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Today in Politics, Bulletin 280. 1/5/26

Ron Filipkowski Jan 5 ∙

… Trump had a press gaggle on Air Force One last night with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as he finally returned to DC after 3 weeks in Palm Beach. The main topic, of course, was Venezuela as well as the various other wars they are currently planning:

• Q - “Did you speak with the oil companies before the operation? Did you tip them off? Trump: Before and after. They want to go in and they’re going to do a great job.”

… Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ): “The oil companies were informed about an act of war before it happened, Congress was not. That, my friends, is what an authoritarian regime run by oligarchs looks like.”

• Q - “Are you going to demand that Venezuelan VP Delcy Rodriguez allow opposition figures to return or free any political prisoners? Trump: We haven’t gotten to that. Right now, we want to do is fix up the oil.”

… It’s not about democracy or freedom for the Venezuelan people. It’s about the oil. Every time someone tries to suggest otherwise, Trump is happy to remind them it is about oil.

• Q - “What do you need from Delcy Rodriguez? Trump: Total access. We need access to the oil and other things.”

… Other things like minerals and rare earths.

• Q - “Are there any other companies you have talked to about dealing with Venezuela? Trump: Many. Lutnick: You have steel, minerals, all the critical minerals. They have a great mining history.”

• Trump: “We have a very sick neighbor. That’s Venezuela. Colombia is very sick too. Reporter: So there will be an operation by the US in Colombia? Trump: Sounds good to me.”

• Giddy Lindsey Graham: “You just wait for Cuba. Their days are numbered!”

… Warmonger neo-con Lindsey is like a kid in candy store right now. Trump even signed a ‘Make Iran Great Again’ hat for him. He later went on Fox, put the hat on, and said: “I pray and hope that 2026 will be the year we make Iran great again.” Then he added Cuba to his hit list: “To our Cuban friends in FL, the liberation of your homeland is close.”

• Q - “You said that you were really very angry with Zelensky if he was the one who conducted that strike on Putin’s residence. Trump: I don’t believe that strike happened. Q - Why did you believe Putin in that moment and then go say that about Ukraine? Trump: Because nobody knew at that moment.”

… People knew. He just chose to listen to Putin at the time, who tried another stunt to scuttle peace talks. The Ukraine govt immediately said it wasn’t them. The Ukraine military said it wasn’t them. US intelligence saw no evidence it was Ukraine. But Trump chose to believe Putin over all of them. Again.

• Trump: “We need Greenland from a national security situation. It’s so strategic. Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security. And Denmark is not gonna be able to do it. The European Union needs us to have it.”

… Canadian PM Mark Carney: “I spoke with María Corina Machado today. I affirmed Canada’s support for a peaceful, Venezuelan-led transition of power - one that respects the democratic will of the Venezuelan people.”

… Trump is never going to allow opposition leader Machado to take power in Venezuela.

… WaPo: “Two people close to the WH said the president’s lack of interest in boosting Machado, despite her recent efforts to flatter Trump, stemmed from her decision to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, an award the president has openly coveted.” Source close to Trump: “If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today.”

… Sen. John Fetterman was back in his happy place on Fox & Friends cheering on Trump: “I don’t know why we can’t just acknowledge that it’s been a good thing what happened. I think we should really appreciate exactly what happened here. America is a force of good, order, and democracy. And we are promoting these kinds of values. We are the good guys.”

… We invaded their country to steal their oil. It’s not about anything else. I guess maybe he didn’t hear what Trump has said 50 times.

… Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL): "I'm glad the president didn't just take Maduro and walk away. I'm glad that he's committed to freedom and democracy in Venezuela. Now, I can't tell you how they're going to get there, but there’s going to get there.”

… Venezuelans and Venezuelan-Americans are being fed a bunch of BS by Republican politicians right now. I'm going to say something I've never said before - if you want the truth about this, then listen to Trump. He's the only Republican being brutally honest about what he is doing there. At least now he is.

… Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) on Newsmax: "What we want to see is the Venezuela people take their country back and become that democracy again. And I think that's what the president is saying right now."

… Tucker Carlson: “We can safely discount democracy as a reason for regime change in Venezuela.”

… The early polls on the invasion aren’t great for Trump.

… Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) was asked on CNN about Rubio’s statement that we now have an unjustified “phobia” about regime change because of our experience in the Middle East: “It is such chickenhawk BS from Rubio, who's not served a single day in uniform to dismiss that as a phobia. You want to tell that to my friends on this bracelet that I lost in combat? You want to tell that to the Venezuelan people who are saying, we're glad Maduro is gone, as am I, but what the heck is the plan afterwards? And are we just going to hand this to another dictator who's going to do the will of our increasingly authoritarian president?”

… Ryan: “The fact that the president admitted that oil executives were informed of this before the Congress that represents the people is incredibly dangerous. I mean, the fact that folks who clearly didn't have a clearance knew about this, and yet the representatives of the people weren't given a voice is outrageous.”

… Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) on MS NOW: “The briefings they’ve done have been very misleading. They tell us one thing, and then Trump says another thing. They told us this was a drug operation, and now it seems that it had nothing to do with drugs. They were lying to the American people this whole time. The only person really telling the truth is actually Trump, saying that he wanted regime change and that he wanted to get the oil.”

… New Meidas Capitol Hill correspondent Pablo Manriquez to Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME): Q - “What do you think about Trump giving oil companies a heads up on before Congress on the strike on Venezuela? Collins: I’m not aware that he did that. I do think Congress should have been informed earlier.”

… Republicans now plan on rigorous oversight. Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) on CNN: Q - “The leadership of the House Armed Services Committee is set to be briefed tonight by Trump admin officials. What questions do you have? Gimenez: The questions I would have is about how brilliantly they carried out the operation.”

… Bloomberg: “Sen. Majority Leader John Thune says no one has talked to him about the $$$ cost of running Venezuela and he is seeking more information on future plans from the Trump administration.”

… Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) had a contentious interview on Fox: Host - “You have about 100,000 dying from drug overdoses, most of those drugs from from Venezuela and other places. Crow: That's actually not true. The majority of the deaths by drugs in America are the result of meth and fentanyl. Almost none of that comes from Venezuela.”

… Crow: “The person those people elected is a person Trump has said will not be president. Trump said Machado is not gonna be put in charge. Host - He says there's a process. I wouldn't be surprised if that's what he hopes the end game is, but I think he's doing this methodically. We’ll see. I’d love to talk to you longer but we’ve got to go.”

… Trump is working on democracy methodically. In two weeks.

… Former Fox host Megyn Kelly: "I turned on Fox yesterday, and I'm sorry, but it was like watching Russian propaganda. There was nothing skeptical. It was all rah-rah cheerleading, yes, let's go. I have seen what happens when you cheerlead, unabashedly, US intervention in foreign countries thinking it's for our good and for the national and the international good only to wind up with what we've called quagmire in places like Iraq, not to mention Libya. We're not great at going into these foreign countries, decapitating them at the leadership level, and then saying either we're going to steer the country to a better place or it's going to steer itself."

… WaPo: “The WH is weighing giving Stephen Miller a more elevated role in overseeing post-Maduro operations in Venezuela, according to one person with knowledge of the conversations.”

… First Maduro and now Stephen Miller. The people of Venezuela can’t catch a break.

… Maduro entered a Not Guilty plea in court today: “I'm innocent. I'm a decent man. I'm the President of Venezuela. I consider myself a prisoner of war. I was captured at my home in Caracas.”

… Stephen Miller posted: “Not long after World War II the West dissolved its empires and colonies and began sending colossal sums of taxpayer-funded aid to these former territories (despite have already made them far wealthier and more successful). The West opened its borders, a kind of reverse colonization, providing welfare and thus remittances, while extending to these newcomers and their families not only the full franchise but preferential legal and financial treatment over the native citizenry. The neoliberal experiment, at its core, has been a long self-punishment of the places and peoples that built the modern world.”

… Judd Legum: “The extraordinary attack created a financial windfall for a prominent Trump-supporting billionaire, investor Paul Singer. In 2024, Singer, an 81-year-old with a net worth of $6.7 billion, donated $5 million to Make America Great Again Inc., Trump’s Super PAC. Singer donated tens of millions more in the 2024 cycle to support Trump’s allies, including $37 million to support the election of Republicans to Congress. He also donated an undisclosed amount to fund Trump’s second transition.

… In Nov 2025, Singer acquired Citgo, the US-based subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-run oil company. Singer, through his private investment firm, Elliott Investment Management, bought Citgo for $5.9 billion. Citgo owns 3 major refineries on the Gulf Coast, 43 oil terminals, and a network of over 4,000 independently owned gas stations. By all accounts, Singer acquired these assets at a major discount.”

… “Singer acquired Citgo at a bargain price in large part due to the embargo, with limited exceptions, on Venezuela oil imports to the US. Citgo’s refiners are purpose-built to process heavy-grade Venezuelan ‘sour’ crude. As a result, Citgo was forced to source oil from more expensive sources in Canada and Colombia. (Oil produced in the US is generally light-grade.) This made Citgo’s operations far less profitable.”

… Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) on CNN: “This is blood for oil, it’s got nothing to do with narco trafficking. Cocaine is not the drug that is killing Americans, that’s fentanyl coming from China. This has always been about the fact that Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves. Trump is making good on his campaign promise to the US oil majors that if they gave him a billion dollars, he would hook them up.”

The House returns to session tomorrow (finally) with some big stuff scheduled and Trump has returned to the WH after 3 weeks in FL so I expect the rest of the week to be pretty busy. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here. Thank you to all who read, share and subscribe to my work.

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… Francisco Monaldi, expert in Latin American energy policy, to The Atlantic: “Venezuela could produce 4 million barrels instead of the 1 million barrels it produces per day, but it would take maybe a little bit less than a decade and $100 billion in total over that period to get it to 4 million barrels.”

… Oil industry expert Michael Spyker: “I have spent a lot of time talking shit at people with opinions on Venezuela’s oil production potential, and how it’s going to ‘RePLaCe CanADa’. So here’s the cost of replacing Canadian crude with Venezuelan heavy. I think it’s a nearly $1 trillion bill to get that done: Export terminal ($8B) and import

refresh ($1B). Pipelines from USGC to Midwest ($40B) and then a condensate return line ($10B). Retooling refineries ($75B). New tankers for shuttle service ($6B). Lake Maracaibo clean up ($10B). New power infrastructure for the upstream growth ($60B). New diluent looping ($25B). Actual upstream production facilities and <5yr sustaining capital and issue contingency ($355B). Full logistics and civil infrastructure overhaul ($100B) and security ($10B).”

… “So all-in we’re at $700B in both direct upstream costs, and indirect costs. All-in, this is a $1 trillion project to grow exports. There is short-term growth to be had, but it’s not sustainable growth. There is also huge long-term potential, but it’s not the same as drilling a pad in the Permian and ripping a tie-in to Energy Transfer. It’s a freaking massive commitment. The country is pretty much dilapidated, and until super majors (and other infra builders) begin committing to the full-cycle costs associated with realizing the country’s potential, the upside is not as robust as many would want you to believe.”

… MN Gov Tim Walz announced he is dropping out of the race for re-election. Politico: “Walz’s decision to not seek a historic third term upends the race and shocked the MN political world. The two-term governor was facing a potentially tough reelection fight as Republicans sought to tie him to a federal probe into a massive welfare fraud scandal in the state. Walz acknowledged that the scandal played a role in his choice.”

… Walz: “If Republicans continue down the path of abusing power, smearing entire communities, and running their own fraudulent game at the expense of Minnesotans, I will fight back with everything I have. We've got conspiracy theorists, right-wing YouTubers, breaking into our daycares, demanding access to our children. We've got the president demonizing our Somali neighbors and wrongfully confiscating funds that Minnesotans rely on. It's disgusting and it's dangerous.”

… "I don't want to mince words here. Trump and his allies in Washington and in St Paul and online want to make our state a colder, meaner place. They won't to poison our people against each other by attacking our neighbors."

… A senior MN Democratic lawmaker: “Many Democrats don’t want him to run, including me. He is certainly not corrupt, but he has not handled the fraud problem well and we worry about his electability.”

… “Walz met with Amy Klobuchar on Sunday to discuss the campaign. A person close to Klobuchar said the MN senator is receiving encouragement to run and she’s seriously considering it but has not decided on her plans. That development might be a boon to Democrats in the competitive state, as she has run well ahead of others in her party — including Walz — in past statewide campaigns.”

… “Republicans face a crowded primary for governor, including MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, MN House Speaker Lisa Demuth, state Rep. Kristin Robbins and attorney Chris Madel.”

… Michael Brodkorb: “I’m hearing from multiple sources that Sen. Amy Klobuchar is ‘very likely’ to run for governor and will announce quickly. Democrats I’ve spoken with are thrilled about Klobuchar running, as it unifies and energizes the entire ticket.”

… Former MN GOP State Rep. Jeremy Munson: “Very important to note that Amy Klobuchar is a very likely candidate because she is not up for re-election this year, and even if she loses the Governor’s race, she remains a US Senator as if nothing happened. If she wins the Governor’s race, she gets to appoint her replacement, which could be Tim Walz.”

… Trump was back with more health advice with an all-caps Truth Social post today: “PREGNANT WOMEN, DON’T USE TYLENOL UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, DON’T GIVE TYLENOL TO YOUR YOUNG CHILD FOR ANY REASON, BREAK UP THE MMR SHOT INTO THREE SEPARATE SHOTS, MORE IMPORTANTLY - TAKE VACCINE IN 5 SEPARATE VISITS!”

… Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) is complaining about RFK Jr again, who would not be HHS Secretary without Cassidy’s support in the confirmation process: “As a doctor who treated patients for decades, my top priority is protecting children and families. Multiple children have died or were hospitalized from measles, and SC continues to face a growing outbreak. Two children have died in my state from whooping cough. All of this was preventable with safe and effective vaccines.”

… “The vaccine schedule IS NOT A MANDATE. It’s a recommendation giving parents the power. Changing the pediatric vaccine schedule based on no scientific input on safety risks and little transparency will cause unnecessary fear for patients and doctors, and will make America sicker.”

… Cassidy is responsible for all of that.

… Pete Hegseth announced that he will not recall Sen. Mark Kelly to active duty for a court martial, and instead will reduce him in rank himself: “As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice. And the Dept of War - and the American people - expect justice. Therefore, in response to Kelly’s seditious statements - and his pattern of reckless misconduct - the Dept of War is taking administrative action against Kelly. The dept has initiated retirement grade determination proceedings with reduction in his retired grade.”

… “To ensure this action, the Secretary of War has also issued a formal Letter of Censure, which outlines the totality of Captain (for now) Kelly’s reckless misconduct. This Censure is a necessary process step, and will be placed in Kelly’s official and permanent military personnel file. Kelly has been provided notice of the basis for this action and has 30 days to submit a response. The retirement grade determination process directed by Secretary Hegseth will be completed within 45 days.”

… Hegseth didn’t have the courage to give Kelly a trial by court martial because he knew he would lose it and be humiliated. So he is taking the cowardly way out. Whatever action he takes unilaterally will discredit US military civilian leadership and be reversed in 3 years.

… Kelly responded: “Over 25 years in the US Navy, 39 combat missions, and 4 missions to space, I risked my life for this country and to defend our Constitution – including the First Amendment rights of every American to speak out. I never expected that the President of the US and the Secretary of Defense would attack me for doing exactly that.”

… “My rank and retirement are things that I earned through my service and sacrifice for this country. I got shot at. I missed holidays and birthdays. I commanded a space shuttle mission while my wife Gabby recovered from a gunshot wound to the head– all while proudly wearing the American flag on my shoulder. Generations of servicemembers have made these same patriotic sacrifices for this country, earning the respect, appreciation, and rank they deserve.”

… “Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way. It’s outrageous and it is wrong. There is nothing more un-American than that.”

… “If Pete Hegseth, the most unqualified Secretary of Defense in our country’s history, thinks he can intimidate me with a censure or threats to demote me or prosecute me, he still doesn’t get it. I will fight this with everything I’ve got - not for myself, but to send a message back that Hegseth and Trump don’t get to decide what Americans in this country get to say about their govt.”

… Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE): “This is a terrible precedent and needs to be overturned. I thought the video was foolish, but the Sec Def’s response is even more foolish. When your political opponent is shooting themselves in the foot, don’t grab the gun and start shooting your own foot.”

… The Kobeissi Letter: “US federal debt is up to a record $38.5 trillion in 2025.
The national debt officially surged +$2.3 trillion last year, equal to +$6.3 BILLION per day. At this pace, total US debt will rise to $40.0 trillion as early as Aug. This means US federal debt now stands at $285,733 per household. The US debt crisis is accelerating.”

… This can’t be true because Trump said tariffs were going to pay for everything and we were all going to get $2,000 checks with the money left over.

… In the new appropriations bill to fund the Kennedy Center, House Republicans decided not to officially change the name to the Trump-Kennedy Center, knowing that it would likely hold up the bill with insufficient votes if that poisoned pill was added in.

… House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says he expects ACA subsidies to pass the House this week but get jammed up in the Senate. To Punchbowl: “There is no reason why this legislation, upon successfully being voted out of the House, shouldn't be taken up immediately by the Senate and passed. The only obstacle is John Thune and Senate Republicans, who want to play procedural games. as opposed to protecting the healthcare of the American people. They know that a majority of US senators support extending the ACA tax credits.”

… Nobody wants to read new books about Trump anymore. The Atlantic: “The Trump-book bubble has burst. This is no doubt partly the result of reader fatigue—there are only so many Trump books any one politics junkie can be expected to buy. Whatever the explanation, the numbers don’t lie. Several solidly reported and well-reviewed volumes on Trump’s interregnum and reelection, such as Meridith McGraw’s Trump in Exile and Alex Isenstadt’s Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power, didn’t even dent the hardcover-nonfiction list.”

… Scripps: Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) says in a statement in the bipartisan funding agreement, Republicans removed his amendment (passed in committee unanimously) to require the DOJ to ‘retain, preserve, and compile any records or evidence related to Jeffrey Epstein’. Van Hollen: "Given Republicans’ previous support of this amendment on the floor and in Committee, their backtracking is particularly egregious. It’s clear they’re still opposed to providing the victims and the American people the answers they deserve."

… Today was Marge Greene’s last day as a Member of Congress. She apparently spent it in her district, posting this: “I just had a delicious double steak burger and beef tallow fries from my local Steak N Shake in Rome, GA.”

… Variety: “Jimmy Kimmel won the best talk show prize at the Critics Choice Awards and used his acceptance speech to roast Trump and thank all of the celebrities who rallied behind him earlier this year after ABC pulled his late night show off the air after two large owners of affiliate TV stations, Nexstar and Sinclair, complained about a monologue in which Kimmel discussed Charlie Kirk’s alleged shooter.”

… Kimmel: “Thanks to all the writers and actors and producers and union members, many of you who are in this room, who supported us, who really stepped forward us and reminded us that we do not take free speech for granted in this city or in this country. And most of all, I want to thank our president, Donald Jennifer Trump, without whom, we would be going home empty-handed tonight.”

… “So thank you, Mr. President, for all the many ridiculous things you do each and every day. It’s been a banner couple of weeks, and we can’t get wait to get back on the air tomorrow night to talk about them. Thank you, everyone.”