Trump Admits He's Won't Approve New TSA Funding Until Democrats Agree To Pass SAVE Act
Your air travel will suffer until you agree to lose voting rights...
By now you’ve seen the news (or experienced first hand) the disruption at our airports due to the lack of funding for TSA agents. Last month, the Senate was not able to come to an agreement on DHS (Department of Homeland Security) funding, which has now led to the TSA being without funding.
This has led to TSA agents quitting their jobs & airports scrambling to deal with massive crowds, who now have to wait hours and hours to make it through security.
On Fox News & other right-wing media spaces, the fascist MAGA Republicans have been blaming Democrats for not agreeing to their spending bill. Offer that as a explanation to the chaos at the airports.
Meanwhile, Democrats point out that they have offered several funding bills that would fund TSA, but leave out funding for ICE. Something MAGA has been against at this point.
But now, Trump has joined the conversation to solely take credit for the stalemate. In another incoherent ramble on social media. Our President has put it out to the world that he will not sign ANY legislation until the SAVE Act is passed.
As of right now, Democrats are on track to retake the House of Representatives this fall, and may actually take the Senate as well (which was thought to be extremely unlikely at the beginning of last year).
With Trump now more unpopular than ever, gas prices sky rocketing, food costs elevating, the most unpopular war in a century, he’s getting desperate.
He knows that his only chance to maintain power is to hold onto Congress, and the SAVE Act will all but guarantee that. Through additional restrictions on who can vote, where you can vote, how you can register, he’s attempting to shave the margins with this bill. The harder they make it to vote, the less likely Republicans will lose.
That’s the gambit. That’s why he’s drawing the line in the sand. As you can see at the bottom of that post, he’s even willing to eliminate the filibuster to get this done. Something Democrats refused to do for anything, even to save Roe after it fell in 2022.
Additional stories I wanted to share:
The U.S. Senate has confirmed Markwayne Mullin to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security - The vote was 54–45. Rand Paul was the only Republican to vote against Mullin. Democratic Senators John Fetterman (PA) and Martin Heinrich (NM) voted to confirm Mullin.
Trump says U.S. will postpone strikes on Iran power plants, after ‘productive’ talks with Iran. Iran claims there weren’t any talks - President Donald Trump said Monday he would hold off for five days on any U.S. strikes against Iran’s power plants and energy infrastructure after earlier threatening action tied to the Strait of Hormuz. He also said Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held talks with Iranian officials on Sunday and that the sides had reached broad agreement. “We have had very, very strong talks. We’ll see where they lead. We have points, major points of agreement, I would say, almost all points of agreement … we’ve had very strong talks, Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner had them,” Trump told Reuters reporters in Florida. Iran publicly rejected that account. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf wrote on X, “No negotiations have been held with the U.S., and fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped.” State broadcaster IRIB also posted, “No conversation has taken place between Iran and the US, and Trump’s claim about having these talks is #false.”
The average monthly new-car payment has reached $774 - The average monthly new-car payment has reached $774 as of early 2026, driven by high vehicle prices and rising interest rates, up from $588 in January 2021. Over 20% of new-car buyers are now committing to payments exceeding $1,000 per month. This trend, often compared to a "second mortgage," is making car ownership increasingly difficult for many. Auto companies are making billions, while setting up their customers to fail. Reported by More Perfect Union
U.S.-Israeli strikes kill scientist and family in Tehran as coordinated assassination-style attacks hit the capital - Video shows the aftermath of a targeted US-Israeli strike on a residential building in the Chizar area of northern Tehran, a residential district near Tajrish, that killed Dr. Saeed Shamghadari, an electrical engineering professor, along with his son and daughter, Iranian media reported Monday.
➤ The strike caused the building to partially collapse and Iranian state TV said dozens of other civilians were killed and wounded in the same building.
➤ Iranian reports indicate at least three targeted strikes around 5 a.m. across Tehran, hitting multiple residential neighborhoods:
- Chizar / Tajrish (north Tehran)
- Salimi Street and Andarzgoo (east Tehran)
- Makran Street (northeast Tehran)
➤ The killings come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted publicly today that Israel had “eliminated two more nuclear scientists,” adding “there is more to come.” Reported by Drop Site NewsOver 25% of Lebanon displaced as Israeli invasion drives mass exodus - Lebanon’s Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayyed announced today that more than 1.16 million people have been forced out of their homes since Israel’s offensive began on March 2, calling it the most sudden wave of displacement in the country’s history.
➤ UNICEF says over 350,000 children have been forced from their homes.
➤ Around 133,000–134,000 people are staying in more than 630 official shelters, while most displaced families are staying with relatives, renting privately, or sleeping in public spaces and cars as capacity collapses.
➤ The shelter system has rapidly expanded from 171 centers on the first day to over 640, with more than 470 schools now turned into shelters, disrupting education nationwide.
➤ Around 125,000 people have crossed into Syria, many of them Syrian nationals returning.
➤ The UN and human rights groups warn that displacement orders now cover up to 14–15% of Lebanon’s territory, raising serious legal and humanitarian concerns.
At least 1,039 people have been killed and 2,876 wounded since March 2, according to official figures. Reported by Drop Site News4,000 Colorado meatpacking workers continue historic strike - Nearly 4,000 meatpacking workers in Colorado — many of whom are immigrants — have entered their fifth day on strike to protest unfair and dangerous labor conditions at JBS USA, the world’s largest meat producer. Unionized workers at the slaughterhouse and beef processing plant in the city of Greeley walked off the job Monday, marking the largest strike in the U.S. meatpacking industry in four decades. “They underestimated their workers,” UFCW Local 7 president Kim Cordova said of JBS management. “The workers are smart. They're strong. They're hard workers. And they deserve dignity, and they deserve respect." Reported by Democracy Now
Hawaii assesses damage left by worst flooding in more than 20 years - Heavy rains and floodwater forced thousands on the North Shore of Oahu to evacuate over the weekend and triggered evacuation orders for parts of Maui. Floodwater from rains lifted houses and cars, inundated farms and swept through grocery stores on the islands, leaving behind a thick layer of mud. The storm, one of the most significant to hit Hawaii in decades, followed extreme winter weather which struck the state last week and left the earth saturated with water. Josh Green, Hawaii’s governor, stated during a press conference on Friday that the storms had caused at least $1bn in damages. Reported by the Guardian
Sorry for the post being a little longer today, but a lot of news has been taking place the last 4 days, since I last put out and post (and I still had to leave at least another 7 stories out that I wanted to mention).
The News cycle is vicious right now & I appreciate the thousands of you who show up every post. There’s thousands of you that read & share every single post I put out on Independent Thought & I cannot thank you enough.
I hope in time, Trump & his fascist movement will fade, but we have a long way to go before that day comes.
One day at a time, we will get through this.
Lastly, I want to thank everyone who has been signing up as a paid subscriber recently, it honestly helps out a lot.
I’m just 4 more people away from hitting our goal! If you’re able to sign up & support this account, I cannot thank you enough.
A monthly subscription costs about the same as a cup of coffee 🙂
Until next time,
Desmond
Btw, I didn't mention this in the post, but here's my take on why he deployed ICE to the airports. ICE has taken a huge reputational hit in the last few months. I bet Trump sees this as an opportunity to rehabilitate their image in the eyes of the people, by having them "help" in the airports. If he's successful in this, he'll then move to double down on deploying them in even more cities afterwards.
Do not pass the Save Act?