• Van Hollen’s taxpayer-funded junket: Taxes are the price we pay so that we can have things like roads and schools Democrat senators can fly around the world to sip margaritas with justly deported and imprisoned members of terrorist organizations. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen confirmed Sunday that his trip to advocate for the return to the U.S. of alien gangster and wife-beater Kilmar Abrego Garcia was a congressionally approved trip. When asked if that meant taxpayer dollars, Van Hollen answered, “Yes, like every other trip.” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer blocked funding for the follow-up trip made by Arizona Rep. Yassamin Ansari and three others. Since it was not taxpayer-funded and therefore not an official visit, the Salvadoran government refused to give them access to Garcia.

• Judge accused of aiding and abetting illegal alien: A judge in New Mexico abruptly resigned following the arrest of an illegal alien who was an alleged member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua — likely because the alien had been living in the judge’s guest house. Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Joel Cano had been on the bench since 2011 and was a former police officer and a Democrat. While Cano’s resignation has yet to be tied directly to the arrest of the illegal alien, Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, evidence shows that the two appeared to be friends and that Cano, who owns a large number of firearms, took the 23-year-old Ortega-Lopez shooting at a gun range. Even more disturbing is that images of mutilated and decapitated bodies were found on Ortega-Lopez’s cellphone.

• Mexican sewage is poisoning SEALs: The Navy SEALs are among the most elite military personnel in the world. They undergo rigorous and brutal training to qualify as SEALs, but they aren’t immune to sewage-based disease. The United States Naval Special Warfare Command is headquartered in San Diego, California, and that’s where SEAL candidates undergo Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training. Just south of San Diego, Tijuana, Mexico, dumps raw sewage into the Tijuana River, poisoning the very water where BUD/S takes place. Between January 2019 and May 2023, 1,168 cases of acute gastrointestinal illnesses were reported among SEAL candidates, in some cases causing candidates to be unable to keep water down during their training. EPA chief Lee Zeldin is traveling to see the problem firsthand today. Trump promised to prioritize clean water during his term; now, he can make good on that promise.

• Funeral arrangements for the pope: As we reported yesterday, Pope Francis has died at 88 years old. Funeral arrangements are still being made, though President Donald Trump has announced his intention to attend the funeral with the first lady. Trump also proclaimed that U.S. flags on government property will be flown at half-mast until Francis’s interment. Typically, popes are mourned for nine days while the College of Cardinals gathers for prayer. Traditional funeral arrangements after the mourning period involve three interlocking coffins laid in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica. However, Pope Francis changed his arrangements last year, requesting to be interred at St. Mary’s Major Basilica in Rome, with a simple wooden casket with zinc lining.

• Kristi Noem’s purse stolen at Easter dinner: While dining at the Capital Burger restaurant in Washington, DC, Sunday night, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s purse was stolen. It was Easter Sunday, and Noem was treating her extended family to dinner and some Easter gifts, meaning that her purse contained the usual: passport, driver’s license, keys, medication, but also $3,000 in cash and her DHS access badge. A Secret Service review caught the white male thief on camera leaving the restaurant with her bag. Unfortunately, he was wearing a medical mask. COVID-19’s normalization of masking has many downsides. The Secret Service is being scrutinized due to how close this thief got to Secretary Noem.

• ObamaCare challenge: On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Braidwood v. Kennedy, a case raised by a Christian business challenging the insurance coverage mandated under ObamaCare. Specifically, the case focuses on the constitutionality of the Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel recommending preventive care measures that insurance companies must cover. The plaintiff, Braidwood Management, contends that the HHS secretary appointing panel members is unconstitutional, asserting that they should be nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The Trump administration has pushed back, noting that since the HHS secretary has the authority to fire panel members, it follows that the secretary also has the authority to appoint. The justices expressed skepticism toward Braidwood’s arguments and the notion of the panel’s independent nature. A ruling is expected this summer.

• COVID pause on student loan payments ending: It’s been five years since the federal government issued its pause on student loan repayments in response to the COVID pandemic. On May 5, that pause will be lifted, and some 5.3 million borrowers who are currently defaulting on their loans will be required to pay. In making the announcement, Education Secretary Linda McMahon noted, “American taxpayers will no longer be forced to serve as collateral for irresponsible student loan policies.” This announcement ends the Biden administration’s student loan cancellation gambit, wherein taxpayers were put on the hook for student debt. The DOE noted that 42.7 million borrowers own over $1.6 trillion in student loan debt, and more than five million of these borrowers have not made a single payment in over a year, and “many” in “more than 7 years.” The Department added, “Only 38% of borrowers are in repayment and current on their student loans.”  
• Washington State keeps boys in girls’ sports: Democrats in The Evergreen State appear dead set on joining Maine in defying Donald Trump’s order barring males from competing in girls’ sports. On Monday, the Democrat-dominated legislature failed to pass two bills protecting female sports. The first would have limited participation in female sports to biological females, and the second would have created an open division, or a third non-sex-based division for students of either sex to compete in. For the first bill to pass the state senate, it needed to hit a 60% threshold; it fell short, garnering 58.5% of the votes. The second received just 24.5%. Will Washington State soon be in the Trump administration’s crosshairs? Time will tell.

Headlines

• Plastic is not the enemy: An open letter to lawmakers on Earth Day (RCP)

• Trump will reveal Ukraine war peace plan over next several days (NY Post)

• RFK to ban petroleum-based food dyes (Daily Wire)

• Klaus Schwab officially steps down as WEF chair (Not the Bee)

• Minneapolis DA will file for “pre-charge diversion” instead of criminal charges against suspected Tesla vandal (Washington Times)

• Anti-Semites hijack Coachella (National Review)

• Germany is revoking gun rights from AfD supporters (TTAG)

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