The “Big Ugly” was always a description of the battle that few understood. You cannot be betrayed by your enemies; that happens when your allies reveal themselves against your interests. Majority Leader John Thune will play his cards carefully in order to extract maximum damage.
The Senate is factually the core of republican opposition to MAGA and President Trump. The visible battle against Obama, Biden, Harris and the professional political left, always consumes the most attention. However, it is the less-visible battle against the entrenched ideological republicans that proves to be the hardest.
The Republicans in the upper chamber will not relinquish power easily. They have a multitude of weapons to use against the insurgency of President Trump supporters. We are seeing this play out now in the alignment of Republican Senators who stand in opposition to President Trump’s nomination of Matt Gaetz as U.S. Attorney General, and this recent report aligns with exactly the type of move we would expect.
The basic outline is that senate leadership will reluctantly support Matt Gaetz for Main Justice, where ‘support’ means they will not directly oppose; in exchange for the nomination of FBI Director Mike Rogers to defend their interests at FBI.
This is the typical type of deal the DeceptiCons are well known for.
Thune and McConnell (in background) have yet to reveal who they have planned to place in the chair positions of multiple committees. We are very interested to see who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence because that mutually dependent relationship is the core of the IC influence in the legislative branch. The same may be said for the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and ultimately the Gaetz nomination.
This recent report aligns with information we have received from the senate staff offices who are discussing the Gaetz nomination. Thune would not make such a proposal openly, for obvious reasons, but intermediaries would relay the message between the upper chamber and the transition team.
[SOURCE]
President Donald Trump would regret the day, if such terms were agreed. Former House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers is a well-known deep state operative who would be guaranteed to work closely with the Intelligence Community in opposition to the interests of those who would like to see the FBI reformed or structurally rebuilt.
Mike Rogers himself came from within the FBI and then went to congress where he carried the agenda of the FBI into the House Intel Committee. It was that IC agenda that led to the Rogers/Ruppersberger report exonerating Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for the Benghazi fiasco that led to Ambassador Chris Stephens murder.
There is no deal like this that is worth making. The DNI (Tulsi), DHS (Noem), HHS (RFK JR) and DOJ (Gaetz) nominations should stand on their own – along with a radical reform nomination, at best, for the FBI.
This type of deal is exactly how the IC can hunker down and avoid the sunlight of investigation upon their corrupt operations. This type of deal is how the counterintelligence division of the FBI can simply operate to protect the DOJ-NSD embeds that will attempt to remain in power within Main Justice. This type of deal is how the FBI remains entirely political.
The MAGA majority needs to keep leaning forward and telling the Senate republican representatives about their expectations for support. Don’t let the scheming and conniving Senate Republican “leadership” have an inch of breathing space.
NO DEAL!
More importantly: the fact that they leaked this at all indicates they have a weak hand. Think about it. Trump hasn’t nominated Rogers. It was only “leaked”. The Senate’s very first reported concession is to allow Gaetz if Trump nominates somebody they approve of in FBI.
That’s weakness, not strength.
They should hire Timothy Shea – the US Attorney from Missouri who uncovered all the Brady files that Mueller illegally hid from Mike Flynn. I sense that guy has some integrity.
Put a prosecutor at the head of FBI. I’ve been saying that for years. Why? It’ll be faster that way.
But Shea was picked by Barr..
But he did do his job…the Brady evidence was found by Shea in Mueller’s office. That led to a) charges being dropped and b) Judge Emit Sullivan going insane. A double win for those interested in finding corrupt lawyers and judges. Shame nothing was done, but fake elections have real consequences.
No Way
I have a better deal:
The Senate confirms Matt Gaetz and forgets about Rodgers, then cheers for President Trump’s success.
Or……
President Trumps rams his picks down your throat with recess appointments and the Federal Vacancy Act, and calls it breakfast.
I like how you think.
Amen! @sundance I agree with you. NO DEAL! Let them pound sand. Wait.. PDJT will not allow them to pound sand in the Middle East lol.
WHY would they make any deal at all when all they have to do is get 4 of these guys to vote nay assuming all of the Dims vote nay? What do THEY have to lose?
Republican votes on March 10, 2021 for Merrick Garland as AG:
Blunt (R-MO)
Burr (R-NC)
Capito (R-WV)
Cassidy (R-LA)
Collins (R-ME)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Ernst (R-IA)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Johnson (R-WI)
Lankford (R-OK)
McConnell (R-KY)
Moran (R-KS)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Portman (R-OH)
Romney (R-UT)
Rounds (R-SD)
Thune (R-SD)
Tillis (R-NC)
Liberty score:
https://libertyscore.conservativereview.com/
Just the “F” scored “Republican” Senators (name, score, state, years in Senate, next election). Many more rated “D”:
Susan Collins F 20% ME 25 2025
Lisa Murkowski F 29% AK 20 2029
Rob Portman F 36% OH 11 2025
Roy Blunt F F 42% MO 11 2025
Lindsey Graham F 43% SC 19 2027
Shelley Capito F 43% WV 21 2029
Mitch McConnell F 44% KY 37 2027
Richard Burr F 46% NC 17 2025
Thom Tillis F 49% NC 7 2027
Roger Wicker F 50% MS 15 2025
Jerry Moran F 51% KS 11 2029
John Thune F 51% SD 17 2029
Todd Young F 52% IN 11 2029
Mitt Romney F 52% UT 3 2025
Mike Rounds F 52% SD 7 2027
John Cornyn F 54% TX 19 2027
Cindy Hyde-Smith F 54% MS 4 2027
Bill Cassidy F 55% LA 13 2027
Charles Grassley F 56% IA 41 2025
All part of the working their side of the room, meeting in the back hall for cocktails status quo. Nothing is going to change because while we moved heaven and earth to get DJT back on deck. We cannot shake out all the clouds too. They know it and it is right back to business as usual.
See, we tried. You tried. Just not how it works here in DC.
Not even a last cigarette.
You give up easily.
They know nothing.
Gather some courage, eh?
Remember, we won by
people voting for change.
If these Republicans in the House and Senate don’t vote for America First, We the People now have the power, which we always had but weren’t united.
We can vote them out. We want change.
TOO BIG TO RIG. 😊🇺🇸🇨🇱
Except for the 71 MILLION useful idiots who voted for the Marxist/Maoist duo…
Thank you for sharing your comment. Good to know.
One of those Senators are already gone, Blunt from Mo was replaced by Eric Schmitt
Portman is gone as well.
You need to update your list
That is the second time that l have seen you use it
I just went to that sight and it isn’t up to date.
But I know John Cornyn’s grade is an F. He needs to go.
I got it 2 or 3 days ago so if they updated it since then I didn’t know. And those are just the Fs with most of them showing up in the Garland list.
PLENTY of RINOs to choose from when only 4 nay votes are needed.
I don’t expect any of Trump’s most disruptive picks to fly.
All a bunch of backstabbing traitors. Remember many of these “F” people were all about “We have to see how this plays out” when the treasonous Russia collusion debacle was brought against our Commander in Chief. Screw them all!
Finger-in-the-wind?
Useless — place holder.
That’s my point. The Blob, Deep State, Swamp, whatever, did not magically go away just because Trump was elected and they don’t give a damn about what we may want and are not about to approve people who are dangerous to them and their corrupt game.
Factor in who is not up for re-election in 2026 and get the short list.
McConnell has been reelected how many times? Same for many of the rest of them. Plus, The Blob pays well for cooperative votes when you leave office and take a job in the taxpayer funded private sector.
My prediction: ZERO truly disruptive Trump cabinet picks will be approved.
Headline found here:
MAGA Pressure Worked – Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin Reverses Position, Will Now Support Matt Gaetz for AG
All of the above are rated F, Mullin is rated C, so HUGE victory! /s
Plus, the “six ways from Sunday” efforts by the IC to smear Gaetz begins…I mean by some “random hacker”:
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2024/11/19/november-19th-2024-presidential-politics-resistance-day-1401/comment-page-4/#comment-11318565
Probably up next, RFK Jr. and his allegedly interesting sex life, all of these leaks intended to give “character flaw” excuses for the RINOs to not vote for any nominees extremely dangerous to them and The Blob.
If the FBI doesn’t have a leader when Trump is sworn in,close it up until it does.That’s simple enough to make the point.Either the President gets his cabinet,or there is no functioning FBI.That could be useful for a lot of federal agencies.
Damn good idea. There will be no negotiation. Send in Military to secure FBi building and deny access until Patel is confirmed.
Same with DOJ. Lock it down.
Uh oh. There’s that ‘authoritarian impulse’ the other side is concerned about. How about you DON’T send in the military to secure the FBI building. Try again, with something sensible and level headed.
How about a hacker targets the sexual assault slush fund. Get the information and put the screws to the traitor’s
I have been screaming for this to be released forever. There is so much dirt on that list that should force immediate retirements from a number of current members of both houses. Release it now.
😂😂😂
MTG has already gone there and I hope they call her bluff!
“For my Republican colleagues in the House and Senate,
If we are going to release ethics reports and rip apart our own that Trump has appointed, then put it ALL out there for the American people to see.
Yes..
all the ethics reports and claims including the one I filed
all your sexual harassment and assault claims that were secretly settled paying off victims with tax payer money
the entire Jeffrey Epstein files, tapes, recordings, witness interviews
but not just those, there’s more, Epstein wasn’t/isn’t the only asset
If we’re going to dance, let’s all dance in the sunlight.
I’ll make sure we do.”
Here’s hoping President Trump tells the Decepticons exactly where they can stuff their offer. Bigly.
To the victor go the spoils.
The only knee bending should be the fbi to MAGA instead of BLM
Stinking FBI morons.
The Senate has no leverage and they damn well should know it. NO DEAL! PERIOD! And this is posturing by Thune to see what clout he has in his first term as majority leader. Remember he is Big Ag’s stooge.
Trial balloonish, isn’t it?
Fishing expedition — by yet another toady, who worships his career at the expense of the American people.
Thune has clout commensurate with his ability to execute President Trump’s agenda. Period.
No, no, and no!
They have no mandate. Their only lever is the fact that they’re in the Senate. Trump has options to bypass them. We didn’t come this far and avoided a bullet in the head to acquiesce to their demands when they have no leverage. Here’s a deal: You approve of the nominations and we won’t send your rear ends to prison for a long time. How about that deal? ENOUGH!!
Open the “Pedo-Files!”
I think the Lord revealed them to us for just such a time as this.
The Art of the Deal, I think Trump will go for it. I think Gaetz can do more as AG to control a wuss FBI director. If that director balks, then there needs to be a senate confirmed position ready to slide in when Rogers gets the ol’ “You’re fired”.
Patel for Ambassador somewhere and then in June/July the ol’ switch-a-roo.
No deal. Have fu$&ing forgot what they done to the conservatives in this country???
They called us terrorist!
Don’t go weak knees now. We are playing smash mouth now!
N no no no no … we get who WE choose. The Senate is not in THEIR hands. We GAVE it to them
POTUS needs to put sunlight on this IMMEDIATELY
This is no time for deal making.
Rather, it’s time for gathering steam for the next primaries.
Or recalls.
If they try to thwart Trump’s agenda, it will be like a 2×4 swatting them down. (That’s a metaphor, I hope you realize).
Sounds like a DOJ plea deal for themselves to Judge Dred Trump.
Reject it Judge.😡
Easy peasy. Abolish the FBI. There, I fixed it. The End.
no deals
No Wray! Rogers is Chris Wray Part 2.
really he is WORSE
Trump should have NEVER endorsed him PERIOD
Red flag!!!!
I haven’t and don’t trust Mike Rogers.
President Trump don’t do it. We want Kash Patel. We don’t need another Chris Wray in that position. Nothing will change if Rogers is put in that spot.
The only outcome of a deal that comes from Democrats/RINOs is getting stabbed in the back. Best to advise Thune and all GOP Senators that the nominees put forward for approval represent the will of the MAGA voter. As such their forthcoming approval is expected. Otherwise your action will be noted and remembered with the application of actual consequences. There is no more of just a slap on the hand or pardoned faux amnesia.
Nope. We want Trump’s nominees. The whole point of our votes IS to shine sunlight onto your filth. How about we just dismantle the FBI completely? That’s what I really want. Whatever they do the state and local authorities can do. There’s no need for national police. In fact the local authorities hate it when the fbi shows up because they are like the keystone cops. We don’t need them! I like the idea floated below. Just lockdown the building with the military and have no fbi until Kash Patel is confirmed. I laugh at tv shows that show the FBI solving crime. What a joke!
I would think its better to give up Gaetz get someone else and get OUR FBI person? Isnt that more important than atty General given all we know about FBO and DOJ?
No………Do your homework.
Exactemundo.
Give up NO one. MAGA all the way..
No way. The President gets who he wants …. one way or the other….
Dang! Maybe leaving Wray in would make sense until the dust settles and then introduce a MAGA alternative?
No.
NO — It’s the dialectic, give them an inch and they get fodder for their MSM lackeys to spear us. And after the commie media gets done, the rino gop will cave like jello.
And MAGA will be five steps behind instead of a possible one step.
That’s how the dialectic works.
As General McAuliffe replied toward the end of WW2, NUTS. He was having NONE of the German’s proposal. https://militaryhistorynow.com/2020/09/15/nuts-the-story-of-the-famous-american-reply-to-the-german-surrender-ultimatum-at-bastogne/#google_vignette
Don’t do it
Not how it works weasels. Trump got the mandate. He gets all his preferences pi ks
I continue to have confidence PDJT will not fall for any manipulations that end up with Rogers as head of FBI.
Sure, they can TRY. Frankly, it would be better that the Gaetz nomination be defeated, in which case PDJT has a # of vetted, battle tested warrior lawyers he could put up, next. And if the Senate takes the view that Rogers is the ONLY nominee for FBI director they will confirm,….fine leave the position unfilled, lol.
MTG has an interesting approach, regarding the release of the ethics report; she says if his is released, she will insure ALL of the ethics committee reports are released.
We KNEW the Decepticons were not going to go down without a fight, they have been in place, and in control for a LOOOOONG time.
And they have NEVER been challenged as PDJT is challenging them, …their best weopon was their STEALTH, and as they have become exposed, they become vulnerable.
I think inevitably they lose, in the end.
So do we hope for lightning to strike the malefactors?
Release them all, including Gaetz’s. This current one is complete nothingness. This intrigue and posturing wouldn’t exist if anything this contains could be substantiated.
NO PRISONERS!
We are sick of the power hungry Republican Senators. The ONLY reason most of them were re-elected is because we voted straight Red tickets for THE COUNTRY, for MAGA, not because any of you mean anything to us. Seriously. Y’all think you were re-elected because we like you? Think you’re doing a great job? NO. At this point, y’all are all
“just lucky”.
I know I’m shouting at the ether. But, if there is any hope for our country, the Senators need to stop fighting We The People at every single turn. They are fighting to keep their wealth and their dirty little secrets from us. We are sick to death of this abusive government.
WOLVERINES!
Amen and Amen!
We hear you.
‘FL, AL, and GA Will Suffer the Consequences’: DeSantis Slams GOP No-Shows After Senate Confirms Biden’s 11th Circuit Judge Pick
…Conservative commentator Matt Whitlock sharply criticized the Republican absences, stating, “This nominee has written that laws against child rape are racist. He hid two previous decisions where he gave lenient sentences to child predators from the Senate. Now he has a lifetime judgeship—replacing a potential Trump nominee—because Republicans didn’t bother to show up.”…
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/11/fl-al-ga-will-suffer-consequences-desantis-slams/
their names should be LISTED somewhere … who did not show up?
…Among those missing were:
Mike Braun (R-IN)
Steve Daines (R-MT)
Bill Hagerty (R-TN)
Marco Rubio (R-FL)
J.D. Vance (R-OH)…
I see your Rogers and raise you Patel. Senate Republicans are the true enemy because they will stab you in the back. They are tone-deaf. It’s a long road, six years of elections IOT turn them out and MAGA-tize the Senate. But that is what has to be done.
Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.
Langley.
Oh.
I thought it was China.
Same difference — as to motive.
NO DEAL!!! NO, NO, NO, NO!!! NOT THIS TIME, NO COMPROMISE!!!
Reading old CTH posts, I skimmed through actual troll-like James Wolfe travesty.
He was caught dead to rights, and let off with a slap on the wrist. Swamp wife divorced him.
I did some online digging at the time, and two delicious items popped up.
1. It appeared Wolfe left the DC area and retired to a Trump property.
2. The house he and his Swamp wife shared was sold. There were the typical real estate pictures posted of the kitchen, master bedroom, etc.
Unusual: Wolfe apparently had constructed a secret spook-like area. If I recall, like a Muphy-bed bookcase – which was propped open for the RE photos. He really considered himself too clever and cool. Inside it appears were some momentos.
Call their bluff!
No Deal! President Trump & MAGA didn’t work this hard to get here to be suckered again!!! NO DEAL!!!
Recess appointment!
Mr. President:
Don’t Do It!
Of course, President Trump knows all about Mike Rogers, along with Thune, McConnell, etal and has the receipts needed to twist their necks in the wind.
I anxiously await the day justice is placed on those directly or indirectly involved in this criminal cartel.
Expose all their dirty laundry. Just Do It!
Remember Elon’s response when Disney pulled advertising from X,
I wish President Trump could just say “GFY”..to these losers.
I agree …
Take Gaetz and then walk back the Rogers part of the deal, just like a dem would do. Easy 🤣
What happens if a President does not fill a cabinet post or agency headship?
The Senate can’t fill those positions, can they?
Would there be an interim leader in those agencies?
Who would that be?
Who appoints that leader?
Has such a position gone unfilled in any previous administration?
What eventually happened?
I wonder if President Trump should just stick with his choices and count on MAGA America to put strong pressure on our Senators?
Let the GOP elites reveal themselves to be the traitors they are.
These are very pertinent questions.
I think Pres Trump withheld his pick for FBI just to smoke out their deal. Matt Gaetz will get in anyway so there is no reason to consider that snake Rogers. And anyway I bet DJT has a couple more tricks up his sleeve.
Wash the dishes!!!!!!!
Kash Patel or BUST !!!
Just release the Epstein and JFK files. The rest will take care of itself.
My response to the reported offer? No, just no. Or Admiral Rogers instead for FBI.
that would be hilarious. POTUS Trump has them vote to confirm Gaetz then appoints ADMIRAL Mike Rogers for FBI… whoops, I thought that was who you were talking about!
Oh, this is an EASY one.
Yep, we’ll take Gaetz for AG/DOJ.
Yep, you can have Mike Rogers at FBI.
Trump ORDERS Gaetz as job #1, to de-establish the FBI within 90 days, transferring all duties and SOME agents, to DHS. The do a massive RIF at FBI, starting with …
… Mike Rogers.
Edit: Sometimes ya gotta be the Mafia a little bit, to beat the Mafia.
“It was that IC agenda that led to the Rogers/Ruppersberger report exonerating Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for the Benghazi fiasco that led to Ambassador Chris Stephens murder.”
This is where Obama’s private email was discovered (or server) via emails with Hillary
Trump has to get rid of Wray first. if Wray stays for awhile and Trump turns him, things could get interesting.
Wray is a rat and he has done illegal things, like lied to Congress. If Gaetz is AG , Wray may see advantage in MAGA.
.
Sorry wrong Page.
“You will recognize them by their fruits.”
Why people like Mike Johnson appear to not have been guided by these words of Jesus in his role as Speaker baffles me.
I do not see him displaying the kind of discernment one would expect of a devout Christian, something that should have helped him navigate the shark infested water of politics.
The offer:
– a sign of weakness
– a Hail Mary
– they out for all to see a corrupt player
We never even got the full roll out of the Page-Strzok texts and emails, did we?
These were promised by Chris Wray.
Sorry Mike, your security clearance has been rescinded.
Not even a millimeter.
Go pound sand, Thune et al.
Not even a minute, miniscule milimeter!
Absolutey….tell them to frag themselves. A non starter. Fire the wanker and do an temp appointment for ~ 2 years.
As Sundance said, the repugants need to go…replaced by MAGA. ‘ONLY way…
But, he could fire Rogers after a week!
do you really think these corrupt swamprats aren
t aware of that possibility and arent going to let trump know that if he does that his presidency is done?…….these people aren
t idiots....theyre self-interested quislings….