Wife of Marine veteran released from ICE detention after 2 months

Wife of Marine veteran released from ICE detention after 2 months

BATON ROUGE, La. — Awife of a Marine Corps veteran and mother of twowas released from ICE custody on Monday after being detained in May during what she says she thought was a routine immigration office visit, she and her husband tell CBS News. "I feel like a mom again, because well, I was, at some points, I was feeling guilty, like I failed my kids, because I was, you know, without them," Paola Clouatre, 25, said in a phone interview Thursday. Asked how she feels being reunited with her husband and children, she said, "It feels good — good to be back with my family and my babies." She had just given birth to their second child and was still breastfeeding when she was detained on May 27. She was taken to an ICE detention facility in northern Louisiana, about four hours away from their Baton Rouge home. Her husband, Adrian Clouatre, would drive eight hours round-trip each week to visit with their infant daughter and 2-year-old son. "It was very difficult," Paola said. "They gave me a pump so I could pump milk and continue producing milk for when the baby came to be able to give it to her." Adrian Clouatre, 26, served in the Marine Corps for five years as an intelligence analyst. He said his wife was put in handcuffs in the lobby of an immigration enforcement field office in New Orleans after wrapping up a meeting with a staffer from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services about her green card application. "I was furious," he said in an interview with CBS News in June about the arrest. "I felt betrayed. They told us we passed the interview. ... They knew I was a veteran, they knew that my wife was breastfeeding our 9-week-old daughter, they knew we had two kids. ... I cried the whole way to my car after I left the building." Asked about the conditions she experienced during her time inside the detention facility, Paola said, "It's difficult to be there, because they have a lot of rules. They are very strict. So it's very, very, hard to be there." But this week, Adrian said he finally got the call he'd been hoping for — his wife said she was going to be released, and he needed to make the drive one last time to pick her up. "She called me from a CPO [officer's] phone, like one of the ICE agent's phones," he said. Paola said she didn't meet anyone else detained inside the facility who had a military family member or who was still breastfeeding. The couple met when he was still in the service in California, and they married in 2024. Adrian says his wife now wears a monitor on her ankle, as part of her condition of release on a recognizance bond, and has to check in every two weeks with an ICE parole officer. The couple had one such appointment Thursday morning. "It was good to meet him today in the morning," Paola said about meeting with the parole officer assigned to her case. "He is a nice person." Paola says she and her mother came to the U.S. from Mexico when she was a child, but her mother abandoned her when she was still a teenager, leaving Paola homeless. She said she hadn't spoken to her mother in years. It wasn't until this spring that she learned her mother had skipped a 2018 immigration hearing, and she says she had "no idea" the federal government had issued a deportation order against both of them as a result. "There was no way for her to know about the removal order," Adrian said. Adrian said they thought they were going through the proper channels to obtain a green card for Paola after their marriage, and the process had previously gone smoothly. Instead, Paola became one of tens of thousands of people in custody and facing deportation as theTrump administration pushesfor immigration officers to arrest 3,000 people a day. As of June 27,arrests by ICEduring President Trump's second term had reached 109,000 — an increase of about 120% from the same time period in 2024 under President Biden — according to a CBS News analysis of government data. The majority of those arrests took place in border and Southern states, figures show. The couple's attorney, Carrey Holliday, a former immigration judge, said Paola's detention was unreasonable. "There are lots of reasons why this shouldn't have happened. No. 1, Adrian, her husband, is a marine veteran, discharged honorably. She's the mother of two small children, and was nursing one," Holliday said. "She really didn't know that she had an order of removal outstanding until about a week before she had an interview for a green card. They were trying to do things legally; they just didn't get the right advice." Holliday said Paola's case is an example of the new administration's "hyper-enforcement environment." "We're in a hyper-enforcement environment right now, and all the laws are being enforced without any real consideration for the individuals involved," Holliday said. "DHS is taking some positions that... they've never taken before, especially on bond... DHS has now decided that everybody who comes across illegally can be considered an arriving alien. That has never been the definition, and it's quite a bad legal argument to make, but that's what they're making, nonetheless, and some immigration judges are buying it." Holliday said Paola no longer has a final order for removal, but she still has a long road of immigration court proceedings ahead to obtain a green card.  Once some jurisdictional matters are resolved, they will seek to obtain a status called "parole in place," which helps immediate family members of military service members have a more streamlined path to obtaining a green card. On June 9, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Servicespostedon social media about the case, writing that when Paola Clouatre "was apprehended by @CBP and ordered removed by a judge in 2018, she chose to defy the order and stay in the U.S. 7 years later, she had another bad idea and applied for a Green Card. @ICEgov took her into custody at our New Orleans office. @DHSgov has a long memory and no tolerance for defiance when it comes to making America safe again." New federal priorities to detain immigrants with pending deportation orders are taking higher precedence than the deference previously afforded to military families, immigration law experts say. According to federal memos, the Trump administration has madeany non-citizenswith pending deportation orders a priority for arrests. CBS News reached out to ICE for a comment for this story, but has not yet received a response. During his wife's months in detention, Adrian sent letters to elected officials pleading for their help — even two letters to President Trump. He says it was office staff of Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy that stepped up and advocated for his wife's case. CBS News has reached out to Kennedy's office for comment, but has not received a response. "I'm ecstatic, I'm extremely grateful to my lawyer, to John Kennedy's office, and the community for all the support," Adrian said. Paola echoed those feelings of appreciation. "I feel happy, grateful," she said. "Thankful for the senator (staff) spending time with my husband. Thank you to the community." Black swimmers teach others amid history of aquatic segregation Arkansas officials reveal new details about Devil's Den murders of husband and wife Saturday Sessions: The Swell Season performs "Great Weight"

byAlpha World

in

August 02, 2025

Wife of Marine veteran released from ICE detention after 2 months

Wife of Marine veteran released from ICE detention after 2 months BATON ROUGE, La. — Awife of a Marine Corps veteran and mother of twowas re...

Read More

Trump and his allies mount a pressure campaign against US elections ahead of the midterms

Trump and his allies mount a pressure campaign against US elections ahead of the midterms

A few weeks ago, Republican election officials in Colorado began receiving unsolicited calls and texts from a GOP consultant who said he was working with the Trump administration on "election integrity." In a text to one of the officials, the consultant, Jeff Small, indicated he was acting on a request from Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff. In a phone call with another clerk, Small said he was coordinating with the White House and the Justice Department to "implement" an elections executive order signed by President Donald Trump, recalled Justin Grantham, the top election official in Fremont County. Grantham and Carly Koppes, who oversees elections in Weld County in northern Colorado, told CNN that Small made a specific request: Would they give a third party access to their election equipment? Both declined. "Not only is that a hard no, I mean, you're not even going to breathe on my equipment," Koppes said. The outreach to the Colorado clerks is just one of a flurry of recent federal actions launched by the Trump administration and groups aligned with the president. While the White House distanced itself from Small, Trump and his allies are collecting vast amounts of voter data and working to change the ground rules for next year's midterms, often by invoking federal government authority. Next year's midterms hold enormous stakes for Trump and his opposition. Democrats need to net just three seats in the US House in 2026 to flip control of the chamber from Republicans. A Democratic-led House could block Trump's legislative agenda and launch investigations of the president in the second half of his second term. Samantha Tarazi, CEO of the nonprofit Voting Rights Lab, which has closely tracked state developments, said she believes Trump is gearing up "to use the power of his office to interfere in the 2026 election." "What started as an unconstitutional executive order — marching orders for state action regardless of its fate in court — has grown into a full federal mobilization to seize power over our elections," she said. White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said Trump is "fighting for election integrity" and will keep doing so "despite Democrat objections that reveal their disdain for commonsense safeguards like verifying citizenship." "Free and fair elections are the bedrock of our Constitutional Republic, and we're confident in securing an ultimate victory in the courtroom," he said in an email. Restricting who can access election machines and sensitive voting software has grown even more important to election officials in recent years following voting system breaches in states such as Colorado and Georgia. Trump allies had sought access to machines to find evidence that could back up the president's claim that widespread fraud marred the 2020 election. But election watchdogs and some Democratic election officials say activity by Trump and aligned groups since his return to the White House has raised fears of a broader effort to reshape elections. Recent actions by the administration and its allies include: Trump signing anexecutive order in Marchthat sought to force states to require proof of citizenship to register to vote and take "enforcement action" against states that accept mail ballots after Election Day. Federal judges have blocked parts of the executive order, noting that the power to regulate elections rests with the states and Congress, not the president. The Republican National Committee pushing to obtain voter registration records from states. On the day Trump signed the executive order, the RNC sent records requests to 48 states and Washington, DC, seeking information on how they maintain voter registration lists. And the RNC has sued New Jersey – home to a closely watched gubernatorial race this fall – alleging officials there have failed to respond to its requests for voter data and documents related to voting machine audits. A spokesperson for New Jersey's elections division declined to comment on the litigation. The Justice Department asking more than a dozen states in recent weeks to provide voter lists, explain their procedures for removing potential ineligible voters from their rolls or discuss entering into information-sharing agreements to help the agency root out election fraud. The demands range from seekingcopies of voting rollsin political battlegrounds such as Michigan to a broad request in Colorado to provide election records as far back as 2020. Republicans in Texas undertaking a rare mid-decade redistricting, following entreaties from Trump. A map released Wednesday by GOP lawmakers who control the state legislature aims to take over five additional Democratic seats, which would to give the GOP the edge in 30 of the state's 38 congressional districts. The Republican-controlled House in April approving the SAVE Act, which mirrors parts of Trump's executive order requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. The proposed legislation also would make it a crime for election officials to mistakenly register someone to vote who has not provided proof of citizenship. Critics note that it's already illegal for noncitizens to cast ballots in federal elections and say requiring proof of citizenship could disenfranchise eligible voters who lack the needed documents or changed their name through marriage. To justify the redistricting in his state, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott cited a letter from Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department's civil rights division, that challenged the legality of four existing congressional districts. Dhillon said in a statement: "Clean voter rolls and basic election safeguards are requisites for free, fair, and transparent elections." She said the agency "has a statutory mandate to enforce our federal voting rights laws, and ensuring the voting public's confidence in the integrity of our elections is a top priority of this administration." Trump has been blunt about his partisan goals in Texas, and he has suggested that other GOP-controlled states should pursue their own redistricting efforts – a move that threatens to set off an all-out redistricting war this year with Democrats in California and other Democrat-led states. The administration's recent actions have unsettled some election officials, who have endured years of threats and harassment following the 2020 election and the conspiracy theories about election fraud that flourished in its aftermath. Election officials "are surfing on quicksand," said David Becker, executive director and founder of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research and a former DOJ voting rights attorney. "They don't know what the executive order means, if it has any meaning whatsoever," he said. "They don't know if they will be investigated just for having done their jobs. They don't know if the vast power of the federal government is going to be weaponized against them. They don't know if the Department of Justice is going to be suing them." A recent survey of 858 local election officials by the liberal-leaning Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's Law School bears that out. It found more than half of local election officials – 59% – say they are concerned about political leaders engaging in efforts to interfere with how election officials do their jobs. And 46% said they were concerned about politically motivated investigations of their work or that of their fellow election officials. In early July, aspreviously reportedby The Washington Post and media outlets in Colorado, Republican election clerks began receiving calls and texts from Small. Small, who has worked for Colorado GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert and for the US Interior Department during Trump's first term, now is a principal with a Denver public affairs firm. County officials interviewed by CNN said Small told them he was reaching out specifically to Republican clerks in blue states in a push to help advance Trump's executive order. Grantham, the election clerk in Fremont County, said Small's outreach to only Republican officials was an early red flag during their conversation. Another concern arose, he said, when Small mentioned gaining access to the county's election equipment. "My response was, 'I didn't believe that the president had the authority in the Constitution to write executive orders to affect elections and that until the Supreme Court found that he could, I would not let anybody access my voting equipment." CNN reached out to Small, and his attorney, Suzanne Taheri, responded to CNN's inquiry. In a text, Taheri said Small's outreach "supported efforts by allies in the administration to encourage officials to participate in President Trump's election security executive order." He undertook the activity "on a volunteer basis, during his own free time, while on paternity leave," she added. Neither Small nor Taheri answered questions about who exactly in the administration asked him to contact the clerks. The White House distanced itself from Small's actions in a statement. "Jeff Small does not speak for the White House nor was he ever authorized to do official business on behalf of the White House," a White House spokesperson said in an email to CNN. Miller did not respond to CNN requests for comment. In Colorado, election officials say, there is heightened sensitivity around who can access election equipment, after thehigh-profile prosecutionof former Mesa County elections clerk, Tina Peters. She became a celebrity among pro-Trump activists who have advanced false claims that voting machines had been rigged to flip votes from Trump to then-candidate Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Many state laws set strict security standards for voting machines to prevent tampering with elections. Colorado has specifically barred third parties from accessing election equipment. Last year, a judge sentenced Peters to nine years in prison after she was convicted on state charges for her role in a breach of her county's election system as part of an unsuccessful hunt for fraud. Trump and his administration have taken up Peters' cause, however. Earlier this year, the Justice Department said it was reviewing her case as part of a broad mandate from Trump to counter prosecutions it said were aimed at "inflicting political pain than toward pursuing actual justice." And in a social media post in May, the president weighed in personally, calling Peters an "innocent Political Prisoner" and directing the Justice Department to "to take all necessary action to help secure" her release. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold told CNN that her office has provided recent voter data to the Justice Department that's generally available to the public. But she said she declined to comply with a request related to records from the 2020 election because the federal government has no "legal basis" to seek it. Federal law only requires the preservation of election data in federal races for 22 months. Griswold, a Democrat, said Trump's recent actions demonstrate the president "is using the power of the federal government to undermine American elections and undermine voter confidence in them." In Colorado, a state Trump lost in all three of his White House bids, tensions over election administration remain high. Koppes, the Republican clerk of Weld County, said she faced so many threats for her outspoken defense of the 2020 election results – and her county's use of Dominion Voting machines – that she began to vary her routes to and from work, a practice she continues today. Crane, the head of the clerk's association, said it took a "lot of courage" for county clerks to rebuff the recent overtures, given the climate of suspicion and harassment that still persists. He noted that an elections office in southern Colorado housing Dominion machines was firebombed recently. No one was injured in the after-hours incident. "The threats against election officials are very real," he added. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

byAlpha World

in

August 02, 2025

Trump and his allies mount a pressure campaign against US elections ahead of the midterms

Trump and his allies mount a pressure campaign against US elections ahead of the midterms A few weeks ago, Republican election officials in ...

Read More

Report: Keenan Allen, Chargers have mutual interest in reunion

Report: Keenan Allen, Chargers have mutual interest in reunion

Free-agent wide receiver Keenan Allen and the Los Angeles Chargers might be getting the band back together. NFL Network reported that there is a mutual interest in a reunion. Allen visited the Chargers on Friday, the day after their 34-7 victory over the Detroit Lions in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. Allen, 33, spent 11 seasons with the Chargers after being selected in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. The six-time Pro Bowl selection recorded 904 receptions for 10,530 yards and 59 touchdowns in 139 games (134 starts) for the team. Allen was then traded to Chicago in March 2024 for a fourth-round pick in that year's draft. He collected 70 catches for 744 yards and seven touchdowns in 15 games (all starts) with the Bears before becoming a free agent in March. The Chargers' wide receiver room took a hit when Allen's former teammate -- Mike Williams -- announced his retirement before training camp. That left Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, Jalen Reagor and rookie Tre Harris as the top targets for quarterback Justin Herbert. --Field Level Media

byAlpha World

in

August 02, 2025

Report: Keenan Allen, Chargers have mutual interest in reunion

Report: Keenan Allen, Chargers have mutual interest in reunion Free-agent wide receiver Keenan Allen and the Los Angeles Chargers might be g...

Read More

Alex Laferriere agrees to a 3-year, $12.3 million deal to stay with the LA Kings

Alex Laferriere agrees to a 3-year, $12.3 million deal to stay with the LA Kings

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Forward Alex Laferriere has agreed to a three-year, $12.3 million deal to stay with the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings announced the deal Saturday for Laferriere, who was a restricted free agent this summer after playing out his entry-level contract. The 23-year-old Laferriere had 19 goals and 23 assists last year for the Kings, emerging as a dependable scorer in only his second NHL season. He largely played on the right wing alongside center Quinton Byfield, another key member of Los Angeles' young core, and high-scoring Kevin Fiala. A third-round pick in the 2020 draft, Laferriere has 31 goals and 34 assists in 158 games for the Kings. New Los Angeles general manager Ken Holland has taken care of his most pressing summer contract issues after the signing of Laferriere, but Holland said last month that he would be eager to sign Adrian Kempe to a long-term deal as the Swedish forward heads into the final season of his current contract. ___ AP NHL:https://apnews.com/NHL

byAlpha World

in

August 02, 2025

Alex Laferriere agrees to a 3-year, $12.3 million deal to stay with the LA Kings

Alex Laferriere agrees to a 3-year, $12.3 million deal to stay with the LA Kings EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Forward Alex Laferriere has agree...

Read More

With their brand in the 'toilet,' Democrats commence shadow 2028 primary for president

With their brand in the 'toilet,' Democrats commence shadow 2028 primary for president

WhenKamala Harriswas asked point blank if the reason she passed on running for California governor was because she is seeking a different office, the former Democratic vice president said she doesn't "want to go back in the system" just yet. "I want to travel the country, I want to listen to people, I want to talk with people and I don't want it to be transactional, where I'm asking for their vote," Harris said during a July 31 on"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert", her first interview sincestiff arming the 2026 election to lead her native Golden State. But the 60-year-old can't help and leave bread crumbs out for supporters, such as when she hinted in her announcement that she will be "sharing more details in the months ahead" about her future. More:Kamala Harris' decision kickstarts the 2028 Democratic presidential primary: 5 takeaways "That's leaving more than the door ajar, that's pushing the door wide open," Michael Feldman, a former senior adviser to Vice President Al Gore, told USA TODAY. "I understand the optionality that creates for her: she shut a door, she's opening another. And by the way, nobody wants to foreclose their options and their opportunity." If Harris does enter the fray for athird tryat the presidency it will certainly stir the 2028 pot. She brings thehighest name ID of any suspected contenderand an even broader donor network with established relationships to boot. But campaign experts and strategists warn that no one shouldexpect a red carpetto the nomination this time around. "There will be a contested primary," Feldman said. "There will be a large field of people who feel like it's their time and it's their moment." More:Town halls, f-bombs and Elon Musk: How Democrats are waging a new messaging war As theDemocratic reboot continues, White House hopefuls such asHarrisare tiptoeing into an earlier than usual shadow campaign that political observers say they believe will be among the party's most consequential presidential primaries in decades. "More is riding on this pre-primary race than in most years because the party's brand is in the toilet," said Matthew Dallek, a historian and professor of political management at George Washington University. But Democrats must be cautious about trotting too far to the left based on the outcome of a single or handful of recent elections, some strategists warn.Vice President JD Vance, thought by many to benext in line to inherit the MAGA mantlefor populist-minded conservatives, is one of the more effective national communicators for Republicans with sharpened skills as Trump's attack dog. He andother potential GOP figuresare ready to dig Democrats a deeper hole. More:JD Vance is now the MAGA heir-apparent. Does that make him the front-runner for 2028? While voting won't commence in the next White House race for 17 more months, that's not stopping a number of sitting governors, senators and other aspiring future Democratic presidents to be making pilgrimages to early voting states. They're also penning memoirs, doing marathon podcast interviews, squirreling away campaign cash and outlining their stances on topics that will be relevant to the progressive base, moderates and eventually independent voters down the line. More:Kamala Harris explores 'drama of running for president' in new book on 2024 bid All of the preliminary jockeying from such a diverse and crowded unofficial field suggests a resilience among rank-and-file Democrats despiteabysmal approval ratingsthat haven't been this low among voters since 1990. "The only way to begin to improve it is through whoever the next presidential nominee will be," Dallek said "The stakes, in that sense, are higher. It's not just the presidency. It's not just the nomination. There's a sense among Democrats that they need to do this, and there's a big debate." Several 2028 hopefuls have already begun to make strategic moves to keep their name in the mix with the party faithful. About a dozen have visited or have plans to make stops in the early primary states, such as Illinois Gov.JB Pritzker, 60, who inApril caught attention for delivering a searing speechin New Hampshire aimed at 'do-nothing' Democrats. Sen.Ruben Gallego, 45, of Arizona, whose name has lately shot up on the rumored list of White House candidates, is set to attend two events in the Granite State later this month too, further fueling speculation that he's a possible contender. "I'll be on the ground in New Hampshire... taking on the GOP's billionaire agenda and standing up for working families," Gallego, who was elected to the Senate last fall, said in aJuly 29 post on X. California Gov. GavinNewsom, 57, trekked through rural South Carolinain July. He was followed by Kentucky Gov.Andy Beshear, 47, whotalked up flipping red stateswith union leaders and later Rep.Ro Khanna, 48, D-Calif., who made afour-day tour featuring town halls and visits to Black churches. Former U.S. Transportation SecretaryPete Buttigieg, 43, may claim he "isn't running for anything" but his May trip toIowa for a veterans-focused forumfocused heavily on existential questions facing Democrats and the country. Buttigieg shot to famerunning for president in 2020as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and he has been raising his national brand through a podcast tour. Other potential contenders are also taking the podcast route, including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, 46, who recently lamented howDemocrats "gave up on"entire swaths of the country during a July 29 sit-down chat on former DNC chair Jaime Harrison's "At Our Table." "I'm very much am a person of action, and I think as a party we've got to stop being the party of 'no and slow' and start being the party of 'yes and now,'" said Moore, whosename is tossed arounddespite saying he isn't running for president. More:Harris campaign's embrace of social media influencers is years in the making Nina Smith, a Democratic strategist who worked on Buttigieg's 2020 presidential campaign, said these early moves serve the candidates by creating and maintaining local connections. They also lend to rebuilding the party's brand organically through the excitement of a nominee. "There's some juice, there's some fire, from the perspective of people who want to step up and lead and be the standard bearer for our party," Smith said. "We're kind of spoiled for choices in that regard. That's a good thing." Such an elongated presidential campaign can exhaust resources as much as voters, which may explain why notable 2028 contenders are storing up massive cash reserves. Khanna, whose California district is located in the heart of Silicon Valley, had roughly $14.2 million in his campaign coffers at the end of June, according to the latest Federal Election Commission report. Other congressional Democrats on the 2028 list who can legally transfer their funds to a presidential campaign include Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., 35, who had arecord-breaking first quarter haulthis year and had about $9.8 million in the bank. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., 51, amedia mavenwith possible White House aspirations, holds approximately $10.2 million in his accounts. One feature of the pre-primary jockeying that is coming into focus is the major differences within the Democratic ranks, such as how best to oppose the Trump administration's bulldozing agenda. An example of that larger debate was on display on Capitol Hill this past week when Sen.Cory Booker, D-NJ, a rumored 2028 contender,blasted his fellow party membersfor supporting a bundle of proposals backed by the GOP administration that would increase resources and funding to police departments and officers. More:'It's with a full heart that I share this news': Cory Booker drops out of 2020 race "This, to me, is the problem with Democrats in America right now is we're willing to be complicit toDonald Trumpto let this pass through when we have all the leverage right now," said Booker, 56, who ran ashort-lived 2020 presidential campaignand has garnered renewed interest sincedelivering a record-breaking Senate speech. Booker's comment outraged Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., 65, another prospective andformer 2020 White House contender, who needled him for missing a committee hearing on the bipartisan package. There are other issues for Democrats to sort out as well, such as navigating the rising populism from the left over cost of living concerns that helped propelZohran Mamdani's primary winin the New York City mayor's race. Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, 65, a centrist-aligned Democrat who isbeing urged to runby more moderate voices, has cautioned against Democrats embracing the 33-year-old New Yorker who is hoping Big Apple voters will pick him this November to lead the nation's largest city. "Recognizing that the American dream is unaffordable and inaccessible and that working hard no longer guarantees getting ahead isn't a socialist observation; it's clear to people of all political stripes," Emanuel said in a June 26 op-ed to the Wall Street Journal. More:Rahm Emanuel warns Democrats in 2020 not to play to 'socialist' type "Affordable healthcare, lifetime retirement security and affordable community college are as American as apple pie, but they won't be realized by consulting the Democratic Socialists of America's playbook," added Emanuel, who most recently served as Biden's U.S. ambassador to Japan and previously was an Illinois congressman and White House chief of staff to then-President Barack Obama. Feldman, the former Gore advisor, said there's a lot of energy among the progressive wing of the party that can't be dismissed, but he questions if someone such as Mamdani could be competitive in a national general election. "My argument would be, no, he couldn't be," Feldman said. "So, you know, there'll be an argument between the various factions in the Democratic Party about what policies we want to present to the American people, and can you harness the energy in the electorate." More:Election 2024 recap: 'We accept the results,' Harris concedes Other Democratic thinkers agree these sort of sparring matches are inevitable but that they should be looked at more optimistically in the 2028 context given the presidential field is expected to include uber-progressives, centrists and even moderately conservative. "It's gonna be messy and personal, and it's going to feel bad sometimes in the process, but I think it's going to help us shape as a party, what we believe," Amanda Litman, a former Obama 2012 and Hillary Clinton 2016 campaign staffer who co-foundedRun for Something, a progressive group that supports candidates for public office, told USA TODAY. Every potential 2028 contender will have to talk about a voter's lived experiences and connect with them on the issues that matter most, according to various Democrats who spoke with USA TODAY. But they will also have to evolve with the progressive base on issues the mainstream party has been fearful to embrace. Former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., who lost his reelection bid last year, is toutingnew polling by Data for Progressreleased in late July that shows of New York City primary voters strongly sympathize with Palestinians. The survey found support for Palestinian rights fueled much of Mamdani's support, including 78% of respondents who said Israel is committing genocide in the region and another 79% who said they support restricting weapons to the U.S. ally. Bowman, who wasopposed heavily by pro-Israel groups, pointed out that Khanna stood up early as one of the first members of Congress tocall for a cease-fireduring the Biden era, saying his former colleague should get "a lot of credit for that." As the 2028 field takes shape, Bowman argued that the party cannot be seen as titling the scales against more left-leaning contenders. He also warned the possible presidential contenders that they should not ignore the shifting tides that populist-minded progressives are causing, especially amid widespread reports ofstarvation in Gaza. "I expect a robust primary debate," Bowman told USA TODAY. "And I hope that ideas rule the day over special interests and politics where we can see the rise of an authentic, historic leadership." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:After 2024 wipeout, Democrats' shadow 2028 primary has begun

byAlpha World

in

August 02, 2025

With their brand in the 'toilet,' Democrats commence shadow 2028 primary for president

With their brand in the 'toilet,' Democrats commence shadow 2028 primary for president WhenKamala Harriswas asked point blank if the...

Read More