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Confirmation hearings are underway for President Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general, his personal attorney Todd Blanche. Blanche is mired in a number of controversies, most notably his mishandling of the administration's release of the Epstein files while serving as deputy attorney general under Pam Bondi. Washington state Representative Pramila Jayapal, who is co-sponsoring a bill to allow Epstein survivors whose identifying information was improperly publicized by the Department of Justice to sue the federal government for damages, says "Todd Blanche was responsible" for the breach. "He really wanted to discourage anyone else from coming forward with more information. … It's [a] big reason why he shouldn't be the attorney general." Jayapal also discusses the Department of Justice's surveillance of herself and other legislators who viewed Epstein-related documents and Blanche's longstanding personal and professional connections with Trump.
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Has the United States launched a forever war on Iran? As the Trump administration renews its attacks on Iran, killing at least 35 civilians over the course of five days, political analyst Ali Vaez warns that the U.S. is inciting potentially never-ending "cycles of violence" with its manipulations of the diplomatic process. The U.S.'s unilateral renunciation of the "memorandum of understanding" as a "pretext for another round of war" has further eroded trust between the countries, says Vaez. "There is really no military solution," he concludes. "The best solution is for both sides to agree to return to the MOU and to respect its terms."
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As we continue our conversation with Congressmember Pramila Jayapal, we turn to recent developments involving the United States military. On Wednesday, Jayapal was one of over half of all House Democrats to vote in favor eliminating over $3 billion in military aid to Israel. Although the proposed amendment was ultimately shot down, the final tally with over 100 members voting yes is still a "sea change" in U.S. political support for Israel, says Jayapal. Following Israel's genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, "it is the horror of what has unfolded that has finally allowed us to confront the fact that we should not be using taxpayer dollars to send to Israel to perpetrate this kind of violence."
Jayapal also responds to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's new order mandating testosterone testing and offering testosterone replacement therapy for servicemembers aged 30 and over. "Providing testosterone is actually gender affirming care," Jayapal remarks. Last year, Hegseth ordered a halt to all gender-affirming medical procedures for military servicemembers and banned openly trans people from service. These actions are "intrusive behavior," says Jayapal, "where the government is getting involved in prescribing what medication you do or don't take, without your consent."
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Senators in both parties say the state's 2020 Senate election is a long-settled issue.
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The measure failed, but the level of support among Democrats exposed a stark shift in the party away from backing the Jewish state.
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