PopInfo Weekly: Protests, pools, and PACs
Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump are developing a multibillion-dollar resort in Albania. But the resort, which will include 10,000 hotel rooms and is located in one of Europe’s most environmentally sensitive areas, is facing backlash and mass protests. On Monday, Albania’s Special Structure Against Corruption and Organized Crime confirmed that it was investigating the project, including changes made to the land’s protected status and how Kushner-controlled entities obtained the rights.
After acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told a House committee on Tuesday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was “not moving forward” with Trump’s $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization fund,” many major media outlets quickly published headlines citing Blanche’s comments and claiming that the fund was “dead” or had been “scrapped.” But this is not what Blanche said. President Trump has also continued to defend the fund in recent days.
Last week, a Popular Information investigation found that two “progressive” super PACs spending millions attacking Democrats from the left are linked to House Republicans’ fundraising arm, the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF). This week, we connected those super PACs to Republican communications shop Cavalry LLC, further revealing their true political motivations.
Updated Information
As protests against Jared Kushner’s luxury resort in Albania enter their fourth day, the government response has turned violent. Britannia Daily reports Albanian police are deploying “water cannons and tear gas” to disperse the crowd.
The best of the rest
The Trump administration is rapidly transferring ICE detainees. An investigation by the Marshall Project found that the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees “transferred five or more times more than tripled” and the “number of people transferred out of state within 24 hours more than doubled” in Trump’s first year compared to the Biden administration’s last year. This not only makes it difficult for their families to locate them, but also makes it difficult for their lawyers. (The Marshall Project)
The far-right operative catfishing men for content. This week, Politico reported on how a woman connected to right-wing commentator Steven Crowder has posed as a progressive nurse on dating apps and dated men, including at least one working in liberal politics, in order to record their conversations. The woman, Alysia Gamble, is a former QAnon organizer who, with her husband, ran QAnon rallies in Florida. (Politico)
Over 10,000 federal lawyers have left under the Trump administration. An analysis by the New York Times found that over 10,000 lawyers have left the federal government since the beginning of 2025. This amounts to roughly one in every five lawyers who worked for the federal government. (New York Times)
Biden cracked down on gun trafficking. Now Trump is easing up. Data shows that a large proportion of guns used in shootings come from a small group of dealers and that many are sold to purchasers who are not the intended user of the gun. In 2021, the Biden administration enacted a zero tolerance policy that led to a record number of revoked gun dealer licenses. Now, the Trump administration has reduced prosecutions of gun traffickers. Experts warn this could lead to a future increase in gun homicides. (ProPublica)
Numerical information
215-208: On Wednesday, the House passed the Iran war powers resolution, which directs Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from the conflict with Iran unless he gets approval from Congress, in a 215-208 vote.
$50 billion: Spending to construct data centers in the U.S. has now passed $50 billion — 2.3% of all construction spending in the country.
207: The total number of people killed by U.S. strikes on boats suspected of trafficking drugs since September, after the Pentagon announced on Wednesday that two people were killed in a strike in the Pacific Ocean.
Quote of the week
“Iran is a big success. Wait until you see... We’re working on a deal. If that happens, fine. If it doesn’t happen that’s okay too. We’ll do it the other way. But, the economy is unbelievable.” — Donald Trump, 6/3/26
Photo of the week
I frequently substitute teach elementary students and can say with much authority that our Queens real estate mob boss sundowning as President bullies like a fourth grader, has the vocabulary of a third grader, the impulse control of a second grader and the hands of a first grader. So no, Donny, the pool is not larger than a skyscraper. While it is longer than a skyscraper placed on its side on the ground, its volume and area are not larger, not even close. Furthermore, it is called the reflecting pool as the shallow concrete basin has always REFLECTED the monuments. Now it is merely a pool that reflects nothing and means nothing, like your words. F in Math. F in English. FFFFF.
Another day, another trip to fantasy world. With all that is happening, his biggest task of the day was to have someone prepare a nonsensical poster board comparing the reflecting pool to buildings. Please wake me up and tell me the last 18 months have all been a long dream (nightmare).