Saturday Morning Covfefe: 5 Things with Olivia

Truth with a shot of espresso.

Well, the FBI didn’t show up at my house this week (yet)… so there’s that. Happy Labor Day weekend to all! May your grill be hot, your drinks cold, and your news intake limited to what you can stomach, accompanied by a side of potato salad. 

But since I can’t help myself, here are 5 things you might’ve missed while America was trying to clock out early.

1. Center for Disease Chaos

The CDC didn’t just lose its director this week; it lost its backbone. After Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired Dr. Susan Monarez, senior officials resigned in protest, and staff staged a walkout outside headquarters in Atlanta.

This isn’t just office drama. The officials who walked out include the nation’s top experts on vaccines and emerging diseases. Their message: Kennedy is dismantling trust in vaccines and public health. The very people leaving are the ones America depends on when outbreaks hit.

When measles exploded in West Texas earlier this year, local health officials begged CDC scientists for guidance. Emails show they got silence. CDC staff later admitted they were muzzled, censored, and overwhelmed by Trump’s interference. A child died before anyone at the CDC made contact. 

And replacing Monarez? Meet Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill, a longtime Peter Thiel investment fund guy, not a doctor. He’s staying on at HHS while running the CDC, despite having no medical or scientific background. His résumé is mostly Silicon Valley libertarianism; he once gave a speech suggesting Americans should be allowed to sell their kidneys.

The Department of Health and Human Services is now a health hazard.

🚪 CDC scientists walk out before they’re silenced too | Texas begged CDC for help. They never responded: Texas Tribune

2. Stop, Drop… and Show Your Papers

In Washington state, Border Patrol agents arrested two firefighters while they were battling the state’s biggest wildfire.

Yes, you read that right: in the middle of the Bear Gulch fire, federal agents rolled in, demanded IDs from entire crews, and carted off two workers. U.S. Senator Patty Murray called it “fundamentally sick,” adding that Trump’s immigration dragnet has already wrongfully detained lawful residents and even U.S. citizens.

The absurdity writes itself: Trump lays off Forest Service staff, guts firefighting capacity, then detains the very contractors risking their lives on the front lines. All while towns in the Pacific Northwest are literally burning.

America doesn’t just have a fire problem. It has an arsonist in charge of the fire brigade.

🔥 Border Patrol pauses wildfire fight… to check papers: The Olympian

3. America to the World: Human Rights? Hard Pass.

This week, the U.S. officially became the first country ever to opt out of its required U.N. human rights review, a process where every nation reports on its record every five years. Trump pulled us out by executive order, with the State Department saying participation would mean “endorsing” the Council. Translation: “We don’t want to be graded, because we’d fail.”

🌍 America ghosts the U.N. on human rights: Reuters

4. He Has Our Data (Told You So)

The Social Security Administration’s chief data officer, Charles Borges, just resigned, days after filing a whistleblower complaint that Trump’s DOGE Service copied the entire Social Security database into a cloud system that bypasses safeguards.

Borges said DOGE’s data grab was “potentially unlawful” and that SSA leadership created a “culture of panic and dread” where even asking about data violations was shut down. So basically, the vault holding the personal information of 300 million Americans–names, birthdates, Social Security numbers–has been cloned into the cloud, and no one can say who has access. In his resignation letter, Borges said he could no longer serve in good conscience: “I cannot verify that agency data is being used in accordance with legal agreements or in compliance with federal requirements.”

At the start of Trump’s second term, I warned: “He has our data.” Musk’s DOGE crew basically built themselves a copy of America’s identity vault.

As someone who has blown the whistle on the Trump administration, I know the fear, the retaliatory tactics they use, and how much courage it takes to tell the truth and take a stand. Thank you, Charles Borges, for looking out for all of us. 

🗄️ Whistleblower says DOGE turned your Social Security file into a Dropbox: Politico | My earlier warning: ‘He has our data.’

5. Bank Fraud Meets Fed Fraud

Trump’s latest target: Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. After an anonymous tip alleging mortgage fraud landed on the desk of his ally at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, FHFA Director Bill Pulte, Trump moved to remove her, even though she has a term through 2038 and hasn’t been charged with a crime.

The parallels are almost too on-the-nose: Trump was found liable in a civil fraud case for inflating assets to score better loans and insurance rates, and now he’s going after a Fed official over alleged mortgage paperwork errors. Hypocrisy? Check. Abuse of power? Double check.

Here’s the bigger problem: The Federal Reserve is designed to be independent. It’s what keeps the dollar the world’s reserve currency. When presidents interfere, you don’t just get bad optics; you risk a Turkey-style economic chaos, where political meddling fuels runaway inflation and destroys confidence in the currency.

CEOs should care. Every American should care. Because when Trump puts his thumb on the scale of the Fed, he’s not just bending rules, he’s breaking the backbone of the global economy.

💵 Take the time to read this thoughtful piece by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Stephen Henriques: Fortune

✨ One Thing for Your Soul

After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans found its spark again in the unlikeliest of places: the Superdome. In 2006, when Steve Gleason blocked that punt in the Saints’ first home game back, it wasn’t just football; it was rebirth. “The Dome is not just a stadium,” Gleason told the Washington Post. “It’s been a shelter, a stage, a home. It holds our pain and our joy. It’s sacred in a way few places are.”

Twenty years (this weekend) after the devastation, I still carry the heartbreak in my own heart, having witnessed it while working for FEMA during the recovery. And yet that moment reminds us: even in the most profound loss, a community can rise, cheer, and believe again.

As college football kicks off and Labor Day closes summer, here’s to finding those sparks of resilience, wherever we are.

⚜️ The Superdome wasn’t just a stadium. It was resurrection: WaPo

Ringo and Stevie are already on the beach, reminding me that sometimes joy is urgent.

More soon,

Olivia

The only security detail I trust these days.🐾