Trump’s Hatred of Immigrants Is Making the Roads Hazardous

Elon Musk is spending tens of millions on Republicansto rig the midterms, a congressman is accused of throwing boiling water at his wife, and Trump's court losses are costing taxpayers millions

Good afternoon. I’m Ryan Rose, and this is AlterNet America.

Trump revoked 200,000 immigrant truckers’ commercial licenses, then launched a program letting veterans skip the skills test to replace them. Elon Musk is planning to spend tens of millions on Republicans in the midterms, months after threatening to start a third party opposing them. Ohio Congressman Max Miller is facing serious domestic violence accusations from his ex-wife, who says he threw boiling water at her and held a gun to her head. And Trump’s losing streak in court has left taxpayers on the hook for more than $2.5 million in legal fees.

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Trump’s Hatred of Immigrants Makes the Roads More Dangerous

Nothing says “support the troops” like letting them skip a safety exam and hoping for the best on I-95.

The White House has formally announced a program to let veterans skip certain certifications to get commercial drivers’ licenses. It’s called “Freedom Haulers,” and it promises to cover training costs and hand out signing bonuses.

Veterans who recently drove large military vehicles are exempt from skills tests , and active-duty personnel can attend driving school in their final six months of service. The GI Bill covers the training, and in some cases a housing allowance too.

The “illegals” Trump is clearing out are people who passed the tests. Roughly 200,000 immigrants had their commercial licenses revoked in March despite meeting every requirement to drive. Immigrant groups say many were targeted for their ethnic backgrounds, including Sikhs, who make up a large share of the industry.

About 20 percent of U.S. truck drivers are immigrants, and only 5 percent hold the non-domiciled licenses Trump keeps ranting about at rallies.

Elon Musk Is Spending Millions to Help Republicans in the Midterms

Six months ago Elon Musk was floating a new party to punish Republicans for spending too much. Now he’s writing them eight-figure checks.

Musk is resuscitating America PAC, the super PAC that spent more than $260 million to elect Trump in 2024. The money will go towards midterm turnout: door-knocking, digital ads, and direct mail to conservatives who usually skip non-presidential years.

His representatives wouldn’t say how much he’ll spend. Given that his 2024 donations made him the largest individual political donor in a single election cycle, “high” is a safe guess.

Republicans already hold a $300 million-plus cash edge, not counting the $400 million in Trump’s MAGA Inc, and it might not even help them. Trump’s approval on the economy and the Iran war has GOP control of the House and potentially the Senate in jeopardy.

And for those keeping score, the last time Musk ran America PAC, his subcontractor transported canvassers to Michigan in the back of a U-Haul without seats or seatbelts, his door-knocking app didn’t work in areas without cell service, his fake voter registration ads collected personal data without actually registering anyone, he sent pre-filled absentee ballot applications in violation of Georgia state law, and he sank $22 million into the Wisconsin Supreme Court race only to lose by ten points and get referred to prosecutors for election bribery.

There is no campaign finance law in this country that can stop a man with $200 billion from buying as many elections as he wants. The only thing that has actually stopped him so far is people knowing what he’s doing. Your subscription keeps that information free and in front of as many eyes as possible. Upgrade today.

Don’t Forget, Max Miller Is Accused of Domestic Violence

The Republican Party’s big tent apparently has room for a congressman accused of throwing boiling water on his spouse. Ohio Representative Max Miller, 37, is facing growing pressure to resign over a series of domestic abuse allegations from his ex-wife and a former girlfriend.

His ex-wife, conservative policy adviser and daughter of Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, Emily Moreno, testified earlier this year that Miller “took hot water from a pan he had just cooked eggs in and threw it at me.” She has also accused him of holding a gun to her head.

Miller responded to all this by posting on X in May that the senator “continues to fund and enable his daughter’s malicious campaign to ruin my life,” and warning that “these antics harm your own grandchild.” Miller and Emily Moreno share a two-year-old daughter.

Miller’s former girlfriend Stephanie Grisham, Trump’s first-term White House press secretary, has also accused him of violence. She wrote in a 2021 Washington Post op-ed about a relationship that “turned abusive,” later confirming she meant Miller. He sued her, before later dropping it in a confidential settlement. She has since sued him for allegedly violating that settlement.

Miller’s defense, offered to Spectrum News, was that “no police reports were ever filed” and that Grisham’s allegation surfaced “on the same day as somebody’s book launch.” As his colleagues in Congress know perfectly well, the absence of a police report is not the absence of a crime.

Trump’s Court Losses Leave Taxpayers Facing Millions in Legal Fees

The “party of fiscal responsibility” is running up a legal tab you get to pay.

The U.S. government (in reality, us taxpayers) is on the hook for potentially millions in legal bills demanded by challengers who beat the administration in court. Attorneys have sought fees exceeding $100,000 in at least 10 cases over the past year, totaling more than $2.5 million.

The 1980 Equal Access to Justice Act was meant to keep individuals, small businesses, and nonprofits from being priced out of suing their own government, allowing “prevailing parties” to recoup expenses when the government’s position wasn’t “substantially justified.” The unprecedented amount of lawsuits against Trump’s executive orders has driven the tab up.

A federal judge in Florida recently ruled Trump should pay his opponents’ fees as a sanction for a “bad faith” $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. Those lawyers asked for roughly $43,500 this week.

The Association of American Universities is seeking more than $1.5 million after suing over research reimbursement caps. One of the association’s attorneys is Paul Clement, a prominent conservative litigator who served under George W. Bush and now bills as much as $500 an hour fighting the administration.

DOJ spokesperson Kiersten Pels said the department “has an obligation to protect taxpayer dollars,” which for once, we absolutely agree with.

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POSITIVE STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:

Voters Favor Democrats by 8 Points Heading Into the Midterms. With fewer than 100 days until the midterms, a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS finds Democrats leading Republicans on the generic ballot by 8 points among registered voters, and 20-points among those who say they are extremely motivated to vote. Americans now call them “the party of change” by a 10-point margin, a major reversal from last spring when the GOP led on that measure by 7. Only 56% of Republicans now say Trump’s had a good effect on the GOP, down from 67% earlier this year.

Ninth Circuit Rules ICE Can’t Lock People Up Without Bond Hearings. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled today that the Trump administration cannot deny immigrants a chance for release on bond. The decision was 2-1, with a Trump-appointed judge in the majority. It is the fifth federal appeals court to reject ICE’s mandatory detention policy. Federal judges have now ruled against the administration’s mass detentions more than 15,000 times, compared to roughly 2,200 rulings in its favor. The case is now headed for the Supreme Court.

NYC Delivery Workers Earned $104 Million in Additional Tips Under New City Law. A new report from Mayor Zohran Mamdani shows that New York City’s revolutionary tip transparency law has put an estimated $104 million into the pockets of the city’s 70,000 delivery workers since January, or roughly $2,287 per worker. Before the law, DoorDash and Uber Eats had deliberately buried the tipping screen to discourage customers, costing workers an estimated $554 million since 2023. Both companies sued to block the law, and a federal judge told them to kick rocks. Weekly delivery orders have since hit a record 3.3 million, disproving industry claims that transparent tipping would drive customers away.

Maine’s Rivers Are Full of Fish Again After Decades of Dam Removal. Thirty-five years ago, fewer than 800 alewives made the annual migration up Maine’s Sebasticook River. Last year, they numbered 9 million. The rebound is the result of a generations-long effort to remove dams that had blocked fish passage since the 1700s, including two removals on the Penobscot River that have been called one of the premier conservation success stories of our time. Towns that lost their historic harvests by the 1840s are now holding annual festivals on the riverbank again, smoking alewives and watching the migration roll through from bank to bank.