Trump Hasn't Yet Been Whipping Votes, And The House Can't Function Without Him

[heart]

This staged brouhaha took effort and planning, so they have to jail somebody.

[llwillis]

@thomaspaine

WRT to the budget, I will bet that Trump has no idea WTF is actually in the Big Ugly Bill, but he wants to preserve the tax cut.

Feels counterintuitive, but I believe Trump needs the tax cuts to be enacted (the one tax and spend Congressional authorization he will respect without question) so that he can quietly back of on tariffs. He needed tariffs to claim he was filling the revenue hole left by tax cuts for the rich; if the tax cuts are law, he can drop the fig leaf. If it can be done quietly, he has less need to save face. He’s oblivious to the effect on the deficit.

In the meantime, the bond market for T-Bills is set to implode which will require some serious action on the deficit.

This is a real, very serious risk. Foreign governments (like, oh, China or Japan) are huge investors in US treasuries, and if they stop reinvesting as securities mature, or sell their holdings, the impact will be hugely damaging. Interest rates will increase to induce investors to buy treasuries, and the status of the US dollar as a reserve currency could be in real peril. These impacts are even greater than the economic effects of the tariffs in whatever form they finally take.

[marciaann]

Tom Malinowski (diplomat under Clinton, Obama, former Rep. from NJ, vociferous Trump critic, talking to Bill Kristol at the Bulwark) thinks the Qatar plane and the UAE $2 billion crypto buy were most likely shakedowns of those governments by Trump (with message delivered to the countries pre-visit by Steve Witkoff).

Was the Crypto Deal Just a Cover for a Shakedown? (Tom Malinowski) | Bulwark on Sunday

[clemmers]

@ladyfair

ABC “fully knows and understands, this highly respected country is donating the plane to the United States Air Force/ Defense Department, AND NOT TO ME,” he continued.

But I get to keep it when I leave office.

The big dummy thinks no one can see through this utterly transparent bribe. Sure, give it to the Air Force to spend $1B taxpayer dollars refurbishing it and painting it gold, then hand it over to trump to fly around like a rajah.

Let him whine all he wants. He fools no one.

[tigersharktoo]

And as I have previously posted, he will insist that the USAF maintain, pilot and fuel this “gift.”

[eldonlazar]

Alex Jones says Kash Patel and Dan Bongino are “making fools out of themselves”

And he would know.

[ajm]

Bills to impeach Habba should be offered to make the case to the public even though the Republicans in Congress will block them.

[michaelryerson]

Apparently another parking violation.