Trump Cabinet Appointments

[Winehole23]

solemnizing 19th century racist massacres now

[Winehole23]

looks like pure grandstanding, but who knows, maybe Hegseth will ask for loyalty oaths

My historian colleagues might correct me, but I do not think anyone at least in recent history has done what Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is about to do: put all of the American generals and admirals from around the world into a single room (next week, in Virginia) just to say something to them.


There is no practical reason to do this: he has easier and more secure ways to communicate with the commanders. And there are obvious risks: the entire armed forces of the United States, spread around the world, will be without its leaders. Given that the government could well shut down the next day, the separation of commanders from their command might be indefinite.


And if Hegseth has his way, those generals and admirals will all be in one site, announced in advance, which means that the entirety of the American command structure will be more vulnerable, physically, than in any conceivable military scenario, including nuclear war. There is no scenario other than this one in which they would all be in the same place at the same time.

https://snyder.substack.com/p/hegset...us-all-at-risk

[Winehole23]

Hegseth has already teased a purge of generals, maybe he wants to fire a bunch of them in person, in front of all the others

[Winehole23]

pay for play is endemic

records obtained by ProPublica show how one locality found a way to get FEMA aid more quickly: It asked one of Noem’s political donors for help.

The records show that Noem quickly expedited more than $11 million of federal money to rebuild a historic pier in Naples, Florida, after she was contacted by a major financial supporter last month. The pier is a tourist attraction in the wealthy Gulf Coast enclave and was badly damaged by Hurricane Ian in 2022.

Frustrated city officials had been laboring for months, without success, to get disaster assistance. But just two weeks after the donor stepped in, they were celebrating their sudden change of fortune. “We are now at warp speed with FEMA,” one city official wrote in an email. A FEMA representative wrote: “Per leadership instruction, pushing project immediately.”

https://www.propublica.org/article/k...s-sinan-gursoy

[Blake]

solemnizing 19th century racist massacres now

Sidebar: Gotta love how Trump has been pining for the Nobel Peace Prize and his crew changes the name to "Secretary of War"

[Winehole23]

Sidebar: Gotta love how Trump has been pining for the Nobel Peace Prize and his crew changes the name to "Secretary of War"

Trump/Hegseth leading US armed forces against the people of the USA seems not exactly calculated to win them international humanitarian acclaim, I wonder how it will turn out

[Winehole23]

Hegseth has already teased a purge of generals, maybe he wants to fire a bunch of them in person, in front of all the others

but some say, Sec'y Hegseth has only gathered them for a brief pep rally

[Winehole23]

“She had to do that because nobody else in the entire Eastern District of Virginia, U.S. attorney's office, which has hundreds of employees, was willing to go into that grand jury and present that evidence”

https://www.rawstory.com/halligan-comey/

[Winehole23]

seems counterintuitive to gather all of these people in one place and to announce it beforehand

https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...tico-security/

[Winehole23]

this sick creep wields extraordinary power

Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, has played a leading role in directing US strikes against suspected Venezuelan drug boats, according to three people familiar with the situation. At times, his role has superseded that of Marco Rubio, the secretary of state and national security adviser.
The strikes on the Venezuelan boats allegedly carrying narcotics, which the administration has claimed were necessary because interdiction did not work, have been orchestrated through the homeland security council (HSC), which Miller leads as the homeland security adviser.

Miller empowered the HSC earlier this year to become its own en y in Donald Trump’s second term, a notable departure from previous administrations where it was considered part of the national security council and ultimately reported to the national security adviser.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...ug-boat-strike

[Winehole23]

Homan hasn't denied taking the cash

MSNBC is exclusively reporting that FBI agents were repeatedly steered to Tom Homan by one of his own associates which is how he wound up in a contracts-for-cash sting, according to 4 sources familiar with the investigation and a government do ent reviewed by MSNBC.

www.msnbc.com/katy-tur/wat...

[Blake]

Trump/Hegseth leading US armed forces against the people of the USA seems not exactly calculated to win them international humanitarian acclaim, I wonder how it will turn out

"...In his first appearance before other world leaders at the UN since returning to office, Trump claimed that he “ended seven un-endable wars” so far in his second term.

“Everyone says that I should get the Nobel peace prize for each of these achievements,” the president added...."

https://www.newsweek.com/at-un-trump...prize-10476586

He wants it soo bad

[Blake]

Homan hasn't denied taking the cash

www.msnbc.com/katy-tur/wat...

Darrin: "wgaf, it's only 50k. Why would he take so little"

[Winehole23]

Kari Lake is having some trouble firing Voice of America staffers

Judge Lamberth suspends the RIF

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

[Winehole23]

another botched AUSA appointment, this time in Nevada

[Winehole23]

Halligan hung out to dry by DOJ

https://www.rawstory.com/halligan-comey/

“DOJ headquarters declined to provide lawyers to assist Halligan, and FBI agents and lawyers working to prepare her were denied their request for a para-legal professional to assist in the presentation, according to two people familiar with the matter.”

https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/30/polit...mey-indictment

[Winehole23]

Shadow DHS Secretary Corey Lewandowski threatens to disrupt the Super Bowl

The first Latin performer to solo headline the much-watched and now Apple-sponsored halftime show, Bad Bunny himself was pretty pumped up about the Jay-Z and Roc Nation-run Super Bowl set after the announcement was made public on September 28. “I’m going to enjoy, he told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe and Ebro Darden on September 29 of the hip hop icon and the NFL’s decision to buck MAGA sensibilities this time round. “I’m going to embrace the moment. I’m going to show what we have, our music, our culture. I’m just going to the stage to enjoy and have fun.”

https://deadline.com/2025/10/bad-bun...ts-1236568070/

[ChumpDumper]

Shadow DHS Secretary Corey Lewandowski threatens to disrupt the Super Bowl

https://deadline.com/2025/10/bad-bun...ts-1236568070/

Trump s are always miserable

[Winehole23]

Lindsey Halligan isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer

It was 1:20 p.m. on the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 11. I was lounging in my pajamas, idly scrolling through Netflix, having spent the morning reading news stories, occasionally tweeting, and watching TV. It was a rare day off.

Then my phone lit up with a notification. I glanced down at the message.

“Anna, Lindsey Halligan here,” it began.

Lindsey Halligan—the top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia—was texting me. As it turned out, she was texting me about a criminal case she is pursuing against one of the president’s perceived political enemies: New York Attorney General Le ia James.

So began my two-day text correspondence with the woman President Donald Trump had installed, in no small part, to bring the very prosecution she was now discussing with me by text message.

Over the next 33 hours, Halligan texted me again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Through the whole of our correspondence, however, there is something Halligan never said: She never said a word suggesting that she was not “on the record.”

https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article...-halligan-here

[Winehole23]

Linsdey Halligan hung out to dry by EDVA -- the AUSA district she's in charge of.

None of her own lawyers will sign their names.

Once again, Lindsey Halligan has to turn to out-of-state prosecutors, this time for the Le ia James case. Roger Keller is a Missouri-based prosecutor.

Two NC-based prosecutors are handling the Comey case for her as well. No one from EDVA in either case.

[Winehole23]

not Sec. Noem, but her bf

gonna get gnarlier

[Winehole23]

I thought special appointees only lasted 130 days

oh well

[Winehole23]

(reportedly, Lewandowski is swiping "other badges" at entry to extend his appointment)

[Winehole23]

Kash Patel is using government transportation for personal stuff

FBI Director Kash Patel traveled to Pennsylvania State University over the weekend to watch his girlfriend perform at a wrestling event, according to a recent report that cited flight records associated with a government-registered jet.

Patel, 45, appeared alongside his partner, country singer Alexis Wilkins, 26, at the Real American Freestyle event at the school, prompting some internet sleuths to inquire about how he got there. Wilkins posted pictures of her and Patel at the event.

A jet, registered to the Department of Justice, appeared to have taken a roughly 40-minute-long flight from the Manassas Regional Airport in Virginia to State College Regional Airport on October 25. Roughly two and a half hours later, the jet departed from State College for Nashville, where Wilkins lives. A passenger manifesto for the jet was not released.

Over the last few months, the FBI director has faced criticism from lawmakers for what they believe is overutilizing a government aircraft for personal reasons.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-b2854757.html

[Winehole23]

Kash Patel is an incompetent clown

Can't imagine this inspires respect in the rank and file

"The FBI forced out a senior official overseeing aviation shortly after Director Kash Patel grew outraged about revelations of his publicly-available jet logs indicating he’d flown to see his musician girlfriend perform, said three people familiar with the situation," according to the outlet. "Steven Palmer, a 27-year veteran of the FBI, became the third head of the critical incident response group—which includes FBI pilots—to be fired or removed in Patel’s short regime, adding to a year filled with retributive terminations."


The report continues:


"His exit was made official Friday, and a replacement to head the bureau’s crisis management operations including hostage rescue and bomb detection, has already been posted on the FBI’s website."



The report adds, "Patel was angered this week by social media posts and news stories calling attention to his use of an FBI jet that arrived in State College, Pennsylvania, where his girlfriend, country music artist Alexis Wilkins, sang the national anthem at a wrestling match, said the individuals, who spoke anonymously out of fear of retaliation."


"Palmer was told he needed to immediately resign or be fired, which the individuals said was at least partially connected to Patel’s fury over the negative media cycle on his personal travel," it states. "Palmer’s position included supervising the FBI’s aviation units, but Patel’s flight schedule was readily traceable through online tracking services and he reposted photos of himself with Wilkins at the event on his personal X account. The people familiar with the matter said they were baffled as to why Patel might’ve blamed Palmer for the travel details."

https://www.rawstory.com/kash-patel-...nd-2674257020/