Government & Politics

• John Thune wins Senate majority leadership: South Dakota Senator John Thune, who made history 20 years ago by knocking off then-Minority Leader Tom Daschle, beat out Texan John Cornyn and Floridian Rick Scott for the Senate’s majority leadership post. Thune, 63, beat Cornyn in the second ballot, 29-24, and is the youngest of the three men by nearly a decade. This signals that the GOP understands the importance of passing the torch to its next generation of leadership. But Thune has also been at Mitch McConnell’s hip since his arrival in DC, so there’s some consternation among MAGA Republicans about whether he’ll drag his feet on some elements of the Trump agenda, such as foreign policy. But sources indicate that he’s made peace with the president-elect, which might be why Trump refused to endorse the MAGA candidate, Scott. That decision by Trump to stay out of the race seems smart, and it’s in keeping with his ability to mend fences and build relationships whenever necessary. Now if only House Republicans could learn to behave themselves.

• House GOP sticks with Johnson: While there were rumblings that some House Republicans, particularly in the Freedom Caucus, would raise opposition to Mike Johnson retaining his speakership, they proved unfounded as he received unanimous support in a voice vote yesterday. Prior to the vote, Johnson met with Donald Trump, who told reporters afterward that he was with Johnson “all the way.” Johnson sent a letter to Republican lawmakers noting, “The mandate that has been delivered shows that a majority of Americans are eager for secure borders, lower costs, peace through strength, and a return to common sense.” He added, “With unified Republican government, if we meet this historic moment together, the next two years can result in the most consequential Congress of the modern era.” Representatives Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Tom Emmer (R-MN) also retained their roles of majority leader and majority whip, respectively. Republicans are expected to retain at least a two-seat majority.

• Trump nominates Gabbard as DNI: “The mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6 to try to stop Congress from carrying out its constitutional responsibilities were behaving like domestic enemies of our country. But let’s be clear: The John Brennans, Adam Schiffs, and the oligarchs in Big Tech who are trying to undermine our constitutionally protected rights and turn our country into a police state with KGB-style surveillance are also domestic enemies — and much more powerful, and therefore dangerous, than the mob that stormed the Capitol.” So said then-Democrat Tulsi Gabbard just days after the events of January 6, and she’s been headed in the right direction ever since. Gabbard joined the Republican Party last month, and yesterday Donald Trump appointed the Army Reserve lieutenant colonel as director of national intelligence. Said Trump, “I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights, and securing Peace through Strength.”

• Rubio officially nominated for State: On Wednesday, Florida Senator Marco Rubio was officially named by Donald Trump as his nominee for secretary of state. Upon his nomination, Rubio released the following statement: “Leading the U.S. Department of State is a tremendous responsibility, and I am honored by the trust President Trump has placed in me. As Secretary of State, I will work every day to carry out his foreign policy agenda. Under the leadership of President Trump, we will deliver peace through strength and always put the interests of Americans and America above all else. I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the U.S. Senate so the President has his national security and foreign policy team in place when he takes office on January 20.” Rubio is expected to be easily confirmed by the Senate, and he will undoubtedly work hard on Trump’s America First agenda.

• Happy Joe hosts a fascist at the White House: Has Joe Biden ever looked happier than he has since November 5? He’s been seen smiling ear-to-ear, including yesterday when he hosted President-elect Donald Trump at the White House for a two-hour meeting. Why, it’s almost as if he wanted to tell his fellow Democrats, “I told ya so.” As the New York Post reports, “The pair discussed plans for a peaceful transition of power when Trump takes the oath of office for a second time on Jan. 20. Biden, 81, wore a broad smile as he told Trump ‘welcome back’ after congratulating the Republican on his election win and saying he was ‘looking forward’ to ‘having a smooth transition’ and promising Trump would be ‘accommodated’ with everything he needs.” All this is quite a turnabout for Biden, who spent the past four years lumping Trump in with Mussolini and Hitler while calling him “an existential threat to our democracy.” (It’s a republic.) “Politics is tough,” said the 78-year-old Donald Trump in response, “and in many cases, it’s not a nice world. But it is a nice world today, and I appreciate it very much.” Kamala Harris could not be reached for comment.

• GOP’s Hovde isn’t conceding the Wisconsin Senate race: Eric Hovde, the Republican candidate for Senate in Wisconsin, is contesting the result of his contest last week against incumbent Democrat Tammy Baldwin. That seemed odd until we read this: “Like many of my supporters, I was shocked by what unfolded on election night. At 1 a.m., I was receiving calls of congratulations, and based on the models, it appeared I would win the Senate race. Then, at 4 a.m., Milwaukee reported approximately 108,000 absentee ballots, with Sen. Baldwin receiving nearly 90 percent of those ballots.” What are the odds? We saw this playing out on election night, and we noticed that a similar attrition was happening to Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan and fellow GOPer Dave McCormick in Pennsylvania, who’s seen his lead over incumbent Bob Casey continue to shrink despite the outstanding vote supposedly coming from red districts. Casey has refused to concede his loss to McCormick despite being behind by around 30,000 votes. Why, it’s almost as if Casey knows something the rest of us don’t. It’ll be interesting to see what comes of all this in all three “blue wall” states.

• Pennsylvania Senate contest headed toward a recount, and possibly litigation (AP)

• Harris paid handsomely to sit with Jew-hating Sharpton: We’re not sure what the future holds for Kamala Harris, but she could always write a book. Like, maybe, How to Blow a Billion Bucks in 100 Days. She did just that, and, adding insult to injury, she managed to blow the election as well. How did Harris blow all that cash? Part of the answer can be found in the way she paid to play. As The Washington Free Beacon reports, “Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign donated $500,000 to Al Sharpton’s nonprofit organization just weeks before the anti-Semitic MSNBC host — who once said that ‘diamond merchant’ Jews have the ‘blood of innocent babies’ on their hands — conducted a friendly interview with Harris.” Alas, appearance fees and celebrity appeal will only take a moribund candidacy so far. Clearly, it wasn’t far enough.

• Peanut tests negative for rabies: Peanut the squirrel was a social media star until a week before the election, when New York officials seized and euthanized him over a supposed rabies concern. He has since tested negative for the disease. The story blew up after the New York Department of Environmental Conservation took Peanut and a raccoon named Fred from the house of Mark Longo, who runs an animal rescue sanctuary out of his home in rural Pine City. Officials cited complaints that Longo illegally kept wild animals, calling it a safety concern. After being seized, both animals were euthanized to be tested for rabies after one of the DEC officers was bitten by Peanut. Both tested negative. The whole episode was a classic example of government abuse and overreach. Longo, who documented the saga on social media, responded to the test results, stating, “It’s no real big shocker to me, considering I lived with Peanut for seven-and-a-half years and Fred for five months. I’m not foaming at the mouth. I knew the test results were going to be negative.” DEC officials said they are conducting an internal investigation into the handling of the situation.

Security

• CIA leaker nabbed in Cambodia: CIA official Asif Rahman was arrested by FBI agents in Cambodia on Tuesday. Rahman has been charged with violating the Espionage Act for his role in leaking classified documents related to Israel’s planned response to Iran’s missile attack earlier this year. Rahman is accused of willfully retaining and transmitting these documents that are tied to national defense intelligence information. The classified documents that were leaked online via the Telegram app were from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which analyzes U.S. spy satellite images. This leak also exposed the degree of spying the U.S. has engaged in against our closest ally in the region.

Misc.

• ABC brass scramble to bring in pro-Trump voices to “The View” and other shows (NY Post)

• FBI reportedly raids Polymarket CEO’s home after betting platform predicts Trump win: “Political retribution” (Fox Business)

• The Onion buys Alex Jones’s Infowars at auction — with help from Sandy Hook victims’ families (NY Post)

• Mattel faces backlash over “Wicked” dolls directing consumers to pornography website (Christian Post)

• Humor: Ten government positions DOGE will be eliminating first (Babylon Bee)

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