The stories you want. The opinions that matter.
No, thanks
@alexvhenderson
CNN Checks Trump's Rapid-Fire Lies At Emancipation Hall Speech

CNN Checks Trump's Rapid-Fire Lies At Emancipation Hall Speech

After being sworn in for a second term by U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts on Monday, January 20, President Donald Trump gave his inaugural address — which was followed by a different speech later in Emancipation Hall.

CNN's Daniel Dale gave Trump many fact-checks during his first term as president. And he wasted no time fact-checking Trump's Emancipation Hall speech.

Dale's colleague Jake Tapper told him, "I know there are a lot of familiar lies that were just told, but bring us up to speed on what you think the biggest ones were." And Dale responded, "There were a bunch, Jake."

Dale noted that while there was only a "smattering of falsehoods" in Trump's "scripted" inaugural speech, he "returned to his familiar lie-a-minute style" during the "unscripted" Emancipation Hall speech.

"He said the 2020 election was totally rigged," Dale told Tapper. "We know that's a lie. He said his opponents tried to rig it this time; that is more nonsense. He said California Democrats tried to cheat, and that he thinks he would have won the state this time if it were not rigged. Well, it was a free and fair election in that state as well; he lost by more than three million votes."

Dale continued, "He claimed he won Alabama this time by 48 points — more like 30, 31. And then, on immigration, he spoke of the jails of every country in the world being emptied into this country. He has never provided any evidence for his familiar claim that foreign countries are deliberating emptying prisons to send people here as migrants."

The CNN fact-checker also debunked Trump's false claims about the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building.

"He repeated the claim that former House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi has admitted that she rejected a Trump offer of 10,000 National Guard troops on January 6, 2021," Dale told Tapper. "First of all, there is no basis for the claim Trump even made her such an offer. It wouldn't even have made sense, given he, the president, is the commander of the DC National Guard — the speaker of the House has no authority to deploy them or for a deployment."

Dale added, "And second of all, (Pelosi) never admitted that such an offer was made. She has steadfastly rejected that. She is on tape, on January 6, expressing frustration with the security failure that day, and saying: I take responsibility for not having them better prepared."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Trump Pardons January 6 Felons -- Including Thugs Who Brutalized Police

Trump Pardons January 6 Felons -- Including Thugs Who Brutalized Police

During his 2024 presidential race, Donald Trump repeatedly promised to pardon the January 6 rioters — who he described as "hostages" — if he won the election. And Trump did exactly that after returning to the presidency on Monday, January 20, 2025.

President Trump pardoned more than 1500 defendants who faced charges in connection with the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building, including some who were charged with violent crimes. Many Trump critics denounced the pardon as an attack on the rule of law. But according to New York Times reporter Aishvarya Kavi, there was a celebratory mood outside a jail in Washington, D.C.

A combination of "family members, fervent supporters and former detainees" gathered outside that detention center to celebrate the pardons, Kavi reports in an article published by the Timeson January 21. And some of them were dancing to the Village People's 1978 disco hit "YMCA," which has become an unlikely favorite at Trump and MAGA events despite its longtime connection to gay culture.

"The scene outside the jail was a departure from the usual vigil held in the back of the facility, under windows that the detainees can peer out of," Kavi explains. "Men and women who were imprisoned and their families called supporters throughout the night, updating them on the status of their release — but also, to proclaim their innocence, as they ordinarily do."

Kavi continues, "The crowd had been buoyed by Mr. Trump's promise to issue sweeping pardons on Day 1 of his presidency. They were already anticipating the fulfillment of another vow of his, to pursue his rivals by prosecuting them. Mr. Trump told NBC News in December that the entire January 6 Committee 'should go to jail.'"

The Times reporter notes that many supporters of the January 6 rioters "sought to rewrite the violent history of the January 6 attack — a narrative that Mr. Trump himself has endorsed at rallies, in news conferences and on television."

Goshen, Indiana resident and MAGA supporter Scott Tapley, who was outside the jail, told the Times, "I'm so glad to see they’re being released. This is just an unspeakably joyous, happy day."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet


Paul Krugman

Paul Krugman Warns Trump Voters Are About To Get 'Brutally Scammed'

Although Paul Krugman retired from his New York Times column after almost 25 years, the liberal economist is still keeping busy and making media appearances — including an interview with The New Republic's Greg Sargent posted on January 14.

Trump aggressively campaigned on the economy last year. But Krugman, during an appearance on The New Republic's podcast, laid out a variety of reasons why he believes Trump voters will suffer economically after he returns to the White House.

Krugman told host Sargent, "A lot of people are going to get brutally scammed. Those are his most fervent supporters…. Probably the local business elites are the most fervent MAGA types out there — more so even than the working class, but that doesn't mean that Trump cares about their interests. Small businesspeople are the people that he's, all through his life, hired as contractors and then not (paid), right? Scamming people like that is what his whole life has been (about)."

Small businesses and consumers, the economist warned, will suffer the consequences if Trump follows through on the aggressive tariffs and mass deportations he is proposing.

"Trump has really radical policy ideas," Krugman told Sargent. "I obviously think they're terrible, but they are radical. He wants Smoot-Hawley-level tariffs. He wants mass deportations. He wants to take away the independence of the Federal Reserve. How do you justify all of that when we're pretty much a Goldilocks economy?"

Trump hammered President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris relentlessly over inflation during his 2024 campaign, but Krugman warned that the tariffs Trump is proposing will be quiet inflationary.

The economist told Sargent, "If we take the totality of stuff that Trump seems to want to do — he wants to raise tariffs but cut taxes on high incomes — it's basically working-class voters (who) are going to face higher prices and upper-income voters (who) are going to benefit from tax cuts. This really is very much contrary to their interests, then you add in all the other stuff. Even more than usual for a Republican, he appears to have an extremely regressive economic program in mind — one that really will effectively redistribute income away from working-class voters to the top."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Judge Aileen Cannon

Judge Cannon Allows Release Of Special Counsel Report On Trump Coup

On Monday, January 13 — a week before Donald Trump's second inauguration — the news broke that Judge Aileen Cannon had OK'd the release of part of former special counsel Jack Smith's final report on his two criminal cases against the president-elect.

Smith's final report contains two volumes: one dealing with Smith's Mar-a-Lago documents case (which Cannon dismissed), the other dealing with Smith's election interference case (which Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed without prejudice at Smith's request after Trump won the 2024 election). And Cannon gave the go-ahead for the release of the election interference portion of the report, while setting a January 17 hearing for the classified documents part.

After the news broke, CNN's Dana Bash brought on legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid for analysis.

Reid told Bash, "What we were looking for today is whether she would try to block (the full release) of Jack Smith's reports. As a special counsel, he is required by regulation to submit reports detailing his investigative decisions to the attorney general. He has submitted two reports to Attorney General Merrick Garland…. The classified documents report is not expected to be released anytime soon, because that case is still active."

Reid added, "Trump had co-defendants in that case. Their cases are still active even though Trump's has been dismissed. So, all eyes are on the January 6 report. And…. Judge Cannon cleared the way for this report to possibly be released. "

Reid noted, however, that based on conversations with sources, she "wouldn't be surprised" if Trump's lawyers "appealed" Cannon's ruling and went "higher up the legal food chain to try to block this release."

Reid told Bash, "Even though sources on both sides tell me there's not a lot of news in this report….. the Trump team had made it clear: They are going to fight Jack Smith and the Justice Department every step of the way."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

MAGA Hardliners Blast Vance Over Remarks On January 6 Pardons

MAGA Hardliners Blast Vance Over Remarks On January 6 Pardons

Hillbilly Elegy author JD Vance was once a scathing critic of Donald Trump, but by time he ran for the U.S. Senate via Ohio in 2022, he had given himself an ultra-MAGA makeover and become a forceful Trump defender. That defense played a role in Trump's decision to make Vance his running mate in 2024.

But now, the vice-president-elect is drawing angry criticism from some MAGA Republicans for saying he favors pardons for some but not all of the January 6, 2021 rioters.

President-elect Trump, since winning the 2024 election, has doubled down on his promise to pardon rioters who have faced federal charges for their attack on the U.S. Capitol Building that day. And he hasn't ruled out the possibility of pardoning January 6 rioters who violently attacked police.

Vance, during an appearance on Fox News, drew a distinction between violent and nonviolent defendants.

Vance told Fox News' Shannon Bream, "If you protested peacefully on January 6.… you should be pardoned. If you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned. And there's a little bit of a grey area there."

The London Times' Hugh Tomlinson notes that Vance's comments have angered some Trump supporters, and Vance has responded that he has long been a supporter of the January 6 defendants.

"Social media posts have circulated comparing Vance to Mike Pence, Trump's vice-president during his first term in office," Tomlinson explains. "Pence is loathed by hardline MAGA supporters for refusing to block certification of the 2020 election result on the day of the riot. Some who marched on the Capitol chanted 'Hang Mike Pence.'"

On X, formerly Twitter, Vance posted, "The president saying he'll look at each case (and me saying the same) is not some walk-back. I assure you, we care about people unjustly locked up. Yes, that includes people provoked and it includes people who got a garbage trial."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Bannon's 'Woke Right' Drives Split In MAGA Movement

Bannon's 'Woke Right' Drives Split In MAGA Movement

During the United States' 2024 presidential race, much of the Republican Party rallied about Donald Trump's campaign. A long list of Never Trump conservatives endorsed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, but they tended to be people who were no longer influential figures in the GOP.

President-elect Trump's victory was not the "landslide" his supporters say it was; he won the popular vote by roughly 1.5 percent. But he has the support of most Republicans in Congress.

In an article published by the London Evening Standardon January 7, however, journalist Sarah Baxter (who heads the Marie Colvin Center in upstate New York) argues that major divisions are emerging in the MAGA movement as Trump prepares for his return to the White House.

"The fall-out is already consuming the MAGA movement and has led to a split between nativist flame-throwers like Steve Bannon and globalist tech-bros like Elon Musk, as they wrestle for power and influence in the second Trump era," Baxter explains. "Musk, the world's richest man and biggest troll with his own platform, X, has the advantage for now, but the spat has the potential to tear MAGA apart."

Part of this MAGA infighting, according to Baxter, is what she calls the "rise of the woke right" — which she describes as MAGA Republicans who have strong feelings of victimhood.

"Alex Nowrasteh, an immigration expert at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington, has identified five key features of the new woke right," Baxter writes. "These boil down to an obsession with identity politics; an ingrained sense of victimhood; a preoccupation with microaggressions; support for affirmative action for one’s own tribe; and a zero-sum mindset — somebody wins, somebody loses."

Baxter adds, "As with the far left, it can extend to glorifying foreign autocracies, such as Russia and Hungary."

Baxter describes "patriotic correctness" as "the right's version of political correctness."

"The biggest crybaby 'victims' are the January 6 rioters and their defenders, who have partially succeeded in rewriting the history of that day," Baxter says. "Those awaiting pardons by Trump fancifully promote themselves as unfairly punished patriots who stood up for 'We the People' in defense of the U.S. Constitution against hordes of Antifa and agent provocateurs in the FBI and 'deep state'…. The left's embrace of cancel culture has been enthusiastically adopted by the right."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Divisions Within GOP Are Threatening Trump's Tax Cut Package

Divisions Within GOP Are Threatening Trump's Tax Cut Package

President-elect Donald Trump has been calling for his GOP allies to pass "one powerful bill" that will tackle a variety of his legislative goals after he returns to the White House, from tax cuts to immigration and the U.S./Mexico border.

But some GOP senators, according to Politico, aren't as enthusiastic about the possibility of one big megabill as Republicans in the House of Representatives. And Bloomberg News reports that some Trump allies believe there is too much "infighting" among Republicans in Congress for the president-elect to get everything he wants on taxes in 2025.

In an article published on Wednesday, January 8, Bloomberg reporters Nancy Cook, Steven T. Dennis, and Billy House explain, "Republicans broadly agree that there's little room for error on what is a rare opportunity for the GOP to update the tax code without having to make any concessions to Democrats. There’s also time pressure: households and privately-held businesses will see their Internal Revenue Service bills rise if Congress doesn’t act by the end of the year. But Republicans openly disagree on how to meet that deadline."

The journalists add, "Hashing out those differences is likely to be a key topic of conversation later Wednesday when Trump meets with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill."

Cook, Dennis, and House note that Stephen Miller, Trump's pick for deputy White House chief of staff, has "pushed lawmakers to first pursue a border security bill" — and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) agrees.

"That pits them against House Republicans, many of whom want to cram all the party’s legislative goals — immigration, energy production and taxes — into a singular bill," according to the Bloomberg News journalists. "That's an approach that yields to the reality that the tiny House GOP majority — a fractious group of lawmakers willing to torch members of their own party during heated disputes — will have a hard time passing even one bill, let alone two."

Cook, Dennis and House point out that near the end of the 2024 presidential race, Trump, "promised to extend the personal tax cuts from 2017 and expand the state and local tax deduction, while also creating new tax breaks like no taxes on tips, overtime pay or Social Security checks."

"Trump has vowed to Wall Street executives that he would reduce the corporate tax rate to as low as 15 percent," the Bloomberg reporters observe. "That laundry list of promises surprised even some of his closest economic advisers, who privately said Trump was unlikely to turn all of this rhetoric into reality."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Kremlin Excited By Trump's Imperialism Toward Greenland, Canada And Panama

Kremlin Excited By Trump's Imperialism Toward Greenland, Canada And Panama

During the 2024 presidential race, many supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris — from lifelong Democrats to right-wing Never Trump conservatives — argued that Ukraine would be much better off if she won, as Donald Trump has been highly critical of the Biden Administration's aggressive support for military aid to that country.

President-elect Trump, however, defeated Democratic nominee Harris. And his pick for national intelligence director, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii (an ex-Democrat turned MAGA Republican), has been an outspoken defender of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Gabbard's comments, critics say, have been so pro-Kremlin that state-operated Russian media outlets have dubbed her "Russia's girlfriend."

The Daily Beast's Julia Davis, in an article published on 2024's penultimate day, lays out some reasons why the Kremlin is glad to see Trump returning to the White House.

Trump and the MAGA movement have often been described as "isolationists." Yet Trump's recent post-election comments about Greenland and the Panama Canal have had a more expansionist or imperialist quality — which, according to Davis, "delights" the Kremlin.

"President-elect Donald Trump's social media posts about annexing Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal startled America's allies and delighted foreign foes," Davis reports. "In Russia, the statements were interpreted to mean that Trump isn't really opposed to foreign wars of conquest after all. To them, Trump's tirades revealed that — just like Russian President Vladimir Putin — Trump would be delighted to invade any country that couldn't fight back."

Davis adds, "He would expect accolades and a lavish victory parade after seizing foreign territories, just like the fallout from Russia stealing Crimea in 2014. Trump infamously described the annexation of Crimea as a 'genius' and 'savvy' move."

The Daily Beast reporter notes that in pro-Kremlin Russian media outlets, Trump's "stated intentions towards Greenland, Canada, and Panama" are "being celebrated as implicit validation for Russia's current and future land grabs."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Texas Governor Sends 'Condolences' To Rosalynn Carter (Who Died In 2023)

Texas Governor Sends 'Condolences' To Rosalynn Carter (Who Died In 2023)

On Sunday, December 29, former President Jimmy Carter passed away at 100.

Carter was a widower. His wife, former First Lady Rosalynn Smith Carter, died on November 19, 2023.

But Texas Gov. Greg Abbott responded to the former president's death by giving Mrs. Carter his condolences.

According to the Daily Beast's Grace Harrington, "The Republican governor released a statement Sunday saying he and his wife 'send our prayers and deepest condolences to First Lady Rosalynn Carter and the entire Carter family.' Abbott also lauded Carter for his 'selfless service to the American people.'"

Abbott, Harrington notes, was "neglecting to take into account that she died last year."

Two hours later, Harrington reports, Abbott "amended the statement on X to remove any mention of the former first lady."

Both of the Carters lived long lives. Although Rosalynn Smith Carter didn't live quite as long as the former president, she was 96 when she passed away.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Billionaire Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and MAGA businessman Vivek Ramaswamy

Loomer And Bannon Spitting MAGA Vitriol At Musk And Ramaswamy

Billionaire Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and MAGA businessman Vivek Ramaswamy were aggressive supporters of Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential race, and the president-elect has tapped them to head a new advisory commission that he has proposed: the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Although Ramaswamy ran against Trump in the GOP presidential primary, his criticism of him was mild; Ramaswamy was much more forceful in his attacks on former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, another primary candidate. And he ended up dropping out of the race and giving Trump a glowing endorsement.

Musk was a more than generous donor to Trump's campaign. But Musk and Ramaswamy, in late 2024, have been drawing vehement criticism from other MAGA Republicans after voicing their support for the use of immigrant workers in the tech sector.

The Atlantic's Ari Breland, in an article published on December 30, details the rage that MAGA nativists have been expressing against Trump's picks to lead DOGE.

That rage, according to Breland, has been coming from MAGA firebrand Laura Loomer, "War Room" host Steve Bannon and others.

"Elon Musk spent Christmas Day online, in the thick of a particularly venomous culture war — one that would lead him to later make the un-Christmas-like demand of his critics to 'take a big step back and F--K YOURSELF in the face," Breland explains. "Donald Trump had ignited this war by appointing the venture-capitalist Sriram Krishnan to be his senior AI-policy adviser. Encouraged by the MAGA acolyte and expert troll Laura Loomer, parts of the far-right internet melted down, arguing that Krishnan's appointment symbolized a betrayal of the principles of the 'America First' movement."

Breland adds, "Krishnan is an Indian immigrant and a U.S. citizen who, by virtue of his heritage, became a totem for the MAGA right to argue about H-1B visas, which allow certain skilled immigrants to work in the United States."

Meanwhile, Ramaswamy has infuriated nativists by praising the strong work ethic of immigrant tech experts.

"The tech right and nationalist right are separate but overlapping factions that operated in tandem to help get Trump reelected," Breland reports. "Now, they are at odds. For possibly the first time since Trump's victory, the racial animus and nativism that galvanized the nationalist right cannot immediately be reconciled with the tech right's desire to effectively conquer the world — and cosmos, in Musk's case — using any possible advantage. After winning the election together, one side was going to have to lose."

This MAGA "skirmish," according to Breland, "is a preview of how tension between the tech right and the nationalist right may play out once Trump takes office."

"The nationalists will likely get most of what they want," Breland predicts. "Trump has already promised mass deportations, to their delight. But when they butt heads with Silicon Valley, Trump will likely defer to his wealthiest friends."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

GOP Split Over Debt Ceiling Still Raw As Trump Prepares To Take Office

GOP Split Over Debt Ceiling Still Raw As Trump Prepares To Take Office

The recent spending battle in Congress found President-elect Donald Trump at odds with some of the Tea Party firebrands and budget hawks in his party. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) voted "no" on one of the spending bills that Trump supported, and Trump angrily responded by calling for a primary challenge to the arch-conservative Texan.

Trump urged lawmakers to "get rid of" the debt ceiling, which some of the Tea Party budget hawks adamantly oppose.

The United States avoided a federal government shutdown by passing a three-month stopgap spending bill that Trump opposed. But the debt ceiling battle, according to Politico's Jennifer Scholtes, rages on.

In an article published on the penultimate day of 2024, Scholtes explains, "GOP leaders are staring down two bad options to solve President-elect Donald Trump's debt-limit problem, after failing to execute his demand to lift the federal borrowing cap in the last government funding bill. One path requires full buy-in from Republican lawmakers to address the issue via budget reconciliation — a huge challenge thanks to the party’s fierce fiscal hawks. The other entails winning over Democrats, who for the most part, rejected Trump's initial debt-limit gambit last week."

The debt ceiling, Scholtes emphasizes, will be "an urgent issue for Trump as soon as he takes office."

"Getting Republicans to agree on $2.5 trillion in cuts to mandatory programs over 10 years would also be a challenge for GOP leaders," Scholtes reports. "Trump has ruled out reductions to Social Security and Medicare, the costliest of the programs."

Scholtes adds, "Of the roughly $4 trillion the U.S. government spends on mandatory programs each year, Social Security benefits alone total almost $1.5 trillion. Democrats say the proposal is a public relations nightmare for the GOP."

Trump favors extending the corporate tax cuts of 2017, which Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut believes could hurt Republicans if they also push for Social Security and Medicare cuts.

Murphy told Politico, "Listen, this is the gift that keeps on giving. This is the absolute worst case for the country — a massive tax cut for the richest of the rich, paid for by slashing, to the bone, health care for seniors and poor kids."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

'Please Take Care Of Us': Low-Income Trump Voters Fear Budget Cuts

'Please Take Care Of Us': Low-Income Trump Voters Fear Budget Cuts

At his 2024 campaign rallies, Donald Trump repeatedly blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for inflation — which he promised to fix if he won the election. And that messaging proved effective: Trump, according to the Cook Political Report, won 312 electoral votes and defeated Democratic presidential nominee Harris by roughly 1.5 percent in the popular vote.

One of the swing states that Trump won was Pennsylvania, where he promised low-income voters that he would bring down inflation if he won.

According to Washington Post reporter Tim Craig, those voters will have a rude awakening if they experience benefit cuts during Trump's second administration.

In an article published the day after Christmas, Craig cites New Castle, Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh, as a place where Trump performed well among low-income voters.

"Trump carried the Pennsylvania city of New Castle by about 400 votes, becoming the first Republican presidential candidate to win here in nearly 70 years," Craig explains. "More than 1 in 4 residents live in poverty, and the median income in this former steel and railroad hub ranks as one of the lowest in Pennsylvania. New Castle's poorest residents weren't alone in putting their faith in Trump. Network exit polls suggest he erased the advantage Democrats had with low-income voters across the country."

Craig adds, "Fifty percent of voters from families with an income of less than $50,000 a year cast their ballots for Trump, according to the data, compared with 48 percent for Vice President Kamala Harris."

But now, according to Craig, "low-income Americans who voted for Trump" are hoping he will "keep their benefits intact" even though other Republicans are urging the president-elect "to reduce federal spending."

In New Castle, Craig notes, "federal benefits"—including food stamps and Medicaid — "have helped keep residents afloat."

Lori Mosura, a struggling New Castle resident, 2024 Trump voter and single mother who receives food stamps, told the Post, "We helped get you in office; please take care of us. Please don't cut the things that help the most vulnerable."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Chip Roy

GOP Hardliners In Congress Clashing With Trump Over Budget

During recent budget negotiations in the U.S. House of Representatives, President-elect Donald Trump not only clashed with Democrats — he also clashed with some GOP budget hawks, including Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX).

Trump, unlike Roy, favored raising the debt ceiling. And when Roy rejected one of the spending bills that Trump supported, the president-elect called for a primary challenge against him.

In an article published the day before Christmas 2024, Politico's Jordain Carney describes the tensions between Trump and hardline Republican budget hawks in Congress — including some members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus.

"Conservatives who want to slash the federal budget are hoping they can enlist President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk to their side come January," Carney explains. "But last week's meltdown over government funding underscored that Trump doesn't always share their fiscal restraint."

Carney adds, "Though Trump and Musk helped upend an initial bipartisan appropriations deal loathed by fiscal hardliners, 38 House Republicans later balked at Trump's big demand in the next bill: a looser limit on Washington's borrowing authority."

Another House Republican who voted against a Trump-supported spending bill was Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Arizona).

Biggs told Politico, "We allow the bureaucracy to grow. We pass CR after CR. That's going to be where the Trump bully pulpit is going to come in and actually try to deal with some of this stasis, this problem."

In 2025, Trump, according to Carney, Trump could either "be effective at pushing for cuts if he wants" or could "end up amplifying the GOP's existing internal fights and cause more chaos."

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) told Politico, "I think unified government helps us, because I think President Trump is going to tell some of these guys, 'Get in line.'"

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Matt Gaetz

Damning Text Messages Detonated The Gaetz Ethics Bombshell

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has been the subject of two separate investigations related to alleged sexual misconduct: an actual criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and a probe by the House Ethics Committee.

The DOJ investigation was concluded, and Gaetz — who denied the allegations against him — was never charged with anything. But the House Ethics report was made public on Monday, December 23, and the allegations include paying for sex with a 17-year-old girl.

In an article published on Christmas Eve 2024, USA Today reporter Josh Meyer describes the role that text messages play in the report's "bombshell accusations."

Meyer explains, "Some of the (Ethics) Committee's damning allegations come from the former congressman's own words and actions, according to details within the long-awaited report made public Monday. Others comprise text messages, financial records, photos and interviews of people closest to him, the Committee report said, including a former friend who's now in prison and an ex-girlfriend who both used a 'sugar dating' site linking older men with younger women."

After the House Ethics report was released, many of Gaetz's critics — including Democrats and Never Trump conservatives — were also highly critical of President-elect Donald Trump for picking Gaetz for U.S. attorney general.

Gaetz, however, withdrew from consideration, and Trump has picked former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi for that position.

The House Ethics report alleges, "The record overwhelmingly suggests that Representative Gaetz had sex with multiple women at (a) party, including the then-17-year-old, for which they were paid."

Meyer notes, "Much of that evidence came from text messages by Gaetz and his associates, according to the report. In one text exchange obtained by the (Ethics) Committee, Gaetz balked at a woman's request for money after he accused her of 'ditching' him on a night when she was feeling tired, claiming she only gave him a 'drive by,' the report said. The woman asserted to Gaetz that she was being 'treated differently' than other women he was paying for sex, the report added."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Mike Johnson

'No Better Than McCarthy': Would House Democrats Rescue GOP Speaker Again?

On Saturday, December 21, a federal government shutdown was avoided when outgoing President Joe Biden signed into law a last-minute funding plan.

A shutdown appeared likely after some bills that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) supported failed in the U.S. House of Representatives. But a last-minute bill passed in the House with a 366-34 vote and passed 85-11 when it went to the U.S. Senate.The bill enjoyed bipartisan support in the House, where Republicans held their small majority in the 2024 election.

According to Axios' Andrew Solender, however, House Democrats are "sending an early warning signal" to Johnson that he " shouldn't count on them to rescue him again."

In an article published on December 23, Solender reports, "Johnson will have the barest of majorities next year — and he's staring down growing unrest within the Republican conference. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has said he will vote against Johnson's reelection as speaker on January 3, with several other Republicans saying they are undecided. With a majority as narrow as 219-215, Johnson may only be able to afford to lose one vote."

Far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has repeatedly called for Johnson to be ousted as speaker. But for all their differences with Johnson, House Democrats — including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) — overwhelmingly rejected Greene's "motion to vacate" in a May 2024 vote.

But on Friday, December 20, Jeffries, according to Solender, "signaled to his members that relations with Johnson had entered a new, significantly worsened phase."A House Democrat, interviewed on condition of anonymity, told Axios, "I have thought multiple times that I would help Johnson in a tough speaker vote because he was true to his word even in hard times. That has absolutely changed now. Trust is all we have in these negotiations. I thought Johnson was truly different. He's no better than (former House Speaker Kevin) McCarthy. He's getting no help from me, and I know many of my colleagues feel the same."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

January 6 riot

New Inspector General's Report Debunks January 6 Conspiracy Theories

The U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Inspector General's Office has released a report detailing the "handling of its confidential human sources and intelligence collection efforts in the "lead-up" to January 6, 2021.

The report's release has inspired a variety of responses. Some MAGA Republicans view the report as proof that FBI agents, on January 6, 2021, ventured to the U.S. Capitol Building that day in the hope of making MAGA Republicans and Donald Trump supporters look bad.

But according to HuffPost reporter Michael Delaney, the report "debunks" claims the FBI engaged in illegal behavior.

In a December 12 tweet, Trump supporter Greg Price wrote, "BREAKING: The FBI had 26 confidential human sources at the Capitol on January 6, including four who entered the Capitol building and 13 who entered the 'restricted area' around the Capitol, according to a just released DOJ Inspector General report."

Vice-president-elect JD Vance, responding to Price's tweet, wrote, "For those keeping score at home, this was labeled a dangerous conspiracy theory months ago."

But Delaney tweeted that the report is a "debunking" of a conspiracy theory — not proof that it has any merit.

Delaney posted, " The underlying report here says there were no undercover FBI agents at the Capitol and that the informants had not been asked by the FBI to get involved, break laws, or incite the crowd. The report is a thorough debunking of the conspiracy theory Vance is describing."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Elon Musk

Musk's 'DOGE' Cuts Will Hit Red States (And Trump Voters) Hard

Billionaire Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was a major donor to Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, and now that Trump is president-elect, he has picked Musk and MAGA businessman Vivek Ramaswamy to head a proposed new agency called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Its goals, according to Trump and his transition team, include finding ways to cut federal spending and reducing the United States' federal deficit.

In an article published on December 11, Reuters reporters Andy Sullivan and Ally J. Levine examine possible areas in which Musk and Ramaswamy could recommend "deep cuts." And those cuts, they stress, could be the most painful in red states where Trump enjoyed the strongest support.

"Roughly two out of every three dollars is spent on pension, health care and other programs that provide tangible benefits to U.S. residents, meaning that any cutbacks could cause an outcry," Sullivan and Levine explain. "Consider the Affordable Care Act, the healthcare expansion that was the signature accomplishment of Democratic President Barack Obama. Republicans vowed to roll back 'Obamacare' when Trump was first elected in 2016, but they failed to do so. The program has dramatically grown since then."

Like Musk and Ramaswamy, Russell Vought — Trump's choice for White House budget director and a major architect of Project 2025 — has, according to Sullivan and Levine, "called for tightening veterans programs." And this, the Reuters reporters note, "could have an outsize effect in Trump country."

A chart published with the article shows that 63 percent of the United States' "total spending on veterans' benefits" is in states that Trump won in the 2024 election — while only 37 percent is in states that went to Vice President Kamala Harris.

"Trump has ruled out benefit cuts to the two biggest safety-net programs, Social Security and Medicare," Sullivan and Levine report. "The two programs, which provide pension and health benefits to seniors, play a bigger role in the states that backed his presidential bid. Other benefit programs aimed at low-income people may be easier for a Republican president like Trump to tackle."

The journalists continue, "Both the Medicaid health plan for the poor and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, which helps pay for groceries, tend to play a bigger role in Democratic-leaning states. But cutbacks in these areas also would hit hard in poor, conservative states like Louisiana."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.