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The Affogato: Biles vs. Gaines, SCOTUS Says “DOGE This,” and Order Comes to CA

Plus, Day 5 of Where in the World is John Zmirak?

By Gayle McQueary Published on June 9, 2025

It’s never good to put someone on a pedestal. they will inevitably let you down because no one is immune to falling from great heights.

Biles Goes Vile on Gaines

On Friday, seven-time Olympic gold-medal winning gymnast Simone Biles clashed with former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines on X over transgender athletes in women’s sports. Gaines was posting about a Minnesota high school softball team with a transgender pitcher winning the state championship, implying the player’s gender gave an unfair advantage. Biles called Gaines a “sore loser” and suggested she “should be uplifting the trans community and perhaps finding a way to make sports inclusive OR creating a new avenue where trans feel safe in sports.”

Gaines, who is well-known for standing up to protect women in sports after competing against a biological male, Lia Thomas, in 2022, retorted that it’s not women’s responsibility to accommodate men in their spaces and that men don’t belong in women’s sports. Biles further jabbed at Gaines, telling her to “pick on someone her own size, which would ironically be a male.”

The true irony is actually much darker.

Back in 2018, Biles revealed she was one of the nearly 100 sexual assault victims of Larry Nassar, the former U.S.A. Olympic team doctor who in late 2017 pled guilty to sexually assaulting seven girls. Has Biles already forgotten what can happen when a female athlete is exposed in a room alone with a man?

How many aspiring young female gymnasts is Biles willing to sacrifice for the sake of “inclusivity”?

SCOTUS Sides with DOGE

Late last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had just as much right as the other 1.9 million civilian employees working in the federal government to have access to your data. The Court issued two unsigned rulings in favor of DOGE for its efforts to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse across all branches of the federal government. These simultaneous decisions addressed legal challenges to DOGE’s operations, specifically its access to sensitive data and its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act of 1966.

  • The first order, Social Security Administration v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, lifted a lower court’s ruling that had blocked DOGE staff from accessing confidential Social Security data. Ellen Lipton Hollander, a federal judge in Maryland, had previously ruled that DOGE’s access violated the Privacy Act, calling it a “fishing expedition.” However, the High Court’s new order allows the Social Security Administration to grant DOGE access to its records, enabling it to investigate potential inefficiencies or fraud as part of its cost-cutting mandate. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown-Jackson dissented; Jackson claims it puts sensitive data at risk and accused the Court of acting hastily. (The words “hasty” and government are rarely, if ever, used in the same sentence, so we understand her disapproval of anything faster than a snail.)
  • The second order, U.S. DOGE Service v. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), blocked a lower court’s order requiring DOGE to comply with FOIA requests. CREW argued DOGE is an agency subject to FOIA, but the Trump administration maintained DOGE is an advisory body exempt from such requirements. The Supreme Court vacated the D.C. Circuit Court’s decision allowing discovery, ruling that it was overly broad and violated separation of powers by compelling internal Executive Branch communications to be disclosed.

The two rulings strengthen DOGE’s ability to operate with fewer legal constraints, aligning with President Donald Trump’s agenda to reduce the size of the federal government and modernize its operations. In short, the first ruling ensures DOGE can access critical data to identify inefficiencies, while the second shields it from transparency requirements that could slow its work or expose internal deliberations. Most importantly, the Supreme Court’s reliance on the separation of powers in the second case highlights the judiciary’s deference to the Executive Branch, which will protect future governmental advisory bodies from broad discovery demands.

Does this mean the Supreme Court will remember the “separation of powers under the Constitution” when it comes to deported illegal immigrants?

Law and Order Is Back

In case you haven’t heard, rioters in Los Angeles have been trying to stop federal law agents from carrying out their deportation assignments in the city over the weekend. The violence began with a rioter trying to block a moving ICE vehicle, sparking protestors to begin attacking ICE agents and their vehicles. On Saturday, piles of cinderblocks were spotted near where the agents were mustering, allegedly to be used as weapons.

When Governor Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass appeared to refuse to bring law and order to the situation, President Donald Trump and Border Czar Tom Homan announced that the National Guard would be deployed against the Newsom’s wishes to protect federal agents and control the rioters.

Trump and Homan are making it very clear there will not be a repeat of the 2020, riots which wreaked havoc in several cities nationwide after the death of George Floyd. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bogino says, “The days of chaos ruling the streets are over. Either obey the law, or go to jail. There’s no third option.”

One thing is very clear with these riots: We have an abundance of military-aged men fighting with law enforcement — but wasn’t that just supposed to be a conspiracy theory?

Where in the World Is John Zmirak?

Keep putting those investigative skills to the test as you search for John on his latest adventure over the weekend.

The Affogato summer series game: Where in the World is John Zmirak?

It’s said that Hercules won a great victory here, but these days, the place is better known for its party scene.

Remember, the person with the most correct (or close to correct) guesses will get a gift from us at the end of the month.

Do you think you know where John is? Send your guesses to us at [email protected] or visit our Facebook page.

Along The Stream…

Later this morning, Stream contributor Chenyuan Snider tells us about “The Most Dangerous Person in China.”

Come back this afternoon for another great video from Joël Malm and his dad, Rick, about “Growing Strong through Suffering.”

 

Gayle McQueary is The Stream’s social media specialist. She has a background in production and is a scary judge of subjecting young female athletes to dangerous situations with men.