...but, did it work?

Well...the Saudis do pay more. /s

For all the alarmists acting like this is going to pass...it won't. This is part of the normal process that all new legislation goes through. Politicians propse a bill, which contains everything they can think to include...throwing it all at the wall, just to see what will stick. Then it gets torn to shreds during the debate session, by legal advocacy groups and human rights organizations, who know exactly what kinds of legal challenges they can see coming a mile away. Anything that's garaunteed to get tossed out in court is discarded from the legislation.

Why? Because there's no point in passing legislation that can't actually be legally enforced. Law enforcement has been trying to get these kinds of "tools" implemented for decades. And the courts have all said, all the way along...no. You need a warrant for that kind of intrusion. They need probable cause to look at these things. They need a reasonable justification beyond, "I want to look, just in case". None of the shit in this bill is going to pass the legal smell test. Period.

Cheese.

"Any rebuttal is shut down by these drones." Proceeds to complain that their whataboutism isn't respected as a valid "rebuttal".

...and it's all going to "accidentally" find its way onto Russian servers.

If Trump cuts off Federal funding, he may not have a choice. That money has to come from somewhere.

And just like they did in Maine, California will sue him and win.

It dissolves...but into what? Sounds like a recipe for a petroleum salt water mix that's probably just as toxic as melted plastic, unless all the petroleum is removed.

Ok, so let's assume they are playing 4D chess. What's the objective? Creating a distraction before releasing the Epstein files? That's what all this is for?

That's not 4D chess. That's a clown show with smoke bombs.

Aaaaaand...this is why you don't outsource this kind of shit to private interests. At any point, they can just pick up their ball and go home. Now all the money they invested in SpaceX just gets flushed down the drain. The government winds up with nothing to show for it.