Saturday Covfefe: "Aliens"

A White House website. Living people marked dead. And a donkey wearing Arsenal socks.

Driving through Washington this week, I noticed something unusual on the National Mall. Blue trailers. Lots of them.

It turns out they were there because more than 30 gallons of fuel reportedly spilled during a Freedom 250 event celebrating America’s upcoming 250th birthday. Nothing says “patriotism” quite like an environmental remediation project. Which, now that I think about it, was a fitting introduction to this week’s news. Every story below is really about what happens when the people running the systems we’re supposed to trust leave someone else to clean up the mess. You’re going to want some really strong coffee or maybe something more for this one…

1. The White House Presents: Aliens

This week, the White House launched a webpage called "Aliens."

At first glance, it looks like a parody site about extraterrestrials. Green lettering. X-Files references. An "Alien Arrest Map." A running counter. Even a message assuring visitors that if they’ve witnessed an "alien abduction," the alien will be returned safely to its place of origin.

Then comes the punchline. The "aliens" are immigrants.

Not a campaign website. Not a meme account.

The White House.

Words matter.

As a former White House homeland security adviser, I spent years tracking extremist movements and the spread of dangerous conspiracy theories, including Great Replacement narratives that portray immigrants as invaders threatening American society.

I repeatedly warned that this kind of rhetoric is not harmless. It dehumanizes people. It turns neighbors into threats. It creates permission structures for hatred. I know this because I’ve seen where it can lead.

In 2019, a gunman drove hundreds of miles to my hometown of El Paso, Texas and murdered 23 people at a Walmart after embracing anti-immigrant and replacement-theory rhetoric.

That’s why this isn’t funny to me.

The issue isn’t immigration policy. Reasonable people can disagree about that. The issue is whether the White House of the United States should be using language that reduces human beings to something less than human.

History has taught us where that road can lead. We ignore those lessons at our own risk.

👽 Aliens (The White House)

And from Aliens → Dead…

2. Declared Dead

The government considered marking living people as dead. Not metaphorically, not rhetorically, in actual government records.

According to a whistleblower, Trump administration officials explored placing 2.7 million living people into Social Security’s Death Master File, a database used by banks, employers, and government agencies to determine whether someone is alive. The list reportedly included lawful permanent residents and some U.S. citizens.

If you’ve never heard of the Death Master File, here’s why it matters: When the government says you’re dead, the financial system tends to believe it.

Bank accounts can be frozen. Benefits can stop. Credit can disappear. Getting paid becomes difficult. In some cases, proving you’re alive becomes your problem.

The Social Security Administration says the broader plan was never carried out. (That we know of…) That’s good news.

But the fact that it was reportedly considered at all should give people pause. This isn’t just an immigration story. It’s a government power story.

One of the most important responsibilities government has is maintaining accurate records about the people it serves. Once political objectives start influencing who exists on paper and who doesn’t, the guardrails begin to disappear.

Every American should care about that. Government databases are supposed to reflect reality, not create a new one.

⚰️ The Government’s Death List (Washington Post)

3. Stop the Steal Goes to Work

The Justice Department’s Voting Section has a new lawyer. His resume includes working on lawsuits that sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

According to reporting this week, William Mohrman has joined DOJ after previously participating in multiple unsuccessful legal efforts to block certification of Joe Biden’s victory in Arizona, Georgia, and Congress itself. Courts repeatedly rejected the claims.

Normally, attorneys who lose election challenges become cautionary tales. In 2026, they become voting lawyers at the Department of Justice. The hiring comes as the Voting Section increasingly shifts away from its traditional role protecting voting rights and toward efforts to obtain voter registration data from states around the country. Now it appears some of the people who questioned the outcome of an election are being tasked with overseeing the machinery of future ones.

File that under "things that should probably concern us."

⚖️ From Stop the Steal to DOJ Payroll (Democracy Docket)

4. Less Shackled

This week, President Trump said he wants Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte to begin firing intelligence-community employees and shrinking the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the agency responsible for coordinating America’s 18 intelligence organizations.

There’s just one problem. Pulte has no intelligence or national security experience. Trump defended the appointment by saying Pulte is “less shackled.” That’s not usually the quality we look for in intelligence oversight.

ODNI plays a critical role in election-related intelligence, foreign influence monitoring, and election threat assessments. At the same time, Trump has publicly discussed having Pulte review and potentially release intelligence related to the 2020 election. That’s a remarkable amount of authority for someone chosen for loyalty rather than expertise.

As someone who spent years working at DNI alongside intelligence professionals, I can tell you that intelligence only works when it’s insulated from politics. Analysts aren’t supposed to start with a conclusion and work backward. They’re supposed to follow the facts wherever they lead.

And if your goal was to weaken America’s ability to identify foreign influence operations and inject politics into intelligence analysis, this is exactly what Russia would want us to do.

This is an odd moment to decide that expertise is the problem. Because when you start dismantling warning systems, you don’t just change the bureaucracy. You change what leaders are able to see.

🕵️ Dismantling the Warning System (WSJ)

5. Flying Blind

One of the challenges of government is that some of its most important functions are also the least visible. Most Americans have never heard of the Ocean Observatories Initiative, but many have relied on it.

Scientists are warning that the Trump administration’s plan to significantly reduce a major ocean monitoring system could weaken weather forecasting, storm prediction, climate monitoring, and early warning systems used around the world. The network helps track ocean temperatures, currents, marine heatwaves, and the conditions that influence hurricanes, cyclones, and El Niño events. In other words, it helps us see what’s coming.

Warning systems rarely get credit for the disasters that never happen. Nobody notices the buoy quietly collecting data in the middle of the ocean—until hurricane forecasts become less accurate, or until farmers can’t reliably anticipate drought conditions. There’s a simple lesson from emergency preparedness: information is often the cheapest part of preventing a crisis. The expensive part is dealing with one after you’ve lost visibility.

Scientists describe these ocean observation systems as the "eyes and ears" of the ocean. The administration describes the cuts as a cost-saving measure. The problem is that when you start turning off sensors, you don’t just save money. Sometimes you stop seeing what’s coming. And that’s usually when things get expensive.

🌊 Turning Off the Sensors (The Guardian)

⚽️ One Thing for Your Soul: Arsenal’s Most Unexpected Fans

Since soccer is top of mind for many as we head into World Cup fever, this one felt especially fitting. Arsenal Football Club recently donated old player socks to Redwings, a UK charity that rescues horses and donkeys.

What sounds like the beginning of a joke turned out to be genuinely useful. The socks help protect sensitive legs from flies, hold bandages in place, prevent rubbing from equipment, and even serve as enrichment toys for curious donkeys.

After a week of aliens and chaos, I thought we could all use a reminder that some people are still finding creative ways to make the world a little better. The socks stayed out of a landfill. The animals benefited. And somewhere in England, a donkey is proudly sporting Arsenal gear. That’s a win no matter which team you’re rooting for.

🫏 Arsenal’s Assist of the Week (Redwings Horse Sanctuary)

I’ll be cheering on Mexico in the opening match of the World Cup this coming Thursday, June 11th and hosting a watch party at one of my favorite local pizza places—if you’re in the DC/Virginia/Maryland area, come hang out with me! A portion of proceeds will benefit Casa Chirilagua and its work supporting immigrant and Latino families in the area.

More details on my instagram:

I’ll also be supporting the work of The Welcome Standard and No ICE in the Cup throughout the tournament. Because despite everything happening in the headlines, I still believe there’s value in the moments that bring people together.

-Olivia