Wednesday, April 15, 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
I’ve always considered Steyer somewhat of a bore, but my opinion has changed — now, he comes across as some sort of Antifa maniac.
Y'all, Kirk Moore is no spring chicken. One report I read quoted someone who said they'd known him for 55 years. So he is at least that age, if not older. But this man did what needed to be done, and countless lives were saved that day.
Vance Slams Erika Kirk's 'Disgusting' Critics After Threats Force Her to Back Out of TPUSA Event
And to those who believe they're part of the Grieving Police, Vance told them to stay in their own lane.
Trending Across Townhall Media
After looking at the substitute bill suggested by Spanberger, Del. Williams is wrong in reporting that the legislation would be narrowed to encompass specific localities. It would actually ban the public carry of "assault firearms" throughout the entirety of Virginia.
HotAir — Spain Just Opened Every Country in Europe to Islamist Migrants
The Reconquista is being reversed.
PJ Media — You’ll Never Guess Who Just Slipped Kamala the Shiv
Go on back to the speaking circuit, dear. It's not going to happen.
Townhall — Mamdani’s Government-Run Grocery Store Plan Gets Even Worse
In Kansas City, that's exactly what happened to its government-run grocery store. The shelves were empty, shoplifters had a field day, and what food was there was often rotten.
This just shows Democrats get wrapped up in a cult of personality and their own imagined ideas of greatness and are otherwise divorced from reality.
WHAT'S ON TAP?
Today on Capitol Hill...
They're back — and they're busy. While the Senate wrestles with possible reconciliation and the House wrestles with FISA, they're also holding a boatload of hearings/meetings on Wednesday. Here is just a sampling:
- House Foreign Affairs, East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee — Helping American Businesses Win Abroad: Strengthening U.S. Commercial Diplomacy
- House Judiciary, Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee — “Restricted Rights: Second Amendment Under Fire”
- House Financial Services, Capital Markets Subcommittee — Safeguarding Main Street: Combatting Fraud and Exploitation in Our Capital Markets
- House Oversight and Government Reform, Government Operations Subcommittee — “Fraud Prevention: Understanding Fraud in Federally Funded Programs Run by the States”
- Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs — Hearings to examine the Second Amendment.
- Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation — An oversight hearing to examine the Federal Trade Commission.
- Senate Finance — Hearings to examine the IRS 2026 filing season and IRS operations.
- House Veterans' Affairs — Faster Decisions, Stronger Outcomes: VA’s Work to Streamline the Disability Claims Backlog
- House Budget — The President's Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request
- House Education and Workforce, Workforce Protections Subcommittee — "Building an AI-Ready America: Understanding AI’s Economic Impact on Workers and Employers"
- House Energy and Commerce, Health Subcommittee — Healthier America: Legislative Proposals to Improve Public Health
- House Small Business — “Lower Taxes, Stronger Main Street: The Benefits of the Working Families Tax Cuts.”
- House Armed Services, Readiness Subcommittee — Military Readiness for Fiscal Year 2027
White House What's Up
Another busy day at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave:
- 8:00 AM — THE PRESIDENT participates in Executive Time — The White House
- 12:30 PM — THE PRESIDENT participates in a Policy Meeting — Oval Office
- 3:30 PM — THE PRESIDENT participates in Signing Time — Oval Office
- 4:30 PM — THE PRESIDENT participates in a Policy Meeting — Oval Office
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt will host a press briefing at 1:00 PM — this one featuring Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler.
Keeping Up With the Cabinet
Sec. State - Marco Rubio — Rubio's been busy meeting with foreign leaders regarding the Iran ceasefire, among other significant topics.
Met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Abdelatty to discuss the Iran ceasefire, advancing the 20-Point Plan for Gaza, and ongoing efforts to end the conflict in Sudan. We also explored ways to bolster the U.S.-Egypt economic and commercial relationship. pic.twitter.com/yfKiH0nalz
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) April 14, 2026
Full Court Press...
We had one decision of note on Tuesday:
- ✅ In In re: Donald Trump (petition for writ of mandamus taken from/re: J.G.G. v. Trump), D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals GRANTS admin's petition for writ of mandamus (re: Boasberg contempt orders).
READ MORE: Boom: DC Circuit Slams Brakes on Boasberg's Criminal Contempt Probe of Those AEA Flights
COMING ATTRACTIONS
This being Tax Week, President Trump is traveling to Las Vegas, Nevada, on Thursday and Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday to promote his administration's tax agenda.
The Supreme Court will be back at it next Monday, hearing oral arguments in some of the remaining cases on the 2025 Term's docket. And they've announced this Friday as the next opinion day.
MORNING MUSING
Hey, I don't know if y'all know this, but today is Tax Day — that most wonderful day of the year, when the best case scenario is that you had just the right amount withheld from your paychecks so that you owe nothing and aren't entitled to a refund. I haven't checked to see if there's a Hallmark card for the occasion.
We did, however, discuss other potential names for Tax Day on the morning show. The one I settled on was this: "We Fought a Bloody War for Independence 250 Years Ago for THIS?!?! Day." The rest weren't really FCC-friendly.
What would you call it?
LIGHTER FARE
I may have shared this one before, but I don't care. I like it.
Studies show that watching a beaver eating cabbage lowers stress levels by 15% pic.twitter.com/UsodlU6Mif
— Nature Unedited (@NatureUnedited) April 13, 2026
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