Thursday, March 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
The Pratt Effect? Woman Responsible for Empty Palisades Reservoir Gets Booted
Mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt has been calling for Quiñones' resignation, firing, or prosecution since the fire, and is also gunning for Karen Bass and Gavin Newsom. Wednesday's announcement means there's one down, and two to go.
SEAL-Turned-Senator Saves the Day When a Spicy Protester Fights Capitol Police
The Capitol Police attempted to remove McGinnis from the hearing room in order to stop his incessant disruptions, but they were not successful because McGinnis tightly gripped the door jamb while shouting, "No one wants to fight for Israel!" The CP could not break his grip.
THE ESSEX FILES: Harris and Walz Show Just How Shallow the Democratic Bench Has Become
The vice presidency is not a ceremonial slot or a television role. It is a heartbeat away from the Oval Office. If Democrats want to be taken seriously on leadership and stability, they need to treat that fact as more than a talking point. That means choosing running mates who could credibly take the reins on day one, not just stand behind the podium, echo the latest message, and avoid making waves.
Trending Across Townhall Media
Bearing Arms — Hunter Biden Shouldn't Get His Hopes Up About SCOTUS and the Hemani Case
Again, it's possible that the Court could strike down 922(g)(3), but I doubt there's enough support to do that. And even if the Court does go big in Hemani and wipes the law from statute, Hunter Biden was also convicted of lying about his drug use on the ATF paperwork he filled out to purchase his firearm.
HotAir — Iran's Missile Attacks Are Faltering. Here's Why.
The IRGC is playing with fire. It may not be too much longer before more rational elements in Iran's security forces decide that the regime is finished and that it's time to end the extremist IRGC leadership as well.
PJ Media — The Weirdest Thing Just Happened in Ukraine... Again
Mauro's latest thread lays out how Putin's dangling Carpathian Ruthenia (as it's also sometimes known) to Hungarian President Viktor Orbán as a prize if Hungary drifts further into the Kremlin's orbit.
Townhall — Why Karoline Leavitt Ripped Into CNN's Kaitlin Collins Yesterday
Hence, why ‘CNN sucks’ remains a salient chant among the Trump base.
She's representing conservative women well.
WHAT'S ON TAP?
Today on Capitol Hill...
It's been a lively week on the Hill, and Thursday looks to be busy, as well. Multiple hearings/meetings set, including:
- House Judiciary — H.R. 7640, the Shut Down Sanctuary Policies Act
- Senate Armed Services — Hearings to examine the American small drone industrial base; to be immediately followed by a closed session in SVC-217
- House Armed Services — U.S. Defense Strategy and Posture
- House Foreign Affairs — Advancing National Security through Public Diplomacy
- House Financial Services — Fighting Fraud on the Front Lines: Challenges and Opportunities for Financial Institutions
- House Ways and Means — Work & Welfare Subcommittee Hearing on Reclaiming “Forgotten” Fraudulent Pandemic Unemployment Funds Frozen by Banks
- Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions — Hearings to examine transforming health care with data, focusing on improving patient outcomes through next-generation care
- House Veterans' Affairs — Hidden Wounds: Effectively Supporting Veterans with TBI
- House Education and Workforce — H.R. 7720, the "Child Care Payment Integrity and Fraud Accountability Act"; H.R. 7721, the "Combating Regulatory Abuse, Closing Known Deficiencies, and Overseeing Waste Nationwide (CRACKDOWN) Act"; H.R. 7722, the "Child Care Integrity Monitoring Act"; H.R. 7723, the "Safeguarding Taxpayer Dollars in Child Care Act"; H.R. 7724, the "No Waivers for Fraud Act"; H.R. 7725, the "Stop Child Care Fraud Act"; H.R. 7677, the "Closing the Provider Fraud Gap Act"; H.R. 7726, the "No Funds for Repeat Child Care Violations Act"
On Wednesday, the Senate shotdown the Democrats' War Powers Resolution.
READ MORE: Operation Epic Fury Will Continue As Senate Republicans Shoot Down Democrats' War Powers Resolution
The House is expected to vote on a similar measure later today.
And both of Montana's senators were in the news on Wednesday.
READ MORE: A 4:52 Filing; a 5:00 Withdrawal - Hours Later Steve Daines Confirms He’s Done
SEAL-Turned-Senator Saves the Day When a Spicy Protester Fights Capitol Police
White House What's Up
Here's what President Trump has in store for his Thursday:
- 8:00 AM — THE PRESIDENT participates in Executive Time — The White House
- 11:00 AM — THE PRESIDENT receives his Intelligence Briefing — Oval Office
- 4:00 PM — THE PRESIDENT participates in the Visit of the 2025 Major League Soccer Champions - Inter Miami CF — East Room
- 5:30 PM — THE PRESIDENT participates in a Policy Meeting — Oval Office
And Wednesday's press briefing with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was downright fiery.
CNN Wins the 'Fake News' Prize As Karoline Leavitt Tears Apart Their Attempt to Misrepresent Hegseth
Keeping Up With the Cabinet
Sec. Veterans Affairs - Doug Collins — Collins was having none of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's (D-NY) guff regarding the VA.
Stop lying, senator. Under @Potus, @deptvetaffairs is fixing the many problems Joe Biden's VA failed to address. https://t.co/IMbnstACIm pic.twitter.com/A2PmS3Q6eH
— VA Secretary Doug Collins (@SecVetAffairs) March 5, 2026
Full Court Press...
The Supreme Court handed down two decisions on Wednesday — neither earth-shattering, but interesting nonetheless, including one that is, no doubt, welcome news to the Trump administration on the issue of asylum claims.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court released two unanimous opinions: In Urias-Orellana v. Bondi, the court held that the Immigration and Nationality Act requires federal courts of appeals to apply the substantial-evidence standard when they review a determination that an asylum seeker’s experiences do not rise to the level of persecution. In Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corporation, the court held that the New Jersey Transit Corporation is not an arm of the state of New Jersey and thus is not entitled to share in New Jersey’s interstate sovereign immunity from suit.
We'll have more on those later today. The next round of oral argument before the Court begins on March 23.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
This weekend, President Trump is hosting leaders from Latin American countries at the Shield of the Americas Summit in Doral, Florida. Keep your eyes on that one.
MORNING MUSING
No slight intended toward Montana — it's a large, lovely expanse — but it doesn't regularly feature in the news out of Washington. And yet, it was front and center on Wednesday. First, we had Sen. Tim Sheehy (R) jumping in to assist Capitol Police in their efforts to remove a loud, unruly protester from a Senate hearing — a scene that wound up looking a bit like something out of WWE.
Then, we had a last-minute switcheroo with the state's senior senator, Steve Daines (R), abruptly announcing he would not be seeking reelection, moments before the filing deadline expired. We don't yet know a whole lot about U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme, who stepped in as a candidate moments before Daines' withdrawal (and who has already received Daines' endorsement), but hopefully, what we come to learn will be positive.
For that matter, one of the state's two representatives, Ryan Zinke (MT-01), announced on Monday that he won't be seeking reelection either.
Been a busy week for Big Sky Country!
LIGHTER FARE
The jump.. 😂 pic.twitter.com/oVfeX6W0l5
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) March 4, 2026
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