The Gov Hub Newsletter: January 13, 2026

The state of Minnesota and the Twin Cities [Minneapolis and St. Paul] are suing the federal gov over the surge of ICE presence and activity via “Operation Metro Surge,” alleging that it's akin to a federal invasion. The lawsuit filed in federal court seeks a halt in the operation arguing that the operation and its hateful hooligans have violated state and city law, have commandeered state resources, and are not acting out of legitimacy but instead on the premise of political retaliation.

Senator Mark Kelly [D-AZ] has filed a lawsuit against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who has been on a warpath to punish Kelly over publishing a video that informed members of the military to not participate in illegal orders. The lawsuit alleges that Hegseth’s censure of Kelly and efforts to lower his retirement rank are in violation of the 1st Amendment.

A federal judge – Judge Beryl Howell – has ordered the Trump Admin to restore $11M+ in grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics, granting a preliminary injunction that blocks the cuts while the lawsuit between AAP and HHS continues. Howell noted that the cuts made to grants that funded initiatives that aim to prevent SIDS, improve early detection of birth defects, and more, were likely done in a retaliatory manner.

U.S. District Judge John Chune has hit the block button on an effort from the Trump Admin to nix election funding for states that refuse to adjust their voting systems to the president’s preferences and whims. The ruling, which impacts an executive order from last year, makes the claim that the pressure put on states around Election Assistance Commission funds is and was unconstitutional. 

Following the Trump Admin’s attempt at freezing federal funds for three childcare and education related programs to five Dem-led states, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian blocked the pausing of funds. The block decision, according to The Guardian, was made around a legal threshold to protect the status quo, which gives at least 14 days for arguments to be made by the parties involved in court. TBD on where this lands.

“You’re white anyway. You wouldn’t be any fun.” Those were the words of an ICE officer to a pastor that he’d handcuffed and put in the back of an SUV after the ICE officer had continuously put his gun in his face and asked “are you afraid?” The pastor, Rev. Kenny Callaghan, had gone to see what was going on in his area after hearing loads of commotion – what was going on was another ICE agent committing murder before fleeing the scene.

Despite being able to see an ICE agent murder a mom of a six-year-old [Renee Nicole Good] in Minneapolis from every angle under the sun, GOP members of Congress voted down Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley’s [D-MA] motion to subpoena all of the footage and the records related to the shooting for an investigation into the incident.

DHS Sec. Kristi Noem signed a new and incredibly suss policy that bars members of Congress from visiting ICE facilities without a week’s notice, claiming that despite a federal court ruling that affirmed that congressmembers can make unannounced visits, that it doesn’t apply because of the source of the money that funds the detention centers.

The U.S. Department of Labor used its Twitter fingers to post a creepy montage and post that mirrors a slogan from Nazi Germany. The post’s verbiage reads “One Homeland. One People. One Heritage. Remember who you are, American.”

DHS has announced that they’re going big on drones, launching an office with a really long name focused on buying and deploying both drone and counter-drone tech – Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems. $115M of taxpayer dollars will be used for this initiative, with a focus of its fruits to be on the FIFA Men’s World Cup and to hit back at cartels that DHS alleges is using drone tech.

A 19-year-old confessed to setting a historic synagogue – the Beth Israel Congregation temple – in Jackson, Mississippi on fire in an act of arson. The Beth Israel Congregation, which is the only one in Jackson, may ring a bell because it is the congregation that was bombed by the KKK in 1967. This arsonist referred to the temple as “the synagogue of Saran” and allegedly laughed about the attack.

ICE has used money from the billions it’s been allocated by Congress to purchase two surveillance programs – Tables and Webloc – that can track the cell phone activity of entire neighborhoods, as well as monitor social media use via internet data. Per the ACLU, with these programs, DHS is allegedly going around the constitution to get information on people that would normally require a warrant, by purchasing the data.

ICE is going door-to-door often without warrants in Minneapolis, kicking in doors and using force, like seen here where ICE [without a warrant] broke into a home with kids present and refused to leave. For what? Per Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, to terrorize people.

ICE kidnapped a 17-year-old U.S. citizen at his place of work [Target] after violently tackling him to the ground. After they confirmed he was a citizen, they dumped him bloodied eight minutes away at a Walmart. DHS then proceeded to lie about the incident, claiming the minor was assaulting an officer.

This Mother Jones reporter who is following activity in the Twin Cities area witnessed these incidents – an ICE agent pushed an person at a gas station which led to the ICE agent tackling and arresting the person; ICE agents break a window of a man’s car, followed by dragging him unconscious out of the vehicle and taking him away; 

ICE crashed into a U.S. citizen’s car in Minneapolis leading to ICE questioning his citizenship. The encounter brought people to the streets, and has both the victim and his wife feeling scared for their safety.

Also in Minnesota, an ICE agent pulled out a handgun and pointed directly at a protestor's head.

ICE was seen pushing protestors to the ground and escalating tensions directly, here.

This woman screamed for help, while ICE violently kidnapped her despite saying she’ll show them her ID.

This ICE agent was caught kneeing this man in the face, while being held down by other ICE agents in the street. The man had to be carried into the vehicle they took him away in. 

ICE agents tried to swarm in St. Cloud, Minnesota but a crowd was able to run them off. 

NY Gov. Kathy Hochul [D] paired up with NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani to announce a comprehensive proposal to make universal child care for kids under the age of five a reality across the state. The proposal includes strengthening NYC’s 3K program, launching free child care for two-year-olds in the Big Apple, expanding child care subsidies for families, and helping local govs get infrastructure in place to make early education as accessible as possible.

Spencer Pratt has announced that he’s running for mayor of LA – something that any Millennial can’t even imagine telling their tween-teenage self. The registered Republican who is trying to claim non-partisan energy has been endorsed by voices of the far-right including influencer Benny Johnson and Trump’s special envoy Richard Grenell.

Following ICE deploying pepper spray and creating an incredibly unsafe environment outside of Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis, the city’s school district will now offer remote learning for students for at least the next month. Teachers will instruct both students IRL and tuning in from home.

The man who brought shame to Asics running sneakers when he carried Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s lectern through the halls of Congress – rioter, Adam Johnson – during Jan 6 is running for a seat on the Manatee [Florida] County Commission

The Washington National Opera has decided to part ways with the Kennedy Center, citing budgetary issues that have been amped up as a result of the Kennedy Center’s new business model – that model, according to AP, requires productions to be fully funded in advance.

Trump’s DOJ has opened a criminal investigation into the chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, threatening Powell with criminal charges. The accusation coming from the DOJ is that Powell lied in his testimony to the Senate banking committee last year in relation to the reno of the Fed’s DC office buildings. The accusation is one that the Trump world has been trying to boost narrative support for the last few months, with MAGA claiming the reno was mishandled. However, the real-real is that Trump is trying to punish Powell for not bending to his demands on interest rates and is seeking to push him out of his role.

The Trump Admin announced that it’s holding back $129M in federal money that’s been allocated for food assistance to the state of Minnesota, claiming “widespread fraud,” seemingly the new excuse for any action taken by the Admin. Minnesota’s AG Keith Ellison has said he plans to sue the Trump Admin over the decision.

After invading a sovereign country and kidnapping its dictator, Trump used a fake Wikipedia-style page to make the claim that he’s the ‘acting president of Venezuela.’

Meta’s love affair with the Trump Admin and its GOP groupies has continued with the hiring of former Trump Advisor Dina Powell McCormick as the company’s president and vice chair – a move that the president himself applauded.

Trump has rAgrets, apparently – and they just so happen to be that he regrets not using the National Guard to seize voting machines after his 2020 election loss, something that he still refuses to come to terms with, as he peddles the idea that he won with the tenacity of someone with an MLM.

Congressman Jared Moskowitz [FL-D] pulled back the curtain on his Republican colleagues, calling them out for “calling Corey” [Lewandowski] when they need something FEMA-related, not Kristi Noem because as he claims she’s not even running the department. IYKYK what he says but doesn’t say is actually juicier than one may realize.

The National Portrait Gallery in DC has fallen to pressure from the Trump world and has not just replaced Trump’s prior pic with a new one, but has removed the text that was displayed alongside that mentioned his impeachments and details of his 1st term.

Philly’s DA Larry Krasner said FAFO to ICE and the National Guard – literally – with this post and these words from a podium, warning them that if they commit crimes in the city, he will charge you. Philly Sheriff Rochelle Bilal backed that up, labeling ICE as fake law enforcement and warning them that they "don't want this smoke.”

Senator Mark Kelly [AZ-D] and his wife, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords shared what the true meaning of in sickness and in health is all about through their very own experience with ‘in sickness.’ Full disclosure: it’s a tear-jerker, happy cries incoming.

Congressman Jared Moskowitz [FL-D] sat down with Lukas Thimm for this edition of ‘Who Said It: Real Housewife or Politician?’ and his answers are good as gold.

Senator Amy Klobuchar [MN-D] shared in an interview that the number of ICE  agents in the entire state of Minnesota outnumber the total number of cops in both Minneapolis and St. Paul. 

Elon Musk, who continues to pour money into politics, allow nonconsensual nude AI images of women and children to be created on what was once Twitter, go after one of his baby mamas for custody because she [lightly] apologized to the trans community, has also been busy retweeting tweets like this one that say "remigration til i die” and the follow-up “remigration applies to all immigrants, including Jews.” Mind you, Elon is from South Africa and worked illegally in the U.S. while here on a student visa.

ICE has appeared untrained for anything including ICE itself, which took this officer flat out and all of these GI Joe wannabes, who clearly are not from above the Mason Dixon.

RFK Jr.’s phone went off during a presser. His ringtone? Ducks quacking, which is rife with symbolism only furthered by Dr. Oz standing behind him.

In reaction to Trump and his DOJ trying to come after Jerome Powell, Congressman Suhas Subramanyam [VA-D] showed his support for Powell with this post that has a little bark [bite debatable]. 

Despite a number of Republicans breaking rank and voting to extend [now revive from the dead] the ACA tax credits, sending the bill to the Senate for consideration, Trump has said that he may veto the legislation if it makes it to his desk. In the Senate, negotiations are ongoing amongst a small group of senators from both sides of the aisle that find themselves to be a part of a text chain called “EPTC OG,” according to Politico.

Mackenzie Scott has donated $45M to The Trevor Project, which runs a hotline for LGBTQ+ youth.

The state of Utah is now allowing AI to renew people’s prescriptions without a doctor involved, via a new partnership with AI health company, Doctronic. The partnership aims to reduce wait times and doctor’s visits for routine prescriptions, but there are concerns from healthcare providers about patient safety.

The United Health Foundation has released its health report card, showing the healthiest and least healthy states. The report card results are based on a number of factors from a state’s environment to its health outcomes. Find your state’s ranking here.

The current president has called wind farms “losers” and has applied that mentality to his goal of not letting any windmills be built. The result have been freezes on in-motion projects, which has led to several lawsuits from wind energy developers who’ve found themselves [or their lawyers rather] arguing in court this week to get their projects turned back on.

The EPA has decided that the practice of calculating the health benefits and lives saved of reducing air pollution, isn’t up its alley, and is tossing it to the wayside when it comes to regulating ozone and fine particulate matter pollution.

In LA, pressure on the EPA to test the soil of homes destroyed by the Eaton fire for lead has semi ended up in a W. The EPA will now pay for soil testing for 100 out of the 5,800 homes destroyed. Per reporting from the LA Times, this comes after revelations that workers removing debris post-fire violated clean-up protocols and may have left fire contaminants behind.

Politico: ‘Brace for impact:’ Trump turns fraud into new weapon against blue states

The Atlantic: The Right-Wing Attack on Wikipedia

The Hill: Supreme Court could dramatically alter US election landscape