Friday, April 18, 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
Transportation Secretary Duffy Delivers a Reality Check to Blue Origin Lady 'Astronauts'
Did it really advance womankind to send this bunch in their form-fitting outfits and no actual duties into space for what is arguably no more than a vanity project?
4D Chess: Bukele Lets Van Hollen Meet With Abrego Garcia for Damning Pics That Blow Up Dem Narrative
He gave Van Hollen the photo op that would come back to bite him: sitting, having drinks with Abrego Garcia.
[T]he prank is pretty original, I gotta admit. I mean who doesn’t want to hear Jeff Bezos warn about taxes on the rich while they're waiting for the light to change?
Trending Across Townhall Media
FSU Shooting: What We Know Right Now
[I]t looks pretty clear that the issue wasn't insufficient gun control. It's too much.
China Is In Much Deeper Trouble Than Most Realize
China and the United States are heading for a war, and a big one at that. Xi Jinping has made that abundantly clear, and he has counted on making the US economy dependent on China to keep us cowed.
Tulsi Exposes a Terrifying Biden-Era Program That Was Meant To Be Secret
Remember this the next time you hear Democrats pontificating about "defending democracy." They've shown us exactly what they mean by "democracy," and it looks nothing like the Constitutional Republic our founders envisioned.
Chris Van Hollen's Latest El Salvador Photo Inadvertently Captured the Dismal State of the Dems
There’s a reason why Democrats have a 21 percent approval rating and have become experts in landing on the wrong side of every major public policy issue over the past decade. They’re the 80/20 party—the ones who will always take the wrong side. A side that has no constituency because we’re not insane.
Disgraceful: Maine Governor Dismisses Girls Pleading for Fairness and Safety a 'Diversionary Tactic'
Oh, there's gonna' be some due process for Mills and her Department of Education now, alright.
WHAT'S ON TAP?
Today on Capitol Hill...
If it was an uneventful week already with the critters off for a "State Work Week," one suspects Good Friday on Capitol Hill will be particularly quiet. And they're out next week, too. In fairness, that may be to the benefit of all, but it's far less entertaining.
White House What's Up
It's a quiet day (relatively speaking) for President Donald Trump, as well, with the only item formally on his schedule being the noon swearing-in ceremony for Dr. Mehmet Oz as the next Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. There's not even an indication in the White House Daily Guidance that he's heading to Mar-a-Lago for the weekend, but perhaps we'll get an update on that a bit later.
Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha are on their way to Italy and then India.
Keeping Up With the Cabinet
Sec. State - Marco Rubio — Rubio, in Paris, reiterated President Trump and his administration's commitment to ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Sec. Treasury - Scott Bessent — Bessent announced Treasury's targeting of the International Bank of Yemen for its support of the Houthis.
Sec. Defense - Pete Hegseth — Hegseth swore in Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer, who reenlisted into the U.S. Marine Corps.
Attorney General - Pam Bondi — Bondi thanked Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) for his OpEd about her in The Hill: All the Justice Department needed was a new attorney general.
Sec. Interior - Doug Burgum — Burgum recently toured the Southern Border "after officially transferring federal land along the border to the U.S. Army, allowing them to detain illegal migrants."
Sec. Agriculture - Brooke Rollins — Rollins shared this week's five "AG-tions."
Sec. Labor - Lori Chavez-DeRemer — Chavez-DeRemer visited with "the brilliant folks at @IntelPolicy...where they are ensuring the U.S. is at the cutting edge of advanced chip manufacturing."
Sec. Health & Human Services - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — Kennedy is vowing to get to "the root causes of the childhood chronic disease epidemic -- including autism."
Sec. Housing & Urban Development - Scott Turner — Turner reiterated HUD's commitment to "rightsizing government operations and ensuring our facilities support a culture of optimal performance and exceptional service as we collaborate with our partners at GSA to deliver results for the American people."
Sec. Transportation - Sean Duffy — Duffy gave the Blue Origin Astro-nots a reality check.
Sec. Energy - Chris Wright — Wright has been in the Middle East, meeting with leaders to promote the Trump administration's energy policy.
Sec. Education - Linda McMahon — McMahon recently spelled out the problem with men and boys participating in women's and girls' athletics to CNN's Kasie Hunt.
Sec. Veterans Affairs - Doug Collins — Collins is vowing to "ask better questions" on veteran suicide.
Sec. Homeland Security - Kristi Noem — Noem reiterated the importance of a secure border and prioritizing the safety of Americans over illegal aliens.
Admin. Environmental Protection Agency - Lee Zeldin — Zeldin visited Midland, Texas, with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), "where incredibly hardworking Americans are powering our nation."
Admin. Small Business Association - Kelly Loeffler — Loeffler shared that "Over the last 90 days, the SBA has seen a 74% increase in loan approvals for manufacturers compared to the same period under Biden," adding that, "Demand for new capital is a clear sign that American industry is growing again thanks to @POTUS!"
Dir. Federal Bureau of Investigations - Kash Patel — Patel affirmed that he and his team had "been briefed on the tragic shooting at Florida State and our FBI Jacksonville team is on the ground assisting. We will provide full support to local law enforcement as needed."
Dir. National Intelligence - Tulsi Gabbard — Gabbard is preparing to release the RFK assassination files. She also recently declassified the Biden administration's "Strategic Implementation Plan for Countering Domestic Terrorism," which sought to censor about half of the American people over the past four years and ahead of the November 2024 election.
Dir. Office of Management and Budget - Russ Vought — Vought shared that the package being sent to Congress includes a $1 billion rescission to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS, and NPR.
U.S. Trade Rep. - Jamieson Greer — Greer affirmed the Trump administration's commitment to "address the threat to our economic and national security posed by China’s dominance in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors."
Full Court Press...
The Trump administration has filed an emergency motion to stay pending their appeal of Judge Boasberg's contempt finding in the J.G.G. case — we can expect a swift "No" to be coming from him sometime today.
As noted in the Evening Docket, the Supreme Court handed down one decision on Thursday in the case of Cunningham v. Cornell University, involving ERISA claims. I'll break that one down in an upcoming edition of the Skinny on SCOTUS.
Also on Thursday, the Department of Justice filed federal charges against Luigi Mangione, accused killer of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, in the Southern District of New York.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
There are more oral arguments set before the Supreme Court beginning Monday, and we can expect some more emergency/shadow docket rulings in the not-too-distant future as several of the hot potato cases involving executive action make their way to/back to the Supremes. They've also now set oral argument in the birthright citizenship cases for May 15.
MORNING MUSING
This being Good Friday, I thought I'd take the opportunity to re-share something I wrote...wow...three years ago on Holy Thursday.
This Sunday is Easter, which makes this Holy Week, and today Holy Thursday.
It got me to thinking about the movie “The Passion of the Christ.” I bought the DVD years ago, with every intention of watching it shortly thereafter. But, for some reason, I never could quite bring myself to do so. I’m not sure what it was that was holding me back – I’m a believer and obviously familiar with the story of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, but I suppose the idea of actually seeing it recreated in (what I’d been forewarned was) graphic detail was a bit more daunting than reading about it in the Bible or even hearing a pastor preach on it.
About two years ago, I finally made a point to watch it and I’m so glad I did. As difficult as it was to watch, it really brought home the enormity of the sacrifice made for us – and of the depth and breadth of God’s love for us.
During the Last Supper, Jesus gave His disciples this commandment: “Love each other. Just as I have loved you.” Whether you’ll be celebrating this Easter by going to church or getting together with family or friends, my prayer is that we all are reminded just how much we are loved.
LIGHTER FARE
Whoever comes up with the first legit dog/cat translator is going to make a mint.
What are they taking about..🐈🐾😅 pic.twitter.com/RFeMYzGOzp
— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) April 18, 2025
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