Latest news with #MAGA-friendly
New York Post
14-06-2025
- Business
- New York Post
DC's new $500K private club The Executive Branch launches
On Friday night, tech billionaires and cabinet secretaries celebrated the opening of Washington, DC's 'The Executive Branch' — the members-only club co-founded by Donald Trump Jr. and 1789 Capital partner Omeed Malik Trump Jr. and Malik hosted the party for founding members who paid a $500,000 initiation fee, with their co-founders: 1789 partner Christopher Buskirk and Alex and Zach Witkoff, the sons of Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. While the president was not in attendance, Witkoff was, along with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, PayPal mafia member Keith Rabois, crypto billionaires Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson and Dr. Oz. Advertisement 4 The Executive Branch's Omeed Malik and Donald Trump Jr. and their co-founders wanted to create a MAGA-friendly haven in Washington, DC AFP via Getty Images From the Trump administration, crypto and AI czar David Sacks, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were spotted, as well as Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. In September, the Executive Branch will open to its new members with a $150,000 initiation fee and annual dues of $15,000. Advertisement Caviar, champagne and lobster were plentiful Friday, with one attendee describing it as a 'Gilded Age' experience. The club's menu is said to be MAHA-approved, with the chef using beef tallow in lieu of seed oils. I'm told several former Navy SEALs have been hired to handle security full-time. 4 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attended the club's opening Friday along with a host of other cabinet members. REUTERS Advertisement Other opening-night guests included newly minted Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth Jacob Helberg, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, UAE ambassador to the US Yousef Al Otaiba, and Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer. Also on hand: Deputy Chiefs of Staff Taylor Budowich, Dan Scavino and James Blair; FHFA Director Bill Pulte; Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski; and Emil Michael, the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. Notably absent were members of the media, whose presence is strictly forbidden. Adding to that layer of secrecy, no photos are allowed and stickers must cover phone cameras. 4 The Executive Branch is located in the former home of Georgetown's The Clubhouse, and the founders redesigned the space to include millions of artwork. Google Maps Advertisement Malik said he sees it as an extension of his existing work investing in the parallel economy. The club 'is the first of its kind in Washington, DC — there is nothing else like it,' Malik told me. 'It's consistent with our efforts at 1789 to invest in the parallel economy or, in this place, creating an entirely new experience.' He also said they want the Executive Branch to be a haven for members and are extremely cautious about not admitting members who may not be aligned with their values. 4 Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang attended the opening of the Executive Branch. Getty Images Private club The Ned also opened in DC earlier this year, albeit to a far less curated group who pay just $5,000 in initiation fees and $5,000 for membership. But while The Ned is near the Capitol and attracts an overwhelming group of politicos, The Executive Branch is Georgetown. Its Wisconsin Avenue address was formerly home to The Clubhouse, a bar that was a favorite of billionaires and world leaders. The co-founders renovated the space and added more than 10-million-dollars' worth of art, including 'a stunning array of original oil paintings and bronze sculptures celebrating US stories of bravery, service and politics,' as well as oil paintings of the club's founding class.
Atlantic
14-06-2025
- Health
- Atlantic
The Senator Who Failed America on Vaccines
It's easy to forget that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s assault on vaccines—including, most recently, his gutting of the expert committee that guides American vaccine policy—might have been avoided. Four months ago, his nomination for health secretary was in serious jeopardy. The deciding vote seemed to be in the hands of one Republican senator: Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. A physician who gained prominence by vaccinating low-income kids in his home state, Cassidy was wary of the longtime vaccine conspiracist. 'I have been struggling with your nomination,' he told Kennedy during his confirmation hearings in January. Then Cassidy caved. In the speech he gave on the Senate floor explaining his decision, Cassidy said that he'd vote to confirm Kennedy only because he had extracted a number of concessions from the nominee—chief among them that he would preserve, 'without changes,' the very CDC committee Kennedy overhauled this week. Since then, Cassidy has continued to give Kennedy the benefit of the doubt. On Monday, after Kennedy dismissed all 17 members of the vaccine advisory committee, Cassidy posted on X that he was working with Kennedy to prevent the open roles from being filled with 'people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion.' The senator has failed, undeniably and spectacularly. One new appointee, Robert Malone, has repeatedly spread misinformation (or what he prefers to call 'scientific dissent') about vaccines. Another appointee, Vicky Pebsworth, is on the board of an anti-vax nonprofit, the National Vaccine Information Center. Cassidy may keep insisting that he is doing all he can to stand up for vaccines. But he already had his big chance to do so, and he blew it. Now, with the rest of America, he's watching the nation's vaccine future take a nosedive. So far, the senator hasn't appeared interested in any kind of mea culpa for his faith in Kennedy's promises. On Thursday, I caught Cassidy as he hurried out of a congressional hearing room. He was still reviewing the appointees, he told me and several other reporters who gathered around him. When I chased after him down the hallway to ask more questions, he told me, 'I'll be putting out statements, and I'll let those statements stand for themselves.' A member of his staff dismissed me with a curt 'Thank you, sir.' Cassidy's staff has declined repeated requests for an interview with the senator since the confirmation vote in January. With the exception of Mitch McConnell, every GOP senator voted to confirm Kennedy. They all have to own the health secretary's actions. But Cassidy seemed to be the Republican most concerned about Kennedy's nomination, and there was a good reason to think that the doctor would vote his conscience. In 2021, Cassidy was one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Donald Trump on an impeachment charge after the insurrection at the Capitol. But this time, the senator—who is up for reelection next year, facing a more MAGA-friendly challenger—ultimately fell in line. Cassidy tried to have it both ways: elevating Kennedy to his job while also vowing to constrain him. In casting his confirmation vote, Cassidy implied that the two would be in close communication, and that Kennedy had asked for his input on hiring decisions. The two reportedly had breakfast in March to discuss the health secretary's plan to dramatically reshape the department. 'Senator Cassidy speaks regularly with secretary Kennedy and believes those conversations are much more productive when they're held in private, not through press headlines,' a spokesperson for Cassidy wrote in an email. (A spokesperson for HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.) At times, it has appeared as though Cassidy's approach has had some effect on the health secretary. Amid the measles outbreak in Texas earlier this year, Kennedy baselessly questioned the safety of the MMR vaccine. In April, after two unvaccinated children died, Cassidy posted on X: 'Everyone should be vaccinated! There is no treatment for measles. No benefit to getting measles. Top health officials should say so unequivocally b/4 another child dies.' Cassidy didn't call out Kennedy by name, but the health secretary appeared to get the message. Later that day, Kennedy posted that the measles vaccine was the most effective way to stave off illness. ('Completely agree,' Cassidy responded.) All things considered, that's a small victory. Despite Kennedy's claims that he is not an anti-vaxxer, he has enacted a plainly anti-vaccine agenda. Since being confirmed, he has pushed out the FDA's top vaccine regulator, hired a fellow vaccine skeptic to investigate the purported link between autism and shots, and questioned the safety of childhood vaccinations currently recommended by the CDC. As my colleague Katherine J. Wu wrote this week, 'Whether he will admit to it or not, he is serving the most core goal of the anti-vaccine movement—eroding access to, and trust in, immunization.' The reality is that back channels can be only so effective. Cassidy's main power is to call Kennedy before the Senate health committee, which he chairs, and demand an explanation for Kennedy's new appointees to the CDC's vaccine-advisory committee. Cassidy might very well do that. In February, he said that Kennedy would 'come before the committee on a quarterly basis, if requested.' Kennedy did appear before Cassidy's committee last month to answer questions about his efforts to institute mass layoffs at his agency. Some Republicans (and many Democrats) pressed the secretary on those efforts, while others praised them. Cassidy, for his part, expressed concerns about Kennedy's indiscriminate cutting of research programs, but still, he was largely deferential. 'I agree with Secretary Kennedy that HHS needs reform,' Cassidy said. Even if he had disagreed, an angry exchange between a health secretary and a Senate committee doesn't guarantee any policy changes. Lawmakers may try to act like government bureaucrats report to them, but they have limited power once a nominee is already in their job. Technically, lawmakers can impeach Cabinet members, but in American history, a sitting Cabinet member has never been impeached and subsequently removed from office. The long and arduous confirmation process is supposed to be the bulwark against potentially dangerous nominees being put in positions of power. Cassidy and most of his Republican colleagues have already decided not to stop Kennedy from overseeing the largest department in the federal government by budget. Now Kennedy is free to do whatever he wants—senators be damned.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Trump Booed at MAGA's Big Night Out at the Kennedy Center
Donald and Melania Trump got a loud wake-up call while holding court at the grand opening of the new pro-MAGA Kennedy Center on Wednesday night. They were greeted with a chorus of boos when they stepped out from their box in the auditorium on Wednesday for the first night of Les Misérables. The audience of 2,300 was packed with MAGA-friendly figures, including Vice President JD Vance, second lady Usha Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and his wife Cheryl Hines. The pro-Trump contingent in the audience responded to the jeers by cheering and chanting 'USA! USA!' The Trumps, who were seated in a private box emblazoned with a presidential seal, stepped into the spotlight before waving down from their elevated position to the assembled masses. The mixed reception comes two months after the Vances were subjected to boos and heckles at the center, which has become a culture war touch point since Trump's re-election. Since taking over as chair of the Kennedy Center in February, Trump personally selected the entire board of trustees in his attempt to stamp out 'woke' productions at the iconic venue. 'They asked me to be chairman, I've got a lot of other things going on but it's a great honor,' Trump said on the red carpet before the pair went inside to watch Les Mis. He told Fox News last week that the musical was one of his favorites. 'I love the songs, I love the play. I think it's great,' he said. 'We may extend it.' It's unclear if his enthusiasm will survive the hostility from some people in the crowd. As part of efforts to upend the liberal institution, Trump appointed Usha Vance to the board along with Bondi, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, and Fox News host Laura Ingraham. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has spent the week attacking Trump, also took aim on his X account. Newsom was one of many to point out the irony of Trump putting on a production of Les Misérables. The musical tackles themes of public rebellion and showcases the struggles of the poor and the injustices of society. 'Someone explain the plot to him,' Newsom posted on Wednesday.
Axios
09-06-2025
- Business
- Axios
Silicon Valley's not crying for Musk
Few tears will be shed in Silicon Valley or at Big Tech firms over Elon Musk's precipitous fall from White House grace. Why it matters: Musk's brief alliance with President Trump warped the usual dynamics of the relationship between America's most valuable industry and its center of political power. Between the lines: Musk himself is widely admired in tech's corridors of power for Tesla's and SpaceX's innovations — but also widely disliked for his unfulfillable promises, erratic behavior and social media addiction. Now that Musk is suddenly on the outs with Trump, a lot of tech leaders are quietly crossing their fingers that they can get back to dealmaking and policy-setting without worrying about a key competitor whispering in the president's ear. Tech giants can't be sure that whoever replaces Musk as Trump's favorite geek will bring stability or regulatory relief — but Musk wasn't delivering on those fronts either. On the other hand, any follow-through on Trump's threat to strangle the flow of federal dollars to Musk's firms would demonstrate that vendettas are the new normal. Such targeting of one person's business empire with the full force of presidential power would send a chill down any CEO's spine, pro- or anti-Trump. The big picture: Tech leaders see huge opportunities in Washington and government work right now. AI is exploding, defense tech is booming, and crypto firms are chomping at the bit. Plenty of CEOs resented what they saw as the Biden administration's hostility to deals, dedication to strict regulation and aggressive stance on antitrust. Yes, but: The long Republican tradition of business-friendly regulatory positions has mutated into a Trumpian realpolitik. The Trump administration has been forthright in its intention to help friends and punish enemies. Help comes as contracts and preferential treatment by regulators; punishment comes via canceled contracts, fines and even prosecution by the Justice Department. The terms of this week's Trump-Musk feud made starkly clear how serious Trump is about these carrot-and-stick moves. Losers: Musk himself obviously faces not only financial losses but a reputational reckoning. He has already alienated his liberal-left fans, who'd once been drawn to his electric vehicles. If Trump's MAGA loyalists abandon him too, he might be left with a thinned social media fan base, a pile of sinking shares, and not much else. Winners: Virtually any tech leader not named Musk can find satisfaction in his misfortune. Musk's businesses are all deeply entangled with one another but rarely partner with non-Musk-owned firms. His empire is a mostly self-contained Muskiverse, meaning its woes aren't likely to prove contagious. There are plenty of MAGA-friendly tech firms — think Palantir and Anduril in defense tech, Meta under a newly MAGA-fied Mark Zuckerberg, or the Andreessen-Horowitz portfolio in startups — ready to step in to the Musk void in D.C. if he and the president don't patch things up. U.S. leaders may decide it's time to broaden the supply of rockets that can launch satellites and astronauts into space beyond SpaceX — and that could benefit Jeff Bezos and his Blue Origin firm. One of the biggest winners, even though he has largely stayed mum on the Musk/Trump fireworks, is OpenAI's Sam Altman. Musk's role in the Trump administration gave his company an inside track on federal contracts. Altman, who wasn't ever known to be close to Trump, surprised Musk by repackaging his giant Stargate datacenter project as a Trump deal and winning an Oval Office photo op with Trump the day after the new president's inauguration. Altman and Musk have their own feud. Both were among the nonprofit's cofounders, and Musk has sued OpenAI, claiming that under Altman it has abandoned its original AI safety mission. Another winner: Vice President J.D. Vance, who during Musk's White House days seemed to fade into the woodwork, has a chance to reassert his primacy as the Trump administration's ambassador to tech. Still to be seen is where some of the other key tech players in Trumpworld — like White House adviser David Sacks — land when the firestorm subsides. The intrigue: You won't read expressions of tech leaders' relief at Musk's D.C. exit in their posts or interviews. There's nothing to be gained and lots to lose for most executives or investors to take sides in the Trump-Musk war of words. That's why the only sound from tech's normally boisterous social-media gallery has been an occasional wan plea of "be nice and make up." What's next: Trump White House dramas never end, they just go into new seasons.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump aims to build a MAGA judiciary, breaking with traditional conservatives
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is signaling a new approach to selecting judges in his second term, departing from his first-term formula of younger up-and-comers, elite credentials and pedigrees in traditional conservative ideology and instead leaning toward unapologetically combative, MAGA-friendly nominees. The president turned heads last week by launching a searing attack on Leonard Leo and the conservative legal network known as the Federalist Society, which played a major role in selecting and steering 234 Trump-nominated judges, including three Supreme Court justices, through Senate confirmation during his first term. Trump's transformation of the federal courts and the creation of 6-3 conservative Supreme Court majority, which led to the overturning of the landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade in 2022, was possibly his biggest achievement in his first term. But Trump slammed Leo as a 'sleazebag' in late May after a panel of judges, including one he appointed, blocked some of his tariffs. 'I am so disappointed in the Federalist Society because of the bad advice they gave me on numerous judicial nominations,' he wrote on Truth Social. Leo, who declined an interview request, praised Trump's first term judicial appointments, saying in a statement that they will be his 'most important legacy.' Of Trump's early judicial nominees in his second term, much attention has been focused on his decision to tap Emil Bove, his former personal criminal defense lawyer and current Justice Department official, to serve on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 'What's different about him is that MAGA world is very excited about him because it sees him as someone who has been ruthlessly implementing the White House's wishes,' said Ed Whelan, a veteran conservative judicial nominations analyst who works at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. The president's early actions have raised warning signs among conservative lawyers who favor a nonpartisan judiciary. 'It's potentially a watershed moment in the relationship between Trump and the traditional conservative legal movement,' said Gregg Nunziata, former chief nominations counsel to Senate Republicans who now leads the Society for the Rule of Law, a group of right-leaning lawyers that has been critical of Trump. 'There are allies and advisers to the president who have been agitating for a different kind of judge — one more defined by loyalty to the president and advancing his agenda, rather than one more defined by conservative jurisprudence.' Nunziata warned that the president is 'turning his back on' his first-term legacy of prioritizing conservative jurisprudence. Trump's social media posts were welcomed by some conservatives who want a new approach to judicial nominations in his second term — including Mike Davis, another former Senate GOP chief counsel for nominations, who runs the conservative Article III Project advocacy group and offers his suggestions to the White House on judicial nominees. Trump needs to avoid 'typical FedSoc elitists' who were 'too weak to speak out' on issues like what MAGA world perceives as lawfare against Trump during the Biden years, Davis said. 'We need to have evidence that these judicial nominees are going to be bold and fearless for the Constitution, and there were plenty of opportunities for them over the last five years to demonstrate that,' he added. Jonathan Adler, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law who mixes in Federalist Society circles, said some federal judges may have concerns about stepping down if they are not convinced Trump will replace them with someone they consider to be qualified. Certain judges, Adler said, want to be succeeded by 'someone that understands the judicial role, understands that their obligation is to follow the law and apply the law, as opposed to someone that is seen as a political hack and is going to rule in a particular way merely because that's what their team is supposed to want.' Whelan said he has heard a sitting judge express such concerns. "I recently heard from a conservative judge who has decided not to take senior status because of concerns over who would be picked as his or her successor," he said. He declined to name the judge. During the first term, Leo played a key role in advising Trump on whom to pick. He helped come up with a list of potential Supreme Court nominees during the 2016 election, when some on the right were worried Trump would not pick a justice who was sufficiently conservative to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who died earlier that year. In Trump's second-term, the deputy White House counsel for nominations, Steve Kenny, has daily oversight of judicial nominations with input from chief of staff Susie Wiles, White House counsel David Warrington and Trump himself, among others. Like Davis, Kenny previously worked for Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on the Senate Judiciary Committee. 'In choosing these judges, we are looking for judges who are constitutionalists, who won't be judicial activists on the bench,' a senior White House official said. The administration is looking for judges whose judicial philosophy is similar to conservative Supreme Court justices such as Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, the official added. Both are seen within MAGA world as more aligned with Trump than his own appointees to the court: Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Despite the alliance with Leo delivering achievements that many Senate Republicans take pride in, few were willing to jump to his defense in the wake of Trump's personal attack. 'I'm not going to get involved in those personality conflicts,' said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., another Judiciary Committee member, pleaded the Fifth: 'That's between Leonard and the president.' But, he added, 'I like the Federalist Society.' Grassley praised Trump's initial slate of nominees. 'Republicans remain laser-focused on putting strong conservatives on the federal bench,' he said. 'President Trump's first five judicial nominees, who all came before the Judiciary Committee this week, are high-caliber legal minds who will faithfully defend the Constitution and serve the American people well.' Despite the first-term success, there were already indications once Trump was re-elected that his second-term approach to judicial nominations would differ. Leo is no longer advising Trump, and both the president and his allies have been sharply critical of judges who have ruled against the administration in its early months over its aggressive use of executive power. Barrett has been one target, as have some lower court judges. 'Federalist Society lawyers are very bright. They're very intellectual, kind of the academic side of the law. This Trump White House is looking for more practical judges,' said a senior Republican lawyer close to the White House. 'A second element is there are some decisions that have been made by Amy Coney Barrett, in particular, that really disappointed the Trump administration, and Trump people more broadly, and that has filtered down to some of these lower court decisions," the lawyer added. For Democrats, Trump's public break with the Federalist Society — along with another move to refuse to cooperate with the American Bar Association, which traditionally provides recommendations on judicial nominees — are part of the same trend. "They don't want anyone looking over the shoulders of nominees to find out what they believe, what they've said and what they've done," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Wednesday during the first hearing for Trump's new wave of nominees. So far, Trump has announced two nominees to the influential federal appeals courts, as well as nine district court nominees. In addition to Bove, the other appeals court nominee is Whitney Hermandorfer, who has been tapped for a seat on the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. While Bove is not viewed as the type of nominee Leo might suggest, Hermandorfer is seen as a traditional Federalist Society pick. She served as a law clerk for Barrett and Alito, as well as for Kavanaugh when he was an appeals court judge. Hermandorfer has also been involved in some culture war litigation while serving under Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. She is 'very much in the Trump 1.0 Federalist Society mode,' said Russell Wheeler, a scholar at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution who tracks judicial nominations. Five of Trump's district court nominees are from Florida, and four are from Missouri. Hermandorfer, joined by the Missouri nominees. appeared at the confirmation hearing Wednesday where she said her job would not be to do the president's bidding. "That would not be my role. My role would be to carry out my oath,' she said. Hermandorfer called the Federalist Society, of which she is a member, a "wonderful place" to discuss issues with other lawyers. According to the federal judiciary, there are 49 pending vacancies, with only three of them on the appeals courts. Another three have announced plans to step down. The Republican lawyer close to the White House said it is a little early to know how different Trump's second-term picks will be from the first because the president got off to a slow start in nominating his first batch of judges. Trump may struggle to match the numbers of his first term, in part because this time around there are not as many vacancies as there were in 2017. Then, Trump benefited from a Republican Senate that blocked many of President Barack Obama's picks, including his nominee to replace Scalia, Merrick Garland. Legal activists tend to focus more on federal appeals court nominees than district court nominees because they have more power to change the law and are often more likely to be tipped for potential slots on the Supreme Court. There are currently 24 Republican-appointed appeals court judges in total who are eligible for retirement, according to Wheeler. Generally, judges are more likely to step down when a president of the same party who appointed them is in office. Even if Trump wants to depart from the Leo playbook, he will find it difficult to find qualified conservative lawyers who do not have some links with the Federalist Society, Whelan said. 'If you are looking for talented lawyers with the sort of experience that would make them good judges, most of the people you are looking at are going to be Federalist Society types,' he added. Kenny, for example, who holds daily oversight over nominations at the White House, 'is definitely a proud member of the Federalist Society,' the lawyer said. 'But he's also going to follow the administration's lead on the kinds of judges they want.' Nunziata said it's up to GOP senators to push back on nominees like Bove, warning that acquiescing would send a signal to Trump that he has a 'free hand' to nominate more individuals like him, including to a possible Supreme Court vacancy. 'I hope there will be pushback. Time will tell,' he said, citing former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell's key role in steering Trump's first-term judicial nominees. 'I would expect him to be alarmed by this turn and to fight against it with his remaining time in the Senate.' McConnell's office declined to comment. Democrats say that with nominees like Bove, Trump is making it more explicit that he simply wants loyalists. 'He's putting in all the people that will support him, or have a relationship to him,' Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said. 'That's what it's all about for the president. … He just wants people who will support what he wants.' But when asked if she believes Republicans will stand up to some of Trump's judicial nominees, Hirono responded wryly. 'Of course not,' she said. This article was originally published on
