Petering Out 🤡 🤮 ✡️🌻✡️🌻✡️

Bye Bye Pete? Who could have possibly guessed that failing to vet cabinet and other confirmable candidates could result in the nomination of some seriously compromised individuals?  And how ironic is it that reports that his Defense Secretary pick, former Fox guy Pete Hegseth, is a binge drinker, possibly an alcoholic, are likely to be the final straw for Trump because though he can tolerate serial cheating, “alleged” raping, and running not for profit organizations into financial ruin, given his late brother Fred’s problem with the bottle, he tends to draw the line at excessive drinking.  Pete Hegseth’s problems took a huge turn for the worse on Monday, after The New Yorker’s highly respected me-too reporter Jane Mayer released her deep dive into his troubled past. In addition to the credible rape accusation  previously reported, she detailed how the multiply married, serial cheating Hegseth was known for drinking excessively at work related events which included trips to strip joints;  that in addition to the rape accusation that we know of he also had a habit of sexually harassing women who worked for him during those alcohol infused events; that he bankrupted two conservative not for profit organizations with his profligate spending on frequently inappropriate activities; and that during one of his trips to a bar, he shouted for all to hear that all Muslims should be killed. The Trump team’s response to the Mayer article was to call the allegations “disgusting and completely unfounded” but apparently some of Hegseth’s former Fox colleagues find them totally believable.  Yesterday NBC reported that ten of them, some still at Fox, witnessed his excessive drinking firsthand, at times found it necessary to baby-sit him, and frequently had to contend with him showing up for to his weekend morning show late with alcohol still on his breath. The Defense Secretary position involves reacting, soberly, to emergencies at all hours and also involves the oversight of an $840 billion plus budget and, though it may seem a big quaint given Trump’s marital history, cheating on wives is a big no-no for military officers, one that could get them court martialed. Though few of them will go on the record, reports are that at least six Republican Senators are against Hegseth’s confirmation which likely explains why Trump’s team is now floating Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as his replacement. DeSantis is strident and far from a charmer, but as a former Congressmen, current Governor, and presidential candidate, any skeletons he may have had in his closet, were shaken out a long time ago and like him or not his marriage appears to be solid. Don’t be surprised if Hegseth exits stage left while DeSantis, who likely has the ability to actually implement some of Trump’s worst plans, enters stage right.  Also, don’t be surprised if the tradeoff for DeSantis’s nomination is the appointment of daughter-in-law Lara Trump to the seat that Florida Senator Mario Rubio is vacating to become Secretary of State.    

Who’s Next 🤷‍♀️ Yesterday another one of Trump’s picks, Hillsborough County, Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister, flew the coop. For three days Chronister had been Trump’s pick to serve as head of the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency).  Though he lacks the international drug enforcement experience needed for the position, it wasn’t that gap that did him in, rather it was outrage from the right over the fact that he actually enforced health restrictions during the COVID lockdowns and that as part of those efforts he’d arrested a pastor who had violated a ban against large gatherings. Again, while that might seem like a stupid reason to force a candidate out, and clearly that’s what happened, a little vetting would have uncovered his past “infraction.”  Assuming Hegseth really is toast, and he probably is, he probably won’t be the last Trump nominee to go up in flames because with him out of the picture, attention will move to the next most egregious Trump pick, possibly Kash Patel, or maybe Tulsi Gabbard, or, if former Mayor/Public Health advocate Mike Bloomberg has his way, RFK Jr. There are so many, it’s hard to pick.  It’s not just Bloomberg who finds the RFK nomination distressing and scary, former Trump FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has also weighed in telling CNBC that RFK’s appointment will “cost lives in this country.” He went on to say “You’re going to see measles, mumps and rubella vaccination rates go down” …… “And like I said, if we lose another 5%, which could happen the next year or two, we will see large measles outbreaks. For every 1,000 cases of measles that occur in children, there will be one death.”  Trump’s strategy of quickly announcing all of his appointees may turn out to be a blessing for some Senate Republicans because though many of them don’t want to be seen publicly voting against the confirmation of a Trump pick, they’re okay with letting the press do the job for them. Their hope is that the worst picks, or at least some of the worst, will be gone before any hearings take place and there’s plenty of time for that because the hearings won’t even start until the next year after the new Senate is sworn in. One of those “worst” picks, Kash Patel’s plans include shutting down the FBI’s intelligence unit, the group that’s supposed to protect the country from the next 9.11.  He’s also got a long list of people he wants to investigate, prosecute, and fire, a list that until this week included Hunter Biden, which is likely one of the reasons that Daddy Joe pardoned his son.  Frankly, I am surprised by and disagree with the number of Democratic politicians upset (or faux upset?) about the Hunter pardon because what parent wouldn’t try to protect his son, even a compromised one, from a promise of retribution by a blood thirsty mob and Patel and his crowd do act more like January 6^th rioters than anything else. As legal expert/pundit Andrew Weissmann pointed out this week, Hunter was over prosecuted for the types of non-violent crimes that are typically either not pursued or resolved with a fine and payment of owed taxes. With the likes of Patel threatening to go after him, the circumstances behind Biden’s earlier promise to not pardon his son had changed dramatically. There are probably a lot of people who should be pardoned by Biden before January 20, because many of them, like Alexander Vindman who features prominently on Patel’s list, haven’t committed any crimes, not that any of that matters to either Patel or DOGE oligarch Elon Musk who have both called for Vindman to be tried for treason.

Election Results:  The election is now over.  Yesterday Republican incumbent John Duarte conceded his close California race to Democratic challenger Adam Gray.  As a result, absent any deaths or illnesses and there probably will be some, the final House count is 220 Republicans, 215 Democrats, a count that will be 217-215 in January, until special elections are held in the Spring, as a result of the two seats being vacated by Republican appointees Elise Stefanik and Mike Waltz and the one seat already vacated by Panhandle Putz Matt Gaetz.  Though the 2024 election is behind us, some jockeying is going on within the House caucuses as members fight for key committee chair positions.  Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin (age 61) has announced plans to challenge New York Democrat Jerry Nadler (age 77) to become the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee currently chaired by Republican fire thrower Jim “Gym” Jordan.

Fog:  Something bad for Democracy occurred in South Korea yesterday when President Yoon Suk Yeol announced and then after protests and market reaction cancelled martial law. Yoon justified his one Scaramucci length martial law imposition by asserting that the opposition party was too closely aligned with North Korean interests but that was a ruse, the reality is that he was angry that he couldn’t get his plans enacted and saw martial law as a solution. There is now chaos and calls for him to resign or be impeached. No doubt Trump who routinely disses American support for South Korea but who would really love to impose martial law is closely watching events play out there. As we keep on learning, democracy is a fragile thing.  In other distressing news, we learned yesterday that Israeli American Omer Neutra who was thought to be a Hamas hostage, captured during the October 7 attack on Israel, was actually killed that horrible day.  Hamas has not released his body.  May his memory be a blessing. Trump’s response to the announcement of Neutra’s death was to threaten Hamas that there will be “all hell to pay” if the hostages are not released asap. Good luck with that, as far as I can tell Hamas doesn’t care much about hell being rained down on Gazan civilians.

#BringThemAllHomeNow