Trump to Bureaucrats: Freeze
Plus Tulsi Gabbard, Gary Peters retires, Disney v. Youtube, America First
It’s looking like another week of promises made, promises kept — this time on spending and bureaucracy. The firings of prosecutors at the DOJ viewed as active in politicized targeting, the suspension of USAID staffers and foreign aid payments, the takeaway of CEQ authority that has been around since the Carter administration, and, most of all, the freezing of grant, loan, and federal aid outflows until February 10th (when the OMB will presumably have all new management) are all consistent with things Trump said he would do during the campaign. It’s the biggest reason the swamp dwellers feared him so much — this time, draining it was going to be a day one project, not just a slogan, and woe betide the bureaucrats who tried to rush money out the door right before they were set to get fired.
Politico runs through the flurry of action, acknowledging that yes, these are all things Trump can do — the swamp had just hoped he wouldn’t get the chance again, or his team would botch it just like last time.
Last night’s memo is just one part of a much broader White House power play, unprecedented in its breadth, to remold the entire U.S. government apparatus. A key focus has been the Department or Justice, where — as Fox News first scooped — Trump yesterday fired more than a dozen prosecutors who had worked under Special Counsel Jack Smith on the Jan.6 and classified documents cases back when the president was a mere mortal who could be held accountable for crimes committed. Prosecutors who worked on the Jan. 6 cases are also being investigated, the WSJ scooped yesterday, while several senior DOJ staff are either being reassigned or have felt compelled to quit — see stories from Reuters and the New York Times for further reading.
Under siege: “It feels like a non-violent war,” one DOJ career employee tells my colleague Josh Gerstein in a must-read piece on the fear now gripping the department. “People are just in a state of shock and devastated.” A former DOJ official adds: “It is a flat-out purge of individuals who this administration must view either of suspect loyalty, or have worked on matters they just did not like. … We are in the early phases of what to me is just looking like a wholesale politically-inspired demolition of the Department of Justice in key places.”
Also under siege: The U.S. Agency for International Development, where some 60 — sixty! — senior staff have just been placed on leave, my colleagues Nahal Toosi, Daniel Lippman and Robbie Gramer scooped last night. “This is a huge morale hit,” a former senior Trump administration official tells them. “This is the leadership of the agency. This is like taking out all the generals.” Acting USAID Administrator Jason Gray sent an email to all staff Monday saying the decision was related to the apparent efforts of some staffers “to circumvent the president’s executive orders.”
The U.S.’s entire foreign aid program was halted last Friday, pending review — and Nahal and Robbie have just filed a useful writeup of the chaos now erupting in projects across the developing world. Among the schemes losing funding is PEPFAR — the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — which was launched by George W. Bush and is estimated to have saved 26 million lives so far. Its data website was down last night (h/t Robbie Gramer). The WSJ also has a long list of aid projects in the mire.
This all follows the abrupt (and potentially illegal) sacking of more than a dozen inspectors general from key government agencies and departments — which one described to the NYT yesterday as an “existential threat” to government oversight … An overhaul of the secret service leadership (h/t CNN) … And a much broader push to make great swathes of the civil service easier to fire, under what used to be called “Schedule F” regulation. There’s also a fascinating — though unverified — anonymous Reddit post doing the rounds alleging a major shakeout of the Office of Personnel Management.
What we are witnessing is nothing short of a revolution inside the U.S. government, with unknown numbers of civil servants either being removed from their jobs or effectively facing some kind of loyalty test if they wish to stay on.
Amidst the liberal outrage, it’s important to remember that this was all spelled out by Trump long in advance. Throughout the election campaign, he told America repeatedly that he would reshape the federal government, root out (and even prosecute) his enemies, pardon supporters who were convicted of violent crimes, slash government spending programs en masse and ax huge numbers of federal jobs. And then he won 77 million votes to do exactly that. Those accusing Trump of being anti-democratic might note that this is largely democracy in action.
Why America Needs Tulsi Gabbard
It’s because I know Tulsi so well that I understand why she would make an excellent director of national intelligence. Americans have understandably lost trust in our intelligence services. In choosing Lieutenant Colonel Gabbard, President Trump has picked a highly-qualified, reform-minded leader who can regain that trust.
The fact that her nomination has engendered such blowback in the media, driven and organized by the failed leadership class of past administrations, is a sign of how much they fear her. They dread what she represents: sunlight and transparency, a bright light confronting a dark, rotten system ridden rife with liars and frauds.
The intelligence services of the United States of America ought to be focused on serving our national interest. They ought to be focused on understanding the movements and intentions of the nation’s foes, anticipating dangers before they emerge and giving the commander-in-chief the information needed to stop those who would harm us. That is the reason they exist.
Instead, in recent years, our intelligence services — the same people who swore to uphold the Constitution and defend us against dangerous threats — have time and again turned on the American people.
They have met the enemy, and it is you and me. They have spied on Americans, trumped-up charges against their fellow citizens and pursued their political critics without regard to the law.
They looked at the tattoos of brave military warriors and scenes of parents protesting against lockdowns at school boards and, with the help of the same journalists today criticizing Gabbard, pretended that these patriotic citizens represented a threat to the country. It is precisely this anti-American mindset which Gabbard is well-placed to dismantle.
It’s true that her unorthodox foreign-policy views alarm some right-thinking people. Bari Weiss, the admirable founder of the Free Press, once called her a “toady,” principally because Gabbard had met President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Knowing Tulsi as I do, I can say with certainty that she is no such thing.
She is a patriot. She is a woman of faith, strong and courageous, deeply patriotic, with a passionate love for America and those who serve.
As a conservative woman in the public eye, I’m all too familiar with the double standards we face. Tulsi Gabbard is experiencing what happens when accomplished women who don’t fit the liberal mold stand up for what they believe.
Much of the criticism directed at Gabbard today is not just unfair – it is tinged with a combination of paranoia and sexism, emanating from decrepit voices. It’s the same figures who President Trump stripped of their national security clearances after their repeated public lies to the American people.
If she were a Democrat, or, heaven forbid, a man of either party, we wouldn’t be hearing these ridiculous questions about her qualifications.
As a former member of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, Gabbard’s credentials aren’t just politically impressive: she would be the first female director of national intelligence to have served in the military.
Similar to many in my generation, she enlisted after 9/11 out of a sense of duty — she graduated top of her class in officer school, the first woman to do so, and served three times to multiple war zones. She knows the threats we face.
Unlike many of her critics, Tulsi Gabbard actually put her life on the line for our country for more than two decades.
She knows the importance of America’s role in the world, the consequences of how we the use of our power, and what can happen when wrong bad decisions are made at the top, even with the best intent.
When she was a rising star in the Democratic Party, the media couldn’t get enough of her. But the moment it became clear that she was a woman who thinks for herself, challenging the ruling class for their failures and hypocrisy, the knives came out.
The media tends to treat conservative women as either ditzy airheads or cold-hearted villains. There’s no in-between, no nuance.
The anonymous sources within the intelligence establishment and their allies in the media are clearly terrified of an independent-thinking woman who bucks the establishment.
We need to call out their hypocrisy whenever we see it. Women like Tulsi Gabbard, who have served our country with distinction, deserve respect and fair treatment, regardless of their political affiliation.
When people talk about breaking glass ceilings and empowering women, surely that should include all women, not just those who toe the liberal line?
I support Tulsi Gabbard’s swift confirmation as our next director of national intelligence not because she is a woman, but because she deserves the job. Because she is a patriot who understands the burden of leadership, and chooses to carry it even so. I therefore hope that she is confirmed in the coming days.
Gary Peters Unexpectedly Retires
Opening up a very competitive Michigan Senate seat.
Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, who led the Democrats’ Senate campaign efforts the past two election cycles, has announced he will not seek a third term in 2026, creating a highly contested battleground seat expected to be highly coveted by both parties.
The 66-year-old’s unexpected decision Tuesday to step aside after just two terms comes as a surprise and poses a challenge for Democrats in Michigan during a turbulent period, likely dividing their strong bench between the gubernatorial and Senate race in 2026.
Having lost Michigan in the presidential race, Peters’ decision forces Democrats to defend a critical Senate seat in Michigan without the advantage of an incumbent, complicating their efforts to regain control of the chamber in 2026, where Republicans currently hold a slim majority. Expected to be among the names most circulated for the position is Pete Buttigieg, the former U.S. Transportation Secretary who moved to Michigan in recent years.
What People Are Watching
Disney vs. Youtube, with Paramount in third.
Disney’s brands saw about 11.2 percent of overall TV viewing in the United States, just ahead of YouTube’s 11.1 percent share, per Nielsen‘s Media Distributor Gauge for December. Having the most-viewed TV series of 2024, Bluey, which tallied 55.62 billion minutes watched last year, certainly helped. And, in fact, all five of the top five most-viewed series of 2024 — Grey’s Anatomy, Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers and NCIS among them — were all available to watch on a Disney platform.
YouTube, meanwhile, appears to be reaping the benefits by orienting its app as a viewing destination on TV sets instead of just as a second screen for videos. The Google-owned platform claimed 11.1 percent of TV use in Nielsen’s tracking frame, which runs from November 25 through December 29.
Just like the prior month, Paramount Global’s sprawling array of outlets, including CBS and Paramount+, took the bronze in this tally with about 9.2 percent of all TV use. Taylor Sheridan series Landman and CBS’ The Equalizer have appeared in the top five of Nielsen’s weekly streaming charts in December and CBS is home to its share of NFL games.
Netflix, which had two NFL games in December as well as the season premieres of tentpole shows like Squid Game and Virgin River, leaped over both NBCUniversal and Fox this month to post about 8.5 percent share of all TV viewing.
Feature
Items of Interest
Foreign
Ukraine hopes Trump will find Putin frustrating on peace deal.
Is the U.K. prepared to welcome a million migrants each year?
Murray: Britain is losing friends and making enemies.
200,000 Palestinians head back to Gaza.
Denmark announces more spending on security in Greenland.
Why Trump’s return should make Europe hopeful.
Nigel Farage is making major parties panic.
German right criticizes holocaust remembrance.
Domestic
Amber Duke: The Real Housewives of the Resistance.
Trump pledges Iron Dome missile shield for the U.S.
Border Patrol and Mexican cartel members trade gunfire at border.
In South Florida, migrant raids rise.
Senate nominations up next include Bridge Colby.
RFK Jr’s biggest fanbase: conservative Christian moms.
Kaminsky: DOGE plaintiff was previously awarded millions in DEI funding.
Suddenly, Democrats care about the price of eggs.
Jailed J6er is fatally shot by deputy in traffic stop.
Trump appointed prosecutor opens review of J6 cases.
Kevin McCarthy launches new PA firm.
NYC public schools spending vast amounts for poor results.
The Americans pledging not to buy in 2025.
Media
O’Neill: Holocaust envy dominates the media.
Joy Reid compares Trump to Hitler.
Catherine Rampell compares Elon Musk to Hitler.
NY Mag accused of cropping black people out of article on Trump parties.
Tucker Carlson claims Joe Biden attempted to assassinate Putin.
2028
Have the L.A. fires extinguished Gavin Newsom’s presidential dreams?
Tech
Trump claims Microsoft in talks to buy TikTok.
China’s AI model shakes big tech.
NVIDIA’s market rout is biggest in tech history.
Health
China’s top gene editing scientist is back in the lab.
Rep introduces “FIZZ-NO” act to remove sugary sodas from food stamps.
Religion
Vatican warns AI could undermine foundations of society.
France infuriated by Macron plans for Notre Dame’s stained glass.
Ephemera
Melania’s official White House portrait is all business.
Google Maps to rename Denali, Gulf of Mexico after Trump EO.
At Sundance, the hottest ticket was a Rose Byrne/Conan O’Brien thriller. Really.
The madness and risk of buying a Super Bowl ad.
Quote
“Short-lived are both the praiser and the praised, and rememberer and the remembered: and all this in a nook of this part of the world; and not even here do all agree, no, not any one with himself: and the whole earth too is a point.”
— Marcus Aurelius
