What happened
President Donald Trump yesterday said his administration’s new “gold card” visa was open for sale, offering an expedited and “direct path to Citizenship for all qualified and vetted people” in exchange for a $1 million “gift,” or $2 million if their company is footing the bill. Hours earlier, U.S. Customs and Border Protection formally proposed requiring visitors from visa-exempt countries in Europe and Asia to provide a five-year social media history and detailed information about family members as a condition of entry to the U.S.

Who said what
Trump said his “Trump Gold Card” will ensure that U.S. businesses can “finally keep their invaluable Talent” and fill federal coffers. But the new visa, depicted as “gold, credit-card-shaped” and emblazoned with Trump’s photo, faces “questions about its viability and legality,” The Washington Post said. It also “underscores a striking contrast in the administration’s immigration stance: aggressive raids, restrictions and quick deportations alongside expedited entry to the ultrarich.” 

The intrusive new “social media snooping rule” for visitors from the 42 countries in the Visa Waiver Program would “come into effect early next year — shortly before hundreds of thousands of football fans” travel to the U.S. for the World Cup, Politico said. Demanding five years of social media history “is outrageous” and would “seriously damage the U.S. tourist industry,” Irish lawmaker Barry Andrews said. “Even the worst authoritarian states in the world do not have such an official policy.”

What next?
Asked if he thought the new policy would harm tourism, Trump said no, telling reporters he wanted to “make sure we’re not letting the wrong people come into our country.” The proposal will be open for public comment for 60 days. “This is not a final rule,” CBP said in a statement, just the “first step in starting a discussion to have new policy options.”

What happened
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) yesterday introduced articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., accusing him of “abuse of authority and undermining of the public health.” Stevens, who is running for Senate in a competitive primary, previously called on Kennedy to resign. She has also filed the “Stop RFK’s BS Act,” which would “reverse funding cuts Kennedy has overseen,” said The Hill.

Who said what
Kennedy has “driven up health care costs” while “tearing down the scientific institutions” Americans rely on, Stevens said in a press release. With Republicans in control of Congress, The New York Times said, it would be “close to impossible” for her “all but certainly futile” impeachment bid to “get a vote on the House floor or lead to a trial in the Senate.” 

Stevens is “part of a growing group of House Democrats effectively going rogue by mounting impeachment efforts without support from party leadership,” Axios said. HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon accused her of “partisan theatrics” intended to “elevate” her “standing in a failing, third-rate Senate bid.”

What next?
Stevens said her effort was more than “political theater” and more substantive than the impeachment measures filed by Reps. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) and Al Green (D-Texas). But many Democrats expressed “frustration” at the move, Axios said. “You can’t swing a cat without hitting an impeachable offense in this administration,” said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif), but “it’s just deeply distracting and unproductive to make that our priority in this moment.”