Today in Politics, Bulletin 47. 1/14/25

… Trump announced the performers for his inauguration: Kid Rock, The Village People, Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Billy Ray Cyrus, Lee Greenwood and Rascal Flats.

… Mike Johnson announced that flags will be raised to full staff over the Capitol this Monday for Trump’s inauguration. Flying flags half-staff for 30 days after the death of a former president was put in place by President Dwight Eisenhower 70 years ago in 1954. It has been done for every president since that time until this Monday, when Mike Johnson will end that tradition after Donald Trump demanded to have the flags raised for him despite the death of former President Jimmy Carter.

… Pete Hegseth had his confirmation hearing today before the Senate Armed Services Committee. It seems pretty clear that he is going to be voted out of committee on largely party-line vote. The only Democrat on the committee who was rumored to be considering a vote for Hegseth was Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) since he is from a swing state, but he made it pretty clear today that he didn’t think Hegseth had the qualifications.

… There were consistent themes during the hearing based on things Hegseth has written and said in the recent past, as well as things he has done in his personal and professional life. One consistent theme coming from Hegseth was constant and effusive praise for Trump. He mentioned Trump’s name while praising him well over 100 times, knowing full well that Dear Leader was watching.

… The topic of Hegseth’s mismanagement of his veteran’s charity, which ultimately led to his removal from it, came up where he was questioned about failing to balance it’s budget as well as behavior at a strip club with employees that led to a lawsuit. He was evasive on all these questions and continued to emphasize how proud he was of his work. He refused to say whether he was removed for cause from the charity or left on his own.

… He was asked about his repeated statements, including in his book published last year, that women should not serve in combat. This was a key issue for combat vet Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who was considered a key vote for Hegseth after her initial reaction to his nomination was not positive. Hegseth just renounced everything he said about that and now claims he fully supports women in combat.

… Hegseth was also asked about his Fox co-workers saying that he was frequently drunk on the job and had a serious drinking problem. That included multiple incidents where he drank to the point where he passed out in public places and had to be carried out by employees. He denied all of it, claimed it was all simply based on anonymous sources (it wasn’t), and said he will quit drinking if he is confirmed as SecDef.

… Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) was especially concerned about the drinking and the fact that Hegseth wasn’t being honest about it. He said he was even more concerned by his lack of candor about it than he was about the drinking itself.

… Hegseth denied committing a sexual assault against the woman who sued him where he settled the lawsuit, paid her money, and secured an NDA. He refused to say whether he would release her from her NDA. When asked about his judgment on getting drunk and having sex with a woman at a work-related conference two months after his 3rd wife gave birth (who he impregnated during his 2nd marriage), he refused to even admit they had sex at all.

… Hegseth has also spent years crusading against “warfighters having their hands tied” by Judge Advocate Generals and the Pentagon imposing rules of engagement designed to minimize civilian casualties. He was also asked about lobbying Trump during his first term to pardon convicted war criminals who were outed by their own fellow service members who testified against them. This was one area where Hegseth was defiant and maintained that soldiers should not be second-guessed on the decisions they make in combat: “I default to the warfighters.”

… Another focus was about his lack of experience running any organization with more than 100 employees. This was the issue Sen. Peters focused on. Hegseth conceded that he has never run any organization close to the size of DOD, but said that few people have and his experience as a company commander and running a charity, where he supervised roughly 100 people at each, was sufficient since he will also be surrounded by people at DOD who have a lot of experience who will advise him.

… Hegseth was also asked by Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) about former Trump SecDef Mark Esper saying that Trump wanted to use the 82nd Airborne on DC protesters and that protesters should be shot in the leg, both of which Esper would not do. Hegseth was asked if he agreed with Esper or Trump on those things. He refused to answer, and just kept saying that he didn’t think that Trump would ask him to do anything illegal.

… Slotkin then asked if he opposed using the military to run migrant detention camps, and he said that the border was an issue of national security and would do what Trump asked him to do to stop the “migrant invasion.”

… I thought some Democrats accomplished nothing with their questions, some made at least one good point, some made a few good points, but Elissa Slotkin from start to finish was the best with outstanding questions throughout with the right tone while not letting him filibuster or interrupt despite trying to do so.

… Probably the most bizarre line of questioning came from Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), who went on a lengthy rant about Jesus, how much he loves his wife and how he would probably be in prison right now if it wasn’t for his wife, how his wife has had to forgive him for transgressions multiple times, then finally asked Hegseth this question: “Tell me something about your wife you love.” He didn’t specify which one of Hegseth’s wives he was asking about.

… Naturally, Charlie Kirk thought Mullin’s questions were the best, posting all 7 minutes of Mullin’s time on social media.

… Meanwhile, Eric Schmitt (R-MO) was railing about DEI resulting in unqualified people in the military getting promotions while the graphic behind him that he brought to the hearing had “military” spelled wrong.

… Democrats also repeatedly complained to Chair Roger Wicker (R-MS) that there was only going to be one round of questions, when every past Secretary nominee from both parties had multiple rounds of questions going back decades. Wicker just said there would be one round and that’s it.

… Democrats on the committee also complained about Hegseth refusing to meet in person with any of them, which no SecDef nominee has ever refused to do before from either party.

… Some Republicans on social media were grumbling about Wicker wearing a Ukraine flag on his lapel. Every time a Democratic Rep has done that they complain bitterly that they are unpatriotic and un-American because they say only American flags should be worn or displayed in Congress.

… Hegseth would be taking a pay cut though. His financial disclosure forms indicated that Fox paid him $4 million last year.

… CNN Contributor Scott Jennings after the hearing: “Pete Hegseth kicked their asses today! It wasn’t even close. They didn’t lay a glove on him. The Democrats acted in a bizarre and unprofessional way. Tim Kaine sounded like a sex pervert in his questioning!” Kaine was the one who asked Hegseth about cheating on his 3rd wife two months after she gave birth after she was impregnated by him while he was married to his 2nd wife. More quality content from CNN.

… Ronny Jackson: "They fear him because he's gonna go in there and burn the place down."

… Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD): “He wants to bring lethality back in.”

… Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): “It’s warmongers v. warfighters.”

… Confirmation hearings tomorrow before different committees are DHS nominee Kristi Noem 9 AM, AG Pam Bondi at 9:30 AM, State Dept Marco Rubio at 10:00 AM, CIA Director John Ratcliffe at 10:00 AM, and Transportation Sean Duffy at 10:00 AM.

… Nancy Mace and Jasmine Crockett got into it today at a committee hearing after Crockett said that Mace’s “campaign coffers must be low because you just keep saying trans, trans, trans over and over.” After they went back and forth Mace at one point said, “You want to take it outside!” I think Mace was very lucky that Crockett was talking at the time because I don’t think she heard Mace issue that challenge. Good thing for Mace that she didn’t.

… Many Republican House members and Senators said that they would not vote for any disaster relief aid for the victims of the CA wildfires unless that state changes their laws and policies to conform to what Republicans think they should be. Many of the Reps opposing aid have entire towns that pay less in taxes to the federal government than a single victim of many of these fires.

… Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) on Newsmax: “California doesn't deserve anything unless they show us they're going to make some changes. They got 40 million people in that state and they vote in these imbeciles in office, and they continue to do it. If you go to CA, you run into a lot of Republicans, a lot of good people. And I hate it for them. But they are just overwhelmed by these inner city woke policies with the people that vote for them."

… Alabama is one of the most federally-dependent states, receiving $2.17 for every $1 in taxes it sends to Washington.

… Mike Johnson: “I think there should be conditions on that aid.” Johnson also suggested that the condition he is looking for is Trump’s demand to lift the debt ceiling for his entire presidency. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) responded to that: “This confirms the Speaker doesn’t have the votes to raise the debt ceiling without the Democrats.”

… Johnson also told Punchbowl that Trump will be making a trip to CA this week to tour the fire damage.

… Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI): “There's a lot of members that aren't there yet on just exactly what this would look like. I'm sure there is gonna be some things tied to any aid that's gonna make it's way to California."

… Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX): “It's gonna have to be in conjunction with some reforms that CA hasn't been willing to make on the way they regulate their water and things of that nature. They wasted their taxpayer dollars on all kinds of crazy woke agenda items."

… Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) to CNN: “We’ve got to get a pound of flesh on any dollar spent in CA.”

… Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI): "I certainly wouldn't vote for anything unless we see a dramatic change in how they're gonna be handling these things in the future."

… Sean Hannity: “There’s got to be conditions along with rebuilding money. Take the money from the LA ports going green, take the money from wind turbines.”

… Newsmax host Chris Salcedo: “Why should other states be bailing out California for choosing the wrong people to run their state?”

… Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries: “It is unconscionable, unacceptable, and un-American to try to impose a single condition on providing disaster assistance to Americans in need.”

… George Santos was successful in getting his sentencing set for next month postponed, but not for the 6 months he was asking for. The court moved it to April and said there would be no further continuances for any reason. Santos claims he needs the time to raise money to pay restitution to the victims, but most likely he is stalling for time to lobby Trump for a pardon.

… Trump posted at 1:24 AM: “How bad is Seth Myers on NBC - a network run by truly bad people. I got stuck watching Marble Mouth Myers the other night. Every time I watch this dumb moron I feel an obligation to say how dumb and untalented he is, merely a slot filler for the scum that runs Comcast. These guys should be paying a lot of money for the right to give these ‘in kind’ contributions to Democrats. Comcast should pay a BIG price for this!”

… The NYT is reporting that Meta employees pushed back on Mark Zuckerberg after learning from his interview on Joe Rogan that they were abandoning content moderation. Zuckerberg responded with a notice to all employees that 5% of the entire workforce of the company will be laid off on February 10.

… Trump announced on Truth Social that he is going to create a new government agency called the ‘External Revenue Service’ that will be in charge of collecting “tariffs, duties, and all revenue that comes for foreign sources” after he imposes his new tariffs. Not sure if he cleared this with his Chief of Staff or anyone else before launching this new plan on social media, or if it just came to him in his golf cart on the way to the 15th hole.

… Who was Trump’s golf partner today? Ron Desantis.

… Rep. David Rouzer (R-NC) introduced a bill today to abolish the Department of Education.

… Mike Johnson removed Rep. Thomas Massie from his spot on the coveted Rules Committee. Massie was the only Republican to vote against Johnson for Speaker.

… Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) posted: “Removing Thomas Massie from Rules was a mistake.” She deleted that a little while later.

… Rudy Giuliani had another pretrial hearing today for his contempt case. Trump posted: “SAVE RUDY!!!” to show his support. That is interesting since Trump stiffed Rudy on his legal fees for all the work he did running around the country filing lawsuits, appeals, testifying before state legislative committees and election canvasing boards. Three years of work by Rudy on Hunter Biden and election challenges which cost him his lucrative job a big law firm, his bar license, his NY apartment, and everything he owns.

… Trump raised over $200 million right after the 2020 election, which was supposed to go to Rudy and his team to fund the election challenges and audits. But Trump did not pay one penny of Rudy’s $2 million bill. Trump simply kept most of it for the Republican primary in 2023, where he used the money to defeat Desantis and Haley. But the PAC did pay $60,000 to Kim Guilfoyle for a speech and hundreds of thousands of dollars to Melania’s stylist. But not a penny for Rudy. All Rudy got was a “SAVE RUDY!” post on Truth Social.

… Per Inner City Press, Rudy’s lawyer asked that the January 16 trial be postponed until after Trump’s inauguration because he doesn’t want to miss it if it is still going until Monday. Rudy’s lawyer Cammarata: “The American public wants to know why this can’t go beyond January 20 …” Judge Liman interrupted: “Stop. I follow the law. Don’t tell me about the American people. Or some of them.”

… Rudy also claimed that his witness, Monsiegnor Alan Placa, who was accused years ago by multiple boys of sexual molestation but was found not guilty by the Catholic Church to the outrage of the victims, was also not available on the scheduled trial date. Rudy’s lawyer: “Msgr. Placa answers to a higher authority than this court.” Judge Liman: “What do you mean by that?” Lawyer: “He answers to God.” Judge Liman: “Read my jury instructions. They say all witnesses are viewed equally.” Motion denied.

… MSNBC President Rashida Jones announced that she is stepping down after 4 years. Memo to staff from Comcast CEO: “Rashida has expertly navigated MSNBC through a years-long, unrelenting and unprecedented news cycle, all while driving the network to record viewership and making investments in nonlinear businesses. MSNBC is well-positioned for the future.”

… With MSNBC’s ratings in the toilet, the network announces that Rachel Maddow will return to host her show 5 days a week for the first 100 days of the Trump Administration.

… After Jack Smith resigned and released his report, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) had this to say to him: “Hit the gym Quisling, you’re looking at hard time. You, Garland, Wray. You’re all going down for what you’ve done. Betrayer of justice, oppressor of freedom. The wrath of We the People is upon you.” Lovely people.

… Meanwhile, Trump said, “I agree!” while reposting a meme which said that Jack Smith, Alvin Bragg, Letitia James and Fani Willis should be disbarred and criminally prosecuted.

… Jack Smith’s report noted that while Trump was watching the J6 riot on TV, one of the insurrectionists came on the screen and said that Mike Pence was Trump’s last hope to remain president. Trump immediately picked up his phone and sent out the tweet where he said, “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage” to do the right thing for him, which sent the mob into a frenzy hunting him.

… House Oversight Chair James Comer’s new book is out today called, ‘All the President’s Money.’ It is based on Comer’s failed two-year investigation where he wasted millions in taxpayer dollars trying to prove that Joe Biden took bribes between $5-15 million from foreign entities. He failed so miserably that, despite promising a Biden impeachment, he wouldn’t even call for a vote on it in his own committee because he knew even some Republicans were going to humiliate him by voting against it. But that didn’t stop Harper Collins from giving Comer a book deal so he can sell a few thousand copies to lobbyists.

… Because there damn sure isn’t anyone that is going to buy that garbage book. Even MAGA hates Comer because they blame his incompetence for no Biden impeachment.

… But the good news for Comer is that he will finally be free from his nemesis Jared Moskowitz, who announced he is leaving Oversight and put in for a spot on the Judiciary Committee. Moskowitz: “I may have left Oversight, but I’m never leaving James Comer. See you soon, James!”

… Right-wing influencers continue to post the lie, as they do after every single natural disaster, that FEMA under Biden will only give people $770 in aid after their homes were destroyed. This is the maximum amount that can be given under the law in short term immediate aid for things like food and fuel. Money above that must be authorized by Congress, which many Republican congressmen currently are pledging to block for CA.

… The ‘Nelk Brothers’ podcast team, which has 8.3 million YouTube subscribers and includes members from the US and Canada, have arrived in Greenland wearing red, white and blue outfits and flying Trump flags while they film themselves handing out cash to Greenlanders to persuade them to become part of the US. Both Donald Trump and Don Jr. appeared separately on the Nelk podcast during the campaign.

… Greenland media Sermitsaig reports that the Nelk Brothers have been handing out cash and MAGA hats to people in Greenland, then filming them.

… Tommy Tuberville: “At the end of the day, they want better leadership in Greenland. They’ve said that. And so I think President Trump will sit down with all the entities.”

… Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR): “Most Americans should be serious about it. Denmark doesn’t have the budget to properly support those Greenlanders. The US does have that.”

… Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) introduced a bill called the Make Greenland Great Again Act which authorizes the government to negotiate with Denmark to buy Greenland.

… But Fox sent a reporter to Greenland to interview people about it: “Most of the people we talked with said they did not support Trump’s comments and they found them offensive.”

… Thank you for all your wonderful replies about my story from yesterday about why I switched parties from Republican to Democrat. I read all of them even though that took quite a while because there were so many great comments. I was pretty nervous about doing that and didn’t know what kind of response I would get. Well, 837 new people subscribed to our Substack from it, so I would say that and the amazing comments was certainly way more than I expected.

… Trump loyalist Laura Loomer continues to complain bitterly about Elon Musk winning over Trump’s affection while MAGA activists who campaigned for Trump for the last 8 years have been kicked to the curb: “It’s crazy how hard some of us worked