, authoritarian tactic.” This story is breaking. Check my Instagram for ongoing updates.
No End In Sight: President Trump walked back his threat to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota, sort of. Speaking to reporters today he said, “I don’t think there’s any reason right now to use it, but if needed, I’d use it.” He warned he “may be forced to act” if Minnesota officials don’t protect federal agents. “If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law,” he warned, “I will institute the Insurrection Act.” He also made wild and false claims about the number of presidents who have invoked the Act and doubled down on his claim that “insurrectionists” are attacking the “Patriots of ICE.” Here’s what we know:
Note the language: Trump didn’t call them the professionals of ICE but rather the “Patriots.” It’s drawn scrutiny for a possible allusion to Patriot Front, given the latest critique of white nationalist imagery and slogans used in DHS recruitment campaigns and by senior officials.
Insurrection? Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says Trump “has the constitutional authority” to invoke the Insurrection Act. Stephen Miller claimed the protests are “an insurgency against the federal government.” The Insurrection Act allows the president to deploy US troops against Americans, under strict (albeit ill-defined) conditions — including to suppress an “insurrection” that “obstructs the execution of the laws of the United States.” If Trump invokes it, that will be the first time in history the law is used to quell protests started by the actions of federal officers. ICE legally “can’t intentionally create a crisis,” one attorney explained, “then turn around to do a crackdown.” I explain this further here:
Caught in the Crossfire: The horrors in Minneapolis are ongoing. A couple and their children were driving home from their son’s basketball game when they got caught in the chaos of an ICE confrontation; agents reportedly deployed stun grenades and tear gas at and around the vehicle, sending their children — including a 6 month old — to the hospital. Local officials say the infant was in a “stable but serious condition.”
Fighting Back: The ACLU sued the Trump administration on behalf of three US citizens in Minnesota. The suit accuses DHS of a “startling pattern of abuse,” where “masked agents in the thousands are stopping and violently arresting countless Minnesotans based on nothing more than their race and perceived ethnicity.” Renee Good’s family this week hired the law firm that represented George Floyd’s family. Her lawyers said they will pursue a civil investigation of the shooting, though warned suing the federal government is a “byzantine” and “time-consuming” process. They also said Good and her wife were returning home after dropping off their young child at school when they stopped to see what federal agents were doing in their neighborhood. “Just like anybody else who lives in the neighborhood,” the family’s lawyer said, “if there’s activity in the neighborhood, they’re going to be asking what’s going on.”
Community: Minneapolis residents and businesses are setting up mutual aid networks to support each other. One church has delivered over 12,000 boxes of groceries to families in need. Over a dozen local businesses have donated proceeds to community organizations. Somali community members are handing out food to peaceful protestors. A pizza shop is donating pies to people unable to leave their homes. Next door, a sex shop has transformed into a community hub where volunteers are organizing essential supplies. “Right now, community and coming together and helping each other is probably the most important thing we can focus on,” a shop representative said. If you’re looking for ways to help, check out this guide.
Bad Review: A new CNN poll finds that 58% of Americans consider Trump’s first year a failure. Notably, people overwhelmingly consider the economy the country’s most pressing issue — and a majority think Trump’s policies have worsened already poor economic conditions. Even 42% of self-identified MAGAs believe Trump should be doing more to reduce prices.
In Sickness and Wealth: The consequences of lawmakers allowing crucial healthcare subsidies to expire are already rolling in. So far, roughly 1.4 million fewer people have signed up for Affordable Care Act plans compared to this time last year. Little wonder, as an analysis found the average premium would more than double if (and when) the subsidies expired.
Cool It Down: Eleven US lawmakers met the leaders of Greenland and Denmark in Copenhagen to reassure them the US will not, in fact, seize Greenland. Sen. Chris Coons (D-CT) promised to “lower the temperature” in the US; Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) told Greenlanders to “hold tight to your right to self-determination.” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), one of two Republicans in the delegation, said the “vast majority” of Americans, including herself, “do not think it is a good idea for the United States to acquire Greenland.” But Trump’s special envoy to Greenland, Jeff Landry, said Trump is “serious” about acquiring Greenland. Landry plans to visit the island in March, and said a deal “should and will be made.”
Totally Unoriginal: Trump on Friday threatened to slap tariffs on countries that refuse to “go along with Greenland.” That’s yet another threat against Europe.
Man the Gates: Troops from seven European NATO nations have arrived in Greenland. According to a French official, the move is intended to “show the US that NATO is present” on the island. The White House dismissed the deployments as irrelevant. “They added a second dog sled,” Trump joked on Wednesday. “That’s not going to do the trick.”
Lambona: Venezuela’s opposition leader María Corina Machado gave her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump — prompting the Nobel Committee to remind everyone that “a laureate cannot share the prize with others, nor transfer it.” Officials in Norway, where the Committee is based, dismissed Machado’s move as “absurd” and “unbelievably embarrassing.” Trump has dismissed Machado as lacking “support” or “respect” within Venezuela. Reports suggest that’s partially because she didn’t decline the award and give it to him before he asked. Still, the White House says the gift hasn’t changed Trump’s “realistic assessment” of her.
Art of the Deal: Machado isn’t the first to give up their medal. Several laureates have sold theirs to raise funds for research or charity. In 2022, Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov auctioned off his Peace Prize for a record-breaking $103.5 million. The proceeds went to UNICEF’s efforts to help children displaced by the war in Ukraine. On the other hand, there’s Knut Hamsun. In 1943, the once-beloved Norwegian novelist and fervent Nazi supporter gave his prize to none other than Joseph Goebbels as a gesture of support — and perhaps as part of his efforts to convince Hitler to remove the Nazi official ruling occupied Norway. It didn’t work.
What Would You Give? Late night host Jimmy Kimmel last night offered to transfer his various awards to Trump — including an Emmy, a Clio, a WGA Award, and a Soul Train Award for “white person of the year” — if Trump would agree to withdraw ICE from Minnesota. We asked our IG audience what they’d hand over. The offers: Kids’ participation trophies for soccer, a 1993 Women in Tech award, Washington Town and Country Fair Queen. Turns out everyone’s got something they’d trade for peace.
Keep Things Moving: Congress has passed six of 12 funding bills needed to avoid a partial government shutdown. The agencies funded through the fiscal year include the Treasury, FTC, DOJ, EPA, and IRS. But the majority of funding remains uncertain, including for the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services.
Good Signs: Lawmakers rejected almost all cuts Trump proposed for NASA’s budget. Environmental and land-management agencies were also spared deep cuts — including House-GOP-approved provisions that would have forced oil and gas lease sales in multiple states — though some passed.
Fight Remains: Progressive Democrats are pushing to demand conditions on DHS funding, including forcing agents to wear identification. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) warned that a “budget without constraints on DHS isn’t likely to get of Democratic votes.” But other party members seem wary of risking another (partial) shutdown.
Keep reading to for information on… A new global poll that reveals how Trump’s actions are pushing the world to China. Why a top US official warned Canada will “regret” its latest trade deal. Chinese universities are taking over the global rankings. Why Trump thanked the regime in Iran.
And plenty of News That Doesn’t Suck: The experimental cancer treatment that made researchers go, “Holy shit.” A new report reveals how food banks aren’t just helping feed people, but saving the planet, too. And the not-so-secret benefits of chewing gum.
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