Senate Strikes Down Bernie Sanders’ Resolution to Block Arms Sale to Israel
The U.S. Senate voted down three bills by Independent Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont that would have stopped the U.S. from selling arms to Israel worth about $20 billion.
Pelosi’s Defense of Obama’s Libya Strikes Resurfaces Amid Criticism of Iranian Conflict
Read More
Sanders introduced three Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs) in late December of last year. Given that Israel has a lot of support in the upper chamber, the motions were not expected to pass.
Sanders has spoken out against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military actions and limits on sending aid. He says that Israel is breaking international law and going beyond its right to protect itself.
Along with other military aid, the three resolutions tried to stop the transfer of U.S. tank rounds, water rounds, and guidance kits attached to the “bombs dropped in Gaza” to Israel. The steps would have stopped the U.S. from selling about $20 billion worth of weapons to Israel.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the United States has given Israel more than $310 billion in economic and military aid, including at least $228 billion in military aid. The United States is a strong ally of Israel.
“The United States government is currently in violation of the law, and every member of the U.S. Senate who believes in the rule of law should vote for the resolutions,” Sanders said the day before the vote.
The Vermont Independent alleged that the U.S. is breaking the Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Export Control Act by giving weapons to countries that break internationally recognized human rights or that stop U.S. humanitarian help.
The United Nations and many humanitarian groups have told the world about Israel’s violations, pointing out in particular its limits on sending humanitarian help. Israel has said it will provide food and other kinds of humanitarian help.
The Senate has been busy this week.
Maj. Gen. John L. Rafferty, Jr., was confirmed by the U.S. Senate for promotion to the rank of lieutenant general and for assignment as the commanding general of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command.
Rafferty, currently the chief of staff at U.S. European Command in Germany, possesses over 33 years of leadership and technical expertise, particularly in field artillery operations and command and staff roles.
Rafferty’s notable recent positions encompass commanding general of the 56th Artillery Command, U.S. Army Europe-Africa, Germany; chief of Army Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.; director of the Long Range Precision Fires Cross Functional Team, Fort Sill, Oklahoma; executive officer to the director of the Army Staff, Washington, D.C.; and commander of the 18th Field Artillery Brigade, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
He has provided support for Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, Spartan Shield, Inherent Resolve, and others.
Rafferty is succeeding Lt. Gen. Sean A. Gainey, who is retiring after over 35 years of military service.
Recently, Senate Republicans confirmed nearly 100 of President Trump’s nominees, outpacing previous administrations and even his own first term.
A 53–43 vote Thursday approved 97 of Trump’s picks, marking some of the final floor action in the Senate after a frenetic stretch driven by Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., once Republicans took control of the chamber in January.
Along the way, Republicans navigated internal divisions to pass the president’s signature “one big, beautiful bill” and reopened the government following the longest shutdown in U.S. history, Fox News reported.
Confirming Trump’s nominees, however, often proved nearly impossible under Senate rules, as Democrats imposed blanket objections to even the lowest-level positions across the government.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said Republicans began the year confirming Trump’s Cabinet at a breakneck pace, only to run headlong into what he described as “unprecedented obstruction from the Democratic minority.”
“We began the year by confirming President Trump’s Cabinet faster than any Senate in modern history,” Barrasso said per Fox. “And by week’s end, President Trump will have 417 nominees confirmed by the Senate this year. That’s far more than the 365 that Joe Biden had in his first year in office.”
Legal Expert Accuses Justice Roberts Of ‘Judicial Sabotage’ Against Trump
The head of a legal watchdog organization who clerked for one of President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court appointments has accused Chief Justice John Roberts of malfeasance in allowing lower courts to commit “judicial sabotage” against President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda.
In an interview with actor and comedian Joe Piscopo for the latter’s podcast, Mike Davis, founder of the Article III Project, referenced a recently filed lawsuit against Roberts targeting him in his role as head of the U.S. Judicial Conference, as well as Robert J. Conrad, director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
The complaint alleges that both the Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office have engaged in regulatory actions that exceed their constitutional mandate, arguing such actions fall outside the judiciary’s core responsibilities of adjudicating cases and providing administrative support.
The lawsuit also contends that records maintained by the U.S. Judicial Conference, under Roberts’ leadership, should be subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests as a consequence of the alleged regulatory actions.
In his interview with Piscopo, Davis accused Roberts of refusing to do more to rein in lower federal courts that have imposed a record number of nationwide injunctions against the Trump administration despite several instances where he said the president’s Article II authorities were being trampled.
“I actually like the Chief Justice. I clerked for Justice [Neil] Gorsuch, and I like him personally, John Roberts, but I would say this to the Chief Justice: you have failed to do your job as the Chief Justice of the United States when you have allowed these radical activist judges to sabotage the president’s Article II powers,” Davis said.
“This is an assault on American voters. This is a repudiation of American voters by lifetime appointment, paycheck-protected federal judges who have no—who have no reason to be in this political lane. This is not judicial review. This is judicial sabotage,” he added.
“And I say this to these judges: when you take off your judicial robes, climb into the political arena, and throw political punches, expect powerful political counterpunches from the Article III Project because this is unacceptable. This is dangerous to our republic when these activist judges become political actors. And is the president supposed to report to 670 district court judges around the country for everything he does?” Davis said.
“That’s exactly right. It’s insane. And now this is a lawsuit that was—do you work, are you working with [White House Deputy Chief of Staff] Stephen Miller on this, if I may ask?” Piscopo said in response, referencing the lawsuit against Roberts, which was filed by America First Legal, a legal organization founded by Miller.
“A pro-Trump legal group founded by White House aide Stephen Miller is suing Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts…
“Well, I have to be careful what I say on particular lawsuits on who I’m working with,” Davis responded.
“The Article III Project is an independent outside organization. We are very much aligned with President Trump, but we are very actively going to defend the President of the United States, Donald Trump, like we did before the election when we ferociously defended him against the unprecedented Republican lawfare,” he continued.
“We turned lemons into lemonade. Everyone thought Trump was toast after the Mar-a-Lago raid, and now he’s back in the White House, and we’re going to continue to support President Trump every step of the way, every day for the next four years to make sure he succeeds,” Davis added.
The America First Legal lawsuit comes as Trump and several of his top officials have criticized what they say are “activist” federal court rulings, most of them from judges appointed by Democratic presidents.
Trump has endured an unprecedented number of nationwide injunctions, which were fairly rare but were also widely imposed against him during his first term.
I Tried to Stay Invisible While Cleaning His Mansion. Now, I'm the Only Weakness of a Ruthless Syndicate Boss.
“Don’t Get in the Car,” the Maid Warned While Fixing His Tie—The Mafia Boss Saw the Gun Too Late
Blood smelled like copper, but impending violence smelled like ozone and cold sweat.
Nora knew both intimately.
As she reached up to straighten Dominic’s silk tie, her knuckles brushed the steady pulse in his throat. He smelled of bergamot and bitter espresso.
Over his shoulder, through the glass double doors, she saw the driver.
His jacket hung incorrectly. A heavy metallic bulk ruined its bespoke lines.
Nora smoothed the silk.
“Your driver has a gun,” she whispered. “Don’t get in the car.”
Lemon oil and beeswax.
That was the scent of survival.
Nora moved the microfiber cloth in punishing concentric circles over the mahogany console table in the foyer. The wood was already immaculate, a dark mirror reflecting the cut-crystal chandelier overhead, but stillness inside the house was a liability.
If she stood still, she was listening.
If she was listening, she was a threat.
Nora kept her hands moving.
Her knuckles were raw, and harsh detergent had split the skin around her cuticles. Every flex of her fingers produced a mild sting.
It was a grounding pain.
It kept her awake.
Morning inside the Rossi estate was a sterile and muted affair. The walls were thick, and the carpets were plush enough to swallow the sound of a falling body.
Nora had worked there for 11 months, long enough to understand the architecture of power and the geometry of keeping her head down.
She was a maid, a ghost inside a gray uniform with white trim. Every Friday, she collected a cash envelope and deposited it directly into a checking account that was slowly and painfully building toward a 1-way ticket out of the state.
Footsteps sounded on the grand staircase.
They were not the hurried, heavy steps of the men guarding the perimeter. They were the measured, rhythmic clicks of leather against marble.
Dominic.
Nora did not look up immediately.
She moved to the side of the hall, lowered her head slightly, and blended into the damask wallpaper.
Dominic Rossi descended into the foyer, bringing a displacement of air that felt physically heavy.
He was not the hulking, scarred brute found in cheap films. He was lean, built with the coiled and wiry tension of a greyhound.
That morning, he wore a charcoal suit that probably cost more than Nora’s annual rent.
As he stepped from the final stair into the natural light coming through the frosted doors, Nora saw the frayed edges of his immaculate appearance.
His jaw was clenched.
Faint purple shadows beneath his dark eyes revealed nights spent staring at ceilings and calculating betrayals.
Dominic stopped beside the mirror above the console table.
He did not examine his reflection. He stared through the glass, his mind elsewhere, perhaps dissecting supply chains or arranging someone’s quiet disappearance.
Nora stood near the coat rack with his wool overcoat.
Her role was to hand it to him, open the door, and disappear.
Something was wrong.
Dominic’s tie was a heavy, woven midnight-blue silk. Its knot had been pulled slightly to the left, causing the collar of his white shirt to pinch awkwardly.
For anyone else, it would have meant nothing.
For Dominic Rossi, a man who controlled his surroundings with terrifying precision, it was an alarm.
He was distracted.
Dangerously so.
Nora stepped forward.
Her rubber-soled shoes squeaked softly against the marble.
Dominic’s eyes snapped toward her reflection.
They were cold and empty, the eyes of a predator registering movement.
Nora did not freeze.
Freezing was what prey did.
She kept her posture neutral and concentrated on his collar, ignoring the lethal weight of his attention.
She closed the distance between them.
“Your tie, sir,” she said without inflection.
He did not grant permission, but he did not step away.
That was enough.
Nora raised her hands.
The silk was cool beneath her rough fingertips.
She moved the knot precisely into the center of his throat, and the backs of her knuckles touched his skin.
He was burning.
Feverish heat radiated from his neck.
She smelled the clean citrus of his cologne. Beneath it was the acrid bitterness of old coffee and unrestrained stress.
He was a man holding a collapsing empire together with his bare hands.
As Nora smoothed his lapels, her eyes moved past his shoulder.
Through the reinforced glass of the front doors, she could see the circular driveway.
The armored black sedan was idling. Small clouds of white exhaust vanished into the cold morning air.
Arthur, the morning driver, stood beside the rear passenger door.
Nora had served him coffee many times.
He was a thickly built man who normally leaned against the fender, scrolling through his telephone with bored indifference.
That morning, Arthur was not leaning.
He stood rigidly upright.
His left hand was completely hidden behind his back.
It was the right side of his body that captured Nora’s attention.
His suit jacket hung incorrectly.
It did not drape. A bulge pulled the fabric tightly across his ribs, and the weight dragged the hem downward.
It was the unmistakable outline of a suppressed firearm inside a shoulder holster. The weapon sat higher and appeared bulkier than the standard sidearms carried by the estate guards.
Arthur was also sweating.
A thin layer of moisture reflected the sunlight across his forehead.
It was 40° outside.
His eyes repeatedly moved toward the front door.
He was not scanning the perimeter or waiting for his employer.
He was watching the glass.
Waiting for a target.
Nora’s hands remained on Dominic’s chest.
Her heart struck violently against her ribs.
If Dominic walked outside, Arthur would draw the gun.
There would be shouting, blood, and retaliation.
The estate would enter lockdown. No one would leave, and no one would be paid.
The fragile and quiet life Nora had constructed inside the shadows of the criminal organization would collapse.
She did not care about Dominic Rossi.
She cared about the Friday envelope.
She cared about routine.
Nora kept her expression completely blank.
She gave the silk tie 1 final and decisive adjustment.
Then she leaned forward by a fraction, her mouth near the lapel of Dominic’s suit.
“Your driver has a gun,” she whispered, barely audible over the grandfather clock ticking inside the hall. “Don’t get in the car.”
Dominic did not react.
That was the most frightening part.
A normal man would have jerked backward, looked through the doors, gasped, or demanded an explanation.
Dominic did nothing.
His breathing did not change.
His eyes remained fixed on Nora’s pale face without widening.
The coldness in his gaze seemed to deepen.
For 2 agonizing seconds, the foyer’s silence pressed against Nora’s ears.
Her hands still rested lightly against his chest.
She felt the calm and steady movement of his heart.
Then Dominic raised his hand.
His fingers closed around Nora’s wrist.
The grip was a steel vise, completely disproportionate to the elegance of his appearance. Pressure came immediately, grinding the delicate bones together.
A sharp gasp escaped her.
“You missed a spot,” Dominic said.
His low voice was pitched for ordinary conversation. It sounded casual and bored.
He did not look at the doors or Arthur.
Dominic pivoted smoothly and used his grip on her wrist to pull Nora with him.
He dragged her away from the glass and toward the interior of the estate, positioning her body between himself and the outside world.
A human shield.
The realization struck Nora with a wave of nausea.
If Arthur panicked and fired through the doors, the bullets would enter her spine first.
“Sir, my arm,” she said through clenched teeth.
She stumbled over the hem of her uniform skirt while trying to match Dominic’s long, unhurried strides.
“Quiet.”
The word carried the finality of a guillotine.
He pulled Nora past the dining room and toward the floor-to-ceiling oak doors of his private study.
She was permitted to clean that room only on Tuesdays and under a guard’s supervision.
It was Thursday.
Dominic opened the doors, pulled Nora inside, and kicked them closed.
The reinforced lock engaged with the sound of a vault sealing.
The study was dark and smelled of old paper, leather bindings, and faint cigar smoke. Heavy velvet drapes covered the windows.
The moment the lock engaged, Dominic’s facade disappeared.
He released Nora’s wrist.
She moved backward, rubbing the red marks already forming across her skin while her breath came in short, hard movements.
Dominic was already in motion.
The exhaustion was gone, replaced by kinetic violence.
He crossed the room in 3 steps and reached beneath the mahogany desk.
Metal scraped.
A slide moved with a heavy, oily clack.
When Dominic straightened, he held a black handgun.
He did not aim it at Nora. The barrel remained angled toward the Persian rug, but his body was coiled and ready.
