National Populist Newsletter
May 18th-25th
My apologies for the late Substack; the long weekend holiday gave me an extra day to publish
United States
Immigration
Sec. Marco Rubio warned that a court order blocking illegal aliens who were set to be deported to South Sudan will cause “significant and irreparable harm to U.S. foreign policy.” Rubio said in his filing that the court’s orders had "already interfered with quiet diplomatic efforts and exacerbated internal political and security divisions" in Libya. The order also threatens to "derail efforts to quietly rebuild a productive working relationship with Juba," the capital of South Sudan, he said. The Administration is making the argument that stopping deportations interferes with the President’s Article II authority to conduct foreign policy, hoping the Supreme Court will grant him the power to continue mass deportations. (Fox News)
The Times estimates that nearly 10,000 illegal aliens have chosen to self-deport since Trump became president, with another 9,000 signing up for “Project Homecoming,” which offers illegal aliens $1,000 and a free flight back to their country of origin.
Bill Melugin of Fox News tweeted that ICE has confirmed that they've started arresting illegal aliens at their immigration court hearings nationwide and are placing them into expedited removal. They are targeting migrants who crossed the border illegally within the last two years.
Trump Administration
President Trump is set for a showdown with Senate Republicans over his “big beautiful reconciliation bill” that includes tax cuts and raising the debt ceiling. Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson said enough fiscal hawks on the Republican side to stop the bill unless President Trump gets serious about reducing the deficit. Johnson, as well as several other Senate Republicans, want to return spending to pre-pandemic levels, which would essentially cut about $1.5 trillion from last year’s spending. Sen. Josh Hawley has also expressed concerns about the bill changing Medicaid. If the bill dies in the Senate for whatever reason, it becomes a major concern for the Trump Administration, which has almost all the major legislative wins for the year tied up in this bill. (Axios)
Senate Republicans aren’t the only ones concerned; a study from the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said the deficit in the House bill will grow twice as large as the target suggested by Secretary Bessent.
Economy
President Trump approved the sale of U.S. Steel by the Japanese company Nippon, reversing a campaign pledge after the company promised to invest $14 billion, hire 70,000 workers in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Minnesota, and build a new steel plant worth $4 billion. President Trump said in a statement that the U.S. will continue to control U.S. Steel, but he gave no further details. USW Local 2227 President Jack Maskil, Vice President Jason Zugai, and safety chairman Gary Picketts, who have all clocked into their jobs at the Irvin Works mill for decades, said they were thrilled and relieved the deal would save local jobs. However, the national union attacked the plan. (Politico) (Washington Examiner)
One of last week's biggest stories is that stocks and bonds dropped after a Treasury auction was met with weak demand. A $16 billion auction of 20-year Treasurys was met with weak demand. The US sold the bonds at a rate of over 5 percent, the highest rate on the 20-year since 2020. Fears over long-term deficits and the ability to pay the debt have caused real fear among investors. (Business Insider)
The United States has generated $67.3 billion this year from tariffs as of May 22, the latest data available, 76.9 percent more than the same time last year. (Politico)