National Populist Newsletter

March 3rd-10th

News:

United States

• Immigration

Trump-appointed Judge Drew B. Tipton ruled against 21 Republican-led states that were suing the Biden Administration’s humanitarian parole program that lets up to 30,000 migrants a month enter the U.S. from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela combined. Tipton stated that the states had not suffered financial harm from the program, so they did not have standing. The states, led by Ken Paxton of Texas, argued the program is forcing them to spend millions on health care, education, and public safety for the migrants. An attorney working with the Texas attorney general’s office in the legal challenge said that the program “created a shadow immigration system.” Since the program launched in 2022, more than 357,000 migrants have entered the U.S. from these four countries. (Associated Press)

• Congress

The House of Representatives is said to vote next week on a bill to force China's ByteDance to divest from short video app TikTok for six months or face a U.S. ban. The bill passed the Energy and Commerce Committee by 50 to 0. (Reuters)

One of TikTok’s largest owners is Pennsylvania-based Jeff Yass, one of the biggest donors to the GOP. $33 billion of Yass’ net worth is connected to TikTok, and he’s been furiously fighting to save it. Yass has repaired his relationship with Trump and is one of the biggest donors to the Club for Growth and Republicans nationwide. Trump, who previously supported banning the app, has switched positions, and the Club is paying former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway for Growth to lobby for TikTok on the Hill. (The New York Post) (Politico)

With Biden supporting the bill and House Republicans committed to letting it go for a vote with Speaker Johnson endorsing it, I don’t see how it survives. Trump’s ability to lobby Congress against certain bills isn’t what it used to be. The place where it might be stopped is the Senate if Yass’ money can stand in the way, which only proves critics of TikTok correct that it’s become a national security threat that needs to be broken up.

Sen. Bill Hagerty introduced a bill to no longer count illegal aliens in the U.S. Senate. The bill failed, with 45 Republicans voting for it and 50 Democrats, plus Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski, voting against it.

The House voted for the Laken Riley Act, which requires the detention of any migrant who committed burglary or theft. It passed with a 251 to 170 vote margin, with all Republicans voting and 37 Democrats. Below is a breakdown of how members voted, with those supporting the bill voting red. (The Hill)

• Crime

The Birmingham Police have arrested eight people between 18 and 25 years old for the brutal beating, rape, kidnapping, and murder of a young woman named Mahogany Jackson. One alarming detail that has become increasingly common in the last few years is that the suspects recorded it and sent texts to the victim’s family while she was being kidnapped. (WBRC Fox 6)