BRUSSELS — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will make a direct pitch to European leaders for more help on Friday, amid a crisis of faith among allies over Donald Trump’s latest steps favoring Russia. 

At the second day of an EU summit in Brussels, Zelenskyy joins European prime ministers and presidents as they discuss Ukraine’s need for more weapons and cash, with concern growing that Kyiv faces a shortfall of billions of euros next year. 

The reality of the threat to European security from the four-year-long war penetrated the summit bubble after air drones hit two ships in or near Romanian waters, prompting emergency talks with NATO.

“We all in Europe want this war to end,” Zelenskyy said on social media as he arrived in the Belgian capital on Thursday. “And for that, signals of strength are needed — more real pressure on Russia and more defense support for Ukraine.”

It is especially important, Zelenskyy said, to “act together to protect lives.” But unity among European leaders is in short supply at a meeting already riddled with tensions. 

EU governments are pitted against each other in their own fraught negotiations over how much money to commit to the 27-country bloc’s budget. With populists surging, discontent raging and elections scheduled in major power centers across the continent, under-pressure leaders are a long way from approaching a deal.

That’s the combustible mix of financial discussions the U.S. president waded into.

Trump’s decision to open up American markets to previously banned Russian diesel — intended to ease price pressures in the U.S. — risks tilting the balance of an expensive war in Russia’s favor, three European officials warned. Putin’s war chest can now swell from additional fossil fuel exports, while Ukraine struggles for cash. 

As they arrived for the first day of the marathon two-day gathering on Thursday, EU national leaders began informally discussing options for how to help redress the balance. That discussion should to be picked up again around the summit table on Friday.

Russian assets

One idea rapidly rising back up the agenda is the fraught question of whether, or how, to make use of some hundreds of billions of euros of frozen Russian financial assets held in European banks. 

The bulk of these rest with the Euroclear depository in Brussels. A previous attempt to grab the funds and send them directly to Kyiv was blocked by the Belgian government ― and other countries less prominently ― over concerns it would be exposed to legal action. 

But Sweden, Finland and Germany want to take another look at the assets. The European Commission is to come up with a new detailed assessment of Ukraine’s funding needs and an options paper on how to help, including the use of assets, according to officials from these countries. 

As the summit began, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he had been urging his counterparts to “do everything we can to help Ukraine get through the winter and continue to support it next year as well.” 

“We will also have to increase funding once again in order to provide Ukraine with truly long-term assistance,” he said. “I remain firmly convinced that we are not only defending Ukraine’s territorial integrity, but also the political order of Europe, which is truly under pressure from Russia in every respect.” 

A German official earlier suggested that of the available options to help Ukraine, including a loan and direct grants from national governments, using the assets was the most viable way forward and should be “discussed.”

A U.S. proposal to unfreeze some of the Russian assets and transfer them to a U.S.-controlled entity so Washington could use them as leverage in peace talks with Moscow also attracted strong criticism.

Merz told reporters that the assets had been frozen in Europe and “should remain frozen in Europe … That is our business, and we will decide on it.”

‘Try again’

Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told POLITICO as the summit began: “The best solution would be that we will have a solution on how to use frozen assets … We have to try again.” 

Sweden is also backing the move to re-examine options on using the assets to help Ukraine’s future funding needs. “Doing nothing is not an option,” Swedish EU Affairs Minister Jessica Rosencrantz told POLITICO. “The Commission is looking into different financial options, and we need to get them on the table quite soon,” she said. 

Leaders at this week’s summit should “be really honest that Ukraine needs increased financing” and that the EU “must really step up,” she added.

Zelenskyy met Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, the main opponent to a deal on assets, for talks on Thursday and thanked him for his country’s support so far.

Speaking to reporters after the first day of the summit, De Wever said the assets should be looked at as part of a future peace agreement. “Are there people on this planet who maybe dream of doing it differently this time and operationalizing those assets earlier for certain purposes? The answer to that question is: Yes there are,” he said. “Are they in this building? They are. Are there outside this building? Yes there are. Do I want to talk about it? No, I don’t.”

For Finland’s Orpo, Trump’s “terrible deal” with Putin on diesel, and the apparent U.S.-imposed limits on Starlink technology to help Ukraine counter Russian attacks, are hard to understand.

“My message to [Trump] is that we are allies,” Orpo said in an interview. “We are in NATO. And what is the biggest threat against NATO? It’s Russia — and that is why there is no logic. I don’t have answers. I have many questions.” He said Trump may be focusing on winning votes ahead of next month’s midterm elections in the U.S. but he should remember that his real allies lie in Europe and he should not “trust” Putin. 

Election anxiety

Finland holds its election next year at the same time as what could be a seismic contest in France. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen is leading the polls for the French presidency and wants to cut aid to Ukraine and slash the EU’s budget. 

French President Emmanuel Macron, who is constitutionally barred from standing next year, warned EU leaders that they must get a deal on the bloc’s next budget by December, otherwise it will be too late. 

But the 27 leaders remain split and show no signs of bridging the gap between “frugal” countries like Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands, who want to limit the settlement, and others such as Italy and Romania, who are on the side of bigger pots of cash for regional development and farming. 

European Council President António Costa also sees the urgency. He believes a deal before the end of the year is not only necessary but achievable, according to two EU officials.

Costa, who is taking over the negotiations from Ireland in its role at the helm of the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, believes failing to secure a deal by December would push the entire budget negotiating process beyond the electoral cycle. That would potentially delay a deal until October next year — perilously close to the new EU budget taking effect in January 2028. 

In an effort to make progress on the budget talks, EU leaders will return to Brussels for an extra summit next month.

Camille Gijs, Hanne Cokelaere and Gregorio Sorgi contributed reporting.

BRUSSELS — There is “no logic” to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent moves to take Russia’s side in the Ukraine war, and he should remember his true allies lie in Europe, Finland’s prime minister said Thursday. 

In an exclusive interview with POLITICO, Petteri Orpo summed up the shock and dismay among Ukraine’s allies after Trump announced a diesel deal with Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin, and reportedly imposed limits on Kyiv’s access to the military intelligence and technology needed to counter Russian attacks.

“My message to him [Trump] is that we are allies,” Orpo said on the sidelines of the European Council summit in Brussels. “We are in NATO. And what is the biggest threat against NATO? It’s Russia — and that is why there is no logic. I don’t have answers. I have many questions.” 

Trump alarmed European leaders and horrified Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week by announcing a deal to release Russian diesel onto the market, apparently in an attempt to lower fuel costs for American consumers. Ukraine’s allies fear the move will boost Russia’s revenue from fuel sales, giving it more money to spend on war. 

Trump also said Ukraine should stop hitting Russian fossil fuel facilities — as part of what he said was a ceasefire on energy infrastructure — and should replace Zelenskyy. 

Finland is an influential voice among Ukraine’s European allies: The country has the EU’s longest land border with Russia, at 1,300 km, and its president, Alexander Stubb — a talented sportsman — won Trump’s respect on the golf course, giving him leeway to try to influence White House policy.

Orpo said if he were in Trump’s position “I would not trust Putin.” Zelenskyy has said he fears Ukraine is losing the U.S. to Russia’s side in the war, warning the Americans and their president are on “the wrong side of history”. Orpo said he agreed: “I think he is, and they are.” 

Ukraine now faces grave danger, he said. “The sky is open for Russia, there are missiles. They need more military support, air defense,” Orpo said. “Also, the situation is dangerous because of the latest deal between Trump and Putin.”

Midterms move

One possible reason Trump turned against Ukraine with that diesel deal is the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 3. “I think it is because of domestic reasons — elections are coming,” Orpo said. “But we need to get them back.” Nonetheless, he said the amount of Russian diesel that could be sold to the U.S. is too small to make much of a difference for American consumers. 

Whatever happens, EU leaders must equip Ukraine with weapons and cash, whether or not they can rely on the U.S., he said. “Today, we need to find a solution [on] how to support Ukraine, how to finance Ukraine in this winter, but also in next year,” Orpo said. “It’s crucial.”

Finland and Sweden are among the countries pushing the European Commission to reopen the fractious debate over how to use Russia’s financial assets currently frozen in European banks, especially in Belgium, which blocked a deal to raid the funds last year over legal concerns. 

“The best solution would be that we will have a solution on how to use frozen assets,” he said. “We have to try again,” Orpo said. 

Finland has asked the Commission “to continue work with Belgium, and the other member states, to find a solution.” He said he hoped to hear an update from the Commission during the summit. “It’s a better solution than using our own money.”

Budget blues

European leaders are arguing this week over their long-term budget, which Brussels officials want to finalize by the end of the year. Many diplomats do not expect a deal this year, and some leaders say they’re in no hurry. 

But others want the budget, worth around €2 trillion, signed off by December because they fear next year’s European elections — especially if far-right leader Marine Le Pen wins the French presidency — will derail negotiations. 

The longer budget negotiations last, the “more difficulties we will have,” Orpo said. “So we have to work to find a solution this year. I understand very well that it is difficult, a huge challenge, but I cannot see how it would be easier next year, because in France elections are coming, for example.”

Finland also has an election coming up in April 2027. Orpo’s center-right National Coalition Party is struggling in the polls. “This time has been very difficult,” he said. “But, finally, our economy is growing.”

Orpo’s Swedish sister party, the Moderates, mounted a late surge in last month’s election. Although that seems unlikely to keep them in office, Sweden’s Moderates still have a slim chance, even though many commentators had written them off long before the vote.

“They did excellent campaign work, and in the end of the day, people vote Moderates, not populist or socialist,” Orpo said. “I would like the same in Finland.”

TIRANA — Student demonstrations in Tirana spiraled out of control Wednesday as protesters clashed with police for over 10 hours, setting buildings on fire, entering government institutions and looting.

While Albania has seen daily protests since the end of May over opposition to a Jared Kushner-linked resort in the south of the country, on Tuesday, students took to the streets over conditions in universities and dorms, the cost of living, and grievances over governance.

“The right to peaceful protest is a foundation of democracy and the state’s obligation to guarantee it. But violence cannot be a means of expressing dissatisfaction, nor should the use of force by the police exceed the limits of the law and proportionality,” President Bajram Begaj said in a public statement Wednesday. He called for the youth to engage in dialogue with him.

Starting outside the Ministry of Education on Wednesday morning, masked individuals threw stones, paving slabs, bottles and improvised pyrotechnics at the institution. They ripped up metal railings from the side of the road and used them to batter the iron gates of the building. After several hours, police with batons, tear gas guns, water cannons, and riot gear moved in, forcibly removing protesters and citizens from the vicinity.

Over the following hours, the situation escalated further as protestors set fire to benches, trees, and several buildings. They breached the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Finance, damaged several private businesses and billboards, then moved to the main boulevard and encircled the prime minister’s office. They later broke into shopping centers and banks.

Economy Minister Delina Ibrahimaj condemned the “burning and destruction of institutional premises,” calling them “unacceptable acts.”

As of Wednesday evening, at least 40 demonstrators had been arrested and dozens of injuries had been reported by protestors, civilians, and the police. Several journalists reported being prevented from conducting their work by police who physically blocked them or seized their equipment. On Tuesday evening, one young man had his legs broken and required emergency surgery following an altercation with police.

The situation remains tense as protestors, mostly in masks, and police continue to battle it out on the city’s main boulevard, home to several parliament buildings, the president’s office, and the prime minister’s office.

The U.S. Embassy in Tirana warned its citizens to be vigilant and avoid areas impacted by the protest, noting that it could spread. Explosions and sirens continue to be heard throughout the city center on Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile, the delegation of the European Union to Albania stated it has taken note of allegations of excessive violence by police against protestors and journalists and expects the police to prioritize full investigations. The EU delegation also called for de-escalation from both sides.

FRANKFURT — European Central Bank staff want to know whether President Christine Lagarde breached her own ethics standards by plugging her forthcoming book at an ECB press conference last month.

The central bank’s staff committee raised its concerns with the ECB’s chief compliance officer in a letter dated Oct. 9 and seen by POLITICO. Staffers are seeking clarity on whether Lagarde breached the central bank’s code of conduct, and have raised concerns about “potential double standards” between the ethics requirements for staff and the ECB’s six executive board members. 

Lagarde mentioned her memoir, Lady First, during a monetary policy press conference on Sept. 10, when asked how she would keep the book’s commercial promotion separate from her ECB role. The Frenchwoman told reporters that “any marketing, publishing, commercial operations will happen either at weekends or on a day or two that I will take as a holiday.” 

She then added: “I strongly encourage you to buy the book.” The autobiography’s English version is expected to hit the shelves on Feb. 4. A spokesperson for the ECB said Lagarde has done nothing wrong.

The podium plug has fueled speculation that Lagarde may leave the ECB by the time the book is published, well before the end of her official term in October next year. Lagarde has declined to commit to staying for the full term, triggering an early race for the EU’s most powerful economic job.

The letter is the latest in a string of clashes between the central bank’s leadership and staff representatives, who are suing ECB management for allegedly violating freedom of speech within the central bank. 

The book plug might’ve been in jest. But staffers want to know whether writing and publishing the book falls within her “occupation” under Article 11.1 of the ECB’s statutes. If not, the union has asked whether the central bank’s Governing Council received and granted an exemption. The letter also asked whether the manuscript was vetted for confidential or policy-sensitive material, and whether promoting the book at an official event was consistent with the ECB’s code of conduct.

“President Lagarde informed the ECB’s Ethics Committee and the Compliance and Governance Officer about the book project and has received approval,” the spokesperson for the central bank said.

The staff committee reminded the ECB’s compliance chief that staff rules require employees to seek prior authorization before publishing material outside their work at the central bank. The rules also restrict employees from using ECB resources, or their position, for private activities.

While ECB staff is subject to a different set of rules than the bank’s leadership, the committee said that any differences in treatment should be “objectively justified” and proportionate, the letter said, adding that ethical expectations should become “more — not less — demanding as institutional responsibility increases.”

Similarly, the staff committee wanted to know whether Lagarde had disclosed any contact with the World Economic Forum and if any potential conflicts of interest had been assessed. The ECB president is rumored to be in talks about a leadership role at the global think tank, although this has never been confirmed. 

“The book project is a private activity, carried out in the President’s own time, and does not use ECB resources,” the ECB’s spokesperson said. The staff committee declined to comment.

To get past the paywall, sign up for VICE membership. A Digital Only subscription is just $2 a month (or $20 a year, if you prefer), while $70 a year also gets you 4 issues of VICE magazine, delivered straight to your door. (All three kill all the ads on this site.)

It’s rare that a distinctly British phenomenon crosses over to North America. While U.S. artists are exported fairly easily to the rest of the world, because it is culturally dominant and now half of the Earth’s population knows about Pete Buttigieg and “cilantro” whether we want to or not, the idiosyncrasies of other cultures don’t translate so easily in the other direction. So it’s always fascinating to see what sticks and what doesn’t. Based on the bewildered reception to his biopic, in which he was played by a CGI chimp, Stoke-on-Trent boybander turned crooner Robbie Williams has zero traction across the Atlantic. The Stone Roses never achieved the same level of familiarity as other Factory-era Manchester bands, and Charli XCX only really just “arrived” there despite being a cultural institution in the UK for over a decade.

For reasons that are hard to pinpoint, one artist the U.S. does seem to have embraced immediately and without reservation is the masked Liverpudlian rap sensation EsDeeKid.

It seems unlikely, given his thick Scouse accent and colloquial lyrics, but EsDee has jumped directly from the Mersey to New York Fashion Week, Marty Supreme promo, and parts of the U.S. that by rights should have absolutely no point of reference for what “birds” and “bizzies” are. In fairness his unique mix of goth and trap, chainmail and streetwear, is just as esoteric at home as it is anywhere else, but the question remains: What do people make of EsDeeKid outside of a British context?  

Raised in Merseyside and currently living in Indiana, writer Charlotte Landrum traveled to the Chicago date of his Council House Rat tour to gauge what EsDeeKid’s U.S. fanbase looks like. What impressions do they have of Liverpool? What touchstones are they fucking with? And do they know what a council house is? One young fan mused:

“A bunch of rats, a bunch of wizards, a bunch of medieval shit.”

Read Charlotte’s full report from Chicago below:

Speaking of U.S. exports, Azealia Banks may or may not have relocated to Israel. The New York rapper and inflammatory opinion-haver posted a photo to X this week of the inside of a building—which looks like it could be either a new-build apartment or a tech start-up office—announcing that she had “moved” to Tel Aviv and was “liking it.” Fact or ragebait, it’s certainly true that Banks has vacated the Washington Heights residence where she famously sacrificed live chickens for spiritual purposes. (A video shared by the rapper in 2016 showed her going at her closet with a sand blaster to remove layers of dried blood and feathers.)

It’s not uncommon, in New York City, to move into a place previously inhabited by a celebrity. But as Eamon Levesque put it in a report for VICE:

“For Harris Ansari, discovering ‘what celeb used to live in my apartment’ helped him answer another question: ‘Why does my closet smell like this?’” 

Levesque continues:

“In May, newlyweds Harris and Avani moved into their 3-bed 2-bath on Pinehurst Ave in Washington Heights. There was plenty to love about the space—natural light, high ceilings, ample space for their cat Chutney to explore. One small concern: the floor and baseboards of the guest bedroom closet were caked in a mysterious black substance…” 

Read the full story behind the paywall below:

Emma Garland
Deputy Editor, VICE Magazine

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“Do you know who used to live here?” 

Spend enough time living in New York and you’ll inevitably hear that your block, building, or perhaps entire unit used to be the home of a celebrity. These stories become useful to impress out-of-towners (“Did you know Capote and the guy who made Grand Theft Auto lived in the same house?”) or to illustrate gentrification (Jay-Z’s stash spot from “Empire State of Mind” listed for $1.3m). But for Harris Ansari, discovering “what celeb used to live in my apartment” helped him answer another question: “Why does my closet smell like this?” 

In May, newlyweds Harris and Avani moved into their 3-bed 2-bath on Pinehurst Ave in Washington Heights. There was plenty to love about the space: natural light, high ceilings, and ample space for their cat Chutney to explore. One small concern: the floor and baseboards of the guest bedroom closet were caked in a mysterious black substance. 

“My wife made this interesting observation,” said Harris, pointing to the area in question. “She goes, ‘Why does it smell like a farm in here?’”

A born and raised New Yorker, Harris was never going to be scared off a good apartment on smell alone. On move-in day, the couple went to work steam-cleaning the apartment—only to find the heat was amplifying the smell. 

“Chutney [the couple’s cat] was definitely curious,” said Harris. “But I was like, whatever. She’s a dumb cat. Orange.”

“I was trying not to think about it,” said Avani. “But then I found a feather.”

Unfortunately, signs were pointing to the apartment smelling like birds because it once had birds in it. “Maybe not even a full feather, but like… fluff. I just tried to imagine that someone had kept hamsters there or something.”

Days later, a building meet-up with their new neighbors removed “willful ignorance” as an option.

“A new neighbor mentioned, ‘Oh hey, did you know Azealia Banks used to live in the building?’” said Harris. Banks’s blend of ballroom culture, hip-hop, and house music created some of the most enduring mephedrone burp anthems of the 2010s: “212”, “Anna Wintour”, “Big Big Beat”. The revelation piqued Harris’ interest: for one, he was a fan. For another, he had found a promo sticker for Banks’s 2016 mixtape Slay-Z on the inside of his mailbox.

Whoever put it there had the mail key for his unit.

Music aside, Banks is equally known for having a social media presence that necessitates a dedicated Wikipedia section. Among her most memorable posts: a December 30, 2016 video in which she dons goggles and uses a sand-blaster to clean out a carrion-caked closet.

“Three years worth of Brujería,” says Banks in the video, referring to the umbrella term for witchcraft rooted in indigenous Latin American and Afro-Caribbean cultures. “You know I gotta scrape all this shit up.” 

The video indicated that Banks had been using the closet for the sacrifice of live chickens. As an initiate of the African diasporic religion Palo Mayombe (overlapping with, but distinct from Brujería and Santería), the practice was of spiritual importance to Banks. By way of explanation, she tweeted that she made the sacrifices “to help my father (who is dead) out.”

At the time, the video set off an intense online debate. PETA stated that the practice constituted animal cruelty, while others noted that many religions incorporate ritual sacrifice (which is protected under the First Amendment). 

Fast-forward nine years: Harris compared the background of the video (and other livestreams from Banks) to confirm that yes, he did indeed live in Azealia’s former “witch cave.” This may also explain why the iridescent tile in the bathroom matches the album art for Banks’s 2012 Fantasea mixtape. The smoking gun came weeks later: a letter in the mail addressed to Ms. Azealia Banks.

Initially, “it was unsettling to find it out,” said Avani. But a little research and open-mindedness helped them reach closure. 

“We went down a Wikipedia rabbit hole,” said Avani, which yielded the info that Brujeria sacrifices are usually done for the benefit of someone in the afterlife. “When [Harris] said she did it for good fortune, I relaxed a bit. She wasn’t invoking anything evil here.” 

The logistics of Banks’s rituals did draw some questions from Harris: “In my research, there’s nothing in Brujería that says you don’t have to clean up after your sacrifices, and to do it in one’s home as opposed to outdoors. That’s interesting.”

Harris was also quick to acknowledge that interpretations of his own faith (Islam) can involve elements of animal sacrifice. “Initially, when you hear the word ‘sacrifice’, people go to a place of satanic panic,” he said. “But I would never be the one to judge someone’s spiritual practice. If sacrificing chickens brings you closer to who or what you believe created us, power to you. People did hit me up on Instagram saying that I had to get my home blessed, but it’s not as if she was trying to summon something evil, right? I believe that whatever energy someone gives off, they take it with them. So there was no real concern from me.” 

“In most New York City apartments, you have the luxury of not knowing what happened there,” Avani shrugged. “But in all likelihood, something you’d rather not know about did.” 

“Probably won’t tell my mom,” added Harris. 

Follow Eamon Levesque on Instagram @eamonomania

The post We Just Moved Into the Azealia Banks Animal Sacrifice Apartment appeared first on VICE.

BRUSSELS — The EU should use frozen Russian assets to fund Kyiv’s defense, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, adding that doing so would counter claims from the far right and far left that Europe is footing the bill for the war.

“Russia, not European taxpayers, must be the first to pay for the damage it has caused and continues to cause,” Sybiha wrote in an opinion piece for POLITICO.

Using the assets would reassure “skeptical audiences across Europe” ahead of a year of major elections, Sybiha said, in a nod to votes in countries including France and Italy in 2027. In France, presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen has vowed to end financial aid to Kyiv; in Italy, Roberto Vannacci is challenging Giorgia Meloni from the right and opposes continued support for the war-torn country.

The G7 immobilized roughly €300 billion in Russian central bank reserves in 2022, including about €210 billion in the EU — most of which are held at Belgian financial depository Euroclear. Belgium, backed by Italy, rejected an EU proposal late last year to use these assets to back a loan for Ukraine, citing legal and financial risks and fears of Russian retaliation.

The push gained fresh momentum over the summer, when Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain urged the European Commission to reopen talks and explore ways to overcome Belgium’s objections. But Belgium again shot the idea down.

Sybiha sought to address the Belgian concerns, saying Ukraine’s finance ministry had proposed placing the assets under collective EU control, making the decision to use them and any liability a shared responsibility.

“Belgium’s exposure is a reason to share the risk, not to do nothing,” Sybiha said.

Sybiha also rejected concerns that using the reserves would undermine the euro or weaken Europe’s leverage in future peace talks. The euro’s credibility, he wrote, “rests on Europe’s ability to defend order and principles.” And the leverage provided by the frozen assets “is not in holding the money — it is in spending it.”

He dismissed the risk of Russian retaliation against Western companies, saying Moscow had already seized control of European business assets, including Nestlé, Auchan and Metro. “Keeping the assets immobilized did not deter it,” he wrote.

Russia plans to spend a record €180 billion on its military in 2027, more than 40% above its 2026 spending, Sybiha said. He called on EU leaders to act this fall, warning that a delay would prolong the war and raise the cost of defending Ukraine.

When longtime Indiana politician Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) lobbed a powerful allegation against the Census Bureau last October, what had been a low-profile, fringe GOP conspiracy theory burst to the fore. Banks said he believed the Census Bureau had injected errors in the decennial population count and survey which were so severe, they netted Democrats more representation in Congress at the expense of Republican seats.

“The Biden admin used a shady ‘privacy’ formula,” Banks wrote on X, adding that the 2020 census “scrambled the data and miscounted 14 states. It included illegal immigrants and handed Democrats extra seats.”