Asha Rangappa
@asharangappa.bsky.social
Fmr FBI Special Agent, lawyer, @JacksonYale. Tiger(ish) mom. Legal and national security analyst. Editor @just_security. Steam mop influencer. Views mine.
https://asharangappa.substack.com
https://asharangappa.substack.com
Pinned
I have an announcement to make — I’m writing a book!
Reposted by Asha Rangappa
Former House speaker / Trump adviser newt Gingrich, saying on the record what we’d heard so much on background from those others:
“Look at the rage on the left. It doesn’t sound like a victory party to me. All you have to do is look at the reaction on the left to figure out who won this shutdown…”
“Look at the rage on the left. It doesn’t sound like a victory party to me. All you have to do is look at the reaction on the left to figure out who won this shutdown…”
November 11, 2025 at 3:38 AM
Former House speaker / Trump adviser newt Gingrich, saying on the record what we’d heard so much on background from those others:
“Look at the rage on the left. It doesn’t sound like a victory party to me. All you have to do is look at the reaction on the left to figure out who won this shutdown…”
“Look at the rage on the left. It doesn’t sound like a victory party to me. All you have to do is look at the reaction on the left to figure out who won this shutdown…”
Reposted by Asha Rangappa
People like this guy are the ones in charge of the Republican party. There are some more reasonable ones in the grassroots, but they have no power. All policy is being driven by people like Joel Webbon.
Christian nationalist pastor Joel Webbon says that women today are dumb, wicked, vile whores: "Women are atrocious today." www.peoplefor.org/rightwingwat...
November 11, 2025 at 3:27 AM
People like this guy are the ones in charge of the Republican party. There are some more reasonable ones in the grassroots, but they have no power. All policy is being driven by people like Joel Webbon.
Reposted by Asha Rangappa
I know, everybody should leave X, but I think an exception should be made solely for Joyce Carol Oates so she can keep wounding Musk's withered soul on his own site and he can't do a thing about it.
![Joyce Carol Oates quoting a tweet that says “wherever he [Elon Musk] goes, he wants to leave”:
"wherever he goes, he wants to leave"-- that's because when he gets there, he has brought his own self along; & whatever club he's invited to join has been devalued by the invitation.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:buy3qvqcj3o76leo6ap7pn2p/bafkreifilfbsxemfsambf4kqwolr24ld2ekqcrz4ybgv3bv7kzi5e6kppm@jpeg)
November 11, 2025 at 3:14 AM
I know, everybody should leave X, but I think an exception should be made solely for Joyce Carol Oates so she can keep wounding Musk's withered soul on his own site and he can't do a thing about it.
Reposted by Asha Rangappa
NEW: President Trump's pardon of his alleged 2020 co-conspirators was less about shielding them from past crimes, his adversaries say, than about signaling to others that he has their back if he needs them again in 2026 or 2028.
w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
November 11, 2025 at 12:27 AM
NEW: President Trump's pardon of his alleged 2020 co-conspirators was less about shielding them from past crimes, his adversaries say, than about signaling to others that he has their back if he needs them again in 2026 or 2028.
w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Reposted by Asha Rangappa
King’s point is that it didn’t work because Trump was cutting SNAP benefits. But lower courts had required Trump to pay full SNAP, and while Trump *probably* would have won at SCOTUS, that outcome wasn’t guaranteed and would have been known soon anyway.
November 10, 2025 at 1:48 PM
King’s point is that it didn’t work because Trump was cutting SNAP benefits. But lower courts had required Trump to pay full SNAP, and while Trump *probably* would have won at SCOTUS, that outcome wasn’t guaranteed and would have been known soon anyway.
Reposted by Asha Rangappa
A reminder - last March, republicans promised to restore $1.1B in funding to DC in exchange for funding the government, and Mike Johnson never took it up in the House.
a cartoon girl in a blue dress is kneeling in a field holding a bag
ALT: a cartoon girl in a blue dress is kneeling in a field holding a bag
media.tenor.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:07 AM
A reminder - last March, republicans promised to restore $1.1B in funding to DC in exchange for funding the government, and Mike Johnson never took it up in the House.
Reposted by Asha Rangappa
Their lives are literally like a White Lotus episode...
A $64,000 Thailand beach vacation package being auctioned off at Mar-a-Lago as Americans continue to struggle with high grocery prices
November 9, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Their lives are literally like a White Lotus episode...
Reposted by Asha Rangappa
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
November 9, 2025 at 9:23 AM
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
Reposted by Asha Rangappa
Another pardoned January 6 attacker arrested and charged with other, new felonies (in this case, kidnapping and sexual assault).
And don’t miss the part where he got caught firing off a gun on Jan. 6. You may recall the argument that it couldn’t have been an insurrection because it wasn’t armed.
And don’t miss the part where he got caught firing off a gun on Jan. 6. You may recall the argument that it couldn’t have been an insurrection because it wasn’t armed.
A Trump supporter who fired off a gun during the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol was arrested last month on kidnapping and sexual assault charges, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois.
Former Jan. 6 defendant arrested on kidnapping and aggravated assault charges
The Utah man was previously charged with firing a gun outside the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.
www.nbcnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Another pardoned January 6 attacker arrested and charged with other, new felonies (in this case, kidnapping and sexual assault).
And don’t miss the part where he got caught firing off a gun on Jan. 6. You may recall the argument that it couldn’t have been an insurrection because it wasn’t armed.
And don’t miss the part where he got caught firing off a gun on Jan. 6. You may recall the argument that it couldn’t have been an insurrection because it wasn’t armed.
Reposted by Asha Rangappa
The Father Coughlin story is interesting because of parallels to the modern era. Wildly popular charismatic figure (30M listeners at peak when US had ~120M ppl). Private broadcasters tried to fact-check, pre-clear speeches, ban him while fans protested the censorship. FDR tried to stay out of it.
There’s no daylight between what Candace says here about “the Jews” & what Nazi propagandists & Father Coughlin said about the Jews in the 1930s. Her show is one of the top 5 “conservative” podcasts in the US. She has 5.5 million subscribers on YouTube and 7.3 million followers on X.
November 8, 2025 at 11:31 PM
The Father Coughlin story is interesting because of parallels to the modern era. Wildly popular charismatic figure (30M listeners at peak when US had ~120M ppl). Private broadcasters tried to fact-check, pre-clear speeches, ban him while fans protested the censorship. FDR tried to stay out of it.
Reposted by Asha Rangappa
As I explained in my Round Up this week, the admin screwed up and a handful of states were able to access SNAP funding to pay full benefits for their constituents. The gov has represented in court that they can’t get it back, so it’s become an equity issue open.substack.com/pub/asharang...
November 9, 2025 at 4:47 PM
As I explained in my Round Up this week, the admin screwed up and a handful of states were able to access SNAP funding to pay full benefits for their constituents. The gov has represented in court that they can’t get it back, so it’s become an equity issue open.substack.com/pub/asharang...
I’ve learned a lot from Matthew’s posts and insights. I hope you can help
Some personal news: I have been financially supporting a family member in a mental health crisis which has spiraled into a financial disaster.
I would like to keep doing progressive activism but I can no longer pay rent for myself and my two kids.
Please help if you can. Thank you very much.
I would like to keep doing progressive activism but I can no longer pay rent for myself and my two kids.
Please help if you can. Thank you very much.
Donate to Support Needed for Rent and Career Transition, organized by Matt Sheffield
I never thought I'd be doing this before, but I could really use your hel… Matt Sheffield needs your support for Support Needed for Rent and Career Transition
gofund.me
November 9, 2025 at 3:44 AM
I’ve learned a lot from Matthew’s posts and insights. I hope you can help
Reposted by Asha Rangappa
Reposted by Asha Rangappa
40 men Trump sent to CECOT tell the NYT they were beaten, tortured, and sexually assaulted. The details are worse than you can imagine.
We can’t let them get away with this. Miller and the other architects of this sadism need to go to prison.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
We can’t let them get away with this. Miller and the other architects of this sadism need to go to prison.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
‘You Are All Terrorists’: Four Months in a Salvadoran Prison
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:20 AM
40 men Trump sent to CECOT tell the NYT they were beaten, tortured, and sexually assaulted. The details are worse than you can imagine.
We can’t let them get away with this. Miller and the other architects of this sadism need to go to prison.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
We can’t let them get away with this. Miller and the other architects of this sadism need to go to prison.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/w...
Reposted by Asha Rangappa
They weren't terrorists. They weren't cartel members. They had no fentanyl. And they weren't coming here.
They were transporting cocaine. To Trinidad.
Most importantly, they were human beings.
And they were murdered.
By the government of the United States of America.
They were transporting cocaine. To Trinidad.
Most importantly, they were human beings.
And they were murdered.
By the government of the United States of America.
GÜIRIA, Venezuela (AP) — One was a fisherman struggling to eke out a living on $100 a month. Another was a career criminal. A third was a former military cadet. And a fourth was a down-on-his-luck bus driver.
apnews.com/article/trum...
apnews.com/article/trum...
Trump has accused boat crews of being narco-terrorists. The truth, AP found, is more nuanced
One was a fisherman struggling to eke out a living on $100 a month. Another was a career criminal. A third was a former military cadet.
apnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:29 AM
They weren't terrorists. They weren't cartel members. They had no fentanyl. And they weren't coming here.
They were transporting cocaine. To Trinidad.
Most importantly, they were human beings.
And they were murdered.
By the government of the United States of America.
They were transporting cocaine. To Trinidad.
Most importantly, they were human beings.
And they were murdered.
By the government of the United States of America.
Reposted by Asha Rangappa
j. edgar hoover is looking up from hell and screaming about this outfit. i think the guy could probably look past a nonwhite as director of the fbi. but dressing like shit? that is a bridge too far for hoover.
November 9, 2025 at 12:33 AM
j. edgar hoover is looking up from hell and screaming about this outfit. i think the guy could probably look past a nonwhite as director of the fbi. but dressing like shit? that is a bridge too far for hoover.
I’m shocked that Nikki Haley has raised an arrogant, entitled brat
November 9, 2025 at 12:25 AM
I’m shocked that Nikki Haley has raised an arrogant, entitled brat
Reposted by Asha Rangappa
I write my columns sitting in a New Haven café, eating waffles and lattés served by comely young immmigrant waitresses. Here’s how women ruined my workplace.
by Ross Douthat
by Ross Douthat
November 9, 2025 at 12:08 AM
I write my columns sitting in a New Haven café, eating waffles and lattés served by comely young immmigrant waitresses. Here’s how women ruined my workplace.
by Ross Douthat
by Ross Douthat
Let me guess: They then asked him if they were related
Indian Illinois Department of Transportation employee stopped by ICE agents, questioned if he was 'aware' of NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani
Indian IDOT employee stopped by ICE agents, questioned if he was 'aware' of NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani
Gov. JB Pritzker is speaking out about the incident, which happened Friday morning, calling it another example of President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem "continuing to question U....
chicago.suntimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Let me guess: They then asked him if they were related
This seems like a pot-kettle situation
The Trump administration has ordered visa officers to deny immigrants who are obese or have certain health issues, in yet another instance of the president’s strange obsession with physical traits. trib.al/b0AtL8r
Trump Says U.S. Visas Can Be Denied to Fat People From Now On
New State Department guidance encourages embassies and consulates to deny visas to people with obesity or other health issues.
trib.al
November 8, 2025 at 12:35 PM
This seems like a pot-kettle situation
Reposted by Asha Rangappa
get in bitch we're destroying the west
November 7, 2025 at 1:17 PM
get in bitch we're destroying the west
Reposted by Asha Rangappa
BREAKING: Following trial, Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, finds that Trump did not properly invoke federal law to call up the National Guard and "permanently enjoins Defendants’ orders to deploy federalized members of the National Guard to Oregon."
November 8, 2025 at 1:31 AM
BREAKING: Following trial, Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, finds that Trump did not properly invoke federal law to call up the National Guard and "permanently enjoins Defendants’ orders to deploy federalized members of the National Guard to Oregon."
Reposted by Asha Rangappa
LET ME BE PERFECTLY CLEAR: DOJ DID ALL OF THIS TO TRY AND STOP PAYMENTS TO PEOPLE UNDER AN ANTI-HUNGER PROGRAM.
Oh, this is wild.
DOJ went to SCOTUS *before* we got the First Circuit's administrative stay denial. (We know this because DOJ just filed a letter at SCOTUS about the admin stay denial.)
So, DOJ went to SCOTUS b/c the First Circuit did not meet its less-than-seven-hour "deadline" for a ruling.
DOJ went to SCOTUS *before* we got the First Circuit's administrative stay denial. (We know this because DOJ just filed a letter at SCOTUS about the admin stay denial.)
So, DOJ went to SCOTUS b/c the First Circuit did not meet its less-than-seven-hour "deadline" for a ruling.
November 8, 2025 at 12:06 AM
LET ME BE PERFECTLY CLEAR: DOJ DID ALL OF THIS TO TRY AND STOP PAYMENTS TO PEOPLE UNDER AN ANTI-HUNGER PROGRAM.
Reposted by Asha Rangappa
At some point, as trump keeps opening specious investigations into people who are upholding the rule of law, the question of impeachment has to come up. I get that we’ve been there/done that, but let’s not give congressional Repubs a pass for their complicity.
The next target of Trump's retribution:
Federal prosecutors have opened a corruption investigation into D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
But the probe could face significant hurdles because of the known facts of the case and recent DOJ turmoil.
This week, the agent leading the investigation was fired.
Federal prosecutors have opened a corruption investigation into D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
But the probe could face significant hurdles because of the known facts of the case and recent DOJ turmoil.
This week, the agent leading the investigation was fired.
Justice Dept. Is Said to Be Investigating D.C. Mayor Over Foreign Trip
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:59 PM
At some point, as trump keeps opening specious investigations into people who are upholding the rule of law, the question of impeachment has to come up. I get that we’ve been there/done that, but let’s not give congressional Repubs a pass for their complicity.