The Dictatorship
How Marco Rubio is helping Trump consolidate unchecked power
When federal agents arrested Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil this month, he was reportedly told that his student visa was being revoked. The supposed offense: leading protests denouncing Israel’s war in Gaza on the school’s New York City campus last year. When Khalil said he was a permanent resident with a green card, he was told that status was being revoked by the State Department.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the Trump administration will continue to revoke the legal immigration status of folks he terms “Hamas supporters” in order to deport them. Rubio’s bold assertion may succeed in court thanks to a rarely used power the secretary of state possesses that can circumvent other statutes that could have protected Khalil from arrest and deportation.
President Donald Trump’s advisers and administrators have been laser-focused on finding potential edge cases in the law, that is, areas where loopholes and emergency powers can be exploited.
A 1990 update to the Immigration and Nationality Act says the rules that let the State Department deny a noncitizen admission into the U.S. can also be used to make a legal alien eligible for deportation. Immigrants can’t be barred from entry for holding beliefs that would be legal in the United States and, for now at least, there’s no question that believing Israel’s war in Gaza should end is, in fact, still legal for American citizens, as is protesting universities’ support in that war. But the law makes an exception if “the Secretary of State personally determines that the alien’s admission would compromise a compelling United States foreign policy interest.”
President Donald Trump’s advisers and administrators have been laser-focused on finding potential edge cases in the lawthat is, areas where loopholes and emergency powers can be exploited. In the flurry of executive orders issued from the White House, agencies have consistently been told to comply with their instructions “to the maximum extent of the law.” But that boilerplate language obscures how this administration is pushing the limits and trying to establish a new normal where there are no checks on whatever the president wants to do.
Admittedly, the federal code is filled with laws that leave plenty room for bad-faith interpretation. Congress has developed a habit of writing bills that allow the executive branch to bypass lawmakers in case of emergency or otherwise divest authority on the details of how the law will be executed. The Trump administration seeks to trigger those authorities in ways that Congress may not have intended, and the courts may not agree with, to give the veneer of legality as they proceed with their plans.
In Khalil’s case, leapfrogging the normal immigration channels means the Trump administration doesn’t need to accuse Khalil of a crime. Under this reading, as Trump lawyer Alina Habba told Fox Newseven handing out of pamphlets the administration doesn’t like could be grounds for deportation.
Trump is trying to use every legal provision, regardless of how flimsy, to justify the mass deportations that are central to his immigration policy. On the first day of this term, he declared an “emergency” along the southern border, invoking the powers granted in the National Emergencies Act to mobilize resources and the armed forces. Trump also issued a proclamation declaring that an “invasion” is ongoing, and that he would use the “inherent powers to control the borders” he possesses, regardless of the limitations of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Those orders became the foundation on which his administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act to rapidly deport Venezuelans it accused of gang activity this weekend. The 1798 statute was part of the infamous Alien and Sedition Actswhich were passed in a time of quasi-war against France and Britain. In the proclamation announcing the policyTrump claimed that the law grants him the authority to expel Tren de Aragua, a gang designated as a terrorist organization under another questionable executive order. A federal judge paused the administration’s use of the law in an order issued Saturday, but an unknown number of immigrants have now been deported to El Salvador, even though many of them reportedly have no proven connection to the gang in question.
Meanwhile, Trump officials continue to hunt for the slightest pretense to invoke other emergency powers. The administration is reportedly looking for a reason to use Title 42a public health provision triggered early in the pandemic, to fully close the southern border again. Trump is waiting on a report from the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security on whether he should call upon the Insurrection Act’s powers to deploy the military deeper into the United States. Civil liberties groups fear the 1807 law could be used to stifle civil protests, as Trump advocated during his first termwrongly transforming the armed forces and National Guard into a domestic police force.
The administration has also been busy in other areas finding weak points in the law to consolidate power. Office of Management and Budget Director Russel Vought has been especially adept at playing this game. Even before being sworn-in, he had helped draft orders that twisted the rules for hiring special government employees to quickly staff up the Department of Government Efficiency. He has since then been finding ways to skirt federal employment laws to downsize the governmenteffectively shuttering whole agencies and encouraging department heads to illegally fire staffers by deliberately misusing the authorities granted to fire “probationary” workers for their performance.
There’s a term in medicine for when a previously benign bit of biological code gets twisted and begins attacking the rest of the body: a cancer.
And where there is no foothold in the U.S. Code to exploit, the Trump administration has argued even greater authority: Article II of the Constitution. Justice Department lawyers have already claimed a constitutional power to ignore judges’ rulings on foreign affairs in the Alien Enemies Act case and defended his ability to impound whatever money he doesn’t want to spend. In a proclamation on defending the states from “invasion,” Trump claimed that under his Article II role as commander-in-chief of the military, he has a duty under Article IV, Section 4, to repel whatever immigrants he says shouldn’t enter the country.
Trump’s infamous 2019 claim that Article II means “I have to the right to do whatever I want as president” has thereby gone from the simplistic notion of a political neophyte to the core tenet of his second administration. And the GOP-controlled Congress has been quick to quietly bolster existing gray areas of the law to grant him even more leeway. For example, in passing the recent six-month spending bill, the House explicitly stripped away Congress’ power to challenge Trump’s use of the National Economic Emergencies Act in deploying his tariffs.
There’s still a chance the courts override Rubio’s determination on Khalil’s deportability. The government will likely have to establish how it reached its conclusion about the supposed foreign policy threat the Columbia grad student poses. (Rubio was also supposed to notify Congress of his decision, but no such notification has been reported as of Tuesday.) But if Rubio is willing to make that call in this case, how hard would it be for him to keep the ball rolling? What other “foreign policy interests” could be used to hastily deport legal permanent residents? It is a twisting of the intent of the law to bypass due process and establish a norm that could stifle dissent among American citizens as well. Trump has long been keen on the idea of being able to strip protestors of their citizenship; it would be foolish to put it past this administration to try it given the groundwork now being laid.
These attacks on the system from within are ongoing. In Khalil’s case and others, we are seeing the arcane nature of the U.S. federal bureaucracy being used as a weapon against itself. There’s a term in medicine for when a previously benign bit of biological code gets twisted and begins attacking the rest of the body: a cancer.
Congress and the courts need to excise this tumor before it metastasizes. It needs to happen soon though, as the prognosis for the rule of law is otherwise grim.
Hayes Brown is a writer and editor for BLN Daily, where he helps frame the news of the day for readers. He was previously at BuzzFeed News and holds a degree in international relations from Michigan State University.
The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a vote on acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination, a spokesperson said late Wednesday, as two retiring Republicans on the panel dug in over President Donald Trump’s personal “anti-weaponization” deal with the government he runs.
Sen. Chuck Grassley’s decision to delay the committee vote that had been set for Thursday marks a setback for one of Trump’s highest-profile Cabinet nominees, at the hands of Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a pair of Republicans set to leave the chamber next year.
“Chairman Grassley works to set President Trump’s nominees up for success in committee, not failure. Senators Cornyn and Tillis want written assurances from the Department of Justice regarding the Trump-IRS settlement,” the committee spokesperson said.
Blanche’s nomination to permanently head the Department of Justice needs the support of either Cornyn or Tillis to make it out of the committee to a vote by the full Senate, assuming all Democrats remain opposed.
“Why don’t you call over the Department of Justice and tell them they have one hour and 50 minutes to get me what I asked for,” Cornyn told reporters Wednesday afternoon amid the hardening standoff over his demand that Blanche and the DOJ put in writing a commitment never to pursue the president’s prized “anti-weaponization” fund, and to clarify the terms of Trump’s personal deal with the Internal Revenue Service.
Tillis told MS NOW that the conversations were complicated by the need for the Justice Department to get “several parties” to agree on the language of the statement Cornyn and Tillis are seeking.
“What I’ve advised the chair, and I would assume Senator Cornyn said something similar, is that we’re not prepared to vote yes yet,” he added.
“The Department has been in regular communication with Committee members for weeks, and we look forward to continuing to work productively with Senators to address any concerns,” a Justice Department spokesperson said in response to the decision to postpone the committee vote.
Cornyn was set to meet with Blanche on Wednesday morning, but the meeting was called off after Blanche failed to meet the senator’s demand for written proposals to modify the controversial settlement agreement he brokered between Trump and the IRS. The Republican senator is set to leave Congress when his term ends in January after a bruising May primary loss to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Trump’s chosen candidate.
“Maybe John Cornyn’s upset with me because I didn’t endorse him,” Trump told reporters Wednesday afternoon in the Oval Office. “I don’t know what it is, but I haven’t heard that there’s a problem. I heard (Blanche) is going through quite nicely.”
Cornyn made clear to Blanche during his confirmation hearing that he will not get his support until he agrees to reopen and modify the settlement. Due to the committee’s narrow Republican majority, one GOP “no” vote is enough to sink Blanche’s nomination.
The senator has asked Blanche to provide proof that the proposed nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund established as part of the deal between Trump and the IRS is formally dead, and he has also demanded Blanche narrow the tax audit immunity provisions the settlement afforded to Trump and his family.
Blanche has publicly stated that his department has dropped the fund, but he and the DOJ have dodged requests from Cornyn and a federal judge to put that in writing.
After announcing his meeting with Blanche would not take place Wednesday morning, Cornyn told reporters that changes from Blanche “in a modified release form” would be acceptable, but that “for some reason … they simply refuse to do it,” referring to the DOJ.
Shortly after the meeting was called off, a Justice Department official told MS NOW that the department “provided a written proposal to Senator Cornyn’s staff yesterday following ongoing discussion with both the Committee and the Senator’s office.”
Cornyn said that proposal was “not responsive” to his demands because it did not address the tax audit immunity provisions in the settlement, one of his key demands.
In May, Blanche signed an addendum as part of the deal that granted Trump, his family and his businesses immunity from pending IRS tax audits. That agreement, which has been decried by former IRS officials and legal experts as unlawful self-dealing, is being contested in federal court.
Cornyn noted that Blanche testified under oath that he could meet the request during his confirmation hearing.
“Maybe they think I’m just going to give up or you know, go along, but they’re mistaken,” Cornyn said when asked why he thinks the DOJ could be slow-walking his request.
Kevin Frey contributed to this report.
Sydney Carruth is a breaking news reporter covering national politics and policy for MS NOW. You can send her tips from a non-work device on Signal at SydneyCarruth.46 or follow her work on X and Bluesky.
Mychael Schnell is a reporter for MS NOW.
Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at BLN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics.
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived this week for his tour of Washington, he may have had a mission in mind.
Netanyahu needed to overcome his newly diminished stature and waning influence over his once close friend President Donald Trump as both leaders grapple with the unpopularity of a war they started together and is escaping their control.
His meeting at the White House with Trump on Tuesday, which was closed to the press, was the first face-to-face encounter between the two allies since the U.S. and Israel launched a joint attack against Iran on Feb. 28.
Trump gave him a muted welcome and afterwards simply described the meeting as “very good.” “Obviously, many important subjects were discussed,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
Rather than an intimate one-on-one setting, the Oval Office was full of top U.S. officials — Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
But Netanyahu continued the full court press on the Trump administration.
Over the course of two days, in addition to seeing Trump and attending Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral at the Capitol, Netanyahu also met separately with Vance, Hegseth, and Rubio, White House and Israeli officials confirmed to MS NOW.
The Israeli prime minister’s slate of meetings with key U.S. national security officials comes at a pivotal moment in the Iran conflict as tensions escalate in the region and Americans increasingly sour on the war. A recent Quinnipiac poll shows 60% of American voters opposing U.S. military action against Iran and 74% against sending U.S. ground troops into Iran.
Not only does Trump face pressure as Republicans face an uphill battle to retain congressional control in this fall’s midterms, Netanyahu’s fate as prime minister is at stake in Israel’s upcoming September elections – and he can’t afford to lose Trump’s favor.
The talks largely focused on what to do next as Iran continues to menace shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and retaliate against American bases in the region and launch attacks on Gulf allies.
According to a senior Israeli official who was granted anonymity to describe the closed-door meeting, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu did not come to a final decision after discussing three paths forward: get a “good deal” focused on Iran’s nuclear program and enriched material, have no deal and instead continue the blockade and economic pressure, or take escalated military action.
But Netanyahu did not tell Trump what he should do – nor did he express a preference.
The senior Israeli official noted Netanyahu has not ruled out diplomacy – as long as it is coupled with “very strong pressures,” calling the push to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program “a contest of will and a contest of force.”
“There are ways of squeezing them and squeezing them and squeezing them and negotiating at the same time,” the official said.
Netanyahu did not present President Trump with new intelligence regarding the underground Iranian nuclear facility Pickaxe Mountain, per the senior Israeli official, noting the U.S. and Israel already are constantly sharing intelligence – and know where Iran’s highly enriched material is. “We don’t think it’s moved, and I think we have a pretty good grasp on that,” the official said.
During their meeting on Tuesday, Trump and Netanyahu discussed ways Israel and the U.S. can work together to stop Iran’s nuclear program and get the Strait of Hormuz open to maritime trade, the senior Israeli official said.
The two leaders also discussed a third goal: to continue to undermine the Iranian regime and “possibly create future conditions for a change in that area.” U.S. officials have backed away from pursuing paths that would overthrow the current leadership, but Netanyahu still believes that could happen.
“The chasm that has been created between the people and the regime is not about to be closed,” the senior Israeli official said of Netanyahu’s thinking.
Netanyahu advised Trump in February that Israeli intelligence indicated launching strikes against Iran would lead to the toppling of the Islamic Republic’s regime – and five months later, the slain ayatollah’s son retains power with a close circle of hardliners, calling into question the accuracy of Israel’s intelligence apparatus.
But the senior Israeli official said at the time, Netanyahu did not promise the Iranian people would take fate into their own hands following a coordinated attack. Rather, he chose his words carefully and said that an attack could create conditions to “advance the probability or the possibility that that would happen.”
The conditions needed for the Iranian regime to fall, “did not materialize,” the official told MS NOW, adding, “not for lack of insight, but for either operational failure or decisions that were made.”
Despite Netanyahu insisting Israel and the U.S. are on the same page, differences still remain: the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey and the Saudi nuclear arrangement did not come up during Wednesday’s White House meeting, according to a second Israeli official granted anonymity to describe sensitive discussions.
Meanwhile, the conflict continues to spread, with an Iranian drone attacking a U.S. gas storage tanker off the coast of Egypt on Wednesday.
Trump indicated he would not let Iran’s latest action slide, telling reporters on Wednesday that the U.S. would retaliate against Iran even as he leaves room for diplomatic talks to resume.
“It’s our turn, and we’ll see if we get there with an agreement at some point,” Trump said. “But we’re going to hit them very hard.”
As for what it would take for Israel to join the U.S. strikes, the senior Israeli official said that if Israel is attacked by Iran, “We will respond very, very forcefully and very quickly. And I think Iran would make a great mistake.”
Julia Jester covers politics for MS NOW and is based in Washington, D.C.
International rage over FIFA’s close ties to President Donald Trump has reached a fever pitch after soccer’s governing body announced a plan to sell a significant stake to an investor group led by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law.
The president and his family have all but turned the White House into their personal piggy bank. And FIFA — which has its own sordid history of corruption — seems to have made itself a party to Trump’s self-enrichment under Gianni Infantino’s leadership, such as by paying for space inside Trump Tower in New York. (The organization has defended the office rental as a World Cup outpost.)
Soccer is seen by many as a unifying game. But Trump’s incorporation of FIFA into his political dynasty is threatening that idea.
FIFA has announced plans to sell a large minority stake in a new company that will run its main events, including the World Cup and Club World Cup, as part of a plan to triple the amount of development money it dishes out to its 211 member associations.
Under the proposals — which are subject to approval by a majority of those national associations and FIFA’s 37-member council — a new entity called FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE) will take over all commercial operations, while FIFA remains the game’s global governing body and retains a majority stake in FFE.
A press release from FIFA confirmed the plans and said Thrive Eternal, which was launched by Joshua Kushner, is expected to lead the investment group that would control FIFA Forward Enterprise. FIFA did not clarify why Thrive Eternal was selected, and Kushner was already dabbling in sports.
But Trump basically has already given son-in-law Jared Kushner carte blanche to dictate U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East while simultaneously hatching business plans in the region. (Jared Kushner has denied any conflicts of interest.)
Joshua Kushner reportedly has been a major donor to Democrats. But, predictably, the idea of another Kushner becoming financially entwined with the World Cup — the world’s most popular sporting event — and basically being dropped into a position of global significance isn’t going over well. Several other soccer governing bodies have expressed concerns, including Europe’s UEFA.
“This crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross,” UEFA said in a statement about The Athletic’s report, adding: “The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially. None of us are the owners of football. It is not FIFA’s to sell.”
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee also rebuked the plan, writing on X: “Apparently the fake Peace Prize and giant lease with Trump Tower weren’t enough — now Infantino performs a kickback hat trick by pursuing a multibillion-dollar deal with Jared Kushner’s brother to sell ownership stakes in the World Cup to private investors.”
FIFA, Donald Trump’s favorite corrupt racketeering enterprise in world sports, is now going directly into business with the Trump family!
Apparently the fake Peace Prize and giant lease with Trump Tower weren’t enough—now Infantino performs a kickback hat trick by pursuing a… https://t.co/knSZibuMea
— House Judiciary Dems (@HouseJudiciary) July 28, 2026
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., has already launched an investigation into the FIFA leader’s relationship with the Trump administration, while dozens of European lawmakers — citing concerns about “potential breaches of political neutrality” — have called for the FIFA Ethics Committee to investigate Infantino. This new proposal seems unlikely to assuage those concerns.
But what it does seem likely to do is fuel global anger toward the U.S. — the kind that has been growing since Trump retook office.
And when you consider that, it’s truly remarkable how the same MAGA movement whose members whined for years about politics mixing with sports is now in lockstep with a president who seems dead-set on casting his shadow over every sports event he can.
This post on X basically sums up the foul stench around FIFA’s latest proposal.
Sepp Blatter was Infantino’s predecessor as FIFA president and oversaw the organization amid some of its many scandals. When heof all people, is warning about how Trump and Infantino’s relationship is “deeply damaging” soccer, it’s a sign of how far FIFA has descended into the gutter.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.
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