NewsNation Chief Washington Anchor and On Balance host Leland Vittert was a foreign correspondent for four years in Jerusalem. He gives you an early look at tonight’s 7 p.m. ET show. Subscribe to War Notes here.
Democrats should be thrilled …
As Ronald Reagan once said, “Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth!”
Democrats have Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks all wrong.
- They should love the TV stars and chest-thumpers.
- It’s easy, says Vivek Ramaswamy, as Maria Bartiromo nods along.
- “We expect” — Okay, Vivek, keep expecting.
- It’s easy, says Vivek Ramaswamy, as Maria Bartiromo nods along.
🪳 Government programs and bureaucracy are actually incredibly difficult to kill off — they are like cockroaches.
- Despite what Ramaswamy or Elon Musk think, it will take 60 votes in the Senate to end almost anything.
- Republicans have a 3-to-5-seat majority in the House.
- That means a couple of Congressmen whose districts get major funding on whatever program is on the chopping block can kill their plans, and they will.
- As unpopular as the government is, government spending is massively popular with the people who benefit from it, and everybody benefits from it.
- Fact check: Rolling back, limiting, downsizing much less eliminating bureaucracy requires people who really understand the bureaucracy.
- Experience in government to understand how bureaucrats protect themselves.
- Experience in government to understand when the bureaucrats are nodding along while knifing you.
- Understanding what can be done with regulation and not Congress.
- Dr. Oz was a great TV doctor.
- Pete Hegseth is a talented host.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. talks about things nobody else will.
- Matt Gaetz (more on him later) loves owning the liberals.
- Nothing in their backgrounds remotely suggests they have the understanding or experience to take apart departments from the inside, the very thing Trump promises to do.
- Seriously, what gives anyone the idea Dr. Oz can find waste, fraud or abuse in Medicare?
- “He is a DOCTOR,” comes the reply.
- Yes, but just because you are a pilot and had a TV show about fighter jets doesn’t make you the guy to run United Airlines.
- “He is a DOCTOR,” comes the reply.
- There are real experts who could dismantle the bureaucracy.
- Just look at Project 2025.
- There is literally a Cabinet in waiting that should terrify Democrats.
- Just look at Project 2025.
- Why Democrats are trying to knock down picks who will spend most of their time on TV is bewildering.
Pro tip: If you want to prove Ronald Reagan wrong and end the eternal life of government bureaucracy, it’s going to be the leadership experience of people who do more than talk about it on TV.
- Note: This comes from a guy who is on TV EVERY DAY!
Missing the Opportunity!
The late great Israeli politician Abba Eban remarked of the Arabs that they “never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” The same could now be said of Democrats.
- Sarah (born Tim) McBride comes to Congress as the first “trans” member of Congress.
- Republican women, led by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., say people should use the restroom of their biological gender — effectively daring Democrats to play a game of “Hold My Beer.”
- Democrats: “IT’S BULLYING! Let’s focus on what Americans really care about.”
- Americans: “We care about bathrooms.” That’s why Trump’s ad that Kamala cares about “they/them” was so effective.
- Democrats: “Only ultra-MAGA, right-wing, transphobic bullies care about men wearing dresses in women’s bathrooms.”
- As Mace told us last night, bathrooms are the sacred cow of Democrats.
- And she isn’t backing down!
Watch tonight: The man in the middle, Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., who made headlines by pointing out that Democrats are missing the issue!
REMEMBER: We’ve been telling you that it’s not about bathrooms; it’s a proxy for everything else.
“Give Him a Chance”
The current refrain from Republicans about Matt Gaetz for attorney general is “give him a chance.”
- Be fair: That’s not exactly a full-throated endorsement.
- From Lindsey Graham: “I fear the process surrounding the Gaetz nomination is turning into an angry mob, and unverified allegations are being treated as if they are true. I have seen this movie before.”
As Nancy Mace told us last night and Megyn Kelly perfectly articulated, the media firestorm against Gaetz is actually helping solidify Republican support.
- Republican logic: If the Democrats are against Gaetz, then he must be confirmed to “own the libs.”
- Zoom out: Let’s take the behavior of Gaetz, as explained by some of his REPUBLICAN colleagues.
- Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., told me last week he’ll “keep a 100% open mind” about Gaetz’s nomination.
- Look back: Last year, Mullin told CNN, “There’s a reason why no one in the Congress came and defended him: Because we had all seen the videos he was showing on the House floor, that all of us had walked away, of the girls that he had slept with. He would brag about how he would crush E.D. medicine and chase it with an energy drink so he could go all night.”
- Karl Rove told Fox that Gaetz has “a reputation on the floor of the House for having shown pictures of his conquests to his fellow members.”
- Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-C.A., said last spring, “I’ll give you the truth why I’m not speaker … It’s because one person — a member of Congress — wanted me to stop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17-year-old.”
- Receipts: Leaked records from the House Ethics Committee show Gaetz making $10,000 in payments to the women who allege he paid them for sex.
- Fair question: Gee, Mr. Gaetz, what exactly were these payments for? Why are you sending money to random women for “being awesome,” “being my friend” or “joy!”
- Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., told me last week he’ll “keep a 100% open mind” about Gaetz’s nomination.
- Did he sleep with a 17-year-old once – maybe, who knows – we might find out.
- And Republicans are maybe right: Who cares? The DOJ didn’t charge him, and one is innocent until proven guilty.
- Pro tip! That’s not good enough.
- The New York Post editorial board says Trump should ditch Gaetz and that:
- The bar for being attorney general should be higher.
- The attorney general’s character should be beyond reproach.
- The New York Post editorial board says Trump should ditch Gaetz and that:
- Especially for Republicans who complain ad nauseam and with good reason about the weaponization of the Department of Justice.
- Scared:Gaetz says he has done nothing “wrong” — he denies “wrongdoing.”
- Note: Wrong and wrongdoing are different than proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Why isn’t he calling for the release of the ethics report to clear him!??
- Why did he resign from Congress to try and short-circuit the report release?
- Why are (some) Republicans trying to stop the release?
- You wouldn’t let Gaetz be alone with, much less date, your daughter.
- Fellas, try this out on your wife: Hey babe, I am going down to meet Gaetz and the boys for a couple of beers at the bar.
- BUT: Is the new standard for attorney general that the DOJ didn’t charge him in a sex trafficking investigation, so YOLO?
Tune into “On Balance with Leland Vittert” weeknights at 7/6C on NewsNation. Find your channel here.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of NewsNation.