The Dictatorship
The Trump administration’s approach to food safety continues to be tough to swallow
New safeguards related to food safety were poised to take effect in January 2026, but as The New York Times reportedthat’s apparently no longer going to happen.
The Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday that it would delay by 30 months a requirement that food companies and grocers rapidly trace contaminated food through the supply chain and pull it off the shelves. Intended to ‘limit food-borne illness and death,’ the rule required companies and individuals to maintain better records to identify where foods are grown, packed, processed or manufactured.
The Times quoted Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, saying, “This decision is extremely disappointing and puts consumers at risk of getting sick from unsafe food because a small segment of the industry pushed for delay, despite having 15 years to prepare.”
Sarah Sorscher, director of regulatory affairs at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, added, “This is a huge step backward for food safety.”
Making matters worse is that it’s not the only step backward for food safety that the Trump administration has taken lately.
The day before the Times published the aforementioned report, the newspaper ran a related article that noted, “At the Food and Drug Administration, freezes on government credit card spending ordered by the Trump administration have impeded staff members from buying food to perform routine tests for deadly bacteria. In states, a $34 million cut by the F.D.A. could reduce the number of employees who ensure that tainted products — like tin pouches of lead-laden applesauce sold in 2023 — are tested in labs and taken off store shelves.”
The same article went on to note that at Trump’s Agriculture Department, “a committee studying deadly bacteria was recently disbanded, even as it was developing advice on how to better target pathogens that can shut down the kidneys. Committee members were also devising an education plan for new parents on bacteria that can live in powdered infant formula.”
This came on the heels of multiple reports that the Trump administration disbanded two federal committees tasked with advising policymakers on food safety, the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods and the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection.
Alas, the list keeps going. The Times also reported that the administration has “slowed or stopped some testing of grocery items for hazardous bacteria and monitoring of shellfish and food packaging for PFAS, chemicals linked to cancer and reproductive harm.”
What’s more, the Department of Health and Human Services recently sent out emails asking most of its workforce to consider an offer to quit their jobs in exchange for $25,000. The list included food inspection workers at the FDA — of which there are already too few.
And did I mention that the administration appointed Donald Trump Jr.’s hunting buddy to lead the FDA’s Human Foods Program, overseeing all nutrition and food safety activities? Because that happened, too.
There is some good news, however: These developments should only matter to Americans who eat food.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an BLN political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”
A gunman killed one person and injured two others in a shooting on Thursday at Old Dominion University in Virginia, Norfolk police said.
Authorities have identified the shooter as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a U.S. citizen who pleaded guilty in October 2016 to attempting to provide material support to the extremist militant group ISIS, two U.S. officials familiar with the matter told MS NOW.
In that 2016 case, Jalloh, a former member of the U.S. Army, admitted to attempting to donate money to the terror group and carry out a domestic attack in its name, the U.S. officials said.
The FBI is investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism. The bureau said members of the school’s ROTC program “terminated the threat” but did not shoot the gunman.
The U.S. Army Cadet Command (ROTC) confirmed in a statement Thursday evening that three victims were members of the university’s ROTC program, one of whom died. “We are deeply saddened by the loss of a member of the U.S. Army ROTC team,” the statement said.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, in an X post Thursday night, identified the deceased victim as Lt. Col. Brandon Shah. “Lt. Col. Brandon Shah was killed today in his classroom at Old Dominion University. A devoted ROTC instructor, Lt. Col. Shah didn’t just lead a life of service to our country, he taught and led others to follow that path,” the governor said.
“The shooter is now deceased thanks to a group of brave students who stepped in and subdued him — actions that undoubtedly saved lives along with the quick response of law enforcement,” FBI Director Kash Patel said.
Shortly before 11 a.m. ET, Old Dominion University and Norfolk police, as well as emergency personnel, responded to reports of a shooter at a building that houses the university’s business school, the university said. The injured were taken to a hospital, where their conditions weren’t immediately known.
“Old Dominion University has canceled classes and operations on main campus for the remainder of the day,” a spokesperson for the school said in a statement shortly after the campus went on lockdown. “Please avoid the area in and around Constant Hall where emergency personnel continue to work.”
Spanberger said in a statement that she is monitoring the investigation into the shooting.
“Adam and I are praying for the victims, their families, and every Virginian who has been touched by this terrifying shooting,” Spanberger said. “I encourage community members to continue following guidance from the university and local emergency officials.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.
Lawmakers are pressing major corporations for details on tens of millions of dollars pledged to a planned Donald Trump presidential library, after the nonprofit originally meant to receive the funds was dissolved quietly last year.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., along with Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., sent letters to executives at companies including ABC, Meta, Paramount and X, seeking details on at least $63 million in commitments those companies made as part of legal settlements with Trump or his allies. The letters seek to clarify whether the funds were ever transferred, and if so, how they have been used.
The Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Fund Inc., the nonprofit originally designated to receive the money, was dissolved in 2025. A successor organization, the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation Inc., has reported receiving $50 million, but has not confirmed the source of those funds, leaving it unclear whether the settlement pledges were fulfilled or redirected.
The inquiry comes amid growing scrutiny over the flow of money and assets tied to Trump’s presidency and post‑presidential plans, including reports that a luxury Boeing 747‑8 jumbo jet — valued at about $400 million and offered by the Qatari government for use as Air Force One — could potentially be transferred to the Trump library foundation after he leaves office.
The congressional investigation was first reported by The Washington Post.
Lily Becker is a producer on “The Weeknight” for MS NOW.
David Rohde
David Rohde is the senior national security reporter for MS NOW. Previously he was the senior executive editor for national security and law for NBC News.
Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Today’s shooting at a university in Virginia: “A shooter at Old Dominion University in Virginia sent the campus into lockdown Thursday morning, leaving at least two people injured and the shooter dead, the school said.”
* Today’s shooting at a synagogue in Michigan: “A suspect drove a car into a synagogue near Detroit on Thursday, dying after a confrontation with security, the county sheriff said. One security officer at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, was hit by the vehicle and hospitalized but is expected to recover, and no one else inside was injured, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said.”
* A revised target tally in Iran: “U.S. Central Command today released an updated report on the war with Iran, raising the number of targets struck by U.S. military forces to approximately 6,000.”
* A serious risk of cyberattacks: “Pro-Iranian hackers are targeting sites in the Middle East and starting to stretch into the United States during the war, raising the risk of American defense contractors, power stations and water plants being swept into a wave of digital chaos that could expand if Tehran’s allies join the fray.”
* In Russia: “A Ukrainian missile strike inflicted heavy damage on a key plant supplying electronic components for the Russian war machine, Kyiv officials said. Russian officials on Wednesday sharply condemned the strike, which was carried out using British-produced medium-range missiles, saying that it was intended to derail peace talks, though negotiations seem to have hit a wall for other reasons.”
* Tapping the SPR: “The U.S. will release 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help lower energy costs during the Iran war, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday evening.”
* The fight over tariffs clearly isn’t over yet: “The Trump administration took a major step toward replacing the global tariffs that the Supreme Court recently invalidated, announcing new investigations of unfair trading practices that will almost certainly result later this summer in permanent new taxes on U.S. imports.”
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.”
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