# The Trump Administration: The Clusterfuck Continues (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [December 1, 2025, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298 "2025-12-01T20:32:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 354
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7061 "2026-07-09T22:09:10Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Wendover last week dropped an 18-minute video, [How Private Equity Ruined American Youth Sports](https://youtu.be/DPeRd48YfqY). Having no children nor much interest in sports I had no idea it was so expensive. Well, that’s awful, but inevitable in our vast-asset-disparity world. Private Equity is ruining a LOT of things because all that money has to go somewhere. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Unless the parents are serious soccer fans, and/or the boy is clearly talented enough, as a tween or young teen, that professional soccer is a possibility for him, if the kid shows promise in, and enjoys, several sports, parents may well steer him into a sport where college scholarships are a better possibility, if for no other reason that it’ll help them pay for college. Yeah, that was basically my point. If soccer never gets big at US colleges (with scholarships on offer), then it will be slowed down in becoming the main USA sport. Because parents are going to point their kids in the direction of the scholarships. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7062 "2026-07-09T22:15:39Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Private Equity is ruining a LOT of things because all that money has to go somewhere. I’ve raised the point on other threads, but it feels like it should live here, too: Please remember that: - Rich People Dollars are NOT even a little bit inflationary, while - Poor People Dollars (eg, raising the Minimum Wage/enacting a universal Living Wage) are HORRIBLY inflationary. /s [that is all] ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7063 "2026-07-09T22:19:41Z")
Yes, those ‘facts’ are always worth highlighting. _sigh_ Fall of the Empire does seem close at hand, sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7064 "2026-07-09T23:52:51Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > parents are going to point their kids in the direction of the scholarships Is this true? I would assume that most people’s kids are involved in sports for health, exercise, fun, peer pressure (from other kids, other parents, and schools), and gendered expectations. I would imagine the number of people getting their kids into sports for an ultimate financial payoff is a pretty thin minority. There’s a lot of college scholarships, but many are fairly minor and wouldn’t even cover the investment. So we’re talking about full-ride college scholarships, and a pro sports career. Are there really so many of these that parents do this? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7065 "2026-07-10T00:16:01Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > I would imagine the number of people getting their kids into sports for an ultimate financial payoff is a pretty thin minority. There’s a lot of college scholarships, but many are fairly minor and wouldn’t even cover the investment. It’s true that most parents of student athletes aren’t expecting, or investing in, a remunerative pro sports career for them. But for families where it’s assumed that the kids are college-bound anyway but financing college is a major household expense, even a minor scholarship can make a significant difference in financial feasibility. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7066 "2026-07-10T01:22:03Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > I would assume that most people’s kids are involved in sports for health, exercise, fun, peer pressure (from other kids, other parents, and schools), and gendered expectations. I would imagine the number of people getting their kids into sports for an ultimate financial payoff is a pretty thin minority. When we’re talking about pre-tween kids, sure, they’re mostly doing it for fun, and/or if their parents want to make sure that they’re getting exercise. But, IME, when a kid shows significant athletic prowess at a young age (e.g., by around age 10 or so), many (certainly not all) parents will become willing to invest time and money into getting the child coaching and opportunities to play at a high level (for their age group). These are the kids who go to out-of-town tournaments, join travel teams / club teams (rather than playing on school teams, if such teams are even available for their sports), go to summer camps for their sports, etc. Yeah, some parents probably have stars in their eyes, and are far too optimistic about their kids’ chances to make it to the pros/Olympics/whatever, but there is absolutely serious scholarship money available for many sports (even if not a “full ride”), even those beyond football and basketball, and that is the “payday” that I was really talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7067 "2026-07-10T05:00:27Z")
[The bombings will continue until he gets the “Noble” Peace Prize.](https://www.aol.com/articles/trump-says-deserves-nobel-peace-194036000.html) > [@](#): > > President [Donald Trump](https://people.com/tag/donald-trump/) reiterated his years-long desire for a [Nobel Peace Prize](https://people.com/hunter-biden-mockingly-nominates-trump-nobel-peace-prize-12011636) as he flew back from [a NATO summit](https://people.com/trump-mistakenly-calls-iran-japan-nato-summit-12014131) in Turkey, where he called off [the unstable ceasefire](https://people.com/trump-announces-iran-peace-deal-is-complete-let-the-oil-flow-11997809) with Iran and bombed the country for a second night in a row. > > “I would say I should have won that award more than anybody that ever received the Nobel Peace Prize,” Trump, 80, told reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday, July 8. “Because nobody settled wars. I settled eight of them. Because I have a certain type of personality, I was able to settle them.” > > Trump did not settle eight wars. When making that claim, he and his administration have frequently [cited conflicts](https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/international/2025/08/19/trump-claims-he-ended-seven-wars) that have not ended or were not violent to begin with, among other conflicts that he has played a role in resolving. > > Beyond the Iran war, Trump has ordered [dozens of strikes on small boats](https://people.com/caribbean-boat-strikes-lawsuit-against-us-government-11893330) off the coast of South and Central America and ordered the deadly operation that captured Venezuelan President [Nicolás Maduro](https://people.com/nicolas-maduro-public-dancing-after-trump-threats-helped-convince-white-house-capture-venezuelan-president-report-claims-11879175), killing dozens of [Venezuelan](https://www.military.com/daily-news/2026/01/06/least-24-venezuelan-security-officers-killed-us-operation-capture-maduro-officials-say.html) and [Cuban](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/5/cuba-says-32-cubans-killed-during-us-raids-on-venezuela) military personnel, according to those countries. > > He has also threatened the invasion of [Cuba](https://people.com/trump-says-can-do-anything-i-want-cuba-11928050)and [Greenland](https://people.com/trump-links-greenland-invasion-plans-nobel-loss-letter-to-norwegian-prime-minister-11888073), the latter of which is a territory belonging to the United States’ NATO ally Denmark. [Secretary of war crimes might want to focus on how the DoD is running.](https://www.aol.com/articles/air-force-revokes-more-100-200520000.html) > [@](#): > > The Air Force earlier this week said 135 airmen who were initially told they had earned promotions will not receive those promotions after the service discovered a scoring error on a required promotion exam. > > The issue, announced Tuesday, affected only security forces airmen, who serve as the Air Force’s law enforcement and security personnel. An outdated answer key was used to score the promotion test, leading the service to incorrectly notify 135 airmen that they had been selected for promotion to technical sergeant, a mid-level enlisted rank, according to the Air Force. > > “We owe it to those affected to address it immediately,” Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David Wolfe, the service’s top enlisted leader, said in a statement. “This is going to be hard for everyone impacted.” & > [@](#): > > A separate group of 135 airmen who were incorrectly denied promotions because of the testing error will now be promoted, the Air Force said. Technical Sergeant is pay grade E-6. [The petulant child really does not like free and fair elections.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-terminates-election-assistance-commission-003921769.html) > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday terminated the last three members of the Election Assistance Commission, the independent, federal commission that assists election administration officials nationwide, the White House ‌confirmed. > > The remaining three commissioners of the four-member bipartisan commission were forced out of the commission on Thursday in different ways. ‌The one Republican appointee resigned and the other two Democratic appointees were fired via an email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office, according to one person familiar ​with the decision and two other people briefed on the terminations. > > The fourth commissioner departed the commission in April. > > The terminations follow the recent Supreme Court decision that granted the president more power to fire members of independent agencies, and a push by Trump for more federal intervention in voting processes, traditionally the purview of the states, as midterm elections approach in November. > > “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to ‌inform you that your position as Commissioner of ⁠the Election Assistance Commission is terminated, effective immediately. Thank you for your service,” the termination email, seen by Reuters, said. Service? I’m surprised he said that instead of “attention to this matter.” [Petey’s pastor thinks restricting the vote is hilarious.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/pete-hegseth-pastor-laughs-asked-204026103.html) > [@](#): > > NPR’s **Leila Fadel** asked Defense Secretary **Pete Hegseth’s** [pastor,](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/pete-hegseth-invited-pastor-suggested-153355372.html) **Doug Wilson** , about one of the main tenets of his desired Christian theocracy — taking the right to vote away from American women. > > “Now you’ve called for repealing women’s right to vote, which is protected by the 19th Amendment. Why?” Fadel asked. > > “Because it’s a good idea,” Wilson said, chuckling. > > “A lot of women wouldn’t think so,” Fadel said. > > “A lot of women wouldn’t agree, right,” Wilson acknowledged. “But this is one of my favorite questions now, too. This is not an XX, XY chromosome issue. I don’t want women voting as individuals, because I don’t want men voting as individuals. So what I envision is a system that we have practiced in our church here for four decades, and that is household voting.” > > “In our church, we have a number of households headed by women. And when they head the household, they vote,” Wilson explained. > > “So, for example,” Fadel said, “I’m a woman who’s not married, who doesn’t have children, and who is Muslim. So, in a future Christian theocracy, where the 19th Amendment is repealed, what is my role in public life? Do I get to vote? Do I get to run for office? Do I get to do these things?” > > “No, you wouldn’t hold office because you couldn’t vow to uphold the Christian Constitution,” Wilson said. “And whether you voted or not would have nothing to do with whether you were a woman or not. Whether you voted would be if you’re the head of the household. If you were head of the household and Christian, you would vote.” > > “And if I’m head of the household and not Christian?” > > “Then that would depend probably on the state,” Wilson answered. Wow. “Christian constitution” and “household voting” are on neither my Bingo card nor my Ouija board. But let’s delve just a tad more into his “mindset.” > [@](#): > > “Correct,” Wilson said. “I’m not saying anything about the propriety of rape. What I’m saying is, the women who are doing these things — they’re the ones saying that. So, if you refuse the protection of good men, then I’m saying, you’re the one asking for it. I’m pleading with you to stop asking for it.” [The felon has a patsy in the House to redefine the constitution.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/house-republican-introduces-birthright-citizenship-233323634.html) > [@](#): > > Freshman House Rep. John McGuire III (R-Va.) on Thursday introduced the [Birthright Citizenship Clarification Act](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y-09bOvfOvkon7HljPh3RxfobjrhU5id/view) to codify President Trump’s executive order seeking to limit birthright citizenship by striking down the jus soli or “right of the soil” legal principle that grants citizenship to anyone born within a nation’s territory. > > McGuire’s bill comes [days after the Supreme Court ruled](https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5952184-birthright-citizenship-legislation-republicans/) that Trump’s executive order was unconstitutional but attempts to model the caveat cited by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was not part of the majority opinion. > > He asserted that the executive order violated existing federal statutes that could be changed by Congress, rather than the text of the Fourteenth Amendment itself. However, a majority of five justices held this is a constitutional issue, not a statutory one, and would therefore require a constitutional amendment to change. > > The legislation introduced by McGuire aims to amend 301(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401(a)), which states that any person born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction automatically acquires U.S. citizenship at birth. > > The Virginia lawmaker’s amendment would not grant citizenship to the children of a mother who is unlawfully present in the U.S. and the father is not a citizen. > > It would also strike citizenship for those who are children of a mother with lawful temporary presence and a father without citizenship, as well as other less common situations, like children born on a foreign ship or children of foreign government officials. > > “American citizenship is a privilege, and an honor that must be protected,” McGuire said in a statement. Nope. American citizenship is a right for those who are born in the United States _just like the constitution, as amended, says_. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7068 "2026-07-10T05:26:48Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > and that is household voting. So is that one vote per household, conferring an electoral advantage to DINKS and single crazy cat ladies (or lonely dog-luving blokes too) over god-feerin’ christ-yun folk doin’ the Lord’s work with half a dozen kids? Or is that, in maintaining equality of voting—one person, one vote, all members of the house vote en bloc with the household head? How would that be enforced? Vale secret voting. And is there any evidence that the household head would vote the household consensus, or that they would for expediency vote their personal conscience? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7069 "2026-07-10T08:46:02Z")
[ICE says “Oops!”](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/ice-officer-fatally-shot-mexican-000607535.html) (The **bolding** is mine.) > [@](#): > > The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who fatally shot Mexican national [Lorenzo Salgado Araujo](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lorenzo-salgado-araujo-mexican-houston-ice-shooting/?ftag=YHF4eb9d17) in Houston this week were looking for a different person when they stopped his vehicle, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed Thursday. > > “After receiving a credible tip from our law enforcement partners, our officers conducted surveillance on a target’s address. Weeks prior to the incident, they noted two white vans at the property,” DHS said. “On July 7, officers were almost at the target’s address when they observed a white van with **an individual who resembled the target**. Officers then initiated the vehicle stop.” > > DHS initially said Tuesday that ICE officers were targeting Salgado Araujo because he was living in the country without legal permission. The department alleged he was shot after he ignored “multiple verbal commands” and attempted to ram an officer who fired his weapon in self-defense. Houston firefighters said Salgado Araujo was struck in the abdomen, and then his car hit an ICE vehicle. > > He was taken to the hospital but died of his injuries, according to DHS. Let me guess how much the poor guy resembled _the target_. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7070 "2026-07-10T15:04:52Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Let me guess how much the poor guy resembled _the target_. “We were suspicious when we noticed that he had two legs, just like the suspect, but then we saw that he also had two arms, and that pretty much sealed the deal.” ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7071 "2026-07-10T15:18:11Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > single crazy cat ladies I am outraged, infuriated, enraged, incensed and irate at this blatant erasure of us single cat guys! We can vote to destroy society too, you know! ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7072 "2026-07-10T15:19:43Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > and that pretty much sealed the deal.” Should be, "and that pretty much sealed his fate.” ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7073 "2026-07-10T15:49:28Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Petey’s pastor thinks restricting the vote is hilarious. I lived in Moscow for a number of years (went to school there) and Doug Wilson and his fucked up church are taking over the town, as well as others in the area. I strongly recommend listening to the second season of the _Extremely American_ podcast. It goes over the Christian nationalism being promoted by Wilson. Scary stuff. [https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510381/extremely-american](https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510381/extremely-american) ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7074 "2026-07-10T17:45:32Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > “We were suspicious when we noticed that he had two legs, just like the suspect, but then we saw that he also had two arms, and that pretty much sealed the deal.” You missed the part where they pulled out the paper sack to check ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7075 "2026-07-10T19:22:14Z")
“The title of DUMB will revert to the Republicans” [![](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/bafkreie3ywbz77vh73hjhn75e74ca3nxurhepaw5vffofpaiiupl7ub7ky) ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/bafkreie3ywbz77vh73hjhn75e74ca3nxurhepaw5vffofpaiiupl7ub7ky) (PS: if you don’t sign the bill within 10 days it becomes law anyway, dumbass.) ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7076 "2026-07-10T20:32:46Z")
Mike Johnson said he transmitted the bill to the White House. Did he? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7077 "2026-07-10T20:59:22Z")
The Tan One claimed it was sent to the White House. He could be lying about that but it’d be a dumb thing to lie about, since it starts the clock. So it could go either way. The Constitution in Article 1 Section 7 gives him 10 days, not including Sundays, to approve or return (veto) the bill or else it is treated as though it were signed. Of course, it passed by large margins in both houses, so there is a significant risk of taking a big L if his veto is overruled, so he’s throwing a tantrum instead. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7078 "2026-07-10T21:03:03Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Of course, it passed by large margins in both houses, so there is a significant risk of taking a big L if his veto is overruled, so he’s throwing a tantrum instead. It seems likely that this is the guiding principle, here. He doesn’t care about housing, and probably realizes by now that the fate of the housing bill provides him NO leverage in getting his vote-suppression bill passed. So his #1 concern is to avoid looking like a Loser (by seeing a veto overturned by Congress). ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7079 "2026-07-10T22:11:00Z")
More of the same: > # _ **Trump, Ending Decades of Protection, Opens Wild Habitats to Drilling and Mining** _ > > _The rule change ends a safeguard that had been in place for 50 years and could hasten the demise of imperiled animals._ > > [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/climate/endangered-species-act-harm.html?unlocked\_article\_code=1.wlA.RuC1.NB-lCd17QttX&smid=url-share](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/climate/endangered-species-act-harm.html?unlocked_article_code=1.wlA.RuC1.NB-lCd17QttX&smid=url-share) > The Trump administration on Friday moved to open the habitats of imperiled animals to farming, drilling, mining, real estate development and other activities in what environmentalists characterized as the most severe erosion of protections for wildlife in half a century. > > It did so by recasting a single word, “harm.” > > For more than 50 years, the federal government has used a broader definition of harm to animals under the Endangered Species Act, a bedrock environmental law. It included any significant “modification or degradation” of habitat that kills or injures animals by impairing their ability to eat, shelter or breed. > > The Supreme Court upheld this interpretation in 1995, ruling against property owners who argued that harm should only mean directly killing or injuring an endangered animal. > > But on Friday, the Interior Department and the Commerce Department announced a final rule that rescinded this longstanding interpretation. **Under the rule, destroying an endangered species’ nest or habitat would no longer be considered illegal.** > … My bold. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298/7080 "2026-07-10T22:14:50Z")
“C’mom, guys, just tell everybody we won!” > **[US demands Iran publicly state that Strait of Hormuz is open and Tehran won't...](https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-israel-war-hormuz-july-10-2026-4bf4fdd1f4d782ff08f60d152909faee)** > > The U.S. is demanding that Iran make a public statement saying the Strait of Hormuz is open and that ships crossing the vital corridor won’t be attacked anymore. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=353) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-the-clusterfuck-continues-part-2/1025298.md?page=355)