Politics

• Harris’s historic achievement: On Monday, outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris fulfilled her duties in presiding over Congress’s Electoral College vote tally ceremony. Harris read aloud the number of Electoral College votes each of the candidates won and, in so doing, gave the official congressional acknowledgment of Donald Trump’s election. The New York Times solemnly reported, “Congress Certifies Trump’s Victory.” An ABC News social media post elaborated, “In her role as president of the Senate, Vice Pres. Kamala Harris presided over a joint session of Congress to certify President-elect Donald Trump’s 2024 election win.” The truth is that Congress and Harris did not “certify” anything. The Electoral Count Act, which Congress clarified in 2022, explicitly states that the vice president “shall have no power to solely determine, accept, reject, or otherwise adjudicate or resolve disputes over the proper certificate of ascertainment of appointment of electors, the validity of electors, or the votes of electors.” Congress does not certify election results; each state certifies the results presented by its slate of official electors. Congress simply counts the Electoral College votes.

• Democrat election gaslighting: Reality notwithstanding, Democrat lawmakers pompously boasted of their supposed stalwart defense of “democracy.” According to Representative Joe Morelle (D-NY), they “respect the democratic institutions even when they’re not in our favor.” Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD) laughably asserted, “We were acting as constitutional patriots, and this is exactly what the peaceful transfer of power should look like.” Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) added, “Obviously, there was a huge difference between this January 6 and the other January 6. … We hope that’ll be a good example for years to come.” Democrats are a good example of nothing but hypocrisy. In this case, they have a long history of disputing election outcomes. In fact, as political analyst Byron York observed, “It should be noted that [yesterday’s] proceeding was the first time no Democrat objected to the certification of a Republican president since the certification of George H.W. Bush in 1989.”

Lawfare

• Trump sentencing: Donald Trump’s legal team has been rebuffed by Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan, who will not delay Trump’s sentencing until after he’s sworn in as president. Merchan set Friday as the day for sentencing, though he did offer Trump the option of appearing in court virtually rather than in person. Trump could still file a last-minute appeal to delay Merchan’s sentencing. By offering Trump the option of a virtual court appearance, it seems almost certain that Merchan plans on handing down a sentence of “unconditional discharge,” which effectively is a no-penalty sentence, other than labeling Trump a felon. The only sentence Trump should get for this sham of a “felony” case is the one he already received — four more years in the White House.

Update: Trump filed a 502-page lawsuit to stop the sentencing, which was unsuccessful.

• Trump moves against Smith hit job report: Speaking of lawfare, departing Special Counsel Jack Smith, who had both of his cases against Donald Trump dismissed, is moving to get his final report on Trump’s classified documents case publicly released. Trump’s legal team is working to prevent the report’s release, sending a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland arguing, “The Final Report promises to be a one-sided, slanted report, relying nearly exclusively on evidence presented to a grand jury and subject to all requisite protections — and which is known to Smith only as a result of his unconstitutional appointment — in order to serve a singular purpose: convincing the public that everyone Smith charged is guilty of the crimes charged.” The letter calls Smith an “out-of-control private citizen unconstitutionally posing as a prosecutor” whose goal is to damage Trump politically. “Accordingly, because Smith has proposed an unlawful course of action, you must countermand his plan and remove him promptly,” the letter adds. “If Smith is not removed, then the handling of his report should be deferred to President Trump’s incoming attorney general, consistent with the expressed will of the People.” The decision on whether to release the report to the public lies with Garland.

Update: U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon temporarily blocked the release of Smith’s report.

Security

• Biden sued by U.S. Steel and Nippon: Joe Biden’s decision to block the sale of U.S. Steel to the Japanese-based company Nippon Steel, a $14 billion deal that was over a year in the making, has garnered a lawsuit from both companies. In a joint statement, the companies said they “are disappointed to see such a clear and improper exploitation of the country’s national security apparatus in an effort to help win an election and repay political favors.” They added that they “are entitled to a fair process and have been left with no choice but to challenge the decision and the process leading to it in court.” When Biden announced his decision last week, he alluded to national security interests. However, U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt called Biden’s decision “shameful and corrupt,” claiming, “He gave a political payback to a union boss out of touch with his members while harming our company’s future, our workers, and our national security.” Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed dismay at Biden’s national security allusion, saying that he needed to “explain clearly” what he meant and adding that he needed “to take steps to dispel these concerns.”

• Biden’s Gitmo release: When Joe Biden isn’t pardoning his son for selling the family name, he’s pardoning and commuting sentences for other truly awful people. Add to that list 11 detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The Pentagon announced Monday that 11 al-Qaida-tied Yemenis were released after never being charged with a crime. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has long intended to repatriate these 11 men to Oman, and he notified Congress of his plan in 2023. It was delayed due to Hamas’s assault on Israel. Just 15 detainees remain at Gitmo, but more importantly, the release fits with Biden’s pattern of weakness. “The Biden administration offered plea deals last year to alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and co-conspirators Walid Bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi,” reports the New York Post of three other Gitmo residents. “The deals, slammed by 9/11 families, Republican lawmakers and the defense secretary, will spare the alleged terrorists the death penalty.”

• Trump floats acquiring Greenland again: Ahead of Donald Trump Jr.‘s trip to Greenland, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he was “hearing that the people of Greenland are 'MAGA.’” Trump has previously floated the idea of the U.S. acquiring Greenland, a massive island territory currently under Denmark’s control. At least one Greenlander welcomes the idea: “We don’t want to be colonized by Danish government anymore. We get ripped [off] every year [with] our minerals from Greenland. We are the richest nation in the world. And we don’t get to use it. Denmark’s using us too much.” Trump noted that he plans to visit Greenland, posting, “Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation. We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!” Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede seemed receptive, noting that his country is interested in gaining its independence from Denmark and saying, “It is about time that we ourselves take a step and shape our future, also with regard to who we will cooperate closely with, and who our trading partners will be.”

• Chinese-owned ship suspected of damaging undersea cable to Taiwan (Hot Air)

Culture

• McDonald’s curbs DEI: Robby Starbuck has netted another win in his righteous crusade against the inherently Marxist woke ideology of “diversity, equity, and inclusion.” The fast-food giant McDonald’s has announced that it will be ending some of its DEI practices following an internal “civil rights audit.” This announcement just happens to come three days after Starbuck reached out to McDonald’s regarding the company’s “woke policies.” In its announcement, McDonald’s noted that it would be ending its “aspirational representation goals” and pausing its “external surveys,” which includes participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. Starbuck responded with an X post that read, “As our first corporate flip of 2025 I just want to say, HAPPY NEW YEAR!” This represents a significant change of course for McDonald’s, which had been at the forefront of corporations pushing DEI policies. Maybe it was partly the work of the company’s most famous, albeit temporary, employee.

• Teacher who refused to use preferred pronouns gets $450K settlement (Daily Wire)

• Richard Dawkins leaves atheist group after it unpublishes argument that sex is biological (Hot Air)

Misc.

• Trudeau resigns as Canadian prime minister (Just the News)

• Policy: Three reforms Trump needs Congress to pass to root out the deep state (Daily Signal)

• Humor: The official White House schedule for the final two weeks of Biden’s presidency (Babylon Bee)

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