Week 10: From SignalGate to a Constitutional Convention?! Here's What to Know
Your no BS political analysis, organized by key themes
Let’s try something new this week!
Smartt Takes is doing something unprecedented.
We’re trialing an evergreen newsletter — a living, breathing document that updates throughout the week with the latest news you actually need to know. No fluff, no filler, just real-time insight as the week unfolds.
The usual long-form analysis and “what to watch” breakdowns will still land in your inbox on Sundays. But now, you can check in throughout the week and stay smartt without burning out. :)
Wednesday 4/2:
It’s Liberation Day: After markets closed today, Trump announced reciprocal tariffs across the globe—10% on imports from all countries, plus individualized tariffs at half the rate imposed by over 60 countries he claims maintain “unfair” trade relationships with the U.S. He also reiterated that the 25% tariff on foreign automobiles will take effect tonight. Trump alleged that the U.S.’s suspension of tariffs in the 1920s caused the Great Depression. Historians and economists may suggest otherwise.
Special Election Results Are In: House Republicans are breathing a sigh of relief after expanding their margin by two seats last night. Both Florida Republicans defeated their Democratic opponents, though both underperformed Trump by 14+ points in their districts, stoking fear for Republicans fate in the midterms. Meanwhile, liberal candidate Susan Crawford won the Wisconsin Supreme Court seat handily—despite a last-minute $1 million offer from Elon Musk to conservative voters and a massive outside cash dump.
Speaking of Musk…Trump Says He’s Out Soon: Elon has suggested he’ll step back by May—but reportedly, Trump has confirmed to close allies that Musk will take on more of a supporting role in the coming weeks. While Trump has been publicly supportive, insiders say he’s increasingly worried about midterms—and growing voter anger at town halls over DOGE and Musk’s influence.
Signal Gate Investigation Expands: It’s the story that won’t die. And the administration’s hopes of burying it aren’t looking good. Reports indicate National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and his team set up more than twenty Signal group chats to discuss national security. And apparently the team also used their personal email accounts to discuss national security issues, sparking comparison with Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server nearly a decade ago.
House on Recess After Failed Resolution: Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) really doesn’t want new parents voting by proxy. After nine Republicans voted against his plan to kill the discharge petition that would’ve allowed proxy voting for new parents, he pulled all House business for the week and sent lawmakers home until Monday. I’m sure lawmakers are just itching to hold more town halls.
Tuesday 4/1:
Sen. Cory Booker Shatters Historic Record: Since 6:30 p.m. last night, Booker (D-NJ) has occupied the Senate floor to protest the administration’s actions. Twenty five hours later, and he broke historical records, while capturing America’s attention. You can watch his speech here.
Trump Admin Says Deported Wrong Person; Can’t Do Anything About It: The Trump administration admitted to judges that it accidentally deported Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a man with no criminal record, to El Salvador — but that, per their agreement with the country, it’s out of their jurisdiction to bring him back to the States. Judges have yet to respond, but the admission raises questions about due process for immigrants and the administration’s mass deportation policy.
AG Pam Bondi Seeks Death Penalty for Luigi Mangione: Following his shooting of the UnitedHealth CEO, Attorney General Bondi has told prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Mangione. Given the public outrage and protests over the healthcare system, this is not likely to sit well with the American people — many of whom would prefer leaders address the system itself, rather than make an example of Mangione.
23 States + DC Sue Admin Over Health Funding Cuts: States argue that the administration’s abrupt public health funding cuts are unlawful, as the funding was already allocated for state-level public health initiatives. They say the decision could severely undermine their ability to improve health outcomes at the local level.
Monday 3/31:
Trump Signs EO to Combat Ticket Prices:Accompanied by Kid Rock, Trump signed an executive order targeting ticket price gouging. The EO requires ticket companies to comply with IRS regulations on ticket resellers, prohibits scalping, and mandates price transparency at all stages of the purchasing process.
Trump Won’t Rule out 3rd Term: Echoing Steve Bannon’s comments last week, Trump is suggesting that there are methods which would allow him to run for a 3rd term. Realistically, that would likely require amending the Constitution, some Republicans are actively exploring (more below).
Japan, China, & South Korea Join Forces: Preparing for Trump’s “Liberation Day” (read more below), U.S. allies Japan & South Korea released a statement with U.S. adversary China, agreeing to “closely cooperate” in response to Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.
Republicans Seek Cover From Tariffs: Republicans aren’t sure about the extent of Trump’s planned tariffs on “Liberation Day.” But, in the meantime, lawmakers are working with conservative-leaning industry groups to seek carveouts for certain industries. The goal is to protect their respective constituents from any potential tariff fallout.
Bodies of U.S. Soldiers Recovered: 3 of 4 bodies of U.S. soldiers have been recovered in Lithuania. The soldiers went missing last week during training exercises, when their vehicle was submerged by a “peat bog.” Sending love to the families.
France’s Marie Le Pen Charged with Embezzlement; Appealing Ruling: France’s Supreme Court charged the far-right leader and her party National Rally party with embezzlement, sentencing her to two years in prison, and banning her from running for president in 2027. Le Pen plans to appeal the ruling. And if her political path mirrors Trump’s, this ruling could only galvanize her base.
Musk Hands out $1 Million Checks to 2 WI Voters: In advance of tomorrow’s election, Musk disbursed checks to two voters who signed Musk’s petition. The legality of the move has come into question; however, the Wisconsin state Supreme Court declined to hear the case, clearing the way for Musk.
💬 See something we missed?
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The Big Picture
✍️ There was a lot of news this past week that is continuing on into this week. As such, I’ve included a breakdown of the key stories you need to know, as well as other significant news coming up. This coming week, we can expect a few things to make headlines:
Ron DeSantis is continuing on his nation-wide tour to push for a Constitutional Convention (more below)
Updates on “Signal Gate” and Trump’s immigration policy targeted at international students
The EOs you may have missed while “Signal Gate” was dominating the news
Plus
April 2 is “Liberation Day” - which, as far as we can guess, is the day Trump imposes all reciprocal, global tariffs.
The TikTok ban extension expires April 5. Trump is more likely than not to extend it by 90 days, as Oracle continues to negotiate with ByteDance
Alright, let’s get into it.
✍️ Key Themes:
✍️ Mr. Nationwide: Ron DeSantis Campaigns for a Convention
As the mayhem in Washington ensues, the 2024 (and maybe 2028) presidential hopeful, is quietly sneaking around on a nationwide tour. But, while Iowa may be a stop on his list, it’s not for the reasons you think. Instead, FL Governor Ron DeSantis is trying to whip enough votes to trigger a Constitutional Convention.
A What?! Yes, DeSantis and other conservatives are pushing for a Constitutional Convention — the first one since 1787 — to impose (1) term limits and (2) require Congress to balance its budget (e.g., not have a deficit). The overall goal is to “limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government.”
Per Article V of the Constitution, if 34 states call for one, Congress must call for a convention. So far, there are 26 states in addition to Florida calling for amendment. DeSantis was in Idaho this week and will visit Montana Monday to propose the two states get on board. Reportedly, DeSantis believes that if he reaches 29 states, then Congress will draft an amendment for terms limit/balanced budget, and send to the states to be ratified without needing to hold a Constitutional Convention.
Perhaps the Constitution Needs Updating? Many people agree that the Constitution doesn’t reflect the current times. Democrats, however, are concerned that a Constitutional Convention could be used to expand Donald Trump’s presidential power, restrict civil rights, or allow for Trump to run for a third term. Currently, the balance of powers stipulated by the Constitution is one of the only things keeping him in check, and even that is being challenged daily. Republicans maintain, however, that this is strictly limited to balanced budgets and term limits. Smartt Takes is not so sure.
The magnitude of this is…huge. Again, we haven’t had a Constitutional Convention since the original one. Rewriting the Constitution could reshape the entire face and body of the United States. It’s not clear how such a convention would work. Namely, there aren’t certain rules and procedures. One thing is clear, however, if the majority of states are led by Republican governors, then Republicans will have outsized influence, and perhaps a majority say, in what a new Constitution would look like.
Surely the Founding Fathers are rolling in their graves right now.
✍️ Bad Week for National Security, Great Week for Signal Messaging App
Let’s discuss the aforementioned mayhem in Washington. The biggest story of the week (and one of the few that has survived the 24 hour news cycle since January 20) is “Signal Gate.” Much to the chagrin of DJT, who tried, rather unsuccessfully to shift the news cycle.
Background on “Signal Gate”: On Monday, The Atlantic’s editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, published a bombshell report claiming that he was unexpectedly added to a Signal app group chat with Trump Cabinet members discussing classified war plans. Goldberg reportedly thought that the whole thread was a disinformation campaign to intended to embarrass him. But, as the group continued to discuss plans to strike Yemen, including exact times and locations, he became further intrigued. When the strikes happened at the exact times discussed in the message, he knew it was a legitimate thread and quickly left the group.
The Fall Out: A few immediate questions/concerns were raised following the report such as…
Why was the government using Signal rather than a secure government portal to communicate classified war information? Because of the high-level security clearances required to obtain access to that info, people were concerned that the government was exchanging national security info on a public messaging app. Something hackers/foreign adversaries could easily infiltrate. In response, the White House insisted the information was not classified, with national security officials like Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe doubling down in Congress that the information was not classified.
….Which then led to the Atlantic publishing the entire text thread…
The White House still claims the info isn’t classified, but people on both sides are in, erm, disagreement. Indeed, Republicans on the Senate and House Armed Services and Intelligence Committees have called for an immediate investigation. The White House has tasked Elon Musk (?!) with figuring out what happened.
National Security Advisor/Group text creator Mike Waltz maintains he doesn’t know Jeffrey Goldberg or how he ended up in that thread. (Perhaps the JG he meant to add was U.S. Trade Representative Jameison Greer?) But, then people got ahold of his public Venmo account which included contacts with journalists, among others, though no Jeffrey Goldberg in sight. Further reports also discovered Waltz and others’ contact info, emails, and even some passwords freely floating around the internet.
…Further reassuring people that national security is in safe hands— such as those of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s wife…
At the moment, heads aren’t rolling, and it doesn’t look like Trump would dismiss either. But, Congress/the public could pressure someone to take the fall…and the bets are on Waltz or Hegseth. Vamos a ver.
In the meantime, lawsuits have been filed challenging the government’s handling of classified information/the Signal chat and it’s been assigned to none other than…
Judge Boasberg. The universe really does have quite a sense of humor.
and so does the founder of Signal
✍️ Tip of the Boasberg: Trump’s New Nemesis
Perhaps the biggest thorn in Trump’s side in the past month is none other than federal judge, James Boasberg.
Boasberg was the judge who issued the emergency injunction on Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act. You can read Smartt Takes full report here, but quick 4 bullet reminder:
Trump deports 200 people to El Salvador under Alien Enemies Act (an Act allowing presidents to deport citizens of a specific country, only ever used in times of war).
Boasberg tells Trump to turn the planes around and restricts him from deporting anyone under AEA for 14 days.
Trump doesn’t listen and the Department of Justice fights Boasberg in the subsequent weeks, invoking “state secrets privilege” in order to not give Boasberg info about the planes’ departure.
Trump starts subtweeting Boasberg, calling for the removal of “Crooked Judges,” prompting the Supreme Court to remind Trump impeachment is not a proper tool for judicial disagreements. Boasberg blocks further deportations.
Nowww, Trump has asked the Supreme Court to overturn Boasberg’s block. Which remains to be seen.
In the midst of all this, Boasberg is now handling the Signal Gate lawsuits. Objectively funny.
Boasberg ordered the administration to preserve group chats on Signal before the March 15 strikes, to be a part of official government records. Which may be difficult since it seems like Waltz set the messages to “disappear.” We’ll see.
Boasberg, for his part, confirmed that cases are assigned randomly, he’s not just “grabbing Trump’s cases,” as the president suggested.
✍️ The Disappearances: 300+ Students Detained/Visas Revoked
The Trump administration has continued to detain and revoke student visas for international students in the United States. The latest report is that, on Saturday, the administration sent an email to hundreds of foreign-born students across the states telling them their visas have been revoked because of their social media content, and that they need to self-deport, otherwise ICE will detain and deport them to a country other than their homeland.
Also this week, the administration continued pursuing foreign academics including:
a Turkish PhD student at Tufts University was detained for writing an op-ed in support of Palestine;
an Iranian PhD student at University of Alabama was detained, though he reportedly was not a supporter of the Palestinian movement; and
a Russian researcher at Harvard University, who has been an outspoken critic of the Russian government, was detained at the border for not declaring traveling with foreign animal subjects for a scientific research project (at the request of her adviser).
The typical punishment for traveling with foreign animal subjects would be a fine or revocation of the object.In this case, she was detained.
Universities have mixed responses. Some are exceedingly worried, while others are not planning to get involved.
✍️ Trump Takes the Voting Mantle From Congress
While the news cycle was focused on Signal Gate, the Trump administration quietly issued an executive order that makes significant changes to the federal voting process. The executive order requires:
All citizens must have proof of citizenship in order to register to vote;
Mail-in ballots to be returned by Election Day (17 states currently allow for ballots to be returned after as long as they are postmarked by Election Day);
Directs DOGE to check state voter rolls and ensure they’re consistent with the executive order
Bans certain voting machines that use QR codes or bar codes
Requires election crimes to be federally prosecuted; and
Withholds federal funding from states that refuse to comply with the provisions.
There’s a question of whether married women who changed their name would be affected, as their name would be different from the one on their original citizenship documents. Also, many people don’t have direct access to their birth certificates—though the EO does not directly state that birth certificates must be the document provided. Either way, it would likely prevent millions of Americans from voting.
Notably, the provisions mirror some of those in the SAVE Act, a bill that Congress is trying to push through, which passed the House but ultimately would/will fail in the Senate.
Is it legal? Well, it’s definitely going to be challenged. Election regulation is a power that belongs to the states, and one that was even further stipulated by Congress after the thorny Bush vs. Gore 2000 election.
Does it benefit Republicans? There are actually some people who think that the EO could have the reverse effect and actually help Democrats. Though, it’s not really clear.
🗞️ Other Super Important News to Know
🗞️ Will Trump Ban TikTok? Trump’s extension on the TikTok ban expires April 5. While the administration has not suggested any plans to extend the ban, Trump is likely to offer another 90-day extension while Bytedance continues negotiating with U.S. company, Oracle, who is interested in purchasing the app.
🌎 April 2 is Liberation Day?: Trump keeps talking about how April 2, is liberation day, aka the day that seemingly all these reciprocal tariffs are imposed. Markets have been roiling over the last few weeks, though there’s a chance they may start to stabilize after April 2, since there aren’t any other tariffs planned beyond that date. We’ll have to see what this so-called “Liberation Day” entails.
🗞️ DC Gets a Trump Makeover: Trump issued a few EOs this week that give the president control over Washington DC. This includes, among other things: a task force to combat violence in the district; “beautifying national monuments; and control over the art and historical information in Smithsonian museums, including anything that he defines as “divisive facts” or “improper ideology.” Trump calls it “restoring truth and sanity,” but there’s a question of whether this would cause a revisionist narrative that doesn’t tell the truth of America’s problematic history.
🗞️FDA Vaccine Head Pushed Out; Pushes Back Against Admin: On Friday, Food Drug Administrator’s head of vaccines, Peter Marks was forced out of the admin. Marks, who worked closely on the COVID vaccine Operation Warp Speed work, started during the first Trump admin, said that it’s clear that Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary RFK Jr. does not desire “truth and transparency,” instead “he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”
🗣️ HHS Fires 10,000 People; Cuts Funding: Speaking of HHS, RFK Jr. has made a significant cut in HHS workforce; and cut existing funding for infectious disease response and mental health services. RFK Jr. has also hired a well-known vaccine critic to investigate the links between vaccines and autism. Gonna read that report with wide eyes.
🌎 Vance Goes to Greenland: Discovering Greenland is "cold as sh*t,” Vance gave a speech in Greenland arguing that, while the nation is self-determinant, they should consider joining the United States, rather then falling under the protection of Denmark. He argued that the United States, not Denmark, will fully invest in Greenland’s citizens.
🗣️ Trump Announces 25% Tariffs on Car Imports: And no one is happy, except for maybe Tesla. 45% of cars are currently imported into the U.S., and experts suggest that tariffs could raise car prices by 5-10K. And reportedly Trump warned car manufactures not to raise their prices because of tariffs.
📜 Ambassador Rep. Elise Stefanik: With reports that the Florida special elections to replace former House Members Mike Waltz and Matt Gaetz running close, the Trump administration pulled the nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to serve as Ambassador to the United Nations. Stefanik’s confirmation was expected to be put to a vote on 4/2. Needless to say, she can’t be too pleased. And now, she’s lost her House leadership and preferred Committee positions, though Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) suggested that Stefanik will be placed back in leadership.
📜 The Girls Are Fighting…with the Boys: Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) has partnered with Democrats to push for proxy-voting for members of Congress who are new parents for up to 12 weeks. So far, Johnson isn’t budging, and in fact seemingly trying to block Paulina’s efforts, which is pissing off Republican and Democrats alike.
📍Supreme Court Upholds Biden “Ghost-Gun” Regulations: This week, the Supreme Court rejected a move to rescind Biden-era regulations on ghost guns — guns that can be assembled at home and are nearly untraceable. This suggests that ghost guns may be required to have serial numbers, background checks, etc. A rare win for gun control advocates.
🗞️ Wilmer Hale Granted Injunction Against Trump EO: Another law firm has been caught in Trump’s retribution fray (read our report here), only this time they were at the ready. The morning the EO was announced, Wilmer Hale filed an enjoinment against the EO, which was granted by the judge. While Wilmer Hale will still have their security clearances revoked, other tenets of the EO, including receiving federal contracts, were stayed. Keep an eye on how this plays out.
🌎 Canada U.S. Relations on Ice: In a scathing speech, Acting Prime Minister Mark Carney, declared that Canada-U.S. relations were over, that Canada needed to stop relying on the U.S./expand trade relations with other countries. Trump later tweeted that he had a good conversation with PM Carney and looked forward to working together after Canada’s elections. Notably not referring to Canada as the 51st state nor Carney as “Governor.”
👏 We made it.
Thanks for reading, and let me know how you feel about this format/timing! See you next week!