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It’s the one-year anniversary of Donald Trump’s second administration this week. There’s not much to celebrate.
The oath Trump took on January 20, 2025: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." He added, “so help me God” at the end.
Tonight, about 1,500 active-duty soldiers, two infantry battalions of the Army's 11th Airborne Division, are under prepare-to-deploy orders for possible action in Minnesota. This means Donald Trump is actively contemplating invoking the Insurrection Act. Absent that, deployment of active duty members of the military is prohibited by the Posse Comitatus Act. It bears repeating that the American military isn’t meant to be used for domestic law enforcement against American citizens, barring extraordinary circumstances that simply aren’t present here.
The 11th Airborne, nicknamed the “Arctic Angels,” specializes in operating in arctic conditions. That’s convenient for Minnesota, or perhaps for Maine, where there are persistent rumors Trump plans to surge ICE this week, with an eye to the state’s Somali immigrant community. Governor Janet Mills has said Maine officials have been unable to confirm whether the rumors are true, but she’s said she’s working with the cities of Portland and Lewiston, which have sizable immigrant communities, along with local law enforcement, to be ready. “Maine will not be intimidated,” the Governor said.
Trump seems to be on course to become the first President to direct the use of U.S. military forces against American citizens during peacetime. And he’s doing it in a situation where the “unrest” is mostly peaceful protests resulting from Trump’s efforts to inflame the city. The situation is hardly the kind of insurrection, domestic violence, or conspiracy the Act contemplates, but this is a presidency where the facts don’t matter. This week could become an extraordinary moment in American history.
What exactly does the 11th Airborne Division do? When they were activated in 2022, the General running the show told the troops, “I expect every soldier of this Division to be masters of their craft, of Arctic Warfare.” Arctic warfare—headed for the streets of Minneapolis.
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According to their website, “The 11th Airborne Division executes expeditionary operations worldwide, conducts Multi-Domain Operations in the Indo-Pacific theater and the Arctic, and on order decisively defeats any adversary in extreme cold weather, mountainous and high-latitude environments through large scale combat operations.” They are ready to “deploy, fight and win decisively against any adversary.” Presumably, that includes the protestor in a giraffe costume ICE agents forced to the ground last week or the one dressed like a pickle. If the stakes weren’t so high, the whole thing would be ridiculous.
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And to triple down on what it’s doing in Minnesota, the administration announced it’s investigating Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and plans to subpoena them. No word on specifics of potential charges or whether the subpoenas will be for documents or testimony. It’s hard to imagine what possible federal crimes the two have committed. Former Attorney General Eric Holder put it best—Holder quips, maybe “felony disagreement?”
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DOJ is also investigating the partner of the Minneapolis woman an ICE agent shot and killed, apparently looking into whether Becca Good interfered with the agent. Videotape suggests he wasn’t impeded in any way by her comment that he should go out to lunch, moving without any obstruction to take three shots.
But DOJ is not investigating whether the ICE agent who killed her should be charged in connection with the shooting death of Renee Good. On Fox News Sunday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said, “No, we are not investigating.” Blanche characterized what happened as the agent “defending himself” and said, “we investigate when it’s appropriate to investigate,” claiming that wasn’t the case here. “The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” — George Orwell.
Officer-involved shootings are virtually always investigated, most of them by state agencies, which is where the majority of these incidents occur. But this case isn’t just a “shooting”; it’s a death, and possibly a homicide—a possibility that can’t be ruled out without investigation. There is also video evidence that a doctor who tried to treat Good, who was still alive when paramedics arrived 15 or more minutes later, was refused, which could lead to additional charges. This is the kind of case that demands a thorough, objective investigation.
Beyond that, Blanche’s claim that there are too many shootings every year to investigate—he says over 1,000—is as ludicrous as it is wrong. His argument is essentially that cops are shooting too many people to be bothered to investigate. If anything, high numbers would make investigation even more essential. While exact numbers aren’t available, a 2023 assessment by NBC suggested that between 2018 and 2022, 223 people were shot by officers working for or with the four primary federal law enforcement agencies, and that 151, or an average of 30 per year, were killed. Surely, Blanche can muster the resources to investigate 30 deaths in federal officer involved shootings a year—even if it means pulling a few FBI agents off of their work arresting school children and field workers who are in the country without legal immigration status, but hurting no one. In a moment where it would have shown good faith to conduct an investigation, the administration acted like it had something to hide, instead.
It should come as no surprise that recent polls show Trump slumping as he comes to the end of his first year. 58% of Americans call his first term a failure. A mere 37% say that Trump puts the good of the country above his personal gain. Only 32% believe he’s in touch with the problems ordinary Americans face in their daily lives. Perhaps most damning, “Fewer than half say that Trump has the stamina and sharpness to serve effectively, and just 35% call him someone they’re proud to have as president.”
Keep talking with the people around you! The truth still has a way of breaking through when we share it.
Other developments to expect this week:
On Tuesday, the plaintiffs’ response is due in the temporary protected status case we discussed in this post back on January 10. In Svitlana Doe v. Noem, Judge Talwani restricted the government’s efforts to end parole status for Colombians, Cubans, Ecuadorians, Guatemalans, Haitians, Hondurans, and Salvadorans with family reunification status. Once briefing is complete, she will decide whether to permanently enjoin t