The Right Wing

President Donald Trump, who has recently and repeatedly floated invoking the Insurrection Act, implied that the courts would be powerless to prevent it.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he traveled in Asia this week, President Trump on Wednesday was asked about remarks he made on Tuesday — that he could send more than just the National Guard into American cities.

“Sure, I would, I would do that if it was necessary,” Trump replied. “You know, if it was necessary, I’d do that, but it hasn’t been necessary. We’re doing a great job without that, but, yeah, if it was necessary.”

“As you know, I’m allowed to do that,” he said.

“But, you know, if I want to enact a certain act, I’m allowed to do it,” he claimed, appearing to refer to the Insurrection Act while not naming it.

“Routinely, other, about 50% of presidents have used that, as you know, and I’d be allowed to do whatever I want.”

Substantially less than half of U.S. presidents have invoked the Insurrection Act. The last one to do so was President George H. W. Bush, in 1992.

“But I’d be allowed to do that, you understand,” Trump continued.

“And the courts wouldn’t get involved, nobody would get involved, and I could send the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, I could say, send anybody I wanted, but I haven’t done that because we’re doing so well without it.”

On Tuesday, Trump told reporters: “You know, people don’t care if we send in our military, if we send in our National Guard, if we send in Space Command, they don’t care who the hell it is.”

“Really, we could do as we want to do,” he insisted.

Earlier this month, according to Politifact, Trump said: “Don’t forget I can use the Insurrection Act. Fifty percent of the presidents, almost, have used that. And that’s unquestioned power.”

And two weeks ago, again, Trump told reporters, “I could use it. If I wanted to, I could use it … I’m allowed to use the Insurrection Act.”

Just days ago, more than forty members of Congress, including military veterans, urged Trump to not violate the Posse Comitatus Act or the Insurrection Act by using U.S. Armed Forces against Americans on American soil.

During the first Trump presidency, in 2020, he said in a Rose Garden speech, “If a city or a state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.”

After almost a month, the partial shutdown of the United States' federal government drags on — and with a lot of negative consequences, from the possibility of air traffic controllers having to work without pay to millions of Americans fearing that they will lose their access to food via the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and health insurance via the Affordable Care Act of 2010, a.k.a. Obamacare.

During the Wednesday, October 29 broadcast of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," conservative host Joe Scarborough was highly critical of President Donald Trump, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) and other MAGA Republicans who, he argued, are more concerned about "owning the libs" during the shutdown than they are about the wellbeing of their voters.

Scarborough told co-host Mika Brzezinski, their colleague Jonathan Lemire and Democratic consultant Donny Deutsch, "This isn't a political game. The stakes couldn't be higher. This is about whether people in (Sen.) Josh Hawley's state, people in Tommy Tuberville's state, are able to feed their families. It's about whether people in Missouri and Alabama are able to fly and fly safely in and out of their states."

The Never Trump conservative and former GOP congressman continued, "I mean, you could go down the list of things that are being impacted. And yet, for some people, like Tommy Tuberville, this appears to be nothing more than a game."

Scarborough argued that even though Tuberville and other MAGA Republicans "think they're owning the libs," they are "disproportionally" hurting their "own people" in red states who rely on SNAP benefits or health insurance subsidies from Obamacare.

Deutsch commented, "At some point, it creeps into the ether to the point of when people stop eating — when they don't get their Medicaid."

In order to make way for a new ballroom, President Donald Trump ordered the demolition of a building that existed for 123 years: the White House East Wing, which was unveiled in 1902 during Republican Teddy Roosevelt's presidency before undergoing a major renovation and expansion under another Roosevelt — Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt — 40 years later in 1942.

In his October 29 column for the Washington Post, Never Trump conservative George Will emphasizes that the implications of the East Wing's demolition go way beyond the building itself and underscores Trump's total disregard for what others think.

"Donald Trump, who often makes even defensible actions grating, acted on the White House with unapologetic unilateralism," Will observes. "Part of his political strength is that apologies are not in his repertoire. He said the new ballroom would not impact the East Wing. By now, however, the number of his 'Oh, never mind' presidential statements contains two commas. Like a locomotive encountering a cobweb, he blew through whatever regulatory rules or norms pertain to White House alterations. But many Americans think our democracy has become a vetocracy, coagulated by blocking procedures that stop things."

Will adds, however, that if the demolition of the East Wing shocks Americans out of their complacency, some good will come of it.

"Trump’s ballroom has already served the public good," the 84-year-old conservative writes. "It has triggered some people who need triggering. They have been blasé about his presidential grandiosity when he spends money for purposes Congress has explicitly refused to authorize (the Big Beautiful Wall), or when he insults local police forces by sending troops to pacify U.S. cities, or when he vaporizes perhaps criminal Venezuelans. Now, however, because of the ballroom, and the East Wing, the blasé are suddenly aghast…. For decades, the constitutional, political, social (and, lately, aesthetic) damages done by the ever-more-swollen modern presidency have become increasingly evident."

Will continues, "Congress, in its decades-long siesta, has empowered presidents to unilaterally tax (see: tariffs) and wage war (hello, Venezuela) as they please. Congress is now composed almost entirely of two cohorts: those who do nothing but genuflect to their party's president, and those who do nothing but caterwaul about him. It is especially amusing to hear progressives, the principal creators of the watery Caesarism of today's presidency, sorrowfully describing Trump's ballroom as discordant with the White House's proper modesty. They should worry less about the president's residential immodesty and more about his anti-constitutional immodesty."

George Will's full Washington Post column is available at this link (subscription required).

Most Americans know the federal government is shut down — and they’re not shrugging it off. Most expect it to hurt them personally, fear it will damage the country even more, and increasingly blame Republicans and President Donald Trump — whose low approval rating has taken a strong hit — for the crisis.

That’s according to an extensive Navigator poll released on Wednesday.

Overall, Americans blame Trump and the GOP for the shutdown by a 14-point margin — up four points from last week. And Trump and Republicans in Congress are increasingly seen in a negative light over what they’re fighting for in the shutdown.

At the same time, President Trump is now seeing his lowest approval rating since 2018, according to Navigator. Other polls have produced similar results.

Three out of four Americans have heard some news of the shutdown. And about two-thirds (66%) have heard a lot or some about it.

It’s having a massive impact.

“64 percent believe the shutdown will have a negative impact on them personally, up from half who thought the same last week. Even more (77 percent) believe it will have a negative impact on the country,” Navigator reported.

Nearly half of Americans, 47%, blame President Trump and Republicans for the shutdown, an increase of four points over last week.

“Since last week, independents increasingly blame Trump and Republicans more than Democrats for the government shutdown,” according to Navigator. “When forced to choose between Trump and Republicans or Democrats, a majority say Trump and Republicans have the power to end it (52 percent – 21 percent).”

Americans also see Trump and the GOP as trying to keep the government shut down, and give Democrats “more credit” for trying to keep the government open.

A plurality, 42%, know Democrats are fighting for health care and see that as a positive.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) want Trump and the GOP to compromise with Democrats, and by a strong margin (39 points).

Overall, according to Navigator’s graphics, when asked about nine issues, Americans’ top concern (76%) currently is the shutdown and it having no clear end in sight.

That’s closely followed by the rising cost of health care and Americans losing coverage without congressional action (74%).

Food stamp funding (SNAP) running out on November 1, leaving about 42 million people without federal nutritional assistance, comes in a close third (73%).

All this appears to be having an impact on President Trump’s popularity.

“As the shutdown continues, President Trump’s overall approval rating (-16) and economic job approval (-21) remain underwater, the lowest point both of these metrics have been since the beginning of our shutdown tracking.”

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated with CBS News correspondent Scott MacFarlane’s reporting, including a statement from United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro.

Two federal prosecutors have been put on leave after filing a legal brief that described the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol as being carried out by "thousands of people comprising a mob of rioters," according to ABC News Washington managing editor Katherine Faulders.

The two prosecutors, Carlos Valdivia and Samuel White, Faulders posted on X, "were locked out of their government devices and informed Wednesday morning they will be placed on leave just hours after filing a sentencing memorandum in the case of Taylor Taranto, the sources said."

Taranto is a military veteran and Jan. 6 Capitol riot defendant who was convicted in May 2025 on separate firearms and hoax-threat charges. He had been previously pardoned by President Donald Trump for his involvement in the January 6th insurrection.

A day before Taranto's arrest in June 2023 when he was found near the home of former President Barack Obama with two guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, as well as a machete, he claimed he would use a car bomb to drive into the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

"In their sentencing memorandum, Valdivia and White used only two sentences to detail Taranto's involvement in the Jan. 6 attack," reported Faulders and ABC's Alexander Mallin.

"On January 6, 2021, thousands of people comprising a mob of rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol while a joint session of Congress met to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election," the memorandum said. "Taranto was accused of participating in the riot in Washington, D.C., by entering the U.S. Capitol Building. After the riot, Taranto returned to his home in the State of Washington, where he promoted conspiracy theories about the events of January 6, 2021."

Valdivia and White were furloughed due to the government shutdown and were informed they would be put on administrative leave when the government reopens, the sources told Faulders.

"It's unclear if Valdivia or White were given a reason for their suspensions, though the moves come following months of turmoil in the Washington, D.C., U.S. attorney's office where multiple career prosecutors faced removals or demotions related to their involvement in prosecuting the more than 1,500 defendants charged in connection with the Capitol attack," Faulders and Mallin noted.

"The news of this move is reverberating around the Justice Department — it's another warning. You cant, as a prosecutor, tell what you believe as the truth about the January 6 riots without having some risk to your future on the job," said MSNBC justice and intelligence correspondent Ken Dilanian.

According to CBS News correspondent Scott MacFarlane, the Justice Department accused the two prosecutors of citing “conspiracy theories” about Jan 6, "and [ascribing] blame to Trump for posting Obama home address."

"While we don’t comment on personnel decisions, we want to make very clear that we take violence and threats of violence against law enforcement, current or former government officials extremely seriously," read a statement from former Fox host turned United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro. "We have and will continue to vigorously pursue justice against those who commit or threaten violence without regard to the political party of the offender or the target."

A new report in The Atlantic highlights how President Donald Trump has "been busy with everything but the government shutdown," noting he is missing in action with his intentionally "aloof" approach to negotiations. And Republicans are starting to push back.

In the 29 days since the shutdown started, Trump, reports The Atlantic, "has not traveled to Capitol Hill to jump-start negotiations, brought congressional leaders to the White House to broker a deal, or given a speech to the American public about the crisis."

Instead, the report notes, Trump has traveled out of the country twice, demolished the East Wing of the White House to make way for his $300 billion ballroom, posted AI videos of himself and prosecuted his political enemies — all while granting clemency to his allies including disgraced former Rep. George Santos (R-NY).

"But when it comes to the government shutdown, Trump barely seems to be paying attention," The Atlantic says, adding that some of the president's aloofness according to sources, "is by design."

This new approach — or lack thereof —"is a departure from how Trump handled a shutdown during his first term, when, over the course of 35 days, he employed tactics that are a lot more standard for a president," they write.

"Republicans have begun to push back against Trump’s absentee approach. They’re signaling publicly and in private that they want him to employ an The Art of the Deal-type strategy and help end the shutdown," The Atlantic says.

Trump is “the leader of the band,” Senator Jim Justice of West Virginia told reporters recently. “So at some point in time, the leader of the band is going to step up and guide us.”

“I suggest President Trump come forward and name three Republicans and three Democrats in the Senate to an official commission to figure this out,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said on Fox News Sunday.

Some of the president's advisors told The Atlantic that he is "distracted" by foreign policy, which includes a tenuous ceasefire in Gaza and his current Asia trip, among other things, "as large swaths of the bureaucracy remain closed and hundreds of thousands of employees go without pay."

Republicans who thought they were winning the shutdown battle have been surprised by the Democrats unity on their demands to expand healthcare subsidies and, says The Atlantic, "Trump could soon confront the reality that when a crisis hits, the public often turns to the president for leadership — or for blame."

Trump should expect the blame, they write, especially considering his stance during President Barack Obama's tenure.

“If there is a shutdown, I think it would be a tremendously negative mark on the president of the United States,” Trump said on NBC’s Today in 2011. “He’s the one that has to get people together.”

Meanwhile, writes The Atlantic, Trump is rubbing elbows with billionaire donors.

"On October 15, dozens of millionaires and billionaires gathered at the White House to sip wine and hear Trump’s vision for a grand ballroom. (Most of the attendees, among them executives from Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and other companies, were also paying for it.)," they write.

While some Republicans cheer Democrats' dismay over the optics of this, Trump, "Democrats argue, cares more about a ballroom with a $350 million (and rising) price tag than about keeping prices and health-care costs down for average Americans" — a line that has become the party's "go-to talking point."

Trump has "shown no interest" in opening the government, The Atlantic says. Representative Don Bacon (R-NE) says it would be "helpful" if the president got involved.

“I’m for negotiating now,” he told The Atlantic.

Trump, however, seems only open to listening to his "hardliners" such as Project 2025 architect and Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, The Atlantic says.

"But many in the West Wing have taken notice of the growing number of polls showing that Americans are predominantly blaming the White House and Republicans for the shutdown," The Atlantic says.

Republican strategist Doug Heye says everyone's waiting on Trump's next move — or lack thereof.

“Nothing is going to happen before November 1,” he told The Atlantic. “And that’s when we’ll learn where the pressure points are.”

On Tuesday, October 28, U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie requested "all documents relating to" interim U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan's "participation in the grand jury proceedings" against New York State Attorney General Letitia James — a longtime foe of President Donald Trump who was indicted for mortgage fraud in the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Eastern District of Virginia.

The indictment alleges that James lied to lenders in order to get a better rate on a mortgage for a second home and that renting the property was a violation of the mortgage terms.

But Politico's Hassan Ali Kanu, in an article published on October 29, reports that there is a "glaring issue" with the indictment: "The mortgage contract James signed does not prohibit renting out the house, according to Politico's review of the contract and legal and real estate experts."

"In fact," Kanu explains, "the key language in the contract expressly allows renting under certain conditions…. Politico obtained James' mortgage documents, including her signed 'Second Home Rider' from the Norfolk Circuit Court Clerk's Office. The rider, a standard addendum to mortgage contracts developed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, requires James to 'maintain exclusive control over the occupancy of the Property, including short-term rentals.' The idea is to restrict buyers' ability to use a 'second home' as an 'investment property' — by hiring a management company and using it primarily to generate income — after obtaining the lower loan rates associated with houses purchased as vacation or 'second' homes."

Kanu continues, "That final, three-word phrase in the rider — 'including short-term rentals' — could be decisive. In plain English, the provision means that James is explicitly permitted to rent the place out periodically, so long as she remains in charge of matters such as the number of tenants and how they use the property, legal experts say. The contract's restrictions bar James from giving 'a management firm or any other person or entity any control over the occupancy or use of the Property.'"

Politico discussed the case with Adam Levitin, a law professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. known for his expertise on banking and finance law.

Levitin told Politico, "The core of the allegations is that James knowingly lied that she was not going to rent. The problem is there is absolutely no statement ever made by James that she would not rent out the property — the contract language does not prohibit rentals, it prohibits rentals via a third party."

Similarly, real estate consultant Eric Forster told Politico, "There's nothing in the Second Home Rider that says that when you're not using (the home) for vacation, that it must be vacant the rest of the time."

Read the full Politico article at this link.

Veteran Washington Post columnist George Will is among the Never Trump conservatives who believes that if far-right Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeats incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the state's 2026 GOP U.S. Senate primary, a Democrat could win a statewide race in the Lone Star State for the first time in many years.

Cornyn, the 84-year-old Will argues, would be extremely difficult for a Democrat to beat if he's the nominee. But according to Will, Paxton has so much baggage that former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) might be able to go the distance in the general election if he's up against Paxton.

The Texas attorney general is competitive in GOP primary polls, but one thing he doesn't have is an endorsement from President Donald Trump.

In a blistering article published on October 29, Salon's Amanda Marcotte stresses that Paxton is going to embarrassing extremes in the hope of getting Trump's endorsement — including a frivolous anti-Tylenol lawsuit.

"In an unbelievably crowded field," Marcotte argues, "the title of 'Most Wretched Republican Bootlicker' is ultimately impossible to determine. But on Tuesday morning, (October 28), Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made a strong case for himself when he filed a nuisance lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue, falsely accusing the companies of concealing a link between Tylenol and autism. The word 'baseless' doesn't begin to describe the value of the lawsuit. Both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and American Academy of Pediatrics have affirmed there is no significant link between using this common painkiller during pregnancy and having an autistic child. On the contrary, there could be significant risks if women were to forgo a doctor's advice to use the drug for pain or fever."

Marcotte continues, "MAGA Republicans, especially Paxton, have a long history of loathing both science and women, so they have no conscientious objections to a lawsuit that hurts women in the name of lying about medicine. Still, at first glance, Paxton's move is surprising as political strategy."

The Salon journalist notes that when Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "blamed autism on pregnant women who take Tylenol," the "backlash" was "fierce."

"Even by MAGA standards," Marcotte writes, "Paxton has high levels of radiant misogyny, but it's confusing why he would want to touch this hot stove. The likeliest answer is also the most painfully stupid one: Paxton is beclowning himself in hopes of wooing Trump to endorse his primary challenge against incumbent GOP Sen. John Cornyn…. Many in the (Republican) Party have worried that if Paxton secures the nomination, he will lose to a Democrat. In response, Paxton has become comically thirsty for Trump's endorsement, signaling there's no limit to how low he will debase himself to get that tiny thumbs up."

Amanda Marcotte's full article for Salon is available at this link.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) continues to ruffle MAGA feathers as she did on Tuesday's House Republican conference call, during which she warned that President Donald Trump is losing support over healthcare battle, according to two different reports.

Capitol Hill reporter Juliegrace Brufke reported on X that, according to a source on the call, "Marjorie just got on and s—— all over House Republicans and said Trump is getting less popular because we aren’t fixing Obamacare.”

Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman corroborated Brufke's story, also posting on X that Greene "just said that she is tired of people listening to the White House political staff. MTG said that Thune needs to use the nuclear option and reopen the government. (In other words, abolish the filibuster and pass a funding bill)."

Sherman said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was miffed, saying "Johnson was a bit displeased with this comment and suggested that [Greene] should not complain about House Republicans 'online.'"

"How does that help us, Marjorie" Johnson asked Greene, according to Sherman.

These reports come as Greene grows increasingly vocal and critical of the Republican party, telling Semafor in an interview last week that "I can’t see into the future, but I see Republicans losing the House if Americans are continuing to go paycheck-to-paycheck."

The Daily Beast reports that Greene's condemnation of Trump and the party is winning her support as MAGA chooses her side over the president's.

“I love her because she’s a voice for the people,” said Elizabeth Fielden, a Republican from Ringgold, GA in an interview with Bloomberg.

Republicans on the call, however, were divided.

According to Brufke, as "MTG was pushing to get rid of the filibuster," some callers were "disagreeing with MTG."

Liberal activist who goes by the handle Sundae Divine noted that Greene's transformation from MAGA hardliner to MAGA critic is acrobatic.

"Some politicians flip-flop. Marge cartwheels," she wrote.

A report in the International Business Times exposes "deep fractures" inside the American right leading to an "explosive MAGA civil war," redefining what it means to be pro-Trump in 2025.

On the frontlines of the battle are neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes, conservative activist and so-called "MAGA whisperer" Laura Loomer, and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who are clashing "over ideology, influence and control of the MAGA base."

The trio's public rift has, writes Times' Marie Joy Toledo, exposed "deep rifts between extremist activists and conservative media figures who once shared similar political goals."

Tensions between Fuentes, whose "rhetoric has repeatedly drawn condemnation for being antisemitic and extremist," and Loomer, who is Jewish, escalated following the death of activist Charlie Kirk.

Loomer labeled Fuentes a "mentally ill lunatic," accusing him of "sabotaging conservative unity," Toledo says. Fuentes, who is banned from most platforms, retaliated with a video in which he accused Loomer of "attention-seeking and of betraying the movement's grassroots."

"Their falling-out now symbolises a growing divide between the online far-right and those seeking mainstream acceptance within the MAGA movement," Toledo writes.

Former Fox host Carlson has also been clashing with Fuentes, the report says, describing him as as 'angry' and 'child-like' while distancing himself from his extremist views.

Carlson, Toledo says, "represents the mainstream conservative establishment that Fuentes routinely attacks, highlighting the widening rift between populist media figures and online radicals."

These splits and feuds are a reflection of a "broader civil war within the MAGA coalition," Toledo says, with Fuentes's influence among young Republicans driving a "generational split on the American right."

"His rhetoric, coupled with his attacks on figures such as Carlson, highlights an attempt to redefine what it means to be pro-Trump in 2025," Toledo says.

Loomer, on the otherhand, "continues to position herself as a defender of Trump's image against what she calls 'toxic fringe elements'. Her feud with Fuentes has reignited debates about loyalty, legitimacy and who gets to speak for the MAGA movement," Toledo explains.

This, she writes, has split conservative media and the MAGA base.

"Supporters of Fuentes praise him as a truth-teller unafraid to criticise powerful figures, while detractors argue that his inflammatory rhetoric risks alienating mainstream voters," Toledo says.

Yet, Carlson's followers, she writes, "see his restraint as evidence of leadership amid growing extremism. Political analysts note that these public clashes reveal a deeper struggle over the future of Trump-aligned conservatism, one that may reshape the right long after the shouting stops."