The Brief | "You Ought to Be in Jail"
Plus: A pilot fired over a blanket, the EPA torches climate rules, Kathy is "Epstein'ed" and Congress leaves town pretending to care.
It’s Friday!
The Brief is late again, but my husband said this morning, “Let's go get pancakes!” So, obviously, we got pancakes.
Friday is errand day. I got stuff to do. So…😉👇
In today’s Brief:
Hawley goes nuclear on Ellison: Tells Minnesota’s AG he “ought to be in jail” over $9 billion in fraud and some inconvenient campaign donations. There’s a 54-minute tape. Ellison says it’s lies. The tape disagrees.
Operation Metro Surge wraps: Homan declares victory, Walz offers to pack his bags, and Kamala calls the resistance “a beautiful example.” Everyone’s claiming a win, so nobody actually won.
Inside the Noem-Lewandowski chaos machine: The WSJ drops a brutal portrait—a pilot fired over a missing blanket, a $70 million "big, beautiful jet," Lewandowski autopen-signing his own badge paperwork, and affair rumors Trump himself keeps bringing up. DHS calls it "a roaring success."
EPA torches the endangerment finding: Seventeen years of climate regulations, gone. Legal challenges are incoming, but for now, the Obama-era framework is rubble.
Goldman’s top lawyer exits over Epstein: Kathy Ruemmler insists it was all professional. The timing of her resignation suggests the documents have opinions.
Congress leaves town, DHS unfunded: ICE keeps its $75 billion and operates anyway. FEMA, TSA, and the Coast Guard get to scramble. Fetterman was the only Dem to vote yes—and he’s not wrong about the math.
Let’s get into the news!
Senate Hearing Becomes Full-Contact Sport
If you missed yesterday’s Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing, you missed Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) essentially calling for Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to be arrested on live television.
Hawley confronted Ellison over campaign donations linked to the Feeding Our Future scandal—the COVID-era fraud scheme that started at $250 million and has since ballooned to an estimated $9 billion stolen since 2018. “You helped fraudsters defraud your state and this government of $9 billion—and you got a fat campaign contribution out of it,” Hawley thundered. “You ought to be indicted.”
Ellison shot back: “That’s a lie.”
Things escalated from there. When Hawley tried to cite a 54-minute audio recording released by the Center for the American Experiment showing Ellison meeting with fraud defendants in December 2021, things got personal. “Don’t talk over me… It’s my hearing, pal,” Hawley said. “Don’t call me ‘pal,’” Ellison fired back. “Well, I should call you a prisoner because you ought to be in jail.”
The core allegation: Ellison received approximately $10,000 in contributions from individuals linked to the fraud scheme—contributions his office says he later returned to the federal government. His spokesperson insists “nobody at that meeting contributed” to his campaign. But here’s what’s interesting: Nine days after that December 2021 sit-down with fraud defendants, the brother of one attendee maxed out to Ellison’s campaign.
Federal prosecutors have now convicted or secured guilty pleas from 44 of the 70 people charged. The stolen funds went to luxury cars, property, jewelry, travel—and, according to Senate testimony, “hundreds of millions of dollars to terrorist groups, to transnational criminal organizations, to drug trafficking, to child trafficking.” But sure, let’s keep arguing about whether a meeting happened.
Operation Metro Surge: Mission Accomplished?
Border Czar Tom Homan declared victory Thursday, announcing the conclusion of Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota. The 10-week immigration crackdown that turned Minneapolis into ground zero for the administration’s enforcement priorities is winding down.
“As a result of our efforts here, Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals,” Homan told reporters at the Bishop Whipple Federal Building. Federal authorities say the sweeps led to more than 4,000 arrests in the Twin Cities metro area.
The drawdown is already underway; 700 federal officers are leaving, though 2,000 will remain. A “small footprint” will stay on the ground to oversee criminal investigations into “agitators” and continue the fraud probes. Homan cited “unprecedented levels of coordination” with state and local law enforcement as justification for wrapping up.
Governor Tim Walz responded with characteristic restraint: “We will help you get to the airport. We will clear the roads to get you to the airport. I will come over and pack your damn bags if that’s what it takes.”
Meanwhile, Kamala Harris stopped by Georgia on her book tour to praise Minneapolis’ resistance as “such a beautiful example” for the country. She highlighted community members “pulling out their smartphones” and “blowing their whistles to alert people in the community about what might be happening.” She added: “I am here to advocate intolerance.”
There’s a certain whiplash in watching the enforcement operation declared a success while the former VP celebrates the resistance to it as a model. But that’s where we are.
Inside the Noem-Lewandowski Chaos Machine
The Wall Street Journal dropped a devastating portrait of what’s actually happening inside DHS under Secretary Kristi Noem and her “chief adviser” Corey Lewandowski—and it reads like a workplace dysfunction case study with federal authority.
Start with the basics: Lewandowski wanted to be Noem’s chief of staff. Trump rejected that idea because of reports of a “romantic relationship” between the two, something the president has apparently continued to bring up. Both are married. Both deny the affair. But the rumors aren’t new; they’ve swirled since at least 2020, and photos published by the Daily Mail last year showed Lewandowski going back and forth between his apartment and Noem’s across the street.
Their solution? Noem moved into a government-owned waterfront house on a military base—the official residence of the Coast Guard commandant, which falls under her authority at DHS. Lewandowski “also spends time at the house.” DHS says she pays rent and moved for “increased security.”
Then there’s the jet. Noem and Lewandowski have been using a luxury 737 MAX with a private cabin in the back for their travel. DHS is acquiring it for approximately $70 million, double the cost of the other commercial planes the department is buying for deportations. On paper, it’s earmarked for “high-profile deportations.” Staff have started calling it the secretary’s “big, beautiful jet.”
But my favorite detail is the blanket incident. After Noem had to switch planes due to a maintenance issue, her blanket wasn’t moved to the second aircraft. Lewandowski’s response? He fired the Coast Guard pilot and told him to take a commercial flight home. The pilot was eventually reinstated—because no one else was available to fly them back.
The piece also details Lewandowski’s push to get himself a federal law-enforcement badge and gun without undergoing the required training. When a top ICE official declined to issue them, he was passed over for a promotion. When a top ICE lawyer refused to write a legal justification, he was placed on administrative leave and later demoted to FEMA. Lewandowski eventually got other lawyers to sign off on it, using the ICE director’s autopen. Staff have since spotted him wearing a badge emblazoned with “Homeland Security.”
There’s more: contracts held up so long that steel prices rose $100 million, polygraph tests for employees they don’t trust, roughly 80% of career ICE field leadership fired or demoted, and Noem tracking her TV appearances against Tom Homan’s to make sure she’s on more.
DHS calls all of this “a roaring success” and dismisses the affair questions as “salacious, baseless gossip.” But when your blanket logistics are causing personnel actions and your adviser is autopen-signing his own badge paperwork, the gossip might be the least of your problems.
EPA Torches the Endangerment Finding
In what President Trump called “the single largest deregulatory action in American history,” the EPA formally revoked the Obama-era “endangerment finding” on greenhouse gases Thursday.
For those keeping score: The 2009 finding established that carbon dioxide and methane emissions posed “a threat to public health and welfare,” providing the legal foundation for federal climate regulations. It’s been used to justify everything from vehicle emissions standards to power plant rules for 17 years. Now it’s gone.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin framed it as freedom from bureaucratic burden: “The red tape has been cut. Manufacturers will no longer be burdened by measuring, compiling and reporting greenhouse gas emissions.”
The White House claims the move will save Americans roughly $2,400 per vehicle. The National Consumers League disputes that analysis, arguing federal standards actually save households thousands over a vehicle’s lifespan.
When asked what his message was for Americans concerned about environmental and health implications, Trump replied: “I tell them, don’t worry about it, because it has nothing to do with public health. It just was all a scam, a giant scam.”
Legal challenges are certain. The Supreme Court has previously affirmed that greenhouse gases are air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. But for now, the regulatory architecture built over nearly two decades is officially dismantled. Whether companies actually change their practices—given that the next administration could reverse course—remains an open question.
Goldman’s Top Lawyer Exits Amid Epstein Fallout
Kathy Ruemmler, Goldman Sachs’ chief legal officer and former Obama White House counsel, announced her resignation Thursday night amid ongoing fallout from the Justice Department’s release of millions of pages of Jeffrey Epstein documents.
Her departure, effective June 30, comes after weeks of news stories examining her relationship with the disgraced financier. Ruemmler and those around her have insisted the relationship was professional. In her statement, she said: “My responsibility is to put Goldman Sachs’ interests first.”
CEO David Solomon praised her as “an extraordinary general counsel” and accepted her resignation. The Epstein document release continues to send ripples through elite institutions, and Ruemmler won’t be the last high-profile departure. When millions of pages of documents get dumped, it’s remarkable how many people suddenly remember they had personal reasons to leave their jobs.
Congress Leaves Town, DHS Unfunded
In a move that would have been politically unthinkable a decade ago, Congress left Washington for a week-long recess Thursday with no deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security. The shutdown begins at midnight Friday.
The twist? Nobody seems particularly worried. Axios calls it a “no-pressure shutdown” because both sides see political upside.
For Democrats: refusing to fund DHS without ICE reforms plays well to a base that polling shows has soured on the agency’s tactics. For Republicans: ICE and CBP are already funded through the $75 billion allocated in last year’s reconciliation package. The agencies doing the immigration enforcement will keep operating regardless.
Who gets hurt? FEMA, Coast Guard, TSA, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency. Senator John Fetterman was the only Democratic vote to advance DHS funding, noting: “ICE has $75B in funding from Trump BBB that I did not vote for. Shutting DHS down has zero impact and zero changes for ICE.”
He’s right. This is performance politics on both sides. The agencies Democrats are ostensibly trying to rein in will continue operating at full capacity, while the agencies Americans actually need for disaster response and airport security will be scrambling. Congress won’t be back until February 23rd. By then, this will be a 10-day shutdown that everyone pretended to care about.
From the Feed
Quick Rundown
Second carrier to the Gulf: Trump ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford to join the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East amid Iran nuclear negotiations. The Ford is currently in the Caribbean and will take 3-4 weeks to arrive. Trump wants a deal “within the next month” and says Iran needs to agree “otherwise it is going to be very traumatic.”
FTC warns Apple over News bias: FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson sent a letter to Tim Cook after a Media Research Center study found Apple News went 100 consecutive days without featuring a single right-leaning outlet in its top stories. Of 620 articles in January's high-traffic morning slots, 440 came from left-leaning outlets, 180 from centrist sources, and zero from Fox News, the Post, or any conservative publication. Apple says the app offers "a wide range" of sources. Ferguson says if the curation doesn't match Apple's terms of service, it may violate the FTC Act.
Mark Kelly wins injunction: A federal judge blocked the Pentagon from docking Senator Mark Kelly’s rank and pay over that “refuse illegal orders” video. Meanwhile, a DC grand jury declined to indict any of the six lawmakers Trump accused of “seditious behavior.”
Don Lemon arraignment today: The former CNN host appears in federal court in Minnesota on charges stemming from a January church protest. He faces two federal counts including violating the FACE Act. Legal experts say the charges may not hold up because the government has never successfully used that statute against church disruptions.
Olympic skating controversy: American ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates are calling for transparency after a French judge’s scoring helped the French team edge them out for gold by 0.46 points. The three-time world champions say the scoring confusion “does a disservice” to the sport.
Inflation data calms markets: Bond yields fell and markets stabilized Thursday after relatively tame inflation numbers. Money markets now price in around 50% odds of a third Fed rate cut by December.
Let’s Talk
Hawley says Ellison belongs in jail. There’s a tape, 44 convictions, and $9 billion missing. At what point does “political theater” become actual accountability?
And on the shutdown: Fetterman was the only Dem to vote yes, because he can count. ICE keeps its $75 billion either way. So who exactly is this performance for?
The Brief publishes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. No corporate overlords—just independent journalism you can actually trust. Share it with someone who needs the real story.
Can someone just stop the whole Noem + Lewandowski saga because it reads like an entitled garbage soap opera that nobody needs? Why??! 😅
Again…. When I find myself agreeing with Fetterman….. what is going on! 😆 I know he leans “Democrat” but he honestly strikes me as a moderate. He is the most reasonable and actually seems to want to work with the other side.
Also, can we not have any soap opera drama? Please?