Boosting power in Virginia: Hitachi Energy unveils $457M investment in the state
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5Pn45Jvrng
Benjamin Ryan
@benryanwriter
Malcom Gladwell says he is “ashamed” of having said in a previous panel discussion that trans women have a place in women’s sports. He says he was “cowed” into saying so.
“Trans athletes have no place in the female category,” he says.
https://x.com/benryanwriter/status/1963015126573056209
House votes to establish a new committee to investigate Jan. 6 attack
House members voted Wednesday to officially establish a new panel to investigate the events around the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
It’s the latest chapter in the Republican effort to rewrite the history of the events at the Capitol on that day, when a violent mob stormed the building as lawmakers attempted to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election in favor of Joe Biden over Donald Trump.
House Democrats ran their own Jan. 6 committee when they held the majority, where they convened public hearings and released a report detailing Trump’s efforts to circumvent the election results and his failure to stop his supporters from taking over the complex.
Language to create the new, GOP-led select subcommittee was buried in a larger “rule” that included a host of other provisions, including a formal approval of the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. It will fall under the purview of the House Judiciary Committee and be chaired by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), who will, in his new role, have unilateral authority to issue subpoenas.
He plans to use his gavel to review security and intelligence failures around the attacks; many GOP lawmakers have blamed then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for allowing the Capitol to be breached in the first place and have in general downplayed the significance of the event.
Loudermilk will preside over a group of eight lawmakers to be appointed by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.); Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) will be able to consult on at most three of those members. In an interview, Loudermilk said he was sending Johnson his picks, and while the list had not yet been finalized, he pointed to Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) as a potential selection.
Nehls is a former sheriff who helped Capitol Police stave off rioters who tried break onto the House floor during the siege. Then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) had initially made Nehls one of his picks to sit on the Democratic-led Jan. 6 committee, but withdrew GOP participation after Pelosi refused to seat his other selections, including the current Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
Asked how the previous Jan. 6 committee will inform the new panel’s work, Loudermilk said the goal was to create a report that more accurately reflected the events at the Capitol that day.
“The evidence is irrefutable that there was more politics than there was truth in that,” he said of the previous panel’s findings. “What we saw in the initial investigation, there was a lot more politics involved in decision-making than there ever should’ve been.”
Loudermilk will be required to produce a final report of the subcommittee’s finding by the end of 2026.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) served on the Democratic-led Jan. 6 committee and will be an ex officio member of the new panel in his capacity as the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee.
In a statement, he said the Republican-chaired panel will present an opportunity “to examine the constantly growing criminal records of all the hundreds of violent felons, cop-beaters and white nationalists who Donald Trump pardoned and released onto our streets on his first day in office.”
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/09/03/congress/house-creates-new-jan-6-panel-00542142
Rules could be changed within weeks to speed Trump confirmations, GOP senators say
Republicans are coalescing around a plan to allow nominees to be approved in groups.
Republicans are preparing to change the Senate rules to confirm most of President Donald Trump’s nominees a lot faster.
GOP senators huddled behind closed doors Wednesday to talk through proposals for a party-line overhaul of how presidential nominations are handled — the first time they’ve been able to meet in person since frustration about the slow pace of confirmations boiled over earlier this summer.
Republicans are coalescing around a plan to allow multiple nominees to be confirmed with one vote instead of votes on each individual nomination. And they intend to move fast: Senators expect the plan to be enacted before a weeklong break currently scheduled to start on Sept. 22.
The change would not apply to Cabinet-level nominees or picks for the Supreme Court and courts of appeals, senators said. Republicans are discussing whether to include nominees to federal district courts but haven’t yet reached a final consensus as they work to refine the proposal.
“The consensus is … arriving around the idea of being able to confirm multiple nominees at the same time,” Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 2 GOP leader, said after the meeting.
Republicans are projecting confidence that they will be able to invoke the “nuclear option” in Senate parlance — that is, change the rules with a simple majority vote along party lines. But party leaders need to ensure the votes are locked down as they work through the fine details.
Three GOP senators could break ranks and still let Vice President JD Vance break a tie. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) has already said he doesn’t support going nuclear.
It’s just the latest change over the past decade to the Senate’s rules on nominations. Democrats, under then-Majority Leader Harry Reid, got rid of the 60-vote threshold for most nominations, and Republicans subsequently got rid of the same threshold for the Supreme Court.
Republicans also changed the rules during the first Trump administration to cut down on the amount of debate time required for most executive nominees as well as district court judges.
They’re also leaving the door open to allowing recess appointments, which would let the president bypass the Senate altogether, at least temporarily. But that idea is sparking unease in some corners of the conference, and some Republicans argue that a permanent rules change that would also apply to future administrations is the better option.
Even as Republicans move toward overhauling confirmation procedures, GOP senators reiterated this week that there is no appetite within the conference to get rid of the “blue slip” tradition, which allows senators to block district court and Justice Department nominees in their home states. Some Republicans said they’ve reached out to Democrats to see if there’s any appetite for bipartisan rules changes, but GOP senators anticipate they will need to act along party lines.
Democrats have defended their slow-walking of Trump’s nominees. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement Wednesday that Republicans are going to “blow-up Senate rules and grease the skids just to jam through more of Trump’s lousy, unqualified nominees. That’s not just reckless—it’s dangerous.”
“Democrats will not be accomplices to Donald Trump’s sabotage of the Senate,” he continued. “We are ready, as we were a month ago, to work in good faith with our Republican colleagues to make sure nominees who are qualified move forward.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/03/senate-nominees-rules-change-00542580
How did Trump unite the tech bros? Never seen all those autismos together in the same room before.
U.S. and China are 'two superpowers engaging in hostage exchanges': Hayman Capital's Kyle Bass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zUG7RGKH5I
Pam Bondi launches criminal probe against FIRED Fed gov Lisa Cook
Attorney General Pam Bondi's Justice Department issued subpoenas on Thursday into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook as part of a criminal investigation regarding allegations she submitted fraudulent information on mortgage applications.
The criminal investigation comes as Cook finds herself embroiled in a lawsuit with President Donald Trump over his bid to fire her and take control of the Federal Reserve.
Trump has publicly raged against the Federal Reserve after its Chairman Jerome Powell has refused to cut interest rates for months, and he's vowed to find a way to force the board to do his bidding.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the DOJ's focus is centered on Cook's properties in Michigan and Georgia. Officials told the outlet they are utilizing grand juries as part of the criminal probe.
Last month, Trump-appointed director of the Federal Housing Finance Bill Pulte claimed that Cook engaged in mortgage fraud.
The president used Pulte's allegations as reasoning to fire Cook last week.
Cook’s lawsuit against the administration claims Trump’s attempt to fire her was against the law.
Her attorneys claimed the president made up a reason to dismiss her so he can move ‘forward his agenda to undermine the independence of the Federal Reserve.’
The White House claims Trump was within his presidential authority to dismiss Cook. The Federal Reserve Act grants the president the power to remove Fed governors ‘for cause.’
If Trump is successful in removing Cook, the president will then be able to fill the majority of the central bank’s board with his hand-picked appointees.
'We’ll have a majority very shortly,” Trump said last week when asked about replacing Cook. 'So that’ll be great.'
'Once we have a majority, housing is going to swing, and it’s going to be great,' Trump added. 'People are paying too high an interest rate. That’s the only problem with us. We have to get the rates down a little bit.'
Pulte originally accused Cook of lying on her mortgage applications in order to receive lower interests from banks.
Ed Martin, a top DOJ official and Trump ally, was picked by Bondi to handle the Justice Department’s inquiry, according to the WSJ.
Martin previously worked in the administration as the interim U.S. attorney in Washington, but left the role after not receiving enough support from Republicans for his nomination.
The Trump loyalist has been criticized for his past support of defendants charged over the January 6th, 2021 Capitol riot. Martin leads the DOJ efforts to investigate mortgage fraud involving public officials.
The DOJ is investigating other Trump critics over allegations of mortgage fraud, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and California Sen. Adam Schiff.
A judge is examining Cook’s legal request for an emergency order to halt her removal from the Fed board.
Bondi's latest DOJ investigation into one of Trump's rivals comes as her department faces calls for more transparency regarding pedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
The attorney general caused a stir earlier this year after claiming back in February during a Fox News interview that the Epstein list was 'sitting' on her desk ready to be reviewed.
However, in July the DOJ contradicted Bondi by stating it found no evidence of a 'client list' as part of their Epstein investigation.
Months later Republican and Democratic lawmakers led by Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna are demanding the Justice Department to release all files relating to the disgraced billionaire.
Regardless, the administration is moving forward to fill the Federal Reserve board with Trump loyalists. On Thursday, Trump economic adviser Stephen Miran began testifying in front of the Senate Banking Committee.
A majority of lawmakers will need to confirm Miran for him to replace Cook on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15066095/Trumps-DOJ-Issues-Subpoenas-criminal-investigation-Federal-Reserve-governor-Lisa-Cook.html
Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale on Pres. Trump's industrial policy, tariff agenda and AI chip sales
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAggvL1ZHqg
Koch family to buy stake in Giants at $10B valuation
The Koch family reportedly has agreed to purchase a 10% stake in the New York Giants.
The deal, which was first reported by Bloomberg, is pending approval by league owners, which could come as soon as their next meeting in October.
It would come at a valuation of $10 billion, which would surpass the then-North American professional record of $6.05 billion that Josh Harris' group paid to buy the Washington Commanders from former owner Dan Snyder in 2023.
The Mara and Tisch families announced in February they were exploring the possibility of selling a minority, noncontrolling stake in the team. They hired Moelis & Co. at the time to serve as their banker.
Julia Koch, the widow of David Koch, who died in 2019, has a net worth of $81.2 billion, according to Forbes. She and her family last year bought 15% of BSE Global, the company that owns the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty.
A spokesperson for Koch had no comment when reached by email Wednesday night.
The Mara family has owned the storied football franchise since its founding in 1925. John Mara is president and CEO, and his family and the Tisch family will continue to serve as majority owners.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46151970/reports-koch-family-buy-stake-giants-10b-valuation
J.K. Rowling
@jk_rowling
No police action was taken against any of these men.
Men publicly threatening to kill women is white noise to law enforcement in this country and trans activists know it.
https://x.com/jk_rowling/status/1963465628053848363
Nigel Farage points out that basically any tourist or professional can be arrested in UK for social media posts.
https://x.com/GBNEWS/status/1963259438623752637
The Free Speech Union
@SpeechUnion
When @Glinner landed at Heathrow, he was met by five armed police officers, and immediately arrested.
His ‘crime’? Three gender-critical tweets.
As Graham says in his Substack:
“In a country where paedophiles escape sentencing, where knife crime is out of control, where women are assaulted and harassed every time they gather to speak, the state had mobilised five armed officers to arrest a comedy writer”.
Graham’s single bail condition is that he does not go on X.
We do not believe Graham’s arrest or the bail conditions imposed were lawful. We will be backing him all the way in his fight against these preposterous allegations and the disproportionate response from the police.
https://x.com/SpeechUnion/status/1962823252465565803
Laura Ingraham
@IngrahamAngle
DeSantis defends Florida’s move to end vaccine mandates:
“We’ve always been for informed consent and parental rights. When mandates coerce choices and penalize families, that’s not informed consent. Empowering people to decide for themselves is the right path.”–
@GovRonDeSantis
https://x.com/IngrahamAngle/status/1963392029934649656
Trump asks Supreme Court to let him fire FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter
-President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fire Federal Trade Commission commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, who had been reinstated to that post after he had terminated her.
-Trump in March removed two Democratic commissioners from their posts at the FTC — Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya — as part of his sprawling effort to exert his influence over federal agencies.The question of “cause” for termination is also at the crux of Trump’s bid to remove Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook from her role.
President Donald Trump on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fire Federal Trade Commission commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, who lower courts ordered reinstated after he terminated her.
Trump wants the Supreme Court to pause her reinstatement as he appeals the case.
“President Trump acted lawfully when he removed Rebecca Slaughter from the FTC,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement.
“Indeed, the Supreme Court has twice in the last few months confirmed the President’s authority to remove the heads of executive agencies,” Desai said. “We look forward to being vindicated for a third time — and hopefully after this ruling, the lower courts will cease their defiance of Supreme Court orders.”
Trump in March removed Slaughter and another Democratic commissioner, Alvaro Bedoya, as part of a sprawling effort to exert his influence over federal agencies.
Slaughter and Bedoya then sued Trump, seeking to be reinstated. But Bedoya resigned from the FTC in June and dropped his case.
In July, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled that Slaughter’s firing was illegal.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in D.C., upheld that ruling in a 2-1 decision.
The appeals court held that FTC commissioners cannot be removed unless there is cause, which has been defined as neglect or malfeasance in office.
Trump did not give a reason for firing Slaughter.
“The government has no likelihood of success on appeal,” the ruling said.
Slaughter returned to work at the FTC after the appeals court decision.
“I was confirmed unanimously by the Senate to a term that ends in 2029 and I intend to serve it out,” she said Thursday in a statement to CNBC. “I am focused on my work and very glad to be back on the job.”
Slaughter’s case is the second in recent weeks to raise the question of whether Trump has legal “cause” to justify removing a federal regulator.
The question of “cause” is also at the crux of Trump’s unprecedented effort to remove Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden.
Trump last month moved to fire Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud, claims that her attorney has denied, setting up a court battle that could also end up at the Supreme Court.
A court hearing on the matter ended without resolution last week, leaving the future of Cook’s position unclear.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/04/trump-supreme-court-federal-trade-commission-slaughter.html
CNBC's interview with FHFA Director Bill Pulte re: Crooked Lisa Cook
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ommFX4dKo6s
Nick Sortor
@nicksortor
🚨 HOLY CRAP! RFK Jr. just CRUSHED Elizabeth Warren when she started pushing vaccines, and Pocahontas LOST IT
RFK JR: "We aren't going to recommend a product for which there is no clinical data for that indication"
"I know you've taken $855,000 from pharma companies!"
https://x.com/nicksortor/status/1963635844121580011