Today in Politics, Bulletin 68. 2/10/25

… Chief Judge McConnell for the Fed District Court of RI ruled today that the Trump Admin is violating his order to lift their freeze on funding for a variety of federal programs. He ordered that funds be released immediately and suggested that if it doesn’t happen he will begin contempt proceedings against officials who refuse. The person a contempt hearing would likely focus on is Elon Musk.

… Meanwhile, in DC federal court, Politico reported that a hearing was held on a lawsuit brought by litigants seeking to block DOGE's access to student loan data. The judge presiding over the case seemed especially interested in this Elon Musk post in court:

… Sen. Susan Collins was asked by Punchbowl about JD Vance’s comments that the Trump Admin might defy court orders: “I'm not going to fall into your trap of trying to criticizing the VP. I will give my opinion on it, which is that I believe the administration has to follow the court rulings.”

… NY Post reports that Elon Musk did not fly to a conference in Miami last week due to death threats. He spoke at a JPMorgan Chase conference remotely and told the group he decided not to appear in person because he has received a lot of death threats recently.

… WaPo reports that 19-year old Musk DOGE acolyte Edward Coristine, known online as “Big Balls”, has now been appointed Senior Advisor to the State Department.

… Before heading to the Super Bowl, Trump predicted that the KC Chiefs would win: “I have to say, when a QB has won as much as he’s won, I have to go with KC. I have to go with KC.”

… Trump claimed that fans at the Super Bowl loved him but hated Taylor Swift because she endorsed Biden: “The only one that had a tougher night than the KC Chiefs was Taylor Swift. She got BOOED out of the Stadium. MAGA is very unforgiving!”

… It wasn’t MAGA booing her because of Biden. It was Philly fans booing her because she’s dating a Chiefs player. Philly fans booed Santa Claus at a game.

… Jon Batiste, who performed the National Anthem at the Super Bowl, was just fired from Kennedy Center Board by Trump.

… Trump walked out of the game right before the halftime show with his team losing big. As soon as he got in car, he posted this: “For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let's rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it's a penny at a time.”

… Atlantic columnist David Frum: “The penny is obsolete. The penny should be abolished. The Constitution vests power over the coinage in Congress, and Congress's laws require production of the penny. Trump's actions are illegal. Again. Obama wanted to abolish the penny too, but didn't do it because Congress would not change the law to allow him.”

… Newsmax was upset that Fox only showed Trump once during the broadcast: “Do you wonder why he was only shown once during the National Anthem and never again? Interesting. Would that have happened to a Democrat?”

… MAGA was very cranky during the Super Bowl, complaining about everything. Actor Randy ‘Cousin Eddie’ Quaid: “Super Bowl Ads are out of touch with America. Still too woke. They seem tone deaf. Where are J6rs doing a Bud ad with Clydesdales, Old Glory, and the rising swell of rousing patriotic music by the J6 choir!”

… Sen. Tom Cotton: “That TikTok ad is a perfect example of a Chinese Communist influence operation infiltrating and corrupting American business, culture, and society.”

… They also hated the halftime show. Charlie Kirk: “This music is not my style.”

… Lauren Boebert: “Tell me I’m not the only one needing subtitles for this.”

… Jack Posobiec: “DEI Halftime show.”

… Rep. Mike Collins: “Embrace tradition.” He then posted a photo of Creed performing.

… Ted Nugent: “Kendrick Lamar you suck!”

… Country singer John Rich: “I didn’t understand one word of the halftime show, did you? I need a translator.”

… Benny Johnson: “Hey NFL, Trump won. We no longer let talentless mumbling pagan satanic cultists do halftime shows and pretend like people like it.”

… Matt Walsh: “Bizarre decision by the NFL to have some guy come out and lethargically mumble a bunch of songs that 90% of the NFL audience never heard.”

… Matt Gaetz: “The halftime show you just watched is clearly the regime’s response to Trump’s historic gains with Black men.”

… USA Today: “Musk’s aerospace company has benefited from nearly $19.8 billion in federal contracts since 2008. A majority of that money − $14.4 billion − went to NASA and $5.32 billion went to the Defense Department to pay for SpaceX rocket launches and satellites. Fiscal year 2024 was the largest on record for SpaceX, aided by at least $3.8 billion in U.S. government contracts.”

… Telegraph (UK): “Tesla is in trouble. Sales have crashed 50% in Europe compared to last January. In China, its largest market, sales fell 11.5% in January. The share price has been dragged down 22% from its post-election peak in December. This matters a great deal, because Tesla’s stock price is the key to Musk’s business empire and his personal life. It unlocks capital for all the other businesses, including his rocket company SpaceX, and quixotic adventures such as buying Twitter.”

… “Tesla is also the basis of his personal income. Even loyal investors are beginning to get nervous. Musk has demanded even more control over the car company, telling investors that he needs 25% to ensure it’s a leader in AI and robotics. ‘L’État, c’est moi,’ he’s telling the industry: ‘I am Tesla’. But more Musk isn’t necessarily what they want. Investors now bridle when Musk makes autonomous driving promises that can’t be fulfilled. At SpaceX, Musk sets ambitious goals but then steps back and lets the brilliant executive Gwynne Shotwell run the show.

… Bloomberg reported that Trump signed an executive order today directing DOJ to pause enforcing the 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits American companies and foreign firms from bribing officials of foreign governments to obtain or retain business.

… CNBC: “The FCPA’s intent is in part to prevent American firms from fueling rampant public corruption that undermines the rule of law in many parts of the world. Over time, the FCPA’s rules have grown into bedrock principles of how American businesses operate overseas. The law barred Americans from paying bribes to foreign officials. The DOJ in 2024 announced enforcement actions in 24 cases related to alleged violations of the FCPA. There were 17 such enforcement actions announced in 2023.”

… A new WH statement indicates Trump is about to sign an executive order reversing Biden’s ban on bank overdraft fees, and preventing medical debt from being used to negatively affect credit reports.

… Financial Times: “China’s retaliatory tariffs took effect today. Compared with the blanket US tariffs, China’s measures - which target US exports of liquefied natural gas, coal, crude oil and farm equipment as well as some automotive goods with levies of 10-15% - were seen as creating space for negotiations to avert a wide trade conflict. Beijing last week also announced an antitrust probe into Google, whose search engine is blocked in China, and Illumina, a US biotechnology company. And it blacklisted the holding company of US clothing brands Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger.”

… “China also restricted exports to the US of 5 critical metals used in defense-related industries, solar panels, electric vehicle batteries and other green energy products. China produces about 60% of the world’s rare earths and accounts for 90% of processing in the industry.”

… Trump announced a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum coming into the US from any other country: "Any steel coming into the United States is going to have a 25% tariff. Aluminum, too."

… The EU responded immediately: "At this stage, we have not received any official notification regarding the imposition of additional tariffs on EU goods. We will not respond to broad announcements without details or written clarification. The EU sees no justification for the imposition of tariffs on its exports. We will react to protect the interests of European businesses, workers and consumers from unjustified measures.”

… “The imposition of tariffs would be unlawful and economically counterproductive, especially given the deeply integrated production chains the EU and US established through Transatlantic trade and investment. Tariffs are essentially taxes. By imposing tariffs, the US would be taxing its own citizens, raising costs for business, and fueling inflation. Moreover, tariffs heighten economic uncertainty and disrupt the efficiency and integration of global markets."

… The Express (UK) reported that UK Steel sold roughly 165 tons of steel to the US last year. Home Office Minister Angela Eagle: "We have a very balanced trading relationship with the US - I think £300 billion worth of trade between our countries - and I think it's in the best interests of both of us, as longstanding allies and neighbors, that we carry on with that balanced trade."

… Trump gave a completely unhinged interview on AF1 flying to the Super Bowl. Reporter: You are going to meet with first responders today, but you pardoned hundreds of people who assaulted first responders. Trump: “No, I pardoned people who were assaulted themselves - by our government. They didn’t assault. They were assaulted. What I did was a great thing for humanity.”

… Reporter: Why do you want to be chairman of Kennedy Center board? Trump: “Some of the shows were terrible. They were a disgrace.” Reporter: Have you seen any shows there? Trump: “No.”

… Reporter: Why does Elon’s financial disclosure remain secret? Trump: “Because no one is looking at that. We’re looking at all the corruption that’s taking place.”

… Trump was asked about Canada: “Now, I love the people of Canada. We have a great relationship. But if they became our 51st state, it would be the greatest thing they could ever do. And think of how beautiful that country would be without that artificial line running right through it. Somebody drew it many years ago with a ruler—just a line.”

… Trump’s NEC Director Kevin Hassett was asked if Trump was really serious about taking over Canada: "When the US was founded, how many states did we have? And how many do we have now? And so, is it outlandish?"

.. Reporter: Does your commitment to rebuilding Gaza extend beyond your time in office? Trump: “I’m committed to buying and owning Gaza. As far as us rebuilding it, we may give it to other states in the Middle East to build sections of it. There’s nothing to move back into—the place is a demolition site. The remainder will be demolished.”

… Reporter: Would the US accept Palestinian refugees since you’re asking other countries to do that? Trump: “It’s a very far distance for them to travel. They’re far away from their friends and family. They don’t want to go back to Gaza.”

Sorry this is out a little bit later tonight than usual. There was just so much news today that it took quite a long time to put all of it together. There is a lot more packed into this below for paid subscribers. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can read it here.

… Turkish President Erdogan on Trump’s Gaza plan: "From our perspective, there is nothing worth talking about the proposals brought up by the new U.S. administration regarding Gaza under the pressure of the Zionist lobby. This plan is completely futile. No one has the power to remove the people of Gaza from their homeland. The people