Unhinged Climate Lies

The Five Most Unhinged Climate Lies Trump Told in 2025

From “global cooling” to “beautiful coal”, the president’s opinions, once more, had no basis in fact.

Oliver Milman

In the past decade at the forefront of US politics, Donald Trump has unleashed a barrage of unusual, misleading, or dubious assertions about the climate crisis, which he most famously called a “hoax”.

This year has seen Trump ratchet up his often questionable claims about the environment and how to deal, if at all, with the threats to it. In a year littered with lies and wild declarations, these are the five that stood out as the most startling.

1. “Putting people over fish”

Upon re-entering the White House in January, Trump revealed an unusual fixation would become an immediate priority for his administration—the fate of an endangered, three-inch-long fish that lives in California.

The unassuming delta smelt, Trump said rather uncharitably, is “an essentially worthless fish” which had been lavished with water flows that should instead go to nearby farmers or help fight the devastating wildfires that were raging hundreds of miles south in Los Angeles.

On his first day in office, Trump issued an eye-catching executive order titled “Putting people over fish” that demanded water be diverted from the smelt’s habitat and towards needy people.

Experts were quick to point out that water situated so far away would not aid the firefighting effort in LA, with the small amount of water provided to keep the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta ecosystem intact overshadowed by the much larger forces at play in California, such as the climate crisis, which has spurred monumental droughts in the region.

2. Wind energy is “driving the whales crazy”

Continuing on the aquatic theme, Trump’s first month in the most powerful office on the planet also included a bizarre tirade against offshore wind energy for its supposed impact upon whales.

The president said that “windmills” were “dangerous,” citing the example of whales being washed ashore in Massachusetts as proof that “the windmills are driving the whales crazy, obviously.”

While there was a spate of dead and sick whales becoming stranded ashore, Trump’s own federal government scientists have rejected the idea that wind turbines placed in the ocean are to blame.

“At this point, there is no scientific evidence that noise resulting from offshore wind site characterization surveys could potentially cause whale deaths,” the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration states. “There are no known links between large whale deaths and ongoing offshore wind activities.”

The main threats to whales continue to be entanglement in fishing nets, boat strikes, and altered prey behavior due to a rapidly heating ocean from the climate crisis, which is causing whales to have to forage closer to land, experts say.

This hasn’t deterred Trump from enacting a long-held grudge against wind energy by halting planned projects and stating that “we don’t allow the windmills and we don’t want the solar panels” in August. The president has also claimed that wind is “the most expensive energy there is”—a false claim: wind and solar are, in fact, among the cheapest sources of power that have ever existed.

3. Clean, beautiful coal

In September, Trump delivered a remarkable, often fact-free speech to the United Nations, in which he said that climate change is the “greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world”, blaming “stupid people” for predictions that have hobbled countries with a costly “green scam.”

“I have a little standing order in the White House. Never use the word ‘coal’. Only use the words ‘clean, beautiful coal’. Sounds much better, doesn’t it?”

But perhaps the most unusual revelation in the speech was Trump outlining how he has sought to directly rebrand coal as a clean power source. “I have a little standing order in the White House,” he said. “Never use the word ‘coal’. Only use the words ‘clean, beautiful coal’. Sounds much better, doesn’t it?”

Coal is, in fact, far from clean. It is the dirtiest of all fossil fuels in terms of the carbon it emits when burned, which then heats up the planet, and gives off air pollutants that routinely harm the heart and lung health of those who live near coal power plants.

Black lung disease, meanwhile, is an affliction many coal miners have suffered after directly inhaling coal dust. The Trump administration axed a program that screened coal miners for the respiratory condition.

The federal government, across different administrations, has lavished funding for plans to install carbon capture facilities at coal plants to stop harmful emissions from escaping, but this has yet to be implemented in any meaningful way in the US.

4. Global cooling

In the same speech to beleaguered-looking diplomats at the UN, Trump scoffed at the scientific reality of global heating, instead claiming that scientists had just changed their minds from the planet cooling down.

“It used to be global cooling,” he said. “If you look back years ago in the 1920s and the 1930s, they said, global cooling will kill the world. We have to do something. Then they said global warming will kill the world. But then it started getting cooler.”

The world is not cooling down. It is heating up at the fastest rate in the history of humanity, due to the burning of fossil fuels and, to a lesser extent, deforestation. Scientists are unequivocal about this, as can anyone able to grasp a simple temperature graph.

In the 1920s and 1930s, the field of climate science wasn’t as developed as it is now, but even then there was an understanding of the greenhouse effect, and few scientists in the decades since have expressed concerns about “global cooling” compared with those warning of planetary heating.

The Earth is thought to have been in a long, gentle cooling pattern for thousands of years due to natural forces, but this was upended by the industrial revolution, with the vast amounts of heat-trapping gases emitted over the past 150 years setting us on a completely new and dangerous path. The world is now hotter than at any previous point in human civilization.

5. Climate change investigations

Last month, Trump announced new investigations related to the climate crisis. Not to find more about the severity of global heating and its implications—more to target those who have told the world about it.

“It’s a little conspiracy out there,” the president said at a US-Saudi investment forum in Washington. “We have to investigate them immediately. They probably are being investigated.”

It’s unclear who “they” are—scientists, Democratic politicians, the insurance companies pulling out of states because of the crushing cost of climate-driven disasters? But Trump pushed on.

“Their policies punish success, rewarded failure, and produced disaster, including the worst inflation in our country’s history,” he said.

While the Trump administration has fired scientists, hauled down mentions of the climate crisis from government websites, and banned federal employees from uttering verboten words such as “emissions” and “green”, the reality remains that the world is warming up, and past projections of this have been generally accurate.

Some of the most accurate forecasts of global heating came from the fossil fuel industry, which knew of the dangers from the 1950s onward and produced strikingly accurate projections of future heat in the 1970s.

Instead of informing the world of this peril, however, oil and gas companies instead set about a decades-long campaign to downplay and distort this science in order to maintain their lofty position in the global economy.

Trump has not called for an investigation of these companies, choosing instead to openly solicit campaign donations from them in return for rollbacks of clean air protections once he became president—a promise he has largely fulfilled.

How insecure can he be??? What a fucking stupid brain-damaged turd....

Trump slams Clooneys for acquiring French citizenship

George Clooney “got more publicity for politics than he did for his very few, and totally mediocre, movies,” U.S. president says.

By Ferdinand Knapp

U.S. President Donald Trump slammed actor George Clooney and wife, human rights lawyer Amal, after the couple acquired French citizenship.

French authorities fast-tracked granting citizenship to the Clooneys and their children on Dec. 26, a move that became public earlier this week. France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot backed the process, stressing the couple’s philanthropic work.

On New Year’s Eve, Trump posted on Truth Social:  “Good News! George and Amal Clooney, two of the worst political prognosticators of all time, have officially become citizens of France which is, sadly, in the midst of a major crime problem because of their absolutely horrendous handling of immigration.”

George Clooney is a prominent and longtime fundraiser for the Democratic Party. In July 2024, he published a much-noticed op-ed in the New York Times, urging then U.S. President Joe Biden to step back as the Democratic nominee after Biden’s disastrous performance in a TV debate with Trump. Less than two weeks after, Biden withdrew from the race.

Trump referenced that episode in his post, mocking Clooney’s political judgment. “Remember when Clooney … dumped Joe during a fundraiser, only to go onto the side of another stellar candidate, Jamala(K!), who is now fighting it out with the worst governor in the Country, including Tim Waltz, Gavin Newscum, for who is going to lead the Democrats to their future defeat,” he wrote.

The fundraiser Trump mentioned was hosted by Clooney in support of Biden’s campaign. According to a book by two U.S. journalists, Biden did not recognize the actor at the event.

Trump continued his attack by dismissing Clooney’s film career. “Clooney got more publicity for politics than he did for his very few, and totally mediocre, movies. He wasn’t a movie star at all, he was just an average guy who complained, constantly, about common sense in politics,” Trump wrote.

According to the actor, Trump and Clooney know each other since before Trump entered politics. In a BBC interview in 2021, after Trump’s first and before his second term, Clooney said about him: “He was just this knucklehead … He was just a guy, who was chasing girls … that’s all he was.”

Happy New Year

 Let's hope the orange turd dies this year!

Channel Tunnel rail traffic

Power failure halts Channel Tunnel rail traffic, causing travel mayhem

By Reuters

Train services through the Channel Tunnel linking Britain and continental Europe were suspended on Tuesday following a ‌power supply ⁠failure, disrupting peak winter holiday travel.

A spokesperson for ‍Eurostar, which operates high-speed trains linking London to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam ‌and Disneyland Paris, said services were halted indefinitely. Travelers at Paris’ Gare du Nord station were told operations would be interrupted until the end of the day.

Getlink, which operates the tunnel infrastructure and the Le Shuttle service carrying cars and trucks, said repairs to the power ⁠supply were underway and that traffic was expected to resume gradually from 2 p.m. GMT (9 a.m. ET).

“Due to a problem with the overhead power supply in the Channel Tunnel and a subsequent failed Le Shuttle train, we strongly advise all our passengers to postpone their journey to a different date,” Eurostar said in a statement.

The disruption affects one of Europe’s busiest international rail corridors at the height of the New Year travel season.

Several hundred Le Shuttle passengers were stuck in their vehicles after passing through passport checks and security at the terminal in Folkestone.

Officials said that for the time being they ‌could neither go forward – there were no trains – nor backwards, because they had already crossed into the French control zone.

Alison Raby said she had ⁠booked a day trip to a theme park in Belgium, but the ​four-hour delay made the excursion pointless.

“We’re stuck, basically,” she told Reuters.

Fellow passenger Phil Groves, who works for Britain’s National Health Service and was en route to Paris for New ‍Year’s Eve, said ‍he and his family had been stuck ⁠at Folkestone for six hours and were held in a “mammoth queue.”

“We’ve received no information other than the services are suspended,” he said.

Britain’s Port of Dover said it was operating a ‘turn up and go’ system for passengers affected by the tunnel disruption and that ferry operators currently had capacity to take extra travelers.

Le Shuttle carried 2.2 million passenger vehicles and 1.2 million trucks through the tunnel in 2024. Eurostar carried 19.5 million customers ​in the same year, its most successful to date.

Stranded passengers crowded the concourse at London’s St. Pancras station. One was led away by police, shouting “I just want to know if I’ll see my family” after an exchange with ​a Eurostar worker.

Progress???????

Takeaways from Trump and Netanyahu’s meeting in Florida

By Adam Cancryn

President Donald Trump’s Monday meeting in Florida with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu generated plenty of warm words — but no clear progress in their peace plan for Gaza.

The leaders held a private lunch at Mar-a-Lago aimed at working out a series of issues in the Middle East, as the two sides try to cement a lasting end to Israel’s war with Hamas and ensure broader peace throughout the region.

Trump at the outset of the session told reporters that he planned to speak with Netanyahu about “five major subjects,” later suggesting that they’d come close to settling three of them within the first five minutes of their session.

In addition to Gaza, Trump indicated plans to address issues in the occupied West Bank and potential threats posed by Iran.

But more than an hour later, the two emerged with no new milestones to announce.

Instead, they were seemingly content to shower praise on each other, with Netanyahu going as far as to announce that he planned to award Trump with Israel’s highest civilian excellence honor.

“President Trump has broken so many conventions to surprise people, so we decided to break a convention or create a new one,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu’s visit marked the second major trip to Mar-a-Lago by a foreign leader in as many days, as Trump engages in an end-of-year foreign policy flurry.

Here are the takeaways from Monday’s meeting:

Intense flattery, lingering divisions

Trump and Netanyahu spent much of their time in public together exchanging compliments, as both sought to show their relationship remains better than ever despite the occasional strains of the past year — and Trump’s growing wariness of some of Israel’s actions amid his efforts to keep peace in the Middle East.

“We’ve never had a friend like President Trump in the White House. It’s not even close,” Netanyahu said upon his arrival.

Trump returned the favor moments later, asserting that “Israel, with most other leaders, would not exist today.”

“The relationship’s been extraordinary,” Trump said.

The flattery only intensified from there, capped by Netanyahu’s announcement that he would make Trump the first non-Israeli recipient of the Israel Prize for Peace.

Trump, who called the award “really surprising and very much appreciated,” praised Netanyahu as a “wartime” leader and downplayed concerns that Israel is not moving fast enough toward the next phase of the Gaza peace deal. He instead put the onus almost entirely on Hamas.

But he did acknowledge ongoing divisions between the US and Israel, chiefly over the West Bank. Trump has opposed Israel annexing the area, aligning himself with many Western and Arab nations on the issue. The Israeli government, meanwhile, has discussed annexing parts of the West Bank in the past and intensified its military operations in the area since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023.

“We’ve had a discussion, big discussion, for a long time on the West Bank, and I wouldn’t say we agree on the West Bank 100%,” Trump told CNN’s Kevin Liptak.

Phase 2 in Gaza still on hold

Trump and Netanyahu also failed to reach an agreement on moving to the second phase of the US-brokered peace plan for Gaza — a sticking point that’s slowed work toward permanent peace and an eventual rebuilding effort.

Trump on Monday downplayed the lack of progress, insisting that he was “not concerned” about Israel’s actions in the region, even though its military has killed hundreds of Palestinians since the ceasefire took effect in October. Instead, he argued the plan’s success depends mainly on Hamas agreeing to disarmament.

But that’s unlikely to alleviate concerns within the Trump administration that Netanyahu is slow-walking the move to the next phase, leaving the US mired in the Middle East at a moment when Republicans are urging Trump to turn his focus to domestic matters.

Trump seemed to allude to the difficulty of the negotiations at one point, suggesting that Netanyahu was skeptical of giving “second chances” in an effort to ensure the ceasefire remains permanent. Still, he told reporters that “Israel’s lived up to the plan 100%.”

“They’re strong. They’re solid,” Trump said.

Grave warnings for Iran

Trump had a far clearer message on Iran, amid Israel’s warnings that the nation is trying to rebuild its missile capabilities following US strikes on a trio of nuclear sites earlier this year.

The president vowed to strike Iran again if he determined the nation was pursuing an expansion of its ballistic missile program, saying he’d heard indications of building at new sites within the country.

“I hear that Iran is trying to build up again, and if they are, we’re going to have to knock them down,” he said, adding, “We’ll knock the hell out of them.”

Trump later threatened “very powerful” consequences for Iran, urging the country to instead seek a deal with the US to avoid more military action. But he repeatedly struck a pessimistic note even while expressing hope that more strikes could be avoided.

“This is just what we hear,” Trump said of Iran’s actions. “Usually, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”

Foreign policy dominates Trump’s attention

Even aside from Netanyahu’s visit, Trump’s Mar-a-Lago holiday vacation has so far been consumed by the various foreign entanglements that shaped his first year back in office.

In between bidding farewell to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and greeting Netanyahu, Trump spent Monday morning on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He later said Putin told him that a Ukrainian drone attack targeted one of his residences, an allegation that Trump said made him “very angry.”

“This is not the right time,” Trump said, even as he conceded it was possible the allegation was false.

The president also offered a few new details on an operation he said targeted a “big facility” in Venezuela — an incident that became public only because he mentioned it offhand during a prior radio interview.

“It’s an implementation area,” Trump said of the dock that he claimed was being used to “load the boats up with drugs.”

But he declined to say much more, leaving the next steps in Venezuela — as well as in Ukraine and the Middle East — unclear by the end of the day.

Remember, she is insane, but next to him, she looks smart....

Marjorie Taylor Greene Says Trump Turned on Her Over Epstein Survivors

The congresswoman revealed how and why she broke from Trump and Republican leadership.

Alex Nguyen

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said that her defense of survivors of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and threat to disclose the identities of some of the men who abused them broke her relationship with President Donald Trump, who said his “friends will get hurt” if she went through with it. 

Greene’s claim came in remarks from two long interviews published Monday in the New York Times Magazine. After a closed-door meeting with Epstein victims in September and a subsequent news conference where she made the threat to share the names of some of the men, Greene said Trump rebuked her. 

“The Epstein files represent everything wrong with Washington,” the congresswoman told Robert Draper of New York Times Magazine, highlighting how Epstein went unpunished for decades and was allowed to continue to sexually assault girls and young women. 

Greene announced in November that she would resign on January 5, 2026, a year before her term ends. “Standing up for American women who were raped at 14 years old, trafficked, and used by rich, powerful men should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the president of the United States, whom I fought for,” she stated in the video.

Greene told the Times that the last conversation she had with Trump was when she requested that he invite some of the survivors to the Oval Office. Trump, she recounted, replied that they did not deserve the opportunity. 

The congresswoman committed to opposing Republican leadership in the House and Trump, joining Rep Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) in a bill that would force the Justice Department to release all of its documents on Epstein. 

Another breaking point was the fallout following Charlie Kirk’s assassination. She was shocked when Trump gave the “worst statement” possible at Kirk’s memorial service. “I hate my opponent, and I don’t want the best for them,” Trump said, noting it as the right-wing political activist’s weakness. 

This was un-Christian to Greene, and she realized that she was part of a “toxic culture” in Washington. 

“Our side has been trained by Donald Trump to never apologize and to never admit when you’re wrong,” Greene told the Times earlier this month. “You just keep pummeling your enemies, no matter what.”

This was a stark contrast to many of her fellow public figures on the far right, who blamed the left for Kirk’s assassination. As my colleague Anna Merlan wrote earlier this month, this has led to a MAGA rift, along with conflicts over antisemitism that I reported about last week. 

Since the disputes over Epstein and Kirk, Trump contributed to death threats made against her, she claims, including calling her “Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Green (sic)” in a November Truth Social post.   

Greene told the Times that she understood that loyalty to Trump was just “a one-way street” that ends “whenever it suits him.” 

All of this calls into question whether Greene’s departure from Trump is genuine. She told the Times that she remains a steadfast supporter of the policies on which Trump campaigned. But these clearly have not worked. Greene’s departure also calls into question the future of the Republican Party. Turning Point USA has endorsed JD Vance, but where other groups in the Republican Party go remains uncertain. 

Greene’s rehabilitation has doubt attached to it, too, regardless of whether the angle is a campaign for another political position or not. As Mother Jones’ Julianne McShane reported, the congresswoman has still made attempts to reconcile with Trump. And as the Times pointed out, Greene admitted that she only spoke out against Trump when his attacks targeted her. 

There’s also the fact that we still live in a political climate ruled by elites. Greene herself is a wealthy co-owner of a construction firm. It’s not a “big tent”—it’s still people at the top conversing with other people at the top on the direction of the country.

Gives up on federal high-speed

California gives up on federal high-speed rail funding

State officials said the federal government under President Donald Trump "is not a reliable, constructive or trustworthy partner" on the controversial project.

By Alex Nieves

California has ended a lawsuit challenging the termination of $4 billion in federal grants for its controversial high-speed rail project, ceding its claim to federal funding that the Trump administration has repeatedly tried to withdraw.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a motion last week to dismiss the complaint his office filed in July, after the Federal Railroad Administration nixed $4 billion in Obama- and Biden-era grants.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority said in a statement that the agency has decided to cut ties with the Trump administration, which has also threatened other pots of federal funding tied to the planned rail line connecting Los Angeles to the Bay Area.

“This action reflects the state’s assessment that the federal government is not a reliable, constructive, or trustworthy partner in advancing high-speed rail in California,” the statement said.

The move represents a major win for President Donald Trump, who has long criticized high-speed rail and issued a threat in February to investigate and kneecap the project.

“Under @POTUS’s leadership, we are protecting billions of American taxpayers’ dollars from funding California’s ridiculous train to nowhere,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a Saturday post on X. “A great way to ring in the New Year.”

The administration attempted to revoke $1 billion in federal high-speed rail funding during his first term in office, but the Biden administration restored those funds in 2021 before the courts could reach a decision.

The decision also reflects changing priorities under HSRA CEO Ian Choudri, who has focused on securing state funding and private investment since assuming the role in August 2024.

The move to drop the case comes just weeks after a federal judge rejected a Trump administration motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

U.S. District Judge Dale Drozd, of the Eastern District of California, had pushed back on the administration’s argument that the grant cancellation was a contract dispute that should instead be handled in federal claims court.

FRA’s decision to terminate the grants came after the agency issued a scathing report claiming that the project has no viable path forward after missed deadlines, budget shortfalls and overrepresentation of projected ridership.

The project is now estimated to cost up to $128 billion, nearly four times its original $33 billion price tag.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic state lawmakers have doubled down on their support for the project, passing a bill this legislative session that guarantees it $1 billion in annual funding from revenues generated through the state’s greenhouse gas trading program.

HSRA also opened a solicitation for private investors earlier this month, with the hope of finalizing partnerships by next summer. Choudri told POLITICO in an October interview that the agency has received interest from dozens of potential investors, including six or seven of the large financiers.

Choudri said he anticipates selecting a private investor by May or June.

Step into the breach

States step into the breach as Obamacare subsidies lapse

Even state governments that want to help can’t completely cover rising insurance premiums.

By Alice Miranda Ollstein and Natalie Fertig

At least a dozen states are working to shield people from soaring health insurance costs following Congress’ failure to extend Obamacare subsidies for tens of millions of Americans.

The efforts, which include actions taken by state leaders in California, Colorado and Maryland, in nearly every case come with a major caveat: They will only be able to help a portion of the people whose health insurance will be too expensive without the enhanced subsidies that Congress opted not to renew before leaving Washington for the year.

“We can carry the cost for a little bit, but at some point, we will need Congress to act,” said Javier Martínez, speaker of the House in New Mexico, the only state so far to cover all lapsed subsidies. “No state can withstand to plug in every single budget hole that the Trump administration leaves behind.”

The speed at which the mostly Democratic states have taken action underscores the mounting national anxiety about the medical and political impact the end of these subsidies will have. Millions of Americans will no longer be able to afford health insurance, straining the budgets of state welfare programs and hospitals that are already in the red, and threatening to erode access to care to a level not seen in years.

Responses have so far been uneven, reflecting political and economic realities across the country. Georgia and Washington, for instance, are not likely to cover the subsidies, though for very different reasons. Other states, like Connecticut and New Mexico, have already acted, allocating money in sessions earlier this year in preparation for the possibility, and may add more in the upcoming year.

California, predicting that the GOP-led Congress would allow the subsidies to lapse, was one of the first to experiment with ways to protect people from rising monthly premiums. The Golden State is allocating nearly $200 million to replace the expired federal subsidies for roughly 300,000 of its poorest residents, but the rest of the state’s 2 million residents enrolled on the Obamacare exchange could be hit hard.

The state’s Obamacare market program, Covered California, expects as many as 400,000 people to go uninsured. In Maryland, which has far fewer impacted people to take care of, the poorest will see a more generous subsidy but people at higher income levels will receive a partial boost as well.

A few lawmakers in Maine and other battlegrounds, meanwhile, worry their efforts could disincentivize Congress from coming up with a federal solution, but say that shouldn’t influence states’ decisions to cover the gap in the short term.

And while there is a partisan divide, with far more blue states than red adopting policies to prop up the Obamacare markets, a few GOP-led states are feeling public pressure and are quietly taking regulatory action behind the scenes.

Local media obtained documents through the Freedom of Information Act in September revealing that Arkansas recently joined deep-red Texas and Wyoming in enacting “premium alignment” — a health care market tactic that essentially shifts costs around in order to ensure the remaining federal subsidies get to as many people as possible and keep out-of-pocket costs down.

Most states have taken no action — including both conservative ones where leaders oppose the Affordable Care Act and states with progressive leaders who support the program.

In Minnesota, one of several states that may take up the issue when legislatures reconvene in January, the idea of replacing the subsidies has faced opposition from both parties.

State Sen. Matt Klein, who is running for the congressional seat vacated by Democratic Rep. Angie Craig, said he has struggled to convince some members of his party to allocate the funding because they see it as a boondoggle for private insurers.

“But once this sort of firestorm of, ‘I can’t afford my health care anymore’ ignites, it really creates a lot of political pressure for all lawmakers,” he said. “They may be more convinced that we need to do something.”

The main barrier to taking action, in many places, is the cost.

In Washington state, House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon cited his state’s budget shortfall as the primary reason they cannot backfill the health subsidies. And in Minnesota, Klein stressed, “We don’t, at this point in our fiscal cycle, have a lot of extra money.”

But in other states that have a budget surplus, including Georgia, the barriers are political.

Georgia Democratic Rep. Sam Park is among the Democratic lawmakers pushing the state to use some of its billions in surplus funding to make up for the expired subsidies, which he estimates would cost the state $900 million per year. States such as his that never expanded Medicaid, he said, will see hundreds of thousands of people priced out of the individual insurance market with nowhere to turn for coverage.

Georgia Republicans, however, have definitively ruled out using state funding to backfill the disappearing federal aid.

“We’re not going to clean up any mess produced by Washington, D.C.,” Sen. Ben Watson, Republican chair of the state Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee, told POLITICO in November. “We’re not here to make up any shortfalls that the congressional maneuvers or compromises will create.”

New Mexico’s ability to cover the subsidies in full is rare, but it wasn’t the only state to anticipate their expiration. Colorado passed legislation in a special session earlier this year that significantly reduced the expected increase in 2026 premiums — legislation they will try to extend through 2027 when lawmakers return in the new year.

Colorado state Sen. Kyle Brown, who sits on the joint budget committee, said making sure as many Coloradans as possible remain on their commercial insurance plan is important to keep his state’s already-struggling rural hospitals afloat, since private Obamacare plans pay doctors more for health services than Medicaid does.

“The places where insurance costs are expected to go up the most … are in our rural areas,” Brown explained. He added that he and other state officials fear that as more people go uninsured due to rising rates, they will further burden those same cash-strapped hospitals’ emergency care units, threatening to drive them out of business. “That’s why keeping people insured, even more people insured, is really critical.”

Other states are still debating if and how to backfill. In Maine, House Speaker Ryan Fecteau acknowledged in an interview that one concern is that states creating their own subsidy programs could take the pressure off Congress to act when they return in January.

“Part of me wonders if that’s sort of the experiment that’s being had here with states,” he said.

Park, in Georgia, argued that even if that’s the case, states should still step into the breach, calling it “a matter of life or death.”

“We’re talking about people’s lives,” he said. “I personally am quite tired of hearing politicians simply blame another party or another politician or another level of government. We all have the responsibility to do what we can with what we have.”

Biggest destroyer of peac

China stages military drills around Taiwan to warn ‘external forces’ after US, Japan tensions

Taiwan called the Chinese government “the biggest destroyer of peace” and placed forces on alert.

By Associated Press

China’s military on Monday dispatched air, navy and missile units to conduct joint live-fire drills around the island of Taiwan, which Beijing called a “stern warning” against separatist and “external interference” forces. Taiwan said it was placing forces on alert and called the Chinese government “the biggest destroyer of peace.”

Taiwan’s aviation authority said more than 100,000 international air travelers would be affected by flight cancellations or diversions.

The drills came after Beijing expressed anger at what could be the largest-ever U.S. arms sale to the self-ruled territory, and at a statement by Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, saying its military could get involved if China takes action against Taiwan. China says Taiwan must come under its rule.

China’s military did not mention the United States and Japan in its statement on Monday, but Beijing’s foreign ministry accused Taiwan’s ruling party of trying to seek independence through requesting U.S. support.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said rapid response exercises were underway, with forces on high alert. “The Chinese Communist Party’s targeted military exercises further confirm its nature as an aggressor and the biggest destroyer of peace,” it said.

President Donald Trump on Monday said he was not informed of the military exercise in advance but that he was not worried either, because China has been “doing naval exercises for 20 years in that area.”

Touting his “great relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump suggested he didn’t think Xi was going to attack Taiwan.

Beijing sends warplanes and navy vessels toward the island on a near-daily basis, and in recent years it has stepped up the scope and scale of the exercises.

Senior Col. Shi Yi, spokesperson of China’s People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command, said the drills would be conducted in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, southwest, southeast and east of the island.

Shi said activities would focus on sea-air combat readiness patrol, “joint seizure of comprehensive superiority” and blockades on key ports. It was the first large-scale military drill where the command publicly mentioned one goal was “all-dimensional deterrence outside the island chain.”

“It is a stern warning against ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces and external interference forces, and it is a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China’s sovereignty and national unity,” Shi said.

China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949, when a civil war brought the Communist Party to power in Beijing. Defeated Nationalist Party forces fled to Taiwan. The island has operated since then with its own government, though the mainland’s government claims it as sovereign territory.

Drills will continue on Tuesday

China’s command on Monday deployed destroyers, frigates, fighters, bombers and unmanned aerial vehicles, alongside long-range rockets, to the north and southwest of the Taiwan Strait. It carried out live-fire exercises against targets in the waters. Among other training, drills to test the capabilities of sea-air coordination and precise target hunting were conducted in the waters and airspace to the east of the strait.

Hsieh Jih-sheng, deputy chief of the general staff for intelligence of the Taiwanese Defense Ministry, said that as of 3 p.m. Monday, 89 aircraft and drones were operating around the strait, with 67 of them entering the “response zone” — airspace under the force’s monitoring and response. The ministry detected 14 navy ships around the strait and four other warships in the Western Pacific, in addition to 14 coast guard vessels.

“Conducting live-fire exercises around the Taiwan Strait ... does not only mean military pressure on us. It may bring more complex impact and challenges to the international community and neighboring countries,” Hsieh told reporters.

Military drills are set to continue Tuesday. Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration said Chinese authorities had issued a notice saying seven temporary dangerous zones would be set up around the strait to carry out rocket-firing exercises from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., barring aircraft from entering them.

The Taiwanese aviation authority said more than 850 international flights were initially scheduled during that period and the drills would affect more than 100,000 travelers. More than 80 domestic flights, involving around 6,000 passengers, were also canceled, it added.

Commercial airlines began to announce dozens of cancellations and delays for domestic routes across Taiwan, particularly ones along islands near China.

The Chinese command released themed posters about the drills online accompanied by provocative wording. One depicted two shields with the Great Wall alongside three military aircraft and two ships. Its social media post said the drills were about the “Shield of Justice, Smashing Illusion,” adding that any foreign interlopers or separatists touching the shields would be eliminated.

Last week, Beijing imposed sanctions against 20 U.S. defense-related companies and 10 executives, a week after Washington announced large-scale arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion. It still requires approval by the U.S. Congress.

Under U.S. federal law in place for many years, Washington is obligated to assist Taipei with its defense, a point that has become increasingly contentious with China. The U.S. and Taiwan had formal diplomatic relations until 1979, when President Jimmy Carter’s administration recognized and established relations with Beijing.

Asked about the drills, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party has attempted “to seek independence by soliciting U.S. support and even risk turning Taiwan into a powder keg and ammunition depot.”

“External forces’ attempts to use Taiwan to contain China and to arm Taiwan will only embolden the Taiwan independence forces and push the Taiwan Strait toward a dangerous situation of military confrontation and war,” he said.

Taiwanese army on high alert

Karen Kuo, spokesperson for the Taiwanese president’s office, said the drills were undermining the stability and security of the Taiwan Strait and Indo-Pacific region and openly challenging international law and order.

“Our country strongly condemns the Chinese authorities for disregarding international norms and using military intimidation to threaten neighboring countries.” she said.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry released a video that featured its weapons and forces in a show of resilience. Multiple French Mirage-2000 aircraft conducted landings at an air force base.

In October, the Taiwanese government said it would accelerate the building of a “Taiwan Shield” or “T-Dome” air defense system in the face of the military threat from China.

The military tensions came a day after Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an said he hoped the Taiwan Strait would be associated with peace and prosperity, instead of “crashing waves and howling winds,” during a trip to Shanghai.

Turbulent

The turbulent trajectory of Trump’s ‘Nazi streak’ acolyte

Paul Ingrassia’s almost Trumpian survival demonstrates how ideological affinity and personal loyalty can outweigh all other considerations in this administration.

By Daniel Lippman, Daniel Barnes and Sophia Cai

A conservative activist who had caught Donald Trump’s attention with flattery via Substack ahead of the 2024 presidential election imagined a prominent role for himself in a future administration.

In a group chat with half a dozen Republican operatives and influencers, Paul Ingrassia in October 2023 texted: “Trump needs me as his chief of staff,” according to a screenshot obtained by POLITICO.

“I’m not kidding.”

Ingrassia, then in his late 20s, had only graduated from Cornell Law School the year before and had yet to be admitted to the New York Bar.

The coveted job, of course, went to veteran political operator Susie Wiles, who typically shies from the limelight.

But Ingrassia had gained confidence about his potential path to the White House after his Substack columns, which included arguments that Trump would defeat Ron DeSantis in the primary, caught the then-candidate’s eye.

Trump responded with handwritten notes and Ingrassia posted them on X.

“Great seeing you at Bedminster — young and handsome,” Trump wrote to Ingrassia.

Another note, also posted on the social media site in the summer of 2023, read: “Paul, Great seeing you — the man behind the great writings — you are looking good.”

Ingrassia, 30, would eventually land a series of administration jobs, though not as the president’s top aide. He’s now known in Washington for withdrawing from a Senate confirmation process to lead a federal whistleblower agency after a POLITICO report in October revealed racist comments Ingrassia made in the same group chat where he mused about being chief of staff.

Ingrassia and his lawyer, Edward Andrew Paltzik, did not respond to requests for comment for this article. In October, Paltzik did not confirm the texts were authentic, saying they could be manipulated and were provided without proper context.

The GOP-led rejection of Ingrassia’s nomination was a rare break between the administration and a largely compliant Congress. It didn’t result in his ouster. Instead, Ingrassia got an invitation to meet Trump at the White House and another administration post — this time at the General Services Administration that manages federal buildings, IT services and government procurement.

Alan Jacoby, the founder of Patriot Cigar Company who met Ingrassia through New York Republican circles several years ago, said Ingrassia’s goal before Trump was reelected was to get a position in the administration.

“We don’t always agree when it comes to political issues even though we’re both conservatives. However, his support for President Trump is unmatched,” he said.

Ingrassia’s almost Trumpian survival demonstrates how ideological affinity and personal loyalty can outweigh all other considerations in this administration. And while top officials in the Republican Party and White House have split between denouncing bigoted language exhibited by officials like Ingrassia — who said he has a “Nazi streak” according to the texts — and forming a defensive line around supporters, the messages don’t appear to have hurt his official standing.

GSA spokesperson Marianne Copenhaver hailed Ingrassia’s “outstanding service” in a statement about his new role as GSA’s deputy general counsel just weeks after GOP Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said he wouldn’t support his nomination to lead the Office of Special Counsel because he didn’t understand “how anybody can be antisemitic in this country.”

The schism remains at the heart of an unsettled question about MAGA’s future and whether a Trump-style successor can emerge when others who’ve deployed a similarly bombastic and divisive approach to leadership have failed. Where many young Republican staffers lost government or party positions when inflammatory texts were made public in a different POLITICO investigation involving a separate text chain this year, Ingrassia got another senior administration post. In that sense he’s like Trump himself, who only gained more staying power during everything from the Access Hollywood video to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.

For this article about Ingrassia’s journey from a once-obscure MAGA acolyte to a Trump world fixture, POLITICO spoke to more than two dozen administration officials, senators, Capitol Hill staffers and others who know Ingrassia. POLITICO also reviewed contemporaneous messages of former law school classmates and fellow conservative influencers. Many of the people were granted anonymity to speak candidly about Ingrassia because of retaliation concerns or because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Law school controversy

Ingrassia’s time in the administration has echoes of his law school experience.

He had trouble fitting into his cohort at Cornell Law, three former classmates told POLITICO, describing him as a quiet and closely guarded person.

But Ingrassia did draw attention — if unwanted — during his time at Cornell. In the wake of the 2020 election, while classes were partially virtual due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a classmate shared with other students a screenshot of a Twitter post by Ingrassia’s mother repeating claims that Trump was the legitimate winner of the 2020 presidential election, according to two of the former classmates.

“For a little change of pace, here’s Paul’s batshit crazy mom,” the classmate who posted the screenshot wrote in a GroupMe chat for the entire Cornell Law class of 2022, according to the two classmates in the chat. The post was swiftly deleted.

“Following some sage counsel here and issuing an unqualified apology. We obviously have some strong disagreements, but ‘your mom is batshit crazy’ is obviously well over the line and it’s incredibly unfortunate that I posted it here. My bad,” the classmate wrote a short time later, according to a copy of the message.

Reached for comment by POLITICO, Ingrassia’s mother, Donna Gallo Ingrassia, a Long Island real estate broker, defended standing up for what she believes.

“We are a family who stands up for what we believe in even if it is against the popular viewpoint,” she said in an email. “We fought for my daughter’s former classmate Gabby Petito [who was killed in Wyoming in 2021], fought against vaccine and mask mandates, we fought against the steal of 2020 and we campaigned hard for President Trump.”

A rocky entry

Years later, Ingrassia had the backing of his mother who trekked to the Hill to confront Democratic lawmakers who criticized her son’s nomination. “Obviously, I am going to advocate for my kids,” she told POLITICO. “People who do not ‘go along to get along’ are usually called ‘crazy.’”

Ingrassia’s bond with Trump only strengthened after those handwritten notes Ingrassia posted on X in 2023. In time, he would call himself “Trump’s favorite writer” after Trump reposted more than 100 of his Substack articles.

So when Trump took office a second time, Ingrassia was poised to thrive. He landed a position as White House liaison to the Justice Department. While most incoming Trump appointees were partying at balls on the night of Trump’s inauguration, Ingrassia spent more than an hour inside the D.C. Central Detention Facility.

He emerged to announce that two people who had pled guilty to assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol were being released after receiving pardons from the president.

It is “a monumental moment in our history,” Ingrassia told reporters.

But Ingrassia’s time at DOJ quickly went downhill.

Inside the department, he clashed with then-DOJ chief of staff Chad Mizelle after Ingrassia reportedly complained to the president that Mizelle was not working to advance his agenda. DOJ and Mizelle declined to comment.

It didn’t help Ingrassia that he lacked a relationship with Attorney General Pam Bondi, according to a DOJ official. That official added that Ingrassia did not generally know anyone in the department.

The official said he believes Ingrassia was a “Day 1” person sent by the White House, as the new administration placed loyalists across the government. The official added that people in the department knew Trump had done social media posts on Ingrassia’s writings.

The connection wasn’t enough. A month after he arrived at Justice, he was reassigned to the Department of Homeland Security. But his time there was even rockier.

Ingrassia seemed to want to build a rapport with colleagues, frequently attending DHS and administration happy hours to network, according to two people who saw him at the events. Despite his brashness on social media, Ingrassia was reserved in social settings, said the two people.

The scandals

But Ingrassia quickly encountered problems at DHS. In July, he took a work trip to Florida where he shared a Ritz-Carlton hotel room with a female colleague. An internal investigation ensued. The attorney for Ingrassia and a DHS spokesperson said the investigation into him ended and cleared him. His attorney denied wrongdoing.

Ingrassia sued POLITICO for defamation in Warren County, Virginia, in October after POLITICO reported on the Florida trip.

Ingrassia faced additional scrutiny over the summer after Trump nominated him in May to lead the Office of Special Counsel, which investigates complaints from federal whistleblowers.

A day after the nomination, NPR reported that Ingrassia had called far-right influencer Andrew Tate an “extraordinary man” and “the embodiment of the ancient ideal of excellence.” Before joining the administration Ingrassia worked at a law firm Tate hired. Tate, who has been an advocate for “Holocaust revisionism,” has faced rape and human trafficking charges. He has denied the charges, which are pending.

On Capitol Hill, staffers on the Senate Homeland Security Committee started looking into Ingrassia’s background. Three Democratic Senate aides said in an interview that a staff vetting session on July 21 went poorly for Ingrassia. They said they were troubled he didn’t provide his full biographical information and that he pushed back when asked about the omission of numerous posts, podcasts, interviews and deleted writings.

Several staffers from Republican offices also asked tough questions of Ingrassia. Among them were his views on the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel, which he had called “another psyop to distract Americans from celebrating Columbus Day.”

Just before Ingrassia was set to testify on July 24, his appearance was postponed.

“This big thing for our state is, he’s had some statements about antisemitism,” Scott, a member of the committee, said at the time.

In August, Ingrassia also lost a key ally at the White House. Sergio Gor, another controversial Trump aide who had been serving as presidential personnel director, was nominated to serve as ambassador to India in a shakeup. Gor, who had drawn the personal antipathy of Elon Musk for trying to wrest back control of agencies after a heated March Cabinet meeting, worked closely with Ingrassia and supported his nomination, according to three administration officials. His departure deprived Ingrassia of an influential defender.

Replacing Gor was Dan Scavino, a White House deputy chief of staff and one of Trump’s closest aides, with whom Ingrassia was not as close, according to two of the administration officials.

Ingrassia still had other defenders in the West Wing, including Trump aide Natalie Harp, according to two administration officials. Harp is known as Trump’s “human printer” because she prints out articles for him to read, including many of Ingrassia’s Substack pieces.

“Natalie Harp in the White House is a big advocate of Paul’s,” one of the officials said.

Gor and Harp were natural allies. Like Ingrassia, they rose to their positions thanks to their fierce loyalty to Trump. Like Ingrassia, they lacked establishment bona fides. Like Trump, they protected their own.

Gor, Scavino and Harp did not respond to requests for comment.

Two months after Gor’s August nomination, Ingrassia was scheduled to appear before the homeland security panel for a Senate confirmation hearing that was supposed to take place on a Thursday. He was in a “murder board” prep session on the preceding Monday afternoon to prepare for the expected avalanche of questions about his background and controversies, according to four administration officials.

But that same afternoon, POLITICO published its article on his inflammatory texts. The reporting revealed that on a January 2024 text chain with Republican operatives and influencers, Ingrassia said the MLK Jr. holiday should be “tossed in the seventh circle of hell” and that Juneteenth and Kwanza “should also be canceled,” according to the chat. Paltzik, Ingrassia’s lawyer, said at the time that even if they were authentic, they were meant to be self-deprecating and satirical.

The reaction was swift. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters he hoped the White House would withdraw the nomination and that Ingrassia couldn’t pass.

Hours later, Ingrassia posted on X that he was withdrawing his nomination “because unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time.” He said he was grateful for the “overwhelming support” he received during the process “and will continue to serve President Trump and this administration to Make America Great Again!”

Even people close to the White House with knowledge of how staffers felt about Ingrassia said the revelations of the text messages were not a surprise given his association to extremists like Tate and white nationalist Nick Fuentes.

But since nominations are ultimately chosen by Trump, West Wing staffers back candidates until it becomes evident there are simply not enough votes to confirm them, according to two people who were involved in the process.

Some White House staffers were ultimately “relieved” that he withdrew his nomination, said the first person close to the administration.

“The writing was on the wall early on, and I think the recent changes at [the White House Presidential Personnel Office] allow this nomination to finally die,” the first person added, noting that there was “the onslaught of accusations and many people [questioned] his qualifications to begin with” when Trump tapped him.

Even if staffers aren’t fully on board with everyone Trump chooses, the first person said, the feeling is “let’s have the process work itself out” and “be loyal to the pick but be realistic and move on when needed.”

“Not sure anyone is like heartbroken,” the second person added. “It was never expected that it would go through, at least I never did.”

One reason he has kept a job is because Trump rewards his personal champions.

“Paul’s been a steadfast supporter of President Trump and a leader in the America First movement,” said Caroline Wren, a Republican strategist who served as a liaison between the Trump White House and participants in the Jan. 6 rally preceding the Capitol riot.

More trouble ahead?

Already there are questions about Ingrassia’s credentials at GSA, where he quickly moved from deputy general counsel to acting general counsel in a few weeks. An announcement about his elevation to a position that oversees more than 100 attorneys cites his key role in swiftly filling the DOJ and DHS with trusted political appointees.

“What are we? A halfway house for bigots who can’t find jobs anywhere else in this administration?” a GSA official said. Ingrassia’s predecessor at GSA, Russell “Rusty” McGranahan, had a three-decade career at top firms, including BlackRock and White & Case. He recently became a senior adviser to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Rusty was well qualified and served the administration well. I just want the government to be staffed with experienced people who are taken seriously,” the official added.

Another person familiar with the internal workings of GSA said that Ingrassia “basically won’t be given anything meaningful because [agency] leadership doesn’t really want him.”

“I don’t know what he is or is not, but no one cares for him,” the person added.

Earlier this month, six Senate Democrats sent a letter to the White House and the GSA calling Ingrassia’s continued employment in the federal government “unacceptable,” citing POLITICO’s reporting.

“The Democrats clearly understand that Paul is a very intelligent, strong supporter of President Trump, which is why they want him out,” Ingrassia’s mother said.

Copenhaver, the GSA spokesperson, said that Ingrassia has a bright future at the agency.

“Paul Ingrassia is a well-regarded attorney who has provided outstanding service to President Trump and will continue to do so as GSA’s acting general counsel,” Copenhaver said. “The GSA has complete confidence in his ability to further both its mission and the president’s priorities.”