Both chambers of Congress are scheduled to vote on war powers resolutions this week aimed at halting U.S. military action against Iran without congressional authorization, following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran over the weekend that resulted in the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Senior administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, are set to brief all senators on Tuesday, with a separate House briefing scheduled the same day. Meanwhile, House Republicans plan to bring an updated Department of Homeland Security funding bill to the floor, as DHS remains partially shut down amid a standoff over immigration enforcement provisions that Democrats oppose and the White House has refused to modify.
This opinion piece from *The Nation* argues that the post-9/11 War on Terror created the institutional and ideological foundations enabling the Trump administration's current domestic and foreign policies, including ICE's aggressive immigration enforcement in Minnesota and military actions against Venezuela and Iran. The author contends that agencies like ICE and CBP, born from post-9/11 legislation, have become tools of authoritarian domestic control, while JSOC's decades of overseas operations now enable what the piece characterizes as open imperialism. The article criticizes mainstream Democratic leadership for failing to advocate for the abolition of the Department of Homeland Security, which the author argues is necessary to restore civil liberties. The piece frames Trump's actions as an extension and escalation of War on Terror-era policies rather than a departure from them.
This opinion piece argues that the U.S. government's immigration detention expansion under the Trump administration constitutes the creation of concentration camps, citing ICE's reported plans to spend $38 billion converting industrial warehouses into large-scale detention centers capable of holding up to 92,000 people. The author draws comparisons to Nazi-era detention facilities and references historian Andrea Pitzer's claim that the U.S. federal government detained more people in the past year than Nazi Germany did in its first seven years. The piece characterizes the detention program as part of a broader authoritarian effort to suppress dissent and entrench political power, rather than a legitimate immigration enforcement measure. The author calls on citizens to actively oppose the construction of new detention facilities, citing a local protest in Merrimack, New Hampshire as a model for resistance.
Senator Mark Warner told NPR that families of U.S. sailors deployed in the conflict area have "no idea why their sons and daughters are being put in harm's way." Warner is calling on President Trump to appear before Congress and formally request a declaration of war, raising questions about whether an imminent threat from Iran justified the military action. The episode reflects broader congressional concerns about the administration's war goals and transparency regarding the conflict with Iran.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court this week urging justices to strike down President Trump's Executive Order 14,160, which would deny birthright citizenship to children born in the U.S. to undocumented or temporarily-present mothers whose fathers are not citizens or permanent residents. The brief, filed on behalf of the USCCB and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, calls the order "immoral" and unconstitutional, arguing it contradicts the Fourteenth Amendment and centuries of Western legal tradition supporting birthright citizenship. The bishops also warn that the order could render millions of U.S.-born children stateless by 2045, exposing them to denial of basic rights and vulnerability to exploitation. The case, Trump v. Barbara, is proceeding on an expedited schedule before the Supreme Court.
Alberta's separatist movement has gained unprecedented momentum, fueled in part by apparent support from U.S. officials and ideological alignment between Premier Danielle Smith's government and the Trump administration. A fringe group called the Alberta Prosperity Project, led by lawyer Jeffrey Rath, claims to have held secret meetings with U.S. officials to discuss the strategic benefits of Albertan independence, including access to the province's vast oil reserves. Experts warn the situation mirrors foreign interference tactics used elsewhere, with some characterizing the coordination as a potential national security threat and even treason. Despite the escalating rhetoric, current polling shows fewer than 30 percent of Albertans support separation, with less than 10 percent fully committed to independence.
The article, written by Robert Reich, discusses the ongoing U.S. military strikes against Iran, noting that over 1,000 targets have been hit in two days, with three U.S. service members killed and five seriously wounded. Reich raises the central question of what Trump's endgame or strategic goal is in the conflict, and describes consulting foreign policy experts and politicians over the weekend to gather perspectives. The full analysis of those responses is locked behind a subscription paywall.
The Pentagon has terminated a Department of Defense Senior Service College Fellowship at George Washington University, effective next academic year, as part of a broader cancellation of 93 fellowships across 22 universities. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cited alleged "anti-American resentment and military disdain" at the affected institutions, which also include Ivy League universities. The move follows an earlier internal DOD memo that flagged GW as one of 34 universities at "moderate to high risk" of losing graduate military tuition assistance for 2026-27. GW currently has approximately 180 active-duty participants in the DOD tuition assistance program, though the Friday memo did not directly address the University's eligibility for that program.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the Pentagon will stop funding military personnel attendance at several elite universities — including Princeton, Columbia, MIT, Brown, and Yale — for graduate-level education beginning in the 2026–2027 academic year. The move expands an earlier decision to cut ties with Harvard, which Hegseth described as incompatible with military values. Hegseth framed the policy as canceling Department of Defense sponsorship for graduate programs and fellowships rather than a punitive legal action against the schools. Key implementation details, including how the policy applies to students already enrolled and whether additional universities will be added, remain unclear pending formal written guidance from the Pentagon.
The article is a summary of a podcast episode from Crooked Media's *Strict Scrutiny*, hosted by Leah Litman. The episode features discussions with international law expert Rebecca Ingber on the US and Israel's conflict with Iran, journalist Chris Geidner on domestic legal issues including the Epstein files, Medicaid funding disputes, and independent media, and voting rights attorney Marc Elias on threats to voting rights from all three branches of government. The episode also covers recent Supreme Court oral arguments and opinions, along with promotional content for upcoming live shows and books by the hosts.
The article argues that the Trump administration has developed a distinct military doctrine that fundamentally inverts the Powell Doctrine, favoring ambiguity, surprise, limited airpower, and flexible objectives over the traditional principles of public support, congressional authorization, clear goals, and overwhelming force. Trump's interventions — including strikes on Iran, the operation in Venezuela, and the Houthi campaign — have proceeded without public ultimatums, congressional votes, or defined exit strategies, with shifting justifications that allow the administration to claim success without clear victory. The author acknowledges that this approach has produced some pragmatic outcomes, such as the Houthi ceasefire and the destruction of Iranian nuclear sites, while warning that its application to Iran's regime change represents an especially high-risk gamble given the country's size, entrenched security apparatus, and lack of a ground component. The piece concludes that Trump's doctrine may allow him to exit conflicts by retroactively redefining objectives, but risks postponing rather than resolving underlying conflicts.
This weekly roundup from Seattle's Child covers several news items affecting Washington state families. The Washington Legislature passed a bill tying insurance vaccine coverage to state health recommendations rather than federal guidance, amid changes to national advisory panels under RFK Jr., while Governor Ferguson's proposed budget would cut the state's Office of Firearm Safety and Violence Prevention funding by more than half. A Pew Research Center study found more than half of U.S. teens use AI chatbots for schoolwork, despite research showing high error rates in AI responses. The article also highlights The Hope Festival, returning April 25 in Bellevue, where hundreds of teen volunteers will provide free goods and services to over 1,000 people experiencing poverty and homelessness.
