Border, War Updates; Mayorkas’ Impeachment Advanced

In January 2020, when Deposed Donald Trump (DDT) was in the White House, an Iranian missile gave dozens of U.S. military members brain injuries that he called “headaches.” Now DDT is blaming President Joe Biden for the drone attack killing three soldiers and wounding another 40—accusing Biden as being weak and claiming that an “attack would NEVER have happened if I was President, not even a chance.” He added that his control would mean “no more chaos, no more destruction ….”  

DDT still criticizes Biden for a disastrous economy but also takes credit for both Biden’s good economy and the skyrocketing stock market. “THIS IS THE TRUMP STOCK MARKET,” DDT recently posted on Truth Social. Bad—blame Biden; good—DDT did it.

More GOP congressional members voting against assistance for their constituents are taking credit for huge infrastructure projects, one of them Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN) who said he was “proud to help deliver … the federal funds.” Stauber lambasted Biden and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz because they didn’t understand the legislative process. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg explained to Stauber that the $1 billion replacement of the Blatnik Bridge “is happening because the Biden infrastructure package passed, despite your ‘no’ vote.” The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party added that Stauber called the bridge replacement “a path to socialism.”

In Florida, GOP Rep. Maria Elivira Salazar proudly presented a $650,000 check to help small businesses at Florida International University. A reporter asked her why she took credit after voting against the bill providing the funds, and Salazar said she brings money to her constituents every time she has the opportunity. Further pressed about her votes, Salazar said she couldn’t remember how she votes on any bills and she would ask her staff to check. In a 2022 video, she lied about inflation being 40 percent when it was 8.3 percent and blamed “Washington.”

Conservatives want everyone to know that the situation at the southern border is a disaster, but they don’t want to take any action on it for at least another year, hoping that DDT will move back into the White House. Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson (R-LA) has the choice between alienating his far-right caucus by presenting a Senate bill to the House or alienating potential voters for GOP candidates by postponing the border problem for over a year. He has said he won’t present the bill although he hasn’t seen it.

Johnson maintains that Biden could solve the border problem with executive actions, but Biden stated he needs funds and congressional authority that he has requested for several months. The president has already issued over 500 immigration-related executive actions, far more than DDT did, but hasn’t revived DDT’s policies because courts found 90 percent of them illegal. Another one that Johnson wants to revive, “Remain in Mexico,” is still in the courts, but it never blocked unlawful border crossing while exposing migrants to rape, kidnapping, torture, and other danger. Mexico has stated it would not cooperate with the program. Johnson’s demand for building the wall lacks congressional funding.

Following DDT’s order to reject any bipartisan bill to make the border secure, Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) accused Biden and his administration of “traitorous acts,” “slave trade,” “sex trafficking,” and promotion of “endless rapes” of women and children.

“The Army of God,” a truck envoy leaving Virginia Beach to “Take Our Border Back,” promised it would have 700,000 participants but has only a few dozen. Conspiracy theories, “fedsurrection,” on Telegram channels posted fears that the purpose was to catch right-wingers in violence similar to the belief about January 6, 2021 by one-fourth of people in the nation.  

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who brags about her patriotism, has a solution for the border problem: dissolve the United States and let the GOP states secede.

A government shutdown is 14 working days away, and Johnson is leading his House conservatives in an evidence-free impeachment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The Homeland Security Committee, led by Mark Green (R-TN) debated the impeachment articles past midnight on January 31. The Constitution states that Impeachments are only for “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” The two articles of the impeachment resolution accuse Mayorkas of violating immigration laws through Biden administration policies and accusing him of not following his duties, misleading Congress, and obstructing their investigation. Republicans complained about too many migrants coming across the border, the large amount of fentanyl collected at the crossings, and a parole program for Ukrainians.

Republicans claim that the Founding Fathers interpreted impeachment that the current GOP is, that instead of a criminal offense, demeanor means demeaning oneself. Therefore they can impeachment someone for not following the law or abusing their authority and said Mayorkas lied to Congress by stating that the border is operationally secure. The standard of “secure” in the Secure Fence Act is that not one person or piece of contraband improperly crosses the border. Mayorkas said that the law must be viewed with a “layer of reasonableness.” He clearly stated that he wasn’t using the Secure Fence Act definition. 

Johnson endorsed the impeachment and promised a vote on the House floor after the Homeland Security Committee advances the articles. His letter to Republicans falsely stated that Biden doesn’t need a law to create border security and that Biden wouldn’t enforce immigration laws anyway. Constitutional experts from right, left, and center have lambasted the impeachment project because in this case it doesn’t fit the U.S. system of government. Jonathan Turley, usually on the side of GOP congressional members, disagrees with the impeachment proposal:

“The courts have long recognized that presidents are allowed to establish priorities in the enforcement of federal laws, even when those priorities tend to lower enforcement for certain groups or areas. It is a matter of discretion.

“Voters will soon have an opportunity to render a judgment on those policies in the election. Mayorkas has carried out those policies. What has not been shown is conduct by the secretary that could be viewed as criminal or impeachable.”

One accusation against Mayorkas was that he refused to respond to requests. In one of the many demands that he appear before the committee, Mayorkas offered to testify but was unavailable for the hearing date because he was hosting a Mexican delegation. Mayorkas has testified before Congress more than any other Biden-appointed Cabinet official.

Since the GOP took over Congress a year ago, DHS turned over 20,000 pages of documents, 13,000 to just the Homeland Security Committee. Of the committee’s 173 requests, some are in process, such as the subpoena demanding information related to the Afghanistan withdrawal. Other requests were duplicate items already provided to the committee. DHS is putting together over one million pages of documents for a request, already having sent 6,500 pages of documents before the committee sent a subpoena for “failure to provide satisfactory documents,” complaining some were redacted or illegible. Many requests gave a two-week deadline and “delinquent” for only a few days.

Democrats pointed out that Mayorkas has been far more responsive than DDT, who routinely ignored congressional requests and subpoenas with no action from Republicans. DDT-era officials refused to appear for the annual worldwide threats hearing during the last two years of the administration. Then-DHS leader Chad Wolfe defied a subpoena after the department provided no documents to a border security request. In the past month, Mayorkas appeared before the committee twice, a budget hearing and the annual worldwide threats hearing.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) stated:  

“Republicans don’t actually want to work towards bipartisan solutions to fix the border—in fact, they have repeatedly sabotaged the Secretary’s efforts to secure the border and denied DHS’ funding requests. Secretary Mayorkas is upholding the law and honoring the public trust as he has throughout his more than 30 years of service to our Nation. The House must reject this sham resolution.”

A Cabinet member has not been impeached for 148 years when Secretary of War William Belknap was impeached in 1876 over alleged bribes. The Senate acquitted him. Some GOP senators have warned House members that any impeachment of Mayorkas would have a bipartisan death in their chamber. Those senators indicated that they don’t want to waste their time on the meaningless impeachment in the House where about a dozen names have been floated for the same meaningless action.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) suggested that most House Republicans would prefer not to be forced to vote on impeachments for Mayorkas and Biden. About the impeachments, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) said about the House that “so far they’ve got nothing.” Several GOP senators believe policy issues are a bigger priority than the impeachments. Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and John Hoeven (R-ND) want to focus on passing appropriations. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), however, accused Mayorkas of “deliberately defying federal law.”

Unfortunately for senators, the chamber is required to hold a trial on all impeachment articles passed by the House and meet six days a week unless the majority changes that schedule. No legislative or executive business can occur while the chamber is “sitting as a Court of Impeachment.” Political trials could also keep senators from campaigning between now and November. 

After a lengthy, contentious hearing, the committee voted 18-15 on party lines to advance the impeachment articles to the House floor.

Beyond Insanity in the U.S. House

Since Fox paid $787.5 million to Dominion voting systems in a settlement, and Smartmatic is continuing with a $2.7 billion lawsuit. One America News “may have engaged in criminal activities,” according to Smartmatic lawyers in “a potentially explosive email” to Sidney Powell, a former campaign lawyer for now Deposed Donald Trump (DDT). Powell included a spreadsheet of alleged Smartmatic’s employee passwords. Smartmatic is also suing OAN for defamation, claiming that this action violated state and federal laws regarding data privacy.

In another potential conflict of interest for a Supreme Court justice, the father of Amy Comey Barrett has been appointed to the legal counsel for People of Praise (PoP), the secretive Christian sect, called a cult by some, to which Barrett belongs. Michael Coney is leading a “consultation” team dealing with “issues of concern.” Alleged abuse survivors of PoP have called on the group for years to investigate the organization and hold it accountable for its handling of these claims of abuse. Coney’s new position gives him power to block information embarrassing to Barrett. PoP has erased all reference, including photos, about Barrett before she met with lawmakers about her Supreme Court nomination. A PoP member, Nano Farabaugh also expressed concerns about Coney’s appointment regarding:  

“Misuse of authority, mistrust of the board, not being consulted on matters that directly affect women, not listening to men and especially the voice of women, lack of transparency, [and] lack of accountable leadership.”

According to its handbook, PoP expects members to be obedient to male authorities and give five percent of their earnings to PoP. Leaders make decisions on issues from dating to marriage as well as where members will live. Engaging in gay sex causes member expulsion, and PoP schools, Trinity Schools, ban children of gay parents from attending. Barrett has been on Trinity’s board of trustees. Single members are urged to live with community members, including families with children, which former members claim creates the possibility for sexual abuse.  

DDT’s adviser Steve Bannon, facing four months in prison from denying a subpoena, also refused to pay the almost one-half million dollars that he owes his previous lawyer. Robert Costello, a partner for the law firm Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, sued Bannon a year ago and won a judgment in July. Bannon’s current lawyers filed a motion on January 11 to block Costello’s firm from pursuing “post-judgment discovery from Mr. Bannon,” by arguing that the requests for banking statements and other information that the law firm requested “poses a significant risk of compromising Mr. Bannon’s Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.”

Bannon faces an indictment in New York City accusing him of defrauding donors to the “We Build the Wall” fundraising campaign; the “post-judgment” discovery requests might force Bannon to admit fraud. DDT pardoned Bannon when he was originally arrested and federally charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering. The project raised over $25 million from donors, and co-founder Brian Kolfage promised he would “not take a penny” from the campaign. Kolfage and his partner Shea asked Bannon and Badolato for help in creating a nonprofit, and they funneled the money to their own personal gain. Bannon’s trial is set for May 28, 2024, but said he needed a new law team.

In another fraud scheme, Bannon joined billionaire friend Guo Wengui, arrested and indicted by federal agents, with ties to Gettr social media platform. Costello served Gettr and Bannon’s War Room LLC, including Bannon’s podcast, a restraining order to hold all the companies’ assets. Last week, Manhattan prosecutors ridiculed Bannon’ motion to dismiss his fraud case as “bear[ing] little resemblance to reality.”

Conservative GOP congressional members want to take funding from the IRS, but the agency collected $520 million from millionaires who owed back taxes. The IRS announced a focus on taxpayers with over $1 million income and more than $250,000 in tax debt. An initial round auditing 175 high-income earners yielded $38 million, and an expansion to 1,600 other taxpayers in this category brought in another $482 million. Also targeted were 76 of the biggest corporate U.S. partnerships with more than $10 billion in assets. These include hedge funds, real estate investment partnerships, publicly traded partnerships, large law firms, and other industries. 

Far-right Republicans who want to shut down the government because of expenditures went home to brag about the tens of millions they are providing their districts through earmarks for pet projects. Earmarks were banned in 2011 but the GOP brought them back in 2021. The braggarts also voted against the legislation passing the earmarks. During the GOP 2024 Congress, the House granted 4,715 earmark requests worth $7.4 billion, $4.5 billion for Republicans, but the Senate must approve these expenditures. Conservatives proudly announcing the earmarks include Randy Weber (TX), Matt Gaetz (FL), Ben Cline (VA), and Andy Harris (MD). Others are Clay Higgins (R-LA), who wants Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to start a civil war, and Chuck Fleischman (TN).

The House and Senate ignore each other, and both ignore the Supreme Court. The former “law and order” party now opposes the “weaponization” of the justice system because they follow DDT’s lead. Despite civil verdicts, both DDT and his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani continued to defame their victims. Now Republicans defy a higher court; Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said disregarding the Supreme Court is acceptable in some circumstances—when it is wrong. Stitt also said that National Guard members can disobey orders from their commander in chief, the U.S. president. The issue was whether razor wire can be removed from the Rio Grande River until a lawsuit is settled.

Last year, Alabama Republicans refused to follow a Supreme Court order requiring a second district for Black voters until the Supreme Court again made that ruling. The GOP is laying out their platform for the future: follow Supreme Court decisions such as anti-abortion unless they don’t like them.

Iran has upped its attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria fighting against the Islamic State, and an exploding drone hitting a small outpost in Jordan will start a war if congressional hawks have their way. Three U.S. military personnel were killed, and another 40 were injured. The hawks want immediate retaliation despite the lack of information about where the drone was initiated and why U.S. defense didn’t work. Instead of immediately attacking Iran, President Joe Biden accused “radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq” and declared:

“We will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing.”

Max Boot wrote about the quandary of response to proxy warfare:

“The United States did not bomb China or the Soviet Union even though they were providing munitions—and even pilots—who were killing U.S. service members in the Korean and Vietnam wars. The Soviet Union did not bomb the United States when the United States provided munitions to Afghan resistance fighters who were killing Red Army troops in the 1980s. Today, Russia is not bombing the United States or even European members of NATO even though they are providing munitions to Ukraine that are being used to kill Russian invaders. Should the United States now respond to the Iranian-orchestrated provocations by bombing Iran?”

DDT’s lapdog Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) asserted Biden should “strike targets of significance inside Iran,” and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) demanded that Biden “Target Tehran.” Even DDT, however, wasn’t willing to attack inside Iran, knowing that a major conflict with Iran is not to anyone interests. Iran’s Lebanese allies, Hezbollah, have at least 150,000 missiles provided by Iran that are pointed at Israel, and Iranian-supported Houthis could return to missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates which attempt to improve Iranian relationships.

Hawks want to know what Biden will do, despite the advantage of his keeping plans secret. Florida resident Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), forced to cave after his nine-month hold on military officials’ promotion, wants more publicity. With no background in the military, he blamed Biden for the death of the three U.S. soldiers, claiming he doesn’t “know who’s running our country” and falsely stated that Iran doesn’t know where the U.S. stands. Tuberville alleged that Biden could face criminal prosecution but didn’t specify any crime. About Iran the attack, Tuberville said that “I think Biden probably likes that” because “all that is takin’ the light off what’s going on here.”

Republicans are still confused about the definition of “gender.” A survey from the PAC for GOP candidate running against Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) ask participants to select from these three genders:

• Male
• Female, Homemaker
• Female, Working Woman

 

People don’t always pay much attention to lawyers’ names, but E. Jean Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, has a distinguished career in the LGBTQ+ community. When Evie Windsor sued the government for marriage rights, Robbie Kaplan’s win began the two-year journey to marriage equality. Now she’s defeated the former occupant of the White House–twice. Last fall, a jury agreed that DDT sexually assaulted and defamed E. Jean Carroll; this year, her defense brought Carroll another $83.3 million for DDT’s further defamation.

DDT, the Probably GOP Presidential Candidate

By last week, Deposed Donald Trump (DDT) had gained under 227,000 votes in two states, 32 GOP delegates, with under one percent of the U.S. vote. Despite such a small minority of the 160 million registered voters in the U.S., the RNC launched the idea of making DDT the presumptive presidential nominee, throwing his opponent Nikki Haley under the bus in the remaining 48 states. The Republicans went so far as to draft a resolution to make DDT the “presumptive 2024 presidential nominee.” DDT, however, rejected the idea for the sake of “party unity,” so the RNC, following their leader, dropped it. In May 2026, then-RNC Chair Reince Priebus declared DDT the nominee before he won the requisite 1,215 delegates.

DDT’s strategy may be to force Nikki Haley out of the race to make it appear that he won fair and square. His New Hampshire “victory” speech was typically vicious, ridiculing her clothing and saying, “I don’t get too angry, I get even” after furiously talking about Haley’s speech. “She lost,” he announced. That speech also brought down ridicule on Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who dropped out of the presidential race to worship DDT. In answer to DDT’s question about whether Scott’s endorsement for DDT means he really “hates” Haley, Scott just responded, “I just love you.”

Although four-term New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu supports Haley, he may be moving over to DDT. On social media, he delivered the MAGA party line:

“Rapist or crook or insurrectionist, never you mind. There’s nothing worse than a competent Democrat who’s a decent person and I’ll never ever vote for one. Otherwise the public will get ideas💡.”

DDT may try to cover himself with a patina of “fairness” by not being declared the GOP candidate at this time, but he continued to lie in his victory speech about winning both Iowa and New Hampshire three times. His myth goes back to his 2016 election when he met with senators to talk about Neil Gorsuch’s Supreme Court nomination. At the meeting, he declared he would have won New Hampshire—something he now falsely declares he did—if illegal votes were not cast by people “brought in on buses.” Politico reported “an uncomfortable silence” in the room. In Iowa this year, he lied about winning the state’s caucus three times; earlier he had said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) had won in 2016 through fraud.

Since Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) dropped out of the presidential race, DDT expects him to get him votes from Blacks. GOP strategist Brian Seitchik said that Scott has “strong ties into the African American community. Thus far, DDT’s campaign has only funding for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to get Black votes. About DDT, Scott said, “He likes everybody.” A strong majority still supports President Joe Biden, however, and only one-fourth of single Black men vote in general elections. DDT’s lack of support for police reform, especially after George Floyd’s murder in 2020, has offended many in the Black community.

The extreme cold weather and snow during the Iowa caucus produced what possibly could be the best campaign story ever. Laura Loomer, DDT’s staunch ally, spread the conspiracy theory that Nikki Haley controls the weather, “activating HAART to disrupt the Iowa Caucus.” Loomer doesn’t understand “how the incoming snow storm accelerated out of nowhere.” HAARP, the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program, researches the ionosphere, about 30 to 600 miles above sea level.

DDT’s next problem may be the discovery by Barbara Jones, a special monitor appointed by the court in his $370 million financial fraud trial. Jones has raised questions about a possibly non-existent $48 million loan that DDT has claimed. The Trump Organization has no loan agreements for a loan supposedly between DDT, personally, and Chicago Unit Acquisition. The business states that the loan didn’t exist and would be removed from future forms to the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) and corporate financial statements. If true, the statement shows false financial statements DDT filed with the federal government in a claim that he personally owed one of his own companies. The Trump Organization’s lawyer, Alan Garten, said:

“That’s one of many inaccuracies contained in the monitor’s letter, which we will be addressing with the court. Yes, the loan existed.”

D.C. tax lawyer Martin Lobel also claimed tax evasion if Jones is correct.

In another recent revelation, Russian businessman Anton Postolnikov, nephew of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s former staffer, may have made millions from insider trading related to the parent company of DDT’s Truth Social platform. He loaned the money to DDT’s company through a Caribbean bank he owns that works with the pornography industry. Prosecutors have brought a fraud case against three other men from South Florida who pocketed $23 million from insider trading in a 2021 merger between Trump Media and Technology Group and the Miami (FL)-based Digital World Acquisition Corp.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, striving to be DDT’s vice-presidential choice, argued with Dana Bash on CNN’s State of the Union about immigration reform. Noem agreed with DDT that the proposed border deal, that she has not seen, is “terrible.”

After two Boeing 737 Max air crashes in 2018 and 2019, DDT granted a deferred prosecution agreement which required the company to “protect and detect violations of the U.S. fraud laws throughout its operations, including… those of its contractors and subcontractors.” The DOJ is in charge of determining whether Boeing breached this agreement. Two days before the agreement expired, the door plug blew out of an Alaska Airline Boeing 737 Max 9 plane 20 minutes after takeoff. The Boeing supplier, Spirit AeraSystems, may have committed fraud in allegedly falsifying records which hid “excessive” numbers of manufacturing defects.

During the past three years since the agreement, operators of 737 Max planes filed over 1,800 service difficulty reports about safety problems—all but 150 from Alaska Airlines. Problems include fuel leaks from misapplied sealant, malfunctioning stabilizing motors, debris in fuel tanks, engine stalls during takeoff, and malfunctioning anti-ice systems. Three other carriers are not submitting reports. Boeing is seeking an exemption to use an anti-ice system causing engine failure if operated for too long; 80 reports were filed about the system since the agreement. In December 2023, 1,160 737 Max planes were in operation.

Business leaders on Wall Street are pushing for DDT because he promises to lower their taxes. Financial Times columnist Edward Luce compared this support to FT’s glowing statement in the 1930s about the leader of fascist Italy:

“The country has been remodelled, rather than remade, under the vigorous architecture of its illustrious prime minister, Signor Mussolini.”

Luce wrote:

“America’s system remains intact because Trump was blocked from overturning it. He still claims the 2020 election was stolen and is running on the promise of jailing those who helped block him—among them Biden and Mark Milley, the then chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff. It is conceivable that Trump would be too chaotic to redeem that promise. On the other hand, he would claim a mandate to do so. Perhaps the courts would stop him. U.S. business would be powerless.”

After a big fanfare about not donating to election deniers, U.S. CEOs have resumed their donations. Over two-thirds of Fortune 500 corporations with political action committees, 228 companies, gave $26.3 million to election deniers in the 2021-2024 election cycles. 

Business leaders indicated their support before DDT suggested a federal 60 percent tariff on all goods from China after recommending a ten percent tariff on almost all the $3 trillion in annual reports from around the world. Such an action would be far more disastrous than the damaging trade war in 2018 and 2019. According to Erica York, senior economist at the right-wing think tank Tax Foundation, the tariff proposal “threatens to upend and fragment global trade to an extent we haven’t seen in centuries.”

In November, China was the third-largest U.S. trading partner with 11.7 percent of U.S. foreign trade behind only Mexico and Canada. The Foundation reported that DDT’s tariffs, retained after he left the White House, reduced long-term wages by 0.14 percent and employment by 166,000 jobs. U.S. consumers and firms pay most of the tariffs, and ending permanent normal trade relations with China would cost the U.S. economy $1.6 trillion, losing over 700,000 jobs.

DDT has become so arrogant on the campaign trail that he even compared himself to pedophile priests. In Rochester (NH), he addressed his new favorite topic, that presidents should be able to commit whatever crimes they wish:

“It’s a little bit like the police. So you have a rogue cop, you know what a rogue cop is? Very seldom, but you have bad people, you have people, no matter where, no matter what…

“In the church, you have some people that aren’t so good, right? But you have a rogue cop, or a bad apple or whatever, and what they do is they make it so that you catch, so that it can’t happen… And therefore everyone else is allowed to commit crimes, murders, at levels that we’ve never seen before.

“No, we’re going to have to do this, immunity for the president. If you have a president that doesn’t have immunity, then he’s never going to be free to do anything because the opposing party will always indict him as soon as he leaves the White House.”

DDT’s bad makeup is drawing attention after the publication of this photo from Agence France-Presse (AFP) photojournalist Tannen Maury at a DDT rally in Clinton (IA) on January 6, 2024. DDT pays over $70,000 a year for his makeup jobs.

 

MAGA Members Eager to Start Civil War

Right-wing dissidents are again threatening a civil war in the U.S. after the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government has authority over state government, specifically that of Texas. In a 5-4 ruling with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Comey Barrett agreeing with the three progressive justices, U.S. border agents may cut razor wire that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott installed for dozens of miles in the Rio Grande River, wire killing migrants seeking asylum. The wire also bars people from using a park and the only boat ramp in the area. Ironically, the threats for a “second Civil War” was again centered around minorities, like the slavery issue over one and a half century ago.

Despite the order from the highest court in the U.S., Abbott refuses to respect the rule of law; he’s joined by Deposed Donald Trump who is calling on all GOP governors to send their national guards to fight the ruling. Abbott declares the state’s “constitutional authority” as “the supreme law of the land.” Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) wrote that “the feds are staging a civil war, and Texas should stand their ground.” House Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson has joined the 25 Republican governors who declared support for Texas action. [Red states supporting Texas, in blue.] Only Vermont’s GOP governor, Phil Scott, doesn’t support Abbott. 

Earlier, Florida created Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Florida State Guard which cannot be federalized. A proposed bill removes the requirement “that Florida State Guard be used exclusively within state.” Texas also has a state guard that cannot be federalized. Also pushing a civil war are Fox & Friends’ Brian Kilmeade, podcaster Steve Bannon, and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin are gloating about the possibility of civil war in the U.S., stating that it would end the war in Ukraine with a Russian win.

A truck envoy espousing Christian nationalist rhetoric and calling itself an “Army of God” will head toward the southern U.S. border with the theme “blessed are the peacemakers.”  Organizers of the “Take Our Border Back” convoy claims a mission to stand up against “globalists” who, they claim, conspire to keep U.S. borders open and destroy the country. They plan to leave Virginia Beach on Monday and stop at Jacksonville (FL) before several stops along the border before splitting for rallies on February 3 in Eagle Pass (TX), Yuma (AZ), and San Ysidro (CA).

Texas’ biggest newspaper, the Houston Chronicle, blasted the state’s governor for his rejection of the high court ruling:

“Abbott, a former Texas Supreme Court justice, apparently thinks he knows better than the highest court in the nation what the U.S. Constitution says.”

The newspaper also called out Abbott’s hypocrisy:

“The governor of a state that has maimed migrants with razor wire, deprived them of water in the summer and left to them to drown in the river is arguing self-defense.”

In opposition to the U.S. Constitution, Abbott asserts that Texas law “supersedes” federal law, so legal experts and congressional members are calling on President Joe Biden to federalize the Texas National Guard, now used to defy federal law and the court ruling. Abbott declared that he will lay down more razor wire and block federal border agents from accessing the U.S. border. Using the term “invasion,” he invokes the right to overrule the U.S. Professor of law and political scientist Anthony Michael Kreis compared Abbott to VP John Calhoun, defender of slavery and supporter of nullification, who maintained the alleged “right” of a state to “nullify” a federal law it claims is unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court ruling had vacated a 5^th Circuit Court injunction to leave the wire in place. The Circuit Court will hear arguments on February 7 about whether agents violated Texas law when they cut the barrier.

Ultra-conservative Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) blames DDT and House GOP leaders for not passing a border security bill in 2018 that would prevent the current crisis. The refusal to give money to DDT for his border wall led to the 35-day government shutdown in 2018-2019, the longest one in history. The government reopened with no money for the wall.

The same conservative GOP congressional members advocating civil war refuse to pass a tougher immigration bill because DDT told them to not support it. They hope that a lack of immigration control will elect DDT and other Republicans later this year. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had supported the bill until DDT told him to oppose it. Republicans excuse their opposition with the claim that they won’t get everything they want although the final bill has not been drafted. Johnson joined the naysaying senators for a press conference slamming the deal. Joined by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), Johnson is trying to save his job by insinuating that the bill would be “dead on arrival” in the House. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) called the idea “utterly ineffective,” but his Democratic opponent, Rep. Colin Allred, is even with him in the polls.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) said the GOP refusal to solve the border problem, using it to campaigning against Biden, “is really appalling.” Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) called the proposal “by far, the most conservative border security bill in four decades.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said that they can’t get a better deal “if President Trump wins.” Sen. John Thune (R-SD) stated:

“The Democrats will not give us anything close to this if we have to get 60 votes in the United States Senate in a Republican majority. We have a unique opportunity here. And the timing is right to do this.”

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), usually more conservative, had even stronger language about DDT’s blocking the bill when he urged colleagues to not follow a candidate’s wish:

“I didn’t come here to have the president as a boss or a candidate as a boss. I came here to pass good, solid policy. It is immoral for me to think you looked the other way because you think this is the linchpin for President Trump to win.”

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), the chief Democratic negotiator, said it should be expected that DDT “doesn’t want to fix the border” because he and “a lot of Republicans” are used to seeing it as “a political issue, not an actual policy problem.” Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), up for reelection called it “Bull-loney” and said that the naysayers “need to resign from the damn Senate.”

Senate Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that “negotiators will work all weekend in an effort to get this done.”

Even the conservative Wall Street Journal criticized Republicans for rejecting Biden’s border bill, warning them that they may pay a political price for following DDT. The editorial board called this action “a self-inflicted wound”:

“President Biden would claim, with cause, that Republicans want border chaos as an election issue rather than solving the problem. Voter anger may over time move from Mr. Biden to the GOP, and the public will have a point. Cynical is the only word that fits Republicans panning a border deal whose details aren’t even known.”

The editorial also expressed doubts that DDT could broker a better deal even if he were in the White House, “especially if Mr. Trump sabotages a bipartisan deal now.” The GOP refusal to continue Ukrainian aid could also backfire on Republicans because their blocking the bill leaves them with “responsibility for whatever happens next in Ukraine. Kyiv’s defeat will be signed with the party’s signature. Do Republicans want to sponsor the 2024 equivalent of Saigon 1975?”

The border deal is tied to aid for Ukraine, and GOP supporters search for Plan B, moving the assistance to a funding bill. Congress passed a continuing resolution in mid-January to allow time until March 1 and March 8, the new deadline for a government shutdown if appropriations bills aren’t passed. The House has 14 working days until the first deadline and another five days before the second.

Biden announced he would use new emergency authorities to “shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed” if Congress passes the bipartisan immigration bill, but the House wants to torpedo any Democratic assistance in solving border problems. The situation is a more blatant version of Henry Kissinger helping Richard Nixon block the peace deal for the Vietnam War in 1968 to get him elected and John Connally, Jr. helping to stall Jimmy Carter’s plan to get Iranian-held hostages released in 1980 so that Ronald Reagan would be elected.   

The GOP may be shrinking: DDT plans to purge anyone from the GOP who doesn’t follow MAGA. DDT is putting together a blacklist, most recently announcing that anyone contributing to Nikki Haley’s campaign will be “permanently barred from the MAGA camp.” He also plans to eliminate security officials, intelligence agents, and justice officials who target “conservatives, Christians, or the left’s political enemies” as well as anyone who worked for one of his opponents like Jeff Roe, a member of DeSantis’ team. Lack of loyalty to DDT will automatically cause removal from being a Republican.

 The conservative Wall Street Journal lambasted DDT for his blacklisting to “purify” the party. The editorial called this “retribution” a form of “political weakness” because a majority of Haley voters in New Hampshire stated they won’t vote for DDT.

The dictator has spoken, however, and MAGAites will follow.

Economy, E. Jean Carroll Plus More Including Reason for Blog Hiatus

The Economy:

Once again, Republicans have gone silent about the economy except for a little muttering about high inflation—which isn’t high anymore, thanks to the work of the current administration. Naturally, a good economy during a Democratic administration is anathema to the GOP, like these positive reports in the past week:

The U.S. has thus far avoided the predicted recession during the past year.

Gross domestic product, goods and services produced, increased at a 3.3 percent annualized rate in the fourth quarter of 2023. The 3.1 percent increase in just that quarter far exceeded the two percent prediction, and the previous quarter was 4.9 percent.  

The U.S. economy grew at a 2.5 percent pace in 2023, over 1.9 percent in the previous year. (DDT’s “greatest economy” was only 2.5 percent before the pandemic; now he says that the current economy is horrible.)

Inflation dropped to 1.7 percent for the last quarter. Food and energy inflation dropped to a 3.2 percent annual increase compared to 5.1 percent. Median rents declined for eight consecutive months. Gas costs 34 cents less per gallon than a year ago.

The price index increased 1.5 percent for the quarter, down from 3.3 percent in the previous quarter.

Unemployment rates stayed at 3.7 percent although DDT claims the figures aren’t “real.” Biden’s unemployment rate has stayed below 4 percent for 23 continuous months, the longest continuous run since the 1960s.

Consumer sentiment rose in January by 13 percent to an accumulated 29 percent with 16 percent increase during the previous month, the biggest two-month increase since 1991 at the end of a recession. All five indices rose, including a 27 percent rise in the short-run outlook for business conditions and 14 percent in current personal finances. Sentiment is now just 7 lower since 1978 than the historical average.

At the beginning of the week, the Dow Jones industrial index closed above 38,000 for the first time, keeping that level for its close on Friday. S&P also closed at an all-time high. (DDT claims the increase comes from his being ahead in the polls but wants it to crash before he becomes president so he doesn’t have to take the blame.)

Jobless claims did increase 25,000 from the previous week to 214,000; continuing claims are 1.833 million, up 27,000.

In another Biden success, 21.3 million people, an additional five million over 2023, have signed up for healthcare insurance through the marketplace created by President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act with 2024 the third consecutive banner year for the program. Biden said that the number is nine million more than when he became president. January 15 was the deadline to sign up for 2024, but people disenrolled from Medicaid last spring have until July 31 to enroll, meaning the total number may increase. [Note: DDT’s campaign includes doing away with the ACA, including the program.]

Court Cases:

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has found evidence supporting South Africa’s genocide case against Israel for its murders of Palestinians and ordered Israel to “take all measures within its power” to uphold its obligations under Article II of the Genocide Convention. The court also directed the Israeli government to ensure its military does not violate the convention in Gaza. Israel must also punish those who incite genocide, immediately provide basic services and humanitarian assistance to Gazans, block the destruction of evidence showing violations of international law, and submit a report to the ICJ on all steps it takes to implement the above measures.

Another victory for democracy is the decision in the civil defamation suit by E. Jean Carroll against DDT after his sexual assault of her. The first jury had awarded her $5 million, leading DDT to immediately defame her in speeches and on his Truth Social media platform. She again sued DDT, and a jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million—$18.3 million in compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive retribution. DDT is raging about the decision on social media, claiming he will appeal, but hasn’t defamed her in his claims. Although DDT’s treatment of Carroll in a department store dressing room fits a definition of rape, New York legal code puts it under sexual assault. A change in state law statute of limitations permits Carroll to sue DDT for both defamation and sexual assault.  

DDT briefly testified in the trial, but he was angry because of restrictions regarding his statements. Judge Lewis Kaplan prevented him from statements of innocence of sexual assault because the trial was only concerned with financial penalties for defamation and sexual assault. The charge of sexual assault had already been determined. In a drive to become DDT’s 2024 vice-presidential pick, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) accused Biden of delaying the trial for a few days, but a juror and DDT’s lawyer, Alina Habba, had claimed possible Covid illness last Monday.

A commentator hoped that the seven-men and two-women jury award of almost $88 million would stop DDT from further defaming Carroll. The jury made its decision in two hours, 45 minutes. In a frightening disclosure about the danger of DDT’s thuggery, judge told the jury after the verdict, “My advice to you is that you never disclose that you were on this jury.” Joyce Vance has an excellent overview of the decision.

Even with appeals, DDT will have to pay a sizeable amount to the court which will hold the money during pending appeals. An alternative is posting a bond with collateral, accompanied by interest and fees. Campaign donors are paying for DDT’s legal fees but not awards in court cases. He also faces the possibility of having to pay $370 million damages in a civil business fraud case; the decision might be determined by the end of the month.

Another DDT coup member, White House adviser Peter Navarro, has joined the “remarkable universe of criminality” by being sentenced to four months in prison for criminal contempt of Congress. He refused a subpoena to testify about January 6 and, as many others, claimed “executive privilege” with no justification.

In another imminent court case, a New York judge denied a motion to dismiss $2.7 billion defamation claims by Smartmatic against Fox’s parent company. The case is similar to Fox’s settlement to pay Dominion Voting Machines $787.7 million, both of them for lies that they rigged elections.

Personal note about my two-week absence from posting on Nels New Day:

The year 2024 started with a bang—in my case when the transformer in front of my house blew out. I had already faced almost 12 hours of power outage on Friday, January 12, but the transformer disaster on January 13 led to almost five days without electricity. That meant no heat, refrigerator, telephone, computer, etc. during a time when unusually low temperatures on the Oregon Coast plummeted to 26 or 27 degrees with highs about 34. I almost never use my old flip cellphone, and no one knows the number. For a couple of days, I had no way to charge it.

Much of the town lacked electricity for a couple of days, causing a lack of services such as closed pharmacies and grocery stores. Lines at gas stations were 40-50 vehicles deep with the tourists in town for the Martin Luther King Jr. three-day weekend, people getting fuel for their generators, and locals trying to fill up.  One major grocery store threw out all its perishables, not even willing to give them away; another one moved them outside because the weather was so cold that the food could be preserved.

My neighbor still had electricity—the grid system is strange!—and he ran an extension cord to my house after my first couple of days in the cold and dark. In the bedroom, my small stove got the temperature up to about 58 degrees, and I had a lamp for reading and a way to charge my phone. On the fourth day, however, a couple of wires rubbed together, wiping out electricity for almost 100 miles along the coast—fortunately for only four hours! There went my extension cord solution. Fortunately, a friend living seven miles inland picked up my 12-year-old cat and took her home. Another friend bought me some food, so I had some sustenance, and I visited a neighbor with a fireplace for a few hours on two different days.

I woke from a nap about 8:30 pm on January 17 to have the lights on in the house. Wonderful! The first thing I did was to start the dishwasher and get the furnace functioning. Then I spent the last few hours calling friends about the good news, doing away with about 80 percent of almost 650 emails, and being grateful. My next project was to do the wash and then take a shower the next morning. As I hoped for electricity, I also thought about people in Ukraine, Gaza, and other war zones as well as the homeless who never have the conveniences that have returned to my life.

The next day, however, a sore throat led to the worst cold I’ve had in over two decades, leading to another week in bed and attempts to recover from fatigue. In those two weeks, I missed writing about

Martin Luther King Jr. Day, two DDT primary wins, the disappearance of GOP presidential candidates, much of the idiocy among GOP House members, Supreme Court arguments and decisions—the list goes on and on.

In the next several days, I’ll try to catch up.

Trouble Home, Abroad

On Thursday, House far-right extremists said that Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson will renege on the topline funding agreement; Friday, Johnson said he won’t. Deposed Donald Trump (DDT) and his allies also want the GOP 2017 tax agreements to continue at a cost of $4 trillion. President Joe Biden wants tax increases for the wealthy and corporations to raise another $2 trillion. That’s $6 trillion the self-identified anti-spenders want to add to the deficit. The IRS funding boost that the GOP wants to eliminate collected almost $500 million since 2022. That’s another one-half a billion dollars added to the deficit if Republicans get their way.

“Less legislating, more Hunter Biden porn.” That’s Dana Milbank’s description of the current GOP approach in the House. While books falsely accused of being only about sex are banned for youth, C-SPAN watchers get a good view of the pornography—photos of a naked Hunter Biden—that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has put into the Congressional Record twice with the approval of 21 Republicans in the hearings. The Senate claims it wants decorum by forcing male members to wear suits on the chamber floor, but House Republicans shout about “balls” and other insults. Another threatens to engage a witness to a physical fight during a hearing.

Democrats have introduced a bill to curtail militias’ deadly training to overturn the government. Gun rights organizations and anti-government groups argue that the Secon Amendment protects paramilitary activity because of “a well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State.” Constitutional experts, however, disagreed after the 2017 violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville (VA), stating that all 50 states have laws, rarely enforced, against that paramilitary activity. A team with Georgetown Law’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, led by former acting assistant AG Mary McCord in the DOJ national security division, also found that the historical context of “militia” did not mean a private paramilitary group that was answerable only to themselves but an armed group that predated the National Guard. First established in the colonies during the 1600s, these groups were deployed by the governor.

In the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) opposes a bipartisan bill   by Ohio senators Sherrod Brown (D) and J.D. Vance (R) introduced after the East Palestine (OH) disaster dumping chemicals from a 150-car freight train. The wealthy freight rail industry is also fighting a bill for mandatory safety procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials.

The media has discovered audio of plans by the treasurer of the National Rifle Association to cover up luxury expenses involving now-resigned CEO Wayne LaPierre in connection with NRA’s longtime public relations firm. The information starts in 2009. Ten years later, New York AG Letitia James began her investigation into the NRA and sued the organization in 2020. James’ office was not aware of the audio until The Trace and ProPublica contacted it.

Monday, Iowa will hold its presidential candidate caucus, the first decision in the nation for the final 2024 candidates. Although far behind DDT, Nikki Haley has pulled ahead of Ron DeSantis. DDT – 54 percent; Haley – 20 percent, and DeSantis – 13 percent. Vivek Ramaswamy, still in the race, has 6 percent.

White-out Iowa weather conditions, which could drop the temperatures to as low as 45 degrees below zero, is causing GOP presidential candidates to cancel their events or move them to tele-town halls. Haley has changed three events to online in which caucusgoers can ask questions, and DeSantis postponed four events on Friday. DDT has voluntarily spent his time in courtrooms.

While DeSantis was on the campaign trail, he lost another court case, this one for suspending a progressive state prosecutor for political gain. A three-judge panel of the 11^th Circuit Court overturned a lower ruling, determining the DeSantis violated First Amendment protections. DeSantis had accused the elected official of not prosecuting the culture wars that DeSantis opposes but didn’t cite any specific cases. He said his action was taken for “public safety” although GOP lawyers couldn’t find any justification.

A GOP lawmaker introduced a bill to make accusations of racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia considered defamation in Florida. With this bill, those sued in a defamation lawsuit would find it impossible to defend themselves because they couldn’t cite a plaintiff’s constitutionally protected religious expression or beliefs … [or] scientific beliefs.” The law covers all statements in print, on TV, and online and does away with the journalistic privilege to keep sources anonymous when defending themselves. The bill creates “a presumption that a statement by an anonymous source is presumptively false.” A similar bill died last year in the Judiciary Committee.

Escambia County (FL) is facing a lawsuit for banning books but haven’t stopped removing them from the shelves. In December, schools pulled five dictionaries from the shelves for sexual content among 1,600 titles chosen for review. Also being evaluated are eight encyclopedias and other reference materials such as The Guinness Book of World Records and Ripley’s Believe it or Not. A DDT-appointed district judge ruled that books cannot be pulled under the First Amendment because officials are removing books based on ideological concerns. Over 40 percent of book bans in the U.S. during the 2022-23 school year came from Florida schools. Of the 2800 books that have been shelved in the district, only 67 have been reviewed. The staff was told to use Book Looks, a website of book titles with content that the owner finds objectionable. A member of the anti-LGBTQ+ hate group Moms for Liberty founded the website.

Florida’s Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, chosen party for his anti-vaccination belief during the Covid epidemic, has blocked the mRNA Covid boosters as cases and hospitalization surge. Ladapo has joined DeSantis on his campaigning, currently in Iowa where voters will select their GOP presidential candidate in a week. Last year, Ladapo was investigated for scientific fraud, allegedly accused of falsifying vaccine safety data. As Covid wound down last year, Florida had 8,000 deaths.

Nikki Haley’s past is also catching up with her. Despite multiple crashes from alleged carelessness, she opposed disclosure of Boeing’s spending to influence politicians and safety regulators. Haley served on Boeing’s board in 2020 and helped kill an initiative to mandate more transparency for this spending. In the same year, Boeing lobbied the FAA on approving planes to fly; the agency lifted its founding order of the 737 fleet in effect since the plane crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. Boeing spent $153 million for lobbying from 2010 to 2018 along with $10.6 million in 2023’s first three quarters. Haley voted against transparency despite a report from one of the world’s largest institutional investment advisers on shareholder resolutions supporting this transparency. Since 2015, Boeing shareholders proposed mandates on lobbying disclosures. Existing law does not mandate companies reveal the source of their lobbying.

Joining the Boeing board in 2020, Haley sat on the audit committee that oversaw the company’s risk management along with compliance with laws and company policy. Boeing’s subcontractor, including the one manufacturing the door plug recently falling off the Boeing 737 Max 9, also significantly donated to lawmakers and lobbyists. Before Haley joined the board, she helped Boeing break a union drive at a South Carolina plant.  

Three white Christian Nationalists on CrossTalk, an online program, promoted beating up children of gay parents and endorsed school children as moral referees to safeguard Christian values on the playground. Children with lisps “need to go back into the closet,” according to the trio. Right-wing conspiracy theorists Edward Szall and Lauren Witzke were joined by antisemitic and self-declared fascist Vincent James, treasurer for white nationalist Nick Fuentes’ America First organization.

The U.S and UK have launched strikes against Yemen’s Houthis for their 27 attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea although U.S. officials have continually said President Joe Biden didn’t want Israel’s war in Gaza to cause a wider conflict in the Middle East. Iran-aligned Houthis control large parts of Yemen including the western coast overlooking the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which leads to the Red Sea. Shortly after the Israeli war began on October 7, the Houthis began firing missiles at Israel and attacking the ships. About 12 percent of global oil trade transits through the Red Sea, eight percent of grain and liquified natural gas, and other commodities were shipped through the red sea as over 2,000 ships diverted their course to avoid the Red Sea, causing delays in international shipping for consumers. Containers through the Red Sea fell by 60 percent last month and global trade by 1.3 percent in December.

In December, the U.S. led a coalition of UK, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands to counter the Houthi attacks, sinking three Houthi boats and killing ten fighters. Since the Israeli war began, Biden has given Isael military support with no restrictions for their use. The U.S. also blocks UN resolutions urging a ceasefire and refused a case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide.

On Friday, a U.S. airstrike targeted a Houthi radar site in direct response to the launch earlier of an anti-ship fired at a ship in the Gulf of Aden. Iran said the attack will not go unchallenged, indicating continued Houthis’ strikes, and has fed the Houthis with intelligence about shipping movements in the Red Sea along with providing weapons for the attacks. Costing millions of dollars, ships typically using the Suez Canal will need to change their route around the Cape of Good Hope on the southern tip of Africa.

House GOP Closes in on Government Shutdown

January 10 was the fifth—and last—GOP presidential candidate for 2024. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley looked like two high school students fighting to win class president. Nothing happened to shake up the second to Deposed Donald Trump (DDT) for the position although Chris Christie’s dropping out of the race may change Nikki Haley’s position—slightly.

The current question is how long Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson will lead the House. Wednesday he met with far-right extremists in a closed session with his caucus after they began to turn on him. On Thursday, they pushed him to drop out of the topline spending deal with bipartisan senators. Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) summarized the situation as “nasty.” One bipartisan plan for a tax deal is to continue the 2017 business deductions in exchange for a larger child tax credit.

Hardliner GOP House members are also enraged about Judge Arthur Engoron’s refusal to permit DDT his chance to deliver the closing argument in the business fraud civil fraud trial about the amount he must pay–$370 million according to New York AG Letitia James. DDT has been ranting against the judge who was then “swatted” with a false call for police to go to his home and then received a bomb threat at 5:30 am on the morning of the closing arguments. Another DDT failure was delaying the trial for three weeks with the excuse of his mother-in-law’s death. The death didn’t affect DDT’s campaign plans: he spoke with Fox’s Sean Hannity for a town hall on Wednesday evening and plans two campaign events this coming weekend.

Hardliner Republicans claim another meeting with Johnson was about an alternative spending plant, but Johnson described the session as a “thoughtful conversation about funding options and priorities. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) warned against the GOP reneging on Johnson’s deal:

“There is nothing more to discuss. To the extent that House Republicans back away from an agreement that was just announced a few days ago, it will make clear that House Republicans are determined to shut down the government, crash the economy and hurt the American people.” 

Senate Republicans, specifically Whip John Thune (SD) and Shelly Moore Capito (WV), expressed surprise about the talks. Pragmatist Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is preparing another short-term continuing resolution to prevent a partial government shutdown on January 19 as well as moving forward on the current agreement with Johnson. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said Johnson’s meeting was largely about the kind of stopgap which House Republicans could support.

Another House Republican is in danger. Last year, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) filed a resolution to impeach VP Kamala Harris “for high crimes and misdemeanors.” A complaint filed against him is similar to the alleged campaign fraud that led to former Rep. George Santos’ (R-NY) expulsion. Ogles’ financial disclosure statements doesn’t include the $320,000 he personally loaned to his campaign committee in April 2022 nor the $700,000 line of credit, opened in September 2022. This $1+ million of discrepancies is sufficient for the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate a violation of ethics and House rules.

Ogles also lied to win his seat in 2022, including now missing $25,000 donations for a burial garden for infants that never came to fruition. He complained about burdensome government regulations and called himself a victim.  

Like former Rep. George Santos (R-NY), Ogles elaborately inflated his résumé. No evidence exists in his being an “economist,” having been a law enforcement officer combating international sex trafficking, and running a consulting firm. He also lied about graduating from Vanderbilt’s business school. Ogles called himself as a “nationally recognized expert on tax policy and health care,” but he only wrote a few op-eds while an Americans for Prosperity lobbyist. The “economist” got a C in the one economics course he took—at a community college. Ogles entered college in 1990 and got a degree in liberal studies in 2007.  An examination of his work details doesn’t list most of the businesses he includes.

In early 2023, Ogles failed to meet his campaign finance reporting deadline by over a week, and his ultimate filing showed he greatly exaggerated his fundraising prowess early in his race. His treasurer was also the sole funder of a super PAC, raising questions about illegal coordination with Ogles’ campaign. He complained that ads reporting his problems came from a “billionaire in Oregon” who didn’t have anything to do with Tennessee. The “billionaire” is Oracle chair and DDT supporter Larry Ellison building a $1.2 billion campus in Nashville projected to create 8,500 jobs.

While House hardliner Republicans support Russian in its invasion of Ukraine, Senate Minority Mitch McConnell (R-KY) warned them that the state of the world is crisis, “in case anybody has forgotten.” He said that the “world is literally at war… This is the most serious international situation we have faced since the Berlin Wall came down” over three decades ago in 1989. Russia isn’t the only crisis area, according to McConnell:

“We’ve got wars that we’re all familiar with. In the Middle East, and in Europe. Iran’s proxies in Gaza, Lebanon, and Yemen attacking Israel. The Houthis actually attacking us, directly, in addition to shutting down where they can commerce in the Red Sea. Iranian proxies attacking us—our soldiers in Iraq and Syria… China of course watching all of this, concerned about next year’s election in Taiwan.”

McConnell’s statements were to impress on the Republicans for the “need to pass a supplemental [funding legislation].”

Congress faces three choices in January—agreeing on 12 appropriations bills during the month, a government shutdown, and a another continuing resolution for last year’s budget. The last alternative would force automatic cuts, including on the military, on April 30. Nondefense budgets would go from $777 billion to $736 billion; the military would lose $10 billion from its $860 billion.

Johnson has already shown his inadequacy as a leader, and upcoming events will continue to prove his failures. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) wants an addition to a funding bill: “suspend the processing and release of new migrants.” If Johnson can’t pass its deals by February, hundreds of thousands of federal workers will be laid off with losses in everything from mail delivery to food inspection. Johnson’s approach is similar to that in 2018-2019 when lack of funding for DDT’s wall shut down the government for 34 days. Ultimately, DDT restored funding without wall funding.

On CBS Face the Nation, Johnson also claimed that House Republicans’ impeachment hearings about DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas were caused by his “dereliction of duty… done intentionally” in the border handling and his repeated lies under oath. Asked what lies, Johnson said he testified that the border was closed and secure. Margaret Brennan said the statement was a semantic argument, but Johnson called it an “objective fact.”

Johnson has also lost Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), former surrogate speaker for Kevin McCarthy (CA) who said he always had her back. McCarthy is gone, and Greene is threatening to oust Johnson because he negotiated with Democrats to fund the government. On Steve Bannon’s podcast, she said she “absolutely had it” with the speaker and told him that Republicans refused to shut down the government because they were “embarrassed.” According to Greene  “regular Americans could care less … if it shuts down.”

“They want the government to get out of their lives,” Green continued, ignoring their need for Medicare, Social Security, etc. She told Bannon:

[Note: The usually toothless Federal Election Commission (FEC) fined Greene $12,000 for alleged illegal PAC by “soliciting non-federal” funds for reposting an advertisement in which she appeared on her official Greene for Congress social media accounts. The ad raised money to oppose the elections of Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in 2021.]

Justice Clarence Thomas has another reason for recusing himself from cases tied to DDT’s court issues. Newly obtained documents show that North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, a far-right MAGA Republican and election denier, had private ties with Thomas’ wife, Ginni Thomas, to overturn the 2020 presidential election in favor of DDT. Robinson met with Ginni weeks after the January 6 insurrection when he spoke with her and her group Frontliners for Liberty for far-right activists working to keep DDT in the White House. He continues to downplay the insurrection, calling it “this minor little thing.”

Last year, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) bitterly ranted that he wanted his colleagues to “explain to me one material, meaningful, significant thing the Republican majority has done.” The GOP had made history last year—multiple ballots not once, but twice, in one year to elect two different Speakers, and passing almost all laws. This year, Roy is part of the obstructionist group refusing to pass bills. But he can cheer about one “material” thing that they have accomplished—pins. They chose a new design for their congressional lapel pins which have been delivered—only a year late. At least they’re good for one year.

The Grand Ousting Party Returns

Update: Deposed Donald Trump (DDT) will not give the closing argument in his civil fraud case refusing Judge Arthur’s Engoron order describing off-limit topics. Engoron had said that DDT, like any lawyer, would be limited to the facts of the case and relevant law while being barred from attacking the judge, his staff members of New York’s AG Letitia James.

Another Update: DDT said that Nikki Haley wasn’t eligible for the presidency because her parents weren’t born in the U.S. His own mother was born in Scotland.

Congress is back after three weeks, and House sessions are fraught with GOP anger and hostility because of by Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) bipartisan agreement to establish the budget’s topline. Thirteen right-wing Republicans openly criticized Johnson and blocked a procedural vote on three non-funding bills, 203-216. The extremists had used the same punishment last summer on former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) before they decided to oust him from his position.

The frozen bills in the procedural vote are two resolutions disapproving rules from the National Labor Relations Board and Federal Highway Administration and another bill about government payments into settlement agreements. In a closed-door conference meeting, Johnson explained and defended the agreement he negotiated with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, but the angry far-right Republicans rejected his reasons.

Actions angering far-right Republicans:

• The bipartisan deal on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) omitting radical priorities.
• The handling of former Rep. George Santos’ (R-NY) expulsion.
• Johnson’s support of a temporary spending measure preventing a government shutdown.
• And, of course, the bipartisan agreement on the budget’s topline amount.

All these since early November with the House gone for about half the time.

With only six working days before a government shutdown, House Republicans are concentrating on a “governance” of ousting, primarily through impeachments. Threats to impeach two more members of the Biden administration bring the total in the GOP House to seven elected and appointed federal government officials: President Joe Biden, VP Kamala Harris, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves.

On Monday, Oversight Committee Chair Jim Comer threated to impeach DOJ AG Merrick Garland if he didn’t arrest and bring criminal charges against Hunter Biden for contempt of Congress. Comer is still angry because Hunter refused to testify in private.

Last year, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) last year filed a resolution to impeach Garland “for facilitating the weaponization and politicization of the United States justice system against the American people.” She also filed resolutions to impeach “Christopher Asher Wray, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for facilitating the development of a Federal police force to intimidate, harass, and entrap American citizens that are deemed enemies of the Biden regime” and to impeach “Matthew M. Graves, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, for endangering, compromising, and undermining the justice system of the United States by facilitating the explosion of violent crime in the Nation’s capital.”

On Tuesday, Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) announced his plan for an impeachment resolution against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for not telling Congress he was hospitalized as well as withdrawing from Afghanistan in 2021 and the Chinese spy balloon that flew over the U.S. in 2023. Rosendale’s idea of “high crimes and misdemeanors” is that not telling Congress about the hospitalization “violated his oath of office.” The next day, Rosendale accused Biden’s administration of a “shadow government” led by former President Barack Obama in charge of the White House.

On Wednesday, House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) began the hearings to impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Conservative Republicans with legal knowledge are opposed to these evidence-free impeachments. Law professor Jonathan Turley, a GOP witness in congressional hearings, wrote an op-ed for The Daily Beast that Mayorkas may have failed at his job and people may disagree with his policies but no evidence for an impeachable offense exists. He added that Impeaching someone over policy differences, incompetence or poor judgment would be a “slippery slope” and go against the founders’ wishes.

Twenty-five bipartisan legal scholars wrote to Johnson and Green, stating:

“When the Framers designed the Constitution’s impeachment provisions, they made a conscious choice not to allow impeachment for mere ‘maladministration’—in other words, for incompetence, poor judgment, or bad policy. Instead, they provided that impeachment could be justified only by truly extraordinary misconduct: ‘Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.’”

Mayorkas heads up the third largest agency cobbled together from 22 entities to strengthen national security after the 9/11 attack. Congress has failed to create any immigration reforms since the mid-1990s, and DDT’s policies worsened the problems. Title 42, implemented in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, continued until May 11, 2023. DDT used used an obscure public health authority to turn away migrants, including asylum seekers, and securing the border for three years. When Biden discontinued the executive order, he restricted asylum eligibility for asylum seekers who travel through other countries to the U.S. and sped up deportations.

Realizing the possibility of chaos when the rule was repealed, Mayorkas asked for a temporary deployment of 1,500 active-duty troops on the southern border for support and issued warnings about removing people who illegally crossed the border. Republicans turned him down and refused to fund personnel to block migrants coming into the U.S., declaring that money will not do any good. The GOP will spend money to build a wall, but 90 percent of the heroin seized, 88 percent of cocaine, 87 percent of the methamphetamine, and 80 percent of the fentanyl smuggled into the United States comes into this country through legal crossing points. In December, the U.S. Coast Guard seized a submarine carrying nine tons of cocaine with a street value of $239 million—not anything stopped by a wall. Republicans also lie about increased crime from undocumented immigrants that doesn’t exist.

Despite GOP accusations that Mayorkas is not building the wall, he waived over two dozen federal laws in October for border barriers’ construction in the Texas Rio Grande Valley. He said that he was obligated by law to continue the wall with congressional funding from 2019.

The biggest excitement of Wednesday, however, was in the Oversight Committee hearing to hold Hunter Biden in contempt for refusing to give testimony in private after receiving a subpoena. The meeting devolved into a shouting match when Hunter appeared for about 30 minutes. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) declared that he “had no balls.” (In an earlier hearing, Greene displayed a nude photo of Hunter, showing Mace was wrong.) Mace also said he “should be hauled off to jail right now.”

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) reminded Comer that he repeatedly “said the witness can choose whether to come to a deposition or to a public hearing in front of the committee. The witness accepted the chairman’s invitation. It just so happens the witness is here. If the committee wants to hear from the witness, and the chairman gave the witness that option, then the only folks that are afraid to hear from the witness—with the American people watching—are my friends on the other side of the aisle.” Moskowitz then called for a vote about whether “to hear from Hunter right now.” He was allowed to briefly question Hunter who left the hearing when Greene started talking.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) told Comer it was understandable that Hunter wanted to testify in public because Comer included members at the hearing who placed falsified evidence in the record, submitted uncharacterized closed-door hearings, and engaged in revenge porn. She added specifics of her accusations.

Most of the morning was occupied with questions from Democrats about why Hunter couldn’t testify in public and from Republicans explaining why they didn’t have to comply with subpoenas that were upheld in court. Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) answered both of these concerns. Because Democrats selectively released information from closed-door hearings, Hunter should be permitted only a closed-door hearing, and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) will “reap what he sows” by insisting that Republicans obey subpoenas. Three of the Republican committee members—Andy Biggs, Jim Jordan, and Scott Perry—had refused to comply with subpoenas from the House January 6 investigative subcommittee.

Republicans on both the Oversight and Judiciary committees voted to send a resolution recommending Hunter be held in contempt to the full house for a vote, possibly this coming week. Republicans need a near unanimous decision because they have only a two-vote majority. If they are successful, the resolution goes to the DOJ which will determine whether to charge Hunter. Only two of ten people charged with contempt since 2008 have faced federal charges.

Thus far, the Oversight Committee has failed to get any evidence from any witnesses who testified. The most recent, owner of the art gallery exhibiting Hunter’s work Georges Bergès, said that Hunter knew who bought his work only from the media and or seeing it in someone’s house. Bergès also testified that he had no communications at all with the White House and “had no evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden,” according to Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD). In August, Hunter’s business associate, Devon Archer, debunked all the GOP allegations against Joe Biden.

DDT Wants ‘Absolute Immunity’ for His Crimes

Republicans have tried to make Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization the biggest issue of January 9, but they lost out to the hearing about immunity for Deposed Donald Trump (DDT) because he was elected president in 2016. A three-judge panel of the Washington, D.C. Circuit Court questioned DDT’s lawyers about how and why he should have absolute immunity for anything he did while in the White House and since then. The decision will determine whether DDT is immune for his obstruction of justice when he tried to block the counting of the electoral votes on January 6, 2021, because he was still in the White House at the time.

The most memorable answers from the lawyers are the attorneys’ statements that presidents could not be prosecuted for orders to kill a rival or anyone else or for selling pardons and nuclear secrets. They also tried to use the double jeopardy argument making him immune because he had not been found guilty in an impeachment trial. According to their argument, a president can be prosecuted only if he has been impeached and convicted. A judge asked:

“I understand your position to be that a president is immune from criminal prosecution for any official act that he takes as president even if that action is taken for an unlawful or unconstitutional purpose, is that correct?”

The lawyer responded that prosecution was allowed only after the Senate convicted the president in impeachment. She again asked the question for a “yes or no” answer, and the lawyer repeated his former answer. According to Pearce, founding father Alexander Hamilton, cited by DDT’s lawyers, stated that a former president can be criminally prosecuted. Later, James Pearce, who argued the case for the U.S. government, said the lawyer’s comments portended “an extraordinarily frightening future” because the belief puts presidents outside and above the law.

DDT’s lawyers have reversed their position since his impeachment and his case Trump v. Vance when he tried to keep his tax returns from Manhattan DA Cy Vance. For both those cases, DDT’s legal team argued he could be criminally prosecuted after he left the White House. The lawyer finally admitted that was the case, but those arguments are not “res judicata,” binding on DDT in the current case. Pearce pointed out that some Republicans said they voted against conviction in the impeachment because they expected the DOJ to investigate and determine any charges against DDT.

A judge turned the argument about impeachment conviction allowing prosecution against the lawyer. She said:

“So, therefore, he’s not completely immune, because you concede he can be prosecuted under certain circumstances. Isn’t that also a concession a president can be prosecuted for an official act, because they can be impeached for an official act?”

She added:

“All of your other arguments seem to fall away … if you concede a president can be prosecuted under some circumstances.”

The judges also asked whether DDT’s attempts to overturn the election were part of his presidential duties and whether their court should make that decision. The lawyer claimed that DDT’s actions, such as meetings with congressional members and the DOJ about a stolen election, were his presidential responsibilities. In addition, DDT’s social media posts encouraging people to be at the Capitol on January 6 were an official presidential communication channel, making his tweets also immune. A judge appointed by George H.W. Bush was again skeptical and retorted:

“I think it’s paradoxical to say that his constitutional duty to take care [that] the laws be faithfully executed allows him to violate federal laws.”

In another exchange between DDT’s legal team and the judges, a lawyer said he assumed the future would not be full of vindictive “tit-for-tat prosecutions.” DDT has repeatedly promised retaliation when he coopts the DOJ. The day before the hearing, DDT suggested he would have Biden indicted.  

In a delay argument, DDT’s lawyer concluded the hearing by asking the judges to “stay the mandate” so he could “seek further review” if he loses.

DDT complained about being forced to leave the campaign trail in Iowa to attend the hearing, but he was not required to be present. Defendants typically don’t attend their hearings. DDT did use the hearing to advertise a calendar, supposedly free for a donation of $47, listing the important parts of his time in the White House. Missing, however, is the insurrection on January 6, 2021.

DDT finished the day by refusing to answer reporters’ questions about whether he would tell his supporters to not engage in violence. Four days earlier, President Joe Biden had told his audience that DDT wouldn’t condemn violence.  

“Trump won’t do what an American president must do. He refuses to denounce political violence. So hear me clearly. I’ll say what Donald Trump won’t. Political violence is never, ever acceptable in the United States political system. Never, never, never. It has no place in a democracy. None.”

A reporter asked DDT, “Will you tell your supporters now, no matter what, no violence?” DDT walked away.

DDT’s unconstitutional plans for retaliation against critics and opponents have been well publicized. He has listed these enemies to his advisers and friends, wanting the DOJ to investigate them, among them former chief of staff John Kelly, former AG Bill Barr, former attorney Ty Cobb, and former Joint Chiefs of Staff chair Gen. Mark A. Milley. Publicly, DDT has said he will appoint a special prosecutor to “go after” Biden and his family.

Associates are drafting plans to eliminate policies shielding criminal prosecutions based on political considerations. A partnership of right-wing think tanks in Washington is preparing “Project 2025,” including executive orders, that will deploy the military domestically under the 1871 Insurrection Act. Another scheme removes the independence from the DOJ under the claim that it is not based in law or the Constitution. Former budget director Russ Vought, in charge of this plot, said:

“You don’t need a statutory change at all, you need a mind-set change. You need an attorney general and a White House Counsel’s Office that don’t view themselves as trying to protect the department from the president.”

Jeffrey Clark, part of Vought’s think tank, leads the work on the Insurrection Act under Project 2025. He is one of six unnamed co-conspirators described in DDT’s indictment in the federal election interference case. Clark is also DDT’s co-defendant in Fulton County’s (GA) RICO case for pressuring superiors at the DOJ to investigate evidence-free election crimes and organize fake electors in 2020 swing states.

DDT has found another victim for his “birther” conspiracy theory. Beginning with the accusation that Barack Obama wasn’t born in the U.S. and therefore ineligible to be president, he moved on to the same charge against presidential opponent Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). Now he’s telling the same lie about Nikki Haley, another presidential opponent who is surging in the polls. His falsehood will be almost immediately debunked, but the DDT’s statement will point out that Haley is the daughter of immigrants.

Thursday, DDT plans another appearance, this one giving a closing argument at the New York civil trial determining the amount of damages for his business fraud. Defendants representing themselves in the closing argument is highly unusual, and DDT isn’t a lawyer. The purpose will be to persuade Judge Arthur Engoron of his innocence in the fraud by vastly increasing his assets’ value for more beneficial loans. To determine the financial cost to DDT, Engoron will weigh claims of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records. He hopes to have a verdict by the end of this month.

Insurrection, Other Wars

January 6 was the third anniversary—some say remembrance—of the insurrection. About 140 officers were injured, four people died during the riot, and three other police officers died afterwards. Republicans, including Deposed Donald Trump (DDT), have convinced 25 percent of the U.S. population that the FBI was responsible for the travesty despite evidence that DDT and his MAGA supporters were behind the insurrection. Robert Reich presents five “basic truths” about the ongoing coup:

• January 6, 2021 topped the two months after the 2020 election while DDT illegally tried to stay in the White House.
• Failing, DDT incited the attack at the Capitol, calling on his followers to riot.
• DDT continues to lead his attempted coup.
• No one has held DDT accountable for his actions.
• DDT keeps a manipulative control over the GOP.

And DDT promises to consider full pardons for the 1,200+ charged insurrectists with almost 900 convicted, even Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader, who was given 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat writes:

“Trump has pulled off a double coup. Working in a democracy, with a pluralistic media environment, he got tens of millions of Americans to ‘forget’ a fact that even Fox News accepted on election night —that Trump lost the 2020 election—and embrace an alternate reality (the stolen election) that spurred civilians to take up arms on his behalf. 

“Three years later, over 1,200 individuals have been arrested for participation in the insurrection and Trump and his co-conspirators have been indicted for trying to overthrow the government. Yet 1 in 4 Americans believe that the FBI ‘probably’ or ‘definitely’ instigated the coup attempt….

“Think about the moral abyss of those GOP politicians who pledge to support Trump even if he is convicted for acts that jeopardized their safety. No one excels at this game of self-humiliation more than former VP Mike Pence, whose public support for a man who tried to have him killed that day reminds me of the behaviors of the frightened subalterns who live in authoritarian regimes or work in organized crime (two worlds that overlap considerably).”

Ben-Ghiat writes about cowards like Rep. Troy Nehl (R-TX), Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Pence who displayed fear on January 6, 2021, and now “refuse to speak the truth about who Trump is for fear of what he might do to them, their families, and their careers.

“Like all authoritarians, Trump needs his enablers to have no limits on what they will do to protect him; he asks them, ultimately, to betray themselves, and accept their fates of being put into danger if that is necessary for the Leader’s safety. And now Trump asks them to publicly deny an experience that, for many, was likely traumatic for them and their families. ‘You are nothing and I am everything’ is the strongman’s mantra, and it is the essence of the memory politics developing around Jan. 6.”

Cowards such as Elise Stefanik (R-NY), chair of the House Republican Conference, promote their belief that violent insurrectionists invading the Capitol on January 6, 2021, are innocent “hostages,” a claim that Elise Stefanik (R-NY), chair of the House Republican Conference. On NBC’s Meet the Press., host Kristen Welker played Stefanik’s quote from the evening of the insurrection that “violence in any form is absolutely unacceptable …, anti-American and must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” Stefanik lambasted Welker for NBC’s bias in not playing the entire quotation and complained about the “weaponization of the federal government … against conservatives.”

Stefanik won’t commit to certifying the 2024 election, waiting to see if it is “legal and valid.” She said she didn’t certify the 2020 Pennsylvania results because of “unconstitutional acts circumventing the state legislature.” In addition, Stefanik accused Democrats of trying to remove DDT from the ballot although four Colorado Supreme Court justices voted to omit his name from the state ballot. “The American people” should made the decision, she asserted, despite constitutional qualifications for presidential candidates. Stefanik is viewed as a possible vice-presidential candidate.

Like Stefanik, Pence wants the people to decide. He refuses to accept the attacks on the Capitol on January 6 as an insurrection, saying that attempts to remove DDT’s name from the 2024 ballot are “antithetical” to democracy. When a presidential candidate, Pence denounced DDT’s actions on January 6.

Breaking News: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson (R-LA) have supposedly reached a topline spending deal for the 2024 budget: an overall spending level of $1.66 trillion, as agreed on last spring in the debt ceiling law, with $866.3 billion for the military and $772.7 billion for the domestic discretionary spending. Military funding receives $6.1 billion in unused Covid funding and $10 billion in IRS funds from the Inflation Reduction Act. Freedom Caucus member Chip Roy (R-TX) called the deal “s—t.”

Last spring’s agreement made between President Joe Biden and then Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) limited discretionary spending to the same amount, one percent growth plus an additional $69 billion for 2024 and 2025, some of that funding from repurposing existing funds.

Hezbollah is attacking Israel across the border, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering a full-blown war in Lebanon to protect his political future. Intelligence assessment predicts Israel’s military assets and resources will be spread too thin. Hezbollah has well-trained fighters and tens of thousands of missiles and rockets; an attack on them could pull in Iran’s support for Lebanon. The result could be 300,000 to 500,000 casualties in Lebanon and “a massive evacuation of all of northern Israel,” according to Bilal Saab, a Lebanon expert at the Middle East Institute, a Washington think tank. The Biden administration increased criticism of Israel after its shootouts against Hezbollah on the border and hits on the U.S.-funded and trained Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), opposition to Hezbollah, over 34 times since October 7. Last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to the Middle East for the fourth time since Israel started its war against Gaza.

Highlights about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine:

Within the past week, Russia began firing North Korea-provided ballistic missiles into Ukraine. North Korea may also be looking for fighter aircraft, surface to air missiles, and other advanced technology in upgrades for its own military capabilities. Ramping up its winter offensive, Russia fired about 500 missiles and drones from December 29 to January 2, killing dozens of Ukrainian civilians and injuring hundreds more.

On New Year’s Eve, Ukraine struck the Donbas Palace” hotel in Donetsk six times, killing a military commander and a “journalist.” The occupiers’ “elite” hosted guests from Moscow for a special dinner.

Another Russian politician recently died from a mystery “fall from a window,” a member of the ruling Tsar’s “United Russia” party who was forced out of city administration in 2016 after a corruption scandal. In early December, the former commander of Russia’s 6th Air Force and Air Defense Forces Army who once criticized Putin’s Air Force as “third-rate,” and his wife were found dead in bed. State media reports no signs of foul play, no violence, and no toxic substances in their blood. In October, Russians were reported executing their own soldiers who mutinied.   Running out of men as cannon fodder, Russia is recruiting women.

Russia has lost 315,000 military members, 87 percent of its starting army of 360,000. Also lost are 2,200 of 3,500 tanks, forcing Russia to use Soviet-era equipment. Ukraine regained half the land that Russia took in the February 2022 invasion, forced Russian warships out of Ukrainian territorial waters, and created export corridors moving Ukrainian grain to needy countries. Over 200 ships have taken seven million tons of cargo out of Ukraine, helping the economy which is growing at a five percent rate which relieves the nation from future foreign aid.

Ukrainians also forced the Russian fleet to retreat from the Crimean headquarters, Sevastopol, in the Black Sea. Russian President Vladimir Putin had taken pride in his 2014 annexation of the Ukrainian land and a large naval fleet whereas Ukraine has none. Russia can no longer launch cruise missiles from ships in Sevastopol and the western Black Sea. The victories were accomplished with the use of drones and missiles along with “really good intelligence inside the Russian military,” according to Matthew Schmidt, associate professor of national security and political science at the University of New Haven.

In late December, Ukraine claimed it destroyed a Russian Navy tank landing, the third major loss in less than a week. On Christmas Eve, the Ukraine also destroyed an Su-24 fighter jet in the eastern Donetsk region and an Su-30SM fighter jet over the Black Sea before downing three Russian Su-34 warplanes a few days later. One of the newest Russian aircraft, Su-34 jets, each costing at least $50 million, carry out aerial bomb and missile strikes.

Fiona Hill, senior director for European and Russian affairs on DDT’s National Security Council staff, said that a Putin win in Ukraine would dimmish the U.S. standing in the world, strengthen North Korea, allow China to dominate the Indo-Pacific, make the Middle East more unstable, and proliferate nuclear weapons. She added:

“Ukraine has become a battlefield now for America and America’s own future—whether we see it or not—for our own defensive posture and preparedness, for our reputation and our leadership. For Putin, Ukraine is a proxy war against the United States, to remove the United States from the world stage.”

Russian media outlets laud Republicans refusing Ukrainian assistance as Russian assets.