A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
A Dark Day
In one of his first acts of his second term, Donald Trump granted sweeping pardons to nearly all of the convicted Jan. 6 rioters and instigators and commuted the sentences of 14 of those serving the longest sentences, including on the most serious charge: seditious conspiracy.
Trump also ordered the Justice Department to end pending prosecutions of Jan. 6 defendants, an extraordinary and unprecedented interference with the department’s independence, and a foreshadowing of DOJ being run from the White House.
Among those freed were former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and Oath Keepers honcho Stewart Rhodes. Overnight, Rhodes was seen leaving prison:
The acts of clemency from Trump brought full circle the conspiracy to subvert the 2020 election and hold on to power regardless of the election results. The spasm of violence on Jan. 6, 2021, was a neither a beginning nor an end but rather an inflection point in Trump’s fantastical, long-running Big Lie.
The pardons and commutations reinvigorate a slew of paramilitary right-wing extremist groups and other long-marginalized figures who see Trump as the their de facto leader and inspiration. Proud Boys returned to DC on Inauguration Day and were seen marching in the streets before the pardons were issued.
The Weaponization Begins
Under the guise of “ending the weaponization of the federal government,” President Trump by executive order has created a mechanism for weaponizing the intelligence community and the Justice Department – and it runs through Stephen Miller.
The Destruction Begins
- “The Pentagon on Monday removed a portrait of Gen. Mark A. Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, from a corridor of the building filled with paintings of all of his predecessors.”–NYT
- “President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday revoking the security clearance of 51 former intelligence officials who signed a 2020 letter arguing that emails from a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden carried ‘all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation’ and that of his former national security adviser John Bolton.”–CNN
- “Trump administration quickly removes top immigration court officials.”–WaPo
Trump’s Executive Order Flex
A reminder that the executive orders are a combination of substantive and basically glorified press releases. Deborah Pearlstein offers a primer on how to tell the difference. Among the notable ones:
- “President Trump on Monday signed an executive order to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, the pact among almost all nations to fight climate change.”–NYT
- “President Donald Trump has ordered the federal government to stop all permits for wind energy projects.”–Heatmap
- “President Trump declared on Monday that his government would no longer treat the U.S.-born children of undocumented people as citizens, signaling his intent to essentially ignore the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship in a move that is all but certain to invite a legal challenge.”–NYT
- Adopting some of the most strident anti-immigration language, Trump declares that “an invasion is ongoing at the southern border.”
Trump II Clown Show
- Politico: How Musk helped boot Ramaswamy from DOGE
- Longtime Missouri Republican Ed Martin, an advocate for the Jan. 6 rioters, has been named interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.
- A rundown from the Trump White House of the new chairs and acting chairs of various agencies, commissions, and boards.
Oligarch Watch
The images speak for themselves, but a couple of additional notes: The big tech executives had a more prominent position for Trump’s swearing-in than some of his cabinet nominees, and unlike members of Congress they could bring their spouses.
Image Of The Day
The news service caption above leaves a lot to be desired: “gestures.” TPM’s Josh Marshall on Elon Mush going full Sieg Heil.
Senate Starts Moving Trump Nominees
- On a 99-0 vote, the Senate confirmed Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) as secretary of state.
- On a 14-13 vote, the Senate Armed Service Committee advanced the nomination of Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense.
- On a 13-2 vote, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the nomination of Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) as DHS secretary.
- On a 14-3 vote, the Senate Intelligence Committee advanced the nomination of John Ratcliffe as CIA director.
- On a 8-7 vote, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee cleared the nomination of Russell Vought as OMB director.
Vibe Check: Forced, Insipid, And Credulous
Forced:
Biden to Trump: "Welcome home"
— Nikki McCann Ramírez (@nikkimcr.bsky.social) January 20, 2025 at 9:59 AM
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Insipid:
It is time to look to the future.The challenges that face America are many and great.The Senate must respond with resolve, bipartisanship, and fidelity to the working and middle class of this country.
— Chuck Schumer (@schumer.senate.gov) January 20, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Credulous:
This is a delicate moment. It’s a new day and yet so many are on edge. Our politics are inflamed, and social media only adds to the anxiety.
— ADL (@ADL) January 20, 2025
It seems that @elonmusk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on…
Kumbaya
The contrast between how liberals see Democratic opposition to Trump as feckless and how MAGA Republicans portray Democrats as all-powerful traitorous conspirators always carries some cognitive dissonance but rarely as much as yesterday:
Marjorie Taylor Greene: "These people would line us up in front of a firing squad & kill us if they could. We know exactly who the Democrats are … Democrats, until you start writing big checks to Republicans & start voting Republican … then we can start talking about unity."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) January 20, 2025 at 2:11 PM
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I hope that Trump supporters get every single thing they voted for.
Yesterday I was a little numb. The dawning of today’s Morning Memo is sobering, filling me with anger and dread.
Trump signs an executive order denying citizenship rights to native born Americans. Organizations immediately sue, contending his action is illegal and unconstitutional. A wholly expected response to Trump. But I have to wonder, why in the hell is it required anyone sue to stop Trump on this issue? Let’s say Trump has signed an order decreeing women could no longer vote. The plain language of the 19th Amendment grants them that right. Would women have to file suit and litigate their right to vote if Trump issued an executive order saying they couldn’t? What if Trump issued an executive order saying it was legal to enslave black people again? And some farmer in Alabama rounded up a few black people and told them they were now slaves? Would those people have to sue the government, and go to trial and hope someone overruled Trump, and freed them? The language of the 13th Amendment is plain, why would it ever get that far?
Yet people have to sue Trump to stop his executive order on birthright citizenship. I guess I’m questioning where’s the line? The 13th and 19th Amendments are clear, and no President is stripping women of the vote, or reinstituting slavery. It is said the language of the 14th Amendment is similarly clear. Why in the hell is it even necessary to go to court to stop Trump on this? The very fact it needs done means, in my mind, that essentially the language of none of our Amendments is clear. A President can issue any stupid executive order he pleases, and despite black letter law you have to spend millions on lawyers to have their idiocy rescinded. WTF?
Also, if this gets to SCOTUS the government will send lawyers to SCOTUS to defend Trump’s actions. They will earnestly argue his position. But think about it, if Trump stripped women of the franchise, or reintroduced slavery, lawyers would enter the courts and defend that, too. Lawyers would be found to willingly, if not enthusiastically, argue Trump’s position. Because that’s their job. Some MAGA cultist lawyer would argue for slavery. Because Trump signed an executive order, and evidently no matter how illegal the intention of the order, it must be litigated. If no one can preemptively say birthright citizenship exists without having to prove it in court, wouldn’t the same hold true for any other Constitutional right Trump decrees null and void? It seems the Constitution itself doesn’t guarantee us a damned thing. The only guaranteed right you have is to sue to have the plain language of the Constitution enforced. Our founding principles give you nothing unless you have the means and the allies to litigate them. Plain language is meaningless. It’s just a starting point for everyone to start shoveling tons of money to lawyers.
History may not rhyme, but it does a mean “da capo.”
Sieg Heil. I saw this yesterday and immediately thought the same. But then I had a look at the video, and IMO this is most definitely a Hail Caesar not a Sieg Heil. There is no doubt in my mind that it is supposed to get everyone up in arms about Nazis and their sympathizers, but I think if the right person condemns this and the media blasts it out, we will then see them telling everyone they should look at the video, and most will agree that this was Hail Caesar. I do not thing Musk was anything but the tool this is way to clever for him. I assume it was at Stephen Millers direction that the stunt was done.