Politics

Former U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee has emerged victorious in the race for mayor of Oakland. Lee prevailed in a close race against former Oakland city council member Loren Taylor as the pair battled for the seat that was temporarily filled after former Oakland mayor Sheng Thao was removed from office in November.

According to SFGate, Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato held the seat for a few weeks after Thao was removed due to the federal corruption and bribery charges he faced. City Councilmember Kevin Jenkins served as interim mayor after Fortunato left his role to take a seat on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.

How close was the race between Barbara Lee and Loren Taylor?

The San Francisco Chronicle called the race for mayor shortly after 5 p.m. on Friday. Shortly before the race was called, the unofficial results from Alameda County showed Lee leading Taylor with 52.7% of the vote. Taylor had 47.3% of the votes at that point while the pair was separated by about 5,000 individual votes.

Lee released a statement on X around 5 p.m., saying the latest results are “encouraging.”

Oakland! This evening’s results are encouraging. I decided to run for Mayor knowing that Oakland is a deeply divided City–and I ran to unite our community. We worked hard every day to earn every vote! Thanks to you, in our 100 day campaign our Faith, Labor and Business… pic.twitter.com/OJqCnsygej— Barbara Lee (@BarbaraLee_CA) April 19, 2025

How did Barbara Lee build her legacy in politics?

Lee built her resume through decades of social justice activism. The 78-year-old has served as a state legislator in the East Bay district and as a U.S. congresswoman for 30 years. In 2024, Lee put her name in the race to replace California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who died in 2023, but did not land the seat.

Lee received wide support when she announced her decision to run for mayor. Several community leaders showed their support for Lee when they signed a joint letter as an endorsement. Councilmember Carroll Fife spoke to KQED in January, saying Lee is the best person for the job.

“I can’t think of a person better suited who truly loves this city and has the expertise and understanding of the legislative process to hold that position than Congresswoman Lee,” Fife said.

The Trump administration is aiming to close another department and cut more of the federal government’s workforce. A memo directed toward “the reorganization and elimination” of the Environmental Protection Agency, including its 10 regional offices and the one in Washington, according to The New York Times.

Why does the Trump administration want to close the EPA?

The news comes as the administration has closed down federal offices and laid off a large portion of its employees to conduct budget cuts. Lee Zeldin, the EPA’s administrator, also said “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income” in regards to environmental laws are discriminatory.

“President Trump was elected with a mandate from the American people,” he said, according to The New York Times. “Part of this mandate includes the elimination of forced discrimination programs.”

Many of the agency’s offices were opened to address pollution in poor and minority communities. These communities are often situated near highways, power plants, industrial plants and other polluting facilities.

The EPA closing will affect all rural communities

Margot Brown, the senior vice president of justice and equity at the Environmental Defense Fund, said shutting down the department will affect rural Americans as a whole.

“They’re dismantling the ecosystem of health protections for rural Americans, and by dismantling them, they’ll make them more susceptible to future hazards,” she said, according to North Carolina Health News. “It will impair health and well-being for generations to come.”

Democrats have called out this move, which they say creates a hazard for communities across the country.

“In the United States, communities across the country lack access to safe and reliable drinking water and sewer systems, and remain exposed to pollution that causes cancer and respiratory illnesses,” senators Tammy Duckworth and Cory Booker wrote in a letter, per the New York Times. “Many of these areas were deliberately targeted due to their demographics for the siting of polluting activities.”

“If anybody needed a clearer sign that this administration gives not a single damn for the people of the United States, this is it,” Matthew Tejada, a former official at the EPA added.

Environmental justice has been a target of the Trump administration

Earlier this week, hundreds of grants dedicated to environmental justice were cancelled. A whopping 168 employees working on environmental justice were also put on leave last month, before a federal judge found the move to have no legal basis.

On January 20, inauguration day, President Donald Trump signed an executive order canceling former President Joe Biden’s environmental justice program initiatives. The administration also cut funding to the Mountains and Plains Thriving Communities Collaborative in February, according to CPR News. The center, which is located in Montana State University, served 28 tribal nations and six states.

As the controversial Republican-led crackdown on immigration continues to grow despite legal challenges, a new situation has developed: the detention of an American citizen as an “unauthorized alien.”

Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez’s arrest adds another wrinkle to the story of who is being targeted and how the government is exceeding its authority.

Detained despite proof of citizenship

The Florida Phoenix reported that 20-year-old Lopez-Gomez was arrested by Florida Highway Patrol when he was a passenger in a vehicle subjected to a traffic stop. He and two other men in the car were held under a Florida law that makes it a misdemeanor offense for an “unauthorized alien” to “knowingly” enter the state “after entering the United States by eluding or avoiding examination or inspection by immigration officers.” After Lopez-Gomez was arrested, the Department of Homeland Security issued a detainer to hold him for 48 hours so Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials could pick him up.

Lopez-Gomez’s family and supporters rightfully pointed out that he was born in Georgia and currently resides there, even producing his birth certificate as proof of his American citizenship. During a court appearance Thursday, Leon County Judge LaShawn Riggans examined the document and confirmed its authenticity. When the state prosecutor insisted the court lacked the jurisdiction to release Lopez-Gomez, given the request to hold him for ICE, Riggans apologized to his family. However, Lopez-Gomez was finally released on Thursday evening, reuniting with his mother in an emotional scene.

Florida, federal officials push expanded immigration enforcement powers

Although Lopez-Gomez was released, many note the absurdity of holding an American citizen on immigration charges, highlighting the extent to which federal and Florida state authorities have stretched their powers. The Florida law under which Lopez-Gomez was arrested, signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in February, has been paused by a judge.

“It’s a series of horrors,” attorney and Community Justice Project founder Alana Greer told CNN. She represents the Florida Immigrant Coalition, but not Lopez-Gomez, and added, “No one should have been arrested under this law, let alone a US citizen.”

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has used ICE and the Department of Homeland Security alongside various questionable legal arguments to crank up its immigration crackdown. The administration recently evoked the rarely used Alien Enemies Act to fast-track detention and deportation of those it deems gang members and “terrorists,” despite many of those deported not having criminal records. One such case that has caught international attention is that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was illegally deported to El Salvador and remains imprisoned there despite a Supreme Court order to the Trump administration to “facilitate” his return to the United States.

Cases like those of Lopez-Gomez and Abrego Garcia highlight the expanded and even unlawful ways in which Republican-controlled authorities are rounding up people on immigration charges. With these arrests continuing and civil liberty violations mounting in the process, expect more controversial cases and legal challenges to this crackdown.

An official within the Trump administration has accused New York Attorney General Letitia James of fraud, claiming that she misrepresented information relating to a housing loan. With this accusation, James — who successfully prosecuted Trump and his business organization in a nine-figure lawsuit in 2024 — becomes the latest Trump adversary to face scrutiny or retribution since the president returned to office.

James accused of misrepresenting real estate interests

As first reported by the New York Post, Trump-appointed Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte recently submitted a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, accusing James of submitting  “falsified records” relating to several real estate transactions. Specifically, James is accused of stating that a property she owned in Virginia was her “principal residence” in 2023, while she was living in New York, as well as making other misrepresentations about properties in New York, allegedly to secure more favorable terms for loans and mortgages. She has not been charged with any crime with regard to the allegations. James released a statement through a spokesperson declaring that “Attorney General James is focused every single day on protecting New Yorkers, especially as this Administration weaponizes the federal government against the rule of law and the Constitution.” Her statement continues that “she will not be intimidated by bullies — no matter who they are.”

Trump adversaries under fire

As Axios noted, James’ office won a $464 million civil judgment against Trump, several members of his family and other associates, as well as the Trump organization, for financial fraud, alleging that they manipulated the values of various Trump properties to obtain loans or lower tax liabilities. Now, James is one of several people who previously clashed with Trump whose security clearances were removed once the president took office again; others include Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who successfully prosecuted Trump on criminal charges related to hush money payments for a sex scandal.

Trump and his allies have been celebrating these accusations while disparaging James. Trump posted to his Truth Social platform, calling James “a totally corrupt politician” and a “wacky crook” and saying that she “should resign from her position as New York State Attorney General, IMMEDIATELY.”

Letitia James, a totally corrupt politician, should resign from her position as New York State Attorney General, IMMEDIATELY. Everyone is trying to MAKE NEW YORK GREAT AGAIN, and it can never be done with this wacky crook in office.From Donald Trump Truth Social 04/13/25 11:02… pic.twitter.com/M52o4ntpjg— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) April 14, 2025

The New York Post, the Trump-friendly outlet that broke the story on Tuesday, has followed up with headlines such as “Letitia James dodges questions about mortgage fraud scandal outside NYC home, pretends to be on the phone,” as well as an opinion piece on the accusation titled “Tish James will eat her own words.”

While it is unclear whether or not James will ultimately face formal charges related to her real estate declarations, Trump and his allies are already using the accusations to attempt to discredit one of Trump’s most successful legal foes. Given Trump’s track record of seeking revenge, it appears that the current administration is eager to attempt to go after her for the same types of charges that she pursued against Trump.

The New York Times reported that Greene, a loyal backer of President Donald Trump, held the town hall at the Acworth Community Center in Cobb County, Georgia, where she was interrupted almost immediately after taking the stage. Greene holds town […]