News 5/29/26

1. This week, Democratic Socialist Mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani unveiled his plan to construct 200,000 new rent-stabilized homes in the city over the next decade, PIX 11 reports, making good on a campaign promise that many supposedly savvy political observers doubted. In addition to the new construction, Mamdani vowed to “preserve and stabilize” an additional 200,000 via New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) repairs, increased housing code enforcement, and a special focus on development in the Bronx. In his announcement, Mamdani said “We are the largest city in the nation. We have the resources, the talent, and the will to achieve this.”

2. In the federal government, one of the most controversial members of the Trump administration – former Democratic Congresswoman and presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard – has resigned her position as Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The BBC reports Gabbard is citing her husband’s recent bone cancer diagnosis as the reason for her departure, but also notes that Gabbard “has largely been out of public view even as the US took military action against Iran, put pressure on Cuba, and…removed Venezuela’s president.” In theory, these would all require a substantial degree of participation from and coordination with the DNI, but Gabbard seemed pointedly out of the loop. The actions of the administration have also been diametrically opposed to Gabbard’s past foreign policy positions, defined by her 2020 slogan “no more regime change wars.” Others have noted that Gabbard now joins former Attorney General Pam Bondi, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem as high-profile women ousted from the Trump administration while glaringly incompetent men like Pete Hegseth remain in their posts.

3. Turning to Texas, this week saw a political bloodbath in the runoffs for the primaries held back in March. The topline of course is that scandal-plagued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, backed by Trump, triumphed over powerful longtime incumbent Senator John Cornyn. With the backing of the president, Paxton wiped the floor with Cornyn, winning around two-thirds of the vote. Yet Paxton goes into the general election against James Talarico very weak. 35% of those polled “Disapprove Strongly” of Paxton with only 15% saying they “Strongly Approve” according to the Texas Politics Project and even the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) condemned Paxton’s “lies” “incompetence” personal scandals and corruption in now-deleted press releases. Further down the ballot, incumbent Democratic Members of Congress Al Green and Julie Johnson have been defeated in their primary run-offs, after being forced into Member-on-Member races by the Texas redistricting scheme.

4. Meanwhile in Michigan, NOTUS reports the Working Families Party (WFP) has endorsed progressive Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed. This primary campaign, with El-Sayed running against moderate Congresswoman Haley Stevens and liberal state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, has become a bruising tripartite affair pitting the three major factions within the Democratic Party against one another. Recently, El-Sayed has taken the lead in this race, which WFP hopes to help consolidate, saying it is prepared to go “all in” on this race. WFP is feeling confident following their role in helping to ensure victory for Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania and Analilia Mejia in New Jersey.

5. In the Garden State, Senator Andy Kim was caught in a cloud of pepper spray this week as he joined protestors outside of a privately-run ICE detention facility, NJ.com reports. The protests began as a result of an ongoing hunger strike inside of the facility, which has led many high-profile New Jersey Democrats – including Governor Mikie Sherill and Congressman Robert Menendez Jr. in addition to Senator Kim – to call for the facility’s closure. Following the confrontation, Kim stated that “What we saw here is unfortunately just what we see all over the country…It’s sad…sad day.” At another point, Kim said “The cruelty that you see behind me, this is the point…Right now, I’m trying to have them not point guns at us.”

6. In another case of outrageous overreach by the Trump administration, Fox reports the Treasury Department has served subpoenas to CodePink activist Medea Benjamin and political streamer and influencer Hasan Piker seeking “financial, logistical and communications information” regarding their recent humanitarian voyage to Cuba. According to this story, the Treasury probe – handled through their Office of Foreign Assets Control – is primarily concerned with whether the convoy “violated U.S. sanctions laws through the financing, coordination or delivery of goods to Cuba, including potential contacts with Cuban government personnel or entities on the island.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has condemned the probe, writing that “Weaponizing the Treasury Department to target Americans for exercising their constitutional right to support human rights is unacceptable.” CAIR went on to call the investigation “performative and politically-motivated,” contending that “Every American who believes in the rule of law and human rights should stand in solidarity with Medea and demand that the Treasury Department drop its McCarthyite witch hunt.”

7. The Democrats meanwhile are once again conspiring against one another. The Bulwark reports the campaign to unseat Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin is back on – and now includes viable alternatives. Previously, discontent was mounting but there did not appear to be any other options. Presently though, the list circulating in Democratic circles consists of New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, former EMILY’s List president Stephanie Schriock, former president of the Service Employees International Union Mary Kay Henry, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro, former chair of the Michigan Democratic Party Lavora Barnes, and former Wisconsin party chair Ben Wikler. Wikler, who revitalized the Beaver State party and placed second against Martin in the DNC Chair election, has “rebuffed discussions about leading the DNC, saying he wants nothing to do with effort to remove Martin and isn’t interested in replacing him.” Yet even with no obvious alternative, calls are mounting for Martin to step aside. This piece cites statements by progressive Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan, as well as a new initiative by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee on one side, alongside statements by more moderate Reps. Marc Veasey and Seth Moulton to the same effect. Still, many state parties and an equally ideologically diverse coalition is standing by Martin, so he will likely remain in place, at least for the time being.

8. Looking southward, this week Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that her country will host the Iranian team ahead of the FIFA World Cup. Per Al Jazeera, the United States, which is hosting many of the matches, including all three the Iranian team was scheduled to play in, expressed that they did not think it “appropriate” for Iranian team members to be in the country, “for their own life and safety.” FIFA approached Mexico as an alternative. In her daily press conference, Sheinbaum stated that “We have no reason to deny them the possibility of staying in Mexico.” The Iranian team has also announced they will be moving their training base from Tucson to Tijuana, but still plan to enter the United States to play their games – with Trump saying they will be “welcome,” despite the fact American authorities have yet to issue the necessary visas.

9. Our final two stories involve the Pope. First, AP reports that this week Pope Leo XIV made an historic apology not only for the Catholic Church’s role in legitimizing slavery, but its failure to condemn the practice for centuries afterwards. Pope Leo called this a “wound in Christian memory.” Leo, the first American Pope, can point to both enslaved people and slave owners in his familial lineage, a remarkable vantage point from which to issue this statement in his first ever encyclical ”Magnifica Humanitas.”

10. Yet, for how historic this section of the encyclical is, it is not the portion of it that drew the most attention. That would be the section on Artificial Intelligence. Pope Leo writes “Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together.” Leo goes on to make the critical point that “technology is never neutral, because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate, and use it.” He further goes on to state that “the pressure of new ideologies or certain highly powerful interests” can reduce the human person to “a resource to be used and exploited” or evaluated “on what they achieve or produce,” whereas God creates each individual person in His image and imbues them with inherent dignity. It is impossible to say whether the Pontiff’s words will move the titans of the tech industry to change their ways, but his moving rhetoric is sure to significantly influence the world’s view of AI, both today and for students of history.

This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven’t Heard.