The 119th Congress Starts Tomorrow (maybe), On Optimism, Fighting Trump's Unacceptable 4, Josh Stein Is Sworn In
Simon Rosenberg
Morning all. Our thoughts are with the people of New Orleans this morning, and the families who lost loved ones in the terrible attack yesterday. Let’s start with an image of the beautiful French Quarter on a happier day:
While we are all weary and could use more time to rest and regroup, the great MAGA sh--tshow returns to Washington tomorrow as the 119th Congress begins. The Senate transition will be orderly and John Thune will become the new Senate Majority Leader in a 53R-47D Senate. In the House, however, there is Trumpian chaos. Despite Trump’s hasty backing, Speaker Mike Johnson does not yet have enough votes to become the Speaker of House in the new Congress. He needs 218 votes tomorrow, a majority, to become Speaker. Will he round up the votes and get his 218? Or could we be in for days or weeks of uncertainty? Who knows. The House cannot conduct business of any kind until there is a Speaker, including certifying the 2024 election, that is supposed to happen on Monday. Stay tuned all. As I’ve been writing Trump 2.0 is off to a remarkably bad start, and remains at its core, a deeply unstable enterprise.
I want to remain focused on working to knock out Trump’s Unacceptable 4 - Gabbard, Hegseth, Kennedy and Patel. I am grateful to the many of you who have called your House Members and Senators demanding they work to prevent these dangerous extremists from being confirmed. We need to keep going, and cannot let up. I hope everyone reading will take time tomorrow to make your two calls. Welcome folks back, and insist they put their heads down and work to knock out the Unacceptable 4. These calls matter in these offices. They log them and use them to gauge public sentiment in their states or districts. So do find time to call tomorrow and as many days as you can until these four are abandoned by Trump.
The New Orleans attack was yet another reminder why unqualified extremists like Gabbard, Hegseth and Patel should not be in critical national security positions. A new article by Michael Mann and Peter Hotez, A Triple Threat To Humanity: Climate Change, Pandemics and Anti-Science, reminds us why it is Robert Kennedy cannot allowed to become HHS Secretary:
https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/the-119th-congress-starts-tomorrow