One more point to keep an eye on. You’ve likely seen that the White House is doing a series of executive orders and sending letters to employees demanding “DEI” be rooted out of agencies. News organizations have mostly used this terminology. But whatever you think about DEI, this is deeply and intentionally misleading. This gives the impression that they’re clawing back various #MeToo and post-George Floyd government policies. But they’re actually repealing a host of executive orders and departmental policies going all the way back to the Johnson administration. A lot of it is very basic employment non-discrimination rules and contracting non-discrimination rules.
For the purposes of this post I’m not trying to get into what “DEI” is or whether it’s good or bad. I’m focused on this more general point that under the pretext of a DEI rollback they’re basically stripping out non-discrimination policies across the government.
It’s still uncertain precisely how long the duration will be, but we’re getting fast emerging information that there appears to be an indefinite halt on the various meetings, review panels and so forth that keep the pipeline of medical research funding going in the U.S. This article in Science gives a broad overview. Put simply this just turns off the spigot of funding for a huge amount of cancer research as well as research across various other health fields and diseases. The article makes clear that there have been brief pauses before when a new administration takes office. But all signs suggest this is far more thorough-going and draconian. This comes after a similar halt to the weekly MMWR report which CDC sends to hospitals and doctors every week with information on flu, COVID and other infectious diseases.
I think we’re at the point in this where you can’t yet categorically say that this is being done for RFK Jr.-adjacent anti-research nuttery, but basically all signs point in that direction. And there is at least a temporary and disruptive halt to how health research gets funded in this country.
Meanwhile, on a totally different front, Jessica Valenti says that in the last two days Instagram has begun blocking the account of an organization focused on helping women find access to abortion medication.
Donald Trump’s Week One actions on abortion appear to be just as brazen and trollish as his attempts on the campaign trail to convince voters he’d moderated on abortion. (And that is not to suggest that things won’t take a yet more sinister — and substantive — turn in the days to come.)
Yesterday my colleague Kate Riga noted a trap Senate Democrats keep falling into: in an effort to court Republican defectors they temper their criticism of the various Trump nominees. But since there are and will be no defectors they lose on both sides of the equation, gaining no defectors and making their critiques tepid and forgettable. This is unquestionably true. But we can go a step further still. Far from courting potential defectors, they should be attacking them.
Potential defectors are almost always those from marginal states, and some are senators from marginal states who face voters at the next election. 2026 doesn’t have a lot of great prospects. But there are some. So Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, possibly Joni Ernst and new Florida senator Ashley Moody. The criticisms of the bad nominees should be as intense as possible and all focused on the support of these senators. No one does you a favor in these settings for being nice: senators defect when they think they may pay a price at the ballot box. That is the only way to have messaging that takes the initiative and stays on the attack. If things get too hot and the senator pulls their support, great. If not, that just lays the groundwork for beating that senator in the next election. Those two possibilities are the only outcomes of any consequence and the same game plan advances both goals. It’s simple. When they’re upset or hiding you’ll know you’re doing it right. One more point: no one cares about press releases. Getting on camera or activity on social media matter.
The U.S. attorney who Trump installed in Washington, D.C. to end Jan. 6 prosecutions has spent the past several years outside of government pushing for exactly that.
While Trump’s retribution tour is performative, it is also substantive. Real people and real values hurt by the vengeful and vindictive policies and actions that thrill his supporters. A quick rundown of the most notable developments:
“The Trump administration has removed and reassigned several top career officials in the Justice Department’s national security and criminal divisions, according to multiple people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.”–WaPo
“Within hours of taking office, President Donald Trump terminated the Secret Service detail that was assigned to his former national security adviser John Bolton, Bolton confirmed to CNN on Tuesday.”–CNN
Coast Guard commandant terminated over border lapses, recruitment, DEI focus”–Fox News
“Trump orders all federal diversity, equity and inclusion employees placed on paid leave starting Wednesday.”–NBC News
It is way too early to know what else has transpired across the vast expanse of the federal government in the first 36 hours since Trump took office. Stay tuned.
Jan. 6 Pardons: Day 1
Simply an astounding reversal to the rule of law, the constitutional order, and civil society, with the mass release of hundreds of people convicted of what amounts to political violence:
“As of Tuesday, 211 people—every clemency recipient—who had been in federal Bureau of Prisons custody had been released, officials said, a process that took roughly 12 hours.”–WSJ
A rogue’s gallery of some of the most violent Jan. 6 rioters pardoned by Trump via NBC News
Trump’s pardons led to the dismissal of a pending case against an alleged rioter who harassed police officers testifying in Jan. 6 cases.
Witnesses in the Jan. 6 cases, including police officers, began getting automatic notifications from the Justice Department that the defendants they had testified against are being released from prison. In some instances, that meant multiple notifications for a single witness.
Outside the DC jail, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) angled to be the first member of Congress to offer released Jan. 6 rioters “a guided tour of the Capitol.”
Reax To The Jan. 6 Pardons
NBC News: “People in the Justice Department and legal scholars are calling the move an unprecedented and dangerous use of the pardon power that dealt a crushing blow not just to federal law enforcement, but also to the U.S. justice system. They say it makes a mockery of years of work by FBI agents, prosecutors and federal judges, some of whom Trump appointed, after an effort that included charges against 1,583 defendants, more than 1,000 guilty pleas and more than 200 convictions at trial. Some worry it signals open season for political violence — given that 608 of those charged were accused of assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement agents or officers — while others fret about the marker laid down for future presidents.”
Randall Eliason: “This is a blueprint for a lawless administration that knows it will not be held accountable for criminal acts. That would include, of course, crimes committed to interfere with the next presidential election to allow the party, if not Trump himself, to stay in power. Trump’s team came very close to overturning the 2020 election. No doubt they have learned some lessons and will not repeat the same mistakes.”
A final rundown on the geographic dispersion of the Jan. 6 defendants.
A New Corrupt Trump Pardon
In pardoning Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the illegal online drug marketplace the Silk Road, Donald Trump openly admitted to ill motives, declaring that he was doing it in part to honor the “Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly.”
The Proud Boys Are Back
“The cascading effects of pardoning some 1,500 insurrectionists remain to be seen. But to researchers, activists and reporters covering extremism in America, the implication was clear: Political violence will be tolerated, and even rewarded, when it’s carried out on behalf of Trump.”–HuffPost
Elon Musk Watch
Take it from right-wing extremists: They loved, in the muted language of the Associated Press, Elon Musk’s “straight-arm gesture.”
Aileen Cannon Still At It
On the first full day of the Trump administration, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon blocked the Justice Department from sharing the Mar-a-Lago volume of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report with members of Congress.
Trump II Clown Show
WSJ: Hegseth Routinely Passed Out From Alcohol Abuse, Witness Says
NYT: Senate Questionnaire Sheds Light on Kash Patel’s Early Years
Quote Of The Day
“We are, quite frankly, the dominant predator…”–Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN), on Fox Business talking about America’s Manifest Destiny to obtain Greenland
Making Sense Of The Trump Executive Orders
Mark Nevitt at Just Security: Unpacking Trump’s Executive Order on National Emergency at the Southern Border
Charlie Savage: “[Trump] not only revived some of the same expansive understandings of executive authority that were left unaddressed [from Trump I], but went even further with new claims of sweeping and inherent constitutional clout.”
WSJ: “Pentagon officials are planning options for using federal troops to secure the U.S.-Mexico border against drug traffickers, human smugglers and migrants, a potentially major shift in military priorities ordered by President Trump, officials said Tuesday.”
Pushing Back Against Trump
States and advocacy groups have already filed four lawsuits to block implementation of Trump’s executive order purporting to end birthright citizenship.
The first hearing in those cases is likely to be in Seattle in front of U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, an 83-year-old Reagan appointee.
The National Treasury Employees Union has sued to block Trump’s executive order reimposing Schedule F and limiting civil service protections.
Memorable
Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C., addressed President Trump directly during a prayer service Tuesday at National Cathedral, beseeching him to show mercy to the people he is marginalizing, including immigrants and people who identify as LGBTQ:
Vice President J.D. Vance’s squirming and sneering was notable, as was the refusal of his wife to engage with him.
Trump went off on the bishop overnight, calling her “ungracious,” “nasty,” and “not compelling or smart.”
It was the reaction of Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), though, that was most indicative of the current moment: He publicly called for the bishop to be deported.
After a morning meeting, I sat down to my computer around 11:30 a.m. ET and read two reader emails picked more or less at random out of my inbox. The first was from an American expat. The gist of his email was that American liberals — Blue America, for lack of a better descriptor — are totally unprepared for what’s coming down the pike toward them. The second was from a federal government employee reviewing the executive orders relevant to the federal workforce and explaining to me in so many words, ‘yeah, good luck with that.’ The expat’s email was generally more pessimistic and totalizing than I’m inclined to be. You may differ and you may be right; who knows? But in general the two emails together captured the moment as well or better than any report, essay or interview I might have read — a mix of actions and red flags almost unimaginable by any normal standard (though in virtually every case unsurprising) mixed with an underbrush of the sheer size, inertia and difficulty of whatever changes Trump is trying to make. They’re both true. Both true at once.
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.
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 20: Meta and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Google Sundar Pichai, CEO of Apple Tim Cook, Founder of Amazon and Blue Origin Jeff Bezos attend services as part of Inauguration ceremonies at St. John’s Church on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 20: Guests including Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk attend the Inauguration of Donald J. Trump in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. (Photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson – Pool/Getty Images)
Image Of The Day
TOPSHOT – Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during the inaugural parade inside Capitol One Arena, in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
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.
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.
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."
I was at the gym this afternoon when I saw out of the corner of my eye Elon Musk giving an exuberant speech at one of the Trump inauguration’s events. I was listening to something else on my AirPods. Then, only a few moments later, in a moment of exuberant disinhibition he gave what was unmistakably a sieg heil! salute. Then he did it again. He actually appeared to do it three separate times. I took out my AirPods and tried to see if there was going to be any comment on CNN on what we’d just seen. I wondered whether this might somehow have been a weird angle or something. I commented on BlueSky asking, rhetorically, if we’d all just seen what we just saw. It wasn’t a weird angle.
This is one of those cases where it’s helpful to have been to this rodeo one time before.
