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Republican House Members Told to Stop Holding In-Person Town Halls

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Republican House Members Told to Stop Holding In-Person Town Halls

Representative Richard Hudson of North Carolina, the chairman of House Republicans’ campaign arm, issued a stark message to the G.O.P. rank and file on Tuesday: Stop having in-person town halls with your constituents.

The directive, relayed to lawmakers during their private weekly meeting in the basement of the Capitol, comes as Republican town halls have devolved into angry shouting matches across the country. They have become forums where voters confront members of Congress about the sharp spending cuts they are proposing and President Trump’s moves to fire federal workers and defund programs across government.

Mr. Hudson told Republican lawmakers that Democratic activists were bombarding town halls and drowning out actual constituent voices, and predicted the trend would worsen, according to two people in the room for his remarks. He encouraged House Republicans to instead hold tele-town halls or Facebook Live events. Both of those formats allow moderators to filter questions and comments.

At recent town hall events, some of the most strident complaints have come from participants who identified themselves as Democrats. But a number of questions pressing lawmakers have also come from Republicans. During a telephone town hall with Representative Stephanie Bice, Republican of Oklahoma, a man who identified himself as a Republican and retired U.S. Army officer voiced frustration over potential cuts to veterans benefits.

“How can you tell me that DOGE with some college whiz kids from a computer terminal in Washington, D.C., without even getting into the field, after about a week or maybe two, have determined that it’s OK to cut veterans benefits?” the man asked, referring to the Elon Musk-led effort known as the Department of Government Efficiency.

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Similar scenes played out in 2017, when protesters swarmed Republican town halls across the country and urged their lawmakers not to vote to replace the Affordable Care Act. Since then, a number of members of Congress have scaled back their participation in public town halls events, leery both of security concerns, and the optics of being subjected to testy confrontations.

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JD Vance says he was ‘obsessed’ with UFOs, believes aliens are actually ‘demons’

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JD Vance says he was ‘obsessed’ with UFOs, believes aliens are actually ‘demons’

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While discussing the mystery surrounding UFOs, Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic, said he believes what people think of as aliens are actually “demons.”

While interviewing Vance, conservative commentator Benny Johnson asked the vice president, “You gonna release all the UFO files?”

“Ah, we’re workin’ on it,” Vance said. 

He explained that when he took office he “was obsessed with the UFO files” but ended up being busy with other issues.

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Vance asserted that he will “get to the bottom” of the matter.

JD VANCE SAYS UFOS, ALIENS COULD BE ‘SPIRITUAL FORCES’ AS VP VOWS TO ‘GET TO THE BOTTOM’ OF MYSTERY IN SKIES

Vice President JD Vance boards Air Force Two on March 18, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md.  (Elizabeth Frantz-Pool/Getty Images)

“I don’t think they’re aliens. I think they’re demons anyway,” Vance noted.

Prompted by Johnson, Vance later elaborated on his view.

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“Well, look, I, I think that celestial beings who fly around, who do weird things to people — I think that the desire to describe everything celestial… to describe it as aliens — I mean every great world religion, including Christianity, the one that I believe in, has understood that there are weird things out there, and there are things that are very difficult to explain,” he said.

“And I naturally go — when I hear about, sort of, extra-natural phenomenon — that’s where I go to is the Christian understanding that, you know, there’s a lotta good out there, but there’s also some evil out there,” he continued.

UFO SECRET FILES, DRONE SWARMS AND NUCLEAR-LINKED SIGHTINGS STUN EXPERTS IN 2025

Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump attend the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace on Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington, D.C.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

He added that he believes that among “the devil’s great tricks is to convince people he never existed.”

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Last month, President Donald Trump said he would order the release of files pertaining to the issue of aliens and UFOs.

EXPLOSIVE NEW DOCUMENTARY PROBES ‘80-YEAR GLOBAL COVERUP’ OF UFO SECRETS

Vice President JD Vance speaks onstage at Engineering Design Services, Inc. on March 18, 2026, in Auburn Hills, Mich.  (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

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“Based on the tremendous interest shown, I will be directing the Secretary of War, and other relevant Departments and Agencies, to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters. GOD BLESS AMERICA!” the president declared in a February Truth Social post.

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Commentary: Goodbye, Border Patrol bogeyman Gregory Bovino, and good riddance

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Commentary: Goodbye, Border Patrol bogeyman Gregory Bovino, and good riddance

How would you feel about getting a dream gig only to see it end in disgrace because of, well, you?

That’s what Gregory Bovino gets to think about for the rest of his life. Friday is the Border Patrol lifer’s last day on the job after 30 years — and he ain’t leaving because he wants to.

For the last year, the self-described “hillbilly” was the personification of the Trump administration’s xenophobic deportation deluge. Helicopter invasions of apartment complexes, tear gas canisters thrown into large crowds, defying court orders, glamorous photo shoots: There was no municipality too big, no tactic too crazy, no quote too incendiary for Bovino to take on while he treated immigrant neighborhoods like the shores of Normandy.

The North Carolina native’s caravan of cruelty quickly earned him a promotion from El Centro sector chief to Border Patrol commander at large, a new position crafted just for him. He embraced the role of migra bogeyman like a tween boy scarfing down a bowl of Warheads, always promising more deportations, more chaos, more more.

Not anymore.

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In January, Border Patrol agents shot and killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti during a protest against them a few weeks after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer did the same to Renée Good, a mother of three. Bovino threw napalm on the matter by claiming Pretti wanted to “massacre law enforcement” without offering any evidence. The incidents so soured the public on immigration agents that a Public Religion Research Institute poll released this week showed only 35% of Americans surveyed approved of how Trump is handling immigration, compared with 48% a year ago.

Bovino was sent back down to El Centro and lost his privileges on social media, where he had long posted cringe-inducing videos about what a swell guy he was. Even Trump turned on his migra man, telling Fox News that Bovino was “a pretty out-there kind of a guy … and in some cases that’s good. Maybe it wasn’t good [in Minneapolis].”

I should’ve warned Bovino the one time we met that failure was his fate.

The setting: the Fox 11 Los Angeles studios in July. Bovino and I were in to do separate interviews with the station’s former anchor Elex Michaelson. Bovino was in the middle of his Los Angeles invasion, which saw immigration agents lay siege to MacArthur Park, storm Home Depots and car washes and show up outside the Japanese American National Museum while politicians inside were decrying Trump.

Dressed in full Border Patrol uniform, complete with a clipped-on walkie-talkie on his shoulder, the guy was billing himself as a modern-day Charles Martel defending the homeland from invading infidels. The nasal-voiced Bovino rambled to Michaelson about how “Ma and Pa America” deserved a country free from undocumented immigrants and vowed to remain in Los Angeles “until the operation is over.”

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Then-U.S. Border Patrol commander at large Gregory Bovino, center, marches with Border Patrol agents toward the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles after a show of force outside the Japanese American National Museum on Aug. 14.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

After his interview, Bovino and three Border Patrol agents strolled into the greenroom to grab some homemade cookies while I sat on a couch. He looked me in the eye while bending down to sign Michaelson’s guest book, as if he expected me to not only recognize him but say something.

It was like staring at someone doing an impersonation that was one part Lt. Col. Kilgore from “Apocalypse Now” and two parts Henery Hawk, the short, brash Looney Tunes character that was always trying to capture the much larger Foghorn Leghorn. He really thought that his scorched-earth assault on L.A. would defeat the city and persuade other communities to offer no pushback once Bovino’s self-titled “Green Machine” trolled into town.

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The opposite happened.

People who had never bothered with politics — even some who voted for Trump or at least agreed with deporting immigrants with criminal convictions — rose up to resist. Everywhere became a front — social media, the streets, courtrooms — and activists across Southern California began to share notes among themselves and with communities nationwide to prepare them for la migra. Bovino flailed back at every affront instead of focusing on his mission, not realizing his recklessness was eroding public support for his cause and threatening it altogether.

Really, Bovino lost the day he has long claimed as a victory: the Battle of MacArthur Park.

That’s when he persuaded the Trump administration to send a skeptical National Guard alongside his men to surround the historic L.A. green space in the ludicrously named Operation Excalibur. Armed vehicles parked on Wilshire Boulevard. A grinning Bovino strutted around with media in tow. A wannabe cavalry unit, anchored in the center by an agent on a white horse, swept through a soccer field where children were attending day camp just minutes before.

No one was arrested or detained that day. Instead, Bovino left to a chorus of cuss words and boo birds. The exercise allowed Americans to see the folly of burning millions of taxpayer dollars just so someone could star in a TikTok reel. It also broke the spell Bovino had cast over many critics — myself included — who had feared he truly was an unstoppable Punisher.

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Nah, he was just a spiky-haired pendejo.

If Bovino was as smart as he thinks he is, he would’ve followed the longtime strategy of another longtime immigration enforcer. Trump border czar Tom Homan executed a years-long roundup under the Obama administration with numbers Trump has yet to reach and with nowhere near as much public rancor. Homan, who loves the camera almost as much as Bovino, knew then and now that an issue as explosive as deportations must be approached quietly if it’s to be done successfully.

Instead, not only does he have to clean up Bovino’s mess, there’s now a real chance that the Republicans will lose the midterms because Latinos who voted for Trump in 2024 are now furious at his administration. That’s why even Trump is now telling Republicans to tone down their anti-immigrant rhetoric, stat.

Gracias, Bovino!

You thought you would go down in U.S. history as a domestic Patton, a borderlands Sherman. Instead, your last week coincided with the publication of a New York Times profile of you railing at enemies while downing coffee at a burger bar in El Centro.

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You called Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott “weak-kneed,” mocked Homan and said you could’ve deported 100 million people — a radically racist number considering that even the Center for Immigration Studies, which has long pushed for reduced immigration of all kinds, estimated a record 15.4 million illegal immigrants were in this country at the start of Trump’s second term.

Instead, you’re heading off to the Tar Heel State to spend your days hunting … coyotes.

“Maybe I get me some dogs and we go hard,” you told the New York Times. “I’ll take it in my own hands.”

Which reminds me of another hapless cartoon character who thought himself a genius but who kept screwing things up in ceaseless pursuit of his quarry: Wile E. Coyote.

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Everything With Trump’s Signature, Name and Likeness: Currency, Buildings and More

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Everything With Trump’s Signature, Name and Likeness: Currency, Buildings and More

As anyone who has ever seen his buildings knows, Donald Trump has always liked to see his name displayed prominently. It’s become a hallmark of his presidency, to the point that the Treasury Department announced on Thursday that President Trump’s signature will appear on U.S. dollars later this year, a first for a sitting U.S. president.

The move is the latest reflecting a push to imprint his personal brand on Washington and the nation in ways that could outlast his presidency.

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In total, since the start of Mr. Trump’s second term, there have been more than a dozen instances of his name, image or signature emblazoned on a variety of American initiatives and institutions. Some changes seem as if they could be lasting, some are caught up in the courts, and others may never get off the ground.

Here is a look at that ever-growing list.

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Already approved uses

Joseph Eid/AFP via Getty Images, Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

Mr. Trump’s signature is set to appear on U.S. dollars later this year. It is not clear whether his signature will appear on all currency notes.
Commemorative “Trump” coins

U.S. Treasury

The administration is planning to feature Mr. Trump’s face on multiple coins to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary. The move is legally dubious. It’s also rare. Few people have made it onto U.S. currency while still alive.
Trump-Kennedy Center

Eric Lee/The New York Times

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Donald J. Trump United States Institute of Peace

Eric Lee/The New York Times

Trump Gold Card

Trump Card

The administration officially rolled out the program in December but first previewed the name in February 2025. At that Oval Office meeting discussing the program, Mr. Trump said he was willing to lend his name “for free.”
TrumpRx

TrumpRX

Dr. Mehmet Oz, who runs Medicare and Medicaid, has said that Mr. Trump was not involved in picking the name. “We thought it had a catchy element to it,” he said.

Trump Accounts

Trump Accounts

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House Republicans abruptly changed the name from “MAGA Accounts” before passing their wide-ranging domestic policy bill last year. Mr. Trump has said the name was Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s idea.
National parks pass

Department of Interior, via Center for Biological Diversity

“Trump class” warships

U.S. Navy

F-47 warplanes

U.S. Air Force

Proposed uses

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President Donald J. Trump International Airport

Johnny Milano/The New York Times

Pennsylvania Station

Todd Heisler/The New York Times

The Trump administration unsuccessfully pressured Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, to rename New York’s Penn Station for him, offering in return to release billions of dollars he had frozen in federal infrastructure funding.
Washington Dulles International Airport

Shawn Thew/EPA, via Shutterstock

In that same pressure campaign, the Trump administration pushed Mr. Schumer to rename Dulles Airport. That wasn’t successful either but still seems to be of interest to the president.
NFL Washington Commanders stadium

Washington Commanders

Administration officials have discussed Mr. Trump’s desire for the new stadium to be named after him. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it would be a “beautiful name,” as he enabled the stadium’s construction. But the legislation that kicked off the redevelopment process was signed before he took office.
“Trump” Rushmore

Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

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$100 bill

Joseph Eid/AFP via Getty Images

Early in Mr. Trump’s second term, House Republicans introduced several bills that sought to expand his likeness on a number of things, such as a $100 bill and a new $250 bill. Those proposals haven’t gained traction.
“Trump Train”

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

In an effort to copy the deep-cutting tactics of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, this bill sought to pare $150 million in annual funding from the Washington, D.C. Metro system unless it renamed itself to honor Mr. Trump. Like the other House bills on this list it has gone nowhere.

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