Author: Rick

One of my favorite shows when I was in High School was The Late Show with Conan O’Brien.  It came on fairly late, but I always found him to be really funny and also very thoughtful.  I still occasionally enjoy listening to his podcast and love his wit and candor.  I remember loving his segments looking into the future which were called, “In the year 2000”, and I distinctly remember wondering how they were going to change it in the new millennium (spoiler alert: they just didn’t!).

Therefore, I am calling today’s segment, “On the day one hundred!” and I am saying it in the same voice they used on the show in the 1990s; look it up if you really want to know.  I have already written a post on “The First 100 Days”, so today I am just giving a quick update on what major news has broken since I last checked in.  It is still hard for me to fathom that so much can happen on the stage of federal politics in just a few days.

Trump signs executive order to unleash local police.

This executive order tells federal agents to retrain police officers, specifically for them to step up their pressure on “criminal aliens”.  They will theoretically start providing new best practices for local law enforcement agencies – but it is unclear exactly how anyone will determine what the best practices for local law enforcement are.

Tariffs pulled back on automotive industry

The automotive industry relies heavily on imported products to manufacture vehicles.  Whether they need steel, computer chips, or other parts, the industry needs imported materials.  After being pressured by the major car companies in the United States, the President has agreed to remove many tariffs related to cars.

Donald Trump Calls Jeff Bezos

Amazon recently made the decision to add a line item to its receipts which included how much costs were attributed to Donald Trump’s tariffs.  The President was so upset over this addition he immediately called Jeff Bezos and demanded he remove the line from their purchase confirmations; Jeff Bezos ultimately agreed not to include the line item.

Trump’s approval rating

Donald Trump’s approval rating at the 100-day mark is the lowest of any President in recorded history.  Each distinct poll has a slightly different number, but they seem to range from 39% to 44% approval.  I don’t think the President cares about the exact approval rating number reported; he is already in office and his strongest supports stay with him through thick and thin.  However, I absolutely believe Congress is paying closer attention than ever to the President’s approval ratings.

Sources:

Trump aims to strengthen police protections : NPR

Trump to ease auto tariffs ahead of 100th day visit to Michigan | Fox News

Amazon tariff charge: Trump called Jeff Bezos after learning company considered breaking out added cost | CNN Business

Where Trump’s approval rating stands after 100 days in office | PBS News

Trump has lowest 100-day approval rating in 80 years: POLL – ABC News

Where Donald Trump stands with Americans 100 days into his second presidency | Fox News

I would like to start this discussion by noting that I am not a lawyer – I did study Political Science at Iowa State, but I never ventured into the daunting Constitutional Law class down the hall, a decision I regret today as I ask for your opinions on nationwide injunctions.

I invite civil, bipartisan discussion on this post.

During George W. Bush’s time in office, he faced 6 nationwide injunctions, President Obama faced 12 injunctions, and President Biden faced 14.  President Trumps first term had 64 nationwide injunctions and already in his second term, President Trump saw judges issue 15 such orders in February 2025 alone.

This provides evidence that Donald Trump is facing an unprecedented onslaught of judicial activism and has led to numerous calls to rein in judges, including Senator Chuck Grassley introducing a new bill that would bar judges from issuing nationwide injunctions – with many Republican co-sponsors.  This not a new stance from Senator Grassley, he has proposed it before with the exact same language.  Furthermore, under President Biden, democrats complained about nationwide injunctions as well.

It is very important to note that the increase in nationwide injunctions against President Trump is strongly correlated with the increase in Executive orders under this administration.  During his entire four-year term, President Biden issued 162 orders, and President Trump has already signed 137 orders before we have reached day 100 (Obama 277 over 8 years; Bush 291 over 8 years).  Combined with the fact President Trump has issued orders that seem designed to challenge long-established legal precedent, I do not think it is particularly surprising that we see a small increase in the percent of Executive Orders being met with nationwide injunctions.

One major complaint I have heard about nationwide injunctions is that it gives judges “unchecked power” to stop the executive branch unilaterally, including from Elon Musk.  In the event any law or executive order is deemed likely to exceed the legal authority of the issuing body, I believe it should be shut down as soon as possible.  Once the injunction is issued, it is subject to review by an appellate court, and ultimately the Supreme Court to determine if it should be allowed to stand.

Since the authority of the lower court is subject to review, it is not an unchecked power.  If the ruling is upheld by the Supreme Court, the injunction prevented widespread implementation of an illegal action.  If the ruling is overturned by the Supreme Court, it can be implemented as initially designed, causing only a delayed implementation of the action.  Therefore, I support the ability of judges to issue nationwide injunctions, whether it is to halt the Biden Administrations’ attempt to specify farmers of color in stimulus programs or President Trump’s attempt to revoke birthright citizenship.

How do you feel about nationwide injunctions and what are your arguments for or against their use?

Thank you.

Sources:

Number of injunctions halting Trump policies trounces predecessors by double | Fox News

One for all: Are nationwide injunctions legal?

Democrats quiet on anti-Trump court injunctions after opposing orders against Biden | Fox News

Grassley Introduces Legislation to Clarify the Scope of Judicial Relief

Federal Register :: Executive Orders

Trump Calls For an End to Nationwide Injunctions. Is He Facing More Than Previous Presidents? | Politics | U.S. News

Judge concerned with Musk’s ‘unchecked’ power,’ declines TRO

The Supreme Court could be poised to hobble the Trump resistance – POLITICO

District Court Reform: Nationwide Injunctions – Harvard Law Review

Yesterday, every time I turned around everyone was talking about the NFL Draft and Shedeur Sanders.  Why is he sliding in the draft!?  Is he being blackballed?  Look at his stats!  He clearly should have been drafted by now!  Is his personality really so bad teams aren’t willing to take a risk?  Finally, the Browns drafted Sanders in the fifth round, ending the drama.

This NFL Draft story was all over social media and the news.  I have been a big sports fan as long as I can remember – these days I am just happy to see the strong start to the Cubs season.  At the same time, it has always amazed me how much people will follow sports while giving little attention to political news or what is happening in the world.  In 2024, the top twenty rated programs contained eighteen NFL games.  The Super Bowl rated first with 121 million viewers while the Presidential Debate rated twelfth at 20 million.

Yesterday, during the Sanders drama, national political news did not end.

Trump claims he is talking to China

Donald Trump has claimed he has already made 200 deals with other countries related to his on-again-off-again tariffs.  He has also claimed he is making great progress in talks with China, having specifically talked to the President of China.  However, not a single deal has been announced, and China has been explicit in denying any conversations between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.  Clearly, at least one party is not being completely honest.

Trump says Putin may not want Peace

After meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky, President Trump has stated plainly that Vladimir Putin may not want peace.  He said specifically, “There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities, and towns, over the last few days”.  I am extremely pleased to hear this coming from President Trump and only wish he had been saying it all along.  This leaves me with two thoughts.  First, I really hope he is starting to understand that Russia is the aggressor in this conflict.  Second, I wish he would share the same sentiments about Israel’s indiscriminate attacks on Gaza.

Donald Trump Talks Attacking Iran

With Iran reportedly making progress on nuclear research and getting closer to becoming a nuclear power, Donald Trump has been publicly pressing Iran to come to the table to work on a deal designed to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.  It is indeed good news to hear the United States is pressing Iran to halt work towards atomic weapons.  That said, it is important to remember that the United States already had a deal for exactly this purpose and the first Trump administration ripped it apart, making it harder to make deals due to the unreliable nature of agreements with America.

Donald Trump attends the Pope’s Funeral

Despite flying to the Vatican with the express purpose of attending the funeral of Pope Francis, Donald Trump made the decision to wear a blue suit.  While this certainly seems to me to be a pretty poor decision, it also reminds me of the significant criticism President Obama received for wearing a tan suit to a press conference to talk about ISIS, and the endless discussion of pant suits worn by Hillary Clinton.  At the end of the day, they are just clothes, and I really hope this does not linger as a focal point.

Sources:

The NFL Dominates 2024’s Most-Watched Telecasts With 18 of The Top 20 Programs Being NFL Games More Than Even The 2024 Presidential Debate | Cord Cutters News

Trump claims ‘200’ tariff deals, phone call with Chinese President Xi in wide-ranging interview – ABC News

Trump says Putin may not want to ‘stop the war’ in Ukraine – POLITICO

Trump gives Iran two-month deadline to reach new nuclear deal | CNN Politics

Trump vows US won’t be ‘dragged in’ to war with Iran: ‘I’ll be leading the pack’

Donald Trump Roundly Criticized for Wearing Blue Suit to Pope Francis’ Funeral – TheWrap

Barack Obama tan suit controversy – Wikipedia

Whenever I hear someone talk about their day by mentioning it was just like the many days that came before, I am reminded of a Simpsons clip when Homer walks out to his car with a box of pens from the power plant.  He throws the box into the back of the car and says, “Another day; another box of stolen pens!”

I have been often reminded of this clip lately (I shared the best version I could find in the sources) as each and every day we hear numerous updates on major news stories from the federal government.  Another day, another round of major news.”

I invite civil, bipartisan discussion on this post.

A Judge in Wisconsin was Arrested

In Wisconsin, a judge was arrested by the FBI.  The Department of Justice has accused the judge of obstruction of justice for allowing an immigrant to use a door typically used for jury members while agents were attempting to arrest him using an administrative warrant.  I am not a lawyer and am therefore unclear what the legal distinctions is from a judicial warrant, but I do not believe the judge was required to let agents in to conduct a search in court.  I also firmly believe that anyone should be held accountable if they break the law.  However, my major takeaway from this case is that this is an attempt to send a message to all officials nationwide: cooperate or face arrest.

Reading about this case, I learned of another case in New Mexico where a judge was pressured to resign, and then later arrested on allegations of tampering with evidence and harboring gang members.  There seems to be little evidence in this case that, if the tenants in his rental property were gang members, there was any way for him to know it.

Children citizens have been deported without Due Process

The Abrego Garcia deportation case has received a lot of attention.  I have seen a lot of people defending immigration officials who are claiming that he was a gang member, but that was never the biggest issue with this case to me.  Whether he was a gang member, the godfather himself, or totally innocent of any crime whatsoever does not change the fact that due process should be followed without exception.

We now are seeing cases of very young children, who are citizens, who have been deported to other countries.  Will we be hearing the Department of Justice claim a two-year-old American child is a gang member who deserved deportation?

Temporarily Restored Legal Status for Some Students

After some pressure, the federal government has restored the records of an unknown number of international students.  Student records are kept in a system, known as SEVIS, and these records are used to extend or adjust their status in the United States.  If the system does not have these records on file, it is all but certain these students would soon lose their legal status and face deportation.  I am glad to see these records restored, but there is some caution as well, as this decision is temporary while the government creates an official policy on foreign students.

Administration Looks to Conduct Warrantless Searches

The Justice Department has used the Alien Enemies Act to draft a memo which authorizes ICE Agents to “enter an Alien Enemy’s residence to make an AEA apprehension where circumstances render it impracticable to first obtain a signed Notice and Warrant of Apprehension and Removal”.  This gives ICE Agents significant power to enter any home without a warrant if they have “reasonable suspicion” that someone they wish to apprehend is present.  This is a clear violation of the fourth amendment to the Constitution and warrantless searches should not be permitted.

Trump Uses Dinner to Pump Trump Coin

Donald Trump has offered the largest investors of Trump Coin the opportunity to join him at a private dinner.  Upon the announcement, the price of his crypto coin jumped approximately four dollars.  I have no clue if this is legal, but it certainly seems to be an effort to artificially increase the value of his personal holdings and a use of his office purely for personal gain.

Sources:

Another Box Stolen Pens #simpsons #funny #viralvideo

FBI arrests Wisconsin judge, alleging she obstructed arrest of illegal alien | Fox News

‘No one is above the law’: AG Bondi blasts judges accused of helping undocumented immigrants evade arrest – ABC News

Former New Mexico judge, wife arrested after investigation into alleged gang member

DOJ reveals new details after arrest of former New Mexico judge, wife | Fox News

ICE Deports 3 U.S. Citizen Children Held Incommunicado Prior to the Deportation | American Civil Liberties Union

Judge says 2-year-old US citizen appears to have been deported with ‘no meaningful process’ – POLITICO

Government will restore international students’ immigration status : NPR

Trump White House could let federal agents search homes without warrants under Alien Enemies Act | The Independent

Trump officials believe law used to speed up deportations will also allow warrantless searches | Salon.com

Trump DOJ Ordered ICE to Invade Homes Without Search Warrant | The New Republic

Trump crypto soars as president offers dinner to leading investors | Fox Business

Trump offers private dinner to the top investors in his meme coin | CNN Politics