Democratic Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones spoke on the Statehouse floor Thursday, delivering what he called a "public service announcement for the Republican side of the aisle.”  Jones suggested that conservatives who are concerned about the much-anticipated Super Bowl halftime performance by Grammy-winning recording artist Bad Bunny should instead worry about Turning Point’s alternative halftime performer, Kid Rock. “I know some folks can be a little bit triggered by an artist named Bad Bunny, but I want to just make an announcement that, before you rage-tweet, Bad Bunny is from Puerto Rico, and Puerto Rico is a part of America,” Jones said. x View this post on Instagram A post shared by Justin Jones (@brotherjones_) “Secondly, I know some of you are gonna be watching the bootleg, Temu version of the halftime show that Turning Point and MAGA’s doing with a man named Kid Rock,” Jones continued. “He has lyrics about liking underage girls, which is called ‘pedophilia.’ And I think we should be a little uncomfortable by that. I know that's very common right now in the White House, but I think that we should not support people who have lyrics about liking underage girls.” At least Jones and other young members of Tennessee’s conservative-controlled legislature give us hope for the future.

Marco Rubio is out of a job. Well, one of them at least. You may have forgotten that, along with being secretary of State, Rubio was also serving as the acting U.S. archivist, which is easy to overlook given that he has, at various times, held eleventy different jobs. But his time as an archivist has come to an end, because his days were literally numbered, as acting positions expire by law after 300 days. This might look like the administration is actually trying to comply with the requirements of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, in stark contrast to the shenanigans it is attempting with U.S. attorneys, but this is more malicious compliance than anything else. Related | Ben there, done that: Trump's latest unqualified hire is a familiar face You see, Trump doesn’t really want anyone heading the National Archives, so it’s no skin off his back to honor the 300-day limit. After taking office, he quickly and arbitrarily fired the actual archivist, Colleen Shogan. Shogun was inevitably going to be in Trump’s crosshairs because Trump remains furious that the National Archives and Records Administration tried to tell him he couldn’t just steal classified documents and stash them in his tacky Mar-a-Lago bathroom. This image, contained in the indictment against  Trump, shows boxes of records stored in a bathroom and shower in the Lake Room at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Putting Rubio in the gig was just a way for Trump to thumb his nose at the whole enterprise. Trump hasn’t nominated anyone to be the archivist, nor is there a deputy archivist. If there were a deputy, that person would likely be a career employee and would automatically become acting archivist upon a vacancy, but we can’t have that. We might end up with some pencil-necked geek who thinks it’s actually important to follow the laws and preserve records.  So instead, Rubio “delegated” his authority to a senior adviser, James Byron, on his way out the door. It is in no way clear that this is legal under the FVRA, but it isn’t like the administration cares. Fun fact: Byron is on leave from the Richard Nixon Foundation, where he basically works to rehabilitate Nixon’s image, a thing that he is so passionate about that he has worked there since taking an internship in 2007, when he was 14. Since then, he’s worked his way up the ladder, becoming CEO in 2022 at 29 years old.  So yes, if you’re doing the math, NARA is now run by a Nixon freak who has only ever had one job. Moreover, his work is on the foundation side, not the library side, so he has literally no relevant experience in managing records. Well, guess he doesn’t really need it in an administration that is making no effort to preserve records.  Head of Office of Management and Budget and Acting Director for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Russ Vought Besides no longer pretending to run NARA, Rubio is also no longer the acting head of the United States Agency for International Development, and not just because Trump is shuttering the agency. He was replaced with Russ Vought back in August so Vought could “oversee the closeout.” Vought also has some side hustles. Besides being the head of the Office of Management and Budget, he’s also the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which he is working tirelessly to shut down as well. Never fear, though. Rubio is still the national security adviser. Rubio and Vought aren’t the only administration officials doubling and tripling up on jobs. Scott Bessent is both the Treasury secretary and the acting IRS commissioner, because why not. Frank Bisignano, the head of the Social Security Administration, is also “chief executive officer” of the IRS, which was not a thing until Trump made it up. Oh, and remember when Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was running NASA for a bit? Good times. All of this doesn’t just show that Trump wants his cronies in jobs without putting them through a confirmation process. It also shows his deep disregard for the actual work of government, turning major positions into afterthoughts. This is no way to run a government. 

A cartoon by Pedro Molina. Related | Kennedy Center crumbles under Trump

A daily roundup of the best stories and cartoons by Daily Kos staff and contributors to keep you in the know. 23 years ago: Colin Powell lied to launch a bogus war To think it used to be truly inappropriate to base political actions on lies. Bezos guts the Washington Post—just like Trump wanted We’re witnessing the death of mainstream media institutions. Republicans love Trump's ICE agenda—unless it's in their state The GOP is the party of NIMBY. Cartoon: Peachy fraud Something sure smells in the state of Georgia. ‘I don’t know’: Trump plays dumb on abysmal approval rating When in doubt, make it up. Trump dedicates National Prayer Breakfast to his favorite god—himself When Trump goes off the teleprompter, you truly never know what he’ll say. Trump’s latest US attorney pick is another real winner She’s been practicing law for three years. What could go wrong? Click here to see more cartoons.

A new survey released on Thursday proves what many had long suspected: X, the social media network owned by far-right billionaire Elon Musk, is trapped in an ideological bubble far removed from the rest of the world. The poll from The Argument, which was fielded between Jan. 26-27, found that among an array of news platforms, it was only among X users that President Donald Trump has a net-positive approval rating. Fifty-four percent of X users either strongly or somewhat approve of Trump, with 45% disapproving. That stands in strong contrast to his level of support among all registered voters: 42% approve, 57% disapprove. Trump is also viewed negatively by the audiences on several other major online platforms. For instance, Trump has a 46% approval rating among Facebook users, 39% among Instagram users, 35% with TikTok users, and an anemic 29% among Reddit users.  x Datawrapper Content Perhaps even more damning than the level of Trump support on X is how positively Immigration and Customs Enforcement is seen by users of the service. The Argument’s data shows that ICE was backed by 45% of X users, while the agency was at 35% among voters at large. The data verifies the effect of drastic changes made at X following Musk’s 2022 purchase of the company, previously known as Twitter. Musk manipulated many of the rules governing hateful and bigoted content, and he restored previously suspended accounts for figures like Trump and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. The result was a significant increase in posts supporting racism, misogyny, religious discrimination, and misinformation—in other words, the perfect venue for Trump, who has supported those values during his time as a public figure. Pop singer Sabrina Carpenter, shown last September. The Trump administration has been feeding this bigoted audience the hateful content it craves. In one widely reported episode, singer Sabrina Carpenter called out ICE for using her song “Juno” over footage of agents handcuffing and tackling immigrants in an X post. “this video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda,” Carpenter wrote. Similarly, the White House and the Department of Homeland Security have used official X accounts to promote language and terminology associated with the white supremacist movement. At the same time that X has been operating as a pro-Trump/bigot feedback loop, the site has also reportedly been used in concert with the Musk-owned chatbot Grok to create and disseminate nonconsensual sexual imagery, including images of underage children. Governments around the world have condemned the practice, and official action has been taken in France, leading to a recent police raid. But the Trump administration and their Republican allies in Congress have not said much about it. After all, why would they do anything to anger the man who created their echo chamber and funds so much of their campaigns?

Have you been waiting with bated breath to find out who would perform at Turning Point USA’s halftime show? Lo, these long months where we were promised that this alternative halftime show would be epic, but the lineup was a mystery until Monday, when we learned about this absolutely killer lineup: Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett.  Real A-listers here, right?  If you had to Google everyone on this list except Kid Rock, you’re not alone. Rock is no surprise, given his affection for performing at Trump events. Mr. Rock even showed up in a truly remarkable outfit to stand next to Trump while Trump wrote out one of his little executive orders that has no force of law, this one about ticket scalping. Sadly for Rock, none of this has translated into decent album sales or anything like that, but at least Rock was once a very famous musician. The other three? Not so much. Country music artist Brantley Gilbert  Brantley Gilbert was once reasonably famous, hitting Number One with several singles on the Billboard Country Airplay charts, though that hasn’t happened since 2019. His last two records didn’t even crack the top 20 of Billboard’s Country Album charts.  But Gilbert isn’t there because of his middling career as a country singer. He’s there because he has shifted his efforts to being a conservative culture warrior. Remember when conservatives were furious that Bud Light gave transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney a personalized can of beer to promote the brand? Gilbert latched onto that, smashing a can of Bud Light on stage to show his MAGA bona fides.  Gilbert also performed at Turning Point USA’s 2021 America Fest, where he appeared on a bill that included such luminaries as former Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz, Rep. Jim Jordan, Donald Trump Jr., and Kyle Rittenhouse. Brice hasn’t released an album since 2020, and even his hot-selling records have never broken 500,000 in sales. His singles have tanked of late as well, with the last four not charting at all on the Billboard Hot 100 or Billboard Country Songs.  As with Gilbert, though, Brice isn’t on this bill because of his innate talent or album sales or anything of the sort. He’s there because he’s the kind of guy who gets a soft-focus NRA profile about how much he loves guns. He’s there because he’s the kind of guy who goes on Will Cain’s Fox News show to talk about how people love country music for “real and honesty” and “God and country.” Singers Gabby Barrett, left, and Matthew West participates in the 103rd National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the Ellipse, on Dec. 4, 2025. Barrett’s main claim to fame is placing third on “American Idol” eight years ago. Her most recent record did hit # 26 on the charts … the Billboard Christian Albums chart, that is. Like Rock, Barrett has also previously performed for Trump, singing “The First Noel” during the 2018 National Christmas Tree Lighting. Did Barrett see herself as singing to all Americans or honoring Jesus Christ or something similar? Lol, nope.  Barrett’s promo post on X said, “I will be performing ‘The First Noel’ for the President, in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.” To be fair, she did later say that performing for Trump “was an amazing opportunity to represent America and the Lord.” It’s honestly pretty surprising that Alexis Wilkins isn’t on the list. How dare TPUSA cut out Kash Patel’s country singer girlfriend from this superstar jamboree! She’s performed at TPUSA events a bunch of times, but apparently, that isn’t enough to get her in the door for the alternative halftime show.  Fox is desperately trying to spin this as “star-studded,” which it is not by any metric, but what else can conservatives do? They have to pretend that whatever motley collection of pro-Trump artists they dredge up are superstars, even if there is no evidence whatsoever of that.  Bad Bunny Meanwhile, after his Grammy win Sunday night, Bad Bunny’s album sales and streams have jumped even more. When he dropped “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” in January 2025, all 17 singles charted. He ranked Number One on Spotify’s 2025 Global Top Artist charts, notching 19.8 billion—that’s billion, with a “b”—worldwide. He also topped that chart in 2020, 2021, and 2022.  Most of the other artists performing at the actual Super Bowl will also make conservatives incandescent with rage. While they’re probably not all that mad about Charlie Puth, they’re going to be incredibly unhappy with everyone else.  Green Day is performing at the opening ceremony and has made no secret of their loathing of Trump. The band even changed the lyrics of “American Idiot,” from “I’m not a part of a redneck agenda” to “I’m not a part of a MAGA agenda.”  Brandi Carlile is openly queer and recently spoke out about ICE’s murder of Renee Good and 32 people who have died in ICE custody. Her foundation also just donated $25,000 to The Advocates for Human Rights in Minnesota to support their efforts to provide free legal assistance to detainees.  As far as Coco Jones, it likely isn’t so much who she is, but what she is going to sing. Jones will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black national anthem. Your MAGA uncle is going to spend a lot of time complaining about DEI during this, bet.  It’s going to be a delight to see how pathetic the ratings for this thing will be. It’s going to make Bari Weiss’s cratering numbers over at CBS News look amazingly successful by comparison. Go anti-woke, go super-broke.

Former White House press secretary and current Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany went into full propaganda mode Monday, hyping first lady Melania Trump’s new documentary and adding to increasingly dubious stories about stellar ticket sales. “My mom went to it this weekend in Florida,” McEnany said on Fox News. “She said not only was the theater packed, it was, you know, standing room only—if you could, like, try to sneak in the back of the theater. People were cheering through it. They were excited. It was interactive, people interplaying with the film. She said it was just electric.”  xKayleigh: My mom went to see Melania. She said the theater was packed, it was standing room only. People were cheering through it, they were excited. It was interactive—people interplaying with the film. She said it was just electric. pic.twitter.com/dimgT5jGPF— Acyn (@Acyn) February 2, 2026 Name a single film you have attended, or even heard about, where there was “standing room only.” Did McEnany get the “Melania” documentary confused with “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” which highlighted Taylor Swift’s 21-month-long, record-breaking tour? “Melania” did exceed some of the lowest expectations, pulling in a reported $7 million opening weekend. But once you factor in the cost—Amazon bought the rights to the film for $40 million and spent another $35 million to promote it—the opening weekend was anything but “electric.”

A cartoon by Clay Jones. Related | Shady new ad campaign paints ICE thugs as ‘friends and neighbors’

A daily roundup of the best stories and cartoons by Daily Kos staff and contributors to keep you in the know. Shady new ad campaign paints ICE thugs as ‘friends and neighbors’ This will totally change the public’s mind about ICE’s handiwork. Democrats' blowout victory in special election spells doom for GOP The win isn’t just significant for how much Democrats won by, but for how it happened in the first place. Kennedy Center crumbles under Trump Trump’s strategy seems to be if at first you don’t succeed, try construction instead. Cartoon: Dibs There seems to be a real party division on this one. Republican claims he’s always been ‘warning’ Trump about ICE Why don’t we roll the tape to find out … What the hell is Tulsi Gabbard’s job anyway? Do you think she even knows? Click here to see more cartoons.

Republican megadonor Elon Musk spent the weekend trying to change the narrative about his interactions with accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein after emails surfaced showing Musk arranging to attend a party at Epstein’s notorious private island. The emails, which were sent between 2012 and 2014, were released Friday by the Department of Justice, and they show Musk discussing attending a party hosted by Epstein, who was by then a convicted sex offender. In one email, Epstein referenced making arrangements for Musk to travel to the island with actor Talulah Riley, Musk’s partner at the time. Musk then asked Epstein which nights would have the “wildest party.” Documents that were included in the U.S. Department of Justice release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. In another, Musk laments an apparent scheduling conflict preventing him from visiting Epstein. Musk wrote that he was “very disappointed” and “really looking forward to finally spending some time together with just fun as the agenda.” He concluded the email, writing, “Hopefully we can schedule another time in the near future.” Many of the women allegedly abused by Epstein and his associates have said the island in question, Little St. James, was used as a hub for where they were trafficked and assaulted. After the emails were released, Musk went into damage-control mode. He argued on his social media account that the released emails were “performative” and “nothing but a distraction.” As reports emerged on the details of his exchanges, he complained, “Legacy media lies relentlessly.” Musk argued that “nobody” had pushed for the release of the Epstein files as much as he did, and he said legacy media and “far-left propagandists” would “make counter-accusations against me” and that he would be “smeared relentlessly.” Musk also used his X account, which has over 230 million followers, to amplify posts from supporters echoing his attacks on the press and pushing his narrative that he had done nothing wrong. The chummy back-and-forth between Musk and Epstein runs contrary to Musk’s previous claims that he had summarily rejected an invitation to the island. Related | Trump's incompetent DOJ makes a mess of latest Epstein files drop The documents are also notable because of Musk’s deep involvement in Republican politics. He was a major donor to President Donald Trump’s 2024 election campaign and has donated millions meant to help Republicans preserve their control over Congress this year. Additionally, Musk’s company SpaceX is a major contractor doing business with the federal government. Musk’s emails with a suspected sex trafficker are also being released while his company xAI is under probe from multiple foreign governments for providing a service, the chatbot Grok, that has been used to generate nonconsensual sexual images. Grok was also used to produce sexual photos of children. Despite those revelations, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is moving forward with plans to integrate Grok in sensitive defensive systems. The emails show that Trump is not the only figure in the right-wing establishment now dogged by a relationship with Epstein.

MAGA folks are revisiting their beloved argument that conservative women have more children because they’re hotter.  “Conservative women are just factually more attractive than liberal women. It’s why more conservatives than liberals are having babies,” Katie Miller, the wife of White House chief of staff for policy  Stephen Miller, said via X Wednesday.  Her claims were paired with an equally strange Fox News segment between Jesse Watters and Kid Rock in which the former dad rock singer shared his sexist epiphany on live television. xConservative women are just factually more attractive than liberal women. It’s why more conservatives than liberals are having babies. https://t.co/gfpzhsmEtu— Katie Miller (@KatieMiller) January 21, 2026 “We have this low birth rate in America,” Rock began. “It just hit me right now, because who is going to sleep with these ugly-ass, broke, crazy, [Trump Deranged Syndrome], liberal women? You look at these rallies, it’s like a bunch of women that no guy wants to sleep with and a bunch of dudes that want to sleep with each other.” There are so many problems with Rock’s argument. And it’s a lot to assume any of these hypothetical women would be interested in sleeping with Rock as opposed to, say, someone like Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert. The thing is, studies suggest that conservative women are indeed having more children than liberals. However, it probably has nothing to do with how badly men want to sleep with them. Per the Institute for Family Studies:  In the 2020s, just 40% of liberal women between ages 25 and 35 report being parents, down from 51% in the 2010s. By comparison, conservative women in this age range saw no statistically significant change: in the 2020s, 71% report being parents. This means there is a 31-percentage point gap between young conservative women and their liberal peers today. And it also probably doesn’t have to do with the allegedly radical, leftist, blue-haired women with armpit hair that Watters and the majority of MAGA seem to use as a bogeyman for women’s rights.  While MAGA points to women’s looks as the reason for plummeting birth rates among more left-leaning families, they’re ignoring the policies in place that are keeping women (who want children) from taking that step.  Conservatives are diving toward an ideology that promotes godliness and duty to provide offspring over the practicality of raising children in today’s world altogether. And that concern is what has many liberal families holding off.  Related | Why 'The Great Feminization' is a great big conservative con Things like extreme costs for day care or childcare when parents go to work have come into the public conversation. Despite the desire, in some households, for one parent to be the breadwinner, affordability in Trump’s America makes that reality out of reach for many. Many mothers were able to join the workforce again when working from home was more accessible, but that has steadily declined as they’ve been forced back into the office. Once a pregnant person does give birth, however, there is the fear of exorbitant hospital bills and Trump doesn’t care if that medical debt goes on people’s credit reports.  The only thing that the Trump administration seems to be actively tackling is the incentive, or means, of making babies itself.  With the overturn of Roe v. Wade, abortion has become less accessible—and continues to become less so. On the bright side, should you have a child before 2028, Trump will start a $1,000 savings account for them.  While women on the left are looking at the logistics, MAGA women seem to be pushing the message of faith that, somehow, it will all work out for them.  However, no amount of hair extensions and lip filler will make better policies for mothers.

Former D.C. Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fanone—who was seriously injured while defending the Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack—told Republican Rep. Troy Nehls, “Go fuck yourself” during Thursday’s House committee hearing featuring former special counsel Jack Smith. Fanone, a vocal critic of MAGA efforts to rewrite the history of Jan. 6 and deflect blame from Donald Trump, was in attendance when Nehls had the audacity to claim that the Capitol Police’s leadership was to blame for the attempted coup after the president held a rally and ordered his followers to march to the Capitol and stop the certification of electoral votes. “The fault does not lie with Donald Trump,” Nehls whined. Fanone responded by coughing loudly while unmistakably directing his message to the stolen valor-wielding, cowardly Nehls. x x YouTube Video A groveling Trump simp, the Texas representative faced an ethics investigation before he abruptly dropped his reelection bid at the last moment—leaving virtually no time for anyone other than his twin brother, Trever, to file to run for Nehls’ House seat. Rep. Jim Jordan, who is also the worst wrestling coach ever, attempted to restore order to the proceedings—but the truth had already landed. Related | 'Stolen valor': GOP blasts one of their own for military pin he didn't earn

A cartoon by Clay Jones. Related | Trump repeatedly confuses Greenland for Iceland

A daily roundup of the best stories and cartoons by Daily Kos staff and contributors to keep you in the know. ICE goons to America: We don’t need no stinkin’ warrants The lawlessness continues unabated. Democrat shreds GOP's Trump worship: 'We took an oath' Too bad Republicans’ fealty is devoted to the crooked president. ‘I won’t be complicit’: Newsom stands against Trump’s bullying The California governor refuses to bend the knee. Cartoon: NRA goes MIA Where have all the gun nuts gone? Vance: So what if ICE kills a mom or abducts some kids? Apparently, these deadly “mistakes” are just “the nature of law enforcement.” Trump’s FCC goon demands talk shows give Republicans equal time This regime is so salty about late-night jokes. GOP loses another battle in gerrymandering war it started We love to see it. Click here to see more cartoons.

Congratulations, Republicans: Your mentally incapacitated president—who’s running the country without guardrails, constraints, or adult supervision—is burning through nearly a century of international goodwill, with consequences that will echo for decades. “You cannot put the genie back into the bottle. Things might get better and more calm a few months down the road, and Trump, he can’t be reelected, and the next president might be somewhat different,” Anders Schelde, chief investment officer of a Danish pension fund, said while announcing his exit from U.S. markets. “But what comes then in five, six, 10 years? I think there’s a strong realization across Europe that we need to be able to stand on our own feet.”  A crowd protests against President Donald Trump in front of the U.S. consulate in Nuuk, Greenland on Jan. 17. The fund he manages, AkademikerPension, is only about $100 million—a rounding error in global finance. But that’s not the point.  What matters is what he’s saying and what he represents: a growing belief among global investors and governments that the United States is no longer a reliable anchor for the world economy. For decades after World War II, the United States sat at the center of a global system for which it largely paid and designed—and it paid off enormously. The United States underwrote global security through alliances like NATO, stabilized trade through institutions like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, and enforced rules that made markets predictable and conflicts less likely to spiral out of control. In return, the dollar became the world’s reserve currency, and U.S. companies enjoyed preferential access to global markets. Foreign capital flowed in not just because of returns but because the United States was seen as stable, serious, and governed by adults. President Donald Trump has lit all of that on fire. Related | ‘F-ck off’: Danish leader has had it with Trump’s Greenland nonsense And once the world adjusts—and allies build parallel systems that don’t rely on the United States—that advantage won’t simply snap back when Trump is gone.  The genie cannot go back in the bottle. During his first term, much of the world treated Trump as a fluke—a mistake we would quickly correct. Now the world understands the deeper problem: No matter how sane or responsible the next president might be, the United States is always just one deranged electorate away from putting another madman in charge. The world handed the United States enormous power because it trusted we would use it responsibly. Thanks to Trump and the Republicans who enabled him, that trust is gone.

Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg was interviewed on Friday at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin. When asked by The Atlantic’s Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg whether he believed Vice President JD Vance to be a “fascist,” Buttigieg replied with a withering critique. x x YouTube Video Buttigieg: If it's convenient for him to be a fascist, he'll be a fascist. Maybe later on, he'll go back to being a Silicon Valley Democrat. He'll be whatever he needs to be. Right? I mean, this is a guy who went from Donald Trump is Hitler—that’s what he said—to I have seen the error of my ways. He’ll be something new later on, maybe. Related | It sure seems like JD Vance doesn't give a sh-t about his family

President Donald Trump is panicking about an impending House vote on releasing the Epstein files. In a Truth Social post Friday morning, Trump called the Republicans who plan to vote in support of the release «weak,» «soft,» and «foolish.»  And White House aides have suggested that any Republicans who vote to release the files can kiss goodbye to any future endorsements from the president. GOP Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, for example, was seeking Trump's endorsement in a crowded Republican gubernatorial primary. But given that she seems to support releasing the Epstein files, she likely won’t get it. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky speaks with fellow Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, both of whom support the release of the Epstein files. “Helping Democrats deflect from Republican success is not a good GOP primary election strategy,” an unnamed White House official told NOTUS. But Trump's threats don’t seem to be working. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky said that his fellow GOP lawmakers are telling him privately that they plan to vote in favor of the bill, which Massie co-authored with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California. Massie and Khanna had to resort to a discharge petition to get the bill to the floor, as House Speaker Mike Johnson was running cover for Trump and refused to put it up for a vote.  The discharge petition reached a majority of signatures on Wednesday after Johnson finally swore in Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva of Arizona.  Massie also told Republicans that this is not the issue to cave to Trump on. “The deal for Republicans on this vote is that Trump will protect you if you vote the wrong way. In other words if you vote to cover up for pedophiles you've got cover in a Republican primary,« he told CNN. »But I would remind my colleagues that this vote is going to be on your record for  longer than Trump is going to be president. And what are you going to do in 2028 and 2030 when you’re in a debate either with a Republican or a Democrat and they say, ‘how can we trust you, you covered up for a pedophile back in 2025?’” It's unclear why Trump is so adamant on keeping the files hidden, especially since he insists that he is not implicated in them. However, a trove of emails released by House Democrats Wednesday show Epstein claiming that Trump knew about the girls he trafficked and even spent time with them at Epstein’s home. A cartoon by Pedro Molina. Indeed, Courier Newsroom released a searchable database Friday, providing access to the 20,000 documents in which Trump is mentioned in more than 1,600 of them. Perhaps that’s why Trump is doing everything in his power to not only stop the vote but to change the subject, like his Thursday announcement of new military action in South America. But that plan is unlikely to work, as Republicans who traditionally back Trump are breaking with him on the Epstein files and are even planning a media blitz with Epstein survivors next week. «Many of the victims of Jeffrey Epstein were abused as teenagers. And this information should have come out a long time ago! The American people deserve full transparency into who was involved in these horrific acts,” GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia wrote on X. “I believe the victims. They along with their attorneys have told me numerous times that President Trump is NOT implicated in this.”  She concluded, “I stand with these women and all victims of sexual abuse. It is a shame our government is working harder to protect pedophiles than they are fighting for the victims! These women deserve our fight!!»

Support my Patreon for early access and exclusives. Follow me on Mastodon, Bluesky, or at my website. Related | Enough Senate Democrats appear ready to cave on the shutdown—for nothing

A daily roundup of the best stories and cartoons by Daily Kos staff and contributors to keep you in the know. Trump suddenly declares military operation as Epstein scandal reignites Talk about a deadly distraction. How screwed is the GOP in 2026? One upcoming election may tell us. Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District could be a bellwether. Trump basically admits his tariffs are raising grocery prices Certain items will get exemptions from Trump's moronic tariffs in an effort to lower costs. Cartoon: On second thought ... Donald Trump is probably wishing the government was still shut down. Federal workers can kiss free speech goodbye in Trump's America Speaking up will get you a pink slip. DOJ gets green light on bogus case against ICE-protesting Democrat The Trump administration’s retaliatory prosecutions continue. Mike Johnson has run out of Epstein excuses The House speaker can’t delay a vote any longer. Click here to see more cartoons.

The latest sham investigation by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, based on sham invocations of mortgage fraud, just got referred to the Department of Justice so that Mr. Weaponization Working Group himself, Ed Martin, can likely kick off a sham prosecution. This time, it’s California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell. Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California So weird that these totally neutral and fair investigations just happen to always converge on people Trump perceives as his enemies, right? What are the odds? It’s especially weird given that Pulte really needed to look no farther than his own father and stepmother to locate the kind of mortgage arrangements he insists are fraudulent.  Oh hello, Pulte’s daddy. It looks like you and your wife just happen to be claiming two homestead exemptions, one in Michigan, and one in Florida. Neat trick, really. Dad claimed one exemption, stepmom claimed the other, and that little bit of what Pulte says is prosecutable fraud when anyone else does it likely saved his parents an estimated $158,000 in taxes for 2025 alone.  But now, if Federal Reserve Board of Governor member Lisa Cook did that, it is for sure fraud, right? Federal Reserve Board of Governor member Lisa Cook Hmm. Well, that’s just his parents. They’re not part of the administration, and definitely no one in Trump’s administration would have any sort of untoward mortgage arrangements.  Well, except for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has two primary residences, one in Bedford Hills, New York, and one in Provincetown, Massachusetts.  Oh, and except for Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who did two primary residence mortgages back to back in a hurry, including one for her second home in Arizona. Oh also, and except for Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who has a primary residence in New Jersey and another one in Washington, D.C. Sorry, wait, one more. Environmental Protection Agency Director Lee Zeldin has one primary residence in Long Island and another in D.C.  When faced with the fact that multiple Cabinet members have the same type of mortgage arrangements that Pulte says was criminal behavior when undertaken by anyone with a (D) after their name, the White House went with one of its blustery, fact-free denials. “This is just another hit piece from a left-wing dark money group that constantly attempts to smear President Trump’s incredible Cabinet members. Unlike [Fed Gov.] Lisa ‘Corrupt’ Cook who blatantly and intentionally committed mortgage fraud, Secretary DeRemer, Secretary Duffy, and Administrator Zeldin own multiple residences, and they have followed the law and they are fully compliant with all ethical obligations,” the White House said in a statement to ProPublica. Show your work. New York Attorney General Letitia James Oh hello again, Pulte’s daddy. Did you rent out one of your primary exemption homestead homes this year? Whoopsie, that’s super illegal, and is what your son determined was completely fraudtastic behavior on the part of New York Attorney General Letitia James.  Now, thanks to Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, always the number one Florida insurance lawyer in our hearts, the DOJ did score an indictment against James, though it appears to be rapidly falling apart. James’ mortgage contract did not prohibit renting and it also looks like Halligan may have just withheld exculpatory evidence from the grand jury to get that indictment. There are no guardrails left to stop Pulte, however, as once the Fannie Mae watchdogs started looking into whether Pulte improperly obtained mortgage records of Democrats Trump hates, they referred it up to the Office of the Inspector General for FHFA, and then the acting inspector general sent it to the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia and … we’re back to Halligan.  So, the ethics and internal investigation folks at Fannie Mae were fired and then Trump fired FHFA’s acting inspector general, just for good measure. That’s one way to solve it. Nothing is going to stand in the way of Pulte using his position improperly to gin up sham charges that just somehow happen to be things that are totally fine when Republicans—like his daddy—do them.