Newly elected Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), held a press conference today to answer questions and introduce his leadership team: Assistant Majority Leader, also called the Republican “whip” John Barrasso (R-WY), Republican Conference Chair Tom Cotton (R-AR), Republican Policy Committee Chair Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV), Republican Conference Vice Chair James Lankford (R-OK), National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-SC). WATCH:
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[Now we must focus on the very important chairmanships of the senate committees that John Thune will decide.]
In the first ballot the results were: Thune 23, Cornyn 15, Scott 13.
Scott was removed and the Senators went to the second ballot between Thune and Cornyn.
As expected, the Scott coalition split 50/50. Thune picked up 6 votes from Scott’s group. Cornyn picked up 7 votes from Scott’s group.
It was always going to be this way. Remember, the Senate is a silo -by design- isolated from influence of the American public.
If we want to change the dynamic, we must repeal the 17th amendment and return to the original constitutional construct: Senators appointed to represent the interests of each state, by State Legislature.
The Senate was designed to represent the interests of the State, not ‘the people’; that’s the job of the House of Representatives.
If you look at the structure of the announcements, there does appear to be a strategy at play; yes, including the likelihood of Marco Rubio as Secretary of State.
Using the announcement of Steven C. Witkoff to be Special Envoy to the Middle East, I’ll try to put it together.
If President Trump pulls Marco Rubio out of the Senate, he opens up the position of Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI). Rubio would love the opportunity to load his presidential aspiration resume with Secretary of State, for later use. However, this also opens the opportunity for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to appoint an interim senator who would be more MAGA-minded, trustworthy and loyal (dare I say Gaetz).
With Rubio removed from the equation of the IC problem, the issue becomes mitigating (think neutering) the Secretary of State from undermining the Trump Doctrine; which, as you know, is the key Trump foreign policy approach using economic power combined with diplomacy.
President Trump has long expressed being sick and tired of U.S. mid-east policy, endless wars, endless spending etc. President Trump in term-1 created the Abraham Accords to establish long-term peace and stability in the region, as a countermeasure to all the prior administrations stirring shit up there. Essentially, the Abraham Accords create peace, get us out and allow policy to focus on more pressing foreign concerns, vis-a-vis China.
If the basic story unfolding in Mar-a-Lago is to be believed, RFK JR, Elon Musk and a small group of technocrats and billionaires have become the ‘kitchen cabinet’ advisors putting the Trump administration together. Rumors swirl that Melania Trump, Devin Nunes and Dan Scavino have checked out of the ridiculous “non-clown-car” hot mess until the dust settles.
Adding evidence to this possibility, the media are starting to report on some rather, well, shall we say, curious picks from the Mar-a-Lago transition group.
Everyone else, except you guys, will miss what each of the New York Post “leaked” names have in common. They are all in direct alignment with the retention of the Intelligence Community as it exists. For the IC, this is the team that lets them hunker down until ’28.
♦ Rubio at State:
Rubio would be the IC pick because, well, he is Vice-Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and a direct installment due to his efforts to support the prior Trump targeting; which included the big assist to then Vice-Chair Mark Warner. The IC has super thick black files on Rubio, they’d love to have him at State. This rumor seems ridiculous.
Actually, this rumor seems like a leak trap.
♦ Waltz as National Security Advisor.
Recess appointments have been a general source of contention for those of us in the deep weeds who did not like Republican Leader Mitch McConnell keeping the upper chamber for four straight years 2018 through 2020, when the Republicans eventually lost their majority.
Now that the Senate has flipped back into Republican control, President Trump is proactively looking to confront the “recess appointment” issue withing the current Republican leadership contest. [Truth Social]
A recess appointment is an appointment, by the President of the United States, of a senior federal official to fill a vacant position while the United States Senate is in recess.
Recess appointments are authorized by Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, which states: “The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.”
REPOST BY REQUEST: I say gently, don’t look for President Trump to expend valuable political capital on this.
Senator John Thune has been groomed by Mitch McConnell to be his replacement for decades. Thune’s ascension to the role of Senate Majority Leader was, maybe is, essentially a foregone conclusion.
Senator Thune will carry the full support of roughly 15-to-20 senate DeceptiCons (deceptive conservatives), and perhaps a dozen more squishy ones in the middle who want great committee positions. The important dynamic that comes into play is Senate Committee Chairman “leverage” for Donald Trump’s nominees.
Nov 7th on CNBC Senator John Thune discussed the upcoming secret ballot election for Senate Majority Leader. WATCH (prompted):
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Essentially, this is Thune’s gentle first shot requesting President Trump “stay out of” the senate caucus decision. Likely, what matters most to President Trump is getting his nominees past the Republican majority confirmation process. Thune was in previous talks with President Trump several months ago, and again several weeks ago in Mar-a-Lago.
Senator Thune doesn’t want President Trump to put his finger on the scale. If matters of the Senate are left alone, Thune ascends – period. However, Thune isn’t stupid and would like Trump to support him. Essentially, Thune would welcome intervention so long as the intervention came with an endorsement.
♦ Nikki Haley directly blamed President Trump for the violent events during January 6, 2021, and said, “I don’t think [Trump’s] going to be in the picture,” she said, matter-of-factly. “I don’t think he can. He’s fallen so far.” […] “We need to acknowledge he let us down,” she said. “He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him. And we can’t let that ever happen again.”
Haley cares about one thing, her own position and power – that’s it. She really is the worst type of politician you can fathom. [SEE RESEARCH HERE] Nikki Haley was supported and funded by infamous CIA Acting Director Mike Morell. Haley was a tool of the “six ways from Sunday” group.
♦ Mike Pompeo used his position of influence to install Senator Dan Coats as Director of National Intelligence during the first administration, with the mission objective to hamstring President Trump and ensure the “six ways from Sunday” group could lead the internal attacks.
All information provided to the Office of the President comes from the “six ways from Sunday” group.
The Presidential Daily Briefing is constructed by the “six ways from Sunday” group.
The DNI position is legislatively the most powerful position in the IC, yet that authority has never been exploited thanks to a DC silo system in the control of the “six ways from Sunday” group.
Barack Obama quickly learned the risks within the “six ways from Sunday” silo process. Obama subverted the “six ways from Sunday” control mechanisms brilliantly, he just ignored it and gave the info to everybody.
President Trump is vulnerable to a DC silo system that self-preserves and that almost no one understands.
The President of the United States looks out his window and sees and illusionary world created by the “six ways from Sunday” group.
The agenda of the “six ways from Sunday” group can only succeed if the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branch are kept misinformed and isolated.
Responding to reporters’ questions, today President of the European Union commission Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Donald Trump then immediately began the framework to explain EU background discussions in economic terms. “We still get a lot of [liquified natural gas] from Russia, and why not replace it by American LNG, which is cheaper for us and brings down our energy prices,” said Ursula von der Leyen.
The EU realizes the seismic shift that is upon them as a result of the U.S. election. Everything from the Ukraine-Russia war; the economics of energy which President Trump will use in negotiations for peace; to the factual lowered prices within the EU created by Joe Biden energy policy to punish Americans; to funding for NATO in combination with the potential for the end of the Marshal Plan one-way tariffs are looming. President von der Leyen is in a very precarious position.
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Ursula was speaking from ¹Budapest, Hungary.
While many are interpreting her remarks about purchasing LNG to be snuggling up to President Trump, factually it is a much bigger problem than western media will openly discuss.
Senator John Thune has been groomed by Mitch McConnell to be his replacement for decades. Thune’s ascension to the role of Senate Majority Leader is essentially a foregone conclusion.
Senator Thune will carry the full support of roughly 15-to-20 senate DeceptiCons (deceptive conservatives), and perhaps a dozen more squishy ones in the middle who want great committee positions. The important dynamic that comes into play now is Senate Committee Chairman “leverage” for Donald Trump’s nominees.
Earlier today on CNBC Senator John Thune discussed the upcoming secret ballot election for Senate Majority Leader. WATCH (prompted):
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Essentially, this is Thune’s gentle first shot requesting President Trump “stay out of” the senate caucus decision. Likely, what matters most to President Trump is getting his nominees past the Republican majority confirmation process. Thune was in previous talks with President Trump several months ago, and again several weeks ago in Mar-a-Lago.
Senator Thune doesn’t want President Trump to put his finger on the scale. If matters of the Senate are left alone, Thune ascends – period. However, Thune isn’t stupid and would like Trump to support him. Essentially, Thune would welcome intervention so long as the intervention came with an endorsement.