The Democrats in the Senate are back to their old tricks of using delay tactics to stall President Trump’s nominees for cabinet positions.

The nomination of CIA Director John Ratcliffe passed out of the Senate Intelligence Committee with a vote of 14-3.  However, when the Majority Leader John Thune calls the Ratcliffe nomination to the floor for a full Senate vote, suddenly individual Senators start using procedural processes to delay the votes.

The issue is not about Ratcliffe per se’, without doubt Ratcliffe will pass a full senate confirmation vote without issue when it takes place.  The Democrats are using Ratcliffe to set the stage for delays in Pete Hegseth to be Defense secretary and Kristi Noem to be DHS secretary; along with a pending confirmation hearing set for Tulsi Gabbard (DNI) and Kash Patel (FBI).

This ultimately becomes the first test for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who has previously said he would fully support a rapid confirmation process for all of President Trump’s nominees.  Former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did nothing to force the Upper Chamber to confirm, Senator John Thune does not want to be seen as following McConnell’s path.  WATCH:

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Leader Thune and Senator Barrasso (#2) are now pledging to keep the Senate in session until the nominees are confirmed.  This stops the Senators from going home but inevitably ends up on a game of attrition. Whose determination will last longest, the minority resistance or the Senate majority.

This activity in the Senate comes as the latest Presidential Tracking Poll shows a net approval of +14, President Trump’s highest approval rating ever.  The Democrats in the upper chamber are walking a narrow path of irrelevance; however, they are counting on their superiority in the Senate to outlast any negative public opinion.

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Stone cold and deliberate.  President Trump deliberately and with great intent, signed a massive number of pre-planned, organized, legally structured and laser focused executive orders while holding a press availability in the oval office.

You can review the Executive Orders Here.

As noted by Politico – […] [President Trump] spent 45 minutes taking dozens of questions from reporters in the Oval as he pardoned or commuted the sentences of more than 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters — including those convicted of assaulting law enforcement officers and seditious conspiracy — and signed another swath of orders overhauling the federal government’s treatment of immigrants and withdrawing the country from the World Health Organization. “What a great feeling,” Trump said of returning back to the Oval. “One of the better feelings I’ve had.”

The pardons for J6 are for everyone.  The 15 sentence commutations noted are for those currently imprisoned after conviction with more under review.   The language of the J6 Pardons and Commutations is below:

This proclamation ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation.

Acting pursuant to the grant of authority in Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution of the United States, I do hereby:

(a)  commute the sentences of the following individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, to time served as of January 20, 2025:

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Making the announcement Thursday, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson announced Arkansas Republican Representative Rick Crawford would be the new Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI).

As chair of HPSCI the position automatically elevates Rick Crawford onto the Gang of Eight, the legislative group that holds information within the legislative branch at the same level of information as the President.  Crawford now joins Mike Johnson, Tom Cotton and John Thune as the four republicans on the intelligence Gang of Eight.

Because of both the power and sensitivity of the HPSCI Chair position, the appointment comes directly from the Speaker of the House with no other member input.  Crawford is Johnson’s personal selection.

Additionally, Johnson announced the following members are added to the House intel committee: Ben Cline (Va.), Pat Fallon (Texas), Greg Steube (Fla.), Claudia Tenney (N.Y.) and Ann Wagner (Mo.).  Overall, a larger MAGA alignment on this very key intelligence committee.

WASHINGTON DC – […] The sea change on the panel is already triggering intense backlash from some Republicans on the committee and across the conference, who worry it’s a warning sign about the House’s willingness to stay independent of Trump. That’s to say nothing of Democrats, who fear the return of the partisan warfare that wracked the panel during Trump’s first term.

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Incoming deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller is one of the most valuable people in the administration, perhaps only surpassed by Dan Scavino.  Mr Miller’s ability to collate and articulate actionable policy goals is exceptional.  “We cannot spare this man, he fights.”

In this recommended segment, Stephen Miller articulates the non-pretending reality of what the people around Joe Biden have done with horrific outcomes for our nation.  Then Miller quickly moves to articulate what exactly President Trump is going to do about it.  WATCH:

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No flinching!

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Sometimes DC is a fishbowl, and they don’t realize the background of what we know, when they are speaking.  Testimony today is a case study of one bubble within that fishbowl.

Former House Impeachment Manager Adam Schiff organized the first impeachment effort against President Donald Trump.  Schiff is now a Senator.  Schiff’s former lead staff in the impeachment investigation was Mary McCord.

Today, during the question session for AG Pam Bondi’s nomination, Adam Schiff asked Mary McCord about whether AG Bondi should recuse herself from investigating Adam Schiff and Mary McCord. It’s a little funny if you understand the background.

I prompted the video to the part at 01:36:14 when Schiff asks McCord, and Mrs. McCord responds with “yes, Pam Bondi should recuse.” WATCH:

Mary McCord says Pam Bondi must recuse herself from any investigative outcome related to the first impeachment effort. Who was the lead staff working for Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler on the first impeachment effort? Mary McCord.

Now, triggering that first impeachment effort… Who worked with ICIG Michael Atkinson to change the CIA whistleblower regulations permitting an anonymous complaint? Yep, that would be the same Mary McCord.

In essence, the woman who organized, structured, led and coordinated the first impeachment effort, says Pam Bondi must recuse herself from investigating the organization, structure, leadership and coordination of the first impeachment effort.

You just cannot make this stuff up.

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Not a surprising appointment all things considered.  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has appointed Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to replace Senator Marco Rubio, pending Rubio’s resignation from his Senate seat which will follow his confirmation.

This will provide an opportunity to position DeSantis loyalist, his Chief of Staff, James Uthmeier, as Florida Attorney General to replace Moody. This also positions congressman Byron Donalds to run for Florida Governor, supporting the MAGA coalition.

Moody will take up a pro-DeSantis position in the Senate in preparation for a head-to-head contest between Ron DeSantis and JD Vance in 2028 for the GOP presidential nomination. As senator, Ashley Moody will be unlikely to challenge any of the Trump agenda and will likely support it given the stakes for Ron. All in all, a predictable outcome.

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The alligator emojis will be happy, so too will the MAGA coalition.

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I’m no fan of Senator Mullin at all; however, it is very rare (and awesome) for a Senator to break the code of Omerta in chamber.  At today’s Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) blasted democrat committee members and called out their hypocrisy to their face.  WATCH:

Sen. @MarkwayneMullin just called out the hypocrisy of every single Democrat in the US Senate.

This is 🔥

pic.twitter.com/1Yc3WuXsrM

— Derrick Evans (@DerrickEvans4WV) January 14, 2025

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Senator Tommy Tuberville’s faces are also funny.  The full segment with Senator Mullin is below.

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As the Senate begins the confirmation process….. A POINT:

“If I understand this correctly, the Senate Intel Committee will only approve Trump’s nominee for ODNI if she agrees to support an un-Constitutional provision that permits the government that none of us trust to illegally surveille American citizens without a warrant…but a provision that also makes an exception for members of Congress or their staff, who presumably value their privacy and don’t want to be illegally surveilled.

Meanwhile, President Biden is preparing to issue a blanket pardon of all the bad actors who illegally surveilled, wiretapped, sued, imprisoned and tried to assassinate his political enemies, so that no one can legally surveille, wiretap, sue or imprison them…and they get off scott-free.

Do I have that right?”  ~LionTigerBear

Yes, you have that encapsulation correct.  Additionally, the discussion of Joe Biden pardons -both metered and predicted- outlines the ideological mindset behind those who believe they rule over us.

If you pull back from the granular debate and think about it, none of the FISA justifications align with reality.

The FISA system is a designated secret court system that is said to only pertain to “foreign nationals.”

Ok, so if we accept the premise. Foreign nationals do not have U.S. constitutional protection. So why does the surveillance and intercept of them require secret U.S. courts?

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Putting the legislative package together is the obvious intention of Senate Republican leadership traveling to Mar-a-Lago to discuss the best process for the Border Security, Tax and Energy proposals.

President Trump initially wanted one big legislative package under reconciliation rules that permits Republicans to pass the legislation without Democrat party input.  House Speaker Mike Johnson supported the same approach.  However, the Senate republicans are worried they would have a harder time getting their personal indulgences in one bill.

Their Senate bribery system, their personal payment process through lobbyists, actually works better if they can negotiate each legislative proposal separately.  Breaking the legislation into separate bills, especially the tax stuff, makes the payments from lobbyists much more targeted and lucrative.

WASHINGTON DC – Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told reporters earlier Monday that Senate Republicans would soon be meeting with Trump “and talk about what he’d like to have done.”

“We’re all heading in exactly the same direction where we want to get to,” Barrasso told reporters, though he declined to discuss any details of the planned meeting.

Various House Republicans are expected to go down to Mar-a-Lago for meetings on reconciliation priorities throughout the weekend.

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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson appears on Fox News with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the details and mechanics of the House legislative agenda for 2025. As Johnson notes the large legislative constructs are what President Trump wants to kickstart the agenda and that is the timeline the Speaker is working with.

Within the discussion Mike Johnson outlines the specifics of the legislative packages and the expected timelines he is targeting for completion. WATCH:

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