Today in Politics, Bulletin 99. 3/27/25

… Trump pulled the nomination of Elise Stefanik for US Ambassador to the UN. The recent special election results and poll numbers caused Trump and Mike Johnson to hit the panic button, leaving the hyper-ambitious Stefanik trudging back to the House with her former leadership position occupied by someone else.

… Trump posted a statement loaded with his usual propaganda. This is the only part of it that matters: “I don’t want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise’s seat. The people love Elise and, with her, we have nothing to worry about come Election Day. There are others that can do a good job at the United Nations.”

… CBS: “The Trump administration has grown concerned about the narrow margins in the House and what it means for Trump's legislative agenda.”

… House Majority Leader Steve Scalise to CBS - "Look, our numbers are tight. After the Florida elections hopefully we pick up two more seats. You know, it's always going to be a tight majority."

… Sen. Lisa Murkowski to CNN: “They just realized that now?”

… Rep. Hakeem Jeffries to Politico: “They seem to be panicking about the two special elections in Florida. Why are Republicans panicking in deep red districts?"

… Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) to MeidasTouch: “Elise Stefanik was a classic Bob Dole Republican when she got here, then did what she needed to do to become a MAGA darling. And now, just as high office is within reach, the Shakespearean gods have pulled the rug out from under her. So, call it karma, Shakespearean, whatever you want.”

… One thing that has Trump and Johnson rattled is the polling of Democrat Joshua Weil against Trump-endorsed Randy Fine in the special election this Tuesday in FL to fill the vacant seat of Mike Waltz. Trump won the district by 30 points, so it was expected to be a cakewalk for Fine. But polls are tight because Desantis hates Fine and refuses to help him, Fine is a toxic obnoxious ass who has been embroiled in one controversy after another, and Weil is a great candidate who out-fundraised him 9-1.

… NBC’s Melanie Zanona: “In his convos with people today, Trump expressed frustration with Waltz. The frustration is two-fold: Trump is not only angry about group chat-gate, but ALSO annoyed that the race to replace Waltz in FL is now tighter than it should be. Rs confident they'll win, but Trump still doesn't like the optics/narrative. It all has Trump spooked about the prospect of yet another special election for Stefanik's seat. BOTTOM LINE: Trump realizing how much of a headache it was to pull people from House for his admin - exactly as he was warned.”

… Weil is a public-school teacher, who says that his campaign “is about fighting back against the threats against Social Security, health care and public schools.”

… Weil to MeidasTouch: “When DeSantis was running for president, Randy Fine was the first Republican to jump off and support Trump instead, and they’ve had this furious relationship ever since. He’s been the most outspoken critic of DeSantis, calling him ‘Ronda Rhino,’ and a lot of Republicans here actually like DeSantis, so they don’t take that kindly. There are two types of people here in District 6—those who don’t like Randy Fine and those who haven’t heard of him.”

… Although Republicans are still confident that Fine will win, they are looking at this tight race and the recent Dem flip of an R+15 state senate seat in PA, and were very worried about losing Elise Stefanik’s open seat in an R+9 district in NY.

… The other critical race next week is the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, which will decide the balance of power on the court. Trump and Musk have gone all in for the Republican candidate. Musk’s PAC has now spent $19 million, and is also buying votes again. He is paying people $100 each in WI to sign his “petition”, and is also awarding $1 million prizes: “Exciting to announce our first million dollar award for supporting our petition against activist judges in WI! Next million dollar award will be announced in 2 days.”

… Most of the original itinerary for Usha Vance’s trip to Greenland has been cancelled when Greenlanders made it very clear to the White House that she could show up but was not going to be welcomed. The Vances (JD is now going to own the libs) will now only visit the US Space Force Base in northern Greenland. Usha’s trip to a dogsled race and other attractions has been cancelled.

… Greenland MP Rasmus Jarlov: “American organizers went knocking on doors in the capital of Greenland to try to find a family that would invite Usha Vance in when they arrived. It failed. Everybody said no. Instead, a large demonstration against the American threats of taking over Greenland were planned. Realizing it would be public relations disaster, the Americans finally cancelled the visit.”

… Jarlov says enough is enough: “Please let it go. The people of Greenland do not want to be Americans and they cannot be bought, bribed or persuaded. They have done nothing to deserve this aggression. Neither has Denmark. International borders must be respected.”

… Danish Defense Minister: "We will not tolerate the US thinking that it can decide how the Danish Kingdom, including Greenland, should look in the future."

… AP reported that 4 US soldiers are believed to have died in a training accident in Lithuania. The US Army found the Hercules armored vehicle the four soldiers were in during a training exercise in a submerged muddy swamp.

… Trump was asked about the incident in the Oval Office 8 hours after it was first reported. He said he didn’t know anything about it.

… Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA): “He fired thousands of veterans across the govt. His team carelessly shares info that puts our pilots at risk. He doesn’t care to know about missing American soldiers? What more proof do we need that this man doesn’t give a damn about the heroes who protect us?”

… Trump was fuming that Judge Boasberg was assigned to hear the lawsuit filed on the Signal case: “How disgraceful is it that ‘Judge’ James Boasberg has just been given a 4th ‘Trump Case,’ something which is, statistically, IMPOSSIBLE. There is no way for a Republican, especially a TRUMP REPUBLICAN, to win before him. He is Highly Conflicted in his hatred of me - Massive Trump Derangement Syndrome! Boasberg, who is the Chief Judge of the D.C. District Court, seems to be grabbing the ‘Trump Cases’ all to himself, even though it is not supposed to happen that way. There must be an immediate investigation of this Rigged System, before it is too late!”

… At a House Intel Committee hearing, Rep. Jim Himes asked Tulsi Gabbard why she lied under oath the day before in front of the Senate when she claimed that specific targets or weapons were not mentioned on the chat: “My answer yesterday was based on my recollection, or the lack thereof, on the details that were posted there.”

… Himes: “So it’s your testimony that less than two weeks ago you were on this chat that had all this info about F-18s, and Reapers, and targets on strike, and you in that two week period forgot that?”

… Sen. Mark Warner: “What makes it particularly galling is when the director of national intelligence self-righteously tweets 12 days ago, ‘Anybody leaks, we're going to pursue them to the full extent of the law.’ Well, does that apply to the leadership?”

… Politico reported what I have been saying since this first broke - that Trump would be more upset about Waltz having Jeffrey Goldberg in his phone contacts than any national security breach. They cite 4 sources: “Trump was mad - and suspicious - that Waltz had Goldberg’s number saved in his phone in the first place.” One source: “The president was pissed that Waltz could be so stupid.”

… Fox will not put their Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin on the air since the Signal scandal broke. The reason is because she is one of their few honest reporters. Griffin: “There is a debate about whether the operational details Hegseth shared in the Signal Group Chat were ‘classified’ or not. So I surveyed a range of current and former US defense officials who agreed ‘war plans’ is not the right term but what was shared may have been FAR MORE sensitive given the operational details and time stamps ahead of the operation, which could have placed US military pilots in harms way.”

… “What Hegseth shared 2 hours ahead of the strikes were time sensitive ‘attack orders’ or ‘operational plans’ with actual timing of the strikes and mention of F18s, MQ9 Reapers and Tomahawks. This info is typically sent through classified channels to the commanders in the field as ‘secret, no forn’ message. In other words the information is ‘classified’ and should not be shared through insecure channels.

… “‘Attack orders’ or ‘attack sequence’ puts the joint force directly and immediately at risk, according to former senior defense official. ‘It allows the enemy to move the target and increase lethal actions against US forces.’ This kind of real time operational info is more sensitive than ‘war plans,’ which makes this lapse more egregious, according to two former senior US defense officials. ‘This information was clearly classified’.”

I took a deeper dive into the political fallout for each of the players involved in the Signal scandal on Uncovered yesterday, and we also talked about Usha Vance’s failed trip to Greenland, Trump’s Executive Order on voter suppression, and lots more. If you weren’t one of the 290K+ people who watched it yesterday, you can check it out here.

… Former Dem nominee for US Senate in KY Amy McGrath: “Old F-18 fighter pilot here with 80+ combat missions - launch times on a strike mission ARE ABSOLUTELY CLASSIFIED.”

… Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) on Heseth: “He’s a fucking liar. He needs to resign