Secretary of State Marco Rubio is traveling through Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic as he represents President Trump and the new administration.  He’s doing great.

Today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered remarks to reporters in El Salvador discussing his role as Acting Director of USAID after President Trump and Elon Musk moved to incorporate USAID into the State Department.  Secretary Rubio repeated that USAID must align with U.S. foreign policy and the national interests of the U.S. government.

Citing the “uncooperative” nature of the USAID leadership acting as an independent entity, Secretary Rubio announced he is now Acting Director of USAID with the intention of removing all elements who operate against the direct U.S. interests he outlined.  Additionally, Secretary Rubio affirmed the positive nature of President Trump’s call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum [Details soon]. WATCH:

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WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) – The Trump administration over the weekend put on administrative leave dozens more staff at U.S. Agency for International Development, three sources familiar with the move said, as it moves to abolish the agency’s independence and bring it under the control of the State Department.

Nearly 30 career staff in the agency’s Legislative and Public Affairs bureau lost access overnight to their emails, the sources said, bringing the total number of senior USAID career staff who have been put on leave over the past week close to 100.

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

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Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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In December of 2016 when we discussed the possibility of President Trump’s then new and unique tariff approach, we predicted negligible impact – if any at all.  It was a theory at the time, but predicated on the looming possibility that impacted nations would inevitably devalue their currency. It was the currency devaluation, in combination with directed subsidies, that would offset any tariff impact to U.S. consumers.

By the time we got to December 2019, we were no longer discussing theory.  Deflation due to currency devaluation, subsidy and a rising dollar actually became reality.  The lookback data (2017 through 2019) proved the tariffs did not raise prices. In fact, the opposite happened, we were importing broad-based deflation.

Now it’s 2025 and again China is hit with tariffs, along with Canada and Mexico.  With history as a reference, watch the Canadian Dollar and the Mexican Peso.  Initial impact shows the same thing repeating again. The U.S. dollar is rising in value, and the Canadian dollar is dropping quickly.

If this trend holds, the 25% tariffs against Canada (and Mexico) will have minimal impact, if any at all.  The lowered value Canadian dollar and Mexican peso will work as an offset and imports will be paid with higher value dollars.  Depending on the scale of what happens in the next few weeks, there is a strong possibility Canada might have just walked into a trap set by Trump.

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President Trump’s Border Czar, Tom Homan, appears on Fox News Sunday to talk about the massive drop (-93%) in attempted border crossers and the success of the current deportation operation.  Homan also outlines the intended use of Guantanamo Bay for the “worst of the worst” detainees as a matter of efficiency and expediency.

Then at the 4:48 point of the interview, a bombshell.  Tom Homan responding to a question about the cartels setting up positions inside the USA for drug and sex trafficking offices, says “I’ve gotta be careful.. {pause} ..let me just say, we’re involved”….  WATCH:

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Those who do not pretend already know the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is the cover agency for CIA influence operations worldwide.  However, technically USAID is supposed to be the charitable side of U.S. government, supporting foreign countries.

If USAID is simply magnanimous and altruistic aid to foreign countries using taxpayer funds, then what exactly is the “classified material” they would need to withhold from DOGE review?

Sometimes all we need are simple questions to destroy the matrix of lies.

WASHINGTON DC – WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has placed two top security chiefs at the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave after they refused to turn over classified material in restricted areas to Elon Musk’s government-inspection teams, a current and a former U.S. official told The Associated Press on Sunday.

Members of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, eventually did gain access Saturday to the aid agency’s classified information, which includes intelligence reports, the former official said.

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Saying DNI nominee is disqualified for her prior position on FISA-702 and her previous position on Edward Snowden, SSCI Vice-Chair hopes the republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee do not allow Tulsi Gabbard to come out of SSCI confirmation vote. WATCH:

Lots of professional pearl-clutching here….

[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Virginia Democratic Senator Mark Warner. He is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and joins us from Palm Beach, Florida. Good morning to you, Senator.

SEN. MARK WARNER: Good morning, Margaret.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you have any sense yet what the cost of these tariffs could be for Virginia, which does have a wine industry, for example?

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

(more…)

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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Remember when President Trump established the “External Revenue Service?” … It’s all connected and sequential.

Almost everyone will miss, in part because outcomes appear in a sequence that few care to follow, but buried in the Trump tariff Executive Order {SEE HERE} you will discover something.  As the unofficial Deep State strategist, and the self-appointed misfit explainer of stuff, lol, we will explain:

[Sec 2, SubSection (h)]: Sec. 2. (a) All articles that are products of Canada as defined by the Federal Register notice described in subsection (e) of this section (Federal Register notice), and except for those products described in subsection (b) of this section, shall be, consistent with law, subject to an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty. Such rate of duty shall apply with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern time on February 4, 2025, except that goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, after such time that were loaded onto a vessel at the port of loading or in transit on the final mode of transport prior to entry into the United States before 12:01 a.m. eastern time on February 1, 2025, shall not be subject to such additional duty, only if the importer certifies to CBP as specified in the Federal Register notice.

[…] (h) For avoidance of doubt, duty-free de minimis treatment under 19 U.S.C. 1321 shall not be available for the articles described in subsection (a) and subsection (b) of this section. {link}

So, Canada and Mexico get 25% tariffs, but China only 10%.  Why?  The secret is in that subsection “(h)” when it talks about de minimis treatment. Essentially, what President Trump is doing is levying a much more massive import tax, and possible confiscation impact on the core source of fentanyl (and other illegal) substances.

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