President Trump, Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio participate in a roundtable discussion with major oil and gas executives on the issue of energy investment in Venezuela.
The primary concern for oil executives is stability within Venezuela. The Maduro government previously seized the assets of U.S. oil companies, and the investment required to restart the industry at scale are significant.
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U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright gives an outline of energy production in three-minutes. I especially liked this part: “Germany invested half a trillion (in renewables) and now produce 20% less electricity at 3x the price,” Wright noted.
$10 trillion has been invested/deposited within the Climate Change Bureau of Imaginary Problems; Secretary Wright discusses the outcome. Now, I know it is easy for us to laugh and enjoy this type of fact-based mic drop, however, as we watch this short video think seriously about the position of Canada as it relates to what Wright is mentioning.
Yes, the examples of the United Kingdom and Germany are excellent in their representative value to drive home the point; however, ¹Canada is more predestined toward failure in their energy policy than Germany. WATCH:
The U.S. Energy Secretary just obliterated Net Zero ideology in 60 seconds.
Oil, gas, and coal power EVERYTHING including green energy.
This is what adults sound like.
Liberals are not ready for this conversation.pic.twitter.com/c6J4x7k7Nk
— Marc Nixon (@MarcNixon24) January 7, 2026
¹Canada’s climate change energy policy is orders of magnitude worse than the EU. Canadian carbon trade platforms and the government’s insufferable economic stupidity is a major part of the reason why the USMCA must be dissolved. The North American continent cannot have comingled economic dependency where Mexico and the USA are expanding through low-cost energy outputs, while Canada generates high-cost energy outputs.
In the long term, the slowly unfolding Canadian economic collapse will be devastating. Big Panda has previously prepositioned their interests and is awaiting final purchase of the Snow Mexicans for pennies on the dollar.
Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was accurate in his outline to president-elect Trump that began the point of the USA just taking ownership of Canada (2024). If something similarly radical doesn’t happen soon, a Chinese protectorate will be our northern neighbor.
Prior to the discovery of rampant fraud in Minnesota, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was already scheduled to deliver remarks to the Economic Club of Minnesota. Treasury Secretary Bessent is also the Acting IRS Commissioner, which gives him a very unique position from which to review and discuss the explosive issues of fraud within the state.
This is a MUST WATCH video in totality to understand exactly what Secretary Bessent is focused on.
Secretary Bessent begins visit by delivering prepared remarks to the audience outlining the success in President Trump’s economic policy approach, giving specific examples of granular policy accomplishments and what they mean to the average American. Secretary Bessent then sits down for a question-and-answer session where he drills into the issue of the fraud within the Minneapolis, Minnesota region.
Regarding the Somali fraud issue, Bessent notes the IRS Criminal Investigations department are leading the charge to identify the specific individuals and larger network groups within the region who will be held to account. In the bigger picture roughly 10% of all government spending has been identified by the General Accounting Office as fraud. This is a really good overall review of the current approach being taken by the Trump administration. WATCH:
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As you review this latest data on trade, remember any drop in trade deficits has two big picture functions:
First, lower trade deficits generally mean the accompanying GDP release will be stronger than anticipated because imported products are a deduction from the valuation of all goods and services created in the U.S. economy. Lower imports mean less is deducted.
Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, a drop in the trade deficit created by diminished imports means more wealth remains inside the USA.
We are not spending, sending money overseas, to import foreign goods at the same rate, and that money stays inside the U.S. economy. More wealth inside the U.S. provides the fuel for expanded domestic growth, more investment gains in USA manufacturing and USA industry and the ability to pay higher USA wages.
The Commerce Department is reporting today that the U.S. trade deficit for October 2025 dropped to the smallest amount in 16-years. A significant amount of the deficit drop was because a high value of physical precious metals (gold/silver) was exported, simultaneous with big offshore pharmaceutical companies dropping the prices of imported products (policy and tariff pressure).
WSJ – The U.S. trade deficit shrank dramatically in October to its lowest level since 2009, the Commerce Department said Thursday, an unexpected twist in a year of volatile trade flows that have been buffeted by the Trump administration’s steep tariffs.
American imports fell to $331.4 billion in October, while exports increased to $302 billion. That yielded an October deficit of $29.4 billion, an imbalance nearly 40% smaller than September’s. (more)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth deliver remarks to the media following a briefing of Senators on the ongoing Venezuela operations.
As noted by Secretary Rubio, the U.S. is now in control of all Venezuela oil production and distribution. WATCH:
Further to Rubio’s remarks: Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday that the United States will sell Venezuelan oil “indefinitely” after completing sales of the crude currently accumulating in storage there.
Wright said the proceeds from those sales would be “deposited into accounts controlled by the U.S. government” and then “flow back into Venezuela to benefit the Venezuelan people.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has released a new food pyramid guide for Americans.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans released today meshes MAHA-influenced changes with longer-standing advice for people to cut sugar consumption while eating more protein, whole grains and colorful fresh vegetables and avoiding “highly processed” foods.
If you don’t think about food as medicine for your body, eventually medicine will become your food.
I’ll post the video outcomes of the Paris summit comments below. However, in the interests of time and cutting to the chase, the picture below highlights the reality of things as they present.
The British-based “coalition of the willing” (+1 USA) assembled in Paris as the operation to manipulate the U.S. into forming the cornerstone of the Ukraine “security guarantees” continues. A great deal of this is public relations and psychological operations intended to create something against President Trump’s expressed intention.
However, everything you need to know about the eventual end of this long exposition is evident in the image that everyone pretends not to see.
German Chancellor Merz, Ukraine President Zelenskyy, French President Macron, British Prime Minister Starmer and then you have Mr Witkoff & Mr Kushner. What’s missing? Trump. There’s your answer!
There’s no President Trump because the intent of the principals is against our America-first interest. Hence, the USA did not sign up to the EU created security guarantees, because Trump is demanding they do their own work.
Key word “proposed” [read agreement] …”These elements will be European-led, with the involvement also of non-European members of the Coalition, and the proposed support of the US.”…
President Trump is presenting: The U.S. will provide intelligence *monitoring* assistance, but that’s it.
Not in our strategic interest. Not our war. Not our issue.
The U.S. delegation did not sign up to the statement the EU put forth after the meeting.
This is way beyond winning, this is stunningly brilliant strategy. Not only has President Trump successfully apprehended Venezuela dictator Nicolas Maduro, but the remaining interim government officials have acquiesced to fund a civil restitution plan to pay for their malfeasance.
The government that stole from its people is being forced to pay restitution for their own fraud, abuse and misconduct.
[SOURCE]
As we noted yesterday the immediate issue for Venezuela would be to fill the economic/financial void.
The Sea Island attendees support a quick Machado installation. Trump/Rubio prefer to proceed with more caution, especially because someone is going to be on the hook for financial support to Venezuela, because the domestic rewards from any expanded oil revenue are at least 5 to 10 years away.
Changing the regime in Venezuela may break China’s ‘belt and road’ grip, but China’s money is going to need to be replaced with independent domestic economic wealth for the Venezuelan people. That process takes time. [link]
Some type of short-term funding is needed during any kind of reconstruction of govt. Typically, the U.S. taxpayer would be on the hook during this phase; however, President Trump has found a way for the corrupt Venezuelan authorities to pay for their own civic shift back to democracy. Brilliant.
Last Friday Dept of Homeland Security (DHS) began surging roughly 2,000 federal agents and officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s deportation branch and Homeland Security Investigations, the agency’s investigative arm tasked with fighting transnational crimes into Minnesota.
The investigative objective appears to be utilizing the massive and systemic fraud throughout Minnesota as an entry gate to expand the investigation into other states. The key takeaway is that Minnesota simply reflects the tip of the iceberg and multiple Democrat run states likely have the same or worse fraud ongoing.
The Dept of Health and Human Services (HHS) now follow up on the DHS surge with an announcement that $10 billion in Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) payments are being halted as the investigations expand. Four additional states are being reviewed: California, Colorado, Illinois and New York, join Minnesota in seeing their federal funds stopped pending review and audit.
This is a smart approach because releasing the funds will be contingent upon the states accepting the audits. We all know that genuine audits of those state records will likely reveal massive fraud within the subsidy system that has been abused by Democrats. Minnesota has provided the entry point for a much larger corruption and fraud review.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is cutting off more than $10 billion in social services and child care funding meant for a handful of Democrat-led states over concerns that the benefits were fraudulently funneled to non-citizens, officials told The Post Monday.
The Department of Health and Human Services will freeze taxpayer funding from the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF), the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, and the Social Services Block Grant program.
President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have noted that following the ouster of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, the remaining government is being pressured to realign their positions and accept a change in direction. It is always tenuous when the leader of a hostile foreign government is removed.
The current approach by the Trump administration is to permit former Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez to continue operating the mechanisms within the country to retain near-term stability. The CIA assessed Delcy Rodriquez was the interim ruler who could keep order.
Prior to the removal of Maduro, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, was asked by the Trump administration to provide a detailed summary of how she could form a functioning government, should she be assisted to power.
Machado’s response did not provide confidence that her strategy was comprehensive enough. Therefore, the Trump administration assessed the best interim approach would be to continue working with the remaining Maduro government officials, led by Delcy Rodriquez, while pressuring them to follow the instructions of the United States.
Various geopolitical powers, including many that attend Mar-a-Lago functions, want Maria Corina Machado installed quickly. President Trump and Secretary Rubio are being more measured in their approach. The powers that want Machado installed are now working on a media strategy. Sean Hannity is enlisted for the assist.
The issue is one of competency and chaos. President Trump and Secretary Rubio do not want to repeat the mistakes of the past (Bush/Powell, Iraq or Obama/Clinton, Libya). The Venezuela issue is entirely different from the Middle East, but the same type of chaos can reemerge if the transition from authoritarianism to representative democracy is not well managed.
The Sea Island attendees support a quick Machado installation. Trump/Rubio prefer to proceed with more caution, especially because someone is going to be on the hook for financial support to Venezuela, because the domestic rewards from any expanded oil revenue are at least 5 to 10 years away.
Changing the regime in Venezuela may break China’s ‘belt and road’ grip, but China’s money is going to need to be replaced with independent domestic economic wealth for the Venezuelan people. That process takes time.
Maria Corina Machado is supported by all the same networks who support Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Despite the twinkles in the eyes of senators within the Foreign Relations Committee, we don’t want Venezuela to become North America’s largest Somali daycare operation.