Happy Thursday evening, readers, and welcome back to Today’s American News, your source for news and analysis on the circus that is American politics and entertainment.
Trump’s embattled nominees, Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr., are confirmed… Trump nominated some of the worst people imaginable, and Republican senators were just fine with that. Tulsi Gabbard was confirmed as intelligence chief despite “lack of experience in intelligence, her habit of echoing Russian propaganda, her defense of Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime, and the unsubtle warnings that senators heard from former national security officials.” Anti-vax Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was confirmed as health secretary despite not knowing the difference between Medicare and Medicaid, or how either is funded. Doctors are speaking out. The only Republican senator to vote his conscience was, surprisingly, Kentucky sen. Mitch McConnell. Many of the confirmation votes were 52-48 in the U.S. Senate in which Republicans hold 53 seats. Meanwhile, Kash Patel’s nomination to head the FBI appears on track after clearing the committee on a party-line vote. As Mother Jones notes, “Patel has received payments from sources linked to Russia, China, Qatar, and other foreign interests that he has not explained.”
TikTok saved? Trump thinks he can get it done… By championing the divest-or-ban on TikTok last year, Congressional Democrats and President Biden did themselves no favors for the 2024 election. Sure, it was the right policy, but the politics of it were very bad.. Trump saw an opening and championed TikTok’s right to exist, even after he spoke out against the company’s Chinese ownership previously. Young voters swung hugely in Trump’s direction, securing his second term. After signing a 75-day extension to the Congress’ deadline for TikTok to divest or be banned in the United States, Trump is confident he can get a deal done. Politico reports, “President Donald Trump says he’s still working on a deal to engineer a sale of TikTok amid a looming deadline for the Chinese video-sharing app to secure new ownership or face being shut out of the U.S. The president told reporters Thursday he’s optimistic that a deal can be reached before the expiration of his executive order.”
Trump fires U.S. Attorneys in escalating purge… “The White House terminated multiple U.S. attorneys Wednesday evening amid a period of upheaval at the Justice Department initiated by President Donald Trump,” wrote NBC News. “The full extent of the terminations was not clear Thursday morning. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.” In some run-of-the-mill Trump-era chaos, one of the prosecutors Trump likes was fired by mistake but then reinstated. Meanwhile, three resignations came as a result of the Trump Justice Department’s mandate that the quid pro quo case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams be dropped. CNN reports, “Acting US attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, quit instead of dropping the Adams case… Kevin Driscoll, the top career prosecutor in the public integrity section, and John Keller, the acting head of the office, also resigned Thursday rather than carry out the administration’s order to dismiss the case.”
State Department’s $400 million eyebrow-raising Tesla contract is dropped… NPR reports, “The State Department said Thursday it is abandoning plans of purchasing $400 million worth of armored Tesla vehicles after a public document detailing federal contracts for fiscal year 2025 gained wide attention. That expected purchase of Teslas, which was slated for September of this year, is now on hold, according to the State Department, which now says it has no plans of fulfilling the contract. The potential federal purchase drew scrutiny since Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk is also a top White House official who has been leading the Department of Government Efficiency, a unit focused on shrinking the federal workforce and ferreting out corruption.”
Today’s Buzz
Gaga couldn’t keep a poker face as she ate hot wings… Wearing couture that only she could, Lady Gaga appeared on “Hot Ones” with Sean Evans – and it did not disappoint. Nothing says pop culture like Lady Gaga on Hot Ones! The Hollywood Reporter writes Gaga “tried her best to keep a poker face, but when the heat level progressed to Da Bomb hot sauce, she fought back tears and quipped, “Is this safe?” In a true Babygirl moment, Gaga also took a big swig of milk to cleanse her palate. Gaga’s appearance comes on the heels of the debut of her newest single, “Abracadabra,” which dropped during Sunday’s Super Bowl and ahead of the launch of her eighth studio album, Mayhem, on March 7.” Gaga’s large engagement ring could be seen as she–numerous times–grabbed a glass of milk. Video below.
Thanks for counting on us to make sense of the chaos. Check back in with Today’s American News tomorrow evening.
IMO the biggest news today is the corruption of the DOJ on full display in the Eric Adams quid pro quo scandle. He may not be off the hook yet. And the SDNY was rocked by the head of the office resigned and wouldn’t drop the case even though ordered.
What about tomorrow if today was dark, organize!