Early in the day rumors floated that RINO Thom Tillis Backed Away From Sinking Pete Hegseth's Nomination. Here's Why (Matt Vespa at TownHall). Matt Margolis at PJM, Is ‘Republican’ Thom Tillis Trying to Tank Hegseth's Nomination? Spoiler alert, he didn't. But the usual suspects, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, plus Mitch McConnell (who is likely to become a usual suspect), voted against him, requiring JD Vance to break the tie to confirm Hegseth.At Fox, Pete Hegseth confirmed to lead Pentagon after VP Vance casts tie-breaking vote. Joe Weber at JTN, Senate confirms Hegseth as Defense secretary, Vance casts tie-breaking vote. "The 44-year-old Hegseth is an Army veteran who rose to the rank of major and served in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was most recently a Fox News Channel host." Matt Margolis, Pete Hegseth Confirmed as Defense Secretary. Matt Vespa, Pete Hegseth Confirmed as Secretary of Defense. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, Vance Casts Tie-Breaking Vote to Confirm Hegseth. Mark Hemingway@Heminator "“The Secretary of Defense has to be ready to go 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.” Twice in his tenure, the last SecDef, who she voted for, literally disappeared and didn’t tell anyone where he was!" Quote Elizabeth Warren@SenWarren, "The Secretary of Defense has to be ready to go 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Pete Hegseth has exercised terrible judgement with alcohol, and we cannot trust him with our national security." Matt Vespa thinks What McConnell Did After the Hegseth Vote Is Infuriating. I don't know about you, but in my mind McConnell has almost used up the benefit of the doubt I granted him when he stalled the Supreme Court nomination of Merrick Garland, and allowed Trump to select Bret Kavanaugh.
Next up, OTP reports Hearing Set For Kash Patel FBI Nomination, Thursday. Seth Barrett Tillman @SethBTillman "CHANGE: Yesterday, there were 45 reported ARTICLE III vacancies. Today, 47 vacancies are reported. new: J. JAMES O. BROWNING, DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO; C.J. DANNY C REEVES, DISTRICT OF EASTERN KY;" Both Bush appointees. Sundance at CTH hosts Senate Majority Leader John Thune Interview About Supporting President Trump Agenda, with Hannity. Jeremy Frankel at TownHall, Trump State Department Defined as ‘Common Sense’ and America First
Dave Strom at Hat Hair, Remarkable: Trump Really IS the Most Transparent President in History, Trump Approval Rating Net +18%--Highest Ever for Him and Too Far: Don't Amend Constitution to Keep Trump in Office. Ace, Politico's Co-Founder: "Trump is a Great President... He Is the Greatest Political Figure of His Era". "Politico wants to be considered objective. LOL." At WokeSpy, Jimmy Fallon Visibly Stunned When Audience Cheers for Trump The Great Victor Davis Hanson at Am Great, goes off on The Addicted, Petty, and Hysterical Left "Years of leftist hysterics and hollow attacks on Trump had desensitized voters, leaving the public weary, dismissive, and ultimately handing Trump a resounding 2024 victory." John Sexton at Hat Hair, Dems in Disarray: 'It feels like we’re battling the L.A. fires'.
At LI, Herr Professor Jacobson thinks Trump’s Merit-Based DEI Executive Order Is A Sledgehammer, "The EO takes aim at the private sector and higher education, requesting an OMB report within 120 days on the worst offenders and targets for federal action. Through our work at the Equal Protection Project, we have already identified numerous recalcitrant and systematically discriminatory institutions and we will be making our findings public long in advance of the OMB report", and Leslie Eastman notes Trump’s HHS Orders a Communication ‘Pause’ at CDC, FDA, NIH. "Trump hits the elite health regulators with an executive MOAB, freeing Americans from captivity of the scientific-technical elite." The KC Star opines Donald Trump’s DEI executive order has flaws but gets the big picture right. At WSJ, Swaths of U.S. Government Grind to a Halt After Trump Shock Therapy "Rescinded job offers, delayed health updates and confusion over cutting government checks upend business as usual across Washington." Andy Ngo@MrAndyNgo, "New: Janet Petro, the President-Trump-appointed acting director of NASA, has sent a message informing all NASA staff that it is shutting down all DEI offices and DEI contracts. The message says the agency knows government employees are trying to disguise DEI by using new names and vague language. (This is documented.) It tells staff to report those violations for investigation." At WUWT, The Tide of Accountability is Finally Rolling In. ET, Trump Cancels 60-Year-Old Affirmative Action Employment Mandate for Federal Contractors. John Sexton finds Philip Bump's Argument for DEI in the Federal Workforce Is Pretty Weak. Matt Vespa, Oh, So That's Why Dems Aren't Protesting Trump's Anti-DEI Executive Order "But we are unlikely to see Democrats unite to make DEI a high priority on their agenda for the simple reason that doing so runs counter to the American values of freedom, equality of opportunity, and meritocracy." OTP reports Trump Cuts Fauci’s Security Detail
Sundance hosts President Trump and First Lady Melania in North Carolina – Livestream and President and First Lady Trump Arrive in Asheville, North Carolina – Tarmac Presser. CNN whines Trump suggests eliminating FEMA during North Carolina visit as he attacks disaster response “This is probably one of the best examples of it not working.” Pop Times, Trump Visiting Disaster Areas Neglected by Biden Admin Today. Matt Van Swol@matt_vanswol, "If you’re wondering why everyone in Western North Carolina is freaking out about Trump coming today… … It is because MY KIDS SOCCER FIELD still looks like this 119 days after the hurricane We have been ignored for months, now we are finally getting help. TRUMP EFFECT!!!!!!" Batya Ungar-Sargon@bungarsargon, "President Trump has handed his press conference over to victims of Hurricane Helene and is asking them on national television to name the insurance companies that have stiffed them. Absolutely epic stuff." Althouse, Trump with hurricane victims — today, in North Carolina.
OTP, Gulf Of America, Mt. McKinley Now Official and AP Says It Will Use Trump’s Name Change For Denali But Not Gulf Of Mexico. DOI, Interior Department Advances Restoration of Historic Names Honoring American Greatness. Jim Carden at Am Con is Revisiting the Panama Canal Debate of 1978. NYPo, Trump conveys ‘serious’ and ‘firm’ desire to acquire Greenland in call with Danish PM: ‘Danes now in crisis mode’. Sarah Anderson at PJM, Guess Who Is Buying Up U.S. Farmland Now? Canukistanians. Stephen Taylor@stephen_taylor "Kevin O'Leary translates Donald Trump's WEF speech for Canada: "Start spending on security for the northern border. Pay your 2% to NATO. Stop sending fentanyl from China over the border into the United States or you're going to face tariffs." At NewsMax, Putin says Ukraine War Could Have Been Avoided Under Trump.
Some misc. Trumpiania. Sundance, President Trump Signs Executive Order “Requesting a Plan for Declassification” of JFK, MLK, and RFK Assassination Files. "It will be interesting to watch how this unfolds with new Intelligence Community heads moving into position to support or shape the request." ET, Trump Signs Sweeping Cryptocurrency Executive Order. "The order will revoke existing executive guidance on digital currency, establish a presidential task force, and ban central banks from issuing tokens." Reuters whines Trump administration withdraws FDA plan to ban menthol cigarettes. Spin Strangness and Charm, VDH on Trump at Davos: the Davoisie has forgotten nothing and learned nothing; Niall Ferguson: in private, CEOs at Davos are shorting EU, going long on US. At WUWT, Trump 47: Drill, Baby, Drill 2.0 and Climate Change Weekly # 532 — Energy, Climate Top Agenda Items for Trump’s Busy First Days: Pt. 1. At TownHall, Veronique de Rugy says Renewing Trump Tax Cuts Crucial to America's Economic Strength. Da Signal, What Trump and Vance Told March for Life Crowd. At Da Fetched, Woke ‘Bishop’ Who Scolded Trump Accidentally lets Mask Slip on ‘The View’. There was never much hidden. At Twitchy, Melania Returns: Nation Desperate to Escape First Lady Jill's Floral Faux Pas Fiasco Fashion Era. Mia Cathell at TownHall finds a Majority of Georgia Voters Want Trump's Fulton County Case Tossed Out. Well, he did win Georgia after all.
At The Wombat's In The Mailbox: 01.23.25 (Evening Edition) Director Blue: Top 20 Trump Executive Orders (So Far), Vox Popoli, Enjoy the Hope, Auditor 202, It Was a Nazi Salute, and It’s not just DIE, American Conservative: Trump Bans Affirmative Action in Government, also, Trump’s First Move Against the Deep State: Revoking Security Clearances, American Greatness: Portrait of Mark Milley Removed from Pentagon After Trump Inauguration, Trump Pans Inauguration Prayer Service After Woke Prelate Delivers Pro-LGBTQ, Pro-Illegal Immigrant Lecture, Trump Administration Investigating Sanctuary Cities, John Ratcliffe Confirmed as CIA Director; Pete Hegseth Expected to Be Confirmed Friday, and Trump Signs Executive Order Withdrawing the U.S. from World Health, Organization, American Thinker: It’s Time to Cleanse the White House Press Corps, Babalu Blog, Phony list of Trump sanctions against Cuba stirs up false hopes on social media, BattleSwarm, Trump Rescinds Offshore Drilling Ban, Pulls Out Of Paris Accords and Trump Takes On DEI, Behind The Black:, NASA quickly shutters its DEI offices, Cafe Hayek, A Country Is Not A Company, Da Tech Guy: Ranking the Presidents Again, Placing Biden and Re-Thinking Trump, The Geller Reports Federal Bureaucrats Are Hiding DEI Programs By Rebranding With New Names, also, Biden’s Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters is Out, Hollywood In Toto: Roseanne, Tom MacDonald Top iTunes with Trump Rap ‘Daddy’s Home’, Tyler Fischer’s ‘Pardon’ Just What We Needed, Critics Ignored Screams, Rave Over From Ground Zero, Alex Winter Claims Elon Musk Did a Nazi Salute, The Lid has a FLASHBACK: When Schumer Said No Slow-Walking – A President Deserves His Choice For Cabinet, Legal Insurrection, CalState Alters Systemwide Program Excluding Whites and Women, Harvard Settled Two Antisemitism Lawsuits a Day After Trump Took Office, Trump’s “Unleashing American Energy” Declaration Ends Biden’s War on Appliances, and Trump Pardons 23 Pro-Life Protesters, Nebraska Energy Observer, And so it begins, The Year of Jubilo, and A Good Day’s Work, Outkick: Was It Donald Trump, Football Fatigue Or Matchup?, Shark Tank: Rep. Haridopoulos Signals Support For Extending Trump Tax Cuts, This Ain’t Hell: Deep Army cuts to help support realigning towards Indo-Pacific region, DEI Fired Officers Return, White House sends 160 national security advisors packing, The Federalist: Trump Erases ‘Bidenbucks’ And Taxpayer-Funded Leftist Voter Registration Drives, ‘This Isn’t Journalism’, Tulsi Gabbard Is An American Hero Being Tarred As A Terrorist, and CNN’s Last-Minute Hit Piece Against Pete Hegseth Is A Giant Nothingburger.
Virginia Kruta at Da Wire cites James Carville: Biden ‘Has Nobody To Blame But Himself’ For Damaged Legacy. Capt. Ed is shorter, Carville to Biden: Sod Off, Swampy. Steve Richards at JTN reports Hunter Biden's name, signature, and shared bank account showed up in $60M fraud investigation. "Members of Congress have expressed interest in continuing to probe the Biden family even after sweeping pardons to finally get to the truth." Adam Turner at RedState explains The Logic Behind the Biden Crime Syndicate. Ace, Former Politico Employers: Politico Editors Buried Our Scoops About the Hunter Biden Laptop, "Politico "reporters" admit Politico's cowardly, partisan editors killed their stories about Hunter Biden's laptop." Dave Strom, Does Writing for The Atlantic Make You Stupid? At OTP, Nancy Pelosi’s Husband Traded $38M In Stock Ahead Of Trump Inauguration and Granholm Spent Final Days As Energy Sec Sending Billions To Home-State Allies. Tom Knighton at TAW says Nothing about this is shocking. From the Peacock, Google restores Joe Biden to ‘U.S. presidents’ search results, blames ‘data error’ for omission." ABC, More Americans file for unemployment benefits, continuing claims highest in 3 years. Thanks, Brandon. Ace, How the Democrat Party Pushed Silicon Valley Into Trump's Arms, "Ross Douthat, a damp neocon at the New York Times, interviewed tech mogul Marc Andreesen, co-founder of Netscape. He talks about how leftwing campus politics infested the tech industry, until the parasites gained control over the host." Bob Spencer at PJM thinks Charlamagne Tha God Is Starting to Catch on to the Left’s Game.
Driscoll at Insty, THE TRUMP SHUTTLE IS REBORN! ‘Deportation Flights Have Begun:’ Trump Administration Begins Returning Criminal Aliens to Home Countries. "No word yet if excursions to Martha’s Vineyard will also be an option for what at least one Newsweek scribe has suddenly dubbed “unauthorized citizens:” At Lifezette, Mass Deportation Under Trump Escalates, Multiple Agencies Now Involved. Charlotte Hazard at JTN, White House sends Marines to the southern border. "Promise Made --> Promise KEPT!" the White House posted on X." Fox, Trump’s ICE nabs child sex offenders among 530+ illegal immigrants caught in single day. From NYPo, Promise kept: How Trump’s border orders are reversing the migrant crisis and Trump’s ICE raids turn up pedophiles, gangbangers, and NY-based suspected terrorist as 538 migrants arrested: ‘Heinous crimes’. Citizen Free Press @CitizenFreePres, "TOM HOMAN -- WE'RE HITTING EVERY LARGE CITY AS WE SPEAK." Da Mail, Americans beg Trump to deport migrants from their towns next as raids spread across the country. Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog likes Trump’s Border Control Blitzkrieg. NewsMax, reports the Trump Admin Moves to Expel Biden's 'Paroled' Migrants. At the Blaze, Just the threat of deportations is working: Illegal immigrants are 'voluntarily deporting themselves' at southern border. At Da Caller, Republican Sen. Katie Britt Reintroduces Bill To Finish Border Wall Construction. Leah Barkoukis at TownHall, Massachusetts Governor Says She 'Supports' Trump's Crackdown on Criminal Aliens. Center Square California, Congressman introduces bill to exclude illegal immigrants from Medicaid. From Fox, Mexico scrambles to build tents to handle mass deportations from US. John Sexton at Hat Hair wonders Why Did Mexico Deny Permission to a US Deportation Flight?. Sarah at Insty, THE LEFT IS CIRCULATING THIS AND IT’S UTTER NONSENSE: "If I have to explain why: Parents who are waiting citizenship but haven’t received it yet have green cards and are not illegal. This is complete nonsense. APPARENTLY BASED ON THIS INCIDENT: Reported ICE visit to Chicago school was actually Secret Service, officials say. Secret Service, officials say." Lincoln Brown at PJM, Let's Go, Brandon: Chicago Is Tired of Illegals. At Power Line, Joe Biden Forever! "You are seeing here the core demographic that supported the Biden administration: vicious criminals, illegal aliens (often the same people) and those who think it is a good idea to harbor such people because they hate America. What is striking about these apprehensions is that the government knew who these people are, what their criminal records are, and where they would be found. Under Trump, they were under arrest within 72 hours. Under Biden–or whoever was running the “Biden administration”–they were deliberately left alone, to terrorize American citizens. We have had bad administrations before, but have we ever seen anything to match the diabolical nature of the “Biden administration”?" WokeSpy, Former Illegal Alien Rhode Island Judge Resigns Hours After FBI Raid on His Office. "No criminal charges have been filed, but Flynn has been accused of defrauding his clients, and it’s reasonable to speculate that he was helping illegals skirt immigration law." Am Mil News, Antifa protesters attack ICE center in Portland after Trump inauguration.
Cutie Pavlich at TownHall says The Birthright Citizenship Debate is Officially on. Sen. Johnson to Newsmax: Birthright Citizenship Is Ridiculous. Ilan Wurman@ilan_wurman, "Maybe the birthright citizenship order will ultimately be held unconstitutional, but I find it highly embarrassing for a judge to say something so unequivocally at a preliminary stage without the slightest acknowledgement that there is an entire literature that disagrees. 1/2" At ET, The Alien Enemies Act of 1798: An Explainer of the Law Trump May Invoke.
At PJM, Stephen Kruiser says Hallelujah! Trump Continues to Empty Out the Biden/Garland Gulag. Kurt Schlichter @KurtSchlichter, "I don’t think normies fully understand just how unprecedented the J6 judges’ behavior was and is. It’s insane. I practiced in federal court for three decades before leaving practice. I’ve never seen anything like this. I’m used to dumb judges, and I’m used to liberal judges. But this is a whole new level of wrong. These judges seem to have no conception of the damage they’re doing to their branch. They’ve completely cut the limb out from under any establishment Republican who might wish to go out on a limb to defend the judiciary." At Da Caller, Judges Take Shots At Trump In Reluctant Dismissals Of Jan. 6 Cases After Pardons. NewsMax, Oath Keepers Founder Needs Approval to Enter DC. Da Wire, a J6 Attorney Rebuffs Argument That Some J6 Defendants Shouldn’t Have Been Pardoned. "The Biden Justice Department has themselves to blame..." Bill Shipley, aka shipwreckedcrew. PJM's Kevin Downey has a personal J6 story, My Long J6 Nightmare Is Finally Over (I Hope). Varad Mehta@varadmehta, "Political violence was excused when Biden's DOJ decided January 6 rioters who didn't kill people should get longer jail sentences than BLM rioters who did kill people. Everything else is downstream from that. Here we are." Quote The Bulwark
@BulwarkOnline" How does a political party get comfortable with the use of violence? How does a constitutional democracy drift toward authoritarianism? The answers are right in front of us. @saletan breaks down how Republicans got comfortable with the January 6 pardons." At OTP, J6 Star Witness Allegedly Received ‘Sexual Texts’ From Lawmakers. Will it be her get out of perjury charges free card? Da Mail, Lawmakers asked January 6 star witness Cassidy Hutchinson for 'sexual favors,' bombshell report claims. "An aide to House Speaker Mike Johnson urged his Republican colleagues not to subpoena January 6 committee witness Cassidy Hutchinson to prevent the accidental release of sexually explicit texts the 28-year-old was sent by lawmakers." Out them, I don't care. There must be some reason for them to think she was available.
From Eruoweb, Trump Pardons Pro-Life Activist Bevelyn Williams, Sentenced 3 Years Under Biden Administration. 'Strieff' at RedState reports Trump's DOJ Abandons Merrick Garland's Peevish Vendetta Against Whistleblower Doctor. Dr. Ben Braddock@GraduatedBen, "Just two months ago, DC Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced Paulette Harlow who is 75-year-old and in poor health to 2 years in prison for praying outside an abortion clinic. When her husband begged for mercy for fear she would die in prison due to poor health, the Judge mocked their Christian faith saying: "maybe you should make an effort to remain alive because that is a tenet of your religion." Althouse, "Attorneys for the defendants called them peaceful demonstrators emulating sit-ins from the civil rights era." ""Federal prosecutors in court documents described their efforts as 'organized invasions' carried out with physical force, chains, ropes and locks — all of it carefully planned and live-streamed.... In a letter lobbying Trump for the pardons this month, the antiabortion Thomas More Society called them a group of 'peaceful pro-life Americans' that included 'grandparents, pastors, a Holocaust survivor, and a Catholic priest.' . . . From "Trump pardons antiabortion activists who blocked access to clinics/The pardons came the evening before thousands of activists are expected to march to the U.S. Capitol in the 52nd annual March for Life" (WaPo)(free-access link)." Also, "I was doing life without parole."
Sundance, EDNY Judge Finds Clear and Compelling Evidence of FISA-702 “Backdoor Search” Violations by DOJ. "The value in the ruling by Judge Hall, is a few fold: First, it is an excellent review of the FISA-702 origin and all of the constitutional arguments that surround the controversial law. Second, the ruling clearly shows that FISA-702 searches are currently being used unlawfully and continually by government officials. Third, the ruling clearly shows how “backdoor” 702 searches are violations of the Fourth Amendment. [Albeit in this case, of no value to the argument put forth by Hasbajrami.]"
Peter St Onge, Ph.D. @profstonge “These people are unemployable. They're toxic, bad energy, team-killers, and walking lawsuits.” Quote John LeFevre@JohnLeFevre, "There are now thousands of unemployed DEI "experts." They have useless degrees, minimal skills, wildly unrealistic salary expectations and delusionally-high opinions of themselves." From the College Fix, Job postings in higher ed hyperfocus on equity, omit traits like ‘quality,’ ‘efficiency’: research. Campus Reform, West Point appears to end its Diversity and Inclusion Studies Minor. Herr Professor Jacobson at LI, Cal State Alters Systemwide Program Excluding Whites and Women Challenged By Equal Protection Project. “OCR confirmed that, since you filed your complaint, the University made changes to the Consortium and its programs/initiatives such that they are open to any student regardless of race, color, national origin, and sex.” Tyler O'Neal at Da Signal has his EYE ON THE TARGET: Major Corporation Turns on Woke and the LGBTQ Mafia.
Sarah Anderson at PJM notices Hollywood Nominates a Dude for 'Best Actress'. From Behind the Black, Today’s blacklisted American: Queer protesters force cancellation of a speech against men playing women’s sports.
Linked at The Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: You Can Be My Cowgirl and FMJRA 2.0: Back In The Cellar up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain.
