Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

So many bastards, so little time.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. do not touch it.”

Bark louder, little dog.

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

Republicans do not trust women.

If America since Jan 2025 hasn’t broken your heart, you haven’t loved her enough.

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

No one could have predicted…

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

Consistently wrong since 2002

75% of people clapping liked the show!

Accountability, motherfuckers.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / DOGESHIT / Republican Venality Open Thread: Concierge Service for Billionaires

Republican Venality Open Thread: Concierge Service for Billionaires

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SCOOP: Elon Musk's DOGE has started rolling out a dedicated website and other digital infrastructure for Trump's $5 million gold card program, which he said would allow wealthy people to buy US residency. From me & @zoeschiffer.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/doge-t…

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— Louise Matsakis (@lmatsakis.bsky.social) May 7, 2025 at 6:34 PM

Another excellent report from Wired — “A ‘Trump Card Visa’ Is Already Showing Up in Immigration Forms”:

Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has started rolling out digital infrastructure for a new golden visa immigration program, according to sources familiar with the matter, public records, and tests conducted by WIRED. The White House has yet to formally announce the initiative, but some US permanent residents and foreign visitors are already being asked if they have applied for a “Trump Card Visa.”

President Donald Trump first floated the idea of creating a $5 million golden visa in February, describing it as a way for wealthy individuals to buy residency in the United States and a pathway to becoming US citizens. How this would work is unclear: Federal law dictates how many permanent residency cards can be issued each year and who can get them, and experts say Congress would need to pass new legislation to raise the cap or change eligibility rules.

DOGE’s involvement in the visa project shows how quickly Musk and his team have expanded their purview. Trump’s initial executive order creating DOGE tasked the group with boosting government productivity by “modernizing federal technology and software.” Less than four months later, DOGE appears to be playing a central role in shaping the American immigration system.

Representatives from DOGE have spent the past several weeks coordinating on the golden visa program with officials from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the State Department, and other agencies, according to sources with knowledge of the meetings. On Musk’s side, the project is being overseen by two high-profile DOGE associates, Marko Elez and Edward Coristine.

(AKA #YoungTurk & #BigBalls)

One focus area for Musk’s team has been figuring out how to plug current US government systems for verifying travelers and processing immigration applications into what may eventually become a stand-alone website designed specifically for the Trump Card Visa. In late March, DOGE registered the domain trumpcard.gov, according to public records published by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency…

During a podcast appearance in March, Trump’s commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, claimed he had already sold 1,000 gold cards. He noted that Trump had estimated they could sell 1 million overall. The idea, Lutnick told the hosts of the All In show, was to allow people to purchase the right to live in the United States and pay taxes only on their income earned in the country…

Reader Interactions

83Comments

  1. 1.

    Boris Rasputin (The Evil Twin)

    Do they have to buy the gold sneakers, heresy bible, and all the other crap? A two-tier system, all right

  2. 2.

    SargassoSink

    Seems like if Trump wanted to make bank selling US residency, marketing-wise he shouldn’t have also made it extremely dangerous for furriners to try to set foot in the country.

  4. 4.

    SargassoSink

    P.S. love how it’s the “right to live in the United States and pay taxes only on their income earned in the country,” when US citizen expats are required to pay US income taxes on any earnings worldwide.

  6. 6.

    Elizabelle

    You would not believe this crap if it was in a novel.  #Imprison Trump and Elon and DOGE.

  7. 7.

    Old Man Shadow

    The idea, Lutnick told the hosts of the All In show, was to allow people to purchase the right to live in the United States and pay taxes only on their income earned in the country… sanctioned Russian oligarchs a place to come and launder/hide their stolen and criminal lucre.

  9. 9.

    Steve LaBonne

    Somewhere Warren Harding is shocked that anyone could top him in the corruption department.

  10. 10.

    Old Man Shadow

    @SargassoSink: Well, if we were rich enough, we’d be able to live in such a way that we didn’t have to pay taxes at all. Serves us all right for being peasants instead of Lords.

  12. 12.

    Raoul Paste

    So much for  “Give us your poor, tired, huddled masses,…”

    Just invite in those rich criminal Russian oligarchs.  There goes the neighborhood.

  14. 14.

    trollhattan

    Meanwhile, Columbia back in the news for the same old reason.

    New York police have arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters after they occupied part of the main library at Columbia University on Wednesday.
    Two university security officers were injured when protesters forced their way into Butler Library on Wednesday, according to a statement from the university president, who called activists’ actions “outrageous”.
    Video posted on social media showed chanting protesters entering the library, many wearing keffiyeh headscarves and masks, defying a ban from the Trump administration that was imposed after widespread campus demonstrations last year.
    US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the visa statuses of those involved would be reviewed.

    More than 70 protesters were reportedly arrested. No one has yet been charged, and authorities have not given details about who is being held and whether they are in the US on visas.
    In a post on social media, the protesters accused the university of “violent repression” and said that they had refused to show their IDs to police and campus public safety officers.
    Rubio described the group as “trespassers and vandals”. He added that “pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation”, echoing Trump’s justification for his recent crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus protests.
    As well as targeting prominent individuals – by revoking hundreds of international student visas and threatening deportations – Trump’s team has also taken direct aim at top-tier US universities, such as Columbia, which he accuses of failing to fight antisemitism on campus.

    Nice to see the Sec of State weighing in.

  16. 16.

    trollhattan

    Ours are as stupid as yours–Republicans that is.

    All nine of California’s Republicans voted Thursday to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. All of the state’s Democrats voted no. The House voted for the renaming by a 211 to 206 majority.

    Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Roseville, explained why he backed the plan, which would write into law the renaming plan proposed by President Donald Trump on his first day in office. “The Gulf of America is a critical region to our country’s economy. It’s a staple of energy independence that fuels economic growth, creates jobs, and is a tourist destination for people across the United States,” Kiley said. “I support the name change because it reaffirms our commitment to the Gulf, making sure it continues to serve the U.S. as a strategic asset.”

    Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove, had a simple reason for his support, saying he supported Trump’s “efforts to rekindle patriotism in America.”

    Cool story, bro.

  18. 18.

    bbleh

    @SargassoSink: and THEN, if you’re fortunate (?) enough to be in a country with a pension system, and you repatriate, you have to pay taxes on your accumulated pension as well as a lump sum, which can be pretty ginormous

    OT, I see the UK trade “deal” is being re-cast as a “deal framework.”  It’s like a “concept of a plan.”

  19. 19.

    Belafon

    @Steve LaBonne: The difference is that only men, and mainly white men, were allowed to vote for him. Now? Everyone gets to choose whether or not to vote.

  23. 23.

    Anonymous At Work

    How is this legal under existing US immigration law?  There used to be a resident visa with path to citizenship for employers investing in US business and meeting minimum standards.  That was a lifetime ago before SCOTUS started sniffing airplane glue when reviewing regulatory law cases.

  24. 24.

    Old School

    @bbleh:

    As Steve Benen put it:

    The emerging picture is one in which the White House has settled on a non-binding framework for a possible future deal with the United States’ 11th largest trading partner. This sets the stage for a series of additional talks — negotiations that will likely last months — that may or may not lead to an agreement.

  26. 26.

    Betty Cracker

    Maybe an elected Democrat could throw cold water on that scheme by suggesting that when Democrats are in power again, they’ll seize Trump Card holders’ assets, redistribute them to the poor and ship cardholders off to a foreign gulag. Doesn’t have to be a real plan or legally feasible or whatever. Just say it.

  27. 27.

    Scott

    This might be a silly question but what exactly is the legal foundation for selling a residency?  Who sets the terms etc.?  Where is the money deposited? On and on.

  28. 28.

    Sure Lurkalot

    $5 million? That’s it? Seems like that will attract a bunch of low energy drug runners and art smugglers. Weak!

  29. 29.

    schrodingers_cat

    So is this a green card (permanent residency) or a long term visa? If it is a GC does it come out of the yearly quota sanctioned by Congress? If so there will be a lot of law suits there lots and lots of people waiting for GC numbers to become available.

  31. 31.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @Old School:

    This sets the stage for a series of additional talks — negotiations that will likely last months — that may or may not lead to an agreement.

    Needed to add an agreement that Trump doesn’t have the unilateral power to make.

  33. 33.

    NotMax

    @Sure Lurkalot

    Last I heard it only takes depositing $5000 in a Paraguayan bank to establish residency there.

    That leaves a cool $4,995,000 for hookers and blow.
    ;)

  40. 40.

    Sister Golden Bear

    Meanwhile the Tariff Otaku declared the lack of cargo at US ports to be a win.

    “That means we lose less money … when you say it slowed down, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing,” Trump replied.

    Trump asserted that “China was making over a trillion,” without it being immediately clear what he was referring to. “From 500 billion to 1.1 trillion… frankly if we didn’t do business we would’ve been better off,” he said.

    Because buying stuff from someone else means they win — and Trump must never lose. The shart of the deal…

  45. 45.

    Old School

    I see Trump posted about his “WWII Victory in Europe Day” with a picture honoring Iwo Jima.

  47. 47.

    Melancholy Jaques

    @trollhattan:

    Pro-Palestinian protestors? I was sure they all ceased to exist on November 6, 2024. Or at least news coverage would lean one to believe that.

  49. 49.

    trollhattan

    @Old School: SRSLY? So very on brand.

    He has the entire summer ahead to declare a Hiroshima Day holiday, for which he’ll post a Creative Commons fireworks photo.

  50. 50.

    Jeffro

    you know what all of this DOGE bullshit is?  NOT PASSED OR FUNDED BY CONGRESS.  NOT LEGAL.

    hurry up and start threatening prosecutions, Dem officials!

    in the meantime, let’s all make this the thing we call our rep about today (and tomorrow too, why not?)

  51. 51.

    Chetan Murthy

    It has been a long time since I had green card.  My friend who recently got naturalized (Canadian citizen) told me a while back that green card holders are also taxed on their worldwide income, just like American citizens.  So what Trump is really doing, is setting up a privileged class of green card holders, who will not be taxed on their worldwide income.

  52. 52.

    Jeffro

    @Betty Cracker:when Democrats are in power again, they’ll seize Trump Card holders’ assets, redistribute them to the poor and ship cardholders off to a foreign gulag.

    mind reader!

    why not, right?  it’d be as legal (maybe even moreso) than anything DOGE is doing

  53. 53.

    Jay

    @Melancholy Jaques:

    No, they are still around, they are just mostly busy protesting Democratic Party Town Halls.

    The Columbia thing is probably less about Palestine and more about the University rolling over for DJTdiot and begging for a second helping of abuse, much like the previous protests gave the students the luxury of living homeless in a tent in a safe, (for the most part) green space, rather than sleeping in their cars in a sketchy parking lot.

  54. 54.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    I hear Trump has decided the toy maker Mattel is a country.

  58. 58.

    Jeffro

    OT but Kevin Kruse (on BlueSky) just referred to Harold Lutnick as a “human pinky ring” and now my sides hurt LOLOL

  59. 59.

    RevRick

    A million cards, huh? Are there that many people who have a net worth in excess of $5 million? And who would want to live in a shithole run by Trump, anyway?

  60. 60.

    raven

    @RevRick: Hey, I saw your post about peripheral neuropathy the other day and wondered if you could say more? I have serious pain in my butt along with multiple sclerosis and I can’t get no relief.

  61. 61.

    trollhattan

    One yay and one holy fuckballs.

    “Senate Democrats on Thursday voted down a procedural motion that would allow the upper chamber to take up landmark GOP-led cryptocurrency legislation, delivering a stunning blow to Republicans on one of their first major policy pushes since clinching a trifecta,” Politico reports.

    “The upper chamber voted 48-49 not to proceed on the crypto bill, squashing the effort following a chaotic week of negotiations in which the GOP backers of the legislation sought to win over a group of key Democratic holdouts.”

    Bloomberg: “Republicans rebuffed Democrats’ demands to include a provision barring Trump and other senior officials from profiting off of crypto ventures while in office.”

    Wait for it.

    “President Donald Trump is strongly considering installing Fox News host and former prosecutor Jeanine Pirro as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia,” ABC News reports.

    Was Imelda Marcos unavailable?

  62. 62.

    One of André Leon Talley's Fifty Pieces of Monogrammed Louis Vuitton Luggage

    Remember back when Congress passed laws about who got to be an American citizen?

    I ‘member.

  63. 63.

    terraformer

    These people are just so … disgusting and unseemly. Does anyone think these proceeds will go to any government coffer rather than straight to the pocket of a certain narcissistic sociopath with tiny hands​

  64. 64.

    Citizen Alan

    @trollhattan:

    Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove, had a simple reason for his support, saying he supported Trump’s “efforts to rekindle patriotism in America.”

    Cretin. So happy to be out of his district.

  65. 65.

    piratedan

    I sit and wonder who exactly would be stupid enough to take DJT up on this, considering ICE is performing abductions and illegal removal from the country without due process of any kind, all they have to do to perform additional extortion is show up and threaten removal to get them to cough up yet more money?

    based on past deeds, what’s to stop them?

  68. 68.

    sab

    @Chetan Murthy: Green card holders are American citizens for most tax purposes. For other purposes ( like voting) no, but under tax rules they pay taxes like citizens. Except there are weird rules on inheritance so they don’t abscond to the old country with unpaid unrealized capital gains from property inherited from a citizen spouse.

    Paying taxes on worldwide income is a quirk in American tax law. Many other countries only tax you on what you earn while living there, regardless of your citizenship.

  69. 69.

    RevRick

    @raven: My feet are tingly, numb from below the ankles. When I first asked my doctor about it, given my family history of diabetes, he checked them and said, “Diabetic neuropathy only happens after five years.” “So, what’s causing this?” I asked. His reply: sometimes there doesn’t seem to be an obvious explanation.

    Two years ago, I had two excruciating bouts of sciatica and after a trip to the ER, I was sent to the Spine Center, where they took x-rays of my lower back, and I learned I have scoliosis and arthritis there. Nerves are getting pinched, so now I do daily exercises to strengthen muscles, especially the core and tush, and increase flexibility.

  70. 70.

    Ohio Mom

    @Old Man Shadow: I was scratching my head, trying to figure out who the target audience is, which gazillionaies want U.S. citizenship so badly, when I read your comment and went from scratching to slapping myself upside my head.

  71. 71.

    Jay

    @RevRick:

    There are 58 million people in the world that have $16 million USD worth or more.

    there are 648 million people in the world who live off $768 USD a year.

    322 billion people in the world (40%) have less than $500 USD in assets and savings.

  72. 72.

    raven

    @RevRick: Thanks! I broke my back in 1974 and have rods on T-6. My surgeon recommended a lumbar fusion  for a synovial cyst  but I’m going to go with an ablation first.

  73. 73.

    trollhattan

    @Jay: 322 billion people in the world (40%) have less than $500 USD in assets and savings.

    Uh, wut?

    We’re gonna need more fentanyl.

  75. 75.

    Jeffro

    @RevRick:now I do daily exercises to strengthen muscles, especially the core and tush, and increase flexibility.

    I should be doing those.  just because

  78. 78.

    Tehanu

    @Betty Cracker: ​

    Maybe an elected Democrat could throw cold water on that scheme by suggesting that when Democrats are in power again, they’ll seize Trump Card holders’ assets, redistribute them to the poor and ship cardholders off to a foreign gulag. Doesn’t have to be a real plan or legally feasible or whatever. Just say it.

    Great idea!

    @Scott: ​ This might be a silly question but what exactly is the legal foundation for selling a residency?

    Not a silly question at all. This ought to be totally illegal!

  79. 79.

    sab

    High Church Episcopalians consider ourselves Catholic (univeral) but not Roman. Used to tie into the rest of the world Christianity until we got LGBTQ friendly. Even had a lovely gay bishop. That outraged most of the rest of the worldwide Anglican Communion, which is everywhere but mostly in Africa, UK and Carribean islands.

  81. 81.

    cmorenc

    @Steve LaBonne: Harding himself was not corrupt, but he was a bit out of his depth in DC and made a couple of very bad judgements of character in his choices for Interior Secretary and AG, and his reputation was tarred by his association with them and not for being in on any grift from them.

  82. 82.

    cmorenc

    @Jay: One reason the wealth distribution growth tends to disproportionately expand and concentrate in the uppermost % is that they are past the income & asset threshold needed simply to sustain a middle or upper-middle class lifestyle, and the extra income is available to invest, and compound.  The further past the threshold of a million or two poured over the financial transom into income-producing or capital-gain producing assets, the more potently the dynamic operates.

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