The Patriot Post® · Friday Executive News Summary
Mullin advances: Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin advanced out of the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in an 8-7 vote Thursday and will likely be confirmed as the new DHS secretary by the full Senate. Republican committee chairman Rand Paul voted against Mullin, which would have been enough to block his advancement had Democrat John Fetterman not broken with his party to support the nomination. Paul and Mullin clashed over a long-standing feud between them, with Paul saying Mullin was too hotheaded and prone to violence to lead a DHS that has struggled with the appropriate use of force in recent months. Fetterman argued that DHS needs to be reopened, that he had called for the firing of outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem, and that he had a strong working relationship with Mullin.
Cesar Chavez Day damage control: Following numerous credible allegations that labor activist Cesar Chavez had sexually abused girls and young women back in the 1970s, California’s Democrat leaders, who have long lionized Chavez as a Latino farmworkers unionizing icon, are now seeking to memory-hole him as fast as possible. California, along with several other states, observed March 31 (Chavez’s birthday) as Cesar Chavez Day. Since the revelations, however, California — as well as Arizona — is seeking to rename it as Farmworkers Day. Meanwhile, Texas has declared it will not observe the day, with Gov. Greg Abbott saying he’d work with the legislature to eliminate it as a state holiday.
Chuck Norris, American legend, dies at 86: Few people achieve a level of fame that gives birth to its own genre of jokes, but Chuck Norris did. Quips like “Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door” have become a cultural mainstay in recent decades. On Thursday, news broke that Norris, a martial artist and action star, had been hospitalized in Hawaii for a “medical emergency,” and this morning, the Norris family announced on social media that he had died. While the family asks for privacy, they have confirmed that the beloved Christian author and conservative activist was surrounded by his family and at peace in his final moments. As the man himself might have said, he didn’t die; he leveled up. And he won’t be buried, either. He’ll put the earth on as a blanket.
Joe Kent goes down the Candace Owens rathole: Recently resigned National Counterterrorism Center director Joe Kent is peddling Candace Owens-style conspiracies by implying that Israel may have been involved in Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Kent claimed on Tucker Carlson’s podcast that Kirk opposed going to war with Iran; therefore, his death is a “data point that we need to look into.” Kent also insinuated that he was stopped from investigating Kirk’s murder, even though “there was still linkage for us to investigate that we needed to run down.” The NCTC can’t issue warrants, and it doesn’t collect or surveil, so Kent had no authority to investigate Kirk’s killing.
Iran targets energy infrastructure across the Middle East: The Islamic Revolutionary regime in Iran may be facing its last days in power, but it won’t go down without dragging its neighbors down with it. In addition to making the Strait of Hormuz all but inaccessible, Iran is now striking oil and natural gas production facilities across the region. After an Israeli strike on the massive South Pars natural gas field in Iran, President Trump ordered Israel on Wednesday to stop targeting the field, but he did threaten to blow it up entirely if Iran continued striking at neighboring oil production. Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait have reported that fresh Iranian missile and drone strikes did occur on Thursday. Qatar has expelled Iranian diplomats from its borders following the strikes, and Saudi Arabia says it reserves the right to military action against Iran.
Iran regime official who refuted Netanyahu’s claim is killed in airstrike: On Thursday, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps spokesman and deputy of public relations Ali Mohammad Naini publicly refuted the statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “Iran today has … no ability to produce ballistic missiles.” Hours later, Tehran announced that Naini had been killed in an air strike conducted by U.S. and Israeli forces. Naini had claimed that Iran could and would continue to produce missiles until the “enemy” was “completely exhausted.” An Israel Defense Forces spokesman observed, “In his role, Naini disseminated the regime’s terrorist propaganda to its proxies across the Middle East in order to influence and advance terror attacks against the State of Israel from the different fronts.”
Faucahontas backs Nazi fan Graham Platner: Senator Elizabeth Warren doesn’t have the courage of her convictions, or else she would not be supporting Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner. The Left has set the standard by which candidates are labeled “Nazi” or “sexist,” and Platner meets those criteria. Much has been made of the Nazi tattoo Platner had on his chest before replacing it with another tattoo less strongly associated with Nazis, but recently, his “sexist” comments have come to light as well. In a moment of what the Left would call “victim blaming,” Platner commented on social media that women should “act like an adult for f***‘s sake” to avoid sexual assault. None of this deterred Warren from throwing her support behind Platner in a primary against Gov. Janet Mills.
NYC public employee ordered deported: A headline reading “Democrats employ criminal illegal aliens” wouldn’t raise a single eyebrow. That’s what the Democrat Party supports. On the other hand, a headline reading “New York City Council loses fight to protect criminal illegal; judge orders final deportation” is more surprising. Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez, who had previously been arrested for assault and overstayed his visa by almost a decade, was employed in the New York City government as a data analyst. Democrats have naturally pulled out every stop to protect Bohorquez as a valuable addition to the American mosaic, insisting his detention and looming deportation are nothing more than “a technical error.” Despite all of this, an immigration judge has ordered his final deportation. Americans may be surprised to learn that some judges do still order deportations instead of trying to protect each and every gangbanger.
Blue states sue EPA over climate policy: Over 20 Democrat-run states have sued the EPA over the agency’s recent repeal of the classification of greenhouse gas emissions as pollutants subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act. The lawsuit claims that the Trump administration is running afoul of The Science™. New York AG Letitia James stated, “Instead of helping Americans face our new reality, the Trump administration has chosen denial, repealing critical protections that are foundational to the federal government’s response to climate change.” California Governor Gavin Newsom argued, “Donald Trump is breaking the laws that protect Americans from climate pollution — all to enrich his Big Oil and his wealthy polluting allies.” The states filed a petition with the DC Circuit Court of Appeals seeking review of the EPA’s action, contending that the agency lacked the legal authority to repeal its GHG regulation.
Newsom’s wildlife bridge to nowhere: Wildlife bridge crossings over highways have gained popularity in recent years. Just how effective these bridges are at saving animals isn’t clear, but what is clear is that if a wildlife bridge doesn’t actually form a bridge, it’s not saving any wildlife. This is the case in California, where another costly boondoggle remains unfinished after years of construction and a ballooning price tag. Begun in 2022, the wildlife bridge crossing over the 101 Freeway was supposed to help animals cross the highway by now. The project was given a $54 million budget and is scheduled for completion in 2025. Today, the total cost has swelled to $92 million and is not expected to be finished until sometime this fall. That’s a lot of taxpayer money for what amounts to an environmentalist virtue signal.
Headlines
James Comey subpoenaed in conspiracy case (CBS News)
Trump pledges to not deploy troops to Iran (Washington Examiner)
Secretary Hegseth confirms he wants $200B to restock bombs, missiles (NY Post)
Planned Parenthood settles EEOC probe over DEI training, racial “affinity” groups (Reuters)
The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.