Today in Politics, Bulletin 59. 1/28/25 Ron Filipkowski Jan 28 ∙       … Puppy killer Kristi Noem showed up in NYC in tactical gear to cosplay an ICE agent after she was recently sworn in as DHS Secretary by Clarence Thomas: “I’m here in NYC this morning. We are getting the dirtbags off these streets.” … Actress and Fall Guy star Heather Thomas: “So Kristi Noem got her face puffed up with filler and Botox, underwent hours of hair extension attachments, hired professional make-up and hair, strapped on her customized bulletproof vest, and filmed herself arresting your maid.” … Fox is reporting that SecDef Pete Hegseth is pulling Gen. Mark Milley's personal security detail and security clearance. He is ordering a review board to determine if enough evidence exists for Gen. Milley to be demoted and stripped of a star because he allegedly ‘undermined the chain of command’ during Trump's first term. … The report also states that the Pentagon will be removing a second portrait of Gen. Milley inside the Pentagon - this one from the Army's Marshall Corridor honoring his service as Chief-of-Staff of the Army. His Joint Chiefs portrait was removed on Trump’s first day in office, as the pettiness parade continues. … Trump ordered that federal grants, loans and payments to millions of Americans be frozen immediately so he can review them to determine if he thinks they were appropriate or were awarded because of DEI. This is money that was previously allocated by Congress and it is illegal for the president to refuse to disburse these funds. This is another Stephen Miller / Project 2025 idea that was unveiled in 2023 and got virtually no attention from the press at the time (I wrote about it). … Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about Trump’s order freezing federal aid: “This is a temporary pause and a freeze to ensure that all the money going out from Washington DC is in line with the president’s agenda.” … When asked how that doesn’t obviously violate the 1974 Impound Control Act that was passed to prevent a president from doing exactly this, Leavitt responded: “WH Counsel believes that this is within the president’s power to do it, so he’s doing it.” … MO Sen. Eric Schmitt to Fox: “My guess is they're trying to make sure that it's complying with the laws that Congress passed. So, let's hit the pause button. I also think that a lot of these grants were predicated on divisive, discriminatory and illegal DEI. So we'll find out more. But I just I think it's appropriate to take a look at it and make sure there isn't some nefarious actions that took place at the end of the Biden administration.” … House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced that House Dems will hold a meeting tomorrow about how to deal with it: “We will discuss a comprehensive 3-pronged counter-offensive anchored in: (1) An appropriations strategy; (2) a litigation strategy; (3) A communications strategy.” … Senate Democrats had a press conference scheduled where they planned to address something Trump did last week (J6 pardons), but after getting ridiculed on social media for always being late to the party on everything, they decided to change the plan and address what Trump did last night rather than something he did a week ago. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT): “This is an attempt by Trump to seize power. This what a King does. The scope of the damage that will be done is enormous.” … AOC: “Trump is holding all the nation’s hospitals and vital services hostage to seize power from Congress and hand it over to billionaires. We must state the truth: this is a constitutional crisis. It’s a massive, illegal power grab that the House and Senate have a sworn duty to stop.” … Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR): “My staff has confirmed reports that Medicaid portals are down in all 50 states following last night's federal funding freeze. This is a blatant attempt to rip away health insurance from millions of Americans overnight and will get people killed.” The WH later claimed that the Medicaid payment chaos was a different problem unrelated to the illegal freeze on funds. … Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT): “I am hearing from health directors, veterans organizations, addiction treatment programs that they can't meet their payrolls, they can't do their budgets. They are in chaos and confusion. Road building programs, bridge reconstruction, all of it in a state of suspended animation because the president has seized power unconstitutionally. The president is declaring himself King, taking the power of the purse into his own hands in an autocratic way that makes this moment a break-the-glass time for democracy.” … Sen. Chuck Schumer: “President Trump plunged the country into chaos without a hint of warning. This is a dagger at the heart of American families. Aid and food in need all are on the chopping block. All of our offices have been deluged with people in panic - this decision is lawless, unconstitutional, and cruel.” … Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) told Fox that Democrats on the Budget Committee will demand a two week hold on a committee vote for the nomination of Budget Director nominee Russell Vought tomorrow until there are answers on the loan/grant suspensions: “We have a Constitutional crisis.” … Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD): “This executive order is a source of great anxiety for communities and businesses across the country that use this funding to build new roads, fix bridges, replace lead pipes, expand broadband access, strengthen infrastructure against natural disasters, and much more. Work is already underway on tens of thousands of projects in both the public and private sector, but their completion depends on these funds, which were already approved by Congress and enacted into law.” … Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA): “I think it violates the Anti-Impoundment Act. And you will notice that in the hearing with the budget director, Russell Vought last week, he wouldn't commit to following the law. So I think the administration feels like, we don't have to follow that - we will act illegally until the court tells us we have to stop. I'm worried about a president behaving unlawfully. Hopefully we will have some Republican colleagues who are willing to show a backbone and stand up for Article I powers.” … Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins told HuffPost that she is concerned: “There are a lot of federal programs that appear to be swept up in this order, and I think the administration needs to be more selective and look at a department at a time, for example. But make sure that important direct service programs are not affected.” … Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) explained to CNN that Trump had to do it to stop condoms from going to Gaza: “What drove it was in the days leading up to the inauguration, Biden’s team was putting out money as fast as they could and Trump’s trying to put a halt on that to review it. I’ll give you an example - millions of dollars were being to sent to Gaza for, like, condom programs. So they want to put a freeze on some of that stuff." … Then after a day of drama and stress with millions of people confused and upset while Trump played golf, Politico reported tonight that a federal judge issued an emergency stay of Trump’s order to preserve the status who until various lawsuits could be heard. … Jim Acosta announced this morning he is leaving CNN after they tried to move him to the midnight time slot. His parting message: “It is never a good time to bow down to a tyrant. I’ve always believed it was the job of the press to hold power to account. I’ve always tried to do that at CNN and I plan on doing that in the future. One final message: Don’t give in to the lies. Don’t give in to the fear. Hold on to the truth and a hope.” … Acosta then announced he was going on Substack and had no immediate plans to do anything other than that. … Trump reacted with a Truth Social post: “One of the worst and most dishonest reporters in history, a major sleazebag. No talent! Jim is a major loser who will fail no matter where he ends up.” … Acosta responded to Trump’s post: “Looks like somebody has ADS: Acosta Derangement Syndrome.” … Late last night, Trump claimed that he ordered the military into CA. Turns out, this entire statement was a complete lie: “The US military just entered the Great State of CA and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond. The days of putting a Fake Environmental argument, over the PEOPLE, are OVER. Enjoy the water, California!” … CA Dept of Water Resources responded immediately: “The military did not enter California. The federal government restarted federal water pumps after they were offline for maintenance for three days. State water supplies in Southern California remain plentiful.” … Fox reporter Jennifer Griffin then checked with the Pentagon to see who was telling the truth here: “US defense officials tell me they did not send troops to ‘turn on the water’ in California, despite President Trump’s claims overnight.” … Mike Johnson said the quiet part out loud when he was asked if he will force CA to mandate voter ID before they get any wildfire aid: “We have been lamenting the lack of voter security there for some time. We were deeply concerned in this last election cycle and we saw three of our seats, frankly, slip away from us in CA.” … Two whistleblower government employees have filed a class action lawsuit against the Trump Admin alleging that incoming appointees were asked to collect detailed information on career civil servants who work under them, and for all the information be sent to Amanda Scales, who works personally for Elon Musk. They allege that the email requesting the information was disguised to make it look like it was coming from the WH Office of Personal Management, but was actually being sent to Scales. … Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked as her first presser today how she will do her job: “I commit to telling the truth from this podium every single day. And I will say, it’s very easy to speak truth from this podium when you have a president who is implementing policies that are wildly popular with the American people.” … Leavitt was then asked if the Trump WH will acknowledge Black History Month in February: “We will continue to celebrate American history and the contributions that all Americans, regardless of race, religion or creed have made. America is back.” That means they won’t even mention it or acknowledge it. … Steve Bannon’s podcast had their new ‘War Room White House Correspondent’ Natalie Winters in the Press Room, as Trump has promised to get his MAGA supporters into the press briefings as “journalists.” … Steve Bannon’s former employer Breitbart also had a seat - in the front row. … Caroline Kennedy broke her silence on RFK Jr’s nomination: “Dear Senators, I did not comment previously because I have never wanted to speak publicly about my family members and their challenges. But now I feel an obligation to speak out. Bobby lacks any relevant government, financial, management, or medical experience. His views are vaccines are dangerous. These facts alone should be disqualifying.” … Kennedy continued: “We grew up together. It’s no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets, because Bobby himself is a predator. He enjoyed showing off by putting baby chickens and mice in a blender to feed to his hawks. I watched his younger brothers and cousins follow him down the path to drug addiction. His basement, garage, and dorm room were always the center of the action where drugs were available. Siblings and cousins who Bobby encouraged down the path of substance abuse suffered addiction, illness and death, while Bobby has gone on to misrepresent, lie and cheat his way through life.” … Kennedy concluded: “Bobby preys on the desperation of parents of sick children, vaccinating his own kids, while building a following hypocritically discouraging other parents from vaccinating theirs. His Ethics Report indicated he will keep his financial stake in a lawsuit against the HPV vaccine. Bobby is willing to profit and enrich himself while discouraging access to a vaccine that can prevent almost all forms of cervical cancer.” Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. … Sen. Mike Lee called for the TSA to be abolished: “Let the airlines do their own screening.” X user ‘Hayden the Transit Guy’ responded: “Yeah, knowing that the only thing that stands in the way of another 9/11 is Spirit Airlines is comforting.” … Newsmax host Carl Higbie decided to mock people complaining about mass deportations of latinos by eating a taco live on the air: “What are you going to do? Are you going to take it out of my hand? Maybe I will call the ICE hotline. These people broke the law. They broke the law to get here.” … Adam Kinzinger responded: “Cruelty is the point. This guy was a Navy SEAL. And now he’s punching down on TV for giggles on Twitter. So tough and cool! BEAST MODE.” … Trump said last night that he wants to exile American citizens who commit crimes, and pay other countries to keep them there: “I want them out of our country. I will be seeking permission to do so. We’re hopefully going to get approval to get them the hell out of our country. Let them be taken to a foreign land and maintained by others for a very small fee, as opposed to being in our jails.” … Sen. Markwayne Mullin was asked about this latest Trump threat: "President Trump says a lot of stuff, and we all support it. I don't think he can actually exile an American citizen though. I know he can an illegal." … Sen. Tim Scott took a shot at Herschel Walker, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue while saying his highest priority is to get GA Gov Brian Kemp to run against Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2026: “We are looking for a way to make our #1 recruit a Senator. He would be the best candidate in GA we’ve had for a very long time.” … Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) was asked on CNN why he wants to eliminate school lunch programs for needy kids: “People are sponging off the government. Hey, I worked my way through high school. Since before I was even 13 years old, I was picking berries in the field before we had child labor laws.” … McCormick said school lunches are no good anyway, while getting RFK Jr’s name wrong in his rant: “This is what JFK Jr is all about. When in history have we had our poorest people also be our fattest people? Traditionally, our poorest people have been very skinny.” … Republican Senator Chuck Grassley and Democratic Senator Dick Durbin sent a joint bipartisan letter to Trump demanding that he comply with the law and reverse his decision to fire all the Inspectors General, or reinstate them and provided written reasons in a 30-day notice why he intends to fire them for misconduct to comply with the law. … Trump also just illegally fired two Democratic appointees to the National Labor Relations Board - a key agency that resolves labor disputes. Just like the IGs he terminated, NLRB appointees cannot be fired unless the president first provides written advance notice to Congress of “neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause.” … NLRB Board member Gwynne Wilcox says she will sue: “As the first Black woman Board Member, I brought a unique perspective that I believe will be lost upon my unprecedented and illegal removal. I will be pursuing all legal avenues to challenge my removal, which violates long-standing Supreme Court precedent.” … Google Maps announced that they have changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America to comply with Trump’s edict. It has been called the Gulf of Mexico since 1550. I’m strictly Apple Maps now. If Apple caves to Trump, I’ll just go back to the paper ones. I will never comply with this loser’s foolishness. … Fox is reporting that Sen. Ron Paul will oppose Trump’s nominee for Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer: “Her support for the Pro Act would not only oppose national right to work, but would it would preempt state law on right to work. I think it's not a good thing, and it'd be sort of hard to support her since it's a big issue for me. So I won’t support her.” … FL Ag Commissioner Wilton Simpson, the likely frontrunner for governor in 2026, and lame duck DeSantis, continued to attack each other today after the FL legislature named Simpson to be the state’s Immigration Czar. Desantis: "Wilton Simpson has voted to give drivers licenses and in-state tuition to illegals. He even refused to oppose allowing illegals to practice law in Florida. Do we want the fox guarding the henhouse?" … Simpson responded: "I’ve worked since day one to support President Trump and his immigration policies. Florida’s conservative legislature decides who is best to support Trump and his team. I’m not the one who opposed and ran against Trump. DeSantis' routine attacks on farmers don’t sit well here in Florida - and apparently not with folks across the country either." … They really don’t like each other. The 2026 FL Republican primary should be interesting. Wilton Simpson v. Casey Desantis? Last week I would have said no way. But this week??? … Trump-loving Roseanne Barr says she is currently working on a new TV show for her latest comeback: “It’s a cross between ‘The Roseanne Show’ and ‘The Sopranos.’” Barr said her character is a farmer in Alabama who is “saving the United States from drug gangs and China. I live with my daughter and her husband and their 6 children on a farm. And they have goats running through their house and stuff. They save America with guns, the Bible, petty crime and alcoholism. It’s kind of like the Coen brothers thing.” … Six transgender US service members filed a lawsuit against the Trump Admin after they instituted a ban on trans people serving. … Vivek Ramaswamy went on Charlamagne’s show and gave him the propaganda spin that he wasn’t fired by Elon Musk from the DOGE Committee. Charlamagne responded: “I hear you, Vivek, but I don’t believe you. I think either you got pushed out or you know it’s going to implode. I think you know Elon is going to crash and burn and you said, ‘you know what, let me get out of dodge.’” … Nancy Mace announced that she is launching a tour of the state to explore a possible run for Governor of SC in 2026: “This past year was the hardest of my life. But my devastation was my deliverance. My old life is gone, and a new one has begun.” I don’t know if she’s talking about the nasty breakup with her fiancee or the foster care advocate who shook her hand which caused her to go to the hospital faking an injury. … Long-serving Democratic Senator Gary Peters announced he will not run for reelection in Michigan, setting up a major battle for an open seat in a key swing state in 2026. Pete Buttigieg, who moved to Michigan a few years ago, is reportedly thinking about a run. Makes a lot of sense for him to do it right now. … Popular Democratic State Sen. Mallory McMorrow is very likely to run and would be probably be the favorite. She told HuffPost: "I’m taking a very close look at both the Senate seat as well as the Governor’s race and plan to have a number of conversations in the coming days about where I can do the most good for Michiganders." … Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office issued a statement saying that she will not be running for the seat. Whitmer is clearly focused on a presidential run in 2028. … Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Spokesperson David Bergstein: “No Republican has won a Michigan Senate race in 30 years - including last cycle when Democrats won an open Senate seat even as Trump won the state - and Democrats will continue to hold this seat in 2026.” … Melania Trump released her official White House photo.