Raw Story

Michael Steele, the former chair of the Republican National Committee and current MSNBC host, referenced marijuana when asked about Eric Trump's political ambitions.

Chris Jansing began Monday, "So, Michael, there is so much confidence in the power of Trump and the Trump name, his son Eric's interview with the Financial Times ignited talk of a potential Trump dynasty."

Jansing read a portion of the report where Eric Trump claimed that "the political path" for a family dynasty "would be an easy one," opening the door for another Trump to seek office after his father leaves the White House.

"'I think I could do it," Jansing read Eric's words. "And by the way, I think other members of our family could do it, too."

Eric Trump's wife, Lara, who hosts a show on Fox News after a brief stint as head of the RNC, could make that dynasty a reality. Rumors have swirled that she'll run for Sen. (R-NC) Tom Tillis's seat in next year's midterm elections, since he announced he won't run again.

Eric Trump "also said he's wholly unimpressed by half the politicians I see," Jansing read, with Eric adding, "I could do it very effectively."

"You know, if Americans are drunk on stupid, yeah, Eric Trump is your next president," Steele said. "Put that one in your pipe and smoke it. That's not some good ganja, let me tell you!"

Steele continued, sarcastically, "Sure, why not? You know, let's expand the grift. Let's widen the opportunity!"

He then got serious.

"Look, this is all unserious stuff," Steele remarked before talking about the impact a Trump dynasty would have on "real people."

"It's on the members of my party, the Republican Party, that have agreed to cut programs that they told the American people they would not cut, to expand the reach and the depth and breadth of dollars for to the benefit of those who are much, far wealthier than those red districts that they that they represent. And they will have to now look those voters in the eye, and they'll either continue to lie to them, and the voters will buy it, or they won't, and they'll unelect them. That's the politics of this."

Read the Financial Times article here.

Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt if New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani should be deported "based on rap lyrics" — even though he is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

"Does President Trump want Zohran Mamdani deported?" Doocy wondered during Monday's White House briefing.

"I haven't heard him say that," Leavitt replied. "I haven't heard him call for that. But certainly he does not want this individual to be elected."

"There's this Congressman Andy Ogles," Doocy noted. "He wants the Attorney General [Pam] Bondi to explore denaturalization proceedings because he thinks Mamdani could have misrepresented or concealed material support for terrorism based on rap lyrics he wrote in 2017."

"Does President Trump think this is a worthwhile use of the Attorney General's time?" the Fox News correspondent pressed.

"Well, I'll let the President speak to that," Leavitt deflected. "I have not seen those claims, but surely if they are true, it's something that should be investigated."

Watch the video below from Fox News.

Nearly 300 employees of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have signed onto a letter of dissent published Monday in opposition to President Donald Trump’s environmental regulatory rollbacks, who, at the risk of retaliation, argued the administration’s actions will cost lives.

“People are going to die,” said Carol Greider, professor of molecular and cellular biology at the University of California, speaking to The Associated Press. “And if we don’t have scientists at the EPA to understand how what we do that goes into the air affects our health, more people are going to die.”

The Trump administration has made significant budget cuts to the EPA and regulatory rollbacks on environmental policies, including broad pollution exemptions for industrial plants, while also vowing to halt environmental improvement projects for minority communities, among other initiatives.

The letter, signed by around 270 EPA employees, warns Trump that continued budget cuts and regulatory rollbacks not only threaten lives but also further scientific research necessary to combat climate change and other existential risks.

“Since the Agency’s founding in 1970, EPA has accomplished (its) mission by leveraging science, funding, and expert staff in service to the American people,” the letter reads, as reported by The Associated Press. “Today, we stand together in dissent against the current administration’s focus on harmful deregulation, mischaracterization of previous EPA actions, and disregard for scientific expertise.”

The letter of dissent mirrors a letter signed by hundreds of scientists at the National Institutes of Health objecting to cuts and mass layoffs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Raw Story reported that at a hearing last week of the House Subcommittee on Health, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. refused to commit to not retaliating against those scientists for their dissent.

“Americans should be able to drink their water and breathe their air without being poisoned,” said Amelia Hertzberg, EPA environmental protection specialist, speaking with the Associated Press. “And if they aren’t, then our government is failing.”

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) questioned Senate Majority Leader John Thune's (R-SD) claim that they'll be ready to pass the budget bill by the end of the week.

The legislation, which President Donald Trump refers to as the "big, beautiful bill," has a hard deadline for July 4, according to the president, but it is growing less likely.

Burgess Everett, congressional bureau chief for Semafor, spoke to Johnson on Thursday about the likelihood of the bill passing this week.

“I don’t see how it gets done,” he said. “What I don’t want is all of a sudden: ‘the bill’s done, motion to proceed.’ Hold on, time out here.”

Top lawmakers often negotiate the bill without prior review, and others are expected to vote for it. This has became an issue in the House, where a provision in the bill barred states from regulating artificial intelligence for the next decade. Some Republicans were unaware the provision was included in the bill and have indicated they would not have voted to support it with that measure in place.

Johnson told Everett that if he can't review the bill, he's a no-vote.

He and a group of his fellow senators, which includes Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rick Scott (FL), "all have to be a yes before any of us are a yes."

Republicans then headed to the White House to give a status update on the bill.

The Department of Justice vowed Thursday to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the migrant who President Donald Trump’s administration wrongfully deported to El Salvador earlier this year due to an “administrative error.”

“Our plan is that he will be taken into ICE custody and removal proceedings will be initiated,” said Jonathan Guynn, deputy assistant attorney general at the DOJ’s civil division, Notus reported.

Guynn was answering questions in a federal courtroom Thursday from U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, among several federal district judges in Maryland whom the DOJ sued over their opposition to the Trump administration’s efforts to deport migrants to countries of which they have no connection, and without due process.

Xinis asked Guynn where the Trump administration, now planning to deport Garcia a second time, would deport him to.

“To a third country is my understanding,” Guynn said, ruling out that the Trump administration would again deport Garcia to El Salvador. “There’s no timeline for these specific proceedings.”

Garcia, who was recently charged with crimes related to human smuggling, charges he denies, was ordered by a federal judge Wednesday to be released, and is expected to be released Friday. Concerns exist, however, that Garcia could be arrested the moment he’s released.

U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas, whose son was killed in an act of political violence meant for her, forcefully denounced the Trump administration for fomenting violence against the American judiciary.

CNN's Boris Sanchez asked Salas about the administration's decision to sue all 15 federal judges in Maryland for blocking the immediate deportation of undocumented migrants.

CNN reported, "The remarkable action lays bare the administration’s determination to exert its will over immigration enforcement as well as a growing exasperation with federal judges who have time and again turned aside executive branch actions they see as lawless and without legal merit."

Salas said, "Some would say that this is unprecedented," adding, "The Department of Justice generally represents judges when we're sued in our official capacity, and now we have a situation in which we're being sued."

Salas cited the Trump administration's calls for judges to be impeached for "just doing their jobs," suing judges when the opinion doesn't appease Trump, spreading disinformation, and "willfully defying court orders."

"I would say to you that, unfortunately, I think that the judiciary in many ways is under attack, and we are seeing that in the number of threats that are being lobbed against judges, pizzas being sent to judges homes in the middle of the night, to their children's homes, pizzas being sent in my murdered son's name. These are acts of intimidation meant to chill judges and the third branch of government.

"I will tell you that all Americans should be very concerned about the attacks against the third branch of government. You know...we're at 408 threats against judges, and we're only in June...Threats are up, the budget's down. This is a dangerous place for the judiciary to be in the United States of America."

Watch the clip below via CNN.