Flotsam and Jetsam - Confirmation Palooza, A Hostage Deal and Biden Says Bye Bye

Yesterday was a really big day in the process of confirming former and soon to be President Trump's nominations for important posts. Sundance at CTH, Today a Set of Nominees Will Appear for Senate Confirmation Hearings: Bondi, Rubio, Duffy, Ratcliffe, Wright and Vought. Live Blogging at PJM, LIVE: Trump Nominees Hold Their Own Against Dem Attacks During Confirmation Hearings and TownHall, LIVE: Trump Nominees Repel Absurd Dem Attacks During Confirmation Hearings.

The most public facing and perhaps most important nominee in the group yesterday was Pam Bondi, former Florida AG nominated for Attorney General. Sundance posts the whole thing, Pam Bondi (Day 1) Senate Confirmation Hearing – 9:30am Livestream. Da Signal, AG Nominee Bondi Clashes With Democratic Senators in Confirmation Hearing. At Twitchy, Pam Bondi Delivers a Self-Awareness KO to Sen. Whitehouse About How the Justice System SHOULD Work. At PJM, Matt Margolis thinks Pam Bondi Gloriously Outsmarted Dick Durbin. Kurt Schlichter@KurtSchlichter, "You’re a little late, Dick" Quote, Senator Dick Durbin @SenatorDurbin, "Anyone seeking to serve as Attorney General must say “NO” to attempts to weaponize the Justice Department." Matt Vespa at TownHall sees Pam Bondi Destroyed Adam Schiff With One Line "You were censured by Congress, Senator, for comments JUST like this that are so RECKLESS." Julie Kelly@julie_kelly2, "You will be shocked to hear that Senator Adam Schiff is lying about the SCOTUS opinion related to presidential immunity." Benny Johnson @bennyjohnson, "LEAKED VIDEO: Senator Adam Schiff falls asleep LIVE at Pam Bondi hearing in latest humiliation for the state of California" Twitchy, Pam Bondi Tells Sen. Alex Padilla She Will Not Be Bullied by Him. Jeff Charles at TownHall, 'I'm Not Here to Do Your Homework': Pam Bondi Decimates Dem Senator During Hearing. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, Bondi v Crazy Mazie Exactly What We'd Expect. Twitchy, Pam Bondi Helps Dem Sen. Mazie Hirono Make a Fool of Herself at ANOTHER Hearing. Tim Young@TimRunsHisMouth, "Mazie Hirono just asked Pam Bondi if she’s ever sexually assaulted anyone… What a complete joke." Cathy Salgado at PJM, Sen. Schmitt EXPLODES Hypocritical Dem Self-Righteousness on Rule of Law "Schmitt gave damning examples in the Democrat AGs’ own words. “Eric Holder described himself as Obama's ‘heat shield‘ and ‘wingman‘... One of my colleagues referenced that the attorney general shouldn't be the wingman of the president. Eric Holder has bragged about it.” Obama’s second AG, Loretta Lynch, “met with Bill Clinton on the tarmac in a private meeting while she was investigating Hillary Clinton.” As for Biden’s AG Merrick Garland, he could win an award “for the most politicized, weaponized Department of Justice we have ever seen.”" Ace, Pam Bondi Easily Handles Democrat Pencil-Necks and Sewer-Rats. "She's very confrontational. I assume this means she knows she's a lock. Democrats demand, over and over, for a guarantee that she will prosecute no Democrats at all during her term. They want a guarantee of total immunity for their crimes. She keeps refusing to give it to them." However, Paul Bedard at WaEx hears Second Amendment advocates skeptical of Pam Bondi.

The next most controversial nomination was former Congressman and DNI head John Ratcliff for CIA director. Sundance, John Ratcliffe Senate Confirmation Hearing – 10:00am EST. Anxious anxiously whines John Ratcliffe, Trump's CIA pick, sees tech as both tool and target. 'Bonchie' at RedState, HEARING: John Ratcliffe Roasts Adam Schiff, Sets the Record Straight on Hunter Biden Laptop. Tyler O'Neal at Da Signal, President Trump’s CIA Pick Faces Grilling in Confirmation Hearing. Twitchy, Trump’s CIA Director Nominee Calls Out Adam Schiff for the Laptop Story.

Marco Rubio is widely regarded as a shoe-in for SecState, mostly because of his Senate ties. Sundance posts the Marco Rubio Senate Confirmation Hearing – 10:00am EST Livestream. Teri Christoph at RedState, Marco Rubio Will Be on the Hot Seat Today As He Seeks to Become Trump's Secretary of State. Ace, Marco Rubio's Opening Statement Offers Tough Attack on the "Delusion" of Globalism and Defense of the American Interest, "Marco Rubio is Trump's nominee for Secretary of State, and his opening statement at his Senate hearing shows he's breaking from the dangerous and demoralizing commitment to advancing other countries' interests ahead of our own that has been the post-war consensus for 60 years."

In misc. confirmation hearings, Sundance posts OMB Nominee Russell Vought Senate Confirmation Hearing – 1:00pm EST Livestream "Russel Vought is on track to repeat his role as OMB director, which he helmed at the end of Trump’s first term." At TNP, Trump’s Energy Sec Nominee to Reveal Bold Energy Dominance Strategy at Confirmation Hearing. Tom Knighton at TAW, This is a promising sign.At Da Signal, Climate Protesters Aside, Energy Nominee Gets Mostly Warm Reception From Senate Panel. Duane Patterson at Hat Hair treats us to The Top 10 Dumbest Things Said By Democrats...On Tuesday. Misty Severi at JTN reports Noem becomes third Trump nominee to have hearing delayed because of FBI. "The hearing has been rescheduled for Friday at 9 a.m. Eastern." Is the FBI stalling? At NewsWeek Michael Gfoeller and David H. Rundell opine Why We Need Hegseth, Gabbard and Rubio to Strengthen America. OTP, Over 100 Detransitioners, Advocates Back RFK Jr. For HHS.

Of course, the Hegseth confirmation hearing from Monday is still drawing flies. At WaEx, Hegseth defends Christian tattoos in Senate hearing. Shawn Fleetwood at Da Fed thinks Democrats’ Hegseth Hearing Theatrics Prove They’re Unserious About U.S. National Security. Insty cites JOHN LUCAS: “Virginia Senator Tim Kaine gave one of the more disgraceful performances in Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing, and that’s saying something because he had some stiff competition.” Will Chamberlain@willchamberlain "Tim Kaine has a lot to say about Pete Hegseth’s conduct during his marriage Here’s Tim Kaine campaigning with Doug Emhoff, who - while married - impregnated his nanny and forced her to get an abortion." Sister Toldja at RedState, thinks that Clip of Tim Kaine's Reaction to Markwayne Mullin Shredding Him at Hegseth Hearing Was Chef's Kiss. Bluesky Libs @BlueskyLibs, "Jen Rubin falsely reports that Pete Hegseth was unable to answer allegations of sex with minors in yesterday’s confirmation hearings. No such allegations exist or were asked about. This is outright defamation." Scott Pinsker at PJM, sees the PR Fallout of the Hegseth Hearing: There’s a Fox in the Henhouse. Sundance reports Sens. Mullin and Cotton Now See a Glidepath of Confirmation for Defense Sec Nominee Pete Hegseth. 

Jesse Kelly@JesseKellyDC "When I see a GOP senator in the year 2025 talking lovingly about FISA after all the abuse we’ve seen, I see a man who’s been approached by the intelligence services with pictures of him and midgets."

In late breaking news yesterday, it appears that, spurred by Trump's threats to raise hell if the hostages weren't released by his inauguration, Hamas and Israel are on the cusp of a deal for the hostages. At Althouse, "WE HAVE A DEAL FOR THE HOSTAGES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEY WILL BE RELEASED SHORTLY. THANK YOU!" "Writes Trump, just now, at Truth Social."  Sundance, President Trump Announces Ceasefire Peace Deal Between Israel and Hamas. Darin Gaub to Newsmax: Trump Effect Spurred Ceasefire. Libs of TikTok@libsoftiktok, "Biden: I got the Israel-Hamas deal done Netanyahu: Thank you Trump for getting this deal done Brutal." Herr Professor Jacobson at LI writes The only way this capitulation in Gaza makes sense is if there is a side deal. "I’m hoping – probably wishful thinking – that those Leb/Gaza deals were the cost of gaining Trump admin support for Israel taking out Iran’s nuke program."

John Sexton at Hat Hair sees Biden's Job Approval Has Fallen and It Can't Get Up, and it no longer matters. 'Becca Downs at TownHall says Biden's Farewell Speech Was As Pathetic As You'd Expect. Da Signal is Fact-Checking 3 Claims in Biden’s Farewell Address. Joe Cunningham at RedState claims that With His Farewell Speech, Joe Biden Fulfills His Destiny as Barack Obama's True Heir. Driscoll at Insty, RON BURGUNDY WILL READ ANYTHING THAT IS PUT ON THAT TELEPROMPTER! Matt Margolis, Is This Proof That Biden's Speech Was Prerecorded?. Althouse submits Biden's farewell to an old-fashioned fisking, "You know, in his farewell address, President Eisenhower spoke of the dangers of the military-industrial complex...." ""Six days — six decades later, I’m equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech-industrial complex that could pose real dangers for our country as well. Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation enabling the abuse of power." . . . What about all the lies you told for power and for profit?!  . . . What about your abuse of power squeezing the "social platforms" to follow the narrative that served your interests?" Jim Treacher says Happy Anniversary to Hunter's Laptop, "Four wonderful years."

VodkaPundit at PJM, Here We Go Again: Deep State Shadow Coup II. At OTP, Pentagon Aide Terminated After Boasting About Conspiring To Stop Trump. Sundance, Jame O’Keefe Group Reveals Another Pentagon Contractor Operating a “Stop Trump” Network with Generals in Defense Department. Charlotte Hazard at JTN reports Defense Department IG finds Secretary Austin's '23 hospitalization increased national security risks. At Da Signal, How Biden Tried to ‘Trump-Proof’ Government With Federal Telework. Vox whines about The president who could not choose. "Joe Biden’s fatal flaw led to four years of weakness." And the things he did decide sucked. Da Caller, Biden Removes Notorious Communist Country From State Terror Watchlist. NYPo, Biden lifts Cuba terrorism designation, drawing bipartisan outrage: ‘Pathetic coward’. ADN America, Republican congressional members outraged over Biden plan to remove Cuba from State Sponsor of Terrorism list. "The decision comes just six days before President Biden will relinquish power and President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in on Jan. 20 and has outraged prominent Republican members of the U.S. Congress." OTP, Biden Exempted Nearly 7K Foreign Nationals From Terror-Related Entry Restrictions. Restoration News, Biden Gave $14 Billion to Islamist Groups from Joe Taxpayer. From the Free Bacon, Biden Solidifies Anti-Oil Legacy With Flurry of Lame-Duck Attacks on Drilling and Mining "Biden admin setting up roadblocks for Trump's 'drill, baby, drill' agenda." VodkaPundit at Inst, I KEPT TELLING YOU THERE’S PLENTY MORE BIDENFLATION BAKED INTO THE SYSTEM: Consumer price growth rose in December, a sign Trump will inherit stubborn inflation as he takes office. Matt Margolis, ‘I Gotta Fill This In?’ Joe Biden Forgets How to Sign National Monument Proclamation. Shooting News Weekly says Biden Leaves Behind a Sordid Legacy of Lies and Falsehoods in His Four-Year War on Guns. OTP, Bitter Dr. Jill Lashes Out At Pelosi and Exiting Border Chief Mayorkas’ Parole Inflow To Hit 1.5 Million Migrants. Paul Bedard, ‘Freeze’ on immigration urged to put Americans back to work. At JTN, Colorado apartment complex occupied by Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua will be closed. Ace, Leftwing Theater in Paris Offers a Free Show to "Refugees;" the Refugees Refuse to Leave, and the Theater Shuts Down After Five Weeks of Occupation.

NewsMax, Trump Inauguration 'Potential Target' for Threats. At Da Signal, From California Democrats to Woke Military Policies, Trump Puts Left on Notice. Breitbart, Team Trump Hypes Incoming ‘Make America Wealthy Again’ Era. Hat Hair's Beege Welborn says A Rising Trump Tide Lifts All Boats and Hopes. OTP, Trump Effect: Canada, Facing Tariff Threat, Is Buying More US Subs, Trump Backs Vivek To Fill Vance’s Ohio Senate Seat and Ivanka’s Out For Trump 47: ‘I Hate Politics.’ PJM's Rick Moran is Expecting Big Changes in the White House Press Room as Trump Will All But Sideline Legacy Media. Atop Da Hill, Michelle Obama signals she’s done with Trump, but he may not be done with her. Riley Gaines @Riley_Gaines_ "Can someone point me in the direction of the MAGA people freaking out about Michelle Obama not attending Trump’s inauguration because I've yet to see that" Quote Harry Sisson@harryjsisson "It’s so funny to watch MAGA freak out over Michelle Obama not attending Trump’s inauguration. Like, guys… you do realize Donald Trump didn’t go to Biden’s, right? Not a single member of the Trump family attended. Save your fake outrage."

Anna Paulina Luna

At WokeSpy, Anna Paulina Luna Unveils Bill to Take Pedophiles “Off the Streets Permanently” With Death Penalty. Charlotte Hazard at JTN reports the GOP House leadership removes Massie, lone vote against Johnson speakership, from key rules committee. "Massie has reportedly been replaced with House Freedom Caucus member GOP Rep. Morgan Griffith."

Dave Strom at Hat Hair says Gavin Newsom Is a Lying Dog-Faced Pony Soldier. End Wokeness @EndWokeness, "Gov. Newsom: It is dangerous for Elon Musk and Trump to say our reservoirs aren't full." At Insty, AT LEAST THE EMPTY SUIT IS A NICE ONE: Justine Bateman@JustineBateman, "If you're missing your word salad bowl, Gavin Newsom has it." At WaEx, Newsom and Bass recall efforts gain momentum after fallout from wildfires. At the Center Square CA, Newsom expands special 'Trump-proofing' session to include wildfire relief proposal. Beege Welborn, CA Dems Tying Passage of State Aid for Fire Victims to $50M 'Trump Proofing' Bill. Harold Hutchinson at Da Caller, CNN Panel Has Fiery Exchange After Scott Jennings Backs ‘Conditions’ On Wildfire Aid. At Breitbart, Jon Stewart’s Stupid Meltdown Over ‘Conditional’ Federal Wildfire Aid Falls Flat. 

Vicky Taft at PJM, 'Lack of Leadership': L.A. Fire Vet Says No One Prepared Even After Extreme Wind Warnings. Dave Strom at Hat Hair reports LAFD Decided Not to Pre-Deploy Firefighters When Warned. Michael Shellenberger, Failure To Mobilize Firefighters Before L.A. Fires Began Led To Catastrophe, Says New Whistleblower. NYPo, LAFD bosses sent just 5 fire engines to Palisades Fire — while holding back 1,000 firefighters and 35 trucks in critical first hours. Matt Margolis, Bombshell Report Exposes More LAFD Incompetence in Responding to Wildfires. Sarah at Inty, A STAGGERING LEVEL OF INCOMPETENT MALICE: Los Angeles hydrants not just empty, but also broken or missing. (Short video clip.)

This clip has done irreparable damage to the DEI cause. It is breaking through to normies.

pic.twitter.com/yVutTJPVsp

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 15, 2025

Leslie Eastman at LI, Los Angeles Mega-Fire the Tragic Consequence of Protecting Shrubs Before People "Mega-disaster was brought to California by insane choices based on pseudoscience and virtue-signalling." At NYPo, How California eco-bureaucrats halted a Pacific Palisades fire safety project to save an endangered shrub. OTP reports Pacific Palisades Residents Sue Los Angeles. At WUWT, Why the LA Wildfires Have Little to Do With Drought or Climate Change. And in what is no doubt the greatest tragedy of the LA fires, OTP cites NYPo, Nearly 200 Hunter Biden Paintings Destroyed In LA Wildfires.

Natalia Mittelstadt at JTN reports Nearly 400 non-citizens voted in DC's 2024 general election: Judicial Watch, "More than 230 of the non-citizen voters are registered Democrats, compared to less than 20 who are registered Republicans." Josh Kraushaar, @JoshKraushaar "NYT, breaking: “A nonprofit founded by Stacey Abrams, a Georgia Democrat, admitted on Wednesday that it had violated state law by concealing the fact that it had campaigned for her during her 2018 run for governor. At the time of that campaign, the group was led by Raphael Warnock, who was later elected to the Senate as a Democrat from Georgia.”"  Atlanta J Con, Stacey Abrams group to pay largest fine for campaign violations in Georgia history.

Byron York at WaEx, calls Jack Smith, the prosecutor who would never admit what he was doing. At Althouse, ""[Jack Smith] may be right about obtaining a conviction before a D.C. jury and a highly motivated judge against Trump. However..." "... he would not have been able to sustain any conviction — and this [new] report makes that abundantly clear. . . Writes Jonathan Turley, in "Jacksonian Obstruction: Smith Explains How He Was Planning to Circumvent the Decision in Fischer."" Seth Barrett Tillman at the New Reform Club, Recent Academic Writing on the End of the Rule of Law. 

Trump never had a chance to remove Special Counsel Jack Smith. Smith resigned days before Trump will take office. And before he left, Smith actively closed down the D.C. and Florida federal prosecutions. (Albeit, zombie-like, the Florida prosecution continues—against the non-Trump defendants.) If these things were wrongful for Trump to do, was it not also wrongful for Smith to do? And if so, do Finkelstein and Painter think Smith should be impeached for wrongdoing in office amounting to high crimes and misdemeanors? Or should Smith be indicted for criminal obstruction of justice? See, e.g., Claire O. Finkelstein & Richard W. Painter, “You’re Fired”: Criminal Use of Presidential Removal Power, 25 N.Y.U. J. Legis. & Pub. Pol’y 307 (2023), <https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_articles/242/>.

One wonders.

Do these two legal academics believe that the rule of law in the United States is now at an “end … with respect to the presidency”?

One really wonders.

Stacy McCain notes Ashkenazi Jews Have the Highest IQs on Average, But Then There’s Jen Rubin. John Sexton at Hat Hair, Judge Blasts CNN's Attorney: 'Your Credibility With Me...Is About None'. At Ace's, Jake Tapper Claimed, Under Oath, That He "Doesn't Pay Attention to Nielsen Ratings." "This Claim Was Made WITHOUT EVIDENCE, and a Fact-Check Shows He's a Liar." Althouse cites the occasionally sensible Megan McArdle "Americans are too ornery to fall for TikTok propaganda/Banning TikTok may be legally sound but not really necessary." Writes Megan McArdle (at WaPo)(free-access link)." Da Caller, Zuckerberg Refused To Name Them, But A Report Found The People Who Helped Biden Censor Americans On Facebook. "A report from House Judiciary detailed communications from Senior Biden Advisor Andy Slavitt and White House Digital Director Rob Flaherty to Clegg demanding they remove posts which criticized vaccines." At RVN, Adam Carolla Goes on Expletive-Filled Rant Against Narrative Gatekeepers.

Stephen Kruiser at PJM thinks Nancy Mace Understands the Republicans' Assignment for 2025. At Victory Girls, House Passes H.R. 28-A Win For (Real) Women. Hollywood in Toto, Chloe Cole (‘Identity Crisis’) says Social Media Silences Detransitioners. 

From the College Fix, Top public policy programs lack conservative faculty, research finds. I'm shocked, shocked. 

Insty, TO BE FAIR, THAT’S BECAUSE DEI IS STUPIID: Mario Nawfal@MarioNawfal, " DEI SUPPORT PLUMMETS AS WORKERS SAY "ENOUGH" American workers are increasingly skeptical of DEI initiatives, with 42% of Republicans now calling them "bad" for business, up from 30% last year. Looks like those mandatory unconscious bias trainings aren't winning any popularity contests. Even among Democrats, enthusiasm is waning as 19% of workers say companies waste too much time on diversity programs. . . "