Hegseth Confirmed As Secretary of Defense After Chaotic Process

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By Daily Caller. Pete Hegseth was confirmed Friday as the 29th secretary of Defense after a contentious Senate confirmation process.

The vote was split down party lines, with 50 votes for and 50 votes against and Vice President JD Vance set to break the tie, according to the unofficial tally. Hegseth will oversee the U.S. armed forces’ domestic and foreign activities as its civilian head.

“Pete has a unique perspective as a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and is unquestionably passionate about modernizing our military and supporting the brave patriots like himself who serve our nation,” Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, who was rumored to have defected with his vote, said on X Friday. “I will support his confirmation and look forward to working with him to rebuild our military and advance President Trump’s peace through strength agenda.”

Republican defections included Republican Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins.

Hegseth’s confirmation hearing was tense, as his allegations of sexual assault and past comments on women’s role in the military drew harsh attacks from Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Despite the attacks, he drew praise from his Republican colleagues for his performance. (Read more from “Hegseth Confirmed As Secretary of Defense After Chaotic Process” HERE)

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Hegseth confirmed: Vance comes to rescue after McConnell rebellion forces tiebreaker

By Washington Examiner. Pete Hegseth will be the next secretary of defense after Vice President JD Vance cast a historic vote to save his confirmation when Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) rejected the nominee at the last hour.

The turbulent nomination threatened to split Republicans on one of President Donald Trump’s most consequential Cabinet picks and sets up a tense future as McConnell surprised his conference in voting “no” a day after supporting moving the process forward.

In a vote that fell mostly along party lines, the upper chamber voted 51-50 to confirm Hegseth to run the Pentagon and its sprawling, $840 billion budget.

McConnell, the former GOP leader, emerged as a surprise “no” vote on Friday, joining Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) in opposition. Their defections forced Vance to travel to the Capitol to cast his first tiebreaker as vice president.

McConnell issued a lengthy statement defending his rejection of Hegseth, highlighting the charged geopolitical moment and the “gravest threats to U.S. national security interests since World War II.” (Read more from “Hegseth confirmed: Vance comes to rescue after McConnell rebellion forces tiebreaker” HERE)

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Adam Schiff Extends Olive Branch, Trump Asks if He Was ‘Hit With a Baseball Bat’

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Sen. Adam Schiff of California wanted to play nice with President Donald Trump on his trip to survey the wildfire devastation in California.

Mr. Trump, however, wasn’t ready to bury the hatchet with the man he dubbed “Shifty Schiff” and “pencil neck.”

“I was told that Schiff was going to travel with us to California. I wasn’t thrilled, to be honest with you,” Mr. Trump told reporters Friday. “And I saw him last night on television. It looks like he got hit with a baseball bat or something. What happened to him?”

Mr. Trump also said the fire in California “could have been put out” if elected officials “let the water flow.”

“So I think we are going to have a very interesting time,” he said of the trip. (Read more from “Adam Schiff Extends Olive Branch, Trump Asks if He Was ‘Hit With a Baseball Bat’” HERE)

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Mexico Refuses to Accept U.S. Deportation Flight as Trump’s Immigration Overhaul Gets Into Full Swing

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Mexico refused to allow a plane carrying illegal migrants to land in the country on Thursday after President Trump dramatically beefed up security at the border and ordered mass raids and deportations since reclaiming the White House, according to military officials.

The deportation flight was blocked from leaving the US after two Air Force C-17 flights, each carrying about 80 deportees to Guatemala, successfully took off Thursday night, NBC reported, citing two defense officials and a third person familiar with the situation.

It was not immediately clear why Mexico blocked the plane, but tensions have flared between Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum since he threatened to slap 25% tariffs on Mexican goods in response to migrants illegally crossing the border.

A White House official told the outlet via text message that “the flights thing was an administrative issue and was quickly rectified.”

The flight rejection appeared to be confusion over the Department of Defense flight manifest, according to Fox News’ Bill Melugin, who cited a senior State Department official. (Read more from “Mexico Refuses to Accept U.S. Deportation Flight as Trump’s Immigration Overhaul Gets Into Full Swing” HERE)

JD Vance Receives Backlash From Conservatives for ‘Rewarding’ an ‘Enemy’ News Org. With First Sit-Down Interview

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Vice President JD Vance received backlash from conservatives on Thursday after it was announced that his first sit-down interview would be conducted by Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan.

After CBS News political reporter Olivia Rinaldi broke the news that Vance would grant his first interview as vice president to Face the Nation on Sunday, conservative media figures criticized the decision.

(Read more from “JD Vance Receives Backlash From Conservatives for ‘Rewarding’ an ‘Enemy’ News Org. With First Sit-Down Interview” HERE)

USDA Raises Eyebrows With Hire Of Seed Oil Lobbyist As Agency Chief Of Staff

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The incoming chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in a new administration determined to “make America healthy again” is a junk food lobbyist whose recent experience includes running the National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) and the Edible Oil Producers Association (EOPA).

On Tuesday, the USDA announced Kailee Tkacz Buller’s appointment under Secretary-Designate Brooke Rollins, who testified in a confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday. Buller also previously worked as a lobbyist for the snack industry trade group, SNAC International, and the Corn Refiners Association, another trade association behind ingredients for popular junk foods such as high-fructose corn syrup. The new chief of staff for the USDA became president and CEO of NOPA and EOPA after spending more than three years in the Department of Agriculture under President Trump’s first term.

Buller’s appointment became a trending topic on X Thursday night after Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., published a screenshot of the USDA’s press release.

Some pointed out the hire of a seed oil lobbyist seemingly contradicts the new administration’s platform to “make America healthy again” by way of eliminating corporate influence over the federal government’s most powerful agencies regulating food and medicine. (Read more from “USDA Raises Eyebrows With Hire Of Seed Oil Lobbyist As Agency Chief Of Staff” HERE)

Judge Dismisses Lawfare Against Doctor Who Exposed Secret Trans Procedures On Kids

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A judge dismissed the Department of Justice’s case against a doctor who uncovered secret transgender procedures on kids, assenting to a motion from President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner dismissed the partisan lawfare today against doctor Eithan Haim, who exposed Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) for performing hidden transgender interventions on children.

Biden’s DOJ had been prosecuting the doctor, but Trump’s DOJ moved to dismiss the case today, as reported by Christopher Rufo, the conservative activist who broke the original story. The acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas asked to dismiss the “Second Superseding Indictment and all open counts … with prejudice,” according to the motion.

On Friday morning, The Federalist published an article in which Haim said he was expecting potential jail time soon. The same day, a source close to the case — who wished to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation — said the judge was going to require Haim to enter a plea deal by 9 a.m. on Monday or go to jail.

Haim, a Dallas-area doctor, revealed in 2023 that TCH was performing transgender procedures on kids as young as 11. TCH lied about no longer providing the procedures, which Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had classified as “child abuse” by that point. Texas has since banned gender mutilation of children. (Read more from “Judge Dismisses Lawfare Against Doctor Who Exposed Secret Trans Procedures On Kids” HERE)

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Bureaucrats Privately Fume About Trump Abolishing DEI, Go Into Full Conspiracy Mode

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Numerous current and former government employees are complaining and commiserating about the end of internal federal diversity programs in a private Facebook group, images of which have been obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The bureaucrats — mostly current or former employees of the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) National Park Service (NPS) — likened President Donald Trump’s newly-announced push to root out internal federal “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) programs to McCarthyism and sharply criticized Trump’s orders on the issue. The Trump administration has vowed to discipline federal employees who resist implementing the anti-DEI policy and sent memos to agency personnel with an email address to use for reporting attempts to sidestep the new guidelines.

A Wednesday post to the group by an employee of the Department of Agriculture (USDA), included a screenshot of an email that was sent to USDA employees this week outlining Trump’s new policy on DEI. The email featured in the post included the tip line email address to report violations of the new Trump policy.

“Email I received earlier from USDA about ending [DEI] programs. It’s like the 1950s when they were asking people to rat out their neighbors for being a suspected communist,” the USDA employee wrote in the post.

“For those still in federal employment, reminder that as part of the job you have sworn to uphold and defend the constitution. Not making this as a hint for this specific screenshot, but just in general,” one former USDA employee commented. (Read more from “Bureaucrats Privately Fume About Trump Abolishing DEI, Go Into Full Conspiracy Mode” HERE)

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MLK Jr.’s Family Responds to Trump Executive Order to Declassify Records, Asks to Review Files Before Release

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The family of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has responded to President Donald Trump’s executive order to declassify records relating to the late civil rights leader’s assassination, requesting that they be granted the “opportunity to review the files as a family prior to its public release.”

Trump, who also ordered the declassification of records relating to the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert F. Kennedy on Thursday, stated that “everything will be revealed.”

“A lot of people are waiting for this — for years, for decades. And everything will be revealed,” the newly sworn in president said as he signed the order:

Bernice King, Martin Luther King Jr.’s youngest child, responded to the announcement in a statement on social media on behalf of her family:

(Read more from “MLK Jr.’s Family Responds to Trump Executive Order to Declassify Records, Asks to Review Files Before Release” HERE)

Megyn Kelly Rips Barack Obama for Posting ‘Least Attractive Photo’ of Wife Michelle on Her Birthday Amid Divorce Rumors: ‘She Looks Terrible’

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. . .During the Thursday, January 23, episode of “The Megyn Kelly Show,” the famed journalist shared her thoughts on rampant rumors about the former president and first lady potentially experiencing trouble in paradise after Michelle skipped out on Donald Trump ‘s inauguration earlier this week

“I do not know whether this is true at all,” Megyn admitted. “But if it is true, it truly would be a political earthquake in Democrat circles, never mind America.”

“I don’t remember a presidential divorce in modern history,” she noted.

Megyn proceeded to call out Barack, as she criticized the upload he shared for Michelle’s 61st birthday on Friday January 17.

“Some of you are married. Did you see the post he put out to celebrate for their anniversary? He chose the least attractive photo of her that’s ever been released,” the talk show host claimed. “I mean, this is just wrong. Michelle Obama can look very nice in a photograph. This ain’t it.”

(Read more from “Megyn Kelly Rips Barack Obama for Posting ‘Least Attractive Photo’ of Wife Michelle on Her Birthday Amid Divorce Rumors: ‘She Looks Terrible’” HERE)

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Trump Erases ‘Bidenbucks’ And Taxpayer-Funded Leftist Voter Registration Drives

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“Bidenbucks” was technically dead on arrival on President Donald Trump’s first day in office, but the election-influencing executive order that Trump’s predecessor signed nearly four years ago will take diligence to fully kill.

As David Craig, legal director for the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA), told The Federalist, Biden’s order “has substantial tentacles across government.” FGA has been on the frontlines of the battle against Bidenbucks since the executive order’s inception at the beginning of Biden’s term.

“The head is cut off the snake but the body continues to slither,” Craig said, noting how deeply embedded Bidenbucks is in every agency, each teeming with left-leaning bureaucrats.

Soon after taking the oath of office on Monday, the new president rescinded scores of his predecessor’s edicts that Trump says “embedded deeply unpopular, inflationary, illegal, and radical practices within every agency and office of the Federal government.” Among the chloroformed is Biden’s Executive Order 14019. It has been expunged from the White House website. . .

The so-called “Promoting Access to Voting” directive that Biden signed in early March 2021 was nothing more than a taxpayer-funded get-out-the-vote machine to elect Democrats. As The Federalist has reported, the order instructed federal agencies to assist in a nationwide voter registration promotion campaign. (Read more from “Trump Erases ‘Bidenbucks’ And Taxpayer-Funded Leftist Voter Registration Drives” HERE)

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