Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who has been willing to buck his party to confirm some of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, is ruling out voting for two of the president’s most controversial nominees: Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Fetterman said in a post on X Thursday night that he won’t vote to confirm Gabbard as director of national intelligence or Kennedy as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Both are now expected to be confirmed after their nominations had been seen to be in jeopardy.
“I have met with most of the cabinet nominees and have carefully watched their confirmation hearings,” Fetterman wrote. “After considering what’s at stake, I have voted against moving forward to the confirmation of Ms. Gabbard and Mr. Kennedy, and will be voting NO on their confirmations.”
Representative Al Green (D-TX) has filed his third set of impeachment articles against Donald Trump. This time, he filed the articles in response to his call for the Palestinians to be moved to a new land permanently. He called the reasons “dastardly deeds.”
He said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. and injustice in Gaza is a threat to justice in the United States of America. I rise to announce that the movement to impeach the president has begun. I rise to announce that I will bring articles of impeachment against the president for dastardly deeds proposed and dastardly deeds done.”
Rep. Al Green is filing new impeachment articles against Trump– www.politico.com Source Link Excerpt:
Rep. Al Green said Wednesday he was introducing impeachment articles against Donald Trump after the president said the U.S. would “take over” Gaza.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. and injustice in Gaza is a threat to justice in the United States of America,” Green said in a floor speech Wednesday morning. “I rise to announce that the movement to impeach the president has begun. I rise to announce that I will bring articles of impeachment against the president for dastardly deeds proposed and dastardly deeds done.”
The Texas Democrat launched multiple longshot impeachment bids during Trump’s first term using procedural maneuvers meant to circumvent House leadership and bypass committees. Similar to his last efforts, there’s not much appetite among Democrats to impeach Trump as of yet.
Asked Wednesday about Green’s measure, Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), the No. 3 House Democrat, said it wasn’t a focus for the caucus.
U.S. Senator Brian Schatz said on Monday he would block Senate votes on President Donald Trump’s nominees for diplomatic positions in protest over moves to close the U.S. Agency for International Development and fold it into the State Department.
….
Another Democratic senator, Chris Van Hollen, told reporters after the press conference he would also act to stall State Department nominees.
Democrats need to block all votes on Trump’s nominees. Block votes on Trump’s cabinet nominees as well.
Donald: ‘Pain’ Caused By Tariffs ‘Worth The Price That Must Be Paid’– crooksandliars.com Source Link Excerpt:
A Wall Street Journal opinion piece titled, ‘The Dumbest Trade War in History’ really got under Donald’s thin-skin, so he took to Truth Social to rant against the paper while admitting that we may feel some pain from his trade war.
“The “Tariff Lobby,” headed by the Globalist, and always wrong, Wall Street Journal, is working hard to justify Countries like Canada, Mexico, China, and too many others to name, continue the decades long RIPOFF OF AMERICA, both with regard to TRADE, CRIME, AND POISONOUS DRUGS that are allowed to so freely flow into AMERICA,” he scribbled. “THOSE DAYS ARE OVER!”
“The USA has major deficits with Canada, Mexico, and China (and almost all countries!), owes 36 Trillion Dollars, and we’re not going to be the “Stupid Country” any longer,” It continued. “MAKE YOUR PRODUCT IN THE USA AND THERE ARE NO TARIFFS! Why should the United States lose TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN SUBSIDIZING OTHER COUNTRIES, and why should these other countries pay a small fraction of the cost of what USA citizens pay for Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, as an example?”
“THIS WILL BE THE GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICA!” he added. “WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!). BUT WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, AND IT WILL ALL BE WORTH THE PRICE THAT MUST BE PAID. WE ARE A COUNTRY THAT IS NOW BEING RUN WITH COMMON SENSE — AND THE RESULTS WILL BE SPECTACULAR!!!”
Videos on social media show LA firefighters using professional gear, not ‘women’s handbags’– www.politifact.com Source Link Excerpt:
As wildfires continue to burn this week in California, with more strong winds expected, disinformation also continues to spread.
A Jan. 9 Instagram post said, referring to the Los Angeles Fire Department, “The LAFD are using women’s handbags to hold water to put out fires.”
The video shows firefighters wearing yellow jackets and pouring water into what appears to be a plastic bag with two handles before throwing the water into a smoke-filled structure.
“California firefighters are using women’s handbags to fill them with water and pour it over flames in an attempt to extinguish the ongoing wildfires,” says a Jan. 10 Instagram post.
But the firefighters are using professional gear — not “women’s handbags.”
These posts were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)
California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, recently launched a website to combat disinformation about Southern California’s wildfires.
House Republicans and Trump discuss tying California wildfire aid to debt ceiling– www.politico.com Source Link Excerpt:
A group of House Republicans and President-elect Donald Trump talked about tying wildfire aid to a debt ceiling increase Sunday night, as the fires spreading across huge swaths of Los Angeles are estimated to become one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.
Of the nearly two dozen House Republicans who attended the Sunday dinner at Mar-a-Lago, where this option was discussed, several are caucus leaders and appropriators with major influence in upcoming budget reconciliation and government funding negotiations.
House Speaker Mike Johnson was not at the dinner, and no final decisions were made about the way forward, according to two people with direct knowledge of the private meeting, who were granted anonymity to discuss it.
Yet addressing the looming debt cliff will be one of Johnson’s biggest challenges in the coming months, especially as Trump continues to agitate for lawmakers to address it quickly. The Sunday night discussions prove Republicans are desperately looking for a plan before the nation is due to exhaust its borrowing authority in June — though Democrats and some Republicans are sure to balk at the prospect of linking disaster relief dollars to a politically charged exercise like extending the debt limit.
‘Non-starter’: California Democrats blast GOP’s fire trade– www.politico.com Source Link Excerpt:
Democrats are rejecting a tentative pitch by House Republicans to attach wildfire aid to a federal debt limit increase.
GOP lawmakers began floating the idea in meetings this weekend with incoming President Donald Trump. The thinking behind the plan, according to House Republicans, is that they’ll need bipartisan support to raise the cap on federal borrowing authority in the coming months and that including assistance for fire-stricken Southern California would be an incentive for Democrats to help solve one of Trump’s most pressing economic problems this year.
But Democrats are refusing to entertain the deal.
”Why would you be trying to link completely unrelated issues?” California Rep. Ted Lieu, vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said in an interview. “We’ve always helped victims of disasters, and to leverage their pain and suffering on totally unrelated issues — that is inappropriate.”
The GOP’s emerging gambit and Democrats’ immediate resistance underscore the dilemma that Republicans face when it comes to raising the debt ceiling and preventing a U.S. default later this year. Hardline fiscal conservatives who have long balked at debt limit increases pose a huge hurdle for Speaker Mike Johnson, where the narrow Republican majority leaves little room to advance legislation along party lines.
“I appreciate Johnson telling everybody he doesn’t have the votes to raise the debt ceiling by telling us he wants to link it to disaster aid,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Florida Democrat, said in an interview. “If he wants to raise the debt ceiling, he’s going to have to talk to Democrats, not try to condition disaster aid.”
Fetterman becomes first congressional Democrat willing to meet with Trump– www.dailykos.com Source Link Excerpt:
Sen. John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, is planning to meet with President-elect Donald Trump, making him the first-known congressional Democrat to make the pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago since Trump’s reelection.
The upcoming meeting was first reported by CBS News, which said that Trump was the one who reached out and requested to meet. The date and time for the frenemies’ rendezvous have not been finalized, according to the outlet.
In defending his meeting with the president-elect, Fetterman said that he and Trump simply planned to have a “conversation.” He conceded, though, that hot-button issues such as Trump’s insane pledge to occupy Greenland might come up.
“I think that one, he’s the president, or he will be officially,” Fetterman said. “And I think it’s pretty reasonable that if the president would like to have a conversation—or invite someone to have a conversation—to have it. And no one is my gatekeeper.”
The application for stay presented to Justice Sotomayor and by her referred to the Court is denied for, inter alia, the following reasons.
First, the alleged evidentiary violations at President-Elect Trump’s state-court trial can be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal.
Second, the burden that sentencing will impose on the President-Elect’s responsibilities is relatively insubstantial in light of the trial court’s stated intent to impose a sentence of “unconditional discharge” after a brief virtual hearing.
House Republicans To Pay For Tax Cuts For Rich By Taking Food And Healthcare Away From The Poor– www.politicususa.com Source Link Excerpt:
House Republicans are putting it down on paper. They plan to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations by taking healthcare and food away from lower-income people.
The policy menu suggests Republicans could capture major savings from Medicaid — up to an estimated $2.3 trillion. The list includes so-called per-capita caps on Medicaid for states, meaning the program would be paid for based on population instead of being an open-ended entitlement, and would institute work requirements in the program.
The list also includes a policy to equalize payments in Medicaid for able-bodied adults with those of traditional Medicaid enrollment — those with disabilities or low-income children, which would save up to $690 billion.
It would “recapture” $46 billion in savings from Affordable Care Act health insurance plan subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year, setting up a major policy battle. It would also limit eligibility for plans based on citizenship status.
Trump Is a Felon, But Will Not Be Punished – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com Source Link Excerpt:
Trump in Manhattan criminal court in May.Michael M. Santiago/PA Wire/Zuma
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Donald Trump’s criminal case ended with a sputter on Friday morning as a New York City judge sentenced him to no jail time and discharged his case. While the incoming president received no actual punishment for his 34 convictions for concealing hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, the sentencing did formalize his status as a felon—a first for any American president. Trump did not have to be present in court for the sentencing, but appeared by video from Mar-a-Lago, sitting next to his attorney.
“This defendant… has placed officers of the court in harm’s way.”
President Donald Trump saw his 2024 election victory certified by the U.S. Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris having to preside over the whole affair. She said of the process that “It’s a peaceful transition of power. It’s a good day.” The President won the election 312 electoral votes to 226, 77 million votes to 75 million votes.
Harris calls it a ‘good day’ for democracy as she oversees peaceful certification of Trump’s victory – wnyt.com Source Link Excerpt:
After less than a half hour, she formally announced that Trump had won the election. She smiled tightly as Republicans applauded.
“The chair declares this joint session dissolved,” Harris said. “Thank you.”
The process was vastly different than four years ago, when Trump’s supporters rioted at the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers were certifying his defeat to Joe Biden. This time, everyone honored the results of the election.
Trump Has A Total Meltdown Over Soon Becoming A Convicted Felon– www.politicususa.com Source Link Excerpt:
Anyone else who was convicted of nearly three dozen felonies would never get the special treatment that Trump is getting, but Donald Trump thinks that he is entitled to even more special treatment.
Trump posted on Truth Social:
There has never been a President who was so evilly and illegally treated as I. Corrupt Democrat judges and prosecutors have gone against a political opponent of a President, ME, at levels of injustice never seen before. Corrupt judges, or judges so blinded by their hatred of me and my political ideology to “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” are making a mockery of the United States Judicial System, and the World is watching in disgust.
Deranged Jack Smith, the evil and sinister prosecutor appointed by Crooked Joe Biden to “take me down,” was found to be illegally appointed by a CORRUPT DOJ and FBI, and all of his many charges against me were dropped or dismissed. His illegal raid of my home, Mar-a-Lago, will go down as one of the “dirtiest tricks” ever perpetrated by one candidate, a dumb as a rock, Sleepy Joe Biden, on another. With all of this said, I still have confidence that the Appellate Courts will bring JUSTICE TO AMERICA!!!
The GOP Keeps Parroting Trump’s False Claims About the New Orleans Attack – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com Source Link Excerpt:
Trump and Johnson have helped spread a false notion that the New Orleans attacker was an immigrant who entered the country illegally under Biden.Paul Sancya/AP
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In the immediate aftermath of the New Year’s truck attack that killed 14 people and injured dozens in New Orleans, President-elect Donald Trump baselessly—and, it turns out, falsely—suggested that the Biden administration’s immigration policies were to blame.
“When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true,” Trump wrote on Truth Social just after 10:45 a.m. on New Year’s Day. (Later in the post, he added: “Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department.”)
Trump ‘border czar’ admits he’s just making up terrorism claims– www.dailykos.com Source Link Excerpt:
Tom Homan, Donald Trump’s pick to be “border czar” in his upcoming administration, admitted during a Fox News appearance on Thursday that he had no evidence for a connection he alleged between the truck attack in New Orleans and the Tesla explosion in Las Vegas.
Appearing on Fox’s “America Reports” program, Homan told anchor Sandra Smith that he believed law enforcement would find a connection between the two incidents.
Homan used the allegation as a launchpad to continue his advocacy for more restrictive immigration policy and attacked President Joe Biden’s administration over the issue—even though both of the men involved in the New Orleans and Las Vegas attacks were American citizens who served in the military.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is recovering in a Luxembourg hospital after suffering an unspecified injury during a visit to Luxembourg. Pelosi underwent hip replacement surgery and is still recovering in hospital. Pelosi is 84.
Pelosi undergoes ‘successful’ hip replacement surgery in Luxembourg after injury– www.politico.com Source Link Excerpt:
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi underwent hip replacement surgery, her spokesperson announced Saturday, after being hospitalized for an injury while traveling in Luxembourg.
The surgery was “successful” and the 84-year-old “is well on the mend,” the spokesperson, Ian Krager, said in a statement.
The California Democrat was hospitalized Friday while traveling in Luxembourg to the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. Pelosi had fallen, according to a person familiar.
In the statement, Krager said Pelosi “is grateful to U.S. military staff at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center at Landstuhl Army Base and medical staff at Hospital Kirchberg in Luxembourg for their excellent care and kindness.”
Although she stepped aside from House Democratic leadership in 2023, Pelosi remains one of the most influential people in the party. In November, she won reelection for her 20th term.
A member of the House Freedom Caucus is taking an unprecedented step to endorse the primary challenger fighting to unseat the ultra conservative group’s chair.
Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) is endorsing John McGuire, a state senator who is in a highly watched race against Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), McGuire’s campaign first shared with POLITICO.
“I love this country with a soldier’s passion. I’ve served in Congress since 2016, and we need reinforcements to help Make America Great Again. I’m happy to join President Trump by supporting and endorsing John McGuire for Congress,” Davidson said in a statement, describing McGuire as conservative, effective and someone who will drain the swamp.
He added: “I look forward to serving with him in the 119th Congress to support President Trump and the America First agenda. Drain the swamp!”
NEW ROCHELLE, New York — The New York Democrat running to unseat Rep. Jamaal Bowman has an unusual double advantage against the incumbent: local political clout and the backing of a national pro-Israel group.
And it’s Westchester County Executive George Latimer’s ties at home — even more so than his position on the war in Gaza — that could deny the Squad member a third term.
Latimer has picked up endorsements from fellow local leaders week after week — including the mayor and three City Council members in Yonkers, where Bowman lives. And while just 10 percent of Bowman’s campaign contributions come from his neighbors, more than half of Latimer’s donations come from within the district.
Latimer may not have any national name recognition compared to Bowman — who has built his reputation in Congress as a left-wing agitator for sweeping change nationwide — but he enjoys a different kind of celebrity. He’s the Cher of Westchester County, known as just “George” to many in the suburban enclave north of New York City thanks to his 35 years in state and local government.
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Last Friday, my colleague Stephanie Mencimer had the distinct honor—or misfortune—of witnessing Rudy Giuliani’s apparent attempt to convince the Christian right to help him amid his dire financial troubles. That effort saw Giuliani airing crude, conspiratorial rhetoric before the faithful which at one point, saw Giuliani calling Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney in Donald Trump’s Georgia case, a “ho.”
Now Willis is responding, condemning the conservative critics who have relentlessly targeted her since she took on Trump’s Georgia election interference case. While speaking to leaders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Georgia, Willis appeared to single out the former New York City mayor’s denigrating remarks. She declined to call out Giuliani by name, but the subject of her remarks was evident.
Mercedes put on an “A-level boss fight.” Which was only to be expected. So how can the union win next time?
Mercedes employees Austin Brooks, David Johnston, and Jacob Ryan attend a rally in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on May 5, 2024. (Kim Chandler / AP Photo)
Late last Friday afternoon, Shawn Fain, president of the UAW, addressed workers at the Mercedes SUV plant in Vance, Alabama, after the union failed in a representation election (2,054 votes in favor, 2,642 against) many had expected them to win. He told them, “Justice isn’t about one vote or one campaign. It’s about getting a voice, getting your fair share.”
House GOP leaders will begin whipping their Republican members on holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt this week, according to two Republicans familiar with the matter, amid some skepticism they can get the near-unanimity required to pass it on the floor.
With Republicans expecting no help from Democrats, Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) is expected to begin gauging if they can keep intra-party opposition to near zero, according to the two Republicans, who spoke on condition of anonymity. One of those Republicans said the whip effort could begin as early as Wednesday.
Two contempt resolutions against Garland passed out of the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees on a partisan basis last week, leading to a highly contentious hearing in the latter panel last Thursday that involved name-calling and alleged drinking.
