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Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: The attempt to destroy popular government programs continues [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-01-25

Kelan Lyons/Bolts:

Connecticut Ballot Measure Could Make Voting More Inclusive Voters will decide on a ballot initiative that would set the stage to let everyone vote by mail without an excuse—an option that could expand access for voters with disabilities.

A reminder that government can do good things.

x I'm pretty sure nobody voted for stopping trying to cure cancer. But if that's the price of defeating Woke, I suppose it's a sacrifice that 49.3% of the Americans who bothered to vote are willing to take. /s — Ben Alpers (@benalpers.bsky.social) 2025-01-25T00:52:32.084Z

/s is for snark.

Josh Marshall/TPM:

Dems Worry Sen. Whitehouse Considering Vote for RFK Jr It probably won’t surprise you that RFK Jr., along with Tulsi Gabbard, are among the few Trump nominees who might actually not get confirmed. But I’m told that one senator who Democratic senators and health care advocates have real concerns about is none other than Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). To be clear, Whitehouse isn’t confirmed as voting for Kennedy. But he appears to be actively considering it. (Ed Note: WTF?) Why? I’m told that there appear to be two reasons: One is that Whitehouse and Kennedy are personal friends. They were law school roommates at UVA and that seems to have been the beginning of a lifelong friendship. There are also specific issues with Rhode Island’s health care system that apparently need regulatory flexibility from HHS. That seems to be a real issue. But it hasn’t been enough of an issue to shift the state’s senior senator, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), who remains firmly opposed to Kennedy’s nomination. Whitehouse isn’t the only Democratic senator not firmly locked down. There are also concerns about John Fetterman (D-PA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT). But observers seem fairly confident that both will oppose Kennedy. Whitehouse is the question mark.

Wish that were /s.

Dave Levitan/Splinter:

The Trump Administration Appears to Be Holding the NIH Hostage Per the source, the purchasing freeze covers basically everything needed to do all that scientific work — gloves, reagents and chemicals, anything. This, the source said, “will do a lot to stop ongoing work.” Much lab work can’t just be stopped and restarted — if an ongoing experiment runs out of one need or another, it might just have to be scrapped. There could very well be exceptions, but what happens if the food used to feed model organisms like fruit flies or mice runs out? Or the liquid nitrogen needed to keep things frozen?

x Republicans voting against Hegseth: MCCONNELL COLLINS MURKOWSKI On track for a 51-50 vote and Vance’s first tie-breaker with Tillis declaring his support — Steven T. Dennis (@steventdennis.bsky.social) 2025-01-25T02:21:01.453Z

Lakshya Jain with a reminder (from last week):

Approaching Trump's inauguration, this is *probably* the zenith of conservative influence in pop culture and society over the last 30 years, despite Trump's relatively slim victory of 1.5%.



The movement may last. But I *suspect* people are overconfident here. 🧵 To begin with, it is unquestionably true that public opinion has shifted *sharply* to the right on a host of issues over the last four years — transgender rights, immigration, and even "coolness" (zoomers are way less Dem than millennials were, and tech is lining up behind Trump)

The first hundred days are often the worst. Usually, reality then sets in. But here we are.

David Kurtz/TPM:

The Trump II Destruction Is Already In Full Swing The Trump II Destruction Continues … Swathes of the federal government have ground to a halt in the first week of the second Trump administration: Disturbing : Trump moves to close Pentagon office focused on curbing civilian deaths

Shitty : Trump DOJ rescinds job offers in its Honors Program.

Alarming: Health researchers are reeling as Trump administration pauses travel, communications, and meetings. Vindictive AF After yanking special security protection from his own former national security adviser, President Trump has now done the same thing to Mike Pompeo, his own former secretary of state, and Brian Hook, his former special representative for Iran. Both men have been under threat of retaliation from Iran.

Add Tony Fauci to the list of yanked security.

x About 75% of immigrant farm workers did not show up for work this week in Bakersfield, California, as the threat of Trump’s immigration raids looms. — Keith Boykin (@keithboykin.bsky.social) 2025-01-24T04:18:07.583Z

The Downballot:

GOP justices signal readiness to overturn election won by Democrat A new North Carolina ruling is "pure Stop the Steal insanity" At least three Republicans on the North Carolina Supreme Court signaled that they're prepared to overturn Democrat Allison Riggs' victory in a new ruling issued Wednesday evening, though the outcome of pending litigation remains uncertain—and a federal court could still intervene. Nominally, the decision is a minor setback for Republican Jefferson Griffin, who is seeking to throw out more than 66,000 valid votes cast in November's election for the state's top court, which three different counts have confirmed was won by Riggs. Griffin had filed two suits seeking to reverse Riggs' win: one before the state Supreme Court and one with the Wake County Superior Court soon after. The Supreme Court concluded on Wednesday that only the latter venue was proper under state law, saying Griffin's challenge should proceed in Wake County. But concurring opinions joined by a trio of Republican justices set off major alarm bells among legal analysts about the Supreme Court's ultimate intentions.

Cliff Schecter on Trump’s disaster pardons of Jan 6 criminals, and other blunders:

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