In High-Speed Power Grab, Trump Seeks to Remake the Federal Government
Plus: 11 Questions Senators Should Ask RFK Jr. This Week
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DON KETTL: In High-Speed Power Grab, Trump Seeks to Remake the Federal Government
THE SHEER SPEED AND HUGE NUMBER of actions taken by the Trump administration in its first week has left journalists and commentators breathless and bewildered. Itās as if Trump has dumped the pieces of the worldās biggest jigsaw puzzle across the streets of Washington: Everyone is chasing around the individual pieces, while only the Trump team has a sense of how all the pieces fit together.
So while journalists and commentators are looking at the administrationās freeze on all federal grants, including medical research funds; shutdown of communication from scientific and public health agencies; firing of most inspectors general; purging of DEI activities and personnel from the government and universities; and launch of migrant deportations, the Trump team already knows what they want it to look likeātheyāve seen the picture on the outside of the box.
MARK HERTLING: Using Military Jets for Deportations Is an Ugly, Wasteful Spectacle
AMID THE TORRENT OF NEWS accompanying the new administration, the short-lived standoff between President Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro came and went before most people could untangle what had happened. The crisis is now resolved, but one detail struck me as particularly revealing: The standoff was sparked when two U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III cargo planes filled with deportees were turned away from Colombian airspace.
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THOMAS JOSCELYN AND NORMAN EISEN: Kash Patel: Jan. 6th DNC Pipe Bomb Could Be a āGovernment Ruseā
KASH PATEL, PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMPāS NOMINEE to serve as FBI director, has suggested that the pipe bomb placed near the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Headquarters on January 6, 2021 could be a āgovernment ruse.ā Patel claimed the case files may show an āFBI rogue sourceā was responsible. And he alleged that evidence was āmountingā of a coverup by the FBIās āgovernment gangsters.ā This extreme conspiracy theoryāinsinuating that the FBI itself was responsible for the pipe bomb, or covered up the truthāis an important part of the record disqualifying Patel from leading the organization he baselessly denigrates.
CATHY YOUNG: 11 Questions Senators Should Ask RFK Jr. This Week
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., the left-wing environmental lawyer and āhealthā crusader (scare quotes used advisedly) who embraced Donald Trump and the MAGA cause during last yearās presidential campaign after Kamala Harris rebuffed his overtures, is facing two Senate committee hearings this week on his nomination for secretary of health and human services. He may be Trumpās most controversial cabinet pick, with opposition not only from Democrats but from a group led by Trumpās former vice president, Mike Pence. While Penceās group, Advancing American Freedom, has stressed Kennedyās pro-choice stance on abortion, it has also drawn attention to his history of vaccine skepticism and support for psychedelics: āAny one of these controversies should be disqualifying for a potential HHS leader.ā No kidding. And thatās even without getting into his various personal scandals, which arguably speak to his unfitness to lead an important government department. Or the time he opined, post-9/11, that American hog farmers were a bigger threats to liberty and democracy than Osama bin Laden. Or his peddling of a stolen-election hoax. (No, not that one: he still insists John Kerry was robbed in 2004.)
šØOVERTIMEšØ
Happy Wednesday! Hannah Yoest, our intrepid head of art, is celebrating the third anniversary of her Hellcat vertical.
Bob Menendezā¦ Is going to jail for 11 years. Some good news? Heās not eligible for his pension, thanks to a law passed last year.
šµOn the Jukeboxā¦šµ Sam Fenderās beautifully done new People Watching music video starring Andrew Scott.
Pour one out for a real oneā¦ WTOP anchor Dimitri Sotis died suddenly at 55 earlier this week. While I donāt have drive time traffic radio needs here in Ohio, as I work from home, I listened to Sotis for years. A consummate pro and a big loss for Washingtonians.
āIs your job so much easier with Trump as President?ā John Oliver, back for Season 12, sums it up.
Former doctor who participated in Jan. 6 attackā¦ killed in shooting at West Seattle home (Seattle Times).
Karoline Leavittās word saladā¦ Did not help her bossās case. Whoops!
āI never said itā¦ā āActually, I have a transcript.ā Warnock pins RFK Jr., but he has an explanation! Honest!
'So, grocery prices aren't going to come down?' CBS host busts J.D. Vance on the economy (Raw Story)
Talk about whiplash! Trump superfan āCatturdā is struggling over RFK as a litmus test. You hate to see it.
Child Launched Democratic Senator's "Watermelon Head"ā¦ at Kash Patel Kids' Book Event (MTN)
Cowardiceā¦ Whatās the point of having āfuck you moneyā if you end up giving $25 million to Trump for kicking him off your social platform for fomenting a surrection?
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