Friday Morning Minute: Man of Many Hats

Friday, May 2, 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

New: Body Cam Footage of 'Maryland Dad' Abrego-Garcia Released, and Democrats Look Like Imbeciles

Democrats got way out over their skis here, and now they look like complete imbeciles. Did they really think the guy who was hanging with MS-13 members was going to turn out to be a saint? What a colossal political miscalculation.

Watch: Elon and the DOGE Crew Reveal More of the Startling Things They Found to Jesse Watters

They spoke about some of the stunning things they had found, including that close to $5 trillion was paid out by the Treasury without a budget code. That meant no one could trace where the money was going, "It could have been for anything," a DOGE member explained.

Congressional Republicans Are Trying to Kill California's Gas Car Ban, but There's a Catch

In other words, this entire thing is a fool's errand. At what point should the GOP, both in Congress and in California, simply sit back and watch as Sacramento makes another stupid mistake? Because those mistakes tend to be pretty hard on what's left of the Californian middle class.

Trending Across Townhall Media

Latest Action From DOJ Is Exactly What Gun Rights Folks Voted For

This is a vigorous defense of the Second Amendment. It's not enough in and of itself, mind you, but as a harbinger of what we'll see over the rest of President Trump's term? It's a damn good start.

Ripped From The (30 Year Old) Headlines

Controversial as Trump's first 100 days have been, the Democrat are in a bind all their own. With the party's approval ratings at the lowest level since Appomattox, some of their leading lights are going back to their roots.

Who Are the Maudes, and Why Did Biden Try to Ruin Their Lives?

The more we learn about what happened over the last four years, the more frightening it is. No wonder Democrats are spending all of their time defending criminals now. They think hard-working U.S. citizens are the true criminals. They see us as their enemies.

'CNN Producers Must be in Agony for Having to Post This': The Latest Trump-Kamala Poll Is Brutal

What a total obliteration of a narrative and a brutal reminder that Kamala Harris is and remains one of the worst Democrats on the national stage.

Billionaire Blimp J.B. Pritzker: Taxpayers Must Repay the Student Loans of 1.6 Million Illinoisans

But as long as Pritzker is in the giving mood (with our money), maybe someone should tell him that there is nearly $13 trillion in mortgage debt today in the United States.

WHAT'S ON TAP?

Today on Capitol Hill...

It's Friday, of course, so there are no formal hearings or meetings set today on the Hill. That doesn't mean the critters aren't busy, though. On Thursday, House GOP leadership met with President Donald Trump at the White House to further discuss details of the reconciliation package. Following that, they decided to push back committee markups on the bill by a week, so it sounds as though they've still got some kinks to work out.

Meanwhile, congressional Dems continue to, well...flail is about the best way to describe it.

Ilhan Omar Is Asked About Dems Going to El Salvador, and Her Response Has Everyone Talking

White House What's Up

Following a big night delivering the Commencement address at the University of Alabama (our own Jennifer Oliver O'Connell was there and has been reporting on the event), on Friday, President Trump will be running the show from Mar-a-Lago. Friday evening, he'll host the 2025 RNC Spring Gala.

Vice President JD Vance has a new op-ed out in the Washington Post, detailing "What President Trump achieved in his first 100 days."

Keeping Up With the Cabinet

Obviously, the big Cabinet news on Thursday was the announced departure of Mike Waltz from his role as National Security Advisor...followed by the announcement that Trump is nominating him now to serve as UN Ambassador. (And the announcement that Marco Rubio will take over the role of NSA for now, to add to his many, many other roles.)

Confirmed: Waltz Out As National Security Advisor, Lands Plum New Role in Trump Administration

Full Court Press...

The big court news on Thursday was a ruling out of the Southern District of Texas (by a Trump-appointed judge) that the administration could not proceed with removals of illegal alien Tren de Aragua members under the Alien Enemies Act and the March 15 Proclamation issued by President Trump.

People are rightly frustrated with the ruling, but I'd suggest that it's not nearly as dire as some may think — for several reasons. First, the administration will likely appeal, and I think they've got a decent shot at being successful on that front. Second, President Trump could amend the Proclamation to more closely match the statutory language of the AEA (because the ruling wasn't that the AEA couldn't be used at all, ever, but that the language of the Proclamation didn't sufficiently justify the removals under the statute. I know that seems hyper-technical, but often, the law is — in addition to being an a**.) Third, the administration may continue with removals pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act (and in districts where a temporary restraining order like the one issued Thursday is not in effect).

In other court-related news, Sean "Diddy" Combs rejected a plea deal offer on Thursday and is set to proceed to trial on Monday. Good news for him regarding the trial: He "will be permitted to receive non-prison clothing at the MDC to wear for his trial scheduled to begin on May 5, 2025. He is permitted to have up to five button down shirts, up to five pairs of pants, up to five sweaters, up to five pairs of socks, and up to two pairs of shoes without laces to wear to court."

COMING ATTRACTIONS

Look for more developments next week on the reconciliation package. They've got a lot of work to do on it, but they're also on the clock.

We'll also be looking forward to the Senate confirmation hearing for Mike Waltz now that we know his next move will be to the UN Ambassador spot.

MORNING MUSING

In 2016, Marco Rubio was my guy. I was excited for his candidacy — even have a t-shirt with him on it, compliments of the handsome beau. Then the force of nature, otherwise known as Donald Trump, put the kibosh on that. I was salty. I hadn't acclimated to Trump — it took me a while, but I did get there. In the meantime, Rubio continued to be a strong leader in the Senate.

When Trump tapped him to serve as Secretary of State, I was pleased. (Man, what an upgrade from Tony Blinken!) He's shined in that role. And stepped in/up admirably to serve as the acting administrator of USAID...and acting archivist of the U.S. And I suspect he'll serve well as acting NSA. As someone who often wears multiple hats myself, I genuinely appreciate that about Rubio and, much as I'd hoped for a Rubio presidency years ago, I'm quite happy to have him where he is right now.

And no, Rome can't have him.

I think he could take on a bit more.

If only there was a job opening for a devout Catholic… https://t.co/CbOZNZ1e5o
— JD Vance (@JDVance) May 1, 2025

LIGHTER FARE

More than one way to feed a cat...

Wiggly ears..🐈🐾😅 pic.twitter.com/C51eNZStWj
— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) May 2, 2025

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