Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Good morning, and welcome to RedState's "Morning Minute" — a brief glimpse at which stories are trending at the moment and a look ahead at what the day may bring. Consider this your one-stop shop for news to kickstart your day.
TOP O' THE MORNIN'
Red-Hot at RedState
Absolutely Wild Details About How Democrats Covered Up Biden's Decline Reveal a Historic Scandal
While these tell-all books are nice to finally see, I can't quite shake the frustration that no one will ultimately be held accountable for any of this.
Watch: Cory ‘Spartacus’ Booker Holds a Fake Hours-Long Anti-Trump Filibuster and ‘Nobody Cares’
As of this posting, Booker is still speaking, mostly to Murphy, who appears to be the only one in the chamber with him.
SpaceX’s Fram2 Launch: A Vertical Trip to the Poles
Fram2 is more than a mission; it’s a symbol of what’s possible when innovation is unshackled from bureaucratic red tape.
Trending Across Townhall Media
Carjacking Crime Spree Ended by Armed Citizen
Hopefully the Hardeeville police will provide some additional information at some point in the near future, even if it's just to confirm that the armed citizen won't be facing prosecution for acting in self-defense.
What the DOGErs Keep Finding at Social Security Explains the Progressive Spasms
The DOGErs still have to separate the wheat from the chaff, but no one in their right mind thinks that LEGAL immigration shot up to more than DOUBLE in a SINGLE YEAR to goose those Social Security numbers.
There's Something Very Suspicious Going on With Those Tesla Protests
Do you know why the Tea Party had to be squelched out of existence by the Obama IRS and the RINO establishment? Because it was a genuinely grassroots movement against government overreach.
The Atlantic Got Caught Lying Again. This Time on a Deportation Fake News Sob Story.
The media remains laughably inept at trying to tear down this administration. They’ve been attempting for nearly a decade and can’t get Trump, who will always beat them.
Toddler Tantrum: WHCA Mulled Staging a Sit-In to Protest New Seating Chart in White House Press Room
The WHCA has been stripped of power it never should have had in the first place.
WHAT'S ON TAP?
Today on Capitol Hill...
Hearings and meetings and such are back in full swing on the Hill today, and there are several that promise to be intriguing, not least of which is the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing regarding the Censorship-Industrial Complex, which features independent journalist Matt Taibbi (referenced in my Morning Musing, coincidentally) and none other than Scary Poppins herself, Nina Jankowicz. Other hearings of note include:
- Senate Armed Services — Hearings to examine the nomination of Lieutenant General John D. Caine (Retired), to be general and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Department of Defense
- House Homeland Security, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee — “Cybersecurity is Local, Too: Assessing the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program”
- House Judiciary, Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee — “Judicial Overreach and Constitutional Limits on the Federal Courts”
- House Oversight and Government Reform, Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee — “America’s AI Moonshot: The Economics of AI, Data Centers, and Power Consumption”
- Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry — Hearings to examine S.222, to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to allow schools that participate in the school lunch program to serve whole milk
White House What's Up
President Donald Trump is set to have lunch today with Vice President JD Vance. After that, he'll sign executive orders. First Lady Melania will deliver remarks at the 19th International Women of Courage Awards Ceremony at the State Department at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. And Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt will host a briefing at noon.
Keeping Up With the Cabinet
Sec. State - Marco Rubio — Rubio announced "visa restrictions against Chinese officials who have engaged in systematic efforts to restrict access to Tibetan areas."
Sec. Treasury - Scott Bessent — Bessent announced "new sanctions against financiers of the criminal Sinaloa drug cartel, which has flooded our borders with fentanyl and senselessly murdered innocent American citizens."
Sec. Defense - Pete Hegseth — Hegseth ordered "the military services to require everyone who serves in a combat specialty to meet the same physical fitness standard."
Attorney General - Pam Bondi — Bondi promised swift justice for those participating in domestic terrorism.
Sec. Interior - Doug Burgum — Burgum has directed the National Park Service to implement President Trump's "executive order Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful. The order will effectively protect D.C.'s historic monuments, improve our federal parks, and assist local law enforcement in their efforts to address public safety concerns in our nation's capital."
Sec. Agriculture - Brooke Rollins — Rollins paid a visit to Iowa on Monday.
Sec. Housing & Urban Development - Scott Turner — Turner announced that the new HUD website is up and running.
Sec. Transportation - Sean Duffy — Duffy affirmed that DOT is "going to review California’s high-speed rail project. It’s years behind schedule, wasted billions of taxpayer dollars, and zero high-speed track has been laid."
Sec. Energy - Chris Wright — Wright continues to tout the benefits of liquified natural gas.
Sec. Education - Linda McMahon — McMahon affirmed the Trump administration means business when it comes to tackling antisemitism and is reviewing Harvard's $9 billion in federal funding.
Sec. Veterans Affairs - Doug Collins — Collins highlighted CNN's "fake news" issues.
Sec. Homeland Security - Kristi Noem — Noem sat for an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier and discussed how DHS is working with DOGE to bring real accountability.
Admin. Environmental Protection Agency - Lee Zeldin — Zeldin announced the closure of the EPA museum — a "one-room, $4M Biden EPA shrine to climate change and environmental justice."
Admin. Small Business Association - Kelly Loeffler — Loeffler stopped by the SBA's Disaster Field Operations Center in Atlanta on Monday.
Dir. Central Intelligence Agency - John Ratcliffe — The CIA received a visit on Monday from Elon Musk to discuss DOGE at the agency.
Dir. Federal Bureau of Investigations - Kash Patel — Patel highlighted the FBI's recent successes.
Dir. National Intelligence - Tulsi Gabbard — Gabbard touted the Trump administration's successes at reducing illegal border crossings significantly.
U.S. Trade Rep. - Jamieson Greer — The USTR submitted the 2025 National Trade Estimate (NTE) to President Trump and Congress, highlighting the administration’s efforts to eliminate unfair trade practices.
Full Court Press...
The Supreme Court is back in action Tuesday, hearing oral arguments in the consolidated cases of Fuld v. PLO and United States v. PLO on the question of whether the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act (PSJVTA) violates the Fifth Amendment.
The other big court news today, of course, is that it's Election Day in Wisconsin, and the Supreme Court race is mission-critical.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
We'll have live election results for the Wisconsin Supreme Court race and the Florida special election for the 1st and 6th Congressional Districts.
MORNING MUSING
As noted above, Matt Taibbi is testifying today before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee. His and Walter Kirn's "America This Week" podcast is one I listen to religiously — and they've added a Monday night live stream to their catalog now. Last night's offered a full dissection of the 13,000-word Adam Entous novella run by The New York Times over the weekend titled "The Secret History of the War in Ukraine." The article itself is quite a piece of work. I'm not sure I even know how to begin to describe it. Except that if you were ever in doubt that the legacy media — and the Times in particular — are narrative-shaping storytellers rather than "news" purveyors, you no longer will be. The ATW live stream is a lengthy listen (just over two hours) but well worth the time investment. The article, which they skewer in spectacular fashion, features a cast of familiar characters, including General Mark Milley and Lt. General Christopher Donahue (remember him?!). And they never even got to the kicker at the end, with former SecDef Lloyd Austin playing the role of Iron Eyes Cody as he ruefully bid his Ukrainian counterparts adieu:
With the doors closed to the press and public, Mr. Austin’s counterparts hailed him as the “godfather” and “architect” of the partnership that, for all its broken trust and betrayals, had sustained the Ukrainians’ defiance and hope, begun in earnest on that spring day in 2022 when Generals Donahue and Zabrodskyi first met in Wiesbaden.
Mr. Austin is a solid and stoic block of a man, but as he returned the compliments, his voice caught.
“Instead of saying farewell, let me say thank you,” he said, blinking back tears. And then added: “I wish you all success, courage and resolve. Ladies and gentlemen, carry on.”
As noted in the tweet below, I can't recommend it enough. Do yourself a favor and watch/listen to it when you can.
Listen. I can't recommend this episode enough. Just...be prepared to lose your innocence (if you were still clinging to any).
— Susie Moore ⚾️🌻🐶 (@SmoosieQ) April 1, 2025
America This Week Live on Monday Night 3/31/25 https://t.co/htNhh3egiB via @YouTube
LIGHTER FARE
Just a baby!
— Puppies 🐶 (@PuppiesIover) March 30, 2025
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