The Dictatorship
What Trump’s replacement of Lina Khan reveals about JD Vance
For the last few years, a younger generation of Republicans — including Vice President-elect J.D. Vance — has tried to convince their party to (partially) rethink its traditional kowtowing to corporate interests. If they really want to be the party of the working class, it might not be enough to pour contempt on college professors and government employees. What if they combined that with a genuine skepticism of corporate power, and a willingness to use government to police monopolies and make sure markets work for everyone?
It was an interesting idea. But even if Vance and his allies were sincere — and there are plenty of reasons to doubt that — the incoming Trump White House is going in another direction. Big business will have even more influence in Donald Trump’s second administration than in his first, and the dream of a Republican Party that cares about voters’ pocketbooks, not just CEOs’ salaries, will be deferred yet again. The idea that this administration will be “populist” in any meaningful sense looks more like a joke every single day.
While not all of Khan’s antitrust actions have been successful, she has notched some notable victories.
Already, Trump has tapped more than a dozen billionaires and Wall Street tycoons to fill out Cabinet posts and advisory positions. He is dining with industry lobbyists and promising regulatory exemptions to big companies. And on Tuesday, he confirmed that he would replace Lina Khan, the government’s most prominent fighter against corporate poweras chair of the Federal Trade Commission.Under Khan, the FTC has been at the center of some of the most important action on markets and monopolies over the last four years. Along with Jonathan Kanter, head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, Khan has reinvigorated antitrust enforcement, challenging giant mergers and bringing lawsuits against tech companies for their exploitative practices.
While not all of Khan’s antitrust actions have been successful, she has notched some notable victories. Earlier this year, the FTC sued to block a proposed merger between grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, arguing the merger would raise prices and hurt workers. After a judge sided with the FTC and state regulators, Albertsons backed out of the deal.
Though wealthy donors in both parties despise Khanher adversarial relationship with large corporations, and particularly with the tech industry, won her some fans on the right. “I look at Lina Khan as one of the few people in the Biden administration that I think is doing a pretty good job,” said Vance earlier this year. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said that her past criticism of Amazon was “precisely why she was a good choice for the FTC.”
Hawley is just one Republican who has styled himself an anti-corporate crusader; he has introduced a billto outlaw corporate political contributions, which he says would “hold Corporate America accountable for drowning out the voices of the American people.” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Trump’s pick for secretary of state, once endorseda union organizing drive at an Amazon facility, though only because he thought the company was too “woke” and should be punished.
The support for Khan from these “Khanservatives,” and the forlorn hope that Trump’s “populism” has anything to do with economics, led some to wonder if Trump might actually let Khan stay on. The conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board warnedIn July that “Mr. Vance may lobby Mr. Trump to reappoint her in a second term.” Instead, Trump has picked FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson as her replacement. In announcing Ferguson on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote that “Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship.” But this hostility emerges only when Ferguson believes tech companies are censoring conservatives. He recently praised X owner Elon Musk, saying that the platform’s “current turn toward free expression is due only to its new owner’s unusually firm commitment to free and open debate.” In fact, Musk regularly silences his own critics on X and files lawsuits trying to quash speech he doesn’t like.
Ferguson’s pitch to run the agencyfirst reported by Punchbowl Newsdemonstrates that he will broadly reverse Khan’s robust antitrust enforcement. In the one-page document, he promises to “reverse Lina Khan’s anti-business agenda” by repealing “burdensome” regulations (i.e. regulations that businesses don’t like) and stopping “Lina Khan’s war on mergers.” And lest Big Tech gets too worried, he pledges to “end the FTC’s attempt to become an AI regulator.”
Now Vance and his allies’ claims to populism will be truly tested.
No one should be surprised that conservative support for Khan and opposition to Big Tech was never about the dangers of monopoly power or the well being of consumers. Republicans only get mad at companies when they perceive a threat to their partisan interests. Likewise, they’ll condemn corporate “wokeness” when companies celebrate Pride Month, but they don’t care if those same companies jack up prices, mistreat workers or pollute communities. For all the Khanservatives’ claim to be reimagining their party’s stance toward corporations, they lack any broader conception of how much power corporations should have, how government should ensure the proper functioning of markets, or what constitutes genuine competition in the public interest. They’re happy to have the FTC, and the government in general, revert to a reflexive view that corporations should be able to do pretty much whatever they want — so long as it’s conservative officials who are determining where the lines are.
Now Vance and his allies’ claims to populism will be truly tested. Are the corporate-oriented officials running key agencies in the new Trump administration going to reverse the Biden administration’s efforts in taking on corporate power? What about the FTC’s recently finalized “click to cancel” rule, which will require that canceling a subscription or gym membership is as easy as signing up in the first place? What about its crackdown on “junk fees,” or its ban on onerous noncompete agreements? Based on Trump’s actions since the election, all these moves could be at risk.
It’s not just the FTC — we could see the Trump administration end the efforts to get better treatment for airline passengers that Biden started, or follow up on threats to neuter the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which protects consumers from financial industry scams and mistreatment (Elon Musk has said he wants to “delete” the CFPB). Here’s the real measure of the phoniness of the Republican claim to populism: As the next four years progress, watch how often the administration takes the side of consumers when they come in conflict with corporate interests. My bet is on “almost never.”
Perhaps Vance was sincere all the times he said he wanted a genuinely populist Republican Party that is skeptical of corporate power. But that’s almost certainly not what we’re going to get. Conservative ideology, and subservience to the moneyed interests that fund the GOP, will determine what Republicans do when they take power, just as they always have.
DETROIT (AP) — The opening of a Canadian-U.S. bridge across the Detroit River, which President Donald Trump had previously threatened to block, was delayed Thursday due to unresolved issues.
In a statement released before a scheduled Friday ribbon-cutting ceremony at the bridge, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority said that “Canada and the United States have agreed to delay the opening of the bridge, taking the necessary time to resolve any outstanding issues.” It didn’t elaborate on what those issues are or how long the delay would last.
The 1.5-mile-long (2.4-kilometer-long) Gordie Howe International Bridge spans the Detroit River and connects the Motor City with Windsor, Ontario. The bridge is jointly owned by Canada and Michigan and was expected to open to traffic later this month.
But the opening had been thrown into question after Trump in February demanded in a social media post that Canada turn over at least half of the bridge’s ownership to the U.S. federal government and agree to other unspecified demands in one of the Republican president’s many salvos over cross-border trade issues.
Michigan officials and the White House had been in contact for months about the bridge following Trump’s post, with the understanding that the opening would move forward Friday. Invitations for the bridge’s opening went out this week following a conversation between Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
“This project is a powerful example of bipartisan and international cooperation, and the governor looks forward to attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony when it happens,” a statement from Whitmer spokesperson Bobby Leddy said.
New bridge a “long-term play”
Internal disagreements within the Trump administration threw those plans into question, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick pushed back on the opening, according to two people with knowledge of the matter who insisted on anonymity to discuss the private talks.
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday evening, “At the request of the United States we agreed to delay the opening and take the necessary time to resolve outstanding issues.”
He added, “There are some things that have been raised, a series of technical aspects, which we will work through with the United States.”
Even with the delay, officials remained optimistic that the bridge — a roughly $4.4 billion project — is still expected to open.
“We need to keep this very much in perspective,” said Sandy Baruah, president of the Detroit Regional Chamber and former U.S. assistant secretary of commerce. “Our organization, the state of Michigan and others have been working on this bridge for 20 years. If it opens July 1, Aug. 1 or Sept. 1, I’m not going to get overly agitated about it. This is a long-term play.”
Named after the late Canadian Hockey great Gordie Howe, who spent 25 seasons leading the Detroit Red Wings, the bridge is expected to be another vital economic artery between Canada and the United States.
The construction project was negotiated by Rick Snyder, the former Republican governor of Michigan, and paid for by Canada to help ease congestion at the existing Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor tunnel. Work has been underway since 2018.
U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, said she’s taking people at their word that the holdup is “a minor hiccup.”
“This is probably the most bipartisan issue in the state of Michigan, so it’s ridiculous that we can’t just seal the deal,” Slotkin said.
Commerce and border crossings
Detroit and Windsor have been neighborly for generations, with residents in both countries frequently crossing the shared river border for entertainment and shopping. Windsor’s population in 2021 was about 230,000. Like Detroit, the Canadian city’s economy has a strong focus on manufacturing and the auto industry.
Commercial trade between the two cities primarily has been across the nearly century-old and privately-owned Ambassador Bridge, which is closer to downtown Detroit than the Gordie Howe Bridge.
The Ambassador Bridge had been the busiest commercial border crossing between the United States and Canada until last year, when truck traffic along the Blue Water Bridge connecting Port Huron, Michigan, to Sarnia, Ontario, surpassed the Ambassador Bridge’s numbers, according to the Bridge and Tunnel Operators Association.
In 2025, about 2.1 million trucks crossed the Blue Water Bridge compared to just over 1.8 million that used the Ambassador Bridge. About 3.5 million passenger vehicles used the Ambassador Bridge last year, while 1.6 million crossed via the Blue Water Bridge.
Combined, more than 9.2 million vehicles crossed the border on those two bridges in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
More than 3.7 million cars and SUVs also traveled between the United States and Canada last year via the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.
Both bridges and the tunnel are working at full capacity, and the new bridge will help improve the efficiency of commercial and personal traffic between the two countries, Baruah said.
“This is what government is supposed to do, make it easier for business to conduct commerce,” he said.
___
Cappelletti reported from Washington.
President Donald Trump’s planned UFC fight on the White House’s South Lawn has required a monumental effort from more than seven federal agencies, hundreds of staff working onsite daily and at least $60 million, according to a legal filing that offers a glimpse into the preparations.
The event is part of the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, and is scheduled for the weekend with the main attraction — seven mixed martial arts matches — on Sunday.
That is, if a judge doesn’t halt the proceedings, which is sought by two Virginia residents in a federal lawsuit against the National Park Service, which oversees the South Lawn.
The agency filed a rebuff of the request Tuesday in court, and, in it, laid out the operations for the event.
“Well over $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor have been expended,” the document read, adding that the money came from the UFC and groups affiliated with it.
The Octagon
It’s the eight-sided cage that surrounds the sometimes bloodied combatants and sits at the center of the constructed arena on the South Lawn.
The arena is expected to hold 4,000 spectators, with another 120,000 visitors — who swung tickets from an online lottery — anticipated to watch from the nearby Ellipse.
The installation began May 20, and the Secret Service worked with the UFC to screen between 20 and 30 trucks of equipment — as well as between “700 and 900” staff — that came in daily for the installation.
The document did not specify the extent of government resources spent on the project, but said seven agencies, including Homeland Security and the Federal Aviation Administration, have “allocated significant resources and manpower.”
The schedule
It’ll kick off Saturday with a ceremonial weigh-in at the Ellipse, followed by a concert by country musicians The Zac Brown Band.
A UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest will be ongoing through the weekend, with “interactive experiences,” live shows, celebrity appearances, “exclusive on-stage moments,” meet and greets, live music and interviews with the athletes.
Sunday night is when the seven bouts kick off. At the close, Trump is scheduled to fly to France for the G7 summit.
Disassembly of the installations will begin the next day, and they are expected to be entirely removed by June 23.
The athletes’ Epsom salt baths
There are 14 athletes competing, and their training is rigorous.
Preparations start months in advance, working toward more intense weight cutting and diet alteration in the final week that can include fasting, extreme sauna use and hot Epsom salt baths.
They could be shaving as many as 20 pounds before weigh-ins, which are designed to keep the competition fair between similarly weighted combatants.
Lawsuit calls it ‘corrupt’
It was filed Saturday by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of the two Virginia residents and argues that Trump’s authorization of the event violated National Park Service regulations prohibiting sporting events on federal parklands.
One of the attorneys, Brendan Ballou, characterized it as a “corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain.”
The National Park Service pushed back on that claim, but also detailed the event’s preparations to make a point.
“All these hopes could be dashed at the very last moment,” it read, “by the whim of two people who believe they have superior taste and want to spoil the event for everyone else.”
FBI agents on Thursday raided the Cleveland offices of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, a pro-democracy organization that helps register voters in that state, according to three people briefed on the search.
Agents also fanned out across the state, showing up at the homes of the group’s leaders and staff members, carrying some subpoenas and seeking information and electronic devices, according to the people, two of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive ongoing investigation. Members of the group had made contact with lawyers on Thursday to determine their legal options, the people said.
Prentiss Haney, a board member for Ohio Organizing Collaborative, told MS NOW Thursday night that agents approached people with connections to Ohio Organizing Collaborative, including some who had performed basic canvassing and volunteer work for the group, and began pressing them for information.
Agents were “basically trying to fish for information,” said Haney.
“They had agents all across the state going to civil rights leaders and community leaders’ doors intimidating them, coming and demanding that they talk about literally anything they would ask,” Haney said, adding that agents “asked them if they’re committing voter fraud, just on their doors, in front of their houses with their children, and just following them to work and school.”
Haney said some of the people said the agents approached without warrants.
“Just straight-up intimidation tactics,” he said.
Spokespeople for the FBI and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment late Thursday night.
Those sources familiar with the investigation said they are concerned this new effort in Ohio is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to sow doubt and distrust in voting integrity in key swing states ahead of the midterm elections.
Federal agents have in recent months launched inquiries and investigations into voting protocols in Georgia and Wisconsin, have subpoenaed voting records in Arizona and sought reviews of voting machines in Puerto Rico.
According to its website, the Ohio Organizing Collaborative facilitates statewide voter registration through grassroots, community-led programs, including its “Democracy Builders” initiative. This collaborative works in Ohio’s major metropolitan areas, such as Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, to help underrepresented communities register to vote and provides other support.
The group has also joined lawsuits challenging redistricting efforts that it argues reduce Black voters of representation. These lawsuits also “stand your ground” laws that allow a person to shoot someone if they feel threatened.
Haney said the Cleveland raid and harassment of staff are unjustified and that investigators lack any evidence of wrongdoing.
“How can they distract and intimidate civil rights leaders and voters and community leaders who are helping people get registered to vote and create a national spectacle about it?” he said.
“That is the only reason why they would choose to do that, do it now, in the middle of a contested political election in the state. There’s no other reason. They have no evidence of that.”
Carol Leonnig is a senior investigative reporter with MS NOW.
Will McDuffie is a reporter for MS NOW.
Alex Tabet is a reporter for MS NOW.
Laura Barrón-López covers the White House for MS NOW.
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