Today in Politics, Bulletin 49. 1/16/25 Ron Filipkowski Jan 16 ∙ … Trump announced that Mel Gibson, Jon Voight, and Sylvester Stallone will serve has his ‘Ambassadors to Hollywood’: “They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood BACK - BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE! These very talented people will be my eyes and ears, and I will get done what they suggest. It will be The Golden Age of Hollywood!” … Rudy Giuliani went AWOL from his trial today, completely blowing off his hearing while his lawyers were there. The trial was supposed to start of 9:00. The judge waited for hours, met with attorneys behind closed doors, and continued the hearing until tomorrow. Not sure exactly what was said to the lawyers, what happened to Rudy, or what the judge intends to do. … Meanwhile, at 10:44 AM when he was 1 hour and 44 minutes late, Rudy posted a video clip of his dog at Mar-a-Lago on X with this caption: “Vinny loves hanging out at Mar-a-Lago, but he's ready to spend a lot more time in Washington, DC over the course of the next four years in support of his favorite President—Donald J. Trump!” … Hours later after court concluded, Rudy’s lawyers filed a letter claiming that they just reached a “settlement agreement” with plaintiffs Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, which includes a resolution of the NY Yankees World Series rings that Rudy’s son Andrew claimed were gifted to him years ago. … The weather forecast in DC for Trump’s inauguration currently calls for temperatures to be 10-23 degrees with a wind chill factor of 0-11 degrees. That’s William Henry Harrison territory. … The NYT reports that Trump has invited Tik Tok CEO Shou Chew to sit in the front row behind him on the dais at his inauguration with Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. … Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) was asked by CNN about the Chinese Tik Tok CEO getting such a prominent place at Trump’s inauguration: “I don’t get it. 80% of the Congress, Democrats and Republicans, agreed that TikTok is a huge national security concern. I can't think of a potentially more powerful propaganda tool.” … The Biden Administration made a shrewd political move today by announcing that they will not enforce the ban on Tik Tok this Sunday and will leave it up to Trump to enforce the ban. WH Spokesperson told ABC: “Our position on this has been clear: TikTok should continue to operate under American ownership. Given the timing of when it goes into effect over a holiday weekend a day before inauguration, it will be up to the next administration to implement.” … Checkmate. Because the people most adamant about banning Tik Tok have been Republicans in the Senate and House, much more than Democrats. But the Admin was getting the blame from many users for the imminent ban. Well, now it will be up to Trump to shut them down, which he will not do. So he will be in a position where he has to refuse to enforce the law that was pushed by anti-China Republicans who still very much want it enforced. … The timeline on the Tik Tok saga has been interesting. It began with Trump, MAGA activists, and China-hawk Republicans in Congress calling for an immediate outright ban in 2023, citing national security reasons. Most Dems adamantly opposed that. Rs eventually got some Dem support, made it a bipartisan bill, and got Biden to sign it, but only after they agreed to soften the bill from an outright ban to a gradual divestiture. The Chinese owners then refused to divest and the CEO met with Trump during the campaign. They made some kind of deal and Trump reversed his position. Then Trump and MAGA tried to blame Democrats for shutting down the app. … This is what Sen. Tom Cotton said this just hours before Biden announced that Trump will have to enforce the ban: “Tik Tok will either be sold in the next few days or it will be banned. Either way, Communist China will no longer exercise massive influence over our nation and our children.” Now he needs to tell Trump that. I wonder if Tom will have the courage to do that, or if he’s only a tough guy when he’s talking about Democrats. … Cotton also said this: “Let me be crystal clear - there will be no extensions, no concessions, no compromises for Tik Tok. The Chinese Communists had plenty of time to make a deal.” I’m sure he will run right down to the White House and say this to Trump now. … People thought Democrats wanted to shut down Tik Tok. Complete fiction. It was always Republicans, and it is Republicans now. It will only be shut down if Donald Trump shuts it down. … MAGA State Senator Colton Moore, who represents the same NW GA area that Marge Greene represents in Congress (they are pals) was thrown to the ground by security outside the GA House chamber after the Speaker refused to allow him to attend Gov. Brian Kemp’s State of the State speech today. Trump-loving Moore has been an enemy of Kemp ever since he demanded that Kemp call an emergency special session to remove DA Fani Willis after Trump was indicted and Kemp refused. … Moore was censured in 2023 after he went on Steve Bannon’s show and said he was going to “get my rifle” and start a “civil war” if DA Fani Willis put Trump in jail. Since his arrest today was in Fulton County, his case will be handled by … Fani Willis. … Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) wasn’t happy with GA Republicans: “GA State Senator Colton Moore, a Freedom Caucus Republican, was denied entry to the Georgia State Assembly today, based on some political establishment BS. If you establishment boys in Georgia want a fight with House Freedom Caucus, we’ll be happy to oblige. Get your mind right. Conflict with the Freedom Caucus is not a casual affair.” … Them’s fighin words. … After his release from jail, Moore checked himself into the hospital and posted a video claiming he was brutally and violently assaulted by the stormtroopers at the GA Capitol and was suffering from injuries. A true MAGA warrior! Like Trump and Nancy Mace, willing to endure serious injuries and make any sacrifice to further the American First cause. … Mike Johnson caused an uproar with his fellow Republicans again when he removed House Intel Chair Mike Turner from his position yesterday. Turner was a harsh critic of Putin and an ardent supporter of Ukraine and Zelensky. CBS spoke to Turner and he confirmed that Donald Trump called Johnson and wanted him ousted. As always, his dutiful servant in the Speaker’s office complied. … Johnson, as usual, lied and claimed that Trump played no role in his decision to oust Turner: “This is not a President Trump decision. This is a House decision. And this is not slight whatsoever to our outgoing chairman. We just need fresh horses in some of these places.” … Fresh horses. Right. Trump didn’t want an anti-Putin Republican as Chair of House Intel. It’s that simple. I wonder why? Johnson lies daily to cover up how much Trump owns him. … Punchbowl reports that Republicans on the committee were “extraordinarily angry” at Johnson for ousting Turner at Trump’s command. … Adam Kinzinger: “Regardless of your politics, Mike Turner was among the best Intel Committee Chairmen. The fact that he was fired from Mar-a-Lago proves one thing: there is no oversight, just a rubber stamp Congress.” … Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT): “Mike Turner is dedicated to national security and thoughtful oversight of the Intelligence Committee. His removal makes our nation less secure and is a terrible portent for what’s to come. The Constitution demands Congress function as a check on the Executive Branch, not cater to its demands.” … It is interesting to contrast the philosophical paths of Pete Hegseth and Mike Turner. When Hegseth ran for Senate in 2012 and up until Donald Trump came on the scene, Hegseth’s views were indistinguishable on foreign policy from Turner’s - or from Bill Kristol for that matter, who endorsed Hegseth in his Senate race. But Hegseth, like so many other Republicans, changed their positions completely to conform to the views of Trump for their own ambition. … Now Turner has been ousted as House Intel Chair by Trump, and Hegseth went from obscure Fox weekend co-host to Secretary of Defense. With this power move, Trump is sending a signal to all congressional Republicans that none of them are safe if they oppose him or even express dissenting views with his new ‘America First’ foreign policy - which is to attack our allies, appease our enemies, and shred relationships around the globe that have served us well for decades. … In his farewell address to the nation, President Biden warned about billionaire oligarchs flocking to Mar-a-Lago and surrounding our greedy, corrupt, highly transactional president-elect so the levers of power can be used to further enrich themselves as exert control over America: “Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.” … Fox Business Correspondent Gerri Willis responded to Biden’s speech: “The whole idea that the left is mad at Elon Musk makes me crazy because he's the one who developed their favorite product in the world - the electric car. So how can you be mad at him?” I think if he would just shut up and make cars there wouldn’t be a problem. … Biden also called for: 1. A ban on dark money PACs. 2. An 18 year term limit on Supreme Court Justices. 3. A ban on stock trading by members of Congress. 4. Amending the Constitution to end presidential immunity from crimes committed while in office. … Ron Desantis appointed his AG Ashley Moody to Marco Rubio’s seat in the Senate. No surprise to anyone who closely follows Desantis or Florida politics. No way he was going to pick someone like Lara Trump, Matt Gaetz or one of the Mar-a-Lago lounge lizards. Desantis is spending his remaining two years as Governor trying to embed his own loyalists in as many places as possible to try and maintain his grip on the state long after he leaves office and begins his run for president in 2028. … Stephen Miller’s wife Katie responded to her former boss Mike Pence’s letter to Senate Republicans urging them to vote against RFK Jr: “Mike Pence fired me when my daughter was 2 months old, because Stephen was employed by Trump and refused to quit when he asked. Pence doesn’t practice what he preaches when it comes to family values, he only does it when it’s politically expedient. The American People clearly don’t care a single iota what Pence has to say - he resoundingly lost to President Trump. Our country has moved on and it’s time he does too. He’s nothing but a footnote of American history.” … Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) had this exchange with Trump’s Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent today: Warnock: Do you agree that ending the tax cuts for those making more than $400k would help close the deficit? Bessent: I do not - you would capture an inordinate amount of small business people. Warnock: What about $1 million? Bessent: I believe those are small business pass-through owners. Warnock: What about those making more than $10 million? Bessent: I think it’s important that we put in incentives for them to invest. Warnock: What about $1 billion? Bessent: These are the job creators. Warnock: So there’s no income level for which you would support raising taxes? … Apparently not. …. WaPo reports that Trump has been pushing for Vivek Ramaswamy to be appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine to JD’s Vance’s now-vacant Senate seat. The appointment will be for the next two years until the Nov. 2026 election. … It has been widely rumored that Vivek is planning to run for Governor of Ohio in 2026, but Trump has urged him to give that up and go to the Senate if DeWine appoints him. I just don’t see it. DeWine is on his way to retirement and doesn’t need to fear Trump anymore. Although DeWine has interviewed Vivek among many others for the spot, there are many long-time DeWine loyalists on his list and one of them should get the appointment over Vivek. … Ramaswamy also claimed when he accepted the DOGE position with Elon Musk that he was just going to focus on that job for the next two years. I highly doubt it. DeWine loyalist, Lt. Gov. John Husted has been gearing up to run for governor in 2026 for a long time, although he may actually end up getting the Senate appointment from DeWine which could alter his plans. And Vivek’s. … CBS is reporting that 60 House Democrats just sent a letter to Mike Johnson demanding that he hang the plaque to honor the police officers who defended the Capitol on J6. A law was passed in 2022 that required the plaque to be hung in the Capitol in March 2023, but first Kevin McCarthy then Mike Johnson refused to comply with the law: "As Members of Congress, we owe a debt of gratitude to these brave officers who defended the Capitol and allowed us to get to safety. We request an update from you regarding your timeline for following the law and placing this plaque." … Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO): "Every day Congress fails to live up to our promised actions, we do a disservice to our men and women in uniform who help protect members of Congress, congressional staff, our constituents, and the American people." Over 140 police officers were injured on J6. … Mike Johnson had no comment. Again. … Former Musk pal and podcaster Sam Harris spilled the tea on his Substack on why their friendship ended in 2021. He said they were friends since 2008 when Tesla was “teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.” Harris says Musk isn’t the same person now: “I have been quite amazed at Elon’s evolution, both as a man and as an avatar of chaos. The friend I remember did not seem to hunger for public attention, but his engagement with Twitter/X transformed him.” … Harris said their friendship ended after they argued about how dangerous covid was early on in the pandemic. Elon bet Harris $1 million against a $1,000 bottle of tequila that there would not even be 35,000 covid cases in the US. Harris said that when US covid deaths reached 35,000, he texted Elon: “Is (35,000 deaths + 600,000 cases) > 35,000 cases?” Elon never responded, never paid the bet, and never communicated with Harris again. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. … Punchbowl is reporting that House Republican leadership has asked Trump not to issue some of his planned executive orders which will result in significant budget cuts. They want Trump to hold off so they can include those things in their big reconciliation bill so the deficit in their budget will not be as big. This is a move Republican leadership thinks will help them get far-right budget hawks on board with a package that is likely to explode the budget deficit by at including at least some cuts. … Examples of things that Trump pledged to eliminate by executive order that House Leadership wants him to hold off on so they can cut it is Biden’s student loan forgiveness program and rebates for electric vehicle purchases. … NC Gov Roy Cooper is condemning a recent decision by the Republican-dominated state Supreme Court to take a case from Republicans seeking to invalidate 60,000 votes for a variety of reasons from Democratic areas in an attempt to overturn the win of a Dem Supreme Court Justice: “Allison Riggs won and the recount confirmed it. Republicans want to toss legal votes in the trash because they don’t like the outcome.” … NC Democratic Chair Anderson Clayton: "We need to respect the voters will in this election. This time it's 60,000 ballots. Next time it's 100,000 ballots and then it's 250,000 ballots until no votes get counted. What's the point of voting if Republicans in NC are allowed to do this? This playbook is not new to our state. But it is one that Republicans will take and make a national playbook if they're able to succeed here." … Trump posted another deranged, rambling statement on Truth Social where he asked people not to recommend anyone for his administration who has ever worked with or been endorsed by “Dumb as a Rock John Bolton, Birdbrain Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, disloyal Warmongers Dick Cheney and his psycho daughter Liz, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Mark Milley, James Mattis, or Mark Yesper.” So he doesn’t want to appoint anyone who ever worked with his own appointees from this last term because they are all terrible. Got it. … Nancy Pelosi announced she will not be attending Trump’s inauguration. … House Democrats sent a letter to Merrick Garland imploring him to release Jack Smith’s full report on the classified documents case, even if is means dropping the charges against his two co-defendants Nauta and De Oliveira, since their pending cases was how Judge Cannon justified her order blocking release of the report. Jamie Raskin was the first signature on the letter, which would indicate that his office drafted it. … NYT reported that before Zuckerberg announced his sweeping changes at Meta last week on Joe Rogan’s podcast he met with Trump’s Policy Director Stephen Miller to give him an advanced “preview of the changes.” … Sen. Tommy Tuberville on Newsmax commenting on AOC’s opposition to the Republican bill to ban trans people from women’s sports and facilities: “We’re gonna beat back these Democrats on this nonsensical nonsense that they keep pushing. Whatever this lady is - Cortez - she has no business even talking because they have tried to destroy gender ever since she’s been into office.” … Sen. Bernie Sanders had his phone ring during Lee Zeldin’s confirmation hearing for head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Sanders joked, “Sorry, that was the fossil fuel industry.” Sanders then asked Zeldin if he agreed with Trump that climate change is a hoax. Zeldin: “I believe that climate change is real.” … Sanders also asked Trump’s Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent if he will support Trump’s campaign pledge (which Bernie wrote into a new bill) to cap credit card interest at 10%. Bessent: “I will follow what President Trump wants to do.” … Trump supporter and podcaster John Cardillo: “What the fuck happened to Trump? Why is he caving on every single campaign promise?” … The Congressional Progressive Staffers Association sent Mike Johnson a letter requesting that the House staff go to a baseline 32 hour work-week from the current 40 hours. They argue that when Congress is in session they often have to work long hours unpaid well above 40 hours, and if they are able to work 32 hours a week when Congress is not in session it will balance things out. … Politico asked Elizabeth Warren about the idea. Her response: “The 32-hour work week is a terrible idea.” … NC Sen Ted Budd explained his reason on Fox why aid to CA should be conditioned when aid to NC was not: “The fires could be controlled, but you can't control a hurricane in Western North Carolina. It's absolutely different. One could've been prevented with good government. One could not." Right. … Rep. Jamie Raskin used his floor debate time on the bill to deport migrants accused of sex crimes to point out that Republicans don’t seem to care much about sex offenses committed by Trump and his nominees: "It seems we live in a time when it's very easy to forgive sexual abusers, assailants, rapists, and sexual harassers who have a lot of power and wealth in society, but very hard to forgive their victims for fighting back. SecDef nominee Pete Hegseth has been credibly accused of sexually assaulting a woman, and there are people supporting him who are also supporting this bill.” … UT Sen. John Curtis, who initially expressed doubts about Pete Hegseth, announced he will vote for him. With Joni Ernst also announcing she will vote for him, Hegseth should now have the votes to be confirmed. … Joe Manchin’s replacement in the Senate Jim Justice was finally sworn in after he was missing in action the first 11 days. He claimed he did not want to resign his position as WV governor until the new one was sworn in. He then promptly missed his first two votes the following day. MAGA! … Trump’s DHS Secretary nominee Kristi Noem, whose confirmation hearing was delayed because her FBI background check was not completed, is scheduled for her hearing tomorrow. … Televangelist Paula White-Cain was in the waiting room with Trump’s AG nominee Pam Bondi laying hands on her and praying with her before she walked out to her confirmation hearing. White-Cain is married to Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain, who wrote the song Faithfully for the band in 1983.