Monday, January 5, 2026
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
Rubio Destroys the Dem Narrative on Venezuela, Mocks Kamala Harris in the Process
Other people talk, Trump acts, Rubio declared.
Whoops: Schumer's 'Open Mouth, Insert Foot' Moment as Dems' Hypocrisy Hits Hyper Drive on Venezuela
And you wonder why you weren't told? It was incredibly important for operational security to be able to pull this off, to keep this close to the vest. And if you're talking about what was said in the SCIF, there's a problem.
Fortunately, likely due to the implementation Iryna's Law, no bond has been set for Camacho. He is due in court Monday morning.
Trending Across Townhall Media
NJ's Senators Push National Gun Licensing Bill
Luckily, right now, this doesn't have a shot in hell of passing. I'm not even sure a lot of Democrats are on board with something like this. Many will, of course, but this might be too much for others, at least right now.
International Law? REALLY?! You're Going With That?!
The only serious questions anybody should be asking are whether the world will be made a better or worse place by taking Nicholas Maduro off the board, and in particular, the United States of America.
Scott Adams Announces He’s Converting to Christianity
Indeed, I do believe it’s very encouraging that Scott Adams made such a surprising and unprompted declaration today. That in itself merits continued prayer for him. Even at this late date, Scott’s faith is still a work in progress. Really, it’s just beginning. I do believe that God can do great things in a short period of time. Listening to Scott today reminded me that God is always at work and that anything is possible.
Trump Brutally Owns Nicolás Maduro and the Libs
TLDR: “International law” is whatever America does because we’re bigger and can kick your butt.
Instead, pay attention to the people of Venezuela who have been celebrating for as long as lefties in America have been complaining. And trust us, they see the lefties complaining.
WHAT'S ON TAP?
Today on Capitol Hill...
The critters are winging their way back to the Swamp on Monday, and they'll be back at it officially on Tuesday. But there will be some activity on Monday evening as members of key committees and the Gang of 8 will receive a classified briefing from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Dan Caine.
🚨🚨BREAKING NEWS
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 4, 2026
RUBIO, HEGSETH, BONDI, RATCLIFFE, CAINE will be on the Hill at 5:30 tomorrow evening to brief on Venezuela.
HFAC, SFRC, SASC, HASC and Gang of 8 will all get the classified briefing.
Full member briefing expected next week.
Much more in AM
AND yes,…
White House What's Up
President Trump is back in D.C. and will be participating in a policy meeting in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon.
Vice President JD Vance has shared some friendly advice for those on the Left pitching a fit over the U.S. operation in Venezuela.
READ MORE: Vice President Vance Has a Timely 'PSA' for Dems Melting Down Over 'Illegal' Venezuela Op
Keeping Up With the Cabinet
Sec. Veterans Affairs - Doug Collins — Collins is emphasizing the strides made by the VA in just the past year.
.@DeptVetAffairs has opened 25 new health care facilities during the second Trump Administration! Find a VA location near you here: https://t.co/jHOhcez9K8 pic.twitter.com/JZ8FHQULAg
— VA Secretary Doug Collins (@SecVetAffairs) January 2, 2026
Full Court Press...
The courts were fairly quiet over the weekend and the Supreme Court doesn't start up oral arguments again until next week.
The big court-related news today is Nicolás Maduro's arraignment in the Southern District of New York.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
As reported yesterday, U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz is addressing a Security Council meeting on Monday over the actions taken in Venezuela.
MORNING MUSING
One of the concepts that was drilled into me as a young lawyer and that has stayed with me even in my post-practice years is the notion of confidentiality and attorney-client privilege. There is certain information entrusted to you that you simply may not share unless/until given the green light to do so by the person(s) who shared it with you.
Congress doesn't operate on that principle — not even the critters with law degrees. We've seen two successful Trump administration operations in particular where there were — surprisingly — no leaks of them ahead of time: the taking out of Iran's nuclear facilities in June and now the action to take Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro into custody.
And now we see the caterwauling from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and his cohorts that they weren't given a heads-up prior to the operation. Hmm. No advanced notice to Congress. No leaks. Coincidence?
I want to be clear that I'm not advocating that laws be broken — but to the extent there's legal justification/wiggle room to act in the order they've acted, I think the administration has figured out a key element of successful operations of this nature.
LIGHTER FARE
Man's best friend indeed!
He’s all in.. 😂 pic.twitter.com/rftrPco8Cn
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) January 2, 2026
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