Markwayne Mullin Faces Fresh Backlash After DHS Officials Reportedly Meet with Business Lobby Pushing Cheap Illegal Alien Labor: “This Is Downright Infuriating”. 1/2

by Jim Hᴏft Jul. 21, 2026

President Trump’s Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is under heavy fire for reportedly cozying up to the American Business Immigration Coalition, a powerful lobby representing approximately 1,700 employers who rely on illegal alien labor.

The controversy comes as some House Republicans are already under fire from conservatives for backing legislation critics say would amount to de facto amnesty for certain illegal alien farm workers, raising concerns among the MAGA base that Washington is beginning to soften on President Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

According to a report by The Washington Post,DHS officials recently met with the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC), a bipartisan organization that says it represents approximately 1,700 employers.

The report also said DHS has held discussions with other business coalitions seeking regular dialogue over the impact of immigration enforcement on employers.

The Washington Post reported:

The Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Markwayne Mullin is cultivating a relationship with business groups whose concerns about losing workers to aggressive immigration enforcement had been rebuffed by former secretary Kristi L. Noem.

Earlier this month, DHS officials met at the agency’s Washington headquarters with the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, which represents the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and major trade associations that depend on immigrant labor, according to several people with knowledge of the meeting, which has not been previously reported.

It was the first such meeting to be reported since President Donald Trump reentered the White House. Business groups say they have been trying to gain a foothold at the agency since Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests began to spike last year.

Mullin did not attend the early July meeting — which included officials from ICE and Customs and Border Protection, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly — and the gathering did not produce an immediate change in policies.But two of the people said DHS officials said they want to meet regularly with the group to assess the impact of Trump’s mass deportation campaign and businessneeds.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/07/dhs-secretary-markwayne-mullin-faces-fresh-backlash-after/

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A DHS spokesperson declined to comment on the meeting; coalition members declined to comment publicly.

Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren didn’t hold back, taking to X to rip into the reported meetings and call out sellout politicians pushing for covert amnesty schemes:

“Again, I am very concerned to hear that our new DHS secretary Markwayne is reportedly meeting with big labor groups who are afraid of losing their cheap illegal alien labor and meanwhile some republicans in congress are simultaneously pushing amnesty. WTF? I thought this administration stood for America first, and the American worker? As a Trump voter, I know I personally don’t give one shit if big corps are pissy they risk losing their serf labor class to rightful deportations. This is downright infuriating.”

Former Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino, who was called by Mullin as “irrelevant,” responded, “Those big labor groups working with deep state government end up screwing the taxpayer. Enough!”

The National Police Association responded to Lahren’s comment, stating, “He met with the American Business Immigration Coalition, which represents approximately 1,700 employers of illegals. His job is to meet with the 1700 employers of illegals directly. And arrest them.”

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported,this isn’t the first time Secretary Mullin has found himself in hot water with the America First crowd. Just days ago, Mullin was scrambling for damage control after reports he went around President Trump to suspend certain ICE traffic stops.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/07/dhs-secretary-markwayne-mullin-faces-fresh-backlash-after/

Mullen told reporters at WH how Trump and him are very close and tight, it was just a weird statement!

New Air Force One jet to be 'maxed out,' Trump says, after security concerns raised

The 747-8 took its first flight with President Donald Trump on board on July 1.

ByIsabella Murray andDevin Garbitt

July 20, 2026, 12:42 PM ET

• 5 min read

New Air Force One jet to be 'maxed out,' Trump says, after security concerns raisedThe Boeing 747-8, a gift from the Qatari royal family, took its first flight with President Donald Trump on board July 1.Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo

The new Air Force One will be "maxed out" with security features, undergoing an upgrade that's expected to put the Qatari-gifted jet out of commission for about a month, President Donald Trump said on Sunday.

"Well, it has, it has a lot, and you know it has a lot of capability, but as I understand it, in about a month or so, they’re going to send it to have it be maxed out," the president said of the newly retrofitted jet. "So they’re going to be sending it, and they’ll have it be maxed out."

The jet had faced security concerns in the weeks since its first operational flight on July 1, when Trump flew on it to North Dakota. The plane, a Boeing 747-8 that was gifted from Qatar, later carried Trump to the NATO summit in Turkey this month.

As Trump prepared to depart the summit, the Secret Service urged the president to take the older Air Force One jet as a precaution, due in part for the differences in security capabilities, ABC News learned at the time.

The New York Times reported that the new jet did not have the same anti-missile capabilities as the previous model. Trump's comment on Sunday followed a reporter's question about those claims, which ABC News has not independently confirmed.

"Mr. President, this plane does not have antimissile defense systems on it," the reporter asked. "Why are you flying on it?"

Trump in response said the plane would be "maxed out," a process that he expected would "take about a month." The president did not detail exactly when the upgrades were expected to begin.

The Qatari royal family's donation of the luxury jet valued at approximately $400 million, an unprecedented foreign gift, raised questions from some lawmakers and ethics experts. Ahead of his first flight, Trump gave credit to the Qatari government.

"Frankly, we couldn't build a plane like this because we wouldn't be willing to spend the kind of money necessary," he said on July 1. "They spent top dollar."

"I said to Boeing, 'What's the best one?' They said this is the best plane ever built, and you're going to have the privilege of flying it, and I have a privilege also of flying it," Trump said that day.

The U.S. Air Force said it had been modifying the jet Texas since September to meet the security, communications and other needs to transport the president.

The Air Force last year originally estimated it would cost less than $400 million to retrofit the gift, though it's unclear how much exactly has been spent so far. Many of the details of the retrofitting on the new plane are considered classified.

The gifted plane is expected to be used as the new Air Force One until shortly before Trump leaves office, at which time ownership of the plane will be transferred to the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation, sources familiar with the proposed arrangement have told .

https://abcnews.com/amp/Politics/new-air-force-jet-maxed-trump-after-security/story?id=134909028

President Trump Participates in a Bilateral Meeting with the President of the Republic of Lebanonnow

Live

The White House

https://www.youtu.be/vUNswx1aNi4

Trump’s new 50% tariffs on Canada risk igniting a fresh trade war

By Elisabeth Buchwald, Stephanie Yang, CNN

EDT, Tue July 21, 2026

President Donald Trump on Monday announced sweeping tariffs against Canada, threatening to reignite a trade battle with one of America’s closest allies and top economic partners.

The 50% tariffs on certain Canadian goods, including electrical equipment and machinery, are among the steepest tariffs his administration has levied against any country.

Although the president has recently threatened tariffs against America’s neighbor in retaliation for wildfire smoke that poured into the northern part of the United States, administration officials said that the latest tariffs are unrelated.

The levies take effect in 30 days, covering about $20 billion of Canadian goods, the White House said.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the country “believes in the benefits of free and fair trade,” in a statement on Monday.

“In all circumstances, Canada will work relentlessly and take any measures necessary to build our strength at home and to support Canadian workers, farmers, businesses, and families,” Carney said.

But Ontario Premier Doug Ford went further, immediately encouraging Canada to retaliate.

“If these tariffs proceed, Canada should respond tariff for tariff, dollar for dollar,” Fordsaid in a post on X.

Trump cited Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, a law that allows a president to set tariffs up to 50% when another country discriminates against American goods. However, the law has never been applied this way.

Excluded from the latest round of tariffs are several key Canadian imports, including energy products, critical minerals, fish and other goods that are subject to industry-specific duties, such as cars and metals.

However, unlike other levies Trump has enacted against Canada, there will be no carve-outs for goods covered by the trade pact known as the United-States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which is currently under negotiation.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance, an industry group, warned of higher costs for consumers and urged the United States and Canada to negotiate. “You cannot disrupt the world’s most integrated supply chain without massive collateral damage,” CEO Stephen Laskowski said in a statement shared with CNN. “These tariffs will immediately spike freight costs, create severe border bottlenecks, and hurt consumers in both nations.”

A potential new trade tool

According to research firm Capital Economics, only about 5% of Canadian imports would be affected by the new tariffs — or about 0.6% of total US imports.

Still, if Trump’s use of Section 338 is upheld by the courts, it could become a useful tool in future trade negotiations, said Stephen Brown, chief North America economist at Capital Economics.

“Taking a step back, it’s striking that the Trump administration is now reaching to a new method to implement tariffs,” Brown wrote in a research note Monday.

Tariffs have become one of Trump’s go-to economic negotiation tactics, which he has attempted to levy against every major US trade partner during his latest term.

However, the Supreme Court ruled in February that the president could not use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, to implement sweeping tariffs globally. The decision negated Trump’s attempt to tax imports from every country and additional punitive tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico.

Instead, Trump imposed temporary, across-the-board 10% tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which are set to expire later this week.

Last week, the US announced a new 25% tariff on many Brazilian imports under Section 301, following a yearlong investigation into Brazil’s trade policies that it said it found to be unfair.

The US has also previously threatened to impose more tariffs on China, its primary economic rival in global trade, which is already facing much steeper tariffs than other nations. Though tariffs went undiscussed during a summit between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in May, Xi is expected to visit the US in September.

In its statement Monday, the White House emphasized that Canada was one of two countries that had chosen to retaliate against US tariffs rather than negotiate— the other country being China.

https://lite.cnn.com/2026/07/20/business/canada-tariffs-50-percent-trump