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President Donald Trump's ongoing war against his 2020 election loss continues as he has now subpoenaed the Arizona election documents.

It's the latest step the president has taken to search. Trump's Justice Department previously took possession of Fulton County, Georgia's election ballots after a Trump ally alleged there were hijinks in 2020. A judge then granted a subpoena allowing the FBI to take copies of the 2020 ballots. The FBI took all of the ballots.

Ongoing litigation around the 2020 election is one of the reasons Fulton County alleged it was improper for the FBI to take all of the ballots.

Politico reported that on Facebook, Arizona Senate President Warren Peterson wrote that he “received and complied with a federal grand jury subpoena for records relating to the Arizona State Senate’s 2020 audit of Maricopa County” last week. He said that the FBI now has all of the records.

It's unclear if they have copies of the ballots or the ballots themselves.

Trump went to court over 60 times over the election, but failed at every effort to fight ballots.

When Donald Trump was on the campaign trail in 2024, he hammered the Biden Administration relentlessly over the economy — including then-Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee. Trump blamed Harris and then-President Joe Biden for high prices, promising to bring them down "on Day 1" if he won the election. And he focused heavily on grocery prices as well as the cost of gas.

But 13 and one-half months into Trump's second presidency, inflation is still a major concern for many Americans. And New York Magazine's Ed Kilgore, in an article published early Monday afternoon, March 9, argues that Trump is now at odds with his own cost-of-living messages — especially when it comes to energy prices.

"Donald Trump's 'war of choice' against Iran is a big departure from his administration's alleged determination to focus on improving the domestic economy and addressing concerns about affordability before crucial midterm elections this November," Kilgore explains. "But aside from the president's spectacular failure to stay on message, there is a more specific problem with the sudden lurch into a regional war in the Middle East. To the extent Trump had an actual affordability agenda, other than calling concerns about living costs 'a hoax,' a central pillar was keeping energy prices low by demolishing any obstacles to maximum exploitation of fossil-fuel resources."

Kilgore continues, "Aside from the beneficial effect this might have on prices for other goods and services influenced by energy costs, the 'drill baby drill' mentality was designed to reduce gasoline pump prices — one of the most visible inflation indicators from the perspective of regular folks. Suddenly, the United States has produced an energy-price crisis for itself and for the whole world, Reuters reports."

According to Kilgore, "American motorists could soon pay more at the pump amid spiking oil prices due to the U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran, with experts predicting gasoline prices could rise sharply this week."

Trump, Kilgore notes, made a "decision to subordinate economic policy to another presidential military adventure."

According to Fortune's Jim Edwards, the war in Iran is going badly from both an economic standpoint and a national security standpoint.

Edwards, in a March 9 article, reports, "It's day 10 of the war with Iran. The price of oil briefly hit $119 per barrel this morning, and stock markets fell sharply around the world as it became clear that the war would become worse before it got better: Iran appointed Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of its recently killed leader, as its new supreme leader. He's a hardliner who will likely seek revenge for the death of his father…. Fortune’s Jason Ma reported that, when asked in the Oval Office last week for the worst-case scenario in Iran, Trump replied, 'I guess the worst case would be we do this and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person, right? That could happen.' That is exactly where we are right now."

Kilgore points out that rising energy prices could be a major problem for Republicans in the 2026 midterms.

"Shortly before the 2024 presidential election," Kilgore notes, "I was filling up my car with gas in California, and someone had placed on the pump a little decal of Trump pointing at the per-gallon prices and saying, Biden did this! If pump prices continue to go up in 2026, it will be even easier to show that Trump did this! And the price will be paid not just by consumers but by Republican candidates whose affordability arguments have been blown up by the explosions in Iran."

Details involving Jane Doe number 4 in the file related to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein were confirmed by local news investigators after the survivor was found to be from South Carolina.

A report by The Post and Courier confirmed the details about her roots in South Carolina. This survivor was recruited after her mother handed out fliers saying her 13-year-old daughter was available for babysitting jobs.

In 2019, Jane Doe came forward and was interviewed by the FBI four times about her encounters in the early 1980s. This was the individual that Hillary Clinton referenced in her comments to the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

During the testimony, Clinton commented, "And this latest example of the missing files about the allegations, and they are absolutely nothing more than allegations, but the FBI interviewed that witness four times. You don't interview a non-credible witness four times. You don't put into the FBI reporting 'protect this source' if you think there is nothing to it. So, of course, I would like to know, like every other American deserves to know, what is in those files and who is going to hold people accountable? Because the Justice Department seems to be either unwilling or incapable of doing so."

Longtime Epstein reporter and researcher Julie K. Brown wrote about Doe in a report for the Miami Herald last week. She noted on Substack, "This story is massive, and it will take a village of journalists to put the threads together."

Doe's reports to the FBI include accusations of Epstein, President Donald Trump and at least two other people of sexually assaulting her when she was 13. She alleged that she was told to engage in oral activity with Trump, who allegedly forced her head down. She bit him, and in response, he punched her in the head.

The Post and Courier researched some of the details the survivor provided about the account, including Epstein renting a home from her mother. She was then called to that home by Epstein, and the pattern of abuse began.

Among those allegations was that Epstein took photos of her posing nude and tried to extort her mother to keep the images secret. Her mother couldn't afford what was demanded by Epstein, the allegations said, and she stole $22,000 from the real estate firm she worked for in an effort to pay for it. The Post and Courier also confirmed this detail using public records.

The survivor also "offered the name of an Epstein business associate on Hilton Head Island who became a central figure in the drama, with specifics that are reflected in public records," the report also said.

Another one of the individuals she alleged was involved was an Ohio businessman "affiliated with a Cincinnati-based college." The outlet found the alleged person and confirmed that the man was part of a for-profit school.

Trump continues to deny all of the allegations surrounding his involvement with Epstein.

Over the weekend, Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley (CA) announced he was switching parties to be an independent, denouncing the new California redistricting operation that would draw him out of his congressional seat. He announced, however, that he was making the change "immediately," which is a new detail.

"Today, I filed for reelection as 'No Party Preference.' This means I will not have a party affiliation on the ballot or as an officeholder. That’s how it already is with most offices in our state: mayors, city councilors, school board members, county supervisors, sheriffs, and DAs are all nonpartisan," he wrote on X.

After the video went live, Axios reported that his staff said it wasn't a "done deal" yet. But on Monday, it appeared it was.

As some in the comments asked, "Will you still caucus with the Republicans? Then shut up."

Indeed, Kiley will caucus with Republicans for “administrative purposes” for “the remainder of this term," he claimed.

It puts the current ranking of the House at 217 Republicans, 214 Democrats and Kiley, who will presumably be considered an Independent.

There hasn't been an independent in the House since Rep. Justin Amash, who left the GOP in 2019, noted his libertarian slant when he left the party. He then briefly ran for president. He ran for U.S. Senate in Michigan, but as a Republican again. He lost in the primary.

The White House was a revolving door during Donald Trump's first presidency, which found him clashing with many of his appointees and announcing their firings on social media. Firings of administration officials, however, haven't been nearly as common during Trump's second term, as he has made a point of surrounding himself with MAGA loyalists. But on Thursday, March 5, the news broke that Trump was firing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and nominating Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma).

Noem wasn't the only one who was fired that week. CBS News reported that Todd Inman had been fired the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

In a statement to CBS News, Inman said he learned he was being fired on March 6. And details on possible reasons why he was fired emerged on March 9.

"To date," Inman told CBS News on March 8, "I have not received any reason for this termination."

But CBS News' Jennifer Jacobs, on March 9, tweeted, "NEWS: White House is citing use of alcohol on the job, harassment of staff, misuse of govt resources as reasons Todd Inman removed from National Transportation Safety Board, per @CBSNews @emmacnicholso . Inman was the NTSB's initial on-scene spokesman at midair collision in D.C. He said Sunday he hadn't been given reason for dismissal."

Inman served in the U.S. Department of Transportation during Trump's first presidency, reporting to then-Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao (who is married to former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell).

Inman, on March 8, referenced the aviation disasters that occurred during his time on the NTSB.

Inman told CBS News, "Having been the member on scene for two of the largest aviation incidents in the past two decades, working with all of the impacted families and first responders has made me appreciate how the original mission of the NTSB is more crucial now than ever before. Witnessing these horrible accidents have undoubtedly taken a toll on me and my family and has changed my perspective in a positive way on how we regulate safety for the traveling public."

Inman's firing is generating a lot of comments on X.

Inside Elections' Nathan Gonzales tweeted, "Kind of interesting reasoning in light of news about another Cabinet official."

Business consultant John Hochroth posted, "Are they firing him because he did these things, or because he didn't do enough of them?"

X user Jocelyn Johnson remarked, "Real reason for his dismissal: he refused to blame DEI for the crash."

Another X user, Piper Holmes, wrote, "So basically we’ll never know why he was fired. (It's not like this administration is ever truthful)."

The Justice Department seems to be taking a renewed glance at trafficker Jeffrey Epstein's New Mexico ranch, which was largely ignored when investigations began in 2019.

The Guardian reported Monday that the recent disclosure of documents from the DOJ showed added attention to the so-called Zorro Ranch. The sprawling property is one of the many sites believed to be where Epstein abused underage girls. At no point has the federal government conducted a search.

That isn't to say that New Mexico wasn't on the feds' radar.

Former New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas told The Guardian, “In spring 2019, our office investigated activity in New Mexico that was still viable for prosecution, including contact with multiple victims."

“During that time, the US attorney’s office in New York asked us to pause any further state investigation or prosecution related to Epstein, informing us that they were already conducting an active multijurisdictional prosecution,” Balderas said. “We shared all our reports and interviews to ensure they had all investigative leads and respected their request to refrain from further parallel investigation. We kept the matter open, investigated Epstein’s land leases, and continued offering our legal resources to the DoJ for further prosecution.”

He noted that neither the main DOJ nor the New York office shared anything with them. Instead, New Mexico stepped back from its investigation.

One Dec 2019 email captured a federal prosecutor telling a lawyer for Epstein’s estate co-executors that they had “not searched the New Mexico property."

Balderas told The Guardian that his office asked federal authorities “to use any available asset forfeiture tools to seize the ranch” in 2020.

“We expect to have additional information to share about our investigation as it continues to progress,” a spokesperson for the current state attorney general told The Guardian.

The brother of the victim, Virginia Giuffre, Sky Roberts, gathered a crowd outside the ranch over the weekend to demand more be done to expose those who worked with Epstein to traffic and exploit the girls, reported KOAT.

"It's a little surreal," Roberts said. "It's very important that we show that we're here in unity, and we're not going away. Whether it's on the Capitol steps or we get to come to New Mexico, we're going to do it. These survivors deserve it. This is about so much more than the survivors."

It's unclear whether the interest in Zorro Ranch was prompted by New Mexico's decision to begin its own investigation into the ranch. The New York Times reported on March 1 that in February, state officials formed a "truth coalition" with bipartisan state legislative members eager to probe the history of the ranch.

"We got word that this was happening about two days ago and we knew we had to be here," Amanda Roberts told KOAT during the weekend protest. "We're so proud of New Mexico, the citizens of New Mexico, the legislators that have pushed for this investigation. It sets the tone for the rest of the United States, and we're backing every single survivor who has suffered in silence. We're here for Virginia."

“Not only has it been overshadowed, it’s been completely ignored,” argued Albuquerque radio D.J. Eddy Aragon, who has spent years investigating Epstein.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that the new owner, Republican Texas businessman and former state Sen. Don Huffines, was ordered to immediately stop renovations after the ranch was purchased. Huffines is currently running for state comptroller in Texas. Construction has already begun on what he plans to turn into a Christian retreat; however, it appears he hasn't filed for any permits with the state or local governments.

Among the 3 million documents released by the Justice Department in the past months, one individual contacted federal authorities on Nov. 25, 2019, “to report an email he received offering 7 videos of sexual abuse and the location of two foreign girls buried on Zorro Ranch." An FBI report doesn't appear on the tip until Oct. 2021.

Aragon has been talking about the allegations about women buried on the ranch for years, noting that he, too, got an email from a source in 2019 offering the information for money. He said that he forwarded the email to the FBI.

The Guardian spoke with New Mexico defense attorney John Day, who explained that there are some challenges to getting a search warrant for the property seven years after the death of Epstein. However, former Sen. Huffines indicated he was cooperating, so it is doubtful he would block any effort to search all 7,500 acres, which would amount to just under 12 square miles.

Day said that given the length of time that has passed, it might be difficult to find much evidence.

He said that the first steps would be in sifting through "the human side" of the investigation, meaning anyone who could have worked on the ranch. The other key investigation would be to search all the Epstein documents for any mention of "New Mexico" or individuals with zip codes in the state.

New Mexico's Department of Justice emailed the U.S. DOJ asking for another version of the email indicating girls might be buried at the ranch. The state DOJ also spoke with Stephanie Garcia Richard, New Mexico’s state land commissioner, about agricultural leases that Epstein's ranch had for more than 25 years.

As the granddaughter of President Donald Trump and daughter of Donald Trump Jr., 18-year-old Kai Trump enjoys full U.S. Secret Service protection when she's out in public. Now, Kai Trump is drawing strong criticism for publicizing a TikTok video and a shopping spree at a time when the United States is at war with Iran.

A video posted on TikTok shows Kai Trump with jets in the background while the words "she does what she wants and she looks cool doing it" are heard over music. Another video, posted on YouTube, shows her in the upscale Los Angeles grocery store Erewhon. And her activities are generating a lot of comments on X, formerly Twitter.

The Russian government-owned RT tweeted, "Kai Trump SLAMMED online for 'out of touch' TikTok featuring war machines 'She does what she wants & she looks cool doing it' How cool is war?"

Wayne Waldrop, CEO of Bloom Wave Digital Marketing, disagreed with the argument that "Kai is off limits."

Waldrop posted, "Kai Trump made herself not off limits the second she decided to post content aura farming in front of military aircrafts. She is a grown adult and she should fight in her Grandpa's war if she supports it so much and thinks it is so cool. Why do American lives have to be lost while they smile and film the behind the scenes? Also, she could have at least read the room and hold off on her shopping videos one week into a new war her family helped start."

In a separate tweet, Waldrop highlighted Kai Trump's shopping spree and wrote, "This title is absolutely wild. Kai Trump decided to flex her shopping trip with her Secret Service detail while the whole country is struggling and war is breaking out."

Waldrop also complained, "I can't believe she still couldn't just pretend for like two weeks."

Journalist Saul Gonzales commented, "New generation, new grifts."

X user Jayce Mcwood said of Kai Trump's video, "It's disrespectful"

Another X user, Francis Pentangelo, tweeted, "How much are taxpayers shelling out so she has security to go around making videos? They're all grifters."

Attorney Tracey Gallagher, "Give me a break. Put a uniform on."

In Feb. 2016, then-candidate Donald Trump blasted Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), assuming he'd start World War III. Now, it's Trump that is on board with war after one commentator said Graham led Trump on a leash toward the attacks on Iran.

“He’s one of the dumbest human beings I’ve ever seen… you’ll end up starting World War III with a guy like that," Trump told Fox News.

Writing for Zeteo.com, Prem Thakker alleged that it was Graham who "helped dog-walk him into his disastrous war in Iran — a baseless and illegal conflict that’s pierced the illusion that the president is a dovish exception to the bloodthirsty conservative movement."

Graham has hedged these past few weeks, saying that he wants regime change to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. However, he's also demanded that countries in the region get involved in the effort with the U.S.

“We’re going to blow the hell out of these people,” Graham pledged. “When this regime goes down, we’re going to have a new Mideast,” he fantasized.

He then gave away the game: “We’re going to make a ton of money," he said, explaining that “Venezuela and Iran have 31 percent of the world’s oil reserves.”

Thakker noted that Graham seemed to gleefully brandish a hat reading "Free Cuba," indicating that the president is working his way through the list of nations he appears to want to impact. After his attack on Venezuela, Trump explained that his foreign policy doctrine has been about the Western hemisphere. Then he waged the Iran war.

On Sunday, after Israel bombed several oil facilities, Thakker noted that Graham rushed to Fox cameras to rejoice: “Donald J. Trump saved the world from real chaos… Thank God Trump did this.”

"Graham’s PR role for Trump’s war is all the more interesting given his apparent role in making the war happen," Thakker closed. "The efforts have been as pathetically paternalistic as Graham reportedly playing a word-association game with our man-child president, encouraging him to go to war."

U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to go to war with Iran is drawing widespread criticism among Democrats, and some Republicans are critical as well — including Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia), both of whom view the military strikes as a betrayal of the non-interventionist "America First" platform he embraced in 2024.

In an article published on March 9, MS NOW reporter Kevin Frey details the frustrations of Democratic lawmakers who believe that the Trump Administration isn't being forthcoming with them about the war with Iran.

"As President Donald Trump wages a military campaign against Iran, key Democrats on Capitol Hill are growing increasingly frustrated with what the administration is sharing with them," Frey explains. "Or, more precisely, what the administration isn't sharing. It's a concern that predates the Iran conflict — and, to some extent, the current White House. But when lawmakers have gathered recently behind closed doors to hear from administration officials about ongoing operations, Democrats say they've been struck by the dearth of new information they're receiving."

Fellow MS NOW reporter Matt Fuller, linking to Frey's article on X, formerly Twitter, noted, "If you've ever wondered what those classified briefings on Capitol Hill are actually like — what members actually learn about Iran strikes — the answer is hardly nothing. An in-depth look at what the Trump administration is sharing — or what it isn't."

Rep. Joseph Morelle (D-New York) is among the House Democrats expressing his frustration.

Morelle told MS NOW, "I don't think you, at the end, get really anything more in these classified briefings with the Trump Administration than you would by watching MS NOW or CNN. There's no sort of real in-depth analysis or information that you couldn't get by reading the paper or looking at the news."

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-California) told MS NOW, "Virtually nothing in these stupid briefings is actually classified. Gen. Caine and (Defense Secretary Pete) Hegseth try to dazzle us with how amazing our military is. The Republicans all clap. And then, (Secretary of State Marco) Rubio does a bunch of fast talk."

Prominent anti-Trump conservatives are speaking out, sensing a weakened president prosecuting an unpopular war as oil prices soar and markets plunge.

“You know, in the end, Trump’s name will be synonymous for the single most evil and destructive person to ever hold the Presidency, and it won’t even be close,” wrote The Lincoln Project’s Rick Wilson.

In a parody of President Trump, Wilson wrote: “I killed 500,000 people by botching COVID, wrecked our economy with a foolish trade war, set loose murderous domestic secret police, ripped off Americans in billion-dollar crypto scams, covered Epstein, sold out our allies, started a second Great Depression and World War III.” He then called it “a hell of a resume.”

Former Trump Homeland Security Chief of Staff Miles Taylor noted, “My former GOP colleagues are still ‘standing by their man’ — the month he starts a war, slaughters civilians, starts a global financial panic, puts Americans in the crosshairs of terrorist attacks, and is accused of raping a 13-year-old girl.”

“Good luck in the midterms,” he added.

Taylor also wrote: “The ‘American experiment’ doesn’t mean what is used to. Now it means testing what happens when you give a senile sociopath nuclear weapons.”

Wilson continued, writing, “At least when we’re paying $8 a gallon for gas, the global economy is in a shambles, World War III is raging, and the living envy the dead, Donald Trump will have a new shiny ballroom.”

Pointing out that the president wore a USA baseball cap when he attended the dignified transfer of American service members killed in Kuwait, Wilson noted, “Trump wearing a ball cap at Dover is repugnant beyond words. He is grotesque. As always, imagine what Fox et al would have done if Biden or Obama did so.”

Predicting a possible Democratic wave in November, The Bulwark’s Bill Kristol noted: “Democrats at +6 on the generic ballot among registered voters. 74% of Dems say they have high interest in the fall’s election, compared to 61% of Rs. So among likely voters probably at something like +7 or 8. On the way to a Dem wave, but not yet there.”

The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols, a retired U.S. Naval War College professor, commented, “It’s almost as if we don’t have a strategy.”

And he warned, “Don’t have a war led by people who are in over their heads.”

And on Saturday, responding to a Trump social media post, Wilson wrote: “Just so we’re quite clear, the President is insane.”

After President Donald Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Salon's Amanda Marcotte — in a biting article published on March 6 — argued that she "excelled in debasing herself to please her boss" only to get fired anyway. Noem, Marcotte observed, even altered her physical appearance to please Trump. But in the end, according to Marcotte, Noem's loyalty was rewarded with a firing via social media.

Marcotte revisited the subject of MAGA loyalty to Trump during an appearance on The New Republic's "The Daily Blast" podcast posted on March 9. Host Greg Sargent noted that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's "cult-like obsequiousness gets dialed up to 11" whenever the "news gets particularly bad for Donald Trump," and Marcotte explained the "psychology" behind Leavitt and other Trump loyalists.

Marcotte told Sargent, "I think at the end of the day, the most important psychology that keeps these people on board is just that admitting that Trump is bad or wrong or a failure is admitting that all those people who, for a decade, have been telling you that you made a mistake were right. And what's weird is the longer this drags on, the harder it is for them to let go without some kind of offramp. And I will say, if there ever was an offramp, I do kind of think the Iran war might be it — because again, they don't want another [George] Bush."

Marcotte added, "Trump ran pretty explicitly the first time as: I am not another Bush. He made fun of the Bush that was in the race, and here he is, another Bush."

Trump's loyalists, Marcotte emphasized, are so invested in defending him that they refuse to publicly acknowledge all the things that are wrong with his administration — from Iran to the economy.

Marcotte told Sargent, "I agree that (Leavitt's) first and foremost motivation is making her boss feel good so she keeps her job. I would love to like look inside her head and see if she actually thinks it makes a difference to say these obsequious, like laughable things — if she thinks she's actually persuading anybody, or if it's just Trump, her boss, like managing her boss' feelings, because it might just be that…. I think we're seeing a lot of people who are behaving like they don't know what to do. They don't know what's going to happen next."

Marcotte continued, "They're at the whims of a mercurial boss who may not be remembering super well what he said one minute to the next. And I think that there is no plan here. I think that they're just kind of winging it in the most like ridiculous way."

Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance wrote in her week-ahead newsletter that one of Trump's ongoing domestic conflicts will move forward, despite previous thoughts that he'd be dropping it.

The ongoing war against big law firms that employ former special counsels Bob Mueller and Jack Smith moves forward. It was renewed after reports last week claimed that the war had ended.

Trump's administration filed a brief over the weekend attacking the judiciary for trying to keep a check or balance on him, and Vance is calling it the top case to watch, noting it will likely be fought all the way to the Supreme Court.

“Courts cannot tell the President what to say. Courts cannot tell the President what not to say. They cannot tell the President how to handle national security clearances," the brief began.

Vance said, "It’s almost as though the government’s lawyers don’t know there’s a Constitution out there, a rule of law that both assigns power to and constrains the exercise of power by the executive branch of government, which is one of three branches of government in this democratic Republic, and not an all-powerful dictator."

The Trump filing goes on to complain that the district courts struck down at least four executive orders, "ignoring those constraints" that block them from telling Trump what to do. The Judiciary is an equal branch to both the legislative and executive under the Constitution.

"And there we have it," wrote Vance. "As with virtually everything we’ve seen in Trump 2.0, this is about creating an all-powerful presidency, and trying to bulldoze over anyone, federal district court judges included, who stand in Trump’s way."

She noted that there weren't mere objections to Trump's executive orders; the judges called it a "grave error," writing that he is “encroaching on the constitutional power of the president.”

Until the case makes its way to the high court, Vance couldn't help but notice that the law firms have" certainly gotten under the president's skin." Even though the case is likely to be a lower, Trump demanded "his lawyers" at the DOJ move forward with the personal grievances he has with Mueller and Smith.

"That, almost by definition, is how a dictator operates, not a democratically elected president whose power comes from the people," she said.

Typically, the case would be handled by the DOJ's Civil Division in the appellate section, she said, but Trump's priority means the Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward, Jr., the number three at DOJ, is personally navigating it.

One need only watch MS NOW or read The Bulwark to see examples of well-known conservatives and libertarians who have vehement contempt for President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement. Three of MS NOW's top hosts — former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough, ex-White House Communications Director Nicolle Wallace and former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele — were prominent figures in the pre-MAGA GOP of the past. And The Bulwark features a who's-who of Never Trump conservatives, including Bill Kristol, Mona Charen (a former Nancy Reagan speechwriter), Sarah Longwell and Tim Miller (an ex-GOP strategist).

Yet Trump dominates the Republican Party in 2026, and many GOP lawmakers and governors are afraid to offer even tepid criticism of the president.

In an op-ed published by the New York Times on March 9, Jon A. Shields — who teaches at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California — stresses that at the local level, there are still conservative Republicans in red states who haven't gone full MAGA. But he fears that their place in the GOP might be endangered.

"Millions of Americans of all political stripes have moved to red states since 2020, mostly looking for a better quality of life," Shields argues. "Why does Republican governance in the states still seem so, well, competent? Partly, it's because many local Republican elites have been quietly resisting the MAGA-fication of their party, even in the heart of Trump country. But that resistance is increasingly fragile — and it may not hold out much longer."

Shields adds, "If the old guard is driven out of the party once and for all, many Americans will eventually confront an unexpected legacy of President Trump's revolution: a nation where there are no sound alternatives to progressive rule."

Shields cites Wyoming as an example of a deep red state where local Republicans haven't necessarily gone total MAGA.

"Plenty of traditional Republicans have either retired or lost their own primaries," the Claremont McKenna professor explains. "But enough of them have hung on to give the old Republican elite a significant bloc in the state legislature…. This Republican civil war is being waged in many red states, mostly beneath the radar of the national media…. These clashes have gone largely unnoticed outside the states where they’re happening, and have become visible only when they have clear national significance."

But how much longer non-MAGA Republicans in red states will be able to hang on in local politics, according to Shields, remains to be seen.

"The anti-MAGA resistance in state Republican parties is real," Shields writes. "It's widespread. But it's not clear whether it can turn back the MAGA tide. So far, the tide is still coming in. Old guard Republicans everywhere are on their heels, clinging to shrinking vestiges of power. Since 2016, they have suffered numerous setbacks across the country, while Mr. Trump and his allies have exerted increasing influence far down the ballot."

President Donald Trump's sons, Don Jr. and Eric, are being questioned on what they might know about the future of the U.S.'s war with Iran after they were found to be backing a new drone company effort.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the two Trump sons are seeking a kind of "reverse merger" of their companies, American Ventures and Unusual Machines, with Powerus, which is seeking to acquire a Ukrainian drone company. Don Jr. is a shareholder and advisory board member of Unusual Machines, which creates drone components. Powerhouse intends to merge with another Trump-backed venture, a golf-course holding company.

The result is that Powerus, which was formed just last year, could suddenly become a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

Powerus could then fill the significant void left by the administration's decision not to purchase Chinese drones. Given that the Pentagon needs more drones, the company could step in to ensure the U.S. government gets what it needs, while also making more money for the Trump family in the process.

"The deal brings deeper involvement by the Trump family into a multibillion-dollar sector that has new opportunities for growth following changes imposed by the Trump administration," reported The Journal. "Those include the Pentagon’s emphasis on large-scale, rapid adoption of small drones, and a national ban on new models of the Chinese drones that have for more than a decade dominated the consumer and commercial markets."

Powerhouse CEO Andrew Fox explained that the company would have greater access to public capital markets, enabling it to scale manufacturing quickly and acquire more companies. So far, the company has acquired three small companies in six months to begin producing 10,000 drones each month.

CNBC's Carl Quintanilla commented about the Trumps, "They must know some people."

Although firings were a regular occurrence during Donald Trump's first presidency, they have been the exception rather than the rule since his return to the White House on January 20, 2025. Trump is surrounding himself with unquestioning MAGA loyalists, and there hasn't been nearly as much turnover this time. But Trump has fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and nominated Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma) as a replacement.

Salon's Amanda Marcotte, in a biting article published on March 6, described Noem as someone who "excelled in debasing herself to please her boss" — and even altered her physical appearance — only to get fired anyway. Meanwhile, the New York Times' Frank Bruni weighs in on Noem's departure in his March 9 newsletter, citing her as a glaring example of the incompetence that continues to plague Trump's second administration.

"She's unprofessional," Bruni says of Noem. "During her mercifully terminated stint as the homeland security secretary, she made extravagant claims without much if any attempt to ascertain their veracity. She used government resources in questionable ways. She treated public service as private amusement. That's not how true professionals behave. But it's how many senior officials in the Trump Administration do. And it's a big part of my and many other observers' profound apprehensions about the military strikes in Iran."

Bruni adds, "We can't trust that they got the degree of deliberation that war demands. We can't assume temperance, reflection, rationality. Those hallmarks of professionalism aren't values to which the Trump Administration subscribes."

From FBI Director Kash Patel to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Bruni laments, Trump has consistently low standards when it comes to nominees.

"There's a tendency to talk of Noem, Patel and their perk-minded compatriots as grifters," Bruni explains. "The appellation certainly fits. It's tempting to focus on the inadequate experience and kooky beliefs of flamboyant strivers — from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, to Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence — whom Trump has elevated to the top tiers of government. But that obscures and gives short shrift to their fundamental sloppiness, selfishness, disregard for proper procedure, evasion of accountability. They simply don't do their jobs — or at least don't do them earnestly, maturely and competently."

Bruni continues, "That was clear early on, when the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, used the messaging app Signal for a group chat that discussed sensitive military information, then dismissed any complaints about that cavalierly — an adverb that, when coupled with spitefully, covers about 99 percent of his behavior. It's clear when lawyers for the Justice Department — Alina Habba, Lindsey Halligan, Jeanine Pirro — have their cases thrown out or their appointments voided. When their boss, Pam Bondi, the attorney general, shows up at a congressional hearing with a crude cheat sheet filled with puerile insults."

President Donald Trump is buying expensive shoes for his advisors, and people are scared of not wearing them.

According to a bizarre Wall Street Journal report, during meetings, the 79-year-old president starts guessing people's shoe size and then orders them $145 pair of loafers known as Florsheims.

“Marco, JD, you guys have s—y shoes,” Trump told his vice president and Secretary of State. He then grabbed a catalogue. The report said that they were "deep in conversation," though it didn't say what was being discussed. Rubio was an 11.5 and Vance is a 13. A third person in the room, whom Vance wouldn't identify, wore a 7.

“The president kind of leans back in his chair and says, ‘You know you can tell a lot about a man by his shoe size,’ ” Vance recalled.

“It helps to be tall,” Trump told the men. “I don’t know, they’re big heels. They’re big heels. I mean, those were really up there.”

Rubio was mocked in New Hampshire in 2016 when he was caught wearing the Florsheims, which boast a nice heel giving some height to the wearer. Rubio is 5-foot-10 and the shoe "scandal" became known as "Bootgate." Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) faced his own "Bootgate" when he was spotted in 2023 wearing a heal on his shoe. Politico reported at the time that three expert shoemakers said that he was likely wearing "height boosters."

There have been at least four instances in which Trump lied about his height. He has long claimed to be 6-foot-3. But when he stands next to people who also say they are 6'3", he is shorter. Lawyer Christine Pelosi, daughter of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal.), spotted Trump in a "kitten heel" in 2020 while he was viewing hurricane damage.

At least one Cabinet official is annoyed to slum it with the Florsheims, one person who heard his complaint told the Wall Street Journal that he was forced to shelve his Louis Vuittons, which typically run over $1,000, unless there is a sale.

“All the boys have them,” a female White House official remarked.

One joked, “It’s hysterical because everybody’s afraid not to wear them.”

The report said that the "shoe-salesman-in-chief is paying attention."

Menswear writer Derek Guy suggested that Trump try a higher-end brand, Alden Shoe Co., and be properly fitted. Trump's fashion has been mocked over the years, with suits that are too big, shoulder pads, and his signature red tie that is abnormally long. While Trump frequently wears a blue suit, he pairs it with black shoes, whereas most would pair blue with brown shoes.

“I don’t think it’s extravagant—for a billionaire," he quipped.

In a previous thread on X, Guy questioned some of Trump's fashion choices.

"Trump's tailoring is done in a way to conceal his weight. His shoulders are relatively narrow compared to his waist, which gives his body a somewhat rectangular shape," said Guy at the time. "As I've mentioned many times, the platonic male silhouette in classic Western aesthetic is a shoulder line that's broader than the waist, which creates a V-shaped figure. Since Trump doesn't naturally have this silhouette, his suits have an extended shoulder."

It causes a problem because you can only extend a shoulder so far, he explained.

The Journal didn't explain whether or not Trump was paying for the shoes himself or if these were taxpayer-funded shoes.

There is a familiar Washington magic trick, and Missouri’s U.S. senators perform it with unusual confidence: Spend years denouncing the bipartisan cult of stupid wars, then salute smartly when your own president lights the fuse.

Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt have both marketed themselves as realists, skeptics of permanent intervention and the old foreign-policy catechism. Hawley said in 2019 that the point of American foreign policy is “not to remake the world,” and in 2023 said flatly that “regime change didn’t work.” Schmitt built a parallel brand in softer packaging, attacking the “failed Washington way” on foreign policy, repeatedly calling Donald Trump the “peace president” and insisting he did not want “a forever war in the Middle East.”

And then came Iran, the moment when rhetoric had to cash out and both men opposed the effort to reassert congressional authority over war powers.

Hawley — who had earlier said it would be “a whole different matter” for the United States to affirmatively strike Iran and that he would be “real concerned” by that prospect — found a way to make his peace with it once it was Trump making the call. He defended Trump’s actions as lawful so long as no ground troops were involved.

Schmitt, who had spent months selling Trump’s foreign policy in the language of restraint, landed in the same place. Suddenly the old concerns about executive overreach, strategic drift and another Middle East trap looked less like convictions than talking points with expiration dates.

That is the tell. Politicians change their minds all the time. Hawley and Schmitt change in one direction only: toward Trump.

Hawley ran the same play on Medicaid cuts, warning they would hurt Missouri’s rural hospitals and the people who depend on them. The warning was real enough. Then came the vote, and there he was, backing the bill anyway. Later he moved to soften or undo parts of what he had just supported, which is another neat bit of Washington stagecraft: denounce the harm, help cause the harm, then reappear as the man racing in with a bucket of water.

Schmitt’s contradictions are less theatrical than Hawley’s, but no less revealing. Last year he demanded the Epstein files be released — “Hell yeah. Open it up. Release the Epstein files.” — then grew markedly more careful once Trump was back in office, saying only that he was “curious” and would support releasing whatever “credible information” might be there. A self-proclaimed free speech warrior as Missouri’s attorney general, he seemed perfectly comfortable last year when government pressure bore down on late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel after a joke about the late conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk.

That is the through line with Hawley and Schmitt: every principle has an escape hatch. They are against regime change until their president bombs Iran. Against Medicaid cuts until leadership needs the vote. Against censorship until they do not like what is being said.

What Hawley and Schmitt understand, maybe better than most, is that modern political branding rewards the appearance of rebellion almost as much as rebellion itself.

You do not have to resist the machinery. You only have to speak as if you might. You can sneer at the old consensus, campaign against the old order, strike the pose of the insurgent — and then, when the moment comes, vote like a company man.