Good morning and welcome to RedState’s Morning Minute – a quick look at what stories are trending right now and a look ahead to what the day might bring. Consider this your one-stop shop for news to lend a hand you start your day.
UP IN THE MORNING
Red-hot at RedState
Biden and Harris hold a wildfire briefing that leads to complete disaster
The good news is that this all ends in a week. Biden and Harris will leave Washington and a fresh presidential term begins. Hopefully it will be one with far more competence than the last.
Things are getting bad in Florida as Republican leaders stand in the way of Trump and DeSantis
Florida Republicans like Albritton and Perez should also make it clear that they agree with this plan by calling DeSantis’ special session for January 27th. MAGA will watch.
Big announcement about who will be playing in the opening events makes people grin
We can finally say goodbye to the terrible Biden-Harris and that freedom is certainly worthy of the music and many Trump dances.
Trending in TownHall media
SCOTUS dismisses two Second Amendment cases
Although the law is ostensibly designed to “enact,” the built-in delays and permit requirements for merely keeping a gun at home are arguably a complete violation of our Second Amendment rights, and it is both puzzling and troubling That the court ruled to uphold the law without written dissent from justices like Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito or Neil Gorsuch.
Democrats in Minnesota: Constitution? Which constitution?
Democrats. There is no depth of depravity that they will not indulge in when it suits them.
Gavin Newsom has found the biggest victim of the LA fires: himself
But it was Newsom’s hey, that’s not me Answer, no-show Mayor Karen Bass failure answer questions and no water To extinguish the flames that made people apoplectic.
Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report shows that he was extremely confident about one thing
This report is the only crutch the Liberals currently have at their disposal. It doesn’t negate the 2024 election. Trump still won.
Hell, you will! Texas Governor Greg Abbott pours fire on Texas A&M’s illegal DEI conference
We’ll see who gives in, but we have a pretty good guess about it.
WHAT’S UP?
Today on Capitol Hill…
Only a handful of committee hearings are scheduled on the Hill for Tuesday, but all eyes will be on the hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, which begins at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time – the committee will question President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Fireworks are practically guaranteed. We’ll be live blogging it here at RedState, so come along.
The hearings for Doug Collins (Veterans Affairs) and Doug Burgum (Secretary of the Interior), originally scheduled for Tuesday, have been postponed – Burgum to Thursday and Collins to next week. (Something with the name Doug?)
The other hearings took place:
- Ways and Means of the House of Representatives – Committee Organizational Meeting
- House Ways and Means – The Need to Make the Trump Tax Cuts for Working Families Permanent
- House Oversight and Government Reform – Organizational meeting of the full House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
What’s going on in the White House?
President Joe Biden (six days left!) will receive the Daily Brief in the morning. In the evening, he will deliver a speech “celebrating the government’s legacy of historic conservation and signing proclamations establishing Chuckwalla National Monument and Sáttítla Highlands National Monument in California.” (These were remarks he was originally scheduled to make last Tuesday in California, but had to cancel because of the wildfires.)
Full court press…
The ongoing dispute over the release of (former) special counsel Jack Smith’s “final report” on his investigation and prosecution of Trump reached a climax on Monday when Judge Aileen Cannon approved the release of Volume 1 of the report after a hearing with Volume 2 taking place on Friday instead of. The first volume has now been published.
New York State has submitted its application Complainant’s statement on Monday in the Second District Court of Appeal. This has flown under the radar, especially in lithe of Trump’s conviction by Judge Juan Mercan last week, but there is still an appeal on the question of whether or not Trump should have been able to withdraw this case from state court (in New York). to the Federal Court. Of course, from a practical perspective, the horse is out of the stable, but it’s still an fascinating legal puzzle, the answer to which we’ll probably know in six months to a year.
UPCOMING ATTRACTIONS
The hearings for Trump’s nominees have been reorganized a bit, but here’s the latest:
- Pete Hegseth – Secretary of Defense (January 14)
- Kristi Noem – Secretary of Homeland Security (January 15)
- Pam Bondi – Attorney General (January 15)
- Chris Wright – Energy Secretary (January 15)
- Marco Rubio – Secretary of State (January 15)
- John Ratcliffe – Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (January 15)
- Sean Duffy – Transport Minister (15 January)
- Russ Vought – Director of the Office of Management and Budget (January 15)
- Pam Bondi – Attorney General (January 16 – second round)
- Scott Turner – Minister of Housing and Urban Development (January 16)
- Lee Zeldin – EPA Administrator (January 16)
- Scott Bessent – Finance Minister (January 16)
- Doug Burgum – Secretary of the Interior (January 16)
- Doug Collins – Minister of Veterans Affairs (January 21)
Expect Biden to issue more pardons in the next few days. And prepare to raise eyebrows.
It seems increasingly likely that a ceasefire/hostage situation will occur act is being fought between Israel and Hamas. Keep praying.
Morning rumination
I’ve been thinking a lot about competence lately – especially because we’ve been seeing the opposite of that in government officials and executives lately. The California wildfires are simply the latest example of this, albeit an egregious one. I’ve had several jobs in my life, but essentially only two as an adult. I’ve certainly made mistakes and encountered failures along the way. But I’m not sure I understand the mentality of just doing your job badly, constantly failing, and shrugging it off – especially when it’s a job that involves other people’s lives or livelihoods is directly affected. I guess there’s a certain amount of hubris at play. And if you’re never held accountable, you might just keep plodding along. But you have to ask yourself…do these people look in the mirror and think, “I’m doing great!”? Do they really not see their incompetence? Or do they just persevere until they fail?
LIGHTER COST
Many thanks to my friend and colleague Jennifer Oliver O’Connell for finding this gem…
Since I mainly work from home except for the wine, this is my everyday life. pic.twitter.com/df1F6IDrCA
— Jennifer Oliver O’Connell (@asthegirlturns) January 13, 2025
