The Dictatorship
I’m a veteran. Here’s why I voted against the defense authorization bill.
BySen. Tammy Duckworth
One of the proudest moments of my life was the first time I laced up my boots, put on my uniform and raised my right hand to salute as a member of the Illinois Army National Guard.
I was honored to wear the flag on my shoulder. To be trusted to keep the country I love safe and defend the rights and freedoms that have defined this nation at its best for two centuries and counting.
And it is because it was such an honor to serve, because I love our military so deeply, that I made the incredibly difficult choice to vote against the defense authorization bill — something I’ve never done before. But I simply could not enable President Donald Trump — someone who cried “bone spurs” when his nation asked him to serve in uniform — to continue misusing our troops for his own gain, to our country’s detriment.
Because it was such an honor to serve, because I love our military so deeply, I made the incredibly difficult choice to vote against the defense authorization bill.
Right now, Trump has deployed thousands of troops across the country under false pretenses. In Washington, D.C, the National Guard has been performing missions that don’t help with their military training — like spreading mulch and picking up trash — but that, as we tragically saw over Thanksgiving, carry very real risks for our service members.
And while I agree that safety in our communities is paramount, these deployments do not make our streets, our families or our nation safer. Just the opposite.
The president’s reaction to people peacefully protesting his inhumane policies has been to invade those cities with military troops, claiming that Americans nonviolently exercising their constitutional rights pose a national security threat.
We know this isn’t about “law and order.” If he truly cared about law and order, the president wouldn’t have quite literally defunded our police by freezing and slashing at least $800 million in federal dollars that helps hire, train and equip law enforcement and invest in public safety programs. And if he truly respected law and order, he wouldn’t be ignoring the growing number of federal judges who’ve deemed his domestic deployments illegal.
One judge found that the Department of Homeland Security’s description of the situation on the ground was “simply unreliable.” Another judge — whom Trump himself appointed — wrote that the president’s basis for deploying the Guard was “untethered to the facts.” And a U.S. Court of Appeals panel with another Trump-appointed judge upheld that “the facts do not justify the president’s actions.” These same judges also stated that “political opposition is not rebellion” and reaffirmed that First Amendment activity is not a threat that would justify a military deployment.
Our service members understand that enlisting carries risks, and they accept them selflessly. But no commander in chief should put them at needless risk for a vague, open-ended and legally unprecedented mission based on what multiple federal judges have ruled are falsehoods.
Our troops deserve to know why they are being asked to do such legally unprecedented and deeply unpopular things on American soil. And all Americans deserve to know why this administration is so hell-bent on turning our military against Americans in their own communities.
Our heroes signed up to defend Americans’ right to free speech — not to intimidate Americans exercising that right.
With our nation facing real and growing threats from China, Russia, Iran and others, our military should be laser-focused on preparing our troops to defend Americans from actual threats — not performing tasks that burn morale and readiness, have already wasted an estimated $341 million taxpayer dollars and are better suited for civilian law enforcement anyway.
I cannot stay silent as our troops’ willingness to sacrifice for their nation is abused, especially when Trump’s abuses also erode the hard-won trust our military has earned from the American people over centuries.
Our heroes signed up to defend Americans’ right to free speech — not to intimidate Americans exercising that right.
They signed up to protect our freedoms — not to protect DHS agents who are abusing those freedoms.
They are willing to die to defend this country — not to defend Trump’s dangerous desire to stomp out dissent.
They show up every single day — whether it’s Mogadishu, Fallujah, Kandahar or wherever else we ask. Their family members know the risks, and they support them with pride. We must honor them by refusing to misuse them.
Every year since I arrived in Congress, I’ve worked across the aisle to forge a bipartisan defense authorization bill that helps strengthen both our military and our country. This summer was no different — and I’m proud of the many provisions I was able to secure in this year’s authorization.
But as Trump continued to escalate his unconstitutional illegal domestic deployments in recent months, it became painfully clear that voting to pass this year’s NDAA would simply allocate even more resources for Trump to use as he escalates his un-American campaign.
Look, I may no longer wear my Army uniform. These days, I spend my time under the great Capitol dome instead of beneath my Black Hawk’s main rotors. But my core mission is still the same as when I was in the National Guard: to keep America as strong as she should be.
The power to deploy troops domestically must remain exceptional, accountable and rooted in law — not in one man’s judgment about what constitutes disorder.
That is why I had no choice but to vote no: Because I love our military too much to let it be abused by a tinpot dictator who was never brave enough to serve in uniform himself. I will not be complicit in a five-time draft dodger’s efforts to use our troops to intimidate our neighbors rather than our adversaries.
I swore an oath to defend the Constitution, both as a soldier and as a senator. This vote was about fighting to do just that.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth is a Democrat from Illinois.
As awards season progresses, celebrities continue to speak out against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown — especially in Minneapolis. Though some stars have opted for a slight nod of resistance with pins that say “ICE out,” others have been more vocal in their stances.
Upon accepting the Grammy Award for Best Música Urbana Album on Sunday night, Bad Bunny got straight to the point.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out,” the Puerto Rican performer said as soon as he approached the podium with award in hand.
After a standing ovation and cheers from the crowd, he continued.
“We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.”
This is not the first time the artist has spoken out against the Trump administration’s rhetoric against immigrants in the United States. Last year, he announced he would no longer tour in the U.S., which drew criticism from some right-wing commentators.
Despite that pushback, Bad Bunny scored the headlining spot at this year’s Super Bowl and said he decided to “do just one date in the United States.”
The album Bad Bunny accepted the award for, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” also won Album of the Year, becoming the first primarily Spanish-language album to win the distinction in the ceremony’s 68-year history.
Kathleen Creedon is a platforms editor for MS NOW. She previously worked as a web producer for Vanity Fair.
Despite a brutal critical reception“Melania,” the documentary about the first lady released on January 30, outperformed expectations in its opening weekend.
“Melania” earned more than $7 million at the domestic U.S. box office, the highest opening for a non-concert documentary in decades. Most recently, the best-performing film in the same genre was Stephen Gray and Chris Radtke’s “After Death,” which opened at around $5 million domestically in 2023. With an opening box office of almost $24 million, Michael Moore’s 2004 film “Fahrenheit 9/11” remains the highest-grossing political documentary.
Critics, however, have been less kind to “Melania.” The documentary has received an aggregate rating of 10% among professional critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes (which is owned by Versant, MS NOW’s parent company), and negative reviews from major news outlets abound. Writing for MS NOW, media critic Jen Cheney said the film is “so devoid of substance that it feels wrong to call it a documentary” and suggested “This thing is basically ‘Let Them Eat Cake: The Movie,’” invoking Marie Antoinette, the French queen beheaded during the revolution.
Still, the film about the model-turned-political figure found its audience. Media analytics company Comscore reported that roughly 72% of Melania’s audience during opening weekend were women, and 72% were over the age of 55. The majority of the movie-goers were also white.
Directed by Brett Ratner in his first film since he faced accusations of sexual abuse (allegations he has denied), “Melania” outperformed expectations out of the gate but has far to go before it becomes profitable: Amazon’s MGM Studios paid $40 million to license the film and another $35 million to promote it.
“We’re very encouraged by the strong start and positive audience response, with early box office for ‘Melania’ exceeding our expectation,” said Kevin Wilson, Amazon MGM Studios’ head of domestic theatrical distribution.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter and producer for MS NOW. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.
The Dictatorship
British prime minister says Prince Andrew should testify to Congress over Epstein ties
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the disgraced British royal formerly known as Prince Andrew, to testify before the U.S. Congress over his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Firstly, I have always approached this question with the victims of Epstein in mind. Epstein’s victims have to be the first priority. As for whether there should be an apology, that’s a matter for Andrew,” Starmer told press on Saturday during an official visit to Tokyo, Japan.
“But yes, in terms of testifying, I have always said anybody who has got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form they are asked to do that. You can’t be victim-centered if you’re not prepared to do that.”
The statement comes after the Justice Department on Friday released more than 3 million pages of documents related to its investigation into Epstein as part of its mandate to fulfill the requirements of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Among the documents are photographs that show a barefoot Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling over and touching the stomach and waist of an unidentified female figure whose face has been redacted.
Also among the newly released documents, the Guardian identified email exchanges between him and Epstein dated 2010. In them, Epstein tells Mountbatten-Windsor, “I have a friend who I think you might enjoy having dinner with” and refers to a 26-year-old Russian woman. Andrew replied that he would be “delighted to see her” and told Epstein to give her his contact information.
Mountbatten-Windsor has been unable to distance himself from the scandal over his friendship with Epstein, the American financier who ran a sex-trafficking ring.
Amid ongoing revelations about his history with Epstein, Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his royal titles last year by his older brother, King Charles III. Andrew was also evicted from his home at Royal Lodge, a 30-room mansion located on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
Virginia Giuffreone of Epstein’s victims, sued Mountbatten-Windsor in 2021, claiming she was forced to have sex with him. The case was settled for an undisclosed amount in 2022with no admission of wrongdoing. Giuffre died by suicide last April. Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied the allegations against him. In a now-famous BBC Newsnight interviewhe claimed he was at a PizzaExpress in Woking with his daughter, Princess Beatrice, at the time of the alleged assault.
MS NOW is reviewing the documents released by the Justice Department in collaboration with journalists from NBC, AP, CNBC and CBS. Journalists from each newsroom worked together to examine the documents and share information about what is in them. Each outlet is responsible for its own independent news coverage of the documents.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter and producer for MS NOW. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.
- Billie Eilish rips ICE at Grammys: ‘No one is illegal on stolen land’
- GOP rep: ‘Senate is very, very corrupt’
- Bad Bunny denounces ICE in Grammys speech: ‘We’re not savages’
- Portland mayor tells ICE to leave city after federal agents use tear gas on protesters
- Trevor Noah roasts Nicki Minaj’s Trump support at Grammys
- ‘ICE out’: Bad Bunny uses Grammy speech to speak out
- ‘Melania’ documentary beats expectations at box office
- British prime minister says Prince Andrew should testify to Congress over Epstein ties
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