Government & Politics

• Trump nominates deep state sleuth to lead FBI: The alarm and outrage on the Left is telling. It’s as if they know that Donald Trump’s nomination of Kash Patel to lead the FBI means that their deep state secrets are about to be exposed. Patel was both a federal prosecutor and a federal public defender, which Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton notes means he has experience “not only in putting criminals behind bars but also can understand what happens when government overreaches.” Trey Gowdy, himself a former federal prosecutor, knows a good and well-qualified nominee when he sees one. “You would not know the foundation or the funding of the Steele dossier,” said Gowdy. “You would not know about FISA abuse. You would not know about Fusion GPS had it not been for the hard work of a guy named Kash Patel. He is, quite candidly, the most unfairly maligned person that I worked with the entire eight years I was in Washington.” Why might that be? Might it be that Patel knows where all the FBI’s pro-Democrat, anti-Trump bodies are buried? All reform-minded liberty-loving Americans should be exceedingly pleased that Trump has nominated Patel to take over for pencil-pushing corruption-enabling Chris Wray at the FBI. If only Wray had the decency to resign instead of forcing Trump to fire him.

• House GOP may start with 217-215 majority: Donald Trump has assembled his cabinet and other key appointments in remarkably short order, meaning he won’t need to poach any other Republican members of Congress to fill those roles. Trump’s nominations of Elise Stefanik as UN ambassador, Mike Waltz as national security advisor, and Matt Gaetz as (since withdrawn) attorney general have all reduced an already thin Republican House majority — so much so that their absences may mean Republicans will begin the 119th Congress with just 217 seats compared to 215 for the Democrats. That’s because the Democrats seem to have somehow found the votes to win a crucial handful of really close congressional races in California. Imagine that. As The Washington Times reports: “Holding a 217-215 majority means [House Speaker Mike Johnson] has no room for error, as just one detractor or absent Republican could kill a bill. That mathematical reality could have oversized consequences on key items in Mr. Trump’s agenda, such as extending his 2017 tax cuts that are set to expire next year.” Here’s hoping for a new year of good health and good fortune for the entire Republican House caucus.

• Trump selects Kevin Hassett to lead National Economic Council (CNBC), Jamieson Greer as U.S. trade representative (CNBC), Florida sheriff as DEA administrator (Washington Post)

• Harris camp still fundraising to pay off $20 million in debt (Hot Air)

• New report shows nearly 70% of Biden admin’s education enforcement targeted Christian and career colleges (Fox News)

Border Security

• Lost in translation with Mexico: Following a phone call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo last Wednesday, Donald Trump declared on social media, “She has agreed to stop Migration through Mexico and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border.” He added, “It was a very productive conversation!” However, Sheinbaum Pardo also issued a statement on social media wherein she acknowledged her conversation with Trump, noting, “We reiterate that Mexico’s position is not to close borders but instead build bridges between government and people.” Seemingly confusing matters, she also communicated that she “shared with him that caravans weren’t arriving at the northern border because they were being served in Mexico.” The call between the two came just days after Trump threatened a 25% tariff against products made in Mexico. So, was there a disagreement between the two? Not really. Trump was doing what he always does; he used hyperbole to express his main point, which is border security and ending the issue of mass illegal immigration. Both leaders seem to agree on that.

• TX border security win: The razor wire that Texas has been placing along its southern border with Mexico may remain and continue to be installed. On Wednesday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Lone Star State was entitled to a preliminary injunction in its fight with the federal government over border security. “Specifically, the United States clearly waived sovereign immunity as to Texas’s state law claims under § 702 of the Administrative Procedure Act (‘APA’). That conclusion is supported by a flood of uncontradicted circuit precedent to which the United States has no answer,” the court wrote. “We also reject the United States’ alternate arguments. The injunction is not barred by intergovernmental immunity because Texas is seeking not to ‘regulate’ Border Patrol but only to safeguard its own property. Nor, for similar reasons, is the injunction barred by the Immigration and Nationality Act.” Governor Greg Abbott celebrated the ruling, noting that “Texas has the right to build the razor wire border wall” and that the Biden administration was wrong to cut it.

• Tough-talking Denver Mayor walks it back on deportations (Red State)

Big Tech

• Zuckerberg meets with Trump: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago last week in an apparent effort to get in the president-elect’s good graces. Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, Stephen Miller, explained that Zuckerberg has “made clear that he wants to support the national renewal of America under Trump’s leadership,” and he sees Trump as an “agent of change and … prosperity.” Following the failed assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, Zuckerberg expressed a sense of admiration for how Trump immediately responded. “Seeing Donald Trump get up after being shot in the face and pump his fist in the air with the American flag is one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen in my life,” Zuckerberg said then. With Elon Musk serving a significant role in Trump’s administration with DOGE, one wonders if Zuckerberg is also seeking some influential role with Trump.

Economy

• Trump threatens BRICS countries about replacing the dollar: For decades, the American people have taken for granted the economically stabilizing benefits of having the U.S. dollar as the global economy’s default currency. But that doesn’t mean our geopolitical foes aren’t bent on revoking that status. The bloc of countries known as the BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — in addition to Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, have been in discussions to replace the U.S. dollar. Donald Trump just sent a shot across their collective bow. “The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER,” said Trump. “We require a commitment from these Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy. They can go find another ‘sucker!’ There is no chance that the BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, and any Country that tries should wave goodbye to America.”

Culture

• BSU forfeits, SJSU loses: Despite it being a tournament for the conference championship with a possible national championship tournament birth on the line, the Boise State University women’s volleyball team stuck to their convictions. The Broncos forfeited their semifinal match against San Jose State in continued principled objection to an SJSU team that included a “transgender” identifying male. The forfeit put SJSU into the championship match against top-seeded Colorado State. However, SJSU’s run for a championship ended as the Rams defeated the Spartans in four sets. Following the loss, SJSU coach Todd Kress attempted to justify his team amidst the controversy, stating, “We did not take away anyone’s participation opportunities.” Then he played the victim card. “Sadly, others who for years have played this same team without incident chose not to play us this season. To be clear, we did not celebrate a single win by forfeiture. Instead, we braced for the fallout. Each forfeiture announcement unleashed appalling, hateful messages individuals chose to send directly to our student-athletes, our coaching staff, and many associated with our program.” Thankfully, SJSU’s offensive insistence on including a man on their women’s volleyball team has ended in defeat, but not without robbing actual women of the opportunity to win.

• Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signs bill to restrict bathroom access for transgender students (Dispatch)

• Idiots interrupt Thanksgiving parade: For a case study in how not to win friends and influence people, we bring you the news that Jew-hating protesters with “Free Palestine” signs and banners swarmed New York City’s annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday, blocking the parade route and disrupting the festivities until the cops hauled them away. As Fox News reports, “One group of protesters held Palestinian flags and unfurled a banner that read, ‘Don’t celebrate genocide!’ in the middle of the street as the parade led by the Ronald McDonald balloon was coming down Sixth Avenue at West 55th Street. Photos show NYPD officers breaking up the demonstration and detaining multiple protesters so that the parade could continue unobstructed.” It really does defy logic, this effort to rain on our nation’s most famous parade, but no one ever accused the Jew-haters of behaving logically. “I really want to take the moment to tell those grinches that believe they are going to disrupt the parade that it is not going to happen,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams during a press conference Wednesday. Clearly, these thugs didn’t get the memo.

• Mayor lied in hate crime hoax probe but DOJ refused to charge him (Daily Wire)

Misc.

• MSNBC has lost nearly half its audience since the election (Daily Beast)

• Notre Dame Cathedral unveils its new interior five years after devastating fire (Associated Press)

• Supreme Court to evaluate marketing of flavored vapes, effect on youth (Washington Times)

• Smith and Wesson indefinitely suspended from Facebook (X)

• China frees three U.S. prisoners serving harsh sentences ahead of Trump’s return to Washington (NY Post)

• Chinese ship suspected of deliberately dragging anchor for 100 miles to cut Baltic cables (Wall Street Journal)

• Russia, Iran rally to support Assad after Aleppo falls to insurgents in lighting advance (Washington Times)

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