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Closing the pot-luck tabs on a Hump Day … 

I feel ridiculous admitting it now, but even after more than 25 years as a journalist, even though I worked at a more irreverent newspaper, I strongly believed that our most prestigious outlets believed in seeking the truth. I trusted them. Now, I realized, they were pushing a singular narrative and squelching all other discussion. I was seeing Big Tech censorship of the American media in real time, and it chilled me to my bones.

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What happened next was even more chilling. I found out that an “expert” who advised Facebook to censor the piece had a major conflict of interest. Professor Danielle E. Anderson had regularly worked with researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and even done her own experiments at the institute—and she told Facebook’s fact-checkers that the lab had “strict control and containment measures.”

Well, of course she did.

Ed: Mark Zuckerberg not only enabled this nonsense, he funded it too. I’m happy if the incentives have changed enough for him to reverse that policy, but only when he releases the files of Facebook/Meta’s coordination with the government will I trust that it represents a change of heart.

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The mayor’s office posted on X Monday night about an “expected destructive and potentially life-threatening windstorm starting Tuesday morning through Wednesday afternoon” yet Bass still wasn’t back in the city as of Wednesday morning when President Joe Biden joined Gov. Gavin Newsom for a press conference about the conflagrations at a Santa Monica fire station.

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Bass’ decision to not return from Ghana sooner drew criticism Wednesday from even the left flank of political media.

“Inexplicable decision to not come back earlier,” Tommy Vietor, a former Obama staffer and Pod Save America host, wrote on X.

Ed: Easily the worst political move in a disaster since Ted Cruz left for Cancun a few years back. And Cruz wasn’t in charge of anything either. 

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In fact, just a few of Trump’s picks are primed to move into their new jobs on Day One: Sen. Marco Rubio’s dossier to become Secretary of State; Rep. Elise Stefanik for the U.N. Ambassador gig; and former Rep. John Ratcliffe to helm the CIA. Other than that, nominees are still missing pieces of the file or are waiting on dates to be confirmed for hearings—a headache for Trump’s quest to have a turn-key Cabinet ready and an opportunity for Democrats to have more time to kick the tires.

Which is why Democrats are looking at these hearings as a first test of how unified they can stand as a check against Trump and his governing trifecta of the White House, Senate, and House. Democrats on their own cannot really block the nominations if Republicans hold the line—and to this point that seems like a safe bet—but they can, at the very least, start to chip away at the idea that the GOP has a mandate. While some of the nominees fall far afield from the norms—Hegseth, Gabbard, and RFK Jr. are the marquee names in that cohort, for sure—the bulk will face only nominal opposition from Democrats. The question for them is a simple one: do they rough them all up, or do they reserve their outrage for the truly exceptional picks?

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Ed: I don’t think they’ll be able to keep themselves from doubling down on hostility once these hearings take place. Rubio’s might be an exception to that … maybe. But that’s it. 

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Yet, the Pentagon’s problem is bigger than DEI alone. There’s plenty of talent inside the Pentagon, but there’s also a lot of dead wood. This is the failed system that disciplined nobody for the disastrous retreat from Kabul in August 2021 (save the cashiering of one Marine lieutenant colonel who dared to speak the truth about President Joe Biden’s Afghan debacle). Instead, the Pentagon handed out a bunch of medals. 

When you reward failure, you get more of it. That’s what must stop. Doing so is simple and can be done without involving Congress up front. Trump must inform all serving three- and four-star generals and admirals that they are out of a job immediately, effective Jan. 20. Any of them who want to stay on the job will write a one-page memo using normal fonts explaining why they should be retained. If it’s a convincing case, they stay. Otherwise, they are retired at once, free to cash in with defense contractors while enjoying generous military pensions, as they certainly will. 

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Ed: That’s why we need Pete Hegseth as SecDef. He’ll actually execute such a plan. 

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Ed: The whole thread is worth reading.

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Asked on Tuesday if he’s made up his mind, the governor said he still has not decided who he will appoint to replace Rubio.

But all signs point to him leaning toward Florida Attorney General ASHLEY MOODY, with Rubio bound for the State Department under President-elect DONALD TRUMP. And 10 people familiar with the selection process, all granted anonymity to discuss the decision freely, told Playbook that Moody was viewed as the leading contender for the seat.

Ed: Moody would be a good choice. I’d have preferred Byron Donalds, but the House majority is too thin for that this session. I’d bet he’ll make a good run for one of the two Senate seats at some point. 

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Ed: I really am just closing the tabs tonight. Hope you enjoyed it!