Friday, February 7, 2025
Good morning, and welcome to RedState’s “Morning Minute” — a brief glimpse at which stories are trending at the moment and a look ahead at what the day may bring. Consider this your one-stop shop for news to kickstart your day.
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TOP O’ THE MORNIN’
Red-Hot at RedState
What makes this so perfect is just how deeply concerned these press apparatchiks pretend to be.
How Is Elon Finding Despicable Gov’t Waste So Quickly? He Has a Secret Weapon—and It’s ‘Intelligent’
DOGE and Musk have stirred up major controversy, and the left is pulling their hair out as they watch themselves get relentlessly exposed for prioritizing virtually every woke cause you can think of instead of the daily lives of regular Americans.
VIDEO: Kamala Harris and Hubby Doug Emhoff Hit a Lakers Game, and Nobody Seems to Care
Who knows, maybe a major political comeback of their own is just down the line. And this is where it all started.
Trending Across Townhall Media
Armed Robber No Match for Armed Barber
Even in a 2A-friendly state like Texas there are rules regarding the use of lethal force, and gun owners need to educate themselves on the scope of the self-defense laws in their state if they have any thought of using a firearm to defend themselves if necessary.
DOGE Is Coming for the Bureau of Labor Statistics – Knees Are Already Knockin’
I expect that the Labor Department is going to be as big as a bag of different worms as USAID once this lawsuit gets tossed or negotiated.
Could We Be Witnessing the End of Liberal Media?
Millions of Americans are waking up to the reality that left-leaning outlets are not — and have never been — interested in actual journalism. And for that, if they fail, they deserve it.
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Politico’s Response to Allegations That USAID Was Their Sugar Daddy Was a Total Disaster
We know the deal here, folks. You’re not fooling anyone, and the more you try to explain this whoredom to USAID, the worse it looks.
Woke WSJ Journo Who Doxxed DOGE Member (and Got Him FIRED) Has DAMNING Connections to USAID (Thread)
It’s just one giant incestuous grift on the backs of the American taxpayer.
WHAT’S ON TAP?
Today on Capitol Hill…
After a flurry of activity Thursday evening — confirming OMB Director Russ Vought, then clearing procedural votes for Tulsi Gabbard (DNI), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (HHS), Howard Lutnick (Commerce), Brooke Rollins (Agriculture), and Kelly Loeffler (SBA) — the Senate is out until Monday, when they’ll vote to invoke cloture on Gabbard, which will start the 30-hour clock on her confirmation vote. What that means is that the vote to confirm Gabbard will happen Tuesday.
As noted yesterday, the Kash Patel vote (for FBI Director) in the Judiciary Committee was delayed for a week due to obscure procedural rules. That will now take place next Thursday (February 13).
With the Senate out, it’s only the House conducting meetings/hearings on the Hill Friday:
- House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party — Organizing Meeting
- House Intelligence — Rules of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for the 119th Congress – Committee Organizational Meeting
That follows what was characterized as a long but productive meeting between key House members from the Budget and Ways and Means Committees and the White House on Thursday as they attempt to pull together a tax cut/spending cut bill.
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White House What’s Up
In addition to attending the meeting with House leaders on tax/spending issues, President Donald Trump delivered remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday morning and signed additional executive orders in the afternoon.
Friday, he’s set to meet with the Prime Minister of Japan and sign additional executive orders before heading to Mar-a-Lago in the evening. He’ll be in attendance at the Super Bowl in New Orleans on Sunday.
Keeping Up With the Cabinet
Sec. State – Marco Rubio — Rubio signed off on the U.S. seizure of a business jet of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
The seizure of this Venezuelan aircraft, used for evading U.S. sanctions and money laundering, is a powerful example of our resolve to hold the illegitimate Maduro regime accountable for its illegal actions. With the Dominican Republic and our regional partners, we will continue… pic.twitter.com/OoVETaTReJ
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) February 6, 2025
Sec. Treasury – Scott Bessent — Bessent sat for an interview in which he confirmed the situation with DOGE and the Treasury:
“There’s a lot of misinformation. These are Treasury employees [working with DOGE]. There’s no tinkering with the system, they have read-only access, can make no changes.”
Sec. Defense – Pete Hegseth — Hegseth confirmed, “The first flight of high-threat criminal illegals aliens has arrived at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.”
Attorney General – Pam Bondi — Bondi announced a lawsuit filed against Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois related to their so-called “sanctuary” laws.
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Sec. Interior – Doug Burgum — Burgum announced the “reopening of oil and gas leasing across hundreds of millions of acres of federal lands and waters that were locked up by the Biden administration.”
Sec. Transportation – Sean Duffy —Duffy affirmed that he’s not playing around when it comes to taking his role seriously and is taking no guff from the likes of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Full Court Press…
A lot was made of the court order entered yesterday in D.C. regarding DOGE’s work at Treasury, but contrary to some of the popular spin, the judge (who’s no friend of the Trump administration) did not “block” Elon Musk or the DOGE team from anything. The order entered was a consent order (meaning agreed to by both sides) that essentially preserved the status quo and confirmed that the people accessing the information are special government employees at Treasury and have read-only access. (See Scott Bessent clip above.)
Meanwhile, a judge in Massachusetts (same judge who temporarily blocked Trump’s order sending transgender prisoners to the correct prison) reportedly pressed pause on the Thursday buyout deadline for federal employees, pushing it back to Monday. (I say “reportedly” because I’ve still not seen the actual order itself.)
COMING ATTRACTIONS
As noted, President Trump will be in attendance at the Super Bowl on Sunday in New Orleans, marking the first time a sitting president will attend the event.
The confirmation vote on Tulsi Gabbard for DNI will take place early next week, and the committee vote on Kash Patel as FBI Director will be held on Thursday morning.
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MORNING MUSING
Remember when “TGIF” was just code for, “Yay, the work-week is almost done, and maybe we can hit a happy hour this evening”? Perhaps it’s merely my old age kicking in, but that’s my reaction now to the non-stop deluge of news and craziness we’re met with all day, every day anymore. Not that it really lets up on the weekend, mind you. Maybe a little. But yes, that was my thought this morning as I readied myself to take on the day. I’m ready for a breather!
LIGHTER FARE
I know this look…
The only view dogs care about..🐕😊❤️ pic.twitter.com/CwgAf6NZW6
— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) February 5, 2025
