Politics
Monday’s Mini-Report, 3.16.26
Today’s edition of quick hits.
* A big loss for RFK Jr.: “A federal judge on Monday blocked key parts of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s effort to reshape U.S. vaccine policy, including a move to reduce the number of shots routinely recommended for children.”
* After Minnesota, it was clear that Bovino’s professional future was not bright: “Border Patrol official Greg Bovino, most widely recognized for leading the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, will retire at the end of the month, CBS News reported, citing two sources directly familiar with his decision.”
* It’s not just oil: “The war with Iran is driving up more than gasoline prices. It is beginning to hit semiconductors, medical imaging, backyard gardens and even children’s party balloons.”
* In the Middle East: “At least four Palestinians, including two boys and a woman pregnant with twins, were killed Sunday by an Israeli airstrike in the war-torn Gaza Strip, hospital authorities said.”
* In Ukraine: “A combined missile and drone attack on the Kyiv region killed at least four people and wounded at least 15 overnight into Saturday, according to the head of the regional administration for the Ukrainian capital.”
* Whether the White House understands this or not, moves like these are likely to push consumer prices higher: “Some 200,000 immigrant truck drivers will begin to lose their commercial driver’s licenses as they expire under a new Trump administration rule that takes effect Monday.”
* Small gestures can have a significant meaning: “A temporarily new-issued dime that commemorates America’s 250th anniversary is drawing criticism for its lack of olive branches — a symbol of peace. Instead, the back of the dime showcases the Great Seal of the United States, featuring a bald eagle, but it’s clutching only arrows, a symbol of war, and lacks the traditional olive branch in its other talon.”
* I wish reports like these were less common: “The University of Florida’s College Republicans chapter was disbanded after a finding that some of its members had violated a statewide organization’s rules, including making an antisemitic gesture.”
* You mean presidents can’t change federal laws through largely symbolic executive orders? “The Justice Department on Friday moved to dismiss charges against a veteran who set an American flag on fire across the street from the White House following an executive order seeking to crack down on flag burning.”
* Best wishes for a speedy recovery: “White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has breast cancer but will stay in her role as she gets treatment, President Donald Trump announced Monday.”
See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”
Politics
Right-wing Muslim activist resigns from Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission
President Donald Trump’s so-called Religious Liberty Commission, which is filled with right-wing zealotsappears to be coming apart at the seams.
Last week’s resignation of Sameerah Munshi, formerly the only Muslim woman selected as one of the commission’s advisers, underscores the religious divisions that are causing disarray for the panel and the conservative movement more broadly.
Munshi is a conservative activist who has advocated for allowing parents to opt out of lesson plans related to LGBTQ+ issues, a stance the White House has praised for its rejection of “radical gender ideology.” She said her resignation was due to two things: the commission’s expulsion of conservative activist Carrie Prejean Boller and the Trump administration’s war with Iran.
I recently wrote about how Boller’s removal, which followed a heated argument at a commission hearing over antisemitism, has fueled allegations of anti-Catholicism within the MAGA movement. Boller recently appeared on an episode of Tucker Carlson’s podcast for a chummy chat about her removal. And Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., requested last week that the House Oversight and Judiciary committees review her ouster.
In addition to that, Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission is being sued over its lack of diversity. (The White House has said the panel is intended to reflect a “diversity of faith traditions, professional backgrounds and viewpoints.”)
So Munshi’s resignation is just the latest negative publicity for the commission.
“I resign in protest of two deeply troubling developments: the official removal of Carrie Prejean Boller for her deeply held beliefs about Palestine and the federal government’s illegal war against Iran, undertaken without clear constitutional or congressional authorization,” Munshi wrote on Substack.
“Ultimately, I will have to stand before God and answer to Him for my role in this commission,” she added. “I ask His forgiveness if I have legitimized their evil or the evil of this administration in any way. I ask Him to keep my intentions pure and to guide me toward paths that bring true benefit to my community.”
Boller’s removal has also helped fuel right-wing antipathy toward the Rev. Paula White, who Boller has said was behind a “witch hunt” that led to her ouster. During their conversation, Boller and Carlson took turns bashing White, a controversial preacher of the prosperity gospel who has served as religious adviser to Trump.
Some evangelicals in the MAGA movement were apoplectic when White was chosen to lead the White House Faith Office. And now it appears the chickens have come home to roost as her involvement with Trump’s White House threatens the MAGA movement’s religious coalition.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.
Politics
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