Running a prison or winning a billion dollar drone contract no longer requires experience.
ICE just awarded $426 million to two firms with little or no detention experience to convert warehouses into large-scale holding centers. Neither has ever run an ICE facility, and they’ll now be responsible for thousands of detained migrants as part of a $38 billion buildout that includes centers holding up to 10,000 people each.
That casual disregard for competence extends to the Pentagon. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump are backing a new drone company targeting $1.1 billion in Pentagon contracts that exist because their father created drone initiatives and banned Chinese competitors. The company and its CEO have never worked in aerospace or defense, just like the detention firms have never run a jail.
The government bypassed its own contracting officers to award the detention deals without competitive bidding. Firms with decades of experience said the timeline was too aggressive. Access, rather than experience, is the new price of admission.
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Fox News airs old footage of a hatless Trump during coverage of Dover dignified transfer for six soldiers killed in Iran war, replacing video showing him in a baseball cap.
Today’s GovBrief News
Tennessee Rep. Ogles says Muslims "don't belong in American society," calls for deporting a naturalized U.S. citizen mayor, as Sharia Free America Caucus escalates anti-Muslim rhetoric during Iran war.
Source: NOTUS
March 9, 2026
Rubio designates Afghanistan as second country labeled a state sponsor of wrongful detention, enabling sanctions over Taliban's imprisonment of Americans.
Source: CBS News
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Trump tells GOP lawmakers the Iran war will be a "short-term excursion," then hours later threatens to hit Iran twenty times harder if oil stops flowing through Strait of Hormuz.
Source: The Associated Press
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New Mexico investigators search Jeffrey Epstein's former Zorro Ranch as part of reopened criminal investigation into allegations of illegal activity including body burials.
Source: KOAT Albuquerque
March 9, 2026
FBI subpoenas Arizona Senate records from debunked 2020 election audit, the second swing state targeted after January's Georgia raid.
Source: Axios
March 9, 2026
Trump tells House Republicans the SAVE Act will "guarantee the midterms," demands expanded bill with mail-in ballot restrictions and transgender sports ban before he signs any legislation.
Source: The Hill
March 9, 2026
Hegseth orders all Pentagon supervisors to push civilian employees to volunteer for immigration enforcement, requiring senior approval to deny requests during an active war.
Source: Government Executive
March 9, 2026
Justice Department settles with Live Nation mid-trial without telling 28 state co-plaintiffs or the judge, who calls it "absolute disrespect for the court."
Source: Ars Technica
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Anthropic sues over a dozen federal agencies and Pentagon leaders, calling its blacklisting for refusing to allow autonomous weapons and mass surveillance unconstitutional retaliation.
Source: NextGov
March 9, 2026
Federal judge blocks DOJ rule that would have automatically dismissed most immigration appeals within 10 days, calling it devoid of "meaningful consideration."
Source: NOTUS
March 9, 2026
Federal judge disqualifies all three leaders of New Jersey's U.S. Attorney's Office, ruling they were installed to circumvent Senate confirmation after Habba was barred.
Source: The New Jersey Monitor
March 9, 2026
Justice Jackson publicly criticizes Supreme Court's emergency rulings favoring Trump, saying the shadow docket is "not serving the court or this country well."
Source: NBC News
March 9, 2026
ICE awards $426 million in contracts to two firms with no detention experience to convert warehouses into holding centers for up to 10,000 migrants each.
Source: The Washington Post
March 9, 2026
White House cites alcohol and harassment to justify NTSB firing two days after giving no reason for removing lead investigator of the DC midair crash.
Source: https://go.govbrief.today/ntsb-inman-cause
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California Rep. Kevin Kiley leaves Republican Party to serve as an independent, becoming the only independent member of the House.
Source: KCRA Sacramento
March 9, 2026
Trump's two eldest sons back new drone company targeting $1.1 billion in Pentagon contracts created by their father's drone initiatives and Chinese drone ban.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
March 9, 2026
Second federal judge in one week restricts Portland ICE agents' use of tear gas, this time protecting nonviolent protesters and journalists with class-action status.
Source: The Oregon Capital Chronicle
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