Good morning. I’m Thom Hartmann and this is Raw America. Four stories today. A whistleblower testified that ICE has been lying to Congress about training cuts. Trump’s deportation push is cratering the economy in a region that voted for him a year ago. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board is calling Trump bull-headed on tariffs. And the Justice Department quietly dropped its case against six Democrats for reminding soldiers they can refuse illegal orders. Let’s get into it.
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ICE Whistleblower Says the Agency Cut Training and Lied to Congress
Ryan Schwank resigned from the ICE training academy in Georgia two weeks ago specifically so he could testify before Congress without restriction. What he told a joint panel of House and Senate Democrats on Monday was serious.
Schwank said ICE eliminated 240 hours of classes from its 580-hour training program, including courses on the legal limits of using force, how to conduct lawful detentions and arrests, and firearms training. He testified that he received what he called secretive orders to teach new cadets to violate the Constitution. And he accused the agency of lying to Congress about all of it.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons had previously told Congress no training content was cut, arguing the same hours were packed into fewer calendar days. The internal documents Schwank brought to the hearing tell a different story. Democrats published those documents, and they show the hours were cut, not rearranged.
The backdrop: ICE went on a massive hiring surge under Kristi Noem with a goal of 10,000 new agents, dropping the age requirement and other standards along the way. Some recruits reportedly failed open-book exams and struggled with basic fitness tests. Schwank told CNN his view was simple: the training was gutted to push as many people through as possible. His words were that it didn’t really matter what got cut. DHS flatly denied everything, saying no hours were cut and that recruits receive comprehensive constitutional instruction.
Trump’s Deportation Push Is Collapsing the Economy in a Region That Voted for Him
The Rio Grande Valley went for Trump in 2024, a historic shift in a reliably Democratic region. Less than a year later, the deportation crackdown is gutting the regional economy, and some of the same people who voted Republican are saying so publicly.
Construction has been hit hardest. ICE has raided job sites and arrested framing, drywall, and stucco crews. One homebuilder reported ICE arrested nearly his entire stucco crew in a single operation and he has been unable to replace them. A flooring sales manager said he has inventory sitting in a warehouse with no one left to install it. A real estate investor is reconsidering a purchase of 100 residential lots, fearing workers won’t be available when construction starts.
The president of the South Texas Builders Association said plainly: this will put us out of business if it continues. The association’s executive director went further, saying the fallout is already shifting the political landscape. His words: “I can guarantee you, the Valley will never be red again. At least not anytime soon.”
About 23 percent of Texas construction workers are undocumented, with the Valley percentage considerably higher. The White House says apprenticeships and visa expansions will fill the gap. The builders operating there say that is not the reality they are living.
Even the Murdoch Paper Is Calling Trump Bull-Headed on Tariffs
After the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s emergency tariffs last week, the president’s response was to impose new ones. He invoked the Trade Act of 1974 and announced 15 percent tariffs on a broad range of imports over the weekend.
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, owned by Rupert Murdoch and reliably aligned with Republican economic thinking, published a column Monday calling Trump bull-headed. The board wrote that the smart play after the court ruling would have been to take an off-ramp and pause. Trump, it said, is too bull-headed on tariffs to do that.
The board also hit the administration for what it called a bait and switch on refunds. The government has collected roughly 200 billion dollars in tariff revenue. Trump’s legal team told the courts that businesses would easily be able to get refunds. Now the administration says it will fight refund requests in court. The board called that a political bait and switch that delays money back into the economy. It concluded that Trump’s tariff fixation looks increasingly like a losing wager for Republicans heading into the midterms.
DOJ Drops Its Case Against Six Democrats Who Told Soldiers to Refuse Illegal Orders
In November, six Democratic lawmakers released a short video reminding members of the military of something in the Uniform Code of Military Justice: soldiers must follow lawful orders and must refuse unlawful ones. The Trump administration treated it as sedition.
Trump called it seditious behavior punishable by death and reposted calls to have the six lawmakers hanged. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to court-martial Senator Mark Kelly, a retired Navy combat pilot who appeared in the video, and formally censured him. The Justice Department sought a grand jury indictment. The grand jury found no evidence of a crime and declined.
Now, according to NBC News, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office has decided to stop pursuing the case. Three people familiar with the matter confirmed it. A source told NewsNation there are no plans to take it further.
Kelly filed a lawsuit against Hegseth for what he called an unconstitutional and legally baseless revenge plot. A federal judge appointed by George W. Bush blocked Hegseth’s attempts to censure and demote Kelly last week, writing that no court has ever extended reduced First Amendment protections to retired service members serving in Congress, and that his court would not be the first. Kelly called it a victory for free speech and said the fight is not over.
TO WRAP UP
One pattern runs through all four stories today. An administration that cuts corners and then lies about it. An enforcement agenda damaging the communities it was supposed to protect. A president who responds to legal setbacks with defiance. And a justice system that, in at least a few cases this week, pushed back. That is the work. Covering it clearly, following the documents, listening to the people willing to speak up. If you’re not a subscriber yet, please become one today. It keeps this going. We’ll see you tomorrow.
STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:
Red State Governor Cancels Immigrant Detention Center After Protests. New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) will now no longer move forward with a planned immigrant detention center in Merrimack, New Hampshire following months of sustained protests. Initially, the Department of Homeland Security flagged Merrimack as a potential location for a massive jail that would house up to 1,000 immigrants at a time. However, both Democratic and Republican lawmakers opposed the plan, citing a lack of infrastructure to support the facility.
FedEx Sues Trump Administration Over Tariffs. Following last week’s 6-3 Supreme Court decision ruling that President Trump’s tariffs imposed via emergency were illegal, FedEx is now suing to get the money back it paid in extra trade duties. Additional corporations could join FedEx, as retail giant Costco initially filed the suit that led to the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling.
Former Trump Official Calls His State of the Union Speech ‘Offensive.’ An unnamed former Trump administration official recently told Politico that Trump is planning to make an “offensive speech” to Congress tonight. The ex-official said that more than a year into his second term, Trump is now backed into a corner and forced to defend his agenda after a wave of negative polls and staggering losses in the federal judiciary.
Ex-FBI Acting Director Says Kash Patel’s Olympics Trip Sends a ‘Horrible’ Message to FBI. Former FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe heaped criticism on FBI Director Kash Patel after he was seen partying in the locker room with the U.S. Men’s Hockey Team after winning the gold medal game against Canada. In addition to saying the video sent a “horrible, horrible message to the FBI rank-and-file,” McCabe told CNN’s Jake Tapper that Patel also sent “a horrible message to the country when the FBI is in the middle of such incredibly important investigations.”
Senate Republicans Say Trump’s Voting Restrictions Likely Dead. The “SAVE America Act,” which narrowly passed the Republican-controlled House of Representatives earlier this month, is likely to die in the GOP-controlled U.S. Senate. Senate Republicans say current filibuster rules, which require 60 votes in order to close debate and move forward with an up-or-down majority vote, will likely sink the legislation. And even senior Republicans indicate they’re unwilling to eliminate the filibuster in order to pass the bill, which would impose severe new restrictions on the voting process if signed into law.
