MEIDASTOUCH NEWS' Scott MacFarlane appeared on
CNN's NEWSNIGHT and commented on the spread Chump put out for Republican
lawmakers at the White House Wednesday night. Cameron Adams (DAILY BEAST) reports on MacFarlane's comments:
“He’s in the Rose Garden tonight eating fine beef, eating a three-course meal, out on the patio,” MacFarlane said.
“The
hamburgers cost $6 apiece at the grocery store right now. The box of
sugar cereal, which sometimes is dinner, $6 for the box of cereal, $4
for a loaf of bread.”
MacFarlane said Americans
are “not being subtle” about what their priorities are as the president
is focused on renaming lakes and building his outsized White House
ballroom.
“It’s not the culture war c--p,” he
said. “It’s food can’t be purchased at the levels you need when you have
two teenagers. They can’t afford college, they can’t afford healthcare.
Fertilizer costs too much, which means farmers are struggling, which is
why Iowa is in play.”
Does
Chump care about looking out of touch? Does he even realize how it
looks? 60 days away from the midterm vote and this is what he's
choosing to serve?
Chump continues to tout AI data centers despite their increasing unpopularity with the American people. Kelsey Brugger and Brian Faler (POLITICO) report:
Voters
are in an uproar over data centers — and Democrats are trying to direct
anger toward Republicans by pointing to a tax provision buried in the
GOP’s “big, beautiful bill.”
Of the myriad
talking points on this issue that Democrats are preparing deploy heading
into the midterms, they this week began alluding to “Opportunity Zones”
— an initiative designed to boost growth in areas deemed underdeveloped
and which, at one point, Republicans had touted as a way to spur the
construction of data centers.
“Every single
House Republican but one or two voted to unleash data centers on the
American people in an unfettered fashion,” said House Minority Leader
Hakeem Jeffries at a news conference Monday.
The next day, a senior House Democrat — Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts — made a similar observation on the chamber floor.
“A
year ago, Republicans were bragging about giving tax breaks to Big Tech
in order to build data centers,” McGovern said. “With November on the
horizon, some House Republicans are acting as if they did not
turbocharge the data center buildout.”
Some in the administration are attempting
their own talking points. Take Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
Now Lutnick is a known liar having lied to Miranda Devine in her podcast
last fall when he claimed neighbor Jeffrey Epstein invited him and his
wife over for a tour and that they were so creeped out by seeing his
residence Lutnick cut off all contact with him. As we later learned, he
became a travel buddy of Epstein's with him going to Epstein Island and
they were business partners -- all of this after Lutnick swore to
Devine that he had decided to never have anything to do with Epstein
again. Lutnick's not very smart for thinking he could get away with
that lie.
The idiot thought he could get away with another lie this week. REUTERS reports, "U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick apologized on Thursday for
stating that no Americans had died in the Iran war, acknowledging that
18 service members have been killed and he was thinking about Venezuela
when he made the mistaken statement." He was on CNBC and he was lying about the Iran War. And this was just another lie he was telling. He knew what he was doing.
And he's not very smart with his other big lie this week. Somaiyah Hafeez (THE MIRROR) reports:
Appearing on CNBC's Squawk Box, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick falsely claimed that AI data centers "don't use water."
Lutnick
appeared on the show on Wednesday, and when the topic of data centers
and the pushback to them came up, he was adamant that data centers do
not "use water" as he laughed off and called it "propaganda."
"One
of my favorite things is when people talk about data centers using
water. The number one product in America that uses water is cattle," he
said, laughing.
They don't use water? Back to the article:
Data
centers depend largely on large volumes of water to generate heat
around the clock, cooling their hardware and supporting operational
performance and longevity.
Additionally, water
is used indirectly through electricity use. Data centers use hundreds of
thousands, or even millions, of gallons of water per day, depending on
their size.
Simon Marks (THE i PAPER) notes the lie as well:
Over
on CNBC, the Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, was talking literal
and provable nonsense in an interview about AI data centres. As
Republican lawmakers across the US find themselves on the receiving end
of growing public fury over the rapidity with which they have embraced
applications to build data centres, Lutnick scoffed at the notion that
they put pressure on local water supplies. “Both [parties] seem to think
that there’s some political points to be scored by being anti-data
centre”, observed pro-Trump CNBC host Joe Kernan, who then suggested “a
little education might change that”. Lutnick responded: “One of my
favourite things is when people talk about data centres using water. The
number-one product in America that uses water is cattle… I mean data
centres don’t use water. This is propaganda by our adversaries to try
and slow us down.” At no point did Kernan interrupt him and correct the
record. In fact, data centres consume several million litres of water
daily to cool servers and generate electricity. The University of
Oxford’s Department of Engineering Science calls them “water-guzzling”
and a recent case study reported that “a relatively small one-megawatt
data centre… would use 26 million litres of water per year. Regional
water stress must be considered.”
This
is our Secretary of Commerce? Lying about something so basic or, even
worse, completely ignorant about the business he is pushing. Turns out,
he's just a liar. David Moye (HUFFINGTON POST) explains, "Lutnick’s
statement is also contradicted by (checks notes) Howard Lutnick, who,
last year, admitted to Fox News’ Sean Hannity that, while he supported
building the data centers, 'these AI things suck water. They need
water'."
Lutnick is, of course, not the only liar or fool.
There's always wayward Democrat John Fetterman, the senator bound and
determined to rescue Chump whenever possible. Robert Davis (RAW STORY) notes FettyCrap's appearance on CNN's THE AREA WITH KASIE HUNT:
Fetterman told Hunt that concerns about data centers are largely overblown, but his reasoning left several critics alarmed.
"A
lot of the opposition has been driven by the [Chinese Communist Party],
and a lot of influence," Fetterman said. "Also, there are the facts. It
consumes maybe less than 1/10 of the water, and contributes to our
economy and our land uses too. In Pennsylvania, we are land rich and
also water rich, too. So, I think it's an important part of our economy
right now."
Critics reacted to Fetterman's comments on social media.
"As far as I'm concerned, John Fetterman is already a lobbyist," Nick Field, a politics writer, posted on X.
"I
dare Fetterman to go visit a community pissed about data centers and
tell them this BS," J.J. Abbott, a Democratic political communications
strategist in Pennsylvania, posted on X. "He won’t because he’s too
afraid to go out in public in PA without his Dave McCormick security
blanket."
Again, Chump continues hyping data centers. Even as more people turn against them. Helen Coster and Dawn Kopecki (REUTERS) note, "Across
the country, as Democrats ride a wave of local opposition to data
centers ahead of the November elections, Republicans are increasingly
breaking from U.S. President Donald Trump’s pro-AI agenda. Republican
candidates in at least five states – including Michigan, Wisconsin and
Pennsylvania – have recently adopted tougher rhetoric on data centers or
proposed restrictions on their development, creating a new fault line
within the party." Greta Reich (USA TODAY) adds, "Almost
three-fourths of U.S. adults said they oppose building data centers
near them, according to a recent Gallup survey. Part of this has to do
with water usage – a 2025 report from the Environmental and Energy Study
Institute found large data centers can consume up to 5 million gallons
of water every day, roughly equivalent to the water use of a town of
10,000 to 50,000 people. In addition to water, many are concerned about
consumer protections regarding electricity rate increases, demands on
renewable energy and requirements about who gets employed to construct
data centers." Keith Naughton (THE HILL) also details public opinion, "And it shows up in the polls. According to a recent YouGov poll, data centers are viewed negatively by a net margin of 20 points overall,
with Democrats net-negative 47 points and young voters net-negative 36
points. They do best with self-described MAGA voters: net-positive by
just 8 points, with approval only at 41 percent (18 percent neutral)."
But, again, Chump promotes them. Brendan Rascius (INDEPENDENT) reports:
A
majority of Americans have concerns about data centers cropping up
across the country, and the opposition among lawmakers spans party
lines.
But the industry has found a champion in
President Donald Trump, who has hailed the colossal computing
facilities as the “golden goose,” despite being shown unfavorable
polling among voters on the issue, according to a new report.
Last
week, Trump said that if he were a town mayor, he would “absolutely”
welcome an “AI plant or data center,” citing what he described as
enormous job opportunities.
On Monday, he struck a harsher tone.
“The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers
is if they want to end up being backwards and poor... If we kill the
Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame,” he posted on
Truth Social.
Trump’s advocacy reflects several
calculations: his view that the U.S. must outpace China in artificial
intelligence and his belief that data center construction is helping
sustain the economy, Politico reported.
Chump's support for them may be behind a proposed EPA change. Matthew Daly (INDEPENDENT) reports:
A plan by the Environmental Protection Agency
could make it harder for the public to learn about and comment on
proposed AI data centers that have sparked backlash in communities
across the United States and transformed the midterm election landscape.
The
EPA proposal would eliminate a federal requirement that states notify
the public and seek comment before issuing air pollution permits for
data centers and other industrial facilities. States could still offer
opportunities for public comment, but the EPA would no longer mandate
them as a condition for states to grant permits.
Critics
say the move could thwart local residents from learning about proposed
data centers or making their voices heard before projects are approved
and construction begins. The move comes during a widespread backlash as
tech giants build hundreds of massive server warehouses to fuel
artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
“By
eliminating the long-standing federal requirement for public notice,
this proposal continues efforts by the Trump administration to turn its
back on the fundamental EPA principle of transparency,” said Mike
Koerber, a former deputy director of EPA’s air quality office.
Meanwhile, Edith Olmsted (THE NEW REPUBLIC) reports:
Sailors fresh off the USS Abraham Lincoln have some serious concerns about their record-setting deployment.
MS
NOW’s Priya Sridhar appeared on The Last Word Wednesday night after
speaking with some of the 5,000 sailors deployed for nearly 300 days
onboard the aircraft carrier during their long-awaited port call in
Pattaya, Thailand.
“Many of them told me that
this was in fact the worst deployment that they have ever experienced,”
Sridhar said. “It was incredibly hard. And many of them expressed to me
that they actually wished they hadn’t even done a port call, at this
point, they wanted to just go directly home.”
The
sailors also expressed concerns that amid President Trump’s ongoing war
with Iran, lengthier deployments would become normalized and hurt Navy
retention, especially among junior service members, Sridhar said.
The mission was complicated by lack of planning.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth sits at the top of the Defense
Department so the buck stops with him -- or should. And the service
members on board the USS LINCOLN suffered due to Hegseth's ignorance and
lack of experience. In April, news reports first noted that the
service members on board the USS LINCOLN did not have enough food
supplies and were existing on highly rationed food. When those reports
emerged, Hegseth insisted that they were lies. By August, the situation
had gotten much worse and Hegseth had done nothing. Grasp that. It
never should have gotten as bad as it did in April. But to have it get
that bad and to fail to fix it over the next four months? That's
dereliction of duty. And that's far from the only example of it.
The
latest casualty of Pete Hegseth’s disastrous tenure as Secretary of
“War” is Dan Driscoll, who resigned Monday as Secretary of the Army
after repeatedly clashing with the Heg.
Driscoll
isn’t a liberal in lion’s clothing. He’s an old friend of JD Vance from
Yale Law days. He resigned because of his concerns that Hegseth is
damaging the Army’s efforts to modernize and adapt to the 21st century
battlefield environment — where drone warfare is becoming increasingly
important — by firing or pushing out leaders spearheading those efforts.
A defense official in Europe told CNN that even though Hegseth talks about technology reform, he’s focusing instead on “muscles, dudes in dresses, testosterone.”
Hegseth’s
tenure has been disastrous from the moment he walked into the Pentagon.
Even if Trump were capable of hearing sound advice, Hegseth hasn’t come
close to giving it to him. Instead, he’s been pursuing grievances about
DEI, promoting testosterone, and denigrating or firing women and Black
officers.
The Army now has no Senate-confirmed
secretary or chief of staff (George’s replacement, General Christopher
LaNeve, so far doesn’t have the votes to be confirmed).
The
Iran war, meanwhile, is requiring the ongoing deployment of 19
warships, air-defense units, fighter squadrons and paratroopers across
the region — straining service members and their families and creating a
maintenance backlog that could take years to unwind, according to The Wall Street Journal.
And Travis Gettys (RAW STORY) notes, "The
Defense Department is quietly extending troop deployments for another
year – or longer – amid a six-month-old U.S. military campaign against
Iran, even though Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth promised a quick,
decisive operation when it began, according to a Wall Street Journal report."
Again,
lack of planning and add in Hegseth's refusal to actually listen to the
people who have more experience than he does. Yes, he keeps running
these people off. But he didn't listen to them before he forced them
out and the ones remaining he won't listen to either. He has never held
a position like this before and he does not have the training nor does
he have the temperament. He would rather waste his time trying to drum
out transgender members, to block the promotion of all women and people
of color. He is a rather strange 'straight' man as he obsesses over
the bodies of other men, as he has hissy fits about the weight of
service members, as he wants to mandate testosterone testing. On the
last one, REUTERS notes, "The
Pentagon is temporarily rescinding recently published clinical guidance
for a new, mandatory testosterone deficiency screening policy for
service members age 30 and older, a U.S. official told Reuters on
Thursday."
But
he has focused on everything but his job -- this week has included
verbally attacking transgender people and mocking a Canadian high school
female over her body. On the mocking of the Canadian high schooler, US
House Rep Don Bacon (a Republican) denounced Hegseth's actions, "It’s
lowbrow. I think it’s unprofessional, and I’d like to think that our
leadership, representing us in the Pentagon and in the White House, we
should be better than that, and I thought it was demeaning and uncalled
for."
He does not focus on his job.
He isn't fit to serve as Secretary of Defense.
Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta blasted current Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Thursday for “undermining the strength” of the U.S. military.
“I think the secretary is undermining the strength of our military — and particularly the Army — by creating the kind of turmoil in the command structure that he’s been creating,” Panetta told host Wolf Blitzer on CNN’s “The Situation Room.”
Coming from Leon, that's pretty much the end of it. Leon was Secretary of Defense. He knows the job. And if he says Hegseth is undermining the strength of the US military? Then that's what's happening.
Sen.
Thom Tillis has called on President Donald Trump to fire Pete Hegseth
as secretary of Defense following a series of high-profile exits and
firings of senior Pentagon officials in recent months.
Tillis'
comments on Wednesday are the strongest yet from a Republican
politician amid mounting GOP criticism of Hegseth's leadership of the
Department of Defense, and came two days after Army Secretary Dan
Driscoll resigned following months of reported of clashes with Hegseth.
"I
have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women
who serve our country. He is intimidated by competence and retreats to
ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work
of our national defense and the health and well-being of our fighting
force," Tillis said on X.
"I urge the president
to find a new leader at the Pentagon who will retain and empower our
military talent rather than diminish it."
Hegseth,
a former Army National Guard major who took office with less senior
government and military leadership experience than any other secretary
of Defense, has overseen a sweeping overhaul of the department, which
has seen nearly two dozen generals, admirals and senior civilian defense
officials resign, retire early or be fired. Several have left following
reported clashes with Hegseth.
The numbers speaking out against Hegseth are only increasing. And it's because, as Leon Panetta noted, Hegseth is undermining the strength of the military he is supposed be overseeing. Sara Dorn (FORBES) notes:
The Army has fewer generals than at any point in recent history, according to The Atlantic, and the number of four-star generals on active duty is down to five, from 10, when Hegseth took office, The New York Times reported
in April. Hegseth replaced George with Gen. Chris LaNeve. Army Gen.
Christopher Donahue also resigned in June after Hegseth allegedly
blocked him from extending his career. The Trump administration has said
it intends to formally nominate LaNeve for the position permanently,
but has yet to do so, amid opposition from at least one Republican on
the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. LaNeve is
serving as both acting chief of staff and vice chief of staff, replacing
Gen. James Mingus in the latter role after Hegseth forced out Mingus
last year.
Aaron Blake (CNN) examines Hegseth's record and notes:
While
the GOP backlash over Driscoll’s departure has yet to expand, it’s
merely the latest example of Republicans raising concerns about Hegseth.
And
those concerns have often come from high places, including chairmen of
both the Senate and House Armed Services Committees and other
committees, the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and
several senators who voted to confirm Hegseth:
Just
weeks into Hegseth’s tenure, Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger
Wicker decried Hegseth’s comments about concessions Ukraine would have
to make as a “rookie mistake.” Hegseth backed off the comments.
Wicker
has also said it was inappropriate for Hegseth to try and discipline
Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona for participating in a video
telling service members to disobey illegal orders.
Ex-House
Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner has questioned the administration’s
boat strikes killing alleged drug traffickers without due process and
raised concerns about the information the Pentagon is sharing about the
Iran war.
Sen. Rand Paul, who chairs the homeland security
committee, has said Hegseth’s handling of questions about the boat
strikes shows he’s either “lying to us … or he’s incompetent.”
Other
GOP senators have recently raised concerns about the Pentagon excluding
Democrats from briefings, including classified ones. “The Democrat
members need to be brought up to speed,” Sen. Mike Rounds of South
Dakota said last month.
That’s a lot. And it doesn’t even
include Hegseth’s sharing of highly sensitive information about
impending military strikes on the unclassified app, Signal. An inspector
general’s report last year found that Hegseth could have jeopardized both the mission in Yemen and risked harm to US troops.
The
Pentagon, for its part, has defended his leadership in previous
comments to CNN as ushering in a new era for the department at the
president’s direction.
But it seems the drip-drip-drip of controversy has registered with the American people, too.
Polls in recent months from Quinnipiac University and Marquette Law School
show Hegseth about 20 points underwater. Registered voters disapproved
of him 56%-34% in the former, and Americans viewed him unfavorably
46%-27% in the latter.
Chump dithers
as all this goes down and looks ineffectual as a result. He won't fire
Pete. He's scared to fire him. In his first term? he went through
two Senate confirmed Secretary of Defenses and three acting ones.
Five. Five is how many he had in his first term. In his second term?
He's too paralyzed to act. Too scared to drop the hammer. He's the one
who got famous saying, "You're fired." Now he's so old and addled and
can't manage much more than napping during public meetings. He looks
weak.
James Downie (MS NOW) writes of Chump entering his lame duck phase:
President
Donald Trump will be in Dallas next week to headline a two-day GOP
convention. But many Republican lawmakers and candidates reportedly have
other plans — or aren’t sure about attending. While the party’s
congressional leadership will attend, of the 70 members of Congress or
would-be members Politico surveyed, “most either do not plan to attend or are still weighing whether to go. Dozens more declined to share their plans.”
This is how an unpopular president becomes a lame duck.
The
reasons for non-attendance abounded: “I just felt I’d be more useful in
my district,” said Michigan’s Tom Barrett. “I’m not a party guy,” said
Pennsylvania’s Brian Fitzpatrick. “Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., said he
instead plans to visit colleges with his daughter,” Politico reported.
Sincere or not, the rationales also likely stem from one number: 35.9%. That’s Trump’s average approval rating according to FiftyPlusOne. Other polling averages have the president a point or two higher, but in all averages, the president is at or near record-low approvals — including his first term.
His
nightmare midterm convention. When they thought it up, he was higher
in the polls. Not a lot but higher. Now he prepares to take American
Airlines Center in Dallas and he's just not that popular. Or wanted.
And he wants to be feted like a hero and over exposed like a super
model. Ewan Palmer (DAILY BEAST) notes:
Donald Trump will now speak on both nights of his midterm convention as he desperately tries to drum up enthusiasm.
The
president, 80, was originally supposed to headline only the second
night of the two-day televised party convention in Dallas next week. The
event was organized to try to give the GOP a much-needed election boost
and mobilize Trump’s MAGA base, even though his name will not be on the
ballot in November.
However, with scores of
Republicans already confirming their intentions to skip the Sept. 9-10
event—amid concern that viewers at home would much rather watch the
opening games of the NFL season airing at the same time—Trump will now
deliver a speech on Wednesday and Thursday night.
Two speeches. And him in Dallas and not DC or Florida? Sounds like he could get tired and cranky. Molly Sprayregen (LGBTQ NATION) notes,
"Among the timing issues is the fact that the convention takes place
during the first two NFL games of the season, leading some to worry the
convention won’t get enough attention from media outlets, which will
likely get more viewers by showing football games. The event is also the
same week as the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and may also conflict with
memorial events. Sources told the Washington Examiner, for example, that
CNN and CBS won’t offer live coverage for most of the convention."
Turning to Chump's late friend, sex trafficker and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, Malcolm Ferguson (THE NEW REPUBLIC) notes:
Republican
House leadership has announced that the largest U.S. governing body
will be taking a massive fall break, seriously cutting legislative
calendar before November’s midterm elections. This comes after the House
was already out of session for 5 weeks until returning on Monday.
The
House will no longer vote in the final two weeks of September as
previously scheduled, according to a notice from Majority Whip Tom
Emmer’s office. After a Labor Day break, the House will only be in
session for four days before representatives head home again for all of
October.
What does that have to do
with Jeffrey Epstein? Just that Speaker of the Closet Mike Johnson is
yet again attempting to stop a discharge petition on The Epstein
Files. Sarah Rumpf (MEDIAITE) explains:
Rep.
Thomas Massie (R-KY) fired back at Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for
calling him “stupid” for predicting something that did, in fact, happen.
[. . .]
On
Tuesday, Massie posted on his social media that he and several other
members had launched a discharge petition to force a vote on an updated
second bill to release the files related to deceased child sex predator
Jeffrey Epstein.
However, noted Massie, there were “rumors”
that Johnson “will soon recess the House until after the midterm
elections,” which he speculated would be done “to avoid the vote.”
Johnson
reacted to Massie’s post with indignation when he was asked about it
later that day by LindellTV’s congressional correspondent, Alison
Steinberg.
“Let me tell you how stupid Thomas Massie’s comment
is,” said Johnson, insisting that “Republicans are here to work,” and
Massie would know that if he had attended the House Republican
Conference meeting that morning. Johnson vowed that House Republicans
“would abide by that calendar” that had been “out for a year,” which
mean they would “work all the way through September and every day that’s
on the calendar, so long as people like him don’t stop the progress.”
[. . .]
“So
that is a nonsensical statement by someone who is not participating as a
full member of the Congress, and it’s really sad that he doesn’t,”
Johnson concluded.
Massie fired back Thursday, tweeting a fire
emoji and screenshots of his Tuesday tweet and the updated House
calendar with the recess dates crossed out.
“Tuesday I tweeted
Mike Johnson would recess Congress until after the election in an
attempt to stymie our latest Epstein bill,” wrote Massie. “Johnson went
on TV adamantly saying that was STUPID and we’d work every day. Today he
announced we’ll recess on Sept 17… until after the election!”
In other news, Leon Black. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee issued the following yesterday:
Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, released the following statement after Leon Black, billionaire and primary client of Jeffrey Epstein, defied his subpoena and refused to appear for a deposition before the Oversight Committee. In June, Black stormed out of his transcribed interview with the Committee when asked about non-disclosure agreements.
“By refusing to testify today, Leon Black is now defying two Congressional subpoenas. Black gave Jeffrey Epstein over $180 million over six years. He funded Epstein's abuse and trafficking of women. Multiple women have also accused Black of sexual assault. His connections to Epstein and his unwillingness to cooperate are unacceptable. We must hold him in contempt immediately.” said Ranking Member Robert Garcia.
Leon Black had a longstanding relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Black was Epstein’s primary client, even after Epstein was convicted in Florida of sex crimes. Black paid millions to women he engaged with sexually, some of whom were also connected to Epstein. Black made women sign strict non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to keep them quiet. He also paid $62.5 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands to avoid Epstein-related claims against him. Black’s name is mentioned hundreds of times in the Epstein files.
###
On the Republican side of the Committee, Chair James Comer.
So Black has gotten both side of the Committee's attention. Bill Chappell (NPR) reports:
Billionaire Leon Black was scheduled to testify about his dealings with
convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein under a subpoena from the House
Oversight Committee on Thursday morning. But instead of appearing, Black
filed a lawsuit against the committee and its Republican chairman,
accusing them of overstepping their authority.
His civil lawsuit describes the House panel's inquiry — led by Rep. James Comer, R-Ky. — as a "public fishing expedition," accusing its members of attempting to score political points.
In response, Comer called Black's actions "unacceptable" and said he and other panel members would discuss whether to hold Black in contempt.
Lawmakers have for months sought more information on the financial web
that allowed Epstein to fund his sex trafficking operation and whether
Black was at all involved or aware of any illegal activity. They
specifically have sought information about any nondisclosure agreements
Black signed with women.
[. . .]
In 2022, Black was sued over allegations that he raped a woman in Epstein’s New York City mansion in 2002. That case was later dropped with prejudice after both parties reached an agreement to do so and Black denied the allegations against him. A separate but ongoing lawsuit, filed in 2023, accused Black of raping a 16-year-old girl at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse in 2002. A lawyer for Black denied the allegations, calling them “frivolous and sanctionable.” In April, a judge overseeing the case wrote that the plaintiff and her attorney “engaged in serious, sanctionable misconduct in this case,” but allowed the case to proceed.
Let's wind down with this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:
“[T]he agency has displayed a worrying lack of public transparency about what this vast sum of money has been spent on or will be spent on in the future.”
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) raised their concerns in a letter to Department of Education (ED) Secretary Linda McMahon about ED’s use of the $1 billion that Republicans’ One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) allocated to ED for student loan administration. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined the letter as well.
Student loan borrowers are facing the largest default and delinquency crisis in recorded history. While OBBBA allocated $1 billion to be used to cover “administrative costs” of the federal student loan program, the law created no accountability, oversight, or transparency measures regarding how the money is spent. ED has reported that it spent approximately $216 million of this fund by the start of Fiscal Year 2026, but it has not disclosed to the public what it has spent this money on or its future plans for the fund, leaving borrowers, advocates, and lawmakers in the dark.
“While ED has disclosed that it has already spent hundreds of millions of dollars from the fund, the agency has displayed a worrying lack of public transparency about what this vast sum of money has been spent on or will be spent on in the future,” wrote the senators.
In addition to pushing for increased transparency regarding the student loan administration fund, the senators urged Secretary McMahon to use the money to address the ongoing student loan default crisis, such as by expanding outreach to borrowers at risk of defaulting or who have already defaulted, improving Federal Student Aid customer service, and rehiring ED’s servicer oversight team to ensure that servicer errors do not raise the risk of default.
“ED should spend the money on whatever measures are necessary to address the default crisis by bringing borrowers out of default and preventing additional borrowers from defaulting,” wrote the senators.
The senators asked McMahon to provide answers to their questions regarding how ED has used — and intends to use — this $1 billion fund no later than September 16, 2026.
Senator Warren has led the fight to make our higher education system more affordable, cancel student loan debt, and hold student loan servicers accountable for incompetence and malfeasance. She launched the Save Our Schools campaign in a coordinated effort to fight back against President Trump’s attempts to abolish the Department of Education:
- On August 27, 2026, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) led a group of senators in investigating federal student loan servicer MOHELA on the company’s plans to address the false delinquency notices that it reportedly sent to numerous student loan borrowers.
- On July 30, 2026, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee’s bipartisan 21-1 vote to advance Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bill Cassidy’s (R-La.) College Transparency Act out of committee, Senator Warren released the following statement.
- On July 21, 2026, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) introduced the Accreditation Reform and Enhanced Accountability Act of 2026 (AREAA). The legislation would take steps to reduce student debt and protect students and taxpayers by reforming higher education accreditation and centering student outcomes and consumer protection. On July 16, 2026, at a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) pressed Francis Brooke, nominee to be Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Treasury, to answer basic questions about the largest student loan default crisis in recorded history, which the Treasury Department has now inherited as part of President Trump’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education. Mr. Brooke was unable to answer questions about the size of the default crisis and potential effects on Social Security benefits for seniors with defaulted loans.
- On July 6, 2026, in response to a May 2026 request from U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent government watchdog, confirmed it would investigate whether the Trump administration’s dismantling of the Department of Education (ED) is harming ED’s ability to root out waste, fraud, and abuse of Title IV financial aid funds.
- On June 8, 2026, Senators Warren (D-Mass.) and Merkley (D-Ore.), along with Representatives Pressley (D-Mass.) and Carson (D-Ind.), led 62 members of Congress in pressing the Department of Education to immediately address the largest student loan default and delinquency crisis on record, which has been made worse by the Trump administration’s policies.
- On May 28, 2026, in response to a request from Senator Warren (D-Mass.), the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent government watchdog, confirmed the expansion of its investigation into the Department of Education’s (ED) transfer of critical programs to other agencies through interagency agreements (IAAs), including the transfer of student loan default collections to the Department of the Treasury. GAO previously confirmed it had initiated an investigation into ED’s transfer of grant programs for career and technical education and adult education to the Department of Labor.
- On May 21, 2026, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to open a new investigation into whether the Trump administration’s dismantling of the Department of Education (ED) is harming ED’s ability to root out waste, fraud, and abuse of Title IV financial aid funds.
- On May 4, 2026, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released new responses from the Department of Education and the Treasury Department demonstrating that the agencies cannot articulate a clear purpose or plan for implementing their illegal interagency agreement (IAA) transferring the administration of federal student loans to the Treasury.
- On April 28, 2026, Senators Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) pressed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new Student Loan Ombudsman, Geoffrey Gradler, on his plan to protect student loan borrowers, especially given his past censorship of a key student loan report at the CFPB and his background as a lobbyist for lenders. The senators also asked him to recuse himself from past clients’ matters that might come before his office at the CFPB.
- On April 2, 2026, Senators Warren, Sanders, Wyden, Murray, and Baldwin—all top Democrats on influential education committees—pressed Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent to rescind their plans to move the administration of federal student loans to the Treasury Department, the latest move in the Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle the Department of Education.
- On February 23, 2026, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, along with Representative Ayanna Pressley, released a response from the Department of Education to their November letter regarding a potential sale of the federal student debt portfolio. In the response, ED confirms for the first time publicly that they are weighing a sale of the federal student loan portfolio.
- On February 19, 2026, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) pushed Education Secretary Linda McMahon on concerns that the U.S. Department of Education is apparently obstructing Congressional efforts to hold federal student loan servicers accountable for underperformance.
- On February 2, 2026, Senator Warren released a new report revealing the findings of their investigation into how private student loan lenders will reap the benefits from cuts to federal student loan access enacted in Republicans’ Big, Beautiful Bill (OBBBA). The report is the first Congressional analysis of the impacts of the OBBBA’s student loan restrictions on the private lending market.
- On January 22, 2026, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) led their Senate colleagues in demanding answers from Trump Education Secretary Linda McMahon about the Trump Administration’s proposal to eliminate affordable student loan repayment options for millions of Americans.
- On December 8, 2025, Senator Warren led her colleagues in writing to the federal student loan servicers to ensure they are providing borrowers with the customer service they deserve in the wake of the Trump administration’s student loan policy whiplash. The senators sent letters to MOHELA, Nelnet, EdFinancial, Maximus, and CRI.
- On December 1, 2025, Senator Warren published an op-ed in USA Today calling for Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to resign following the recent news that President Trump and Secretary McMahon plan to further dismantle the Department of Education (ED).
- On November 17, 2025, Senator Warren led over 40 of her colleagues in a letter urging Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent to immediately end any plans to sell or transfer the federal student loan portfolio to the private market.
- On November 10, 2025, Senator Warren led her colleagues in a letter urging the Trump administration to use the IRS’s existing legal authorities to stop the looming “tax bomb” facing borrowers who obtain income-driven repayment (IDR) discharges of their student loan debt.
- On October 15, 2025, Senator Warren and Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) led 70 members of Congress in a letter calling on the Trump administration to address the ongoing and unprecedented wave of student loan delinquencies and defaults, which threatens the financial stability of millions of people and could have disastrous effects on the American economy.
- On September 19, 2025, following a push by Senator Warren and nine other senators, the Acting Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education agreed to open an investigation into DOGE’s infiltration of internal systems, including the scope of its access to sensitive student loan borrower information and its impact on borrowers’ rights and privacy.
- On August 26, 2025, Senator Warren led colleagues in sending a follow-up letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon condemning the Department of Education for deliberately hiding the “Submit a Complaint” button on the Office of Federal Student Aid’s website, firing employees responsible for providing customer service to borrowers and families, and misleading Congress about the scope of these firings.
- On August 4, 2025, Senator Warren led eight senators in pressing major private student loan lenders on their plans to serve the incoming surge of borrowers who will be pushed to the industry because of Republicans’ recently passed “Big, Beautiful Bill.”
- On July 17, 2025, Senator Warren released a new 23-page report, “Education At Risk: Frontline Impacts of Trump’s War on Students,” highlighting warnings from 11 major national education and civil rights organizations on the impact of the Trump Administration’s dismantling of the Department of Education (ED) and slashing support to millions of American students, primary and secondary school teachers, administrators, parents, and student loan borrowers.
- On July 15, 2025, Senators Warren and Sanders, along with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, sent a letter to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, urging her to reverse the interest hike on student loan borrowers in the SAVE forbearance.
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