Musk has been staying at $2,000-a-night Mar-a-Lago cottage – just hundreds of feet from Trump’s main house
Mike Bedigan – December 31, 2024
Elon Musk is getting closer and closer to Donald Trump, quite literally, with a new report that the tech billionire is currently renting a cottage on the grounds of the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida.
According to The New York Times, Musk is staying at Banyan – a cottage located just several hundred feet from the main house of the estate– which costs at least $2,000 to stay in per night, per sources with knowledge of the costs.
The news comes as concerns continue to grow in Washington about the extent of the SpaceX boss’s influence over Trump, having sat in on personnel meetings, conducted talks with foreign leaders and helped to tank a bipartisan spending bill in congress.
Musk is reportedly staying at Banyan – a cottage located just several hundred feet from Trump’s main house – which costs at least $2,000 to stay in per night (AFP/Getty)
The property contains multiple cottages that have reportedly been used by others in Trump’s inner circle, including Vice President-elect JD Vance, during the transition period.
The Times reports that Musk moved into the cottage around Election Day and watched the results at Mar-a-Lago with Trump and other MAGA cheerleaders including Marjorie Taylor Greene.
He left the property around Christmas and has been expected to return some time in the New Year.
It is unclear how much the tech boss is paying for the cottage, though guests at the Mar-a-Lago club are typically not billed until the end of the stay.
A US Coast Guard boat manned by armed officers patrols the Lake Worth Lagoon off Mar-a-Lago (AFP/Getty)
The ultimate cost of Musk’s stay may come down to the president-elect.
The “best buddy” relationship between the pair appears to be going strong.
Last week Trump posted what appeared to be a personal message to Musk on Truth Social, claiming that fellow billionaire Bill Gates asked to come to Mar-a-Lago.
“Where are you? When are you coming to the ‘Center of the Universe,’ Mar-a-Lago. Bill Gates asked to come, tonight. We miss you and x! New Year’s Eve is going to be AMAZING!!!” Trump wrote.
He signed it “DJT.”
The story comes as concerns continue to grow in Washington about the extent of the SpaceX boss’s influence over Trump (AFP/Getty)
“X” appears to have been a reference to Musk’s son, X Æ A-Xii, who he calls X for short,
While staying at Mar-a-Lago, Musk has been accompanied by at least two of his children — though he is reported to have at least 11 — and their nannies.
The Times also reported that the Tesla boss is known to make inconvenient requests like meals outside the normal kitchen hours.
Germany calls for new sanctions on Russia’s dark fleet that is ‘damaging major undersea cables’ nearly every month
Huileng Tan – December 30, 2024
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said ships are damaging undersea cables in the Baltic Sea nearly every month.Florian Gaertner/Photothek/Getty Images
Germany’s foreign minister urged new European Union sanctions on Russia’s dark fleet.
As part of a probe into a cut cable, Finland said last week it detained a ship that may be from the dark fleet.
The case is being investigated as “aggravated criminal mischief,” Finnish police said.
Germany’s foreign minister has called for further sanctions against Russia’s dark fleet of oil tankers following damage to an underwater cable linking Finland and Estonia last week.
“Ships are damaging major undersea cables in the Baltic Sea almost every month,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told the Funke media group.
“Crews are leaving anchors in the water, dragging them for kilometers along the seafloor for no apparent reason, and then losing them when pulling them up,” Baerbock said, per an AFP translation.
“It’s more than difficult to still believe in coincidences. This is an urgent wake-up call for all of us,” she added.
Baerbock urged new European Union sanctions against Russia’s dark — or shadow — fleet of oil tankers that transport sanctioned Russian oil and energy products.
The EU has also sanctioned 79 vessels from Russia’s shadow fleet. These ships are banned from accessing EU ports and services.
Many of these vessels are aging, operating under opaque ownership, and sailing without adequate insurance coverage. They pose environmental and financial risks to coastal countries. A heavy storm earlier this month caused two tankers to spill thousands of tons of low-grade fuel oil into the Kerch Strait, between the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula and Russia.
Baerbock’s comments came after Finnish authorities detained the Eagle S oil tanker on Thursday as part of an investigation into the cutting of an undersea cable in the Baltic Sea. The cable transmits electricity from Finland to Estonia.
The case is being investigated as “aggravated criminal mischief,” Finnish police said in a press release.
Finnish customs authorities and the European Union’s executive commission said the tanker might be part of Russia’s dark fleet of tankers.
The Kremlin declined to comment on Finland’s seizure of the oil tanker on Friday.
“I cannot say anything for sure, for this is a highly specialized issue that the presidential administration is hardly in a position to comment on,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in response to a question on the Finnish move.
Big Tech companies rely on those visas, while Big Racism people on the internet claim the visas are another example of foreign workers taking jobs from the “forgotten” men and women of America who Trump promised to protect.
(Spoiler alert: Trump sided with Musk and the tech bros this weekend because they gave him lots of money and money is all he actually cares about. Sorry, xenophobes!)
Trump sells out supporters to back Elon Musk on H-1B visas
Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy face MAGA backlash over possible visa program expansion
Here’s how the whole unbelievably stupid thing unfolded.
About a week ago, Trump named venture capitalist Sriram Krishnan as an advisor on artificial intelligence. Because Krishnan had previously voiced support for expanding the H-1B visa program, hardcore anti-immigration loudmouths like Laura Loomer – one of the most loyal Trump loyalists – and Steve Bannon got mad and outraged. That’s kind of their thing.
Bannon said the H-1B program is a threat to Western civilization, which makes sense if your soul is so filled with hate it has choked off oxygen to your brain.
Vivek Ramaswamy tells MAGA that Americans are kinda dumb and lazy
Ramaswamy posted on social media: “Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer)…Trump’s election hopefully marks the beginning of a new golden era in America, but only if our culture fully wakes up. A culture that once again prioritizes achievement over normalcy; excellence over mediocrity; nerdiness over conformity; hard work over laziness.”
Vivek Ramaswamy, the co-lead with Elon Musk of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency, arriving for meetings at the US Capitol on Dec. 5, 2024 in Washington.
Many MAGA folks read that as Ramaswamy calling them dumb and lazy, probably because that was Ramaswamy calling them dumb and lazy. The MAGA base swiftly turned its ire on Ramaswamy, prompting Musk to call them “contemptible fools.” He later clarified that “contemptible fools” was only referring to “those in the Republican Party who are hateful, unrepentant racists” and will “absolutely be the downfall of the Republican Party if they are not removed.”
I’m not quite sure how that narrows things down, but whatever.
MAGA fans find themselves discovering where they stand in Trump’s world
The bottom line is this: Members of a political movement fueled almost entirely by a hatred of immigrants were getting told by Musk, an immigrant, and Ramaswamy, an American via birthright citizenship, that they are racist and dumb and lazy and should support a program that allows foreign workers to get U.S. jobs.
It prompted prominent MAGA figures like former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who like all these other people is a disreputable dipstick, to post this about Musk and Co.: “We welcomed the tech bros when they came running our way to avoid the 3rd-grade teacher picking their kid’s gender – and the obvious Biden/Harris economic decline. We did not ask them to engineer an immigration policy.”
Somebody pass me the popcorn – this is getting GREAT!
Musk tells MAGA to … well, it’s profane and not too nice
On Friday, Musk took to the social media platform he has ruined and wrote of the anti-worker-visa crowd: “Take a big step back and F–K YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend.” (I’m not sure how one of the most influential people in president-elect Trump’s orbit saying “F—K YOURSELF in the face” squares with the evangelical part of the MAGA base, but I can only deal with one group of suckers getting burned at a time.)
President-elect Donald Trump attends Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., on Dec. 22, 2024
Second, Trump constantly peddles xenophobic nonsense about how he’s fighting for the little guy, how he loves his “real American” supporters and how he alone can save them from the scourge of scary immigrants and elitists.
But when a couple of elite billionaires go off on his base and effectively call them a bunch of non-skilled, racist dopes while rallying around a specific immigration program they like because it helps them … well, guess whose side Trump is on?
And the Laura Loomers and Steve Bannons and the MAGA loudmouths online and the voters who let themselves get conned into believing Trump was in it for them? Well, I hope they enjoy looking at the underbelly of the bus. That’s going to be their primary view from now on.
Ex-GOP Lawmaker Predicts What Trump’s Going To Start Doing On Day 1
Former Rep. David Jolly said it may start happening as early on as during the president-elect’s inauguration speech.
By Josephine Harvey – Dec 30, 2024
Donald Trump is going to start revising history to suit himself as soon as he takes office, former Rep. David Jolly (Fla.) predicted over the weekend.
“I think one of the things Donald Trump wants to do this term, starting on day one, is rewrite history,” Jolly, who served as a Republican in Congress but later renounced his affiliation with the GOP, told MSNBC’s Alex Witt. “We’re going to see it on COVID, having RFK Jr. there. We’re going to see it on Russia, having Tulsi Gabbard there. We’re going to see it with a lot of the prosecutions by having Kash Patel there, should these people get confirmed.”
Jolly was referring to Trump’s picks for health secretary, national intelligence director and FBI director respectively. Critics have sounded the alarm over Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vaccine skepticism, Gabbard’s sympathetic views toward Russia, and Patel’s fondness for dangerous conspiracy theories and his fixation on Trump’s supposed enemies.
“I think we’re also going to see a retelling of January 6,” Jolly went on. “And the question is, does that start with his inauguration speech? Or is it something that happens by way of pardons? Or is it a prosecution — an attempted prosecution — of Liz Cheney?”
“I do think Donald Trump wants to rewrite history,” he concluded. “And to do that, he’s going to force upon the American people a narrative that largely is untrue, but that he hopes, with conservative media’s influence, he can win out with.”
Trump has vowed to pardon people convicted for participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Trump’s favor.
Even though the majority of those serving substantial prison time committed violent crimes, including assaulting law enforcement officers, the president-elect has referred to them as “peaceful January 6 protesters” and “hostages” who were unfairly prosecuted.
He’s also made threatening comments about former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), warning that she “could be in a lot of trouble” for serving on the House panel that investigated the attack. He’s said that he believes members of the panel “should go to jail.”
Trump has a penchant for revisionist history, with a pattern of walking back promises, deflecting blame for his failures and dubiously taking credit for successes. He pledged during his 2024 campaign to reduce the prices of “everything,” but has already admitted since his victory that it’s “hard to bring things down once they’re up.”
Drink coffee, eat leafy greens, try this New Year’s champagne hack — plus 8 more health tips to help you have a great week
Kaitlin Reilly, Reporter – December 29, 2024
Leafy greens include veggies like kale, spinach and collard greens. (Getty Creative)
Hello and happy New Year, Yahoo Life readers. My name is Kaitlin Reilly, and nearly every week throughout 2024 I’ve rounded up the internet’s latest health and wellness tips. This is our last Sunday edition of the year and it’s been a pleasure helping you improve your life in big and small ways.
With New Year’s Eve just days away, you may be considering the resolutions you’re setting for 2025. While the obvious choice for many may be to hit the gym more often (as so many of us will do come Jan. 2), one pro-health goal you may not have considered is getting better sleep.
There’s a good reason why you should: Getting quality shut-eye (aka “sleepmaxxing,” as social media has coined it) can improve your overall wellness, from boosting your immune system to enhancing memory and brain function. Plus, doing so may give you more energy to exercise and stop you from reaching for less nutritious foods as a pick-me-up (like, say, a Snickers bar from the vending machine when you hit that afternoon slump). Want some tips to get started? Establishing a consistent sleep schedule, creating a relaxing bedtime routine and limiting screen time before bed can be your gateway to better rest in 2025.
In the meantime, check the weather in your area and, if you are so inclined, your horoscope. Then read up on these wellness tips.
Celebrating New Year’s Eve can be a fun and festive way to start 2025, but it’s important to keep a few safety tips in mind. More than 50% of crashes on New Year’s involve drivers with high blood alcohol content, per American Safety Council, so if you are planning on going out, make sure you designate a sober driver, plan for public transportation in advance or call an Uber or other ride-share service.
And speaking of alcohol — there’s also a risk of injury when popping that bubbly beverage, as many people do at midnight. To avoid shooting that cork into someone’s eye, make sure to chill the champagne to 45 degrees Fahrenheit, which will make it less likely to go rogue. Then, hold the bottle with one hand and use the other to twist the cork, nudging it gently out of the bottle and controlling the release of air. After a minute, the cork should come free.
If you do want to see some fireworks on New Year’s Eve, find a viewing of professional ones in your area — and keep children at least 500 feet away from where the fireworks will be set off in order to mitigate accident risk, as well as dampen noise. Pop noise-cancelling headphones on to protect you and/or your little one’s ears from intense sound, which can damage your hearing.
Experts spoke to HuffPost about what veggies you should eat to improve different health factors. Dietitian Lena Bakovic said that those who want to improve their cardiovascular health should eat more leafy greens, which contain heart-healthy compounds like nitrates, which keep blood vessels open. Given that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that heart disease is the leading cause of death in America, it’s a great reason to pile your plate with Swiss chard, spinach, kale and collard greens.
If you often struggle with an uncomfortable burning sensation in your chest, known as heartburn, you know how important it is to find relief, especially if it interrupts your sleep. While popping antacids may quickly resolve the issue, doing so long-term can lead your body to produce more acid as a rebound effect — leading to more annoying symptoms over time.
Caviar, which is made from sturgeon eggs, may be way too pricey to make a regular part of your grocery list, even as the high-low food trend spreads and people are putting the pricey delicacy on everything from potato chips to mozzarella sticks. If you do see it at your next party, however, or just feel like splurging on a fancy treat, dietitians give this fishy food the seal of approval, thanks to the fact that it is rich in protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D, selenium and iron. Just be cautious about how you consume it: While it may taste delicious with a dollop of crème fraîche, you could be getting more fat and calories than you’d like.
Dr. Michael Roizen, a 78-year-old anesthesiologist, internist and longevity expert, claims he reversed his biological age by 20 years. One tip he gave Insider for how he did it? Eating lots of salmon, avocado and olive oil — all foods that are rich in healthy fats, which support heart health, reduce inflammation and promote cell repair. These are all foods included in the much-celebrated Mediterranean diet, which is plant-focused and high in omega-3s. Want to follow his lead? Try adding a salmon salad to your lunchtime routine.
Many in the U.K. take Christmas week walks, but going for a long stroll, especially after a meal, is a great idea no matter the day. Experts told Yahoo Life that these walks can help regulate your blood sugar, improve digestion and prevent post-meal energy dips.
Walking in a winter wonderland? Just make sure to stay hydrated, wear layers and shoes with proper tread, and keep a charged cellphone on hand in case you need assistance.
Want to get into a reading habit? Schedule a manageable amount of time to sneak in some pages — like, say, 20 pages per day right when you wake up in the morning, as Atomic Habits author James Clear does. Not into morning reading? Grab a book on your lunch hour, or swap out a TV show with a few chapters before bed.
❄️ Use wintertime to create SMART goals
You may have heard of the “Winter Arc,” which is a TikTok-fueled trend that has people committing to transforming their lives during the colder months by adopting intense fitness, productivity or self-improvement routines. Sam Hopes, a personal trainer, doesn’t think a total rehaul of your life this season is effective long-term, however. Instead, writing for Tom’s Guide, Hopes said to stick to SMART goals — specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-based objectives. So instead of saying, “I’m going to walk more in 2025,” pick a reasonable goal — like walking 7,000 steps each day. You’ll be more likely to track your progress, which can help you stick to it over time.
We all need both omega-3- and omega-6-rich foods in our diets, but the imbalance of them may lead to increased inflammation, which is linked to chronic diseases such as heart disease and arthritis. While most Americans tend to get more than enough omega-6-rich foods — which include vegetable oils, common in processed foods — many more are falling behind on omega-3s. A solution? Pile your plate with omega-3 foods like salmon, mackerel, chia seeds and spinach.
If we’re being honest, no year has been a great year for human decency since whatever it is that evolved into us emerged from the primordial ooze. Humans aren’t great at basic decency, and I assume it didn’t take long for the earliest iteration of a human being to do something obnoxious.
Still, 2024 was suboptimal.
2024 marked by Trump, hateful rhetoric, loony conspiracy theories
A nutball who thinks vaccines, one of the greatest achievements in medical history, are bad and we should all fight diseases by drinking bacteria-laden raw milk got hoisted up as a person who should oversee the nation’s health.
President-elect Donald Trump addresses the conservative AmericaFest conference on Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix.
School shootings continue unabated ‒ and don’t forget the wars
School shootings kept happening and politicians continued to do quite literally nothing to stop them. Wars continued war-ing, with little global regard for the loss of innocents, a fact that should shock the collective human conscience, assuming it has one.
I’m not so sure it does. As already stated above, decency isn’t really our thing.
But here at home, you’ll note, much of the indecency stemmed from one particularly indecent character. A man who has managed to melt brains preheated by reality television and, for the past decade, make himself the center of our political universe.
Trump is irredeemable, and he brings out the worst Americans have to offer
Protesters against former President Donald Trump rally on the National Mall on Oct. 2, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
Trump is a golden calf and an amalgam of the worst in all of us. His prevalence in American life and his pending return to the presidency have normalized those worst tendencies. He has given comfort to white nationalists and insurrectionists and antisemites, and embraced cruel dictators. The basic things any parent would teach their child not to do ‒ lie, bully, brag ‒ are Trump’s calling cards.
I don’t want or need to hear another argument about him being a tough leader or the best choice for president or someone who appeals to “regular Americans,” whatever that means. Nothing justifies him. Nothing.
He is now and will forever be a stain on American history, a man whose narcissism and lust for power and money led him to sacrifice American decency at an altar he built to honor himself.
How the country does under his upcoming leadership is irrelevant. The moral cost of getting there has already been too steep.
If you thought 2024 was bad for American decency, just wait
Trump is certainly not to blame for all the ills in America ‒ not even close. We’ve been a flawed nation, replete with scoundrels, for some time.
But Trump has, singlehandedly and without question, made this country more cruel, more dishonest and more willing to believe immoral behavior can take you places.
He erodes our decency by example.
2024 was a bad year for America’s sense of right and wrong.
In shift, Trump downgrades soaring rhetoric on campaign promises
Brett Samuels – December 29, 2024
President-elect Trump on the campaign trail made grandiose promises to voters to bring down costs quickly, to end the war in Ukraine before he even took office and to use tariffs to bolster the U.S. economy and manufacturing.
Since winning November’s election, Trump has indicated delivering on those promises may not be as simple as advertised.
Trump in a recent “Meet the Press” interview said he could not guarantee tariffs would not lead to higher consumer prices.
He acknowledged in a Time magazine interview for his Person of the Year honor that it’s difficult to bring down the cost of groceries once they’ve gone up.
And in his first post-election press conference from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., Trump suggested ending the war in Ukraine would be more difficult than easing tensions in the Middle East.
While Democrats and critics accused Trump of lowering expectations or signaling he would not deliver on his campaign promises, the Trump transition and other allies argued it was the president-elect shifting from sweeping campaign rhetoric to the nuances and realities of governing.
“The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail. He will deliver,” said Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the transition and the incoming White House press secretary, in a statement.
One Trump ally argued the president-elect was not contradicting his promises on the trail, but he rather was shifting away from the sales pitch rhetoric that is typical of campaigns.
Trump made improving the economy, and inflation in particular, a core part of his campaign for the White House in 2024. He frequently railed against the Biden White House for the high cost of groceries specifically, and he often told supporters he would bring down costs by increasing the energy supply, which would have a ripple effect on overall prices.
“Prices will come down. You just watch. They’ll come down, and they’ll come down fast. Not only with insurance, with everything,” Trump told supporters in North Carolina in August.
At a rally in Pennsylvania on the eve of Election Day, Trump said a vote for him meant “your groceries will be cheaper.”
Congress’ youngest woman says her election is a “signal” that future of Democratic Party is changing
Griffin Eckstein – December 29, 2024
Yassamin Ansari Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The Democratic Party is searching for its soul. Tasked with rebuilding from an electoral loss in November, one of the biggest questions on Democratic voters’ minds is how the party will engage with checked-out young voters.
Voters under 30, who strongly lean Democratic, failed to turn up for Vice President Kamala Harris, with 54% of the age group voting for her compared to the more than 60% who voted for President Joe Biden in 2020. While the loss is no doubt driven by a multitude of factors, some young voters said they simply feel left behind by the party.
Critics took Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s, D-N.Y., unsuccessful bid for House Oversight leadership as a sign that the party was unwilling to change its ways after 84-year-old ex-speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., reportedly campaigned against her in favor of 74-year-old Gerry Connolly, D-Va. Still, some choose to focus on the progress, not the setbacks.
In an interview with Salon, 32-year-old Rep.-elect Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., counted herself as part of a new generation of Democratic leaders ready to make change.
“There truly is a shift happening with young people getting more involved,” Ansari said, adding that part of the transition to younger leadership is getting young voters more involved.
Ansari connects with constituents through informal, online outreach. On TikTok and Instagram, the congresswoman-elect documents the procedural business for new members, provides legislative updates and organically promotes constituent services.
“One of the major lessons learned from this election and overall the climate that we’re living in is that people are really wanting authenticity,” she told Salon. “I don’t wanna prescribe for others what they should do because I think the most important thing is that no matter who you are, if you’re an elected official or have a platform, that you’re doing what feels natural to you and comfortable to you.”
Ansari’s TikTok videos aren’t so much a savvy strategy as they are the authentic output of a power user. In one post on the platform, Ansari admits she can be found scrolling through the app most nights. “Most of my feed is the Eras Tour,” she admits. That connection to the platform makes it easier for her content to break through.
“I think it’s incumbent upon elected officials to, again, go out of their way and go above and beyond to be more proactive in the community,” Ansari said. “We do live in a time where we can be less worried about… just being on script all the time… It’s important for people to see that politicians are people and have some of the same interests and hobbies as they do.”
Slated to be the youngest woman in Congress when she’s sworn in on Jan. 3, Ansari was elected the Democratic freshman class president last month. In a statement, she called her election to that post a “small signal to Democratic voters, and especially young people, that the party is ready for new, young voices in Congress to be given opportunities to lead.”
Amid criticism, Ansari points to major signs that the Democratic Party is ready to listen to young people.
“Angie Craig, who is a Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota representing a rural community, beat out someone that is several decades her senior,” Ansari said. “She will be, now, the lead Democrat on the Agriculture Committee, which I think is awesome and really encouraging for younger members.”
Likewise, 35-year-old Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, will take a leading role in the lower chamber, chairing the House Progressive Caucus.
“It may not be happening as quickly as some people would like,” Ansari acknowledged, adding that winning leadership posts required building a large and diverse coalition, reflective of the entire Democratic caucus.
Ansari also recognizes how important Democratic leadership will be over the next four years, as President-elect Donald Trump prepares an assault on Arizona’s most marginalized residents.
“I’m acutely aware that [Arizona’s] District 3 is going to be on the front lines of the immigration battle and particularly Trump’s devastating and harmful pledge to carry out mass deportations … I have not stopped working since election day preparing for this,” Ansari told Salon. “I am representing a blue district, a racially diverse district in a red or purple state, that’s going to be on the front lines of this battle. So I’m not gonna sit out. I intend to do everything I can to protect families in Arizona’s 3rd district.”
Amid fear and discontent, Ansari emphasized that staying involved in the political process was crucial, especially for young people who feel left behind.
“It can be very tempting to wanna completely disengage from politics,” Ansari said. “I would say that just because you’re disassociating from politics doesn’t mean it is disassociating from you. And at the end of the day, politics do matter.”
Though she holds a relatively uncompetitive seat, replacing Sen.-elect Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., Ansari is no stranger to the importance of each vote.
The rep.-elect won a heated primary in Arizona’s third congressional district by a wire-thin margin in August, besting former Arizona Democratic Party chair Raquel Terán by just 36 votes.
“Stay active when you can because it does matter — and it’s exciting!” Ansari said.
Reagan FBI director urges caution against Gabbard, Patel
Luke Barr – December 28, 2024
The only man to lead both the FBI and the CIA urged caution to senators who might vote to confirm former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence and Kash Patel to lead the FBI, according to a letter sent to senators this week.
“I am deeply concerned about the potential nominations of Mr. Kash Patel to lead the FBI and the inclusion of Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as DNI in intelligence roles,” William Webster, who led the FBI during the Carter and Reagan administrations and the CIA after that, said in a letter to senators on Thursday.
PHOTO: In this Dec. 18, 2014, file photo, former FBI Director and Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) under Ronald Reagan, Judge William Webster is interviewed for a documentary about directors of the CIA. (David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images, FILE)More
Webster wrote that Patel’s loyalty to Trump may cause problems.
“Statements such as ‘He’s my intel guy’ and his record of executing the president’s directives suggest a loyalty to individuals rather than the rule of law — a dangerous precedent for an agency tasked with impartial enforcement of justice,” said Webster, who turns 101 in March.
PHOTO: Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for director of the FBI, speaks to reporters before a meeting with U.S. Senator Ted Cruz on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Dec. 12, 2024. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)More
He said that during his tenure at the FBI, he was contacted by the president only twice — once by President Jimmy Carter, who asked him to investigate an issue, and once when President Ronald Reagan had a question about Nancy Reagan’s security.
Webster added that Gabbard’s “profound lack of intelligence experience and the daunting task of overseeing 18 disparate intelligence agencies further highlight the need for seasoned leadership.”
“History has shown us the dangers of compromising this independence. When leaders of these organizations become too closely aligned with political figures, public confidence erodes and our nation’s security is jeopardized,” he wrote. “Every president deserves appointees they trust, but the selection process must prioritize competence and independence to uphold the rule of law.”
The letter was first reported by Politico.
Webster did endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president in 2024 and Joe Biden for president in 2020.
The Trump transition team defended both Patel and Gabbard to Fox News.
“Kash Patel is loyal to the Constitution. He’s worked under Presidents Obama and Trump in key national security roles,” said Alex Pfeiffer, a Trump transition team spokesman.
PHOTO: President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be Director of National Intelligence, former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii, is shown at the Hart Senate Office Building, Dec. 18, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)More
Alexa Henning, a Trump transition official, also defended Gabbard.
“Lt. Col. Gabbard is an active member of the Army and has served in the military for over two decades and in Congress. As someone who has consumed intelligence at the highest levels, including during wartime, she recognizes the importance of partnerships with allies to ensure close coordination to keep the American people safe,” she told Fox News.
Congress has the power to block Trump from taking office, but lawmakers must act now
Evan A. Davis and David M. Schulte – December 26, 2024
The Constitution provides that an oath-breaking insurrectionist is ineligible to be president. This is the plain wording of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. “No person shall … hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.” This disability can be removed by a two-thirds vote in each House.
Disqualification is based on insurrection against the Constitution and not the government. The evidence of Donald Trump’s engaging in such insurrection is overwhelming. The matter has been decided in three separate forums, two of which were fully contested with the active participation of Trump’s counsel.
The first fully contested proceeding was Trump’s second impeachment trial. On Jan. 13, 2021, then-President Trump was impeached for “incitement of insurrection.” At the trial in the Senate, seven Republicans joined all Democrats to provide a majority for conviction but failed to reach the two-thirds vote required for removal from office. Inciting insurrection encompasses “engaging in insurrection” against the Constitution “or giving aid and comfort to the enemies thereof,” the grounds for disqualification specified in Section 3.
The second contested proceeding was the Colorado five-day judicial due process hearing where the court “found by clear and convincing evidence that President Trump engaged in insurrection as those terms are used in Section Three.” The Colorado Supreme Court affirmed. On further appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, the court held that states lack power to disqualify candidates for federal office and that federal legislation was required to enforce Section 3. The court did not address the finding that Trump had engaged in insurrection.
Finally, there is the bipartisan inquiry of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol. More than half of the witnesses whose testimony was displayed at its nine public hearings were Republicans, including members of the Trump administration. The inescapable conclusion of this evidence is that Trump engaged in insurrection against the Constitution. In particular, Trump unlawfully demanded that his vice president, Mike Pence, throw out votes in the Electoral College for political opponent Joe Biden, a power he did not have. While the riot was in progress, Trump used Pence’s rejection of his demand to further enflame the crowd and cause them to chant “Hang Mike Pence!”
Some will argue that the Supreme Court decision in the Colorado case, Trump v. Anderson, precludes Congress from rejecting electoral votes when they convene on Jan. 6, on the basis of 14th Amendment disqualification. This view lacks merit for three reasons.
First the majority’s suggestion that there must be new implementing federal legislation passed pursuant to the enforcement power specified in the 14th Amendment is what lawyers call dicta. Dicta are the musings of an opinion that are not required to decide the case. The holding that Section 3 is not self-executing may be an alternate holding, but thoughts about the kind of implementing statute required are plain dicta. Dicta are not precedential. The four dissenters strenuously objected to this part of the opinion as overreach to decide a question not presented. This overreach is a power grab which Congress is not required to credit.
Second, counting the Electoral College votes is a matter uniquely assigned to Congress by the Constitution. Under well-settled law this fact deprives the Supreme Court of a voice in the matter, because the rejection of the vote on constitutionally specified grounds is a nonreviewable political question.
Third, specific legislation designed for this situation already exists. The Electoral Count Act was first enacted in 1887 and later amended and restated in 2022. That statute provides a detailed mechanism for resolving disputes as to the validity of Electoral College votes.
The act specifies two grounds for objection to an electoral vote: If the electors from a state were not lawfully certified or if the vote of one or more electors was not “regularly given.” A vote for a candidate disqualified by the Constitution is plainly in accordance with the normal use of words “not regularly given.” Disqualification for engaging in insurrection is no different from disqualification based on other constitutional requirements such as age, citizenship from birth and 14 years’ residency in the United States.
To make an objection under the Count Act requires a petition signed by 20 percent of the members of each House. If the objection is sustained by majority vote in each house, the vote is not counted and the number of votes required to be elected is reduced by the number of disqualified votes. If all votes for Trump were not counted, Kamala Harris would be elected president.
The unlikelihood of congressional Republicans doing anything that might elect Harris as president is obvious. But Democrats need to take a stand against Electoral College votes for a person disqualified by the Constitution from holding office unless and until this disability is removed. No less is required by their oath to support and defend the Constitution.
Evan Davis was editor in chief of the Columbia Law Review and David Schulte was editor in chief of the Yale Law Journal. Both clerked for Justice Potter Stewart. Davis is a New York lawyer who served as president of the New York City Bar, and Schulte is a Chicago investment banker.
