Bill Would Let Rubio Seize Americans’ Passports for Criticizing Israel - The Monday AM Quickie 9/15/25
Good morning! Wishing everyone an easy week. - Whitney
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THE BIG NEWS
Bill Would Let Rubio Seize US Citizens’ Passports for Criticizing Israel
Secretary of State Marco Rubio would have the power to revoke US citizens’ passports for political speech, such as criticism of Israel, if lawmakers pass a bill introduced by Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), who is a former Israeli Defense Forces soldier, Common Dreams and The Intercept reported.
The bill is scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday.
The Intercept called attention to two sections describing who the proposed bill would target. One section would allow Rubio to “revoke or refuse to issue passports” for anyone convicted, or even just charged, of “material support” for terrorism. An attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union said that would change little about current practice. But another section “sidesteps the legal process entirely.” Per their reporting:
... the secretary of state would be able to deny passports to people whom they determine ‘has knowingly aided, assisted, abetted, or otherwise provided material support to an organization the Secretary has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
The reference to ‘material support’ disturbed advocates who have long warned that the government can misuse statutes criminalizing ‘material support’ for terrorists – first passed after the 1996 Oklahoma City federal building bombing and toughened after the 9/11 attacks – to punish speech.
The US has silenced free speech that way before, The Intercept noted, including in 2010, when the Supreme Court ruled that “even offering advice about international law to designated terror groups could be classified as material support.” And what about the time the government justified a woman’s deportation by saying she gave Salvadoran guerrillas material support when they kidnapped her and made her their slave? Call your representative and tell them this bill is bad.
MORE STORIES TO WATCH
Memphis Mayor Learned of National Guard Deployment from Fox News, Could Include Military
Trump is sending the National Guard to Memphis and says Democratic Mayor Paul Young is “happy” about it, Axios and the AP reported. Young, however, said, “I’m certainly not happy” and that he learned about the deployment when Trump announced it Friday on Fox News. Trump also said the deployment could include “the military.” Over the weekend, Young said he still had no specifics, including how many troops will show up, when, and what they’ll be doing.
Squirrelly FBI Director in Congressional Hot Seat
Conspiracy-obsessed Kash Patel will face congressional oversight hearings this week to answer for his “Keystone Cops” approach to the shooting death of Charlie Kirk, according to the AP. Democrats will also likely press him about a host of his other failures, missteps and bonkers decisions as head of the FBI. Watch for questions about his:
“...purge of senior executives that has prompted a lawsuit, his pursuit of President Donald Trump’s grievances long after the Russia investigation ended, and a realignment of resources that has prioritized the fight against illegal immigration and street crime even though the agency has for decades been defined by its work on complicated threats like counterintelligence and public corruption.
That’s in addition to questions about the handling of files from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case, the addition of a co-deputy director to serve alongside Dan Bongino, and the use of polygraphs on some agents in recent months to identify sources of leaks.”
Maybe they’ll also ask about the incident last week in which the FBI used an incinerator at an animal shelter in Montana to torch two pounds of seized meth, which filled the shelter with poisonous gas and sickened staff and about 75 rescue animals, including four litters of kittens. The people had to go to the hospital, the cats and dogs had to see the vet, and now the building is so contaminated it will take up to a month to fix.
Helluva job, Mr. Patel, sir!
QUICKEST QUICKIES
- Missouri Redraws District Maps to Give GOP Edge While Democrats wring their hands, Republicans are pressing ahead with their plan to gerrymander states to maintain their death grip on the House; Missouri’s new maps will make it easier for them to flip one of two Democrat-held seats. via ABC and NPR.
- Another Man Killed During Immigration Terror Campaign Raid Agents shot to death Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez in Chicago, just weeks after agents raided a farm in California, during which Jaime Alanis fell to his death. via The Guardian.
- Russian Drones Enter Romanian Airspace No one was hurt and nothing was damaged in the hour-long incursion, which came just days after dozens of Russian drones went into the airspace of another NATO country, Poland. via the NYT.
- Elon Musk Joins Massive UK Far-Right Rally to Demand ‘Dissolution of Parliament’ “Violence is coming,” Musk told the 100,000-strong mob. “You either fight back or you die.” via NBC News and Politico.
SOME NUMBER
200,000
That’s how many people the Israeli military has killed or injured in Gaza, said former Israeli army commander Herzi Halevi, who led the genocide for the first 17 months. “Not once” did anyone try to stop him, he said. Two hundred thousand is more than 10 percent of the entire population of Gaza.
ON THE SHOW TODAY
9/15: Today’s guest is author Megan Greenwell on to discuss her book Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream.
DON'T MISS MR CLIPS
Republican's Demented Kirk Reaction
Trump can’t talk about what happened because he’s too sad, and also, because he can’t remember.
AI Bubble Already Bursting? | Ed Zitron | TMR
Please God just get it over with already, the slop is unbearable.
PARTING WORDS
“I don’t want him to go back there.”
-- Lee Seul-bi, speaking to the Wall Street Journal about the prospect of her husband, Cho Young-hee, returning to the United States after US immigration officials imprisoned him and 300-some other South Koreans working at a Hyundai Motor construction site in Georgia. Trump claimed Cho and his colleagues “were here illegally.” In fact, Cho is an employee of LG Energy Solution, a Hyundai partner, and had a B-1 visa allowing for the work he was performing. Cho is now back home in South Korea and said he wasn’t sure about returning to the US. His wife was, though. “Treating him like a felon – it made me so angry,” she said. As one South Korean wrote on a sign protesting the abuse: “Asking us to build factories and invest and then arresting and detaining. Is this what an ally does?”
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