Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

People are complicated. Love is not.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

“But what about the lurkers?”

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

Welcome to day five of every-bit-as-bad-as-you-thought-it-would-be.

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Senate Marathon Begins (Open Thread)

Senate Marathon Begins (Open Thread)

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From CNN:

Senate Democrats have started what they’re promising will be an overnight marathon of speeches to protest Russell Vought’s nomination to lead the Office of Management and Budget. Vought is expected to be confirmed in a vote Thursday evening.

Republicans control 53 seats in the chamber compared to 47 seats in the Democratic Caucus. That means the GOP has been able to consistently confirm President Donald Trump’s nominees since confirmation only requires a simple majority.

But Democrats can slow down the process…

Democrats have been sounding the alarm on Vought’s ties to Project 2025, and his insistence that the 2020 election was “rigged,” for weeks, but their calls for Trump to pull his nomination only grew after OMB released a memo last week freezing federal funding. This memo was eventually rescinded, but Democrats called it a warning sign for how Vought would run the office. OMB plays a key role in enacting the president’s agenda.

If I had a Democratic senator who was participating, I’d contact them to say thanks.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

62Comments

  2. 2.

    cmorenc

    What really bugs me is that in parallel with the ongoing malevolent parade of Trumpian malfeasence, my (and many fellow Americans’) stock market portfolio is back up after a brief post-election hiccup.  And the folks are acting with complete everyday normalcy around the streets around my town (Raleigh, NC) and not raising Hell downtown.  The citizenry seems to be getting rolled over without having to call out the tanks or even local police to aid in the suppression

    Resistance might not effectively begin to happen until enough regular citizens begin to feel tangible bad effects of the bad-government crew who have taken over, including especially economic adversity.

  5. 5.

    pajaro

    @MattF:

    So sorry it took a few days of a four year struggle for them to get their bearings.  It’s important to stay upset, even though it didn’t change a single solitary thing.  Way to keep your eye on the ball.

  6. 6.

    Quinerly

    Musk will police himself on any conflicts of interest.
    The White House said Elon Musk will determine if there are conflicts of interest between his work reviewing federal spending and his overlapping empire of six companies.
    “The president was already asked to answer this question this week,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at a briefing Wednesday. “And he said, if Elon Musk comes across a conflict of interest with the contracts and the funding that DOGE is overseeing, that Elon will excuse himself from those contracts, and he has again abided by all applicable laws.”
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-05/white-house-says-musk-will-police-his-own-conflicts-of-interest

  8. 8.

    Scout211

    The contacts, calls and faxes to the Democrats in congress seem to be working.

    Politico  Reps. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Gwen Moore (D-Wisc.) barged into House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office unscheduled on Wednesday and challenged him about Elon Musk’s team gaining access to a sensitive payment system at the Treasury Department.

    Their intrusion, amid an escalation of Democratic backlash against Musk’s sweep through the federal government, came shortly after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrived at the speaker’s office to discuss how to implement President Donald Trump’s tax agenda.

    However, Moore said that Bessent was not in the room when she and Chu confronted Johnson.

    “Gwen Moore forced her way in there, and then I got to go in right behind her,” Chu told reporters. “And she was already confronting Speaker Johnson about Treasury Secretary Bessent and the stealing of Americans’ private information, tax information that should never be stolen and given to this billionaire Elon Musk.”

    . . .

    A person who witnessed the episode at Johnson’s office denounced Chu’s and Moore’s actions.

    “In the face of incredibly rude, extremely aggressive and frankly unhinged behavior, the Speaker was more than gracious and allowed the members into his personal office to hear their concerns,” said the person, who asked not to be named to freely discuss the matter.

    The “person who witnessed the episode” is a coward.  Reps. Chu and Moore are awesome!

  9. 9.

    TBone

    A bit of palate cleanser, CNN reports:

    A second federal judge on Wednesday blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order that seeks to end birthright citizenship, saying it’s likely unconstitutional and “runs counter to our nation’s 250-year history of citizenship by birth.”

    The nationwide preliminary injunction from US District Judge Deborah Boardman is a significant ruling against Trump’s Day 1 order, which was swiftly met with legal challenges and put on hold days later by a separate judge.

    The order “conflicts with the plain language of the 14th Amendment, contradicts 125-year old binding Supreme Court precedent and runs counter to our nation’s 250-year history of citizenship by birth,” Boardman said during a hearing on Wednesday.

  11. 11.

    Belafon

    @Scout211: Gwen Moore is 18 years older than me, but I hope to convince her to marry me someday, other than the fact I wouldn’t be worthy.

  13. 13.

    TBone

    @MagdaInBlack: my attorney boss once told me that my “fibromyalgia” was evidence that I have Crazy White Woman Disease.

    (The fibro trashcan diagnosis was incorrect but my boss’s sarcastic diagnosis nailed it.)

  15. 15.

    dc

    @cmorenc: There was a big protest march downtown around the capitol and the legislative buildings from 12:00-3:30 (and still ongoing with stragglers).

  16. 16.

    MattF

    I suppose two weeks late isn’t too terrible. But… it’s just a fact that everyone knew what was coming. It was all written out in detail, in black and white. Maybe you really have to see it up close and personal to really get it.

  19. 19.

    Quinerly

    AG Bondi announced investigations of Jack Smith, Alvin Bragg, and Letitia James.

    “She will order the review of criminal and civil cases against Trump, including the two federal cases brought by the Biden Justice Department, and issue a warning to employees that serving their own personal politics as opposed to the Trump administration would be punished.”

    Bondi was sworn in this AM.

    https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/05/politics/pam-bondi-attorney-general-first-day

    CNN, MSNBC reporting

  20. 20.

    Scout211

    @TBone:  Good.

    I was interested in how long the preliminary injunction will be in place:

    From the CNN report you cited:

    The injunction, which Boardman said would last while the lawsuit against the order proceeds, is likely to be appealed by the administration to a Richmond-based federal appeals court, setting it on a path that could eventually land the case before the Supreme Court.

  22. 22.

    TurnItOffAndOnAgain

    @MattF: Can you post links to folks who saw Muskrat’s course of action coming? Because anyone who was predicting that is someone I’d like to follow.

  23. 23.

    TBone

    @TurnItOffAndOnAgain: Atrios has been on that scene for a long time, don’t know if he outright predicted all this but he’s been pointing out Elno for a very long time.  He’s at Eschaton.

    P.S. that’s how I found the CNN article I posted above.

  24. 24.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    I already have. I also told them to tell Schumer that he sucks and that when he talks I hear the voice of Droopy Dog. The Vichy Democrats that vote to confirm Trump nominees need a primary opponent in their next election. No more of this go long to get long, not anymore. If challenging them in a primary might cost them the general then so be it. If they’re confirming and voting for Republican bills then they are next to no fucking good as it is already. Hell, look where they’ve got us so far.

    Democrats lose because too many of them are Republican lite and the party is full of Tony Hardings collecting a paycheck and hanging with their pals, the loyal opposition.

    Oh yeah, and FUCK CHUCK SCHUMER. What a lame ‘leader’.

  25. 25.

    Quinerly

    Of interest. Email blast and FB post.

    “The Navajo Nation congratulates Governor Doug Burgum on his confirmation as Secretary of the Interior. His leadership and experience will be vital as we navigate the critical issues facing Native communities.

    We also recognize President Trump’s thoughtful choices in leadership, including the nomination of William ‘Billy’ Kirkland as Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs. Together, Secretary Burgum and Assistant Secretary Kirkland bring the expertise needed to advance our shared priorities including efforts to ensure the delivery of federal funds for tribal programs are unaffected.

    The Navajo Nation looks forward to working with Secretary Burgum and his team to strengthen our partnerships, protect our resources, and improve the lives of Native peoples across the nation.”

    -Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren

  27. 27.

    Ohio Mom

    Yeah, IF I had a Democractic Senator…sigh.

    Betty, I really identified with your post about just wanting to enjoy life. These were supposed to be my golden years!

    Oh well, duty calls.

  28. 28.

    Professor Bigfoot

    OPEN THREAD– y’all might remember I turned into a gun nut in December of 2016 (in fact I specifically spent that inauguration ceremony at the range).

    Shooting as sport qua sport is just flat fun, but over the last couple of years I basically quit.

    So today I sent a few boxes of 9mm downrange, and also took out a membership in the range and picked up a new full-size pistol.

    Turns out I haven’t lost the skill entirely, but that’s why I took the membership.

    Also– there were Black people behind the counters, so I knew I’d found a store and a range that weren’t full of MAGAts. Yay.

    The ONLY good thing to come out of the first Reign of Error was ammo prices fell through the floor, permitting me to stockpile.

  30. 30.

    Old School

    @Quinerly:

    AG Bondi announced investigations of Jack Smith, Alvin Bragg, and Letitia James.

    The article does not say anything about investigations of Smith, Bragg, and James.

    Presumably, that won’t be announced until after the review of their respective cases.

  31. 31.

    Leto

    @Quinerly: just tying to decimate the rule of law by any means. Idk where we’ll be after all of this.

    Edit: showing my ignorance of this area, is it normal to have the Feds review state cases?

  32. 32.

    HopefullyNotcassandra

    @MattF:

    The republicans do have agency.  The party that once belonged to Lincoln owns this mess, lock, stock and barrel.

  34. 34.

    sab

    Back here in Ohio our new Senator’s daughter is in a nasty custody dispute with her Congressman soon to be ex over a toddler. Just speculating that neither is capable of being a good parent. Poor child.

    Daddy is so rich that when she bailed on the marrige papa could buy her a very nice house. In Ohio law that is desertion, but laws don’t apply when papa is rich.

    Soon to be ex called the cops today because he said she wouldn’t leave his house and he was afraid. On her side he does have several DUIs.

    These are who represent us In Congress

    ETA Emilia Syles is my Congress person and she is super wholesome. So is Shontel Brown just up north. Apparently the problem areas are the exurban counties.  I am so surprised!

  35. 35.

    dww44

    @cmorenc: I feel the same way.  Spouse watched CNBC all day and they’ve yet to indicate any alarm at the way things are headed.  We are all surrounded by a bunch of “good Germans”. I’m not gonna be one and I’m going to agitate for resistance and push back.  Starting to communicate my displeasure with relatives and friends, risking them telling me (like spouse, BIL, and nephew) that I’m overreacting.  So be it.

  36. 36.

    tobie

    @Quinerly: My one solace in all this is that Bondi is as poor a lawyer as Alina Habba and I doubt the cases she pursues will be well-conceived or backed by strong evidence. Durham’s team failed. So will Bondi’s staff. Unfortunately it will be terribly expensive for the upstanding Americans she persecutes.

  39. 39.

    tobie

    Have Jackals noticed prices rising?

    I keep a few things in my cart in Amazon Prime to chart price changes. One item–a wooden hanger for quilts–has gone up 23% in the space of a week; and milk has increased 9% since the beginning of the year.

    I don’t expect any information from the Trump admin to be truthful. But I’m feeling like my grocery bill has gone up since he took office.

  40. 40.

    dww44

    @MattF: I agree. That should have known from the first exec order what was coming and they didn’t do anything as a cohesive unit to slow stuff down.  It took all of us calling and faxing and filling out comment forms to get some sort of traction.    They have given up a lot of ground just by not seeing what is happening in front of our very eyes.  They were elected to do that.  As a group they have failed big time.  What say, Schumer and Jeffries?  Maybe you both should come out and publicly apologize for your delaying.

  42. 42.

    frog

    @dww44:

    risking them telling me (like spouse, BIL, and nephew) that I’m overreacting.  So be it.

    Tell them that they are suffering from a lack of imagination.

  43. 43.

    tobie

    @TBone: Ya think? I’m not saying one should underestimate her. She has enormous resources under her control,l but I was struck at how primitive her rhetoric was during her hearings. She talked about “bad guys.” She used the word “hypotethical” inappropriately. She is not a legal genius by any stretch and she will need that genius to prosecute high level cases. Like Durham before her, she will let ideology lead her. Since she lives in a rightwing bubble, she will assume evidence is strong when it’s not.

  44. 44.

    sab

    @Leto: I passed the bar 45 years ago and then stopped practicing, so I am very out of date.  Back then, most of us believed in the same set of rules although with a slightly different ideological slant.

    Federalist Society (run by non-lawyers) changed all that.I am not sure Federalist folks even believe in the concept of laws. They are just rules to ne broken by those with the connections to get away with it.

  45. 45.

    dww44

    @MattF:  As far as I am concerned, you don’t need to pipe down.  It’s only our pushing that has created any semblance of life and action in the elected Democrats.

    And why doesn’t someone tell them…all of them, right now is NOT the time to be asking for money.  I’m less likely to donate when someone begs for money while the whole of government is being torn down by unelecteds and supine Republicans.

  46. 46.

    MagdaInBlack

    @tobie: I’m sure you’ve noticed all of them use primitive rhetoric. This is why the maga crowd responds. You’re right tho, not sure that style will stand against intelligent legal argument, but I suppose it all depends on the judge

    Eta: “primitive rhetoric” is also why Tim Walz “weirdos” landed so hard and made maga squeal. They understood that.

  50. 50.

    MagdaInBlack

    @NotMax: It is a wee bit “tabloidy,” you’re right, but you’re also right that it has interesting useful tidbits. Listening now, thank you.

  51. 51.

    NotMax

    FYI. Cheesed off.

    Google has edited Gemini’s AI response in a Super Bowl commercial to remove an incorrect statistic about cheese. The ad, which shows a small business owner using Gemini to write a website description about Gouda, no longer says the variety makes up “50 to 60 percent of the world’s cheese consumption.”
    [snip]
    A disclaimer beneath Gemini’s response says it’s “not intended to be factual,” but a tool framed as a writing aid for businesses should at least back itself up with reliable sources. Source

  52. 52.

    Quinerly

    A budding bromance. They speak often on the phone.

    “This guy, you could argue, was the single biggest — had the single biggest influence — on saving and protecting free speech and the First Amendment, for goodness’ sake,” Jim Jordan said in an interview. “God bless Elon Musk.”

    Jordan is planning to use the Judiciary Committee to scrutinize companies and government officials that have allegedly suppressed conservative voices, including in Europe. Jordan last week sent a letter to the European Commission’s chief tech regulator inquiring about how it plans to enforce media law against American companies, like X.
    Rep. Gerry Connolly, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee who was blocked Wednesday from issuing a subpoena to force Musk to testify on Capitol Hill, said he was alarmed by the Musk-Jordan partnership.
    “Elon Musk is an unelected, unaccountable billionaire with absolutely zero knowledge of how government works and rampant conflicts of interest,” the Virginia Democrat said in a statement. “He should be the subject of congressional investigations, not a beneficiary of politically motivated investigations into his opponents and competitors.”
    https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/05/elon-musk-jim-jordan-relationship

  53. 53.

    NotMax

    Wise move.

    Greenland’s parliament passed a bill Tuesday that bans political parties from receiving contributions “from foreign or anonymous contributors” after President Donald Trump expressed his wish that the United States take over the vast and mineral-rich Arctic island that belongs to Denmark. Source

  54. 54.

    Kelly

    @NotMax: I think it should say Greenland Islands, plural. I’ve seen interesting pictures of Greenland after the ice melts. Adding in sea level rise it’s an ring islands with a nice central bay.

  58. 58.

    sentient ai from the future

    @cmorenc: i already shifted my portfolio balance from 75/25 to 50/50 equities/fixed income, and have also made a shift out of growth indices into total-market indices, AS WELL as a shift to overweight international securities, both types.

    because i want to do that while the domestic market is still up. subsequent prospective gains are not going to be my concern until/if this market returns to normalcy.

  60. 60.

    Kayla Rudbek

    @Leto: no, it’s not unless there’s potential civil rights violations or something else that could cause federal jurisdiction to attach, as a lawyer would put it.

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