The Gov Hub Newsletter: June 2, 2026

Trump’s DOJ has said that they’re putting a hold [for now] on their $1.8B “anti-weaponization” fund – yes, the one that Proud Boys, and crew were looking to apply for funds from. The hold comes after a district judge temporarily blocked the creation of the program following the filing of a lawsuit by Democracy Forward. Related to the fund, which partially came out of Trump dropping a lawsuit over his previously leaked business tax returns, and in tandem with the deal arranged by Trump’s former personal lawyer turned AG Todd Blanche, forever barring the U.S. from auditing tax returns from Trump family members… is a federal judge reopening the lawsuit. The judge did so “after receiving a third-party motion asserting that the settlement, which lacks detail, “is a product of collusion and is itself a fraud on the court,” according to The Guardian.

A U.S. district judge ruled that it was illegal to add Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center, which was bestowed its name by Congress, and thus can only be changed by an act of Congress. That ruling came with a notice that the Kennedy Center must remove Trump’s name within the next two weeks. Despite the deadline, Interior Sec. Doug Burgum has apparently not committed to abiding by the law, and has instead suggested an appeal be filed.

Florida AG James Uthmeier [R] has filed a civil lawsuit against OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT and its tech-bro CEO, Sam Altman, under the argument that both knew that the product [again, ChatGPT] that they promoted could harm users. The suit follows a separate but active investigation into how ChatGPT use may have contributed to two people being gunned down at FSU.

The U.S. District Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled that the Sec. Hegseth-led move kicking trans troops out of the military violated their rights and was unconstitutional. This particular ruling applies to the move kicking trans people out of the military, but does not impact the Pentagon’s ban on trans people enlisting in the military.

ICYMI Colorado Gov. Jared Polis – a Democrat by title technically – commuted the sentence of election fraudster Tina Peters, sparking further conversation on WTF the Republicans must have on Polis versus is he just a schmuck. Alas, since leaving prison, Peters has gone on a press tour of sorts making false claims that the Democrats are going to steal the 2026 midterm elections. 

In a move that would have just about anyone else behind bars for possible insider trading, Trump’s stock portfolio acquired Dell stocks valued between $1-5M on February 10, 2026, and then three weeks later, a $9.7B contract was announced between Dell and the Pentagon. Upon the announcement, the stock’s values skyrocketed. According to the Washington Post, Trump also spent time encouraging his attendees at his events to buy the stock.

The Trump Admin has yet again circumnavigated the competitive contract process, and has awarded a company $5M in taxpayer money from the National Park Service troves to be used to put 23.75 karat gold-leaf on the four horse statues by the Lincoln Memorial. NOTUS has reported that they’ve found that at least $95M have been used by the Trump Admin for “DC beautification projects.”

Is the UFC fight on the White House lawn tacky? Yes, but the more concerning part is actually that new financial disclosures, as reviewed by the Huffington Post, show that Trump purchased five-figures worth of stock from the parent company of UFC, TKO Group Holdings on March 25, 2026. Fast forward to recent weeks, and Trump is now promoting the glorified fist fight arena show, and thus the UFC brand.

SCOTUS Justice Samuel Alito’s son, Philip Alito, has been on payroll for the Trump Admin as an attorney within the Treasury’s Office of General Counsel, raising conflict of interest red flags (as opposed to Alito’s fave to hang down the Shore, the Christian Nationalist, Appeal to Heaven flag) since Samuel presides over cases involving the Treasury, Scott Bessent, and so on.

A continually evolving tantrum features the president learning that more than half of the musical performers that were set to take the stage at the Great American State Fair event for America’s 250th birthday, canceled upon apparently learning the event was connected to Trump. ATM, Flo Rida, Vanilla Ice, and Mili Vanili are the only “artists” still set on “performing.” That caused a Trump Truth Social spiral, where he presented himself as a possible headliner, followed by making it a Trump rally, followed by saying they should scrap the whole event.

Speaking of the UFC fight planned for the White House lawn [see above], the Pentagon is apparently recruiting junior-level troops to watch it in a America’s Next Top Model way, as in having specific height and weight requirements. Oh, and there’s this – attendees selected still have to pay their own way despite being the lowest ranks and lowest paid.

The Jersey Shore’s Mike the Situation told reporters that he’s considering running for governor of New Jersey. And in the most Jersey fashion, this is what he commented on NJ12’s post about it.

Peter Thiel, the creepy tech-billionaire behind surveillance company Palantir and funding just innumerable initiatives like JD Vance that might make your skin crawl, has made a move to Argentina. 

Trump has continued to beg for his ballroom, claiming that for national security purposes it needs to be built, and built with a drone port on its roof. In a Truth Social post about it, he tried to pre-blame the Bush-appointed Judge that put the hold button on his project for the “death and destruction caused to our country.

In an L for free speech, the Pentagon has banned reporters from being able to access the building’s press office. Literally: “press banned from press office.” Anyways, the DOD are now calling it a “classified space.”

According to Bloomberg Law News, former Fox talking head turned head of the U.S Attorney’s Office for Washington (DC), Jeanine Pirro is seeking the trifecta of names, addresses, and banking info of Reddit and Twitter users who have criticized ICE. 

Minnesota state Republicans held a moment of silence at their state convention for the very-much still alive Derek Chauvin, the police officer that murdered George Floyd and was convicted for second-degree murder.

Billionaire Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent when asked at a presser about new reporting showing that more Americans are dipping into their savings to cover basics like groceries and are saving less [if at all], called it a “doomer view” and then attempted to deflect to the stock market in a Pam Bondi-esuqe move. Seemingly, his bigger concern and passion is trying to get Congress to put Trump’s face on a $250 note.

A new deep dive from the Washington Post has spotlighted that BBQ joints in Texas are closing or facing dire straits as beef prices remain astronomically high – like as reported by Reuters, 16% higher than when Trump took office for round two. 

A new inflation report is out – namely, the first under the leadership of new Fed head Kevin Warsh, which shows that consumer prices are at their highest in nearly three years.

The Trump Admin’s Energy Department has decided to RIP a rebate program from the Inflation Reduction Act that enabled Americans to get cash back on switching to more efficient, lower cost electric appliances  The new policy now bans “fuel-switching,” meaning that the rebate can only be accessed by those replacing an electric appliance with another electric appliance – as opposed to gas to electric, which means that helping families save money by switching to electric [the whole point of the program] is flatlined. 

Evolving Situation – Delaney Hall: Over the weekend, clashes between protestors, many of them family members of those being held inside the privately-owned ICE facility in Newark, New Jersey, and  federal and state law enforcement boiled over. For context, many detainees inside the facility are on hunger strike, protesting maggots in their food, failure to provide medical care, and inhumane conditions. New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill [D] is under fire for her response to the evolving situation [sending in state troops that have reportedly brutalized protestors], as well as Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, with the city imposing a curfew, while protestors and activists share their POV, like this one. On the legal beagle end, the Mayor Baraka shared the city’s intent of filing a lawsuit to close the facility.

A new AP investigation has found that people being held in ICE detention are dying by suicide at an increasingly high rate, with the report showing that the rate of suicides in this fiscal year alone marks the highest number of suicide deaths in ICE’s tenure.

Reporting from The Guardian on a new report out of the Marshall Project revealed that the Trump Admin has deported over 21,000 people to places that the U.S. deems too dangerous to visit. Amongst those deported to these places, were 600 children, and at-large the majority for those deported in this way, had no criminal convictions. 

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek [D] has put the kibosh on ICE’s ability to acquire undercover license plates in the state, ordering the state’s DMV to hit pause on issuing any.

In Minnesota, an ICE officer was charged and arrested for the non-fatal shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant in January. The ICE officer is facing four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime.

The Hill: We’re having the worst wheat crop in decades. You’ll notice the effects soon at the grocery store

Politico: New York Democrats push redistricting amendment, joining national battle

AP: Trump plans to appeal order allowing all importers that paid struck-down tariffs to seek refunds

HuffPost: Red State Tries To Force College Students To Take ‘Freedom’ Courses