The full senate vote was 52-48. Senator Mitch McConnell (U-DC) was the lone republican who voted against confirming Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence (DNI).  Tulsi Gabbard is now DNI.

Additionally, the Senate voted 53-47 on the cloture vote for Robert F Kennedy Jr as nominee for Health and Human Service Secretary. With senate debate now ended, the full confirmation vote on RFK Jr could come tomorrow.

WASHINGTON – The GOP-controlled Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm Tulsi Gabbard to be President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence, putting the former congresswoman in charge of the sprawling U.S. intelligence community.

The 52-48 vote was largely along party lines, with nearly all Republicans present voting in favor of Gabbard. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the former longtime GOP leader who has clashed with Trump, was the only Republican who joined all Democrats in voting against her.

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President Donald Trump posts a brief outline of a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin to his Truth Social Account.

President Trump: “I just had a lengthy and highly productive phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. We discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, Energy, Artificial Intelligence, the power of the Dollar, and various other subjects. We both reflected on the Great History of our Nations, and the fact that we fought so successfully together in World War II, remembering, that Russia lost tens of millions of people, and we, likewise, lost so many!

We each talked about the strengths of our respective Nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together. But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine. President Putin even used my very strong Campaign motto of, “COMMON SENSE.” We both believe very strongly in it. We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations.”

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On the eve of DNI nominee Tulsi Gabbard’s full senate confirmation vote, President Trump announces his Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB), which will be chaired by the former head of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, former Gang of Eight member and current CEO of Truth Social, Devin Nunes.

WHITE HOUSE – Today, President Donald J. Trump is pleased to announce a distinguished and trusted group of Patriots to serve on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB). These individuals will advise the President on our nation’s most important security challenges and ensure that the Intelligence Community is working to advance the President’s America First agenda. The President’s PIAB appointees represent a broad range of experience and intellect that will help restore integrity to our Intelligence Community. The following individuals have been appointed to the PIAB:

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Pennsylvania schoolteacher Marc Fogel traveled to Russia with marijuana.  The magic lettuce is considered a narcotic in Russia.  Marc Fogel found out you cannot take medicinal marijuana to Russia.  Marc Fogel was arrested in 2021.

Today Russia released criminally convicted Marc Fogel as a good faith gesture to the administration of President Donald Trump.  Marc Fogel thanks President Trump for securing his release from prison.  President Trump hints there is another prisoner who will be released tomorrow.  WATCH:

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It sounds like Russia replaced Fogel’s medical dependency on Marijuana (no idea what the prescription was for) with some other medical ‘anxiety relief’ substance.  Fogel notes he “met many” wounded Russian soldiers, likely when he was receiving medical treatment – because most consequential health services for high priority patients take place in Russian military affiliated institutions.  I suspect this, because I accidentally ended up inside one last year, saw the same, and it makes sense.

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Senator Lindsey Graham (U-DC) was asked for his thoughts and perspectives about USAID today during a press conference.

Senator Lindsey Graham is senior senator in charge of the upper chamber oversight of foreign government influence operations via the “150 account” that supports the goals and objectives of the State Dept.

Senator Lindsey Graham culminates his entire political career in one brief segment of pretending not to know.

We can officially say this moment achieves ‘peak Graham.’  The part where Graham tells former USAID Director Samantha Power to “quit texting me” is epic.  WATCH: 

It is said that in 1860 literary master Ralph Waldo Emerson found a stargate, entered and traveled to this day in history.  Upon return, he wrote:

“The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.”

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Earlier today President Trump and Elon Musk, head of the Dept of Government Efficiency, held a press conference in the oval office to answer questions about the ongoing DOGE review of government.

Elon Musk outlines examples of how the various government agencies spend money without any standard accounting principles that facilitate audits and reviews.  In material fact the system of government that Elon Musk and President Trump outline, appears fully designed to generate fraud.

In essence, “waste, fraud and abuse” within government, is a feature of how the government systems are organized, not a flaw. WATCH:

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It is amazing how the media reporters present the structure of their questions to support the waste, fraud and abusive systems within the administration of government as it is outlined.  We do not dislike the media enough.

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President Donald Trump and King Abdullah II of Jordan are having bilateral meetings today on the Israel v Hamas war and the subsequent issue with displaced Palestinians.

During the first press availability in the oval office, both President Trump and King Abdullah delivered remarks about the regional challenges, approaches and overall perspectives on the issues.  As expected, both President Trump and King Abdullah noted they await the plan from Egyptian President Fattah al-Sisi who has been tasked with taking the lead on developing a peaceful solution and broader long-term plan for regional stability.

Jordan doesn’t want to take more Palestinian refugees, though King Abdullah did say he was going to take 2,000 sick children for care in the kingdom of Jordan.

President Trump has given Hamas a deadline of Saturday at noon to release all the remaining hostages or, “there will be hell to pay.”  President Trump is willing to take part in rebuilding Gaza in the aftermath of the chaos and rubble as soon as Hamas is removed from the issue.

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It’s good that Fogel is returning, and the gesture of his release is an act of good faith between the Russian government of Vladimir Putin and the U.S. government of Donald Trump.

However, that said, Marc Fogel was not arrested and detained for some arbitrary reason. The American teacher was arrested, tried and convicted for taking marijuana into Russia.  The Russian government doesn’t recognize medicinal marijuana, and they do not play around with illegal drugs or classified narcotics. It’s a big issue and considered a serious crime with severe penalties.

President Trump on Tuesday secured the release of an American imprisoned in Russia as part of a deal with the Kremlin negotiated by Mr. Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.  Mr Witkoff flew to Moscow Sunday for discussions with Russian officials.

New York Times –  […] Mike Waltz, Mr. Trump’s national security adviser, said in a statement that Mr. Witkoff, at the president’s direction, had brought Mr. Fogel out of Russia on his plane as part of an exchange. But he did not provide any details about whether the United States or an ally had released someone in return or what other steps the administration had taken to win Mr. Fogel’s release.

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If you have followed the arc of Tech, Peter Thiel recruiting JD Vance, the creation of Palantir, the funding of Vance’s senatorial run, and eventually the roadmap to connect Vance to Trump, this is a video speech you absolutely must not miss. JD Vance was sent to the AI Summit for a reason.

JD Vance talks at the AI summit in Paris, France, about his core mission, his core purpose inside current political influence. This is the very origin of his legacy, unfolding in real time. Vice-President JD Vance talks about Artificial Intelligence, the future and the Trump administration position.

Vice President JD Vance warned European leaders against heavily regulating U.S. tech companies and said excessive efforts by the European Union to regulate artificial intelligence could stymie its growth, during an AI summit in Paris Tuesday that marks his first foreign trip since taking office. WATCH:

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Do you feel more or less confident about the future, having watched these remarks?

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President Trump held an Executive Order (XO) press conference in the oval office today and took questions from the assembled press pool.  Included in the executive orders was the reversal of the plastic straw ban, no more paper straws.  The President also implemented a 25% tariff rate on imported steel.  The import tariff rate for aluminum increases from 10% to 25%.

At 09:00 of the video, President Trump reads prepared remarks on the implementation of the steel tariffs. At approximately 15:00 of the video, President Trump begins taking questions from the media.  The full video of the event is below:

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(Via NBC) – President Donald Trump signed an order Monday that imposes a 25% tariff on all steel imports to the United States.

“This is a big deal,” Trump said while signing the order in the Oval Office. “The beginning of making America rich again.”

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