TOP O’ THE MORNIN’
Red-Hot at RedState
It was all a show to deceive us.
Considering the buzz surrounding Elon Musk and DOGE, the Tariff Wars, and the various aspects of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, one wonders whether the Trump State Department is fully informed and in agreement with these developments, or if they have potentially gone unnoticed.
Trending Across Townhall Media
If there could be transparency to the extent that the public is at least informed about these actions, and a commitment to providing an official statement regarding the specific issues in the near future, it would go a long way in clarifying the situation.
As supporters of MAGA and libertarians rally behind Milei and his chainsaw, and continue to show support for Elon Musk and DOGE, any hesitation from the CATO Institute regarding budget cuts would come as a significant disappointment.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer — while Biden’s incompetent press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, fumbled through her massive binder like a lost freshman, Leavitt demonstrates what real preparation and conservative principles look like.
Was Slotkin supposed to be one of the faces that showed Democrats weren’t a pile of elitist snobs or did I mishear that?
Extra kudos to Kennedy for giving us our new favorite way to describe the woman who is clearly the most miserable of all five of collection of awful harpies.
WHAT’S ON TAP?
Today on Capitol Hill…
The House passed the interim spending bill on Tuesday afternoon and it now goes to the Senate where it’s unclear whether it will face a filibuster or not. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has signaled he’s a no on the measure and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is iffy on it, but even if they were to vote in favor of it, the Republicans would need seven Democrat votes to overcome the filibuster. Will Senate Democrats hang the CR up and shutdown the government to oppose President Trump? Or will they grudgingly go along with it. They’re set to meet today to map out their strategy, so we’ll find out soon enough.
Meanwhile, there are several meetings/hearings set for Wednesday, including:
- House Foreign Affairs, Africa Subcommittee — Conflict and Persecution in Nigeria: The Case for a CPC Designation
- Senate Armed Services, Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee — Hearings to examine the current readiness of the Joint Force
- Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs — Hearings to examine housing roadblocks, focusing on paving a new way to address affordability
- Senate Aging (Special) — Hearings to examine breaking the cycle of senior loneliness, focusing on strengthening family and community support
Additionally, the annual “Friends of Ireland” luncheon will be held at the Capitol Wednesday.
White House What’s Up
President Donald Trump is set to meet with the Taoiseach of Ireland at the White House, and then attend the Friends of Ireland luncheon at the Capitol. Later in the day, he’ll host at St. Patrick’s Day reception at the White House.
Keeping Up With the Cabinet
Sec. Interior – Doug Burgum — Burgum joined CNBC’s Brian Sullivan to talk about U.S. energy dominance.
Sec. Agriculture – Brooke Rollins — Rollins touted the notable drop in egg prices, while acknowledging prices will likely continue to fluctuate.
Sec. Commerce – Howard Lutnick — Lutnick characterized his discussion with Ontario Premier Doug Ford as productive; the two are set to meet Thursday and Ford already backed off the threatened 25 percent electricity tariff.
Sec. Housing & Urban Development – Scott Turner — Turner vowed to help California rebuild following the devastating wildfires there.
Sec. Transportation – Sean Duffy — Duffy held a press conference to discuss the NTSB’s preliminary findings regarding the tragic mid-air collision at Reagan National Airport in late January.
Sec. Energy – Chris Wright — Wright called the threatened electricity tariffs from Ontario outrageous.
Sec. Education – Linda McMahon — McMahon announced mass layoffs at the Education Department.
Sec. Veterans Affairs – Doug Collins — Collins took a reporter to task for misleading reporting about DOGE activities at his agency.
Admin. Environmental Protection Agency – Lee Zeldin — Zeldin has acquired a new nickname (“The Legend of Zeldin”) following his announcement that the EPA has terminated the $20 billion (“gold bars”) in grants issued by the Biden administration in its closing days.
Admin. Small Business Association – Kelly Loeffler — Loeffler shared a check list of the SBA’s agenda items.
Dir. Central Intelligence Agency – John Ratcliffe — Ratcliffe met with SecDef Pete Hegseth on Tuesday “to discuss new ways we can work together to implement @POTUS foreign policy agenda.”
Dir. Federal Bureau of Investigations – Kash Patel — The FBI turned over a tranche of documents that the House Judiciary Committee had long been seeking.
Full Court Press…
Judge Dale Ho, who’s overseeing the prosecution of Mayor Eric Adams in the Southern District of New York, has canceled the hearing/oral arguments set for Friday regarding the proposed dismissal of the case, indicating he’s likely already decided his course of action. Expect a ruling on the dismissal soon.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
The Senate Judiciary Committee meets Thursday to consider the nominations of D. John Sauer, of Missouri, to be Solicitor General of the United States, and Harmeet Dhillon, of California, and Aaron Reitz, of Texas, both to be an Assistant Attorney General, all of the Department of Justice. Assuming they’re voted out of committee (which they should be), look for confirmation votes when the Senate returns from its Spring recess week after next.
MORNING MUSING
For those interested in intellectual honesty, there’s a tried and true test when an issue arises involving a politician or party: the Flip Test — how would you react to the situation if it involved the opposite party? If your reaction would be the same either way, then you’re being consistent. If it would be different — and you can at least acknowledge that — you may be being hypocritical but owed some degree of credit for owning it. It’s human to have biases and preferences, and if you recognize that you do, you can potentially mitigate for that — if your aim is to be honest. If your reaction would be different, but you won’t acknowledge or can’t see that, well then, you probably have some work to do.
Flip test never fails. https://t.co/25m9daV9A8
— Susie Moore
(@SmoosieQ) March 12, 2025
LIGHTER FARE
That smile…
They were filming the tiger, then this happened..
pic.twitter.com/JlgtQnZALR
— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) March 11, 2025
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