Democrats desperately want to retake the House in November, not just to thwart President Donald Trump's legislative agenda, but to launch countless investigations under the guise of oversight. However, their most stubborn obstacle to achieving this goal isn't President Trump or the Republican Party. The biggest obstacle actually sits inside their own party. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has spent this cycle bankrolling primary challengers against sitting Democrats, and the fight has split the party into two camps that can barely stand each other.
Sanders recently announced plans to defeat a sitting House Democrat from North Carolina who belongs to the Congressional Black Caucus. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries called Sanders personally to warn him off interfering in House primaries during a midterm year that could decide control of Congress, CNN reported, citing three Democrats familiar with the previously unreported call. Rep. Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.) sat in on that call and told the outlet that Sanders showed little concern about the warning. The call came just before Rep. Valerie Foushee defeated primary challenger Nida Allam in North Carolina in March. Jeffries later declined to describe the exchange beyond calling it honest.
Sanders sits at the height of his influence in Democratic politics right now, which makes the timing of this civil war particularly inconvenient for a party trying to project unity heading into the fall. The dispute comes down to a simple question: should Democrats run candidates who can actually win swing districts, or candidates who fire up the base and risk losing everyone else? Sanders has chosen one side, and the establishment the other. He has endorsed more than 90 candidates this cycle and helped topple House incumbents in New York City and Colorado. Of the 60 Sanders-backed candidates whose races have concluded, 42 have won, including 10 of 16 federal candidates. Senior Washington Democrats grumble that Sanders is forcing the party to burn money on internal fights instead of saving it for Republicans in November.
Then there's Graham Platner, the Maine Senate candidate Sanders backed and defended even after the New York Times reported allegations of abusive behavior toward women. Sanders kept defending him until after allegations of rape surfaced, which Platner has denied. Sanders withdrew his endorsement only then.
Platner's exit from the race, according to OpenSecrets, put the Democratic Party in a deep financial hole. Platner can't simply transfer his campaign funds to his replacement, and whoever takes his place will ultimately have to overcome a huge cash disadvantage compared to Sen. Susan Collins.
"Bernie has endorsed some flawed candidates recently," Rep. Hillary Scholten of Michigan said. "I think it's really important to look at the judgment that has been exercised. The Graham Platner situation should be a huge warning sign to a lot of voters about what that stamp of approval might mean."
Michigan is where this rift boiled over this weekend, as Sanders held rallies - joined by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - for Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and House candidate William Lawrence. Asked whether he's making it harder for Democrats to win in November, the 84-year-old Sanders said no and argued his candidates represent working people rather than wealthy donors. El-Sayed's support for Medicare for All and his criticism of Israel and AIPAC have made him a progressive favorite. At the same time, the party establishment favors Rep. Haley Stevens as the safer bet against likely GOP nominee former Rep. Mike Rogers. Retiring Sen. Gary Peters had planned to stay neutral in the August 4 primary but endorsed Stevens last week instead.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has made his preference for Stevens clear. However, he avoided direct criticism of Sanders when asked, saying Democrats would settle on a nominee suited to the state. Rep. Ro Khanna compared Sanders' standing in the party to that of the pope and Barack Obama. Rep. Josh Gottheimer sees something else entirely.
"The DSA, which Bernie's part of, is trying to hijack the Democratic Party, and what you're seeing is people don't want that," Gottheimer said. "The Democratic Party wants to be the Democratic Party, and he's trying to use the Democratic Party as a vessel for socialism, and people don't want socialism."
Lawrence, a 35-year-old democratic socialist and climate activist, brings his own headache. Jeffries and Meeks condemned remarks reported by the Huffington Post in which Lawrence said black political leaders "take the teeth out of the white left" - language Jeffries called deeply disturbing - and party leaders worry a Lawrence win could cost them a must-win Lansing-area seat held by Republican Rep. Tom Barrett. Lawrence apologized on CNN, saying the comments misrepresented his values. The Congressional Black Caucus's political arm is funding ads against him, and Sen. Elissa Slotkin broke her usual neutrality to back former Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam, one of Lawrence's two rivals in the three-way primary along with former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink. Even Ocasio-Cortez, scheduled to appear at the same Sunday stop, would not say whether she was comfortable campaigning alongside him: "I haven't endorsed in it. I haven't waded into it at all."
Tyler Durden Tue, 07/21/2026 - 17:20Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Monday that it has filed to denaturalize 10 individuals charged or convicted with various crimes, including offenses against minors.
“Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a naturalized U.S. citizen’s citizenship may be revoked, and certificate of naturalization canceled, if the naturalization was illegally procured or procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation,” the DOJ said in a July 20 statement, adding that the Trump administration was continuing its “largest denaturalization effort ever.”
One of the individuals targeted for denaturalization is Rodriguez Perez, 45, of Cuban origin, who was naturalized as an American in 2018. Prior to obtaining citizenship, Perez engaged in Medicare fraud worth more than $886,694 and concealed this conduct during the naturalization process.
Perez pleaded guilty in the case and was convicted of conspiracy to commit healthcare and wire fraud.
Another individual, Urbano Vazquez Ortega, 53, a Mexican naturalized in July 2017, had sexually assaulted children while being employed as a church priest in Washington. The crimes were committed between 2015 and 2017. Ortega was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2019.
A third individual, Omar Cantu-Montalvo, 44, from Mexico, was naturalized in December 2005 after claiming in his application that he had never committed a crime. However, Cantu-Montalvo was later sentenced to 100 months in prison by a court for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, a scheme he joined just a few months before applying for naturalization.
Other individuals have been charged with crimes such as carrying a concealed firearm, sexually abusing a minor, misrepresenting identity to secure citizenship, and wire fraud.
“These 10 criminal aliens—including child sex abusers, a $900,000 Medicare fraudster, and a cocaine trafficker—lied their way into U.S. citizenship,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the statement.
“Each of these individuals lacked the good moral character required by law and procured citizenship through willful misrepresentations and concealment of their crimes. Under President Trump’s leadership, this Department of Justice will continue to aggressively pursue denaturalization to restore integrity to America’s naturalization process.”
In January, the Southern District of Texas court, McAllen Division, issued an order to revoke the citizenship of a naturalized person convicted of a child sex offense.
In March, the DOJ announced it had secured the denaturalization of two individuals—a convicted gun trafficker and a healthcare fraudster.
As of late April, the Trump administration had filed 22 denaturalization cases in its second term, according to the DOJ. During the entire Biden administration, 24 such cases were filed.
A DOJ memo from June 2025 prioritized investigations and enforcement actions advancing denaturalization. The memo directed the department’s Civil Division to aggressively pursue denaturalization cases by evidence, especially those involving national security threats, undisclosed felonies, gang activity, and terrorism.
Sanctity of US CitizenshipIn an April 24 post on X, Rep. Grace Meng (D- N.Y.) criticized the Trump administration’s denaturalization efforts.
Naturalized people are American citizens, Meng said. Individuals who undergo the naturalization process are “extensively vetted,” often spending years navigating America’s immigration system, taking exams, and pledging loyalty to the United States, she said.
“The President’s targeting of naturalized U.S. citizens is not only a reckless weaponization of the Department of Justice, it is an attack on core American values,” Meng said.
During a Senate hearing last month, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) argued that denaturalization is a crucial safeguard to protect the sanctity of U.S. citizenship, according to a June 4 statement from the lawmaker’s office.
“For too long, Washington treated naturalization like paperwork. Check the boxes. Say the words. Get the passport. Collect the welfare check or federal tax credit. Move on. That approach desecrates American citizenship. It insults every immigrant who came here honestly, followed the law, learned our history, embraced our Constitution, and took the oath in good faith,” Schmitt said.
“The Supreme Court has made the rule clear: no alien has the slightest right to naturalization unless every statutory requirement is met. Citizenship obtained by fraud is stolen status. Stolen status should be revoked.”
Tyler Durden Tue, 07/21/2026 - 17:00