A group of House Democrats on Monday demanded the immediate cancellation of a nearly $17 million federal contract to provide electric shock gloves to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, who have been unleashed on American cities…
Page F5From§Eachthe early bird edition — 31 August 2026
Dems call to cancel $17 million ICE electric shock glove contract as Trump tariffs hit GOP wallets
Democrats demand cancellation of a $17 million contract to equip ICE agents with electric shock gloves, while Republican voters face higher gas prices as a result of Trump’s tariffs. The numbers are the story: $17 million for devices that inflict pain, millions more spent on tariffs that end up costing the party’s base. Budgets are never neutral—they reveal priorities. When enforcement gets a line item and relief gets a protest, the ledger tells you where the government’s heart lies. The real spending isn’t in the talking points, it’s in the contracts and receipts. The result is a cycle: hurting people gets funding, helping them gets a speech. For the voters, that means paying more at the pump while agents get new tools. The gap is measured in dollars; the priorities are measured in who feels the pain. The column gaps like that turn up in budgets and wallets, hon.
“ICE gets $17 million for electric gloves, while Republican voters pay more at the pump thanks to tariffs. Money flows where the priorities are—hurting people gets a budget, helping them gets a speech. The ledger is the real policy.”
“Some contracts are necessary for law enforcement to maintain safety. Tariffs are key to protecting American industry, even if there’s some temporary pain at the pump. That’s the price of security and sovereignty. Though, maybe, if you look at the numbers, well—it’s complicated. Did I say pain? I meant resilience.”
The receipts
‘Such are the fruits of rent-seeking special interests combining with grasping politicians’
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.