May hiring “blew past expectations” (The Wall Street Journal) with 172,000 jobs added to the economy and the unemployment chart above [Bureau of Labor Statistics] showing a steady, unchanged 4.3% rate. Hiring was up for leisure and hospitality, local government and health care, while hiring for financial activities (AI bankers?) declined.
ICE Cubed – The Senate early Friday passed a “nearly $70 billion” ($69.5B to be closer to precise, according to The Hill) reconciliation bill that funds immigration enforcement through the rest of President Trump’s term by 52-47 vote after an 18-hour vote-a-rama in which numerous attempts to curb the Justice Department’s “Anti-Weaponization Fund” failed.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AL) joined all Democratic senators – including John Fetterman of Pennsylvania – in opposition to the reconciliation bill, according to CQ Roll Call.
The bill must now pass the House before it’s forwarded to President Trump’s Resolute Desk. While it’s tempting to point to the four Republican House members who Wednesday helped pass a resolution calling on Trump to withdraw from Iran as a potential stopgap, this last portion of the fiscal budget has been a major GOP cause as Democrats sought to rein in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol following the January killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
“Most watched” challenge to the president’s $1.776-billion Anti-Weaponization (slush) fund according to Roll Call was Sen. Bill Cassidy’s (R-LA) amendment that would restrict the fund’s payouts only for law enforcement officers (or next of kin) who died or suffered from the January 6th attack on the US Capitol in 2021. The failed amendment would have carved out approximately $100 million for the fund, offset by a cut to ICE.
•••
Bolton Deal – Trump 45 national security advisor and “US out of UN” United Nations ambassador under President Bush 43, John Bolton, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of mishandling classified information, NPR’s Morning Edition reports. The tentative plea deal is subject to a judge’s approval and would result in a $2 million fine and zero to five years in prison, “much less” than if Bolton’s attorneys had taken the case to trial, according to NPR’s Ryan Lucas.
Bolton was indicted last October on 18 counts of mishandling sensitive information, much of it highly classified according to NPR’s Ryan Lucas, which the Justice Department said was sent via text and email to two family members.
•••
Another Trump Renovation Project – As employees of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Performing Arts prepare to remove all references to the current president, including, “The Donald Trump and…” lettering above JFK’s name, according to a memo obtained by Politico, Washington, D.C. has yet another construction/renovation “need.” Trump told reporters Thursday he will build a walkway connecting the back of the Lincoln Memorial to the Potomac River, The New York Times reports.
‘They’ who? … “We’re going to call it ‘the promenade,’” Trump said. “They want to call it the ‘Trump Promende’, but I don’t know if I want to do that. But it’s going to be beautiful. It’s a beautiful project, and it’s going to take the Lincoln Memorial right down to the Potomac.” – Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa