Wednesday, May 21, 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
'This Is a District Court—Not a Denny’s': 5th Circuit Responds to SCOTUS in TdA Case and Hoo Boy
One hopes that when the Circuit finishes addressing the matters the Supreme Court tasked it with, it will deliver a thoroughly delicious record and opinion for the High Court to gnaw on
An Update on the 2026 Senate Races
With these numbers, the Democrats will need to pick up all five Republican seats without losing any of their own. In other words, a really bad national environment, or a lot of luck, is going to be necessary for them to win back the Senate.
Kennedy and Kennedy Obliterate Democrats' Take on HHS Funding With a Few Simple Questions
The best we may be able to manage is to try to slap down these wastes whenever we find them. Senator Kennedy and HHS Secretary Kennedy have certainly done so today, so the next question is this: What's being done about it?
Trending Across Townhall Media
Is This Why the Tax Stamp on Suppressors is Dropped to $0?
We gun owners tend to be a paranoid lot, but like they say, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean people aren't out to get you. The ATF isn't a trustworthy organization. It never has been and likely never will be.
Marco Rubio Rocks And Will Be President One Day
Rubio is tested with the exercise of real power every day, and he is passing that test with flying colors.
Canada Might Begin Euthanizing Kids Without Parental Consent
Leftism really is a death cult.
Jake Tapper Should Expect All of His Interviews to Be Like This
There are damning stories in the book. Yet, what cannot be resolved is that the media knew about this and did nothing.
WHOA! Buzz Patterson Drops ANOTHER Huge Clinton Scandal (Yes, It Involves Sexual Misconduct)
We're almost afraid to ask, but we have to wonder how many other stories Buzz Patterson has to report in his iceberg.
WHAT'S ON TAP?
Today on Capitol Hill...
Big doings on the Hill as we head into crunch time on the Big Beautiful Bill. President Donald Trump was on the Hill on Tuesday to rally the GOP troops, and appears to have been successful in doing so. Here's the latest rundown of what to expect as House GOP leadership endeavors to get the bill across the finish line:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide To A Vote On the Big, Beautiful, Bill
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 21, 2025
We are now in the range where the House could potentially debate and vote on the Big, Beautiful Bill. A vote could come as early as later today or tonight. That may still be a little optimistic. But when things are…
There are, of course, hearings and meetings set for Wednesday as well — lots of them. And there were some real humdingers on Tuesday. See, for instance:
Rubio Decimates Chris Van Hollen in Glorious Exchange About USAID and Deportation
(Will simply take a moment, once again, to applaud President Trump on his Cabinet. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. were both inspired picks and have acquitted themselves beautifully thus far.)
A sampling of what's in store Wednesday:
- House Appropriations, Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee — Oversight Hearing of the Federal Communications Commission [FCC Chair Brendan Carr to testify]
- House Appropriations, Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee — Budget Hearing - U.S. Department of Education [Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to testify]
- House Foreign Affairs — FY26 State Department Posture: Protecting American Interests [Secretary of State Marco Rubio to testify — he's ba-ack]
- House Energy and Commerce, Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee — Examining Ways to Enhance Our Domestic Critical Mineral Supply Chains
- Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship — Hearings to examine fueling America's manufacturing comeback [SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler to testify]
- Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions — Hearings to examine the state of higher education
- Senate Environment and Public Works — Hearings to examine the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2026 for the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to testify]
- Senate Appropriations, Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee — Hearings to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2026 for the Department of the Interior [Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to testify]
- Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations — Hearings to examine science and Federal health agencies, focusing on Myocarditis and other events associated with the COVID-19 vaccines
- Senate Judiciary, Privacy, Technology, and the Law Subcommittee — Hearings to examine AI-generated deepfakes
- Senate Appropriations, Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee —Hearings to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2026 for the Small Business Administration [SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler to testify]
- Senate Appropriations, Energy and Water Development Subcommittee — Hearings to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2026 for the Department of Energy [Energy Secretary Chris Wright to testify]
An added note: As I was writing the Morning Minute, we learned that Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly (D) had passed away. Connolly's passing will undoubtedly be top of mind for many in Congress today.
White House What's Up
President Trump will greet the President of the Republic of South Africa late morning, followed by lunch and a bilateral meeting. (That one...should be interesting.) Later in the afternoon, he'll host the 2025 NCAA Men's College Basketball Champions — The University of Florida Gators — in the East Room.
Full Court Press...
The Supreme Court issued a win for Maine legislator Laurel Libby (censured by the Maine House for posting a social media photo of a biological male celebrating his win in a girl's track and field event) on Tuesday, granting her application for an injunction (effectively reinstating her voting and speaking privileges in the state legislature).
The 5th Circuit issued an order in the A.A.R.P./W.M.M. case (regarding removal of Tren de Aragua (TdA) members pursuant to the Alien Enemies Act (AEA)) that included a phenomenal concurrence from Judge James Ho, which I address further in my Morning Musing.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
The Supreme Court will likely hand down more decisions on Thursday.
Vice President JD Vance is set to speak at the U.S. Naval Academy graduation on Friday.
MORNING MUSING
Tuesday evening, I happened upon the concurrence authored by 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge James Ho following the Supreme Court's recent ruling on one of the TdA/AEA cases. Like many, I was slightly amused and maybe enthralled by Judge Ho's not-so-subtle pushback at the Supremes. He was respectful, but there was zero doubt that he disagreed with the manner in which SCOTUS has handled the case. I shared some of the highlights from his opinion in my longer article, but I wanted to acknowledge something else Judge Ho noted in his opinion:
It should go without saying that the President and his fellow Executive Branch officials deserve the same respect that courts regularly afford every other litigant—including other Presidents and officials.
It should. But it needs to be said, as many in the federal judiciary — including Supreme Court justices — appear to have dispensed with that notion. Ho rightly points out previous presidents who were afforded respect by the courts despite having publicly shamed and even defied them or having been disbarred (see, e.g., Obama, Biden, Clinton).
There is no Trump exception to jurisprudence. It's time for the courts to recognize that. Kudos to Judge Ho for stating that so plainly.
LIGHTER FARE
I'll say he did.
Turtle understood the assignment..🐢😅 pic.twitter.com/4b57MapMNw
— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) May 21, 2025
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