Trump Will Revoke Passports for Parents Who Owe Child Support

The State Department plans to revoke the passports of Americans who owe child support. Meanwhile, Republicans are pushing for strict laws where a passport would be necessary.

The State Department plans to start revoking U.S. passports from anyone who owes more than $100,000 in child support, as Republicans nationwide push stringent voter ID laws.

The Associated Press reports that the revocations could begin as early as Friday and would apply to about 2,700 passport holders. The AP first reported about the plan in February. The department plans to expand it in the future to those who owe as little as $2,500 in child support payments. That would increase the number of people who would lose their passports by thousands.

It’s an expansion of an existing policy that applies only to people who renew their passports. Now, the Department of Health and Human Services will notify the State Department of all past-due child support payments of more than $2,500, and anyone in that group will have their passports revoked.

“We are expanding a commonsense practice that has been proven effective at getting those who owe child support to pay their debt,” Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar told the AP. “Once these parents resolve their debts, they can once again enjoy the privilege of a U.S. passport.”

Anyone who loses their passport under the program will be notified that they can’t travel overseas, and would have to apply for a new passport once their debt is settled. Any American overseas when their passport is revoked will have to get an emergency travel document from a U.S. embassy or consulate.

In February, after the AP first reported on the planned program, the State Department said it had “seen data that hundreds of parents took action and resolved their arrears with state authorities since news broke that the State Department would start proactively revoking passports.”

“While we can’t confirm the causation in all of those cases, we are taking this action precisely to impel these parents to do the right thing by their children and by U.S. law,” the department said.

The program may bring benefits to families who haven’t received child support, but has the added dimension of aiding President Trump’s proposed voter ID law, the Save Act. That bill would require more stringent forms of identification, such as passports and birth certificates, at the polls. Currently, the Save Act is stalled in Congress, but if it passes, many Americans who owe child support could be left without the ability to vote.

Trump Is Bringing Back His Strait of Hormuz Plan After Just 48 Hours

America’s latest terribly named and extremely risky military operation is back, baby.

President Donald Trump scrapped “Project Freedom” on Tuesday, just two days after unveiling it, after Saudi Arabia and Kuwait expressed concerns and cut off U.S. access to its air bases and airspace.

Under Project Freedom, the U.S. military planned to escort shipping vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade passageway that has been closed since the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran in late February.

But a few days and phone calls later, the Gulf countries changed their minds. They lifted the airspace restrictions Thursday afternoon, according to multiple U.S. and Saudi officials who spoke to The Wall Street Journal.

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait had reportedly worried if they helped the U.S. with Project Freedom, Iran would retaliate by striking the Persian Gulf, and that the U.S. may be unwilling or unable to come to their defense after the fact. The Journal called the diplomatic fracas “the biggest dispute in Saudi-American military relations in recent years.”

Adding to the national embarrassment was the fact that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were gloating to press about Project Freedom just hours before Trump tabled the plan.

“As a direct gift from the United States to the world, we have established a powerful red, white, and blue dome over the strait,” Hegseth said in a press conference. “American destroyers are on station, supported by hundreds of fighter jets, helicopters, drones, and surveillance aircraft, providing 24/7 overwatch for peaceful commercial vessels.”

It’s not exactly clear why the Gulf countries changed their mind and agreed to support the plan.

Project Freedom will now see U.S. aircraft and naval destroyers attempt to protect commercial ships from Iranian drones and missiles as they try to sail through the Strait. It doesn’t sound like the most relaxing boat ride.

Protests Erupt as Tennessee Republicans Erase Only Democratic District

Tennessee Republicans have carved up the city of Memphis, eliminating the only majority-Black district in the state.

On Thursday, Tennessee Republicans forced through a new congressional map that eliminates the state’s only majority-Black and only Democratic district, prompting protests in the state Capitol.

In a special session, the Tennessee state House of Representatives voted 64–25–3 to approve the new map, which had only been released to the public the day before. Every Democrat voted against the bill along with Republican Representatives John Gillespie and Mark White, whose districts include parts of Memphis divided in the new congressional map. Three other Republicans abstained.

During and after the vote, protesters filled the crowded chamber, shouting and using loud horns. Democratic Representative Justin Jones burned a Confederate flag after leaving the House chamber. Democratic Representative Justin Pearson’s brother,........

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